Are the Twins Playing It Too Safe with April Rest Days?

How do you put a value on rest verses consistant playing time? Would the players benefit more from playing every day and getting consistant at bats to get their timing down by seeing more pitches? Having fresh players at the end of the season has done nothing for their post season games. With all the rest they have been getting have the injuries went away? As a Manager you should establish a starting lineup and stick with it every day with only 2 exceptions... 1. Injury and, 2. If a player tells you he needs a day off. The manager doesn't know how tired you are, only you do. If you have a guy that can't hit a lefty pitcher or a righty pitcher and you need to platoon them then they should be replaced entirely or on the bench. I understand there is more than just playing the game each day but c'mon, the games last roughly 3 hours and most of the time these guys are standing on the field waiting for the ball to be put in play or sitting on the bench waiting to get up to bat. I've worked 8-5 jobs that would put most of these guys in a wheelchair if they are getting tired playing ball. For being superb atheletes these guys are wimps if they can't play every day. It's not like they don't have scheduled off days for rest. 

Interesting question..I think it can be different with every player and position.  Physically, I think Correa could play mostly every day, but I am thinking his off day may be more a mental off day than a physical one.  I suspect he is pressing a bit.  I think he sincerely wants to make a difference for this team and may be putting pressure on himself.  Yes, I know they are professionals, but this is his first time away from Houston and the first time he has had to make good on a 35 million dollar contract.  He will come around.  I understand the Jeffers situation as you want your catcher strong for the long term as it is the most demanding position physically.  Also, early in the season you want to get players into the lineup to keep them sharp.  Tom Kelly was always careful to do that as well.

I've had some criticisms of Baldelli over his time here as manager, but his protection of their health isn't one of them. I'm actually very impressed by the way he manages off-days and eases players back from injury. I think the loyalty we see from players like Buxton is the result of this.

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall that Kirby averaged around 155 games a year. Imagine TK telling him to take a day off every week when he's healthy and ready to go. It's a whole new world these days, both in players' attitudes and management approaches.

The situation you speak on is one where I would not draw too much inference from.  You had a catcher hitting with both others on roster banged up a little.  Sure, Jeffers most likely could have caught the rest of the game, but why force it?  It is not like Correa has been on fire this early season.  Sure he is getting paid to hit well, but he is not right now.  Why put out your banged up catcher leaving no one to fill in if he gets banged up more, for the maybe better at bat of Correa? 

1 hour ago, rv78 said:

How do you put a value on rest verses consistant playing time? Would the players benefit more from playing every day and getting consistant at bats to get their timing down by seeing more pitches? Having fresh players at the end of the season has done nothing for their post season games. With all the rest they have been getting have the injuries went away? As a Manager you should establish a starting lineup and stick with it every day with only 2 exceptions... 1. Injury and, 2. If a player tells you he needs a day off. The manager doesn't know how tired you are, only you do. If you have a guy that can't hit a lefty pitcher or a righty pitcher and you need to platoon them then they should be replaced entirely or on the bench. I understand there is more than just playing the game each day but c'mon, the games last roughly 3 hours and most of the time these guys are standing on the field waiting for the ball to be put in play or sitting on the bench waiting to get up to bat. I've worked 8-5 jobs that would put most of these guys in a wheelchair if they are getting tired playing ball. For being superb atheletes these guys are wimps if they can't play every day. It's not like they don't have scheduled off days for rest. 

Preach. Agreed 100%

Twins have won 5 in a row, so seems to not be hurting them too much. It's good to keep everyone involved and fresh. 

Monday the roster goes to 26 players and if the Twins keep 14 pitchers Nick Gordon could be the only bench player depending on a decision to keep 3 catchers.

Rule changes are just as responsible for pitch counts, pitcher usage, and playing time as any other item. Past teams used 25 roster limits. A return to 25 person rosters would require more judicious use of pitchers. Additionally, the requirements concerning the IL (formerly DL) have changed and allowed an easier path to demote or promote players without concern of losing their services for 15 days.

