Riverbrian

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.

See... I was standing next to you the whole time. You didn't lose me. You were just looking the other direction momentarily. That's the question... Where is the replacement? 1B of all positions? This is where the hitters that you draft settle in as they move down the defensive spectrum. Other clubs are finding them... that's why Ty France was only getting minor league offers and took our non-gaurentee near major league minimum offer. We can talk about who is on the farm... but the discussion is bigger than that. Who was on the farm a year ago, the year before that and the year before that. What young player could we have traded for and developed into something. What veteren player could we have traded for for that matter. The A's have 22 year old Kurtz who just replaced 23 year old Soderstrom, the Orioles brought Mountcastle through the system, Casas is 25 hurt but 25, Vaughn is 27 and came through the White Sox system, lumpy arrival but through the system, with hope for future even if it didn't happen the way Keith Law thought it would. Cleveland may have taken the money they saved on pre-arb players on Santana but Manzardo is a big bopper age 24, Torkelson really struggled but he seems to have arrived at age 25 and they had plans for 23 year old Keith if Torkelson was still struggling. Pasquatch is 27 in Kansas City with the next big thing 22 years old in Omaha. There is a 23 year old with the Angels, Even the Yankees found room for a 27 year old Ben Rice. Diaz and Aranda came to the Rays cheaply and fairly young and worked out. Toronto of course has brought Vlad Jr along and still produced Horwitz in addition who is now playing 1B in Pittsburgh at age 27. The Cubs have a young kid from Minnesota age 27 in Michael Busch that they picked from the Dodgers in a deal. The Reds have two young options that came from us that we traded away to fill a hole in the pitching staff. Toglia is 27 years old in Colorado, The Marlins went got 27 year old Mervis, The Padres have Arraez and we know his story... but still only 28 years old and before that it was Cronenworth who the Padres produced from their farm system. To be fair... on the other side of the coin... Houston had a development hole at 1B but they spent real money on Walker to fill it. Seattle has just plain failed at the position and even with that noticeable failure, they DFA'd our guy and they are giving Rowdy Tellez a spin currently. The Rangers have Burger that they had to bring in but Burger had other offers. The D-Backs had a hole but they filled it with Josh Naylor via Trade. The Braves traded for a young Matt Olson which was necessary after the big bopper they developed took the big contract with the Dodgers. The Brewers paid real money to bring in Hoskins, it's ok they can afford it because the rest of the team is nearly all players making the minimum. The Mets developed Alonso. The Twins gave away Lamonte Wade to the Giants. The Cardinals are alot like the Mariners and the Twins but they had Goldy holding fort for many years. They solved by moving the catcher they paid alot of money for to the position and the Nats went got Lowe. The Dodgers and the Phillies... well forget about them but they both obviously addressed the position with superstars. The Phillies filled the 1B hole by moving Harper from the OF which showed a certain creativity. I just went through every major league team and you can see why Ty France had to sign for next to nothing. And here he is in Minnesota... playing OK... I'm not trying to tear Ty apart. I'm tearing the need for Ty apart. In my opinion, there is only one team in baseball that compares to the Twins in this regard at the 1B position and that is the Mariners who are rolling with Tallez at 1.5 million. And it was the Mariners who DFA'd our guy so to be honest... we are basically a step below them because we got the guy who isn't as highly thought of as Tallez. I totally get what you are saying and what you are saying is basically what I'm saying. You are saying that France is necessary because we don't have other options. I agree... I'm just adding the question... Why are their not other options. And I'm adding to that and this is probably the most important point of all. France, Santana, Solano, Miranda, Sano, Cron, Morrison and the train just keeps a rolling. Meanwhile, I keep hearing about this highly ranked farm system. Wave after Wave crashing on the beach. Kirilloff, Blankenhorn, Diaz, Rooker, Wade Jr, Severino, Miranda, Raley, Sabato. Steer, Strand. I get that we may have needed France... it's the fact that we needed France that's the problem. It's the fact that he has to be in the lineup or our chances to win plummet. Anyway... I don't want to hate on France. I wish him well, I'm cheering really hard for him but we are talking about a performance thus far that is almost exactly the performance that got him DFA'd.

I didn't mean to lose you. I will stand over here and waive my arms until you find me. 😎 France is our everyday 1B. Making France your everyday 1B is not how you get there. He's been fine we have both certainly seen worse but to better put this in perspective. He was signed for one million (Non-Guaranteed) and almost immediately declared every day by Rocco. You can only sign a vet for one million dollars which is barely above the minimum because the other 29 teams were not willing to pay him two million dollars. Minor league deals were mostly likely the only thing on his table. This is the guy who is our everyday 1B. I don't want to get wrapped up in the money part alone so let's just look at his current OPS. Now there is plenty of season to go. That OPS could go up or it could go down and I won't try to predict the direction but it currently sits at .672 for 2025. 2024: Last year it was .670 for the year. It was .662 with Seattle (300 AB's) which led to his getting DFA'd at the deadline. DFA'd from one of the worst offensive teams in the majors last year. The Reds took a shot... picked him up cheap and he finished with a .683 for the Reds (179 AB's). 2023: His OPS was .703 (587 AB's). His numbers right now are no different than what caused Seattle to DFA him. No different than the numbers he produced that led to getting nothing but minor league deals and led him signing a one million dollar (non-guaranteed) contract as a 30 year old. The fact that he looks good to some of us can only speak to how easy it is to look good comparatively in Minnesota when he looks good producing the same numbers. Bottom line: He has become irreplaceable apparently in Minnesota. In the lineup every day or we hurt our chances of winning and he has reached this lofty territory producing the same numbers that got him cut. If that's the case... we have settled for a below average place holder at a premium hitting position and in the process we have made it harder to get to a strong lineup card 1 through 9 because we have settled and made him irreplaceable. Strong from top to bottom is already very hard to do... we certainly don't need to make it harder but apparently nobody else is currently being interviewed for the job. There will be no interview for McCusker or anybody to see if he can OPS .710 or higher. France simply can't be replaced or it hurts our chances of winning is a problem. If you are going to play everyday and keep others from competition. You better hit like an everyday player or you have set your bar too low.

