Riverbrian

https://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/giants-give-an-early-start-to-tyler-austin-left-field-experiment/ Bochy looks like he is going to give it a shot.

The Giants Outfield isn't good so it doesn't say a ton to see Austin play in LF for that particular group of players. However... This is what I'll be watching regardless... If Austin can play in the OF and actually center himself under fly balls and squeeze. This would change the discussion and raise my deepest concern about any front office. I've asked for competition for all positions... Signing Cron provided that competition for Austin at 1B and this is what I want and what I will continue to want until the end of time. Although... Austin was cut before he got a real chance to beat Cron out of the position that Cron was handed. Regardless... I'm Ok with this... I want my front office to sign extra talent. However... If Austin can actually play OF... he becomes instantly more valuable than Cron in my opinion. If Austin can't play OF and the Giants just threw him out there and hoped the ball wouldn't be hit to left... Then Cron and Austin are just a couple of dime a dozen power hitting first basemen who you can find on the waiver wire and I won't lose much sleep. If Austin can play OF and if Austin hits... the Twins will have blown it.

Who needs a house out in Hackensack... Is that all you get for your money?

I'm not sure Joe Benson fits into your example but I believe you are correct on the overall point. There are a pile of hitter only 1B types with minor league contracts in AAA and a pile of them (all named Matt) who are backups at the major league level just waiting to be replaced by someone younger. If you can't play defense... they move you to 1B and it has caused a bottle neck with this ilk. Because Tyler Austin can only play 1B, his career will most likely be short unless he can turn himself into a young Pujols or something. Not being able to play OF forces him to fight his way through the hit only 1B bottleneck. There just isn't enough jobs. I believe in Tyler Austin and only question if Cron is actually better... but without the ability to defend elsewhere... Both Cron and Austin are eventual DFA material because there are Cron's and Austin's all over the place. When the Twins didn't play Austin in the OF during spring training... It was over for him. 30 Bombs a year 1B's are not as necessary now that middle infielders are hitting 20 Bombs.

This is how it works... The front office brought in competition for Mauer's replacement and they made their selection. They might be right... They might be wrong. These decisions are made on razor thin margins. I personally believe in Austin... I may be right... I might be wrong.

No... I won't be doing that. I could be wrong... if that happens, I'd be highlighting my wrongness.

Austin singles to center in his 2nd AB. He already leads the Giants in hits for the season.

#1 - If the Twins win 6 out of every 10 games. They will finish with 97 Wins. If the Twins split with the Mets they will start the season 6-4... RIGHT ON PACE BABY!!!! #2 - I'm Mr. Position Flexibility and I love the flexibility that Astudillo provides. However... he is the one guy that I would try to limit that flexibility with... the reason. He can CATCH... legitimately catch. He is not a defensive issue behind the plate. Take that bat behind the plate and you are instantly ahead of the rest of the league at the position from an offensive standpoint. #3 - Everybody was willing to overpay steeply for JT Realmuto... If Astudillo hits like Realmuto (right now he is hitting better than Realmuto)... Maybe Astudillo establishes similar value. If Astudillo can play defense... and it sure looks like he can and hit... what kind of value have you created? The Twins need to look long term and think value and give Astudillo the keys to the catching kingdom until he shows he can't produce. #4 - However... if the Twins insist on carrying three catchers... then Astudillo has to be used at 3B more often to get the AB's he deserves. #5 - Astudillo playing 3B until Sano gets back shouldn't be a problem. Marwin was signed as an "everyday utility player". The plan was to move him around... the Twins can always go back to that plan. Sano gets hurt and now Marwin is the everyday 3B... that "everyday utility player" designation sure must be fragile if that is all it took. That was 5 things to think about.

That home run was scary. If the can park it on that pitch... he can park it on any pitch. Forget Harper... Hoskins is the guy to watch in Philly.

I hope it works out for Tyler in San Francisco... He's got to stop this severe westward movement of his career. From New York to Minnesota to San Francisco... Next stop moving west for him will be Japan or South Korea... or the Solomon Islands.

