Riverbrian

OK Well Umm

When you watch the Twins. Do you watch the other teams at all? When 25 year old Addison Barger comes to the plate and hits one to the picnic tables in right field. Do you ever wonder who Addison Barger is or do you just dismiss him out of hand? 34 year old Tyler Heinemen? 31 year old Nathan Lukes? 29 year old Ernie Clement? 26 year old Davis Schneider? 25 year old Alan Roden? 23 year old Clase. Where did they come from? Do you ever wonder how the Blue Jays are 11-3 in their past 14 games vs the Rangers, A's, Phillies and Twins with Barger, Heineman, Lukes, Clement, Schneider, Roden and Clase taking up 7 of the 13 roster spaces? When the Rangers come to town tomorrow night. Will you be watching Josh Smith, Wyatt Langford. Josh Jung, Evan Carter, Jake Burger, Ezequil Duran or Alejandro Osuna and wondering where they came from? The Twins are 35-30, The Jays are 35-30 and the Rangers are 31-35. I was just wondering if you were wondering?

And we've come full circle. Nothing more is correct. 3 AB's over the past 11 games. 3 AB's! That's pretty much "nothing more". Tuesday in Sacramento. Rocco let him pinch hit for Buxton in the 9th inning with the score 10-3. Two days later... He entered the game in Buxton's lineup slot in the 5th inning with the Twins down 11-1. Some people read that and think that I'm being a Bride advocate. I'm saying ROCCO!!! If you don't like him. Get him off the roster! If you like him... Let him compete. Our infield consists of two players who were DFA'd and those two players are out performing the other 3 options with a .665 OPS, .655 OPS and a .540 OPS. Bride can't crack that crack lineup or we hurt our chances. If that's the case... Get him off the roster!!!

Agreed... That's why I don't want to get caught up in the discussion of individual players because the point won't get through when it sounds like I'm this Pro Bride Guy or anti Bader guy. It's not my Hill. The hill belongs to the Twins when they put him on the 26 man roster. I'm saying that they could die on this hill.

I am aware of all of this and your post is valid. I realize that my posts on the matter tend to imply a utopian one formula easy button for success and life just isn't that easy. At the very least, I hope you recognize my attempts to not be hypocritical. I hope you recognize that I do go out of my way to point out that I didn't like the signing of Bride and Clemons and am now fighting for Bride. In response... here's a couple of considerations that hopefully sheds some clarification light on my thoughts. 1. I don't want Lewis or Lee benched or sent down to AAA. It's a dial not a light switch. My point will never be understood if the impression is either or. There is a difference between playing 7 out of 7 days and 6 out of 7 days or even 5 out of 7 days. I don't believe that 6 out of 7 screws up rhythm and I don't believe that 5 out of 7 days screws up rhythm and if we are worried about rhythm, timing and all of those factors. What does 0 out of 7 do. At some point in time, someone is going to pull a hammy and Rocco is going to turn to Bride and he is going to be wondering where he left his bat because he hasn't touched it in a week. 2. Perhaps the most central point of everything that I'm trying to say. If you are going to play 7 out of 7 days. You have to be better than average. Ty France (not picking on him but for example) has been fine... Average to below average but he's been fine and he has won some baseball games for us. He's fine but not good enough to play 7 out of 7 and glue someone else to the bench. You have to produce at a level that is clearly above others. You have to be truly irreplaceable. This is a pretty exclusive club. This roster has a lot of guys that don't belong in this club but are enjoying the perks of membership. They can play 6 out of 7 or 5 out of 7. With Castro on the roster... you have created playing time for competition for others. I realize that many don't see the importance of this... I'm used to it. I suspect it's because that's because they think light switch. They assume that I'm suggesting put Bride in there every day and sit Lewis everyday. I'm not saying that. Here is why it's important. Kody Clemons is why. I didn't like the signing for reasons I've stated multiple times but he was signed. He didn't really get in until someone got hurt and then Boom... he out performed nearly everybody if not everybody. Did he just get hot at exact moment through incredible timing or was he ready to explode for the two weeks he waited. I don't know... Rocco doesn't know either. There is only one way to find out. 3. Here is an impossible scenario that will never happen but for dial not light switch purposes let's present it. Let's take the catchers out because they are different animals. Let's say that by some miracle we have 11 players who are exact replicas. They have the same skills, offensive skills and defensive, same scout projections, same past metrics, same everything. Taking the catcher out... you have 8 positions and 11 players of exactly equal talent. Over 7 games equal playing time for those 11 equal players is roughly 5 games out of 7 for all. I assume there would be no reason to choose 8 of these equal players and just sit 3 of them. 5 games out of 7 is not going to ruin any of them. 4. Even though I presented the scenario in point #3. I am not saying that is how playing time should be distributed. Because things are not equal, I only present it to show that playing time can be painlessly yielded to create competition. It's an alternative thought to simply, choosing someone who isn't performing and staying with it. It's an attempt to letting the players decide through performance. Now of course... the players are not equal and we all know that and the front office has to take a guess at it with solid information but it should be clear to everyone that the front office, managers and coaches often get it wrong. We bet the 2B farm on Julien this year. It didn't work out. They were wrong. Rooker is in Oakland... They were wrong. The job is hard. 5. In the end... It's simply... If a player is not allowed to compete because the manager feels it hurts the teams chances. Release him and find someone that the manager will allow to compete because that competition is the only thing that will raise the bar above the settling for average. France has been fine and playing everyday. He's far from our biggest problem but playing everyday is not fine... he's not doing that well. France isn't the problem, playing France everyday is the problem and needing another France next year is going to be the same problem next year. BTW... One last thing. Even after typing all of that. I do recognize that Rocco is almost doing what I'm saying above with everyone healthy. He is rotating bench time and spreading it out to work 10 players into 8 spots. He's just leaving Bride out of the party. I apologize for not sending donuts and coffee for reading all of that.

