Riverbrian

I didn't hear that news. That's important context.

I wouldn't store that knowledge anywhere... that's for sure. Just posted it because I started with a stupid throwaway title and then decided that it would be a good thread to keep going throughout the year for those inclined to keep track of the progression from how the team felt on day one about players and how the utilization changed or didn't change as the context changes as the season progresses. The Day One Lineup says a lot about how the team feels about the players. How will these chosen ones look in June? How will they be utilized?

Truth be told... I'm not that worried about depth anywhere and worried about it everywhere at the same time. Injuries are going to happen... the team will have to adjust, cover and keep playing through it. Depth will be needed... we will find out if we have it.

This year the Braves picked by many to win a difficult NL East are 0-5.

The lack of depth at SS is no more scary than the lack of depth at C, 1B, 2B, 3B and CF. We may have a development issue.

I've changed the title of this thread to "Roster Utilization". I hope this thread can stay relevant all year. If it does stay relevant. It can show us things like: A. Who the Twins assessed to be important entering the season. B. Who the Twins assess to be important as the season progresses. C. Do the Twins provide opportunity to Vets even when struggling. D. Roster context while roster space and utilization is occurring.

You are not watching the same team. The team you are currently watching would have to improve significantly just to reach the level of play of the team that went 12-26 over their last 38 games. This team... any team is capable of improving significantly. It's a long season but... Wow... It couldn't have been a worse start.

The Mets lost their first 5 games in 2024. They went 12 - 3 in their next 15. The Astros lost their first 4 games in 2024. Went on to 7-15 over the next 22 games. Both teams made the playoffs. I was sleeping in roller coaster design school but some rollercoasters start with a drop. There is plenty of roller coaster to come. With that said. Jeez, they could not have come out of Ft. Myers worse!!! .436 Team OPS thus far. Lowest in all of MLB. This is the result of facing the following starters. Gray, Fedde, Pallante and Perez. Also 7.31 Team ERA thus far (only the Brewers are worse after their opening against the Yankees). No hitting + no pitching = a losing streak. I hope this doesn't last too long.

In regards to original intent in 2025. The collective mind of the Twins organization. We now know that it will year number 3 of all left handers must sit against left handed pitching. We also know that Julien and Kiersay have now made two garbage time appearances and we also know that Correa and Buxton come out in garbage time. We also know that Gasper has made two starts. So we can assume that Gasper came out of spring training ranked higher than Julien and Keirsay and Martin in the Twins organization. Conclusion: Gasper has a role... Kiersay has a tiny role, pinch running defensive replacement and Julien doesn't have a role. When/If Lewis comes back. Julien probably is sent down because he currently has no role while Kiersay has that pinch running role. When/If Lee comes back. Who knows if Lee starts in AAA or the Majors. The Twins will reveal how they feel about Lee when Lee is healthy enough for an unveiling. And of course... injuries can always happen to others before Lewis and Lee are ready to return. Martin is in AAA waiting a call up if that happens. Actions speak louder than words. These are the actions thus far.

It's amazing. He has one series of moves to remove the left handers from the lineup and that is exactly the series of moves that he made. 4 Lefties on the bench. Let's see if they get pinch hit work today. The White Sox have 3 left handed bullpen arms to replace the right handed bullpen guy that enters the game after Perez.

While the results of the St. Louis series was a complete opposite of what we were hoping. No sense getting worked up over 3 games out of 162. Plenty of season to go. However... I do believe there is one thing that you can assess after the first 3 - 4 - 5 - 10 games. Original Front Office Intent. How did Rocco and the Front Office assess this team and the individual players. Utilization to begin the year tells you how Rocco and the Front Office assessed the players on this team. It tells you how they rank them. It tells you who they believe in and who they don't. They begin with who they believe in. Through 3 games... It seems the Twins are going to be more static with the lineup. Game 4 will be the next clue when we see who Rocco rolls with this afternoon against the first left hander of the year. If he wants to take both Larnach and Wallner out of the lineup. He doesn't really have to right handed cover to sit both. If Jeffers is at DH and Castro is in the OF, Gasper is at 2B with a bench of Wallner, Larnach, Julien and Kiersay? That will say something. I'm preparing for the possibility of either Wallner or Larnach in the lineup today. You don't need to be in the front office to know what the Twins think of players. They tell us by utilization.

