tony&rodney

This winter there will be plenty of options available but the understood obstacle is still a budget in consideration of the ongoing problem of our friend, Covid. The Twins have the core to win and their decisions must be directed toward that end. How would contracts to Hill for $6 million and Kluber for $7 million look for SP? I'm curious whether management would think about Liam Hendriks at 3/$33 million. If the budget falls below $130 million, which many of you are reasonably predicting, the Twins will need to get real young. My hope is that the long view comes into play and payroll settles around $135-145 million. This seems optimistic, but the money is there. Whether we want to discuss it or not, The Twins have the money.

Duran needs to pitch in the majors to see how this trade worked out. Escobar was a proven player with multiple skills and has done well in Arizona. He was well-liked by other players, the fans, and produced on the field. Duran is a prospect. While my personal preference is for the Twins to put Jhoan in the 5th SP slot in 2021, he still remains an unknown talent for MLB purposes, whereas we all know that Escobar was a talented player. For now, the trade favors the Diamondbacks but this can turn with the emergence of Duran this coming summer.

Great story and his different offerings should play again in 2021, At least I hope so.

Eno Sarris was one, from TheAthletic.com and there were two others from last week - too uninterested to look these up for you, but I do get your skepticism and perhaps I should have copy/pasted those links in to a doc right when I read them over the last few weeks and years. Thing is, like many of us, but not all, I read way too much baseball junk. It was lazy of me to write without proper sourcing and I apologize.

A deeper problem is that we hear that in game decisions are made by upper management via messengers. Whether by electronic or foot traffic this practice is a can of worms. Cheating, gambling, and financially based switches are open season. Keep the game and the decisions on the field. There is enough information in the manager's binders and brains. If Falvine or other executives or employees want to make in game decisions, they should be managers. There are already too many coaches in the dugout. Analytics is just statistics used appropriately and have been a part of baseball forever. If I know a player cannot ever hit a curve, that is enough. We will throw curveballs then. If a pitcher is really slow to the plate, take the bag. Kevin Cash has general respect around baseball but he and his coaches did not do anything special to advance the team this postseason. Dusty Baker, on the other hand, managed brilliantly throughout the postseason and came up just short with the reviled Astros. It was quite a credit to Cash that his players had his back after the game, but pulling Snell was a bonehead move. Mookie Betts, a pretty good player and also always respectful, noted that the Dodgers had not had any good at bats all day and were at the mercy of whatever Snell was throwing in Game 6. Cash himself would admit this but the word is that the decision was made upstairs. This is an issue.

Kluber, if healthy, is my choice for a 4th starter. There may be someone looking at the Twins players who may offer a pitcher but one doesn't jump to the front page right now. Maybe San Diego?

The money is the issue. $5 million is a lot of money but Soria just had a couple of really good years earning more moola. Why would he sign for much less? I guess we find out what the floor is this winter. I wish there would be a negotiated agreement on a percentage for players' salaries. A strike doesn't benefit any of us fans who missed a hundred games this year. Baseball likely needs a salary structure of sorts. Soria might fit but there are so many options this year: May, Treinen, and Hendriks for just a few options.

I'm wondering if anyone on Twins Daily is familiar with Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, Triston McKenzie, Zach Plesac, and Adam Plutko? These were pitchers in the #5 spot. We cannot expect a Bieber, but why can't the Twins field a #5 pitcher from their system? Berrios is good and older than all but Plutko. It is very reasonable to put a young arm down for the #5 SP slot, especially with off days early in the season. I'm a big fan of the vets like Cruz and Donaldson and also a fan of seeing a few young players move on in at an appropriate time. 2021 is a good time. Let's see what we got.

