Riverbrian

Hey All... Do me a favor and raise your glass (of whatever you are drinking... it's a cup of coffee for me). Raise your glass for my Uncle Harold. Lost him today.

I was going to like this post but I didn't want any implication that I liked you breaking your wrist. So Until... I'm able to like specific sentences... I had to avoid the like button. You and JB have something in common know... That's a good thing... kinda

The Twins kick off a brand new series with the Indians tonight. Rolling with a two game winning streak... The Twins face a team that smells funny right now. If you've ever been to Cleveland... Smelling funny isn't surprising. It's Pelfrey vs. Kluber and that sounds like Lawyer vs Lawyer to me. Here are some Things to Think About:1. The Indians -- Hey... Things ain't so rosy in Cleveland Ohio either. At least our Twins can say that we have a two game winning streak!!! The Indians are working on a puny little 1 game winning streak so the Twins can claim a doubling in that department. The Indians are 3-5 and the Twins are 3-6... Both teams were swept by the Tigers and both teams managed a win against the White Sox. The Difference is one extra game against the Pale Hose... After that... The Twins won two games against the Royals who participated in the World Series and the Indians won two games against the Astros... Who were extremely not in the World Series last year. So... Get out your scratch paper and do the math... The Twins are in better shape than the Indians are right now. The Twins also are better because they are not based in Cleveland. 2. The Cy Young Award -- Apparently they give these things out to just about anybody these days. Corey Kluber is on the mound to face us tonight and he won the Cy Young Award Last year. I'm not saying he didn't deserve it... He had a fantastic 2014... I guess I'm implying that... umm... I'm implying... Well... Who the Hell is Corey Kluber and where did he come from? That's what I'm implying!!! He was drafted by the Padres and traded to the Indians in a 3 team deal in 2010... He was called up to the Indians in September 2011 after he posted a 5.56 ERA in Columbus that year. He comes at you in standard formation with an arsenal that a lot of pitchers have... Low 90's fastball with a cutter... curve and change. If Kluber can win the Cy Young... Anybody can grow up to be President of the United States. 3. Losing your Mind Early -- It happens every time in the first two weeks of the season. People lose their mind because everybody is paying attention. People in Atlanta think this is the Braves year because they started well... People in Washington are planning for 2016 because the Nationals have started slow. It's a long season and 162 games has a way of balancing itself out. Bad or good stretches in June and July largely go unnoticed because of a lack of stamina. This early season panic is very similar to almost anything else in life. If your kid gets his driver's license... You are a nervous wreck for the first couple of weeks... A year later... your kid is still a pretty bad driver but you still give them the keys knowing that they trying to do Dukes of Hazzard type jumps with your car. If the Doctor tells you that you have to start eating branches and twigs... You freak out because you know that actual flavor is no longer part of your meals. 6 months later... It's not as big a deal anymore because you've stopped eating branches and twigs after you realize that Moose don't live that long anyway. Early season baseball is just like everything is life. 4. The Outfield D -- Ignore thought #3... I'm still worried about the Outfield D. Ignore #2 and #1 if you'd like as well. It's probably smart if you do. 5. Wild Fires -- We had a serious of Fires around the Grand Forks Area on Wednesday. Dry conditions and winds gusting around 50 MPH (Just little more than normal) made for a busy day for fire fighters. There were a couple of fires just outside of Grand Forks... A rather large one right next to the town of Manvel (go ahead and check your atlas for location) and several more all the way up to the Canadian border. They had to close down the Interstate for a stretch because of visibility and before they did... a rather large chain reaction accident sent some folks to the hospital. I was near Manvel ND and actually saw the big one with my own eyes... I could feel the heat of it in my car as I drove past. Officials believe the fires may have been started by a semi that was dragging something down the Interstate. Seriously... That's all it takes? A simple Spark? Bruce Springsteen says you can't start a fire without a spark so It must be true but I have a hard time believing it because whenever I try to start a fire... It takes me a full box of matches. I gave up my career as an arsonist because of that. I concluded it was too hard and I decided to try something else. Click here to view the article

When is it time to take action? In regards to OF defense... The time is right now. You wont know when its time to address the bullpen or starting pitching if balls keep dropping in the OF that nearly every other team catches. Pitching stats will be skewed to the negative. The OF defense can only get marginally better as is. I don't think it can be better enough. OF D needs immediate attention.