I always appreciate your posts. You consistently demonstrate curiosity and you look into the corners. On Bride I absolutely agree with your first sentence and absolutely disagree with it. Bride clearly has no role because he hasn't graced the lineup card in 8 days. However, I will contend until I am blue in the face that our team does not have everyday type talent... even when healthy. I hate having to make these points because I really don't want to minimize players. With apologies to the players who have combined together to put us in a Wild Card position... here goes. Let's look at the healthy starters on the infield. France was DFA'd, Clemens was DFA'd. Lewis is supposed to be a superstar but it can't be ignored that his offensive stats are some of the worst in baseball. Lee is the future and I scream about the future a lot but let's be honest... .625 OPS. If Bride can't compete with France for playing time or Lewis for playing time. Why is he on the roster? Nobody has to serve extended time on the bench to allow for competition. With Castro on the roster... even the OF can yield a day here and there to foster competition. Bride can't compete with that infield lineup and performance? Bride lessens our chances so he must not be allowed to compete or it will be more likely that we lose? If the manager feels that way... take Bride off the roster immediately. These are not high walls to catapult over. Is the Farm system that questionable that we don't have anyone who can out perform the guy who can't out perform the average to below average guy. I was against Bride and Clemens being signed in the first place. Not because I was against Bride or Clemens as individuals but mainly because apparently the farm has hit a lull and isn't producing DFA level talent. Regardless... Bride is here now and we do not have a team full of players who can't yield time or death falls upon us. Treating average or even below average play like it can't be replaced is a blinking neon sign that says "Problem".

