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arby58

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Everything posted by arby58

  1. arby58
    Buxton is still a potentially great player - Torii Hunter did it in centerfield for a long time (and his catch of Barry Bonds' near homer in the 2002 All Star Game is highlight reel stuff). Jim Kaat's 25-13 1966 is at least as good as Liriano's (arguably) one good season with the Twins.
  2. arby58
    I seriously doubt they would get much in trade for Sano - he's 29, has some history of injury issues, and he's limited in what he can do. That said, I don't see any future for him, as Miranda and Kirilloff are younger and cheaper. Some people fear Sano will be another David Ortiz, but Ortiz was 26 and coming off a year with an .836 OPS when he landed in Boston. Sano's OPS the last two years was .757 and .778 - and then, of course, there is this year's .379. Trade him if you can, or DFA if you can't. If he turns into a different player in his 30s (highly doubt it), so be it.
  3. arby58
    I watched two games in Des Moines this week, and Kirilloff was scalding the ball - three HRs in those two games, one a rocket that damaged the facing above the left field boxes. If nothing else, Kirilloff can split time as the DH with Sanchez.
  4. arby58
    There are reasonable points on both sides. However, I find the experience to be more likely to boost rather than shatter Lewis' confidence. In some ways, I'd rather he get sent down now, after tasting success, than have him with the Twins and hit a slump and get sent down. To me, that would be more of a confidence issue. For everybody who says 'he proved he can hit in the big leagues' there are literally hundreds of examples of rookies who have a hot one, two, three weeks in the majors, and then pitchers start catching up to their strengths and weaknesses. Consistently making hard contact in baseball is about recognition, reflexes, and repetition - and Lewis had a pretty big gap in his opportunity to do that on a regular basis. Some more time in AAA certainly can't hurt.
  5. arby58
    I agree the situation isn't as big a deal as some think. OTOH, DFA'ing Urshela is not aging very well.
  6. arby58
    Give Miranda a chance - he has nothing left to prove at the minor league level. I worry a lot more about Minnesota's catching depth (quality-wise) than I do about first base.
  7. arby58
    Give Gordon a shot at SS. I'd much rather have him there with another season with Simmons. IF we think Lewis/Martin are a year away, spend your money elsewhere (like starting pitching).
  8. arby58
    I think you meant 'release them' rather than 'trade them.'
  9. arby58
    Whatever Ryan turns out to be (agree the MLB sample size is small, but he has performed at other levels), some of the knocks against him are of the 'so what' variety. Right, he throws a fastball in the low 90s, but plenty of excellent pitchers (Maddux, Buehrle, Greinke) get by/got by in that range. Right, he throws a lot of fastballs - so do Lance Lynn and Jake Odorizzi (also around the same mph and spin rate). He can be an effective MLB pitcher with what he's already got.
  10. arby58
    Another advantage of having a reliever work 1+ innings is they will already have faced three batters, so the manager has more flexibility with removing them - plus, if that pitcher gets, say, 1 or 2 outs and another reliever is needed, if they get to the end of the inning, they are also no longer subject to the three batter rule.
  11. arby58
    If you send him and he's out, he definitely can't score. If you don't send him, he still might score. It's a case-by-case decision.
  12. arby58
    It's only six games. Maybe he is the real deal, and maybe pitchers will figure out how to get him out. It's when they start changing approach we'll see whether he can also figure out how to respond - if he can, then we can pronounce him ready.
  13. arby58
    I suspect that a 12 noon start had something to do with that.
  14. arby58
    An illness isn't really an injury. If you take the Twins at their word, neither Buxton or Arraez are likely to miss much playing time.
  15. arby58
    Dobnak is a nice problem to have - very few teams have his caliber of starting pitcher in waiting. If Thorpe also does well at AAA, and with some of their young guns pushing forward, the rotation could start looking like Cleveland's in a year or two.
  16. arby58
    2 for 33 at bats is an awfully big handful.
  17. arby58
    Sure, but some of those have proven themselves in the big leagues. Kiriloff has not. I'd keep Rooker he's done more at the major league level at this point.
  18. arby58
    The article notes that Arraez' lack of power means he's not a great number 2 behind Buxton. Besides, even if Arraez was a 'great number 2' Buxton, with an anemic OBP, is not a great number 1 - except for his speed. Given his decent power, Buxton makes sense at 7, where he is likely to have runners on base to drive around. Meanwhile, the article makes a point I made some time ago that Buxton's first base activity will likely not be much of a distraction for a 'dialed-in' hitter like Arraez.
  19. arby58
    Sure, in a perfect world, but the point is still valid - you're more likely to accept less offensive performance from a center fielder. Paul Blair is the epitome of this - he had a career OPS of .684, but his defense was other world stuff. In 1974, he finished 13th in MVP balloting with an OPS of .730.
  20. arby58
    The point of looking at OPS rather than batting average alone is that not all hits are created equal. If, say, in 500 plate appearances, you have 111 singles, you have a .222 batting average. If you have 20 HR and 20 doubles with 71 singles, you also have a .222 batting average. Plus, what if the player with 111 singles has no walks, and the player with the HRs and doubles also walks 30 times? His batting average is the same but not his OBP or OPS.
  21. arby58
    Donaldson's offensive prowess is the focus, but he is also a very good defensive third basemen. In he and Simmons, the Twins probably have the best defensive left side of the infield in baseball.
  22. arby58
    I remember watching him last year at the plate and wondering why he could look pretty good some games and then become the proverbial 97 pound weakling the next. This explains that. It would be great if the Twins could get him back to the 2019 form - decent speed and power with an .800+ OPS in the Twins lineup gives them a lot more depth and options from 1-9.
  23. arby58
    Nelson Cruz isn't going to play forever, and if this year is his last, Rooker would be a perfect candidate for the DH job - and the $ savings would let the Twins chase a front of the rotation guy next year. He's coming off an injury, so parking him in St. Paul until things clarify makes sense.
  24. arby58
    I'll agree that songs like 'Centerfield' and 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' are rock stars of baseball songs, but my musical tastes are more 'out of left field.' I'll go with Warren Zevon's ode to a quirky pitcher, 'Bill Lee.'
  25. arby58
    Agree, and maybe move Buxton down to ninth - as you note, he'll get pitches to look at from Arraez, and I doubt it will bother Arraez to have the Buxton commotion going on at first base.
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