Riverbrian

Arraez wouldn't play because we have worse players at all of the positions you list. I can't go where you are going.

I'd go the other direction just looking for hitters but I am much better with what you are suggesting than what they are actually doing. 73% of MLB is right handed... with an even higher percentage of right handed pitchers coming down the pike so YEAH... What you said... Why are they messing around with Garlick? For the life of me... I can't figure it out.

Another point since I'm worked up. Kepler and Gallo are performing on par with the past. Taylor is performing on par with the past. So... they are meeting expectation there is nothing to be surprised about. Correa and Buxton are the noticeable drop offs in expectation along with Miranda of course. If Correa and Buxton were performing to career norms... perhaps we could live with those Kepler, Gallo, Taylor repeat performances. They are not... so we can't. Starting pulling from the bottom so the floor is raised and perhaps a top can be identified along the way. The 10 million dollar option on Kepler is not going to be picked up. The players that he is in front of will be back next year. If the players that he is in front of are capable of being better than he is right now and they will be back next year and Kepler will not... The question must be asked... What are we doing?

Yeah... a whole two of them so let's... I'm sorry I don't understand what are they doing? You and I have always had a different viewpoint on platoon usage and yet we are arriving at nearly the same place at the moment. I'm not anti-platoon. I understand the statistical advantage of the platoon. I'm ok with it's implementation. I'm anti strict usage of the platoon, justifying the deployment of players who are not getting the job done in their roles. Kepler can't hit... it's ok... he's left handed and there is a right hander on the mound and so he plays like it's a law that can't be broken. I'd rather a right hander hitter hit against right handers over a struggling left handed bat against right handers. That was the crux of my point with Garlick last year. No idea if Garlick would hit right handers or not... he was never given the opportunity to. I just knew that the left handed side of things wasn't hitting. So... why not let our OPS leader at the time give it a try instead. I know you didn't like that idea but I'll say the same thing this year if Garlick is going to take up a roster spot... might as well see if Garlick can do better because we need someone to be better... but you and I both know that Garlick will not be allowed to do that so... he's worthless to me. I don't care if he ever puts on a Twins uniform again. I'm against using the platoon to justify the benching against left handers of one of our top hitters (Kirilloff) who has an entire career in front of him... like it's a rule that can't be broken. This is the same front office that would sit Arraez vs. left handers last year like it's a rule that can't be broken. The Marlins are not doing that with Arraez and it seems to be going OK for them. A better hitter is a better hitter. Mainly... I am strongly against letting hitters walk past the lineup card who are not earning the right to walk past the lineup card and we got a bunch of those guys and they were chosen by the front office and they can't get off the script. I'm not anti-platoon... The platoon is a tool to help you get the job done... they are using the platoon much like a spoon is a tool you can use to dig the Grand Canyon. It's going to take a long time and we haven't got that kind of time. This offense needs a big truck with a really big scoop.

I can see the chronological explanation but it became a plausible chronological explanation for all of us to swallow because of their own doing. I would have called up Wallner for Gallo on Saturday and let Wallner or Larnach be the decision yesterday if health held up and a roster spot was needed. Turns out... health didn't hold up and that roster spot decision wasn't necessary and Wallner would still be here. Now I realize... that I am placing way too much hope on Wallner and acting like I know he would be slugging 9 million these past couple of days and that Wallner would have no chance of failure because of his hot bat. No doubt that I am funneling a lot of frustration right now into this Wallner thing but it's really the process that keeps him down that has got me concerned. Any process that ignores the hot guy for a guy that they won't play is a bad process especially when the team needs something anything. Rostering a pinch hitting right handed bat like Garlick is like dabbing toilet paper on to a face laceration that needs stitches. It isn't going to fix the problem. It's not even trying to fix the problem. Wallner probably isn't going to fix it either but at least they are at the doctors office.