While we wait to see how long Correa needs to rest his back... it should be noted that we had a 4 game stretch of healthy. For short term utilization purposes... I think we can actually call it a 5 game stretch since we knew that Correa was in the lineup yesterday, pulled due to his back and replaced by Brooks Lee. So... I'm going to call it a 5 game stretch since the original lineup had what was thought to be a healthy Correa. Healthy stretches are important stretches of utilization information because the manager has all of his resources available to him. Utilization with all hands available are moments that the manager can speak from the heart of his current intentions. His actions are not burdened by the hole plugging necessary when his preferred options are taken away due to injury. Before we get to the utilization during this mini stretch of health. Just for fun... Let's look back at the adjustments that have been made from the opening day roster. 4 adjustments to be exact. Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Kody Clemens and Jonah Bride on the current roster but not on the opening day roster, Julien, Miranda, Gasper and Keirsay on the opening day roster and now in AAA. Lewis would have certainly had a 26 man spot if healthy on opening day and possibly Brooks Lee. Clemens and Bride were obviously not options for opening day. Based on utilization in early April, I'm going to assume that Gasper or Keirsay or both were the 26 man beneficiaries of Lewis (Lee) not being healthy. Looking back at opening day is basically benign insignificant information from the past. All teams should adjust as the season goes along. However, as I mention the insignificance... here's the significance that shouldn't be ignored: The Twins front office looked at Julien and Miranda in the off-season, they said, these are our guys. Saying these are our guys is significant for two reasons. 1. If Julien and Miranda don't get it together, it will be a rather severe development blow. These two eggs have spent a lot of time in the development basket and it's not like a lot of eggs are being allowed into this basket. Our future chicken population depends on this singular basket. 2. All front offices... all 30 teams make these type of mistakes. It's a hard job. The ups and downs of players is a hard thing to predict. If they get it wrong and they do. How can they confidently sit anyone? Yes, this is a McCusker comment. This is also a Clemens only getting 15 AB's in his 14 games in a Twins uniform comment. It's a Logan Morrison comment. They know more than I do but they don't know. OK... Utilization in the 5 healthy days. 3 right handers followed by 2 left handers on the mound. With his roster options in place. It appears the platoon has come back. Wallner and Clemens sat two games in a row with back to back lefties (Springs was the bulk guy). Wallner, was getting left handed opportunity before his injury so it could be an easing the hamstring thing or it could be an all options available thing but Wallner and Clemens on the bench for back to back games vs. the left hander. However, Larnach continues to get work against left handers and this continues to make me happy although it is at least two years late. On the other hand... literally... on the other hand. Against the right handers. It looks like Rocco has 12 guys that he is willing to turn to rotate in and I like this approach as well. France, Lewis, Buxton, Lee, Lewis and Bader sat in the 3 games of health vs. right handers. Jonah Bride is clearly the 13th man in our brief period of health. No starts for the bride... He's been a bridesmaid since Wallner came back and healthed us up.

Beautiful work as usual. Can you hang a zero and how many can you hang? One bad appearance where you give up 4 runs in one third of inning. Is one bad appearance that is going to stain him for months. I have no complaints with the Twins bullpen as a whole. The pitching staff has been top of the line this year.

According to Roster Resource. Ronny is listed as the current closer for the Miami Marlins. Yeah it's the Marlins but still... he is currently closing for them. 28 innings pitched and 40 K's thus far in 2025. Decent WHIP and ERA. I'm not going to blame the front office for Miami finding a performer on the waiver wire... well not a full on blame anyway. I would simply like to take this opportunity to point out that these decisions are hard and all front offices often get it wrong and Ronny seems to be a case where the Twins chose wrong. There were some roster complications to contend with in February especially in the bullpen. Ronny was out of options. They were trying to see if the Rule 5 Dude from Philly was worth keeping and that was going to take a 40 man spot until they decided to send him back to the Phillies. And there was 35 year old Michael Tonkin who was tendered a contract back in November so he gets a 40 man spot. I know this is a thread about Alcala but unless I'm reading this wrong which is possible. The front office decided to not only keep Alcala (Also out of options)... Which I would have been fine with at the time because of the stuff that Alcala possesses. In addition the Twins kept a 35 year old Tonkin over Ronny and decided to experiment with a Rule 5 and send Ronny packing to the waiver wire. These types of mistakes that all front offices make are why I consistently ask for opportunity. When the decisions are tough... Always choose the guy who is under team control for multiple years over a guy like Tonkin who will spend one year with the club and be gone. If you choose to take the 35 year old... you better be right.