The often stated dream of Austin having the ability to play some OF. The lingering question of is Cron better than Austin. He didn't play a single inning of OF in spring training so I've been assuming he just can't do it. If he could play some OF he wouldn't be headed to SF right now but he didn't play any OF so... I'll let my current assumption ring. And of course... He is starting tonight for the Giants and starting at 1B with Brandon Belt moving to LF. So for now... I'll just be watching to see who produces better... Cron or Austin... trying to compare and contrast in unique situations... National League... American League. I'm not saying my watching will do any good but that has never stopped me before.

I'm going to be watching how the Giants deploy Austin... Keenly attentive to see what the Giants do with him. What the Giants do... will answer questions about what the Twins didn't do. .

Humor Comments after the loss suggested we were miles from competing with the likes of the Phillies. It was humor.

It does However... Crystal Ball options are unlimited... The Magic 8 Ball is limited to whatever is printed up and placed inside.

When I was kid you get one of those crystal balls at Woolworths for .99 cents.

You could be right. I don't know what he is capable of out there... but I'm honestly under the impression that he would have been better than Rosario was out there last night. I'm glad that Baldelli is cooling Rosie for a day.

If he can't... he can't play. All he has to do is get under a fly ball. Like Grossman was able to get under a fly ball and then we have improved the offense. No question that the other OF options are better defensive option but the other OF options don't have his bat. If he can't get under a fly ball... He's a pinch hitter on trips the the National League.

I'll add to your excellent point. Cruz and Astudillo were both on the bench. The players who were in the lineup represented our best defensive options (Minus Buxton of course). Besides having our best defensive options in the game, our defensive play last night was terrible. If Rosario is going to half ass the ball into the infield... If Cave is going to miss the cut. You might as well put Cruz in the Outfield for his bat. If I'm Baldelli... Rosario sits this afternoon for a one game... Not a permanent benching but he sits with the message that you are sitting today because you half assed the ball into the infield and because you failed to advance Polanco in scoring position twice. Put Cruz in LF. The season is just starting... send the message to Rosario and the entire locker room right now. As for Jorge Polanco... The rain didn't seem to bother him at all. Congrats to Jorge... I'm proud of him. As for the Rain... to my knowledge... the Phillies also had to play in it.

Bobby Wilson was our primary catcher for a couple of months after Castro got hurt. Astudillo was a complete organizational ball drop. When Wilson is your primary catcher... that is the moment that you try anybody else. You can't lock into Wilson and say... that's good enough. An organization can never say that.

As of this moment.: 5 games into the season. Astudillo was rotated into the lineup as a catcher... Third catcher to get a start... it was game 3. Despite ripping two double in game 3... he was placed on the bench for game 4 and appeared as a pinch hitter... and then appeared in the getaway day lineup for game 5 as a 3B. In my opinion... until Astudillo makes back to back starts... I'm comfortable with him being classified as part of the getaway day crew. However... when you consider how he is hitting right now. He shouldn't be part of that crew. He is out hitting everybody on the roster at this moment. Don't know how long that will last but he is hitting right now so get him in the lineup... it's a no brainer. And this is coming from someone who was OK stashing him in AAA to start the season for depth. He's here now... Play him... he's earning it. As for Austin... It's a tough call... CJ Cron is playing well right now and I'd want to roll with him in the lineup because he is producing. What we don't know is if Austin would have been producing as well or even producing better. I continue to hope that Baldelli will allow for open competition once the schedule settles down. Austin in the OF? It was a dream of mine but he didn't play a single inning in the OF during spring training so I believe that dream is dead. Austin playing time will have to come at the expense of Cron or Cruz. As for Adrianaza and throw Cave into the same getaway day crew... I'm all for any of them getting a chance to out perform others to earn more playing time. However... I will never come to grips with any plan that starts your entire bench on the same day. Mix them in with skill and touch according to hot/cold streaks, matchups , basically any data that suggests that you should put them in the lineup. Let's look at this way... Game Three: The Twins jump out to an 8-0 lead. Lead is considered safe in the 7th inning and then Baldelli inserts, Adrianaza, Austin and Cave into the lineup to get some AB's. This mass substitution didn't happen in Games One, Two or Four when the outcome was in doubt... This leads to the assumption that Baldelli felt that it was SAFE to put the subs in for some reps with a big lead. Game Five... The Subs all start... It's 0-0 when the game starts... the lead isn't safe... So... Does this mean that Baldelli was willing to sacrifice the win (Game 5) to play all the subs at once? After All, he didn't utilize them until we built up an 8 run lead prior. I'm not saying this is the intention or case but I am asking loudly... what's the justification of a getaway day lineup? You would be better served to mix guys into the lineup instead of jamming them all in on a single day. This is coming from a guy (Me) who wants everybody to play and compete for playing time. I'm also going to ask this: If you are trying to establish a little rhythm for your "regulars" with multiple off-days... OK... Fine... but then why would you take them out in game three... if your objective is to establish a rhythm for your "regulars". Those AB's they gave up in game three will enhance the purpose of helping them get into a rhythm. Anyway... I'm making too much noise about this... We are 4-1... Baldelli is getting the job done. I'd just like him to strongly consider the virtue of a "Getaway Day Lineup" and never do it again. We didn't have to jam them all into the 5th game... they could have played one of them Game Two... another one Game Three and Another One Game four and Another one Game five. Spread it out... mix them in.

