Opinions are like…

This post is about the current debate over replacing Tsuyoshi Nishioka with Trevor Plouffe at shortstop. Yes, I know many of my posts this year have been about Nishi. But no, I’m not in love with him and he isn’t my favorite player. I just find all the hoopla with him especially interesting. And I’m addicted to Google Translate. Seriously. (Side note: I just realized today that when Google-Translated Japanese reports on the Twins mention “Libya,” they are actually referring to Ben Revere.)

Over the past couple days, it seems everyone has expressed some sort of opinion on Tsuyoshi. Aaron Gleeman is worried, but still thinks it is too early to write Nishioka off. Sid Hartman talked with Chiba Lotte Marine president Ryuzo Setoyama—a close personal friend in town to present Tsuyoshi Nishioka with his 2010 championship ring—and he thought Nishioka needs to relax and will in time become a good major leaguer. Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press second-guessed the Twins’ decision to sign Nishi, but also reserved the right to second-guess his second-guess in case Nishi improves. Phil Mackey of ESPN 1500 talked about some stat-head gobbledegook that apparently proves Nishioka isn't actually as good as he played last year. Nick Nelson of Twinscentric advocated sending Nishioka to AAA and calling Plouffe back up to play shortstop. Twins Outsider advocated against replacing Nishioka with Plouffe, believing it wouldn’t be an upgrade.

And, of course, the ever delightful Jim Souhan took a little break from calling Joe Mauer an overpaid, lazy son-of-a-[redacted] to verbally poop all over Nishioka.

In fact, Souhan’s remarks were so scathing they were quoted and described by several Japanese media outlets. One report went so far as to describe the STAR TRIBUNE WEBSITE COMMENTS on Souhan’s article. So now the Japanese are really in-the-know.

Curious as to what Japanese fans thought, I googled around until I found a Japanese message board post commenting on Souhan’s remarks. Now, I don’t know exactly what was being said because I don’t know Japanese. But what I did discern was pretty interesting—the comments left by Japanese fans seemed pretty much the same as the comments by American fans: "Nishioka has been painful to watch," "It’s still too early to judge Nishioka," "Nishioka is just another Kaz Matsui," "Nishioka will come around," "Joe Mauer is batting even worse than Nishioka," "Nishioka should be sent to the minors," and "Come home Nishioka!" I even found a comment suggesting Plouffe as a replacement (comment number 889).

So yes, opinions are like... well, you know. We all have them.

Here’s my opinion: Nishioka has only played 19 major league games. Replacing Nishi with Plouffe is not going to propel the Twins to a division championship. I’m not convinced Plouffe’s minor league numbers overshadow his major league struggles. Nishioka did alright in spring training and in his minor league rehab stint; I’m not convinced the Twins need to send him to the minors. Gardenhire and the Twins are 100% justified in treating these two very different players in a different manner. Everyone knew Nishioka would have quite an adjustment period, and I certainly didn’t expect that period to be over in fewer than the equivalent of three weeks of major league games. The Twins suck this year anyway. Just let the kid play.

I believe that whether Nishioka can succeed in the majors will depend in a large part on whether we start to see him making adjustments in the coming weeks, even if those adjustments don’t necessarily fix everything right away. I just want to see, for now, what his effort and ability at adapting will be. From everything I’ve heard and read, he seems to have a good disposition for making changes. The story of how being cut from the World Baseball Classic team in 2009 and struggling later that season caused Nishi to reflect on his playing and lifestyle, and then go on to have a career year in 2010, makes me think he has a promising reaction to failure.

Adjustments can start with Nishioka swinging the bat without looking like the final stages in a game of Jenga. Seriously. It's freaking me out Nishi.

So yes—maybe Nishioka will end up just being another Kaz Matsui. But maybe he won’t. No one knows what will happen, but feel free to leave a comment with your opinion.

Is Ben Revere Eligible to be on the Postseason Roster?

Topper over at Curve for a Strike wrote a post earlier today arguing that Ben Revere should be on the postseason roster. Basically, the argument goes that since the Twins will likely need pinch-runners and defensive replacements on their bench more than pinch-hitters, and Ben Revere is good at defense and very fast, he should make the cut. I tend to agree, but add only that Ben Revere should make the postseason roster because he is absolutely adorable. I mean, did you ever watch this video?

Then I noticed a comment one reader made on Topper’s post: “Hes not postseason eligible, he wasnt on the roster as of september 1st”

So wait—is this right? Is Ben Revere not actually eligible to be on the postseason roster?

Although the commenter was not too far off the mark, the answer is actually no, Ben Revere most likely can be on the postseason roster. Major League Rule 40, entitled “Players Eligible for Post-Season” governs, er, players eligible for the postseason. A copy of the Major League Rules is available at the Biz of Baseball (an excellent blog for those of you who are interested in this aspect of the game). According to Major League Rule 40(a)(1)(A), a player must be on the major league team’s active roster or disabled list by August 31st to be eligible for the postseason roster. Thus, it would appear the commenter was correct. Ben Revere was called up on September 4th.

However, if one reads on just a couple lines, one will find Major League Rule 40(a)(3)—an exception to the basic rule. Under Rule 40(a)(3), any player in the organization may be put on the postseason roster in place of another player who was eligible (i.e. was on the major league team’s active roster or disabled list on August 31st), provided that the player who was eligible before is now injured and cannot play. The Twins have two such players: Ron Mahay and Justin Morneau.

The fact that Ben Revere was not the first player called up to replace either of those players does not matter. The rule contains no such limitation. It simply says that if there is a player who was eligible on August 31st, but is injured and cannot play in the postseason, that player can be replaced on the postseason roster by any other player in the organization.

That would include Ben Revere.