If Sano ends up causing season-ending injuries to 2 or 3 people (with one perhaps being himself), I think that its someone in the front office who endorsed this decision who needs to be committed... for psychiatric observation. [sorry, although I am against switching Sano temporarily back to 3rd due to better current available options, I just don't see how this current RF experiment ends well- even if there are, semi-miraculously, no major injuries from Sano's presence].

 

Huh?  He could trip on a footprint and hurt himself. 

Hold the horses people - a week ago Nunez was completely redundant with DSantana.  It is crazy how fast opinions change around here.

 

Huh?  He could trip on a footprint and hurt himself. 

Maybe even fall off the toilet.

A little surprised the question was asked    

 

The answer is, No.  Nunez is on a hot streak.  Never mess with the streak. 

 

If the Twins run out of other options at 3rd, then I can see Sano being moved back to 3rd.  But it will be only short term, as the team is pretty committed to his playing RF.

And I am not sure they want to give Miguel hope there is a way out of RF Purgatory, nor do they want to open that public relations can of worms. For heavens sake, what would they do if he played well there? /)

 

Hold the horses people - a week ago Nunez was completely redundant with DSantana.  It is crazy how fast opinions change around here.

Yeah, maybe he's not quite as redundant as some claimed a few days ago.

 

Nunez has a moderately high floor and can provide injury stability to a bench that badly needed stability... Well, here we are, 15 days into the season and the team already needs that injury stability because two guys have gone down in the past week.

 

I feel like a broken record but I'll say it again: the baseball season is really, really long, folks.

If Sano goes back to third, that whole RF situation becomes totally indefensible.

Hold the horses people - a week ago Nunez was completely redundant with DSantana.  It is crazy how fast opinions change around here.

Well that's an lol to mischaracterize a conversation we had a week or two ago. To review, Nunez and Santana are redundant but Nunez is the better player. No, I don't know why Molitor values Santana so highly.

 

Santana is now healthy from his hammy pull but he was put on the DL immediately, because he could be easily replaced. By Nunez.

 

Hold the horses people - a week ago Nunez was completely redundant with DSantana.  It is crazy how fast opinions change around here.

Literally anyone can get hot over a 21 PA span. He has not taken a walk or hit a HR over the past few games. He's putting good swings on balls but he's not going to keep hitting .500.

 

 he's not going to keep hitting .500.

Yuh huh.

"ride the hot hand"....how does that work? One bad game, you stop? Two? How do you know when a streak starts or stops? I'm genuinely curious how a manager should manage based on streaks.

Really there would be two options and Plouffe has to be out longterm for Sano to move back to 3B.

 

Option 1. Sano stays in OF,  Escobar or Nunez at 3B with Polanco getting called up.

 

Option 2. Sano moves to 3B.  Kepler plays RF.  I don't know who gets called up (D. Murphy is also LHB so he isn't really a replacement for Sano)

 

Honestly keeping Sano in RF looks like the better option to me.

 

Literally anyone can get hot over a 21 PA span. He has not taken a walk or hit a HR over the past few games. He's putting good swings on balls but he's not going to keep hitting .500.

Very true... Anybody can hot

 

Thank God he didn't spend that entire hot streak on the bench.

 

He will cool off... and Molly can bench him then. 

Nunez is the same player he was before this season, a decent bat with below average defense.  A decent utility guy who should be played sparingly.  He's like reverse Punto.

 

"ride the hot hand"....how does that work? One bad game, you stop? Two? How do you know when a streak starts or stops? I'm genuinely curious how a manager should manage based on streaks.

Just check his thermometer. When it falls below 72, bench him.

I see no way Nunez's hot streak can finish in Aaron Thompson-esque fashion.

 

"ride the hot hand"....how does that work? One bad game, you stop? Two? How do you know when a streak starts or stops? I'm genuinely curious how a manager should manage based on streaks.

 

It's not that cut and dried and it's why Managers are paid millions of dollars. 

 

Right now... some things are obvious. Nunez, Mauer, Plouffe and Arcia are seeing the ball and swinging well and producing. 

 

Escobar was hot and now he's cold

 

Rosario is still swinging at a lot of crap and is playing too much in my opinion. 

 

Anybody not Nunez, Mauer or Arcia can be moved in and out of the lineup (weighted for defense ability and superstar potential of course along with BVP and other metrics) until they start seeing the ball and swinging well and producing. 

 

See... It's not complicated at all 

 

     

 

 

How did Escobar go 0-10 when he was hot though?

 

Maybe he was the same hitter in both stretches.

 

Literally anyone can get hot over a 21 PA span. He has not taken a walk or hit a HR over the past few games. He's putting good swings on balls but he's not going to keep hitting .500.

Eh, guys often stop taking walks when they're raking the ball. Even vintage Mauer occasionally saw his isoD drop to sub-.050 levels when he really got rolling.

 

See ball, hit ball.

 

Will Nunez's hot streak continue? Maybe, maybe not. That's what tends to happen with hot streaks... They turn off at any time and without notice.

