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twinfan

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Everything posted by twinfan

  1. twinfan
    Ok. First it's trade Ober and/or Ryan. Now it's trade Duran. Who is writing this nonsense? Are we the Marlins of 2024? Do we need a complete rebuild with prospects/suspects who may never pan out? Why would we ever trade any of the players who have gotten us as far as we went in '24? Oh, I know. You're going to say how I proposed (and still do) trading Buxton this season. I believe we can get the most for him compared to the others and he still won't play more than 80-100 games for whoever gets him. Anyway, I will go on record as being dead set against trading either Ober, Ryan or Duran. I would tell Duran to quit throwing so many sliders which have gotten him in trouble and would not have him pitch more than an inning in relief but I wouldn't trade him. Just 1 man's opinion.
  2. twinfan
    Every year is a must win year for a manager. Some teams allow more time if they are building towards being a contender. The Twins are in a situation where they are expected to win enough to make the playoffs but the manager can't do much if injuries hurt the team and management doesn't try to help as was the case this year when management failed to improve the team at the deadline. The manager also has limited recourse if almost the entire team falls into a slump though Rocco could have changed the lineup and maybe tried to be more aggressive, bunt more to move those runners we had and have gotten the hitting coach work harder with the entire team. He also maybe could have rested players more liberally throughout the season. Hopefully he learned that lesson as many were worn out. Rocco has had a rocky tenure and probably will be gone after 2025 or before if we don't win. To me, his biggest failures were some strange lineups with players not hitting batting too high and taking Miranda out of the lineup for a long stretch when we got healthy. That ruined his offensive ability for the rest of the season (IMHO).
  3. twinfan
    Interesting. Did you ever give Kepler an "A" rating in any of his seasons on the team? Larnach stats are no better than Kepler's during his career and Kepler did face lefties at times. If Larnach is an "A" hitter compared to Correa and Buxton, we are in deep doo-doo next year. Yes he had a better year than in the past but an "A"? Not in my book. Sorry.
  4. twinfan
    Your ratings are not fair to some players because you included injuries and/or defense which downgraded some. I completely disagree with your rating Miranda a D. I'd give him a B-. I'd upgrade Correa to an A and Santana to an A- because of his clutch hits and maybe drop Larnach a bit to a B. If I knew more about how players did in advancing runners and driving in runners- something which the team never seemed to do well, I'd have more accurate ratings as would you.
  5. twinfan
    I don't see Kiriloff, Castro (at that price), Larnach or Jeffers being with the Twins next season. However all are relatively cheap but so is management. Maybe Larnach if they can play him regularly which they can't. Jeffers has some value in a trade if we have another 2 catchers to play. I know nothing about Topa.
  6. twinfan
    There is only 1 MVP for the Twins this season. That one is Bailey Ober. Ober held the pitching together for most of the season with numerous quality starts that did not force Rocco to wear out the bullpen. I can live with Buxton but Ober is my MVP. And Jax is my Pitcher of the year.
  7. twinfan
    Every GM has good trades/signings and bad ones. The bad ones are brought up when the team does poorly while the good ones come up when the team wins. The Twins twin leaders failed to improve the team by getting a starter or two and maybe a reliever at the deadline when Ryan and Paddack went down. But they also couldn't figure that both KC and especially Detroit would be hot down the stretch, The team needs to increase payroll by 20% to get some better players in for 2025 and keep the core beyond that. We aren't dead but we'd better not stand pat.
  8. twinfan
    Max will play the field but would want to return here if the deal is right. He still has reasonable value to make 6-7 million a year but may not get that good a deal. Lots will depend on what happens in other areas on our team but there are a few teams who should offer about 4-5 mill for a couple of years.
  9. twinfan
    Last year it was the Cubs who collapsed. This year it was the Twins. The failure of management to pick up a starter like maybe Tallion for not much killed us down the stretch. The bullpen was overworked, Ryan's injury hurt, going without Buxton and Correa for a long period hurt, Miranda stopped hitting after not playing consistenly and some of the guys were just worn out. And nothing from the minors was able to help us like it helped some other teams. It was definitely a team effort in the collapse. The big question now is, which was the real Twins team? The one who played well through mid-August or the one who failed in many areas down the stretch. The keys are there to bounce back so we'll see. I know you pointed out Correa's failure to run hard but how many players on all teams do not run hard even on routine grounders all around the infield. And Carlos was probably still playing hurt and had the biggest hits down the stretch.
  10. twinfan
    Sadly, the Twins have only 2 starters they can count on right now, another who is iffy and nobody else. Their offense is asleep but hopefully can return with those injured now back. The bullpen is a mess when Jax isn't available. And the schedule- now that the Reds will be gone- becomes very difficult. Don't forget the Orioles at the end who should still be fighting for first. The only (maybe) hope is they won't face too many lefties whom they can't seem to beat. However, their failure to add a starter at the deadline could cost them. At least right now they are 2 1/2 games ahead which could be a big advantage. But the failing starters may not pull them through. And even if they make the playoffs, do they have enough to get past Houston or Baltimore or (gulp) the Yankees in the first round?
  11. twinfan
    While I questioned Rocco's lineup decision on our leadoff batter last night, I don't blame him for the current funk we are in. We don't move runners along. we let pitches down the middle go by then swing at pitches that bounce 5 feet in front of home plate. We have 3 major aspects of our starting lineup injured. We have 2 starters who can't pitch. So what is the manager to do? If this was early in the season, we wouldn't be anywhere near a playoff spot. But it is late in the season and we are desperately trying to hold on. Even if we make it, can we beat Houston-especially since we can't hit left handers? We can only hope that Boston and Seattle don't get hot though we do play Boston later on and that may be who goes to the playoffs as the last wild card. Let's hope the team can turn this around fast and Duran can effectively close down games again.
