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jkcarew

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Everything posted by jkcarew

  1. jkcarew
    Would someone please give Castro back his glass slipper?!
  2. jkcarew
    Early schedules… Cleveland’s opponents to date are a combined 9-20 when not playing Cleveland. (6-15 if you throw out the Twins as an opponent.) Detroits opponents to date are a combined 13-18 when not playing Detroit. Twins opponents to date are a combined 24-10 when not playing the Twins. (18-8 if you throw out Cleveland as an opponent.) Our favorite club leads the ALC in wins against +500 teams…with 3. Not sayin we’re actually good. But am saying MAYBE the divisional opponents aren’t quite as improved as they seem to be. And, the Twins MIGHT not be as hopelessly, and completely lost as they seem to be. Unfortunately, (schedule-wise) it’s going to get worse before it gets better. The path to a successful season might be…just survive the first third of the season (between the injuries, growing pains, and schedule)…and come out in a spot where you don’t need to shout for 500 to hear you.
  3. jkcarew
    Julien has changed his approach after 6 or 7 bad games? I highly doubt it. His approach is what got him here. And I would take issue will the term “passive”. It’s really the opposite of passive. He’s trying to drive the ball. He’s not looking to get a walk. But, he’s willing to trade a single for a walk. He’s not trying to react to pitches early in the count and ‘put the ball in play’ he’s trying to dictate that the pitcher eventually has to throw a pitch that he’s looking for in a location he’s looking for. And then drive it hard. There are obvious reasons to not like this approach…especially in certain situations…but, it’s not “passive”. It’s an approach that, when executed well, results in a lot of K’s but also a lot of BB and XBH. He’s always maintained a high OBP with the approach. Still, the only reason for taking the called strike THREE (other than a truly awful call) is that he’s guessing. He’ll have to fix that part of it, as MLB pitchers pretty much all have more than one pitch, if not three, that they’re willing to throw over the plate late in counts.
  4. jkcarew
    I would not have bet 20 cents that Tonkin was still in the league. Who knew? I’ve never heard of this Cash Considerations guy, but no doubt he’ll be great with the Mets.
  5. jkcarew
    Can the Twins win with a 26% K rate? Yes. Can the Twins win with a 1.3% HR rate (which is half the league average) No. And Buxton’s below league-average results have zero to do with his K rate. He’s always had a ton of swing-and-miss in his game. His 2024 K rate is below his career average. His lackluster 2024 results (to date) are 100% due to the lack of home runs. He is…and always has been…a prime example of a player (of which there are many these days) without much offensive value unless the ball goes over the fence at a very healthy rate.
  6. jkcarew
    So, if Rocco leaves Ober in, the Twins win 2-1?? I’m on record with the opinion that Rocco is a poor in-game manager. Still, blaming this one on Rocco smacks of desperation. The Twins had 3 hits. They barely had any runner achieve scoring position. If we’re going to blame him for this one, we’ll have to blame him for every single loss in a season, which is ridiculous even if you think he’s the worst in the league. Given Ober’s last result, given that this was effectively his first start of the season, given that he had given up some rockets for outs (one of which bailed him out of a developing mess with a double play)…I can at least kinda understand what Rocco was thinking on this one. I probably would have left him in, but IMO, this was about a million miles from being one of Rocco’s worst pitching moves. Score some runs.
  7. jkcarew
    And just like that, Margot has the 3rd highest OPS on the club. Even though it’s early, that’s a bad, bad thing. The good news?: only 0-2 today with RiSP!
  8. jkcarew
    The Dodgers struck out 12 times in this game. The Twins struck out 7 times. Yes…we seem inept offensively every game…but in reality, it’s not too many K’s EVERY game. I’d definitely live with 7 K’s per game…but no matter how many K’s, the RiSP issue is showing up…as is the power outage. Been out-homered in basically every game this year. Tonight was no different in that regard.
  9. jkcarew
    Kepler’s a career 103 OPS+ guy. Not great for a corner outfielder, not atrocious, either. Perceptions seem different, but in reality, Buxton’s about the same offensively….with a 106 career OPS. Neither are going to drive a team to a great offensive performance over the coarse of a season. We’re in a situation where we’re hoping that Correa plus a couple of the newer guys can be that. Whole lot of veterans on this club that are just “they are what they are” guys. Passengers on a truly good team. Not a good place to be in when your main rival (Cleveland) has the youngest lineup in the majors.
