All Things 2024-25 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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I say it every single year.

The NBA and NHL play the best of 7, and play 82 games.

MLB plays 162, and plays the best of 3 in the first round.

MLB is a f-------g joke!
 

kg21 said:
I say it every single year.

The NBA and NHL play the best of 7, and play 82 games.

MLB plays 162, and plays the best of 3 in the first round.

MLB is a f-------g joke!
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I like it. Use those 162 games and finish Top 2 in your respective league, thus avoid a Best of 3.

Problem solved.

More drama and allows it to wrap up by Thanksgiving.
 


Twins:

12-1 vs the White Sox (KC was also 12-1, Detroit was 10-3, Cleveland was a surprising 8-5)
70-79 vs everyone else
 


Ope3 said:
I like it. Use those 162 games and finish Top 2 in your respective league, thus avoid a Best of 3.

Problem solved.

More drama and allows it to wrap up by Thanksgiving.
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If you play 162, then you don't need all these teams in the playoff. Four teams would suffice.
 

Ope3 said:
I like it. Use those 162 games and finish Top 2 in your respective league, thus avoid a Best of 3.

Problem solved.

More drama and allows it to wrap up by Thanksgiving.
Click to expand...
Baseball is long season and it's based on having depth in pitching.

3 games is a flipping joke.

Depth in pitching doesn't even matter.

Gawd, it's a damn joke!
 

kg21 said:
Baseball is long season and it's based on having depth in pitching.

3 games is a flipping joke.

Depth in pitching doesn't even matter.

Gawd, it's a damn joke!
Click to expand...
Well, except that the next 3 playoff series are 7 games. You need 3 decent starters and a bullpen. Look back to 87 and 91, Twins used 3 starters both times. Not that different.
 

kg21 said:
Baseball is long season and it's based on having depth in pitching.

3 games is a flipping joke.

Depth in pitching doesn't even matter.

Gawd, it's a damn joke!
Click to expand...
So you want to play this well into November and create a season in witch players could play 190 games and rely on pitchers to last that long? How's that going to work in northern climate cities impacting at least 1/3rd of the league.

Depth in pitching has never been a thing in Postseason baseball for over a 100 years. It's a different animal than NBA & NHL based on logistics.
 





TNGophfan said:
Well, except that the next 3 playoff series are 7 games. You need 3 decent starters and a bullpen. Look back to 87 and 91, Twins used 3 starters both times. Not that different.
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Actually the next playoff series round (ALDS-NLDS) is only 5 games then the ALCS-NLCS & WS are 7.

Teams with a bye get the benefit to reset their rotations for the next round.
 




howeda7 said:
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posted more info about this on the Bally/Diamond Sports thread.

this would seem to remove any chance that the Twins would be back on Bally/Diamond next year. Options would include putting games on over-the-air channels and/or offering a streaming package.

But with Bally/Diamond giving up all of its MLB contracts, that creates the possibility that MLB could offer some type of streaming package for multiple teams - and the Twins could be a part of that package. Theoretically, this could look something like the MLS package on Apple TV+ - where you could pay a fee, go to a streaming service, and be able to watch any baseball team that is part of the package.

The big-money teams (Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox) would likely not join this venture, but if MLB can get at least half of its teams to sign up, it's possible. (Dodgers earn over $300-million a year on their local TV deal.....)

either way, this would likely eliminate the 'blackout' issue for Twins games.

the next couple of months are going to be interesting, as MLB and all of the orphaned teams scramble to figure out what they will do for local TV next season.
 

more heads roll: from the Strib:

Hitting coach David Popkins, assistant hitting coaches Derek Shoman and Rudy Hernandez, and infield coach Tony Diaz will not return to manager Rocco Baldelli’s major-league staff in 2025, the team announced.

Diaz, 47, was one of the first coaches hired for Baldelli’s staff in 2019, and served as third-base coach for three seasons. He was promoted to assistant bench coach and infield coach in 2022, and spent time before every game hitting ground balls and short-hops to Twins infielders to prepare them.

Hernandez, 59, has also been on Baldelli’s staff for all six seasons, originally hired as chief assistant to hitting coach James Towson. But he has been in the Twins organization since 1996, beginning as an instructor at the team’s Venezuelan academy, and serving as a coach or manager at four different minor-league levels.

Popkins, 34, was hired away from the Dodgers’ organization three years ago, and helped the team utilize new technology to instruct and support hitters. But the Twins’ offense was far more inconsistent in 2024, and all but evaporated over the final six weeks. The Twins hit .228 as a team over their final 39 games, going 12-27 while averaging only 3.6 runs per game.