  12. twinfan
    Since I had said they should have traded Buxton earlier, I wonder what they might have gotten for him at the deadline or a bit earlier than that. We made no moves and now it is hurting us big time. I'm not one who likes to rent players but we are very wounded and tired and have no one to turn to. Today's game is supposed to be a bullpen game. That's how bad things are. Just pray that those behind us keep losing.
  13. twinfan
    There are no such things as easy games right now. If you play the White Sox, you could face Croset (sp). If you play a team out of contention, you're likely going to face players/pitchers you haven't seen and would be hard to scout. Plus those teams are loose, players are playing to impress and they can let it all hang out. If you play a contender, there is the tension of each game meaning 2 games in the standings. Let's get healthy and get the bats going again, stay in the games early and win our share (16 out of the 27 left) to get in.
  14. twinfan
    The only thing that will help the Twins right now is to get the walking wounded back on the field.
  15. twinfan
    I judge a manager by how he does when his star players go down. Anyone can win with great players like Joe Torre and Casey Stengle did with the Yankees. However, when your best players can't play, how do you manage the team. In that sense Baldelli has done an excellent job keeping the team winning during his tenure- especially this year with just about everyone who would be considered the best players and pitchers have been injured. As for being the best ever for the Twins, he still has a way to go but would have to be in the top 5. Martin won with every team he managed but caused so much difficulty he couldn't last. Kelly won the championships and has to be at the top of the list but didn't have to go through wild card playoffs which make it tougher today. Mele was successful early in our history. Mauch was always considered to be one of the best wherever he went. Gardy had good success during the season and you had to love his arguments with the umps. Molitor could maybe have done better with more to work with. Rigney was at the end of his managerial career and inherited a very good team from Billy. So who do you like? Different managers with different teams in leagues with different competition.
  16. twinfan
    Why don't we pick up Ahmed Rosario who was DFA by the Dodgers? Are we an old age home? I have nothing against Hill (after all he's a crafty lefty like I was) but if we pick him up, how about another old timer who pitches slow, used to pitch for us and was on a roster earlier this year - last name Malone. Go with the kids. They are our future and haven't been that bad.
  17. twinfan
    He might get by with 75 pitches in 3+ innings then Dobnack comes in. Hopefully we can get to Lugo and give him a cushion.
  18. twinfan
    Seattle could be the winner this year if Polonco has a good 6 weeks that are left in the season and they make the playoffs. But the Twins will be winners in the long term because they shed money that went elsewhere to help and may have 2 major leaguers for next year if they get over their injuries. And you never know about the minor leaguers. We'll see. I liked Polonco but he hasn't done much this year.
  19. twinfan
    I don't buy this "innings" talk about pitchers. If you are a good pitcher, it should not matter how many innings was your longest previous season. Woods-Richardson has been mediocre for most of the season and it's difficult to imagine him being much better- no matter how many innings he pitches. Varland (to me) has been over-rated in what we expected of him. Festa finally showed what he is capable of doing and hopefully can come close to that over his next 4-5 starts. Should they start Dobnack if Ryan is out for a few weeks. Ryan seems to get weaker in the second half so maybe a break- even due to an injury- could help down the stretch. Is there a waiver starter available as a stopgap? Is there another minor leaguer who can step in for a couple of starts? The injured hitters need to return and be productive or it won't matter what the pitching looks like. Yes it was frustrating to not see us pick up a starter but we have kept our main corps for now. The weekend will be a big one but Cleveland hasn't been playing well so maybe we can take the series in close games. Just don't let them have the lead in the ninth cause Classe is the GOTT (greatest of this time).
  20. twinfan
    America loves the type of story that Dobnack has had. I'd like to see him get a shot but it will probably be with another team at this point. I just don't see him pitching for us this year. Now maybe if we lose a free agent or 2 from the pitching staff plus a spring training injury next year.......
  21. twinfan
    I always coach players who are in a big slump to try to bunt for a hit. I don't know if Margot has tried this (though he probably has failed if he did). At least we are winning more games than losing so are we still winning the games in which he appears? Is he the main cause when we lose? If he isn't getting any hits, is he at least moving runners or hitting the ball well? I don't see many of the games but only counted 10 of the games that he pinch hit in as losses and who knows if they lost because of him. That last stat would need to be checked. Also, what counts is what you do today and going forward, not what you did yesterday. So let's hope the law of averages catches up and he goes 10 for the next 20 pinch hit appearances. With all the injuries, Rocco has no choice but to keep using him.
  22. twinfan
    I still think Lopez, Ryan and Ober can get the job done. I'm not sold on W-R. Ok, so let's get another starter.
  23. twinfan
    You have to realize that maybe 10% of all players drafted will spend any kind of significant time in the major leagues. I have no problems with who they draft in the later rounds. You never know who will develop into that major league contributor.
  24. twinfan
    I like the fact that the Twins drafted mainly college players. If I were a GM, I'd stay away from almost every HS player as their true ability cannot really be measured if they play in weak leagues. Of course scouts know what to look for and, especially in the later rounds, you're hoping to hit lightening. However, I'd stick with college kids who have developed a bit further than HS kids (IMHO).
  25. twinfan
    Some teams have bullpen games. We had an infield game.
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