KirbyDome89

Did Rudolph personally wrong you? That's the only way I can make sense of the above. Honestly...

This isn't that hard. Garrett didn't just cross a line, he obliterated it. It doesn't matter who instigated it or what was said. I'm confident a lot of s*** talking happens throughout every game and nothing like what we saw happens. Yeah, Rudolph shoved Garrett's helmet first; Garrett also decided he needed to wrap Rudolph up spin him, and slam him to ground well after releasing a throw with 14 seconds left in game that was clearly decided. If Garrett doesn't decide to use Rudolph's helmet as a weapon we're probably looking at fines and everybody has moved on. There's a reason so many former players are disgusted with Garrett's actions.

Odorizzi's 15' and 16' seasons are on par with what he did this year. If 2017 counts towards his TB tenure than he has to own last season as part of his time with MN as well. Also, he was a completely different pitcher in the 2nd half of this season. It's still a good move by the FO, but I wouldn't say the organization "turned Odorizzi around," and I'd certainly stop short of saying the Twins have a knack for developing pitching at this point.

I definitely think there will be a fight, and I the players union has some ground to stand on, but I didn't see anything Anthopoulos said as out of step. If the union is convinced the issue is with clubs colluding rather than the current agreement being set up in way as to allow teams to take advantage of FA and control young talent than go after the owners I guess, but IMO the real issue is the latter, not the former. Article XX(E)(1) of the collective bargaining agreement, which ends: "Players shall not act in concert with other Players and Clubs shall not act in concert with other Clubs." Also good luck enforcing the above. We aren't seeing NBA levels of tampering here, but there's no realistic way to ensure strict adherence on either side.

It isn't a matter of convenience, it's about an adult being held accountable for his actions and not deemphasizing that accountability.

The number of diagnoses doesn't change the fact that he is ultimately responsible for his own actions. The "real," Josh might be a friendly and outgoing guy, but the "real," Josh also allegedly beat his teenage daughter with a closed fist. Failure to acknowledge that diminishes his responsibility in the matter.

So much this. The "I wasn't myself," or "He wasn't in his right state of mind," argument is nothing more than a failure to accept or allocate responsibility for actions.

Thome posted a barely higher OPS and a considerably higher OPS+ than Cruz did if we're comparing single seasons. I'd give the nod to Jim considering he had his monster year when the rest of the league wasn't smashing home runs at a record breaking pace.

As a fan it makes total sense to want the extra year. You're the right, the Twins had the option to take the year, and legally speaking they did nothing wrong. That said, it doesn't mean the organization's decision was necessarily right from a relations standpoint, or that it's best for the long term outlook. If the decision to send Buxton home is chalked up as simply business then fine; it's the other rationalizations that really have no base.

I've never said it wasn't a business move, nor that the Twins were wrong by any legal standard. Buxton didn't "put himself," in that position though, the Twins chose to send him home. Again, look at the 40 players on the roster to end that year and tell me every single one of them was better than Byron Buxton; you can't. If you watched employees that you, and everybody else knew were inferior to yourself be promoted over you, and you found out that the reason for your lack of movement was that the company wanted to avoid paying you a bonus, you wouldn't be pissed? There would be no hard feelings towards your employer? I'm not calling you a liar, but I am pointing out that the anger over his on field performance is coloring the view of his service time manipulation to the point where he apparently isn't even allowed to be upset about having a year of FA taken from him.

I keep seeing the same 3 arguments being beaten to death here: 1) He didn't "deserve," a call up - Please, read through that September roster and then tell me there wasn't room for Buxton. 2) He needed to gain confidence - I'm not sure how refusing to give PT to somebody instills confidence. Also, lets be honest, September rosters are full of guys that'll never have big league careers, i.e. an extension of the competition he was seeing in the minors. 3) He needed to develop in the minors - His minor league season was over. They literally sent him home while the big league club played another 15+ games. Players don't develop by not being on the field. You can be disappointed in Buxton's development to this point and still acknowledge that the decision to send him home that September was 100% motivated by service time. I'm guessing if we took a TD poll, an overwhelming majority would say they expected more from him this far into his Twins career. Calling him "clueless," for answering a question posed by local media, at a charity event he voluntarily flew back to attend in the Twin Cities, just months after the organization essentially stole a year of financial freedom from him, feels like a bit much. IMO the angst over his performance is misplaced when this topic comes up. Anybody on this board would feel the same way if they were on the receiving end of contract manipulation.

Those were considered team friendly deals before either player started this season. It's a even larger W for the Twins in retrospect, especially if their level of play in 19' can be sustained. That type of deal throttles Buxton's earning potential. He's already an elite defender, he's a freak athlete, and we've seen what he can do when healthy. If I'm him on gambling on my performance paying out a higher dividend via arbitration too. His gripe is that his service time was very obviously manipulated. His decision not to accept a team friendly contract offer doesn't change that fact. Despite all the hand wringing over whether or not he deserved to be on the roster, it's actually a pretty easy case to make. Look at the September roster from that season and ask yourself whether every player on it is better than Byron Buxton.

He's putting up similar or better numbers, he's 4 years younger, and he's doing it in the in AL. If we're drafting a team it's an easy call which guy you're taking first.

Cole and Strasburg aren't turning down blank checks. If (when) MN doesn't land either, it'll be because they weren't the highest bidder. Period. Wheeler isn't near the pitcher Berrios is. Acquiring him isn't landing an ace. He's also closer in age to Gibson than Berrios. How long do the Twins have to wait for that "future potential?"

Officiating has been ranged from poor to inexplicably bad, but lets be honest, every fanbase feels like they're the victim when this happens.

