2018 Minnesota Twins In-Season Thread

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short ornery norwegian said:
It's funny you bring up Blackburn. Gibson threw 120 pitches in his last start. Before that, the last Twins pitcher to hit 120 pitches in a game was.......Nick Blackburn in (I think) 2011. Blackburn was one of those guys who would have a great start, then two bad outings in a row, then get hurt. You always hoped he's find some consistency, but he never did.
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Blackburn came up very clutch a few times in 2009. But he never had an entire calendar year like Gibson has had and never had the strike out rates etc.
 

howeda7 said:
Blackburn came up very clutch a few times in 2009. But he never had an entire calendar year like Gibson has had and never had the strike out rates etc.
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The one game playoff in 2008 loss to ChiSox is great example
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
The one game playoff in 2008 loss to ChiSox is great example
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Yep, also one of the final games in 2009 when the caught the Tigers, and then had them in position to win a play-off game in Yankee Stadium before Joe Nathan blew it and the Phil Cuzzi screwed over our come-back.
 

howeda7 said:
Yep, also one of the final games in 2009 when the caught the Tigers, and then had them in position to win a play-off game in Yankee Stadium before Joe Nathan blew it and the Phil Cuzzi screwed over our come-back.
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Just went and youtubed that game. That hurts. Homers by A Rod and Tex.

Are you talking about the call that landed about 2 feet fair but called it foul? I'm still convinced that was a purposeful screw job.
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
Just went and youtubed that game. That hurts. Homers by A Rod and Tex.

Are you talking about the call that landed about 2 feet fair but called it foul? I'm still convinced that was a purposeful screw job.
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Yep. I love how it takes a MN team getting screwed to prompt changes. The Twins had to play game 163 @ the White Sox in 2008 because they lost a coin flip even though they won the season series. Now it goes by the season series. (At least they benefited the next year). The Vikings got hosed in the 2010 NFC Championship by not getting the ball in OT. So they changed the rule. And not long after the Phil Cuzzi call, they had re-play in the play-offs for MLB.
 


howeda7 said:
Yep. I love how it takes a MN team getting screwed to prompt changes. The Twins had to play game 163 @ the White Sox in 2008 because they lost a coin flip even though they won the season series. Now it goes by the season series. (At least they benefited the next year). The Vikings got hosed in the 2010 NFC Championship by not getting the ball in OT. So they changed the rule. And not long after the Phil Cuzzi call, they had re-play in the play-offs for MLB.
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Never put those together. But good call (and depressing).

That Cuzzi miss was so bad the home plate umpire should have overruled. It still makes me frustrated.
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
Just went and youtubed that game. That hurts. Homers by A Rod and Tex.

Are you talking about the call that landed about 2 feet fair but called it foul? I'm still convinced that was a purposeful screw job.
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Cuzzi did grow up in New Jersey. I've never seen where he's been identified as having grown up a Yankees fan, but it makes sense he would have. That said, it's more likely he's just a bad umpire. He was fired as a minor league umpire and seems to have wormed his way back into the profession and into the major leagues by questionable means.
 

howeda7 said:
Yep, also one of the final games in 2009 when the caught the Tigers, and then had them in position to win a play-off game in Yankee Stadium before Joe Nathan blew it and the Phil Cuzzi screwed over our come-back.
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I can't blame Phil Cuzzi for the 2009 lost to the Yankees. Yes he made a bad call. But the Twins left 17 runners on base. that what cause us that game.
 




Ogee Oglethorpe said:
The fire sale continues; Twins trade Zack Duke to Seattle for a couple of scrubs

https://kstp.com/sports/twins-trade-reliever-zach-duke-to-seattle/5010823/

Ouch, neither guy is ranked in Seattle's top 20 prospects list, at least not that I found. Oh well...
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You're not going to get much for a 2 month rental of Zach Duke. As long as the Twins don't pay any of the $1 million he's owed, it's a win. If they can get someone to take Lance Lynn, I'd give him away to save $4 million.
 



Iceland12 said:
The Twins and Yankees have agreed to a trade that will send first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin to Minnesota, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (Twitter link). Other elements of the agreement remain unreported at this time.

https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1024070096975736833
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Looks like he was traded for Lance Lynn.

