Latest / Twin Cities Territory / Byron Buxton back to IL, Walker Jenkins debuts as Twins' hopes dim

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Byron Buxton back to IL, Walker Jenkins debuts as Twins' hopes dim · Twin Cities Territory

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: A frustrating weekend for the Minnesota Twins as they lose
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: two out of three to the division rival Chicago White Sox,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: all but nailing the door in any hopes of winning
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the Central and keeping them in traction in the wildcard standing. Somehow,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: despite losing two out of three, the Twins did not
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: lose any ground there. Still just four games back in
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: this trash heap of a race for that third and
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: final spot in the AL. Guardians also lost two of
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: three this weekend to the Royals, still in the lead
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: there at 69 and 68. But Plenty of news to
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: talk about today on Twin Cities Territory, your Minnesota Twins
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: podcast here on the Foul Territory Network. And we will
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: start with Byron Buxton, who is headed back to the
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: IL after re-aggravating his hip injury in the past week.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: There was a ball in the gap in Oakland that
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: he tried to reach down for and couldn't quite get
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: and immediately left the game after that. Hasn't played since. Dan,
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: what's the latest with Byron?
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Byron went on the I.L., and there's still hope
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: with the Twins that they'll get him back, but you
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: never know. I mean, the hip is tricky. It's been tricky.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: He's frustrated. He just saw no improvement in between that
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: return from Sacramento, and that prompted the decision to bring
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: up Gabby Gonzalez. But Byron indicated it to me when
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: I was in Sacramento on Wednesday that, There was going
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: to be a plan to get him back in place
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: this season, but then also potentially a plan for how
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: to deal with his hip in the offseason. To me,
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: at the time, that indicated that he was potentially keeping
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: an eye on a surgical procedure. I don't know what
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: that is, but I know that when Jeremy Zoll talked
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: to the reporters on Friday before the game, he was
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: asked specifically, does that mean that Byron could have surgery
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: after the season? And Zol said, that is on the table.
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: It is among the options, but it's something that's down
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: the road. They haven't come to that conclusion yet because
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: they're still hoping to get him back this season. Um,
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: I mean, you would have to think that that would
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: be an option because this is something that's bugged Byron
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: going back to 2021 and it's bugged him all season
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: this year since May. Um, And it's unfortunate because this
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: team was thinly built. We've known that all along. They
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: had the seventh lowest payroll on opening day in baseball.
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: And to play meaningful games, which it's going to be
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: really a struggle to do here in September when we
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: flip the page on Wednesday or Tuesday, whatever, for them
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: to do that, they're going to need a ton of
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: production from young guys because they were built where it's, hey,
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: we need– absolute production from Joe Ryan Byron Buxton and
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: Pablo Lopez and Pablo has been out since February 16th
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: Byron's now effectively been out since the all-star break he
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: has a 477 OPS in the second half in like
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: the 18 games he played um just hasn't been able
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: to get it done and the hip is clearly the
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: driver for that um but you look at it and
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: it's like this is an uphill battle it was going
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: to be an uphill battle all season unless they could
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: stay on the field and Here we are where your
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: two All-Stars really contributed nothing in the second half. That's
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: why the team is 9-17 in August. The losing to
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: the White Sox, especially losing Saturday, losing by a run,
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: you needed to win two of three. You needed to push,
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: and instead you lost ground to the White Sox, and
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: effectively that division is over. Even though you still have
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: a ton of games in division coming up, You lost
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: three to the team that you're chasing at home and
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: gave them three more days off the calendar.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: Byron Buxton, Tyler, as Dan mentioned, obviously wasn't playing very
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: well since coming back from the aisle last time. So
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: in terms of that situation, maybe not a huge loss
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: from the production he was getting, but still the veteran
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: leadership and having that guy in the clubhouse has got
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: to be a big deal.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: No, it's big.
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: And what I was thinking about all weekend with Jenkins,
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: you know, he made that great play, you know, at
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: the track. You can tell he's still not, you know,
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: getting familiar with the ground you're on now.
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: He's, you know, that's like his third game played. You know, that's.
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: Byron's going to be so valuable to him, I think,
• 4:19
  Speaker 4: for the next few weeks. And I know he will
• 4:21
  Speaker 4: be there, you know, I'm sure. I would like to imagine,
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: I've done it with Byron Shaggin' BP, like talking about
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: how the wind blows and, you know, when balls come
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: from certain directions, what they do. And And those conversations
• 4:34
  Speaker 4: can speed up Walker's preparedness. I mean, they can get
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: him ready quickly. It's something that will be big for
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: the team. If Byron can't be on the field, he
• 4:44
  Speaker 4: can help those guys get prepared as well as they can.
