All Things 2024 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread


They should give one to everyone for a once in a decade/decades deal like this
While I missed out on the souvenir plaque, I did take advantage of the Twins 612 Happy Hour deal on the Gate 34 Plaza. Hot dog, Pepsi, popcorn & a bag of peanuts for less than $7. Cheaper than the recent Dundas Dukes game I attended.

I washed it all down with a $14.49 Kona Big Wave.

Fun night at the Ballpark. First regular season near sell out I have been to since 2019.

Good thing it ended when it did. Started to rain on the way out of Mpls, poured & severe storms all the way home.
 

While I missed out on the souvenir plaque, I did take advantage of the Twins 612 Happy Hour deal on the Gate 34 Plaza. Hot dog, Pepsi, popcorn & a bag of peanuts for less than $7. Cheaper than the recent Dundas Dukes game I attended.

I washed it all down with a $14.49 Kona Big Wave.

Fun night at the Ballpark. First regular season near sell out I have been to since 2019.

Good thing it ended when it did. Started to rain on the way out of Mpls, poured & severe storms all the way home.
🧹 Time
 

Os up 6-2 in the 4 and Det 2-0 in the 5.

Fun to have guts who can run in Martin and Willi
 
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Unreal that he can hit a ball that far and high to the opposite field 🤯
 


Byron Buxton leaves the game when he slam into the outfield wall. Why or why does he have to go into the wall.

 





the "official" word on Buxton is that he's fine. Rocco apparently told reporters that they took him out of the game because he was the first batter due up in the bottom of the inning, and the trainers needed more time to evaluate him. but he apparently checked out fine.

my take-away from the game is that SWR has had two sub-par outings in a row. after checking, he has now thrown 108.2 innings this year combining MLB and minor-league outings. his career high is 118.1 last year. If the Twins had more starting pitching depth, now might be a good time to skip him in the rotation and let him have a few days off. but I don't know who they could replace him with. I did see that Varland had a good outing last time out for St. Paul - 6 IP with 0 runs on 5 hits with 1 BB and 8 K. the Dobber's performance today did not fill me with confidence for his prospects as a starter.
 

the "official" word on Buxton is that he's fine. Rocco apparently told reporters that they took him out of the game because he was the first batter due up in the bottom of the inning, and the trainers needed more time to evaluate him. but he apparently checked out fine.

my take-away from the game is that SWR has had two sub-par outings in a row. after checking, he has now thrown 108.2 innings this year combining MLB and minor-league outings. his career high is 118.1 last year. If the Twins had more starting pitching depth, now might be a good time to skip him in the rotation and let him have a few days off. but I don't know who they could replace him with. I did see that Varland had a good outing last time out for St. Paul - 6 IP with 0 runs on 5 hits with 1 BB and 8 K. the Dobber's performance today did not fill me with confidence for his prospects as a starter.
Be interesting to see how the rotation is set up for the Cleveland series.

Dobbers window to be a contributing member of an MLB staff is in the rearview; Richards looks like he might be useful as a middle inning reliever.
 
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Festa
Lopez
Ryan

The three listed starters against the Cubbies
 
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At what point do we start taking Miranda's offense seriously as a long-term projection?
Good question

Now . He lead the team in RBIs as a rookie and was a stick throughout his minor league career; last season was an aberration- they made adjustments on him and he was playing with a bum shoulder.

If he had enough ABs, his .324 would be good for third in the AL now - he’s the real deal because he uses the whole field . That single to right yesterday was Picasso.
 
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Is the Friday doubleheader with Cleveland going to require a spot starter to be called up?
I’m guessing yes at this point, since they didn’t sign any FAs, like Paxton.

I guess Varland’s the most likely candidate, but he’s been brutal overall at St. Paul: 15 starts, 4-8 w/4.91 ERA and 1.432 WHIP and he’ll be 27 before the start of next season,

He’s got maybe one year left to establish himself as an MLB starter, if he gets another opportunity, as lots of young arm talent is right behind him.

FYI - Zebby Matthews has struggled in his first three starts at St. Paul, but not a surprise as it’s the third level he’s pitched at this year.
 
