Riverbrian

You missed the post I was responding to, that led to my post, that led to you responding to my post and calling it a strawman argument. I fully admit that I used the word "Fragile". Otherwise, I believe I was following the chain of the discussion. Correct me where I'm wrong.

It's Ok to disagree. It's ok to be a million miles away. We are all dancing in the dark here. I hate to say it, but the answer you provide isn't strong and no different than what Thad Lavine provided to Aaron Gleeman. Also, the won-loss records that I recite are not strong either. The story can't be condensed into a paragraph. Each game, is a separate set of small sample sizes, bad hops, bloops and blasts, just plain stuff that determines the eventual scoreboard at each conclusion. The other team you play is absolutely a factor that prevents you from trying to lay blame entirely on the shoulders of your team but again, trying to be comprehensive is going to end up with a really, really long post or a real long question and answer session between Gleeman and Lavine. I simply posted the records to produce a question mark over any thought by Lavine, you or anyone that the clubhouse stuff is prove positive of anything. I believe in atmosphere in the context of any team. But, I don't believe that it is easily controlled or produced and trying to manage it is like getting cats to walk in a parade. Winning will get the cats in a parade, losing will get the fingers pointing. I believe in order to win, you must produce. If you play players who are not producing, you don't win and the clubhouse culture will suffer. But then again... that's just a paragraph.

