All Things 2021 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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atsgopher said:
We waived the pitcher we traded him for after 2 months.
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Yeah but there is so much outfield depth. Don’t look now but Max Kepler is the best defensive right fielder and also the worst offensive right fielder in Major League Baseball this year.
 


I saw a game at Petco Park in San Diego on Friday night. Technically, I saw 2 as the Padres/Braves also continued a suspended game that originally was the nightcap of a double header in July at Atlanta. I also got to experience what I assume is a real rarity, a rain delay in San Diego.

We ducked the rain in the Gaslamp Quarter and waited it out. Very cool atmosphere around the park, close to on par with Wrigleyville. Once at the game, got to see former Twin Eddie Rosario in Left Field for the Braves who wasn't even on the team when the game started. It was a critical game for the Bravos as they are in a fight for the NL East with Philly. Tatis hit a go ahead laser HR to CF in the bottom of the 6th, and the Padres closed it out in the 7th. Actual game was a 4-0 Atlanta win, Padres never even really had a rally.

Petco Park gets really high marks from me, love everything about it. Very festive in the outfield, great sightlines from the seats and quite a few pubs/restaurants inside the stadium itself. I actually had pretty decent sushi in a place near the LF foul pole. When in Rome. Also got a bacon wrapped hot dog from an outside vender. Magnificent.

It's very clear, the Twins were trying to incorporate a lot of facets to this park when they built Target Field.
 

BleedGopher said:
per Shama:

Rookie Joe Ryan, 2-1 with a 2:45 ERA, is scheduled to start the Minnesota Twins’ final home regular season game Thursday night against the Detroit Tigers. With the starting staff in flux, he could be the team’s opening day pitcher in 2022.


Win Twins!!
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I can see him being an ace or #2. - he wants to chuck and compete - gotta have that fire to be the Big 🐶
Woof
 

Ope3 said:
I saw a game at Petco Park in San Diego on Friday night. Technically, I saw 2 as the Padres/Braves also continued a suspended game that originally was the nightcap of a double header in July at Atlanta. I also got to experience what I assume is a real rarity, a rain delay in San Diego.

We ducked the rain in the Gaslamp Quarter and waited it out. Very cool atmosphere around the park, close to on par with Wrigleyville. Once at the game, got to see former Twin Eddie Rosario in Left Field for the Braves who wasn't even on the team when the game started. It was a critical game for the Bravos as they are in a fight for the NL East with Philly. Tatis hit a go ahead laser HR to CF in the bottom of the 6th, and the Padres closed it out in the 7th. Actual game was a 4-0 Atlanta win, Padres never even really had a rally.

Petco Park gets really high marks from me, love everything about it. Very festive in the outfield, great sightlines from the seats and quite a few pubs/restaurants inside the stadium itself. I actually had pretty decent sushi in a place near the LF foul pole. When in Rome. Also got a bacon wrapped hot dog from an outside vender. Magnificent.

It's very clear, the Twins were trying to incorporate a lot of facets to this park when they built Target Field.
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Glad u had a good time.

were Manny and Tatis playing nice?
 


Gopher_In_NYC said:
Glad u had a good time.

were Manny and Tatis playing nice?
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Seemed like it, though I was not aware of any beef between the 2. Listening a little bit to SD Sports talk, pretty clear the manager (somebody named Tingler) is going to get canned at season's end.
 

Ope3 said:
Seemed like it, though I was not aware of any beef between the 2. Listening a little bit to SD Sports talk, pretty clear the manager (somebody named Tingler) is going to get canned at season's end.
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They had a dust up in the dugout recently - Google it to watch Manny be the adult- ironic to me as he was the petulant kid In Baltimore, not to long ago.

the manager is gone, I heard Buch Showalter mentioned as a possible replacement. The GM whiffed at the trade deadline in not acquiring another SP or 2.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
They had a dust up in the dugout recently - Google it to watch Manny be the adult- ironic to me as he was the petulant kid In Baltimore, not to long ago.

the manager is gone, I heard Buch Showalter mentioned as a possible replacement. The GM whiffed at the trade deadline in not acquiring another SP or 2.
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I just saw what looked like a fans video of the shouting match. Wow. Appears as though they are saying the right things since then.

One critique of Petco, lame selection of hats in the Team Stores especially relaxed and trucker styles. Talking to the store manage, supply issues. It was tough to plan ahead without knowing what attendance limitations there would be.
 





