h2oface

Burdi seems to only be used for mop up duty in blowouts. I wish that would change..

futility infielder...... I love it!

He could teach the boys how to roid up and not get officially caught? I hope Bonds stays away from all aspects of the game now. Coaching included. Is his head still growing?

When have the Twins not had their pockets picked by the Nationals? I can't remember a time that the Twins even got a fair trade value. Ryan seems to get the short stick every time.

Looks like Gardenhire doesn't really have the respect around the league that some liked to toot. Maybe he should settle for third base coach.

If one is keeping score......... what is it? 3 years to none? Alex has a ways to go to even get even now. It could happen, though. I sure hope he finds it. I hope he gets the opportunity to pitch in the show.

Perhaps you could share the source of Casey Close negotiating the contract? That is news to me. Going to the meetings himself, agreeing on the points, and interviewing himself... to me that is the negotiation. Hiring someone to write it up and presenting it for approval of all the details and getting attorney or other eyes on it ....... I don't really consider the negotiation.

Beat me to the question, but I like the way you phrased it better than mine was sounding.

Greinke was often plagued by the Dodger pen, as was Kershaw. Many starts were 6 innings and 7 innings, and they left with a lead in a close game. The Twins pen was pretty bad, and that needs improved with the upgrade in starters. Too bad they starters don't/can't pitch complete games with that kind of ERA these days... and start every 4th day. Those were the days.

Greinke negotiates his own contracts. Or at least he did the last time he was on the market.

Buying one on the free agent market truly is relatively easy. Trading for one has way to much down side. Greinke is a special case. He negotiates his own contracts. As consistent as he is, I would dangle a five year, 150 million contract with an opt out option for Greinke after year 1, 2, 3 and 4. Let him leave if he wants to after each year. That gives him security and a chance to make more money if he stays as consistent as he has been, and the market allows him to in his perspective. I would also try to negotiate a club opt out after 3 years. That gives the Twins a chance to move on with youth if desired, and the pitchers from within become something special. The Twins truly aren't limited for money. That is fiction. It is apparent that the stadium will fill if the team wins. This owner can spend any money he wants to at anytime, and it still won't be a losing proposition for him, he just might not clear as much profit. If Greinke has the option to leave, and takes it, then the Twins got a great pitcher to lead the staff for as long as he is here and wants to be here, and gave up nothing for it. Greinke gets to seek greener pastures and get an even better deal. Even if it just lasts one year, it would be super. It is time to think outside the box for the future. Trading is the worst option, in my opinion. Buying 4 ERA pitchers or worse for 4 and 5 years is the most terrible option of all, and that is what Ryan likes to do, or at least what he has done. That may get you around a .500 team, but not much past that. Genius prognosticators said Houston and Chicago were at least a year away. I guess they are not so smart.

....and I can't ignore the scoreless innings streak, his won-lost percentage, and over all presence for the Dodgers this year. One can disregard that if they like, as it is trendy to ignore and discount those facts in favor of the new found supposedly more important and representative analysis, but I stand by my opinion. Both were great seasons (and seasons like the Twins only dream of and haven't seen for years in a Twins' uniform), I think we can agree on that. When Greinke opts out of his present contract and becomes a free agent, does that mean the Dodgers can offer him a qualifying offer that he will be forced to refuse? and that giving up a first round pick comes with his signing by another team other than the Dodgers? Or does the opt out mean he doesn't fall into that quagmire? I think it is amazing that Greinke negotiates his own contracts personally, and respect the hell out of that.

Please excuse me for the OR/AND semantic. I don't agree that the other pitchers have to be the other aging guys on ugly contracts. It doesn't have to be that way, and if one wants to win with the crop of budding players, to waste time on pitchers that can't keep up is just going to make the time until the new stars will be moving on not as productive for the team. It all depends on whether GM wants to win. It doesn't have to have to mean that May, Duffey, Berrios, and maybe Meyer get shafted because of Nolasco, Milone, Hughes, and whoever else may not be as good. Here's to Pelfrey's future somewhere else.

To me, as good as Grenkie was this year - and arguably quite a bit better than his Cy Young year (as of this date the only one) - and to have his WAR be calculated as worse...... I think it says a lot about how unreliable WAR can be.

Since these games are all about development, I think what Burdi, Walker, and Turner did in the rainout is as important as "official" AFL stats. What they do matters, even if it is rained out. Thanks for the summary of week one!

Where can I find the list of current unwritten rules that supports this statement?

All I have to say about composition suggestions is...... Mark Twain. In this day of tweeting twits, this post is refreshing. Thanks for your thoughts.

You think a lot more highly of the starting pitching staff than I do.

