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jkcarew

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Everything posted by jkcarew

  1. jkcarew
    Why still the large gap between Gonsalves and Stewart? We know Gonsalves has had the better minor-league career to date. But so MUCH better that we would ignore Stewart's initial promise, his youth (actually a few months younger than Gonsalves), not to mention our own eyes when watching how the two responded to major league hitters this fall? I'd probably have Gonsalves lower and Stewart a bit higher...but might have Gonsalves rated slightly ahead based on his potential for more swings and misses if he ever develops the ability to get ahead major-league batters....which is a pretty big if at this point. Unless the reports of Rortvedt looking solid defensively have been premature/false...he's too low.
  2. jkcarew
    66 comments on the claiming off waivers of one Michael Reed. This site never lets me down!
  3. jkcarew
    There's still hope that Sano can become a Puig-like player in terms of offensive production. We're definitely at a point where consistent 120-130 OPS+ production out of Sano would be a significant win, both for him and the club. Also, interesting that the Dodgers didn't see fit to start Puig in 3 of the 11 games in the NLDS/NLCS rounds...and was replaced in a 4th. A 120 OPS+ (Puig 2018) and a great arm amounts to not much more than a nice piece when you have 5 OF options with better OPS+ than Eddie Rosario produced this year. And this a team that is not that close to being as good overall as at least 3 different teams in the AL.
  4. jkcarew
    It's hard to admit as a fan of the Twins that a rebuild would be the best path...especially so seemingly early in the Buxton/Sano era. But, IMO, past failures can't inhibit future actions. Just because the last rebuild was so recent and/or didn't work, doesn't mean that rebuild can't be the correct path faced with the current situation. Having said that, I do think that the choice of approach for the Twins in 2019 is NOT easy/obvious. But I think another year of half-measures is very risky. Going half-way and hedging and hoping...in either direction...is the exact recipe for winning 75-85 games a year and never accomplishing anything meaningful.
  5. jkcarew
    Yes, we 100% disagree on everything above (Twins relative to top of AL)... Except for that part there at the end!
  6. jkcarew
    That's one way of looking at it. But, I'd disagree in this era...or at least at this particular point in AL history. 2019 isn't going to be anything like 1987. Three great teams in the AL and (at least) one extra round to negotiate in the playoffs. The AL was anything but unpredictable in 2018, and will be similar in 2019. Houston, Yankees, Boston, are not good teams, they are championship-caliber teams that are not all going to fall of the table in 2019. Meanwhile, the Twins are not currently in the universe of these 3 teams. Could the Twins go all-in and steal a central-division crown in 2019? Maybe. I'd just as soon see a plan to REALLY compete, and to do so for an extended period of time with young and controllable talent. I'd love it if that plan gave us a chance to win 90 games in 2019. But if it doesn't, it doesn't.
  7. jkcarew
    Good article, Tom. After nearly two years of inconsistency and half-measures, the FO has been indicating the type of approach you describe for a number of months now. It's been pretty consistent since the all-star break. And the hiring of a very young manager with zero managing experience at any professional level, and whose outstanding trait is that he's highly "relatable"...fits right in with this approach. In lieu of my club annually operating at the top of the FA market (which isn't going to happen, not consistently over time)...I like this approach better than year after year of 'patch-and-hope'.
  8. jkcarew
    Any guy who is in the position to aspire to land a MLB manager job has spent plenty of time thinking long and hard about who he would want on his staff. If the FO is truly giving Baldelli the complete all-clear to build his own staff...then the retentions become the surprises. Singling Rowson out seems strange given last year's results. Also, I have a hard time buying that Shelton would ultimately be Baldelli's choice for bench coach.
  9. jkcarew
    This list isn't exactly going to keep me up the night before the draft. Even "the givens" seem to be no-brainers only because the Twins figure to have so many spots available. Don't need to go very far down the list...especially of position-players...to get to those that have near-zero chance of being drafted and kept. But with the trend for rosters to carry/use more and more pitchers, picking the correct arms to protect is going to be key on a yearly basis.
  10. jkcarew
    I was referring to TV where the idea is that you are sitting in front of your TV for 3 1/2 hours. Radio play-by-play is a different animal, and listening to a game on the radio is a different experience with different expectations. I agree that Corey Provos is a good radio play-by-play guy. Not young Herb Carneal...but good. I like Gladden as an analyst.
  11. jkcarew
    Yeah. I think especially on the TV side, where the cameras tell most of the story. There always comes a time...but, I put getting new guys in the booth firmly under the 'be careful what you wish for' category. It ain't easy being consistently good/relevant/entertaining when you're dealing with the hours of exposure mlb guys are dealing with these days (even assuming the product itself can stand on it's own, which we know is not always the case). If one doesn't think it could be worse, one hasn't watched many regional baseball broadcasts.
  12. jkcarew
    There's no such thing as a play-by-play guy...or an analyst...that you aren't going to get tired/bored of hearing when the games are as long and slow as they are now. 162 games, at 3 1/2 hours a game...there just isn't enough interesting and/or relevant things to fill that.
