h2oface

Other than an injury prone bizarre COVID season, Garver has done nothing but work his ass off and improve. He was rated below Turner, and has had massive sceptics even as he rose, until they could only embrace him in 2019, as he was not to be denied. That let them easily willing to sellout on him in 2020. I bet he is back with a vengence in 2021.

Ha.... stat box now hidden as a download attachment? Funny. Now it is just Download attachment: Twins Minor League SS.JPG and no picture. Maybe it is just my computer..... the picture was there yesterday.

A whole stat block of shortstops that can't hit. Damn. Looks pretty bleak. Talk all you want about tools..... the results suck. That's not fair. Lewis has hit... just not in the stat box year.

Wasn't there an issue with the size of CHS stadium? That it didn't have enough seats to qualify? Maybe I am misremembering. The mimimum requirement of AAA staduims is 10,000, and CHS's is only 7210. Was there a waiver issued? Does it have to be expanded?

"the blows the Twins bullpen has received. With Trevor May, Matt Wisler, and Sergio Romo all gone"..... I wouldn't call them blows. The FO wanted it that way. They let it ALL happen, for various reasons.... but it was in inside purposeful job. Clippard too. They could all be here if that is what the FO wanted. Personally, the only one I thought important to keep was May, and I was relieved that Romo wouldn't be back. I look forward to youth in the system. For a starter, too.

If it isn't Cruz, the Twins don't need one. Definitely not a Kyle Schwarber and Michael Brantley. I like to see good players get paid. Too many give their best years as a young player, and get paid a fraction of what they are worth, and ownership is never one to reward them with a special performance bonus in appreciation when that happens. So I am not one to gloat about how cheap the very rich can be and get away with paying someone less to do the same job.

Bauer absolutely lucked out (odd thing to happen and say in the covid era) and only had to shine for 2 months. His next four months on the mound could look that the end of 2019, or he could start good and tire in the final 2 months of a 6 month season. Or he could have just found it and stay at the high level. People are ready to annoit him the next best pitcher for 2 months of recent history, and pay him like Verlander or Kershaw or Cole..... yet they look at two months of someone like Garver and assume the same two months are a permanent downfall. I think someone is going to overpay big time for Bauer, and it will be a big mistake. Or.... Bauer will actually mean what he says, not be a flake, and sign a huge one year deal. Berrios has had a 2 month stints that looked as good or better than Bauer's. Bauer has really lucked out in his free agent timing. Risk abounds always. For the player and the owners. I would be more interested in signing Berrios long term than Bauer, but love to have Bauer for one or two high dollar seasons.I hope they do and give him a chance to pitch every 4 days, and give the other starters a rotated extra day (6 days rest) about every 5 weeks.

"Outfielder Akil Baddoo was selected with the third overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft. He will join the Tigers organization after missing nearly two full seasons of competitive play. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019, but he is expected to be healthy for 2021." Good. Now I can stop reading about a prospect going into his 22 year old season that has never played higher than 29 games in high A and coming off TJ that can never hit that much being a top prospect team prospect. Looks like Falvey didn't think so either, as we only had a 35 roster spots taken going into the draft. I guess the Tigers are hoping he can now miraculously make the show for a complete year. Good luck. You never know, I guess. And look at the bright side - there is still Javier to write about. He can't hit either, but oh those tools!

I am not ready to give up on Garver after 23 games/72 at bats in some injury riddled covid short season! A guy with an incredible work ethic that just got better year after year after year after year, hit the bigs, and got better and better and better. Then he performed poorly for not even a month and was injured for most of the weirdest 60 game season in the history of MLB......... I am just not one to think that is indicitive of the future. At all. That would be short sited and very fickle of me. And just because Jeffers, who I was calling for all season and an apologist of, performed very well for all of 26 games and 55 at bats (but not even close to as spectacular as the full season of Garver's just one normal season ago in 2019 - not even close.... .791 OPS to .995!) I am not ready to bank that he will perform like that over the long haul of a 162 game season. But - I am very high on a very affordable Garver/Jeffers tandem, and great teams don't break that kind of controllable asset behind the plate up. I bet the FO isn't even considering it, as well. I bet we will have the best total performance behind the plate of any team in MLB the coming year because of both of them, and look forward to watching and enjoying it. This from AceWrigley's earlier post needs repeating.... "Blake Snell failed to record a quality start in 16 outings this year between the regular season and the postseason {but probably would have if not pulled in the 6th inning of game 6 of the 2020 World Series with one out and a runner on first, cruising and having only giving up a measly single and the second hit of the game and pitching a shutout with 9 Ks, no walks, two hits and only 73 pitches in the BIG game.....}. This year Snell averaged 4.55 innings per start in the regular season and 4.8 innings per start in the postseason. This year Snell ranked 92nd among all pitchers in fWAR with 0.6 in 11 regular-season starts. Since the start of the 2019 season Snell ranks 55th in fWAR. Over his first two seasons in 2016-17 Snell ranked 81st in fWAR. Snell’s 2018 Cy Young season appears to be the outlier. Of the 81 pitchers who tossed at least 50 innings this year, Snell at 29.4 percent easily had the highest percentage of fly balls result in home runs. Buyer beware."

