Richie the Rally Goat

I don’t think the Twins have the roster space to be able to sit on Duffy. They would need an open space, sign him, then after opening day 60 day him, then when he’s healthy DFA someone. sure there’s roster churn (something we’re certain to see in ‘22) but with the current state, all hands will need to be on-deck. there’s no one on the staff that will pitch 150 innings for the Twins in ‘22. Optimistically they acquire 1, maybe 2…. Hopefully that’s “Good innings”but we’ll see… That means lots of guys will need to pitch 80-100 innings and Duffy ain’t gonna be one of ‘em…

Buxton plays 150 games in CF, wins the MVP in a land slide to a World Series championship and Nick Gordon spells him every other week to keep Buxton fresh. In 10 years after a second extension and hall of fame career with 7 MVPs averaging 148 games per season, Buxton will retire and a yet to be drafted rookie will take over

I laughed a lot! Great timing!

Wander Javier as a 22 year old posted an 86 wRC+ in high A for 96 games. He needs to go back to high A or move on. Steer had a 99 wRC+ AA as a 23 year old - he needs to show more in AA, but has posted strong batting in years prior and could get promoted soon. Palacios has been floated as a utility player for the Twins, and I would support that. As I see it, you've got Steer, Lewis, Martin to share SS and 2b, etc between AA and AAA - I don't think it's as much of a log-jam as it appears, but a log-jam is a good thing when you don't really have a starting SS in the bigs right now.

Dy-cuss according to names.org

Concur

I’m a few episodes in on Wheel of Time and agree, it just keeps getting better. I read eye of the world in the early 90s but didn’t get through all 6 (let alone however many there are now) I really enjoyed Eye, but don’t have a sharp recollection of a book I read 30 years ago. This probably helps my enjoyment… really good!

I was in highschool the last stoppage. The strike shortened season really hurt, but the 1990 lockout didn’t hurt so bad. If I recall correctly spring training was shorter, but we had a full season of God-awful Twins play. Maybe a good sign for ‘23?

Minor league is not a part of the labor dispute, transactions can be made, as well as games. It might be Royce becomes a scab edit to correct: Lewis is on the 40, he is a part of the labor dispute. @PDX Twin is spot on

Great story David, appreciate your work and Allison’s support of her son through a long story that still has chapters to be written. Good Luck to Ryan! He clearly has the support structure to enhance his development!

I can't imagine the floor would be anywhere close to $100M, the average is around $120M. Baltimore opened last season at $43M. I'd be shocked if they agree on a floor higher than $80m and probably peg Tampa's $70.8M as s competitive floor. I would think an option to hit the floor would be extending rookies and front-loading contracts

Well reasoned post, that I mostly agree with. Generally when I’m in the should I fire an employee the question is (a) can I trust them? Or did they break an unbreakable rule? (b) can I get someone better? What are the alternatives? for the exercise, A isn’t relevant that we know of, so let’s use B. In terms of how I make my decisions, I tend to fall on the analytical side. Not that I don’t use my instincts too, but my instincts only start the search for the data. They aren’t the decisive factor. If I’m looking for a manager, I want someone who uses the same toolset that I use, but can challenge my assumptions to present a logical argument contrary to my beliefs. Homogeneity leads to incomplete decisions. in that context, I don’t believe Falvine would want a Tony LaRussa, I think the FO would want someone less tied to tradition and instinct. I believe the FO values the Baldelli type and would look for similar skills in the future. so with that framework, I don’t believe there is another manager in a similar vein as Baldelli that is available and better than Baldelli. For those that want Baldelli to go, they need to wait for the trust in Baldelli to fade. Another season of losing and a lost clubhouse or two seasons of losing (punting ‘22 might already be in the plan) might see Baldelli get fired. More likely he gets poached by another team and the Twins find their “next Baldelli”

Once the lockout ends the FO can still sign Gant. They’ll need lots of multi inning long relievers

9 outs and sit down, no second time through the order

Correct - Monopsony protection, not Monopoly protection. However the monopsony in effect becomes a monopoly when the control of the buy to set the purchase price from a single cartel in the draft and rookie contract rates drives out competitive leagues. In effect, it's a monopsony of baseball players, and a monopoly of baseball games. But yeah Monopsony is relevant to the labor dispute

Stupid point of clarification, first lockout in 31 years, first stoppage in 26 1994 was a strike 1990 was a lockout actually kinda nice having 26 years of peace because for the first 28 years they averaged a work stoppage every 4 years.

What point are you trying to make? Are you advocating for the players to change their lever/strategy?

Point of clarification: Carl Pohlad purchased the Twins for $32 million. Jim Pohlad only had to be born. The highest priced sale of an MLB franchise ever was $845 million. Purchasing an MLB team for a billion hasn’t happened. meanwhile the average minor leaguer earns $25k per year and leaves minor league baseball in debt because the team doesn’t pay for their offseason training of travel. The league looks to be paying for minor league in season housing, which is a step in the right direction, but still holds on to the absolutely dreadful minor league salaries. the point here is, players invest into the sport too. Time, sweat equity, putting a good product on the field are just as valuable as the logo on the hat and what actually make the game a sport for us to watch. Everyone wants a bigger piece of the pie. I don’t fault the players for wanting a bigger piece of it, anymore than the owners, but the MLB and Manfred really bother me most. Manfred should be looking out for the sport as a whole more than he does. He clearly understands that a company with too high of a profit margin ultimately loses out because it creates openings for additional competition. He and the league protects the margins through litigation and hiding the books rather than investing back into the league assets. By improving the broadcast strategy and paying more players (including minor leaguer’) the league can grow faster and maintain or grow it’s talents to stave off competition. this shouldn’t be millionaires vs billionaires. It’s Manfred vs Us the fans.

I pretty much disagree with the entire posting except “Of course this signing on its own is not worthy of praise should the Twins do nothing else, but if they execute on acquiring two more arms above this ability level, it’s a threesome they can rely on.” Bundy alone leaves the Rotation in very bad shape, but Bundy as a floor isn’t bad. Unfortunately this was the same old schtick from the same old Falvine. We’ve seen this horse and pony show before and until they prove willing to invest in the rotation, I won’t believe that the FO will invest in the rotation. Bundy’s shoulder appears shot due to his velocity drop and he hasn’t been able to keep the ball in the park. He’s a fine depth piece, but this FO has acquired Maeda, prospects and several depth pitchers per year even when the team desperately needed another mid-to-front rotation starter. Looking at the options available and the odds of swinging a trade, the 2022 rotation options look bleak

Great first post! Welcome to TD

Mod note, if you’d like to discuss a topic other than the CBA such as comparing parity between leagues, start a new thread

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Because when the CBA expires the players will prolong the negotiation as long as they can. There won’t be much time to acquire more pitchers just days before (or after) opening day. If they had a deal, they needed to get the paperwork done today.

forget running the bases... can we run the warning track? Puhleeeze!

You're injury prone, until you aren't. While there are no guarantees he'll get more healthy, there are no guarantees he won't either. History might be the best predictor of the future, but it is far from accurate.