2018 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

I still think the signings were just fine. They were low risk moves. It’s hard to predict that Morrison and Lynn would have the worst seasons of their career. Bad luck, just didn’t work out.

On top of that, I think they got a very useful piece in return for Lynn with Tyler Austin. I've seen many Yankee fans wondering why they dealt him.
 


Everyone who responded to me about the free agent signings: I agree - low risk, medium reward moves. But the fact is they did not work at all. That makes them all bad moves. Did they hit on even one of them? Rodney? Kind of?

Reuse is saying, no free pass on that. Me too. Those moves did not work.

Molitor was essentially forced to bat Morrison game-after-game, instead of either 1. A better signing who gave the team a better chance to win or 2. Someone who has a future with the franchise. I couldn’t stand watching his first two months of abysmal PAs, where he couldn’t hit a ball off a tee. Just terrible.

Who would you have gone after then? Wasn’t really a lot of great options. For a 1 year deal with team option, Morrison was probably their best bet. I think they’re pretty high on Rooker to take over possibly next year.
 


Who would you have gone after then? Wasn’t really a lot of great options. For a 1 year deal with team option, Morrison was probably their best bet.
I generally agree. The point - again - is they didn't work out. Let's put it this way, if Falvine had known the results, you think they would have made any of those moves? They failed. Morrison was a complete bust. Yes, the deal they made with him was team-friendly. Yes, he was a complete failure anyway. With the acknowledged benefit of hindsight, I would have rather had someone in the minors bat 400+ times vs. Morrison.
 


I generally agree. The point - again - is they didn't work out. Let's put it this way, if Falvine had known the results, you think they would have made any of those moves? They failed. Morrison was a complete bust. Yes, the deal they made with him was team-friendly. Yes, he was a complete failure anyway. With the acknowledged benefit of hindsight, I would have rather had someone in the minors bat 400+ times vs. Morrison.

And had they not made those moves, Reusse would have written a column savaging the team for not spending any money.
 

And had they not made those moves, Reusse would have written a column savaging the team for not spending any money.
Well, they could have made different moves and spent the same amount of money, so, even though you are right, that wasn't the only other option. Here's the bottom line: This year was a very disappointing, but obvious failure. You cannot spin it any other way. There are many reasons why. One of those reasons is that the off-season acquisitions failed. Badly.

I give them a lot of credit for moving everything they did at the deadline. If we get Escobar back (big if), then I will classify that as a set of good moves. At this point. ;-)
 
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I generally agree. The point - again - is they didn't work out. Let's put it this way, if Falvine had known the results, you think they would have made any of those moves? They failed. Morrison was a complete bust. Yes, the deal they made with him was team-friendly. Yes, he was a complete failure anyway. With the acknowledged benefit of hindsight, I would have rather had someone in the minors bat 400+ times vs. Morrison.

Who did Logan Morrison take ABs from? Kennys Vargas? He's hitting like .230 in Rochester. Robbie Grossman? We've seen entirely too much of him as it is. It's a shame he was so bad the first two months. But it made sense at the time and it hasn't cost us anything. We may still be able to flip him for a prospect.
 

Who did Logan Morrison take ABs from? Kennys Vargas? He's hitting like .230 in Rochester. Robbie Grossman? We've seen entirely too much of him as it is. It's a shame he was so bad the first two months. But it made sense at the time and it hasn't cost us anything. We may still be able to flip him for a prospect.
We could have signed an NL pitcher that could hit better than him to DH and also be a pitcher.
 



We could have signed an NL pitcher that could hit better than him to DH and also be a pitcher.

Come on. Yes his BA sucks. He's still on pace for 20 HRs though, and that's what he was signed for. Don't exaggerate. A realistic expectation for him was probably to hit .260 with 25 HRs. He's probably going to end up around .210 with 20 HRs. Disappointing? Sure. A disaster? No.
 
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part of this is that a lot of older fans - myself included - are just beginning to wrap our heads around the new paradigm in baseball.

As I understand it, the stat gurus who are driving the game now put very little stock in the traditional "counting" stats - including batting average. It's all about HR's, OBP and OPS - not to mention the advanced stats I don't understand. So a Morrison type who hits .220 may be exactly what the team wants - if he hits 30 HR's, and draws some walks.

Ironically, Joe Mauer is almost the exact opposite of what the new age loves - he doesn't hit HR's. Yes, he still has a good OBP, and BABIP (yes, I know what that one means). But in the future, a 1B who doesn't hit HR's will never get a contract like Mauer had. Unless he improves his launch angle and exit velocity!!!!