This team needs to start putting some arms around Berrios that aren't stop gaps. If Pineda is the 5th spot in the rotation then a short term QO is fine. If the intention is to bank on a guy who's already a serious health risk to repeat this last season and be a top of the rotation starter then it's a hard pass. High caliber internal arms aren't exactly knocking at the door, there's Graterol and then a group that barely got a taste of AA or hasn't even reached that level yet.

I guess I'm setting the bar higher than winning a terrible division and having zero chance in the postseason.

I think the distinction lies in the interpretation of "impact." The additions thus far have been low risk, short term, and/or reclamation projects. They've hit on some, and others have been failures, but that isn't much different than the approach this organization had before the new FO was implemented. Falvey & Co have been "in," on some big names with nothing to show for it. They need to actually submit the highest bid for one of those arms. Everybody, myself included, equates "impact," to Gerrit Cole tier arms. It's clear this team needs top end pitching talent if they want to have a chance in the postseason. We all agree that areas of the organization have improved; I don't think anybody is arguing that things have gotten worse. Pitching has been the biggest issue since Falvey was hired. He's going on year 4 now, and it continues to be a black eye. I'm not a fan of the catch phrases and PR spin., If it's more middle ground moves and another early postseason exit they'll have lost credibility. There's plenty of money and prospect capital to spend, but we've heard that story before.

He isn't apologizing for hitting Acuna, but that statement isn't a declaration of why he deserved to be hit either. Maybe Flaherty is an evil genius and worked the count into his favor to make it less obvious but a 1-2 with 2 outs and a runner on seems like a really odd time to throw at somebody. Add to it that the Braves, with literally nothing to lose, didn't retaliate or really even make a peep.

Except there isn't a guarantee they'll be back next year. We assume the good will get better while the bad will be improved upon, but that just isn't likely. How many guys had breakout seasons this year? Are we expecting them all to avoid regression and build on 19'? Does Cruz continue to defy age and stay healthy/productive? Does Buxton stay on the field this year? Does Berrios finish strong? Ect, ect, ect... They need 4 starting pitchers; does this franchise decided to spend $$ and prospects to fill out the rotation despite serious aversion to both avenues? They're going to need bullpen help too. MN can hide or shuffle guys through a 13 man pen in the regular season but we saw what happened to the "elite," bullpen when lesser arms were forced to get outs against a playoff lineup. Outside of addressing internal issues the Twins also have to contend with divisional teams. Detroit and KC will almost certainly be terrible again, but if the Sox decide to be even a .500 team, it makes the path to the postseason already more difficult than this year. Then there's Cleveland. Are we banking on them being without 3/5 of their starting rotation for nearly the entire year again? Do we hope that Lindor and Ramirez miss a month+ each? For as injury ravaged as some moaned the Twins were, the Indians had it worse, and still almost took the division. The Twins had a lot go their way in 19'. IMO it would be irresponsible to set that as the starting point from where they go this offseason. The hard part is done, i.e. they've got the structure to build around, at least position player wise. It's a question of whether they'll commit to putting together a serious contender, and how honest they'll be about areas of deficiency at this point.

I think the frustration is with the PR, not an inability to recognize it. Nobody is surprised by it anymore. Those that want ammunition (words to twist) are going to find them, no matter how careful Rocco is. Those that want to "beat him over the head again and again," will do so regardless of whatever media clip he provides. We see it daily in our media cover all arenas. Rocco doesn't need to bear his soul to press, that isn't what's being asked of him, but avoiding the meltdown that was this series by pointing to regular season success and talking about how proud he is of this group is borderline insulting and certainly lacks accountability. We all saw what happened on the field. PR is less of a protective measure, and more of a way to obfuscate objective reality at that point. You said it yourself, the punches are going to come after such a deflating series. I don't think the criticism of the "I'm not frustrated," motto proves any point at all. Nothing Rocco will say is going to appease the fan base, but something needs to be said. Personally I think it's easier to respect, and move forward with somebody who offers honest insight rather than hollow cliches. Protecting your players and keeping the clubhouse isn't mutually exclusive from providing honest critique. I'm not really bothered by Rocco's postgame presser. On the list of things to be irritated over I think it's pretty low. I will say that 9 minutes of spin following a series beatdown doesn't exactly quell frustration.

I hear you on the lack of good arms in the pen. I've been pushing back against the "elite bullpen," narrative over the last week, so we agree there; Rocco is going to have to throw those guys, especially with a 12 man staff, and it's unfortunate for him. That said there's validity to the argument that picking and choosing when/where to throw them could've made a difference. If Berrios comes out for one more inning, Rogers throws 2, and Romo throws 1, they still have May and Duffey. There's no guarantee MN gets through that sequence unscathed but it's certainly preferable to Littell, Stashak, and Gibson. I do think Rocco deserves some heat for the way the game was managed. They seemed to be holding back, and in a 5 game series that make absolutely no sense.

I think their comfort level with the status quo definitely hurts right now, but I'm not sure how much having the extra game at home factors into it. Damn, I thought I was the resident pessimist in comparison to some here. I'll be at game 3 so hopefully I'm not watching MN get swept out at home. My head says NY in 4, my heart says MN in 5.

Severino is a 2X AS and according to both him and his team he's healthy. That simply is a quality arm. I'm not sure how a guy with 28 career Major League innings can be that underrated but regardless of where you feel he his, it isn't anywhere near Severino; this isn't a push.

Dobnak has made 9 appearances and in 5 of those games he threw 3 or fewer innings. Two weeks ago was the first time he's thrown more than 4 innings in a game. Severino, even with a pitch count of 80, can give NY that kind of distance, so we're really talking about talent, and that easily favors NY.