All Things 2024 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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short ornery norwegian said:
for the heck of it.....
Vazquez hitting .183 with a .465 OPS.

1987 World Series Champion Twins
starting C Tim Laudner hit .191 with a .640 OPS, but did have 16 HR and 43 RBI.
backup C's: Sal Butera hit .171 with a .460 OPS. Tom Nieto hit .200 with a .590 OPS.

1991 World Series Champion Twins
Starting C Brian Harper hit .311 with a .783 OPS
the backup - Junior Ortiz hit .209 with a .555 OPS.

you can live with a low-hitting backup C IF he's solid defensively. Vazquez isn't hitting and he's having issues on defense.
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Junior Ortiz was basically Scott Erickson's personal catcher. He didn't start every other game. That's step one. Then, if a more capable back-up is available, get them. The salary is a sunk cost and most alternative back-up catchers make almost nothing.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
I hear all of you. so what do the Twins do?

The guy has no trade value - if they could find someone willing to take him in a trade, the Twins would probably have to pick up a big chunk of his '25 salary.

if they can't trade him and just DFA him, they could get stuck with the entire '25 salary - unless some other team wanted to claim him and assume the contract. Or if no team claims him and he becomes a free agent, then another team could pick him up, pay him the MLB minimum, and the Twins have to honor the remaining portion of the contract.

either way, the Twins are likely going to have to pay Vazquez for the remainder of the contract. This is a team that cut its payroll by $30-million going into the season. I just don't see them agreeing to eat $10-million and get nothing in return.

the Twins would be better off if Vazquez sustained a season-ending or career-ending injury. then at least they could replace him on the 40-man roster. not that I'm rooting for him to get injured - just saying that's the best-case scenario for the Twins. unless some other team sees value in Vazquez and is willing to assume the contract.
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They aggressively marketed him last season, especially after Jeffers emergence, and there were no takers per Gleeman.
 
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short ornery norwegian said:
for the heck of it.....
Vazquez hitting .183 with a .465 OPS.

1987 World Series Champion Twins
starting C Tim Laudner hit .191 with a .640 OPS, but did have 16 HR and 43 RBI.
backup C's: Sal Butera hit .171 with a .460 OPS. Tom Nieto hit .200 with a .590 OPS.

1991 World Series Champion Twins
Starting C Brian Harper hit .311 with a .783 OPS
the backup - Junior Ortiz hit .209 with a .555 OPS.
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A Junior Ortiz reference, you made my weekend; I have an odd fetish for fairly anonymous mediocre Twins players. Think of the courage it takes to backup a .300 hitter - Wow.
short ornery norwegian said:
you can live with a low-hitting backup C IF he's solid defensively. Vazquez isn't hitting and he's having issues on defense.
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Slim Tubby said:
I agree with all of this, SON. I just can't get past the vibe that our decisions are being made based on money spent rather than having the best chance of winning every day.
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Pro Tip: They’re 🏦 bankers😃
Slim Tubby said:
You and NYC are far more rational about this than I'm capable of being, especially after we slashed $30M in payroll.
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Growth - Finally!

My 86 year old mom and therapist (Dr. Marvin), will be overjoyed
 




Exactly halfway through the season. Who you guys got as team MVP so far? Prediction on final record? Playoffs?

For me:
Castro
92-70
They get close but can’t overtake Cleveland. Make it in as a wild card.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Exactly halfway through the season. Who you guys got as team MVP so far? Prediction on final record? Playoffs?

For me:
Castro
92-70
They get close but can’t overtake Cleveland. Make it in as a wild card.
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Did someone already take Vasquez?

Correra - he’s second in AL hitting now at .312 and ahead of Witt. Saw on my condensed game broadcast replay that he’s hitting.435 over his last 20😳😳😳. I predict he wins the batting title, hits 20+ HRs with 85+ RBIs and has a top 5 MVP finish, while beating out my boy, Free Willi for the Team MVP and we go 94-68 and lose in the ALCS. We win the Central and build a statue to Rock ‘em Sock ‘Em Baldelli❤️

Rational enough for you @Slim Tubby ?
 



It was tight for me between Castro and Correa, but in the end, I agree on Castro for everything he's done.
86-76. Still some issues with bullpen and not confident ownership will let baseball side address problem.
That should still make playoffs.
 







Second baseman Brian Dozier tied the American League record with an extra-base hit in his 11th-straight game on this date in 2016. It was a homer in a 6-5 loss in Chicago.