Joel Sherman Verified account
@Joelsherman1

#Yankees are getting Lance Lynn

man
‏
Verified account

@Joelsherman 12m2 minutes ago

Lynn owed about $4.3M. Hear #Twins will pay about $2M of that. Between offset and dealing Warren and $1.18M-ish left on his deal, #Yankees stayed about neutral in salary in this day's work.
 



Tyler Austin has a lot of potential. Ditching Lynn is good in itself. Good trade.
 


But, boy are the Twins going to have a great team in 2022 when all these players have worked their way to the majors.........

(obvious sarcasm. I'll be pleasantly surprised if 1 of the players they picked up in this round of deals ever plays a game in the major leagues.)
 


Seeing rumors that Mauer is going to retire at the end of the season. Probably for the best. If so, I'd rather they didn't trade him unless he requests it.
 

per ESPN:

• The Twins are working hard to deal Brian Dozier, but potential landing spots have fallen off the board in recent days. The Diamondbacks acquired Eduardo Escobar, the Brewers picked up Mike Moustakas, and the Dodgers didn't have much need for a second infield acquisition after they added Machado. The Phillies were looking for a more versatile infielder with the ability to play shortstop, so they went for Asdrubal Cabrera (even though the metrics and scouts seem to agree that he's now a defensive liability at the position).

The reported second-tier-interest teams are less-than-ideal fits. Cleveland needs a center fielder more than a second baseman. Boston is focused more on bullpen upgrades and has already acquired second baseman Ian Kinsler. And the Giants might be more motivated to sell than buy, given their place in the standings.

Still, as one observer said of Dozier, "He's going to get traded.'' Maybe a team that's already traded for an infielder decides to double-dip, or another club without a perfect positional fit finds a way to get Dozier in the lineup. There's a strong sense that he'll be wearing a different uniform by Wednesday.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24235348/what-happen-final-24-hours-deadline

Win Twins!!
 

Chip: Twins' sell-off has a purpose, but it's still guesswork

Levine noted that four of the five prospects acquired over the weekend will crack the organization’s list of top 30 prospects.

“That’s meaningful,” he said. “What we were able to accomplish yesterday may not pay dividends tomorrow, but on the horizon, that just got brighter.”

Maybe. Maybe not.

Buxton and Sano provide cautionary tales about becoming intoxicated by potential. They were billed as generational prospects and the Twins still have no idea what their ceiling will be. That doesn’t mean Falvine’s plan is flawed or the wrong course of action, but nobody really knows how this will play out.

Predicting future success of Class A-level prospects is pure guesswork. Trading Lance Lynn and Zach Duke — even Eduardo Escobar, as painful and unpopular as that was — in a lost season is worth the risk.

The development of Buxton and Sano remains the most important part of this whole blueprint. The organization can’t go 0-for-2 on those two cornerstones and pretend the impact would be minimal.

Sano’s physical appearance upon return from his midseason boot camp provides a dose of encouragement. His body looks noticeably different after shedding 20 pounds.

Sano doubled and singled in first two at-bats Monday after striking out five times in his first seven plate appearances after rejoining the team.

“Good things are coming,” he said.

He was talking about himself. The organization hopes a flurry of trades will produce the same result. In both cases, wait-and-see has become the template again.

http://www.startribune.com/twins-sell-off-has-a-purpose-but-it-s-still-guesswork/489588811/

Win Twins!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Chip: Twins' sell-off has a purpose, but it's still guesswork

Levine noted that four of the five prospects acquired over the weekend will crack the organization’s list of top 30 prospects.

“That’s meaningful,” he said. “What we were able to accomplish yesterday may not pay dividends tomorrow, but on the horizon, that just got brighter.”

Maybe. Maybe not.

Buxton and Sano provide cautionary tales about becoming intoxicated by potential. They were billed as generational prospects and the Twins still have no idea what their ceiling will be. That doesn’t mean Falvine’s plan is flawed or the wrong course of action, but nobody really knows how this will play out.

Predicting future success of Class A-level prospects is pure guesswork. Trading Lance Lynn and Zach Duke — even Eduardo Escobar, as painful and unpopular as that was — in a lost season is worth the risk.

The development of Buxton and Sano remains the most important part of this whole blueprint. The organization can’t go 0-for-2 on those two cornerstones and pretend the impact would be minimal.

Sano’s physical appearance upon return from his midseason boot camp provides a dose of encouragement. His body looks noticeably different after shedding 20 pounds.