The idea that MLB is possibly even thinking of banning the shift is ludicrous. Next will come some other crazy idea. Remove enhancements like Ipads, electronics during the game, "scouting/trash cans", cards that indicate sequences/positions/analytics, and needless mound visits along with a dedication to the spirit of get in the box and on the rubber and pitch and hit. The players will adjust. The unintended consequence of expanded rosters, either 26 or 28, have proven to be a complete mistake. This did not prevent injury or increase the quality of play. Covid 2020 baseball was tough for the players and hopefully a return to health within our country and some sanity will allow for a more focused approach than wholesale changes to the game. A bigger issue might be how the owners and mlbpa navigate the next few months in the best interest of the game, both for owners and players. Different issue, separate blog.

Yuck. How about letting a few young pitchers bomb/succeed in the 5th SP role. Days off, the Twins can skip the 5th man unless they are dealing. Eventually a pitcher will need to rise through the system. Four steady arms and a bevy of beef for #5.

Is Kluber going to be healthy? If so, then he is our best bet. Duran/Balazovic/Dobnak/Thorpe can hold down the 5th SP slot. Odorizzi on a good salary for the Twins also works. Personally, I have zero interest in those listed above except Bauer-he's too rich for us.

The twenty-eight player roster was a bad idea from day one, just an excuse to add more pitching which naturally tilted the game towards length and more use of relief pitchers. Perhaps some changes are needed. A shift in how the injured list is used, keeping it at 15 days from when the player is placed on the list and not back dated is one suggestion. Another suggestion is to reduce the number of options a player has in terms of being sent back to the minors. If you need to keep a player for 21 days and cannot call them back up for 30 days there would be less shifting of players and maybe more concern for the welfare of the players as well. The actual use of a time clock on pitchers/batters staying in the box would help. Twenty seconds is enough, even with runners on base. Every player in baseball today played with those rules their entire lives until MLB. The use of cards in helmets/hats isn't necessary either. If another team steals the signs so be it. If there is usage of technology for stealing signs and proof, a 162 game ban should work. All of the preparation can take place before the game- let some of the human element return. Like I stated on another post, diehard fans will always tune in but a decline in the younger audience keying in to the game may be problematic. A complaint i hear from younger viewers is the slowness of mound visits and umpire reviews. I'm not sure about the data on this from a national survey point and have no strong opinions on the matter, but as annoyed as I get with umpires I prefer their mistakes to the long reviews that take place and the trips to the mound. One trip per game is enough. Any necessary adjustments can take place verbally or between innings. I'm interested to see a national poll or survey that encapsulates some ideas from a wide sector of the baseball viewing public. I cannot consider myself as representative of any norm because I enjoy baseball in spite of its warts.

Hrbek was really a Minnesota kid in all the most positive respects. In the first year of the Vikings playing at the Metrodome I was walking by the road that led to the parking lot when a car fully loaded with young guys pulled up and tried to talk their way into the lot reserved for players and VIPs. It was Kent Hrbek and his pals all smashed into a rusty old little sedan. The attendant turned them away and I had to laugh at the entire simple nature of that scenario. A few of the other beer venders also saw this and we all liked Hrbek and agreed the guy should have let him into the lot. That first year the Metrodome was totally spartan and junk. Loud though. Hrbek should have been ROY and won a few Gold gloves but the two WS wins were sure sweet and I'm sure he doesn't have any regrets.

