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Thebigalguy

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Everything posted by Thebigalguy

  1. Thebigalguy
    Before they traded Escobar, they offered him an extension, no details available, and he turned it down. They could compete next year, that's for sure, and I think that figures into their thinking, too. With Sano, WYSIWYG. Buxton, though, is baffling. We need him in the outfield, but not if he can't hit better than Cave. He should see the sports psychologist who helped Gibson. All these prospects from trades strengthen the farm system. Since it's hit-and-miss, that helps. If they keep Gibson, as I hope, it tells me they want to win again soon, since he's obviously come-of-age. Gibson, Berrios, Santana (who could be traded), Odorrizzi (who could be traded) provide a foundation that can be improved as other starters on the cusp find their good stuff. Falvine obviously think they can get hold of relievers easily, which is why they let Pressly go, a player I had thought could be next year's closer. I hope Molitor, who keeps it all inside, isn't developing an ulcer. I expect to see Dozier go if they get something decent in return. Otherwise, I predict he'll find little free agent interest and might sign with the Twins for a year or two, until Gordon is ready. Disappointing season (though it's not over, and hope lives eternal), but I'm more optimistic than many on this thread.
  2. Thebigalguy
    Might be good for him, a Texas guy, but not so much for Twins next year. Others can better say what’s in the pipeline, but he came of age this year and could have been groomed to close. Giving the meltdown yesterday, a 4-1 lead becoming a six run loss, I’m giving them another week and then I’m tuning outuntil winter trades. SAD! as a certain Washington man might say. I hope the players we received in return pan out, but that won’t be next year.
  3. Thebigalguy
    I agree that Gibson has become a top line starter. If he’s traded, it tells me FalVine have decided the team is years from contention and that fans will suffer through next year when Gibson is still under control.
  4. Thebigalguy
    I don't think Mauer can be touched with his no-trade clause. The only way he goes is if he decides it's what he wants, a chance to play deep into the playoffs, and if the Twins eat up most of his salary for whichever team gets him. I don't expect that to happen. He'll play out the season and the Twins will resign him if he agrees to play for what he's now worth instead of what he got after his MVP year when he was a perennial batting champ and the best catcher in the league.
  5. Thebigalguy
    “This kind of move would allow them to pursue that goal vigorously while lessening their reliance on Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano to lead the charge.” How so without Kiriloff, Lewis, et al? If Buxton and Sano flop, the pipeline is loaded. I’m not as excited about Realmuto as many commenters, not at such a price. True enough that Ryan traded away Ramos and took Mauer’s longevity behind the plate for granted without loading the system as a safety net, but I wouldn’t buy this high. Still, it’s an intriguing idea and your logic is persuasive. I just think the price is too high.
  6. Thebigalguy
    Thanks for the very good situation report. Given how much the offense produced in the last two months of 2017, I didn't understand the decision to fire the hitting coach and bring in Rowson, and now I'm even more perplexed. Does anybody know? Is it a "fortunate son" situation? Did the previous coach resist the new emphasis on technology and computer analysis? As for Buxton and Sano, I have more faith in the B-man, given his attitude and work ethic, than in Sano, and hope the demotion straightens him out. Yesterday I was on the elliptical at the gym watching the game and the runners left on base almost every inning were hard to witness. Second and third, nobody out. Result? Zilch. I turned off the monitor on my machine and instead listened to the wonderful music of the Be Good Tanyas. Doing so improved my mood tenfold.
  7. Thebigalguy
    Maybe they want to pick his brain about the Cleveland pitchers and coaches. Once he’s debriefed, they’ll send him packing (unless he’s good) and bring up the AAA relievers.
  8. Thebigalguy
    Thanks for the article and all the comments. I think the team has until close to the trade deadline to turn it around. Unfortunately, they have less room for error this year, since the wild card slots aren't there for the taking. It's either catch Cleveland (and Detroit!) or stay home. The fact that they're 3-13 in one-run games means they're capable of a turn around. Tommy Lasorda used to say that the best team loses a third of its games, the worst team wins a third of its games, and that it's the other third, the games that can go either way, which make the difference between a winning and a losing record. That 3-13 makes me cringe and for me it's the story of the season to this point, but it also tells me the team is competitive and that there's still hope.
  9. Thebigalguy
    My hope is that LoMo's resurgence can be replicated by Buxton. Last night I noticed what I read as a bit of disrespect for BB from Rosario in the outfield, though of course that might have been my imagination. Maybe Rosario was just supercharged or over-caffeinated. Whichever, I hope he keeps it up, and I hope BB can figure it out the way LoMo has. It's not acceptable to have a .150 BA in the lineup. There are NL pitchers with better averages.