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Is the Friday doubleheader with Cleveland going to require a spot starter to be called up?
Technically they don't have to since Thursday is an off day. It could be Ober and Woods-Richardson going Friday since that would still be 4 days rest for Woods-Richardson. Then everyone else would follow on 4 days rest.

Will be interesting to see what they do though.
 
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Technically they don't have to since Thursday is an off day. It could be Ober and Woods-Richardson going Friday since that would still be 4 days rest for Woods-Richardson. Then everyone else would follow on 4 days rest.

Will be interesting to see what they do though.
The problem is they have 10 more games in a row after the Cleveland series (14 in total), next off day not until 8/22 and SWR is nearing his high for IP as SON pointed out in a previous post.

Maybe Adam Plutko, is the panacea for our spot starter needs, per @Breakin' The Plane
 
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so, just for Fun - the Athletic has a story putting the White Sox' season in historical perspective. a few tidbits:

as of today - 193 different pitchers have won a game since the last time the Sox won
56 pitchers have saved a game since the Sox last won
Aaron Judge has reached base 55 times since the Sox last won

the Sox are 57 games under .500. the last team to hit that mark before August was - Yes - the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. the Spiders are considered the worst team of all time, going 20-134 in 1899. (here's how bad it was - the Spiders were evicted from their home park and played 64 of their last 65 games on the road, posting a record of 5-60)

to equal the Spiders' loss total, the Sox would have to lose every game the rest of the season.

But - and this might be my favorite - If the White Sox play .500 baseball the rest of the season, they will still lose 111 games. the '62 Mets record of 40-120 is definitely in jeopardy.
 

so, just for Fun - the Athletic has a story putting the White Sox' season in historical perspective. a few tidbits:

as of today - 193 different pitchers have won a game since the last time the Sox won
56 pitchers have saved a game since the Sox last won
Aaron Judge has reached base 55 times since the Sox last won

the Sox are 57 games under .500. the last team to hit that mark before August was - Yes - the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. the Spiders are considered the worst team of all time, going 20-134 in 1899. (here's how bad it was - the Spiders were evicted from their home park and played 64 of their last 65 games on the road, posting a record of 5-60)

to equal the Spiders' loss total, the Sox would have to lose every game the rest of the season.

But - and this might be my favorite - If the White Sox play .500 baseball the rest of the season, they will still lose 111 games. the '62 Mets record of 40-120 is definitely in jeopardy.
62 Mets were an expansion team as well - this is horrible for Sox fans and all the people who work there.
 
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on a separate note - saw this from Aaron Gleeman in The Athletic:

the Twins' radio contract with WCCO is up after the season. According to Gleeman, citing "multiple team and broadcast sources," the Twins are talking to 'CCO about a new contract - But - KFAN has "emerged as a viable alternative."

CCO has been the flagship of the Twins Radio network for 53 of the 64 years since the franchise moved to MN.

and here's the rub - KFAN also carries the Vikings, Wild, Wolves, Lynx, and Gopher football and basketball. so if the Twins went with KFAN, potentially over half the games could be shifted to other iHeart stations or done as streaming only.

a quote from the story:

Multiple team sources indicated the decision could come down to the Twins’ willingness to upset a core audience of longtime AM radio devotees unable or unwilling to shift to FM and/or streaming. Another big consideration: Twins officials would need to accept becoming merely one of the many teams on KFAN after being the unquestioned face of WCCO for so long.
------

my thoughts -- after the TV debacle, if the Twins move their radio to KFAN and wind up with games that are streaming-only, the PR backlash will be nuts. And - consider the source - Gleeman does appearances on KFAN. so I think we can guess who is feeding him his info.
 

I’m guessing yes at this point, since they didn’t sign any FAs, like Paxton.

I guess Varland’s the most likely candidate, but he’s been brutal overall at St. Paul: 15 starts, 4-8 w/4.91 ERA and 1.432 WHIP and he’ll be 27 before the start of next season,

He’s got maybe one year left to establish himself as an MLB starter, if he gets another opportunity, as lots of young arm talent is right behind him.

