Riverbrian

Tyler has been facing left-handers almost exclusively and he hurt his elbow and the elbow is still bothering him which cost him some playing time. I think it's way too soon in his career to make that decision. The Giants need hitters period and if keep him away from Right Handed pitchers... he will always need to be kept away from Right Handed pitchers. But... it's not my horse or rodeo anymore.

I totally get the Giants situation... One of the worst opening day outfields I've ever seen. I only re-hashed Austin because... If Astudillo can be trusted to play OF... like he was Wednesday and Today. Is Austin going to be that much worse... or Astudillo that much better. The point being... if they are willing to sacrifice defense in the OF for Astudillo... why was the same defensive sacrifice not an option for Austin? But Yeah... I get the Giants situation. Zaidi has his work cut for him and so does the other guy running the Giants... Dave Gettleman. Great first post... Welcome to Twinsdaily!!!

Why do you feel "Clearly". I clearly don't have that much clarity. Right now... If I had to guess... He looks exactly like a guy being utilized in a 1980's style utility role. His playing time has been equally divided up between C, 1B and 3B. Now that Cave is down in AAA... He has become the 4th OF. I'm still figuring out what we have in Astudillo and if I had to guess... the Twins are still trying to figure it out as well.

Well... Never thought about that... But Yeah... It does extend. Baseball is truly a game of inches.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1122261760201748481 Tyler Austin played LF today for the Giants. To my knowledge, he had one ball hit his way. Tough play... he made it look tougher but then played possum enough to record the out with an outfield assist. Could Astudillo do this?

These are the moments that you get to learn what the manager thinks or at least implies that he thinks.

Personally, I have no problem with Astudillo in the outfield. I'm just wondering if Astudillo and Marwin are both in the lineup. Why Astudillo in the OF?

Right on cue... Astudillo gets hurt. Adrianza goes to 3B, Gonzalez is moved to LF, Rosario to CF and Kepler to RF. Good Call String. It makes no sense to me but there it is.

It could be, although, I sincerely hope not. I admit that the ball will spin differently from RF to LF but balls spin and that's part of finding the ball and catching it in the OF. I know that you have to throw to the 1B for the cut home as opposed to the 3B but I still sincerely hope that RF/LF isn't the reason. Astudillo has like around 18 career innings in RF total and Marwin has around 7 for his career. On the other hand... Marwin has twice as many OF innings than La Tortuga.

I am Mr. Flexibility... I have no problem with a player playing a different position.. in fact I encourage it. I'm honestly not concerned with Astudillo playing RF at face value. However... What I don't understand is why not Astudillo at 3B and Marwin in RF if they both in the same lineup? Astudillo has not shown himself to be a defensive issue at third. Astudillo has shown himself to have marginal speed over distance while possessing fairly decent reactionary quickness over shorter spaces. Marwin has years of experience in the OF. Next question.. that I must raise again because of this deployment of resources. If the team can option Cave to the minors (I'm OK with this) because Astudillo can cover a backup OF role. Couldn't they have taken the same approach before releasing Tyler Austin. Option Cave so Austin can play the backup OF role instead of releasing Austin? I don't know if Austin can play the OF but the Giants are willing to try and I openly question how low of a defensive bar could Austin not clear if Astudillo is OK out there but Austin is not. Those are just additional thoughts... the question is really... Why not Marwin in RF and La Tortuga at 3B?

Put Marwin into the role he was signed to play and play him as much as you like at positions across the diamond. His best skill flexibility is negated with a locked down assignment. Astudillo should be your first choice at 3B for the moment. This shouldn’t even be debatable.

In 2 Months...I’m not as sure as you that adjustments will be made with last year still fresh in my mind. In the meantime... while the team is trying to play Marwin through the slump. Astudillo is not doing that. This is a fundamental fatal mistake.

I’m pretty sure there is an email from the marketing director to Dave St. Peter with Falvey CC’ed that states that they ordered 5 million shirts and that the marketing director from the Mets doesn’t have to put up with this kind of crap.

I wouldn’t release or trade Castro... I wouldn’t even consider it. He’s a decent baseball player with value. but right now I’d play Garver more. As for the winning percentage comparison. I was driving my car on interstate across the plains in the North Dakota countryside and I got 40 MPG. My friend from Knoxville bought the exact same car and drove up and down the hills in the city exclusively towing his boat and he got 20 MPG and he thinks there is something wrong with his car and is now complaining to the factory because he knows I got 40 MPG. In other words: it sure helps the fuel economy when you don’t have to drive up and down the hills pulling the boat that was last year in Twins Territory. His injury and subsequent lack of playing time in the sinking ship last year is gonna help those win percentages.

