2019 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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Win Twins!!
 

$10 million a year. He's not here to sit on the bench. Will be interesting how Baldelli uses him. He played more OF than IF last year. I'd guess roving starts in LF/RF, 3B, SS. One good thing it does is indirectly provide a fallback for Sano/Buxton. If they continue to suck/get hurt, you can put either Gonzalez or Polanco at 3B or put Gonzalez in LF or RF and shift Rosario/Kepler to CF.

Now go sign Kuchel and another reliever. They have constructed what could be a very good offense and have a pitching staff that is shaky as hell. If we're going to try and compete, go all in.
 

howeda7 said:
$10 million a year. He's not here to sit on the bench. Will be interesting how Baldelli uses him. He played more OF than IF last year. I'd guess roving starts in LF/RF, 3B, SS. One good thing it does is indirectly provide a fallback for Sano/Buxton. If they continue to suck/get hurt, you can put either Gonzalez or Polanco at 3B or put Gonzalez in LF or RF and shift Rosario/Kepler to CF.

Now go sign Kuchel and another reliever. They have constructed what could be a very good offense and have a pitching staff that is shaky as hell. If we're going to try and compete, go all in.
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Agreed, will be interesting to see.
 

howeda7 said:
$10 million a year. He's not here to sit on the bench. Will be interesting how Baldelli uses him. He played more OF than IF last year. I'd guess roving starts in LF/RF, 3B, SS. One good thing it does is indirectly provide a fallback for Sano/Buxton. If they continue to suck/get hurt, you can put either Gonzalez or Polanco at 3B or put Gonzalez in LF or RF and shift Rosario/Kepler to CF.

Now go sign Kuchel and another reliever. They have constructed what could be a very good offense and have a pitching staff that is shaky as hell. If we're going to try and compete, go all in.
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Yeah this signing is weird. It's a lot to pay to just add quality depth. If our expectations were higher it would make a lot more sense but I'd almost rather have them play a young guy if buxton/sano continue to get hurt or not hack it.
 

I could see Gonzales used as a super-utility player. Basically move him around the lineup, so that the starters at 3B, SS, LF, etc get a day off once a week. Gonzales can be in the lineup somewhere in (let's say) 5 of every 7 games. Also, use him for matchups against specific pitchers based on the ........wait for it......analytics. he should get plenty of AB's in that role. He could also DH if Cruz needs a day off.
 


bottlebass said:
Yeah this signing is weird. It's a lot to pay to just add quality depth. If our expectations were higher it would make a lot more sense but I'd almost rather have them play a young guy if buxton/sano continue to get hurt or not hack it.
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I'm wondering if the Twins aren't exactly enamored with a Cron/Austin combo at 1B. This guy plays every position outside of the battery:
2018 Games by Position: 1B (24) 2B (32) 3B (3) SS (39) LF (73) CF (2) RF (1)
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I could see Gonzales used as a super-utility player. Basically move him around the lineup, so that the starters at 3B, SS, LF, etc get a day off once a week. Gonzales can be in the lineup somewhere in (let's say) 5 of every 7 games. Also, use him for matchups against specific pitchers based on the ........wait for it......analytics. he should get plenty of AB's in that role. He could also DH if Cruz needs a day off.
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Exactly this. He'll still get plenty of at-bats. Will be glad to not see anymore of those Sunday lineups like we saw with Molitor where all the backups started on the same day.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Exactly this. He'll still get plenty of at-bats. Will be glad to not see anymore of those Sunday lineups like we saw with Molitor where all the backups started on the same day.
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Fills the role that Escobar played, with maybe more position flexibility, and a little more pop with the bat.
 

get some bullpen help please.
 



Big Sunday STrib profile: The time is now for Twins' Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton

The three men sat down at a table next to the water on the elegant beach restaurant’s huge outdoor patio. A waiter brought them plates full of freshly caught fish, cooked on a bed of rice and vegetables, and the diners dug in.

As Miguel Sano and Fred Guerrero, the Twins scout who signed Sano a decade ago in this very same restaurant, listened between bites of dinner, Rocco Baldelli began voicing the message he had come all the way to the Dominican Republic to deliver.

