Rosterman

I thought Buddy Boshers was in the competition. Who was paid off to send Buddy down to the minors.

We have to hope that the Twins will be able to see something in advance of next season, giving Gonsalves and/or Stewart or even Jay a looksee come September. I alssot disagree on keeping Buxton up here (who ahs sat out the last couple of games). Go with Rosario, Kepler and Santana (Grossman) and see how they do for another good solid month while Buxton goes back to AAA and works more on what he was doing so well down there. Buxton is the future, and Rosario and Santana will more likely be passed by Walker or Palka in seasons to come. But let's see if we can build some value in Santana and Rosario, beyond their sophomore slumps. Glad to see Vargas get a shot. It may be brief, but it will be his main opportunity. Pretty bad when you really don't need a closer, and the Twins bullpen of the future IS a mess. Reed, Burdi, Jones and Bard should've all been battling for a callup, but not. Hildenberger seems to be passing them by at the moment. The Twins also need to take a look at Wimmers in some capacity. Alex Meyer needs a decision, too.

Kudos. Now let's hope he isn't traded before the game is played (shades of Rosario and Park missing their special days).

The handling of Berrios wasn't horrible. Usually you get called up when a guy on the DL, you might get 3-4 starts. Or, better yet, you are called up to pitch that doubleheader game and sent right out. And, no matter who you are, your first time on the big stage can make you nervous. Chargolis was nervous. Yes, it is the same distance from the mound to the batter's box. You have to have your best stop popping. You only need to get three out. No one has really s before. Meyer was a different story. You are making him a starter, you bring him up and throw him out there in relief, then sit him, then ask him to start. Plus, you have to worry that these guys will overthrow (like they do early in spring training) and screw up their arms. You can cycle thru relief pitchers above and beyond your closer, a setup guy from each side, and you wan to have a good idea on how your back-of-the-bullpen mop-up guy will fare. Otherwise, three spots are interchangable, especially f you have a solid rotation that will more often than not get you towards the 7th inning.

I think the disaster is in the use of the whole pitching staff, and not sure who to blame for that. It seems we might be seeing some light, with Gibson and Duffey pitching well, Santana doing his job...but otherwise, we can't trust Milone and Nolasco can't go deep. The bullpen is settling in. No true closer (not that the Twins need one). But they seem to have some guys who can K batters, as well as get a ground ball or fly ball when necessary. What is missing is a bonafide longman. Roles have failed to be set all season with the majority of the pen pitching one inning (or less). I don't put longterm stock in Kintzler or Boshers or even Abad. They are what they are. Guys you give a chance, they shine, they can move on and hopefully get replaced by a Blaine Boyer next season. You can always scrounge up some diamonds in the rough. Sadly, we can expect to see the surprising Wheeler and the return of Berrios. Have no idea on the state of Meyer. We won't see Stewart, Jay or Gonsalves until next season at the earliest. We can continue to drag out Dean, Greenwood or whomever. Baxendale...but he is being used in relief right now. It doesn't look like May will be stretched. Sad. Unless they groom him to close. We have to see where Burdi, Bard, Reed, Jones, Chargolis, Melo and any other young arm end the season (Hildenberger (?) might be an exception). And then hope hope hope they will come into the storm sometime in 2017. One year late. Sadly. If the Twins CAN write off Nolasco, trade Santana...they free up some monies. Also Milone and Jepsen and we are looking at a lot of bucks ($30 mill next year alone). What they do with it in the off-season is anyone's guess. Doubt that they will bank it to overspend in the future. I'm curious to see what happens with Wimmers. He has to be entering minor league free agency, so do they 40-man him and hope? Not to mention the other guys like Romero and Landa who are years away (where is Jorge in all this mess, not to mention Thorpe and Cederoth).

The Plouffe situation is a mess, as the Twins have to ask themselves...will they offer him arbitration or not. I'm sure we will have to wait to see what can happen with Plouffe (and Suzuki and Nolasco) as the season winds into August and players are put on waivers. The Twins then have the option of making a deal or letting someone walk. Plouffe only has value (as does Suzuki) if he can replace temporarily an injured party for the remainder of the season and then given walking papers to explore free agency in the fall. Dealing both for anything can be a plus, as the Twins would then be in a position to resign, if the need or desire IS there. Of course, any of the Twins waiver wire, minor league free agent guys could be flipped for something...depending on what the Twins see as depth from the minors happening next year. Don't forget that Escobar could also be a candidate as a team is looking for a solid utility guy. But most of the players mention will just bring minor league depth, maybe a prospect of two still a bit raw that COULD develop into something usable in the majors. We don't need anyone out of options or who demands a 40-man spot...unless they are truly major league ready and just blocked on another team's depth list. I say part with Santana, especially if YOU DON'T have to eat salary, and better to invest that money elsewhere, or down the road. I think Joe Mauer will pass thru August waivers unclaimed, sadly.

