2017 Twins Game Logs

Trade Deadline Thread. Oh and Some Baseball Game

94 Comments

Bartolo Colon vs. Somebody you never heard of, 3:10 p.m.

Rajai Davis? Really? And what is it about July 29th and the Oakland A's?

I wouldn't be surprised to see hugs in both dugouts today in the final full day before the trade deadline if trades hadn't happened before the game. Sonny Gray was originally supposed to be starting today but his start was pushed back till tomorrow after the deadline, which he's not expected to make, at least not in an A's uniform.

And for those who have been pleading for a complete fire sale by the Twins, you might want to take a look at the opposing dugout at a team that seems to be in perpetual selloff mode and see how much good it has done them.

94 thoughts on “Trade Deadline Thread. Oh and Some Baseball Game”

  1. I don't think anyone on this site is advocating a complete fire sale. I'll be disappointed if they trade Ervin or Dozier, pending return, obviously.

    Kintzler might not be a bad idea. His value is pretty obviously at its peak (but everyone knows that - certainly opposing GMs do)

    1. Obviously the best time to trade Dozier was in the offseason; at this point I'd be inclined to keep him for next season.

      Seems like Santana could actually have some interest from contenders, but I don't know that he'd be acquired in return for quality young starters, which is the most pressing need. I like Ervin, but I'd have my ringer turned up.

      The Twins are on the hook to Phil Hughes for $26.4M over the next two years. Hopefully they took out an insurance policy on that contract.

    1. Right. That seems like a pure sell to me. I'm fine with Grossman getting DH time. No real reason to trade him unless you're actually going to get something for him.

    2. You're not going to get a superstar for Grossman, but I think you'd get something worth having. I mean, they got something worth having for John Ryan Murphy. Plus, he's as good as he's likely to be, they have no need for five outfielders, and Vargas or Park, who's batted well in AAA for the last couple of months without very many people noticing, can DH.

    3. I don't know how many contending teams need a low power high OB% DH, but if the Twins could extract any value for Grossman (like Nunez for Meija last year or a low minor leaguer with some upside), I would be happy. But if the Twins dump him for cash I think that would be a mistake.

      1. I agree, although sometimes those "cash considerations" trades carry some unwritten understandings of future help. Or so I've read.

    1. Since 2010 the Twins have more 90+ loss seasons than the Astros (including their tanking years).

      1. Better to commit to the losing rather than delusional aspirations for competing next year.

  11. A 3-0 lead in the first. With Colon starting and with our bullpen, I'd say this one's in the bag, wouldn't you?

  12. Brian Dozier (134) is 1 home run behind Joe Mauer (135) on the Twins career HR list.
    Eddie Escobar is tied with Jim Thome (37)

    1. Next on the list for Dozier & Mauer: Michael Cuddyer at 141.
      Next on the list for Escobar: César Tovar & Dan Gladden at 38, Leo Cardenas & Cristian Guzmán at 39.

    1. First ballot HoF sealed with that I think. He had enough for 75% eventually, but I doubt on the first ballot. Now, 3000 hits to go with elite fielding and incredible longevity. If he continues after 2018, when his contract expires, he could even get 500 home runs.

      1. I think the rest of Beltre's playing days (from an outside perception) is all about where he lays on the "All time best third basemen ever" list. Somewhere in a Schmidt, Matthews, Boogs, Brett, Chipper Jones, Brooks Robinson sandwich.

        1. By rWAR Beltré has a very good shot at passing Eddie Mathews for second greates third baseman all time. He'd need 14 more rWAR to catch Schmidt, which seems unlikely.

          He's virtually tied with Al Kaline for 28th best position player all time.

      2. I wonder what the chances are of Beltré going in as a Ranger. He didn't even join Texas until his age-32 season, but in seven seasonsin Arlington he has posted nearly as much rWAR (40.1) as he did in twelve with LA & Seattle combined (44.5).

  14. Kershaw would be an interesting Hall of Fame case if his career ended now. You could make an argument for him. I hope, though, that it will be a moot question.

