Riverbrian

Saw those… I think they are merely art.

BTW... I'm currently in Miami Beach. I'll be at the Marlins Home Opener this afternoon. I'm heading to the beach this morning for the sunrise and some time in the ocean after that Little Havana. Tuesday night I walked around south beach had Ceviche and a 30 buck Mojito. I didn't know it was 30 bucks when I ordered it. Yesterday, I spent in Key West. The traffic was slow all the way there and back. You don't have to worry about speeding to get there... it's pretty much impossible at 15 MPH in 45 and 55 mph zones. Tomorrow I'm off to Tampa.

I don't think you have to confuse yourself. I was talking with the staff members in the blue shirts who handle security, stadium usher combo roles. I'd say "Hey what's back there" and they would reply "wanna go check it out". I just had to walk through a scanner and I checked it out. The Twins actually import the blue shirt staff from Minnesota and they bring the Minnesota nice with them. The blue shirt staff are part of the positive experience. I talked with a guy who comes down every spring training just to do this job and then goes back when it's done. If you have questions, they have answers. LIke you said... the key is away game days, Don't stay in the hotel on away games. Not every player travels to Bradenton or wherever for the game. Those that stay behind are working out right in front of you. On home game days... things are a little tighter but the access is still wonderful. Personal observance from my couple of days. Matt Wallner spends a lot of time in the cage. I saw quite a few players hit in the cage. Matt Wallner was in the cage 3 times as much as anybody else. And more personal note. On Tuesday I had seats behind the plate for the game. Matt Wallner cleared the batters eye in CF against AJ Minter who is a top shelf LEFT HANDED relief pitcher. The scoreboard said 451 feet. No way... it cleared the batters eye. 480 feet at least against a left hander. Yeah I know... small sample size.

It was certainly Wanderful. I went to Jetblue for the game on Saturday night. Didn't try to attend practices. I just can't imagine teams granting that kind of access so those snobby Red Sox don't surprise me. You are right... The games didn't mean much at all. It was the hanging around that makes it worthwhile. Wanderful... just wanderful.

I can only speak for the tail end. The Major and Minors seem to be pretty separated at this point. You have access to both but go hang by the stadium and Rick Stelmaszek Field for the major leaguers. Go deeper into the complex away from the stadium for access to the minor league players. Do both is my recommendation. By the way behind the academy on Bill Smith field. They have a pond with Gators in it. So keep your eye on the practice and the gators at the same time. I never have to do that in North Dakota.

Today is my last day in Fort Myers. After the game today, I'm off for Miami and Tampa before heading back home Easter morning. Attending spring training was something I've always wanted to do for decades. I had always heard that you could attend spring training and wonder around, however I had no idea what that meant. The access to the players and facilities granted to a fan who flew from North Dakota was beyond the expectation of someone that had no idea what to expect. The entire complex was there for me to observe. How close you get to the players is more than I could imagine, getting the chance to speak with the players was something I did not expect. Watching minor league arms throw bullpens up close was wonderful. Up close you see the movement on some impressive two-seamers and sliders. I spent some time talking with a young catcher out of California. Dillon Tatum was his name and I will be following him from here on out because he was such a nice guy and he is chasing a dream and I will be pulling for him to realize it. Watching Wallner and Lewis hit in the batting cage from maybe 10 yards away. Watching Jay Jackson throw to Ryan Jeffers in the pen was a treat. Meeting Johan Santana, my favorite Twins pitcher ever wasn't expected when I got on that plane but it is something that I will take back with me. Latroy Hawkins, Royce Lewis, Eduardo Julien, Matt Wallner, Pablo Lopez could not have been nicer. I have no idea how many teams grant this type of access. I can't imagine that many teams do. I imagine that it takes a little tolerance from some of the players. Some may like it, some may not but... I hope that the Twins never change because what the Twins organization allowed this fan to do was... special and in reality... special just isn't a strong enough word. To the fans... Don't ruin it. Don't be the reason they have to change. Maintain your respect for the players and the facilities... don't take for granted how incredible this is. To the players... Thank You! We were all geeky and clumsy interactions but each interaction is a big deal to the person you are interacting with. That's why they flew to Florida when they could be enjoying winter in Minnesota. To the Twins organization. Thank You! Decision makers come and go and someone may show up to a meeting one day with the idea to restrict access. When that day comes, I hope there are enough people in the room who understand how incredible it is for the average Joe.

This is an overlook

Bench Drained early. Vazquez plays 2B in the 9th.

