Riddle me this?

[mnfireman]

This team has sucked the last 3 years, so why are so many posters concerned about the 40 man roster and P without options possibly losing their spot in the rotation?

 

The team that has been trotted out for the last 3 years hasn't done anything, why worry about these players? Sign players, trade for players, invite the prospects to ST, let the players figure the roster out, management can't.

 

I understand that everyone has their favorites, but really? These guys? Mauer has a spot. Nolasco, Hughes, & Correia have spots. Dozier, Perkins and maybe a couple other bullpen guys have spots, but after that, open it up. 25 man roster, not 25 warm bodies, 25 guys that want to play a kids game.

 

Deduno, Hendriks, Diamond, Worley, et al... make 'em perform or show them the highway.

 

Doumit, Parmalee, Plouffe, Mastro, Colabello, et al... same thing.

 

No room for dead weight. Minnesota nice needs to go. Make 'em play or don't pay. Major league spots are earned not given, this goes for the coaching staff as well.

[goulik]

Deduno= 1 decent year, Jury out

Worley= 1 decent year, 1 bad, Jury out

Diamond= 1 decent year, 1 bad, Jury out

Gibson= 1 bad year, Jury out

Hendricks= Jury has ruled, he's out

 

The thing people are concerned about is 10 years from now one of these players making us regret cutting them loose for nothing and wearing rings or winning awards we wish they had won with us. (See R.A. Dickey or numerous others)

 

I see nothing wrong with discussing and fretting over these concerns as long as we make the right baseball decisions in the end. Some of the worst offenders are gone already (See Cole DeVries, P.J. Walters, And Liam Hendricks) so what do we do with these others? I think it's a good question...

 

I believe you answered the riddle yourself, Spring Training. May the best men win! But how many spots are they fighting for 2 or 1? You named three spots taken and TR said Deduno already has a spot. That only leaves one until injuries.

 

Riddle me this, should we get another FA pitcher or trade for an ace and just cut loose Worley and Diamond while sending Gibson back to AAA with Albers. Do we do that without a real Spring Training tryout? This is what others are also concerned about. Will it really be best man wins or will it already be set before ST.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Deduno= 1 decent year, Jury out

Worley= 1 decent year, 1 bad, Jury out

Diamond= 1 decent year, 1 bad, Jury out

Gibson= 1 bad year, Jury out

Hendricks= Jury has ruled, he's out

 

The thing people are concerned about is 10 years from now one of these players making us regret cutting them loose for nothing and wearing rings or winning awards we wish they had won with us. (See R.A. Dickey or numerous others)

 

I see nothing wrong with discussing and fretting over these concerns as long as we make the right baseball decisions in the end. Some of the worst offenders are gone already (See Cole DeVries, P.J. Walters, And Liam Hendricks) so what do we do with these others? I think it's a good question...

 

I believe you answered the riddle yourself, Spring Training. May the best men win! But how many spots are they fighting for 2 or 1? You named three spots taken and TR said Deduno already has a spot. That only leaves one until injuries.

 

Riddle me this, should we get another FA pitcher or trade for an ace and just cut loose Worley and Diamond while sending Gibson back to AAA with Albers. Do we do that without a real Spring Training tryout? This is what others are also concerned about. Will it really be best man wins or will it already be set before ST.

 

Pretty much this. Gibson was a fairly highly though of prospect. He's got a chance to be a better than average pitcher. Worley and Diamond have both had very good seasons at one point in their careers, but both were pretty bad this year. Building some trade value has it's advantages too, and this team isn't going to upend Detroit this season, so making sure these guys get a chance is worth it. Deduno is a wildcard. If he ever figures out some control over that fastball, he can either be a shut down reliever or an above average starter. He shows flashes of it, and then goes out and walks 6 guys the next start. This year, he managed to limit the walks and had a decent season (though the Ks were reduced). He's another guy who could suddenly turn into something. Given his age, the odds are against him, but these guys should be on the roster to get a shot when someone gets hurt...

 

I'll say this... backfilling with the likes of Deduno, Diamond, and Worley is far better than doing so with DeVries, Hendricks, Walters, and whomever it is that we just jettisoned from the Liriano trade.

[RedBull34]

I'll say this... backfilling with the likes of Deduno, Diamond, and Worley is far better than doing so with DeVries, Hendricks, Walters, and whomever it is that we just jettisoned from the Liriano trade.

 

Absolutely, at least the filler we are marching out there now has had at least some major league success, instead of the pitcher's like...ugh...Hernandez.

[Marta Shearing]

25 man roster, not 25 warm bodies, 25 guys that want to play a kids game.

 

No room for dead weight. Minnesota nice needs to go. Make 'em play or don't pay. Major league spots are earned not given, this goes for the coaching staff as well.

 

Great post. I edited it down to my favorite parts. "25 guys who want to play". Reusse has made reference to this on numerous occasions. Gardy has to walk through the clubhouse to find out who's willing to play today. Sad thing is Gardy's the one who created this culture in the first place.

 

Another example Reusse mentioned the other day.....Last September Arcia bumped his knee in pregame and they shut him down for the rest of the season. Gardy's instilling this mindset in his rookies from day one.

 

And to those who are now gonna jump in and say "you dont know how bad his knee hurt".....SAVE IT! It was a simple bruise. Players with pride who want to play A KIDS GAME fight through minor nagging stuff like this.

[ashbury]

why are so many posters concerned about the 40 man roster

 

Because it's an interesting subject to consider.

[gil4]

Great post. I edited it down to my favorite parts. "25 guys who want to play". Reusse has made reference to this on numerous occasions. Gardy has to walk through the clubhouse to find out who's willing to play today. Sad thing is Gardy's the one who created this culture in the first place.

 

That's all good, but "want to play" isn't enough. Guys like Nick Punto are useful role players, as long as the role isn't too big. (Starting SS and 2 yrs/$8M back in ~2006 was too big a role for Punto.)

 

We need guys who want to play and CAN play.