  15. Once a game, Eddie Rosario does something thats makes me stare blankly at the tv and then say "what are you doing?"

    1. And to his credit, he got out of it with only two runs, and there was the missed pop fly. My comment was probably too harsh.

  22. Colón extends his mark for most innings pitched in a start by oldest Twins starter.

  23. Colón's first walk as a Twin.

    I kind of hope it's not his last. You know, unless he goes on some Carlos Silva-like tear.

    1. b-r has him slashing .265/.289/.386/.675 lifetime against the squad, but I swear he bats .400 against the Twins.

    1. You don't, obviously.

      How does a Molitor-coached team make so many bone-headed mistakes?

  32. Listening to the Twins is getting to be like listening to the Vikings. You know they're going to blow it somehow--the only question is how.

  33. In his last five appearances, Taylor Rogers has pitched three innings and given up nine runs on seven hits and four walks. His ERA has gone from 1.93 to 3.79.

      1. Well, he's going to be there for a few more days, so I hope he figures something out.

  36. Yes, it would have been nice for the Twins to keep scoring runs. But it should not be asking too much of your pitching staff to hold a 5-0 lead.

    1. Dick wouldn't shut up about that. "It's inevitable" that the Twins would lose if they didn't score again after taking a 5-0 lead. I guess he had this bullpen in mind, but when an offense scores 5 runs in a game, you should not be blaming it for a loss.

      1. I was able to turn on the TV for about a half hour of the game and that was the first comment I heard. I immediately hit the mute button.

        1. And no, he wasn't referencing the Twins' bad bullpen. He was talking about the mystical, magical "momentum" that Oakland had which would lead to their inevitable victory unless the Twins did something to stop it.

        1. the funny thing about this is my feed was so far behind that i thought he was asking about the crappy job by cuzzi on dozier's previous AB (which was identically as bad). once i caught up, i realized he was talking about the crappy job on the next AB.

    2. Dozier again? He had 2 really bad calls for strike 3 in yesterday's game. I think 75% of big leaguers would have gotten ejected (or at least their manager would have been ejected protecting them).

  41. Given that a single scores a run (probably), I would pitch to Sano rather than walk him to pitch to Mauer, too.

  42. Sano strikes out on a ball 5 inches off the plate, but its been a strike all day.

    1. That's what I don't like about the saying that "all we want from the umpire is that he be consistent." Yes, that's better than inconsistent, but consistently wrong is still wrong.

      1. Im not saying its right. The pitches have been balls and should be called. But Colon was getting those called strikes and the A's never flipped out.

        Phil Cuzzi is not a good umpire.

        1. My comment wasn't directed specifically at you. But if I've heard that once, I've heard it a hundred times, and it always annoys me.

          1. Just to expand on the point: we wouldn't accept an umpire who consistently called runners who were out by half a step safe. We wouldn't accept an umpire who consistently called balls two feet fair foul. So why do we accept an umpire who consistently calls pitches five inches outside strikes? It makes no sense to me.

    2. Phil Cuzzi calling it a strike and it being a strike are two different things.

      Cuzzi

      1. I love this picture right below Jeff's comment about umpires calling balls fair foul

  49. How different does the bullpen look if Trevor Mays and JT Chargois are out there?

    Maybe they get lit up like the rest of them, but at least they could strike a person out.

    1. Better than the -3.3 rWAA for relief pitchers, tied for last in MLB with the Rays. The Twins are -4.6 rWAA overall, so 72% is from the bullpen. Another -2.0 rWAA are from the starters.

    2. Pressly was the one with the blown save and he's leading the Twins with 10.5 K/9. His only out was a strikeout, though. Just one batter too late. It would also help if Molitor would start trusting Hildenberger with more leads. He has a 2.57 FIP. Also, why is Busenitz on the roster? He hasn't pitched in about a week. Watch Granite get sent to AAA because the extra reliever is so desperately needed even though guys like Busenitz rarely get used.

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