I know Logan Vandiver. His wife says that he doesn't notice things. Logan once pulled up to a self serve fuel pump and waited 8 hours for someone to come out and pump his gas. Despite a self serve sign and despite dozens of drivers pulling up to the pumps, getting out and self serving around him, he didn't notice and continued to wait. Not noticing things and patience can pay off eventually. A cashier from inside finally said enough is enough and went out and pumped his gas just to clear the fuel aisle. This cashier continues to do this whenever Logan pulls up in his Ford Edge with two low tires that Logan also doesn't notice. Logan is a frequent poster on Twinsdaily. His identity will be kept a secret, others will have to guess.

I don't have a number. It would be ridiculous for me to quote a number. It's about what they are now doesn't have to be what they are going to be in the future unless you place them in cement shoes. I have a real problem with taking a young player and strip mining them for parts. Jeffers had a .540 OPS against Right Handers... 150 AB's in 2022. If you are going to use Wallner's small sample against him... it's only fair to use Jeffer's 2022 against him. He had an OPS of .828 OPS against righties...218 AB in 2023. Jeffers was allowed to show what he could do. Jeffers wasn't typecast. I am absolutely fine with them being pinch hit for in the 8th or 9th with the game on the line. That makes sense... I am absolutely not fine with them being yanked in the 2nd inning when a left hander enters the game with plenty of game to go. I'm Ok with a platoon... but, the occasional start against a left hander isn't too much to ask so they can group some AB's against them and develop. Can we use the early part of the season to determine what players can actually do and then answer what do we actually need at the trade deadline with actionable intel and determine what do we have to actually work with come playoff time. Wallner had real good numbers being shielded against lefties. It's hard to argue against it. But... what Wallner, Julien and Kirilloff are going to be is being pre-determined by their supervisors.

I wasn't going to point out injury vs. talent. I think the point that Mike was making was that his numbers in a small sample size equated to 2nd best LF in baseball. I don't think Mike believes that he is the 2nd best LF in baseball. I think Mike was making a statement that his numbers were good in him limited opportunity. I've read enough of Mike's post to believe that he understands sample size. That's what I think Mike was thinking... Mike is capable of explaining his intent better than I though. Myself personally. He earned a roster spot this year and there are players behind him that want his job. If he stumbles... Larnach, Miranda, Lee and others are waiting for the call. As long as he as options that can be exercised his presence in the big leagues will depend on him continuing to earn his job... so I think we agree there. However... as far his ability against left handed pitching... which is what I quoted. That's a sore spot with me. It's a self fulfilling prophecy for the Twins organization. Taking young developing players like Wallner, Julien and Kirilloff and hiding them from lefties will typecast them for their future. Gilligan was turned down for roles like the Sundance Kid and Vito Corleone because the producers and fan base could only see him as little buddy.

Can't prove it unless he is allowed to. Get the branding iron out after 42 scattered AB's. Apply that thing to his career. The end result... Sharp pain on the backside of his career. Ouch!!!

Definitely not exempt.. no question about it... He has two options remaining. If Wallner has a down year... for example... let's say that he performs at the plate like Carlos Correa did last year. He would go down for that type of performance. While Correa, Buxton, Kepler, Gallo were taking us out of playoff contention without threat of AAA. Wallner, Lewis, Julien saved our season last year... the young position players prevented us from wasting one of our best team pitching performances in decades. Credit where credit is due.

I can only answer that question in a very broad sense. I read scouting reports and articles but I don't rely upon them because those things are based upon the past. This question has everything to do with development and the result of development isn't about the past... it's about who's ready now and who's ready in the future near and far. All I can do is express my faith in the pitching pipeline spitting out major league capable pitchers and keep spitting them out. Ultimately what I will judge the front office on is development when it is all said and done. The Twins need to be like Cleveland in regards to pitching. They need to be not reliant upon the signing of a Blake Snell because they produce Blake Snell. Cleveland keeps a pretty nice pitching staff year after year and they don't sign Blake Snell and they typically don't sign Dylan Bundy either. Dylan Bundy types just plugs that pipeline, while costing money while producing below average results. So to answer the question, I don't know if Festa, SWR or Canterino will rise up and show themselves like Bailey Ober did. I don't know which one specifically all or none but out of the possible names... someone better rise up and show themselves because farm production is the only way this franchise can compete year after year. I have faith that someone or someones will rise up because I think the pipeline is starting to bare fruit. If no one rises up this year... it will force us into the bargain basement bin to fill out the rotation next year. The farm is the key to our happiness.

