chpettit19

That's why I was advocating for multiple long men to go into the pen. I'm good with 5 short relievers if you have 4 guys who can go 3/4/5 innings, and your other 4 starters who you expect to go 6/7. I'm only suggesting this for 19 games before the break. If you have to burn one of your long guys send them down and replace them with SWR until the break. I don't expect them to follow this plan, but I think it can be done for 19 games while providing Maeda a chance to show what he can do/build up a little more stamina, and also resting some arms a tiny bit as they get into the break, and will need to lean on the starters even more going into the 2nd half. Lopez wore down last year, and we've already covered the other starters. If you're going to rely on the rotation to carry you you better make sure they're as strong as they can be.

Why would piggybacking starters lead to anything different with the bullpen usage outside of 1 fewer low leverage arm? Why can't Pagan be the one to go away when Maeda comes back? The Twins try to only use Duran, Jax, and Stewart in high leverage spots already, I don't see how that changes with their worst reliever turning into a bulk arm. I don't see how that moves anyone up a rung in the hierarchy. You'd, hopefully, be switching out the bottom rung, not a middle one. Gray, Ryan, Lopez, Ober- True starters allowed to go as deep as they can in a game based on performance that day Maeda, Varland, Headrick, Balazovic- "Bulk" arms that can't be trusted to go more than 4 on a regular basis at this point Moran, De Leon- Mid leverage guys who can go 2 innings if needed Duran, Stewart, Jax- high leverage arms used to finish off games The only change from the bullpen today that I made was switching out Pagan for Maeda. I took a 1 or 2 inning, low leverage arm, and turned it into a 3 or 4 inning, bulk arm. I'd argue switching out Varland for Maeda is the situation that would lead to worse bullpen scenarios involving Pagan and Moran since Maeda likely can't make it through 5 innings with consistency right now. That's putting Archer back in the rotation. I don't think you need to plan a piggyback with Gray, but you better have a bulk guy on hand for every one of his starts. And I'd plan it for Maeda. Unless the idea is to put Headrick into the rotation you're already pretty much advocating for 2 piggyback situations if you want Gray and Maeda in the same rotation. Also, I just said until the all star break. That's 19 games. And Maeda likely won't be up until Friday. So 15 games.

There's still more of this year, though. And they can put a QO on him which would then lead to them getting something in return for him, or him being here next year. Your statement was just to get the best you can for him before the deadline, and I was curious if the other options were intriguing to you as well, or if you were advocating for them to just dump him no matter what.

Why? And what if there's nothing offered that's better than having Gray for the rest of the season, and a #30-35 pick next year?

Like the article said, conflict is healthy. When you have 26 players, and a dozen coaches, all working, and traveling, together from February through September (at a minimum) you're going to have conflict. Even some big conflicts. I don't understand why fans think there shouldn't be, or isn't, conflict in clubhouses. The question is just how the conflict is handled. None of us know what the relationship between Rocco and Gray, or anyone else in the clubhouse, is like. I'd be much more concerned if Gray just put his head down and went to the clubhouse after Rocco took him out. Being willing to speak his mind is a sign that the relationship is healthy, and neither of them were worried about breaking it by being honest. When people stop pushing back it's typically because they've just given up. And that's a far worse situation than a public disagreement like we saw between Rocco and Sonny.

The Twins are 3rd in baseball for innings per start (at least they were as of Friday when I last checked). Sonny Gray has been terrible at going deep into games since 2015. I would've put Sonny out there for the 5th, but I'd also tell Sonny if he wants to stay in and fight deeper into games he needs to quit throwing 20 pitches an inning. Be better and you get to stay in longer. Not too complicated.

I'd argue team building is about process overall, but in season decisions are about results. I think you need sound, and repeatable, processes to build a sustained winner. You're not always going to get the results you want, but, if your processes are good, you get the desired results more often than not. I believe in breaking the season into 3rds (54 games each), and after the 1st third of a season the process for decision making should be about results from that year. 54 games is enough sample size to know what people are that year. Sometimes that sample size tells you a guy needs a tweak, and sometimes it tells you Max Kepler is toast, and no longer MLB worthy. My problem is with their in season process. It seems to be that their in season process is to believe in their offseason process even when in season results don't match. And that's a problem to me. I want a FO to rely on good processes over short-term results, because that's how you build a sustainable winner. Houston, Atlanta, LA, Tampa, etc. are process over results in the macro view as well. It's how good organizations are run. But they're willing to make adjustments off their process in the micro view when the results for certain players just aren't there. That's part of their process. It sure doesn't seem to be part of the Twins process. My best hope for a defense of the FO is that it's money driven, and the Pohlads won't let them eat contracts of a certain size. If that's the case I give a little more leeway to the FO. But I don't think it's the case when you're talking about replacing a guy with a league minimum player. But it's the best answer I can come up with for an explanation.

I don't know that I'd call it hubris like some around here do, but their refusal to accept what's actually happening in a given year vs what they planned for/hoped to happen is mind blowing. Buxton in the 3 hole today. Why? For what reason? Drop him down! If that's going to shatter him mentally to hit 6th instead of 3rd you invested in the wrong guy and you need to ask him to waive his no trade clause.