If Buxton is tearing it up... By All Means... If Hicks has found the light bulb... By All Means... Same for Rosario. But I'm not a fan of calling up players to burn service time while learning on the job or out of desperation. If what I've seen so far... Is actually what it is in the OF. I think the Twins have to make an immediate trade for an elite defensive OF with Range/Speed. I don't care about the bat... Get someone who can run down the baseball.... Bring Revere Back... Bourjos in St. Louis... Anybody with elite defensive skill. Call Seattle and make a deal for Franklin "Death to Flying Things" Gutierrez... He's just sitting there with no hope in Tacoma. After the trade... Hunter will need to be an expensive 4th OF. Then we are going to need Mauer and Plouffe, Arcia and Vargas to step it up and replace what we lose offensively. Move Schafer to LF and Arcia to RF/DH. If Plouffe... Arcia and Vargas don't step it up... It will force the Need for Sano... regardless if he's still striking out at 98% clip. If the Twins can't swing a deal... And the OF Range remains this bad. The Twins will also have no choice but to call up the kids... regardless if they are ready or not. OK... I've slapped myself again... It's just 7 games... Relax... Nope... It still isn't working.

I'll also add... I'm not worried about Hunter's Throw at all. That's an Oops... It happens from time to time. The mistakes they are all making can be fixed... There will be a time when it starts coming together as much as it can and the Twins may even roll a decent winning streak or two this year. I'm just sitting here worried that the OF Range can't improve enough and the result of that will filter down to the pitching staff and inflate ERA's so everyone is will complain about the lack of pitching as well and I'll be sitting here thinking... Is it the Pitching staff or the lack of help they are getting.

It's real hard to say with 100% confidence. You could be right... But... I gotta say... I think an average RF gets to that ball. I don't believe that ball lands in the KC Outfield. At the least... His Angle was wrong... At the worst... His range is strikingly below par. For me... It has taken 7 games (I've watched maybe 4 of those) for me to completely 180 on Hunter. I've gone from: These Defensive Metrics are half cooked... There is no way Torii is as bad as they say. TO: Holy Cow... Hunter really doesn't have much range at all out there... Using the eye test. I'm really trying to keep my feelings in check. I understand that everything is magnified in the first couple weeks of the season. Mistakes like these in July are typically Oh Welled away by the fan base because less are paying attention. I'm slapping myself in the face right now and saying... "Brian... Snap out of it... It's only 7 games". It ain't working. To Follow up 3 dropped cans of corn on Sunday to what we saw yesterday in the home opener is going to shake most anyone up.

With the bases loaded and nobody out... A fairly routine 6-2-3 Double play ball is bobbled by Santana in the 8th inning. No outs are made and the Royals go one to score 6 in the inning.

I was completely pissed after the Gomez trade. Easy to see the talent he possessed. Hardy looked like a decent enough pickup but Gomez? Speed... Power... Arm... Rare Talent matched by very few... You wait for the maturity. And then trading Hardy for absolutely nothing on Paper... and absolutely nothing on results. Smith is going to have to do a whole lotta good elsewhere to make up for that. Ramos for Capps... That ain't going to make it up.

I've been getting up from desk and walking to the TV whenever the radio guys said anything that seemed worth investigating. Santana hasn't been sharp but he's got the arm and skill to be an above average defensive player in my opinion... I'm willing to be patient with him. Let's just see if his engagement and focus will get him there. I also don't worry about Dozier or Mauer defensively. Everybody else... I'm worried. Of course I'm also worried about Birds banding together for an Air Force like attack on humans when we don't expect it. So... take it FWIW.

OK... I'm not a believer is defensive stats but I've seen enough of Mr. Hunter to start believing the stats ain't lying. Had to walk from my office to see the replay and an average RF comes close to reaching that ball. Below Average doesn't come close. I don't think Torii was close.

