PseudoSABR

I imagine their capacity to make a case depends on getting someone to flip.

That didn't take long. US Officials: Info suggests Trump associates may have coordinated with Russians

Helpful resource for keeping track of the Russia connections. Also this just dropped, Rep. Adam Schiff: There is now 'more than circumstantial evidence' of Trump-Russia collusion

http://a5.img.talkingpointsmemo.com/image/upload/w_652/slgcksjuase6ixhuwj5n.jpgGood times

Damn, before that Villanova loss, your bracket was near perfect. Still in the 99.7 percentile.

The Budget.

This.

Play and make us feel better about ourselves! Win-win.

Why not try a guy you like on the front end, when development time may actually be needed, rather than seeing who is available when crap hits the fan? I wouldn't hold my breath on the FO offering explanation; it remains to be seen how forthright and detailed the new regime will be when talking about personnel.

There's about ten entries. Anybody else? Your internet pride is at stake.

The Twins have more than the boxscore to work with. For instance, if his fastball command is the reason for his struggles in the minors; his minor league coaches and the front office can make first-hand assessment of the command he has on his fastball--even though he might be dominating AAA because of other his attributes, tactics, etc. I imagine one of the most difficult things to teach someone is to concede that they need to work on aspect of their game in spite of the results they are getting. After last years exposure at the major leagues, I imagine Berrios is receptive to improving--whether he has improved enough, I just don't think minor league results will tell us. (Maybe data that's very specific might give us some indication, like what pitches are getting Ks, how often a certain pitch is in the zone, spin rates, etc.; I think this kind of data is just now becoming available in the minor leagues). Because there's a new regime, I've got to trust their capacity to make that determination and develop processes with which Berrios can properly develop. Otherwise, I'd be applying the cynicism that the Terry Ryan regime had rightfully earned.

Berrios must have done extremely well in the majors then, no? Can we stop looking at the minor league box score for development, please? Clearly minor league success does not equal major league success; to wit: 8.02 ERA over 14 starts, with 5.4 BB per 9, and 7.4 Ks per 9.

My assumption is that IF Vogelsong is rostered, the current regime does see him as a marked improvement over a waiver wire claim. If they don't, then I don't believe he'll be rostered. Again, I'll defer to the new regime, until their decisions show a pattern of not bearing out. Berrios is promising, but he's also been not just mediocre but godawful in his stint last year (over 14 starts). The most recent evidence we have to assess his readiness isn't favorable. Throwing Berrios out there last year didn't work, why would it work this year? He's either made adjustments or he's still adjusting, and I'll trust the new regime to assess that. Vogelsong just buys you Berrios'/Meija's development in a low-pressure environment with a new pitching/organizational philosophy. Given the regime/philosophy change, there really might be more development to be had at the minor leagues, no?

I think that can work for some pitchers, but I'll defer to the judgment of the new regime to make that assessment on a case by case basis. If a pitcher's failures can be foreseen, and has particular and achievable things to work on in the minors, it doesn't seem like a good idea to throw him out there and see if he sticks. I just don't get the misstrust in the current regime. If they decide that Meija/Berrios aren't ready, why doubt that? I still think you're letting Ryan's regime color how your evaluating this particular decision. I'm just mystified that people are actually advocating 'just throw them out there for a long time' as the best (or even a reasonable) path to development.

I guess I don't understand the need to have young starting pitching, if that young pitching would better develop in the minors, esp. given the regime/philosophy change. It seems like an artificial requirement--a requirement without factoring in whether or not those pitchers are ready. The lack of young pitchers isn't due to not giving Meija and Berrios a chance, it's because the Twins haven't developed any young pitching (mediocre or otherwise) since or alongside Kyle Gibson. Typically, we should have at least a few pre-arb and arb eligible starters to consider, but the Twins have none (they had May but he got hurt). We shouldn't force Meija/Berrios into the rotation to some how make up for what is five-year development gap. Again, you'll see plenty of Meija, Berrios and likely others, whether we roster Vogelsong or not.

Have you considered that it may be more difficult for young player to develop at the major league level? Are you not willing to defer to the new regime in such decisions? I swear these are the same arguments people made about the Ryan regime, and even then, I thought they were poor arguments given the early results of prospects pitching in the majors (Berrios, May, Gibson). I think you commit to the rebuild by putting your players in the best position to succeed which isn't simply throwing them out on the mound. (I mean you can't be serious that Vogelsong would somehow set back a rebuild).

