Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Riverbrian

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    28,838

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    174

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Riverbrian

  1. Riverbrian
    As much as I have been complaining about things on this site lately. The truth is... I have no complaints. It's been a nice first half. The offense has been better than expected... I still think it has the potential to be better and I still think it needs to be better because: The pitching has been what I have expected. I was pretty sure that the collective pitching staff was going to down tick in comparison to last year. So... I felt that improved offense was the best way to over come the pitching down tick. If the Twins are going to win the world series this year... they will need to do it like the Rangers did it last year. By beating everybody with their bats.
  2. Riverbrian
    There are indeed much worse problems to have... but the problem has tenticles and dominos that stretch beyond the last spot on the roster. 1. The end of the 26 man is often lightly considered by fans. After all... a player who never plays isn't an issue until you need him to play. At that point he becomes an issue. Farmer has 151 AB's. He's a consistent starter against left handed pitchers. He's playing. Listing him as the second backup IF isn't really accurate. 2. Carlos Santana has been a decent free agent pickup. However... His OPS is .737 which is a little above average. His OPS against Right Handed pitchers is .686 which is below average. Yes Santana has been a decent free agent pickup but those are not... we should stop looking for a better player numbers. Those are not... must play every day numbers. 3. Trevor Larnach has done a decent job taking over for Matt Wallner. His OPS is .723... Yes Larnach has done a decent job but .723 is not... we should stop looking for a better player numbers. 4. Max Kepler has an OPS of .704... that is average. Yes... He was much worse last year at this time and he got extremely hot. However... unless he gets extremely hot... Average production is not... we should stop looking for a better player numbers. Kyle Farmer does not push Santana, Larnach or Kepler for playing time. Kyle Farmer on the 26 man provides no alternatives to average above him. It locks in Average above him... It prevents the team from lengthening the lineup with better hitters. It settles for average above him. An example of pushing someone for playing time? Brooks Lee is currently pushing players for playing time. If he continues to hit the ball... he could move Willie Castro to different positions which challenges Larnach or Kepler or Santana for playing time. Matt Wallner was sent down with a .513 OPS after 25 AB's (I think it was the right thing to do). Since recalled to the majors... In just 4 games and 11 AB's. He has raised that OPS to .911. Will he continue... who knows? but if he continues to hit the ball like this or at least hits the ball better than Larnach going forward... He is going to push Larnach for playing time and the lineup in September and the playoffs lengthens. Kyle Farmer or Manual Margot for that matter... do not push players for playing time. They take roster spots from players who could push players for playing time. I will never look at the 26th spot on a 26 man roster and minimize it's importance and there is never any reason to take a player producing average results and stop looking. The Twins offense has been great this year. It needs to be... the offense is going to have to cover for our pitching which isn't as strong. It's been great but there are three spots that could use improvement. It would be nice to enter the playoffs with a scary lineup card. Someone like Castro batting last in the order because 1 through 8 are monsters. You won't have 8 monsters... when two on the roster are short siders and 3 are merely average. Cull from the bottom and compete from within.
  3. Riverbrian
    Every front office aren't automatically right. I was just thinking this morning after watching Joey Bart hit a grand slam that San Francisco would love to have Joey Bart in the lineup against the Twins this weekend. Every team makes these mistakes. The Twins have chosen to protect left handed hitters against left hander pitchers and the roster was set for this purpose. It doesn't mean they are right but I'm sure they have some data that suggests they should.
  4. Riverbrian
    I have no doubt that the front office, scouts, analysts, coaches are all better at this sort of thing than any of us. They do this for a living. But there is a very very very strong argument against your point in support of justification on the basis of managements opinion. No matter how much they know and they know a lot. They are still wrong often because the job is hard and performances are not guaranteed. Did they expect the numbers that Farmer has produced this year when they picked up the 6 million for this year? Did they know that Wallner, Julien and Kirilloff were going to struggle. If they did... why did they bother breaking camp with them? they could have just given our best hitter Jose Miranda a roster spot out of spring training instead? In hindsight do they sign Joey Gallo again. Did they know Correa would OPS .711 in 2023 immediately after signing for 200 million which is the largest contract by far in Twins history.
  5. Riverbrian
    While Lewis is out. It can be done. 1. Move Brooks Lee to 2B, 2. Miranda 3B 3. Castro plays multiple positions. 4. While Santana has been doing well... I have no complaints. He's not Freddie Freeman and doesn't deserve the playing time that Freddie Freeman gets. Santana is 2nd on the team in AB's and he can yield playing time with a .704 OPS against right handers. 5. Larnach and Kepler are also not Freddie Freeman either so the DH spot is also in play.