Kiki can step up in big games. He did it a bunch I LA. AND in the postseason. That's more than I can say about the current Twins. I like Enrique Hernandez.

The whole team played worse (whether by actual performance or being on the field) in 2019 than in the total of the shortened 2020 (except Maeda, who wasn't on the team in 2019 - does Jeffers count? no MLB experience to compare?). But yet, none of the prospects were given a shot to supplant them during 2020. When you are in first, or so close to it, it is hard to make that move, but yet, they put Kirilloff in cold IN THE PLAYOFFS! So go figure. The whole team needs to rebound.... or we just saw the open window's counter weight break and now it is closed.

Rotate players through the DH that at their best projections and performances regarding left/right are significantly worse than Cruz. Sure. That is a great idea. I am totally sold by all the arguments. Make room for extra at bats that will perform signigicantly worse. Yup. That is a better fit, for sure.

Good. I like one who is in it to finish a job. Right now, Levine is 0-6 in the post season, so I think there is still some work to do.

Was there any starting player from 2019 on the Twins that had a better year in 2020? But they are keepers, nontheless, and most should be. I wanted DJ LeMahieu two years ago, and I want him now. That is a prize. I'm not buying on Arraez as the best direction at second - I like him in a utility/back-up role. And when it comes to rotating bats that perform well below Cruz in the DH spot, just to get them at bats..... I hate that stategy.

An apologist, by definition, is one who speaks in defense of (not one who is apologizing for). So I am not suggesting Falvey needs much apologizing for, at all, and I agree with you. I was noticing your defense of him, when I was meaning to speak in general, and had not even accused him personally. I am a proud apologist for many people and things and ideas, and don't apologize for it at all. I also embrace being a baseball nerd. I am even a baseball nerd apologist.

....and I didn't hear a thing!

It was meant to be a general observation. Not personal. But I have no problem with a Falvey apologist. I don't know how the decision will turn out, and I am not advocating for Wisler or Falvey. I had taken a bit of a break from the boards..... I guess I forgot how the internet works.

could be..... could be "a person whose views or actions have great influence over trends in social behavior." "an arbiter of taste" could be used to descibe other nuances. Perhaps not the most concise analogy.... I hope you understood the point.

That "call" is an easy one for me. Horribly wrong. Easy because that was the outcome and fact. Not a supposition. If you ignore the moment for the "what got you here", you put someone like Perkins in to blow games when you know he is finished. What we don't know is what Snell, on a roll and thriving, would have done. If one lives on paper the whole time, they will find themselves losing games in the world series that are outliers to the whole pencil pushing game. Do you really think that there was any consideration about Snell's future value in that decision? Snell was horrible most the short 2020 season, though. Long term? I hope they don't go for him. And the last thing this team needs a mopey Lynn around again.

This is what baseball has become. A somewhat "minority report" hybrid. It doesn't matter what you accomplish and how you actually perform, it only matters how an observer might think you will perform. It is not your thoughts and actions that count, it is some pencil pushing baseball nerd's that can't even come close to performing if they tried.

1. Greg Gagne - 2 rings, Twins' HOF 2. Dean Chance - 3 seasons.... 3. Nelson Cruz - 2 seasons..... he would rise if he sticks around and rakes, for sure. 10. Eddie Guardado - always hated seeing him come in a game - rarely enjoyable.

Prospects can be busts, sure. So can the player's on the cheap. Do they earn their spot, or are they given it with hopes of yesteryear. Even more likely to suck than to rebound. They just take up roster space. I mean.... they are already being tossed! I hate going cheap. It just blocks the path, or delays it, of the prospects that your "stellar farm system" has ready. I love going prospects pounding on the door. Are they ready? I see it all the time.... all over the league, that many are, they just have to be given the opportunity. And if they shine before you thought they would, you have just wasted less time. Was Jeffers ready? Many said no. Many were wrong.

My bet is none of those eligible get picked. Watching all these teams bring up guys that perform right away.... I personally don't see the quality among the unprotected. Quantity of good and very good, but not special. And that is the kind you want to make the show. If none get picked, I guess 29 other teams agree.

Congrats to Maeda! But personally, I can't get too excited or give to much credence to the awards this year for a 60 game season.

The Twins seem to have no concern about dumping a Minor League franchise location. I don't see it as a history to bank on for the Saints ownership. Is it against the rules for the Twins to pony up the 20 million? It seems to be only fair. Otherwise, just what are the benefits to the Saints? I don't see any. And how is the scheduling to come down. If both are playing in the same town on the same day, I don't see how competing with themselves for fans in the seats is a good arrangement.