The second-longest extra-base hit streaks in Twins history were eight by Tony Oliva in 1969 and Harmon Killebrew in 1970.

The MLB record is 14 by Hall of Famers Paul Waner in 1927 and Chipper Jones in 2006.
 

Interesting streaks I heard on the condensed game recap of last nights W -

Twins team record set by Bucks 💣 having 18 consecutive games with an HR.

Buck sets a PB with his 7th straight game with an RBI. He’s swinging like he did during his AS season in 2022.
 

TRF Guy said:
Second baseman Brian Dozier tied the American League record with an extra-base hit in his 11th-straight game on this date in 2016. It was a homer in a 6-5 loss in Chicago.

The second-longest extra-base hit streaks in Twins history were eight by Tony Oliva in 1969 and Harmon Killebrew in 1970.

The MLB record is 14 by Hall of Famers Paul Waner in 1927 and Chipper Jones in 2006.
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What a painful season 2011 was.
 





after the 7-13 start, the Twins have been a pretty good team, with one of the best records in the American League during that time, and they've also been one of the higher-scoring teams in the league.

they're not perfect -the defense can get a little wonky, and the bullpen scares me at times. but they're gaining ground on Cleveland. this stretch before the All-Star game is important - 9 of the 12 games vs the Tigers, White Sox and Giants. Need to keep beating the below-.500 teams.
 

Great play by Farmer to end day today but he's still really struggling at the plate. Do you see Twins cutting the cord and bringing Lee up? Little more flexibility at the plate as Lee is switch hitter and can't hit worse than Farmer has.
 


TNGophfan said:
Great play by Farmer to end day today but he's still really struggling at the plate. Do you see Twins cutting the cord and bringing Lee up? Little more flexibility at the plate as Lee is switch hitter and can't hit worse than Farmer has.
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Probably won't bring him up unless he starts.
 

and then there was this:

Eleven people suffered injuries when an escalator malfunctioned at American Family Field following Saturday’s game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs.

The malfunction caused the downward speed on an escalator to increase. Six people were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, while five people were treated at the ballpark. The Brewers’ onsite physician and EMS responded immediately, the team said.

If the Brewers are smart, they'll just shell out some cash up-front and try to get people to sign waivers so they can't come back and sue the team.
 

In just his sixth game back in the majors after a two-year absence dealing with previously undiagnosed Tourette's Syndrome, St. Cloud legend Jim Eisenreich hit a pinch-hit walk-off double to beat the Twins on this date in 1987.

The Royals’ winning run reached on an uncharacteristic Gary Gaetti error. (Wonder what @NotGaetti has to say about that!)

The next day, Eisenreich hit an RBI doubled off Joe Niekro and three-run homer off George Frazier.

Oh yeah, Eisenreich was emphatically back. (Don't worry, though—after the rough series in Kansas City, the Twins managed to salvage their season.)

Fun Fact: Eisenreich batted leadoff and played center field in the Twins' very first game a the Metrodome in 1982. It certainly looked at the time like the Minnesota native was the Twins center fielder of the future.
 

TRF Guy said:
In just his sixth game back in the majors after a two-year absence dealing with previously undiagnosed Tourette's Syndrome, St. Cloud legend Jim Eisenreich hit a pinch-hit walk-off double to beat the Twins on this date in 1987.

The Royals’ winning run reached on an uncharacteristic Gary Gaetti error. (Wonder what @NotGaetti has to say about that!)

The next day, Eisenreich hit an RBI doubled off Joe Niekro and three-run homer off George Frazier.

Oh yeah, Eisenreich was emphatically back. (Don't worry, though—after the rough series in Kansas City, the Twins managed to salvage their season.)

Fun Fact: Eisenreich batted leadoff and played center field in the Twins' very first game a the Metrodome in 1982. It certainly looked at the time like the Minnesota native was the Twins center fielder of the future.
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Played against him in a town ball game, it was during his hiatus from pro ball.

He had a shoulder injury, but was still playing center; he just underhanded it in - yes, he was good at that as well😃

His speed was unreal and what a sweet swing.
 


Some Willi Love before we take a series from his previous squad -


Castro’s offensive ability is what truly sets him apart from his super-utility counterparts. He’s batted .276/.357/.452 and leads the team with 33 extra-base hits, 10 steals and 51 runs scored, posting a 130 OPS+ to rank 17th among qualified AL hitters.
 

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