Riverbrian

On a scale of 1 to 10... This post is a 17.

We were close... Just needed the other teams to pass on Hunter Greene 34 times so he fell to us at pick 35.

I fear no one I also fear everyone

Willi had a great series in Cincinnati. He's actually had a great return from the DL. He should be getting a roster spot on the 2024 roster IMO. Castro is one of those examples of players that you find with opportunity and he's one of those players that make it possible to roster 13 players who can play. Castro is one of those examples of why it is absolutely unnecessary to hold onto to players who absolutely struggling. However... Willi Castro Twins 2023 MVP? That thought is equally sensible and nonsense? It's sensible because who else do you give it to. There are only 7 players who were on the roster all year and played in over 100 games. Lewis would be a no brainer but we only got 58 games out of him. Of those 7 players who have been on the roster all year... it would be between Solano and Castro in my opinion. Castro has helped us win games in all phases of the game. Solano has been extremely consistent all year. The other 5 Correa: No... He played in the most games, had the most AB's he played great defense, I'm sure he was a leader but you can't reward his season with an MVP. Kepler: No... his first half was so bad he should have been released and not allowed to have the great 2nd half that he has had. (Keep going Kep). Gallo: No... Obviously absolutely not. The other two are Taylor and Farmer and they were a step below Solano and Castro in my opinion. So... Castro gets strong MVP consideration... it makes sense. Which is nonsense because apart from his stolen bases... his numbers are league average. I think you have to go to the other side to grab an MVP this year. Gray or Lopez are the top choices.

The St. Paul Saints schedule ending on the 24th isn't a concern. What Byron needs to do to rehab and play the game of baseball physically is the same in St. Paul as it is in Minneapolis. Once the Twins clinch does it matter if Byron ramps up in St. Paul or in the majors? It doesn't... Once we clinch, we can absorb his rustiness/rehabbing without penalty... we could start Glunn, Ashbury or Chpettit19 in Centerfield for the final week of the season and it won't matter in the standings so the Saints schedule coming to an end isn't a factor. We can ramp him up for the playoffs right here if needed. I was sleeping in med school so I'm just going to listen to the reports from the head trainer who is saying that he will be back. My only hope is that Byron is honest about his current status at all times. I don't want him saying he is fine if he is not. I don't want him trying to hide anything just to get in the game. I hope Byron realizes that Michael A. Taylor at 100% is better than he is at 40% and for the sake of the team... he steps aside with honest communication. If healthy... he could be a game changer. Let's get him healthy and hope for honest communication.

I have no inside information but I'm not so sure about "Lopez being precipitated by the failure of the Mahle trade". Mahle started the season in the rotation. The club gave up a lot for him so I have no reason to believe that Mahle wasn't a big part of the 2023 plan going forward. Lopez was an addition to and in the process they put together a pretty nice rotation with decent depth to it. The Mahle trade officially became a failure when Tyler suffered the elbow injury requiring Tommy John surgery... which was a different injury than what he suffered in 2022 and it occurred after Lopez was acquired. Starting pitching is expensive. If you want to sign a talented free agent arm... they cost big money to sign. If you want to trade for a talented arm... they cost big prospects to acquire. I think it's really that simple. They liked Mahle and I'm sure other teams liked Mahle so they paid the price for him and that price was Steer and E-Strand. When I look at Steer and E-Strand in a Reds uniform... I don't see a blown deal. That happens. All I see is the extremely important need to develop pitching internally so you don't have to pay that kind of cost to bring it in. That's what I see. The need to do it. I'm not mad at the deal or the end result of it... If you have to bring in pitching... the cost is the cost. It's like complaining about the fuel prices when you fill up. You need fuel... the price is the price. Steer and E-Strand for Mahle is the cost for filling a need that wasn't addressed internally. It's the tax assessed for needing it... for not creating your own. It's the need to pay it that I think about. It's the filling out your rotation with 8.5 million dollars worth of Bundy and Archer types because the pitchers developed by the organization are not fully cooked yet. It's the trading of young prospects to fill in the spaces the developed pitcher should occupy. I'm not mad at the trade... I'd be more apt to be mad because they had to. Even though... on that front... I generally give them a break for this because 2020 had to be a development blow. Going forward as we get further away from 2020... development is how I will judge this front office.

I think it's impossible for any front office to be right on every player so therefore... I just hope for a front office that realizes that they are not right on every player and they don't pre-determine the outcome.