It's a step in the right direction. A step they should've taken a month ago, but a step none the less. But when Max is sitting there it still tempts Rocco to use him. And he ends up pinch hitting in tight spots, and, shockingly, not coming through. That's a bigger complaint with the overreliance on platooning/pinch hitting, though. I hope the middle, and end, of the end are a much quicker process than the beginning of the end has been.

I don't think that's a crazy idea, but I have concerns over Maeda's ability to get deeper than 5 innings into a start. Gray hasn't been able to get deep into starts frequently enough either. With 2 guys likely maxing out at 5 innings a start, plus a bullpen day, that's a whole lot of innings for an already struggling pen. I'd rather have those 3 work to piggy back off Gray, Maeda, and Varland. But a lot of the question, to me, is about what Varland's struggles are. Is he simply not pitching well enough? Is he too predictable? Is his stuff just not good enough? Is it some fatigue setting in? Maybe he's part of that 6th day bullpen game, but he goes 4 innings instead of 2. Do like yesterday and pair Varland and Balazovic (or Headrick) to get them through 7 or 8 innings, and actually save the pen that day while limiting those two and their exposure to multiple lineup turnover. Let De Leon, and whichever young guy isn't paired with Varland, be 2 inning guys for Maeda and Gray. Provide a little extra rest for everyone on the pitching staff going into the break, and make some decisions on the rotation coming out of it.

Yeah, between Gray spending some time on the IL every year, Ober having some inning total concerns, Maeda having health/stamina concerns, and Varland being his first big league season it feels like a short stint of a 6 man rotation going into the break could be helpful all around. If they start losing starters, or seeing serious decline from them, this team is really going nowhere. Only thing I can see Varland having to work on in AAA as far as the HR ball is concerned is if the problem is something mechanical that they think he could work out over 2 or 3 weeks and get back. Will be interesting to see how they work the rotation the rest of the year. Headrick staying stretched out as their depth in AAA is going to be pretty important, too. He's the only guy looking like he's worthy of spot starts at this point.

I'm pretty good at seeing the angle the Twins may be taking on certain things, and the logic behind it. I annoy plenty of people around here by defending some of their logic. But I literally can't see, or understand, any logic behind Kepler still being on this team. Not just being on the team, but starting basically automatically against any righty, and not just starting, but hitting 5th(!) in the lineup. Or pinch hitting late in the game in clutch situations. The logic can't be because he's good, because he clearly isn't. The logic can't be for depth reasons since he's starting, and he's playing worse than a replacement level player anyways, so you're actively starting a bad player in the name of not having to start a bad player. The logic can't be his defense since he plays an "offense first" position. My "fire or not fire" decision making point on the FO this year was their ability to adapt off "the plan" quickly if needed. They've failed. You wanted Kepler to be good. He isn't. You wanted him to build up some trade value since you apparently turned down offers in the offseason you didn't think were good enough. He hasn't, and can't at this point. He's actively hurting your team. Do your f'ing job and cut him loose. I don't know what the conversations in the FO are like these days, but there's no way they can be looking at this team and think that standing pat until the deadline is smart. They simply can't be thinking that. I don't know what the conversations in the manager's office are like these days, but there's no way they can be looking at Byron Buxton and thinking he should be hitting in the top 4 in any lineup right now. They simply can't be thinking that. But they do it. I don't see any of the logic in what the team is doing anymore. Pinch hitting for your 3 hole hitter? If he needs to be pinch hit for he shouldn't be hitting 3rd. And you shouldn't be pinch hitting for your supposed star in the making when you have at least 7 dudes in the lineup everyday who shouldn't be in any lineup. There's talent on this team. There's talent in the system. But "the plan" clearly isn't working. It's too late in the season to still be analyzing things. Time to start making actual decisions. And I really hope the Pohlads don't let these guys make "job saving" decisions, and do severe damage to the future of this organization.

The media has been asking, and Rocco has been talking about them. There have been at least half a dozen articles written about them the last couple weeks on The Athletic, MLB.com, all over. He's asked all the time. Rocco says they're a problem, says they're working on it. Now whether or not we believe they can be fixed is one thing, but the media is asking the questions, and Rocco is answering the questions. Even Popkins went on the record, and was available to the media recently to talk about the Ks. Admitted they may be overwhelming players with too much info. They clearly haven't found the answer, though.

A 6 man rotation between now and the All Star break would be an interesting move. I wonder if Louie is tiring just a bit. Not simply from inning totals, but the natural uptick in effort at the ML level over the minors. Maybe the arm isn't feeling quite as good as he'd like. A little extra rest for him, and the rest of the rotation as we get into July may be good. Allow everyone to get recharged coming out of the break and hit the ground running for the second half. The starters need to be really, really good for this team to have a chance so I could see a 6 man rotation for a couple weeks being a decent option to have everybody in as good a shape as possible for the 2nd half of the year.

