Riverbrian

Yes it is. You must have Ravioli--Chef-Boy-Ardee

Schlemiel Schlimazel. Now you got that song in my head.

Post of the Night so far.

CASTRO

Describe Troubling... How does it make you feel?

I love Ribeyes... I was trying to talk my wife into Prime Rib but she says Ham is Easter Tradition. I assume it has something to do with the egg laying bunnies or something.

Ham and I'm willing to bet that we will have enough potatoes to feed all of Ireland from 1845 to 1849.

I hope Kepler went the opposite way like that on purpose. Don't want to hear about no accidents.

That's all Gibby will need.

SANO

As good an explanation as any, I suppose. -Blake 3/31/18

Because Dozier is batting first of course.

http://i.perezhilton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/arnold-schwarzenneger-bud-light-ping-pong.gif

I think you clearly see it and your solution makes perfect sense but only until they make adjustments with the next CBA. The way things stand now, it is extremely important to the clubs to dissuade them. If they don't sign the high school draftees... if they go to college. They can't re-enter the draft until after their junior season and when they do, the team has to compete again with the other 29 teams to get him. The club will most likely lose a player they want. If they convince them to sign... they get the player. If they don't... they won't. Someone like Seth Stohs may be able to explain it better but it is my understanding that the current system already pushes players who are going to college past the first 10 rounds and that's why sign-ability has become a huge factor. Scouts are making the determination who will sign for X amount and who will be going to college. If the scout believes that the player will attend the University of Minnesota. The team won't draft him until after the 10th round. At that point the clubs feel they can take flyers on players in case they have a last minute change of heart. If somebody is drafted in the first 10 round and doesn't sign. The scout screwed up and will probably get yelled at for the wrong assessment. Sign-Ability plays a factor inside of each round. Royce Lewis wasn't the consensus #1 pick but he let it be known that he would sign for less than what was slotted for the 1st pick and that probably jumped him into the #1 slot because the Twins could take the savings and offer their 2nd or 3rd round pick more money than slotted which improves the quality of multiple picks in theory. If Brandon McKay for example would have said that he would have taken a lower than slot bonus... McKay may have been the guy the Twins took. It doesn't matter to Bryce Harper types as it stands right now because the owners have capped themselves. They can tell Bryce, "Sorry the most we can pay you is X and it's same amount in 3 years after you attend college". So Bryce will sign if he wants to start his career... but if there wasn't a cap... Bryce Harper can use college as leverage. Demanding 50 million to sign or he goes to school and re-enter the draft... at which point the Nationals won't get him unless they have the 1st pick overall again. The owners (and players) are able to use the cap to keep the bonuses from getting out of control on those special players because neither the players or owners want Bryce Harper from getting 50 million before he puts on a major league uniform. If the bonus wasn't slotted. Nobody could rule out the possibility that the Nationals wouldn't pay the 50 million to not lose someone special like that. Dropping Bryce Harper from 7 million to 5 million in bonus money to fix it is an easy solution in the next CBA but there is no incentive to do so apart from simple human kindness and that human kindness isn't necessary because players are willingly signing on the dotted line as things stand. There is simply no incentive. It's going to take the players banding together and refusing to play for below poverty levels OR a change in Federal Law and right now the politicians are busy collecting campaign donations from the MLB Commissior's office PAC so that ain't gonna happen. In order to pay the minor league players a better sum. The money is going to come from the owners and they don't want to or it's going to come from the players union and they don't want to. In my opinion... If a court somewhere forces it. The owners will probably eliminate a minor league club to make up the difference and the Twins won't have a team in Cedar Rapids anymore. As for the Fans... They don't care either... I think the Fans like the idea of Royce Lewis staying in the Twins organization for as long we want him to. Fans would probably prefer if Free Agency was done away with so Brian Dozier could never leave until we cut him. A lot of people will sit around and feel sorry for the minor league players if they were aware of it but nobody has incentive to actually change it other than the minor league players and they just ain't strong enough as long as they are remain individual players and not a strength in numbers group.

