Quick, Easy Fixes?

[MindFreak]

Yes, i know this team is terrible at the moment, but remember they started out like crap last year too. 

It's never too early to make some quick, easy fixes.

My thoughts, might be terrible, but they're my thoughts. Also chimed in with these on the Mackey and Judd show this morning. 

 

OF: Rosario, Santana, Buxton

Yes, Buxton hasn't figured out ML hitting, but with that defensive alignment, nothing is dropping in the OF.

 

DH: Platoon Arcia and park

Arcia mashes RH pitching, but is such a butcher in the OF, he costs us a run or two a game.   Park can also spot Mauer a day off at 1B.
 

SP: Nolasco (don't have a choice due to contract), Hughes (see note on Nolasco, just not as terrible), Duffey, Berrios, Meyer.

Gibson out. I've seen enough throughout the last 3 + years, he's mediocre at best, and will not be any better then what he is. 

 

As for the bullpen.....  F if i know what to do there. 

[laloesch]

Disagree on the outfield and Nolasco.  

 

All three of those OF guys: Rosario, Buxton & Santana struggle to hit major league pitching consistently.  Granted Santana has looked much better this season than last, the other two look utterly lost in comparison.  

 

Regarding Nolasco.  Only one year is left on that deal after this season.  Considering there is already a shortage of starting pitching available on the market and many teams will soon be looking to shore things up, Ricky is a prime trade candidate.  He's pitched relatively well so far (excluding his last start) and is only under contract for one more season after this.  I think he gets traded before the deadline unless the entire rotation implodes and he's propping the whole works up which is highly unlikely.  

[Loosey]

Buxton needs more AAA time.  He is not ready for major league pitching yet.  Talk to me again in a month.  Rosario was everyone's regression candidate this year, they were right.  He is OK defensively but not enough to stay up for now in my opinion.

 

Nolasco will hopefully be competent through June when they can trade him for a bullpen part.

 

I think Gibson Stays in.  When healthy he is a consistent #3 starter.  Duffey and Meyer both have intriguing stuff but one or both of their styles might play up better out of the bullpen. 

 

I've seen enough of Sano in right field, I have also seen glimpses of him at 3rd base and I like what I see there.  If Trevor isn't moved at the deadline, he may have to go into the 3rd base, 1st base, DH rotation with the other 50% of the roster.

[mazeville]

Don't agree with the outfield alignment. But the issue demonstrates how much the Twins have backed themselves into a corner by trading Aaron Hicks and not Trevor Plouffe. 

 

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse -- a really dead horse -- but if they had kept Hicks and traded Plouffe, the Twins could have put Sano at third (with Nunez and Jorge Polanco as the backup options), which would have enabled the team to have a good defensive outfield of Rosario-Buxton-Hicks.

 

And when Buxton got sent down, that OF would be Rosario-Hicks-Arcia. Still a good defensive outfield with some hitting ability (though Hicks is hitting terribly himself ...). So maybe that point is moot.

 

In any event, your alignment ignores Sano, the only other player besides Mauer who gets on base with regularity.

 

Platooning Arcia and Park would seem like a good idea. But Park doesn't have a hit against a lefty this season yet (small sample size).

 

In any event, I'm just not sure what can be done, absent everybody basically improving on their April. 

[laloesch]

 

Buxton needs more AAA time.  He is not ready for major league pitching yet.  Talk to me again in a month.  Rosario was everyone's regression candidate this year, they were right.  He is OK defensively but not enough to stay up for now in my opinion.

 

Nolasco will hopefully be competent through June when they can trade him for a bullpen part.

 

I think Gibson Stays in.  When healthy he is a consistent #3 starter.  Duffey and Meyer both have intriguing stuff but one or both of their styles might play up better out of the bullpen. 

 

I've seen enough of Sano in right field, I have also seen glimpses of him at 3rd base and I like what I see there.  If Trevor isn't moved at the deadline, he may have to go into the 3rd base, 1st base, DH rotation with the other 50% of the roster.

 

Agreed.  I too hate the Sano OF experiment and have seen enough.  Dude is a klutz in the outfield AND slow for an OF (not for a guy his size i might add).  I think this experiment should be terminated as soon as possible and that means trading Plouffe whose not worth much right now.  OR the Twins trade Park (not sure what we could get for him) and move Sano into the DH role now and avoid all this drama (we all know he's a full time DH at some point anyways).  