  6. Riverbrian
    Nature figures out a way. The species adapted to it's environment. The species evolved and was able to adapt to a life with no food, water or litter box and more astonishingly... the cat was able to reproduce. The Box was opened in January of this year. It created a super cat. Here's a video of what happened. If you think the cats that we know today could care less about you. This new super cat really really doesn't give a damn.
  7. Riverbrian
    Cleveland currently has 5 left handed hitters and 3 switch hitters on their 26 man roster. I'd be OK with that in Minnesota. 😉
  8. Riverbrian
    Martin hasn't been in the lineup against LHP. He's been the odd man out because we are short on left handed hitters and over loaded in the right batters box. That equation would change if Wallner becomes a third left handed hitter on the roster and if Margot and Farmer were released.
  9. Riverbrian
    I use the word struggles. 😉 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My point is that they should try carry one guy so you have room for another guy. Don't roster lesser players for one specific skill. Why? You answered why when you explained the disparity. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These things, Larnach's toe, Kepler's shin, Wallner's ineptititude, Kirilloffs inability to be effective, Buxton's knee - Julien going down and taking Castro away from the outfield and I'll add Lewis and his injuries. The names may change from year to year but these things happen every single year. They can't be predicted individually but you can etch them in stone that they will happen and because they do you need more than 9 guys. Margot has always been fated to face more right handers than left handers because of these things. That's why commiting two players to one spot matters... that's why committing 6 players to 3 spots matters. Because that second player (Margot) that short sider who is rostered just so you got someone to face that 25% is going to face that 75% more often out of necessity which you have just accurately pointed out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  10. Riverbrian
    This reveals another potential problem that I don't like one bit. With the strategy to platoon and protect your young left handed hitters heavily currently in place. If you shed Farmer and Margot from the roster. Someone has to fill those spots to keep protecting the left handed hitter and Martin would probably become that guy. I know there are many that don't think Martin will amount to anything. I don't know if he will or he won't but if you bring him to the major leagues as young hitter and short side him... You will guarantee that he won't amount to anything.
  11. Riverbrian
    JD... You are a smart guy. You have my respect. Don't take this the wrong way... but I won't go into a zero sum discussion on this. You know we are talking about percentages of advantage on both sides of the plate. Please don't "No Chance" this discussion. Even if I believed that Wallner would have a lower percentage against left handed pitchers than Margot does against right handed pitchers. How much lower are we talking about? Is it low enough to make up for 75% to 25%? Are you not giving whatever advantage you gain right back when Margot faces more right handed pitching than left handed pitching? Why do Margot and Farmer face more right handed pitching then left handed pitching?
  12. Riverbrian
    I can read the standings. The Twins are doing very well offensively.
  13. Riverbrian
    Schrodinger's Cat Place Wallner in a box marked left handed pitchers. Close the lid and carry on with the season. You won't know if Wallner is alive or dead? One thing is for sure though. Wallner won't be sitting on the window ledge watching birds at the bird feeder or coughing up hairballs on the brand new carpet because he's in the box with the lid shut.
  14. Riverbrian
    That is true Wallner/Castro, Julien/Farmer, Kirilloff/Margot was the original plan coming out of the off-season in my estimation. The team was certainly designed for Wallner/Margot and here they are both on the roster for two days. My Constant Long Term issue is: I don't advocate committing 6 spots to platooning. That's 6 roster spots used up to attempt something that will be blown apart the minute injury or ineffectiveness starts taking root. You have to roster lesser players because 3 of those 6 roster spots are used on players who struggle against 75% of pitching. We are giving up more than what we get because they are facing more right handers. My recent question raised in this post spurred on by three absolutely crushed baseballs in two days of work. A. Would we better off with a left handed hitter hitting well against 75% of the league and struggling against 25%. That ends up playing more because of the 75%. B. Would we better off with a right handed hitter hitting well against 25% of the league and struggling against 75% of the league who ends up facing the 75% more often. I choose A.
  15. Riverbrian
    I apologize for all of the Wallner/Margot talk I sent into this thread. Don't get me wrong. The Twins offense has been fantastic lately and the Wallner/Margot talk makes it sound like I think we are drowning unless changes are made. The offense has been great. My thought are bottom of the 26 man roster thoughts.
  16. Riverbrian
    1. If they release him 2. No one claims him 3. He doesn't declare free agency seeking a major league job and accepts assignment to St. Paul. I don't see 1 happening at least not yet. And 3 won't happen at all. 2 will certainly happen if 1 happens. I'm sorry... I didn't mean for math to be a part of this post. No they can't was the simple answer.