  10. jkcarew
    I’d say it’s usually worth… Higher K%… With fewer overall innings pitched… and at least one Tommy John surgery.
  11. jkcarew
    Went from ‘probably ready by home opener’…to ‘probably going to 15-day IL’…to being placed on the 60-day…all within the span of about two weeks. They say a hip issue that stressed and injured his shoulder when pitching.
  12. jkcarew
    Ahh…Bobby Darwin! I remember those years when he was leading the league in K’s for the Twins while hitting 20 homers a year. Many claimed that he was unplayable. Shouldn’t be on the bench, let alone a starter. I was one of them. His K% peaked at a little over 25% (among full Twins seasons)…and his career mark was 23.7%. Today, he’d be at about $15M / year…and harolded as a guy with pop that can put the ball in play!!
  13. jkcarew
    Although…if Buxton slumps much longer, I fully expect the masses, that claim he’s a great hitter when healthy, will claim an injury was sustained.
  14. jkcarew
    Doncon is repeating low A (to start)…and he is off to the exact type of start there as you would hope. Keep it going kid, and get to AA! Fine debut for Soto. Get acclimated, get comfortable, and the results will hopefully come. Nice to see most of the top hitting prospects off to nice starts! Severino (after Sunday) is now 0 - 23 to start the campaign. Thoughts and prayers.
  15. jkcarew
    Exactly. You can’t ask guys to do something at the major league level…like cut down their swings with 2 strikes and RiSP, and/or hitting the ball the other way…when they’ve never done those things during the entire coarse of their development (certainly not in the Twins system)…and then be surprised when they can’t do it. Better off hoping the power shows back up. FWIW, the K rate is actually slightly down from last year (although still near the ‘top’). The difference is the almost total lack of power. Currently have the LOWEST HR% in the majors. Last year, they had one of the highest. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, this group is capable of that will make that work. 7 games. The worm will turn. Right?
  16. jkcarew
    Zero missiles from Castro this season. It’s a full-blown crisis.
  17. jkcarew
    Shouldn’t be hard to make the argument that you need the bat worse than the Twins hitter…which would make it effectively legal in Hennepin County.
  18. jkcarew
    Why is Ryan throwing the ball over the plate? Doesn’t seem like a necessary risk to take today.
  19. jkcarew
    I feel a comeback coming. But it could be the undercooked ham sandwich I had for lunch.
  20. jkcarew
    But other than that..how was the play, Mrs Lincoln?
  21. jkcarew
    Pablum bland or insipid intellectual fare You’re welcome.
  22. jkcarew
    The guy who put up OPS+ of 114, 104, 134, and 126 in his last 4 full season with the team?? We could use a few problem players like that.
  23. jkcarew
    Best in the league last year at not striking out….and near the very bottom in runs scored. If their offense is close to average this year, Twins are probably in trouble. Starting the season with 4 games against Oakland will boost your confidence, as well.
  24. jkcarew
    Around 1984 (might have been ‘85) Tony and Kirby Puckett played on a fall league slow-pitch softball team in a league that I was in. Can’t make it up. NEVER would happen these days. Of course we were in awe and trying to engage them the entire time. Tony was incredibly friendly, but couldn’t hardly get a word in edgewise with Puckett’s constant chatter. I think we played them one or two double-headers. To my recollection, Oliva homered in every at-bat. After the first couple, we told him he didn’t have to run the bases. They were all no-doubters. He would have been around age 47 at the time, limping severely…but just LOVED swinging a bat. There was nobody among us 20-something year olds…including Puckett…hitting the ball as far as Tony was. I can’t really remember his mid 60’s seasons. Started ‘remembering’ Twins games in 1968 or 1969. And I remember, at that time, my parents and uncle (who, respectively, grew up Tigers and Cardinals fans) considered Oliva to be the best player on the club. A club with Harmon Killebrew…still in his prime…on it.
  25. jkcarew
    I don’t like ‘one size fits all’ approach. Each guy is unique and Soto sure has a different frame than Raya. Also, I’m not sure anyone knows exactly what makes one guy break down, while another doesn’t. The heavily cautious approach certainly doesn’t guarantee nothing goes bump in the night. At some point, they have to handle the load or it’s moot. Still, he’s 19...you’re gonna start slow. I’m just hoping they keep an open mind and let things evolve rapidly if, in fact, the responses indicate that he’s capable.
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