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: Most of the time when guys, depending on who it is,
• 4:49
  Speaker 4: things like that, we've seen Pablo travel and whatever. I'm
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: sure Byron, depending on their plan especially, will be around
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: for all of these games. And he's going to be
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: in the dugout helping these guys stay ready. You know, it's,
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: it's just one, it's tough. You'd never want to see it.
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: You know, we've talked about it off and on for
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: a while. You know, it's unfortunate, but at the same time,
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: he can make his value be seen in other places
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: right now.
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: And, and that's what he can do is help these
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: young guys coming up.
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: You know, he was that huge pick with all the
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: pressure and all the things like he's been there and
• 5:21
  Speaker 4: done it, you know, and played center field in that
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: stadium for a long time and done it well.
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: So he can contribute a lot.
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: You know, the big one, we need Joe, you know,
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: somewhere even if it's you know shorter outings whatever it
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: is you know kind of just get get up get
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: those feet on the mound and comfort with that hip
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: because without him it's going to be a tough stretch.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah the other star on the shelf right now Joe
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: Ryan uh continues to make progress towards getting back and
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: Dan he's headed for a triple a start soon.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah Omaha on Tuesday I think He said it's the
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: first time he'll ever been to Nebraska in his life,
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: so he's excited about that. Yeah, he's crossing the state off.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: I think the big step for him was throwing to
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: hitters at St. Paul during batting practice on Wednesday, I believe,
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: if I got my days right. He said that was
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: a huge step because it's the first time he's faced
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: hitters since he went on the IL. And it was
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: only one inning up and down, but the idea that
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: Joe's like– feeling optimistic is a good place for the
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: twins because that's what, that's the key to all of
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: this is the Joe is, is in the right head
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: space as he does this because you know, he's, we've
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: talked about it so many times before. He's so in
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: tune with his body that he knows what, when he's
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: off and if he's feeling off, um, you know, I
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: think confidence is a big driver. Look, that's for any athlete.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: Like the mind is, there's plenty of big arms, but
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: having that, Having that confidence that your stuff is going
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: to do it and then being able to execute it,
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: that's critical to this. I don't think Joe was in
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: the spot for a long time mentally where he thought
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: his stuff was playing up. When you are not blowing
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: guys away at 99 and you're instead living on arm
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: angles and deception and balls that carry, you need that
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: mental side of things. I think he is finally there.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: That would be good for them because he's got 939
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: ERA since the All-Star break. The other part of this, again,
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: it's so tough for this team because they did some
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: good things at the deadline to add around the fringes
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: of the roster. And yet right now they can't access
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: those parts because they're getting into some of those late games,
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: but they're tied. Jeff Hoffman came in on Sunday and
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: closed out the game. That was great. It was a
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: good big moment. But you need to be able to
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: get Jeff Hoffman the ball with the lead. You need
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: to get Minter the ball with the lead. And the
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: starting pitching, aside from Zebby Matthews, has been iffy. And
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: they need Joe Ryan to be back out there. I
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: don't know what the timeline is. He'll get a rehab
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: start Tuesday. Like, is that going to be enough? I
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: don't know. I would imagine he might get two. And
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: then we'll see him, which– We're at 25 games left,
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: so that means maybe Joe's here for the last 15,
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: so maybe two or three starts. They need it all.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: They need his leadership, but again, when you are constructed
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: the way they were, your best players have to perform
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: and stay on the field. It's unfortunate because the effort's
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: certainly there from Byron. He has killed himself to get
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: on the field and stay on the field, but his
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: hip has just constantly been a thorn in his side
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: since May. With Joe... It went downhill fast. You could
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: see it coming. He talked about it a little bit,
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: feeling it early before he went on the bad roll,
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: and then when he lost it, he lost it quick.
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: It was Joe Ryan, pitcher you can't put on the mound.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: They need the Joe Ryan June version and May version.
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: If they're optimistic, they're getting that.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's going to have to be worth a shot, right?
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: Assuming things go well Tuesday, Tyler, it's red alert time
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: for the season, so I think unless everybody else in
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: the rotation continues to throw like Zebby did on Sunday,
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: you might have to.
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: Just give it a try and see what you get.
• 9:26
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and in my head, I'm playing it out in
• 9:29
  Speaker 4: my mind, and arm injuries are typically the ones you've
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: got to ramp up a little more carefully, things like that.
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: In my head, I'm hoping that this was something, get
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: it to calm down, get it to feel right, have
• 9:44
  Speaker 4: a warm-up routine in place, things like that to help
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: alleviate it. He can just kind of jump right back in,
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: I would like to think. He's been healthy all year,
• 9:53
  Speaker 4: he's built up, all those good things. I don't think
• 9:56
  Speaker 4: the arm should be much of the issue, so assuming
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: that hip, back, whatever exactly muscle they nailed down is
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: bouncing back and recovering even in between innings, he should
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: be able to hit the ground running. And to that point,
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: like Dan said, we need the pre-All-Star break Joe back badly.