I'm sorry... I have a hard time explaining myself at times. I use too many words and you are not understanding my point. It will help to understand my point if you understand that I am Pro Falvey, Lavine and Rocco. I believe that they have made a lot of progress. Others will certainly argue with you and I... however please understand that my criticisms are not founded on a desire to toss them over a bridge. My point... to the best that I can nutshell it is this. The margins are thin... the job is hard, the competition is stiff and constant. Front offices do this for a living and are better at it than I am. They have more data than I do. However... players over perform and under perform their expectations all the time. Therefore... I do not trust them or any front office to look at a player and say... He can't do this and then proceed forward case closed. So whenever I see a front office placing a road block in front of a player from showing them what they can do. I object to it. All the examples that I gave... yes I am holding on to them but they are merely some of the worst examples of a player not being what they thought he would be and are just examples on why you can't take a front office assessment as gospel. So... In a nutshell. What is happening to Julien, Kirilloff and Wallner against left handed pitchers is something I'd like them to reconsider.

I have no idea. I can only make assumptions like the rest of us. The thing with me is pretty simple. I am willing to give the front office and manager the benefit of the doubt on many things and I do. I am not calling for heads to roll. My criticisms are simply my criticisms... nobody is perfect. However... their powers of assessment is simply one area where I will not give them the benefit of the doubt. I don't hold that against them... I give no front office that benefit of the doubt. They are all wrong too often. I can't look at all the opportunity given to Gallo and also give them the benefit of the doubt on their assessment of Julien's ability to hit left handers. They were wrong about Gallo. I can't watch them give Nick Anderson away for absolutely no reason and also give them the benefit of the doubt on their assessment of Juliens ability to hit left handers. They were big time... huge... enormously wrong about Anderson. I can't watch them stick with Logan Morrison and give them the benefit of the doubt. I can't watch them ride Martin Perez to the very end before doing a last second switcheroo to Dobnak come playoff time and give them the benefit of the doubt about Julien, Kirilloff and Wallner against lefties and the preparation for the playoffs. What players are today isn't what they will be tomorrow we have a coaching staff and analytics to help players get better They can get better... unless you just get in the way and not allow them to. Gallo you just let strikeout over and over again but you gotta pull Julien, Kirilloff and Wallner out in the 5th inning in May. That is backwards. This team is playoff bound. Julien, Kirilloff and Wallner will have to face a lefty in the playoffs. 42 AB's over 96 games isn't preparing them for what is about to come. They can swing in the cage all they want to get repetitions in. At some point... they will have to step in that box against Chapman or Smith and we will need them to lace a double down the line. Reticence isn't helpful in the future in my opinion no matter what is causing it. I know there is more to the story but on the surface as closely as you and I watch. It sure seems like pure simple strict adherence and over playing the lefty vs lefty card when there are plenty of games to go and having it land on their heads with just a few games to go with it all on the line.

The Playoff losing streak was yesterday. 18 loses in a row yesterday has no bearing on the results of the 2023 playoffs tomorrow. I let the streak go on October 1, 2020 and haven't looked back. I wouldn't let it poison your 2023 prematurely. 😎 .

First off... Great Article. Viewpoints and discussion from the other 29 teams is needed on this website to be able to properly compare and contrast our singular focus on the Twins... So Thank You. Great Article. At the time of the trade... I loved the acquisition of Lopez and absolutely hated the loss of Arraez. I understood why the trade was made... I just didn't think we could afford to lose Arraez because it was late January and the offense was concerning to me WITH Arraez on the roster. I simply wasn't as worried about the pitching as I was about the hitting at the time of the trade. I had absolutely no faith in Kepler or Gallo at that point and I didn't know who Julien was at the time and even if I did know who he was... He still had options. I'm not afraid of rookies but I know that they are more likely to bounce around than solidify with options available. In 2022... Arraez was the only player on the team that I felt was consistently a threat every at bat and he was gone. Quality starting pitching comes at a big cost and Arraez was big cost. One part I loved about the article. Jazz Chisholm in place at 2B. Miami needs to improve offense. They trade for a 2B (Arraez) and they sign a 2B (Segura). Just pointing out that here is yet another example of a major league team players around. Segura didn't work out but Arraez and Chisholm in the same lineup has made them better. For those who think that Arraez, Polanco and OK... Julien can exist on the same roster. I state once again... Yes they can. In hindsight... would I do the deal again. I would because I am becoming a big Lopez fan. Pablo has made this deal worthwhile. Welcome to Minnesota Pablo. Stay Healthy.