The game is changing, and change is hard for a lot of people to accept.
 

I'm done watching the Twins this year. The FO gave up.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 

If Matt Belisle is on the Twins roster tomorrow, someone should be fired.
 



part of this is that a lot of older fans - myself included - are just beginning to wrap our heads around the new paradigm in baseball.

As I understand it, the stat gurus who are driving the game now put very little stock in the traditional "counting" stats - including batting average. It's all about HR's, OBP and OPS - not to mention the advanced stats I don't understand. So a Morrison type who hits .220 may be exactly what the team wants - if he hits 30 HR's, and draws some walks.

Ironically, Joe Mauer is almost the exact opposite of what the new age loves - he doesn't hit HR's. Yes, he still has a good OBP, and BABIP (yes, I know what that one means). But in the future, a 1B who doesn't hit HR's will never get a contract like Mauer had. Unless he improves his launch angle and exit velocity!!!!

The game is changing, and change is hard for a lot of people to accept.

You're somewhat contracting yourself. OBP and OPS are valued as you say. Mauer still has a great OBP. If he was still a catcher, he'd be top 10 at his position. It's only the move to 1B that de-values him.
 

They need to get the old, dead weight of this roster. Let's see only players who will be here in 2019.

Release Belisle, Wilson and Morrison. Magill can take Belisle's spot. Astudillo and Austin can replace other two. I'll give Santana a pass as we try to find someone who will trade for him. And Mauer of course.
 

Two of the hits, including one HR came off of this year’s overall #1 pick.

 

Well, they could have made different moves and spent the same amount of money, so, even though you are right, that wasn't the only other option. Here's the bottom line: This year was a very disappointing, but obvious failure. You cannot spin it any other way. There are many reasons why. One of those reasons is that the off-season acquisitions failed. Badly.

I give them a lot of credit for moving everything they did at the deadline. If we get Escobar back (big if), then I will classify that as a set of good moves. At this point. ;-)

Again, like who? There weren’t very good 1B free agents last year.

I view it differently. The signings weren’t bad, several performing well below their career averages is what is. That’s not the fault of the guys that made the moves.
 

Again, like who? There weren’t very good 1B free agents last year.
Beside the fact that we have a 1B and Morrison is essentially a full-time DH.....I don’t know. Someone that can hit above .170 with 7 HRs in the first 3 months of the season? Oh goodie, he’s going to bat .195 with 18 HRs. None of which mattered much. And that’s only one of the moves they made.

I view it differently. The signings weren’t bad, several performing well below their career averages is what is. That’s not the fault of the guys that made the moves.
Agree to disagree. That’s what makes them a failure. Perhaps other teams knew better? [emoji848]

Again, it happens. A lot of things went wrong and on paper the moves looked halfway promising. But they did not work.
 

part of this is that a lot of older fans - myself included - are just beginning to wrap our heads around the new paradigm in baseball.

As I understand it, the stat gurus who are driving the game now put very little stock in the traditional "counting" stats - including batting average. It's all about HR's, OBP and OPS - not to mention the advanced stats I don't understand. So a Morrison type who hits .220 may be exactly what the team wants - if he hits 30 HR's, and draws some walks.

Ironically, Joe Mauer is almost the exact opposite of what the new age loves - he doesn't hit HR's. Yes, he still has a good OBP, and BABIP (yes, I know what that one means). But in the future, a 1B who doesn't hit HR's will never get a contract like Mauer had. Unless he improves his launch angle and exit velocity!!!!

The game is changing, and change is hard for a lot of people to accept.

Batting average isn't a counting stat.
 

Beside the fact that we have a 1B and Morrison is essentially a full-time DH.....I don’t know. Someone that can hit above .170 with 7 HRs in the first 3 months of the season? Oh goodie, he’s going to bat .195 with 18 HRs. None of which mattered much. And that’s only one of the moves they made.

He’s started more games at 1B than DH (46 to 32). You need to have two first basemen on the team. How do you predict Morrison and Lynn would have their worst season of their careers (Lynn by a long shot)?
 

You're somewhat contracting yourself. OBP and OPS are valued as you say. Mauer still has a great OBP. If he was still a catcher, he'd be top 10 at his position. It's only the move to 1B that de-values him.

Is that a Freudian slip? I assume you mean contradicting yourself. I just think it's funny you wrote "contracting" in a discussion about the Twins.
 

He’s started more games at 1B than DH (46 to 32). You need to have two first basemen on the team. How do you predict Morrison and Lynn would have their worst season of their careers (Lynn by a long shot)?
But we already had Mauer and Sano, so it was planned he would be full-time DH.

