OT: Twins Fans...

[Guest]

@FLVike said:
I can go to any, and I mean any, local park and find 5 guys that can replace Sano.

Not our park. Youll end up with a bunch of short hefty women or old hippy men. If youre lucky youll run into a part time TJ max employee who doubles as the local meth dealer. 

[Guest]

@FLVike said:
I can go to any, and I mean any, local park and find 5 guys that can replace Sano.

Complaint post from me...

I can't stand watching him "hit" (swing 'n' miss) anymore.  If I'm at a bar watching most people are now expecting a strikeout when he gets up while looking to see who's on deck.  What I consider a slump is mainly not getting many hits but with several ground/fly outs with occasional strikeouts.  So, essentially, still making contact with the ball not striking out most of the time. 

Sano has been trending the wrong way over his last 100 games (total of last season and this season) and a home run now and then does not erase what he's doing.  His last 10 games he's struck out 23 times in 36 at-bats (64% strikeout)!!  He had 5 total hits in those other 13 (.138), three were home runs, but those are also the ONLY rbi he had since they were all solo.  He's stranding lots of runners with his strikeouts too; five by himself in that 17 inning game that with just a base hit could have ended it sooner.

He's hurting the team right now and should be sent down.  They need to get a couple guys healthy (so they don't have to play Astudillo in right field (or Cave in center for that matter).     

[Guest]

How Twins' Jose Berrios – 'La Makina' – became one of baseball's best pitchers“I used to dream of being a bat boy,” Berrios says in Spanish through translator Elvis Martinez. “If I’m a bat boy, I’m going to be part of a Major League Baseball team.”
He smiles at the memory. He aimed a little low.
Barely 25 years old, Berrios has become an ace and is on the cusp of being one of the best pitchers in baseball in only his third full season in the Twins rotation. He ranks in the Top 15 of MLB starters in ERA, innings pitched and WHIP. He could earn his second consecutive All-Star Game invitation Sunday.
His nickname, “La Makina” — The Machine — isn’t so much bragging as it is a description of Berrios’ approach to his craft, and life in general. He is strictly business when it comes to pitching and preparing and wringing every ounce of potential from his 6-foot, 205-pound body and electric right arm.
http://www.startribune.com/how-twins-jos...512008212/

[Guest]

@purplefaithful said:
How Twins' Jose Berrios – 'La Makina' – became one of baseball's best pitchers“I used to dream of being a bat boy,” Berrios says in Spanish through translator Elvis Martinez. “If I’m a bat boy, I’m going to be part of a Major League Baseball team.”
He smiles at the memory. He aimed a little low.
Barely 25 years old, Berrios has become an ace and is on the cusp of being one of the best pitchers in baseball in only his third full season in the Twins rotation. He ranks in the Top 15 of MLB starters in ERA, innings pitched and WHIP. He could earn his second consecutive All-Star Game invitation Sunday.
His nickname, “La Makina” — The Machine — isn’t so much bragging as it is a description of Berrios’ approach to his craft, and life in general. He is strictly business when it comes to pitching and preparing and wringing every ounce of potential from his 6-foot, 205-pound body and electric right arm.
http://www.startribune.com/how-twins-jos...512008212/

Nice timing :p  Twins lose again, now 6-8 in their last 14 games. 

[Guest]

Twins aim to bolster bullpen at Trade Deadlinehttps://www.mlb.com/twins/news/twins-looking-to-be-buyers-at-trade-deadline

This was, in a sense, a "prove it" year for the Twins' young core.
Entering the 2019 season, it was clear that
at least the makings of a playoff contender were in place behind a core
headlined by budding ace José Berríos and the continued rise of Eddie Rosario.
This group had, after all, carried the Twins to the American League
Wild Card Game in 2017, and last year's club had largely treaded water
despite injuries and underperformance at every turn.
But still, questions remained. Could Byron Buxton and Miguel Sanó return to form? Could Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler take the anticipated next steps in their development? Could Michael Pineda and Martin Pérez
provide depth to the starting rotation? Those uncertainties likely held
the Twins back from a full-throated acquisition of pitching talent
during the offseason.

As it turned out, the answers to all of those
questions were, to varying degrees, "yes." The core has proven its
ability and the free-agent acquisitions are thriving. And now, with a 5 1/2-game lead
in the AL Central despite a brutal stretch of outfield injuries heading
into the All-Star break, the Twins are poised to reinforce their
pitching talent with an eye on a deep postseason run -- at only the
start of what could be a fruitful window of contention.

Current status: buyer
Based
on the progression of that core and the success of nearly all of their
free-agent acquisitions, the Twins may have the most dangerous lineup in
baseball, one that set the Major League record for home runs hit before
the All-Star break. Behind that lineup, Minnesota has already won the
season series with the Astros and hasn't lost more than two games in a
row at any point this season.

