Kelly Vance

Brock, I think you need to stop speaking like you have been elected the spokesman for all minorities and black people. You just hurl bombs. I resent your piling all people of a certain race into only having one belief. That is racist in itself.

I disagree with that comment. Not all blacks thing alike. To say they all do is a racist and invalid generalization. Its as wrong a comment as "If you don't vote Biden then you ain't black" Last I checked, people still think with their brain, not their skin (color).

I think you are not being intellectually honest. You say we made so little progress in 55 years? I call BS. Exhibit 1: We elected and reelected a black man as President. He stirred up old racial animosities and that hurt the country. But a racist country does not elect him. Period.. 55 years ago we had some blacks playing baseball, basketball and football. Now we have many blacks in those sports. 55 years ago we didn't have many blacks in Congress, the Senate or in Governors offices. You can't say that now. In order to say there has been little progress, you have to ignore reality. We made great progress, until Obama. He set us back by stirring up racial divisions. .

Brock, not only did Nick not need to write this article, but many of us disagree completely with what he said. And I found it condescending and a little arrogant and preachy. . You are a lefty too, I get it. But stop acting like there is only 1 viewpoint. That is narrow minded.

The "easily offended " crowd seek to find fault with others, except those who share their ideology. They just like to stir up trouble. And they seek to silence those who disagree with intimidation tactics. I say get off Max's back. He did nothing wrong (except for possibly when he apologized for something that required no apology). Free speech hurts sometimes And we should not bow to the tyrants that seek to stifle our right to our own speech, whatever it is. My teachers taught me to believe that "I may disagree whole heartedly with what you say, but I will defend to my death your right to say it.? Censorship and intimidation tactics have no place in America, not in the streets or on the TD board. When you start a thread, you need to let everybody say what they want to say. In law we call that "opening the door." If you open the door by stating a position, you need to let others walk in that door with a different opinion.

I've coached it both ways. I have to say, neither way is better than the other. It all comes down to the situation, and the skills and mental make up of your pitchers. You go with what works, so there is some trial and error involved. If I have 3,4,5 coming up in the 7th and I have two relievers ready, I will use the better one to pitch to the heart of the lineup. If its the 8th. But if its only the 7th inning, you may see those 3,4,5 hitters come up again. Maybe in the 9th. If its the 8th inning,there is less chance of that. . It also depends on the box score that day. 3,4,5 hitters can slump. If they are 0 for 10 to that point, maybe you don't worry about them so much and save your best guy to close. So, it may depend on the situation and the players. Some pitchers are better starting an inning than coming in with runners on. I make a different call if the other team gets a couple of guys on base. Then I want the guy who is psychologically better in the pressure situation. Which brings me to this... There is a lot to be said with having to play only an 8 inning game (not really, but think Yankees with Rivera closing it down in the 9th, almost always). I have used a closer to pitch the last inning. One year I stuck to that all year. Great results because my closer had the closer's mental make up. His walk on song was the James Bond theme. The fans loved it. Rogers has that more than Duffy and May, in my opinion. Rogers doesn't get rattled. Those other guys do, especially May. And May has that tendency to give up the occasional homer. One other thing, players relish having the closer role. It is like being named a team captain. You rise to the role. And once "promoted" to closer, a pitcher feels that is his job. That's where we find ourselves now with Rogers. But he would accept the fireman role in games where it is warranted. I am sure of it. And how about Romo? He has been a closer and a set up guy. And he has a different style that mixes it up before a lefty closer comes in. Giving hitters two different looks at the end of a game is worth more than a passing thought Two things I know, Rocky will do the right thing.and Taylor will be all in for it.

I think the point of the article is that the Twins should be looking for young arms on the come. If we cleared out a half dozen mid level prospects plus a Cave or Gordon, it doesn't hurt us because we have a surplus in the OF and IF This is exactly what I think Falvey will do. Remember, his trade for Odoorizzi now looks like the work of a genius IMHO

Im just going to say that I am glad Eddie is a Twin and our clean up hitter. I like watching him bring down the house and golf homers off his ankles. This guy is a difference maker. He makes big plays allatime. Edited by Sconnie

WAR and other stats, like BABIP or BARISP need to be understood for what they are. They don't define a player. They are just tools that show a measurable fact in a certain very limited situation. WAR, over a season tells you a guy got some hits, but the stat doesn't say when he got them. BARISP is better for that. It tells you what a guys production is with runners on second and third. But that doesn't tell you what his slugging percentage is. And so on and so on. For me, how a guy plays in those moments where you hold your breath matter a lot too. But we don't have a stats that says "MONEY" Don't worry. There is a baseball nerd on every corner. Someone will come up with a stat that spells GAMER. Until then, I want Falvine to use the eye tests, and see lots of games, or game film, themselves. To me, the eye test is the best yardstick

So, my point is not that he is an equal to HOFer Kirby Puckett. I said he is an instinctive player like Kirby was. Remember, Kirby started off as a wild swinging skinny kid that batted lead off. He was known as a bad ball hitter. His pure talent made it work out for him. My point is that there are certain players that are instinctive players. See the ball, hit the ball. Rosie is like that. And his success and failures all stem from the kind of player he is. Whether Rosario finds a way to become truly special or not remains to be seen. His story is still largely unwritten. But its too bad the Yankees have enough outfielders. I'd like to see Rosario play 81 games at Yankee Stadium.