Lots of talk about Julien not being ready to face lefthanders. Maybe he isn't... Maybe he is... but regardless he will have to get ready because I'll bet anything that Julien, Kirilloff or Wallner will have to face a lefty in the playoffs. There are 13 position players on a 26 man roster. There are 9 starters in every game and only 4 pinch hit options with 3 young lefties to hide. Not to mention Kepler and possibly Gallo. Managers are going to ping pong between lefties and righties out of the bullpen. One of those 3 or even two of those 3 are going to have to man up against a lefty because we don't have enough pinch hitting options to keep them all hidden for the entire game and the odds are likely that we will run out of pinch hitting options in the late innings when you don't have extra innings to gain ground. What happens to this extreme strict pinch hit platoon style if Farmer or Solano gets hurt in game one? Now you have 3 pinch hit options in game two with one being a catcher. Now you will need Julien to man up against Chapman in the 8th, 9th or 10th inning and Vazquez already playing 1B because he pinch hit for Kirilloff in the 6th. BTW... just to pile on my scenario You also have Vazquez as the Manfred Man runner with no replacement because Castro has already pinch hit for Wallner. Yes I know... I'm making up an extreme scenario to simply state that Julien, Kirilloff and Wallner will probably have to face a lefty in the playoffs but it isn't that extreme because we have already seen my scenario play out this season. How does pulling Julien before he even swings a bat against Manaea in May prepare him for that moment he steps to the plate against Will Smith because the bench has been exhausted in the Playoffs? 😄

IMO... Chaim Bloom joined the Red Sox at a very difficult time. Big time transition from needing to shed payroll, rebuild a farm system while staying competitive. That's quite the needle to thread. Dombrowski is very good at his style of assembling teams but his style drains the farm eventually leaving the organization nowhere to go but to keep increasing payroll to sustain competitiveness. He successfully did it in Detroit and he successfully did it in Boston but was out of a job as a result. When you look at results... there is no reason for someone as successful as Dombrowski to be looking for work. When POB's or GM's are asked by owners how they are going to roster a better team after not making the playoffs while over the luxury tax threshold, with no young talent on the horizon the owners are not going to like the answer that they will have to spend even more because that is the only recourse when you have no young talent to bring in or trade for better talent. Being in that situation makes a guy like Bloom an attractive replacement. They needed a guy who cold get them under the cap, rebuild a farm system and stay competitive. They needed some of that Tampa Rays magic to accomplish this. Here's the thing... One guy can't do it alone. It doesn't matter what industry that you work in.... transition/change is difficult. You can't simply slam the Rays style into Boston when the Red Sox front office is mainly intact. Chaim Bloom was able to reduce the payroll and build the farm system back up... What he didn't do was develop or acquire enough pitching to win at the level expected in Boston. Everybody should know by now that pitching is the hardest thing to acquire... it's expensive, it's volatile and it costs lots of money or big prospects... the very two things that Chaim Bloom had to build back up.

Is he? Are all players playing to their awareness or expectation? Are some players playing better than they expect? Are some players playing worse than they expect?

Too Much Coffee?

Crank that machine up to left handed and let those sliders sweep across the batting cage. 😉

I read your posts... You have my respect... You are clearly an informed poster. He's 24 years old. He was 23 in AAA... He was 22 in AA. This guy can hit and his advancement has been impressive. If there is a platoon disparity let him work through it with exposure to it. Much like they have let him work through his defensive issues with continued exposure to playing defense. I am still worked up over these types of moves in May. Those pre-all star break AB's are preparation for September and beyond and it's not like the Right Handed hitters that we have been utilizing in his place were killing it in May, June and July. I agree with you... It's September now. I better not see him hitting against lefties in the playoffs. If I see it... it will be another example of the Twins painting themselves into a corner when it matters.

Let's go back to May 23 in the year 2023. Julien is in the lineup batting in the clean up spot. The Giants use John Brebbia as an opener. He throws a clean 3 up 3 down inning in the 1st against Kirilloff followed by Right Handers Buxton and Correa. Left hander Sean Manaea enters for the 2nd inning with Julien scheduled to lead off the 2nd inning when he is pinch hit for and out of the game before he swings a bat. The Twins were 25-23 at the time with 2.5 game lead over the Detroit Tigers. There were 114 games to play. If the Twins are going to do that to Julien and Kirilloff in May. They are certainly going to do that to them in September as they try to close out the AL Central and prep for the playoffs. Julien will never develop against left handed pitchers unless they let him develop against left handed pitchers. There is no indication that they are willing to do that. Gallo is allowed to strikeout at .428 clip, struggle for 2.5 years, Hit .177 and keep playing. Kepler is allowed to struggle for 2.5 years and keep playing. That's all fine and dandy However... A young lefty hitting Julien facing a left handed pitcher in the 2nd inning in Game #48 of the season. The Twins just can't stomach that and 42 AB's are used as justification for it. I understand the historical platoon numbers and I understand individual platoon numbers.... I see the advantage but what I don't understand is why the platoon split is seemingly THE STAT TO TRUMP ALL STATS leading to seemingly absolute strict adherence to it.