I last wrote a game thread opener on October 3rd, 2017. After the conclusion of that disappointing loss to the Yankees, I turned off my brain for the off-season. All this week, I’ve known that I will have to crank it up again but I’m having a little trouble getting it started up after the long layoff. I know that I’ll need to pump a little fuel into the carburetor so I’ve been pushing the primer button (my nose obviously), but now I’m concerned that I’ve flooded it because I have a cold. Slight change to the format this year. I have run out of Cities and Towns to say strange things about so that will be replaced by a new crutch called the Top Non-Trump News Story (Or Stories) from yesterday. I’ll continue with thoughts on the Twins and their opponents. The Joe M conversation will remain… I didn’t get enough complaints to stop doing it. And, as usual, a random thought #5. Anyway… I hope you are all primed for the start of a brand new season. It’s still March so we are starting a little early. Don’t push the big red primer button unless you are ready. Expectations are high… as of right now… it is still mathematically possible that the Twins go 162-0. I last wrote a game thread opener on October 3rd, 2017. After the conclusion of that disappointing loss to the Yankees, I turned off my brain for the off-season. All this week, I’ve known that I will have to crank it up again but I’m having a little trouble getting it started up after the long layoff. I know that I’ll need to pump a little fuel into the carburetor so I’ve been pushing the primer button (my nose obviously), but now I’m concerned that I’ve flooded it because I have a cold. Slight change to the format this year. I have run out of Cities and Towns to say strange things about so that will be replaced by a new crutch called the Top Non-Trump News Story (Or Stories) from yesterday. I’ll continue with thoughts on the Twins and their opponents. The Joe M conversation will remain… I didn’t get enough complaints to stop doing it. And, as usual, a random thought #5. Anyway… I hope you are all primed for the start of a brand new season. It’s still March so we are starting a little early. Don’t push the big red primer button unless you are ready. Expectations are high… as of right now… it is still mathematically possible that the Twins go 162-0. 1. Top Non-Trump News Story (Or Stories) from Yesterday: Rosanne returned to broadcast television on ABC Tuesday Night with back to back episodes and the show was welcomed by 18 million viewers. NBC quickly noticed the ratings and has decided to cash in on the nostalgia wave by ordering 10 Episodes of H.R. Pufnstuf. It was reported that Russian Double Agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter may have been victims of door poisoning. Russia has come a long way since Rasputin; they have been practicing the poisoning of Doors technique since 1969. It wasn’t fatal back then but it did produce a severe lack in judgement which resulted in “The Soft Parade”. 2. Our Twins: The Twins are not overwhelmingly strong in any department but they are not overwhelmingly weak in any department, and for the first time… since… ever… the Twins have enough starting pitching depth where they don’t have to tolerate sub-par performances from anybody. They have a stable of arms in Rochester that can take over for injuries or struggles, this also applies to the bullpen. At the plate, I’ve seen lineup projections from experts with Buxton in the 8 spot in the order and this suggests a level of batting depth that we haven’t seen in sometime. Now those are what I call deep thoughts. 3. The Orioles: It’s kind of funny… not many people were giving the Orioles a shot during the off season. I was listening and the experts were talking about not knowing who the 3, 4 and 5 starters would be, the injury to closer Zach Britton, and the inevitable loss of important free agents after the conclusion of 2018. The experts were strongly suggesting an immediate rebuild was necessary. Then the Orioles sign Alex Cobb and now those same experts are saying the Orioles could earn a wild card spot. I’ve heard my wife talk to her sister on the phone about me and I seem to have that same type of range. 4. Today’s Joe M Conversation: Morgan: I think Opening Day should be a National Holiday. McCarthy: Yeah… nobody should have to work on such an important day. Mauer: I agree… then I wouldn’t have to play today. I’d get the day off. Maddon: Yeah… and I wouldn’t have to manage today. Montana: Guys… think about it… if you both take today off… what would be reason for the rest of us taking the day off? (Long Thoughtful Pause) Maddon: He’s right… we are going to have to work during a national holiday. Mauer: This really sucks. Why do we even have a players' union? Car Alarms: A car alarm was going off in the parking lot at work yesterday. I looked around the office and nobody got up to turn it off, nobody claimed responsibility and the alarm kept going off. It must have been 15 minutes before I decided the only thing to do was to go outside and help what turned out to be the world’s slowest car thief actually steal the car so he could drive off and take the sound with him. ____________________ Lineups: TWINS Brian Dozier (R ) 2B Joe Mauer (L) DH Miguel Sano (R ) 3B Eddie Rosario (L) LF Logan Morrison (L) 1B Eduardo Escobar (S) SS Max Kepler (L) RF Byron Buxton (R ) CF Jason Castro (L) C Jake Odorizzi (R ) P ORIOLES Chris Davis(L) 1B Manny Machado(R ) SS Jonathan Schoop(R ) 2B Adam Jones(R ) CF Trey Mancini(R ) LF Tim Beckham(R ) 3B Pedro Alvarez(L) DH Craig Gentry(R ) RF Caleb Joseph(R ) C Dylan Bundy (R ) P Weather: 65 deg F, mostly cloudy with a 15% chance of rain, winds at 7mph from the SE Win Twins! Play ball! View full article

