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Platoon

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Everything posted by Platoon

  1. You can give anyone away, or trade anyone when you eat some of the salary, which I was proposing. Just a different way of eating his salary! I could have puncuated it better, but the thought was intended! . Btw, I don't do fan board moves! Any of this was going to be a financial loss for the Twins to make roster room. It's the fallout from past decisions made by non fan board management!
  2. His success last year was the reason for "The SuperSecret Plan"! It wasn't the part about being in the pen, it was the part about not telling him! BTW I don't think May started his MLB career in the pen?
  3. Short of a couple injuries this was a forgone conclusion. Some other teams would have packaged Milone and another MiLB player for a trade, ate Nolascos salary, moved May back to the rotation, and used a combo of in house younger relievers, with one good acquisition. I know that's expensive, and proactive. But it could have been done. The Twins will let this play out for the first half of the year. It's a well known fact that games lost in April and May don't count in the standings! I don't disagree that May is an excellent late inning reliever. That said, the Twins aren't exactly sitting on a SP gold mine either!
  4. He took it with the respect for the manager and the pitching coach that this is the way we're going to go. I don't know that he was pleased." Something tells me this won't be the quote if they have the "resolve" to send Ricky to the BP!
  5. I agree on the Buxton play out of theory. In a way I could apply it to Nolasco. Let him play himself out of the rotation. (Assuming they won't eat the contract) It's the only solution that has a chance of settling both the talent, and morale issue. It's the least of an unattractive set of options!
  6. I would agree with most of the Buxton scenario. He should and likely will go north. IF the Twins didn't, and decided to add the obligatory veteran OF to the initial roster, I would not be surprised. Disappointed, and resigned to our fate, but not surprised! Nolasco! Buxton is one thing, since his service time issue is apparently past being an issue, money does not rear its ugly head in the outcome. But it does with Ricky. One can rightfully surmise that Nolasco should not be part of the rotation, but then one has to consider an avenue to that decision, and that avenue would have to include historical reference. Since he will be untradeable for the considerable future, and if I wanted to bring my best team north, I would just cut him, or make a poor trade and eat salary. The BP is a horrible alternative. Actually, if he is going to be an a*^hole out there, they would be better off starting him. Let him make the move. But a leopard is still a leopard until it changes its spots, and the one in the FO is at present, still a leopard! Btw, nice backhanded shot at Ryan, "even Terry Ryan isn't silly enough....."
  7. Maybe the problem wasn't bringing him up, but bringing him up and not letting him play full time. I seem to remember him sitting an awful lot. Likely another mistake caused by the push to be the second WC spot. His history while brief is exceptionally consistent. Struggles early and acclimates! I don't think yo yoing him will work.
  8. I didn't as much mean that Ryan would give him a spot in the rotation, as I meant Ryan would make the decision, no matter whether it be pen, rotation or DFA. That's way above Molly's pay grade.
  9. No one has mentioned that Mauer was the fortunate recipient of excellent timing. The Pohlads had used the "increased revenue keeps players" argument in getting public funding for TF. And along comes Joe! Hometown boy, big year of stats, and the very first opportunity for the team to pay up. I think the term is "The Perfect Storm"? Not many players get the chance to fill in the monetary blank on a contract themselves, but he did. If it would make anyone feel better, they could write off a percentage of the contract to goodwill, for that's what some of it was. He isn't going to be cut, he isn't going to be traded, he isn't going to renegotiate, and he isn't going to the bench! A discussion about his position in the batting order is valid. Anything else is futile.
  10. The Titanic? Or the Edmund Fitzgerald? Your choice! If you put Nolascoin in the BP, you have a 12M unhappy low level lomg reliever. Or for another $600,000 you could be getting a younger high velocity prospects feet (and arm) wet. Or suck it up and start him and hope for lightening? Or eat his salary? Not one decent option so far. I truly thought he might pitch well enough in ST to give the appearance of competence, so Ryan could save face, send Duffey down and figure out a way to trade Nolasco in June. He hasn't had the decency to do even that, painting Ryan into a very small corner. IF it was me, and IF I thought the team had a chance this year, I would either cut him, or dump him on someone and pick up part of his salary. Since that hasn't been a part of Ryans history to date, I imagine he still has a chance for the rotation, putting him in the pen is no different than cutting him. Might I add, that while you referred to Molitor deciding whether he wants to deal with Ricky any further, I promise you that this is one decision he will not make.
  11. An insecure Minnesotan? Never heard of such a thing! We just want to be liked, and never have anyone say anything negative about our state, our teams, or our Funeral Hotdish!
  12. Thanks. And I don't disagree with your thoughts. My concern is that the Twins will do what they usually do, not what many would consider sensible. Needless to say, I understand that it ain't my money, or my ego (Ryans) on the line. But they normally acquiesce to veterans, Duffey has options, and is complicating things by not pitching well so far. I also can't see them wanting an unhappy veteran in the pen, and your note from his agent is just the opening shot! They often take the path of least resistance, and if Nolasco is still able to crawl to the top of the mound, that might be the defining standard? And as much as I hate to say it, they may decide that they have to let him start, either he is at a minimal, satisfactory, or he flames out, leaving Nolasco with no arguement over his disposition.
