All Things 2021 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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on Maeda - I looked this up.

Last year he threw a total of 66 innings.
This season, he has now thrown 67 innings, and we're not at the all-star break yet.

So the Twins are using the old "abundance of caution" because they don't want to over-work players.

Hey - it drives me nuts, too, but that is where we're at now with analytics driving everything. They treat pitchers like they're made of glass.

FWIW - in Sandy Koufax' Cy Young seasons in '63, '65 and '66 when he was pitching as well as anyone in baseball history, before or since, he logged 311 innings, 335 innings and 323 innings pitched.

In 1968, Bob Gibson threw 304 innings with a 1.12 ERA.

In 2019 - the last full season, Berrios led the Twins in innings pitched with.....200-1/3.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
on Maeda - I looked this up.

Last year he threw a total of 66 innings.
This season, he has now thrown 67 innings, and we're not at the all-star break yet.

So the Twins are using the old "abundance of caution" because they don't want to over-work players.

Hey - it drives me nuts, too, but that is where we're at now with analytics driving everything. They treat pitchers like they're made of glass.

FWIW - in Sandy Koufax' Cy Young seasons in '63, '65 and '66 when he was pitching as well as anyone in baseball history, before or since, he logged 311 innings, 335 innings and 323 innings pitched.

In 1968, Bob Gibson threw 304 innings with a 1.12 ERA.

In 2019 - the last full season, Berrios led the Twins in innings pitched with.....200-1/3.
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Koufax blew out his arm.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Your streak was disrupted by Covid just as mine was with the Belmont Stake, as this was an "Act of God", so I don't consider our streaks broken. I simply say that I've attended every single year that fans were allowed.
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Sounds reasonable, plus 2020 was an abbreviated season.

My other 2 close calls were also shortened campaigns, due to labor strife, 1981 & 1995. Only went once each year, though '81 was a Double Header, my last visit to the Met.
 
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TruthSeeker said:
Koufax blew out his arm.
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actually, it was arthritis. If you go back to that era, a lot of pitchers threw close to 300 innings a season. Teams used 4-man rotations, so your top starters would routinely get 40+ starts a season. By comparison, in 2019, Berrios led the Twins with 32 starts and Odorizzi had 30.
 

Baseball is regression to the mean on steroids. Management constructed a terrible bullpen. Team is reaching the All Star the same way the season started: with gut wrenching blown saves. Two seasons under current administration now ruined by inept relief pitching: 2018 & 2021.
 


Jorge Polanco with a walk off 3 run homer wins it for the Twins. wow.
 


From the Parkinglot said:
I am convinced that Berrios wants nothing to do with the twins since he was taken out of the Houston game in the playoffs last year. The guy was rolling and everyone says he’s not an ace. Then when he throwing like an ace in the playoffs (a place the twins had lost 17 times in a row) they pull him.
The twins seems to forget that these are human beings and not robots programmed to do exactly what the book says.
In the garbage game in July there is no reason not ot let Maeda keep pitching. It’s not like you’re worried about any playoff innings.
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Nah, Berrios will leave (or more likely be dealt prior), for 1 simple reason. $$$
 

In the crazy Twins-Tigers game on Sunday, I think the play of the game may have been the defensive play by Kirilloff where he snagged a hot shot and beat a speedy runner to 1B.

Assuming Nelson Cruz gets dealt by the trade deadline, I want Kirilloff at 1B full-time. Let Sano DH.

I would also like to see Gordon get a chance to play at least 3 or 4 games a week to see if he can hit major league pitching on a regular basis.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
In the crazy Twins-Tigers game on Sunday, I think the play of the game may have been the defensive play by Kirilloff where he snagged a hot shot and beat a speedy runner to 1B.

Assuming Nelson Cruz gets dealt by the trade deadline, I want Kirilloff at 1B full-time. Let Sano DH.