I don't want to argue

New Story: Dateline Cleveland Ohio Mother dangles two year old over the railing of a Cheetah Exhibit and drops the two year old 12 feet into the exhibit. Parents immediately jump into the exhibit to save the boy. The child had bumps and bruises but will be ok. According to observers... The Cheetahs just sat and watched. Hmm Turns out the Cheetahs were more responsible then the Mom.

I'd recommend hanging out in better neighborhoods.

It's the Home Opener for the Twins... Watch out for Blue Ice!!! Things to Think About: 1. Home Openers -- Home Openers are always exciting... Even if the team arrives at the ball park with a record of 1-5 after 6 games on the road. It's a sell out because Home Openers are special and obviously not because the team has been special thus far. Anything can happen in a home opener... For example... Let's take a look at other home openers. A. Keys -- If you are in the habit of locking your home... Keys are real handy as home openers. B. House for Sale Open Houses -- If you are selling your home... The real estate agent will kick you out of the house for a day or weekend and set up shop in your kitchen with all of their notes spread over the table. People interested in buying your house will come in and take a look at your bathroom fixtures and imagine how much money it will take on top of the sales price to get rid of the bathroom fixtures that you have personally and carefully chosen. C. Tornadoes -- Tornadoes can do a real impressive job opening up your home. Sometimes they take the roof completely off. When the Tornado Sirens go off... Quickly... check your watch to make sure it's not the weekly scheduled test of the emergency sirens... If the Tornado comes at exactly the time of the scheduled test... the timing would be terrible and you may have a lawsuit to file against the city. if it's not (it's usually not)... get down to the basement (take your family with you... your choice) and try to imagine where your refrigerator is located above you. It is safer in the basement unless the refrigerator is directly above you and it lands on you. However... If you end up trapped and if the Refrigerator falls near by... At least you will be able to feed yourself. So try to be arms length from the fallen refrigerator but not directly beneath it. D. Blue Ice -- Blue Ice is frozen sewage that can fall from airplanes above and crash into your house and therefore be a home opener. Nobody on earth wants to be killed in this fashion because loved ones will have to explain it to the curious. E. Deer -- Sometimes Deer will jump through your window and be a home opener. They usually don't stay... So there is no use trying to keep the deer as a pet. They usually panic and knock a lot of stuff over before they create another hole in the house escaping. 2. The playoff race -- On Friday... I stated that I was disappointed that the Twins were already mathematically eliminated from the AL Central Title. It turns out that my math was wrong... They are not mathematically eliminated. The Twins are 5 games back with 156 games to go. I given it a lot of thought and here's how the Twins can win the title and it's really quite simple. Right now... The Twins are 1-5 on the road... Extrapolate that over 81 road games and that comes out to 13.5 wins on the road... Let's be optimistic and round that up to 14 wins. That gives the Twins a 14-67 record on the road. So... If my Math is Correct... All the Twins have to do is produce a 76-5 record at home for 90 wins and a probably playoff spot. When you consider that Teams usually have a better record at home... This is so doable. 3. The Royals -- There are only two teams in MLB that have a shot at 162-0 right now. Both Teams are in the AL Central... The Tigers and today's opponent... The Kansas City Royals. I've often said... actually... I've said a couple of times and often thought to myself that the Royals would become dangerous when Hosmer and Moose start figuring it out. The Team has exceptional defense around the whole diamond. They have decent enough starting pitching to keep the team in games and a bullpen that can shut down any lead they get. If Hosmer and Moose start adding the long ball to all the speed they have... The Royals will be a force. They reached the world series and so far so good in 2015. The baseball gods were very cruel to Paul Molitor when they scheduled two of the best teams in baseball in the first 9 games. 4. Danny Duffy -- The Royals will be throwing Danny Duffy at us this afternoon. Danny is from Goleta California. Goleta is an ocean side town in Santa Barbara County. Goleta is the spanish word for Schooner and this is important in the town's history because in the 1700's... a ship (schooner) was wrecked near present day Goleta and it remained in that location for many years. When the City Founders were forced to come up with a name. Someone pointed at the schooner and said "Goleta"... (I'm hoping they were Spanish because otherwise they would have actually said "Schooner". Someone else nearby mistook "Goleta" as the suggestion for the name of the town and recorded it... thus making it official. The guy who pointed at the schooner and said Goleta didn't intend for the town to be called Goleta... He was just calling attention to it. If an Otter would have been nearby... There would have been a reasonable chance the town would have been named "Nutria". Yes Nutria is how they say Otter in Spanish... I looked it up. So... There Ya Go... Everything you need to know about Danny Duffy. 5. Caring about People -- I have a friend who is very sad... She said to me though tears... "I don't think anybody cares if I'm alive or not". I told her she was wrong... "Here's what you do... Miss a couple of car payments and then somebody who cares will call you real soon". Clearly... I have a real knack for helping people. Today's lineups: ROYALS: Escobar SS Moustakas 3B Cain CF Hosmer 1B Morales DH Gordon LF Rios RF Perez C Infante 2B Duffy P TWINS: Santana SS Dozier 2B Mauer 1B Hunter RF Vargas DH Plouffe 3B Arcia LF Suzuki C Robinson CF May P Game-time forecast: Clear and sunny, 60 deg F, winds from the WNW at 20-25mph. Hope your seats are in the sun! Click here to view the article

