Riverbrian

Yeah but Logan Morrison isn't a rookie and he surely knows how to take a lead off of second and Rosario has been playing long enough to know the cut system. Paul isn't coaching little league, these guys know the universal fundamentals of the game by now. If they don't... a major league manager doesn't have a chance. If Molitor has to pull the players out of a more advanced calculus class to teach one plus one equals two he doesn't have a chance. I'm hesitant to blame Paul for this.

Early in the year I was watching Hildenberger get rocked and I was saying that we should send him down to AAA for awhile to get him back to where he was. Now I'm thinking that Hildy is looking pretty good. Early in the year... I was watching Reed hit the catcher's target dead center on every pitch and he was looking real impressive to me and I was thinking we got a nice bargain. Now I'm thinking... OMG... Did we pay too much for Reed? I think it comes down to: That's the way it goes in the bullpen. Bullpen guys are small sample size on top of small sample size adding up to a small sample size. The guys in the bullpen have to be nearly perfect to avoid the criticism. If a starter gives up a run in the first... he gets 4 or 5 more innings to hang some zeros to mitigate that run in the first. If a bullpen guy gives up a run he typically doesn't get another inning that game and that run in one inning is a 9.00 in the books and it's gonna hang there for a couple of days before he gets another inning sometimes. Overuse? I don't know... I guess that depends on what each individual can handle and I don't know the answer to that. Hildenberger 34.2 IP Pressly 34.1 IP Reed 33.1 IP And when you compare his usage to his bullpen peers from other teams. There is quite a lengthy list of bullpen arms in the 30 to 35 IP range. Over the past 30 days: Hildenberger 15.0 Pressly 11.0 Reed 11.0 And once again... there is a lengthy list of bullpen peers from other teams in the 11 to 15 IP range across the league in the past 30 days. I think it's possible that the overuse claim is an assumption based on recent performance but not necessarily correct. During the off-season... Reed is one of the guys that I wanted the team to sign. I'm hoping he'll pull of a string of good small sample size performances to balance his most recent small sample size performances.

The Christmas thing was an attempt at a joke. It had a smiley face to help guard against any misinterpretation that it was anything more than a joke. The Guns-N-Roses thing was a 2nd attempt at a joke after clarification was asked in response for the first joke. My instinct now... tells me to not attempt a third joke. I've read your posts (Including the original post early this morning and softer edit of the post that is quoted)... you communicate very clearly... I am able to understand. You would like the Twins to select the contract of Nick Gordon "The minute he shows signs of it" as strategy to get him ready and to plan better for next year and to take advantage of a window of opportunity that he needs to fit in to. You also state that "service time stuff is overblown" and the reason for 6 years of control is to send them up and down as a form of preparation. I am paying attention Carole. I agree that disagreement is "fine" but our disagreement is going to be fundamental because I believe that 6 years of control is more like the period of exclusivity granted to a drug company so the cost of development is justified before the generics come rolling in. I believe it's the Options that allow you to move a player up and down and the players union has negotiated that with a limit of 3 option years in the CBA making it finite and not possible for 6 years.

Back to topic... Sano might be back this year.