 

I have mixed feelings about Gibson.  Guy can be pretty good at times, but dam he's a slow starter and off to an awful start this year.  Getting tired of seeing this pattern the last three seasons.

[rghrbek]

 

DH: Platoon Arcia and Bung Hole Park 

Arcia mashes RH pitching, but is such a butcher in the OF, he costs us a run or two a game.  

 

Uh, Arcia costs the twins a run or two a game in the outfield?   I am thinking that might be a slight exaggeration.  However, he is not very good out there.

 

The other reality is Rosario is going to get sent down (or should).   His .250 on base percentage is a problem.   His MLB leading swings at pitches outside the strike zone is also a problem.   His fielding (which has been a little more suspect than last year), does not make up for this production.

[Rosterman]

Gibson WAS a viable tradechip going into the season out of all the Twins starters. I would've gone for it...seeing as how he will become nothing but expensive and I don't see him worthy of that outlay...in the end. But now, he is damaged goods.

 

Hopefully Noalsco won't implode and keep HIS trade value hot.

 

Plouffe will be valuable to anyone in need of a third baseman. But the world knows the Twins have Sano looking for playing time and will lowball the Twins. Then, again, the Twins traded A.J. and Dougie in similar circumstances.

 

The Twins need to run a shuffle to the minor leagues for the bullpen. They need to find a couple of roster spots. They need to avoid bringing in any veteran talent that will just be a stopgap.

 

The opportunity is there for ANY minor league guy who can get on the 40-man to make a statement.

 

 

[Pardon My Dinger]

 

As for the bullpen.....  F if i know what to do there. 

Disagree. A+ if you know what to do there. 

[MindFreak]

 

Don't agree with the outfield alignment. But the issue demonstrates how much the Twins have backed themselves into a corner by trading Aaron Hicks and not Trevor Plouffe. 

 

I feel like I'm beating a dead horse -- a really dead horse -- but if they had kept Hicks and traded Plouffe, the Twins could have put Sano at third (with Nunez and Jorge Polanco as the backup options), which would have enabled the team to have a good defensive outfield of Rosario-Buxton-Hicks.

 

And when Buxton got sent down, that OF would be Rosario-Hicks-Arcia. Still a good defensive outfield with some hitting ability (though Hicks is hitting terribly himself ...). So maybe that point is moot.

 

In any event, your alignment ignores Sano, the only other player besides Mauer who gets on base with regularity.

 

Platooning Arcia and Park would seem like a good idea. But Park doesn't have a hit against a lefty this season yet (small sample size).

 

In any event, I'm just not sure what can be done, absent everybody basically improving on their April. 

Sorry, figured with the OF alignment that would've been clear for Sano at 3B. Which he's done a fine job at 3B, and needs to be there. 

[MindFreak]

 

Disagree. A+ if you know what to do there. 

Sadly the best relievers are the ones that were labeled as the garbage, mop up ones in Tonkin, Pressley, O'Rourke. 

 

Since i work 70 hours a week, i really haven't been able to follow the minors, but why isn't Burdi up? 

[twinssporto]

I was speaking with another Twins fan today about the current state of affairs and I think I came up with a good description about our current situation:  "this is a good bad team.  Sound crazy?

 

The reason I call them a "good bad team" is based on some of the following observations:  

 

1.) There are some great athletes playing in the outfield.  Some are tremendous defenders that can't hit and some are good hitters that play poor defense.  What's the plan?  It doesn't seem like there is one.

 

2.)  You have some very talented hitters in the lineup but playing in the wrong positions defensively. I think some players are confused or unsure of their role now but more importantly their role in the future.   

 

3.)  Pitching staff (both rotation and pen) have some exciting young talent yet they are not very consistent.  It seems like some of the pitching staff are uncertain or confused about their roles too.

 

4.)  There are some great arms in the minors that I think could help the pen.  Why not bring them in to help out?  I think pitchers have an easier time adjusting to ML hitting than hitters adjusting to ML pitching.

 

5.)  There is a lot of talent that could play 1st base for the Twins but do we have the right personnel on

the bag?

 

6.)  3rd base is up in the air.  Sano plays there a little then RF.  Plouffe comes back then what?  You better believe the players think about the same things we do here on Twins daily. What will tomorrow bring and where do I fit in?

 

7.)  Conclusion:  It seems like Twins management/coaching staff is having a hard time creating a cohesive team with well defined roles and expectations for the players.  Just an opinion but I'm starting to think this is more of a management/coaching issue than talent issue.