FYI - Zebby Matthews has struggled in his first three starts at St. Paul, but not a surprise as it’s the third level he’s pitched at this year.
I figured they were calling up Dobnak to give him a spot start and get everyone else an additional day rest. Guess not. Depending on what happens with Paddack, I would not be surprised if Adam Plutko got a start or two down the stretch. He's been more than respectable for St. Paul over the past month or so.
 

I figured they were calling up Dobnak to give him a spot start and get everyone else an additional day rest. Guess not. Depending on what happens with Paddack, I would not be surprised if Adam Plutko got a start or two down the stretch. He's been more than respectable for St. Paul over the past month or so.
I’m just guessing, but Dobnek’s stuff is so meh at this point; he’s 92 with his fastball and has a middling slider and pitching is so much better than when he debuted in 2019, it just doesn’t work unless you have Maddox like control. I also think yesterday was his audition. With the contract he signed and his injury history, I’m glad he was the first option the Twins considered; treat your long-term players with the respect they’ve earned.

If Plutko’s earned his shot, then I’m excited that he gets it.


Looks like he’s earned it - Good call!
12 Games/11 starts
6-1
3.81
1.032 WHIP

We’re so close right now, we just need decent starts, to give our bats a chance.
 
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on a separate note - saw this from Aaron Gleeman in The Athletic:

the Twins' radio contract with WCCO is up after the season. According to Gleeman, citing "multiple team and broadcast sources," the Twins are talking to 'CCO about a new contract - But - KFAN has "emerged as a viable alternative."

CCO has been the flagship of the Twins Radio network for 53 of the 64 years since the franchise moved to MN.

and here's the rub - KFAN also carries the Vikings, Wild, Wolves, Lynx, and Gopher football and basketball. so if the Twins went with KFAN, potentially over half the games could be shifted to other iHeart stations or done as streaming only.

a quote from the story:

Multiple team sources indicated the decision could come down to the Twins’ willingness to upset a core audience of longtime AM radio devotees unable or unwilling to shift to FM and/or streaming. Another big consideration: Twins officials would need to accept becoming merely one of the many teams on KFAN after being the unquestioned face of WCCO for so long.
------

my thoughts -- after the TV debacle, if the Twins move their radio to KFAN and wind up with games that are streaming-only, the PR backlash will be nuts. And - consider the source - Gleeman does appearances on KFAN. so I think we can guess who is feeding him his info.
Dumb. Radio rights are minimal and the people who listen probably average about 59 years old. Leave well enough alone.
 

Dumb. Radio rights are minimal and the people who listen probably average about 59 years old. Leave well enough alone.

I listen in the car on the 102.9 simulcast.

But if iHeart gets the Twins:

Say it's April, and both the Wolves and Wild are in the playoffs and the NBA & NHL schedule both teams on the same Tuesday (I use Tuesday because there won't be a day game for the Twins). I would guess:

Wild - KFAN
Wolves - KOOL 108
Twins KTLK 103.5/1130 (Where Gopher Hockey is broadcast)

Plus the new Twins Channel on iHeart and the Timberwolves Channel would also cast the games.
 

I listen in the car on the 102.9 simulcast.

But if iHeart gets the Twins:

Say it's April, and both the Wolves and Wild are in the playoffs and the NBA & NHL schedule both teams on the same Tuesday (I use Tuesday because there won't be a day game for the Twins). I would guess:

Wild - KFAN
Wolves - KOOL 108
Twins KTLK 103.5/1130 (Where Gopher Hockey is broadcast)

Plus the new Twins Channel on iHeart and the Timberwolves Channel would also cast the games.
I don't listen to many games on the radio but it is nice to be able to drive anywhere in the state and not have to find a new station 10 times.
 

The problem is they have 10 more games in a row after the Cleveland series (14 in total), next off day not until 8/22 and SWR is nearing his high for IP as SON pointed out in a previous post.

Maybe Adam Plutko, is the panacea for our spot starter needs, per @Breakin' The Plane
Yep, more than likely. If they had a day off next Thursday as well I think they wouldn't worry about it.
 




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