Rosterman

Slap the Head! Didn't they ALL just have a day off? When the bats on the bench are multiple times better (at least four of them) than six of the guys in the line-up? Bench guys are to spell every so often, or in the late innings, or used in situationals. But a highly paid, first-tier player sitting out a day should still be available if necessary in a situational event. I used to hate the days when Twins played an afternoon game and the "B" (bench squad) would all get to play - shades of Denny Hocking getting regular play. Hey, they come to the field at what, 2-3 in the afternoon. They suit up. They take batting pratice, maybe chase some flies while they run about the green grass of spring.

And we forget the dark horse candidates. Bryan Sammons is equally as good as Valimont, and is a lefty to boot. He got pushed off the Saints roster in the numbers game, but could be advanced if Smeltzer or Moran comes to Target Field. Jordan Gore was showing real promise at Wichita last season and is getting a rude awakening at St. Paul. Will be interesting to see how he adjusts. Ryan Mason is one of those guys that will be overlooked and will walk and see some action with another team, unless the Twins open their eyes that he can pitch as well as probably any number of the AAAA recruits signed this spring. And Ian Hamilton is playing his third season as a Saint. Many called for his call-up last season. Injured right now, but a possibility. What I like is that the Twins do have significant options if the roster sports are available. Can they flip a pending free agent like Duffey at the trade dealine? Move Joe Smith? Will they think ahead of giving innings to guys come September, instead of what they diud last season, letting Moran and others wallow in the minors while giving cred to Barraclough, Vincent, Gibaut and saves to Colome?

Correa is in the driving seat for the next three years if he wants to stay in Minnesota. Aside from releasing him, or trading him (with his consent). Of course, for the Twins it all depends on the progression of Royce Lewis as the next shortstop. And even at this point in time, if Royce has a full season at AAA St. Paul and does well, he could still start 2023 at St. Paul (shades of Miranda) if Correa stays in the fold. Gotta say, the Dodger fans (here en masse) were brutal towards Correa in that series. Far from Minnesota nice!

Godoy can be optioned out, as long as you keep him on the 40-man. The Twins probability of adding players to the 40-man after the May 1 senddowns is slim to none at this point. Not that it can't change come mid-month or later. Makes you kinda want Willians Astudillo around, doesn't it?

In the world of dating services, I ended up searching for Minnesota Twins fan and connected with a wonderful lady and have been married going on 15 years this June, proposing to her via the Metrodome scoreboard in a game started by Matt Garza but won by Pat Neshek. Also, her engagement ring was a pretty jazzy Twins World Series replica! She even would purchase the partial season-ticket package during the years when our schedules permitted more games live! I am always a bit jealous as she finds TC Bear to be quite lovable. And every State Fair when we visit Twinsland, Tony Oliva talks to her more than me. Thanks for seeking out all the wonderful fans of all ages and showing the Minnesota love for baseball, the sport that should be America's pastime and not running #2 to football. (photo from the wet and cold first game in the Dodgers series.)

I almost want to see Arraez at first base. At least until Kirilloff comes back! Then just cycle thru Sano at DH as needed. Cubs beat Pirates 21-0. Pirates only used three pitchers for this stumble and one position player on the mound for the 8-innings they had to cover.

Wow!

Being the play-by-play for television is quite different than radio, as your audience IS watching the game with you. Which is why someone like Dick works extremely well. He is drenched in Twins lore, does his pre-game homework, and tries his hardest to get the "other" person to be insightful about the game...yet still keep track of the action. That doesn't mean that the "other" body in the booth can just sit back and wing it from Bremer's conversation points. They also have to do homework. People often forget how much work goes into laying out a broadcast. You have to review player stats and make notes on when to talk about what, be familiar with pitching styles, have feeds on what is thrown and how fast and stay on top of the count, let alone the bodies on the field. What is nice about having players in the booth is that they can talk about the game from the on-field standpoint. Tom Kelly is wonderful, but needs to be regulated by Bremer more often than not (have to get the plays in, as well as the ad breaks and plugs). Bert, like Gladden on the radio side, shows you that work and dedication improve you over time. Bert started to fallback on sameness, but often supplemented it with more humor than you usually get from a broadcast booth. Dick has a wondeful deep voice. He looks good in his blazer. He is truly professional across the board. Yes, he has hometown giddiness, but he keeps it in check and doesn't let himself become the story of a game...never. At his best, he can be like the guy sitting with you in the stands and you talk all thru the game, and also keep score on your scorecard (who does this anymore). Verbally writing down what is happening. Dick was so lucky, coming into the broadcast market when cable was just beginning (and they were looking for "the cheap" for announcers. The real announcers were always the radio booth and WCCO where you ahd to be able to sell product besides the game. Not all games were broadcast on television like they are today. He became the hometown gem thru patience, hardwork, and too many broadcast partners to mention becoming the glue for the visual play-by-play for 40 years!

