Riverbrian

Playing Time

You are absolutely right. However... I don't believe that quicker Free Agency is the answer. The Twins and small market brethren will get killed by this. Baseball needs hope in Pittsburgh and Kansas City to be truly strong. The owners and front offices need to realize that if they decide to play hardball with the free agents because the metrics are suggesting they should (and they do). They will force the players union to become impossible to satisfy during the next collective bargaining agreement negotiation.

I'll throw in another vote for Fastball Control. I liked watching him pitch but it was edge of my seat stuff because he never seemed in control. His stuff is decent but just OK... I like his slider it seems to be on the plus side but he can't live by that. He will need to spot his fastball in my opinion and that will make everything else more effective. He's just finding his way... if he finds it... he could carve out a career and help us win some games. If he doesn't... we will be looking for the next man up. I Hope he is putting the work in. It looks like he is lining up to open in the rotation. The ball is in his court.

Of course I have no idea what is happening... I can only assume this: Yu wants the Yankees and Dodgers to enter the arena because it may be a preferred location but at the very least... The Yankees and Dodgers getting involved could raise the bar. The Yankees and Dodgers have stayed in contact because they are trying to move money. The Cubs are hoping to appeal with their championship potential but are probably low balling because everything they have done this off-season suggests budget restraint. Yu would have to take a lesser offer to play for the Cubs. The Brewers and Twins are the non-typical FA Players... They would have to be at or near the top of the discussed parameters. Not saying Contract offer but parameters of a comfort level. The Rangers are out according to Jon Daniels. The Phillies are the other team to watch that very few talk about... They could enter. Then again... I could be completely wrong. But Yu is waiting for something or someone it seems.

(High Five)

In other words. If that's the best he can do.

Dear Falvey and Lavine, You better walk away with a difference maker this year. Don't screw this up. Sincerely Riverbrian

Too big a risk. This is the year to make his money. Just like it is risky for teams to sign FA pitchers... it is also risky for Pitchers to not lock up a long term deal. He gets hurt... He just lost a 100 million dollar bet. Players would much rather put the risk on the ownership and understandably so. The players have been risking it all. For 6 years they have been praying to dodge those injury landmines just to get here. If I'm Arrieta... I want my money now.

Yep Yep and Yep to everything you are saying. I'm sure the Dodgers are trying to move Kemp and I'm sure the Dodgers are telling Yu's agent that they are trying. I can even believe that the Dodgers would appeal to Yu so I can see him waiting just in case. Basically... According to my math... The Dodgers are at the limit because they need some wiggle room in case they want to do somethings at the trade deadline. They would have to clear similar salary to whatever they offer Darvish. Puig by himself won't do it... They need to move Kemp. Or Half of Kemp plus a Puig or Ryu or Grandal or Forsythe. Or 2 of Puig, Ryu, Grandal or Forsythe. Tight free agent market can also signify a tight trade market as well. Very few seem to be in a hurry to add 20 million to their payroll. Will they get it done... maybe... Darvish seems to be heartened enough to wait... must be a reason for waiting or else someone in the Dodgers org is leading his agent on. I'm guessing... Hopefully logically but it sure seems like time is not our friend.

There are multiple windows open. Multiple Rebuilding Clubs is just one of them. Competitive Tax Reset is a window The most impressive Free Agent Class in history next year is a window for this eyar Stacked AAA Arms in Rochester is a window. I agree with you Nick... Nice Article Cleveland... I hand them Nothing!!!

I'm printing this quote on a piece of paper with the "basdeball" spelled differently. I'm then wrapping the piece of paper around a rock. Then I'm throwing the rock through the window of the MLB Offices.

Back in 1999 the folks at Blockbuster Video said similar stuff. a. People keep coming in and renting Toy Story 2. b. We are currently valued at 2.5 Billion c. This punishing our customers with late fees thing is increasing our revenues YOY. 4 years later... During a meeting of the board of directors. One of the board members was suggesting that they failed to adjust to market conditions while another board member was on Wikipedia researching Chapter 11 while the Chairman was pointing at a big chart that showed a clear reversal of fortune. ​The Rise and Fall of Blockbuster is completely unrelated to the future of baseball. Blockbuster ripped me off once and I have never forgiven them so I like pointing out how stupid they were when context allows.

Todd Frazier and Carlos Gomez are the two free agents that... IMO... legitimately improve our team. Frazier could slot in at 3B if Sano has any issues preventing him from playing 3B for a stretch. That would move Escobar to multiple position role at SS and 2B from time to time. Frazier is a legit 30 plus home run guy. Frazier could take Adrianaza's spot on the roster. Gomez can play all 3 OF positions but specifically play CF if Buxton tweeks a hammy. Gomez and Buxton in the same OF would cover ground along with Kepler and Rosario. Gomez has some legit pop if he keeps his head and helmet on straight. Gomez could take Grossman's spot (I love Grossman but Gomez is in upgrade). I'm not a starting 9 and some other players guy. Adding Frazier and Gomez in my mind doesn't mean that Escobar and Kepler won't play. I want 25 guys who can produce and I want competition at all positions. We would be adding insurance for injury and failure and if no one gets injured or fails... that would be wonderful. Molitor can easily rotate the playing time so everybody gets fed and I'll see you for Game 1 of the World Series at Target Field. I'm not saying we should... I'm just saying those are two players that I think will improve the club.

