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Aerodeliria

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Everything posted by Aerodeliria

  1. Aerodeliria
    Hitting can salvage some games, but certainly poor fielding can lose tight games especially in the playoffs where the differences between the clubs is often minuscule. The Red Sox have a spotted history of losing critical games because of miscues in the field, but now they have a team that can hit and field and voile, they are the champs--deservedly so. Here in Japan, the Japanese champion Softbank (Fukuoka) Hawks were a much weaker hitting team but matched the Hiroshima Carp in pitching and were far superior to the Carp in fielding. In my opinion, the Carp coughed up two games because of fielding miscues and another ended in a tie (yes, we still have tie games here in Japan), so the Hawks ended up winning the best of seven rather easily (4-1-1).
  2. Aerodeliria
    I'm all in on picking up an infielder who can hit. I like Polanco as a hitter but he made his share of rather poor plays in the field as a SS, so I would rather see him at 2nd as well. I wish there were a good fielder and hitter available from the Japanese leagues. I am still hoping that Sakamoto will opt for playing in the MLB. He is an excellent hitter (with some power), has good speed and is as cool as a polar bear sipping mai tais in the field.
  3. Aerodeliria
    Be buyers or sellers but what exactly are we buying? A wish and a hope so? And what exactly would we be selling? Two guys who missed huge chunks of the season, and who couldn't keep their BAs above the Mendoza line and who struck out as often as George McFly. I don't like either end of that stick, so I reluctantly am agreeing with management on this.
  4. Aerodeliria
    Very nicely done.
  5. Aerodeliria
    Saying you don't want to make Buxton a gazillionaire by offering him a long-term deal is really not quite the same as implying that Buxton is trash. And saying that Cave was a better player than Buxton LAST year is close to being indisputable. With that said, I think there are a bunch of Twinkie supporters who just want to wait and see what 2019 will bring for the Buxton express. I have always wanted Buxton to succeed, but have also wanted something a little more promising than last year as the basis to proceed with the franchise tag and the money that goes along with it. And, concerning the AAA adventure, I admit I was a bit on the fence about letting Buxton stay in AAA last September, but I also tried looking at that situation from the viewpoint of what Cave had done and was doing. In the end (for me), it was far more important to get a chance to see Cave play regularly so we all could get an idea of what kind of player he really was and could be. If Cave had ended up hitting .180 for the balance that would have told us lot, but he showed that he is probably a decent hitter and an average outfielder. He has decent speed and although he is no Buxton in the field, he wasn't chopped liver (he'll improve I believe). To sum up, I want Buxton in a Twins uniform--but not last year's version, so I hope that management takes the 'wait and see' approach for now.
  6. Aerodeliria
    All I say is keep Astudillo...for so many reasons, not the least of which is his personality.
  7. Aerodeliria
    ...but you can't get one the all time favorite Japanese ballpark snacks: dried squid on a stick. This is great for gnawing on over 3-4 innings.
  8. Aerodeliria
    So who was the least valuable player in each league (more-or-less an everyday player)?
  9. Aerodeliria
    ...you know it's actually cheaper to eat at a restaurant in Japan than in the US (you do get less food, but it is definitely cheaper). What do they charge for a ballpark frank these days? $5.00? $6.00? (I can never attend a game because I only return during the bitter winds of December.)
  10. Aerodeliria
    As many have mentioned here and in IMHO too, Buxton needs to show something before emptying a truckload of cash on his lawn. He's played well for about one half of one season, and granted, his defense can make us overlook SOME his shortcomings, but when he has been hitting poorly, the automatic strikeouts can be incredibly demoralizing, especially when it snuffs out scoring opportunities in tight games. I don't think there is anyone here who doesn't want Buxton to succeed, but he has yet to transmogrify into Andre Dawson, so let's see if he can start solidifying some of these projections of greatness before going too crazy. I love the idea of taking a flyer on Donaldson. For one thing, he can't hit big home runs against the Twins if he's playing for them. For another, he is a veteran presence and one that has some stardust sprinkles on his uniform. I think it is always good to have at least one or two of these types of players. I think small market teams need to gamble on one or two players per year in the hopes that one of those gambles pays off.
  11. Aerodeliria
    I'm down with the Jeremy strategy...big time!
  12. Aerodeliria
    BTW, I really do have a question about Moya since his name is being bandied about here on the list. His fastball speeds are around 85-87 and he's throwing change-ups and sliders in the 70s and low 80s. Is he like Tommy John or Greg Maddux or something? I would be scared right down to my socks to put him in during a tight game with this type of velocity. Am I wrong? (Remember, I don't get any chance to watch him unless the Twins are playing the Angels and the game is on the weekend, so I really haven't seen him pitch.)
  13. Aerodeliria
    I'm in favor of trading Kepler and one of either Odorizzi or Gibson but not both. I think dumping half of the 'named' starting pitchers would have a longer term negative influence on the players we are keeping. There would be reasonable intrepidation that one of the other starters might go down for a week, a month or for the entire season. This would look bad regardless of the envisioned outcomes--to players and fans. As for Kepler, he's attractive for other teams. As Tom pointed out, Buxton has such low trade value that it would represent a give-away and Sano might be even worse--you have the hitting problems and the potential attitude problems.