Ok I've gone from Hyprocritical to Obtuse. Wonderful Deliberately? Absolutely. My participation in this discussion is intentional and thought through. Obtuse? Well that's gonna be in the eye of the beholder. If you agree with me... my comments are not annoyingly insensitive or stupid... If you disagree with me... Well I suppose so. But please keep in mind from the other side of the fence. The very second you type and post that I'm being Deliberately Obstuse. You become that yourself by attaching it to me when all we have is a difference of opinion. Carrying on in response to your post. "In the offseason, the front office brought in a bunch of mercenary free agents (Levine's word, not mine) who cost the team some important games early in the season". When people read a quote from someone... they take what they believe and attach that quote to what they believe... they mold it to fit the direction of their personal narrative. The truth is, you (and I) have no idea where the genesis of that quote came from or the context. Is Lavine in the locker room taking the temperature of the atmosphere by hand or relying upon information from others? Is he taking a quote from a fired manager when asked what is going wrong and then repeating it? Does it mean he's right or wrong? In the end it's a paragraph that probably needs a couple of chapters to express. When someone asks you what happened? Weather it's Lavine being asked that question by Falvey or Pohlad or St. Peter. Or If it's Lavine being asked that by Aaron Gleeman for public consumption. Or if it's Paul Molitor being asked that question by his superiors or a fan in the supermarket. . The one answer you can't give is this: I Don't Know. My strong assumption is this: They don't know. If they knew... We'd win all the time. When you ask the President of the United States of America, The General Manager of the Minnesota Twins, The sales director of a banana wholesaler or your 10 year child what happened. That's when the excuses come out because they can't say I don't know. Providing an answer buys you time and a moment of peace, saying I don't know, creates the exact opposite. You can't condense the complexity required to provide that answer. If you want to drill down on the complexity comprehensively, Aaron Gleeman wouldn't have been able to ask a second question because of the sure length of the answer to the first question. Was he talking about Lynn and Morrison specifically? Did he mean two players took us down? Was it every player with a expiring contract? Does the list include players like Sano and Buxton who don't have an expiring contract? I read the quote... I dismissed it immediately... I didn't say to myself "Oh Good, That's all figured out, I'll book my world series hotel now". I recognized it as an excuse in the same class of excuse when I ask someone what happened and they start talking about the economy being down so nobody is buying at the moment. You are just doing what everyone (including me) does with insufficient information. We mold it into our own personal narrative, because that's how the information can best serve us. I'm no hypocrite... I do the same thing because we believe what we believe. "In July, the front office traded their most popular player when the players felt they were finally making a rally in the standings (indeed, had won four straight games). Escobar's teammates saw the trade announced on the ESPN ticker. Dozier was traded days later". The Twins were 49-57 at the end of July when the Dozier trade capped off the flurry. After the flurry of moves, the Twins were 29-27. That's a better winning percentage. I wonder why they didn't make moves sooner. Did the clubhouse atmosphere improve after the trade was announced on ESPN surprising Escobar or did they start collectively playing players who played collectively better? Could this be part of the context that created the excuse offered by Thad Lavine when asked by Aaron Gleeman? We traded off all the expiring contracts and we played above .500 baseball afterwards so Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc. Personally, I doubt it was that simple but I do believe as part of my personal narrative, the team started playing better when they started playing players who were playing better or the players started playing better. BTW... Same thing in 2017. We traded our closer Kintzler and shipped Garcia to the Yankees shortly after acquiring him at the deadline. The players were quoted as being disappointed. We were 50-53 at the time. We went 35-22 over the final two months. So what are we talking about here? "In August, Fernando Rodney was traded, prompting Ervin Santana to sound off against the front office, in turn prompting many fans to ridicule Santana for it (where do you stand on that one, by the way)". How do I stand on that one? He had a microphone in front of his face and he expressed an opinion, nothing more, nothing less. This is why the P.R.department urges all players to use tried and tested cliches. Were his expressed feelings responsible for his 22 innings of an 8.03 ERA and 1.62 WHIP? The comments came after a loss to the Tigers in a game that he started. The team was 53-62 after that loss. They went 25-22 after the comment. Did the comment have anything to do with a better record afterwards? How do I stand on that one? Ervin Santana is not part of the front office.What does the acquisition of Dakota Chalmers do for him? What does the acquisition of Luke Raley do for him? He needs to be concerned about beating the Tigers and he failed to do that on this particular night. He needs to let the front office do the job they were hired to do. He does the job that he was hired to do. There is a clear separation of responsibility, Kevin Gorg asked a question and he expressed his feelings. I don't blame Gorg, Santana, the front office or anyone and I don't believe it proves anything other than... Santana didn't like the deals made and his viewpoint is going to be different than mine, yours and the front office. It was September 1st when the news broke that Buxton was not being brought back to the majors. The team was 63-72 when the announcement was made. They went 15-12 afterwards. Are we talking cause and effect here or are we simply talking about players not being happy. I know I wasn't happy and as a result, I'm not in the mood to tolerate poor performance from the players, the manager or the front office anymore and I want accountability. I don't listen to any of the excuses being offered by Falvey or Lavine because they are typical responses to direct questions begging an explanation for something that didn't go as planned. This is the professional ranks, there is long line of players who want the job that they have. Perform or the lose the job. There are people who are doing dirty work in the front offices around baseball who'd love to have Falvey or Lavine's job. Perform or lose the job. Same thing for the manager, the coaches and scouts. I'm not going to fight for Byron Buxton. Byron Buxton needs to fight for himself and he needs to produce or get out of the way so someone else can produce in his absence. I was miserable watching Buxton, Sano, Morrison, Wilson and Dozier because they were not being held accountable. I was much happier watching Cave, Austin and Astundillo. And I'm standing here today saying to Cave, Austin and Astundillo. You are going to have to do it again.

I just can't attach that much drama to it. I've never been in a major league clubhouse. But, it's still a typical employer/employee environment I assume. They just can't be that emotionally fragile that Buxton bleeds over to everyone in the room and now they are all under performing like matches in a matchbox after one catches fire. . They have advisors/agents who explain it's a business and if they don't have that... they learn it's a business every time they watch a player/friend/co-worker get cut, sent down to the minors or traded. I understand that some of the players may not have liked the decision and some of the players stand in full support of Byron Buxton but it can't mean that they are going to throw their own career away over it. They can't be that fragile. It can't work that way because clubhouses would be broken in pieces across the MLB landscape. I'd imagine there are varying to degrees of selfishness to team first attitudes in the dug out just like our workplaces and I believe feeling like you can win or not is the ultimate key to keeping a clubhouse attitude the way you want it or don't want it. I really think it comes down to... Did we piss Buxton off? Maybe. Will he get over it? He better for his sake.