I find it interesting that minor league players do not have a union. The Major League Baseball Players Association represents Major League Players. Nobody has a dog in the fight. The situation isn't causing a shortage of supply so nobody is going to put their dog in the fight. In regards to the draft... I'd imagine Tony Clark is going to be primarily concerned with anything that provides incentive for tanking or anything that creates an imbalance and that's about it. The players union will want to avoid higher bonuses for draft picks because it might adjust major league pay downward. The owners are going to want to offer bonuses high enough to get the John Hancock so they may not be inclined to reallocate the bonus money. They just want the bonus slots so they can look Bryce Harper in the eye and say... "Sorry you are capped... we can't pay you 50 million" and we can't pay you 50 million in a couple of years either. The only people who will benefit from lower slot money to pay the farm hands a decent wage are the farm hands themselves and they don't have representation. Your solution makes sense... but sadly... it's going to take charity from a couple of Lions that are still hungry.

It's the expenses that kill me. The players are spending more than they make in equipment costs. I'm not sure if they still do but a few years back I read that teams were charging players for locker space. They were paying rent for their locker in the clubhouse.

The draft bonuses/slot values were agreed upon in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Owners and Major League Player representatives saying in unison... We are OK with all of this. The owners are guilty and the players are guilty... the players are seemingly OK with the farm hands paying their dues because they had to and the owners are perfectly happy to control them for a decade while the young players are seemingly happy to give up all leverage for the chance to pursue their dream as long as they have a Mom and Dad, Wife or Girlfriend with a full time job at Target that makes enough money to support the player with that long shot dream. The Baseball draft is different than the NFL Draft or NBA Draft. In Baseball... Sign-ability is a major consideration, sign-ability is a relevant buzzword, therefore the bonus might as well be called a sign on bonus and that's why they are paid all that money upfront. The clubs need to throw a big chunk of cash at the top players to entice them to not attend college because attending college is that last bit of leverage that they will see in quite some time. I personally think it's funny that the owners need to insist upon slot values and bonus pools in order to keep themselves in check. Just like I think it's funny that the owners need to negotiate the competitive balance tax into the free agent system to keep themselves in line. Without the bonus pool system... Bryce Harper could insist the Nationals pay him a 50 million bonus or else he is going to attend UNLV and re-enter the draft after his junior season. I think it's funny that the players are ok with this because they don't want some young Bryce Harper getting a 50 million dollar contract before he has even destroyed a single major league pitch while Brian Harper has to hope that some team will offer him a 2 year deal for 10 million after 6 years of waiting for that free agency freedom. If the teams have to spend 50 million on a young Royce Lewis they will have less money to spend on an experienced Colby Lewis. Both the owners and players are clearly complicit in what is... (in my opinion)... questionable labor practices. The slotted bonuses are (shockingly) just enough to entice a player to forego college and yet capped so he can't fully enjoy the total fruits of his leverage. Once the player agrees to this sign on bonus. Leverage is gone and nobody cares anymore. The kid is locked up and under firm control. At least until he can take enough steroids (I'm joking) to rise above the fierce competition and get himself on a 40 man roster as a mid-season call up after super-two status is gone. All of this is actually kind of understandable because the system is perfectly