prouster

Three or four people have asked this exact thing. It's a really great question!

This is the million dollar question. I'm wondering what the obvious option is that Falvey and Levine are too stupid/incompetent to see.

Who would you have had them start? (I don't think Duffey has been an option since spring...)

I think all the hand wringing and speculation is unwarranted. They needed someone to make a spot start. Melville has been pitching well for Rochester. He got a shot. Now he'll go back down. Gee, on the other hand, has pitched pretty well out of the bullpen. There's no reason to think he's incapable of keeping them in a game for 5 or 6 innings. I really think it's as simple as that. The despair over this is ... melodramatic.

I think the issue is that there's simply more to lose with Gonsalves. My guess is that they want to be sure he's ready, which we can't really know from the stat line alone. If they rush him and he fails, then there's probably some serious doubt about how effective he can ultimately be. But if a guy like Melville bombs, they're basically out a spot start or two. Much less is at stake. So, I'm assuming it's a risk-reward thing. Whether this is the proper way of deciding about calling up players is debatable. Personally, I can't find fault with keeping Gonsalves down for the time being. Maybe he gets a cup of coffee in September, maybe not until spring. Either way, he's going to have a role on the team.

Sure, and that's fair. I don't think there's anyone here who doesn't want the Twins to win every single game. That said, the team doesn't owe us anything. The Pohlads are wealthy whether we buy tickets or not. The players get their checks no matter what their record is. With that in mind, I think it's admirable that Perkins clawed his way back, and he's carrying an attitude that he needs to earn his place just like everyone else. I think that's actually a much more productive attitude than the cartoony machismo (with a tinge of kids-todayism) that some seem to prefer.

Fine. Maybe "blasting him" isn't the right way to phrase it. Maybe it should be "blasting his presence on the roster/the motives of those who have assembled that roster": "MLB baseball with a playoff possibility on the line is not an exercise in nostalgia. That performance in the Minors is not a rehab that is rehab-ready for the show! That is not a rehab that has EARNED a spot on a MLB team. Seriously, we all wish it were different, but as long as the Twins are in it, Perkins needs to do what is best for the team. Hey! Maybe we should sign Joe Nathan, too, and throw him out there. Now is NOT the time for a Glen Perkins return to the mound for the Twins." "I'll celebrate a veteran coming back from losing his leg to an IUD to return to active duty. A person battling cancer, and winning. A single mom, through sheer determination, overcoming her disadvantages to make a home for her kids . . . No participation trophies." Hyperbole and false equivalencies galore. Basically, I don't think we actually know if he's good enough to be on the roster right now. Maybe he is. If he's not, they can replace him. As others have pointed out, there aren't currently a whole lot of appealing options in the high minors. Maybe John Curtiss. Other than him, though, it's a bunch of guys who have either been here (or somewhere else) and failed or who probably aren't going to amount to much. But what do I know? Someone may surprise us. In any case, rosters expand in two weeks. I'm not sure one relief spot is going to make or break the team's post-season chances, especially given the size of the pitching staff, and especially with how the Cleveland series went. Overall, my point is that I think the human effort behind 1) being a MLB calibre player and 2) rehabbing from a catastrophic injury in order to remake oneself into a MLB calibre player are being grossly under-appreciated by some people. This isn't your or my sales job.

There isn't any single way to interpret his rehab stint. It's far too small of a sample. Some of his numbers weren't good, but some of his peripherals were encouraging. There were reports of diminished velocity, but there were also reports of him cranking it up now and again. For all we know, he was treating it like spring training, testing out feel/working on hitting spots/etc. Ultimately, these are people playing the game. The team can appear as a "ruthless machine," but no matter how we wish to perceive it as such, it isn't one. I'm not saying that Perkins is owed anything, but that it just seems dismissive (maybe even a little cruel) to start blasting him the day of his return. Now, someone should tell that to Cleveland's lineup . . .

I think you're being unnecessarily and unrealistically harsh. Perkins worked extremely hard to get back to the big leagues. Kudos to him for pushing through what was certainly a very difficult period. As for your "it's part of the job" sentiment, should we not feel happy for youngsters making it to the Majors for the first time? After all, it comes with the territory.