I've been to one White Sox game. Got lost and my ND Plate looked a little out of place in the projects.

As we kick off a brand new series with the White Sox. Here are some things to think about.1. Mathematical Elimination -- I'm sure you were all just like me... Waking up this morning to discover that the Twins have been mathematically eliminated from any possibility of winning the AL Central title in 2015. 159 games to go and three games behind the Tigers and Royals... It's clearly over... Boy... the Twins sure jumped off that cliff quick. 2. Next Year -- Sano hit a home run for New Britain... Umm... Make that... Chattanooga last night. Folks behind the fence as the ball was coming toward them were heard saying "Lookout". This is much better then when he hit home runs in Ft. Myers and the folks behind the fence were saying "Miracle". Oh By the Way... Aaron Hicks hit a home run for Rochester yesterday... Call him up now!!! He's clearly ready. 3. 21-1 -- Yeah... Think about that... Just think about that. The Twins were outscored 22-1 over the course of three games to start the season. The margins are thin in baseball. Seventy wins is a bad team... Win 11 more games and you are an average team... Win nine more and you are a great team. Those margins are paper thin in the game of baseball... I gotta say... there is nothing thin about 22-1. Not exactly a flying start for Paul Molitor. 4. The rotation -- Do we have one? I've lost track... Could someone post the current rotation so I can play along. 5. Spring Break -- A couple of weeks ago... My oldest son... Took a break from college and went to Lake Havasu to join a bunch of other college students who were congregated in one spot. He sent a video back of him cliff diving into water below. Cliffs in Eastern North Dakota are approximately 10 inches high so this was a new experience for him. My immediate thought was... "If at first you don't succeed... So much for Cliff Diving". Lineups: TWINS: Dozier 2B Escobar SS Mauer 1B Hunter RF Vargas DH Plouffe 3B Arcia LF Suzuki C Schafer CF Milone P WHITE SOX: Eaton CF Cabrera LF Abreu 1B Garcia RF LaRoche DH Ramirez SS Beckham 3B Flowers C Johnson 2B Noeisi P Game-time forecast: 60 deg F, 20% chance of precipitation (drizzle), winds blowing in from the WSW at 20mph, gusting up to 35mph. Click here to view the article

I'm ok with the position players providing Plouffe improves on his 2014 improvement and Hunter is not the defensive liability those debated D stats say he is. And Arcia strikes out less Umm And Mauer returns to a plus .300 hitter with increased extra base out-put With that... I'm Ok with the position players!!! Providing... Santana continues to play like he played last year at SS... And Escobor finds regular at bats as a utility type and carries on doing what he did last year.... And... Umm... Suzuki keeps delivering key hits to extend some innings. Oh Yeah and Vargas... We need him to lead the team in Dingers if he can do that... I'm Ok with the position players. That's about it... Unless you consider the need for Schafer to finally play like the highly ranked prospect he once was. Ummm... And Dozier... We need him to continue to hit Homers to make up for homers that Joe doesn't hit. As you can see... I clearly believe the Twins will go as far as the Pitching takes them.