I also made that assumption so I'm not going to officially complain about it. Season just under way and multiple days off mixed in will make it hard for anyone to start with a roll so I can see the reasoning of keeping the lineup consistent. However... I do reserve the right to complain later if a getaway day lineup becomes a consistent practice. There is normally no justification (in my opinion) for a getaway day lineup. And... Yeah... we won... so I really can't complain at the moment.

I'm no genius but as far I can tell... He's hitting RIGHT NOW!!! I don't know if he will hit in the future. But there is absolutely no question that he is hitting RIGHT NOW!!! If you are making out lineup for June 4th... I can see the hesitation... BUT... BUT... if you are making out a lineup for RIGHT NOW!!! The answer should be obvious.

I'm not even calling it an issue yet. Just getting preemptively ready to call it an issue... down the road... if the team starts losing and this pattern remains. With the amount of days off in the early schedule it'll be hard for anyone to develop a rhythm so I can see a manager trotting the regulars out there. I've never liked the term regular but I know that they exist. They are all small sample sizes at this point so you can't determine that anyone has fallen off the wagon yet or is deserving of a swift kick challenge in the pants. I get it... but... the idea of taking your non-regulars and staring them all in one day? The getaway lineup is something I'm done with. I've had to tolerate it for years now and don't have any toleration left for it. If you want to mix players into the lineup... mix them in... don't wait for the getaway day to mix them all in with the grace of an elephant. As for Astudillo... 3 for 5 today... There is absolutely no reason for him to sit at all right now. No reason at all. However... I'm really trying not to sound crabby. We won... it's been a great start... I'm happy.

I didn't see the game and I'm of course happy with the victory and as long as they keep winning, Baldelli can do what he wants... but... I was personally disappointed to see a getaway day lineup. Not because I don't want to see Austin, Astudillo, Adrianaza in the lineup. I have no problem with anyone getting a chance to compete for playing time so I'll never complain about anyone getting playing time... but disappointment because I was just hoping for a manager who wouldn't hold these guys on the bench and then just play them all in one game once every 6 games... getaway day style. It's 2019... we don't need this style of deployment anymore. Anyway... we won and it's been a great start so I'll just mention it without lodging official complaint. I have no legs to stand on if the team is winning.

Last year... there were rumors that the pitchers preferred to pitch to Bobby Wilson. I don't know if that was true or not but Wilson got a lot of inexplicable starts so I am willing to strongly consider the possibility. Our team ERA was 4.50 and we were sellers at the trade deadline. Personally, I'm against anything locked in. This catcher catches this pitcher is just another form of auto-pilot managing and I've had it with auto-pilot managers. Manager need to make decisions based on what is happening in the moment. If Baldelli were to try personal catchers... Baldelli will need the ability to look our pitchers in the eye and promptly take it away if the results don't support it.