I listened to the pre-game on the radio Thursday. Rocco discussed it. He didn't sound married to the idea of Wallner leading off but he liked the idea of Wallner getting more AB's theoretically in the leadoff spot and he mentioned that Wallner also gets on base with walks and hit by pitches. It works for me. I want Matt and Trevor spaced out so they can't both be taken out by a single left handed reliever. And I'd want Matt and Trevor both as close to the top of the lineup as possible. This gets them 1 and 4 in the order. I like that.

The runner broke for 2nd. Jeffers signaled. He steps off the rubber, turns and throws. It was done perfectly. But it's a balk in the box score. Or a Box in the Balk Score. It's a hard job being an umpire... I don't fault them for any mistakes because it's hard. With that said... I just can't... for the life of me... see anything that comes close to a balk and certainly not where the Rocco says the umpire told him. This wasn't a close ball/strike call or a bang bang tag at second base. This was an umpire looking at the pitcher and saying balk when there wasn't one. What did the umpire think he saw? Let them play. The balk rule was implemented over 100 years ago to prevent pitchers from purposely deceiving runners. Lopez isn't trying to deceive anyone. Let them play.

Being an umpire is tough and mistakes happen but I'm still struggling with this on the morning after. Rocco said that the umpire stated he saw movement in the hands. Where is the Balk?

Not really. I can only speak for myself but I'm pretty loud on the subject so those last year complaint echoes come from fingertips a lot. My complaints come from different directions and one sentence won't put it in a nutshell. However, in regards to your post on last years complaint... in my mind it was the absolutely consistent hiding of our young left handed hitters... not right handed hitters. Right handed hitters were deployed. It was the rostering of questionable right handed hitters in order to shield them. It was the continued searching for them this off season. In regards to this topic yesterday's lineup. Again speaking for myself. I liked the left handed spacing of Wallner 1, Larnach 4 and Castro 7. He was clumping his left handers together last year and practically guaranteeing a left handed reliever and a pinch hitter(s) when that part of the order came around. Yesterday makes more sense to me because two right handed hitters surrounding Wallner and Larnach makes it difficult for the opposing manager to deploy the left handed pitching that knocks them out of the game. The only logical spot for a manager to deploy the left hander against that lineup was where Marmol deployed a left handed pitcher yesterday. Castro followed by Miranda. Castro and Miranda both struggled against lefties last year. If Marmol wanted to go after Wallner with a lefty. He had Correa and Buxton behind him. No complaint from me. This may surprise some as well... but in regards to the lineup yesterday. I liked that Julien and Keirsay didn't automatically get in the lineup against the right hander. That tells me that Rocco did what he thinks is his best lineup and he didn't just do his strict platoon thing and just put the lefties in because they are lefties. In a weird way... I actually saw progress. I'll reserve judgement because we got season yet to go.

Good games from Bader, France and Larnach!!! That balk call still bothers me. Where was the hand flinch?

Came home from work yesterday and noticed that Midco had a new development. Two channels 625 and 638 were just a Twins Logo over a moving basepath background with hold music on a short loop. The Channel guide currently lists both channels as MLB Network. 625 has always been the MLB Network. 638 used to be a dormant channel number space. Now they both have the Twins Logo. I was unable to watch the MLB network (my most watched channel) last night because the Twins logo with hold music had replaced it. Both channels are the same this morning so I assume the game will be on and it doesn't appear to be part of an upgraded package. Still no announcement from Midco. But, lo and behold... the Twins Logo showed up at the 11th hour. Anyway... this was probably intended. That's what I can only assume. I paid my $100 bucks for streaming. I was told that Cable was coming but I became impatient so I bit on that hook. I paid my $100 bucks for streaming even with an already paid for functional cable subscription. No word... no nothing... Just a quiet 11th hour slide into the Cable heart... so I paid my $100 bucks for streaming and the Twins got me. Don't get me wrong... I have been advocating for the Twins to get everywhere to everyone since a long time ago so they can have my $100 bucks. Weirdly this is progress. Mismanaged progress but progress. So... OK... Twins... you got my $100 bucks... Go get a left handed bat with the money.