I would also like to see Gordon get a chance to play at least 3 or 4 games a week to see if he can hit major league pitching on a regular basis.
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Gordon needs to play everyday, whether that’s center field or middle infield. I am hope if they can get rid of Sano’s $10 million for next year and keep Kiriloff at 1st base for the next 12 years.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
Gordon needs to play everyday, whether that’s center field or middle infield. I am hope if they can get rid of Sano’s $10 million for next year and keep Kiriloff at 1st base for the next 12 years.
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I'd take a shot on Sano if I was a team if he was outrighted or the Twinks pick up half of the freight or more; tell his fat arse to get in shape or we'll cut him when he reports or something like that. I think he'd be a much better hitter at 250 than the 290/300 lbs he currently occupies.

Who knows, he could end up being Mini-Big Papi with the change of scenery.
 

If the Yankees still want Pineda, I'd tell them keep your lottery ticket prospects, but you have to take Sano and Happ too.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
Gordon needs to play everyday, whether that’s center field or middle infield. I am hope if they can get rid of Sano’s $10 million for next year and keep Kiriloff at 1st base for the next 12 years.
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Agree on Gordon and Kiriloff is their long term solution at 1st base. I believe the plan all along was to get one more year out of Cruz, then move Sano to a full time DH. But he really needs to turn it around in the 2nd half to make that viable.
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
Agree on Gordon and Kiriloff is their long term solution at 1st base. I believe the plan all along was to get one more year out of Cruz, then move Sano to a full time DH. But he really needs to turn it around in the 2nd half to make that viable.
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With rosters sizes being taken up by relief pitchers, probably the idea longterm was for Sano to be the primary DH, but still play 1B or 3B a few times a week. Now he's lucky if he will be a platoon player against lefties.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Agree on Gordon and Kiriloff is their long term solution at 1st base. I believe the plan all along was to get one more year out of Cruz, then move Sano to a full time DH. But he really needs to turn it around in the 2nd half to make that viable.
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Sano's problem is his bat. He's actually OK at 1B. Moving him to DH doesn't solve anything. There's zero chance he's a Twin past 2022, so if they can find some way to dump him, they should do it.
 

Sano is another catch-22 for the Twins. He is playing poorly - which diminishes his trade value.

If you trade him, you won't get any value in return. So the Twins' choices come down to playing him and hoping for the best, or DFA'ing him and hope some other team is willing to pick up the contract.
Honestly, if they could get rid of Sano, I would be interest in having Rooker come up and be the DH for a month or so to see what he could do with regular AB's. Having him hit HR's in Triple-A doesn't help the Twins at all.

On another topic - interesting choice in the Draft - HS pitcher who throws 100mph. conventional wisdom says a young kid throwing that hard is an injury waiting to happen. the 2nd pick was a HS SS who is a switch-hitter with some pop. But, the 'experts' don't know if he is athletic enough to stay at SS.
 

Sano needs to go. He's out of the league in 2 years if he doesn't lose 50 pounds.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Sano is another catch-22 for the Twins. He is playing poorly - which diminishes his trade value.

If you trade him, you won't get any value in return. So the Twins' choices come down to playing him and hoping for the best, or DFA'ing him and hope some other team is willing to pick up the contract.
Honestly, if they could get rid of Sano, I would be interest in having Rooker come up and be the DH for a month or so to see what he could do with regular AB's. Having him hit HR's in Triple-A doesn't help the Twins at all.

On another topic - interesting choice in the Draft - HS pitcher who throws 100mph. conventional wisdom says a young kid throwing that hard is an injury waiting to happen. the 2nd pick was a HS SS who is a switch-hitter with some pop. But, the 'experts' don't know if he is athletic enough to stay at SS.
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I noticed that. At least they're trying to address a problem. 3 pitchers in 4 picks so far.
 

howeda7 said:
Sano's problem is his bat. He's actually OK at 1B. Moving him to DH doesn't solve anything. There's zero chance he's a Twin past 2022, so if they can find some way to dump him, they should do it.
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Would you take Joey Gallo at DH right now? I think there are a number of parallels between the two. They are similar in age, both in their 7th season, and are both high strikeout, high HR guys.