He has hung Zeroes in 12 out of 18 appearances. That's not great but also not bad. The problem is the crookedness of the number when he doesn't hang a zero. He was charged with more than one run 5 of the 6 times that he didn't hang a zero. A 4 spot, A 3 spot twice, a 2 spot a couple of times. 1.67 WHIP is too much foot traffic. 1.67 WHIP is playing with fire. 13 of 92 batters faced reached a full count, I think that's a high full count ratio but I could be wrong. 7 of those 13 resulted in walks. Command appears to be the culprit. He puts his back against the wall too often.

The Twins pitching has been incredibly good. When the offense has been average... we go on winning streaks. When the offense is below average. Margins don't increase... cushion isn't created and an infield ground ball in the 9th can be the difference. As fans of the Twins. I think we will have to get use to the 9th inning mattering.

1. Scouts being able to identify potential talent is probably less than half the battle. Once drafted what happens next... it's the organization that must get them up the levels and prepared. I'm guessing that development is the more important than the identification of. Not diminishing the identification but I think the real magic happens after. Clubs can't survive on 1st rounders alone. Just take the Tigers. 6 Pre-Arb position players in the typical starting lineup. Only two were first round picks Greene and Torkelson. The rest: Dingler 2nd round Keith 5th round Carpenter 19th Round Sweeney 20th Round (Trade Acquisition) Pre-Arb backing those guys up: Henry-Malloy 6th Round (Trade Acquistion) Perez IFA and Parker Meadows currently on the IL who was a 2nd Round Pick 8 of 13 spots Pre-Arb. Actually 9 if you include Meadows. 2. I absolutely love what is happening on the pitching side. It's part of the reason I don't stand here on call for people's heads. They are doing something good here. It's not fair to only focus on negative without recognizing the positive. 3. Money has been something to overcome since forever and without an agreed upon change during collective bargaining. Money will continue to be something to overcome. There's only one way to over come this inherent money disparity.