Research told McDonalds that they wanted healthy food options. McDonalds introduced the McLean as a result of what seemed to be undeniable data. The people spoke but the people didn't put their money where their mouth was. When you ask people to make suggestions there are times when they say things that they think they should say. Umm... Healthy Food... Yeah... Healthy Food... that's what I'm supposed to say. Baseball clearly has a major demographic issue that needs to be addressed and they don't have that long to address it. The median age is 55, it won't be long before the bulk of the audience ages out of the prime demo real estate that attract advertisers. The advertisers will placing ad buys with the coupons offered by your favorite team. It's a serious problem. When conducting research to solve this serious problem. I totally believe that the number one issue would reveal itself as pace of play. However... I'm not sure they are drilling down what they mean by that. I just don't believe that a pitch clock saving 10 minutes or the extra 10 minutes saved by limiting mound visits and pitching changes is going to fix it. Lowering the average length of game from 3 hours and 7 minutes to 2 hours and 47 minutes isn't the button that turns on the future generations. They can barely make it through one inning without flipping over to the WWE and forgetting to go back to the game. Baseball is what it is. It's a game built on failure and failure means the routine over and over again until someone hits one 500 feet. The problem isn't time... it's the action. They need to think about connecting with the increasingly distracted younger generation. This needs to be done with technology. Use technology to get the game on every smart phone, tablet, or whatever so people can watch the game with ease. Tired of whatever App... I can easily flip the game on. Don't charge an arm and a leg for viewing rights. Think Cume... a little from the many instead of milking the few. Use that same technology to create stars. If you don't know who Mike Trout is... Hang in there... we will educate you by plastering Mike Trout funny videos on every social media site. Make Trout and Byron Buxton human interest stories so people can relate to them. Use the technology to educate and entertain. Don't think you are too hip for the room if you introduce spin rates or launch angles. The more people know... the more they will get into it. Educate... share the details. Get Rid of Dick and Bert. I'm sorry to say it... I love those guys... but... broadcasts need to re-brand themselves. Dick and Bert style is yesterday. If broadcasts are going to explain the new data and educate people about the game of baseball... we are going to need people who understand it. The Big smooth tones of Dick won't matter anymore... It will be the content... can he entertain? Can he liven up the dull times that are inherent in the game. And please stop worrying about the short term buck and stop quibbling over territorial rights and make sure that the Twins Fans can access the action in Iowa, Vermont or anywhere on every device possible for as economically as possible. Think Cume... a little from the many instead of milking the few. It's also going to take a culture change from the 1920 baseball ideals that are still adhered to. Baseball got a big clue toward the right direction of actually entertaining a younger generation during the WBC and Ian Kinsler was sure to slap the Puerto Rico baseball team for that... Let them know that fun is not allowed is what Ian and our 1920 traditions are saying. Let them do backflips around the bases after home runs. Enough Library Baseball or you get beaned.

To Mikelink, on a personal note. I do tip my hat to you. You have doggedly stuck to your opinion against all comers and you have done so respectfully and that shows you are first class guy. Your courage and grace deserves that respect... the same type of respect that I would offer to that brave guy or gal who rushes into a burning building to save a salamander.

LOL Norm's Tire Sales in Roseville open's at 7:30 every morning.