Twins need to win 3 of last 5 games to avoid a 90-loss season.

Go get 'em, Twins.

FWIW - was looking at the month-by-month records. As of mid-May, the Twins were 13 games under .500. Since then, they are 4 games under .500 - so in essence, the Twins have been a .500 team for the last four months. The bad start - which included the covid problems - really put them behind the 8-ball.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Twins need to win 3 of last 5 games to avoid a 90-loss season.

Go get 'em, Twins.

FWIW - was looking at the month-by-month records. As of mid-May, the Twins were 13 games under .500. Since then, they are 4 games under .500 - so in essence, the Twins have been a .500 team for the last four months. The bad start - which included the covid problems - really put them behind the 8-ball.
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How many more wins would the Twins have if they'd signed Marcus Semien to play SS instead of Typhoid Andrelton Simmons? And Brad Hand instead of Colome?
 




howeda7 said:
How many more wins would the Twins have if they'd signed Marcus Semien to play SS instead of Typhoid Andrelton Simmons? And Brad Hand instead of Colome?
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I can't speak on Semien, if they signed Hand their record would likely be exactly the same. He's on his 3rd team right now, including being DFA'd by Toronto. His WAR -0.4 vs Colome, -0.7.

Advantage...push.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Twins need to win 3 of last 5 games to avoid a 90-loss season.

Go get 'em, Twins.

FWIW - was looking at the month-by-month records. As of mid-May, the Twins were 13 games under .500. Since then, they are 4 games under .500 - so in essence, the Twins have been a .500 team for the last four months. The bad start - which included the covid problems - really put them behind the 8-ball.
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Since 1961 when the became the Twins, they have managed to have 13 previous 90
L seasons and come close several other times.
 

Ope3 said:
I saw a game at Petco Park in San Diego on Friday night. Technically, I saw 2 as the Padres/Braves also continued a suspended game that originally was the nightcap of a double header in July at Atlanta. I also got to experience what I assume is a real rarity, a rain delay in San Diego.
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As I believe most everything I read on the internet, this was the 16th Weather Delay in a home game for the San Diego Padres dating back to their debut season in 1969, so roughly 1 every 3.5 years. The odds are now approximately 1 in 260 games that there is a rain delay in SD.
 

Ope3 said:
I can't speak on Semien, if they signed Hand their record would likely be exactly the same. He's on his 3rd team right now, including being DFA'd by Toronto. His WAR -0.4 vs Colome, -0.7.

Advantage...push.
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Hmm. I hadn't looked at his #'s since he was traded. Not sure what happened in Toronto. He was fine with Washington. At the very least he wouldn't have train-wrecked the early part of the season though.

Amazingly, Simmons has a positive WAR despite his God awful bat. But Semien is worth ~6 wins more. So still not a play-off team. But they probably would have been above .500 and in the race at the All Star break.
 
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howeda7 said:
Hmm. I hadn't looked at his #'s since he was traded. Not sure what happened in Toronto. He was fine with Washington. At the very least he wouldn't have train-wrecked the early part of the season though.
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Listening to the Tony Kornheiser Podcast, he was absolutely elated once the Nationals traded him to Toronto. His overall stats weren't bad but he had blown several games in the 9th. I remember thinking to myself, sounds just like Colome.

In hindsight, the smart move would have been to just resign Trevor May.
 
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No surprise here. Per Axios Twin Cities:

Attendance at Target Field this season finished at just under 1.3 million, a decline of 44% compared with 2019, the last year the ballpark permitted fans.

  • Games averaged 16,000 fans, compared to 28,400 in 2019.
Context: The Twins, which played their final home game last night, were only allowed 10,000 fans a game until mid-May, per Gov. Tim Walz's restrictions. They expanded in phases until getting to full capacity in early July.

  • By the time attendance capacities were increased, the Twins were out of the playoff race and interest in the team plummeted.
Of note: TV households watching the Twins at the All-Star break also decreased, according to Forbes.

Win Twins!!
 

just for the heck of it, I was looking at some MLB stat leaders. by my count, there are only 13 players with a batting average over .300, and several of those are at .301 or .302. looks like the batting champ will be at about .324 or so.

it's not quite 1968, but it's an indicator of the way the game is trending.

