bighat

Correct. All he's done is win 2 division titles and will likely have the team finishing over .500 in 3-out-of-4 years at the helm. Whether the seat should be hot is an argument, but it's definitely not. If the Twins have a bad year next year, let's talk. FWIW I think that players love the guy, and that goes a long way. Some memorable managing moments this year include the way he handled the Gary Sanchez blocked plate call (do we need to see more of that Rocco?) as well as the team's 6-game losing streak in August, where he showed that he was unable motivate the team to be competitive even in the season's most important moments.

When the season started, I thought that Nick Gordon deserved a chance to earn a roster spot. As the season progressed, I started thinking that Nick Gordon was definitely worthy of a roster spot and would have a great career as a utility guy. As we roll into September, I now believe that Nick Gordon is a full-time starter and should play every day, without fail. There have been so many games where Gordon is in the middle of everything, He's given this team serious contributions on offense, he stays on the field and makes plays on defense. Maybe he's not even reached his ceiling? I want to see his name in the Twins lineup every day for years to come, alongside Miranda.

Twins face another no-namer tonight with a 5.30 ERA? Great, that means they'll score 2 runs, maybe 3. This team hasn't looked good - much less dominant - for months now. Twins need to keep making hay while they can, really no room to even lose a game against the Red Sox here. Dylan Bundy has lowered his ERA by half a run in August. He's certainly earned himself a contract next year in the majors. Good for him.

Right? Twins just got swept easily in HOU by the Astros. There's absolutely no reason to assume the Yankees won't do the same, and that's a 4-game set.

Nice sweep. Still, looking at this horrific roster I see no reason to get hopeful. Even if the Twins get some players back in the next couple weeks, they're going to need time to shake off the rust. There's just not enough time, not enough talent on the field. It's very likely the Twins go 3-7 over their next 10 games (BOS, at CHISOX, at NYY). I just don't see any way for this goes our way.

I loved the write-up! Great job Theo, keep it up. As someone who introduces game threads once in a blue moon, I know first hand that writing about the Twins on this site is not an easy task! As a journalism school drop-out, I do recall learning that when covering any event, you lead with the MOST IMPORTANT part of the story and then get to the little details. For example, first paragraph might be something like "The Twins won on a walk-off walk by Gilberto Celestino in the 10th inning to complete a comeback and win their second straight game against the Giants" or something like that. That way, the reader knows the basic facts right away: Twins won, 10th inning, on a walk, by Gilberto, against SF. Then if they want to read more, they can. But they don't have to. That's it for unsolicited advice from a j-school dropout. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

Don't see how this team wins a series against any team not named Detroit or KC the rest of the year. Honestly don't. And I'm not shocked or surprised, the team looked cooked a week before the ASG.

Yeah it's over. They can't score runs against the TEXAS RANGERS. Not just one night, but for 4 straight games. At home. Embarrassing. At this point I'd prefer they just end the season now just to save us the agony of checking the scoreboard for the next month. It's extremely likely they lose all 3 in Houston, then split with SF, go 1-2 against the Red Sox, 1-2 against the White Sox and then get swept by the Yanks in NY. That'll put them at 4-12 over their next 16 games. Even if they do better than that (5-11, 6-10) they'll still be below .500 by Sept. 8. The Correa experiment was bold but it unfortunately didn't work out. Shows how bandboxes like MinuteMaid can make guys look way better offensively than they really are. Trevor Story hasn't been that good either after leaving Coors. Not sure how anyone can truly believe this team has a chance at finishing .500, let alone the division at this point.

It's not Rocco's fault that Buxton, Correa, Kepler and Polanco can't hit. Losing a series at home against a poor Texas team in late August with the division on the line? It's over folks. And it has been for a while. The coffin is ready and the nails are in hand. When the Twins head to NYY for a 4-game set to start September, and something tells me the Yankees will be bringing the hammer.

Twins offense has been unwatchable for almost 2 months now. Really, really bad - didn't have enough talent in the first place but with the injuries, this team is anemic. Be lucky to score 2 today.

Aaron Sanchez still available? Seems like he'd be a good fit.

It's been a pretty rough last 2 months. Almost everyone has been a big disappointment down the stretch. The new closer looks like he was getting lucky in Baltimore, Correa's disappeared, Mahle to the IL, and our most exciting player Buxton hasn't been able to counter-adjust to the league and is really only hitting mistake pitches at this point. I suppose Miranda being the best hitter on the team this year is both very cool and also extremely depressing. Honestly this looks like a team that's disinterested, and it appears most guys are just running on fumes. Funny, considering Rocco's given everyone tons of rest this year.

Whether you like it or not, the people who are in charge of most things now - including sports - grew up with the internet. Social media is going to be a big part of EVERY pro & college sport moving forward. The only question is whether or not sports marketing departments can keep on top of current trends and/or even jump out ahead of them. The way it works is that MLB hires marketing people to see what kids are attracted to. Turns out, kids watch more TikTok than they do TV these days. Thus, the MLB is coming to TikTok. Alas, it's not just the MLB who's coming to TikTok. It's Burger King, Johnson & Johnson, Royal Caribbean, Motorola, and Ford. And that brings us full circle, because as soon as brands start to wade into the waters of social media, it ruins the platform. All the kids, teens, and young adults the brands came to target will then scurry off to find the next new thing. And the cycle will repeat. Every new social media platform has one destiny: to be sniffed out by advertisers and hugged to death by overbranding.