I respect your opinion... but you are basically saying that you are out on Free Agency. Not only turning off the spigot but removing it from the house followed by welding the pipe shut. In my opinion... you are right and also wrong at the same time. Right: The basic outline of your opinion really can't be argued. Teams are indeed signing long term contracts to players who often don't perform at a level that the terms of the contract suggest they should. Wrong: Your fear of a less than optimal result isn't reasonable despite being correct on your basic point. The cost of these contracts is baked into the ledgers so teams are mitigating the end result... whatever that may be. All teams should be able to afford a big contract or two regardless if they work out because the CBA keeps those young players that make up the majority of a roster at the league minimum or at least somewhat affordable while they are controlloble. If a team can't afford a big contract or two... the churn will be hard to stomach. I don't want my Twins to take the approach that the Rays and A's take. We are a small market but I don't think we have to act quite as small as Oakland and Tampa. You have used Pujols as an example of a bad contract numerous times. Open it up and take a look at the payments by year. 2012: Age 32 - 12M 2013: Age 33 - 16M 2014: Age 34 - 23M 2015: Age 35 - 24M 2016: Age 36 - 25M 2017: Age 37 - 26M 2018: Age 38 - 27M 2019: Age 39 - 28M 2020: Age 40 - 29M 2021: Age 41 - 30M I'm sure you don't believe that Jerry Dipoto was thinking that Albert Pujols was going to have his best year at age 41 and therefore paid the most in that final year. I'm also sure that you probably believe that Jerry Dipoto was probably fully aware that Pujols may actually be a liability at age 41. Yet... the Angels paying him more that final year. Dipoto and Arte Moreno went ahead, offered and signed the contract anyway. That should tell you that the clubs are baking the cost, the risk, the decline... all of it into the process or they wouldn't pay him the highest dollar amount at age 41. It would make them ridiculous. I feel it is a mistake to assume that the Pujols contract is "damaging" or horrible. The Angels had their eyes wide open and were not duped or tricked. They did it because he was available and he entered free agency with a .328 career average and 445 home runs over 11 seasons. He was a once in a generation type of player. They did it because the other teams also wanted him. I've read comments from time to time suggesting that the Cards were smart to let Pujols go. However... The Cards reportedly offered Pujols a 10 year deal as well for 210 million. Same length and close to 4 million less AAV so the Cards were also willing to pay Pujols a lot of money into the age of 41 to keep him in St. Louis. They both wanted the player and who wouldn't want him. With the CBA... If you want the player it's nearly impossible to control the terms unless nobody else wants the player. You simply determine... Do you want him? If you do... You have to put the algorithms down. You have to put the actuary tables down. If the answer is NO... it simple... let somebody else pay... If the answer is kinda but you like some other options... then you can mess around a little. But if the Answer is Yes... or in the Twins case... The Answer is Yes and he is really the only player you seem to want... You can't mess around. Regression, injury risk... none of that matters anymore. I know you understand all of this but... in the end... it really weakens your point when you say that you would do 3 years for Darvish because it is similar to saying I'll give you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for that Cadillac Escalade. Your Answer to the question "Do you Want Him?" is clearly NO. I'm answering the question "Yes". I'm just hoping to convince you that you are letting the dollar amount get in your way.

Great... More responsibility.

It would be wonderful for us if the Twins could simply name their terms and the player had no leverage. It would be real exciting next year when we bring in Bryce Harper and Manny Machado on risk free deals.

I'm gonna be petty and say no to Napoli since he turned down more money from us last year to sign with a team that didn't make the playoffs. That's kind of insulting. He clearly has bad judgement and we don't need that in the clubhouse.

Twins choices are: 1. Waiting for the clock to run out and hope that Dodgers or Yankees fail in their attempt to move salary while also hoping the Rangers don't jump in or hoping that the Cubs don't add extra years or dollars. 2. Overpay to the point that Darvish can't refuse even if the Dodgers clear money off the books. 3. Execute a Plan B, GIve Darvish a hard quick deadline and leave Darvish holding the bag... instead of us holding the bag. 4. Hold the Bag and enter 2018 as is. I'm making phone calls to every GM in the league to keep an ear to the ground for #1 and getting ready to go with #3 soon. (If they have a plan B... I hope they have a plan .

Rumors are Rumors... but... this makes sense to me. Darvish is clearly waiting for someone if not something. I assumed it was the Rangers he was waiting on. But... Yeah... I can see the Dodgers. Darvish's agent is probably being strung along by Friedman and Zaidi. "We want Yu... We will make an offer but we got to move some contracts first." The next day "Hang in there... Still working on it". The next day "Got a couple of teams kicking the tires... I think we can get something done". The next day "Nothing yet" The Next Day "Those deals fell through but we will pick them back up at the end of the month. Do me a favor and hang in there". End of the Month "We are getting lots of phone calls... should be able to give you some good news before the week is up".

Just the one little piggy bank in the back of the shelf that says Minnesota Twins on it.

I think the hard part is making the playoffs. Once you make the playoffs... anything can happen. If anyone is trying to figure out how to beat the Astros... keep in mind that the Astros can beat themselves. We have the minor league depth necessary to compete. Calling up the Minor League Depth removes that big advantage. IMO... What we need is an arm to slot at the top. 1. Yu Darvish (he only costs money... he doesn't cost us prospects) 2. ------------ (Yu Darvish is so #1 and that I am leaving option #2 Blank. 3. ------------ (see option #2) 4. Zach Greinke (Only if they will take Phil Hughes in return) 5. Chris Archer (only if Option #1 and #4 don't work... I dread the prospect cost). 6. Lance Lynn (I've always kind of liked the guy but he is a step below what I'm looking for).

I have been perfectly OK with the club not plunking down big dollars while the team core was very suspect. And the team core was very suspect. However... I justified being OK with the club not plunking down big dollars while the team core was very suspect with the strong feeling that if the team core started to show something... they would then plunk down some big dollars to support the rising youth. Ladies and Gentlemen... If the Twins can't spend right now... They may never spend. I've given them the benefit the doubt and I still do... but... there will be circumstances where I eventually withdraw that doubt benefit.