Rosterman

Again, quite frankly, the Twins need to worry about putting butts in the seats, or so they think they need that worry. Most fans have no idea what is going on except that Torii Hunter returned, the Twins are winning, the pitching looks overall better than ever, the Twins did spend money, and some bearded guy is playing first base and is not Joe Mauer. But who cares, the Twins are (were) winning and the seats are full and the lines at concessions are long and people are buying all those Aaron Hicks shirts that don't need to go in a remainder bin. But the team IS fielding quite a few guys who no one currently wants on their own team, no matter the price. And these guys won't be contributing next year...and truth be told...are barely contruibuting this year except they are on payroll with guaranteed contracts and "what the hey" we need to get our money's worth as long as we can. We jettisoned Stauffer so he could play indy ball for a dime and dwell in the Mets minors while the Twins pick up us modest bill. We are paying Nolasco for a sceond year of no production. We forget that Pelfrey has ate well for two seasons and is doing nothing to prove to any other team that he is deserving of a contract similar to what the Twins gave him. We hjave at least one guy in the bullpen that didn't deserve arbitration and another who should have been moved when he was actually very good. There are a dozen guys on the 40-man roster that were put there for some reason, I would imagine, but the Twins don't see any reason to play them in the majors, so go figure. One guy they removed and he was snatched by a team...over two others that could've easily passed thru waivers (Thompson, Wheeler...maybe even Darnell). Passed thru waivers. Says a lot for guiys on your 40-man protected list. Why protect them if no one wants them, yet you choose the one guy (at times) that another team will take off your hands. Not that I am crying about the loss of Thielbar. Of course, if you basic philosophy is to remain competitive and put people in the seats, the Twins are doing a-ok. They are better than anyone imagined, they did bring in Hunter which did perk up the fan base. The team seems to pitch better than last year and even though the offense was dismal of late, it has been all-around solid with everyone contributing, but no one taking the lead as a star. But the prospects are hungry. They need to get their feet wet. Achter was nervous and gave up a home run. But he also struck out the side. Which is what we need in the bullpen. Oliveros, a favorite of mine, would probably pitch in a similar fashion and if he listens to the coaches, well, we could have a could of strikeout guys in the bullpen, something we don'tsee until Perkins comes out. Hopefully someone bites on our waiver wire guys. If they do, well as that great comedian once said: Take My Players, please!"

In other news, Eric Fryer stays with Rochester. Means we don't advance a Doube-A prospect for the final month.

knew someone would pick him up. Left reliever. Decent stats. Under conrol. Good for Caleb.

Quite frankly, it was one of those cases where the Twins didn't see anyone claiming him and adding him to the 40-man. In which case, they would've lept him. Kinda like no one wanted Neshek, or Hendriks, or even Florimon.

No player should really get a day off. They should be available to do something if needed to change the game.

Service time is moot for a prospect like Buxton. If he shines in Year One and Year Two, he will get a longterm deal he can't refuse. Bigger question is what to do about Aaron Hicks as he inches closer to arbitration with two horrible years and one better than expected year (adding up to about two years of time right now). The Twins have some outfield decisions to make, including the Arcia situation.

Who's catching at Rochester. Wait, Paulino. Is de san Miguel finally going to take a second at-bat this season, too.

No room at Rochester if Buxton goes there.

Starting to see the whining buildup over the Mauer issue. That he is just not getting the job done, that we put all this weight on his shoulders. The Twins did spend money this year, and some last year. We should be gald about that. That they put it into the rotation, where Hughes is holding his own, Santana gave half-of-a-year-back and now we wait and see, and Noalsco brings me memories of Joe Mays. They spent money to keep the best catcher in baseball on the team, the hometown icon who is now a first baseman that makes me yearn for Doug Mientkiewicz and his no homers but high average. The hardest job in abseball is a general manager. You have to look at the overall picture, give a manager and coaches the correct players, watch the minor league system ups and downs (amazing how players in the minors go from great to horrible and then great and then nowhere). Yes, bring in a new general manager who will trade away the system to put a winning team on the field to placate the fan and sell tickets. Maybe yes, maybe no. Yes, winning games will fill the seats in Target Field. The Twins have been having a very ncie run. Wait to see what happens if they keep playing the way they are playing. Will August see smaller crowds. Once school starts, and there isno contention, the stands will be back to 20,000 people and you can buy a cheap ticket on stub hub, and us diehards will be ansxiously waiting 2016, which will still be a rebuilding year as guys need at least 1000 at bats to prove themselves and we will have Sano and Buxton and maybe a new shortstop and someone as backup catcher and Kepler on the horizon to go with Santana, Rosario, Arcia, Vargas, Pinto et all...and Mauer, too. The team is in a slump. The team is in a funk. Again, we look at the parts that will be here in 2016 and play them. We look to get anything we can out of the pile of broken parts that won't be here next season. We start fast-tracking some guys in the minors, rather than playing it safe and holding them back...longer than necessary, at times.

