mikelink45

If we are willing to give Kohl Stewart a start to see what he can do, we owe Gonsalves a chance to prove what he can do. Or else we can send him to Detroit so he can play with Hicks and Goodrum and let Gardy show us how to use the minor leaguers we do not want.

Not sure I agree so I will continue to sweat for all of us.

Free Gonsalves. If the rotation does not match up for this game - okay, but why isn't he here along with Romero. Has anyone noticed our record?

What a game - this is Detroit we were playing, not Cleveland. But there is a lot to take away from this. If you noticed previous postings I have made - we blew it with Goodrum. Good for him for taking advantage of his opportunity. Santana is done, in every way. He is a FA, we are going nowhere and neither is he. The FO has shown a real reluctance to bring up Gonsalves - why? Put him in Santana's place since they are not going to give him Mejia's start. If we are willing to DFA Santana (I am) why do we not DFA Morrison? Why do we keep playing him? Did my eyes deceive me? I thought I saw Forsythe batting fourth. Nice to see Drake reduce his ERA to 7.13, Too bad we do not have any relief pitchers in the minors. Mauer has no power - we know that so his 354 slugging does not shock, but Morrison was hired for his power and his slugging is 368 even though he has 15 HR. CUT CUT CUT. I believe there has been talk about Rosario being a good fielder. He now has 8 errors. The next worst LFs have 3! Maybe there are more raindrops hitting the turf than we want to admit. If you check the most errors by RF you will find Grossman tied for fourth in errors considering how few games he is in the field that is a real accomplishment.

I keep looking for the real prospects in the system to show up, but I must have missed something on my travels - who is Field in LF? Where did he come from and when?

Why isn't Gonsalves going to MN? Looks like time for a few more movements upward for key players throughout the system.

Not so sure. Good to see the analysis and the hope, but I was really expecting so much more this season.

Interesting event. I am in MI and saw it announced in the Astros Mariners game. Good news. Please do not pick up any more loose arms - go with what is in the minors.

I will take your optimism and keep my skepticism. Hope you are right. Rooker is too old to be continually put off as a future prospect.

I have no argument with that, but I still think that we need a new paradigm for relievers. This just keeps developing - now with openers as well as closers and guaranteed daily relief pitcher use there has to be a better way of using them. We need systems - where are the stats boys?

The way relief pitchers are used these days they need to put them on a rotation just like the starters. Get away from the over use. Even in the comments there is a call for Moya but he has been worked hard with lots of pitches. It is a tendency we all have which is why a team needs to start putting together a relief strategy.

Nicely done. That is why we should bring up Romero and Gonsalves now. Let's see the rotation building blocks and determine who else should be put in place for this kind of plan. I think we have the people in the minors now if they do not get injured. No more FA fillers. Build a platform for success.

I know this FO loves the guys that they pick up but I do not want to see Austin jump in front of Rooker. Gonsalves should already be up. I want to see lots of movement, lots of young players. I do not care if the just cut Morrison and lose money, he has already cost them. I do not care if they lose Santana for nothing, cut him. Move on. Even out best season in the last 7 is not good enough. Quit hanging on to the question marks. Test the young guys and don't wait for September.

Does this mean that Mitch will get at least as many starts as Wilson?

Such impatience with our minor leaguers and beyond belief patience with Belisle. What is going on? Explain these new metrics to an old guy who has the perception that giving up a run an inning is not good. What am I missing? Hey Falvey and Levine - you owe us an explanation!

Don't hold back. It seems like MLB has shifted and younger players are coming in if they are the stars. Normal players get lengthy progression, but Lewis looks like one of those who can be a teenage star.