Yep. Two spots available. See what happens tomorrow with Milone. Hey, the Twins should've grabbed Eric Fryer!

You could package him with, say, Arcia. Wait....... Maybe with Danny Santana! Yes, with a prospect for something better would be wonderful. And Santana is a powerful back-of-the-rotation starter if you provide adequate offense. And his extended contract isn't all that bad. And any receiving team can also gamble that he will stay the same or improve and still be a viable tradechip if need be.

I see the Twins keeping Dozier, unless someone REALLY comes up lame for a second baseman next spring training. I would like to see basically the leftside changed with Plouffe, Escobar AND Nunez all departing, and seeing if Polanco CAN play shortstop, with the reserves being Santana and possibly Beresford or Tovar or someone else. Outfield of Rosario, Buxton, Kepler with Grossman in reserve and Walker on standby. I would like to see Vargas get some playing time, maybe a couple of weeks this season before you bring back Park. Just to see. Catching is a mess. I was surprised the Twins didn't take a flyer on Fryer when he became available again, and send down Centeno and hope that Murphy will come around. We all want to see Berrios up here, and would love to see Wheeler as the next in-line for the rotation, since it appears May is doomed for the bullpen or future development as a closer. Of course, we still have Meyer in the wings.

My favorite Jepsen moment? Today! Add in on decision on Mastro, and suddenly the Twins are getting some 40-man roster spot openings. Plus, Milone will have at most one more start to [prove himself.

It doesn't make total sense. Unless you ALSO move out Buxton. But, yes, there is no place for Polanco to play. I might've gone with Vargas, instead, as strictly a bat off the bench. The Twins till have one pitcher too many.

Abad TRADE Dean REMOVE Jepsen RELEASE Milone RELEASE Nolasco RELEASE Suzuki TRADE Dozier TRADE Escobar TRADE Nunez TRADE Plouffe TRADE Vargas Bring Up Mastro RELEASE Park LEAVE DOWN Santana (both) TRADE Wow, 15 guys on the 40-man here. Not evening considering futures for Pressly, Rogers, Centeno, Gibson. If you truly believe in the farm system at this point, you must go forward and supplement your roster with waiver claims and lowend free agents to get you to the competitive state (i.e. when the kids start to shine for sure, maybe). Similar to what Ryan did with the bullpen this season, although it backfired as it looks like NONE of the relievers will get much of a shot this year and it won't be until sometime next season that we start to see them dribble in.

Winning team, players playing to win. Hummmmm...not much to show in this part of the decade.

Something is wrong when you have promotions for players that aren't with the Big League Club. They must be smokin' something when they are evaluating and dreamin' about the next season.

I like going to ball games to savor The Target Field Experience. The adorable off-key National Anthem sung by the grade school choir, the fireworks during that anthem, the old guy hoisting the flag, Jim Cunningham, (PA Guy) trying to make lame games sound fun, seeing the little kids try to put bases into holes, sitting all alone in the upper deck (shades of the Metrodome), not eating the best stadium food ever because it is the most expensive stadium food ever, nice not having to scoreboard watch, but that lineup has horrible batting averages, hey the pitcher is worse yet, why is the front office staff isolated in a box and not enjoying the Target Field experience in the fresh air with the fans, wow sure doesn't look like 20,000 fans, when did that guy join the bullpen, I wonder if my friend has any Saints tickets - they have good food and it is cheap-er, too bad the grounds crew is so good - cute to see kids at T-ball pull dandelions when the game gets boring, how many guys pitched tonight, jeez I wonder if the wife wants to do a road trip to Cedar Rapids.

What time are players required to report to the ballpark.2 hours before a game. 4 hours? What are they expected to do to get ready for a game? If they want to get together early to play catch, should they get paid? Yes, they should be compensated for personal appearances, or x-amount should be written into your contract each season. Yes, minor league ball is an apprentice program. It is not a fulltime job. It is not a fulltime living. It can be if you put in the time and hang in there and become an AAAA guy. But even managers and coaches...how many hold another job. At some point, you leave the fast food restaurant and pursue something that will get you work and an honest salary. You have to have a plan about what do you do when your pursuit of your dream stops at age 21, 23, 27, 32. How much should we compensate dreams?

