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How much does veteran leadership cost? Well, on Sunday afternoon it cost the Twins nine runs. Matt Belisle and Craig Breslow got crushed, blowing a game the Twins were leading 5-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh. Despite the ugly loss, it’s a pretty amazing time to be a Twins fan right now. The team is still in first place after going 6-4 on a West Coast road trip and tomorrow they’ll finally be making their choice for the No. 1 pick in the draft. Byron Buxton even had a good game today!Giants 13, Twins 8 Box Score Win Expectancy (via Fangraphs) Download attachment: WX611.png It would probably be an appropriate time to write a eulogy for Matt Belise’s pitching career, but nobody would take any joy in that. It’s been a good run, he’s been a big leaguer for 14 years, but after getting rocked for four runs in 0.2 innings, his ERA is all the way up to 8.59. With his reputation, I’m sure he’ll have no trouble staying in the game as some type of a coach if he so chooses. No roster moves have been announced, but you have to figure it’s only a matter of time now. What's gone wrong for Belisle? Well along with an increase in walks (BB percent is up from 3.8 in 2016 to 13.6 this year), he's giving up more hard contact and more fly balls. That's a recipe for disaster. Info below via Fangraphs: Download attachment: Screenshot 2017-06-12 at 6.57.51 AM.png Craig Breslow, one-upped Belisle by giving up five runs in the eighth. He had been pitching fairly well prior to tonight’s meltdown, but almost exclusively in low-leverage situations. Both Belisle and Breslow were added over the offseason in large part to add leadership to the bullpen. We'll see just how much the team values that leadership based on how much longer they stick around. The big intrigue leading into this one surrounded Nik Turley making his major league debut. Things got off to a rough start, as the 27-year-old lefty gave up a pair of runs in the first inning. His teammates picked him up by tying the game in the bottom of the first. Turley settled in some after that, but he only pitched four innings, giving up four runs on eight hits. He had four strikeouts and did not walk a batter. Brooks Baseball had Turley maxing out at 95 mph, and he managed to get eight swinging strikes on 73 pitches (10.95 percent whiff rate). It wasn’t a great start by any means, but he probably won’t be taking the next flight to Rochester, either. Lord knows Turley’s traveled enough this season. Here’s a look at all the transactions he’s been involved in so far this season, via MiLB.com: Download attachment: TurlyTransactions.png Eduardo Escobar had a big night, going 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. Byron Buxton had two hits, one of them a home run, and also made a four-star catch, according to Statcast. Today Twins (Adalberto Mejia, 4.18 ERA) vs. Seattle (Yovani Gallardo, 6.26 ERA), 7:10 pm CT This will be a rematch from Wednesday, which the Mariners won on a walk-off homer. Seattle scored three runs off Mejia over his five innings pitched, but only managed a pair of hits (both home runs) off the lefty in that contest. Gallardo went seven innings in that game, giving up five runs. He’s pitched well at Target Field over his career, logging a 3.65 ERA over four starts. AL Central Standings Twins 32-27 Cleveland 31-29 (-1.5) Detroit 30-32 (-3.5) Kansas City 28-34 (-5.5) Chicago 26-35 (-7.0) From Yesterday’s Game Unfortunately, some of the really cool, fun stuff I like to look at isn’t always available right when I write these up. Here’s Kennys Vargas’ monster homer at AT&T Park from Saturday with a Target Field overlay vis ESPN's Home Run Tracker: Download attachment: VargasTF.jpg Click here to view the article

Paul Molitor wasn't thrilled to be handed a 13-man pitching staff and three-man bench on Opening Day. Despite the team's success in these first seven games, he isn't feeling much better about it now. The manager has already been hamstrung on multiple occasions, including the end of a Tuesday loss which left him sounding a little exasperated. Something needs to change soon. That means the Twins have a tough decision to make.Operating with just three position backups, all of whom are more or less defensive specialists, has limited Molitor's ability to tweak and plug into the lineup. When he wanted to give DH Robbie Grossman a day off Saturday, the uninspiring replacement was utility infielder Eduardo Escobar. On Tuesday, when Molitor opted to sit first baseman Joe Mauer and right fielder Max Kepler against a left-hander, the fill-ins at two premium offensive positions were Chris Gimenez and Danny Santana – the two worst bats on the roster. Late in the game, the manager was unable to pinch-run for Jason Castro, standing on second as the tying run, because Joe Mauer had just singled him there after pinch-hitting for Castro's backup. Meanwhile, the extra arms have yielded Molitor no benefit. Sure, Twins starters have surprisingly pitched deep into most games, but the eight-man bullpen would be extreme overkill regardless. In the first eight days of the season, Justin Haley, Tyler Duffey and Michael Tonkin got into games twice apiece. Craig Breslow recorded one single out. In theory, the roster that Minnesota opened this season with was palatable for a brief period. In practice, it's a joke. The front office must realize that it's unfair and, frankly, ill-advised to keep this competitive handicap in play. Molitor emphasized at the conclusion of camp his belief that the unideal initial setup was "short-term." He is no doubt ready to move on and restore some balance. The Twins have a few different options for doing so. The easy choice is calling up Kennys Vargas. He's healthy and made his fourth straight start in Rochester on Tuesday, slugging his first home run. Choosing a pitcher to remove from the bullpen, which has been stunningly effective in the early going, is less easy. We know the late-inning core of Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Pressly, Matt Belisle and Taylor Rogers will remain intact. After that, it gets a little trickier. Rule 5 pick Justin Haley has more or less proven his worth, with a clean one-inning debut followed by a long relief outing in Chicago that was going swimmingly through three innings before a pair of homers knocked him out. He seems safe. Tyler Duffey is the obvious pick if the team still views him as a starter. He could go to Triple-A, get stretched out and be ready to step into the rotation when needed. But are they still viewing him that way? Should they? Though he was framed as a swingman coming out of camp, Duffey's usage has not been reflective of such. Instead, he's been a high-leverage crutch for Molitor. And unsurprisingly, the righty has looked excellent in short bursts, flashing the stuff of a legit setup man. Why mess with that after he put up a 6.43 ERA in the Twins rotation last year? If Duffey will indeed accompany Pressly and Belisle as a late-inning weapon, it sort of marginalizes Michael Tonkin, who currently appears to have no real purpose on the roster. His two appearances have come in the two losses, both with the team down multiple runs. Once again, he is being used as a mop-up man, a role that suits him poorly. It's not evident from the first handful of games that he's gained any additional trust from Molitor. Then again, the Twins went out of their way to keep Tonkin out of spring, and he hasn't really done anything to lose favor on his end. Then there's Craig Breslow. He's made one appearance, relieving Kyle Gibson in the third game against the Royals. Molitor pulled him after three batters, and didn't turn to the veteran lefty in any of the next four contests. In his lone outing, Breslow threw only four of 11 pitches for strikes. In spring training, he walked seven over nine innings. The reinvented southpaw might have impressive spin and movement on his pitches, but there's no evidence he can command them. Clearly he doesn't have the manager's faith. So it seems there are three options at play if the Twins want to add a bat in short order. They can send out Duffey and get him back on a starting regimen in Rochester. They can expose Tonkin to waivers with hopes he'll have better odds of passing through now than at the end of spring. Or they can pull the plug on Breslow, whom they just handed a 40-man roster spot, after one outing. I'm not sure what the best option is, though I'd probably lean toward Breslow. I do know that the Twins need to cut down on pitchers and bulk up their bench, and I'm guessing everyone reading this will agree. What's your move? Click here to view the article