designed... to get them exactly where they are. The bigger questions are: Why would Minor League Players be exempt from federal minimum wage and overtime laws in the first place? Why did Brett Guthrie a Republican from Kentucky and Cheri Bustos a Democrat from Illinois introduce the Save America's Pastime Act in 2016? Why was the impression that some minor league baseball teams would fold if required to pay minimum wage and overtime when the minor league salaries are paid by the major league owners and nowhere near folding. Why do representatives from the Kentucky 2nd and Illinois 17th feel the need to band together across party lines to protect the minimum wage and overtime exemptions of baseball while a lawsuit was pending in a California Federal Court challenging those very exemptions. And perhaps more importantly... after the Save America's Pastime Act quickly failed in 2016. After representative Bustos who was a co-author of the legislation did a quick 180 because she was immediately maligned by her local newspaper (Quad Cities Times). After H.R. 5580 died a quick death because it was so obviously wrong... How do the same provisions secretly and without discussion make it on page 1,967 of the recent 2,232 page emergency 1.3 trillion dollar omni-bus spending bill in 2018 after not existing in any of the previous drafts? Here's another question... Why does Major League Baseball spend approximately 1.32 Million yearly in lobbying efforts when they used to spend nothing prior to Rob Manfred landing in the big chair? Why is there an actual thing called the Major League Baseball Commissioner's Office Political Action Committee making campaign contributions to a wide variety of congressman and senators(not capitalized on purpose)? Apparently keeping minor league baseball players under poverty levels played an important role in keeping the government from shutting down because there it was attached to the spending bill. Keep digging and it gets dirtier and dirtier.

As long as Tom knows where the semi-colon goes... I'm good with this. BTW... I have; no idea where; they go. I'm a big Tom fan. Great writer, classy respondent. Just plain solid all the way around.

Kennys was awesome hitting 8th in the order when the Twins have a lead over 4 runs with one out in the inning and a 3-0 count, against a finesse pitcher at night. When those conditions come together... The Dude was Money!!!

And Votto could get hurt. Vargas was released by the Twins. If he was going to be picked up... it was probably going to be a back up role.

They need pinch hitters in the National League. They get a cheap one with serious home run potential.

I can’t argue this but I still hand them nothing!

First of all... I think the Twins can Win the Central. I hand the Indians nothing. They are not as strong offensively as they were last year and the bullpen is noticeably weaker.I'm not sure about the starting pitching depth and if a couple of injuries or dead arms happen in the rotation they could be quite normal. However... in case the Twins are fighting for a Wild Card Spot. The only teams in the AL that I'm dismissing as competition are the Tigers, Royals and Rays. I think the West is going to be hard from top to bottom and the Astros are perfectly built... I see them winning the division but the other 4 will be beating each other up and that will lessen the chances of the Mariners, Angels, Rangers and A's. (The A's may surprise a few this year). That leaves the Twins (or Indians) competing with the (Yankees or Red Sox), Jays, Orioles and possibly the White Sox if the young talent gels quick for two Wild Card Spots. One will come out of the East and One will come out of the Central. My Crystal Ball has some dust over it... so I'm not sure if it works anymore. BTW... In the National league.. the only teams that I am dismissing are the Marlins and Reds and barely the Reds because I think they got some interesting offensive players. I think every other team is capable of putting something together to impress or surprise us. The Nats are the only team that I'm reasonably certain will be playoff bound. The Rest are going to have to fight it out.