La Tortuga night with La Tortuga not starting? Baldelli is going to hear from the marketing department about reading his emails. La Tortuga not playing on La Tortuga night doesn't matter that much to me. Marketing schemes don't matter much when you are trying to win victories and the Twins won. Letting fans wearing La Tortuga shirts cheer the guy on the shirt is no way to connect with the fan base! It was clearly some form of surprise that triggered the fans cheering loudly for La Tortuga when he somehow got a pinch hit on La Tortuga night. Kinda like when a pitcher gets a hit in a National League game because you just wouldn't expect a hit from a pitcher. I strongly feel that La Tortuga needs to earn his playing time. La Tortuga simply hasn't earned the playing time like Marwin Gonzalez has. As long as Marwin is tearing the cover off the ball like he is... I would certainly keep playing Marwin. And keep hitting him 6th while you are at it. The ball is jumping off his bat so much more than Garver who hit 7th, Schoop who hit 8th and Buxton who hit 9th. Marwin should absolutely be the guy to get that extra AB in the 9th inning with the game on the line. Everybody knows that if Marwin was moved from the 6th spot to the 7th spot in the order, his timing would be all screwed up, so it's best to leave him in the 6th spot. Marwin has played 4 games in a row at 3B and we would have certainly been 0-4 over those 4 games without his contributions. La Tortuga has only managed 2 hits over those same 4 games. La Tortuga was pretty disapointing against Verlander that Wednesday. Speaking of Wednesday... Once Cave was sent down creating the 3 man bench... It makes perfect sense to utilize La Tortuga in RF and the utility role. This way you can leave Marwin locked in at 3rd base. Marwin would probably become uncomfortable if he had to man a different position like RF, you simply can't throw too much at a guy too fast without notice. A guy like Marwin is better served staying at one position, most players simply can't play different positions and Marwin might be one of those guys so it is best to leave him at 3B exclusively. You certainly don't want to disturb the hot bat of Marwin because moving Marwin to RF would make him think about defense instead of concentrating on hitting while hitting. Only La Tortuga has the correct attitude to handle an abrupt position change to RF to replace Cave as the getaway day outfielder. That's why you give La Tortuga the RF start on getaway day against Verlander. Although, La Tortuga will have to suffer that thinking about defense while you are hitting fate. He has to take the bullet for that and that is why he only has 2 hits in the past 4 games. La Tortuga makes perfect sense for the guy to play RF over Gonzalez because La Tortuga is much more athletic. Like I said, earlier... La Tortuga needs to earn his playing time like Marwin has. La Tortuga got his start against Verlander this week and only managed 1 hit. Sorry La Tortuga... you gotta rise to the occasion when your name is called. Go sit down. La Tortuga needs to realize that if he can only manage 2 hits over the past 4 games... his lack of playing time going forward will be his own fault. My advice to La Tortuga is to sit on that bench and watch Marwin do his job out there. Watch the professionalism and learn from the master. If he is lucky... La Tortuga, sometime in the future, maybe in a couple of years... La Tortuga will be in the lineup every day hitting .159 like Marwin is. Everybody needs role models to get where you are going. It makes perfect sense to sit La Tortuga on La Tortuga Night.

I would absolutely take a flyer on Pazos. The Rockies always seem to be looking for bullpen help. It's worth a shot.

I'm thinking Pazos because he's priced for free at the moment and he was pretty impressive when I saw him but there is something going on. You don't release an arm like that. As for Watson and Dyson I'd welcome them to the club but April or May trades don't happen that often. Kimbrel and Pazos... They are only money at the moment.

I watched him pitch a couple of times for Seattle and was very impressed. It's not that I impress easy. I watch a lot of baseball games and therefore a lot of players. You have to look impressive for me to remember the player. Pazos is left handed with a very hard sinker, kinda like Zach Britton. Obviously not nearly as good as Britton in his prime but we are talking about a very hard sinker. When the Mariners traded Segura to the Phillies, Pazos looked like he was a throw-in. Segura and Nicasio plus Pazos to the Phillies for Santana and J.P. Crawford. Santana had 2 years around 34 million on his contract. Segura was around 9 million for one year. (Phillies have since signed him to a larger long term contract. Nicasio was about 9 million for one year so the Money was somewhat Neutral. So the Mariners who were (seemingly) trying to shed payroll this off-season ended up Money Neutral with J.P. Crawford as the prize. Therefore... Pazos looks like a throw in in a deal that the Phillies should have taken every day and twice on Sunday even without Pazos included in the deal. So I ask myself... why would someone with a live left handed arm who is performing very well be thrown in? I assume it must be an injury or mechanical issue and now the Phillies have cut him before April is over. Something ain't right... because the Arm I saw was extremely impressive. If it's mechanical... Take a Flyer on Pazos... And go ahead sign Kimbrel.

