Hosken Bombo Disco

Tonkin can get another shot. The home runs are concerning but among 2016 qualifiers, he has decent swing/miss rates going for him.

Don't have the source handy, but I'm pretty sure I heard Falvey say that the Twins will be getting away from having roles defined as "set-up guy" and "closer." So once again, mixed signals.

Maybe Santiago is ahead of the curve. There was another good article in the Times about how Tampa Bay pitchers work high in the strike zone. https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/03/24/sports/baseball/tampa-bay-rays-pitching.html http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/tampa-bays-cult-of-the-high-fastball/ There is a certain logic to it. As more batters go with the upper cut swing, the high heater gets harder to reach."Mike Trout can hit a shin-high fastball 450 feet." Check it out.

I now think it's Tonkin. Wimmers can still be optioned and the wonder twins have played it close to the vest by not letting go of virtually any of the pitchers in the organization.

Other possibilities and variables include: Berrios is making progress on his change-up delivery but is not there yetBerrios has seemed to run up high pitch counts in the past, and maybe a 75-80 pitch limit for a couple of games only gets him four inningsWith that fifth spot in the rotation his first two opponents would be the White Sox and maybe he doesn't match up well

Thanks Van! Convenient is a great word to describe their explanation. Calling it "misleading" or "b.s." always felt a little too strong and accusatory. I would have preferred they just said from the beginning that he's struggled way too much in MLB so far. I liked the Santiago comparison better because of the WBC but the timelines of Berrios and Hughes matched so well. Cest la vee, I guess.

I just published a blog on a possible schedule for stretching out Berrios. Let me know your thoughts. http://twinsdaily.com/blog/877/entry-8798-too-late-idea-for-stretching-out-berrios/

On Saturday, the Twins announced that young pitcher Jose Berrios would be demoted to Rochester to start the season. The reason, according to manager Paul Molitor, was "that the lack of work and consistency of work ... to try and rush the buildup here in the last ten days to try and get him ready to try and be in that spot didn’t make a lot of sense to me.” Does this explanation pass muster? Consider Phil Hughes is a given for the rotation, and that Berrios and Hughes have been on roughly the same pitching schedule this spring: Feb 25, Hughes: 2.0 innings Feb 26, Berrios: 2.0 innings March 2, Hughes: 2.0 innings March 3, Berrios: 2.0 innings It was at this point that Berrios went to play for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic. Meanwhile, Hughes pitched in an intra-squad game on March 7. I will assume Berrios stayed loose or played some catch during that same time. Berrios and Hughes then made starts on the same day: March 12, Hughes: 5.0 innings March 12, Berrios: 5.0 innings After this, Berrios did not pitch again until the final, while Hughes made a start on March 17 for 5.0 more innings. However, Hector Santiago, teammate of Berrios on Puerto Rico, did say that Berrios threw a 55-pitch session of live batting practice during this time. Interestingly, both pitchers pitched again on the 22nd: March 22, Hughes: 2.0 innings March 22, Berrios: 1.2 innings This was the game Berrios struck out Giancarlo Stanton and Jonathan Lucroy with the nasty slurve-curve he throws: And here we sit, heading into Monday March 27. Both Berrios and Hughes would figure to pitch again in a day or two. In my opinion, if anyone needs to be stretched out, it's Hughes, who reported tingling in his fingers between innings last season, then had shoulder surgery. Obviously we are not privy to some of the things that goes on within the clubhouse and in private. I am also no pitching coach and do not know how pitchers prepare except for what I read on the Internets. However, the explanation that Berrios can't get "stretched out" does not hold up, in my opinion. Will Molitor and the Twins name a date for Berrios's return or the number of starts they plan to give him, or when the expect him to finally be stretched out? Berrios threw 40 pitches in his last outing the 22nd. How much more stretching out would Berrios need? How about something like this: March 22, 40 pitches (already complete) Tues. March 28, starting pitcher vs. Tampa Bay (50 or so pitches) Sun. April 2, no game, but a vigorous bullpen session (50-75 pitches - continue scaling upwards) Regular season: Sat. April 8, makes start against the White Sox, with a limit of 5 innings or 75 pitches That April 8 start is the turn of the fifth starter in the rotation. After that point, wouldn't Berrios be stretched out and ready to take his regular turn in the rotation? Yes? No? Thoughts?

Though I disagree, I am fine with people of the opinion that Berrios should start in AAA. However I am more interested in the substance of the decision. Would it really take Berrios that long to get stretched out for a 5 inning, 75-80 pitch limit for the fifth spot of the rotation?

I get that, but it doesn't address the comment or my question.

How do you read that comment, then?

No. Everything about that comment says that Molitor is making this decision. Like I said, it wouldn't surprise me if Falvey and Levine are hands off this spring. It wouldn't thrill me but it would in fact explain a lot.

Well, neither of us know for sure, but there is a certain logic to Falvey and Levine deferring to Molitor this spring, given that Molitor (despite his biases) knows the players better and has the blessing of ownership to continue managing this season.. at least through April. Also from the original post: Honest question: what is ambiguous to you about this?

I also think Hughes is stashable in the bullpen

lost to.. Hughes? Yes I think Berrios should be in the majors. Period. I get that there will be an opening in the rotation soon for some reason or another. If it's true they are only sending him down to stretch him out, then they can easily put a date on his return or name exactly how many starts he will make in Rochester before being called back up. Does that help you understand where I'm coming from?

Yes indeed. I am relieved that the b.s. is coming from the mouth of Molitor and the holdovers, and not the new guys.

Yes. However your last statement bothers me, because we already know Berrios can succeed at AAA. He shouldn't need to prove it over and over. And maybe Meyer's career takes a different turn if he was promoted in 2014 when he was pitching well. But what really bothers me about the Berrios situation is the phony "competition" he was in for the fifth spot, when evidence indicates they had their minds made up before spring training started. Reminds me too much of the Trevor May competition last spring.

Thanks for filling in the gaps on the Berrios demotion. It's interesting how Falvey and Levine seem to be letting Molitor take the reins this spring.

Berrios has been looking forward to pitching in the WBC for three years. I doubt he sprung this on the Twins at the last moment.

Surprised? Nope. I don't think that's the word you are looking for.

I forgot you are in Florida trying to have fun, so I will drop it "Berrios is not stretched out" is one of those perfectly reasonable sounding things that, actually, doesn't hold up as well when you scrutinize it. Molitor has already implied that Berrios wouldn't be able to "get his work in" and I was wondering if someone with the Twins told that to Bonnes directly this morning. That's all. I mean, I'm not disagreeing, I'm just asking for more information, because it sounds too much like Twins-speak. I think Berrios would be just fine getting stretched out for a 75-90 pitch start on April 8 or thereabouts.

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/25301-article-report-from-the-fort-berrios-gone-duffey-v-mejia/?p=593730

The Twins Daily report.

There is a lot of opinion here; that's fine. I expect you will be in the vast majority on this decision. I will wait for the more detailed report.

Berrios has pitched in four games, I think, and I would guess Hughes has pitched in four or five. If we are going to count Hughes's Milb scrimmage, then we should probably count whatever work Berrios did between March 12 and March 23. Did he through a good bullpen in that time? I have no idea. That's where I'm going with this. I doubt very much that Hughes has pitched "many more" innings than Berrios. It would be nice to get some more information.