I'm not going to look at a month of time and think it was crippling length of time for a player who is three years developed. Teams routinely send home younger prospects in September who haven't had a year of development. Why do they do that?

Yes... without question... Yes. I'll take the year. In my opinion, the Twins should be done thinking about development at this point. He has over 1,000 plate appearances. When players reach arbitration, there should be something to arbitrate. This isn't Royce Lewis getting called up seeing major league sliders for the first time. He's seen a major league slider before. The Twins are going to give him another chance and probably another chance after that. It's all in his hands. They will offer him every tool available to the organization to start flying right. It is all in his hands. If he is as good as advertised... this will all take care of itself. He will be incredibly rich, and fans will buy his merchandise. He just has to start making contact with the ball. If he is not... if this is what he is. See Billy Hamilton, See Ben Revere, See Jerrod Dyson and slide Buxton into that grouping. 20 years from now... someone will bring up his name while i'm in the Old Folks home and I won't remember him.

I don't think we are that far apart. Other than the level of appreciation toward Byron Buxton's performance thus far. I see the potential like you do and there is no way I toss it out the door for a relief pitcher. But, in my eyes, it has only been glimpses of potential that isn't translated into a stable major league job yet. He still has to prove that he can hit at the major league level consistently. I believe he can and I believe it will happen with the speed of the light switch because I honestly think he's trying to hit 5 run homers to left on outside sliders and once he stops doing that and just tries to make simple hard contact. He'll start gapping balls and our breath will be taken away. On the scary side though, I believe some players can't change and Byron might be that guy. As far as our labor discussion. If I was in charge of the MLBPA... I'm calling for an end to the draft. I won't get it but that will start the negotiation off with the tone that it isn't going to be easy and the owners might as well start preparing to give a little bit or a lockout.

By the way, Plouffe he has become my poster boy of what has been wrong with the Twins organization but in this context. If Plouffe and his agent demanded that he was a 3B only. Or if the Twins demanded that Plouffe could only play 3B. Whoever made that decision just tied Plouffe down to the railroad tracks with the Sano Train coming and Dudley Do-Right is nowhere in sight.

I forgot about Flores... thanks for reminding me. I'd add Flores to my list of players who have "a chance" of replacing a decent percentage of any projected numbers lost by an injured or bummer like performing Sano or Schoop.