Well, where do you start. In the real secure world of having a major league starting 25, you can often fill that last offense or that last pitching spot with someone on the level of a Rule 5, or a prospect in training. You may use that spot to rotate some guys in and out of the major leagues. At some point you give a rookie a spot in the major leagues. They go on the field in front of many thousands in a stadium full of noise anf facing the top 600 or so players in the game. Remember, if you are in the major leagues you are better than an equal number of guys playing AAA ball, at the moment. Occasionally a guy plays so well in the minors and you have such a strong lineup you can afford to start a rookie at a position. They may lack in one area, but make up for it in another. Yet they still have to work. Like someone said, when you go the batting cage, you don't just hit balls, you try different things with your bat. That is work. That is what you are paid to do outside the game. Just like a pitcher throws and they work on new pitches. They don't suddenly appear. Ryan contradicts himself. He has allowed rookies to run and fail, most notably Hicks. He started rookies when the need came and was rewarded with fine seasons from Santana, Rosario and Sano. It is every rookies dream to get the call and start in the majors, rather than sit on the bench, and in a solid organization a rookie often sits as that spare outfielder, infielder or catcher is the guy ready to step in and play regular until someone returns from the disabled list. You have so many charts, so much film, so many coaches. Maybe players are over-coached. But considering you have nothing to do but wakeup, go to the ballpark, prepare for a game, work on your game, go over things with people who are tracking things. It is an 8-hour job. You like it so much you show up early. You do work more than 40 hours a week, and maybe can take it easy once or twice a batting session. But it is work. The minor leagues exist to train players to play in the major leagues, period. They spot player needs and help them advance each and every level, hopefully playing against age-appropriate competition, They should expect players to know that each level gets harder and harder with the hardest being the major leagues. You don't know how hard major league ball is until you hit the Arizona Fall League, a place where most of the guys WILL BE on major league rosters (like the Cape Cod League where most of the guys will get drafted and play multiple minor league seasons). Yes, you experience quality players in spring training, but you also experience a lot of rookies in your rookie time there, as well as major league vets that are working on adjusting their slowing steps, working on different pitches., hitting in different ways. Spring training is not about winning but getting in shape and making yourself a better player. Just like the major leagues. You need to experience it. You need to fail up there to learn. You may have a longer or a shorter leash, but spending a few moments in major league ball and then going back down to the minors to work on something, work on something, work on something isn't necessarily any better than doing the same in the majors...except (and Terry had this right) the players in the majors ultimately want to win. They want to play in paced stadiums cheering them onto victory. They want to go to the playoffs. They will sign and move on to join a winning team and totally ignore offers from a losing team -- unless ALL the winning teams have full rosters. You think Buxton and Berrios don't want to win. They just want the bigger payday and the meal money? Well, they may like that. But they ultimately know they won't get it unless the play, listen, learn, improve, play as a team, and win games. Rookies can always be hungry. It is the experience they have played their short life to attain. Aging vets want to play well, it will keep them in a game and translate into a contract. I'm sorry, Terry. If you put 25 rookies on the field tomorrow, they will play hard and strong. They may not win many games, or they may surprise everyone. But the team you have on the field, headed by a miserable rotation of veterans, a half-sluggish bullpen, some hitters who are doing what they predictably do every year, just isn't cutting it. Something isn't meshing. And the rookies, the future of the team, should be the ones being equally embraced to form ties with their teammates, the organization and ... the community (anyone notice the total lack of Twins player appearances anywhere this season?). I want to know what crystal ball the front office looked at the saw that last year's team was going to be better than last year's team this year. Well, maybe if every other team didn't work to improve their team, except the Twins. It looked like a pretty evenly matched division this season, and it is.,..since the Sox have come back to earth...except for the Twins. And that is what is so sad. Someone read the tea leaves wrong, or dreamed, rather than had a plan.

“Well, like anybody, and maybe I jumped the gun saying that about Paul, I mean we have to figure out what we’re doing wrong, what we’re doing wrong in the system,” Pohlad said. “If that points to the need to change personnel, I guess I would have to say we’d look at everything. But there has been no identification of anything like that. We’re beginning to discuss the process of how we examine doing things throughout our system.” I wasn't all that happy with the interview. I mean...."we're beginning to discuss the process of how....." I honestly feel a decision should've been made by now that things aren't working and if opinions, on the table yesterday, don't look right...you make the changes now...not after the season, not next spring. The Twins have been luckier than most teams. Santana stepped onto the plate when he got the call up. Rosario, Sano and Duffey all were above-and-beyond when they made the jump last season. All those guys have suffered sophomore slumps. Berrios and Buxton both were pushed to start in the majors after little time at AAA...it is a change and the system needs to address this. Kepler is far from perfect as a callup, hut seems to be making the most of his major league time to learn and grow. But Pohlad and Co. are still marketing the Target Field experience. C'mon. They have to go beyond that. We can get outdoor baseball in St. Paul with great food and a sold-out atmosphere. But St. Paul is not pro ball. That is what the Twins have that is the difference maker between the two ballparks. I'm sorry. I'm not happy with this interview that waffles over management changes, casts negatives at rookies, and worries about attendance yet still saying he never refused an expenditure on a talent. It is not getting better. It is getting...worse.

