wsnydes

Great to see years of hard work, battling through adversity, and determination pay off for the kid. I hope he does well!

The only thing that I could think of for reasoning would be if they're bringing up Gonsalves or Wheeler and want to get as long of a look as possible. I imagine that Gonsalves is up against an innings limit, so one start could be a bigger deal. Otherwise, I'm left scratching my head as well.

The Twins optioned Duffy and Berrios to AAA and recalled Andrew Albers. The other move to be announced tomorrow. https://twitter.com/LaVelleNeal I'd rather have seen someone other than Albers come back up, but we may get that wish anyway. What would the other options be? Wheeler? Gonsalves? Both would need to be added to the 40-man, IIRC.

Under the old FO, I would agree completely. That remains to be seen with what happens with a new regime, but I think they'll still need to be ahead of the curve in these departments to remain competitive over longer stretches of time.

KEPLER!!!! My faith rewarded!

I believe in Das Bat. I believe.

We have very different definitions of fun, it seems.

Matt Capps was that way too. Unless you throw 103, that fastball best have some movement.

Odd, my sarcasm sensor just exploded. Not sure why.

Calling this brutal baseball is insulting to brutal baseball. Wow.

The bats seem to be in as much of a hurry to end this misery as we are.

I have, been a while, but I have. I drink whiskey, so I'll take a bottle of Lot 40 rye if that's okay. You can buy the cheapest beer on earth and I won't mind.

Just buy cheaper beer.

FTFY.

What kind of host expects their guests to supply the beer?!

The Tigers' radio guys have not been hiding how they feel about how poorly this team is playing. They've been fairly blunt and it's hard to argue with any of it because you are 100% correct.

Your future telling game is a bit off today.

FTFY.

*sigh* I was hoping Gamecast was wrong. It's 3-0 there too. Defense has left much to be desired. Berrios not sharp either.

walks...too many walks... 50% walk rate on the day so far.

Tigers' radio guys are talking about Berrios' delivery with the hand and grip showing for so long that hitters can see it, essentially tipping his pitches. Has anyone heard about that here and I have just missed that? They made it sound as if the team is working on that with him.

I'm sure the bullpen would appreciate that sort of effort. I know I would, because that means I see less of the bullpen. And I want to see Berrios succeed.

If you were pitching this game, I'd imagine there would be lots of souvenirs in the outfield, which would make me hurl.

"Decent" is not contending. I'm not worried as much about the position players. Like you say, they're in the middle of the pack offensively. There are plenty of question marks though. Of the four guys you keep referring to, only one is a pitcher. That's where this teams greatest weakness lies. The only pitcher that can be counted on right now is Santana, and he may be a trade target himself. Berrios is no guarantee to be reliable next year at this point. Might he be? Sure. The team may decide to let Gibson walk. Meijia just made his major league debut and sent back to the minors, albeit for innings limit reasons. The team can't make up its mind on May. Hughes is far from anything certain. Even if they acquire someone like Sale, an ace doesn't put this team over the top. That's my greatest point. There are so many holes and question marks on this team, that acquiring Sandy Koufax in his prime doesn't turn this team into a contender. I haven't even gotten to the bullpen. Who's the closer? Who are the setup guys? Who can be counted on at all? There are a crop of young bullpen arms ready or nearly ready, but most of them haven't sniffed the majors yet. And all of them are anything but certain to be reliable let alone expect them to be. My general point is this. It's not a defeatest attitude to say that expecting a 100 loss team can suddenly emerge as a serious contender the following year. That's called reality. They don't have most of the pieces in place and riddled by injuries. Most of the pieces aren't even in the majors yet. Is it possible? Sure, they could catch lightning in a bottle. I too want to see what these young kids can do with real pitching. But that's the problem. There isn't any real pitching on this team. You ask what the players have to play for in the next 2 or 3 years if this club isn't planning on competing? How about their jobs? In the case of the prospects, their careers. That's one reason you get rid of the veterans, they don't necessarily have the stomach to rebuild. The prospects are playing to stay in the big leagues and playing to establish themselves for the long haul and to make a ton of cash. If they aren't competing in three years, there's a big problem. I'd expect them to have a good 2nd half of the 2018 season as well, setting up a legitimate contender in 2019. I'd be right there with you and all over acquiring an ace if this team was a piece or two away from being a legitimate contender for a championship, but they aren't. They're nowhere near that yet. I'm a season ticket holder, my patience with this crap is long gone. Yet, I still don't want them to literally sell the farm in order to acquire pieces that won't have a real impact next year. You've been comparing a team that came off of an 86 win season to a team that is fighting to not lose 100 games. They just aren't the same situation. I'd be absolutely elated if this team were to get to around .500 next season. That isn't a contending team. Get to that point, then go make a splash with a trade or two. At that point, you can also look to have an extended run of excellence. I know that we don't see eye to eye on this, but this has been enjoyable. I do think you bring up some valid points. I just think that the moves you suggest come a year too soon.

You know we're having fun when the only positive topic that you can come up with is Detroit! Nicely done, sir! With all of these Berrios starts not televised, I'm starting to wonder if he's just a myth or creation of the Twins PR department gone strangely wrong.