All Things 2021 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

Donate To GopherHole
BleedGopher said:
I can't get over how f'n soft this franchise is. It's a constant parade of seemingly minor injuries, few players playing through them and it rubs off on others. I get that we suck, but that's in part because this franchise is SOFT.




This is embarrassing.

Win Twins!!
Click to expand...
How often do the Twins use the term "Player X is being held out for precautionary measures"? Yes, MLB is different in that it's a marathon and not a sprint. But good grief. Football players are out there with broken bones, a serious flu that requires IV fluids over halftime, etc., and when coming back from injury when being interviewed about their health will often say something like "I'm at maybe 90%". Many, many players will hobble through an injury all season, and wait to get surgery until the offseason.

Which pitcher was held out of a start earlier this year due to a blister? I can't remember who, but I just shook my head. They didn't even bump him up in the subsequent rotation, so he effectively had 10 days off because of a blister. I'm obviously not a professional pitcher and don't fully understand the situation. But seriously, can't you just pop the blister and paint some of that fake skin stuff over it to keep it sealed up and let 'er rip? Maybe you're in pain and not pitching at 100%, but you're already only pitching every 5th day, and only 80-90 pitches (because you know, analytics) at that. You can't tough it out?

edit: Byron at 90% is still faster and more capable than the majority of major leaguers. Get him out there.
 
Last edited:

GophersInIowa said:
He'll get paid by someone.
Click to expand...
Getting a payday from one of maybe a handful of teams able to financially deal with the risk involved with him not playing does not "make him a superstar". Those two things are not necessarily intertwined. Buxton CAN be good, but fool me once, shame on me. Fool me 53 times, shame on Byron. The likelihood of Buxton staying healthy long enough to "become a superstar" at this point looks to be miniscule.
 


Rather than "soft" I would say the Twins are Extremely conservative when it comes to handling injuries. Reusse has been calling Rocco "Doc Roc" because of the way he deals with injuries.

Rocco made it very plain in his comments. he does not want Buxton playing until Buxton is 100%. I will note that one of the beat writers watched Buxton work out on the field, and the writer said it appeared to the naked eye that Buxton did not look right when he was trying to go full speed.

it's a no-win situation. If they hold Buxton back, fans scream that he should be playing. if they put Buxton in the lineup, and he aggravates the injury, fans scream that they brought him back too soon - or just go back to "Buxton is always hurt."
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
2 solid starts in a row, he looks legit - good command of the zone, three pitches he can throw for strikes and not scared to be in the Big Leagues. I like him as a 3/4 spot in the rotation.

Sock 'Em Rocko needs to stretch him out next start for Pete's Sake.
Click to expand...
He's 25 years old and has never thrown as many as 79 innings in a season. Last year he didn't pitch at all. He's already at 33 innings this year. My guess is that they would like to keep him somewhere around 100 innings for the year. If they could get a 12 or 13 more 5-inning starts out of him, I think that they would be happy.
 


2nd Degree Gopher said:
He's 25 years old and has never thrown as many as 79 innings in a season. Last year he didn't pitch at all. He's already at 33 innings this year. My guess is that they would like to keep him somewhere around 100 innings for the year. If they could get a 12 or 13 more 5-inning starts out of him, I think that they would be happy.
Click to expand...
Good info - thanks.

i once faced a 6'7" pitcher and it freaked me out as the ball just seemed to be there so much quicker.

Fun to see guys like him, Larnich, AK and Gordo make the most of their opportunities and contribute - makes me less bitter🤣🤣!
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Rather than "soft" I would say the Twins are Extremely conservative when it comes to handling injuries. Reusse has been calling Rocco "Doc Roc" because of the way he deals with injuries.

Rocco made it very plain in his comments. he does not want Buxton playing until Buxton is 100%. I will note that one of the beat writers watched Buxton work out on the field, and the writer said it appeared to the naked eye that Buxton did not look right when he was trying to go full speed.

it's a no-win situation. If they hold Buxton back, fans scream that he should be playing. if they put Buxton in the lineup, and he aggravates the injury, fans scream that they brought him back too soon - or just go back to "Buxton is always hurt."
Click to expand...

This franchise is SOFT! This pre-dates Rocco, Buxton, etc. SOFT.

They used to have an edge, an attitude of sorts. It's been gone for too long.

Win Twins!!
 






It is surprising to me, how bad the Twins are, compared to the last two years. I did not see that coming.
 

LakevilleBro said:
It is surprising to me, how bad the Twins are, compared to the last two years. I did not see that coming.
Click to expand...
Nobody did.

From best to worst in AL Pithing in one year is crazy. Will be interesting to see if Maeda can get close to last year's form in the future or if last year was a total fluke.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Rather than "soft" I would say the Twins are Extremely conservative when it comes to handling injuries. Reusse has been calling Rocco "Doc Roc" because of the way he deals with injuries.