  13. jkcarew
    And that's where I would want Mejia to be (if retained)...in the bullpen. Don't trust his 2018 results, 22 innings of good results on the back of a .239 BABiP. And maybe his stuff plays up in 1-3 inning stints. Really would/could be a different pitcher if he cut down the walks significantly. In any regard, I would not consider it a sign that the FO expects to compete in 2019 if Mejia starts the year as a part of the rotation.
  14. jkcarew
    Interesting. Thanks as always for sharing, Mike. I think cause and effect is confused in the last part of Law's statement. Aaron Boone seemed to do OK, winning 100 games...nine more than the previous year...and ending up with (probably) the 2nd-best team in baseball. The thing is, the 2018 New York Yankees of the world have seldom gambled with first-year managers. I think it's a significantly smaller gamble, with significantly more upside, when the 2019 Minnesota Twins make the call to go that route. We'll see.
  15. jkcarew
    As has been mentioned above, it's not about winning. It's about settling. I don't necessarily think this is particularly newsworthy...but it wouldn't surprise me at all that this costs the Twins some money.
  16. jkcarew
    Hope he's good. I would think we can expect some growing pains as would be expected with anyone new to the role. I'll be pulling for him, for sure. Like that they went outside the organization.
  17. jkcarew
    Nope...not at all. I did not know the story, so this is different. Thanks, Brock.
  18. jkcarew
    An extremely highly rated prospect at one time, who did, essentially, nothing in his playing career. If nothing else, he should have some good cautionary tales for Buxton and Sano.
  19. jkcarew
    I do think the grading approach puts a bit of a different slant on how I'd critique the list. For instance, it would be REALLY hard for me to have Gonsalves this high on the list...not to mention, so many spots higher than Stewart at this point. But, he's really only giving Gonsalves a half-grade edge on Stewart. I guess either on the basis of his minor league numbers, and/or the 'left-handed-and breathing' theory. Note the estimated arrival time on Graterol. Not 2019, as some of the more optimistic members of our community have mentioned here from time to time. Not 2020. 2021. I do think that's a bit conservative, but I agree with the remark regarding where he is with his endurance, track-record of work load. The same concern exists with Romero, obviously.
  20. jkcarew
    The fact that the Twins staff had 57 starts...more than a third of the entire schedule...against Chi/KC/Det...and still only managed one pitcher that could post a GS of 85 or better, is faint praise for how 'good/improved' this staff really was. Also, in 2018, Berrios was flat bad against the good teams....big, ugly splits between teams over/under 500. But at least he capitalized on the big number of outings against pathetic offenses. He needs to get significantly better to be a legit number one for a good team. He seems to have the desire/determination (and youth) to make it happen.
  21. jkcarew
    If we had a team of well-established professionals that were ready to compete for a championship, I'd over-weigh in-game attributes (lineup construction, in-game bullpen/hitting/defensive moves). And a strong motivational approach. Sadly, I don't think we have that team. So, we probably need to lean more to communication, leadership, teaching. Not sure those guys are the most likely to win world championships, though.
  22. jkcarew
    Nice article. It's interesting to me that (IMO) it seems a sort of myth has grown regarding the '87 team...that being that it was Andy MacPhail's team. It wasn't. It was a team built by the Griffith organization. (Also fwiw, Calvin Griffith acted as his own general manager). Pucket, Viola, Hrbek, Gagne, Gaetti, Brunansky, Laudner, Lombardozzi, Bush, Larkin,...all acquired by the Griffith organization. And all (except Larkin) developed by the Griffith organization. To the extent we give credit to MacPhail for the Blyleven, Gladden, Reardon acquisitions (and Baylor/Smalley/Newman, if you like)...even some of that credit, then, goes to Calvin. It was Griffith who pilfered MacPhail from the Astros a year before he sold the club to Polad. The issues related to Calvin Griffith's ownership are well documented...particularly after the death of the reserve clause. But talent evaluation and player development had been an organizational strength of his...really, from the 1950's right up until his exit from the game in 1985.
  23. jkcarew
    I guess the thing that caught my eye here is that "corner OF/1B types" are not typically simultaneously referred to as "potential lead-off types" as @HangingSL refers to Raley. He must have some speed despite his size, to go along with the OBP potential. Maybe a chance to be a solid corner guy defensively despite the size/power profile, as well? I notice the Dodgers minor-league coaches had been throwing him in at CF (rarely, but still).
  24. jkcarew
    Great development for the Twins!... Looks like the Twins FO won't have to worry about Milwaukee out-bidding them for Machado this off-season!
  25. jkcarew
    True statement for sure. But everything's relative. I've always had the impression that whoever Molly 'liked' or 'trusted' most relative to the others (even if the others had been good representations of MLB relief pitchers)...Molitor still would have over-used the favorites. Especially in the face of this type of pressure/leverage. I guess it's on the FO that we'll never know how much better his BP usage would have been with a good/deep/consistent pen.
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