But Baldelli’s words didn’t matter. Just being there was the message.

“I was very happy he came to see me,” Sano said. “He wants me to have a good year. It’s important.”

Message received.

Perhaps no factor is more important to the 2019 Twins and their new manager than the revival of Sano’s career, unless it’s the revival of Byron Buxton’s. Those two teammates — the large, loud slugger from the Caribbean and the lithe, quiet speedster from rural Georgia — have been paired in fans’ minds for seven years, since Buxton was drafted with the second overall pick in 2012. Buxton and Sano, Sano and Buxton … they have been linked by their obvious, outsized baseball talent and central role in the team’s future, but also by their persistent injuries and exasperating inconsistency.

“I got here in 2013, when those guys were probably still in [Class] A ball, and people were already talking about them as the centerpiece of our future,” Kyle Gibson said. “When you’ve got big talent like those guys, people want you to turn into stars right now, this minute, instead of giving them room and time to grow. But that’s not how this works.”

They are both only 25 and neither has yet reached 400 major league games. Yet it sometimes feels like they are already icons of a fading era, written off by impatient fans and about as likely to be heading toward the door as toward the greatness long predicted for them. Sano has hit some mammoth home runs, but he’s also prone to chasing pitches, producing flurries of strikeouts. Buxton is a transformative outfielder and record-setting baserunner, but he has yet to become comfortable with a swing and find his confidence at the plate.

http://www.startribune.com/the-time-is-now-for-twins-miguel-sano-byron-buxton/506277202/

Win Twins!!
 


Charley Walters: Twins’ latest signing shows they’re serious about winning AL Central

This weekend’s acquisition of utility player Marwin Gonzalez for $21 million shows the Twins are serious about catching Cleveland in the American League Central Division.

“We have the utmost respect for Cleveland — they certainly have been the class of our division for the last handful of seasons,” Twins general manager Thad Levine said Saturday. “Our goal all along has been to put ourselves in a position to win the division, not just to vie for a wild card.

“We want to bring home (playoff) games to the Minnesota Twins fans. So all the decisions we make from this point forward are with that goal in mind.”

The Twins finished a distant second to the Indians the previous two seasons.

Gonzalez, who turns 30 next month, received market value from the Twins for the two-year deal. Levine said there was no difficulty in getting approval from owner Jim Pohlad.

“We’ve had his support all along,” Levine said. “I know there’s been a lot of commentary this offseason about our payroll. It’s just the nature of these markets as they’re going later and later. It’s challenging for fans, but you really have to assess what the team has invested come Opening Day, almost, now instead of just opening day of spring training.”

https://www.twincities.com/2019/02/...hows-theyre-serious-about-winning-al-central/

Win Twins!!
 

GophersInIowa said:
Exactly this. He'll still get plenty of at-bats. Will be glad to not see anymore of those Sunday lineups like we saw with Molitor where all the backups started on the same day.
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Gardy was worse than Molitor on that front. The thing I never understood - Sunday is typically one of the best-attended games of the week. For a Sunday home game, in front of a large crowd, why would you run the junior varsity team out there? Why not use the 'alternate' lineup on a Wednesday or Thursday night?
 



short ornery norwegian said:
Gardy was worse than Molitor on that front. The thing I never understood - Sunday is typically one of the best-attended games of the week. For a Sunday home game, in front of a large crowd, why would you run the junior varsity team out there? Why not use the 'alternate' lineup on a Wednesday or Thursday night?
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I imagine it was because of a day game after a night game. But there’s no reason you can’t spread out the days off more.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Gardy was worse than Molitor on that front. The thing I never understood - Sunday is typically one of the best-attended games of the week. For a Sunday home game, in front of a large crowd, why would you run the junior varsity team out there? Why not use the 'alternate' lineup on a Wednesday or Thursday night?
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That was one of those things that Tom Kelly started and Gardy perpetuated whether it was a good idea or not.
 

