Aerodeliria

In Nishioka's defense--and not to defend Norsetter because I don't know the details--he was a decent player (not great for sure) with one particularly good year following which the Twins signed him, but the Twins clearly didn't understand how Japanese players approach the game or if they did, they certainly showed few visible signs that they knew what they were getting into. IMHO, Nishioka was a marginalized as a player from the first day because he failed to demonstrate the kind of 'individual aggression' that is expected from players who come up to the majors through the minor league system. Whether it seems fair or not, it is poor judgment to consider Japanese players as 'plug-n-play.' They always care about the team because the team is supposed to care about them. Listen to the interviews given by Tanaka or Maeda--they always look at their success or failure in light of how it affected the team. (I know in an idyllic world, all baseball teams play as teams, but individual successes are always at the heart of the matter; this is generally not the case in Japan, and this is one of the reasons some American players play so poorly here in Japan while those who understand and make appropriate adjustments to their style can thrive. The movie 'Mr. Baseball,' which is loaded with cliches and stereotypes, still pointed to this notion in a fairly accurate manner.) I will also note here that this concept is slowly changing--but very slowly. With that said, there are certain players now who could make the jump to the majors without having to make the kinds of cultural adjustments that I feel that Nishioka had to make. (This points to another problem for small-market teams importing players from Japan--namely that there aren't systems in place to support them--such as a Japanese fan base). In particular, the Yomiuri Giants have a shortstop who I really hope comes to the major leagues soon (Sakamoto). He is very confident and I believe he could make the adjustment to the majors relatively easily--even the Twins (hope, hope, hope). He's a great hitter and fielder who seems to thrive in high-leverage situations. Sorry for rambling and going a bit off topic, but the Nishioka thing has always bugged me a little.

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...

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.

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.)

I will remember what the one thing you mentioned...I'm a fan of hitters taking BBs.

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.)

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.

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...).

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?

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?)?

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.

Many thanks you guys! This is exactly what I was hoping for when I asked yesterday. This makes me feel a bit better...especially about the Pressly trade, which I was puzzled by initially.

Thank you yarnivek; I did indeed mean the TD writers. I'd like to hear their take on the trades as well as counterpoints offered by the faithful here on the TD blog.

Considering that the house has now burned down to the foundation, I was curious about which trade was the best and which trade was worst. Maybe the braintrust can each give us their ranking of the trades and why. What say you?

Thanks for the update. It says line drive outs on the summary, but if they were not well hit then kudos to Belisle...although, I can't come to say that he has earned my trust just yet.

One thing I've always liked about Gibson is that he can shut down anybody anywhere when he's good. He doesn't seem to freak out that we are playing Boston in Fenway, just like he didn't freak out when he shut down the Yankees earlier in the year in Yankee Stadium. Sure, he can also be the guy who loses on occasion to the KC Royals, but it does give the team some confidence that a team like Boston can be beat in their own backyard.

Wow! A sweep of the Blue Jays...Garver was hitting everything in sight. Oh how I wish I could have watched this one. Those must have been a couple of interesting (ugly?) innings by Belisle. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems as if Toronto bailed Belisle out instead of the other way around. I can imagine him being brought into games more frequently instead of being released... I think Hildenberger is STILL the most reliable person in the pen, but he has pitched in four of the last five. He was probably exhausted.

Well, that's not exactly true. Getting a minor league player who has basically reached his potential is worse than nothing because the player simply becomes someone who takes up a position...

This team is so vexing and Cleveland doesn't help. Cleveland always seems to play just barely bad enough to allow the faithful to have a glimmer of hope. *SIGH*

Thanks for these updates. It makes me forget about the "big league" team for a few moments.

Thanks for these updates. It makes me forget about the "big league" team for a few moments.

I'm just afraid the Twins will be too eager and end up getting shanked. Dozier has played much more poorly than would be hoped at this point. The offer would have to be a big win IMHO. It is not inconceivable that Dozier could start his surge any day, so that would need to be the primary selling point. Just walk away from any conversation that starts out with batting average, strikeouts, etc., etc.

These vexing Twins! Gotta love 'em.

What I noticed in my admittedly limited looks at Escobar's at bats was his ability to resist lunging at pitches out of the strike zone. Specifically, I remember him cooly laying off a fastball high and away from Ricky Skaggs on a 3-2 count and thinking, "Wow, Escobar has matured. The old Escobar would have likely whiffed in that situation."

Oooh, I like the idea of looking at outs as currency. BTW, it's one of the reasons I can tolerate Grossman as a hitter. Despite his BA, he is a fairly patient hitter and ends up walking quite frequently in high leverage situations. His fielding, well that's a different matter.