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Riverbrian

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Everything posted by Riverbrian

  1. Riverbrian
    If not starting... I could see them going left handed early with any of those 4 guys. Rocco could have to make an early decision on his lefty hitters and that will set up our right handers to face their righthanders at the end.
  2. Riverbrian
    When Celestino got hurt this year... the chance of Celestino remaining with the Twins became slim to none. It was his last option year... he needed this year to show what he could do. There is a big wall of players in front of him on the 26 and 40 man roster and a pack of wolves coming behind him. You can't keep the wolves away when you are hurt with your last option exhausted. Celestino wasn't going to survive the winter.
  3. Riverbrian
    Blue Jays left handed pitching that I assume will be on the roster and available for utilization at any time: Tim Mayza - 1.52 ERA - 51.1 IP - 51 K's Genesis Cabrera - 2.66 ERA - 23.2 IP - 20 K's Yusei Kikuchi - 3.86 ERA - 167.2 IP - 181 K's Hyun Jin Ryu - 3.46 ERA - 52 IP - 38 K's
  4. Riverbrian
    #19 - The 18 playoff losses have nothing to do with tomorrow.
  5. Riverbrian
    I agree that success will hinge on the pitching. Against the Astros... that last spot may not matter much. However... with the way that Rocco has consistently utilized his roster. That last roster spot is going to matter against teams like the Jays and Rangers. Rocco will use nearly every position player on his roster against the Jays. The Jays will make sure that he does.
  6. Riverbrian
    I'm trying real hard to take a "We Draw who we Draw" attitude because it's one game at a time and anything can happen. Aces are not always ace like. However... I can't help myself... this sort of thing does pass the time waiting and it's kind of fun. I'll tack on a couple of thoughts and my thoughts are going to center on Rocco's consistent use of the platoon which I imagine will continue. Toronto: 1. The Blue Jay can clinch before Sunday. If they do... They won't throw Gausman on Sunday... He will start Game one. The Mariners and Astros need to keep the pressure on to burn Gausman. 2. You'd have to imagine that they would want one of their lefty starters to toe the rubber against the Twins. Game 3 maybe? If Either Kukuchi or Ryu don't start in the 3 game series... we could see some creative usage of them. The Jays will have the lefthanders to bounce our platooning around like a pinball and create the unfavorable matchup. Astros: If the D-Backs pin the Astros to the wall and they need a win on Sunday... I could certainly see them going with Valdez on Short Rest. He threw 83 Pitches and 4 innings on Wednesday against Seattle. After Valdez... The Astros are almost entirely right handed on the mound. This series could be as set it and forget it as it comes for Rocco. Mariners: If we want the other teams to burn their top guys. They need to keep pushing from the bottom. The Mariners falling fast... Means Gausman or Valdez Game One. Whoever we face... we face... bring em on.
  7. Riverbrian
    Without Medical Reports that suggest differently. This is pretty much how I see it as well. OF or bust Even if Lewis could play 3B... Julien will need that DH spot. OF or bust If he can play OF... I'm ready to roll with Buxton in the lineup.
  8. Riverbrian
    The playoff roster announcement is going to be interesting.
  9. Riverbrian
    Lewis at DH is the bigger news. If Lewis is DH... Buxton utilization options narrow significantly. Against Bryce Miller/Logan Gilbert/Castillo/Kirby or Kevin Gausman/Jose Berrios/Chris Bassitt or Cristian Javier/JP France/Verlander DH - Lewis C - Jeffers 1B - Kirilloff 2B - Julien 3B - Polanco SS - Correa LF - Wallner CF - Taylor RF - Kepler Vazquez Solano Farmer Castro Buxton Against Framber Valdez or Ryu/Kikuchi DH - Lewis C - Jeffers 1B- Solano 2B - Polanco 3B - Farmer SS - Correa LF - Castro CF - Taylor RF - Kepler Vazquez Kirilloff Julien Wallner Buxton With DH unavailable... unless Buxton can play OF... He's that pinch hitter that Rocco will use so Kirilloff, Julien and Wallner don't have to face Speier, Saucedo, Cabrera or Mayza. If he can't play in the field. He is done after his pinch AB. If Castro has to start against Valdez to keep Wallner away from left handers... Julien becomes our best pinch running option when one is needed late in the game. This takes Juliens bat out of the game when a right hander replaces Valdez. The Astros have nothing but right handers after Valdez. Buxton knocks Stevenson off the roster who could fill that late inning... we need someone fast to replace someone slow on the bases with the game in the balance. Bottom Line: Buxton in CF is needed. Otherwise... with Lewis at DH... Buxton is a guy who gets maybe a couple of AB's in the Wild Card Series.
  10. Riverbrian
    Castro doesn't deserve that.