I'm all for giving rest to the players, spreading out time between the starters and their capable subs. But I don't agree with the management of that time. Playing against the team we are in competition for the division championship, I'm against giving rest to any of our starters especially at key positions and their a significant drop off in talent. Correa should not have been rested in this game.

This idea of rest should be incorporated in the BP. A lot of dependency are put on the very few short RPs. This dependency has burned out our short RPs which this dependency is then transferred to the SPs which in turn burns them out. Our pitching is very good but fragile, my solution is to take off this burden off the short relief and use our long relief more.

Smeltzer is deserving to be brought up and Winder needs more innings. They could be used along with Coloumbe to pitched 2-4 innings in almost every game and reserve the short RPs to only to the high leverage innings. To properly manage the players will help prevent injuries and burn outs, keeping everyone rested and happy throughout the season and into the post season

49 minutes ago, Sconnie said:

They have to go to 13 pitchers or fewer on May1.

MLB changed it to 14 yesterday. The staffs go to 13 in June.

I get the Boston Globe and also follow the Red Sox, and I distinctly remember an article in Spring 2018 ripping new manager Alex Cora for potentially giving away May games for maybe the chance to have players fresh in the fall. (The Red Sox won the Series that year.)

Lost a bit in all the 'what-ifs' and 'should haves' about Sunday's game is that the Twins won. And Godoy worked two good at-bats for walks, and scored two critical runs in front of Byron Buxton (who even credited the batters ahead of him for getting on, and getting him to the plate). Nobody wins a title without their bench contributing, and benches contribute only if they get play. (Different sport, but one reason I think the Timberwolves got seriously better this year, is when they lost their starters all at once, mostly under Covid rules, and had to live with their bench for a week or so. Eyes were opened.)

I have a bunch of Rocco-issues, but this isn't one of them.

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. 

2 hours ago, Karbo said:

Star players should play at home unless they are hurt. Fans pay good money to see them play. Rest them on the road. I personally will no longer attend a game due to the fact the last 3 games I've been to I have yet to see Buxton in center although he was healthy all 3 times. Last game I went to 3 starters were sitting. I don't pay that much to watch bench players.

I agree with this. No ticket discounts are applied for not seeing the guys you want to see. Used to "time" the games so we could make sure to see the starting pitcher that was our favorite, or Tony O, Carew and Killebrew on the field all at the same time. It's different if a guy gets hurt and can't play.

Which makes me wonder, too, if there are/were discounted tickets for double headers that are only 7 innings long.

Sorry, when a game is on the line and your choices are Celestino and his .100 BA or the player you signed for $216,000 per game the choice should not be that difficult. Rocco is the worst manager in franchise history, bar none. As a follow-up to a couple of previous comments T.K. might give one of his "big knockers" (as he called them) a day off, but never at home. The ticket holders didn't pay to see how Correa looks sitting on the bench.

One of the funniest things in life is how everybody thinks their job is hard, and everybody else's is easy. If MLB was just showing up in the afternoon, shagging a few flies on green grass, and taking a few cuts, you could stock the roster from any rec softball team in the state. Or any town ball team. But it isn't, and you can't (and if you played a townball roster 6-7 days a week for six months you would wreck them all). These players do things with their bodies (things nobody reading this can do) that have physical consequences, and then they have to come back and do them again the next day (or 90 minutes later for a double-header day). 

ALL of the successful managers work their benches to keep their players fresh, and their role players sharp. ALL of them. I have no idea how many players appeared in all games last season, but I'd be more shocked if it was 10 or more than if it were none.

And frankly when I go to a game live, I much prefer to see my team win than amp about somebody getting a day off. And the Twins tied the game in question thanks in part to Godoy, and then they won it, thanks in part... again... to Godoy. (Who didn't even have a healthy replacement at a critical position if he had been lifted, and, say, Correa had come up and struck out.)

Though in all fairness, I was pretty pissed when I went to Tortuga Day in my new Tortuga shirt, and Rocco kept him out of the lineup. (Though he did get to pinch hit, and got hit, so all's well that ends well.)

