HarmonK03

There is a weather guy for fantasy that is usually pretty accurate. Right now he is saying the storms are showing to be just south of Dyersville. But that any little change could put the game in jeopardy, he says we probably won't know more until closer to game time. My question is what kind of drainage do they have, Target Field is pretty good, but I would guess they don't have the same drainage system.

This situation has occurred due to Falvey's lack of smart roster management. At the time signing Bell to play 1B was a bad decision, he was going to be the DH, there was no way he was playing 1B. Everybody else in baseball knew this but not the Twins. If Bell is not here ERod probably opens the season as our LF and Larnach is the DH and you would have had coverage for Buxton in CF as well. Now would ERod have matched Bell's production, maybe not completely but I bet he would have had 10-15 HR's and around 50 RBI's. Bell has a WAR of .8 that is replaceable. And those dollars could've been used for a position of need, the bullpen. This team has always valued the fringe veterans over the younger players. And Zoll is just Falvey 2.0, there is no difference. They have rarely been aggressive in calling up younger players until they were forced to, even Keaschall who was probably rushed because they needed to. Sometimes you have to find a spot for a player like Jenkins. And sometimes you have to remember you have a minor league system to develop and backfill the major league roster. They have primarily used St. Paul to churn thru the 8th pitching spot and to demote underperforming players. Sometimes when there is a need you have to reach down and bring somebody up whether they are "completely ready" or not. Maybe they fail, maybe the learn for future call ups or they just might be productive. But they will try to fill the opening with fringe veterans and it has put this team in a pattern of mediocrity. A perfect example was when Buxton was first hurt and sat for 4 games. Fedko was on the roster, but he didn't play one game in CF, instead they forced Gray a fringe veteran into the lineup over Fedko. And this is not about Fedko it is about the process they follow and I see Zoll doing the same. So now they don't know what they have in ERod and will have to probably put him on the roster next year and hope he has figured it out. And I would guess that he will be the 14th player in September.

First why do you plan on filing a roster spot that you aren't going to use, that makes no sense. In the last week alone there were at least two games we needed a pinch hitter in the later innings and there was no one available except Jackson so no pinch hit and no hit. Would it have changed the game, there is no way to know, but they did not have a move to make because they continue to carry a 13th player they don't use. Jackson is just the latest example.

Have I missed something, did the Twins announce something. Their actions don't seem to be saying they are going to shut him down, they have reduced his pitch counts slightly and do skip a day when they can. But they don't seem to planning on shutting him down, this feels like a TD plan but not Twins plan.

Expansion of the rosters have no factor in this, the Twins in the last 3 years have never called up a catcher as their 14th position player. They are only going to call up one position player based on historical facts.

Then Jeffers or Caratini get dinged up in in game 1 of the playoffs and Banuelos has to fill in. This is the quote from the earlier post I was referring to. So before you accuse someone of lying, have your facts straight.

In the playoffs specifically as the scenario was laid, not during the season.

How often has that scenario happended and what are the odds, you can't plan for every contingency. What happens if Lee and Culpepper get hurt and Kreidler gets dinged up, what are you going to do. You have depth but you can't go 5 deep everywhere.

Gomez is the RH version of Eddie G.

For the last three years, the Twins have not added a third catcher as the 14th position player, so that is just trying to justify keeping Jackson on the roster. It's a choice the Twins make not to use all 13 position players on the roster. One that most teams I believe do not make. Our positional flexibility is based on certain guys can stand at certain positions that weakens the defense, so I am not sure that is being used to our advantage. There have been a couple of situations just in the last week alone where they could have pinch hit but no one available due to the lack of utilization of Jackson. And there have been other situations, these are the most recent. This roster construction is flawed and right now is one of the factors of a sub .500 team. At some point you can't keep beating your head at the wall trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results. As for calling up Jenkins, sometimes you have to take a risk to help your team and this might be one of those times. Zoll needs to walk across the street and talk with Tim Connelly about building a winning team and being willing to take risks to do so.

You can't take his bat out of the lineup. He has to play everyday and we have to live with his defense. He should never have been put in CF when there was another viable option. But Gray was more important to have up here than Jenkins.

He hasn't had just 55 AB's, he started the season with Toronto last season and was the regular LF for the first month of the season before being sent down. He has now had 3 different stints in the major leagues and while showing some production he just hasn't been able to provide it consistently and grab hold of the opportunity. And unfortunately there are others coming up behind him and he is not a young prospect anymore. Keeping in St. Paul and he can be an injury fill in but he has yet to do anything to earn more playing time.

They are going to go 1 pitcher and 1 position player, like they always have.

Roster only expands by 1 position player on 9/1, so why is the decision any different in three weeks.

September 1 will have no effect on who goes down. You are only calling up one position player on 9/1. And most teams aren't calling up a catcher, so that doesn't justify hanging onto a 3rd. My guess is ERod will be our 14th player if he shows he has shaken off the rust over the next three weeks.

I noticed a comment this is weird timing regarding Roden due to the day he had today but then Martin is mentioned as a candidate to go down as well. It seems to be weird timing for Martin as he just went 4 for 5 on Monday in his last start. Point is you have to look at the total resume not one game. To me Roden needs to be the one to go down for Buxton, what would his role be. It's either keep Jackson company at the end of the bench or you platoon him with Keaschall and make Keaschall a part time player which makes no sense. The only player I would sit Larnach for a couple of games a week is Jenkins not Roden. Martin has at least has a role and he has looked a little better in August.

Read the game thread, that will tell you why it is important.

Thank you for the correction, I believe I was thinking of Stuart Turner.

Caratini had a career month in June, his numbers in May were not good. And he has come back to his career norms since June. If you expect a repeat of June from Caratini I have some oceanview property in AZ to sell you.

They came up thru the minors together and were usually battling for playing time so that wouldn't surprise me.

If Jackson was waived and a catcher goes down, if Garver is the best option, sign him. He would be the backup, this happens in baseball all the time. The risk aversion is why this team can not get out of the mediocrity cycle it is in.

If Jeffers or Caratini go down, it's not going to matter at that point for us either, especially if it is Jeffers.

That is actually my preferred option.

That was only an example of someone claimed off the waiver wire after the trade deadline.

He was still signed off of the waiver list after he became available. Could easily be converted to a major league contract. You are fighting a losing battle.