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: And obviously he's going to try to be that guy,
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: but you just never know the sharpness and things like that.
• 10:22
  Speaker 4: But like I said, as long as he comes out
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: and the back's good, I would like to think he
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: can jump in and throw five, six innings without having
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: to take too much time to build.
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: Up and things like that.
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: But without him coming around that rotation at least three
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: more times, it just gets tough with these matchups. Detroit's
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: guys all line up pretty well. They've got great starters.
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: We saw the Tigers this weekend. They had plenty of
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: arms to throw at us. You've got to match up
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: with these guys or we're not going to score a
• 10:52
  Speaker 4: bunch of runs. We can't afford anything right now. We're
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: talking about little mistakes here and there. It's costing us games.
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: Having Joe would fix some of that anyway.
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: You can read more about Buxton's injury, Joe Ryan's status,
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: and Zebby Matthews' gem from Sunday on The Athletic right
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: now and Dan Hayes' latest article. We'll talk more about
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: Zebby's game and the rest from this weekend series against
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: the White Sox, including Walker Jenkins' debut in a second.
• 11:22
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• 11:24
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• 11:27
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• 11:29
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• 11:30
  Speaker 2: We'll be right back.
• 11:33
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• 12:36
  Speaker 1: The Twins lost 2-3 this weekend. Against Chicago, probably the
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: biggest news from the weekend, if you will, is the
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: debut of Walker Jenkins, who arrived on Friday in time
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: for the series opener. A couple of hits over the weekend,
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: an RBI on the ground out, a nice catch in
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: center field. Wasn't quite as loud of a debut as
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: Caleb Culpepper, who homered in Milwaukee, Tyler. But overall, he
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: was acquitting himself well, it seemed.
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, looked comfortable in the box, you know,
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: got some balls in the outfield, you know, I think
• 13:10
  Speaker 4: he had a nice double mixed in there with some singles,
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: you know, he just, he looked like a baseball player,
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: you know, he's going to get comfortable, you know, just
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: with the stadium, like I've talked about this many times,
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: you know, it's just, to your eye, things look a
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: little different once you get into those buildings, they're just bigger,
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: you know, things are just a little different, maybe it's louder,
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: whatever it may be, but at the end of the
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: day he looked comfortable he didn't look lost out there
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: made made the great catch in the outfield that was
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: a big one getting comfortable out there is going to
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: be huge for the team as a whole just having
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: him on the prowl out there like having a guy
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: who can lock it down and catch everything close to
• 13:47
  Speaker 4: him you know it matters right now and you know
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: the hitting the hitting if it works out and he
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: tears the cover off the ball this month great but
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: at the end of the day you need a guy
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: you know you're replacing Byron Buxton in center field at
• 14:00
  Speaker 4: this point who We all know what he can do
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: with the glove.
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: He looked great. Didn't look overwhelmed.
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: He fits the part, man. They had the comps of
• 14:11
  Speaker 4: him and Joe, the two-hand finish, and it's funny. It's
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: like no pressure, kid. But at the same time, you
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: love to see those things and just inspire some hope.
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: And these fans, honestly, everybody's been clamoring for it. Here
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: he is, and he's doing his job, doing it well.
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: And it's one of those just stay where you're at, man.
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: You don't need to be– Don't be the hero. You know,
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: just let that moment come and, and just try and
• 14:34
  Speaker 4: do what you can to help win.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: Just one strikeout in 10 plate appearances as well over
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: the weekend, which was nice to see no children saved.
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: Mower-esque.
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Mower-esque. Exactly.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: Uh, probably just because there were no children that needed saving.
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: I'm sure he would have had there been such a thing, but, uh, Dan,
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: you were there on Sunday post game. Derek Shelton had
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: some things to say about him as well.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: Right. Uh, he basically said this game didn't speed up
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: on Walker. And we've seen that with Kalen Culpepper. You know,
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: this Saturday for error for Kalen is unfortunate, but you
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: can count on one hand, how many times you've thought
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: Kalen Culpepper's looked overmatched in the major so far. It's
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: not very many. And if, if Walker Jenkins can provide
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: the same, if that's a high base, like baseline, cause
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: Kalen Culpepper has been amazing so far. The first month for, for,
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: three plus weeks for Kevin Culpepper has been about as
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: good as expected, especially playing shortstop in a premium position.
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: Walker Jenkins came up and, you know, that first swing
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: Friday looked like a laser. He just crushed that ball.
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: It found a glove. He had good swings all weekend.
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: He had good swing decisions all weekend. And I think
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: that that is what Shelton was talking about, where it
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: just didn't speed up on him. He just looked at
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: ease and, like he could come in and just do
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: his job. And Mike Tyler's point was like, that's all
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: they need from him. They being a healthy center fielder
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: that can run the ball down and knows the position.