#43 – Niko Goodrum - 23 – IF/OF – Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts Goodrum was the Twins second-round draft pick out of high school in Georgia in 2010. A second round pick in 2010, and after 5 plus years, he is all the way up to a #43 top prospect on this list. Wow. Progress, eh? Looks like a wasted and misguided #2 pick in the draft to me. Many of these prospects have been ranked higher in many years before. Jason Wheeler: 2015 (21) Niko Goodrum: 2015 (27), 2014 (20), 2013 (27), 2012 (19), 2011 (26) Brett Lee: 2014 (27) Levi Michael: 2013 (30), 2012 (17) DJ Baxendale: 2014 (25) According to this ranker, they should have been much better than they became or are becoming. Or he is really wrong now.?Tough game, that ranking.

Sure. It isn't my money. Let me see...... Greinke ...... or any of the pitchers the Twins have..... yup.... I'll take Greinke.

Swisher throwing his legs out and basically kicking at Nishioka is the same as sliding straight into the base? Both Swisher and Utley went out of the way to take out the fielder and interfere with the play. Swisher didn't even start his slide until he was already out. Both Nishi and Tejada had both moved enough out of the way to give the runner a clear path to the base. Both Swisher and Utley interfered purposely with the play, and went out of their way to do it. Both are cowardly moves and not in the spirit of the rules of the game as written.

Yeah........ Swisher was a real coward and I agree about the stark similarities. I am not in the buying line about the market team, but I do buy the national exposure. I think the market is irrelevant, and the outrage and exposure would have been the same if this happened in a KC/Houston ALDS game as well, and the call for action is all about the national exposure on the largest stage that finally brings the needed attention to the hypocrisy of ignoring the written rule. There is already a rule in place though, that says the fielder has to touch the base for a force out, and the runner can't interfere. Why it has been allowed all these years and the hypocrisy of that has now even reached casual fans. This will be good for the future of the game and clean up the tradition mess in the neighborhood. They left the neighborhood play as unreviewable with replay because they weren't enforcing it. It has always been outside the written rule. I don't see it all that dramatic that the rule should finally be enforced. It doesn't even have to be changed. I guess they could define it stricter, but the rule is already in place and just needs enforced.

The big deal was made about the "neighborhood" rule, which was one that was not reviewable during the regular season. Did that change for the post season? Personally, even as a kid I didn't like the unwritten rule of you didn't have to touch second base and it was to protect the fielder from injury. Of course you have to touch second (at least you did last night..... but only if you were the fielder. i guess the runner doesn't have to). And the runner should never be able to not be clearly intending to touch the base first and foremost. I have always hated the acceptance of something that clearly was not the written rule here. Even as a child, it was clear it was wrong. This was clear that the intent was to take out the fielder, and not touch the base and try to be safe. Tejada was even trying to give Utley a clear path to the base, and he did. Utley jumped into him, and took out the leg on the fly, with the base of no interest.

I really feel that Utley wasn't trying to hurt Tejada, but he certainly wasn't even trying to touch the base, and he never even did. The explanation of why he got to be safe by not touching the base at all and leaving the field was completely lame. While Utley's intent was not to break a leg, it was to jump into him without care of what happened. This, to me, is right up there with throwing at a batter intentionally as the most cowardly actions a ball player can do on the field. As a baseball fan, I don't agree with the interpretation of the rules here at all.

I never found Morneau to have an "arrogant attitude". He was one of the most gracious Twins and would sign autographs before games, after games, and was always available to the fans, and much more so than most of the players, if not the most. And if one is going to question his ego disparagingly, which I am not, can't the same question can be asked about Mauer? Isn't Mauer just as susceptible to get another concussion as Morneau, no matter where he plays? He still has to dive for balls, risk being hit by a pitch during every at bat, and slide into bases where a knee can hit him in the head, etc. From a business standpoint, I wonder what would happen if management asked Mauer to catch again, and he refuses. Is there something in his contract that says he can refuse and still be paid? Haven't doctors giving him a clean bill of health? Would that request be the considered inhumane? If he would then refuse, he could have the option to retire, no? It would surely be a hot topic and have a lot of fallout, but if one is paying someone 23 million dollars a year and he won't do something he is asked to do, would that void his contract? One could argue that every player on the field is risking suffering a career ending concussion at anytime, even if they have never had a single one. Hit by a pitch, hit by a batted ball, a knee to the head sliding into a base, running into a wall attempting a catch.... it is a risk that one takes when they get to play baseball for a living in exchange for taking home millions (or minimum salary and even meager minor league salaries), and most make that choice pretty easily. It takes large ego to be an artist, actor, baseball player, comedian, businessman, president, surgeon, teacher, musician and the list goes on and on......... and most of the best at what they do have it and the accompanying confidence to be fearless, and I am thankful for that.