MICHAEL PINEDA who had Visa issues and accepted a trip to the minors to get in shape and was booked for three starts at Toledo got the call early by the Tigers after two starts. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/04/tigers-notes-mize-manning-pineda.html The Nats have called up Sam Clay, who walked as a minors free agent from the Twins. The lefty is getting a look for a second season in our nation's capitol.

Interesting thoughts going forwards. Correa, in all likllihood, will produce and make it worth his while to walk from the Twins. But if he doesn't, that juts one helluiva a complication that could arise come 2023. When I see the Twins playing Arraez at first base...well, it got him in the lineup. But putting a guy in an uncomfortable position (even leftfield) doesn't necessarily make him more comfortable in the game. Arraez, the guy with the lone Twins bat as of today, but no place to play. I started to think that Miranda should get the call, and be cycled in at first base or leftfield. Clearly staying in AAA would help Larnach and Celestino more than struggling at the major league level right now. And watching Garlick, I guess it will be time for more Jake Cave. I have yet to figure out Rocco. From bullpen usage (it is their turn today) to lineup construction (who hasn't batted cleanup, or isn't it time to reeeeeeestablish Kepler as a lead-off hitter) to player usage (let's play someone somewhere, at least for a couple of innings...hey, have we tried Sanchez at shortstop yet?). We (I) get emotional and call for heads to roll, and the season is still young. If WE all think the Twins are competitive, as our front office told us throughout the off-season, then we start questioning every decision, every player move, every thrown pitch, every swing. If it is just a team in a rebuild, or just coming out and giving us an entertaining evening of play, they we can sit back and hope that the next or the next or the next season will be a return to greatness that the Twins have only seen periodically in their 60+ years in the business.

Well, the second coming of Colome (Pagan), Robles (Smith), Farrell (Romero), Waddell (Cotton). And another cast of characters that will make us still remember we trotted out Law, Barraclough, Gibaut, , Vincent, garcia, Burrows, Garza and Anderson, amongst others. I imagine the Twins will make a couple of hard decisions come May 1, but will still stick with Duffey and others because they are paying them and hope they turn around and become, if nothing ese, tradebait if the team tanks.

Well, amidst all the changes the Twins made, they still needed a bonifide closer. And if they had gotten one, Rogers would've been one of two solid setup guys (with hopefully Alcala surplanting Duffey in that role). But we basically have a bullpen of all middle inning guys. Some have decent skill sets, but we keep our fingers crossed if the game is close. The joy is that there are a lot of bodies at AAA to run thru the system, depending on how far you wish to slip in the standings. And, at some point, you have to give the ball to THE FUTURE: Canoi, Moran, mabe Mason, possibly Gore...guys that you may expect to be around next season.

We just expect Sano to break out. Call it the David Ortiz-syndrome. We don't want him to go away and become a mainstay somewhere else. So we gamble that he will be more than he has shown to be. .243 average and 35 homers a season (hopefully more with men on base). But a slight dip in eitehr of those numbers, and we basically can run-the-slush-pile each season for a 1B or DH at this point. Sano had value, at times, when he played a decent third base. But, in hindsight, we always seem to be asking "what about Sano." Should we get a real third baseman, biut then where do we play Sano instead of our current 1B or DH. Do we make him a fulltime DH, but then we go and get others who need to play that spot. Like Ortiz, who the Twins didn't feel was worthy of going to the "higehr arbitration" salary, the Twins will make a hard decision on paying him for 2023, or watch him, in all liklihood, go and sign somewhere else on the cheap, and cross out fingers that he doesn't produce bigtime. Of course, if he starts a tear, I would entertain any and every offer possible mid-season at this point in time, especially if Kirilloff is back and playing.

