oregontwin

Yeah, I too was disappointed in the Farmer lack of hustle. Maybe we write it off to a game that won't count for him. We'll see when the season starts. Still, a bad example for players who can't afford to emulate his effort.

No consequences, no respect

No argument from me. Not even concerning Pagan. Watching him pitch last year I thought he had great stuff that wasn't playing well. That seems like a combination of pitch selection and location. Fixable.

Offseason maybe. Trading now doesn't work any better than trading the unknown future if your goal is to win. We know what Polanco can contribute, not so much can be said of any replacement from the farm system. What could we get that would reall improve the team?

Curious as to who comes off the roster. Barring another trade, of course. Getting a little short of people we might not miss.

Am I remembering correctly that Kepler has played some 1st base? With Kirilloff probably testing his wrist in St Paul and Miranda moving to 3rd it leaves Arraez who has his own shortcomings as a first baseman and is one of our more "delicate" players as well leaving him not suitable for everyday play in the field. If correct, I could make a case for holding on to Kepler.

I admit to being an optimist. With luck. Yes, luck the young players who got their feet wet last season will be even better this year. With luck, we won't be bitten so hard by the injury bug in '23. I don't think any team in MLB could have successfully sustained the number of key injuries the Twins suffered last year. We should remember that on 5/31 the Twins were 10 games over .500 and on a pace to win 97. We would have thought that a pretty good season had they continued at that pace and won the division. The caveat, of course, is that they probably were not a World Series caliber team at that point. The two really good teams they had played. the Astros and Dodgers, had easily swept them. However, with luck they could be better this year without major changes to the team. We like to talk about player development, and this is how it happens.

1987

Umpire blew the call on Chili Davis coming home in game seven. Still annoys me

Just a question for Parker. Out here in Oregon the Meltdown ticket won't do me much good when I become a caretaker. Can my daughter in St Paul use it?

I don't think they trade him. Lee is too far off to be the 2023 SS and Lewis won't be available till mid year if ever at shortstop. Martin is not a long term solution at that position, but he might be the interim solution we need. If they sign a solution, minimizing Lewis' value, then maybe they package him in a trade. If not they need to keep him.

Trading Polanco would be an error. 9 innings of defense out weight 3-4 ABs in a game where only 1 or 2 of those turn into a single.

Short attention spans and the erroneous belief that all that's worth seeing happens in the space between the mound and home plate. Where, by the way, I have no interest in seeing a batter hit in the face with a 100mph baseball because either/neither he nor the pitcher was in a settled head space when the pitch was delivered.

I would like to be able to side with the players in this, but I can't. They get paid very well to do something that a lot of us would give a great deal to have made a career of if the opportunity had existed, and to do it for much less. They are not only talented, but also very fortunate. For what they get paid they risk little other than injury that ends their career; at which point they can still go out and get a job in the real world. The owners do take investment risk in this process and have their feet in the real world of finance. They expect/deserve a return on that investment; just as we do when investing in the stock market, or our smaller business ventures. The problem is that while the players say these negotiations are for future generations of ballplayers the reality is that it is just for the next five years. At which point they will come back with further demands and use this agreement as a springboard for how much more they want. There is little wonder the owners feel a need to curb the costs. And there is a limit. Unfortunately, neither the owners nor the players know where to place that boundary. And that cost us, the fans.

I don't know if players want to stay with the team so much as wanting the security of a guaranteed period of paydays. It worth noting as well that a team friendly contract can add to the trade value of a player with years left on the contract.

It would be good for a bunch of AAAA players. One new team in each league would kill the excuse for inter-league play during the season. It would mean restructuring the divisions to create, probably, 4 in each league, Some positives there. Portland and Nashville seem reasonable both for geographic and historical reasons.

I think Arraez is valuable as both a player for the Twins and as trade material. I also think both those things will likely be true at the trade deadline as well; by which time we might have a better idea about whether or not we really have a quality replacement.

One problem with trading him would be what would we really get in return? If it was top of the rotation pitching, though unlikely, that might work, but getting a slew of near MLB ready, or put another way, near 40 man roster ready prospects would also cost us players already on the 40 man shortly thereafter. That seems probaly less than OK.

While I dislike losing multiple prospects to trades, it might open up roster spots for other needs. Probably have to lose some anyway if we sign free agents.

Tough question. I would like more position players on the bench, as in the old days, but with the current practice of changing pitchers every other batter that has become impractical. Increasing the active roster doesn't help unless you are also limiting the pitching staff. Limiting the pitching staff would also shorten the games. But then, I'm the guy who, in the old days, showed up at 11:00 for a 1:10 game and watched both teams take batting practice, and who loved having a double header run from noon till after midnight. Ok, didn't need to say that, but I wanted to get it in. Being able to shift players from the minors to the show and back again so quickly is a problem. It is sort of like having a grossly expanded roster that doesn't work during the games and since it mostly impacts the pitching staff also exacerbates the perceived problem of long game times with endless pitching changes and new guys coming up tomorrow to continue the practice. Maybe they should just go back to the higher mound. :-)

I'm not sure we've ever had a good baseball commissioner; which may say more about it being a miserable position that no one should accept than it does about the character of the men who do.

Old guy fondly remembers 4 man rotations. I kind of like the idea of using a starter for 5 innings so he can get the win and regular work, and then turning it over to a long guy for the next 3-4 innings. Rotate who the starter is and who the long relief will be. Might keep games more in control and reduce the number of true relief pitchers a team would need to carry.

I don't know of any either, but the last time I was there I stayed at the Hyatt Grand. So did the players. The Taphouse is only about a block away from the hotel. Likely where I'll be before and after the Twins games this spring.

7. The birthday question wasn't fair. LOL

While the outcome of the season is what counts the most, what we are grading would be the effort to make that a positive outcome. No matter who they signed or how much money was spent that would still be true.