I know what you mean by "back of the rotation". However... I want to stress that a rotation is a rotation. If the chosen 5 remains healthy (they won't)... that will be an equal 32 starts for all of them... each start is going to be important to compete and allow your offense and defense and bullpen to win a game for you and the workload is shared. You can label Lopez as front end of the rotation but he isn't just going to matchup against Corbin Burnes types every time he starts. You can label Paddack as back end of the rotation but he isn't going to matchup against Cole Irvin types every time he starts. Lopez will face off against Burnes and Irvin types and the same goes for Paddack. Healthy starters are going to pitch the majority of innings available during the course of a 162 game season. All 5 slots in the rotation are equally important. In regards to that... the biggest question facing our rotation will be the replacements coming up from the minors. Can we get a surprise boost from the young arms in the system much like we got from the offense last year. Julien and Wallner saved our season last year when Correa and Buxton took a nose dive. Can our young starters do that when called upon. I know what you mean by "back of the rotation". I won't label them as such. And I'll let others label our starters with a one and a two or a three.

I felt we needed to add a hitter not subtract one. Don't get me wrong... I would have liked a starter but would have chosen a hitter over a starter if forced to add just one in the off-season. I felt that our pitching wasn't going to stay as healthy as it was last season and therefore will not be as good as last season NO MATTER who is added to the starting pitching staff. Adding an innings eater instead of decent starter was the very last thing that I would have wished for. I felt that OFFENSE could make up for the step back that we are going to take on the mound. Offense was where we could improve over last season. Offense was where we accumulated the necessary depth to remain offensively talented throughout the season. Adding a talented bat to Royce Lewis along with a return to form from Correa and Buxton plus POLANCO who has been one of our most consistently good hitters and we have a real good 5 instead of a good 3. Add to that the potential of Jeffers, Kirilloff, Julien, Wallner and whatever Kepler will show up and you had a chance to put together an offense that performs like the Rangers performed last year. The Rangers won a world series last year with a very very very talented offense that overcame below average pitching that was decimated by injury. If anybody still believes that we had to move Polanco because Julien is on the roster. I'll remind them to look at the title of this discussion, look at the calendar and then consider that Polanco was replaced in the roster by Carlos Santana. If there is room for Santana... there was room for Polanco. I believe the Twins won the trade when you look at the value between the clubs because of Gonzalez alone. However... I believe we lost the trade for 2024 because we didn't add a hitter we subtracted one. I believe that I follow the Twins. I'm serious about it. Others may feel differently.

I'm beginning to think that the Twins will go with Vazquez at C and Jeffers at DH vs left handed starters. We still need a right handed handcuff for Kirilloff. If they use Santana for that role. If will force Castro into an every day starter position and I don't think they will do that because Castro is going to be that plug and play move around guy. Castro is stronger against right handers so he doesn't make sense for the short side platoon. Therefore I don't believe that Santana will play the short side role with us and that leaves you with Jeffers for the role. vs R/vs L DH - Kirilloff/Jeffers C- Jeffers and Vazquez split/Vazquez 1B- Santana 2B- Julien/Farmer 3B - Lewis SS - Correa LF - Wallner/Margot CF - Buxton RF - Kepler Castro - Plug and Play everywhere That's a role for all 13 players Just guessing of course but it makes the most sense to me. However... even if I'm right... it's only temporary... injuries are going to blow it all up anyway.

Injuries happen every single month of every single year. Key players will be unavailable from time to time during the season. We don't know who, we don't when and we don't know how long but we know that key players will be unavailable from time to time during the season. Jordan Montgomery isn't going to show up and even if he does show up... he isn't going to make us injury free nor make himself injury free. 21 Positions players played for us last year. 25 pitchers threw pitches for us last year. 46 players found their way on to the 26 man roster. Varland, SWR, Canterino, Headrick, Festa, Dobnak, Raya, Sands, Weiss, Bowman, Brigham, Balazovic, Duarte, Jensen, and Rodriquez and others... Any combination of these players plus others we haven't even thought of are going to be called to duty during the season. Setting a 5 man rotation, 3 back end bullpen guys and 9 starting position players with pretty left/right platoons is all nice and everything. It doesn't last... it never lasts. If you are bummed out over these injuries... well... get comfortable with that emotion because more are coming. It's 162 games... Dig in Y'all.

Is that all I have to do? 2021 tells the story?

I'm not sure how concerned I would be if this was the record after the first 19 games of the regular season... let alone the first 19 games of spring training with guys named Winkel facing guys named Serven. My concerns with the team are the same concerns that I had prior to the start of the spring training and those concerns exist only on paper and in my subjective head. The team is getting ready for opening day... I'm already ready for it. Getting ready for it is much easier for me.

