stringer bell

While I dislike seeing a dollar value placed on a human life, I wonder if someone is drilling deeper on this. What is the value of a human life aged 70+ residing in a nursing home or long term care facility. The cruel reality of COVID-19 is that it is taking the lives of the older, more vulnerable souls in our population. These people wouldn't have long life expectancies and also wouldn't be contributing by working etc. I get the feeling that the politicians trying to open up their states are trying to make this point without being insensitive. Further, those that are itching to "get back to normal" are probably, with some justification, believing that COVID-19 won't be much of a factor to them. After all, a majority of people effected don't need hospitalization and many don't even know they have it. This is even more true if one is younger and has none of the underlying conditions. The fly in this particular ointment is that the same folks that don't even know they have the virus can and will spread it to everyone they come in contact with, including those vulnerable people that are much more likely to be hospitalized or pass away. Social distancing will be helpful and probably truly necessary for a long time for those that are vulnerable. Testing, as just about everyone agrees, is the real tool to limit the spread. When we have sufficient testing and tracking, it makes sense to amend or even end shelter-in-place orders. The way I see it, the elderly in nursing homes and other group facilities probably will have to continue in a near or total lockdown until a vaccine is in place. Others with underlying conditions would need to take every precaution as well. To close this long post, I want to speak personally. I'm old enough to be at risk solely on my age. I have no other risk factors and I feel pretty confident that if I got the virus I would survive. I don't want to tempt fate, but I don't want to be shut in indefinitely. I have much appreciated the opportunity to play golf the last week and hope to see friends and family long before a vaccine is available.

Interesting comments above. I think that as a concept there is significant resistance to change and I witnessed that first hand in my last year of employment at a gigantic medical and research concern located in Rochester. I think some of the lessons learned during the pandemic will be incorporated into business models going forward, particularly work-at-home. However, as long as profit remains the #1 goal, many major changes won't happen. Factors such as getting and keeping the best possible employees and demand for product will continue to drive what the boardroom does. I also wonder if there is a financial lesson to be learned. A great many businesses will suffer losses but be bailed out by the federal government or perhaps by the states. If the lesson learned to maximize profits and keep the margins incredibly small because Uncle Sam will bail us out during the bad times, it will be a real disappointment.

I see he doesn't have quite enough plate appearances, but I would like to point out Didi Gregorius. His lifetime OPS is .742, his OPS vs. the Twins is 1.042. In 32 games vs. the Twins, he has 8 homers and 36 RBI. In addition, he has killed the Twins in postseason (4 games, 2 homers 9 RBI).

I said this on another thread, one could make a decent case for Dozier being the Twins' MVP every year from 2013 to 2017, he finished in the top 3 in WAR in each of those years. Dozier put together one fabulous statistical season (2016) as did Versalles (1965), but was very good in four other seasons. Zoilo's OPS+ was above 100 only twice and one of those was at 104, not exactly dominant. I really don't want to rip Versalles, but he was a really good player in only one season, as demonstrated by OPS+ and WAR (and my memory), Dozier was better, longer--five seasons with a WAR above 2.4 and three above 4.5--Versalles had the one great season, but otherwise was pedestrian.

Dozier over Zoilo. Not really close.

Dozier was my favorite when he was here. He autographed baseballs for me when he was a minor leaguer and the year he took over second base. I will take issue with you that he was a brief flash, however. In my opinion, he was the Twins MVP for four consecutive season and his OPS+ was above 100 four consecutive years. Oddly, his All-Star year was the weakest of those four years. He also put up a 98 OPS+ his first season as a regular, so for five years he anchored the team. Additionally, it was stated that Dozier wasn't a 5-tool player. When he moved to second his defense was rated very good, while never having a really high batting average, he did reach base at above .340 clip in three of those five years, he did hit for power, especially as a second baseman. While not a great speedster, Dozier stole 98 bases in 130 attempts and rated above average as a baserunner all but one of his five full years as a regular. Brian Dozier wasn't a superstar, but he was the best the Twins had from 2013-2017, the homers in 2016 were pretty special, but I think he was a better overall player in 2017 when the Twins made the wild card game.

I sat next to Burton's grandparents at an exhibition game, nice folks.They were from the rural south and the accent was thick. I cheered for Jared after that, but after a really good first year, he wasn't very good.