  11. Riverbrian
    It goes that way sometimes. We could have a Gray vs Verlander matchup and the Twins win 10 to 9.
  12. Riverbrian
    Great post! I'm watching the results this week out west very closely while at the same time attempting to detach myself from any thought of cheering for a particular team based on who I'd like to match up against because we just don't know who will be the right or wrong team at the right or wrong time. Your post makes perfect sense... we should have the advantage of setting our rotation while the Jays, Rangers, Mariners and Astros have to fight to the end leaving THEM to roll with however it it rolls. However, while we worry about Luis Castillo and George Kirby or worry about Valdez and Verlander. History has shown that it just might be Logan Gilbert, JP France, Bryan Woo or Hunter Brown that hang zeroes while Castillo hangs a 4 in the 1st inning. While we hope for the return of Lewis and Correa. It just might be Christian Vazquez who hits a three run homer in 9th inning to send us to the next round. It's why I love baseball and it's why I'll never take for granted my team participating in the small sample size that is the playoffs. Great Post though and Go Twins!!!
  13. Riverbrian
    The AJ Trade worked out great for us. Nathan, Liriano and Bonser turned out to be an amazing return. No doubt it was a fantastic trade that you make every time,,, however... to make the story complete. It is often overlooked that Henry Blanco was our primary catcher in 2004. Depth is important, depth this year kept us alive. 13 guys who can play is possible. Lewis and Buxton have spent a lot of time injured. Solano was third in AB's this year. Clearing depth out of the way to promote Lee early is risky and unnecessary.
  14. Riverbrian
    I gotta admit though. Decent isn't a decent word for a 463 foot Grand Slam home run.
  15. Riverbrian
    Hicks is a bad comparison because Hicks was on the 40 man roster. Lee doesn't need to be added to the 40 man. Buxton is a better comparison because Buxton didn't need to be added to the 40 man when he was handed the CF reigns without a net much like is being suggested for Lee. However... Hicks and Buxton are great examples of what could happen when you just throw a kid out there. I'm not afraid of youth at the major league level... they often times out perform the vets... but youth can be pretty scary when failure means Clete Thomas has to take over. 😁 I will say this... Lee has done a lot better in the minors than Hicks ever did in the minors. That says a lot about things being a lot better a decade later. Back in 2013 we had to start a guy who hadn't accomplished anything interesting in the minors. 10 years later... we got a guy playing interesting in the minors and we don't have to roster him.
  16. Riverbrian
    Royce Lewis is the only position player who gets the "dominates" tag from me. 😎
  17. Riverbrian
    You'll never get me to defend Gallo. Wallner over Gallo 8 days a week in my opinion. Wallner is better than Gallo. I would have cut Gallo in June. (Along with Kepler). You and I would both like to ask the front office about that one. However, you and I have different definitions on "dominates". I'm not knocking Wallner but the word I would use is decent. After watching Wallner this year and thinking about next year. I'm still not comfortable handing him a starting job with no safety net. Absolutely want him on the 26 man roster but I still want that safety net in case he goes Miranda on us next year. I like Julien a lot... I think Julien should be starting in the playoffs for this team. Next year... would I be comfortable cutting Polanco next year to clear space for Julien... I would not. I want him on the 26 man roster next year... but I still want that safety net. Decent is a compliment... Decent is not a word I can use to describe Gallo.
  18. Riverbrian
    I agree in theory. Although... I simultaneously DON'T WORRY about losing an option year and WORRY about losing an option year. It all depends on Brooks Lee. If Brooks is looking good when called up... I won't worry about those options that will never be used because he is here to stay. I don't worry about that guy. However... if he comes up and performs like Byron Buxton did. Up Down Up Down Up down until September 2018 when Byron's last option was used to manipulate his service time to gain that extra year of control. In that scenario I worry about the preservation of options. I also worry about who we lose on the 40 man to give him a spot when we don't have to give him a spot. You and I stand here on September 26th, 2023 and neither of us can predict the development arc of Brooks Lee. Why not keep our (pardon the pun) options open.
  19. Riverbrian
    Options are what you are fighting. The option to keep a player in reserve without penalty is what you are fighting. The team is better with Polanco, Solano, Farmer and Julien than it is with Julien, Solano and Farmer. If a player has options... they can be stored. They have to be much better than the player without options who can't be stored. It's like that in every organization.
  20. Riverbrian
    Yep... that's what I was thinking as I posed the question. They cleared the space for Buxton and they did it with Hicks before that and instead of swimming... they sunk.
