Otto von Ballpark

I like to move around too, although I will be with the family this time. My daughter liked the contests and games they used to do above the visitor's dugout at Midway, so I just got those same seats at CHS -- will report back.

Thinking of going to my first game at CHS Field. Any recommendations on where to sit? I know at Midway, we loved being right above the visitor's dugout where the PA announcer was. Is there any preferred spot around the infield at CHS like that?

Has the league become more imbalanced recently? Those are some crazy records for St Paul and Sioux City.

Turner or any non-40 man guy would be "eligible", but would still require permission from the league. And AFAIK, it hasn't really happened at this late date since KRod in 2002, so it might be something the league discourages now (since that time, they have really made postseason rosters much more flexible in terms of the 40-man roster -- the August 31st 25-man is basically irrelevant now, but was the tougher standard that K Rod had to crack in 2002).

What's Pat Borders up to these days?

Not quite accurate, there is no 25 man roster right now. Florimon was added back to the 40-man. (Hey, Guerra pitched for the Pirates earlier this year! Does that prove "good teams want him around" too?)

Santana's 2015 hitting struggles started before his playing time was diminished, unfortunately for the Twins. Escobar hit very well in a utility role to finish 2013 and begin 2014 too. I wouldn't read too much into the timing of his 2015 slump.

Why would you mention the walk off triple for Florimon, but then not mention he was DFA'd the next day, went unclaimed by every team in baseball, and was outrighted to the minor leagues? Doesn't sound like any team wanted him around MLB, much less "good teams". And Butera was deemed expendable by the Dodgers and Angels, and I think he's only sticking with the Royals right now because they have the most durable catcher in the league in Perez. It's not clear that any other team would want to keep him around other than as a 3rd string guy in AAA. EDIT: Frankly I am not sure what we are arguing about. But I'd guess about 30 out of 30 MLB teams don't want Florimon on their MLB or perhaps even 40-man rosters, and Butera might be very close to that figure too (leaving out the Royals, obviously).

Red Wings playoff chase? They held their deficit at 5 games, still with 7 to play!

Except saving May for that spot start and letting him recover took him out of that vital setup role for about a full week, contributing to several losses during that time.

Not only that, but the Twins don't need an emergency catcher. They need actual catchers they can aggressively pinch hit for if they come up with men on base (particularly on Suzuki's off days).

And Rochester is all but eliminated too. 5 GB with 8 to play.

Yeah, I am not sure what the point is having Berrios start again at AAA on Aug. 31 if you should be calling him up Sep. 1. This would keep him on regular rest to start Saturday... but that's Ervin's start. And Sunday woukd be Duffey again, who is starting Tuesday. Presumably having Berrios or Duffey available in the pen Sep. 1-3 would be useful?

Pinto hasn't played catcher since June 9th, and I'm not sure they want him to yet this season. (His bat has yet to heat up either, dating back before his DL stint too) Obviously if it's just for emergency purposes, it probably doesn't matter, but given our catching options, I think this team could afford a non-emergency 3rd catcher under expanded rosters, simply so they could be aggressive with pinch-hitting. Basically, when Suzuki gets an off day, you could pinch hit for Herrmann in a key spot in the 5th inning and then insert Fryer, keep Suzuki rested and leave open the possibility of pinch-hitting for Fryer later in the game too if necessary.

Why Santana on Sep. 1? There is no way he starts up here while Escobar is healthy. I guess pinch running? I'd rather have him keep swinging a bat for another week in AAA in case Escobar got hurt. Also, you don't think Berrios will get any kind of look? I'd like to see a pitcher capable of long relief on Sep. 1, preferably Berrios but Darnell would be in that group too. No sense going another week without a long reliever despite expanded rosters in a pennant race, short starts absolutely destroy our pen right now.

I used to be critical of the wave when the home team is batting, still a little critical when it's a close game (not sure 3 runs in the 9th counts). But with a 3 year old, it is another thing to interest her and extend her time at the ballpark. I support it. Also, unlike a lot of other annoying things at sporting events, you can't really replicate the wave anywhere else. It's a whole ton of people, sitting captive, in a circle formation. If that crowd wants to take some communal action for fun, go for it. For those that don't participate, its direct effects (blocking one's view) are very brief by definition, and given the pace of the sport, unlikely to obscure much action.

The Red Wings are 5 games out with 9 to play. I sure hope they are not waiting for the end of that season to call up players, especially given our bullpen (no long relievers right now) and bench (no pinch hitters).