Good discussion here. We do need to figure out how to move forward out of this. For example, I play golf and often I will go out before the clubhouse opens and play by myself. I never get close to anyone and often don't see a human at all. There is no reason why I can't go to my little nine-hole course and play golf. However, playing in a foursome in the middle of the afternoon and then going in and having a couple of drinks would be an invitation to spread the virus. Most construction should be able to start with a few common sense protections. As glunn is suggesting, some parts of the service industry can restart. I'm sure that with proper safeguards, many other areas of the economy can reopen. It is obvious to me that "reopening" must be well-thought-out and have a plan if infections spike again. Face masks need to be used and people quarantined if they are suspected of having the virus. Finally, and sadly, until there is a reliable vaccine the elderly pretty much had better shelter in place. Nursing homes and extended care facilities are where this is now an epidemic and the protections need to be extended.

I think it should be noted how much the bullpen changed throughout 2019. For goodness sakes, the closer into May was Blake Parker and two other guys (Morin and Magill) had pretty important roles at some point in the season. Hildenberger was a key setup guy early until he performed his way out of it. Rogers became the closer (often working more than an inning) and Duffey and May claimed key roles, they added Romo for the stretch run. That is a lot of change, almost all for the better. I doubt that each reliever that breaks with the club (if there is a season) will be successful, but with the number of options on the current staff, the bullpen should be pretty good.

I don't miss the excesses of needless injuries and having players' careers shortened. I think that turning the double play has changed a lot due to the rules changes. The second baseman can stand on top of the bag without fear of being taken into short left field.

So much wrong with the way the country is proceeding to fight this pandemic. First and foremost, we have no semblance of accurate numbers. Secondly, the federal administration in the person of the president have put out so much misinformation that it is difficult to believe anything coming out of the mouths of Trump and the people who accompany him to his daily briefings. The federal coordination is nearly nonexistent. Finally, there are pressing issues with needed supplies and materials. People will continue to die needlessly.

Zoilo's defense was outstanding in '65. He demonstrated outstanding range and made plays that few, if any, shortstops could make frequently. There were a lot more errors made by infielders in those days, but Versalles made up for many of those by ranging outside of the normal zone. Oliva was a great hitter in a pitcher's era. I hope he gets added to the Hall sometime.

The haphazard collection of data is yet another instance of the federal government not leading. As with the procurement and distribution of vital medical equipment and (for too long) no action taken to mitigate the spread of the virus, we have some states, cities and counties leading and others following. The federal government is best suited to coordinate and lead in this battle, but they have not done so.

I listened to Gleeman and the Geek today and John seemed to think that suspensions would be enforced no matter how long the season was in 2020. That would mean that Pineda's suspension would be 39 games wther the season was 120 games or 40 games. Aaron wasn't as sure. Does anyone have definitive information about suspensions? On another contract note--incentive bonuses. Would any contracts incentive bonuses be prorated? Maeda's would be Exhibit A, but many pitchers get credit for innings or starts. Some hitters get money for plate appearances.

??????I hope an option was not used.

My understanding is that service time will be prorated. We don't know how many days or games the season will be, but if, for example, it is 100 games and 110 days and a player is on the major league roster for 55 days, he will get credit for half a season, which in other years would be 86 days or so. That is what I mean by being prorated. Pineda has about 25% of a full season to serve, so I presumed that if the season were 100 games, he might only have to serve 25. Further, again using 100 games as the ultimate length of the season, a player will get credit for a full season by being on the roster for the extent of the shortened season.

Technically Lewis, Kirilloff and Larnach were not optioned. They were non-roster players in the major league camp and were reassigned to minor league camp.

I'm certainly not sure if Pineda will have to serve all of the remaining games. Perhaps, he will be liable for all of his remaining suspension. I assumed that if service time was prorated, so to would be suspensions.