A roster of 25 players may provide a return to more balanced decisions. There are managers who allow and pitchers that are able to successfully throw 100+ pitchers. Francona and Cleveland come to mind and we hear that Bauer wants to throw every fourth day. The game continually evolves and changes. Teams and players adapt and change to match the scenarios facing them each year. Houston swings hard until two strikes and then puts the ball in play. The Dodgers do the same. Nevertheless, there is a time to lift a pitcher and manager judgment and knowing the players makes a difference. In high school there is no reason to risk a pitcher's arm. I lifted a pitcher with a perfect game after 5 innings because it was early in the season and we had a rough pitch count. A kid can play baseball until his 50s. The kid thanked me and said he was gassed. Now he dominates Town Ball in his 30s. The pros are different because money plays a major roll in game decisions. Nobody wants to ruin a player's arm with overuse. So the dynamic is fluid in today's game and when MLB expands the roster the usage of pitchers is effectively changed through additional options. My own thought is that Maeda and Berrios would have been more effective than a reliever but the manager, in concert with the coaches, would be more attuned to that decision than any of us. Hopefully, the decisions are based on observations such as control and movement rather than on the third trip through the order. Certainly we all must be noting how hitters are managing to square up a fair amount of pitches from relief pitchers at near 100 mph. I'm not a fan of the three batter rule for pitchers or the expanded rosters. I would rather see a limit of twelve pitchers on the roster and a return of the fifteen day injured list. In any event, the hitters must adjust to reduce the empty at bats and futile three pitch strikeouts. A diehard baseball fan of 60+ years will never tune out but I have many conversations with younger fans turned off by the walks, strikeouts, and homeruns that result in 3-4 hour games with little action from their point of view. It is an opinion that baseball needs to consider in the 21st century.

Was Harmon Killebrew the ultimate dream for analytical baseball? What about Joe Mauer?

The Hot Stove could be cold for quite some time. First we need November to clear out and then for a clear plan to be put in place. Until then, money might be tight. Unless. Unless, the Twins decide to do a little gambling for 2021. At that point everything is in play because certainly there is money in the bank and investments can pay off. The Twins' free agents are likely to be available for a good price. Romo-? Clippard -yes. Cruz - hopefully. I like Odorizzi but he should make more cash elsewhere. Everyone else can go. Time for a few young players on the bench, rotating. I'm hopeful that the team is willing to listen for trade opportunities with everyone. It is inconceivable that neither the Astros nor their management received serious penalties for the cheating scandal last year which makes it easy to cheer on the Rays, but I really admire the team approach with two strikes by Houston. The Twins and Rays swing from their heals with two strikes and allow the Astros to get by with inexperienced pitching. Perhaps that can be an idea to look for next spring- swing hard and then put the ball in play as needed.

I have always found it absurd that anyone would compare Molitor and Baldelli. Why? Baldelli is a new age analytical manager with widespread respect across baseball and has has some success in his two years as a manager after suffering through a difficult career, mostly not too important. Molitor is in the Hall of Fame despite a host of debilitating injuries and setbacks in his career, was universally acknowledged by his peers and the managers of his time as one of the smartest and most intelligent players of the past 50 years, he was manager of the year and quietly suffered with a squad that could never compete athletically on the field with the current team under Rocco. Please don't compare Rocco and Paul unless you are willing to compare Nick Punto, who I liked, with Ozzie Smith. There are not in the same stratosphere. Terry Francona? Now there is a manager.

My first Twins experience was Game 1 in 1961. We're just fans. Our emotions surge. The two best teams in Twins history (imo) were 1969-70. The Orioles were just better that week. I actually got to sit in box seats in front of Lou Brock in 1987 and the series was exhilarating with such a clutch team so cool under Tom Kelly. In 1991, the games teetered and shifted through a host of brilliant plays, the best World Series I ever watched and Jack Morris is in the Hall of Fame for Game 7. What a blast of baseball. The Covid 19 Twins were very good actually but there was an aura of emptiness to their game. When the infield is playing back on the edge of the grass with the bases loaded and nobody out and the team is struggling to score, a little half swing ground ball or bunt would have been nice. Going for four on three mighty swings, not so smooth. Last summer the Twins were the Bomba Squad, this year they never picked up an identity and played lost even as they won the division. Next year is their year. Go Twins.