I believe in the light switch. I think there times when a player finds it. I also don't believe it's a slam dunk that Hicks or Rosario perform well enough to scream bring me up now in 2015. So... I would not be shocked if Schafer remains the starting CF the entire year... I also would not be shocked if Schafer hits .280 with 6 dingers and 50 SB's with everyday playing time. I certainly feel better about Schafer starting in CF opening day than I do about Hicks before Hicks finds his AAA light switch. It's real simple... Schafer has been given a chance to extend his professional career. If he fails... I'm not sure another chance will be forthcoming. That may help him find that light switch. I'm saying .280 6 Dingers and 50 swipes. Go Twins!!!

I still don't understand this. I've read articles and comments saying what a bad defensive player Nunez was with the Yankees. The only problem is... I still haven't seen it. I watched a lot of Twins baseball and at no point did I say to myself... This Nunez guy is bad defensively. I'm capable of saying it... I've said that Plouffe was bad defensively after watching him in 2012 and 2013 (not 2014). I thought Delmon Young was as bad as it gets. But for Nunez... I honestly haven't seen this bad defender. Ok... OF needs a little work but he can find flybAll's... But in the IF... I just haven't seen the evidence. I just wonder if this is more rep then actual performance. As for Santana... I'm glad he's coming home to SS if that's where he is best. A good manager will find at bats for Escobar if he is also playing well. It's all good. My only concern about Santana at SS comes from looking at CF and knowing that he's the only guy on the roster who can play CF and proven for at least a year that he should be in a major league lineup.

If this is Hicks... Take 3... (Smacking sound of that Clip Board Movie Thing-a-ma-job). So be it... I'm pulling for the kid to figure it out and become what we hoped!!! However... If it was me... I'd start Hicks in Rochester and make him tear up AAA first and then call him up. And then make him compete for the MLB CF Job with someone that I brought in to start opening day. I Don't Know... Someone like Mike Trout or Willie Mays... Nothing unreasonable but yet someone with a little game. The way it sits right now... I can only see one scenerio. Hicks or Schaefer starting opening day and if either or both don't work out... Santana returns to CF. But I'm still scratching my head on why the Twins would utility Escobar in order to play someone in CF who didn't perform at the plate like Escobar did in 2014. I understand wanting Santana to play SS but... CF is still a wing and prayer in it's current state. The attention paid to CF remains baffling and the calender has changed again.

I think I can rightfully claim that I have not been an overly critical poster toward the front office. However... I admit I have no idea what the Twins have been doing in CF since Span and Revere were dealt. I think most of us were OK with the trades. I was... but I think most of us would have thought CF to be solved by now. Since the trades: Terry Ryan announced that Mastroianni... Benson and Hicks would compete for the job for 2013. 2 years later... Benson is out of baseball and Mastro is just about out of baseball. Hicks has proven nothing at the MLB level and reported attitude problems swirl around him. We picked out 3 guys... 2 are done with baseball just two years later and the other... Well... Yeah... The other. After winning the job in ST... Hicks is so overmatched in 2013 that Clete Thomas and Alex Presley finish the year in CF. Thomas and Presley are so highly thought of that they are let go. Going into 2014... Despite Hicks clearly being miles from ready in 2013. He is handed the job again... Ok... Fine but surely there is a backup plan in case 2014 is like 2013. The backup plan in CF is... Jason Bartlett who is a Veteren SS. Hicks fails again and Bartlett retires himself after looking completely helpless in the outfield. SS prospect Danny Santana is quickly moved to CF out of desperation and he performed at the plate and made significant improvement in CF as the year goes on. Schaefer was signed off waivers and he looks like a decent pickup. Going into 2015... Molitor announces that Santana will move back to SS moving Escobar to the bench or trade bait and Hicks/Schaefer are announced as the CF plan. This will be year 3 since the trades... Can anyone explain what the Twins are thinking? Waiting for Buxton? Well... Buxton isn't here yet and he's been very injury prone thus far. CF just appears to be Under Assessed... Under Addressed... And under stressed for 3 years running now. Thank God we signed Schaefer is all I got to say... Thank God we got that guy off waivers... That's what I'm saying. I can't believe I'm saying that. But thank god for Schafer.