SheboyganBrats

Kluber's injury may have made it easier for Falvine to sit tight. If they thought they had enough pitching before the injury, it's probably less likely they'll "go for it" now.

I think the question posed in the topic "Why astudillo in rf and marwin at 3b?" gives some insight into Baldelli's style as manager. He seems much more prone to giving players set defensive positions and having set batting lineups than, say, Molitor. When Sano went on the IL, Baldelli gave Marwin the 3b position and Astudillo and Adrianza took up the utility roles. With the emergence of Astudillo, he kinda became the super-utility guy. If my view is correct, when Baldelli needed someone for rf, he stuck with Marwin at 3b and Astudillo got plugged into the open spot. This seems at least plausible to me. As far as Astudillo being put into the regular 3b role, it's an interesting question. We'd likely be seeing much better offensive production, but, of course, this is a hypothetical. Some players thrive as everyday players, some don't. Maybe Astudillo being exposed on a daily basis wouldn't be a good idea in Baldelli's mind. Maybe Baldelli has seen something in Astudillo that makes him think he's more suited to a back-up role at this point. Maybe some defensive issues would emerge, or maybe pitchers would start focusing on him more at the plate. Dunno, but a good discussion so far. It's just too bad La Tortuga got hurt and we won't get to see how this plays out, at least in the short term.

It would be nice if Molitor would lick his finger and stick it up in the air once in awhile,

Right now, Jake Cave is Lou Gehrig to Byron Buxton's Wally Pipp. Not saying it's going to be that way over the long run, at least I hope not, but right now.......

The Twins have too little pitching depth, not too much. Berrios, Romero, Gibson, maybe Pineda when he returns. Everyone else that is close is back of the rotation material. Graterol and Lewis are still a ways away. Trade from strength, not weakness. There are a lot of players I'd trade before Gibson. It seems that trading Gibson means you have given up completely on 2019 and the Twins remain in this unending rebuild. Of course, this comes with the caveat that, if someone makes an offer that blows you away, you take it. Otherwise, no.

My problem with Molitor began early in his tenure. It was Molitor's first full season and Alex Meyer had had 2 solid starts and one so-so start in Rochester. Terry Ryan brought up Meyer on a day the Twins needed a starting pitcher. Meyer had been on schedule to start that day, but Molitor didn't start him. Instead, several days later Meyer was given a short start, and several days later was sent to the bullpen. I don't know what really went on, but it seemed like the GM had brought up Meyer to start and Molitor decided otherwise. We all know that Meyer's shoulder issues subsequently flared up again, and Meyer and his agent made it pretty clear that Meyer wasn't going to pitch for the Twins again. Around the same time Max Kepler was brought up and he also got to rot on the bench. Inexplicably for Kepler's first plate appearance, he was brought in to face a left-handed pitcher. I may be remembering all of this wrong, but I couldn't figure out why Molitor wasn't using the players he was given. To me it looked like he was undercutting his GM, or at the very least, they weren't on the same page. In any event, I developed a very unfavorable view of Molitor's handling of his young players, and my feelings about that haven't changed.

I raked my lawn yesterday, and we all know the result. My lawn is going to look pretty sad, if I have to rake it every day until the season ends. Imagine the year Rosario will have had, though.

It seems like every time I turn on the game and the Twins have men in scoring position with less than two outs, they fail to score. I don't know if I can do anything positive to help, but if I don't tune into the games, maybe I'll quit screwing up their chances.

When it rains, it pours.

Damn! If only they had known this before Big Sexy signed that minor league deal with Texas. Okay, I've had my snark for the day.

That answers my question. Of course, no one is suggesting that either of these guys get drafted as position players, but I was wondering about the speculation around these guys as two way players and what relevance that might have. Sounds like it's a wash.

There's been discussion in this thread about the possibility of Greene switching to shortstop, if he doesn't pan out as a pitcher. It has always seemed to me that McKay has a much better chance to become a position player (acknowledging that first base is not a premium position like shortstop). After all, there are a number of places I have seen McKay's hit tool ranked first among college hitters, and I've seen McKay compared to John Olerud. If McKay busts as a pitcher, I think he's still potentially a very good MLB first baseman. Not so much, Greene at shortstop. Would you folks agree with this assessment, or am I caught off base?

