Riverbrian

Bulletin board material for tonight?

You are right. Now that Buxton is hitting again... there really isn't an obvious send down to make room candidate at the moment. ?

I'm sure there are attempts being made to fix whatever has gone really really wrong but the clock is really ticking. He's gone next year. The benefit of getting him fixed doesn't extend past this year and if you don't fix it this year... someone with no future in the organization will be taking us down. I hate to say it... Duffey is basically Logan Morrison or Matt Shoemaker at this point. You can't let players who won't be back... kill you. I really hate saying things like this.

This is how you win trades. Almost all trades are equal value when they are made. You win trades when the players acquired surpass expectation.

Finding playing time for a player playing good baseball is easy to do. If anyone thinks that it is hard to do... you need to get yourself out of the way because you are the one making it hard to do... and for no reason.

I really try my best to not judge pitching change decisions but when I fail to lay off it is almost always when a pitcher is left in too long. The 9th inning was one of those times. Duffey had me gulping. With that said... Nice Win. Another mark in the left column.

Reading both articles are illustrations of Good Attitude vs Crappy Attitude. We got BUXTON! vs. Yeah Millions for a guy who can't stay on the field. Those extremes exist in the posters on this very website. Between the two attitudes. I know which one I will invite over for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm not sure where you will be spending yours. ?

The Reds started the season 3-26. They are currently 17-32. If the Twins would have played the Reds during this stretch of 27 games. Would they qualify for the group of 4 you have chosen? ?

I just thought of another one. Unfortunately... Willie Shoemaker doesn't want to ride Matt Shoemaker.

It doesn't matter if I agree... I love posts with a parable. I'll also add that farm animals can only be one syllable (Pig, Cow, Horse). The name long reliever needs to be condensed or nobody is gonna want to commit the barn space. ? Now... back to the topic. The people that live in California may not necessarily want long relievers all over the place either. Unfortunately, the Colorado River is lower, the groundwater is depleting, Albert Hammond says that "It never rains in southern California" and the 70's band America says "The Heat was Hot". For them, the choice is green grass or the supply getting so low that it effects the health of the state's residents. Supply is the issue. You have to do something different because there isn't enough effective starting pitching. It may not be what the teams or Californians want... but it may be what they have to do.

I could be wrong and I haven't researched it but I believe I'm willing to make a blind wager that you will find very few pitchers in 2022 who average over 6 IP per start. Maybe a handful... 10? across the entire league would be guess. This isn't a Twins management thing... it's an everybody's management thing.

And the Tiger fans are saying that they have to win these games against a depleted lineup. ?

They seemed non-competitive on Television as well. ?

This type of thinking is only going to drive you crazy. The Pirates beat the Dodgers last night... again! The Pirates win the season series between the two clubs 5-2. Good teams average 6 wins every 10 games. Average Teams average 5 wins every 10 games Bad Teams average 4 wins every 10 games. The bad teams are beating somebody and it isn't just the other bad teams that they collect their W's against. In baseball... the sun never shines bright enough for hay making.

There Is No Such Thing As A Pitching Prospect. While it's clearly an overstatement, it is really hard to deny the accuracy of the implication. Injury rates with pitchers are rising to the point of injuries being actually expected, this has led to a change in usage to try and lessen the attenuation, which in turn lessens the value of those who stay somewhat healthy because the workload is managed. The combination of injuries, workload management and short windows of effectiveness means questionable success rates in comparison to hitters. Front offices need sure things with the early rounds, they can't afford to miss. Early round misses happen a lot and each time it happens it will set a franchise back. Missing also can't be good for job security for the advisors or for the actual front office. It's hard to blame anyone for retreating to the safety (safer) net of hitters who succeed at higher rates, there is simply too much at stake. I look at it a little differently... when you look at these numbers they say dial it down on drafting pitching but sometimes when the numbers look like they say dial it down... they are really saying dial it up. The numbers are not saying you should avoid drafting pitching because it's hard, they only look like they do... the numbers are actually saying that drafting pitching is hard so you have to spend more energy on it to restore the balance. Yes... injuries have diminished the value of individual pitchers. Yes... Workload management (rest and pitch counts) has diminished the value of individual pitchers. Yes... the short shelf life, quick decline of effectiveness has diminished the value of individual pitchers. All this is true but the one thing that has not diminished, is the need for pitching. Every team still desperately needs it. You have to dial it up against the odds to increase the odds and restore the balance. Pitching is a numbers game. Draft a lot of it, acquire a lot of it and promote it quickly while there are still bullets in the gun.

Gordon has been getting opportunity this year and he is poised for more opportunity in the immediate future. Gordon can help his major league career right here... right now. I'll be pulling for him. Although... I'm not sure what you mean exactly by "Probably the same ones calling for Lewis to be called up to play any position".

He went after the baseball hard and made the catch. Just like I hope all players go hard after the ball and make the catch. Good Job Royce... Thank You. Hope you heal up soon.

Devin Smeltzer: "My wife told me this morning, I need to throw more changeups down and away, and I agreed. And that's what we did." Dear, Falvey, Lavine and Baldelli As long as they are hanging zeros. Please keep Devin and his wife in the rotation.

He started the game at 1.74. improved to 1.04

7 innings of 2 hit - shut out ball tonight. ERA down to 1.04 Smeltzer wants to stay. Someone should prepare a snack tray and make him feel at home.

In extreme conditions... Furlongs are necessary for the survival of certain species.

Kyle Garlick was drafted in the 28th round by the Dodgers in 2015 after he set the single season home run record at Cal Poly Pomona. He never showed up in the top prospect rankings (28th round picks rarely do) but he worked his way up the Dodger farm system anyway by hitting right handers and left handers. In 2019 with AAA Oklahoma City while also taking occasional cups of coffee with the Dodgers when they needed a body. Kyle hit 23 Home Runs in 81 games at AAA with a BA of .314. Outfielders also on the roster with the Dodgers in 2019 were names like Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson, Alex Verdugo, AJ Pollack, Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernandez so playing time was going to be hard to find. The Dodgers are also a platoon inclined orientation. Joc Pederson was someone for example that they didn't want facing left handers (49 AB's against lefties in 2019). Garlick became the guy who could take those AB's away when he was in town and he was limited to facing left handers despite no indication that he needed to be platooned in the minor leagues. In just 48 AB's... Garlick did pretty good. 3 Jacks with an OPS+ of 117. In 2020 the Dodgers added Mookie Betts to the OF options making it even harder for Garlick to crack an already loaded roster and he was also out of options so understandably he was designated for assignment. 5 days later the Phillies traded for him and gave him a roster spot. During the Covid Year... he had 23 AB's total and those 23 AB's were not good. The Phillies DFA'd him on January 18, 2021... The Braves claimed him off waivers 4 days later and DFA'd him before spring training on February 5, 2022. 6 Days later the Twins claimed him off waivers. We've all seen him since then. All of this is important when trying to decide just who Kyle Garlick is. How can anyone know? He hit the ball hard in the minors against left and right handers in an organization that was stacked to the brim with talented OF'ers. The Dodgers made him a short side platoon when he got his limited chances along side lots of talent who also want AB's. The Phillies didn't do anything with him during Covid 2020 and the Twins have continued the short side platoon started briefly by the Dodgers in 2019. He sure looks like he can hit. I just wonder if he has gotten a fair shot to grab something with both hands.