Sano doubled and singled in first two at-bats Monday after striking out five times in his first seven plate appearances after rejoining the team.

“Good things are coming,” he said.

He was talking about himself. The organization hopes a flurry of trades will produce the same result. In both cases, wait-and-see has become the template again.

http://www.startribune.com/twins-sell-off-has-a-purpose-but-it-s-still-guesswork/489588811/

Win Twins!!
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I'm happy with the trades. I'm not going to pretend I know anything about the prospects, but 3 of the 4 were pending FA's and if I'm an Astros fan, I don't want Pressley in any high pressure situations.

Also, it'll be interesting to see how well Escobar does. My guess is he's going to get paid very well in the offseason. He's 4 for 8 so far with Arizona, 2 RBI's and a double. I'm rooting for that guy. Seems like a good dude, and he went from a light hitting utility man and throw in on a trade to a sluggling % machine
 

short ornery norwegian said:
But, boy are the Twins going to have a great team in 2022 when all these players have worked their way to the majors.........

(obvious sarcasm. I'll be pleasantly surprised if 1 of the players they picked up in this round of deals ever plays a game in the major leagues.)
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Why would you be surprised? I think there's a good chance at least one or two of them help in some way down the road. Either way, they've done a great job of filling the organization with prospects which gives them opportunities to buy at the trade deadline if they're contending in the next few years.
 

howeda7 said:
Seeing rumors that Mauer is going to retire at the end of the season. Probably for the best. If so, I'd rather they didn't trade him unless he requests it.
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I wouldn't mind if he would sign for 1 year. But I wonder how Austin fits into their plans now. Rooker should hopefully be ready to take over in 2020 (maybe sooner).
 

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Win Twins!!
 

GophersInIowa said:
I wouldn't mind if he would sign for 1 year. But I wonder how Austin fits into their plans now. Rooker should hopefully be ready to take over in 2020 (maybe sooner).
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Austin is out of options and will have to be protected from rule 5. So is Vargas. They will almost certainly end up releasing one or both of them in November.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I wouldn't mind if he would sign for 1 year. But I wonder how Austin fits into their plans now. Rooker should hopefully be ready to take over in 2020 (maybe sooner).
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I'd like one more year from him. If he's retiring, I wonder if he isnt happy going young again.

If not the Twins, I would like to see him play for a contender. Yankees would be a good fit for him.
 

howeda7 said:
Austin is out of options and will have to be protected from rule 5. So is Vargas. They will almost certainly end up releasing one or both of them in November.
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Vargas is gone. They wouldnt trade for Austin then just let him go. I was a huge Vargas guy and wanted to see him get 500AB in the majors. But his numbers this year have been underwhelming. He needed to tear it up in the minors this year
 

GophersInIowa said:
Why would you be surprised? I think there's a good chance at least one or two of them help in some way down the road. Either way, they've done a great job of filling the organization with prospects which gives them opportunities to buy at the trade deadline if they're contending in the next few years.
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Way to early to tell but thinking that they may not make the majors isn't so surprising. Only 10% of all MLB Draft picks make the majors. 66% of 1st Round picks do and one of the guys was a 1st Rounder right? About half of the 2nd Round picks make an appearance at least in the Majors. Anybody picked from there on down is quite a longshot.

Not thinking they will make the Majors shouldn't be much of a surprise.
 

Iceland12 said:
Way to early to tell but thinking that they may not make the majors isn't so surprising. Only 10% of all MLB Draft picks make the majors. 66% of 1st Round picks do and one of the guys was a 1st Rounder right? About half of the 2nd Round picks make an appearance at least in the Majors. Anybody picked from there on down is quite a longshot.

Not thinking they will make the Majors shouldn't be much of a surprise.
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Sure there's a chance none of them make it. But a few of these guys are pretty solid prospects. I think there's a pretty good chance at least one of them makes it.

Unless he meant the guys from the Duke trade only? There's a good shot several from the Pressley and Escobar trades make it. The pitcher they got in the Escobar trade threw 7 innings of no-hit ball last night in his debut with Cedar Rapids. They lost the combined no-hitter with 2 outs in the 9th. Alcala (pitcher received from Houston) is in double-a right now and throws in the upper 90's. He'll get a shot at sometime.
 


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