Yeah, I too noticed that Finnegan didn't have an extended impact, back when I was researching Tyler Jay and the fast-track suggestions. Finnegan was on a team with a much better bullpen -- they didn't really need him in September. The regular season was primarily about acclimation and evaluation for him. But in the wild card game (which is 100% in any playoff path of the Twins, unlike the Royals last year who had a shot at the division), Finnegan was a critical piece when the game went to extra innings, allowing them the freedom to use their best bullpen options early in a do-or-die game. Given our staff, Berrios could potentially help us in that way earlier than the wild card game (although since our path to the postseason is 100% thru the wild card game, it wouldn't hurt to have him available then too). And Berrios could contribute either in the pen or in a start (which Finnegan was not prepared to do). If he's effective, I also wouldn't necessarily shut him down for the playoffs -- pacing him needs to be part of the plan. I wasn't necessarily comparing Berrios to Price either as pitchers or in pedigree, but he is another example of a September/October difference making rookie out of the pen. You don't have to be a #1 overall pick or super-elite prospect to be a difference-maker down the stretch -- you just have to be a really good pitcher. Berrios is by far our best shot at adding such a pitcher to an otherwise shaky staff at this critical juncture. He doesn't even need to make a Price 2008 level difference to have more than a marginal impact of the 2015 Twins season.

I think Sano gets a pass on that, given his recent rate of runs driven in!

Am I missing something? Why wasn't O'Rourke available, despite not pitching at all in 9 days? Option him if you're not going to use him. And was Perkins really unavailable the last 3 games? He'd already be 10 days into a 15-day DL stint if we had disabled him when he flew home for his cortisone shot, eligible to return in just 4 more games (Sep. 2nd, when we wouldn't even have to demote anyone to make room for him again due to expanded rosters). Add in our insistence on rostering multiple unmovable "less enticing options" like Duensing and Boyer through it all, and I've got no sympathy if our bullpen is short-handed because of these decisions.

I doubt you read many that wanted to trade him for a catcher. There just aren't great catchers available in trade right now. He was mentioned in regards to Tulo, although actually most posters wanted to deal Gibson instead, as he was one of the Rockies targets named in Jeremy's rumor.

Remember, 34 days is the max, if they call him up Sep. 1 and let him finish the season (meaning, he's good and useful). If they let him finish in Rochester first, it may only be 27 days. If they give him a couple MLB appearances and decide he's fatiguing and option him to shut him down, it could be as little as 6 days or whatever. And if you are absolutely committed to getting that extra year of control, you have to keep him in the minors for ~12 days regardless in 2016. You can't risk that being ~18 days to see if you can catch lightning in a bottle this September? I think your risk-reward calibration is off. Royals fans are sure glad you weren't counseling their team on Brandon Finnegan last year. And Rays fans about David Price in 2008. Two young pitchers who made quite a difference as just "a pen arm" in September and October (one in the wild card game, no less). If that's the "risk reward game" surely there are some examples of MLB teams holding back pitchers similar to Berrios in health, talent, and experience for service time reasons in a pennant race? I can think of a ton of hitters getting the service time treatment (not generally in pennant races, though) but not any pitchers with Berrios's profile. I think you are over-thinking this extra year of control and exaggerating its importance. TR certainly hasn't shown much care for service time with even more elite prospects than Berrios (Mauer and Liriano). Buxton was only called up due to Hicks' injury (twice), and Sano wasn't called up until almost a month past the Super-2 threshold had passed. Given that, there's probably a decent chance that Berrios could make the team next spring anyway -- I don't think the Twins care all that much about service time. If he makes the team to begin April 2016, wouldn't you feel silly for not having a "free" tryout for him in September 2015?

By my calculations, it's 15 days service time or so to give him a couple MLB looks. That's not much of a cost. Easily regained next April if they want, especially since shutting him down at 15 days suggests he wasn't ready or was wearing down. And if he looks to be an asset in our 2015 pennant race, it's 34 days service time, max. Also not prohibitively difficult to recapture in 2016, if the extra year of control is really as important as you say it is. That's ultimately what I don't get about your argument -- this extra year of control is SO important, to not even try seeing if he could help us in a pennant race... but not important enough that they couldn't justify an extra 2-5 weeks in the minors in 2016?

Now I think you're doubling down on the sarcasm, right? Earlier in the thread, you said Berrios wouldn't be "ready" until 3 weeks into 2016, but also said it wasn't about service time -- that's what triggered my sarcasm detector...

I knew you meant fans were naive, but it's also naive to suggest the Twins are focused more on service time for a pitcher than other MLB teams. Seriously, how many pitchers have you heard about who were held back months beyond when they were apparently ready, just to avoid Super-2 or get an extra year of control like Bryant and Longoria? I can't think of any, really, much less in a pennant race with a record and experience similar to Berrios. Also, the Rays haven't flipped assets like the A's. They've signed Archer, Moore, and Davis to long-term contracts. They also called up all 3 of those (plus Price, Hellickson, and Odorizzi) to help the MLB club in a September pennant race.