Yes... we will wait until he cools down. Or more accurately wait until more injuries occur forcing Wallner to perfectly time his hitting with opportunity... instead of creating opportunity when he is hitting. I'm under the impression that it doesn't matter what Wallner does even if he is given a chance. Simply... I don't believe that he is in our plans this year. There is clearly a pecking order in front of him starting with Kepler at the front of that line and poor play doesn't seem to take them out of line so the line is very slow moving. Leap frogging in that line doesn't seem to be allowed.

Those hard decisions should be getting easier.

If Garlick is swapped for Wallner. We would have 7 Right Handed hitters, 4 left handed hitters and 2 switch hitters. Stack? 4 Lefties? There are 18 teams that are more stacked or as stacked from the left side. I honestly don't understand. The ability to hit a baseball is more important than which batter box you stand in or what arm the pitcher throws with. We were shut out tonight. I've lost count of how many games we have scored less than 2 runs... 24? 25 times? 4 hits... how many times have we had 4 hits or less? how many times 12 K's or more? But, we were ready for Garlick to pinch hit in the 7th when they carelessly brought that left hander in. Is that the only plan to get our offense out of this? Don't worry about the offense... we will pinch hit Garlick in the 7th that should fix it. Never mind that we also had Farmer, Lewis and Jeffers also available to stand in that right batters box and pinch hit against that lefty in that spot. What are we doing?

With Buxton on the Disabled List. There is space for all. Kepler, Wallner, Larnach and Kirilloff with LF, RF, 1B and DH to occupy. OK... Willi Castro has done alright so let's put him in the mix and now that's 5 players for 4 spots... Still enough space for all because one day on the bench out of five games isn't development starvation. With Castro in the mix... you can also drag CF into the rotation. So now you have 6 players for 5 spots. Kepler, Wallner, Larnach, Kiriloff, Castro and Taylor for DH, 1B, LF, CF, RF positions. One player sits every 6 games and everybody is fed. Nope... the roster spot goes to Kyle Garlick, who might pinch hit. So, that single pinch hit AB has become more vital in the eyes of the decision makers than a player who will get 10 AB's. I could have a ten hour meeting with the front office where they carefully go over the reasoning and I will not understand... and I believe I am capable of understanding complex things from time to time. I continue to wonder... What exactly are they doing?

I've always assumed that the reason they went with Garlick instead of Wallner was the pending arrival of Larnach. On the other hand... Tampa is interesting because they have 3 lefties in the bullpen. They may want to deploy Garlick when they are called upon. On the other hand... We have 9 Right Handed Hitters - 2 Left Handed Hitters and 2 Switch hitters on the MLB Roster. So.. the only reason to keep Garlick is extreme fear of the lefty hitting a lefty pitcher because that fear doesn't seem to exist with right handed hitters hitting right handed pitchers since we have 9 of them and we are scheduled to face right handed starters. In other words... Why Garlick is on the roster at all is something that I can't answer.

I can't speak for TD's business model. I suspect it's an over simplification. But... I agree with everything you said and share your concerns.

Nothing worse than a struggling vet that you can't dispose of cleanly and I honestly don't see much evidence that experience is consistently better than unproven talent or vice versa. So... I agree with you but the problem is: Who is the youth behind that youth that you roster in place of the vet? Injuries demand a solution to that problem. The only solution that I have come up with is: Honest competition for playing time. Let the best man play. Once you choose Kepler over Wallner -- the competition is no longer honest. Kepler is handed chance after chance. Wallner must wait his turn regardless of results.

Rooker sure did come back to earth. Rooker - Past 30 days: .198/.291/.286 That's Buxton level not good. 😉 Buxton - Past 30 days: .176/.300/.294 Whatever Rooker was in April. It surely would have been helpful for that time period though. I'd take that April even if I knew what was going to happen in May.