If he would get activated, I would luv to see Lester Oliveros get more than the couple of innings he got last yeat (innings Jared Burton was given over many pitchers for some unheard of reason). Kepler should see some major league at bats. It will be interesting to see how Vargas and Arcia are played in September. Vargas may get left-behind (like Hicks last year). And, yes, it would be fine to give a temporary roster spot to a Mark Hamburger or a James Beresford, if possibly. But who goes, who stays. The Twins will probably not promote Berrios, due to the service time issue, for some unheard of reason. Also expect them to add Rogers to the 40-man somehow. As long as a minor league team isn't in the playoffs (I think Rochester is missing them), I say bring up as many guys as you can (not just can afford) and give them a taste of major league life.

Gibson, at the tops, would become another Radke or Tapani, perhaps. But I would watch him closely. When he has another shining run of starts, I would consider dangling him as tradebait (mainly because we have three others locked into longterm contracts and he could prove more valuable to another team because of his contract control). He is a potential strong trading chip, along with Trevor Plouffe, that should be replacable.

We don't need to add someone's rejects from the waiver wire when we have potential prospects that we need to look at and that could possibly produce. We need to be moving mroe pieces, actually, on the waiver wire to see if we can get anything (besides salary relief) and to make room for potential prospects to play. Pelfrey, Suzuki, Robinson, Nunez, Boyer, Duensing, Fien and even Jepsen can all move on and repalced by comparable pieces from within the organization. As for Chattanooga in the playoffs, you can always move some players down from Rochester if need be (Rodriguez for one).

Yes. I would even weaken the catcher position if someone would take next season's Suzuki contract off our hands. I keep saying, why are they on the 40-man if you aren't going to give them a shot. Achter, Darnell...let's see more of what they don't have, or cut them loose and bring up someone else you THINK might be as good, if not better, than what we have. I'll be disappointed if we don't keep Jepsen. Yet if he continues to walk guys, not sure I want to go to arbitration with him either, which is then a bad deal made. Jeez, at some point we may be crying over the Meyer, May, Worley for Span and Revere trades. But back to the above list. I say go for the guys in the minors. Let's see Kepler. We need to see Arcia (and we will, in September). We need to add to the 40-man others that will for sure be a aprt of the team before the end of next season. Give them a taste of the major leagues, soemthing to think about and work on in the winter, with the knowledge that no one's job is safe if you don't produce come the start of the 2016 season. IF THEY AREN'T GOIN TO BE HERE IN 2016...MOVE ON! Our job is not to increase the value of players that have no value. Our job is to see what we will be dealing with sooner rather than later. And have Joe Mauer shave. It might be the beard, right?

Some even put on their glasses when they watch the game.

Well, May wasn't put back into the rotation because...he couldn't pitch more than 2 innings. Was that what I read somewhere?

A first base man who hits like Doug Mientkiewicz, who the Twins thought wasn't producing enough. A guy who can't catch, the position that he was best suited for, but he can't catch. Not the third baseman we need. Not the outfielder that could be. Not the best choice for designated hitter. Maybe he needs to shave that beard. That's it. The beard is slowing down his swing!

Yes, was one of those starter possibilities that could transition into a bullpen guy because he lacks that one extra pitch. Youth was on his side. Who did we keep instead?

I would not see a problem moving Plouffe. Again, I don't know if he will be worth $9-12 million in 2017. And if we move him, Escbar can play everyday at third.

The Twins may have a tough road ahead, but their opponents in the division are particularly weaker now (except Kansas City). No one expected the Twins to be above .500 come July 1 or even August 1, so everyone should be happy, and the 30,000 crowds should continue thru the State Fair. What September brings is anotehr story. Right now, the Twins should be thinking hard on how to market not only the rest of the season, but create even mroe excitement for next season and the players that are sure to be showcased then: Buxton, Sano, possibly Berrios and others. The NEW TOWNS should end the season in October and pick up and go forth next year. Of course, expectations should not be high when you are throwing 5-6-7-8-9 or even 10 first/second year players on the diamond, but that is the BIG OPPORTUNITY the Twins still have this year...to showcae the new talent, get them some experience, make them hungry to be in the major leagues et al. If some aren't starving and like to play in the minors (Vargas, Arcia, Meyer), then they will have that opportunity. But the jobs are there for the taking not only this year, but next season. I'm excited for the team as the season continues. They are learning how hard it is to be major league players, especially against first-line pitchers. Msotly, the Twins starters have kept the team in the game (the bullpen, not).