Nobody is claiming this offense is good. Or that hitting .220 with 15-20 HRs is good. It's not. Things don't "have to be" any certain way. But we've advanced. We've gained more knowledge. You're not wiser by refusing to accept new information and knowledge. Nobody has lowered standards, they've changed to a more encompassing set of standards that takes in more important information than your basic hits vs outs equation. You don't have to like it, but it's not impressive, or some badge of honor, to refuse to accept new, and better, information.

Rooker could use all the protection he can get right now. His .216/.306/.374 slash line since April ended has him looking like Max Kepler out there.

Who needs CES when you have Chris Williams?! (mostly sarcasm as I know this is a very small sample, but just wanted to have a little fun while we face CES)

Short starts are absolutely killer. Especially when it's supposed to be one of your top starters, and he just simply doesn't have it that day, and never finds it over 4 innings.

You're going to make me blush!

Using Winder Tuesday comes back to bite them. I don't remember the circumstances Tuesday and if it was "necessary," but the challenge of having a true long man is that if your rotation is good, and mostly healthy, there's very few chances to use him, and you always run the risk of picking the wrong time to "just get him work," and you end up with no long man when he's needed. This is assuming Winder is supposed to be the long man.

I'd rather have Castro than Kepler. Castro is, to me, the ideal bench player. Switch hitter who can play anywhere but catcher, and steal a base. He doesn't need to be an everyday player, but he's exactly what I want out of my 26th guy. Castro is hitting better than Kepler this year. Provides better base running, and more flexibility. If they're making moves for Wallner, Miranda, Larnach, whoever they need to start with Kepler. Castro isn't the problem on this team. He fits the role he should have. And it's a valuable role.

Those guys deal with teammates getting DFAed dozens of times a year. They're not heartbroken over it. They might miss their friends, but this isn't some new thing for them. Guys who stop performing get cut. They understand this is a business. Sympathetic? Sure. But I'm sympathetic to people getting fired. They understand that their teammates play is also tied to their own ability to get enormous amounts of money. Whether it's Larnach, Wallner, Miranda, or any other player doesn't really matter to me. Max Kepler, Emilio Pagan, Kyle Garlick, etc. may be veterans, but that doesn't earn them a lifetime deal. Kepler isn't currently earning his spot. He's not a "proven veteran" anymore. He's a subpar hitter on a team that needs offense. There were other very reasonable options to make beyond sending Larnach down. I'm not heartbroken for Larnach going down. But acting like Kepler is a league average player anymore is ignoring a whole lot. He doesn't deserve to be on a team attempting to contend.

Guys may miss him in the clubhouse or something, but they all understand they're in a performance based business. I could just as easily argue that there's probably some players on the team that aren't happy he's still on the team. If you're not performing, and you're holding the team back from succeeding, there are plenty of players that will be upset with you getting chance after chance, and letting the team down. Not just the guys who's places you're taking, either. The players know who's good and who's not. If the players think Larnach, or Wallner, give them a better chance to win, there's going to be some that are upset the Twins refuse to move on and bring up the better players.

I think there's way too many variables to make a solid prediction 1 way or the other. Did 1 of the catchers get hurt for the year? He'd go on the 60-day, and they'd probably select Camargo if they feel he's the better player since that 40-man spot will be used all season. Once they get to the offseason they have plenty of guys coming off the 40-man, and Camargo needs to be protected anyways. If they aren't worried about protecting him I don't think DFAing him would be that big of a concern of theirs anyways. Even if it's just a 10-day stint they can 60-day Alcala, and use Camargo depending on what they feel about the rest of the roster, and who'd they'd be willing to DFA when. Pagan, Garlick, and Kepler are easy DFA candidates (well to everyone outside of 1 Twins Way at least...). I don't think the 40-man concerns are all that great. Plenty of ways to get Camargo on it depending on the overall situation.

Lineup position isn't what creates the consistency people are looking for. Being in the lineup or not can, though. MLB players have gameday routines they do no matter what. They don't do anything different to prepare for hitting 1st, 5th, or 9th. And they don't change their general approaches to their ABs either. Joey Gallo hitting leadoff doesn't suddenly think "dang, I need to cut down my swing and slap it the other way like Arraez since I'm hitting leadoff." He still goes up there looking to launch balls into the seats. Pitchers don't throw Buxton fastballs instead of sliders simply because he's in the leadoff spot, or if he were hitting in front of peak Bonds. Hitters approach ABs the same, and pitchers attack each hitter the same no matter where they are in the lineup. Lineup construction is about the manager putting the right type of hitters in the right order. How well Rocco does that, and how different the hitters really are, is up for debate. If you have a lineup full of the same type of hitter, the order doesn't matter beyond who's hot, and who's not. Luis Arraez has hit in the 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, and 9 holes this year. Primarily 1st or 3rd, though. But he has an OPS of .916 in the 1 hole. His OPS in the 3 hole? The drastically different .918. His OBP in the 1 hole is .442 vs .440 in the 3 hole. Slugging is .474 as leadoff, and .478 in the 3 hole. Guys don't change who they are depending on where they are in the lineup. It's just fans attempting to explain away struggling bats.