I'm picturing a lot of pitching staff movement come May 1. Who goes. Who stays. Who comes up from St. Paul (Minaya, Smeltzer, Moran ready yet, can they keep Cano down on the farm much longer, Megill.) Of course, Lewis Thorpe, yes!

We all dream of the BIG free agent signing. Yes, we got it, at least for a year, with Correa. But he doesn't pitch. Maybe what the front office showed is that they would be willing to grab a half-season rental if their place in the standings warrant such an acquisition. Pitchers? Always a gamble. Especially if you look at overall production of the last few the Twins have signed. Thankfully Jake Odorizzi got a pro-rated salary during the 2020 season. Ervin Santana, Michael Pineda. Even back to Hector Santiago. The best the Twins could do? Of course, no one wants to come to Minnesota, it seems. You have to develop from within. You also, sadly, have to make an effort to keep what you develop (Jose Berrios) or take a chance, maybe, on others on the cusp or fringe (Liam Hendriks, Kyle Gibson). Hindsight? The Twins did grab Sonny Gray. He's good for another year. We keep forgetting that Kenta Maeda will also be back. Chris Paddack is now a part of the immediate future. Chris Archer, Dylan Bundy are placesetters. Partly because all those pitchers on the cusp still need a little work on tweaking things, as well as a lot more innings in, well, a less stressful environment than daily American League pitching. Winder and Duran are getting some reps in the majors out of the pen. Will Duran be the rotation arm the Twins can always use, or does he have the stuff to be a light's out closer. (Joe Ryan, if he fails as a starter, definitely has the stuff to be a closer). Why are our top prospects on the injured list (Balazovic?). Sands should see the majors. Enlow and Centerino should advance to AAA and have a shot in spring training, if we are lucky. Woods-Richardson and Varland and others are in the pipeline. Hell, even Smeltzer is a prospect now. And we can't forget...Randy Dobnak, can we? I still shake my head at pitching and bullpen management, though. This is the year I'm paying extra close attention to this important part of the game!

I almost wish we had included him in the Padres deal and took Hosmer. Throw in Sanchez and get their catcher Campusano. And we also take Myers salary and give them Cave as an option for the season. And not send them any monies.

The hope always is one homer for every 20 at bats gives us at least 25 for the season.

$4 to get in the door is a bargain. You got a lot of seats to choose from in the upper decks if the place is only a third full, or totally empty above. Target Field is a comfortable roaming stadium with lots of standing rest stops while you savor food fare. So just having a cheap entry and knowing you can sit somewhere is a bargain.

What we saw in the game tonight was a true contending team and one that thinks they can contend. Although the game seemed tight thru the first few innings, as both starters held their own, we saw a breakdown when the Twins went to the bullpen. Rather than play to win, they played with the master-plan that so-and-so works now and we hope he gives us what we want. And we will give guys time to pitch and play, and......man...look at the Twins that aren't hitting really NOT hit against great pitching. First major league game for Josh Winder on a cold rainy night. Against the Dodgers. Well, guess what. You gotta throw strikes. You can play the corners and be cute with your pitches. Of course, you are facing major league batters which means unless you really know what you are doing, they will probably make contact if you do throw a strike. He learned a lot, got out of the inning. Now that he ahs the experience, he will (hopefully) be a fine piece of the team's future. The epic was taking advantage of the new kid on the base paths. Someday we may actually see the Twins have a running game. Winder got out of the inning amazingly with a bad called third strike, and wo hard hit flies, not to mention the near homerun foul. Sitting in the stands, I told my wife "this is a guy who can give the Twins innings." Unfortuantely, he didn't...and we got to see a patchwork bullpen when the starter can't go five. Of course, it was a wet night. Should the game have been stopped after six and continued the next day? How much "wet" can you have, showing up in fielding errors and low command of the ball, before the umpires see that it is futile to play in a drizzle? But saw little confidence as Twins ran thru their bullpen. You realize that the pen has a few arms that are in no way the future of the Twins. Even hoping to get a second inning out Pagan, which you don't do on a cold wet night making a guy sit in the dugout. Again, the Dodgers just watched the bullpen try and be cute rather than try and command the count and the strikezone. Nine walks don't win you games if your own bats are silenced by superior pitching. . Sanchez was horrible at the plate, making swings we wouldn't wish on Sano. Talk about totally overmatched, as pitchers should be when in command of the plate. The Dodgers are an expensive and quite good ballclub. Cotton being released the next day tells you all you need to know about the Twins. Was at the game with great seats. Shooting picture thru the netting, they come out looking like a painting.