I didn't like the trade at the time. As others have said, I couldn't figure out why the Twins kept getting rid of their center fielders. And, I wasn't as down on the Twins catching as some may have been. However, I can understand why the trade was made. Catching seemed to be a black hole in the organization, according to many, and Murphy had shown enough to take a chance. And Hicks, while he had tools and talent, seemed to be a huge head case who didn't seem to show up mentally for his at bats half the time. I'm guessing that there was frustration over his seeming inability to take the game seriously. Now, maybe this was the organization's fault, or maybe it's a misreading of what was going on, but from afar it seemed like Hicks was out to lunch a good deal of the time.

Indeed. Well said!

It would be nice if they played on the day following the opener, but I understand why they keep the day open, so I won't get my undies all twisted up about it. I do wish MLB would quit scheduling their opening day games on the same day as the NCAA men's basketball final.

My understanding, if I heard the advertisement right, is the only way these tickets can be purchased is off the app. I'm not sure which app they're talking about, but it means I'd have to buy a smartphone first. Not a good deal for a guy like me, still living in a cave, wearing bearskins.

I like it when a player gives a frank and honest answer to a question. I would especially like that quality if I were the manager and wanted to know my players' preferences. I hate it when you ask someone a question and all you get is a bunch of oatmeal spilling out of their mouth. On that basis, I think Dozier's comments were fine, and I don't read much more into them than that. Just my opinion, though, and not a criticism of any of the other posts here.

Do you really need all of the positional flexibility that Santana provides? If you keep someone like Stubbs/Granite that can play all three outfield positions, doesn't Santana become superfluous? I think either Stubbs or Granite could run the bases as well and perhaps hit as well as Santana. Escobar/Polanco are available to fill the backup infield role. I'm not saying they should or will do something like this, but I think there are other ways to have positional flexibility on the bench, and if a regular gets injured you bring someone up from the minors.

And just to throw another name into the discussion, the Twins signed Ben Paulsen to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. He's played parts of the last three seasons with the Rockies. He's a left handed power bat who just happens to play 1B and corner outfield. While he may just be AAA roster filler, it's an interesting move for a team that considers itself oversupplied with 1B/DH types.

It'll be Sano by the All-Star break.

Your point about the bonus pool is absolutely correct. I didn't think about that at the time I posted. Thanks for pointing that out. It will be interesting to see how the new FO plays it, assuming they have the #1 pick. I've been hoping for JJ Schwartz, but an ace of the staff type pitcher would be great too. Of course, the bonus pool gives them the flexibility to save some money at #!1. and pick up some hard to sign guys later.

This really depends on who the Braves might be targeting. If they have one guy in mind and are afraid the Twins might take him with the first pick, then yes. If they've got a few guys on their list and don't have a definite preference, maybe not. Of course, the draft is a long way away, and everything could change, so it's probably best to secure the first pick anyway, if that's all you care about. And, who says the Twins aren't tanking? Albers, Dean, Schafer, etc.

I'm not too concerned that he's getting different advice from multiple sources. Anyone who's been an athlete at any level knows that you're always getting advice from coaches, friends, family, etc. Some of it may be good advice, hopefully from one's coaching staff, and some of it may be completely off base. The key is that someone says something that "clicks" with the player, and he can use it to his benefit. I'm sure that pitchers are fine-tuning their delivery all the time. Hopefully, Berrios finds something that works and he gets back on track soon.

Would the Twins really be concerned about burning Sano's option at this point? If he's really the player that everyone thinks he is, does that option need to be saved for next year? BTW, I"m not saying sending Sano down is the right thing to do. I know many, if not most, posters think there's nothing for him to learn in the minors. It did Rosario some good, but it would really depend on whether the Twins think a stint in Rochester would provide an opportunity to improve his batting approach and his attitude (if that's really needed).

Assuming this is the "seller's market" for starting pitching that it appears to be, I'd trade Santana now. If someone offers a good return, I wouldn't hesitate, hoping that the market is still there in the offseason or next July. The market is there now. I'd also hope to unload Nolasco, though I wouldn't expect any return. If we think we'd need to bolster the starting pitching for next season, I'd take a run at Cashner on a one year deal in the offseason, but I'd definitely bring up Berrios and return May to the rotation. Just my two cents.