It all depends on what kind of player he is gonna be. But it all adds up and what you do in 2018 could actually cause an adjustment (delay) in what you do in 2019 with Gordon if the Twins think they have someone special. Call him up for a 10 day look this year. The New CBA says a season's length is 187 days but a service year continues to be 172 days. So if you want to get that 7th year of control... Players will have wait for 16 days to be called up for that .171 or less that gives you that 7th year. See Acuna or Kris Bryant as an example. Burn 10 days this year and now you have to wait 26 days before he can called up in 2019 or you lose the year. Call him up for 20 days this year and now it's 36 days and there goes April 2019. Of course this scenario is only important if he gets called up to stay and isn't sent back down and if that happens... he is worth preserving the 7th year. So what you did was delay his arrival in 2019 by taking a look at him in 2018... if he's worth it and the reason people want to see him now... is because they believe that he will be worth it. If you continue on the the extreme example of him staying in the major leagues throughout. The other factor is money and we all know that money matters in Minnesota. Let's forget about the year early free agent status and talk about Arbitration. Let's say you call him up for 10 days this year and you hold him back for 26 days in 2019. In that scenario: He's at 2.171 days of service time at the end of 2021. At that point he qualifies for Super Two status and is eligible for Arbitration in 2022. Not a big deal to me because it's not my money but we all know that the Minnesota Twins have a budget. Instead of paying him 500K... you now have to pay him 10 Million... that 10 million is no longer available to sign someone else. Delay that arbitration clock and you can have Gordon and someone else for the 10 million... Instead of just Gordon. Rosario, Buxton and Sano will be a free agents in 2022 maybe you'd like to have some money to extend or sign him one of them. Kepler and Berrios will hopefully be top dollar guys in their last year of Arbitration... Romero will be in Arbitration... Gordon reaching Arbitration that same year is gonna drain the pool available to be competitive for someone else if that is something we would like to see happen and i'm hoping that the farm system coming up will keep it all a reasonable dream to care how the dollars are allocated. On the other side of the the extreme example scenario coin... Burning an option in 2018 -- The Nick Gordon doesn't do as well as we'd like possibility: When you burn option in 2018 probably not a big deal unless he is slow to develop like Hicks or Buxton. In that case, you could a force a decision you are not ready for as early as 2021. Do you roster a 1st round pick with unrealized potential that the jury is still out on or choose outright assignment so you can give a 25 man roster spot to someone else and expose Nick Gordon to the waiver process where he is signed by the Kansas City Royals and then becomes the player we all hoped he would be for them. Chances are... he is something in between and it all works out but front offices have to consider these things when deciding when to place someone on the 40 man roster. EARLY. Gordon will be in his 5th year after being drafted out of high school. He must be on the 40 man roster in 2019. Just wait for it. This is why I say... I'd rather he knock the door down instead of the door and walls falling down around him because you just don't know. If he's gonna be good... you want that Arb Clock Delay and you want that extra year of control and you don't want to delay his arrival in 2019 to get all that. Any discussion about getting him a taste in 2018 for 2019 preparation... could actually delay his arrival in the year you are preparing for... if he's worth it... this matters. If he's gonna be an average player where you don't care about Arb clock or the extra year... or if he is going to be delayed in 2019... then this discussion doesn't matter. Just roll with Polanco and Adrianaza in 2018 because Gordon isn't going to improve the situation anyway. All you gotta do to avoid all of this: Is simply do what every other team in the Major League Baseball does. Read the CBA and use the rules to your advantage.

Well you know... Some people just can't wait until Christmas.

It could hurt because he has to be placed on the 40 man before being placed on the 25 man. Once placed on the 40 man you shorten the time he is controlled by the Twins. That may or may not hurt because we don't know what kind of talent he will be in 2024. If he ends up being a similar talent to his brother. That lost year will hurt quite a bit in my opinion. If Gordon is to be added to the 40 man roster early... It would be much better if he knocked down the door rather than have the door fall down around him.

There isn't much need to speculate on the reasoning. Falvey is very lucid and sensible in his explanation. I like that they are taking a non-traditional approach to protect the investment.

Everybody makes a wrong turn and heads the wrong direction every once in awhile. It's the ones who keep going the wrong direction that concern me.

I agree with almost everything that you typed. Just one minor disagreement. I'd like to see the manager or players go ape on something... if it's an umpire... that would be fine with me.

That's Funny.

History of becoming disgruntled?

He's great when the players he puts in the lineup play well. He is also wonderful at putting the same guys in the lineup over and over again when they are playing terribly. I'm starting to get the opinion that he isn't a plan B type of guy.

I'm sick and tired of people blaming all the players hitting under .217 for the past month with an OPS under .677 for the past 30 days, All with enough playing time for over 68 AB's during that stretch. It makes absolutely no sense to pin this on Kepler, Dozier, Morrison, Grossman and Sano. It's about time someone hit the nail on the head and fixates on the real problem... Jake Cave.

It shows an eagerness to get the job done.

Sano has to get his head right at the plate. His plate discipline must improve. If he improves it... I think we could all be quite happy with the results and it could happen quickly. If he doesn't... He'll be Chris Carter at best and we already have one of those. He's needs to cut that strikeout rate... Significantly. Sending him down is a two birds with one stone move. It gives them a chance to work on the severe issues that have taken him over and do it out of the spotlight. The 2nd bird... Molitor can't play him... the temptation to let him work his way through it is removed and that could actually improve the team in the short term. Should Buxton be next? I'd say Buxton has been worse so I vote yes.