Schoop without need for a second thought,

I think you under state how strong of a current this all swims against. The strength of the current, reveals itself just by the opposition I face on this website to sensible solutions to problems. Not to mention, the hard calcified baseball conventions passed on from teacher to student and arbitration compensation models that are now out-dated but still have real life influence on pocketbooks. But in the end, I don't care. If you want to get where you are going, you must jump into the current and swim against it. And most importantly, precedent has been established. The Rays, and now the Dodgers and Cubs have jumped into the water, with the current and are thriving in the waters of rejuvenation baby. Anyway... Let's get back to Eddie and his agent. Eddie... this is your career and you got to do what's best for your career. I really can't advise you so I won't try... but... if... well... I'd start with getting a new agent. Hold on... sit down... I'm sorry that was harsh... Ash... I didn't mean to insult you... Me and Ash go back a long way Eddie... it's the way we talk to each other, I obviously didn't mean that, I think the world of Ash but yeah... you need a new agent... you are getting some horrible advice here. Hosmer? Cain? I find it interesting that Ash failed to bring up Moustakas and that is what agents do. They talk about highlights and keep the low lights out of view in an attempt to mislead me and unfortunately misleading you at the same time. You don't get the whole picture this way... The agent says Hosmer triumphantly and you are thinking... Hosmer yeah... 8 years... yeah... That's what I'm talking about but Moustakas turning down a QO and settling for 5.5 million dollar deal is conveniently glossed over in an effort to mislead you and me and get a cheap like from Chief. Did Hosmer get all that he could get just having the Royals and Padres interested in his services... I can't answer that but the same market principles apply to Hosmer, that apply to Moustakas that apply to Cain and that apply to Lance Lynn and Logan Morrison... Supply and Demand rules the... Did Ash mention Brian Dozier. No... He really didn't... did he. Brian Dozier is currently sitting in a 10 deep pile of available 2B free agents and maybe 5 jobs for them. I wouldn't scoff at what Eduardo Escobar received or what Marwin Gonzalez is gonna receive until you see what happens to Dozier this year who was once the top 2B in all of baseball. Believe me I know... I tried to trade him the year before and we couldn't get a decent offer for him so we didn't make the deal. Supply and Demand my friend... Supply and Demand. Anyway... this is going to be a real long meeting if we start looking at both sides of the ledger. Ash... you've had the supply and demand talk with Eddie right? Or are you talking to him about how you can sell ice cubes to Eskimos instead. Supply and Demand rules the market place, always has and always will. Being proficient at multiple positions increases the demand and that is obvious to a first year economics or marketing student in the first semester, while moving you into a world of limited supply because baseball hasn't advanced to where it should be but will be soon. And let's talk about that... Is Cody Bellinger another Eduardo Escobar? Is Kris Bryant another Marwin? Why would you let your own agent who is supposed to be speaking up on your behalf attempt to throw you into a bucket like that? And we can talk about this bucket... because your agent just brought up Escobar and Marwin in a negative context to make a point. He's attempting to mislead you and me at the same time by talking about Escobar and Marwin in a negative context and not talking about Bellinger and Bryant in a positive context. You are not getting both sides of the picture. The utility guy used to be the guy who didn't get a starting job and became the guy who filled in at multiple positions so the utility guy has always had a less than talented badge on it's sleeve. Bellinger and Bryant and before him Zobrist have smashed through that wall. At the end of the day... If the two of you come to conclusion that you are going to make more money and have a stronger career by refusing to play another position to help your team and career. If the two of you conclude that playing left field exclusively the rest of your baseball career is the best path to a multi year contract pay off. If you think it will help you get an extension from us or this stance will cause the Yankees to admire the way you stood for your principles and therefore pay you more... then I totally understand that you have to do what is best for you. I'll tell Granny that her cookies were a hit, now if you excuse me... I gotta make some calls, it sounds like you are going to force me to bring in a third basemen to back up Sano and I'm gonna have to cut your friend Jose Berrios to make room for him. It's been pleasure... Ash... Anytime you are in town... Give me a call... we will have lunch.