  17. Riverbrian
    I spend my days hoping for a roster crunch. 13 guys who can play is always what I want to see. If the Roster crunch comes. You always pull from the bottom. You can't have a roster crunch if the bottom is allowed to remain.
  18. Riverbrian
    I used 80 AB's because that was how many AB's Kepler got in June and Kepler didn't start against left handers. Yes... Based on what Margot has done vs. left handers in the month of June... You make a solid point. In order to protect Wallner against left handers that comprise 25% of the pitches thrown. You have to roster a player who struggles to hit 75% of the pitching and in the end faces more right handers because of the 3 to 1 disparity. I'll take the small percentage hit for the larger percentage gain in this apple and orange choice between two players. That is of course assuming that Wallner would continue to be a larger percentage gain which isn't for sure because it's only been two games and also assuming that Wallner would continue to be a small percentage hit which also isn't for sure because Wallner or anyone can improve against left handers with exposure.
  19. Riverbrian
    I recognize Margot's recent OPS. I also recognize that the time frame you've chosen... has required over the top numbers against left handers to produce that OPS. Since June 1 Against RH: 45 PA's - .220 BA - .606 OPS Against LH: 35 PA's - .367 BA - 1.062 OPS He is still facing more right handers than left handers. Wallner would play more because of the 75% right handers. I agree with you that I look forward to the best of both. But... Right Now... If I had to choose using hindsight in all the advantages that hindsight gives you. Those exit Velo's made my decision. My original post was just a thought exercise and right now I'm thinking about swapping out another hitter in St. Paul that was as hot as Wallner and Lee in June. How can we work Severino into the lineup at the expense of Farmer?
  20. Riverbrian
    I have no problem with his being sent down when he was sent down. It allowed Larnach and even Miranda a chance to show what they can do. I'm not even advocating the immediate release of Margot with my statement. But... I am pointing out that Lee and Wallner were two of three real hot hitters in June for St. Paul and they are pretty scary right now in the majors. It's not always the case but I'm not afraid of youth. I think we should always be looking for better and sometimes better is below you. Sometimes injuries make you better. But then again... It's just two games and I want everyone to know that I realize it's just two games.
  21. Riverbrian
    Wallner, Larnach and Kepler will cover DH, LF and RF vs. Right handed starters. As long as Miranda is hitting everything in sight. Santana will yield the most playing time with Miranda covering 1B when righties take the mound. .
  22. Riverbrian
    I recognize the ridiculousness of the question that I'm about to ask. . Ridiculous because it's only been two games of Wallner. Here's the question: What would you choose 80 AB's of Wallner in June. or 56 AB's from Margot in June. Three balls hit over 116 mph in two games since called up has answered that question for me. Yes I know. It's ridiculous to conclude anything after two games.
  23. Riverbrian
    There is some precedence. They have but they usually have to over fill the bath tub first before they let water hit the floor. Lopez and Fulmer were acquired to cause roster space decisions. Cano and Hamilton AAA water was not let into the bath tub. I think Lee could force Farmer off the roster but Blake Parker making room for Devin Smeltzer remains an exception. Lewis out until August? You are usually right on most things. I hope you are wrong on that one.
  24. Riverbrian
    The servers I am using are a little more expensive. That's because they actually serve. Randomly while watching the Twins game. They will fire tennis balls at me. You can't get that for 48 grand.
  25. Riverbrian
    And Kirilloff? What do they do with him. Farmer not on the roster would have to be a complication to Kirilloff reporting to Target field when he is ready because Kirilloff would require a short side handcuff and if you get rid of Farmer... Who is it? Martin has to report to St. Paul when he comes off the IL if everyone is healthy because if Martin replaces Farmer. Martin is now a young moldable rookie getting fed short side scraps. That would make me cry. Farmer is a major complication to the Twins left right way of life. If Farmer is on the roster on August 1st... It causes a major complication because in order to justify his roster space... he HAS TO PLAY against left handed starters and we currently are overstocked with players who stand in the right handed batters box. Farmer is on the bottom of the pile. A better hitter in the right handed batters box will have to rest to play Farmer unless the Twins purposely lessen that right handed batters box pile by removing a better player than Farmer is. If Farmer also sits against left handers because you have 9 players who are playing better standing in the right handed batters box. He serves no purpose. Damned if you do... Damned if you don't. Farmer is a major complication to the Twins chosen way of life.
×
×
  • Create New...