  21. Riverbrian
    I thought I'd answered the question with by being "Jordan Walker-Esque". Guess I was wrong. Evidence? I have none. Has the Twins organization had a prospect worthy of forcing their way onto the team without injury? Where is the Twins version of Acuna? Juan Soto? Vlad Jr? Julio Rodriquez? Wander Franco? If Brooks Lee is that type of player... that is how he forces his way onto the team without injury. If he is that type of player... The organization doesn't bother bringing back Polanco and they hand the job to Brooks Lee and hope Lee is what they say he is because Polanco isn't here anymore in case he isn't. I don't believe Brooks Lee is that type of player but if he is... we will find out when the injury to someone else occurs.
  22. Riverbrian
    Broader Answer: He has to be Jordan Walker-esque. The Cardinals certainly didn't need to add Walker to the 40 man as a 20 year old. They had Arenado at 3B and a whole bunch of outfielders. They did it because they determined that he is a special player at age 20 and clearly better than the other options. In hindsight... was that smart? That's debatable. He ended up being clearly better than the other OF options because O' Neill and Carlson ended being not very good at all... But his 791 OPS while above average was clearly not to the level that he could carry the team into the playoffs. In the end, the Cardinals are golfing in the off-season while Jordan has burned one option if he doesn't stay in the majors and if he remains in the majors he will reach free agency before he hits that 27 year old prime. Specific Answer using Twins context: Lee not on the 40 man has to be clearly better than Miranda and Martin who will both in AAA and on the 40 man. When the first injury hits at the major league level and a phone call is made to St. Paul. Why would you put Lee on the 40 man with Miranda and Martin on the 40 man if he is only performing a little bit better than Miranda or Martin. He has to force his way onto that 40 man by being the clearly the best option to replace the first man down at the major league level. Adding Lee to the 40 man roster and giving him a MLB job out of spring training would be completely unnecessary and absolutely risky... unless he is clearly MUCH MUCH better than Polanco, Julien, Farmer, Castro, Miranda, Martin ETC.
  23. Riverbrian
    Brooks doesn't have to be added to the 40 man roster until December 2025. Correa, Lewis, Polanco, Julien, Farmer, Miranda, Castro and Gordon makes 8 potential infielders that the Twins could bring back next year. Add Austin Martin who will have to be added to the 40 man roster in December and we have 9. Adding Lee to the 40 man would make it 10. This isn't a service time decision... it's an option decision. We all need to consider the possibility that Brooks is going to burn through options until that everyday major league job is his. Adding him cold to a playoff roster would be a bad decision because there is no guarantee that Brooks will be added to the 40 man next year with the options we have and the options that he has. Let Brooks force himself onto the 40 man during the season next year through extraordinary play. He has to be MUCH better than what we have.
  24. Riverbrian
    At the deadline... I wanted a Right Handed Bat that could hit both lefties and righties while not striking out above average. I wanted that bat because our strict platoon utilization was going to continue and because of the performance we were getting against left handed pitching at the deadline. Candelario was the guy I had my eye on. He has hit horribly since the Cubs acquired him. This stuff is hard for us mere mortals. In hindsight... I still endorse the attempt even if it fails and I would have failed with Candelario. We had areas that could have (Should have) been improved upon at the deadline. Improvement should have been attempted at least... IMO. August, September and the playoffs are long journeys ahead. It's your last chance to check to see if you packed enough socks.
  25. Riverbrian
    Sure you can make that argument and it looks great on paper... I can't argue the value of reliever X compared to what Funderburk and Varland are doing at the moment. However... the argument assumes that Funderburk and Varland remain healthy and available and it also assumes that Funderburk and Varland actually perform decently which was not yet determined at the trade deadline either. It also assumes that nearly everybody in the bullpen remains healthy throughout August and September because a loss at the back end of the bullpen shortens the bullpen immediately. The same goes for all of our position players remaining healthy. The direct comparison argument to see if the move improved a team could be made for every team that bought. The following teams bought at the trade deadline: Orioles: Fujimami, Flaherty Jays: Cabrera, Hicks, DeJong Rays: Civale, Sampson Yankees: Middleton Rangers: Chapman, Scherzer, Montgomery, Stratton, Hedges Astros: Graveman, Verlander Angels: Giolito, Lopez, Cron, Grichuk, Leone Braves: Johnson, Lopez, Hand Phillies: Castro, Lorenzen Marlins: Robertson, Burger, Bell Brewers: Santana, Canha, Chafin Cubs: Candelario, Cuas Reds: Moll Dodgers: Kike, Rosario, Lynn, Kelly, Yarbrough D-Backs: Sewald, Peterson, Pham Giants: Pollack Padres: Gamel, Hill, Choi, Barlow The Guardians and Mariners sold and the Twins traded Lopez for Floro which is basically standing still if not a step down from Lopez. I'll also say that Reds... slightly bought with the only addition being Moll so they almost a stand still like the Twins. Everybody else plus some that shouldn't have... attempted to get better.
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