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: That's what they're looking for. And he, he made the
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: nice play Sunday, but he just didn't try to do
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: too much. And they're not asking him for a lot either.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: You know, they're batting ninth. They're giving them the chance
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: to ease in. I think that's a good plan. I
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: think that's why it's worked for Culpepper is, you don't
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: put him in the middle of the order and go,
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: Hey kid, we need you to save us. You're, you're
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: letting him kind of get his feet wet. And the
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: idea that he came up and feels like he is,
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: you know, comfortable because you can see he feels like
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: he is. But the fact that he gave that impression
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: to other people is a good spot to start from.
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: And like, they weren't going to call him up for
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: a cup of coffee. Obviously they're, they're, they're bringing them
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: up for the, for the full thing. But with Buxton
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: head of the IL officially now, like, That's your spot, kid.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: Center field, go at it. Still just 21 years old,
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: but this next month now has a lot of time.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: I would say relatively stress-free, Tyler, just given they're still
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: in a playoff race, but it's not your fault if
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: they fade out of it for sure.
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: No, and that's kind of what we hit on when
• 17:15
  Speaker 4: the initial calls for him to be up were there.
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: There just wasn't this opportunity. He was going to be
• 17:20
  Speaker 4: coming off the bench. plug him into right, plug him
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: into left, put him in positions that he's not regularly playing,
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: things like that. This is now that spot we talked
• 17:29
  Speaker 4: about so often was now he's in the lineup every day.
• 17:33
  Speaker 4: I'm going to assume, don't quote me, but he's going
• 17:36
  Speaker 4: to be in the lineup every day for the rest
• 17:37
  Speaker 4: of the year. He's going to get all the at-bats.
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: They plugged him in the nine hole. If he gets hot,
• 17:42
  Speaker 4: maybe they'll bump him up a little bit. But figure
• 17:46
  Speaker 4: out your routine as a big leaguer. you know, he's
• 17:48
  Speaker 4: going to get the experience of the travel for the
• 17:50
  Speaker 4: first time. You know, he's been in the minor leagues,
• 17:52
  Speaker 4: the travels, you travel once a week, you get an
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: off day after it every time.
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: Like it's the best thing ever. It's, you know, it's
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: club med of baseball.
• 18:00
  Speaker 4: Now you're, you know, playing the men's league and it's,
• 18:03
  Speaker 4: you know, three days later, you got the late travel,
• 18:05
  Speaker 4: you got a day game, you got a back-to-back, whatever
• 18:08
  Speaker 4: it is.
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: It's a lot at once. You know, even dealing, I'm
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: sure he's got plenty of media.
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: He's been dealing with all those things and, as that
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: settles down, it's, it's just baseball, but you know, he,
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: like we keep saying, he looks comfortable.
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: He's, he's the right guy.
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: Like I said to the other day, him being just
• 18:26
  Speaker 4: down the street, like it, it didn't change anything.
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: It's a drive over from St.
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: Paul.
• 18:30
  Speaker 4: You know, it's not a new environment. It's not a
• 18:32
  Speaker 4: bunch of new faces. So getting comfortable quick is all
• 18:35
  Speaker 4: you can really ask for. And it seems to be
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: going that way.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: We'll move on to the other good news from the
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: weekend before we get to the rest, but Zebby Matthews,
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: holy moly, perfect into the sixth inning on Sunday. Ended
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: up going eight in the third as the Twins beat
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: the White Sox 5-1 in the finale. Didn't get the
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: shutout because he was responsible for the runner-on in the
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: ninth when Jeff Hoffman allowed the RBI single. But Dan,
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: this is a pattern now for Zebby, six or seven
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: good starts in a row and at a time when
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: the Twins have desperately needed somebody, anybody to step up
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: and provide that.
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he is seven starts, 321 ERA. No long balls,
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: like four home runs in 42 innings in that span.
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: And this is a guy that in his first 70
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: innings gave up 15 home runs. And it felt like
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: the home run, even though some of them were solos,
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: it just felt like the home run jumped up and
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: bit him. And he just seems like he's taken that step.
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: I think one part of it has been the slider
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: and feeling much more comfortable with it. it's been a
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: good pitch for him. Most of the season, it's been
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: exceptional during the seven starts. And he talked about coming
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: back from that Wrigley, and he got crushed at Wrigley.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: Let's see. The start was on July 19th. He pitched
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: three innings, gave up nine hits, ten runs, eight earned.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: He kind of wore it that day because they were
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: going to be shorthanded, especially with Joe Ryan being pushed
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: back in time. Ever since then, they really worked on
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: the slider. making adding depth to it and the run
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: value for that pitch is off the charts on the season.