Ugly. Offense remains a concern and the bullpen is still unfortunately keeping things very interesting at the back end of games. Same old Twins: score early, unable to add on even against a struggling sub .500 team. Hat's off to Bundy. I thought he was going to go the way of Shoemaker in early July but give credit where it's due. He's showing up every 5th day and is the only Twins starter to never skip a turn this year. I looked at the September schedule for the Twins today. Something tells me that we should just enjoy the rest of August. Here's hoping for another win tonight.

He's getting paid to be a top-10 MLB athlete and difference-maker, not to be a "real shortstop". Calling him "the best SS the Twins have seen in 10 years" or whatever is irrelevant. Fans, coaches, and ownership were looking for way, way more than that with this signing.

Correa with 6 RBI over the past month, still sitting on 39 for the year. Just because he hasn't been horrible doesn't mean he's not a bust.

They just showed Carlos Correa had a 33% chance of GIDP.

I think a lot of fans don't even think about how hard it must be for many Latino players to do interviews in English. I've always thought that if Luis Arraez or Gio Urshela can speak English in post-game interviews, at the very least the baseball announcers should be able to pronounce their names. We're asking guys with 6th grade educations from the Dominican Republic to speak English in front of 30,000 people. Broadcasters - likely college graduates with a degree in journalism or broadcasting from a major US university should at least be able to learn the correct pronunciations of these guys' names.

Wow Jose Ramirez with a HR and now up to 99 RBI this season. Holy cow.

Pathetic inning by the MN offense there, absolutely horrific. That ain't Apple TV's fault.

"Ahhh c'mon Bundy, let me make a play! Hey, you wanna play shortstop?" LOL, good stuff.

I think it's probably more important what Bundy thought of it - could he hear Correa talking to the TV crew while walking that batter? Probably not. Anyway, I don't mind those things during the ASG or during Spring Training, but that seemed a little much. But then again, times are changing and this Apple TV + thing is full of gimmicks like this in order to attract attention and generate a buzz. Baseball needs as much chatter as it can get.

Wow, a rare fellow human who has actually been to Gainesville. Yeah man, I live about 3 miles from Ben Hill Griffin. We live right on the East Side, almost downtown. Moved here with the wife 1.5 years ago, so far so good. I respect FSU but as you can imagine I gotta side with my Gators down here. In fact, being a Gator fan keeps things simple for me. Up north I'm both a Gopher and a Badger fan - always feel torn in half!

Howdy, y’all. Tonight the Minnesota Twins (61-55) and Texas Rangers (53-65) kick off the “I-35 Series” at Target Field. That’s right, these two teams are separated by just 14 hours and 922 miles of good ol’ American concrete. The drive takes a leisurely 14 hours from Target Field to Globe Life Stadium, all the way down Interstate 35 door-to-door. Since we’re talking about freeways, let’s take a look at what’s under construction tonight in Twins Territory. Minnesota sends hardhat-wearing, lunchpail-carrying Dylan Bundy (6-5, 4.76 ERA) to the mound. He’s earned plenty of criticism but he’s been showing up for work every 5th day which you’ve got to respect. The guy throws strikes and works quickly - in fact Bundy has the 59th-fastest “tempo” in MLB, averaging a pitch every 15.8 seconds. The Rangers counter with staff foreman Martin Perez (9-3, 2.79), who - as Twins fans may remember - tends to work slower than a cement truck in the rain. Perez is more of a nibbler, and is ranked 218th in MLB with 18.6 seconds between pitches. With men on base Perez is even slower, taking 26.8 seconds between pitches. Yeesh. To wrap up today’s theme, some good news: Tyler Mahle’s arm is NOT under construction - at least not yet - he’s listed as day-to-day and Twins fans continue to hold their breath. The Twins last played the Rangers back on July 8-10. The team played very uninspired baseball, as the bullpen imploded and gave away the first two winnable games before the team salvaged the finale to go 1-2 in Arlington. That series marked the beginning of a run that saw Minnesota go 11-17 over the next month, falling out of first place in the process. Picks to Click: Jose Miranda has a .722 xSLG rating at home against lefties, and also leads the Twins with a .884 wOBA when playing under those circumstances. A good old-fashioned hunch tells me disappointing Twins shortstop Carlos Correa might just go yard today. Scoreboard watching: Oh me oh my. The Cleveland Guardians hosting the Chicago White Sox tonight. It’s Lance Lynn vs. Triston McKenzie. Odds: Twins -141, Rangers +120 Weather: Brisk temps, possibly in the high 60s or low 70s at game time with intermittent shower activity. System appears to be slow-moving, which is troublesome. Lineups: 1. Byron Buxton (R) CF 2. Carlos Correa (R) SS 3. Luis Arraez (L) 1B 4. Jose Miranda (R) DH 5. Gio Urshela (R) 3B 6. Jorge Polanco (S) 2B 7. Gilberto Celestino (R) LF 8. Max Kepler (L) RF 9. Sandy Leon (S) C P. Bundy 1. Marcus Semien (R) 2B 2. Corey Seager (L) SS 3. Nathaniel Lowe (L) 1B 4. Adolis Garcia (R) RF 5. Jonah Heim (S) C 6. Leody Taveras (S) CF 7. Brad Miller (L) DH 8. Josh H. Smith (L) 3B 9. Bubba Thompson (R) LF P. Perez Play Ball!

The "long guys" of yore would pitch more innings per appearance than the starters of today. Diff game.