9th Inning pinch hit. Vazquez doesn't excite me about I'm Ok with the move in that moment. Barely Ok because Julien is the better hitter but at least it wasn't the 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th inning where the right handed pinch hitter has to face the right hander closer in the 9th. However... Let's be clear. The number in that red circle is 42. It took 96 games to get that many AB's against lefties. The Twins are self manufacturing the need to pinch hit Vazquez for Julien in the 9th inning. 42 AB's against lefties in 96 games. It's going to take a long time to repair those numbers at the pace the Twins are allowing him to travel. I'd actually like to suggest that we stop quoting 42 AB's out of fairness to Julien. I can justify this move at this time... Barely... but I can't justify that the Twins have created this need for Vazquez by decree more than Julien has created this need through performance. 42 AB's ain't much.

40 Man Roster Spot with Two Options Remaining. Nothing has to be done with Larnach.

Projections are not a reason to act or not act. Where were the Padres, Mets, Cardinals and Yankees projected? Where were the Cubs, Reds and D-Backs projected? The question is rhetorical because the answer doesn't matter. Whatever projections you have can be easily countered with the actual standings in late July.

Who are your trading and why and who are you getting and what needle are you moving? How should I know? I'm not on the phone calls. I've already stated that I'm giving the front office the benefit of the doubt that they made an effort. Are you making any significant changes in the potential of a team winning a WS. the answer is no? There are no guarantees on anything. No Guarantees that team be better. No Guarantees that the team will be worse. No Guarantees that the team will look the same afterward. So the question is why spend any chips? Because you are contending team and there are also NO GUARANTEES that the roster that you have in July will be healthy come playoff time. The trade deadline is the last chance for a contending team to supply for the stretch run. No Guarantees that Correa and Buxton will remain terrible or healthy. No Guarantees which Kepler is good or bad? You are in contention and you have the opportunity to bring in help for what you need... when you really don't know what you are going to need because we still have two months to go. I think they have a much longer horizon that just this year on competitiveness. They better because that is what a front office has to do. But, they also can't ignore a playoff bound team because they don't think they have a chance which is exactly my point of contention for the justification of standing pat. If they take that attitude... I will ask for a new front office. I give them the benefit of the doubt that don't have that attitude... some posters here... Yeah... they display that attitude. The other thing is last year we moved chips in because we had more players at risk for the rule 5 draft. This makes sense... I think you have to always look at 40 man roster and make hard decisions every year. Some years are going to be tougher than others. However... let's look at what transpired last year. Steer, E-Strand, Majjar to the Reds for Mahle Only Steer had to be placed on a 40 man roster in the off-season. Cano, Povich, Nunez and Rojas to the Orioles for Pablo Lopez Only Cano needed a 40 man roster spot. Gibson-Long to the Tigers for Fulmer. Sawyer did not need to be added to the 40 man roster. So they cleared two 40 man roster spots and in the off-season added 65 million in vet players to the roster in the form of Correa, Solano, Vazquez, Gallo Taylor and Farmer. Also please strongly consider that the Twins added Lopez, Mahle and Fulmer at the deadline last year. Lopez and Mahle both had an extra year on their contracts so they paid a higher price for those two and I'll go ahead and assume that extra year was important as the team set up for THIS YEAR to go along with the 65 million dollars in addition. Also please strongly consider that the Twins added at the deadline last year to support the club with Bundy and Archer anchored in the rotation. Yet this year... the front office with the best rotation we have had in a long long long time consisting of Lopez, Gray, Ryan, Ober, Maeda, Varland, Kuechel... and the theory being floated was that there is no need to support this pitching staff because it isn't going to make a difference in the playoffs anyway... yet last year... Bundy and Archer were deserving of support. Sorry... I'm not buying it. Buyers Buy and Seller sell. We were buyers this year that didn't buy. The only benefit of the doubt that I can give them is this: The prices were too high.

It sounded more like John Bonham's Bass Drum!

Whose expectations? Certainly not the expectations of the front office based on the starting pitching they had assembled. Certainly not the front office based on the off-season activity. 65 Million in 2023 payroll added for veteran talent. All the chips in? How about a couple of chips instead of all of them? If it's a couple of chips is it still true idiocy? The Org will put their chips in when they feel they have a good shot? Can this front office or any front office predict playoff outcomes on July 31. Can this front office or any front office predict injuries and slumps for the Twins and all of the other teams? Can they predict who they will face? Do they already know who will win the world series? This is really pretty simple: I don't know what other teams were asking. I assume the front office was engaged. I give them the benefit of the doubt that they made reasonable decisions based on whatever the price was. However... Buyers Buy and Seller Sell? Anything else is standing still. It was the last chance to supply for the journey ahead. Once the trade deadline passes... you will have to continue with what you have.

Every season, every team and every player has periods of ups and periods of downs. Good Times... Bad Times.... You know I've had my share.