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: His sliders run value is seven. I believe it's like
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: nine plus over these seven starts and, you know, getting
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: a second pitch to pair because this fastball has life.
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: It runs. It's, it's good. He's always can be around
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: the zone. He has a nice mix, but you know,
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: getting the slider to be a weapon for him has
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: been huge. And I think when you have that and
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: the fastball in place, it's, He's just found some confidence.
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: And yesterday was the first time in his career he
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: recorded him out in the eighth inning. And that's a
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: huge step for him because this is a guy where, frankly,
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: two months ago or even a month and a half ago,
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: you're going, is he a starter or does he actually
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: seem like he'd be better in the bullpen? And I
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: think we've seen now this sustained success that says he
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: can be a good starter. And he might be your
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: three or your four, but he has the potential in him.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: and that he knows it now that he's discovered it
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: is the key. Cause this has been a weird year
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: for him. Think about it. We saw him at the
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: deadline and he got sent down after a great start
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: in Seattle, 10 strikeouts. He came right back when Joe
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: went on the IL, but he had to live with
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: that disappointment for four or five days. And, you know,
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: he's responded so well to all this adversity thrown his way.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: Cause he wanted to be on the opening day roster.
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: He wasn't on the opening day roster. I think this is,
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: probably one of the better developments they've had this season,
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: along with Brooks Lee stepping forward, along with Luke Kieschel
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: really cementing himself. We've got to work on the position
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: part for Luke Kieschel, where he fits best. But, I mean,
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: the bat plays. But Zebby has certainly shown that he
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: has this potential. This makes you think about him as
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: a rotation option for 27 for sure.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he wasn't down for very long, obviously, after he
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: got the late July send-down, Tyler. But it has to
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: be incredibly frustrating. Obviously, he had the terrible start in
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: Chicago where he allowed 10 runs, 8 of them earned.
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: But bounce back after that with two good starts, including
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: the Seattle one, 10 strikeouts, to get sent down and
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: then to come up and continue to build off of
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: that is pretty impressive.
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and it gets frustrating. I was that guy.
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: Granted, I'd been moved to the pen at one point
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: and then bounced around, things like that.
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: But it can be a bit of a roller coaster.
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: But in the same vein, you can take advantage of
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: it and use those as opportunities. I think the AAA
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: coaching staffs don't get talked about a ton. But those
• 22:51
  Speaker 4: groups are often in place because of their ability to
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: handle situations like that. I've said a lot of times
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: about those guys. in AAA particularly, being a manager there
• 23:00
  Speaker 4: might be the worst job in baseball. Just because you
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: are dealing with salty vets coming down. You've got rookies
• 23:08
  Speaker 4: coming up, handling them, prospects, this and that. And it's
• 23:11
  Speaker 4: just a war zone of emotions and careers ending and starting.
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: There's a lot.
• 23:17
  Speaker 4: And for Zeb to be able to go down and take... Granted,
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: it wasn't long... get down, come back and keep developing
• 23:25
  Speaker 4: and use that as, you know, inspiration versus getting upset.
• 23:28
  Speaker 4: You know, the, the why me used to be a
• 23:31
  Speaker 4: phrase that we threw around a lot just because it is,
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: it can be a why me situation or it can be, okay,
• 23:36
  Speaker 4: it is me. What can I do to move, move forward?
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: And he's taken his opportunities that he's gotten, you know,
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: whether it was because of injuries or whatever, and he's improved.
• 23:47
  Speaker 4: And like we said, he's solidifying himself, uh, he's getting
• 23:50
  Speaker 4: rid of doubt that may have been there. Um, you know,
• 23:53
  Speaker 4: for next season now it's the twins maybe don't have
• 23:56
  Speaker 4: to worry about going and find a fourth or fifth guy.
• 23:58
  Speaker 4: Like they know they can slot him in behind, you know, Pablo,
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: Joe Taj go from there. Um, that, that helps everybody
• 24:06
  Speaker 4: get better. And it's a, it's a momentum building regardless
• 24:09
  Speaker 4: of how the rest of the season goes. If he
• 24:11
  Speaker 4: finishes the season strong, he's going to have that, that
• 24:14
  Speaker 4: high note in his mind heading into the off season,
• 24:16
  Speaker 4: heading into spring training and so on. And it's just a,
• 24:19
  Speaker 4: It's a huge thing to get called up and have
• 24:22
  Speaker 4: success and then progressively get better.
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: It does a lot for your mind.
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: Now for the bad stuff. Twins, two out of three
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: lost over the weekend in the White Sox. They briefly
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: were back to their season-low eight games under. 500 on
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Saturday before the win on Sunday. And it's the same
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: place they were on June 14th.
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: They woke up.