The Twins made their final bullpen roster moves today, reassigning Nick Tepesch and Alex Wimmers to minor league camp. While the official roster is not set, those moves clarify the likely bullpen. It is not an impressive group. Brandon Kintzler will return as a closer. The 32-year-old took over the closer job for the Twins last year when Glen Perkins was injured and saved 17 games. He also struck out 5.8 guys per nine innings pitched, which puts him well below the average strikeout rate of a major league pitcher (which is 8.1 K/9), let alone a major league closer.Free agent signee Matt Belisle will be one of the right-handed setup men. He is 36 years old and this is his fourth team in the last four years. His strikeout rate last year was 6.8 K/9. He and Kintzler have been effective, but It is safe to posit that on many teams, they would be trusted to be seventh inning setup men, at best. Indeed, that was their role on their teams the year before they joined the Twins. The other right-handed setup men have a little more upside, but fewer results. Ryan Pressly is 28 years old and put up an average strikeout rate (8.0 K/9) and showed added velocity during spring training. Michael Tonkin is even younger (27 years old) and had an even higher strikeout rate (10.0 K/9), but was homer-prone last year (13 HR in 71.1 IP) and again in spring training (3 HR in 12.1 IP). He had a poor spring training and it is likely that being out of options (which means the Twins could lose him if he didn’t make the roster) is why he made the roster. The left-handed relievers have a similar "veteran/youngster" profile as the right-handers. The veteran is Craig Breslow, a 36-year-old who the Twins signed on a minor-league deal this offseason. The “youngster” is 26-year-old Taylor Rogers who is truly tough on lefties (547 OPS against in 2016) but is unlikely to expand that role due to his troubles against right-handed hitters (811 OPS against in 2016). Finally, the swingman will be 25-year-old Justin Haley, who is also likely on the roster due to his status as a Rule 5 pick. If he did not make the roster, the Twins would need to return him to the Red Sox. It’s not difficult to justify each of these players having a spot in a major league bullpen. And with the exception of the decision to demote JT Chargois, it’s probably the best group that could come north with the team. But this is a group of back-of-the-bullpen talents, some of which are going to be saddled with high-leverage bullpen roles. Twins manager Paul Molitor seems to understand this. “I think we’re going to have to do some mixing and matching towards the end,” said Molitor last week, “with Kintzler on the backside, so, we’ll see how it goes.” There is a scenario where this bullpen is successful. “My hope is that between the experience and the talent - some still developing - that it’s going to be better,” said Molitor. But there are a lot of scenarios where the opposite is true and the lack of tools that are at Molitor’s discretion is an organizational problem. The one thing a bad team should be able to do is find good relief arms; they have all the advantages in that area. They have the first pick in waivers. They have innings to invest. They have opportunities for under-the-radar free agents. They have higher draft picks. They can trade veterans for younger, still developing arms. The advantages go on and on. That the Twins have utterly failed in this area after six years of futility is the most damning indictment of the Terry Ryan front office. But just so we’re clear, the new leadership has not garnered immediate results either. The biggest change so far is adding the journeyman reliever Belisle. There were no obvious diamonds in the rough discovered in spring training this year that provide hope that 2017 will be any better than the previous six years. We'll see how it goes. The tension that Twins fans will feel at the end of ballgames is, for now, the same as the tension fans of the other 29 teams feel as their bullpen tries to nail down a win. But the feeling today - of skepticism after six years of cringing - is uniquely their own. Click here to view the article

Between several courses as the Iron Door Pub, Aaron and John debate just how far out of favor Byung-Ho Park has fallen, welcome Matt Belisle and discuss where he fits into the Twins 2017 bullpen, debate the contract status and pronunciation of Ehire Adrianza, cover Aaron's new condo news and whether it means he'll need a new Casper mattress, review the departure and return of Craig Breslow and recall Aaron's first concert experience. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this linkhttp://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Click here to view the article