Thanks for the kind words, apart from being called a hypocrite, I appreciate it. My stance is easily explained. It isn't hypocritical, it's consistent. I'm for me first. I know that Byron Buxton is going to be alright if he hits the ball and if he hits the ball, I... for my sake, (as a lifelong fan of the Minnesota Twins) want him to hit the ball for MY TEAM and not some other team. When people say that any thought of an extension is gone, it doesn't concern me in the slightest because I grew up a Minnesota Twins fan and know what happens in the free agent market from a Minnesota lens. Extension? he's not from Maple Grove, if he turns into the Buxton they all say he could be, his agent will not let him sign an extension, even if he wanted to. This is something we should all understand by now and not let it confuse our emotions. Joe Mauer the hometown hero cost us 23 million for 8 years at a time when 23 million was rare air. The days of Kirby Puckett are gone. So please understand that the years of control are highly highly highly highly likely, the end of his time with us even if we kissed his (you know what) every waking second of the day. So... Woo Hoo, we just got an extra year... (High Five). I'm no hypocrite, I readily lay myself in front of all and say... I want the extra year FOR ME... I simply don't have the strength nor inclination to be indignant about the how, especially when I consider that his fall from grace is around 1.2 million from the arbitrator. He's gonna be Ok. I'm for me... I'm a fan... the players and the owners routinely screw us all the time from the price of a Tony O Cuban Sandwich to pulling into second base when a triple was completely possible during a routine game in June. The service time game has been going on for quite some time and I'm already numb to the discussion and let me state without confusion. The only difference between Bryant, Acuna and Buxton was the timing, I'm not going to get worked up over timing. We all understand, the reasoning and end goal for all 3 of them. I'm no hypocrite, I've stood tall and said... I want the year back. Unvarnished and straight to the point. As for my seemingly conflicted viewpoints of casual mentions of being on the players side while the applauding the mugging of Byron Buxton. It's really not hard to understand. I believe the owner's have a clear advantage in the current CBA and when the next CBA negotiation takes place... I'll be wearing my MLBPA hat and cheering the players on. However... let's be clear that it's going to be ugly and I'll be surprised if there isn't a stoppage of sorts. And the stoppage will be another screw the fan example that can be added to the list of Tony O Cuban Sandwich prices and players not legging out a triple in June. Just to confuse you a little bit... My main issue with the CBA is the service time rules. But Riverbrian, how can you be against the Service Time Rules as they stand, against the owners and for Byron Buxton not getting called up and publicly applaud the extra year of control gained? Simple... I've covered it's in MY best interest. Now toss this in. I do not want my team operating under a self-imposed competitive disadvantage. Meaning: The CBA is a negotiated AGREEMENT between two parties. The agreement sets the rules of operation that everybody works under, until they reach a different agreement, these are the rules that everyone must follow, much like a walk after 4 balls out of the strike zone is a rule of operation. I do not expect my team to handicap themselves against their competition by taking a walk at 5 balls on purpose. The CBA basically forces any GM with a brain to manipulate service time under the rules and it has therefore become routine and systemic. There are only two things that prevent a full scale service time shoving down the throats of the players union. 1. The actual desire to win baseball games and therefore roster the best players you have. (Which is challenged more and more every time a team goes into full scale rebuild). 2. A flimsy toothless good faith mention that gets blown to pieces by the simple explanation that a player needed 17 days of defensive work before being called to the majors but is just strong enough to keep JT Realmuto up in the majors despite the Marlins being out of contention in June. Let's be perfectly clear, the only difference between Kris Bryant, Ronald Acuna and Byron Buxton is timing, I'm not going to lose my mind over timing or clumsiness because the end result is the same. These were all service time decisions that gain the club an extra year of control. All teams are making service time decisions like these and my team better not put themselves at a self imposed competitive disadvantage when everybody is working off the same agreed upon rules. And one last thing... The players are not Angels either and nobody should ever lose sight of that FACT. The true victims in baseball are the minor league guys who are never going to make it. Both the OWNERS and the PLAYERS could do something for them in the CBA but, the minor league players are without representation so they work for poverty wages. At least until they can land on a major league roster spot but that can't happen because Byron Buxton is taking that roster spot while wasting 3 years of service time, being given chance after chance to prove himself. A player is drafted and can be held until the age of 32 which basically means that a club can squeeze the life out of any player it chooses, leaving the player holding the remains of his value when he reaches free market. This is a player disadvantage but they negotiated that disadvantage so... Buxton is upset that he lost a year of service time after hitting .156. Look behind you Byron... Look Behind you. There is carnage all over the highways behind you and the ones who are surviving that carnage are coming fast to take your job. I'd quickly forget about this service time nonsense and focus on fixing that .156 PRONTO. And the rest will take care of itself. These are big boys making millions across the table from each other. This is not the fulfillment associate at Amazon who was fired because she only packs 115 items per hour with a quota of 120. Buxton needs to hit... If not for you... then for me but more importantly for himself. Because if he doesn't stop missing those sliders by a foot or two. His FA experience will be a minor league contract.

