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jkcarew

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Everything posted by jkcarew

  1. jkcarew
    I’m here because misery loves company.
  2. jkcarew
    Wichita’s lineup these days…yikes. Like watching paint dry…really good paint. The kind that never causes runs.
  3. jkcarew
    The good news is Raya is throwing more pitches finally. The bad news is, he still only gets about 12 guys out in the process. 21 starts this year at Wichita, 77.2 innings. And always with 6 days rest between starts. Lots of K’s, but also lots of hits+walks and inefficiency. I’m not sure the ceiling has definitively been lowered in my eyes…but an MLB arrival (as a starter) seems at least a little less like a sure thing, and the timeline for such seems to be lengthening.
  4. jkcarew
    As per usual…a TD article puts the hex on a player. Soto was whacked around pretty good Wednesday night. Oh, well. I also am excited about the prospects of both Soto and Winokur. Sure, anyone at the A- level remains a long-shot to reach their ceilings…but with these two, the ceilings seem very very high.
  5. jkcarew
    Gotta admire what he’s accomplished…especially given the path he had to forge. Special.
  6. jkcarew
    If you accept the 65 Twins as part of ‘The Franchise’…you kinda have to accept the Senators, no? The first great team of the Minnesota era was pretty much built by the Senator’s organization. Versailles (MVP), Mincher, Allison, Pascual, Battey, Killebrew, and Kaat. And that doesn’t count a guy like Oliva, who was already being targeted by a Senator’s scout, although not signed (by the original Senator’s scout) until the start of the Twins first season of existence. It’s fairly easy to argue the likelihood that Kaat, Oliva, and Killebrew would all be wearing different hats in the Hall of Fame had the Twins not been the Senators.
  7. jkcarew
    One of a very few major leaguers to hit a home run in his very last plate appearance. (For the Mets off Montreal’s Jeff Reardon.) Hopefully, he took that and many, many other pleasant memories with him. Rest in peace, sir.
  8. jkcarew
    Mean’s nothing to me…I doubt it does to Rocco either. Was he throwing it then like he has been lately? Your best pitchers are always going to be the best pitchers over the longer term…and KC isn’t so great offensively that he can’t figure them out. I’m guessing a pre-determined load management move given the on-going period of heavy scheduling.
  9. jkcarew
    Why Varland tomorrow? Ober’s normal (4 days off) turn. Why save him for a team you’re 12.5 games up on instead of pitching him against the team you’re 2.5 games up on? Load management I suppose. What the ____ is going on with Vazquez!? Can Festa and Matthews find consistency right out of the gate? So many questions! I’ll have to keep watching.
  10. jkcarew
    It WAS a great job by Wallner. Once the count went to 3-0, the foremost thing in that situation is the pitcher doesn’t want to face Lewis with the bases juiced. He doesn’t challenge Wallner (who is known for power obviously) like that in that situation if Vasquez, Martin…or pretty much anyone else in tonight’s batting order other than Lewis is in the on deck circle. That’s all…not trying to take anything away from Waller. As you said, he set up the at bat with great patience. And he still had to hit it.
  11. jkcarew
    Wallner can thank Lewis for that 3-0 fastball down the middle of the plate. No way he gets that pitch batting toward the bottom of the order where he’s been most of the time since coming back. Rocco not with a ton of options for the 3 whole with that lineup (Kepler/Santana)…still, he could have gone the ‘veteran’ route…instead he showed some trust in the young guy that’s been swinging it well lately. Nice.