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: That morning, also eight games under 500. They spent the
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: next month plus battling out from underneath that, that pile
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: got one game over 500 heading into August. And since
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: then nine and 17, they're now 65 and 72 somehow
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: not out of it. I'll show those wild card standings again, uh,
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: still four games back, which is where they started the weekend, uh, uh,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: before the Chicago games and are still there heading into
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: a series this week with the Tigers. Um, it, It
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: was some of the more frustrating trends that have continued
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: throughout the season, showed themselves again. Giving up first inning
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: runs on Friday, especially the four spot against Bailey Ober
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: did settle down after that and had a pretty decent
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: start outside of that. Twins did get three of those
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: runs back at the bottom of the first inning, but
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: still could not get the offense rolling after that. And
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: then defense also came back to bite them. booting that
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: ground ball on Saturday and what ended up being a
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: one-run game. Obviously, who knows what would have happened if
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: he makes that play, but it would have prevented a
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: run and could have changed the game.
• 25:52
  Speaker 3: But they lost after.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: Giving up hits to only one player on the other team,
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: which is a wild thing. Ben Attendee with three hits,
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: enough for the White Sox to win that one. That's
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: after a game that we talked about last week in
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: Oakland where Luke Kieschel, I forget who hit it, but
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: there was a deep fly ball to center field. Not
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: an easy play, but one that probably a healthy Byron
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: Buxton makes, maybe even a healthy Walker Jenkins makes. Kieschel
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: not as accustomed to center field. Of course, understandable that
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: he couldn't make the play, but these issues are literally
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: costing the team games at a crucial time, and it
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: happened again this week, and it's just... especially as the
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: veteran leadership is injured and not around. It just feels
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: like it is getting to be a little bit too
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: much to bear, Dan.
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the standings, I mean, they're being kind to the twins.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: The fact that they're hanging in is– because it's just
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: like you look at it and you're like, all right,
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: how are they going to fix this? And this team
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: has shown it's capable of bouncing back and playing a
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: good month. They need to get through August. August has
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: been terrible, 9-17. and yeah, they played a very tough schedule.
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: They played four of the five best teams in national
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: league during that span. Um, but they just haven't responded
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: with their best baseball and they really right now need
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: to get it going. And I don't know. I mean,
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: it's just like, it's there in front of them. They
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: have the seven games against the giants and angels, but
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: like we've talked about many times, they haven't played particularly
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: well against the worst teams in baseball so far this season. Um,
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: and it is a challenge and I can see why
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: fans are frustrated with where things are because look, have
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: they stayed in the race? Yes, they have. Have they
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: stayed in the race because they're playing good baseball? No,
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: they haven't. They've stayed in the race because everybody else
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: is playing mediocre baseball too. And so like, you just
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: need to see them get on a stretch where they're going. And,
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: Sunday's win is the kind of game that they need
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: to play where they get contributions from everybody. Josh Bell
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: had two out base hits. Nice double by Trevor Larnik
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: to get it going. Zebby Matthews was great. The defense
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: was good behind them. Those are the kinds of games
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: that the entire team needs to play. And we've seen
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: Trevor Larnik fall off in August. We've seen Ryan Jeffers
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: struggle in August. These were guys that were carrying them
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: early in the season. And without a 900 potential OPS
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: guy in Buxton in there, without Joe Ryan throwing gems
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: every fifth day, the rest of the group has to
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: step up. That's a lot to ask. I don't know
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: if it's in them, but there's a lot of talent
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: in that room. And I will say their belief has
• 28:39
  Speaker 2: been unwavering. And that's still true because I asked about
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: it yesterday. I went up to a bunch of guys.
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: I was like, they've never changed their tone on that.
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: And they've chosen to– you look at it and we've
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: always joked about the 4.3 percenters and clearly glass is
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: half full approach and optimism is better in baseball, right?
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: But their reality has been there right around the corner
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: the whole time and it's dark and they've chosen not
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: to see that. But it's clear where this team has
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: its issues and we will see how they can handle
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: it over the course of the next 25 games.
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: I imagine, Tyler, if you're on the team, if you're
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: in the clubhouse, you're looking more at the fact that
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: you're only four games out versus the fact that you're
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: 65 and 72. You also have precedent. You fell to
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: eight games under. 500 earlier this year and dug yourself
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: out of it. So that, that switch has flipped with
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: this team before granted they weren't as banged up as
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: they are now, but do you, how do you, how
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: do you stay on track? How do you find the inspiration?
• 29:47
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think to that point, like the record, you know,
• 29:51
  Speaker 4: every 500 is always a benchmark throughout the year. You
• 29:54
  Speaker 4: don't get to 500 good things happen, but in the
• 29:58
  Speaker 4: 2026 and the, world of American league baseball, 500 is
• 30:04
  Speaker 4: five games under 500. And that's just the reality of it.
