bighat

Happy anniversary indeed. Thanks for these wrap-ups. Win or lose, I always read them. Thanks again!

He's a decent 3rd outfielder and a nice complimentary piece. I don't think any MLB writers or prognosticators every predicted he'd be a "breakout star". He's a victim of being an average young player on team desperate for the next big star. We shouldn't expect more than a .256, 19 HR, and 72 RBI from him, that's the player he is.

Yeah. The problem with that (and I think you'll agree) is that the Twins still don't know what they have with Bux. So we can either sign a guy who might have talent to a long-term deal, or just give up on him and let someone else give it a go. They simply have to keep running him out there to figure out what they've got, but when Buxton's circling the drain at the plate, he seems to only get worse every plate appearance. The Twins are painted into a corner with Bux. The only scenario where the Twins win is if Buxton improves, and that's gotta be soon, as in July 2018 soon. Oh yeah, and the Twins are still trying to win every ball game which further complicates things.

Right, but by the time he figures it out, he's going to be a free agent and/or no longer a member of this team. If Buxton figures things out when he's 28 years old, that's great news for the Red Sox or Padres or whoever takes a chance on him, but it does nothing for the Twins or their fans.

The "FIRE GARDY" chant was so loud that it drowned out the most important question: who are we going to replace him with? Nobody seemed to care. Now we've got a box of Malt-o-Meal in the dugout who doesn't even know how to properly handle an NL double switch and can't motivate his players.

Worse yet, the "black hole" are the only guys hitting. Without Garver, LaMarre and Adrianza the Twins would have been shut out last night. This offense has been an embarrassment.

Yes! The Twins had a golden opportunity to change course when they let go of Gardy...hiring Molitor was such terrible use of that chance.

I hear you. But many of us think the Twins have succeeded despite Molitor, not because of him.

Without Adrianza, Garver and Lamarre the Twins would have been no-hit and/or shutout last night. It's sad that they have to play these guys...even worse, those are the only guys hitting.

Great article and great comments/discussion. So much to chew on. It's so frustrating. When teams struggle, most of them have some top-tier prospects waiting in the wings to provide some hope and excitement. Look at the Braves and Ronald Acuna, the Mets with Brandon Nimmo, etc. The problem is that the Twins already brought up their prized prospect (Buxton) and, frankly, he stinks. They've been optioning him back-and-forth for years now (years!!!) and now they've resorted to stashing him on the infamous "Phantom DL" where the likes of Phil Hughes and Mike Pelfrey spent time during their last gasps with the Twins. At this point I think the management needs to switch gears. Build around Rosario.

Nice job by the Twins cobbling together some runs today and taking what the Indians gave them. Tomorrow's game is a big one. Big Game Gibby on the hill!

This "send Sano down" or "trade Sano" talk is getting ridiculous and makes no sense. Is this because of the strikeouts or what? The guy's hit 2 HR and has 10 RBI in 8 games since coming back.

Escobar and Rosario. We'll take it. It was enjoyable to see the Twins take an early lead and score 7 runs.

I think the longer we try and fool ourselves into thinking the Twins are just victims of 'bad luck', the more frustrating the season will be. At some point it becomes too painful and frustrating when you go into every game thinking "we NEED this game!" only to watch the team find a new way to extend a losing streak. There's been some positive chatter about the bats waking up. Why don't they wake up early for a change? The Twins aren't taking any leads, they are constantly playing from behind. Maybe the bats aren't waking up...more like the other team is ahead 10-zip and starts throwing pitches down the middle for a while to move the game along. Even the bright spots lose their sparkle if you look closely. The only possible way the season turns around is if Molitor is fired, but it seems everyone in the organization is too afraid to pull the trigger. That's the danger of hiring a hometown guy, who aside from 2 months last year has been a disaster as a manager. I think we should look forward to the July trade deadline, and the call up of Nick Gordon and perhaps a couple of young pitchers. What's good on Netflix? The ladyfriend and I started watching "The Crown" the other night...it's not bad, if you like slow-moving British television with a dramatic musical score. I actually think it's OK but I'm hoping to find something else that might add a little more excitement to the evenings while I'm not watching the Twins.