MLB and the MLBPA agreed yesterday to accommodations for a shortened 2020 major league schedule. Many things are to be determined, especially since there is no firm date for the season to begin. I choose to be optimistic that there will be baseball this summer, perhaps without crowds in the stands. One thing agreed to unofficially was an expanded roster. The number that has been published is 29. I am going with that information and will now name the 29 players I expect will be on the roster for Opening Day 2020 whenever that happens. Pitchers--(15) Berríos, Maeda, Odorizzi, Bailey, Chacín, Dobnak, Wisler, May, Clippard, Stashak, Duffey, Romo, Littell, Thielbar, Rogers Catchers--(3) Garver,Avila, Astudillo Infielders--(6) Sanó, Arraez, Polanco, Donaldson, Adrianza, Gonzalez Outfielders--(4) Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, Cave Designated Hitter--(1) Cruz This would take the current roster, subtract Rich Hill and add both Thielbar and Chacín. My reasoning for this roster includes that the schedule will probably have doubleheaders and perhaps will fill some off days with games, meaning that a larger pitching staff in today's environment would be essential. I have included both Dobnak and Chacín, who have been competing for a starting spot and assume that either the Twins will go with a six-man rotation or that one of Dobnak or Chacín will be a "long man" in the bullpen. I assumed that if the staff were expanded by three that the Twins would add a lefty, even though specialists will be minimized by the three-batter rule. Having an occasional different look could be helpful. The fight for the 13th position player is over--they both win. I had thought Astudillo's ability to make contact and play many positions would win out over Cave's general competency, but with an additional position player spot available, both make the team. As for the pitching staff, it is murkier. First of all, Rich Hill has stated he could be ready to pitch in June. Suddenly, he might miss only a couple weeks or perhaps no time at all. Michael Pineda has two-thirds of his sixty game suspension to serve. I would expect that his suspension is prorated, much as service time will be prorated. If the season is 100 games, his suspension would be 25 games. There is nothing official, but that is what I will go with. I am assuming that Hill won't quite be ready when the season starts and that Pineda will have at least three weeks of suspension to serve. I think the Twins have seen enough of Chacín to want to see a bit more. He may not survive the return of Pineda and debut of Hill, but I don't think the Twins want to give up on him quite yet. Dobnak has pitched the best in exhibition games of those competing for a spot and he was outstanding last year in his brief time with the Twins. Wisler and Stashak both make the bullpen and there still is room for a lefty. I picked Thielbar over the others--Barnes, Clay and Coulumbe all had some moments, but I think Thielbar has pitched better. Hardy just had TJ surgery so he is out for 2020. I think a 29-man roster demonstrates the depth that the Twins possess. In other years, all of the players mentioned would easily make the Opening Day roster and more would have a chance. I have not added Devin Smeltzer to the 29, but believe he could be an option to pitch several doubleheader games if that happens. I don't really see him as a reliever and he has an option to use, so if he were called on to pitch as a long man, he could be shuttled to Rochester this year.

MLB and the player's union agreed on adjustments to be made in the short season. It appears that when the season starts, all teams will have a roster of 29. Service time will be prorated so however long the season goes will be counted as a full year this year. The draft has been modified and pushed back. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/03/mlb-mlbpa-reach-deal.html The Twins might get almost a full season out of Rich Hill, probably a better deal than they could have expected, and it would make sense that Michael Pineda's suspension will be prorated.

The reports are that all teams will go with 29 players for the first month of the season whenever it starts. From what I've read, the number of pitchers isn't capped. The current roster has 29 player (15 pitchers) including Rich Hill. If the season were to start June 1, I presume Hill would be on the injured list and a non-roster pitcher will be added (could be one of the lefties or it could be Chacín). Both Cave and Astudillo would make the roster to start the season.

From mlbtraderumors.com, the Twins have optioned Lamonte Wade Jr. and Sean Poppen, both of whom saw time last year with the Twins. The option of Wade tells me that the health of Buxton and Gonzalez is assured so that Wade had no chance to make the club. I expect Poppen will get more chances with the Twins at some point this year.

Absolutely. I would add that I take interest in any player who can wow us on defense, so I took special interest in Daal. Also, this article shows how tough it is to project young players when they are signing at 16. You can never be sure how they will develop.

Cruz has been a great addition. I expect he will do very well again during the (most likely) much shortened 2020 season. However, he'll be 40 this year and he will occupy the DH spot in the Twins lineup as long as he is on the roster. The Twins have a whole host of young players who can fill corner outfield/first base/DH in the very near future. Having guys with the flexibility to play in the field manning the DH is preferable IMHO. Unless they get a real bargain in signing him, I think the Twins should not commit to reupping Nelson during the season.

Trump "has a feeling" that New York doesn't need as many ventilators as Governor Cuomo is asking for. OMG, please Mr. President read the information and don't go by hunches and wishes.