Look, the new regime picked Vogelsong over guys like Albers for this exact role. I don't think there's any reason to doubt the new regime's rationale for picking Vogelsong over any of number of other players. Maybe you're right that Vogelsong and Albers are interchangeable in terms of on the field production, but maybe there's more to Vogelsong than just results (I know the forbidden clubhouse guy, coach in waiting argument). But I also think you're ignoring the difference between mediocre/serviceable and bad. Players you tend to be able to pick up in the middle of the season often have proven not to be serviceable (thus waived or released by another org.) It's simply an assumption that Vogelsong is no better than Albers--in fact he might well be (again, why disstrust the new regime?) I also think you're framing the roster logistics backwards. You lose Vogelsong whether he gets cut in spring training or he proves ineffective during the season--this is an essential element of my point: that if you don't roster Vogelsong out of spring training you lose him as an asset (how little that may be) altogether. Again, you lose the team's offseason choice for a back end arm. Right the Twins already have Santiago who might need to be replaced, and they have Hughes and Gibson how have had both ineffectiveness and injury issues and then you have Santana who is a candidate to be traded. That means to two things: 1) there will be plenty of opportunities for the youngsters 2) the need to have additional major league assets is EVEN higher. I think the greater fear is if you start with Berrios, and he fails, and you bring up Meija and he fails, and then you get other injuries/ineffectiveness to the rotation, well what then? At some point throwing pitching prospects on the mound to see if they stick is a really poor strategy. I'd rather let the new regime to independently decide that a given pitching prospect is ready than have their hand forced by need and lack of depth. At some point, people need to realize that their advocacy of pushing pitching prospects to the majors hasn't borne out. And that Vogelsongs of the world provides a buffer so that those prospects are ready (not just dominating the minor league box score). Again, given the mediocrity across the entire staff, Vogelsong being roster will not meaningfully limit the chances for Meija and Berrios. And I think it's really foolish to be worrying about the guys at AA getting their chances. I hope the Twins aren't forced to start reaching down that far into the system, because they shed Vogelsong (etc.) and Meija/Berrios have proved yet again to be ineffective at the major league level. (If this was August, I'd agree it be more meaningful for youngsters to get innnings regardless of the results; but it's March, and it's not as if Berrios earned a shot with his performance last year, if anyone should be ahead of Vogelsong its Meija (who had 8Ks in 4 innings today))

The real choice is likely between Vogelsong now or Andy Albers later. It's just a lot of hand-wringing about the poor prospects not being given a chance.

Maybe you can help him put it in less patronizing terms. As I certainly wasn't supporting what he was suggesting I was.

This is an honest take? (Because it feels a bit like trolling--as I suggested nothing like "obviously we prefer vets to youngsters b/c the young guys just haven't been tested") It's not as if Berrios and Meija are going to be in the minors all season because Vogelsong is rostered on opening day. They will get plenty of chances to get tested during this losing season. My point about the Twins not competing is that they can let the better, younger pitcher develop (if they thinks its best) and limit their innings, even though that pitcher is better than veteran. When the team is competing, obviously you have more incentive to start the younger better pitcher.

Comparing NY Times to cable news is apples to oranges. Further, we should be reading everything with a critical eye, and certainly not laud much less depend on any one source.

The irony is that her ratings have doubled recently, and she claims that is because she stopped covering Trumps tweets and focused on the White House's actions. I don't think MSNBC realized what kind of fervor they'd create by teasing the reveal on Twitter (they should have known). Maddow's show played out much like it usually does, heavy on context and a bit light on original reporting (which is pretty standard for a cable show)--but given the reaction to her initial tweet, this was a very poor way to run the program. Had she said at the outset that the tax return was just two-pages from one-year and is rather favorable to Trump, I doubt we'd see the backlash--but she hid the ball because she knew there wasn't a there-there. I'm sure her ratings were crazy last night, but I bet they crater a bit tonight. I hope she learns from it, because I find her authentic, and one of the few anchors intelligent enough to keep the moving parts of the Russia pseudoscandal straight. (I'd like to also point out, that at least liberals react in disdain when their pet-media doesn't deliver on a promise. What Maddow did is what Fox News does every night with every minuscule issue for years and years, and their viewership eats it up.)

I think the outcry from Vogelsong potentially rostering the final spot in the rotation is overblown. Given the precarious health of pitchers I think its incumbent on the Twins to keep around as many major league ready arms as possible; that necessarily means rostering veterans over youngsters who still have options, at least at the beginning of the year. Perhaps Berrios or Meija would procure better results on opening day, but they also could benefit from more time in the minors--esp. if the Twins really are instituting a new pitching philosophy org. wide. Given the regime change, I think we should defer to their process and judgment, until proven otherwise. Each year fans clamor for pitching prospect promotions, and yet, when those pitchers finally arrive (often too late for many) to the majors, the prospects implode (see Berrios, May, and Gibson). I think our sense of when pitching prospects are ready or deserve a shot over veteran are pretty off-base. In this sense, we probably shouldn't expect Gonsalves, Romero, Jay, or Stewart to pitch meaningful innings for the Twins this season. Pitching prospects need a frustrating amount of time--perhaps with the changes to the pitching philosophy, when these prospects do arrive, they are in better position to succeed than the pitching prospects of the past couple years. If Vogelsong ends up netting 50-70 mediocre innings, so what? They'll be plenty of opportunities for Berrios and Meija. In a year we aren't expected to compete, I'd rather the Twins be particularly cautious with their young pitchers and limit the exposure and innings so those pitchers are better positioned to bear the innings load in future seasons.

Thanks.

Maddow overplayed the hype; not much to see. The guest on her show suggested that Trump leaked the document himself.