Yes it has. This can't be the first time you've noticed this sort of thing. The alternative to it is dry spells of content. Dry spells of content isn't a very good business model in today's social media. The users of social media are not going to tolerate lack of content. Lack of content is not going feed the masses. Swifties want to talk about what color socks she bought at Wal-Mart. To be fair -- Try to come up with interesting content to write about today. Then try to come up with different interesting content tomorrow. Then try to come up with new interesting content the day after that. And the day after that... and the day after that. Now... keep in mind... this interesting content must be contained inside the narrow parameter of not just baseball but Twins baseball. Also... Keep in mind... this website isn't producing just one piece of content a day, It's producing 5 to 10? Are there 5 to 10 new things under the Twins sun every day? In other words... Yes it has. How else can the website grow or sustain numbers? We demand it and meeting demand is how you become successful. We demand Stephen A. Smith as well. We demand Fox News and we demand MSNBC. The content we get is a reflection of us.

I know they are if's - But... If Buxton and Correa become what they should be. If Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff are what they are. If they can add a decent rental and I mean decent rental to Jorge Polanco... The offensive outlook can change significantly and now the pitching staff has support. If you got those 6 and add Gallo hitting the occasional dinger will give him some base runners to drive in and his below .200 BA doesn't seem as bad. Right now... It's bad and I'm screaming about the badness. Buxton and Correa are not what they are supposed to be which makes Gallo almost pointless and the team seems to stubbornly play and play again other vets who just are not capable of making up the difference that Buxton and Correa should be providing. The team doesn't seem to be adjusting quick enough to this for my tastes and I'm filtering my frustration into the minor league incarceration of Matt Wallner. What I want to see right now until late July... is an open and fair competition for the the playing time being assigned and a serious search for players who might be better than what the vets are providing... which isn't enough. Like I said... I'm right with ya right now... But at the trade deadline... I'm adding because I'm not letting my May get in the way of my August.

I'm with you right up to the trade deadline and then we will part company. If this pitching staff keeps us in contention into late July... Support them.

I agree we are not that far apart. I'm just trying to figure out exactly where we are apart because we seem to be apart on the subject. 😉 We both understand that adding can be Grichuk or Blackmon for our 16th best prospect and it doesn't have to be our entire top 5 prospects for Juan Soto.

You got my respect... I know that you are one of the posters that is always researched and researched beyond the Twins. There is no point discussing what the Orioles, Twins, Braves and other teams did at trade deadlines past because I know you are aware of what everyone did and I assume you know that I am as well. You and I both know that not all trade deadline acquisitions work out and you and I both can find examples where teams that did nothing did better. To me it seems like the crux of our disagreement is going to reside in the thought that you can build a World Series Winner and simply roster yourself to 12 victories or so out of 20 or so games in the playoff I have long given up on the predictive powers of myself, all front offices and all fans and will never support a front office looking at a contending team and saying... No Chance I don't know why we are here so let's sell. You buy at the trade deadline for the stretch run... to get into the playoffs to get through August and September so your team can compete in the playoffs. For the purpose of this discussion, as long as we both recognize that there are degrees to "how much you go in or all in as you put it... meaning... sensibility is always required and I wouldn't suggest burning down the entire farm system to improve your situation for the stretch run. I won't speak for the Orioles but I didn't agree with their approach last year however, I can see that they traded an expiring contract and their closer in a loaded bullpen so the potential damage was somewhat limited but I would have added because they had areas that needed improvement... Starting Pitching for example. The Twins... They may have been trying to please both of us at the same time. Fulmer was the only rental. The acquisition of Mahle and Lopez came with another year attached. So they attempted to improve the team for the playoffs and next year. Should have made us both happy to a degree. however, that extra year comes with a higher price tag. This year... I fully expect the Twins to buy... and I fully expect them to buy a hitter and a good one. If they don't... I'll be bummed, pissed, disappointed. A rental will be just fine because we got young talent coming up. A weak division is just an easier door to open. Teams in the AL and NL Central have won the world series before and they will again. Once you reach the playoffs it doesn't matter if you had a hard or easy door to walk through... it only matters if you got through the door because they all end up in the same room.

