tony&rodney

Seems like it is too early in the season to pull off a trade but it does seem like Sim And Royce are ready for the road. I wish them luck and hope the Twins get at least a little luck in return (high level talent at A ball or a comp pick).

The NFL and NBA are extremely well marketed and find ways to bring in audiences. I don't follow either league but more people tune in to those sports than to baseball. I don't see how a salary cap has anything to do with either being a better product.

..... and just like that the Ober resurgence takes a break.

Not sure if you watch the games or follow some other way .... Caratini is a decent catcher. He catches everything, calms down our inexperienced pitchers, and is really good on tag plays. Catching is not a problem. Hitting? That is a horse ....

Two cutters and three sinkers. I thought Rogers might come back with a cutter. Either way, Rogers missed his spot. Caratini could care less about a stolen base. Almost every SB is on the pitcher. I sucked at holding runners.

Odd pitch choice. Good game.

Apple TV announcers are not as good as the AAA guys. Although it turns out that starting pitching is a relative strength for the Twins I wanted a Matt Wallner for Jared Jones two years ago after he was injured and added Charlee Soto to Wallner this past offseason. I kinda like the way Jared Jones throws the ball.

Would a team trade a Competitive Balance Pick for Royce Lewis?

A solid point made but arrived at erroneously. The White Sox have talent, there is no doubt of that. Experience is the weakness for CWS now. You are correct - Ryan should be traded for "real value" if the Twins are not going to sign him. If all the Twins can get in return is a pile of players that do not project to be as good as what is already in the cupboard, then the only option is to keep him. The Twins are loaded with Tristan Gray, Aaron Sabato, and those types of players, all of whom can play a role as utility guys. Go big or no deal.

You are correct in saying we shall see. Shaw isn't as good as Brooks Lee (imo), so he doesn't work. Most of the Cub prospects are lower down the spectrum. I like Pedro Ramirez the best of the lot. The Dodgers have a ton of outfielders and mid to back of the rotation starters. None of their guys are that interesting. The highest rated bat is a DH. Boston likely doesn't trade for Joe Ryan. I would love Franklin Arias and Anthony Eyanson. Texas has Sebastian Walcott and he is going to be a RF, where we expect Walker Jenkins to play. It is going to be quite difficult to find a solid trade for Ryan. I wonder if there is any way to convince Sacramento that their team would be better with a package of guys for Leo De Vries. Ryan, Prielipp or Hill, Lewis, and Roden. It would be a gamble for both sides. I guess we shall just wait and see.

A good catcher is critical for pitchers. Martin Maldonado hung on forever because he was good for the pitchers. Cleveland simply doesn't care if their catchers hit as long as they work well with the pitchers. Caratini seems to do a very good job.

The recent series with the White Sox was Not a must win, nor was today's game. The Twins play tomorrow and the day after that and ..... Who exactly had the Twins anywhere near .500 baseball on June 1? It is true the offense needs a pick-me-up and it is also true the talent level is not to hot. The Twins are in most games and perhaps the offense comes around soon. The club is sorting through players, roles, and who plays where. I'm looking for a couple of changes by mid June. Teams generally do not trade this time of year but maybe something can happen. I would like the Twins to trade Wallner and/or Lewis for a competitive balance pick if that is possible.

Sounds great. I'm onboard. My only question is that I'm struggling to find players that other teams will trade for Joe Ryan ..... that are not utility types and back end of rotation pitchers or replicas of what is already in the organization. I want players better than Connor Prielipp and Kaelen Culpepper and I really like both of those guys.

Sounds like a good example .... but I have bought more than a few cars that had high miles. The cars were in great shape and had been taken care of extremely well. For example, I bought a 1991 Audi 200 Quatro, Pearl with all the bells and whistles. It had 200,000 miles on it. It looked like it was just off the show room floor. I drove it for four years and sold it for $1,000 more than I paid for it. Luck and timing. That's what we are looking for in any potential trade of Joe Ryan.

Morris is not (yet) a strike out pitcher and he induces a ton of weak/broken bat contact. Defense matters in this case and we see it too often. Brooks Lee to third base was a good move for defensive reasons. He is way better there and better than the previous occupants. Shortstop remains tough and Buck being a DH puts the team in a rough spot in CF.