Sorry for the delayed response. I only did some light reading of Twinsdaily over the long weekend and now I'm reviving a thread it turns out. Your third paragraph is what I'm wrestling with. The second sentence of your third paragraph is the key question. I don't know how we got here but whatever the reason... we are in this room and we got to get out of this room. Everybody has different paths to get where they are... Here is how I got where I am. Wrong or Right, I come by my opinions honestly and it's about all I can see right now. 1. This is the point of all points and the driving force behind all the other points. I believe Baseball is an unfair game. Everything revolves around this unfairness. I believe that the team has a budget, I don't believe that a new owner is going to solve this unfairness, I believe that the Twins have spent in a range and will continue to spend in a range. It's the same range that a lot of similar teams in similar circumstances move up and down in. This range is clearly a step below a grouping of teams that can and will spend more and that disparity seems to be growing as the Dodgers and Mets create a new level beyond the Yankees. I don't think a new owner is going to change this and I'm just not going to beat my head against this wall. The CBA has been collectively bargained and agreed upon into law. This disparity has been baked in and this disparity will never stop. The Twins have operated at this financial level for decades. I don't believe it will change so what is the solution. The sensible solution: Development has to keep up, development can't pause or lull. Point #1 is a shadow cast onto nearly every decision they have to make. If it doesn't... we are in trouble because that means we are trying to be the big boys without big boy income. 2. When the Twins signed Correa it was perhaps the most shocking thing the Twins have ever done in the history of the franchise. It still took two big budget teams to pull higher offers off the table due to medical concerns to make it happen. Regardless, it was still perhaps in the history of the franchise the most out of character shocking thing the franchise has ever done. I don't expect to be shocked like that again. I never go into an off-season looking at the top names of the free agent pile because it's why set yourself up for something that isn't going to happen. I'm not going to bang my head against this wall... I've come to terms with the fact that we will not sign a high end player developed by other organizations. The sensible solution to this: We have to develop not only our own high end player if we want one on our team but we also need to develop those guys who are league average or slightly below average as well. 3. If we EVER want to consider playing at the upper Correa levels of free agency in the future (while Correa, Buxton are still on the team) they have to control the secondary spending. Secondary spending that has produced average at best when successful or crappy with job protection. Somewhere in Bartlett's there is the old saying... a million here and a million there... pretty soon you are talking about real money. That money adds up and takes any possibility of even attempting a larger value player. The Twins can't free up money to play in upper level free agent arena by moving big contracts because that isn't progress. That's one for one. It's only progress if the big level free agent falls flat on his face such as the shedding of Josh Donaldson. Basically, we have so few big contracts anyway, trading Correa so you can sign a Correa type just isn't progress. The sensible solution to this: Control your secondary spending by increasing the number of players making the minimum on the roster. If the Twins want to compete in the upper end of the free agent market. They have to control the million here, a million there spending in order to have the money available to play at that level. Instead of 30 million spent on Vazquez, the system needs to produce a pre-arb player who only has to match his production at worse. Did our system to fail to produce this player or players or does is our front office pre-screening pre determining that they do not trust what it is producing. I tend to go back and think about point #1 right about this time to see it all tie together. 4. After players reach arbitration, they no longer cost the minimum. Once they reach arbitration they eat away at the available budget. Once again, a million here and a million there... pretty soon you are talking about real money. What do we have to show for our arb eligible guys and players approaching arbitration? The overwhelming development success is on the pitching side and the pitching side is doing great. The offense? I got concerns... big ones. Trevor Larnach is in year one of arbitration making 2.1 million. He costs 3 times the minimum now. I believe in this guy but next year he will go up in cost again and probably be 6 or 7 or 8 times the minimum. What has offensive development brought us on the offensive side. Larnach now dips into the available budget and he is just now being allowed to face left handed pitching. Royce Lewis... now making two times the minimum. I got high hopes for him but I'm getting pretty nervous. Started out like a house on fire superstar, Julien started out like a house on fire as well. Lewis has been given every chance to be the superstar we think he should but right now on May 29th, 2025 Royce Lewis is mired in a I don't belong in the major leagues slump that has existed since July of 2024. A slump that has been tied together with abnormal injury absences. 65 AB's thus far in 2025. He's hitting .138/.200/.215. I get that he needs a chance to tune up since he missed a chunk of spring training but he's at 65 AB's now and for perspective Matt Wallner had the most AB's in spring training tune up's with 57 AB's. .207/.250/.350 post all star break last year. Jeffers will be in his last year of Arbitration and probably double his salary from 4.5 to 9 or 10. Miranda will hit arbitration next year... Still hasn't put it together. If he gets another shot... it will be at a higher price point. Right now it looks like Wallner, Lee and Keaschall will be given opportunity to be pre-arb hitters for us next year. That's a low number and nobody else is demonstrating or being allowed to demonstrate that they could be a 4th. The remaining 10 spots will have to be replaced by the Bader replacement and the France replacement and those 10 players will make more than the minimum as they each eat out of the available budget. 5. Not all teams are filling holes with the low price vet. There are teams that are doing as better or as well with double the amount of pre-arb players. The financial difference between 16 pre-arb players and 8 pre-arb players is a lot of available money that could be spent on higher end free agents. How much of financial difference? In the case of the Tigers... It's about 50 million in 2025. About the price of Flaherty, Torres, Cobb and Kahnle. Hard to get excited about Ty France when you realize that it was the only job he could get and we are kicking the 1B can down the road year after year with no one rising from the farm. The Tigers went from bad farm system to best team in baseball farm produced in a short window during the back half of the Falvey tenure. Cleveland, Milwaukee, same thing. Count the pre-abr players and the Wins and you can't help but ask... what are we doing. Strip mining our left handed hitters for parts. Signing DFA guys because the farm ain't ready or it's unlucky. 6. I really like what they've done with the pitching development. We haven't needed to sign a Dylan Bundy for awhile and it's one of the top pitching staffs in baseball. Offensively... Nope... we got problem and I'm just shooting the flare gun into the sky. Been shooting it for a couple of years now. We are going to need more than Keaschall or we are going back into the Margot/France raffle drum again. I should have sent you money for doughnuts and a coffee while reading all of that.