[diehardtwinsfan]

that OF alignment won't get any hits either.  Honestly, for a quick fix, I think Rosario to Rochester and calling up one of Kepler/Walker makes sense.  As for the pitching, Meyer, Duffy, and Berrios are getting their chance at the moment.  If they do well with it, I think you'll see some changes there.

[gmarais66]

 

Sadly the best relievers are the ones that were labeled as the garbage, mop up ones in Tonkin, Pressley, O'Rourke. 

 

Since i work 70 hours a week, i really haven't been able to follow the minors, but why isn't Burdi up? 

Burdi has an ERA of 9.00 at Chattanooga...

[MindFreak]

 

Burdi has an ERA of 9.00 at Chattanooga...

And i wanted him here last year, hopefully it's just a bad outing or two

[lukeduke1980]

 

The other reality is Rosario is going to get sent down (or should).   His .250 on base percentage is a problem.   His MLB leading swings at pitches outside the strike zone is also a problem.   His fielding (which has been a little more suspect than last year), does not make up for this production.

I love what Rosario did last year, but unfortunately I think he does too.  I like this idea to see if it will humble the 'I'm too cool for school' look off of his face

[D. Hocking]

I have been drinking before the start of the games and more during the game - that has been a quick easy fix that has helped me.

[mazeville]

 

Sorry, figured with the OF alignment that would've been clear for Sano at 3B. Which he's done a fine job at 3B, and needs to be there. 

 

Except Plouffe is going to be activated tomorrow. And he needs to play routinely if he's on the roster. He's also your best defensive third baseman. 

[jimbo92107]

The initial presumption of this thread is mistaken: There aren't any quick fixes. The Twins are a team in transition, and you can't depend on a situation like this to produce consistently good baseball. In fact, the young players on this team already have documented weaknesses that are being eagerly exploited by more experienced pitchers and hitters. These weaknesses are not going to go away until our young players have time to learn. During that learning period, this team is going to lose a lot of ballgames. Fact of life. 

 

Meanwhile, the efforts of Twins management should be primarily focused on doing what's best for the future of the team, even if that means the Twins lose 100 games this season. Give more prospects a taste of the bigs, and be ready to send them down for more seasoning. Rosario needs to go down. Bring up Mastroianni or Kepler, depending on what's best for Kepler. Nurture the prospects, give them a taste, and don't worry so much about contending this season. Clearly it ain't gonna happen. 

[Mr. Brooks]

I think Rosario at a minimum needs some more time at AAA at IMO is probably best case scenario a 4th OFer.

I just don't think the way he had success last year is sustainable, and we are seeing that this year. You simply cannot just swing at everything and not expect mlb pitchers to adjust.

[ShouldaCouldaWoulda]

Using Platoon split numbers from the last 2 years combined, and also just this year and last I took our current roster and set it up to the best I could. Platoon numbers I looked at most were wOBA, wRC+, ISO and SLG, OBP, GB and FB%'s, and Hard Hit vs Soft Contact%'s. 

 

Also, split Mauer and Park evenly at 1B/DH. Say, 2 games on and 2 games off. Park looks great out there, and all of the stats back it up and rates as a top 3 1B in the field in almost every metric. Mauer looks pretty good there too, but having them go 2 games on and 2 games off gives them some rhythm, but also some rest to keep them healthy and strong.

 

Vs. LHP

(These top 6 guys crush lefties, so really they could all be moved within any slot in the top 6, but Mauer slides down)

1. Dozier 2B
2. Plouffe 3B
3. Sano RF
4. Park 1B/DH 
5. Escobar SS
6. Mauer DH/1B
7. Suzuki/Murphy C (both are pretty good vs lefties)
8. Santana -CF
9. Rosario -LF

 

 

Vs. RHP

(Escobar is not good vs righties, but Nunez is. Plouffe and Dozier just don't hit righties well...they have some pop when they actually do make contact, but they are not better hitters than the guys above them vs righties.)

1. Nunez -SS
2. Mauer -DH/1B
3. Arica -LF
4. Sano -RF
5. Park -1B/DH
6. Rosario -CF
7. Plouffe -3B
8. Dozier -2B
9. Empty catching gear. (Both are terrible vs righties.)

 

 

Rotation:

1. Berrios
2. Santana
3. Hughes
4. Nolasco 
5. May or Meyer or Gibson

Bullpen:

6. Jepson
7. Pressly
8. Tonkin
9. May or Meyer
10. Duffey
11. Milone
12. Gibson