Morrison is a career .240 hitter over 9 seasons with two years (so far) exceeding 17 HRs. His career slugging pct is a weak .429. He was signed on Feb 25. A lot of teams predicted last year was a fluke.

Lance Lynn was signed on March 12. Again, lots of teams passed on him. But I agree, his struggles were more difficult to see coming.

Again, on paper, good signings. Hindsight? Failures.
 


Lance Lynn went 7.3 scoreless innings for the Yankees tonight. Because of course he would do that.
 

Lance Lynn went 7.3 scoreless innings for the Yankees tonight. Because of course he would do that.
So 8 innings? [emoji848] And what a d-bag. The guys we got for him I assume just tore all their ACLs getting on the plane.
 

I never cared for Lance Lynn much, but now I downright detest him. Was it just that he didn't care when he was here? Knows that he can't get away with shatass pitching in the Bronx? WTF
 

The text of Falvey's letter to season ticket holders:

As part of a continued commitment to transparency and partnership with key stakeholders like you, I wanted to take a moment to share some of the internal perspective that contributed to our trade deadline decisions over the past couple weeks. It is not lost on me the emotional impact that comes along with changes of this magnitude and I commit to you that we will never take that for granted. My hope is that this brief insight will better allow you to understand the difficult steps we took aimed at achieving the only goal that matters — to give the Minnesota Twins organization the best chance to achieve sustainable championship-caliber baseball.

We began 2018 eager to build off of a memorable run to the American League Wild Card game. Much progress had been made in the second-half of last season, and with the bulk of that group returning, we believed there was momentum to build off of. Our offseason goal was to marry that core group from ’17 with a targeted infusion of external talent — via free-agency and trade — with a vision of taking steps toward competing for a Central Division crown.

Unfortunately, as we all have witnessed so far, we have not tracked consistently enough this season to turn that vision into a reality… yet. We have weathered some injuries, dealt with a suspension, and collectively performed at a level short of expectations. It is no secret that as a team we have not yet clicked in a way that reflects what we believed this group could achieve on the field.

On July 27, less than a week out from the trade deadline, we sat at the 100-game mark. More than 60% of the season had passed and we were six games below .500, 7.5 games behind first place Cleveland, ranking 9th of the 15 teams in the AL. We were tasked with a difficult decision – to either invest more in 2019 and beyond, or to stay the course and hope for a significant rebound and improved health. I want to make one thing clear — our commitment will always be to invest in the now or in the future. It is our fervent belief that by doing neither, teams will run right past us. That is not an acceptable outcome and would represent a missed opportunity.

A difficult decision had to be made and because our scouts, coaches, and baseball operations staff were prepared for all potential courses of action, we were able to put a plan into motion to infuse significant talent into our organization for the future. With the support of ownership we completed five trades that netted us 12 players who will contribute to our future. These players supplemented an already strong farm system, the lifeblood of a winning organization.

While I believe deep in my heart that this was the right decision, I do not take it lightly that an investment in the future often comes with pain in the present. Whether they were recent additions to the Twins like Lance Lynn and Zach Duke or longtime members such as Ryan Pressly, Eduardo Escobar, and Brian Dozier, it is challenging to see players go who have been integral members of our Twins family. Nothing will replace the impact they have had on this franchise and in our community. We cannot thank them enough for their commitment to Minnesota and will always work to support them and their families. Much like those guys stepped up for the likes of Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Torii Hunter, so too must young players like Eddie Rosario, Kyle Gibson, Jose Berrios, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco and so many others.

We believe in the players who are currently on this roster and so many others who are on the way. I am confident that great days are ahead for our baseball team. The adversity faced this season will only make our players better moving forward. Led by Paul Molitor and Joe Mauer, there is a great deal of talent and character in that clubhouse, and I know they appreciate your support each and every day. We should all look forward to a strong finish to this season and the continued growth of our players as we build toward sustained, championship-caliber baseball together.

Most importantly, thank you for your continued support!

Derek Falvey
Executive Vice President and Chief Baseball Officer
The Minnesota Twins

http://www.startribune.com/twins-boss-derek-falvey-a-difficult-decision-had-to-be-made/490183001/

Win Twins!!
 

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The Twins organization wants to rebuild their fanbase from the ground up. I stopped watching them.
 

So 8 innings? [emoji848] And what a d-bag. The guys we got for him I assume just tore all their ACLs getting on the plane.

Sorry, 7 1/3 innings. Maybe it was because they made him shave.

We got Austin for him and he has MLB experience. But apparently Falvine/Molitor are more interested in seeing some guy named Johnny Field.
 




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