I don't think anyone will be called up to play everyday, unless there's an injury or two.

Here's another way to look at it: Rosario runs pretty well. Unless Milwaukee is playing their outfielders in (which maybe was the case; I don't know), he'll probably score on a base hit. Maybe Buxton hits one to the gap, maybe he strikes out looking. The worst case scenario is a runner in scoring position with one out. There's no chance for a sac fly with Adrianza up in that situation, but a base hit still probably scores Rosario. The flip side is that, with Rosario on third via bunt, there's still only one chance to score him on a sac fly. If it doesn't pan out with Adrianza, there's no meaningful difference between Rosario on second or third with two outs. Castro still needs to reach base, and Rosario is running on contact no matter what. So, all things considered, I'd rather have three chances to score him from second than 1-2 to score him from third. Although I can certainly see how a bunt is defensible in this scenario.

Perhaps off topic, but apparently the Twins and Yankees are in advanced talks over Jaime Garcia. Morosi says Zach Littell, New York's no. 22 prospect according to MLB.com, is "part of the talks." MLB.com gives him a 45 scouting grade. He has been very good at A+ and AA so far this year. Definitely an intriguing prospect, and a lot closer to the bigs than Ynoa. Edit: Okay, I see others have brought this up in a different thread.

"Buying" and "selling" aren't mutually exclusive. Acquiring Garcia doesn't prevent them from dealing Santana/Dozier/Kintzler. They also suddenly find themselves with another Major League arm that we know other teams are interested in—there's nothing stopping them from dealing Garcia. I think it's perfectly reasonable to try and improve the immediate roster and try to acquire assets for the future.

I don't disagree with your conclusion, but the premise (the promise premise, heh) is unknowable. Unless someone in the FO has actually said they made such a promise to Colon, which I'm unaware of it that's the case. Otherwise this is something we've invented.

Agreed. Jorge is maybe a back end starter at best. Enlow could be the real thing. I wonder if some of his polish wore off since he "slid" into the third round. Not that that would justify holding him in lower esteem—he's the same pitcher whether he was taken in the third round or the first.

Complaining about a starter on this team making it into the eighth inning. Sheesh. . .

A nice write up of Berrios and his breaking ball: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/sunday-notes-jose-berrioss-breaking-ball-is-bugs-bunny/

Please elevate your level of discourse.

Yeah, probably.

I would much rather have Archer on my team than Berrios. I think you are severely underestimating what it would take to pry him from Tampa.

He's expected to sign today. Nothing really to see here.

Lewis finished his pro debut 2-4 with the homer and a single. No walks, no strikeouts. An excellent first effort. Hopefully there's more of the same to come. Here is footage of the dinger:

This, to me, is the most important sentence of your entire post.

A different way of looking at the draft in general is that it's a way to build a sustainable pool of talent, rather than a way to complement the existing roster. The assumption that many seem to hold is that the Twins are on the cusp of competitiveness, which apparently won't/can't last long. The underlying argument is that they should inflate the bubble, burst it, and eventually rebuild again. I'd rather they stockpile as many talented youngsters as possible, regardless of position, so they can plug them into a fully functioning lineup as needed.

I think you're underestimating Lewis's talent. He's a legit 1-1 pick. KLAW, for example, likes him better than last year's first overall pick, Mickie Moniak. Callis called him a legitimate choice for first overall. He might not be "universally considered a great hitter," but basically everyone with a professional opinion says his hit tool is/could be anywhere from plus to plus-plus. Longenhagen gives it a 60 future value, for example, which would make him an allstar. His frame is still pretty lanky (he very recently turned 18), so it's easy to imagine him adding power as he gets older, as well. Not to mention that he'll likely play an up the middle position even if he moves off SS. My personal hope was that they'd nab Gore or Greene 1-1 (in that order), but I think Lewis is a very good pick. It's not like he's some fringy first rounder. Most outlets have tagged him with a 55FV, which is the same as Gore, McKay, and Wright (the latter two are 60FV for some) depending on where you look.