This was excellent, but continues our frustration with the FO. Why Drake? Move the AAA guys up, test our own players over an extended time. I also want to see Gonsalves - he deserves a chance. Sit Morrison down. Mr HR or nothing is not the future, but Rooker is. Give young bats and young arms a chance. Commit to our youth. If they show they cannot do it the FO can go back to the Drake/Motter dumpster dives, but we do not need that right now. Buxton is a really sad story for me. If you want to join me in my disappointment - check out these 40. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1015140-40-cant-miss-superstars-who-flamed-out-before-the-hall-of-fame#slide9 I will not say that Buxton will not come through, but the odds keep shifting. Or maybe this group is more comparable https://bleacherreport.com/articles/567407-mark-prior-and-the-top-10-mlb-prospect-flame-outs-of-all-time#slide10 .

This is no service to the fans. Imagine sitting through almost 6 hours and tons of rain. Anyone there the last two innings should have gotten free tickets to another game.

As an anti Free agent commentator I am constantly against the big signing for players over 30. Someday I hope that someday we can get a study on the actual return for free agents signed by age and position. Pujols is a good example. For what he's getting paid he's a shell of his Hall of Fame self. I believe that you have to gather and develop the young players and when they're at a position where one or two changes can put them over the top that's when you make the investment but not like we did this year with Morrison and Lynn and Rodney and Duke and read and odorizzi

I thought I would expand on my comment about the team and the fact that a team that gets along, is filled with nice guys, and causes no issues does not necessarily mean that they are winners. Does anyone remember the A's when they dominated the game?Rudi, Henderson, Bando, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Gene Tenace, Bert Campaneris, Blue Moon Odom, Vida Blue, Dick Williams and Charlie Finley?They hated each other and especially their owner. "The stories have the feel of something ripped off from a Hollywood script. All the conflict, humor and triumph of the early 1970’s Oakland A’s did, in fact, hit the big screen Thursday night. The best thing is that all the anecdotes are true. The MLB Network held an advance screening of its newest documentary, “The Swingin’ A’s,” which chronicles the roller coaster ride of the 1972-74 A’s, winners of three consecutive World Series. The film, which debuts Tuesday at 6 p.m. on the MLB Network, features revealing interviews with lots of key players from that era —Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers, Reggie Jackson, Gene Tenace, Sal Bando, Ray Fosse and Joe Rudi among them. Blue attended the premiere and took part in an audience Q&A hosted by the MLB Network’s Matt Vasgersian (an East Bay native and self-described A’s diehard). “The Swingin’ A’s” is not so much a nostalgic recap of those seasons, but an honest and entertaining account of just how dysfunctional the environment was with this bunch, even as the A’s were building one of baseball’s top dynasties. A small group of media attended Thursday’s premiere at the New Parkway Theatre in Oakland, but most of the seats in the small venue were filled by fans who cheered often throughout the one-hour documentary. Not surprisingly, the film centers around the friction between A’s players and then-team owner Charlie Finley, the eccentric outside-the-box thinker whose penny-pinching ownership style quickly wore thin with players. One of the more entertaining moments revolves around Jackson showing up to spring training in 1972 with a beard, a no-no under Finley. The owner offered $300 to any of the other players who grew a mustache, thinking that if facial hair became so commonplace it would persuade Jackson to eventually shave. Instead, the idea caught fire throughout the clubhouse, and the heavy facial hair came to symbolize the free-spirit mentality of those A’s teams that ran so counter to other major league clubs. Fingers’ handlebar mustache, of course, became