Lot's of wishes you have. You must have to pause a real long time while everybody waits for you to blow out the candles.

I’d have a sit down with his agent and him. I’d look him in the eye and say with complete honesty. “When you reach free agency more doors are open for you when you are proficient at multiple positions because some teams have OF filled and need a 2B and some have 2B filled and need an OF. The more teams that can use your services, the more bidders for your services... the bigger the contract... so do yourself a favor and consider the big picture implications of your hardline stance... help yourself and your baseball team at the same time and let’s win some baseball games. Do you want a cookie? My grandma baked these. They’re fantastic”. It’s why I’ve said before. If I’m Tyler Austin... I’m begging for the chance to play OF. If I’m Trevor Plouffe I’m begging for the chance to play OF. Demanding to play only one position is naive and short sighted and that doesn’t even consider a flat out selfishness by refusing to help your current team address a need. The very second you express it... you just shortened your career and cost yourself money.

Agreed However from my fans chair. Woo Hoo we got an extra year! The CBA practically demands this sort of thing with only a flimsy good faith clause that can’t stand up to a bad year. At the end of the day. I really am on the players side. The next CBA needs to give them more control over their prime earning years but their union rep agreed to these terms so from my chair as a fan. Woo Hoo we got the extra year.

I agree with what you are saying here. Invoking his early-career PA as justification for the September 2018 should not be a consideration... However... It is. The clock was ticking during this early-career time which led to having to make a service time decision at the edge of it. Because of this fact... I think his early-career calculations must be considered a factor and can't brushed aside. You've been right all along... If the Twins would have let him Play in September and simply held him in Rochester to start 2019 for the month of April as you previously suggested. It wouldn't have been as noisy. MLR was also right... if the Twins would have used Rochester more frequently during those early career struggles... the arb wall could have been avoided and it would have been a lot less noisy. The Twins handling of Buxton is clearly questionable on all fronts but in the end... I don't care. I want the year of service time and the ball is now in his court.

If you are correct. It would mean that the organization threw away an at least “average” infield defender for the sake of a locked in role or consistency and the possible consequences of that are: Keeping a Cave in the minors to play a Motter when an infielder is needed. I’m not saying that happened. I’m saying that type of roster management and playing time deployment is possible, actually likely as a result of closing that Rosario playing infield door. Again I’m not saying that Rosario should have been permanently moved to middle infield but removing any consideration of him ever playing infield again, can and will force a team to deploy a Motter like option over a stronger outfield injury replacement option.

Here's another thing. Cave was in the bigs in May with one foot out the door while in the bigs. He didn't stay long. Call up Cave as a "Fine but he won't play much addition to the roster" doesn't count.

Doc, I know you get what I'm saying. The concept is not hard, it's incredibly easy. The resistance I'm running into on depth and accountability simply eludes me. Depth and accountability should be our bare minimum expectation as fans but I guess we've gone so long without depth and accountability that people don't recognize them anymore and resist. So, we just stand around pissed until they sign Manny Machado. We are approaching a decade long rebuild, settling for Trevor Plouffe and his equivalents and deploying them like they are Mike Trout and saying Ryan LaMarre is "fine for a roster spot because he won't play much" is the reason why it's taking a decade. Depth and Accountability is going to speed things along ten fold and I don't understand why anybody could be against those things even if it didn't speed things along ten fold. Nobody could out produce Logan Morrison last year? If true... That is the most damning statement ever leveled at a front office. The front office could not find anyone that could out produce Logan Morrison last year. Not being able to find anyone that could out produce Logan Morrison should be cause to fire everybody with a key to the building including the janitors. Anyway, the excuses that Falvey and Lavine have been quoted as using for what happened to my summer last year is just typical ear candy and don't solve the fundamental problem. They have my support but I have "Yeah But's" for all of those excuses. Here's what they need to know. Two is better than one. They can take those algorithms and do some stunning projections and they should continue doing that when staffing this roster... But... They can't guarantee that it will happen on the field because of hip injuries and all those excuses they are currently making because it didn't happen. So take those algorithms, use them but remember that two is better than one. If you want a player to hit those numbers you project. Get two of them with similar projections, instead of rolling the dice with just one of them. Chances are better that at least one of them will produce the numbers your models project and all of sudden you are bullet proof or at least closer to bullet proof.