Rocco made it very plain in his comments. he does not want Buxton playing until Buxton is 100%. I will note that one of the beat writers watched Buxton work out on the field, and the writer said it appeared to the naked eye that Buxton did not look right when he was trying to go full speed.

it's a no-win situation. If they hold Buxton back, fans scream that he should be playing. if they put Buxton in the lineup, and he aggravates the injury, fans scream that they brought him back too soon - or just go back to "Buxton is always hurt."
Click to expand...
In short, fans are the worst!
 



I don't buy the lack of "grit" or "nasty" statements, for the Twins current situation. Neither of those impact throwing the ball with velocity or movement. Their pitching just stinks.

Donaldson has those qualities, but he's underperforming, so it matters not.

Being gritty/nasty may yield a run here or there, so they would be what 12 or 13 games out instead of 15?!?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Rather than "soft" I would say the Twins are Extremely conservative when it comes to handling injuries. Reusse has been calling Rocco "Doc Roc" because of the way he deals with injuries.

Rocco made it very plain in his comments. he does not want Buxton playing until Buxton is 100%. I will note that one of the beat writers watched Buxton work out on the field, and the writer said it appeared to the naked eye that Buxton did not look right when he was trying to go full speed.

it's a no-win situation. If they hold Buxton back, fans scream that he should be playing. if they put Buxton in the lineup, and he aggravates the injury, fans scream that they brought him back too soon - or just go back to "Buxton is always hurt."
Click to expand...
IIRC, Rocco's excuse in the past was that they weren't going to play guys less than 100% throughout the season in the hopes that all players were healthy for the playoffs. Well, that obviously is not happening this year. Add in a North American professional sports record for playoff futility would indicate whatever it is you're doing isn't necessarily working. I'm not saying that holding guys out during the regular season prevented them from winning playoff games. Rather, I think it's an entire mentality throughout the organization that you just punt when faced with any level of adversity. You cannot play through ANY injuries. You cannot pitch more than 6 innings or 100 pitches, no matter the situation. You cannot go against the analytics in any situation. You cannot call out players as a manager and hold their feet to the fire. Like BLEED said, they're SOFT. You are a f'n pro athlete, many of whom are making millions of dollars to play a game. You can play a little dinged up. If Buxton reaggravates injuries any time he plays at less than 100%, trade him and get the best haul you can. You can't help your team sitting on the bench. Buxton playing in the OF at even 80% is better than throwing Nick Gordon out there.
 

On the pitching, I am starting to have real questions about Wes Johnson.

It seems like he has been able to get some early results, but the results don't seem to last. Duffey had a big up-tick in velocity, but now he's back to where he used to be.

and Johnson seems like he wants everyone on the staff to just throw sliders 80% of the time.

I just don't know if that approach works in today's game. You need a couple of guys who can come in from the pen and throw 97+ late in a game - not some guy trying to get hitters to chase an 85-mph slider that's a foot out of the strike zone.

after all the analytics and high-tech approaches to pitching, I'm starting to get nostalgic for the Dick Such school of pitching - "work fast, throw strikes."
 

Buxton Alert - Buxton Alert.

The Twins have activated Byron Buxton and he will be in the starting lineup today (Saturday) vs Texas. YEA!

But - they also optioned Willians Austudillo to Triple-A to clear a spot on the major league roster. BOO!
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Buxton Alert - Buxton Alert.

The Twins have activated Byron Buxton and he will be in the starting lineup today (Saturday) vs Texas. YEA!

But - they also optioned Willians Austudillo to Triple-A to clear a spot on the major league roster. BOO!
Click to expand...
Bummer to lose one of their most effective guys from the bullpen.

Go Saints.
 




Buxton remove from the game after getting hit be a pitch on the hand.

 


Always take the “under” when betting on number of games played by Buxton in a season.
 

Despite all the talent in the world, no team, including the Twins, will invest in Buxton long term.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Despite all the talent in the world, no team, including the Twins, will invest in Buxton long term.
Click to expand...

I wonder if the solution would be to give a deal with a solid base salary, $10-12 M/year and then incentive laden hinging on games played (ie $1 M for every 10-15) that would get well over $20 M if he plays 140 games.
 




Ope3 said:
I wonder if the solution would be to give a deal with a solid base salary, $10-12 M/year and then incentive laden hinging on games played (ie $1 M for every 10-15) that would get well over $20 M if he plays 140 games.
Click to expand...
Yes, but I think your # are too low. They'll have to pay him $18-20 and add $3-5 m in incentives for plate appearances. There are limits to how much can be tied to incentives and he's a $30 million player when he plays.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom