Riverbrian

Tomorrow is a new day

60% of the time... it works every time.

I'm not a WAR guy. It was already hard to convert me and these WAR reports on Edman has increased the distance I need to cover to be converted. 😉

But what measurement are you using? Designated Market Area (DMA) - 15th Total Survey Area (CSA) - 15th Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) - 16th Combined Statistical Area (CSA) - 16th If you are using any of those 4... I wouldn't... but if you are. Here are the teams in front of them... Let's use the MSA because it seems to be the most popular for market size crowd to quote. Yankees (1) Mets (1) Dodgers (2) Angels (2) Cubs (3) White Sox (3) Rangers (4) Astros (5) Braves (6) Nats (7) Phillies (8) Toronto would squeeze in here Marlins (9) D-backs (10) Red Sox (11) Giants (13) A's (13) Tigers (14) Mariners (15) That's 19 teams ranked higher So - Minneapolis (16) is 20th Ranked: That leaves Teams Below Rays (17) Padres (18) Rockies (19) Orioles (20) Cards (23) Pirates (27) Reds (30) Royals (31) Guardians (33) Brewers (40) But again... I sincerely with sugar on top highly recommend not using any of the media market designations for this purpose.

Great post. One problem with your final paragraph one foot in the grave approach is that Ilitch and Seidler certainly tried but were unable to purchase it.

Yep he's another consideration. Although... it makes me sad to suggest other considerations. I'd rather believe that Camargo has a shot.

I believe that you play a player when he is hot. I'm ok with Vazquez getting more starts for the time being. Two out of three starts is ok with me. The Twins and Rocco seem to play more of a long game. When Jeffers was hot and Vazquez was not hitting at a major league level at all or close to. Vazquez still started every other game. At the catcher position... my biggest concern remains... 17 games - 6 AB's. In the near future... August, September, Playoffs... don't know when... I don't know who... but some time in the near future... I'm willing to bet that either Jeffers or Vazquez is going to be hurt. When the injury or injuries happen. We will need Camargo. It will be an acute need at that time because of the playoff push and the season coming to a close. Our third catcher was not allowed to compete for a job when it wasn't quite as acute. He wasn't given a spoonful of experience in those 17 games (one tenth of the season) to put in his pocket for use when his name will be called out of necessity with the chips on the line. 17 games - 6 AB's held back for 198 AB's - .554 OPS. Camargo or the free agent pile in the stretch run? Camargo or Barnhart? Camargo or Yan Gomes?

I haven't heard anything. However... if I were to speculate. The Tigers have a good mix of left handers and right handers in the bullpen for a bullpen game. In other words... they could go any direction so it's smart to have a left handed hitter on the bench for a bullpen game. If Rocco did things like that on occasion... I'd complain a little less about our platoon system because it wouldn't smell as rigid. Then again... maybe Larnach was hurt.

Very true... Those numbers are real... It is not just the Twins creating those numbers. Although, the Twins are one of a few clubs that pour cement on their lefthanded hitters in response. Letting it harden at the beginning of the flail.

Can't have everything with a 26 man roster would be my answer to the real problem you list. I haven't seen an answer to why Larnach and Wallner against left handers is more worrisome than Margot against Right handers. Margot has 110 AB's against Right Handers. OPS .489 Compared to 96 AB's against Left Handers. Margot has done a nice job against left handed pitching. How do we stop giving back those gains when he faces right handed pitching more often?

Santana is a viable first base option beyond Miranda.

Buyers buy and Sellers sell. Either way is progress toward an eventual positive outcome. If a team does neither... they are standing still. My wish for Cleveland is that they stand still.

About a year ago... in an attempt to get past a tenseness in the air. I constructed a single sentence with 5 coulds. It was a personal best. I was unable to convince Rocco to join me for dinner but he did agree to a road trip clown car style to Red Wing. I can (could) uncomfortably fit 4 people in the back of my Kia. August 1... have your questions ready.

I could have dinner with Rocco and he could try to explain Camargo's presence on the 26 man. He could use charts, graphs, speak very slowly, clearly and I still wouldn't understand. He's glued to the bench with Vazquez and his .515 OPS seemingly too valuable to yield playing time. I'm sure 7 AB's is all he needs to be ready for an injury to one of our catchers the final week of the season when every game decides our playoff fate. He's going to be well prepared to help to us all of sudden in the playoffs because of an injury to one of our catchers right before the playoffs begin... Full of confidence I'm sure because Rocco has shown him that he believes in him. Yeah I know... Camargo wouldn't have to play in the playoffs because we have Vazquez to play every day instead.

The entire starting rotation is right handed. The best performers in the bullpen are all right handed. All 3 left handers in the bullpen have been shaky. The way they platoon on offense... I can't imagine why the Twins would ignore this left handed pitching inadequacy. Right Handed/Left Handed doesn't seem to matter as much on the pitching side for some unexplainable reason. I'd say... you can't worry about Wallner/Julien facing left handed pitching and then pretend Okert/Thielbar is OK. I'd suggest calling Miami because the teams currently in playoff spots are pretty left handed. Someone will need to get Juan Soto or Gunnar Henderson out. Or Kwan or Devers/Duran or Tucker/Alverez.

IMO FWIW Rocco is managing differently but I'm pretty convinced that it was due to circumstance and not a philosophical change. When, Julien, Kirilloff and Wallner were all sent down and only replaced by Larnach on the left side. He was suddenly low on left handed hitters which cooled, slowed the strict platoon options that he lived and died by last year. Now that Wallner and Julien are back to join Larnach and Kepler. He's back to the same strict platoon and the early in the game pinch hit is starting to happen again. Correa and Buxton producing so much better than last year. Along with Miranda rising up from the ashes has played a big role in what has been an improved offense this year compared to last year. Kepler, Jeffers, Castro, Larnach and Santana have been above average. The return of a healthy Lewis with health maintained will obviously be a huge plus and if Wallner and Julien can return to close to last years form that will really lengthen out the lineup. There is a lot to be excited about. Lee is still finding his way. We all assume upside but we can't rule out downside while he tries to find his way. On the actual down side... Current Injuries along with future Injuries to come which will cause us to rely upon Margot, Vazquez and Farmer more than we should.

Julien Fielding Percentage 2B - 2024 - AAA - .932 Fielding Percentage equates to 7 errors out of 103 Chances. 2B - 2024 - MLB - .988 Fielding Percentage - 2 Errors out of 175 Chances. If we are seriously having a fielding percentage discussion on Julien. Just keep him out of AAA... He'll be fine. Too many rocks on the infield.

Back when I was playing baseball in the 1920's. I was equally as good at OF and IF and equally not major league level at OF and IF. So if you want my bat in the lineup. You could put me anywhere.

I expect Julien to be a better hitter than some players (plural) on the 26 man.

Lewis and Miranda are hurt... so.... the important question... in their absence... who plays 3b? You can't answer that with Brooks Lee.... because Brooks Lee played SS in the minors. How ridged do you want this discussion to be? Because come to think of it. Should Royce Lewis be at 3B? He played 2642 innings at SS compared to 101 innings at 3B in the minor leagues. Back to who plays 3B with Lewis and Miranda out? In St. Paul. Both Anthony Prato and Diego A. Castillo lead the team with 257 innings at 3B in 2024. So I guess they are next in line for 3B work in the majors. However... Prato is one of those anybody can play anywhere guys. He has logged more miles in the OF so not Prato. Castillo must be the guy. Nope - 3,541 innings at SS. 562 innings at 3B. He actually has more innings at 2B and OF so 3B ranks 4th on his position list so Castillo is out of consideration. We still don't have a 3B. Lets check Wichita. Before we check the Wind Surge... Is it possible that necessity is the mother of invention and is it possible that quite a few players can play quite a few positions.

Sorry... Loose ends. However, Belisle and Anderson do apply as a past example of the discussion at hand. The price of hanging on to a struggling vet instead of another available option.

I'm sorry I can't help it. We should stay off of Anderson because I just brought him up as a poster boy. Belisle and Anderson are not names unrelated. Back in 2018... Matt Belisle 38 years old at the time was picked up on June 12th after being released from Cleveland which occurred after he was DFA'd from the 40 man and went unclaimed earlier in the year. The signing was questionable when you consider that he didn't require a 40 man spot with Cleveland and was just released anyway. But... you could still kind of justify it because the Twins were 29-34 and 5 games back in the Central at the time. If they believed in Belisle... they believed in Belisle. Belisle stayed on the roster for the rest of the year. 9.13 ERA 2.11 WHIP were his final numbers with the Twins in 2018. At the trade deadline... the Twins were 49-57... Now 9 games out. We were sellers... We traded Brian Dozier to the Dodgers, Escobar to the D-Backs, Pressly to the Astros and Lynn to the Yankees. Logan Morrison was done for the year (Thank God Finally) to undergo surgery. Buxton was hitting .156 and sent down to AAA in that old service time scandal. Sano was sent all the way down to Fort Myers. Belisle remained on his way to a 9.13 ERA. The top AAA pitcher at the time was 27 year old Nick Anderson. Belisle remained with the club, Nick Anderson remained in St. Paul in a season that the Twins sold at the deadline. The upcoming off-season was decision time on Nick. The Twins could have used real 2018 info on him by giving him a shot. He was due for Rule 5 protection in the off-season. He was going to require a 40 man spot. It would have been a great to discover if Nick Anderson's success in St. Paul could translate to the majors to provide information to help that upcoming 40 man spot decision. The club kept Belisle in a lost season didn't give Anderson to opportunity to show what he can do. Anderson as a rule 5 and very little to prove in AAA was probably going to get claimed. The Twins decided that there was something about Nick Anderson that they couldn't give him a 40 man roster spot and they traded him to the Marlins in the off-season for Brian Schales. Brian Schales was an unranked prospect whose primary skill was not needing a 40 man roster spot. Matt Belisle was out of baseball in 2019. Brian Schales was out of baseball in 2020. Nick Anderson after 4 months in the majors. He was traded to Tampa for their 4th ranked prospect and he was even better in the shortened covid season of 2020. . Belisle and Anderson will always be related in my mind. All they had to do... is move off of a struggling... real real bad struggling 38 year old on an expiring contract and try someone else. Nick Anderson was the obvious choice for that someone else.

I have a bad habit of listing specific names and those specific names almost always become a distraction. I'll be listing names but I hope you understand that I'm really talking concept. I'm not even sure that "blocking" is the right word but let's use it because I understand what you are asking. To answer your question... Right Now... Camargo is blocking Julien. Isn't he? Camargo is blocking Julien and Severino. Like I said... I don't know if blocking is the right word. Farmer goes on the IL... Camargo is called up to replace him on the 26 man roster. Farmer isn't blocking anyone at the moment... He has been cleared off the 26 man for the time being. Camargo was the chosen player. He was called up AND THEN THEY DON"T PLAY HIM!!! Vazquez plays DH and 3B in San Fran. Camargo watches from the bench. I want to be clear... I'm not making any claims that Camargo is going to light the world on fire if you only let him play. I'm saying that Camargo has been up in the majors for what.... 13 games? this year. 4 AB's. Rocco is blocking Camargo who is blocking Julien and Severino and Keirsay and every single player in the system. Meanwhile Margot and Vazquez can settle into their comfy chairs because Wallner type production replacing Farmer isn't showing up to go 8 for 22 with a .727 Slug to challenge or push Margot or Vazquez. I have a problem with nobody being allowed to push or challenge guys with slugging percentage under .300 Sometimes injuries can make you better. In the case of Farmer... It sure could have. It's this type of pre-determination that I don't trust from anyone... I don't trust you... I don't trust myself and I seriously don't trust the front office to make these pre-determinations and that isn't a slam on the front office, you or I. The margins are incredibly thin with wild ups and downs. It is a slam on anyone who has made a pre-determination of what player X is. Here ya go... the big finish with the bold statement at the end. It is the job of the front office to use the information that you and I don't have access to. Use it to determine who should replace Farmer when he goes on the IL If that information is telling them to call up someone and then not play the player selected because apparently the chosen one isn't capable of competing with a .515 OPS that just can't yield playing time. If that is what the information is telling them. The farm system isn't producing below average fruit. The team is satisfied and settled. No need for any upgrades anywhere.

We have spent more time on Nick Anderson than we should. My fault... I brought him up but... yeah he's my poster boy. There really isn't a rabbit hole here. If you call two years (you say one good year) a decent career... you are not seeing it. He didn't have a decent career... he was a late bloomer... picked up a nasty curve ball to go with his decent fastball and was probably deemed too old to be a prospect when that transition took place. The Twins didn't give him a shot. They assessed him wrongly right before he exploded for two years. But your right... this isn't worth continuing the conversation if Matt Barnes causes you to stop looking. I would have gladly taken Matt Barnes on my team in 2019. I would have taken Matt Barnes in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021. Upset isn't the right word. I think player evaluation is an incredibly hard job. I'm not going to stand here and tell you that Keirsay is going to be a superstar if you just give him the chance. But I'll stand here and tell you that we have three vets... two of them won't be back next year and they are not performing well enough to keep you from trying someone else in 2024. Player Evaluation right more often than they are wrong. Maybe but that's a rabbit hole.