• 30:07
  Speaker 4: And it's, and it's a good thing. You know, it's
• 30:10
  Speaker 4: like you said, they're the, the beginning of the season, the,
• 30:13
  Speaker 4: the hopes were not there for anyone other than the
• 30:16
  Speaker 4: guys in that locker room. And they've maintained that. And
• 30:19
  Speaker 4: there's a reason for it. You know, you're a big leaguer,
• 30:21
  Speaker 4: you're on a roster, you've.
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: Got a Jersey.
• 30:23
  Speaker 4: That's all any of those guys could ever ask for.
• 30:26
  Speaker 4: You know, that's a running joke with me and a
• 30:28
  Speaker 4: couple of guys I played with. It was, Just give
• 30:30
  Speaker 4: me a locker. Give me that opportunity. And these guys
• 30:33
  Speaker 4: are having their opportunities right now. There's guys that are
• 30:36
  Speaker 4: still fighting for a job for next year, fighting to
• 30:38
  Speaker 4: extend a career maybe for another season. You know, it's
• 30:41
  Speaker 4: rookies coming up, trying to do their contributions. There's more
• 30:46
  Speaker 4: reasons than just the playoff contention to play four. And
• 30:51
  Speaker 4: so I don't think that necessarily, like, yeah, it's going
• 30:53
  Speaker 4: to creep in your mind. You're going to hear about it,
• 30:55
  Speaker 4: you know, things like that.
• 30:56
  Speaker 3: But same time.
• 30:57
  Speaker 4: Everybody's playing to win games at the end of the day. And,
• 31:01
  Speaker 4: and that's all that you can do. If you try
• 31:03
  Speaker 4: to do anything else and try to be a hero,
• 31:05
  Speaker 4: all of a sudden, that's when it just, it's, it
• 31:07
  Speaker 4: never works. It, you know, there's some guys that can
• 31:10
  Speaker 4: switch it on and they're the superstars that are in
• 31:12
  Speaker 4: the hall of fame. But for the rest of us,
• 31:15
  Speaker 4: mere mortals, it's, you just got to show up and
• 31:17
  Speaker 4: do your job every day. And, and that's what they've
• 31:19
  Speaker 4: done all year. And it's, you know, I was looking
• 31:22
  Speaker 4: through the box scores again to see all the hits.
• 31:23
  Speaker 4: And as every guy sprinkled a couple of hits, you know, whether.
• 31:26
  Speaker 3: It's one game or the next, It.
• 31:27
  Speaker 4: Was seemingly somebody different. You know, Keishel's been hot, which
• 31:30
  Speaker 4: has been helpful, but it's been the same thing all year. We've,
• 31:34
  Speaker 4: you know, we've gotten our hopes up because they're in
• 31:37
  Speaker 4: the mix, which anyone would have asked for that come,
• 31:40
  Speaker 4: you know, spring training time. And here we are, we're
• 31:43
  Speaker 4: almost to September and they're still in it. And so
• 31:47
  Speaker 4: it takes one good week at this point, you know,
• 31:50
  Speaker 4: win five out of seven or win six in a row,
• 31:52
  Speaker 4: like just get hot, you know, it doesn't take much
• 31:55
  Speaker 4: at this point.
• 31:56
  Speaker 3: And you're right there.
• 31:57
  Speaker 4: And it makes it easy to show up and get
• 32:01
  Speaker 4: excited to play because these games do matter so much.
• 32:04
  Speaker 4: The adrenaline's a little higher. Your natural ability's already there.
• 32:08
  Speaker 4: And you just got to show up and play baseball.
• 32:10
  Speaker 4: And these guys seem to have, we've talked about vibes
• 32:13
  Speaker 4: all season. They're vibes driven. They seem to be in
• 32:17
  Speaker 4: the right head space. Shelty's got those guys. He knows
• 32:21
  Speaker 4: how to work the locker room and keep the clubhouse light.
• 32:25
  Speaker 3: It seems like a great group. Why not us at
• 32:28
  Speaker 3: the end of the day? Who cares?
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: They've had a bizarre habit, too, of scoring early and
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: then just going super cold after that. August 6th against
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: the Royals was the last time they turned a deficit
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: into a lead in the late innings of a game.
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: There have been a lot of close losses in there,
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: but just for some reason the bats haven't carried through
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: quite the same. It's not going to get any easier.
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: Either the Tigers come to town and they've got some
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: good starting pitchers. Jackson Jobe is scheduled for Monday night against,
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: where is it? Taj Bradley. Connor Prelip against Troy Melton,
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: who's having a fantastic season on Tuesday. And then Wednesday
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: night is Dean Kramer and Drew Anderson. Dan, we talked
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: about on Thursday's show, looking at the last 28 games,
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: thinking maybe something around 18 and 10, give or take,
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: the Twins would have to go to to make this interesting.