There are things that we agree on and there are things where we don't. This is one where we don't agree and I don't think we can change each other's mind. 😎 If you are in first place... you are in contention. Being in first place... is in contention... there is no other way to define it. The strongest team on paper doesn't automatically win in the playoffs. There are teams that advance in the playoffs with flaws. I don't want any front office thinking that they know better. They don't know better. .

Well that happens with 160 proof moonshine. I get that he wasn't successful before... it should probably be noted that he was a starter when he wasn't successful. First year converted to the pen produced. 48.1 innings. 54 K's... 0.94 WHIP. He has visible and measurable stuff. Baltimore chose him as a closer and they had one of the best bullpens in baseball at the time if you rank by team ERA. Our bullpen was one of the worst. The Twins were in 1st place and they traded for one of the top bullpen options available instead of some cheaper option. You won't find me criticizing the move. I would have made it 8 days a week. Matter of fact... I remember asking them for bullpen help very loudly last year. Pablo? I get it... Starters are expensive. I didn't like losing Arraez... Still don't. But... I think Pablo is a good pitcher and good pitchers are expensive.

Cano has options. Pagan does not. Therefore... the Orioles will take Cano in a trade but would probably not take Pagan in a trade.

It feels a little better when you reduce his consideration to mere player on the 26 man roster. A little better.

Of Course there are no guarantees that Wallner would have done anything. However, that same lack of a guarantee applies to everybody on the 26 man roster but... in absence of a guarantee... it's best to go with the guy who doesn't seem to need that guarantee.

There is something that combines throw in the air during September harvest that I am allergic to. I can definitely say that I'm not allergic to a platoon. However, there is a strong part of me that wishes that the first half of the year is used to establish who SHOULD be platooned. I'd rather remain vigilant to the possibility that players get better and get worse from time to time and I believe that front offices are capable of making sure a player doesn't get better by restricting access... I.E. Alex Kirilloff will not get better facing left handers because Kyle Garlick is going to play against them instead. Come playoff time or even come September... Platoon away... you'll have the data... the players will have let you know. But... even more importantly... I really struggle with the platoon concept if the long side of a platoon is .213/.281/.398 against right handed pitchers and I struggle even harder if that same long side of a platoon was .221/.315/347 last year. And I'm going to struggle even harder if the team has scored less than 2 runs in 21 out of 60 games while striking out 613 times. When this is the context... A two day rental of a short side platoon who will never be allowed to be better than .213/.281/.398 is a waste. Especially when you have 10 other players on the roster who hit right handed. And especially especially especially when the guy you passed over for the 2 day short side rental guy. Went 7 for 11 with the Twins with 2 walks and zero K's over 5 games... Was sent down for .213/.281/.398 guy and then went 11 for 26 with 3 home runs over 6 games. 18 for 37 combined. 4 home runs. I'll finish with one last point. The most efficient way to kill a hot streak is to bench it or send it down. How do you make the establishment of major league ability as hard as possible. The answer is -- Make him time his production to the exact time you have a spot for him. Instead of making a spot for him when he is producing. Also... The most efficient way to maybe a add a year or two but guarantee the career will be short lived. Just do what you have done to Garlick. This team needs to stop screwing around with this... I got a left hander on the mound today so let's call up a lesser hitter that swings from the opposite side of the plate crap. We need help.

The easy answer to the question posed by this excellent article is: Baltimore acquired him as part of a package in a trade for Jorge Lopez. At that moment he became the Orioles responsibility to improve or Baltimore became the beneficiary of his pending improvement. The Twins needed bullpen help last year. They needed immediate help and Cano's ability to help was not immediate. If the Twins were not in contention they wouldn't have needed Lopez and could have given Cano more time. They didn't have the time. I don't blame the front office for this... I blame the front office for Nick Anderson... but not this.