Turner is hurt with Difo playing SS. Rendon is banged up and Dozier is struggling. You are right Kieboom will play but there are many choices as for where he plays. I’m pretty happy with the Schoop for Dozier trade we made so far.

When I was a child and sad. My mom used to say: "don't make that sad face... it might stay that way". I wish my Mom would have spoke to Brian Dozier about those long slumps he'd go into.

I believe I was a Twins Fan before I was born. Rod Carew has always been my favorite player. I was 14 when he was traded to the Angels and I could barely look at Brad Havens, Ken Landreaux and Dave Engle because of their association with the departure. I later learned to forgive them. Kent Hrbek and Kirby Puckett would be 2 and 3 and not necessarily in that order. And I'd like to add Herb Carneal to this list as an honorary mention. 1987 was my favorite team. You always remember your first time.

Paragraph by Paragraph 1. I'm not saying "not Adrianza"... I'm saying my (personal opinion) of Adrianza based on what I'm seeing... If I was the GM... I would have signed Tim Beckham (for example) instead. But... my larger point is more about the fundamentals of building your roster and not my opinion of "Any Specific Player". I will put aside my personal thoughts on Adrianza (mostly) and defer to the front office's judgement instead. What I will be watching is how Adrianza is then deployed after. Ultimately... what I'm saying is... if the front office puts a player on the roster... they must believe in that player and utilize that player. If they roster any player with the thought that the player won't play much... it's a severe error in the fundamentals of roster construction and ultimately, it will leave the organization no choice but to suffer through Logan Morrison type performance with no alternative or not have a sufficient replacement for any injury that may occur. I'm saying that fundamentally... they can't waste any of the precious 25 man roster spots and this fundamental change in roster construction is not only necessary but critical. I'm not asking for certain players anymore... I'm out of that game. I'm saying the Twins (and most of the teams) have lacked this critical fundamental and this has increased the length of the rebuild to a time frame that has exceeded my tolerance. I believed in Tyler Austin... I was sad to see him go but that's a personal opinion and I'm moving on because I'm not going to concern myself with individual players... my concern is strictly fundamental going forward... how are the chosen players deployed. 2. You've been talking to my wife. 3.If a player can't catch up to fastball... he has no business on a MLB roster. This type of player is going to struggle when he just plays getaway days... I'm saying that these players must be taken out of the equation and replaced with players who can catch up to major league fastballs. GM's can track the progression of every baseball player across history and combine them into a collective and this will provide a baseline for the average. However, There are always players who will blow that baseline out of the water and players who crash and burn well below the baseline and the question is this... How do you find those players who will blow that baseline out of the water. The answer is... you play them. Most players are tossed aside without a chance to prove themselves and if you are saying that no matter what (insert player here) does, he will never get a chance to play, you've just shut the door on a source of player acquisition and a source for zero to something increased player value. The Twins have been doing what you have suggested for decades and the rebuild is taking a real long time as you know. You frequently imply "open the damn pocketbook and get better players" but you offer no solution for the what happens when the 100 million dollar free agent breaks his ankle in May. I'm saying... yes... open the pocketbook and... and prepare for the possibility that the free agent breaks his ankle. You do this by not looking at those 4 spots as players who will never play. You create depth by playing your depth. On to Jorge Polanco in your example... Right now... I'm not taking Polanco out of the lineup for anyone but If I did... 1 game on the bench out of 7 games will not stall his development. You will only lessen his development if the manager makes Polanco sit every single time he plays Adrianza. If a manager can't figure out how to spread it around... he shouldn't be managing. Depth doesn't have to be complicated. 4. I don't believe Adrianza was the best choice to backup the infield positions but if the front office does... as I said earlier... I will defer to their judgement. But again... fundamentally... I'm not looking to roster anyone with a backup designation. Those who live near the Adrianza will end up in the Adrianza. Backups have to move to starting roles all the time... it happens every year... thinking of them as backups is a lack of preparation for the injuries and poor performance that happens every single year without fail. If the Twins have the chance to acquire Sterling Marte... I hope that doesn't mean that Kepler will never play for us again and I hope they don't say no to his acquisition because they have Max Kepler. 5. If you don't allow Adrianza or anyone else to continue doing well when they are doing well... he will never do well, so just cut him, quit wasting everyone's time and bring in someone else. The easiest way to kill a career, kill potential increase in value is to simply bench a player when he is doing well. 6. The Dodgers are the exact model of what I'm talking about. They are not rostering Adrianza types and the players are better but Max Muncy, Justin Turner, Chris Taylor, Enrique Hernandez were players who they picked up out of nowhere, they put them in the lineup and when they played well, they let them continue and that's how they have better players. They didn't buy their depth... they created it with their own hands by planting two watermelon seeds instead of one. This is a fundamental difference between the Dodgers and most of the other clubs in baseball and why the Dodgers are bulletproof. You may want to call David Freese a backup, but he has played 4 out of the last 6 games. (I admit mainly because they faced a bunch of lefties). You'll have to look a long way back to find a player gathering dust on the bench and if you find it... you'll find abysmal numbers attached to that player (Chase Utley). Believe me... I researched it.