iconic. “The only reason I grew this thing was to get $300 out of Charlie,” Fingers shares. Also included is the entertaining story of young Stanley Burrell, who became an A’s batboy, eventually was granted a “vice president” title by Finley and acted as the owner’s eyes and ears in the clubhouse. Burrell, as is well-documented, went on to gain world fame as rapper MC Hammer. The Oakland native narrates the documentary. The A’s fought with each other in the clubhouse, but above all else, they were a tight-knit bunch that formed a united front in opposition to their owner, who didn’t stand for having his authority challenged. But the film also takes care to mention the good that Finley did, such as the time he helped pay for medical expenses for a player’s wife. And, as A’s players acknowledge, Finley deserves credit for putting together this championship roster in the first place." I know this is Minnesota Nice and we are all supposed to be great buddies, but lots of teams have made their way to a championship without being pen pals.We have had a lot of very close knit losers. "According to CSN Bay Area’s Joe Stiglich, who also attended the advance screening. “‘The Swingin’ A’s’ is not so much a nostalgic recap of those seasons, but an honest and entertaining account of just how dysfunctional the environment was with this bunch, even as the A’s were building one of baseball’s top dynasties,https://www.mlb.com/news/swingin-as-movie-revisits-oakland-dynasty/c-215154198 The conflicts with the Owner lead to a strike - http://research.sabr.org/journals/owner-player-conflict Conflicts are something that must be dealt with, but they are also part of team chemistry.A passive loser is not something I want to see.That is one of the big complaints about Mauer - Mr MN Nice - does not stir the pot in any direction.When Torii Hunter clobbered Morneau it was a shock, but was it terrible? Don't give me a bunch of guys who can pat each other on the back or the butt, give me players who want to win. Or try to remember or check out the Bronx Zoo - Yankees under swing first manager Billy Martin and excitable George Steinbrenner. "No secret was made of the hostility between Jackson and Munson. Their teammates took sides in the split. Though they were winning ballgames, there was anything but good cheer in the Yankees locker room. Billy Martin, never one to cater to star players, joined Munson in his animosity towards Reggie. Both the manager and the captain were firm believers in fundamentals and routine. They unfairly viewed Reggie as a slacker who was only interested in padding his personal stats. The rest of the country saw it play out on live TV, when Martin and Jackson had to be restrained from brawling with each other in front of a national audience during a game of the week at Fenway Park. The Red Sox swept that series, and the Yankees seemed to be spiraling out of control." Reggie said Munson was nothing, it was Reggie that was the straw that stirs the drink. And of course there was the Martin and Steinbrenner relationship - Billy was hired and fired 5 times over 13 years. During that period Billy managed the Twins too! In 2002 San Francisco's two stars, Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds, were known for their behind-the-scenes feud that was tearing the team apart, but they decided to make their relationship public. Kent left for the Houston Astros in the offseason and manager Dusty Baker left for the Cubs. Darryl Strawberry said beer was the basis of the Mets "alcoholic lifestyle." He added that the team "hauled around more Bud than the Clydesdales." In his autobiography he added, "The beer was just to get the party started and maybe take the edge off the speed and coke." I do not advocate for creating Chaos like the Red Sox team that got Terry Francona fired after a championship, http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/sc-spt-0910-4corners-20120909-story.html, but I also think that we have to accept some personalities to clash and being a nice team, even a Minnesota Nice team is not necessarily the best. Wouldn't you like to see Mauer show some emotions and get the team stirred up once in a while?