Gallo is coming off of his worst season where he batted under .200, and is only a career .213 hitter, which is much worse than Sano. But he destroys the ball when he's hot, and right now he's the hottest hitter in baseball.

Something has to change with Sano, but he was once one of the top prospects in baseball and an All-Star for a reason.

Hitting is not the issue for the Twins and I don't see the point of dumping Sano with a DH spot likely opening soon.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Would you take Joey Gallo at DH right now? I think there are a number of parallels between the two. They are similar in age, both in their 7th season, and are both high strikeout, high HR guys.

Gallo is coming off of his worst season where he batted under .200, and is only a career .213 hitter, which is much worse than Sano. But he destroys the ball when he's hot, and right now he's the hottest hitter in baseball.

Something has to change with Sano, but he was once one of the top prospects in baseball and an All-Star for a reason.
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Not at $12 million I wouldn't, no.

They could bring back Eddie Rosario for $8 million and rotate him, Kepler, Larnach and Kiefloff through the DH spot and get far better production than what Sano provides.
 

howeda7 said:
Not at $12 million I wouldn't, no.

They could bring back Eddie Rosario for $8 million and rotate him, Kepler, Larnach and Kiefloff through the DH spot and get far better production than what Sano provides.
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Sano's OBP is only slightly lower than Rosario's after a terrible 1st half and he has more than twice as many HRs. I don't see how that's far better.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Sano's OBP is only slightly lower than Rosario's after a terrible 1st half and he has more than twice as many HRs. I don't see how that's far better.
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I figure Eddie will be due for a bounce back next year. His track record is far better than Sano's.

I have no issue playing Sano regularly the rest of this season. If he turns it on, great. But I'd still take advantage of that and trade him rather than hoping he can maintain it when he never has yet.
 

best-case scenario for the Twins is that Sano goes on a tear after the all-star break - hits 5 or 6 HR in a week - and his trade value goes up.

I have no problem trading Sano as long as the Twins get some value back. I don't want to give him away and get some Class A nobody in return.
 


howeda7 said:
Why? Do you think he's worth $12 million next season?
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No - and that's the problem the Twins are in. If they trade him for what amounts to pennies on the dollar, it's like throwing money away.

The Yankees and the Dodgers can afford to do that. The Twins can't - at least not with their current business model.

if another team wants to give a good prospect back, I would trade him in a heartbeat. I just don't think that any other team will be willing to do that.

that means the Twins choices are 1. keep Sano and hope he gives them some production, or 2. throw $12-million down the toilet. (unless another team will give them some value in return)
 

short ornery norwegian said:
No - and that's the problem the Twins are in. If they trade him for what amounts to pennies on the dollar, it's like throwing money away.

The Yankees and the Dodgers can afford to do that. The Twins can't - at least not with their current business model.

if another team wants to give a good prospect back, I would trade him in a heartbeat. I just don't think that any other team will be willing to do that.

that means the Twins choices are 1. keep Sano and hope he gives them some production, or 2. throw $12-million down the toilet. (unless another team will give them some value in return)
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You think they would have to pay his entire 2022 salary AND give him away for nothing? I don't think that's the case. They might have to toss in the buyout $ but I think they could move him if they're willing to give him away. That's what I would do. I'd rather have $8-9million more to spend in free agency than an A Ball lottery ticket.
 

This was funny in spring training (Cruz wearing Miggy's pants). Now it's grotesque -

1626180555112.png
 

howeda7 said:
Why? Do you think he's worth $12 million next season?
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I wonder if the $12 million will even need to be paid next year if there is a strike/lockout. Lots of unknowns, especially if the entire season gets wiped out such as:
- Would contracts toll/roll over to the next year
- Would players still get credit for a year of service
- Will the years of service time towards Free Agency be reduced or modified to include some/all minor league time
- Salary cap changes, floor implemented and/or luxury tax
- Rule modifications (shifts, pitcher substances et al)

Enjoy the first All Star Game today in 2 years, it may be a while before there is another!
 

Is it wrong that I want to go to a Twins game in a few weeks just to watch Ohtani?
 


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