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: Obviously that could shift depending on how the other teams
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: in the wildcard chase play out, but they're really running
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: out of time to find the wins.
• 33:32
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: Derek Shelton used, like there was a ceremony for him
• 33:36
  Speaker 2: post-game yesterday where he received his 25 year gold card
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: for the majors. And Nick Paparest of the athletic trainer
• 33:44
  Speaker 2: also received it. Shelton kind of gave a little speech
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: with it and tried to implore the guys that Their
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: rough stretch is over. Man, they better hope so. I mean,
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: 3-7 in their last 10. 8-19 in August. But he said, look,
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: the rough stretch is over. Let's get going. And let's
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: take what we built off of today. There was a
• 34:07
  Speaker 2: nice late add yesterday. You're correct. They score early and
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: then they don't do anything in the middle. Luke Kieschel
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: with the homer was just crucial yesterday because there was
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: a spot in the ninth where Colson Montgomery came up
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: with two on. Zebby had been cruising and then all
• 34:23
  Speaker 2: of a sudden it's 5-1 and runners on first and
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: third and Colson Montgomery's up and fortunately and Colson Montgomery's
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: hit some pretty big home runs off the twins over
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: his one plus seasons in the majors fortunately in that
• 34:35
  Speaker 2: spot it was a four run lead and they didn't
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: have to worry they obviously don't want Colson to extend
• 34:41
  Speaker 2: the rally with the hit and then bring the tie
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: and run to the plate but you know giving up
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: a three run homer there you're still in a good
• 34:48
  Speaker 2: spot you're still up by a run and I think
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: when They need to keep doing that kind of thing.
• 34:54
  Speaker 2: They need to do everything they did yesterday and repeat
• 34:56
  Speaker 2: it over and over. And the parts are there. The
• 35:01
  Speaker 2: lineup on Friday was loaded with homegrown first and second rounders.
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: Everywhere you look is a first. Kalen Culpepper, first rounder.
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: Brooks Lee, Walker Jenkins, Trevor Lornick. Second rounder in Kieschel.
• 35:15
  Speaker 2: Second rounder in Jeffers. Royce is a first rounder. With
• 35:20
  Speaker 2: the exception of like Josh Bell and Cody Clemens, everybody
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: else was a twins first or second rounder. There's plenty
• 35:27
  Speaker 2: of talent in the building and the rest of those
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: guys are talented too. It is just finding ways to
• 35:33
  Speaker 2: get through without your stars. And that is really challenging.
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: But you know, you look at the Yankees, they've not
• 35:39
  Speaker 2: had Aaron judge for multiple months. They've figured out a way,
• 35:42
  Speaker 2: even though that sounds like the biggest mess ever. And
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: that happens to be New York media blowing it up
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: and making it seem that way. Cause it's, one of
• 35:49
  Speaker 2: those situations where they've spent so much money. But like
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: you just, when you don't have your big guys, everybody
• 35:57
  Speaker 2: else has to contribute. And there are certainly parts. And
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: I think that's what Shelton is trying to push. I mean,
• 36:02
  Speaker 2: he's gotten as much gap. Like the, the tank has
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: been running on less. Like I think the gas light
• 36:09
  Speaker 2: is on now. I think it really is.
• 36:11
  Speaker 3: It's been on for a minute.
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: I mean, come on, let's talk like, On opening day,
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: it was half full, right? We knew this going in.
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: And they put in a little bit at the deadline,
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: and they did a good job building around what they had. But,
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: I mean, they have been facing uphill battle all season,
• 36:29
  Speaker 2: and really they're going to have to get as much
• 36:32
  Speaker 2: as they can out of themselves right now. But it
• 36:36
  Speaker 2: does not– I can understand if people's optimism is waning.
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: The challenge is great right now, and it's been great
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: all year, but it's really– It's at its greatest at
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: this point.
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: The 4.3 percenters are wounded, but we cannot give up.
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: Not yet.
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: There is still a glimmer of hope. We're going to
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: take this shtick all the way to the finish line
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: as long as we can. The good news for the
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: Twins is that August is over after today. So they
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: can stop hearing about that stat and move on to September.
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: We will be back with you on Wednesday after the
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: first two Tigers games and then probably again on Thursday
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: this week, but we will update you on Wednesday. Thank you, everybody,
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: for listening. Thank you very much also for listening to
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: our Walker Jenkins special show on Friday. If you're new
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: to the program and you haven't subscribed yet, you can
• 37:25
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• 37:27
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• 37:30
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• 37:32
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• 37:35
  Speaker 1: subscribe there. Thanks for listening. We'll catch you Wednesday on
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: Twin Cities Territory.
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: Bye-bye.