All Things 2023 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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Cant complain about getting 2 in New York where we almost never win.

But it is disappointing how predictable it is that we get shut down by an ace. I was high on Miranda last year but the dude needs to either find a power stroke or stop hitting routine grounders.

Albert Pujols could get away with hitting into DPs all the time because he hit 700 homers.
 

Kepler is done. His time needs to be cut down significantly. Buxton’s lost, not a good two days.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Kepler is done. His time needs to be cut down significantly. Buxton’s lost, not a good two days.
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Come on Max is batting 091 this year. Once the shifts stop he will raise it to 121, oh wait. He’s 2 for 21 with 1 walk.

Buxton is 0-12 with 3 walks and 10 K’s since his collision at 2nd base. He’s also struck out 7 straight at bats.

Hitting was always going to be an issue for this team and I am not sure it gets that much better even with Gallo and Polanco back in the line-up.
 

There have been two complete game shutouts in the MLB so far this year, both against the Twins. 2 of 16 games having a complete game shutout against you is not good.

When Buxton isn’t in a groove, this offense gets stagnant quick. Add in Buxton using all that speed to sit on the bench and not roam CF seems like a crime against humanity. I stand by the fact that it’s incredibly doubtful it gets him any more ABs this year.
 



golfing18now said:
Why the negativity?

Every single one of us would have gladly signed up for a 10-6 record with 7 of the 13 games against the Yankees and Astros behind us.
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No doubt. But it’s also ok to point out how bad the offense has been at times. They have to pick it up some because we can’t expect the pitching staff to be this good all season.
 

GophersInIowa said:
No doubt. But it’s also ok to point out how bad the offense has been at times. They have to pick it up some because we can’t expect the pitching staff to be this good all season.
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Balance! It would be nice to read more balanced posts.

If we are going to point out the bad, it would also be fair (and represent a more accurate accounting) to point out the positives as well. Some posters here lean really, really, really hard to the negative side of the ledger. It seems especially incongruous considering we are fans of a team that is really doing quite well. It also gets to be tedious reading. Depressing.
 

GophersInIowa said:
No doubt. But it’s also ok to point out how bad the offense has been at times. They have to pick it up some because we can’t expect the pitching staff to be this good all season.
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I agree. Kepler hardly ever makes solid contact at this point and Buxton was brutal this series. But the two shutouts this year were against two of the absolute best pitchers in baseball. Not entirely surprised.

Big picture though......very excited about where the Twins are right now. The pitching staff has been really impressive. Hopefully they stay healthy.
 



RememberMurray said:
Balance! It would be nice to read more balanced posts.

If we are going to point out the bad, it would also be fair (and represent a more accurate accounting) to point out the positives as well. Some posters here lean really, really, really hard to the negative side of the ledger. It seems especially incongruous considering we are fans of a team that is really doing quite well. It also gets to be tedious reading. Depressing.
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There was two pages full of positive stuff Thursday and Friday. Almost everything yesterday was about the Yankees pitcher situation and then just a few negative stuff today. It’s been more than balanced.
 

Damn good pitching and weak hitting. It's what this year will be.
 


Offense should get better though.

Only issue is the guys who should help that have big time injury questions marks. But hypothetically if they can play Polanco, Kiriloff and eventually Lewis will help big time.
 



GophersInIowa said:
There was two pages full of positive stuff Thursday and Friday. Almost everything yesterday was about the Yankees pitcher situation and then just a few negative stuff today. It’s been more than balanced.
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Maybe I worded things poorly. Here is an excerpt from my post:

"Some posters here lean really, really, really hard to the negative side of the ledger."

Overall the Twins thread is more balanced, yes. You're right about that. But certain posters are much less balanced, and they seem (to me) to post a lot. That was my point. Sorry if I caused confusion with how I worded it.
 

In AL, Twins are 1st in era.
Lopez, Gray, and Ryan have of course been outstanding. Bullpen very good as a whole.

In runs scored, Twins are 12th in AL.
Vasquez, Taylor, and Solano have exceeded expectations. Need other hitters to step it up.
 
