DocBauer

I'm having a hard time "clicking" my vote. What's really disappointing in this scenario is the proposed lift from Hill that hasn't happened. I am stubborn, combining real life and electronic life, that the pen should be OK. I'm voting for another SP arm, though I think Pineda is going to continue to help. But if there is a Dyson/Romero move out there, then I say to do both.

FINANCIALLY: I take no sides. Just using basic logic, as I stated in a sister thread, a percentage of something is better than all of nothing. I side with baseball and it's health and future, and don't choose to pick a side. But to just say billionaire owners will be fine with losses is a poor and destructive arguement. Do these billionaire owners have no other businesses,and employees who are not affected by covid? Do these billionaire owners just have stacks of liquid cash to just dispense as they will? The answer is no. MLB is a business, an elite business and franchise to be sure, but still a business. And like any business, big or small, it is being impacted by the pandemic. The players deserve to be paid. As do the coaches, clubhouse attendants and everyone else involved. And if you own a franchise, there is absolutely an obligation to your product and your employees. But just dishing out millions of $ to ballplayers for a partial season at full season rate is also not logical or responsible for the sake of the franchise, it's stability or the stability of MLB as a whole. There needs to be a compromise that makes sense for both sides. Someone brought up a year in which ALL teams do a universal profit sharing system to make this work. Agreed 100%. For the good of the game it makes sense and SHOULD to everyone involved. ON THE FIELD: I've heard 100G season and 80G season. I've also seen ridiculous re-alignment options to save money. The various divisions/conferences are already perfectly set, with the EXCEPTION some teams may simply not be allowed to play at home. That is the LEAST of the logistical or financial issues involved. Each team plays their own division opponents in 6 3 game series home and away. That's 72 games. You then play your cross league region for a pair of 3 game home and away series for a total of 24 games. Add it up and you have a 96 game season. PLAYOFFS: For 2020, if not beyond, you have 6 playoff teams in each league. The top division winners by record get a bye. The other 4 teams play a 3 game series to move on to the next 5 game round before a traditional 7 game WS. MILB: While some ML teams may be forced to play elsewhere other than home parks, including their ST facilities, at least initially, there is no reason milb can't have their own 60-80 game season playing a variation of the Cactus and Grapefruit league for further savings. The MLB and milb season both commence. The devil is in the details when it comes to the safety logistics to make all of this work. But assuming for a moment this is worked out, the singular important piece is the financial/sharing/pro-rated $ aspect of a ML season. After that, this just really isn't that hard. Not sure i want the job, but when do I get to step in to Manfred's job, or at least become his chief advisor, lol?

Couple things about Garver: 1] While 2019 may have surprised to some degree, and it may or may not be his career season, and the ball may have influenced his season and seasons to come, I've always believed in his offensive ability. Even with various factors leading to some regression, he's still a fine hitter, with discipline and with power. He's a quality offensive player and not "just" for a catcher. 2] While a bit of a late bloomer, being a college player and catcher, he is in his prime years at this moment and SHOULD be in line for another 3-4yrs of prime production age wise barring injury concerns. 3] Unless I have missed something, he has never had anything, injury wise, of any concern thus far in his career that wasn't "normal" such as a sprained ankle and the such. The exception being a couple concussions, though I am unsure to the degree of either of them. He seems to be built sturdily, seems to be in fine shape, and has recovered from various nicks and the such quickly. If concussions don't return as a bugaboo, again, he should have another 3-4 prime years available behind the plate. 4] While coming up through the minors, he shared a lot of time behind the plate. This was due to him still developing defensively as well as sharing time with guys like fellow draftee Turner. So the actual physical wear and tear mileage behind the plate has been somewhat mitigated before he reached MLB. And even last year, during his breakout, he still shared time with the solid, productive veteran Castro. 5] Rocco, and the FO, recognize the value of quality catching on the club, with a plan not to also not wear out their players. We saw it some at the end of 2018 when Garver was showing improvement but they struck with veteran Wilson a chunk of the time. Yes, this was also defense/experience related. But in a lost season, they also didn't just throw caution to the wind and just say "the he'll with it" and throw Garver out there daily. Avilla was brought in as a perfect 1yr replacement for Castro to continue having a quality mix and match scenario...with Astudillo available...until someone like Jeffers was ready. Now, the whole milb season of play and development is under as big of a cloud as the ML season is, and could require a whole lot of re-thinking and re-examination roster wise for 2021 for all teams at all positions, but the Twins seem to have a good handle on what they want to do behind the plate. And all of this is to say, yet again, Garver is primed to be a top catcher for the next 3-4yrs.