I don't think there are any seats to jump on the Saints bandwagon. The park is pretty much packed, with even standing room standing at a minimum. Few seats are available on-line. Even on the matinee performances. The Saints are literally printing money in Lowertown, winning games, and fans are having a blast!

Is Milone worth arbitration. It would be ncie to move him for something (as well as Pelfrey) in August. See neither Herrmann or Fryer being kept. But then, the Twins do need someone to catch. But no one ahs to be 40-manned from the abckstops in the current minors, just spring training invites. Wheeler should be removed from the 40-man. He is being apssed by others. Why Achter but not Tonkin. September callups of Darnell, Achter and Tonkin will elt us see who should be kept in the mix. Fien will probably not be coming back. Jepson could be on the bubble. Plouffe has another year as a Twin. He will still be reasonable. It is 2017 that he might cost the team 9-12 million in arbitration. This offseason, they either keep him longterm or prep him for trade. Sano ash to play some third, and get anotehr month of at bats. The Hunter decision will be amde in December, unless he is overwhelmed to sign somewhere else. his recent slump will hurt his marketability and salary demand. The Twins could have up to 13 spots open on the 40-man, more if they can trade some pieces (Pinto, Arcia, Varhas, Santana or Escobar). But the tell is that there really isn't much in the names above that someone will give you much for. Milone, Pelfrey, Plouffe (yes), Arcia (maybe), Hicks (possibily). Let some walk away in August and let's look at some potential pieces who WILL PLAY for the Twins in 2016. I still want another look at Lester Oliveros.

The pain is that if the Twins slip down the standings, although the chances of slipping below Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit are slim, attendance will flounder. If the Twins can stay around .500 and hold onto second place, people will still come and we won't have $5 tickets in September. But who knows how the win-win public will feel if the Twins just stay in the mix, not the hunt. They've been averaging 30,000+ for while now and everyone in he front office issalivating as those are many many full price tickets sold that the Twins control...no season ticket discounts or Stub-Hub throwaways.

It will be interesting to see, come January, how many players the Twins part company with since the end of spring training 2015. And that they ended up getting nothing in return. Becuase they are free agents, not offered new contracts, become minor league free agents, don't have a roster spot in the organization. And then we add up the total worth of these players and ask (1) why no otehr team would want them and (2) why the Twins kept them around for this past season and accomplished with that player playing, or rpeventing anotehr player from playing.

Well, sometimes it is ncie to have two closers, when one gets tired or overworked or injured. The Twins don't have that luxury. Maybe Fien had a minute potential. And we all remember free-agent-to-be Jared Burton getting closers opportunities last September for...well...I can't explain or no not why. Didn't seem to help him find a job. In the bullpen, you usually have 1-2 places that you can rotate guys in-and-out depending on how they are doing. You can't keep throwing multiple bads out there, especially when your good guys may also have bad days. Sometimes you do lock up one of those two positions with a Rule 5 that you know will laregely do mop up work unless they do show signs of excelling. Sadly, the Twins have 3-4 of these guys, and they do have a fairly large pipeline that they can reaplce everyone of those guys at least twice during THIS season, and probably still go abck to one or two of the originals. They cut Stauffer. Thielbar is gone, Presley is on the DL. Tonkin is up and down. Achter, Darnell haven't had a chance. Many of us want to see Oliveros get a look. The Twins could advance any number of starters (Rogers, Meyer already, Duffey should've been with May back in the rotation, even Berrios). Yes, you cana rgue starting the service clock, but if the player fails to produce, you can pull what many of us now will call "An Arcia" and just let the guy languish a bit longer in re-development vs. service time. My big harp that I keep making...let's see more of guys who will be here in 2016 and beyond than those that are lucky to have a job right now. For so many jobs on the Twins team, it is the year that you show how badly you want to play in the majors and for the Twins. If you play well, the Twins will keep you. If you play badly, you may not find anotehr job, unless the Twins are paying your salary (Stauffer just signed with the Mets after pitching for Sugarland in the Indy leagues). Yes, Santana had lost the game, so who cares if a reliever was bad. Well, someone should. They were bad.

The pain is that if you claim someone, you have to be willing to take them. No going back. It's the club putting them out there that can say non-no. Before contracts skyrocketed, clubs used to claim guys to keep other teams from getting them. Of course, if no one claims your player, then you are free to trade them in August.