I'm not sure who Cardi B is exactly but I am very familiar with Cardi B because I frequently order it from the bartender once my drunkenness triggers my dyslexia.

Blame isn't the right word. The draft pick was part of the trade. This wasn't a Maeda for Graterol straight up deal. I'm not going to pretend to know who the Twins would have taken at 66 if they kept the pick. They could have nailed it or blown it... or somewhere in between but there were pretty good current major league players and highly ranked prospects who were available at that pick #66. It's hard to factor the value... but that pick had value and it needs to be considered if you are going to consider a winner or loser to this deal.

Rooker only hurts if you are playing somebody worse because you don't have Rooker. You should have better than Rooker on your roster. If you don't have better than Rooker... You got problems kind of like the A's have problems.

All trades have branches that could potentially stretch on for decades so I do agree with you about the rabbit hole. Winners and losers often take a long long time to determine winners and losers... typically us fans don't have the patience to wait it out that long. Although... I will disagree with the idea that what the Dodgers got out of the deal matters in the assessment. That's a separate Dodger discussion and this is a Twins discussion on what the Twins gave up. If the Dodgers didn't get anything out of Raley or Beeter that's on them. The return the Dodgers got for those players are Joey Gallo for a real bad half of a year and a kid currently in AAA named Tanner Dodson who doesn't appear to be knocking down the door. The Dodgers didn't lose the trade with the Twins... they potentially lost their trade with the Yankees and they lost the trade with the Rays. The only part that matters is that it cost the Twins paid... which was Brusdar, Raley and the 66th pick overall in the 2020 draft. There are no guarantees that Luke Raley would be playing in the major leagues right now if the Twins kept him and included someone else in the deal. I'll contend that opportunity for Luke would have been plentiful with the Twins in 2021 but it doesn't mean that he would have shown anything in that opportunity. But... we won't know that because the chance for him to show major league ability with the Twins was removed as a possibility immediately after the trade. that potential to become a major league player with the Twins is part of the cost and potentially not insignificant. There are also no guarantees that the Twins would have actually selected Clayton Beeter like the Dodgers did if they would have hung on to that pick. Maybe the Twins scouts didn't like Beeter, maybe the Scouts liked Kyle Harrison or Coby Mayo or Joey Weimer or Spencer Strider better then Beeter. Maybe the Twins liked Tom Terrible Player in that draft slot if they kept that selection. We don't know but the potential of the draft slot could have been Spencer Strider who was available to be drafted out of Clemson at 66 in 2020. That is cost... that was included in the deal. The draft pick and Luke Raley are considerations in my mind and so is Jair Camargo. If Camargo turns out to be a decent major league players at C... I'll declare the Twins the winner of the trade. Until then... I think the potential of Raley and the indirect potential of a Spencer Strider makes the possibility of this trade going into the loss column. Either way... I'm not disappointed in the deal. Kenta was a good pitcher for us. Brusdar is a good pitcher for the Dodgers. Win Win even if we lost it slightly.

I agree with you that options are not an issue YET. However... that could change on a dime and become an issue as soon as this off-season. You are correct and I'll add to your correctness by also mentioning that that he is super-two so there is a possible 4th year of Arb in his future before he reaches free agency... if he makes it. He currently sits at 2.141 on the ole service time clock. However, he may not see that 4th year of Arb in a Twins uniform because he currently stands with one little lonely option left in his back pocket. If he struggles this year and we can't assume that he won't because it's baseball and baseball happens. Just using Sano and Buxton for example because they made some surprise visits back to the farm to correct some things. If Alex needs to be sent down to fix something this year... or next year... it will burn his final option. Once that last option is burned... he stands on the edge of the same cliff that Nick Gordon stood on, the same cliff that he would face each year of arbitration as his price tag rises. The same cliff he would face during his fifth year of service time should he make it that far. The same cliff that Eddie Rosario fell off when the Twins decided that Eddie wasn't worth what the arbitrators were going to award him. Eddie wasn't being strip mined to the degree that this article suggests by making Alex DH only, adding to not facing left handers and frequent injuries. Once he can't be sent down, once the raises start to kick in, once the cheaper replacements find there way North... his floor will be realized because he will be lying on that floor, calling his agent, looking at the ceiling that he can't reach. You turn Kirilloff into a DH only and limit his defensive work. The monster will be created from those spare parts. Fate sealed.