  10. Thebigalguy
    I appreciate the tribute to Hughes. I've never understood why Ryan, who had him under contract, decided on the extension. After all, he already had a history of injuries before his stellar season. I tip my hat to Hughes; that was one of the most astonishing seasons I've seen. He was a strike-throwing machine who knew exactly what he was doing almost all year. As for the 20+ million he's owed, I don't begrudge it to him. How many corporate executives who fail have a "golden parachute" in place? The bottom line is that it was time for him to go. The only other option would have been to send him down and let him keep working. I have to tip my hat to the Twins for recognizing that if they had done that the man wasn't going to make it back to the Bigs; they cut the cord and left his dignity intact. Good on him and good on them. My only wish is that every working man and woman had such a contract in case something goes wrong. It's time for a guaranteed income for everybody in this country, not just CEOs and big-league pitchers.
  11. Thebigalguy
    Thanks for this. Monthly updates would be great. Good for morale to get this good news.
  12. Thebigalguy
    I went off to do something else with the score 8-4. Disturbing to see this morning what happened next. Is the team planning to sandwich the Yankees sweep, which was not surprising, with sweeps by the lowly Rays and Reds? On the other hand, it's too early to panic. Something in the DNA was discombobulated by the week of snow and travel to Puerto Rico. Demote Rodney. Give up on Hughes. Turn on the merry-go-round between MPLS and Rochester. Have a kindly come-to-Jesus (substitute your god or goddess of choice) moment. This is the chance for Mollie and his coaches, not to mention the kids on the field, to earn their pay (which, let me remind you, is more than $15/hour, the minimum wage in any decent country). Give Morneau a chance, by the way. He had rocks in his mouth. He'll find a cadence and style with experience.
  13. Thebigalguy
    Thanks for this article. Brings back memories. I consider Mauer a HOF cinch if he has another year like 2017 and wins a Gold Glove. Minnesota's Bob Dylan hit the skids for a decade but came back in full glory in the late nineties to ace the new century and receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. Mauer, also one of our own, had his several years in the wilderness, like Jesus facing his demons, and some thought it might be his curtain call. Jesus came back to claim his crown as the son of God and Joe, likewise, emerged last year after overcoming a true brain drain in the wake of the concussion that forced him from behind the plate to first base. Bob Dylan and Jesus deserve their titles and I put Joe on the same plateau. Barreiro didn't call him Baby Jesus for nothing.
  14. Thebigalguy
    Of course, every team is tied right now, but the more I read, the more I get revved up for the season. We had the best offseason in the division, by far, and the new pitching staff combined with the outfield defense should more than make up for the half-season loss of Polanco and Santana's late arrival. If Buxton starts up sooner than later at the plate and Kepler hangs in strong against lefties, I think we're in for one heck of a ride. The league decision on Sano was huge, in my opinion, assuming he can stay healthy. Can't wait for Thursday.
  15. Thebigalguy
    Funny headline but, once you declare them the likely division winners, I would have been happy to see a comparison point-by-point to the Indians, who haven't gone away. I too think they have a shot at a special year -- if all goes well. I'm encouraged by the trades and free agent signings, by the depth in the high minors, by the clubhouse camaraderie that's been reported, by the many one-year or final-year-of-contract players who seem to have a do-or-die attitude because they sense it can happen and because they need to play for their next contract, and by the sense of duende that suffuses the team from its front office to its backups. Duende, from Spanish, is a contraction of duen de casa, from dueño de casa or ‘owner of the house,' and has everything to do with inspiration, passion, and spirit. That is, it's the intangible sense of destiny. It makes the implausible possible. (Of course, I should add that the Vikings thought they had it after their last second win over the Saints, but then, against the Eagles, the duende became something else entirely.) I do think it's possible, and I agree with you that we should shoot for the division, not the wild card.
  16. Thebigalguy
    Thanks for this information. My hope is that Sano is suspended only if the evidence (including witnesses, if any) proves assault. If there's a pattern of such behavior (anybody know?), that would be taken into account, since obviously this isn't a court of law. These men have to learn that the world isn't their oyster, but nobody should be railroaded to make a point or protect MLB's reputation based on an allegation made two years after the alleged incident. At the time, the alleged victim didn't report it. We all know there can be good reasons for not doing so - shock, access, the amount of time it might have taken to understand the gravity of what happened and process it, the later advent of #metoo and thus society's willingness to listen - but the fact that it wasn't reported at the time, and thus police didn't investigate, must also be taken into account. Those are my thoughts.
  17. Thebigalguy
    Thanks for the enlightening article. In Gibson's case, it helps that he's paid 4.2 mil, not too shabby for a 5.07 ERA. Even if it's apples to oranges, Dozier only gets 5 mil. Given his positive attitude, I'm hoping it's an incentive to keep doing what he did in the second half of last season. His inconsistency has been maddening at times, especially since I've seen him pitch some gems at his best.
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