Well that was quick, wasn't it? Winter will bring some changes, some big. Rocco? He is alright. For all the worship he received he doesn't need to be scolded too harshly at this time. He is a young, relatively inexperienced manager. Tom Kelly, Ron Gardenhire, or Paul Molitor were all savvy, smart, and experienced. Rocco needs time; we shouldn't be comparing him at any point to his predecessors. The most difficult job falls to the front office now. There should be some opportunities. The Twins do not have any untouchable players in their system. A long winter and a favorable turn in the state of our current pandemic could allow for renewed success from players such as Garver, Sano, Polanco, Donaldson, and Kepler. Falvine will need to balance the love of Bombas with range on defense, baserunning, and making consistent quality contact. Kirilloff debut was a sign of some funky management, yet he showed well. Let the speculation begin. The current squad needs chairs for Duran, Balazovic, Colina, Kirilloff, Lewis, Larnach, and Rooker. Trades are bound to be explored, endlessly. The decisions this offseason will determine how well the Twins compete next summer with the improving Detroit and Kansas City youngsters and how they bump heads with Chicago and Cleveland.

The decision to have four catchers on the roster is pretty much indefensible. Rocco has some talent to work with, he makes some glaring errors, but does a fair job and knows more baseball than any of us. However, it is humorous to remember those who criticized Molitor, the most respected and knowledgable player of his era. We can hope the team comes out hitting line drives tomorrow. Ten runs cures all.

... arrived home to see Garver pinch ? ... ... then Astudillo first pitch out of the zone. Fundamentals go back to the manager. Gardy would have gone ballistic on ball 1 to Brantley which was really strike 3. The Twins have a good squad that is fundamentally flawed and depressed right now. The bats need to go crazy tomorrow.

Good to look at Colina last night, if Rocco needed to see him this season. The juxtaposition of Colina and Alcala was interesting though. Last year Alcala was nervous and struggled with command and he is looking better every time out there now. Colina featured some real promise in his short stint; he needs command of the arsenal. No way Colina is on the roster on Tuesday though. The spot will go to either Odorizzi or Dobnak.

Buxton is a must watch, but Rosario has been the Twins best player. Rocco needs to let Garver recover his skills in the offseason. Right now, Jeffers is easily better behind the plate. He hurt Berrios last night. At the plate Jeffers is much more of threat, especially down in the line-up where you want good at bats and a threat to hit the ball. I guess we can hope Garver suddenly flips a switch at the dish but his catching skills are obviously suffering right now. I agree about Rooker. Donaldson's ejection was over-hyped. It was no big deal really. In recent years, due to replay, there have been fewer arguments/blowups at umpires. I don't think baseball players or umpires carry much of a grudge because the next game is usually within 24 hours. There is a level of acceptance between themselves that mistakes happen, even when tempers flare. Thus JD's brief little temper tantrum and an umpire's quick hook on comments from the dugout. It is a season where a number of experienced umpires opted out due to Covid 19 and MLB is at a much quicker pace than MILB.

Bottom line - in a short season the Twins have done well. Th record is outstanding. Like Mikelink 45, I wonder about several items that seem concerning as we head into the final days before the playoffs. My mirror of his comments: * Berrios does lose focus and suffers the consequences, yet is capable of great outings. * Situational hitting is necessary in the playoffs. The Reds played their infield all the way back on the grass inviting a ground ball or just a sacrifice bunt that easily scores runs. Inexplicably, the Twins swung from their heals on pitches well outside the strike zone, high and/or outside. * Man, it is tough to watch Buxton go down. Feed Donaldson bananas or something; the Twins really really need both players in the lineup. * Rosario is a lightning rod for some reason, like Mauer. He is the best player on the team. I find myself glued to watching Buxton, Sano, Donaldson, and Cruz. Picking a team on the sandlot, i would choose Buxton, but it is Eddie that leads this team, for sure. * My wife hates sports and i commented to her about Bailey's release. No response. So it was obvious to someone else that disconcerting words were passed leading to his release. It has no importance at all but it is curious. I'm looking for a few line drives in the next few games. Finally, I cannot help but believe that the players have done a remarkable job amongst all of the strict protocols and limitations that they face in their everyday life and I have admired and appreciated those efforts immensely.

My daughter loved him-her favorite Twin. My own summation is that we overrated some of our teams/players and were lucky to have Gardenhire at the helm. He was a colorful and fun manager. I hope his health improves and he can manage to enjoy a couple of decades as a fan.