14 minutes ago, PatPfund said:

One of the funniest things in life is how everybody thinks their job is hard, and everybody else's is easy. If MLB was just showing up in the afternoon, shagging a few flies on green grass, and taking a few cuts, you could stock the roster from any rec softball team in the state. Or any town ball team. But it isn't, and you can't (and if you played a townball roster 6-7 days a week for six months you would wreck them all). These players do things with their bodies (things nobody reading this can do) that have physical consequences, and then they have to come back and do them again the next day (or 90 minutes later for a double-header day). 

ALL of the successful managers work their benches to keep their players fresh, and their role players sharp. ALL of them. I have no idea how many players appeared in all games last season, but I'd be more shocked if it was 10 or more than if it were none.

And frankly when I go to a game live, I much prefer to see my team win than amp about somebody getting a day off. And the Twins tied the game in question thanks in part to Godoy, and then they won it, thanks in part... again... to Godoy. (Who didn't even have a healthy replacement at a critical position if he had been lifted, and, say, Correa had come up and struck out.)

Well stated and true. Baseball is entertainment and entertainers are well paid. The competition for those jobs is much tougher than for executive positions that pay similar wages. Perform or get cut versus a world of glass floors and privilege. Criticism is a right and sometimes warranted but folks should at least have an appreciation for the level of talent and effort at the MLB level. Oh, and I am grateful for my privilege too.

I think the problem with the Twins isn’t that they are giving players too much rest, rather it’s that the bench is admittedly a little soft. Sure, Kirilloff and Sanchez are out with injury, players like Celestino and Godoy shouldn’t be guys turned to regularly, the twins are going to need a better backup CF and a slightly better 3rd catcher. The Twins also have Royce Lewis and Jose Miranda itching for a call up from AAA and Jake Cave showing decent stride at returning to the bigs again, but the Twins should also consider trading for some solid bench bats by the trade deadline, this team needs consistency.

3 hours ago, MTV said:

I think the problem with the Twins isn’t that they are giving players too much rest, rather it’s that the bench is admittedly a little soft. Sure, Kirilloff and Sanchez are out with injury, players like Celestino and Godoy shouldn’t be guys turned to regularly, the twins are going to need a better backup CF and a slightly better 3rd catcher. The Twins also have Royce Lewis and Jose Miranda itching for a call up from AAA and Jake Cave showing decent stride at returning to the bigs again, but the Twins should also consider trading for some solid bench bats by the trade deadline, this team needs consistency.

Twins need a better first line catcher; Sanchez has not played enough so we do not know how good he is here.

Jeffers so far, is not a Major league catcher.

I agree that players need rest and days off.  However Baldelli should have used Correa to pinch hit either for Godoy or the next time Gordon came up with runners on.  Gordon was playing SS and Correa could have easily pinch hit and put him in at short.  Yes Correa could have struck out who knows.   But he's paid superstar dollars to play ball.  He should have been used as a punch hitter.  Baldelli sure indicated at that point that he didn't care if they won or lost as long as his plan wasn't upended.  Good for him that Buxton bailed him out or he would be answering lots of questions about his strategy.  I also agree that these B and C lineups installed usually on get away day or afternoon game after a night game should be done on the road not at home.  

My gosh these players are in the prime of their lives and are playing a game for 3 hours a day and they need rest? I think Nelson Cruz had it right, take a nap before the game!

I see today Buxton is not in the lineup.  Does that mean he's hurt?  Is it one of Baldellis scheduled days off philosophy?  It surely can't be that since Buck was off for several days with an injury.  If he's not hurt you play him at home games.  He's a good player and maybe the most popular with the fans.  The few people that are actually going to Target Field deserve to see the best players play.  Do your days off philosophy on the road. 

No Buxton again today. The manager is a moron!

12 hours ago, Epravens said:

No Buxton again today. The manager is a moron!

I definitely concur with this ,

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