The biggest issue we all face is overvaluing our own players. It has happened every year since 1961 and it is what makes shaping a team so difficult. Buxton and Sano will continue to develop and they could become all-stars, but there is a reason why there is frustration. If you have looked at Trout, Lindor and other 20 year olds with such great pedigrees come up and succeed you have to be disappointed. But that is not the same as giving up. I am all for moving the deadwood out right now. Getting the young players up and giving them experience is essential. Remember how poorly Berrios did at first? These last two months are a good time to shake out those adjustments. What good does it do for the team to play Morrison or Belisle or Rodney when they are not going to be here for the step forward? I would say the same for Wilson and even Santana. Let movement and trials begin. Don't wait for next year. I would have traded Odorizzi and maybe they still should. We have one old veteran in Mauer that we will never let go of and Pineda seems to be guaranteed a slot next year. Beyond that keep moving the pieces until we get the base to move up and establish the future. No more FA, no more okay vets, lay a foundation and start now.

I think we have no choice right now, but to keep saying Sano and Buxton, but I think that the real future is Romero and Berrios with another group of young pitchers right behind them. Sano and Buxton have teased for years now - I know they are still young - but in baseball pitching will always rule. Remember the Koufax, Drysdale, Osteen or Sutton era - their team was lousy, their pitching did it. We have some real studs in the minors and perhaps a vet in Gibson who has a lot of lessons to share. But we need to move with them. Get Romero back up, get ready to move with Brusdar and Gonsalves and Mejia. We have arms coming in like we have never had. This is what is exciting. Buxton may flame out - or fall apart - Sano may have a narrow window, but we have Kiriloff and Brooker and Lewis who should be pushing the MLB team. Yes we have the potential, but it is not in Odorizzi or any other grab to FA world. It is getting these young players into the MLB with a chance to reach their potential.

I hope they do and that they do so with the young and eager minor leaguers, but I understand your sentiments.

Just read Bleacher reports grading for all the teams at this point in the year. Obviously after the trading period. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2789031-mlb-report-card-grades-for-all-30-teams-entering-august?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=mlb#slide4 "Minnesota Twins (49-57) If we pretended 2017 never happened, this season might feel like a moral victory for the Minnesota Twins. In 2016, Minnesota lost 103 games. In light of that, a sub-.500 second-place standing wouldn't sting too badly. The Twins vaulted past expectations in 2017, however, and grabbed the AL's second wild-card spot. As such, it's tough to view their injury-marred, regression-filled 2018 showing as anything less than a crash-to-Earth splash of ice-cold water. Grade: D" I tried to think about this as I do with my graduate courses - although those students are much easier to grade. So how do I think about a grade for the team - which is the entire team - players, Front Office, Management. Of course a world series position would make it easy to give them an A. But they need not have gone that far - they could have matched or just increased on last years performance and we would have had at least an A-. But they didn't. So what is next? In the B range we could have forgiven them for some set backs that they could not have anticipated - injuries, suspensions and if they came close to last year, if they had gotten to 500 it could be a B. If they had filled holes, had the players showing advances and given us a sense that things were in place if the missing returned I could have gone B. But they did not. It is hard to see that we are not suffering more than other teams, but the fact is other teams, good teams overcome the loss of Yu Darvish, Justin Turner, Aaron Judge...and they keep playing and keep winning. If the Front Office gave us a really good player out of Odorizzi, Lynn, Morrison, Rodney, Reed, Duke, Motter, LaMarre who looked like a piece to give us a shot at a run next year we could say that would be a C despite the record. But they did not. Maybe Cave will rise to be a super star. Or if all the players hit their marks from last year - Kepler, Buxton, Sano, Dozier we could feel pretty good, but Polanco and Rosario and Escobar and Berrios were the shining stars and the others fell far short. If we had a third catcher with some talent and promise for when Castro went down I would feel better, or if the manager did not fall in love with a hitless 35 year old back up catcher and play him more than the young guy who can hit and has promise I would like it. Or if we were not bringing out a 38 year old relief pitcher who averages a run an inning pitcher it would give me more confidence. In fact, if I were not seeing the fact that he does not let inherited runners score (very much) it would be fine, but the fact that he likes to let his own batters score does not help the team win. If the manager did not fall in love with the hot bullpen pitcher the way the NHL falls in love with the hot goal tender I would like it too. A pitcher cannot throw every night - alternate their appearances Paul. So put all this together and I am afraid there is no C here. I am afraid that I agree with Bleacher Report. This is a D. A "D" means that we all made it through the motions. We put a team on the field every day. Occasionally a good play or a good hit or a well pitched game will give us great joy, but too often we drift away before the game is over, we start to read about the other sports, maybe check out for a few days. In fact the D is a reflection of the fact that the trade deadline was one of the most enjoyable aspects of the summer game and now that it is over I guess I need to shift to the September call ups, although I would enjoy them more if we DFA'd deadwood and starting calling them up now. Okay, what would be an F? If in this Central Division we did not finish second in the standings. That would be an F.

I really liked this report and I tend to side more with Tom's grades than Seth's more optimistic appraisal. Of course I think we dawdled with Dozier and that hurt, plus Rodney should have moved on too and I would have taken offers for Odorizzi. Sometimes it is what you did not do that really affects the overall grade which I would make a C. (One exception - moving Lynn was terrific).