Shane Wahl

It isn't? Basing a decision on one start isn't a very poor idea?

Gleeman is beyond right about May here. I don't understand how anyone argues based on one stupid start in March . . . it's a very poor idea.

Brandon Peterson is another guy. He should be with Burdi, Zach Jones, and Adrian Salcedo in the Chatty bullpen to start the year. Complete dominance from that group is possible.

.257/.330/.420 (.750) with 27 doubles and 14 homers.

Oh my you are right about Reusse's column. I didn't read it until now. Hamstringing Molitor with those decisions was very bad.

Another by the way, do you all remember the beginning of 2013? I know that Seth himself suggested that Benson could/should be the starting CF instead of Hicks. Can you guys imagine if the Twins had rolled with Benson even for two months of badness and let Hicks get some proper AAA time. Who knows? That is why the key thing about losing Span was not about CF but about the leadoff spot. I have to think that it pushed Hicks ahead of Benson even before his big ST that year. Damn.

By the way, I still hate the Braves. 1991 lives on. Forever. Only another Twins WS victory will end my hatred for the Braves. And the chop. That should be gone too. They still do that?

Yikes. Arcia is in the doghouse for real?

Clearly offensively it is a no-brainer. It would be a disservice to Santana to yank him around again. It is good that he can play CF just fine, but he doesn't belong there.

Ok, fair enough. We are talking about replacing Robinson, and I would definitely be on board with that.

Radke was very good in the minors. Baxendale has stopped being good after A ball. They are different in other ways too, but there are clear statistical differences. He has no chance of making MLB unless as a reliever, and then it's still pretty dubious.

I just wrote a blog about this.

I am telling you . . . Ryan O'Rourke . . .

Bullpen or bust.

.317/.406/.448 (.854) with 38 doubles and 7 homers.

.257/.322/.336 (.658) with 19 doubles and 3 homers.

.258/.344/.420 (.764) with 33 doubles and 19 homers.

I pass on both of them. Brown is close to being OK, but strikes out way too much and also seems to get caught stealing a strangely high number of times, seriously negating those steals. Doubront is about done.

The headline here is a reference--if you do not know somehow--to a line from The Big Lebowski. It's the scene in the car where Walter has brought "the ringer" ("the whites") and The Dude loses it on him. The Dude is a very chill guy who smokes pot, listens to CCR, and bowls. But in this scene he yells (editing profanity) "You (screwed) it up! You (screwed) it up!" Walter responds with the quote in the headline. Well it's that time of year when the Twins opening day roster becomes finalized and many, including myself, are screaming what The Dude was screaming in the car. I mean it all seems ridiculous. Maybe not each individual move taken separately, but when looking at the totality--Milone, Pelfrey, Boyer, and Robinson as choices over May, Meyer, Tonkin/Oliveros/Achter, and Hicks/Rosario, on top of the additions of Hunter and Stauffer--it looks like a big roster mistake based on some strange notion of trying to compete with aging guys instead of rebuilding with younger guys. That's all true. I don't think the truth is on the Twins side here. This seems like a bizarre way to approach the season, especially since this doesn't mean merely having the young guys "earn" a promotion to the Twins . . . they are now forced to compete with one another down in AAA and even AA in some cases. It would seem like a rebuilding team promotes the young guys to get a sense of who is going to be worthy of keeping in 2016 and beyond. I cannot imagine any of those six--Milone, Pelfrey, Boyer, Robinson, Hunter, and Stauffer--being on the team in 2016. But screaming about this isn't going to do any good and it isn't good for oneself. It is indeed being very un-dude. Here's a breakdown: A. It's baseball. Baseball isn't like bowling . . . but watching baseball is like bowling in that you do it for fun and you drink beer while doing it. B. There might be value in finding even one of those six guys who puts up a legitimate year that adds wins to the team this year. Stauffer and Hunter are the best bets there. ST stats mean very little. Stauffer is a good reliever. C. Maybe this new focus on the changeup will improve the staff, including Boyer. D. The young guys can all be together and work together and help each other out that way. Rochester suddenly has Rosario, Hicks, and Danny Ortiz in the OF. May and Meyer will be leading the rotation with the likes of Wheeler, Rogers, and maybe Duffey. Tonkin, Oliveros, and Achter are going to be in the bullpen with O'Rourke, Darnell (if I were Darnell, I would advocate for a full-time bullpen role), Hamburger, and Pressly. Rochester actually should be full of prospects, which is rare. It should be good though. E. Nothing is really stopping a mass movement upward. This isn't Gardenhire's team, so we don't really know what to expect. If the oldsters aren't getting the job done, then I do think Molitor will replace them. And this can include a Schafer-Robinson for Hicks-Rosario swap. First, Rosario is going to get some time at second base in Rochester, and thus he still has that going for the Twins as another backup for Dozier. Second, Hunter is going to need days off, as will Mauer, and younger guys like Arcia and Vargas. There are innings and at bats there. Also, with each passing day the Twins are paying Mike Pelfrey less and less. Milone and Stauffer aren't making all that much, and Boyer is making very little. They are all replaceable and will be replaced with one wave from AAA and then another from AA. F. We don't know what is going to happen, so let's just enjoy it. There are still a number of things to be excited about. First, a fully recovered Joe Mauer. Second, Santana and Vargas soph seasons. Third, Oswaldo Arcia is going to go ape this year. I guarantee that. Fourth, Eduardo Escobar is still going to get plenty of at bats and be a doubles machine. Finally, a new manager and pitching coach. This is the most important thing. Those old, ridiculous days are gone. G. Being un-Dude is a terrible way to be. It's understandable that we are "not into the whole levity thing" right now. We have ideas about what should be done and the Twins make mistakes. But it is clear that this is still the beginning of baseball season and that is something to be quite pleased about. I do think that these problems are going to work themselves out. The September roster should be pretty sick. There will be trades made that will help support a minor league system that hopefully is seeing its last top 10 overall pick this year. There are still plenty of good things occurring outside of the decisions regarding players 21-25 on the roster.

I can take the April 16 game vs. KC. Likely more later.

Sorry about putting it in the Twins forum. I had multiple browser windows open and posted it in the wrong one. In other news, I wholly regret posting it altogether. I will refrain from making fun of myself here in the future, for fear that *others* take it too seriously.

Gleeman is spot on here.

Scary how this has transpired.

Yes, and this is precisely what drives me totally batty. I think Thrylos, too.

Just to make a quick note. There was a study about this by Baseball Prospectus and the Twins were the slowest through 2009, I believe. Some of that has changed. I do not know of an updated study.