 

But if a guy is raking, you let him keep raking until he cools off for a few games, particularly when there's nobody else great to play in his place.

 

And Nunez has certainly earned a longer look over the past week.

"ride the hot hand"....how does that work? One bad game, you stop? Two? How do you know when a streak starts or stops? I'm genuinely curious how a manager should manage based on streaks.

Better than riding the cold hand? That's all I got.

 

Eh, guys often stop taking walks when they're raking the ball. Even vintage Mauer occasionally saw his isoD drop to sub-.050 levels when he really got rolling.

 

See ball, hit ball.

 

Will Nunez's hot streak continue? Maybe, maybe not. That's what tends to happen with hot streaks... They turn off at any time and without notice.

 

But if a guy is raking, you let him keep raking until he cools off for a few games, particularly when there's nobody else great to play in his place.

 

And Nunez has certainly earned a longer look over the past week.

I mention walks and HRs because they are "true" outcomes. Although walks probably less true than HRs.

 

The problem I have with this approach is that when a baseline talent is unchanged, as it is here, then the "cooling off" is inevitable, and the games/runs you scored during the hot streak are just given right back. Versus taking your winnings and walking away from the table while you're ahead.

 

The house always wins in the long run.

 

Well that's an lol to mischaracterize a conversation we had a week or two ago. To review, Nunez and Santana are redundant but Nunez is the better player. No, I don't know why Molitor values Santana so highly.

Santana is now healthy from his hammy pull but he was put on the DL immediately, because he could be easily replaced. By Nunez.

Santana was replaced by an OF'er because his role on this team was backup CF'er.  He couldn't be replaced by Nunez.  Likewise Santana had never played 3B (according to thebaseballcube).  That isn't what I consider redundant.

 

Replacing Nunez with a bat only player like Quentin (with Arcia on the bench and Park at DH) is a very risky roster situation.

 

I mention walks and HRs because they are "true" outcomes. Although walks probably less true than HRs.

 

The problem I have with this approach is that when a baseline talent is unchanged, as it is here, then the "cooling off" is inevitable, and the games/runs you scored during the hot streak are just given right back. Versus taking your winnings and walking away from the table while you're ahead.

 

The house always wins in the long run.

Oh, sure, I don't disagree with you there... But, like I said, it's not as if the Twins are benching a vastly superior bat to play Nunez. May as well let the hot hand ride because there's not a lot to lose either way.

 

And Nunez had a pretty nice 2015... There's an outside chance he's simply turning into a better player.

 

Oh, sure, I don't disagree with you there... But, like I said, it's not as if the Twins are benching a vastly superior bat to play Nunez. May as well let the hot hand ride because there's not a lot of lose either way.

 

And Nunez had a pretty nice 2015... There's an outside chance he's simply turning into a better player.

They could shift Sano to third and put Kepler in the OF. That would at a minimum improve OF defense.

 

Maybe even fall off the toilet.

boy, there's a visual i can't get rid of fast enough.......

 

They could shift Sano to third and put Kepler in the OF. That would at a minimum improve OF defense.

I'm not against the idea of Sano getting games at third base but I'm hesitant to jerk him around the diamond if Plouffe isn't out for more than two weeks.

 

And the initial reports suggest it's unlikely Plouffe is going to be out for long. They're not even going to DL him for a day or two.

Santana was replaced by an OF'er because his role on this team was backup CF'er.  He couldn't be replaced by Nunez.  Likewise Santana had never played 3B (according to thebaseballcube).  That isn't what I consider redundant.

 

Replacing Nunez with a bat only player like Quentin (with Arcia on the bench and Park at DH) is a very risky roster situation.

You are correct, they are not 100% identical. But to say Santana's best role on the team is backup CF isn't really making a strong case for him to stay on the team. Kepler and Rosario can back up CF. Again, I have nothing personal against Danny Santana by the way, I just see him as a logical cut at some point.

 

They might me 0-12 without Nunez.   He has definitely sparked them.    I thought they might start him for Plouffe anyway except Plouffe got hot.    Nunez should be playing til they lose again at the very least.    

Might be worth while keeping Arcia's bat in the lineup as well.  Could put him in RF and Sano at 3B.

 

 

 

And the initial reports suggest it's unlikely Plouffe is going to be out for long. They're not even going to DL him for a day or two.

 

deja vu all over again

 

give them a week with a short bench (and at a time that they should be trying to win every game, since they are already 5 games behind) and then they will put him on the DL retroactively..

deja vu all over again

 

give them a week with a short bench (and at a time that they should be trying to win every game, since they are already 5 games behind) and then they will put him on the DL retroactively..

I think that was more of a Gardy thing. They seem quicker to DL people lately.

 

I'm not against the idea of Sano getting games at third base but I'm hesitant to jerk him around the diamond if Plouffe isn't out for more than two weeks.

 

And the initial reports suggest it's unlikely Plouffe is going to be out for long. They're not even going to DL him for a day or two.

 

I'll take the over... 

None of us have any idea on the severity, but this injury usually keeps a player out 4-6 weeks.