So it's safe to say the Twins believe they
can make a deep playoff run this season, and though the lineup -- and
position player depth as a whole -- is enviable, there remain holes to
be patched on the pitching side, and in the bullpen in particular, as
the Trade Deadline approaches on July 31.

What they are seeking
Reinforcing
the relief corps with proven back-end help is the most glaring need.
The Twins entered the season with four high-leverage options in Trevor May, Blake Parker, Trevor Hildenberger and Taylor Rogers.
The left-handed Rogers has remained one of the elite relievers in the
game, while May, despite being shaky at times, has delivered results.

Parker and Hildenberger, on the other hand,
have generated concerns. Hildenberger started the season strong, but he
experienced such a rough stretch that he was demoted to Triple-A in
mid-May -- and hasn't been back to the Majors since. Parker has
struggled to find the feel for his splitter, meaning that clean innings
have been difficult to come by for the veteran right-hander.
Bolstering the club's high-leverage options could push Ryne Harper, Mike Morin, Matt Magill and Tyler Duffey
into lower-leverage roles and give manager Rocco Baldelli a little more
flexibility in his bullpen decision-making. Don't be surprised also if
the Twins add a starter -- particularly a controllable one -- to give
them another reliable starting option in the playoffs and possibly into
next season, with three members of the rotation eligible for free agency
this offseason.

What they have to offer
The
Twins' farm system is deep and well-rounded, particularly after their
aggressive sale of Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar and Ryan Pressly --
among others -- at last year's Trade Deadline provided an influx of
Minor League talent.

It's tough to imagine the Twins parting with any of their top three prospects,
as ranked by MLB Pipeline, in Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff and Brusdar
Graterol, who all figure to play prominent roles in the future of the
franchise. But beyond that, the organization boasts several intriguing
arms, headlined by Jordan Balazovic, Jhoan Duran, Blayne Enlow and Jorge
Alcala. They also have flashy position player talent at both the upper
levels (Brent Rooker, Luis Arraez) and further away from the Majors
(Trevor Larnach, Wander Javier).


Possible scenario
One
interesting element of this season's Trade Deadline is that several
possible trade partners have multiple arms the Twins could covet. The
Blue Jays, for example, are expected to move both Ken Giles and Marcus
Stroman. The Giants have Madison Bumgarner, Will Smith and Tony Watson.
The Indians have Trevor Bauer and Brad Hand (though their recent surge
has made them less likely to sell).

It wouldn't be surprising to see the Twins
try to make a splash by packaging multiple top prospects together to
acquire both a high-end reliever and a starter, particularly one that
could still be controllable beyond this season. Beyond that, they could
still also move some Minor League depth for rental relievers.

[Guest]

Twins are 9-11 in their last 20 games, during which stretch they've lost half their lead over Cleveland, who is 14-5 in their last 19.  Twins keep flopping around like this they might be out of first by August.

[Guest]

@RS Express said:
Twins are 9-11 in their last 20 games, during which stretch they've lost half their lead over Cleveland, who is 14-5 in their last 19.  Twins keep flopping around like this they might be out of first by August.

They also have 13 head to head with Cleveland remaining (starting with 3 this weekend) and statistically the easiest remaining schedule in baseball. 

 If they dont win the central there will be some pissed off pohlads,  even though the Twins payroll this year is 10 mill below what it was last season,  they were more aggressive in pursuing free agents than in the past so I expect to see the same in trading for pitching help.  Although the fielding and hitting has definitely been a major part of their return to mediocrity.   Cleveland's been playing outstanding,  this weekends series might be a season indicator for these 2 clubs.

[Guest]

@RS Express said:
Twins are 9-11 in their last 20 games, during which stretch they've lost half their lead over Cleveland, who is 14-5 in their last 19.  Twins keep flopping around like this they might be out of first by August.

Even if the Twins are out of first in August, it doesn't
mean they won't make the post-season.  The Twins bullpen is a huge
problem, but the starting pitching overall has been surprisingly very
good.  Cleveland has lots of very good to great starting and relief
pitchers, and that will keep them competitive and may get them another Central
title.



If the Twins get a couple key pitchers in relief and maybe another starter,
then I think that might be enough.  The Twins can hit, but Cleveland can
pitch.   The second half of the season will be interesting knowing
the front office is still looking to improve the team.



This is an exciting, overachieving Twins team.  They're not perfect, but
they don't give up, and they play hard.  As a Twins fan, this is a team to be proud of.

[Guest]

This is a whole lot more fun than last year.  I want them to win and all, but just being in the mix and among the leaders is a blast.  Enjoy the day. 

[Guest]

The bullpen has been better than I though it would be. Time for Falvey and Levine to be "buyers"