How do you know that if not for his leadership in 2018 they would have been worse? And they were playing without 2 of our best players, Buck and Sano. But I am not the one criticizing him. I'm just the one calling BS when I see it. I am not the only one to notice that there have been a lot of unfair critics of Eddie this year. I am not the one that mentioned hate. Others noticed it and commented. I simply agree.

THERE YOU GO AGAIN. If you watched the games then you saw Eddie sprained his ankle coming around first base and was out for a couple of weeks, then returned with a still gimpy ankle that never fully healed. Guys playing hurt try to overcome the broken toe, or sprained ankle or wrist. But it affects their swings mechanically. .I think Rosie tried to compensate, just like Buck did with his broken toe in 2018. Their swings suffered. But when that happens you don't just ditch em anymore than you dump your wife for burning your bacon. They either can play through it or they gotta sit until it heals. I, for one, give Buck and Rosie credit for trying. Your "frustration" is subjective and immaterial to the team. Eddie plays for Rocco and the coaches. Eddie does not play for you. Your expectations aside, Eddie brings a lot to the table. He is a low ball, first ball hitter. If you have watched him these past several years you would know that. He is not a plink hitter like Luis, and he does not work the count. He looks for a pitch he thinks he can clock and swings away. Kirby was like that. These guys hit with confidence. All great hitters do. As for leadership, I'm sorry. You don't know. You just don't. None of us do. But when the camera shows a shot of the bench, Rosie is often in the thick of it. He fits in and guys that hit #4 are usually considered leaders because they drive in runs and lead the offense. I consider some of the criticism of Rosie to be fair, but much isn't. He is not your type of player, fine. That doesn't make him bad. He is an instinctive type of player with tendencies to be streaky. His play comes more from instincts than any other single factor. I've had guys like him on teams I coached. What they need, more than any other thing, is reps. Extra BP. Get him in his groove and watch him go off. Rosie is my favorite Twin precisely because he has sand. Like many of you I wish he would be a more selective hitter. But that's just not his style. And it wasn't Kirby's style, either. Yet Kirby is revered and Rosie is maligned.So I defend Rosie. He is a special player.

I'm reminded of a Charlie Brown quote "Lucy tell your statistics to shut up." Statistics can be made to lie. And not all statistics matter the same. Case in point, OBP. You want your lead off hitter and number 2 hitter to be high OBP guys. They are table setters. Not so much for a cleanup hitter. Those guys hit 4 not to get on base, but to drive in those runners ahead of them.That's why we call the #4 hitter the "clean up" hitter. He cleans up the base runners and drives them in.Eddie does that extremely well, hence the 109 RBIs, hence the MVP consideration. The game is still about scoring more runs that the opponent.And here is where Eddie is most valuable. I don't understand the Eddie hate. He makes mistakes. So do we. He plays hurt. A lot of us wouldn't. Those of us who played with bad ankles or a hammy pull know it affects your play. A lot. And I give an eye roll every time I read, "I am an Eddie fan" just before the writer lobs criticisms at our left fielder. Let me say it here. "I am an Eddie fan." I'll take the bad with the good any day. I don't get my kicks criticizing guys who play hurt, especially when they deliver anyway. Eddie pretty much is the reason we got off to a good start this year. He fairly carried the team early. He had like 15 homers by the fifth inning. OK, not quite. But you get my point.We got off to a great start and he was a big reason why. Eddie is not a matrix player. He has flashes of brilliance and makes plays nobody else on the roster could. Certainly I don't see Cave, Kiri, Larnach or Rooker throwing a runner out like Eddie does.And while Kiiri might hit well in the bigs, that remains to be seen. So for me, I am glad to see Rocco write Eddie in at the cleanup spot. Cruz gets better pitches too because he is there. That doesn't show up in your matrix either. It shows up in the heads of opposing pitchers and managers. So when I hear that Eddie gets votes for MVP. I just say, "Im a big fan. Of course he does."

Gibby has been family for a long time. His record is better than average, but not stellar. I would let him test the waters. If he can get a good deal, say goodbye and wish him well. Ulcerative colitis is no small thing. It killed Glenn Frey of The Eagles. RIP. I want Gibby to get treatment and live a long time. He is only 32. This may be his last chance to get a good contract and it really bites that he has this cloud hanging over him. If Gibby gets a deal he likes, I will be happy for him. But like many of you, I don't trust that he will be what he once was. And I doubt his strength over a long grueling season. So I am against signing him, unless its on a #5 starter basis for at least the first 6 weeks while big Mike serves his suspension. I think his role may change once Mike comes back. I think he becomes a BP piece.

What you call an "opportunity stat" is a negative way of conceding that "the guy got it done." And it does not denigrate a guys getting it done that there were guys on base. Of course there are guys on base. That's why we call them runs batted in. Eddie makes things happen. Usually good things. I like it that he takes advantage of the "opportunity" presented