My philosophy is going to pretty simple. As long as Adrianaza is hitting and producing and he is one of the few that is... Keep letting him hit and produce. I understand that many have made their minds up about Adrianaza and are very willing to look past this hot streak and wait for the eventual crash down to earth. I'm not a long term believer in Adrianaza myself but in the current Twins offense context, in my strong opinion, you can't bench one of 3 guys actually hitting for someone who isn't hitting but is supposed to be hitting. It's all about opportunity and this is his opportunity to extend his career and I'm going to cheer him on while he lasts. Before he arrived with the Twins... the most he had was 113 AB's in a season with the Giants. Let's see if he can extend this run for awhile. Dave Roberts of the Dodgers would never allow Buxton, Sano, Morrison to perform like they are without a reduction in playing time. I'm sure the Dodger Fans were not very excited by Max Muncy especially since he was released by the A's. Well... he figured something out and Roberts has him in the starting somewhere most nights because he is performing and he is taking away at bats from Dodger mainstays who were not performing. This is how depth is created. Let players get a chance to be depth. If they come out of nowhere, let the come out of nowhere. Disclaimer: I'm not predicting that Adrianaza is going to be a superstar going forward... but I am saying... let's find out... at the very least... it is fact that he is out performing everybody else on the roster not named Eddie at the moment.

Let me throw a hypothetical example of what I'm talking about. The purpose isn't to discuss the hypothetical names chosen at the granular level because I have no idea how much a free agent will cost or what teams will give up what players. This is for a broad sense of how the resources it would take to acquire Realmuto could provide more bang for the buck. I'm not taking the time to research how many years of control or salary for this exercise. This is just for a general sense. Catcher: Castro (If Castro can't play - Get Mathis or the Best Defensive guy you can find) Garver AAA Depth: Best AAAA Guy you can find. 1B-3B: Mauer (Or FA Matt Adams if Mauer retires). Matt Adams can also play a little OF on occasion. Eugenio Saurez (Trade with the same pieces it would have taken to trade for Realmuto... They take the prospects and replace him with Senzel). Sano - Can play 1B-3B-DH (Let him compete for the Lions Share of playing time. AAA Depth - Kennys Vargas or someone like Mark Reynolds. 2B-SS: Polanco Eduardo Escobar (Please bring him back... whatever it takes... He is capable at so many positions) Jurickson Profar (Free Agent Signing) Multiple Positions... Can also play OF. AAA Depth: Nick Gordon OF: Rosario Kepler Buxton Reds OF in the Suarez Trade (Duvall or Schebler) AAA Depth: Lamonte Wade Do not sign a dedicated DH... The DH spot can be used to get the extra bats in the lineup instead of a guy like Morrison who is 1B only clogging things up. Now... This is just a quick example of what can be done to build depth and provide insurance in case any of the players are playing like Buxton, Sano and Morrison have been playing this year.... you are also protected against injuries should they occur and they do. You will have honest to god competition at all positions. A good manager will manage the playing time obviously but a good manager can find a way to do it based on Hot/Cold and Matchups or gut... Like Maddon does, Like Roberts Does, Like Hinch Does, Like Martinez Does. I'm not sure that Molitor is that guy but he won't have to tolerate a sub-par performance anywhere with a roster like this. (Besides Catcher of course). You might be able to spend a little more on a Catcher if you'd like and you have money left over after addressing the Bullpen. Here's a sample lineup: Kepler - RF Escobar - 2B Saurez - 3B Rosario - LF Sano - 1B Adams/Duvall - DH Polanco/Profar - SS Garver/Castro - C Buxton - CF

This is exactly what I’m talking about. I don’t know the prices but I’m looking economical as I can. Instead of paying 17m for McCann. I’d go 1 or 2M for someone who can catch but hits .200 instead of paying 16m for a guy who hits a little better but still much less then other position players and then spend the extra 15M and 16M too fill two other holes. More bang for the buck. Keep in mind... I’m not a starting 9 guy so I will never look at Buxton and say CF is filled until he actually performs like it is filled. Until he does... I want that safety net.

I’m not a war guy so I tend not to speak that language. Once 2019 hits... we could be looking for a replacement for Mauer, Dozier, Rscobar, Morrison, Lynn, Santana, Rodney. Plus Buxton and Sano are question marks at the moment. We will have other needs besides catcher and I’m not sure that Nick Gordon and Realmuto will fill all those spots.

Yeah I get that but the price for top end catching remains high regardless. Realmuto with that team control you mentioned should drive the price through the roof and the Twins have under performance in a lot of spots besides catcher so I think it makes more sense to pull in a bigger fish elsewhere with our limited resources.

Who knows what is realistic? I know I don't. I used Marcell Ozuna for an example because Ozuna was traded but who knows if the Orioles part with Schoop or if the White Sox part with Abreu. And then you gotta factor in years of control, salary, which is going to skew the discussion. I'm just saying... Catcher are over pays. Lucroy cost the Rangers Brinson... Brinson got Yelich. Avila cost Candelario. We have posters talking about 4 players out of our top ten prospects for Realmuto without batting an eye. I'm batting an eye and saying if you are going to give up 4 players out of our top ten prospects for someone. Go get someone who will step into the 3 spot and play every day.

Not many get my brilliance.