Riverbrian

Agreed... but he won't get 200 career PA's unless they write his name into the lineup. Right Now... I'll give them a pen if they can't find one.

I continue to see no issues with his ability behind the plate. Good awareness on the backup to nail Santana with poor awareness. It's a such a great game... I'm so glad Baseball is back.

I think the FO is more likely to swing a trade in the opposite direction. They burned down the farm chasing titles the past 3 years. They will need some seeds.

I was baking a Papa Murphy's Pizza the other night. It was supposed to cook at 425 Degrees for 12 to 18 Minutes. My sister called while it was cooking and I lost track of time and the pizza spent around 20 minutes in the oven. The Pizza ended up with some burn marks on the bottom of the crust. After a having a couple of slices... I declared the Pizza "Acceptable".

You could be right... if there was a stop sign... I didn't see it. But... it would make sense because Astudillo has played enough baseball to pick up the third base coach and when he blatantly stops during a windmill... he must have picked up something different and assumed his work was done. I'd still make him go to the blackboard.

I'd say "C" lineup. The return of Lindor and Kipnis (who knows what Zimmer will provide) will only bring them up to a "B". And... you also must consider that by the time Lindor comes back... There is no guarantee that Ramirez will remain healthy. The Indians are extremely vulnerable in my opinion. Unfortunately... So are the Twins.

If I was the Manager... He starts on Tuesday. Let players keep hitting if they are hitting. Of course on Monday... He'll be writing on the blackboard: "I will look for instructions from my third base coach" 1,000 times before Tuesday.

I agree with you and I will be watching how they handle those gaps and deficiencies. I will remain focused on it. They decided to roll with what they have in the bullpen. I'm OK with that decision unless they don't handle the gaps and deficiencies. Like they didn't do last year.

Don’t Germans typically lead off by capturing Poland?

Yeah And it's all your fault because you are picking from "unused" players. You got to stop picking from "unused" players. The Twins have been killing themselves in the fashion you describe above for decades... You and I have been watching it... we both see it but have come to different conclusions. I love the Nelson Cruz signing... He's a special bat. He can help us win games. But... if I had the choice: I would take Nick Castellanos over Nelson Cruz because Nick can play OF and 3B and we simply can't anticipate our future needs at 3B and OF. Disclaimer: For everyone (Castellanos is named specifically by me for roster flexibility example purposes... this is not intended to take the discussion a different direction via a comparison of Castellanos to Cruz... I also understand that Castellanos would cost prospects to acquire and may be cost prohibitive while Cruz was a Free Agent... the inclusion of Castellanos is for example purposes only). My dream is for a 25 man roster that can play. When that dream of mine is finally realized... we will need the DH spot to play the over flow that has been created. Over Flow is a good thing. It can give manager viable options and can be traded to restock farm systems. Yeah... we are miles from getting there and we have always been miles from getting there. We have year over year over year failed to find 9 players who can play, let alone asking for 25 players who can play. I understand this but I'm saying we will never get there as long as we trade away Aaron Hicks because we have no place to put the potential overflow in the OF. In other words... We can't handle over flow... therefore... we can't strive for over flow and must settle for Robbie Grossman or Ryan LaMarre because... we can't handle over flow and if we don't have over flow... we will perpetually live among unexpected holes. So... if Nelson Cruz blocks a potential outlet for over flow while simultaneously taking a roster spot that could be used for potential over flow... you can't create overflow. Which leads to the problem you describe above. Playing a guy who can't hit. I agree that the problem is the guy who can't hit... but you can't solve that problem with potential solutions eliminated. If Max Kepler is hitting .185 in June but must play every day because we don't have anyone on the roster to replace Max Kepler. We give back any potential gains from the Cruz signing. Castellanos could play RF. And if Castellanos could play RF... then maybe we have a place to play both Cron and Austin who are both OPS'ing over 1,000. With that said... I am for the signing. Because Cruz is a special bat. Ash is 100% correct... By creating flexibility at other positions... It allows you to absorb the DH only and simply enjoy the production.

I'm calling Zimmer... This is a great idea... Find a position player who can punt. Gain a roster spot for another position... Brilliant!!!