In 23 years... When I retire at age 83... I've got my eye on an RV. The dream life.

Not knowing your planned travel methods. The best advice I can give you is this: Have a schedule and keep it. If your day is supposed to start at 8AM... Start your day by 8AM. Warning: Others will not understand the importance of keeping the schedule.

The Average number of plate appearances per game is 37.4. Loosely 10 or 11 batters above the minimum. Depending if you like to round up or down. If you play an average game. The 9th inning will be 8-9-1 or 9-1-2 in the order. That's 4 times around the order with the 1 and 2 slots getting a little extra love with 5th trips to the plate potentially in the last inning.

I continue to count on Trevor Larnach and have enjoyed watching his bat heat up. I don't know anything about swing adjustments. I'd imagine that he's working hard at it and if is paying off... good for him and me as a fan. I toast to his continued health. Larnach stepping up to a level that I think he's capable of stepping up to would be a huge boost to this franchise.

The Twins should take notice. Yes of course they should. Truthfully... everybody should take notice. It can't be understated or undersold what has so quickly taken place in the Motor City. This team sold off every vet at the deadline because they were out of contention and with a team almost entirely made up of wet behind the ears players went on a winning streak as they reached the playoffs and won the first round. The Tigers current offensive group consists of 9 players with less than 3 years experience. 6 of them are primary every day players who produce quite loudly. The other 4... Are Javier Baez whose contract is basically unmoveable, backup catcher Jake Rogers, 15 million dollar free agent addition Glayber Torres and Zach McKinstry in his first year of arbitation. They have two more decent players current on the IL in Meadows and Perez. The current pitching staff has 9 players with less than 3 years experience. With 4 other young candidates on the IL. Because the Tigers through development produced a winning base of players both (pitching and hitting) making the minimum. They were able to add 71 million dollars in Payroll in the off-season. The Twins added about 8 million while subtracting a lot more. The Tigers 2025 payroll commitments are neck and neck with the Twins 2025 payroll commitments. 18 Pre-arb players means they will be back next year. In comparison the Twins have 6 position players under 3 years experience and 4 pitchers and we had to sign Clemens and Bride to get to 10. And it wasn't like the Tigers farm system was highly ranked in 2022 and 2023. Yet... Here we are... The best record in baseball since selling at the trade deadline last year. Everyone needs to take notice.

We are not far off Two points may separate us. Before I get into the two points. Just a quick clarification. I don't think that the Twins will become a team "Full of Ty France players". I implied that for to over state the point. But what will happen is our pre-arb players will graduate to arb and we won't have sufficient pre-arb cover. When players reach arbitration they will eat away at the budget because they cost more and when you have too many players that cost more than the minimum, that's when it all tips over. The Twins have been over reliant on the low price vet for too long. That's what I meant by it. I'm shooting the flare gun into the sky. France by himself isn't the problem... the need for France is the problem. 1. I don't necessarily agree that every MLB team has a handful of spots that are stop gap. The debate will naturally go to the definition of stop gap. However, trying to avoid definition. Cleveland doesn't really do that unless Santana at 12 million for one year is considered stop gap. I guess it would be fair to call him stop gap since I considered him stop gap with the Twins last year but there is quite the difference between Santana and France. Mainly Cleveland has filled out their roster and they compete quite well with pre-arb players that will be back next year. Look what Detroit did last year at the deadline. They won game after game and knocked us out of the playoffs with nothing but pre-arb players after they sold their expiring contracts at the deadline. They are humming along in 2025 with mainly pre-arb players that have been augmented with larger contract players. Glayber Torres maybe stop gap but at 15 million there is difference between Torres and France. I can keep going because there are plenty of teams avoiding the France level stop gap with young players. Some successfully and some not successfully. Bottom Line: I'm pretty convinced that it can be done and should be done because I see it done with others. Yes there are teams that have to reach into the low level free agent one year stop gap but when they do... they failed to develop an alternative making it necessary. The thing that I don't know with our Twins is this: Have we failed to develop an alternative because our developing players are not good enough or have we failed to develop an alternative because the front office is bottlenecking the process by being unwilling to risk it. Sitting McCusker because France is EVERY DAY necessary is bottlenecking the process at the MLB level regardless of how any of us (including the front office) feels about the odds of McCusker amounting to anything. 2. Injuries need to be factored in. You can't factor in who specifically but every front office needs to factor in sometime, somewhere and in multiples. Especially the Twins who year after year get pummeled by the injury gods. Everybody on the 26 man roster is going to rise up due to necessity so we really can't be in the position of rostering a guy and hoping that we don't need him. France looking fine 7th or 8th only works if everybody stays healthy and that is not going to happen and his currently batting 4th is example number 214 in the past decade. France needs someone in the organization to challenge him. France shouldn't walk past the lineup card without checking to see if his name is on it. Where is that guy to challenge France? He's been fine but just fine while the Twins are overdue producing their own Alonso as we watch plug and play repeated year after year.