Cave whenever. Vargas whenever. The names don’t matter. The organizational filler exercise every year is pointless if the front office makes it pointless. Morrison’s numbers were replaceable unless the organization rosters a player who isn’t even worth trying. Morrison stayed in the lineup until he pulled the plug in August. The key word is “he” pulled the plug.

Not True... It turned out that Jake Cave and Willans Astudillo were better options but they will be delayed finding that out when they can't shake themselves out of... "We don't have better options" So Logan Morrison stays in with hip pain and produces worse than they guy you are afraid of trying and the guy you are afraid of trying just sits there and watches wasting precious 25 man roster space. You are absolutely right that Morrison should have been D.L'ed immediately. And personally, I don't care if they turn to Petit and say... go do it... We got to try something else, anything else because even the lowly worm will turn. All in all, It's on the front office. It is their job to sign players who the manager will turn to and they hire the manager who turns to them or doesn't. If they thought they did bring in the right players and the manager doesn't turn to them... now you got a fatal disconnect that needs to be addressed immediately and perhaps it was addressed with the hiring of a new manager. I have no idea. Everybody gets a 25 man roster and a 40 man roster. It is the responsibly of the front office to fill the roster with players who can play. It is the responsibility of the manager to utilize that roster and make adjustments as necessary when needed. I mentioned this before (many many months ago) when I started asking why Morrison was still in the lineup and I was accused of being a Ryan LaMarre bobo. I'm not a Ryan LaMarre bobo but damn it... you gave him a roster spot, utilize him or cut him and go get someone else that the manager will play. We had the need for his utilization based on the horrible play of his supposed superior talent ahead of him playing crappy. I said that Brian Dozier would be benched if he was on the Dodgers because the Dodgers won't allow Brian Dozier to perform the way he was and still get playing time. Brian Dozier the best 2B in baseball was benched just like I said he would be and not by someone who they went out and purchased with a billion dollar check book in hand. By minimum wage guys who were simply playing better baseball. The Dodgers have depth because they find it and give it a chance to be depth. The Twins don't have depth because they view things from a "Starter" "Bench" mentality. This has to stop... right now. Besides if you pre-emptively make the determination that AAAA player X is not as good as contracted player Y and you never give him the chance. You will never find Max Muncy. And worse yet... Decades of taking this approach of living with whatever painful results come from the Morrison's and Plouffe's and the Casilla's... and filling the rest of the roster with players the manager won't play, you just create a cycle of needing to fill the roster with players who won't play every year because you never find the Max Muncy's. Then you got a team that bounces like a ping-pong ball from 1st pick overall in the draft to 20th in the draft based on the fate of 9 players who consistently perform inconsistently from year to year. I hear the quotes from some of our TD faithful. "Adrianza is fine, he won't play much". YES HE WILL so go find someone who is fine, in case he plays much. Just stop doing that now please. Cave should have been discovered sooner, Astudillo should have been discovered sooner. The front office should have considered the possibility of injury or performance when staffing the 25 man in the off season because they knew it was going to happen because it always happens. The front office should have made an immediate move the minute Polanco was suspended. Instead... Hey Ryan LaMarre had a great spring. He's fine... He won't play much. This is how you create depth. You simply play the players who are playing better and you have depth. This isn't hard but we make it hard because we can't get over this "Starter" "Bench" mentality, where everybody has clearly defined roles with very little consequences for not meeting expectation. Staff the 25 man roster with players who can play and will compete for playing time. Anything else is a failure unless by lucky miracle, the selected core doesn't get hurt or doesn't go in the tank and that rarely happens. Play the more productive players and you get more production... It's so simple yet, it doesn't happen. Nobody will be able to convince me that the production we got from Morrison was the best we could do. And if it was... I'm done with Baseball.