  13. I can't speak to either of the above views. But they are really in a corner with Nolasco. Even if he would "accept" a mid reliever role, that's worth what per year. Meaning the difference is in essence a loss to the team. Molitor may have said that Duffey is penciled in, but it may have been a message to Ryan. It's been done before. But the fact is that managers have virtually no say in the 25 man roster. Those decisions are made in the front office, and there is no way talent is the number one criteria considered. I have said all winter that there is no way Ricky doesn't go north as a SP. for him to not do so, would retire Ryan to deviate from one or more long time practices. In this case I don't see it happening!
  14. I don't see a way out of the Nolasco mess. If he pitches well even just two more outings, he ends up in the rotation. Then if he is even mediocre he stays. They can't trade that contract, at least for months, they won't eat the salary, and they are not putting him in the pen. I do hope Duffey is looking for a place to live in Rochester.
  15. In a way, what the FO does with Nolasco will be an indicator on whether it's business as usual. If he is in the rotation solely based on his veteran contract status, that's not a good sign. Signing him just didn't work out, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet, and move on!
  16. This truly could be one of the great Jekyll and Hyde teams of all time. The big winners might be those ho like to comment on the team! There isn't going to be a shortage of topics!
  17. If you put homerism, sugar coating and BS aside, team statistics generally reflect the operating philosophies of the management. (FO + Field Staff). The Twins for as long as I can remember have concentrated on reducing BB vs SO's. And it's still reflected in last years numbers. Some will say this is changing. And while I don't disagree, as they say, "the proof is in the pudding"! They dabbled with Tonkin and Meyer last year. And while neither were at all blameless, the hook was for them applied far faster than it has been with struggling PTC style relievers. I sincerely think the Twins know that BP structure has evolved. They would have to be sound asleep not too. But as SO rates go up, so do BB rates. This season will tell if the Twins can stomach the latter, to get to the former!
  18. We were to the Yankees what the Detroit Lions were to Buds Vikings. Btw Mike, of course there's luck in cribbage! But I always thought it was a game that required a little more skill than others. I also think it tends to be a defensive game. Unless all hope is lost, I never thought bold play was a winning strategy. All that aside, your wife winning 90% of the time might be far better than her losing 90% of the time.
  19. In the last two days the Trib has carried 3 or 4 pieces trying to comfort the afflicted that the "Sano Experiment" will succeed. They even made some comparisons: Killebrew to LF, Carew to 1B etc. the only relative comp was Cuddyer to RF, and that included the notation that it took a couple years for the transition to "succeed"! But by far my favorite was including Plouffes adventures out on the grass. Not exactly a calming effect for me. And to show they were desperate for examples they included Puckett from CF to RF.
  20. The question is: Does Willmar State College? I would have sworn JC was a two yr program?
  21. I don't think the issue with Sano, for me at least,is playing RF as much as it is with the way it came about. Up until November the path was constant, even the DH, some third, hurt, and no third, stint last year made sense. Then remarkably they decided he could not replace Plouffe, and magically becomes a RF? It's either a case of an extreme lack of foresight and planning, or the Twins suddenly found out that third baseman have become worthless on the trade market. And as for the idea that 1B is his eventual home, that could be. But it's not as if we don't have enough of a log jam there also. On one other point, why is Burdi drinking around with a splitter. A notoriously hard pitch on elbows?
  22. SS size alert. But with Florimon in 2013 the Twins led the majors in turning DP. Easily. In 2014 we were just alight below avg, and in 2015 just slightly above avg. More than just the SS goes into that stat, but it's not necessarily a coincidence that Pedro was the SS when we led the league. I prefer great defense up the middle to offense. On a team still participating in the PTC league it's even more important. EE is a nice solid average player. A team of them will have a nice solid average season. Sooner or later we need to upgrade a bunch of positions above that level. And SS is one.
  23. The Twins are risk adverse to a fault, nothing ventured nothing lost! Speaking of least resistance, LEN III says today that speaking to Twins officials it's obvious Suzuki will play over 100 games? We traded Hicks for a 50 game backup? IF that's the case, it would change my somewhat neutral position on the trade to WTF! Time will tell.
  24. Major league sports are inherently cyclical. The inverse order of the draft allows poor teams to replenish the rosters. See, Twins, Cubs, Astros for examples. By most accounts these three teams had top tier MiLB systems. The question is what will each do with their bonanza? Is the Twins Way broken? There are a lot of mitigating factors involved. Market size, fan patience, structure and mindset of the parental corporation, the owners personality, the GM competence, and the GM personality. I have been, and still am a frequent critic of Ryans passitivity and aversion to risk. But he does not operate in a vacuum. He has corporate masters to please, and these are the discussions that truly do occur out of the public eye, far above the decision of who's on third! While the Twins are a more public face of the Pohlads than many of their other entities, it's inconceivable they have separate business models just for the Twins. Low risk, solid reward, day after day! It's another line item on the financial report. I think Bill Smith found this out quite quickly. If bad trades were the only criteria for his demotion, Ryan could also be gone. Ownership personalities and goals have an enormous impact. Ask the Cubs, and the Tigers. Successful? Not always. But it's always there!
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