In terms of team batting average, the Astros lead at .266. Twins are in 18th place at .240. and Seattle has a team batting average of .226.

and one more
Miguel Sano has 179 K's for the season - putting him in 6th place. two players already over 200 K's for the season.

and there are 35 players with 30 HR or more. all or nothing.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
just for the heck of it, I was looking at some MLB stat leaders. by my count, there are only 13 players with a batting average over .300, and several of those are at .301 or .302. looks like the batting champ will be at about .324 or so.

it's not quite 1968, but it's an indicator of the way the game is trending.

In terms of team batting average, the Astros lead at .266. Twins are in 18th place at .240. and Seattle has a team batting average of .226.
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crazy about Seattle as they are El Fuego now with a 9-1 recuse in their last Ten and hopefully will knock out the Yanks from the wildcard round. The Yanjs have the toughest remaining schedule with tonight @ Jays and finish the season with three in Tampa of the remaining teams four teams fighting for the 2 spots .

short ornery norwegian said:
Miguel Sano has 179 K's for the season - putting him in 6th place. two players already over 200 K's for the season.

and there are 35 players with 30 HR or more. all or nothing.
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JA Happ proved again today why the Twins signing him as a Free Agent was a good idea. Unfortunately he's doing it while playing for the Cardinals, he got the W this afternoon over the Brewers to up his record to 5-2 since the trade deadline.

His WAR with the Cards, +0.5. With the Twins -1.9.

Curious to see if he makes it on the postseason roster for the Wild Card, or more likely beyond should they win that game. What a story, they were 71-69 before embarking on their 17 game winning streak and now sit at 89-70. With the WC clinched they are already able to declare Wainwright as the starter.
 
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If Buxton is no longer a Twin in the near future, I am going to super bummed out. I say that regardless if it is the right move for the franchise long/short term.

Just watching him track the ball down at the fence in the 8th last night and today leading off the game with rocket to the 2nd deck in LF, that talent just doesn't come around very often.

We're talking Alan Page, Rod Carew, Mike Modano, Kirby Puckett, or Randy Moss ability/HoF potential IF he can stay on the field.
 

Souhan: Twins can't let Byron Buxton leave and become their new-age David Ortiz

Byron Buxton hit two home runs and a double on Thursday night, in the first inning launching a 94 mph fastball into the upper deck in left field to start the Twins' last home game of the season.

If that was his last hurrah at Target Field, he made the most of it.

The Twins can't let that become his last hurrah at Target Field.

They can't let Buxton become their new-age David Ortiz.

The riskiest proposition is letting Buxton leave. Yes, his career has repeatedly been derailed by injuries, but some of those injuries have been the result of bad luck, some the result of running full-speed into outfield walls — a habit he has curbed.

Falvey said he does not even plan to use the word "rebuild.'' Trading Buxton would be a signal to his players and all of Minnesota that 2022 is not a priority.

Signing Buxton would be a signal from the Pohlads that they are willing to take an intelligent financial risk.

The Twins will never be able to sign a player of Buxton's caliber in free agency, and the only reason they were able to draft him is by achieving the second-worst record in the big leagues in 2011 — a position they want to avoid for the remainder of franchise history.

Signing Buxton may be difficult and expensive, but it's a better option than watching him return to Target Field in another uniform, to launch a few more shots into the left-field upper deck.

www.startribune.com

Twins can't let Byron Buxton leave and become their new-age David Ortiz

The Twins need to re-sign their ultra-talented center fielder; anything else would be a disaster that would parallel the mistake made when David Ortiz left.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Win Twins!!
 

Bold prediction - the Twins will sign Buxton to a new contract.

and starting next year, people will complain that Buxton's big contract is preventing the Twins from adding more pitching. it will be Joe Mauer version 2.

The Twins are backed into a corner. If they let Buxton go, the bad publicity will be relentless. They have no choice but to re-sign him and pray that he finds a way to stay healthy.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Bold prediction - the Twins will sign Buxton to a new contract.

and starting next year, people will complain that Buxton's big contract is preventing the Twins from adding more pitching. it will be Joe Mauer version 2.

The Twins are backed into a corner. If they let Buxton go, the bad publicity will be relentless. They have no choice but to re-sign him and pray that he finds a way to stay healthy.
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Trade Buxton.
 

howeda7 said:
That's shocking. Is he higher up in strike out rate? He did sit a lot for a few weeks there...
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Even crazier is that his K rate has been lowered by 10% this season compared to last year; was watching some game on Prime and they were talking about another slugger who had dropped his 17% for the year and they flashed the Top 5 and Miggy was second!
 


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