I find the base of the article interesting, but rather frustrating. Unless a SP is more or less a "junk baller", meaning low velocity so he tosses up a series of change ups and breaking balls, wouldn't most all SP be above the 48% threshold? I mean, for the most part, everything still works off the FB and FB location doesn't it?

As I understand it, Duffey moved from a traditional curve to more of a power curve or slurve. Some have called it a slider but my understanding is more of an adaptation of his curveball, which he used to throw 2 variations of. Alcala throws consistently in the mid 90's, right around May's velocity, but cranks it up to the high 90's. Colina, Chalmers and Duran do the same, though the hope at present time all 3 can remain in the rotation, especially Duran who is right there with Balazovic for top rotation arm hopefulls.

Me trying to sound smart about hitting would be about as intelligent as saying I believe I could enjoy a conversation in Portuguese. (I do not speak Portugese). The take that I find most interesting is the point of a batter "tunneling" the pitch on its way, striking if it is in that tunnel and laying off if not. Makes complete sense and not necessarily at Odds with the William's thought process. In theory, a batter should know his own zone, and SHOULD be able to make good contact even if the pitch isn't a "good pitch to hit", in converse to the William's approach in that regard. The problem I see with that...not including all hitters KNOWING their hitting zone or always trusting it...is simply having the inate ability to adjust during their swing. To so degree, I think he is describing what is often referred to as being a "bad ball" hitter. Oliva and Puckett had that ability. And while Arraez is a more patient hitter, he also seems to have that special ability to adjust and put the bat on ball and hit it somewhere. Rosario, to me, is very reminiscent of Puckett, though not quite with the same results. Hits or XB hits or HR, he has an insane ability to barrell up on balls that others just can't. It's what makes him a good and sometimes great player. Of course, Eddie also thinks he can do that all of the time, which nobody can. And while it's cruelty to dead animal carcasses to continue beating the same one, just imagine how good he could be if he could hold back just a little, reign in his aggressiveness just a bit, and "tunnel" those pitches just a little more.

Anyone who played for the Yankees. There, I said it for all of us. In all seriousness, Jeter was a good ballplayer, but I agree he was very overrated. But, Yankee, east coast bias, etc. This goes back a few years but the guy I "hated" was Ricky Henderson. Hits, HR, SB, he just seemed to torment the Twins. Of course, he seemed to do that to everyone else too. I also didn't care for his attitude.

Love the pen but agree Crain should be plugged in their somewhere. JC Romero had 2 not very good seasons and 3 good ones amongst his 5. He's honorable mention at least. Francisco Liriano...oh what could have been...had 2 poor seasons, and we all know why, and 3 good/great ones. I think I'd have to put him in the rotation ahead of Silva or Milton, though I'm torn which one I'd pull.

Were I to guess, I'd say there will be a multi-level Cactus and Grapefruit milb season even with expanded ML rosters. Even abbreviated, there has to be some sort of milb season.

I hate when the Twins play the Royals and I am blacked out on the MLB streaming service. But I will watch the Royals on TV because. I work for a communication company. The NFL RedZone is popular for fans to see parts of games and follow along with stats for fantasy players. Perhaps MLB should look at something similar?

General comment/observation: There has been a lot of debate on some of these decade teams regarding 1B/OF and the such. But one thing we all realize is that the infield has been rather hit and miss at times. No secret huh? But while some guys are gone...Nunez, Dozier and Escobar...there seems to have been a shift in the depth and talent in the infield the last few years, THANKFULLY! Sano, now Donaldson, Polanco, Arraez, and even quality reserves like Adrianza and Marwin have changed the outlook. Lewis has huge upside. While the luster bas worn off one, there is a long road ahead for another, and some questions remain about a 3rd, Javier, Cavaco and Miranda offer optimism. And there are a couple of other recent college additions in the lower minors who have a ton of potential. Just a few years ago, Blenkenhorn would have been receiving hopeful wishes and dreams.