Bad Gopher said:
That was one of those things that Tom Kelly started and Gardy perpetuated whether it was a good idea or not.
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Some players (cough Dan Gladden cough) and others weren't always fully "alert" for day games after night games. I imagine it's still the case at times today, though probably not as common.
 

So what's everyone's prediction for a record this season? I'll say 84-78.

My bold prediction is either Buxton or Sano will be an All-Star.
 



It's hard to make a prediction with the current state of the pitching staff. I, for one, would like to hear more about Rocco's plans for the rotation. If the Twins do not add another starter, I could see them using the "opener" at least once and possibly twice in every trip through the rotation. If they don't use the opener, it could be a bullpen game where they try to get 3-4 innings from two different pitchers.

But, as of now, the starters are Berrios, Odorizzi, Gibson (coming back from E-Coli and lost 20 lbs) and Pineda (coming back from Tommy John and knee surgery). That is not going to strike fear into the hearts of too many batters.

Oh - I forgot Perez - a classic lefty slop-baller. now that makes the rotation solid.

Like I said, get used to the 'opener.'
 

Buxton is 5/5 in spring, with 2 HRs and 10 RBI.

Win Twins!!
 

I agree with Nate Silver. Baseball should limit the number of pitchers on the active roster to 10 with an exception for doubleheaders. The games would go faster and strikeouts would decline.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
It's hard to make a prediction with the current state of the pitching staff. I, for one, would like to hear more about Rocco's plans for the rotation. If the Twins do not add another starter, I could see them using the "opener" at least once and possibly twice in every trip through the rotation. If they don't use the opener, it could be a bullpen game where they try to get 3-4 innings from two different pitchers.

But, as of now, the starters are Berrios, Odorizzi, Gibson (coming back from E-Coli and lost 20 lbs) and Pineda (coming back from Tommy John and knee surgery). That is not going to strike fear into the hearts of too many batters.

Oh - I forgot Perez - a classic lefty slop-baller. now that makes the rotation solid.

Like I said, get used to the 'opener.'
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Agreed. They need to not just stick one toe in to trying to win the division. Go get Kuechel.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
I agree with Nate Silver. Baseball should limit the number of pitchers on the active roster to 10 with an exception for doubleheaders. The games would go faster and strikeouts would decline.
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I'm gonna guess that the MLB Players Association would never ever agree to a roster change like that. Fewer players in the majors, fewer players contributing to the union, bad all around for the players. Not a terrible idea, but never ever gonna happen.
 

howeda7 said:
Agreed. They need to not just stick one toe in to trying to win the division. Go get Kuechel.
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I keep thinking: what if they get late into the season, and they're in contention, and now it's like, if we'd only signed one of the pitchers that was begging to be signed.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I'm gonna guess that the MLB Players Association would never ever agree to a roster change like that. Fewer players in the majors, fewer players contributing to the union, bad all around for the players. Not a terrible idea, but never ever gonna happen.
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Actually, the union wouldn't object regarding jobs because the active roster would still be 25 players. You'd simply have more hitters on the pine than pitchers in the bullpen.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
I agree with Nate Silver. Baseball should limit the number of pitchers on the active roster to 10 with an exception for doubleheaders. The games would go faster and strikeouts would decline.
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I would think it would be a wash for the most part. The scoring would probably increase because teams would have no choice but to keep a pitcher in for an extended period of time even if they're getting shelled because the bullpen is already gassed. That would also mean longer games.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I would think it would be a wash for the most part. The scoring would probably increase because teams would have no choice but to keep a pitcher in for an extended period of time even if they're getting shelled because the bullpen is already gassed. That would also mean longer games.
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I agree with this.

Plus, hitters know strikes would be coming
 

Shortening careers of all pitchers. Yeah, they'll go for that.
 

GopherJake said:
Shortening careers of all pitchers. Yeah, they'll go for that.
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Incredibly dumb argument. They've shortened the careers of hitters by going to 12 and 13 man rotations. More hitters would get jobs. This would be the reverse and how baseball operated 15 years ago. Less strikeouts, more action. Time might not change. There would be less pitching changes, but presumably more offense. Then again, there'd probably be more pitching to contact to lower pitch counts. So who knows?
 

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