I have no idea but if this thought is explored as a possibility and not simply dismissed because of typical baseball conventions of strict roles and speciality that has been happening for decades. It creates room to bring on a DH only like Cruz. Because now Rosario can fill in for Sano after the bad slide lands him on the DL. This is why I keep repeating myself on the importance of moving this direction. I’m not talking about forcing a player not capable of playing a position adequately. I’m talking about guys like this not being identified because they have been locked into positions. Again... no idea if Rosario is capable as an IF but if he is or was as a 2B in the minor leagues. The advantage was wasted and resulted in more Taylor Motters on the roster than necessary. I simply don’t know if Rosario was moved off 2B because he wasn’t capable or because OF was the quickest path to the majors because of the presence of Brian Dozier. But I do know that teams will move players to different positions because that’s where the need is and I do know that most team will leave them at the 2nd position for consistency and the book on the original is closed forever.

Agreed it isn't a great place to be in. Disagree that he was probably the best option to start. His numbers were too low a bar to clear. Again... Bad Numbers, Painful Hip Injury, clubhouse issues. The excuses are being piled up but each excuse being offered is just another reason why Morrison shouldn't have been allowed to play every day. If the team doesn't have a replacement for all of that... I don't know what to say but I'm stunned that I'm struggling to make my point this off-season with other TD posters that maybe we should get a full roster of players this year for smoother transition into a Plan B or Plan C. On the problematic culture. I wasn't in the locker room so I'm not willing to contribute based on speculation. . But again... If your players are not performing and they are problems in the locker room and still playing every day...This is on the manager or the group think that allowed it. Those excuses that Falvey or Lavine offer up don't carry much water with me. They have my support but I'm watching... I will not have another summer ruined by this ticky-tack millionaire ****.

I wish I knew 100% that the handling of Morrison (and others) was a contribution to the why so I can sleep better knowing it's over. I still wake up in the middle of the night screaming... WATCH OUT FOR THE SHIFT... LAY DOWN A BUNT... HURRY LAY DOWN A BUNT, THE SHIFT IS COMING... THE SHIFT IS COMING. Then there is the Astudillo in the Utility Cage Nightmare. Pitchers are throwing the ball and nobody is there to catch it. Meanwhile, Astudillo is in a glass cage out in CF wearing full catcher's gear, he has no food, water and a dwindling oxygen supply and the players are all standing around with no idea how to get him out. I guess I'm still not sleeping right because of "group think" still being a possibility and group think is much harder to clean up so it never happens again. If it was all Molitor? I doubt it, but if it was, he's gone and it's over. To hear Falvey talk about learning that being a late signing and missed spring training time was an issue, it just makes me think about their responsibility in all of it. You will find some late signing/missed spring training players who worked out. It's not a cut and dried explanation to what happened. You will find some one year contracts that worked out... it's not a cut and dried explanation. The real lesson to be learned is this. It's the individual players and the handling of the individual players. The players were failing and the manager (or management) failed to deal with failing players. Plan B was never executed and they went down with the ship. That's the lesson to be learned. I'm watching this off-season to see if they learned that lesson.

How many big huge Las Vegas style neon signs are necessary to lead the way to the obvious decision. Injured Under Prepared Malcontent All have been printed as excuses. Plus actual honest to god poor production that we can all see without benefit of any quotes. Yet we had to wait until HE PULLED the plug for surgery that got him healthy in time for some other teams spring training before moving on to another option. I won't stand for that again as a fan and I've stood for a lot as a lifelong Twins fan.