I like the DH. I hate the virtual automatic out of pitchers batting. To me, pitching is so specialized it's almost like asking a QB to block and tackle. Or as someone pointed out earlier, if pitchers should hit, then position players should know how to pitch. It just doesn't work. I often see references to the NL game. In both leagues, more so the NL, there used to be more bunting, hit and run plays and stolen bases. It was never just based solely on pitchers in the lineup. But the game has changed. The DH is here to stay and I'm glad. But I'd really like to see it in both leagues. I prefer the divisions the way they are now. We've been arguing in other threads about how ridiculous this idea is. And IF it is to save money, it only does so if you STAY in your division for the whole abbreviated season. The WC has added a lot of excitement to September and October baseball. I'm fine with keeping it the way it is. The ONLY caveat I could see is another WC brought in to avoid the 1 game playoff. How about a couple of 3 game series to continue on?

Punto works at 2B in this scenario because, well, who else? While Ford was fun and did some good things, seems to me pre Red Sox Ortiz is the better choice at DH.

While I don't dismiss Javier playing SS...assuming sustained health and recovering his prospect momentum...it just feels like he's physically growing out of the position, just gaining muscle and developing. Miranda might be the best 3B option in the system at this point. Cavaco could also end up at 3B eventually as well, though he's a ways away to project to the majors, much as as to which left side spot. Hopefully, we're at least 3yrs away from having to find the next 3B. Agree fully that Lewis could debut as a super utility just based on opportunity. I think you build your roster with the best talent available, with position flexibility, and figure it out. IMO, Lewis has everything needed to succeed at SS as well as 3B. As much as I LOVE Arraez, if your talent level pushes Polanco off SS, his arm just won't play at 3B, even if the rest of him does, as a talent, 2B would be the natural position for him. If I had to choose Polanco or Arraez at 2B, I'd have to go with Polanco.

Agreed his arm is the biggest issue. 100% healthy, hopefully, and with more time spent with his new throwing motion, I look for additional improvement. I also agree that having a better defensive player to his right helps. Let's face it, quality defense is always important, always nice to have. But the game has changed from contact, situational hitting and movement to power and launch angle. "Airtight" defense isn't quite the requirement it used to be. Only 26 and with all his positives, I think he can be the SS for several years barring injury. To me it's more about the rest of the team vs a "how long" discussion. You put your best players on the field. I believe Lewis is going to be one of those players very soon. But does he stay at SS and move Polanco to 2B? Or is there nobody to replace Donaldson in a few years so Lewis goes there and Polanco stays at SS?

Already gave a shout out to Marshall, who others have mentioned. And I had forgotten about Campbell. I'm OK with leaving Marshall off the list, and Corbettm due to actual time with the organization. I hate to be "that guy" who breaks with the original intent of "top 5", but I'm just not sure we'll ever agree on anything other than a top 7 with Campbell and Perkins thrown in.

Just a couple points of clarification: 1] Unless I read it wrong, I think the original point was looking at Bauer as a FA target next year, in relation to how the FA situation has changed for the Twins. Hence my thought/question was his desire for 1yr contracts and does that fit for the Twins organization. 2] While the topic of the Dodgers holding down payroll has been brought up, considering the sure amount of $ on their books, and luxury tax implications not withstanding, I don't believe it's ever been confirmed that was their intent. Two items I have read from various outlets are: A] Despite success and quality numbers, his second half numbers may have slipped, here or there at least, and with available depth on hand, they moved him late to the pen. B] With available ST depth on hand, and questions about their bullpen depth, the Dodgers moved him to the pen for depth there in the stretch run and playoffs. Considering his results in the pen, and his best season results against LH batters in 2019, and from the sources I've read, I subscribe to possibility B myself.