Thanks Do you have a link to this news. I can't find anything on the internet about it.

College Age players should be rushed (for lack of a better term). There is a huge disparity between the IFA signed at age 17 out of the DR and the drafted college player at age 22. I'll even call it an unfairness rather than a disparity. The 17 year old IFA needs to be added to the 40 man or lost in Rule 5 right about the same age that the college player is leaving Florida State. After doing his time in college. If Cam Smith is never sent down. He will be a free agent at 28. On the other end of the spectrum just to point out the extremes. If the Astros waited until Dec 2027 to add him to the 40 man to protect him from rule 5. Used all 3 options and 6 years of service time. Cam Smith would not reach free agency until he is eligible for AARP. That's quite a range. College players should be rushed a bit and this sort of thing makes me happy.

Agreed Improvement as the year goes along is also my hope. In my mind he doesn't even have to be really good. I'd be happy with decent or average. Just plain struggles. I won't have much tolerance for. I'm curious to see what happens.

I have Midco and nothing but crickets and it is starting to piss me off. Will the games be available on cable? If so... will it be available to me as part of my current package or will I have to add at cost? If I have to add to my cable package... What is the cost? If there is a cost... How does that cost compare to MLB.TV? It is March 20, 11:19AM Central Time and the season opens one week from today. Answers are needed... Well... Now!

I'm sure that Chief understands that there will always be a pecking order in the bullpen and whoever is at the bottom of the pecking order will be used less when possible. Cole Sands was probably at the bottom of that pecking order. However, In 2023... Cole Sands could be sent down. Even when he was up with the big club. He didn't just pitch in 6-0 mop ups. If Cole had bumps in the road. He will be sent down... the club doesn't have to keep absorbing the bumps. In 2025... Castellano can't be sent down. If he has bumps in the road... the club will have to absorb them. I agree with Chief... Any thought that we can just shelter him for a year in the bullpen to keep his talented arm will be near impossible. Any consideration that we can just absorb the bumps if there are bumps isn't ideal roster construction for a team that is claiming to be contending. Teams are using at least 3 bullpen arms a game almost every game. He will be brought to the mound in games still yet to be decided due to the unavailability of other bullpen options. With that said... I personally hope he makes the roster and pitches at least OK. I like the idea of young talent being prepped for major league work. But, I want the team prepared to cut bait if he is less than OK because he can't be sent down without arrangement with the Phillies.

My wife is always asking me "just what do you think you are trying to pull today". I don't know why she always asks me that. I assume it has something to do with age and hamstrings.

No matter what I complain about. I always go into a season optimistic. Teams come out of nowhere and surprisingly fall from grace all the time. It's a long season with twists and turns to come. The Cubs can still finish 160-2. Gotta battle one game at a time. I'm optimistic as I fill out my NCAA Tourney Bracket. Less Optimistic now because picking St. Francis to win it all was a bad choice by me. If I lack optimism... it is in regards to lack of adjustment when things are not going as planned. Poor Play has been allowed to continue too long too often. Yes... Margot is one example of what I mean.

I was sleeping in med school but I often wonder about sport to sport comparison. Football players are pretty good athletes... Typically Muscle Bound dudes who spend a lot of time in the weight room to get stronger. Montez Sweat checks in 260 and he ran a 4.4. I think I read somewhere that Montez caught and killed a Kangeroo. He makes into the lineup most every week other than a broken jaw in 2021. Do NFL players suffer more of these types of injuries than MLB players? Professional Soccer Players? Basketball? Hockey? I don't know the answer. Just thinking out loud. Whatever the answer is. My impression is that Baseball players get hurt and have been getting hurt since Justin Verlander invented the wheel.