It's a good point but "when everyone is healthy". is a pretty rare occurrence and when they are not all healthy, they rise. I'm not here to rip France apart. He's a fine European country. He is costing just a hair over the minimum and he just might be a better option in 2025 than the choices we have on the farm at the moment but he won't be back next year and we will bringing a France doppelganger next year to replace him... if he is indeed better than the options we have on the farm. I've been making this point for years now and I won't stop making it. All 13 roster spots matter because when the injuries occur, the guys chosen for bench roles are suddenly starters. Signing a low dollar free agent and saying good enough only works if everyone stays healthy and all teams rarely stays healthy. The guys who were signed to hit at the bottom of the order, rise to middle of the order and become critical quickly. If you want a strong 1 through 9 of above average hitters, it's really hard to get there but you can get there. Everyday playing time for an average performer is not how you get there. An 88 OPS+ that can't be replaced is not how you get there. Honest competition for spots 1 through 13 on the roster is the only way to get there. There's an old saying: Those who live near the water will eventually be in the water. We are in the French Waters now.

He's been fine for someone who cost one million. In total... His 88 OPS+ says below average. For somebody who has 188 plate appearances, plays every day at 1b, hits in the 4th spot in the lineup. He has been way below average. For somebody who won't be back next year. This isn't a success story so far.

Other than the initial roster spot which was clearly a choice. This isn't a Clemens v McCusker thing. At least not directly. With Castro's versatility and even the versatility of Clemens. It is McCusker vs everybody. You and I both know that we don't have a roster full of must have's in the current lineup. Ty France is hitting 4th! If Ty France is hitting 4th in the lineup. That lineup can never be considered locked down full of must haves 1 through 9. There is a ton of room for McCusker. It could be argued that the only lineup Must Have's just happened to collide with each other one week ago and therefore wiping all the must have's from the roster in one 50 million dollar moment. This is predetermination. McCusker should get a couple of starts this weekend against the left handers. It won't matter what he does with them.

I was hoping it was gone. But, we just saw it. This leads me to believe it's closer to sentence two. The team is constructed different. Bader and France are everyday playing additions. They are not short siders. We have 5 left handed hitters on the team currently. It's about Faith and Rocco had more faith in Margot than he does in McCusker. Where is that faith or lack of faith coming from? I don't know but I don't trust it. Consider this: Kody Clemens has been a rock star. Clemens fell into this rock stardom. Kody was traded for on April 26th. For 16 games... Kody accumulated just 13 AB's. 2 for 13 over his first two weeks. Was Kody capable of this stretch on April 26th when he arrived or did he magically become what we are seeing right now? DId he just poof into this at the exact moment that opportunity was presented to him? Presented to him because Rocco suddenly had nobody else to turn to. Anyway... I'd like to simply say this: Clemens was obviously trusted over McCusker. But... by utilization you can see that Clemens wasn't trusted initially. Clemens didn't earn opportunity, every other option had to be taken from Rocco before he would have to be trusted. Rocco or the front office should not be getting credit for knowing Clemens would go 11 for 26 over 7 games when the entire team got hurt. And Rocco isn't going to get the benefit of the doubt from at least me of being all knowing if he puts McCusker to sleep. Let's see what the lineup looks like against the left hander tomorrow night.

Just want to say this: 1. I was disappointed that the Twins trusted Clemens over McCusker at the time of the Clemens trade for Cash. I have nothing against Clemens, don't know much about him other than what his stats and opportunity has been like. Having more faith in Clemens over McCusker was a problem in my eyes. 2. Today I was pissed that McCusker was pinch hit for in the 3rd inning once the game resumed. It was a bullpen game the rest of the way for Cleveland. They have 3 well rested lefty relievers in the pen (a 4th with the the doubleheader extra guy available in the next game). You know a left handed pitcher was going to come out to face Larnach in the 5 hole and Clemens two batters later in the 7 hole and that's exactly when Cantillo entered the game with Larnach heading to the plate (Which may have happened anyway) because Cantillo threw multiple innings. Cantillo was followed by another lefty Allard who entered the game with Larnach at the plate once again. These early moves just make it easy for the opposing manager. All of this bugged me but mainly... Let McCusker bat. Let him get some major league swings in. There was plenty of game to go. 3. As much as point #2 bummed me out and as much as the point #1 has me concerned about the faith the Twins exhibit in their own system offensively. I'm thankful it was Clemens. The guy just won us another game almost by himself and that's 3 games you can say that about in a very short period of time. No matter what I think about point #1 and point #2. Clemens has been our best player since he arrived. Keep him in the lineup and let's see how long he can keep this going.

It's a still a team with 13 position players on the roster. Choosing two players as "Must Step Ups" is a little narrow. Who is Rocco giving the playing time to? That's who must step up. Could be anybody but it has to be somebody... somebodies actually.

Who knows with Clemons. The odds are against him. To be honest. His past numbers don't mean anything to me. Burning all of his options while only accumulating less than two years of service time strongly suggests that he has not gotten opportunity, 444 sporadic plate appearances really suggests that he hasn't gotten opportunity. Yet, he still found himself on the Phillies 26 man roster at age 29 which suggests that there was something Philadelphia tried to hang on to despite his not getting that opportunity. The one thing I know. The best way to cool down a hot hitter is to bench him. Put him in the lineup as long as that bat is working.