In regard to milb, IF there will not be fan attendance, or none for a portion of the season, why not follow the original AZ/FL proposal that was brought up for MLB? I hate the idea of cities/towns losing out on their team's season's for a variety of reasons, whether it be for the entire shortened season or a portion of it. And I have no idea what kind of facilities the other 29 teams have at their ST complexes, but unless I'm grossly mistaken, don't they all have multiple fields and living facilities to accommodate their milb ST? Let them play there for 70-80 games or so and play the teams in their respective states.

Not afraid of the Twins playing anyone and I'm sure they aren't either. But this re-alignment proposal makes absolutely no sense to me. Unless they propose to only play the teams within your division?? No trips to the coasts, if you're the Twins, no playing any team within the other divisions is the only way you save money here. Even in an abbreviated season, you think the Twins, and other teams, don't want to see the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, etc, come to town? Now if there are no fans at any point, then the hoopla of different teams goes away, and you might as well just play your own division. Then, yes, you save expenses. If you want something at least resembling a normal, though abbreviated season, you avoid such things as a quick 6 game trip out of town. You have slightly longer road trips where you "sneak in" 2 game series against different division or league opponents. Example: Twins head out west to play the A's and Angels, maybe finishing with the Mariners, before you come home. While out west, you play a couple 2 games with the Giants and Dodgers mixed in. How about going old school and for one year there are no league cross over games? Eliminates any DH controversy like this proposal inherits. We're going to have a shorter season that will always have an asterisk beside it. But why make it even stranger and harder of a season with an even larger asterisk? Just keep things the way they are aligned, play fewer games, mix in a few double headers, play a few 2 game series, and organize road trips to be more efficient. And again, you could just eliminate cross-league games for a season if it makes sense. Doesn't that just make a lot more sense? *and yeah, the Atlanta thing just boggles the mind.

I think there is an easy arguement between Nathan and Aggie. It's not just numbers, but also relative to the quality of the teams they pitched for. In that context, not sure Perkins doesn't make the list and bump someone else. Glad to see mention of Corbett. As well as Rincon and Gurrier at the end. For a short time, let's not forget what Berenguer meant. He only pitched for the Twins, in reality, for 2 full seasons. But for those 2 seasons he was OUTSTANDING. Mike Marshall has to have an honorary mention.

Anything that allows for baseball in 2020 is fine by me. But divisional re-alingment like this is ridiculous! I get a shorter season. I get holding down travel costs due to revenue shortfalls. But for the most part, divisional opponents are already in relatively close proximity. Just skip some of the crazy 6 game series on a coast. You can even keep cross league games...or go old school and not do it for a year...by having slightly longer on the road trips. Twins can go play Oakland, Angels, hit Dodgers and Giants for even a 2 game series, finish with the Mariners, and then return home. You might have some longer road trips, but you would probably have some longer home stands as well. Not appreciably longer, but a little longer. Braves in the same division with the Twins is nuts. Similarly, they make a Midwestern run, they can slide over to KC, Minnesota, play the Dirty Sox right after they play the Cubs, etc. Come on MLB! Use your brain or find someone who has a better one!

Been trying to keep up but been busy. Really appreciate your efforts! Couple things that have surprised me...and I've bad a hard time believing...is that in all the various simulations Donaldson and Berrios all seem to have under performed.

I'm not a big fan of Bauer, though I clearly don't know him, only because I've heard different whispers and innuendo that he's really not that nice of a guy. Then there are incidents like the launched ball. Now, maybe he's a swell guy and all his teammates have love him. I could care less about his politics or anything of that nature as long as he is good in the clubhouse and not disruptive in it or out of it affecting the team. Period. As a ballplayer, my one concern is his determination to only sign year to year deals. Does that work for the Twins? You get one year, hopefully a great one, but then you're back to bidding again or looking to fill. That is my concern.

Nice shout out to Morris and Smiley for their seasons. Erickson remains one of my biggest disappointments to this day. He just looked like he was going to be a stud! I want to say he developed a bum shoulder? Does that sound right to anyone?

My surprise alteration? Replace Buxton's defense with Arraez's. Because if I could have a player that had all those other abilities, I want to find a spot on the infield for him.