  14. Aerodeliria
    Personally, I wouldn't say that Buxton's future is to 'a large extent out of his hands.' This could be said of the injury bug for sure, but not for the hitting woes. Concerning pitch selection and swings of those wearing Twins' uniforms, Buxton looked significantly worse than anyone at the dish (IMHO) in 2018 (...and that includes a parade of less than admirable performances...Morrison, Dozier, Sano, Wilson...did I miss someone?) I'm not saying that these things can't be ironed out, and he has the potential to become a great player, but as it stands right now, I would take .250 BA and .320 OBP in a heartbeat, which wouldn't get him into the HOF, but it would make him a reliable asset. He is feared by his play in the field. (I was following an Indian blog in 2017 because the Twins had to play them during those last two weeks and really needed to take a game from them. Buxton made a superb running catch in the game that the Twins came back to win. Indians' bloggers mentioned that they were afraid that Buxton's ability to track down balls in CF gave the Twins a significant advantage in close games.) It all comes down to his hitting development....I sure hope they intend to emphasize a need for him to bunt...like every other game or so.
  15. Aerodeliria
    He had to be hired because he had the best sounding name. Who wouldn't like being coached by someone named Rocco?
  16. Aerodeliria
    This is another well-reasoned critique of Max Kepler; however, the Buxton saga is far more worrisome to me. There seems to be this assumption in the sports writing world that Buxton's 2018 performance was simply an anomaly and he'll rebound to where he was in the latter part of 2017. Personally, I'm not convinced that the latter half of 2017 was not the anomaly, and that 2019 may reveal that the cracks which reappeared in 2018 are not just surface blemishes but foundational. I hope I'm wrong...
  17. Aerodeliria
    Of course there is excitement to see if Buxton has turned the corner, and he is the future (at least many think so), but Cave has not turned out to be relatively useless addition. Instead of making the issue about Buxton, why not make it about Cave? I'd rather know if Cave can keep his hitting stats where they have been and improve on his fielding for another month of full-access. He could be valuable asset but he needs as much playing time as he can get. Buxton may be the future, but what if cannot get his groove back or he gets injured yet again? Bring Buxton back in spring and the Twins will have a larger sample of Cave ABs.
  18. Aerodeliria
    I can't say that I've seen Moya throw, so take this with a grain of salt. With a fastball topping out at about 87 mph, I can't really see how Moya can be counted on in late inning, high leverage situations, where oft times a strikeout is critical. If a pitcher can bring it at 98 mph, even if the batter guesses right, he might only foul it off or even swing through it. If Moya throws that 78 mph change up over the plate and the hitter guesses right, the bases are cleared. Maybe Moya's delivery is so deceptive that hitters are always mistiming their swings? Or his pitches have such movement that hitters are baffled. Can Moya last long in the bigs with this kind of velocity? (I assume here he does not possess Greg Maddux-like control.)
  19. Aerodeliria
    I will remember what the one thing you mentioned...I'm a fan of hitters taking BBs.
  20. Aerodeliria
    This idea of a reliever in an opening role for an inning or two and then bringing in a 'starter' is a boon for the starters but bane for the relievers concerning wins and losses (and 'saves' as well as 'helps'). They'll have to invent a new category I suppose to offset all of those potential losses. Maybe 'table sets'? He was 0-4 on the year but he set the table 19 times. (It's just a rambling contemplation.)
  21. Aerodeliria
    Very interesting stuff. My wife cannot understand why I'm fascinated by all of this. One thing the Angels did with Ohtani almost immediately (because he was struggling so mightily...we heard about it every night here in Japan) was to restructure his stance so as to keep his front foot toe on the ground just as Rosario does. Ohtani adjusted well and it allowed him to see the ball better and to drive it the opposite way better (according to Japanese sports analysts...but no data here) especially on pitches down and away. I also think it helped his balance a lot, so he made contact at a flatter angle. I notice Kepler also lifts his leg and drops it (not nearly as pronounced as Ohtani but he does do it), and his batting average on pitches away is equally as poor as those on the inside part of the plate. It is always a tricky proposition, but I wonder if he might be open to a slight adjustment on his stance.
  22. Aerodeliria
    It's enjoyable reading this tug-o-war. I would opt not to bring him up to give Cave a little more playing time. He seems to be getting comfortable out there. In fact, he made the MLB best plays of the week (we get to see it here in Japan...I'm not even sure who produces this...is it only for Japan...I doubt it). I think he's played well enough to be considered more than a place-holder...although he could DH, I guess. In addition, who knows if Buxton can even stay healthy once he comes up? The reward is not worth the risk to me. The Twins can do a reset in 2019. That's my two-yen's worth (actually less than two cents...).
  23. Aerodeliria
    What irritates me is that if Morrison is having hip problems that are affecting his game throughout this season, then why wait until the season is in the dumpster to shut him down? I just don't get that logic at all...Am I missing something here?
  24. Aerodeliria
    I realize I know very little about Gabriel Moya. I noticed his fastball was clocked at around 87 in today's game. That's scarily slow. His change up (which he used a number of times) was at about 78. These pitch speeds seem mediocre at best. Can he be effective at this level (maybe he gets great movement on his pitches?)?
  25. Aerodeliria
    IMHO, he had the biggest hit of last season, which kind of pushed the Twins over the top for the second wild card. His three-run, come-from behind blast against the Indians in Cleveland was a huge boost to the Twins' morale.
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