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It’s going to be interesting to see if the franchise adapts to the new rules that are increasing stolen bases. So far dead last in MLB with just 1 stolen base.

Come playoff time a Billy Hamilton type player could be extremely valuable.
 

I’m confident Miranda will get going. I’m extremely pessimistic about Kepler - just release him and let Gallo get all his at bats. Polanco is a wild card - I have no idea what to expect from him. Fortunately it looks like there’s a good alternative in Julien at 2B if Polanco never regains his mojo. Lewis could eventually take over at SS with Correa moving to 3B and Miranda to 1B. Kiriloff’s wrist may be a permanent issue.

Depth is finally a strength it seems.
 

GopherVotary said:
I’m confident Miranda will get going. I’m extremely pessimistic about Kepler - just release him and let Gallo get all his at bats. Polanco is a wild card - I have no idea what to expect from him. Fortunately it looks like there’s a good alternative in Julien at 2B if Polanco never regains his mojo. Lewis could eventually take over at SS with Correa moving to 3B and Miranda to 1B. Kiriloff’s wrist may be a permanent issue.

Depth is finally a strength it seems.
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There is no way they would move Correa off of SS. Lewis will play a different position.
 

GophersInIowa said:
It’s going to be interesting to see if the franchise adapts to the new rules that are increasing stolen bases. So far dead last in MLB with just 1 stolen base.

Come playoff time a Billy Hamilton type player could be extremely valuable.
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Most teams have their stolen base guys in the middle infield/CF and maybe a corner OF. Polanco is not exactly a speedster, Correa has flat out said that he doesn't even bother trying to steal bases due to the risk of injury, and Buxton seems awful reluctant to run as well. Other than Taylor, there's not really a threat in the lineup for a guy to steal a base or 10.
 





That gives us a pretty solid "long term" rotation of Lopez, Ryan, Paddack, Ober.

That isn't a bad group to work with. You have some younger guys coming as well as free agency, trade, or extending someone like Sonny a bit longer to fill the last spot or two if someone gets hurt or sucks.
 


GophersInIowa said:
That would be a great deal for the Twins. He must be enjoying his time so far with the team.
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I'm guessing 2024 is part of the 4 years. They already had control for next year. So it's likely something like $13 next year and then $20 for the other three.
 

howeda7 said:
I'm guessing 2024 is part of the 4 years. They already had control for next year.
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Sounds like it. He'll get a bump in salary next year but the Twins probably get him cheaper for the 3 years after that than it would have cost had he gone to free agency.
 

Amazon to the rescue 🛟

MLB subscription working fine after a no go on Roku - amazing yo me, that even though streaming isn’t their core business, they don’t have any issues, while Roku does, even though that’s their core business.

Sox back to .500 now and watching first frame of Sox and Angels with their early Patriot Day start.

Ohtani is fascinating on so many levels and wonder where he’ll end up and for how much.

Gio off to a good start at .346 for the Halos
 
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Gopher_In_NYC said:
Amazon to the rescue 🛟

MLB subscription working fine after a no go on Roku - amazing yo me, that even though streaming isn’t their core business, they don’t have any issues, while Roku does, even though that’s their core business.

Sox back to .500 now and watching first frame of Sox and Angels with their early Patriot Day start.

Ohtani is fascinating on so many levels and wonder where he’ll end up and for how much.

Gio off to a good start at .346 for the Halos
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The Angels are ridiculous. They essentially have 3 of the top 15-20 players in baseball (Ohtani counts as 2 people) and they still suck year after year.
 

tmvander said:
That gives us a pretty solid "long term" rotation of Lopez, Ryan, Paddack, Ober.

That isn't a bad group to work with. You have some younger guys coming as well as free agency, trade, or extending someone like Sonny a bit longer to fill the last spot or two if someone gets hurt or sucks.
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I'd be shocked if they extend Gray. He doesn't seem to like the front office much and he's 33. He'll want a 3 year deal or longer at $15-20 million/year. They're not going to give him that and I doubt he'll take a discount to stay.
 

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