To clear any confusion... I'm not comfortable using Adrianza as the test subject here but he was the player mentioned so I continued with him as the example. I have my own personal belief on the potential of Adrianza going forward and I believe my thoughts are similar to yours. Where you and I seem to leave the train station on different tracks is that I believe that a player is capable of improving dramatically with an adjustment that will render past results meaningless. This is the job of the coaches to improve performance. If a players performance can't be improved... might as well tell the coaches to ignore that player. If Adrianza is not given the opportunity to show that coaching/adjustments are working. There is no point keeping him on the roster. He becomes a dead weight road block to bringing in someone who might be given the chance to show something and every time the organization takes this approach, it leaves a speed bump to slow the organization in the pursuit of finding players who produce for winning today or future value tomorrow. If the manager doesn't want to play him. The front office must send him packing. We've done the develop Trevor Plouffe and Trevor Plouffe only to get nothing back in trade value and very little in production for the plain ole winning of ball games.This has led to the approaching of a decade of perpetual mediocrity. We can talk about signing Free Agents all day long... We haven't been big shoppers so we got to produce our own. If you want to produce a Watermelon... Plant two of them to increase your odds. If you just plant one... it may die on the vine leaving you with no Watermelon until you plant again next year. This is why Depth is important... This is why you need 25 people who can play. If you don't want to play Adrianza but you roster him... you have 24 people who can play and a wasted seed not planted. Your Watermelon Harvest is now contingent on one seed surviving.

It's not day trading... It's trend trading. Watch your indicators. This depth concept is so foreign to Minnesota Twins Fans because we've never had it. Let's say below is your current roster: JT Realmuto Gary Sanchez Paul Goldschmidt Cody Bellinger Jose Altuve Whit Merrifield Nolan Arenado Manny Machado Francisco Lindor Mike Trout Christian Yelich Bryce Harper JD Martinez Who plays? Who Sits? Does Bryce Harper still play every day? Does Whit Merrifield only play on getaway days? Are you picking out the best 9 players and letting the other 4 players gather dust or are you going to figure out a way to play everyone. Now it's May 1st: Lindor is hitting .220 with 1 home run while Machado is hitting .300 with 8 home runs. Do you start playing Machado more and Lindor less? Once you figure out what you'd do with the depth of the above group. Replace Realmuto with Castro and Replace Sanchez with Garver and so forth until you have our current Twins roster. And figure out what to do with the depth of the Minnesota Twins. Not as talented as the above group but depth none-the-less. BTW... If Adrianza goes 4-4... Why not play him again tomorrow to see if he can do it again? To reward a good game with another. 4-4 doesn't indicate a hot hand per se but if he isn't allowed to go 6-8 and then 10 for 20... He will never be a hot hand and you've killed him by choice and there is nothing he can do but sit on the bench and pray that Polanco pulls a hamstring.

Few Days? I'll give you a lot more than that. Rosario started the season 1 for 17. I'm still playing him but at the same time... it is perfectly OK to let Rosario sit one day so Jake Cave can take a couple of swings and it's OK to let Jake Cave take a couple of swings for Max Kepler during the same stretch and over time... separation will happen naturally that the manager can recognize along with you and I. Now... It's April 23rd: Marwin is slugging .259 while Astudillo is slugging. 523. I'm at the point now where Astudillo should play more and Marwin should play less. We can all see the seperation... And I'm still happy that we signed Marwin and don't feel Marwin should be benched to the point that he can't pull himself out. Return him to the utility role he was signed to play and move him around the diamond to get AB's. Give Astudillo more time at 3B while we await the return of Sano and let's see if Astudillo can continue. I'm also ready to give Garver more playing time behind the plate and occasional first base to see if he can keep doing it. What's happening right now was what I was begging for last summer and this off-season and facing heavy resistance on. I don't want to get Logan Morrison'd with no attempted alternative ever again.