But Park is going to miss his special day now!

Hey, he could be that 8th guy in the bullpen. And, double-hey, when have the Twins used a relief pitcher for more than an inning. They may need a long-man, a mop-up guy, but let's not call him Milone. Amazing. You get a second chance after strutting your stuff at AAA ball and look what you do. Let's count up all the dollars the Twins are wasting on pitching the past few years!

They why the %$@#$% did we spend money and a high pick on Kohl Stewart! Sheesh!

You do have the luxury of NOT trading him for the heck of it. So he is one on the players the Twins (at least today) could get more for rather than less. If he stays at his current output, he will be a valuable off-season tradechip, still, with his two years of control. But longterm, you really don't want to go into next season and see a dip in production. If he doesn't dip and does elsewhere, more power to Brian. But I don't see him being the second baseman of 2019 and beyond. So now you look for trading him for players that MIGHT be able to contribute to the Twins in 2018 and beyond. Possibly 2-3 strong prospects.

Yes, all three should've been entering their prime and we should expect 12-12 records with a 4.14 ERA and approximately 180 averaged over the course of the contract. They might be better, but shouldn't be the dismal worse that they are showing this year and especially last year. Case in point, Gibson should've figured it out. Maybe he started this year injured (tell us, people, when you can't pitch). The point is that if you sign a bunch of middle-of-the-order average guys, you are going to get middle-of-the-order average pitchers for the most part. That's fine, if you excel at hitting and have a stopper to lead the rotation. What really hurts is when you supplement this rotation with a bunch of guys who will have very limited careers (Albers, Dean, Deduno, DeVries, Manship, Hendriks, Vasquez, Marquis, Walters, Hernandez, Kris Johnson, Pino, Duffey.) You don't recognize what you have sometimes (Manship and Hendriks are examples) that can be better used in other positions. We want the Twins to spend money,but look at the results (Pavano, Worley, Correia, Pelfrey, Milone).

"Something I've heard on the minor league forums is that scouts in the Twins org are legitimately concerned they will be employed next year. Lots of people are worried, and they should be. When the owner uses the words "total system failure" that pretty much means total failure. My real concern though is that I don't think scouting is where the org's problem is. I think it's development. That's why I wanted Gardy's replacement to be one with a good reputation working with the kids... I'm not happy with what I've seen from Molitor in that respect, and one point I have to think TR needs to step in. I admire that he is fairly hands off for the most part... that is usually a good quality in a manager, but there's a time to step in too, and TR has clearly shown that this isn't something he will do." I will never fault the scouts. I fault the people doing whatever they do with the stuff the scouts bring to the table. That is set by the organization: the type of player they want representing the Twins, the skill set they bring to the table, the work ethic, the ability to sign them for whatever amount the Twins feel worthy of giving to the signee. We hear "best available player" thrown out a lot, but I don't see it. I also sometimes question the big picture outlook. Don't you hedge and sign multiple variables at each position (power, fielding, production). Same with pitchers (control, power, mix). I would like to get a dozen CEO's together and ask them what would happen in their organization if they had a "total system failure". Would it start at the executive level, or would they just fire ALL the hourly employees and start over again at that level.

May is wasted as a middle relief specialist. He either pitches long and starts every 4-5 days. Or he closes, but has to be able to pitch back-to-back-to-back effectively in this most stressful situation. I say run him out one more round as a starter. Not sure how long it will take to get him to 60-70 pitches, and then 90-100 pitches. Maybe after the All-Star game? But let him work thru it, please, at Rochester. And let us hope Meyer comes back and gets some innings in this season at Rochester and can be put into a rotation come September. I would not be adverse, if the need is there, to have a six man rotation the final few weeks of the season, just we can can get a good luck at what we have going into 2017. If we aren't winning games, we don't need a topflight closer. If we have an abundance of starters and May is the lessor one come next spring, then back to the bullpen. But by going into the rotation, he will be forced to have three strong pitches and maybe develop a fourth which, if he has the stamina, will make him a top flight closer if the situation would arise.