The guy can work a count and is a delight to watch at the plate. He puts the ball in play. I would love to just see him play two weeks at one position. Or a month. But..... The glove isn't always the best (is he in the game as much in the field as he is at the plate?), and...his lack of speed. Which is, sad to say, why the Twins need to sell high at some point. Before the longjam in the infield makes him obsolete as even a Twins reserve.

Rogers is not a closer. The Twins needed a closer last year and got Colome. They needed one this year and got...no one. If you thought Duffey had potential, you ahd all last season, especially in September, to see if he could handle the job. The guy is a mid-inning and possible set-up guy. But NOT a closer. Alcala could be a closer, but again...did you try him last September? Of course, if you don't mind losing games like this, it doesn't matter. Go by committee. Have another crappy April. Of course, since you have no written-in-stone bonifide closer, better hope you don't have a full month of 1-run games. Duran NEEDS to be given the chance. He ahs the stuff. He can get the outs. But, alas, if we go thru the week and end up with NO starter giving us five innings...we may question how well the Twins used their limited spring training, and the faith they have in their aresnal of starting arms.

If this was looking at the list at the end of the Year, would easily find 10 names NOT to consider keeping, and many could still be upgraded right now or during the season. A few prospects on the Fringe...will either become a aprt of the team...but on the fringe...or bypassed this season. Names I would easily replace with others...but not with folks like Cave or Garlick or any number of minor league pitchers signed to fill the Saints roster.

Time for the RETURN OF TWINKIE THE LOON!

It will be interesting watching the development of Ryan. He can challenge the hitters, but if a team is savvy, they can also make him throw strikes. It's that fine line of when you just throw strikes and when you try and be cute, and keeping the advantage in your arena rather than the batters. I'm glad Duran got butterflies out of the way. He might just be the closer the Twins need now and forever. What do you think? I keep trying to think how I would construct this lineup. I always loved Arraez as a lead-off hitter as he can make a pitcher work. Better than Buxton usually can at this point. Correa is a good #2 hitter. But if Buxton gets on base, I love his ability to advance if the #2 hitter puts a ball in plau compared to Arraez. Yet Buxton could also give us power and would be a nice fit in the #3 hole. But you don't want him followed by strikeout kings like Sano or Sanchez. Is Kirilloff the good #4 hitter...but then HE is followed by the strikeout kinds. Or Gio...should he be the #4 hitter? And I hate toi bury Polanco in the end of the line-up, but someone has to anchor that end of the card, too. The Twins did get their own walks, and didn't swing as free as the Mariners, which was good. Ray managed to endure, which is a plus these days for saving a staff and is the type of performance Ryan should study...how to work a game. Of course, both pitchers suffered from a lone home run. Ryan's had a hit batsman. Read somewhere that the Twins are going with a six man rotation the first month. Pushed Ryan into the 70-pitch count. Happily the bullpen had a couple of multi-inning arms.

My bigger question is: Obvious the Twins needed a Closer going into 2021. And especially in 2022. Why didn't they at least make an attempt to tackle this issue, eitehr via a trade (too) or a signing. Thery had no idea how Rogers would return until spring games. And, truth-be-told, Rogers is an exceptional set-up guy who can close if you are winning so many games that your closer can't pitch every nite. I hoped Alcala would develop in that direction, but he is not there yet. I had hoped that the Twins would've given other people an opportunity at the end of 2001 (Duffey, for example) instead of giving Colombe more value. At best, a light's out closer is valuable if you are the competing team you say you wish to be. The problem is you have two rookie starters who will be pushing to do 30 rotations and 150 innings, two reclamation projects, a bunch of rookies, and - at least now - two veterans who can eat some innings. April will be a telling month in Twins land! Can Rocco manage the bullpen!