I'm not worried about that per se. I'm saying that this is what happens. Injuries are going to happen. If you sign France to hit 8th in the order... that will only last as long as the health of others lasts. If you sign a guy to be a bench guy... that only lasts as long as the health of others last. Once the injuries start happening and they are going to happen. The guy you signed to hit 8th will rise up in the order. The main point about France hitting 4th in the lineup is too illustrate that there is plenty of room for McCusker to get AB's. Not just against lefties. The other side point about France hitting 4th... is the dependence that Rocco has placed in France (Can't be taken out of the lineup). The main point I'm making isn't really about France at all... there is another thread where I'm making my France points. The main point is really about Rocco yanking a player in the third inning with plenty of game to play which pissed me off and the irony of that player being Clemens who has been on fire and promptly came through which made me happy. As the Rally Goat says... No one can distill the ocean. 😉

Only one minor league option can be used per season. When Julien and Miranda were originally sent down, that minor league option year was used. Once used... they can move up and back down at will (up to five times I believe) for the rest of the 2025.

He could be the next Gallo? I don't know. But he should be allowed to actually be the next Gallo... just to prove it.

It's absolutely unfair but the roster limitations cause a lot of unfairness in the industry. However, since he's here... in uniform. France with his .672 OPS can't come out for a day to give McCusker some swings that day. Jeffers can't catch one day instead of DH so Vazquez can sit so McCusker can get some swings that day. Pinch hit for him in the 4th inning? How did we end up with a team full of players who can't sit for a beat to yield some (not all) playing time. With Buxton and Correa both down who is left from the (can't sit this guy for one game or we die)crowd on the roster. The crowd is basically one player... maybe two but clearly one player. Ironically it's Clemens. The guy who did the pinch hitting. Ironically the guy who I was originally concerned about signing because he took the 40 man spot and 26 man spot that could have gone to McCusker April 26. It's a funny game.

Exactly my point all along. I want to be pissed but I can't because Clemens has been our best player and it worked like a charm.

I'm not a money guy... Not at all. I'm the guy who is counting the pre-arb players on other teams and counting ours and saying Oh Oh... we got a problem because I know that we can't be the Dodgers. France is not the biggest problem... I'm not going to even call him a problem specifically as he stands there all by himself. Ty France has the right to compete for major league employment just like Ryan Fitzgerald or Walker Jenkins has a right to compete for major league employment. I'm not making an argument against France... I'm making an argument over needing someone like France. I'm augmenting the scope of that argument by saying that France is playing EVERY DAY and is needed to play EVERY DAY and his numbers are average at best, most likely below average and he looks above average in comparison to what we have surrounding him. I have high hopes for Keaschall, he looked great when he arrived and but then again so did Julien. Ultimately... the Twins need to fix this because the bill will come due and we will be standing here with a room full of France type players that no one will take at the deadline when we are selling as our cross checkers are wondering who to draft 2nd overall in the 1st round of the following years draft. That's the bill that comes due.