I think you and Brooks are both right and I think Ash summed it all up pretty well. If you have a chance to grab a bat like Nelson Cruz... you grab it. But, it can come with a cost if you don't set up your team to support it. Cruz is a great signing unless you give back your gains elsewhere by using up valuable roster space on a guy who can't play in the field. . If by utilizing the DH position and Brooks is right... it is a position. If by utilizing the DH position in the traditional fashion... you can be forced by lack of alternatives (due to roster space limitations) to play a player every day hitting very poorly... anything you gain from the DH position is then neutralized. That's why I agree with you... I would rather see a 25 (or 26) man roster where the DH spot in the lineup can be used for overflow. If Tyler Austin and CJ Cron are both going nuts with OPS over 1,000... It would be sad that one has to ride the pine because there is only one first base bag and Cruz has got the DH spot. But... Nelson Cruz is a special bat so it's a good addition.. Give him the DH position and take the rest of your lineup... make it deep and flexible enough to cover the defensive void left by a full time DH. Then you got Cruz and a supporting staff that will may not marginalize his contributions.

I know this won't shock anyone because I've stated it multiple times. I simply no longer care for defined roles out of the bullpen. The only argument for defined roles is comfort and predictability under the assumption that players perform better with the knowledge of what role they have prior to arriving at the ball park. I don't buy this argument anymore. Do we have a lights out closer? I no longer worry about that. I want a lights out Bullpen. Would I like to have a big name high performance closer like Edwin Diaz on the roster... Yes I would... Absolutely!! But... I wouldn't necessarily use him exclusively as a closer in the conventional sense, just to have him sitting there waiting for a 9th inning lead of less than 3 runs to deploy. I would use him in the 6th, 4th, 8th... whenever the team needs a zero hung or a big strikeout with a runner on third and less than two outs during a close game. I would find creative ways to increase his innings pitched (not necessarily appearances) from 70 IP to 100 IP and beyond. You can't do this... if you conventionally restrict him to a specific role like closer. Quit giving 160 innings to a starter with a 5 plus ERA because your Dad always did it that way. Get bullpen serious!!! If you have a productive arm who is getting the job done... get him more innings to get the job done (starter or bullpen) and give less innings to the ones who are not getting the job done (starter or bullpen). It is so damn simple... "Throw your better pitchers more often" but yet impossible to do as long as everybody has these neat defined role little boxes to throw everybody into. If someone isn't getting the job done... try someone else until you are competitive from top to bottom. There are more than two options available to managers. Option A: Starters go 5 to 9 innings and rest for 5 to 6 days. Option B: Relievers throw an inning or less but can pitch back to back days until needing a day of rest. Yet... Managers have restricted themselves to only these two options. The entire middle ground between those two options should be theoretically available for consideration. Throw 3 Innings and rest 2 days could be option C and from there option D, E, F and so forth... leading to the ultimate goal of getting more innings out of your top performers. Throwing Edwin Diaz for 100 innings plus instead of reducing him on purpose to a limit of 70. Throwing Taylor Rogers for 120 Innings instead of reducing him on purpose to 70 IP.

Beloit Snapper SS (Insert Name Here) can't sign with the Hartford Yard Goats. The Hartford Goats are weak at SS and wold love to have (Insert Name Here) but (Insert Name Here) was drafted by the Oakland A's and the A's control him until he is old enough to no longer be of value to the Hartford Yard Goats. But... if Beloit Snapper SS manages to make the Oakland A's roster sometime in the future. The Fan's will be right there to tear him apart if he hits under .200.

Thank you for doing what you do... you have a good soul and my full respect. I'd probably do the same thing. However... Damn it... It's a shame that anybody has to do this.

I don’t have the same assumption as you do when it comes to this making more teams sellers in July. By the same token it could also increase buyers. Less time for the pack to separate. Teams are closer together in July... time creates wider separation of the have and have nots. Elimination of August will ramp up activity in July.... that can’t be argued. Anyway... it’s the MLBPA who wants it. They must have reasons.