  12. jkcarew
    Did I say it doesn’t take athleticism? I said the formula is more skill than athleticism…especially relative to other sports. And starting pitchers…if they pace themselves at all in the modern game…it’s way less than what pitchers had to do previously. The modern pitcher puts way more effort into each pitch and nobody really even debates that point. Take Joe Ryan (who I love) and plunk him into 1967 and tell him if he wants a raise next year, he’ll need to make 38-39 starts throw 260+ innings and complete 12 games. Would he be good? Very, very likely. Would his fastball averages 94 mph? No, it wouldn’t. Meanwhile, athletes do not have better hand-eye coordination or higher levels of coordination to ‘repeat’ today….you’re born with that. You’re not taking Adrian Peterson and turning him into a major league hitter no matter how many hand-eye drills you have him do. The difference with the modern baseball player is he’s been born with those same gifts, and then he’s been trained to be bigger and stronger than athletes of the past. One more word on baseball in the 1960’s… In that era, EVERY kid that considered himself an athlete, black, white, and in between, tried to make it in baseball. Baseball was everything. The NBA, NFL/AFL…any other sport…didn’t even register in comparison. The league was absolutely loaded with great natural athletes…high school and college football stars, etc. They only lacked (on average) the size and strength of the modern players. They played a different style of baseball, but certainly the best of them would have adapted just fine to the way the game is played today.
  13. jkcarew
    But, pitching and hitting at a world class level is more skill than athleticism. Always has been and is still so today, albeit maybe to a somewhat lesser extent. The primary reason today’s pitchers have more velo and spin is that they are only expected to pitch at max effort for 5-7 innings or 100 pitches…usually less. In 1967 they were paid to go 7-9 innings regardless of number of pitches. They were expected to throw 250-300+ innings a year. They paced themselves by necessity…for fatigue and also to ensure they could get to the next contract, because there were no single contracts that provided multigenerational wealth or even generational wealth. The primary reason today’s hitters have more power is that they aren’t expected to put the ball in play nearly as regularly as 1967 hitters were. Are today’s players better. Sure. But, IMO, not nearly to the degree you seem to suggest.
  14. jkcarew
    Yeah…trying to win each game is really stupid.
  15. jkcarew
    Thank god only the games against Cleveland matter. Right?
  16. jkcarew
    So he can clear waivers, be assigned to St. Paul…and have posters here yearning for his call up in 2025. It’s like groundhog’s day.
  17. jkcarew
    “Dobnak would take over the fifth starter spot--unless the Twins decide that every win counts.” Cudos, Mr. Blonigen! This might be the single best sentence in the history of TD writing.
  18. jkcarew
    If you mean “let him be a minor league pitcher”…you’re right (kinda). If you mean a major league pitcher, the evidence is overwhelming that he can NOT be good…over any meaningful number of innings…in any role.
  19. jkcarew
    Since Buxton’s first ‘full’ season (2016)… Games played: Buxton -709 Santana - 1229 (an additional 3.2 seasons worth of games) Availability is an ability.
  20. jkcarew
    Yikes. I wouldn’t call a 5 games winning streak terribly ‘hot’ when 3 games were against one of the worst teams in history. But this game is a bit of a heat check. If you win tonight on the road with that lineup against a good starter and what is actually a good bullpen…then you’re officially hot. I would imagine Lewis will see absolutely nothing over the plate, while the games is close anyway.
  21. jkcarew
    One of the more dramatic examples of Twins players who have cut down on the K’s. I do think it’s hurt his EV’s some and, with that, the BABiP. His K’s have not spiked during the slump. And, his BABiP has tanked SO much, it’s reasonable to expect somewhat better results over the remainder of the season.
  22. jkcarew
    Both Cleveland and KC have a ton of young guys that might continue to get better over the next few seasons…as does Detroit for that matter, and they’re almost average now. The Twins are still in a decent spot overall. I don’t mind the bar being raised for the Twins to ‘compete’. Sets up a better chance to make a run if/when you make the postseason, IMO.
  23. jkcarew
    Definitely room for improvement. Winning is always a good thing. Just need to continue to make baby steps getting better, more consistent, etc. The August schedule going forward looks challenging. Looking forward to the return of Correa. Need him.
  24. jkcarew
    Cubbies a little flat after the big St Louis series me thinks. More runs needed tomorrow probably. But good job by Festa and bullpen taking advantage!
  25. jkcarew
    He’s always had spectacular stretches…spectacularly good and spectacularly bad. I think this has been one of his longest stretches of good. Maybe not as ridiculous as some of his hot streaks over the years, but very good. Even mixed with the poor results earlier, the production is very good. Meanwhile, he’s been primarily available defensively. I doubted whether he had a season like this in him anymore. But, he’s headed for his best season…by far, IMO. (knocking wood)
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