Shoman, 34, was added to the staff two years ago after spending the previous two seasons as hitting coach at Class A Fort Myers and Class AA Wichita.
 

more on the Twins' TV situation - found this quote in a story on the WCCO Radio website:

from Twins' President Dave St. Peter: as reported by Jason DeRusha --

"We've got a more accessible plan for television which we're excited to announce in the near future."

...................waiting.........................
 

short ornery norwegian said:
more heads roll: from the Strib:

Hitting coach David Popkins, assistant hitting coaches Derek Shoman and Rudy Hernandez, and infield coach Tony Diaz will not return to manager Rocco Baldelli’s major-league staff in 2025, the team announced.

Diaz, 47, was one of the first coaches hired for Baldelli’s staff in 2019, and served as third-base coach for three seasons. He was promoted to assistant bench coach and infield coach in 2022, and spent time before every game hitting ground balls and short-hops to Twins infielders to prepare them.

Hernandez, 59, has also been on Baldelli’s staff for all six seasons, originally hired as chief assistant to hitting coach James Towson. But he has been in the Twins organization since 1996, beginning as an instructor at the team’s Venezuelan academy, and serving as a coach or manager at four different minor-league levels.

Popkins, 34, was hired away from the Dodgers’ organization three years ago, and helped the team utilize new technology to instruct and support hitters. But the Twins’ offense was far more inconsistent in 2024, and all but evaporated over the final six weeks. The Twins hit .228 as a team over their final 39 games, going 12-27 while averaging only 3.6 runs per game.

Shoman, 34, was added to the staff two years ago after spending the previous two seasons as hitting coach at Class A Fort Myers and Class AA Wichita.
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Long Live Way ‘Em Home Watkins🥳
 


Ope3 said:
Actually the next playoff series round (ALDS-NLDS) is only 5 games then the ALCS-NLCS & WS are 7.

Teams with a bye get the benefit to reset their rotations for the next round.
Click to expand...
My mistake. This old mind can't keep track. Doesn't change the fact that you need 3 decent starters and a bullpen to win it all. Not 4 or 5. And that has never really changed.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
more on the Twins' TV situation - found this quote in a story on the WCCO Radio website:

from Twins' President Dave St. Peter: as reported by Jason DeRusha --

"We've got a more accessible plan for television which we're excited to announce in the near future."

...................waiting.........................
Click to expand...
If there isn't an OTA component and/or a plan to get direct access on DirecTV/Cable they are foolish. Many casual fans aren't paying $99 for streaming. Currently the D-Back/Rockies/Padres still have cable/satellite access.
 

TNGophfan said:
Well, except that the next 3 playoff series are 7 games. You need 3 decent starters and a bullpen. Look back to 87 and 91, Twins used 3 starters both times. Not that different.
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correct

best of 3 to all of a sudden best of 7

Friggin Brilliant!
 

TNGophfan said:
My mistake. This old mind can't keep track. Doesn't change the fact that you need 3 decent starters and a bullpen to win it all. Not 4 or 5. And that has never really changed.
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Even just 2 real horse starters can get a team by, especially if the 3rd (& 4th) is at least capable of getting through 5, if the bullpen is reliable.
 


From the Parkinglot said:
The real answer is the season is too long. Chop of 20 or 30 regular season games.
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Agree 100%

When they went up to 12 teams that qualify for the playoffs, you don't need 162 games to determine them. Sure, there were some late season changes in standings, but the same thing may happen if they play 190 games.

Shorten the season, cut out some games that need to be moved due to weather and end the season earlier when weather can be a real issue in the post-season.

But that would mean that owners would give up revenue, so it would never happen.
 

Unregistered User said:
Agree 100%

When they went up to 12 teams that qualify for the playoffs, you don't need 162 games to determine them. Sure, there were some late season changes in standings, but the same thing may happen if they play 190 games.

Shorten the season, cut out some games that need to be moved due to weather and end the season earlier when weather can be a real issue in the post-season.

But that would mean that owners would give up revenue, so it would never happen.
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The owners giving up the revenue would also impact the Players Salary. Non-starter.
 



Can’t say this surprises me. Wondering if they go cheap with a replacement. You “right sized” payroll, might as well “right size” the front office. I will do it for $500k and some steaks from Manny’s.
 


Greg Gagne hit inside-the-park home runs in back-to-back at-bats on this date in 1986. Bert Blyleven earned his 17th win in the game, finishing the season with a league-leading 271.2 innings pitched.

Coincidentally, the last player with two inside-the-parkers in a game was Dick Allen OFF Blyleven in Minnesota on July 31, 1972.
IMG_9094.jpeg
 


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