The change was proposed by the MLBPA. It is something they have discussed for awhile. MLB Gave some to get some The players wanted this because they didn't like the uncertainty of their fates extended into August anymore. The players have been talking about competitive integrity for a while now. Here is how competitive integrity is addressed with this move. 1. August Waiver Deadline is removed 2. Teams have to decide by July 31st. 3. July Bottleneck increases competition for the available trade options. It doesn't increase them, it just makes each one more valuable. 4. Increased competition leads to higher prices (IE More or Higher Ranked Prospects). 5. Trade price become painful and the front offices learn that they can't come out of spring training with Ryan LaMarre on the 25 man roster unless they want to trade Royce Lewis for a rental later. 6. Riverbrian thrusts his arms in the air in celebration because teams are building to compete in the off-season, where it should happen because the regular season now starts in March not July or August.

Teams are already taking themselves out of contention in July so I don't think it can be "more". I'd actually guess "less" because teams will not be able to continue evaluation into August and 2 months to make up ground is simply a longer time frame. Yes... The argument from me... is that teams need to be prepared for injuries. I say it often and unequivocally and I imagine I will continue saying it over and over again. However... I'm not sure if the data says that older players break down more often. Maybe it does... but I do believe the data says that older players get paid more and often times don't produce more than players making minimum salary. In other words... Baseball Front Offices are already there. They are already stocking up on young players and not paying marginal free agents. I don't think the August Waiver Deadline is going to change that. I believe shortening the trade window available will force teams to be more aggressive in the off-season to plug holes... so they have less holes to plug during the season. Or it will have little or no effect at all and we just carry on like normal without the complicated waiver trade process explanations.

Who benefits? The players do... We do. Urgency is created and teams will be forced to build their squads in the off-season when they should all be building their clubs. It creates even more urgency in Late July and it get them off the fence. Playoff contenders will have to roster significant depth.Teams caught with their pants down, (Which is always their fault) will have to utilize top prospects and give them the chance that they would otherwise delay for service time considerations. And.. And... I won’t have to try to understand the complicated waiver process anymore. I’ve been preaching this for a long time. Injuries are going to happen. A healthy team in July that assumes it will be healthy in August and September deserves the painful fate that awaits them. Any team that picks a starting 9 with scrubs watching on the bench deserves the painful fate that awaits them. When Aaron Judge goes down he can’t be replaced. August deadline or not. You can go get a McCutchen in August to soften the blow but you should already have a McCutchen on your roster because Judge or Hicks or Stanton can also go down in September or In April. Staff your roster. If you don’t... you deserve what happens. Tampa isn’t going to replace Blake Snell even with an August deadline. Tampa will replace a Tommy Pham August injury because if they are in contention they can choose to trade for Starling Marte on July 30th before Pham gets hurt in August. If nobody gets hurt, leaving Marte and Pham both healthy on the same roster... I do not see that as a problem... Kevin Cash can then figure it out.

Teams have until July 31st to prepare for all possibilities. If a team does not have suitable replacements on their roster come August 1st. It will be the GM's fault. Just the same as if a GM rosters a LOOGY and spends the year moaning that his LOOGY has to face 3 batters miniumum which includes right-handers who routinely light him up. The rules will be in place... The GM"s must adjust to the rules or work at a significant disadvantage to the other GM's who adjusted to the rules. Sticking to yesterday's roster management in today's world is generally a bad idea.

As of March 11th, 2019 Anybody older than 53 Years 5 Months and 21 Days are "Old People" As of March 12th, 2019 It will be anybody older than 53 Years 5 Months and 22 Days.

I’d like to presume that but simply can’t anymore.

I tell old people to watch their step on ice. With the Kids you hope they get a million dollar contract playing for the Vancouver Canucks. And if that’s not possible... you hope that they will hold the old guys arm as they navigate the slippery sidewalk.

I concur with you... Yet small sample size single year defensive metrics based on a majority of "can of corn" plays are then tossed into the WAR calculations and from WAR... Win probablity, and everything else. And very few of us look at 3 year increased sample sizes. Most of us see 3.4 in RF and -2 in LF for 2018 and the assumptions are made that the player can't play LF.

I agree... I've always assumed that baseball players are also human beings. As long as the front office realizes that the entire team and fan base doesn't have to stumble along in the dark waiting for him to locate the light switch. I'm not sure that they have realized this yet but I also assume that the front office is also made up of human beings.