The worst part about what's going on so far is that the front office and Molitor are going to blame the massive underperformance on injuries, which is just not acceptable. I can see the year in review now: "Well, we had some injuries and they were tough to overcome", etc. No...the players didn't play well and were either poorly evaluated or poorly coached. Guess I'm just bitter. Will be pulling for the Twins as always, rain or shine, vs. Cleveland.

It looks like the Twins could get a boatload for Gibson right about now. If they decide they could part ways with Odorizzi, he'd also get a nice return. Lynn has a few more serviceable outings and they could flip him too, albeit for less than the two aforementioned guys. Here's hoping it doesn't come to that. But yes, it's a theme we need to be prepared to explore if things continue. I am also wondering if firing Molitor is becoming a realistic probability again? I have seen a few interviews with managers like Kevin Cash in Tampa - young managers that aren't afraid to rock the boat and get unconventional. Gabe Kapler is a weirdo but he has the Phillies 7 games above .500 right now. Cash in particular seems like the type of guy I'd want leading my clubhouse as opposed to our hometown boy.

Had to do a double-take: Twins are now behind Detroit and sitting in 3rd. The Twins avoid Corey Kluber this next series somehow, which gives us a small glimmer of hope. Sano is the real deal. Chatter about sending him down or trading him for dog chow should cease. Nice to see Dozier hitting. More of this, please. A comeback victory would have been a real shot in the arm for the Twins. Too bad it didn't happen, another shoulda-coulda-woulda. Hard to be hopeful about much right now.

The solution of "just bunt from now on" won't work, because Buxton's bunting is only going to become a factor if he is also a threat to get regular base hits. He has to fix the hitting thing first, THEN start bunting. If he starts trying to bunt every time, when he fails it's only going to magnify the boogyman in his head that says "I CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT". We just have to let him go up there and take his hacks. I think he's in real danger of being sent down in a week or so if he doesn't produce. It worked last year and I believe Buxton's complete lack of confidence is going to force the Twins' hand yet again unless he does something soon. Quite unfortunate.

When I saw him come in last night I thought "awww jeeez. Could we be looking at Buxton's MLB future"? What I really hope does not happen is that the Twins end up trading him for chopped liver, and he goes on to great success elsewhere. It's happened before with Hicks. It's embarrassing to see the Twins bungle can't miss talent. I think we're all very angry right now so I am aware I'm probably being a bit over dramatic. I find it strange that Buxton sat last night after putting the ball in play 4 times and getting a hit in Game 1.

I have to agree. Pinch Run. Steal. THEN sacrifice. Now Morrison's fly ball scores a run. Easier said from this side of the dugout I'm sure, but still I hear ya.

If the team's gonna be bad, I'd prefer the Twins to be a bad pitching team. A crappy team that can hit is much more enjoyable to watch. Every game is the same game, and they are excruciating to watch. It's like watching an NFL team run the ball up the middle for 1 yard, every single play. Gag.

I re-watched Buxton's ABs: AB 1: Solid ground ball single to left AB 2: Ground out to deep short - he may have beat the throw to 1st, but the SS went to 2nd for a force play AB 3: Bad push-bunt to 1st base. AB 4: Got down 0-2, battled to work a 3-2 count but struck out with men on 1st and 2nd AB 5: Line drive to center field, hit the ball on the nose right at the guy Not great, but not quite as hopeless as it has been. He was moving in the right direction with last night's game. BTW, interesting that KC chose to pitch to Garver last night with a base open and Buxton on deck. I'd have walked Garver and let Buxton bat with the bases loaded if I were them.

I re-watched Buxton's ABs: AB 1: Solid ground ball single to left AB 2: Ground out to deep short - he may have beat the throw to 1st, but the SS went to 2nd for a force play AB 3: Bad push-bunt to 1st base. AB 4: Got down 0-2, battled to work a 3-2 count but struck out with men on 1st and 2nd AB 5: Line drive to center field, hit the ball on the nose right at the guy Not great, but not quite as hopeless as it has been. He was moving in the right direction with last night's game. BTW, interesting that KC chose to pitch to Garver last night with a base open and Buxton on deck. I'd have walked Garver and let Buxton bat with the bases loaded if I were them.

Two out hitting. The Twins scored 6 runs on 2-out hits. Miguel Sano. He matters. That HR lit a fire, no doubt about it.

Chasing outside Bux. Rats.