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Mahoning

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Everything posted by Mahoning

  1. Mahoning
    It's curious to me that so many people are eager to cast off France, Bader, and Paddack. France leads the team in Hits and is playing a perfectly fine 1B. Bader provides speed and defense (see yesterday's game); Paddack gives his all every start. I would wrap those guys up with modest extensions, if they were willing. That would also raise their trade value. Trading Duran makes sense, and Rushing would be a dream. Otherwise, I think they should do nothing, hope that some players raise their trade value with good second halfs, then plan for next year. The trade deadline should not be, in itself, a trigger.
  2. Mahoning
    Right now Paddack is better than Festa and Simeon and the utterly-disappeared Zebby, plus he seems to like it here. I'd try to wrap him up.
  3. Mahoning
    One of the problems with "rebuild," is: What is the evidence that the Twins know how to evaluate and develop talent? The only living, breathing, and actually on-the-field position player they have produced recently is Brooks Lee, and he is hardly time-tested. Starting pitchers, if they aren't injured, can barely go five. Nobody hits for average. Who, at AAA, is a future star? If Zebby and Festa had proven anything, the guy to trade would have been Pablo.
  4. Mahoning
    Is it not the case that at AAA (and maybe lower) the Twins TRAIN their pitchers to go short? When Festa and Zebby were in St. Paul they would often go just five, even when they gave up no runs. Shouldn't one fole of the minor leagues be building stamina? The Twins certainly don't do that. No one gets stronger by resting.
  5. Mahoning
    It's silly to demand that a third baseman hit for power. Wade Boggs? If a guy can hit for average, run the bases, and play third, is there no place for him in baseball?
  6. Mahoning
    One problem with sending Royce to AAA is that the Saints already have Jose Miranda and Eddie Julien stinking it up there. Not only would Toby Gardenhire have three flamed out big leaguers to deal with, but someone, probably Miranda, would lose a lot of ABs. An uncomfortable situation. Baseball is a crazy game -- who ever thought we'd rather see Kody Clemens at the plate than Royce Lewis?
  7. Mahoning
    Joe Maddon is available. Then again, he had no success with the Angels because they had a bad team. This team has several good pitchers and some good defenders, but no consistently productive hitters. It's really hard to win without hitting stars. Imagine Cleveland without Jose Ramirez.
  8. Mahoning
    There just isn't a single professional hitter in the lineup. If they should have, say, runners at second and third and less than two out, and you ask yourself, "Whom do I want at the plate?" does any name come up? No? Exactly.
  9. Mahoning
    Three dominant starts for a total of 15 innings. That tells me plenty about the Twins' approach to pitcher "development," which is, training them to have no ambition to go deep into games. That and "building up rest." What can that possibly mean? No one gets stronger by resting. I swear, if the Twins had a young pitcher who wanted to be, say, the next Roger Clemens, they'd be horrified and he'd never be allowed to develop into a bulldog. But they'd sure build up his rest.
  10. Mahoning
    SWR battles and gives it all he has, every time. I'll bet his teammates love him. Rocco should have let him go longer, but this time, for a change, the relievers didn't fail. A well-played game.
  11. Mahoning
    You have to wonder what the Twins may mean by "building up" to be a starter. Does that mean (as it seems to) conditioning a young man to go six innings maximum? Hunter Green for the Reds pitched 8.2 yesterday. I doubt the Twins EVER let a minor league pitcher go long. No one gets stronger by being babied and rested. If the Twins had a Roger Clemens clone they'd probably send him to the bullpen to protect his arm.
  12. Mahoning
    This is a big opportunity for Miranda; I hope he is able to take advantage of it. Presuming that Royce Lewis comes back one of these days (the Twins should take it SLOW), the next little drama will be who gets sent down -- Gasper, Julien? Gasper's spring has made him hard to demote.
  13. Mahoning
    It would be delightful to have a Twins hitter actually ready to go from Day 1, instead of a slow starter. We shall see.
  14. Mahoning
    I'd like to believe it, but, for a dose of reality, compare this team to the Twins of 1987. Just to pick two players, Puckett and Gaetti played every day; Puckett drove in 99, Gaetti 109. There are no two players on this team capable of matching that.
  15. Mahoning
    With a runner on third and less than two outs the Twins habitually go to the worst play in baseball, the contact play. Of course the other team knows it is coming, so the most common result is trading a runner at third for a runner at first and one more out. But there is no effective defense against a well-executed bunt in that situation. Also, in extra innings, bunting the runner at second to third gives you many more chances to score than the usual fly ball, popup, or grounder to the left side. But no one does this.
  16. Mahoning
    One of the things analytics does is deprive pitchers of the opportunities to be full competitors. For, say, Bert Blyleven, a complete game was proof of doing his job. Now it is what? Five-and-a-third? That's not much of a goal or, really, much of an accomplishment.
  17. Mahoning
    That is what I meant: The message is to Miranda, Julien, et Al -- If this team is going to be any good, it's time for you to perform. And now maybe, It's time for you to prove you afre better than Ty France.
  18. Mahoning
    In a way, you could see it as a message to the younger players: "Guys, it's on you."
  19. Mahoning
    Just give in to the inevitable and put Royce Lewis there. Nobody the Twins draft and groom as a shortstop ends up a major league shortstop.
  20. Mahoning
    I doubt that Kansas City and Detroit are more worried today than they were yesterday. This is marginal stuff, though rather expensive.
  21. Mahoning
    Cleveland got worse by trading Naylor. Detroit got better, especially with Jack Flaherty. KC presumably will have Pasquantino all season, and Jonathan India is better than anyone the Twins are likely to put at 2B. The Twins will be much worse at first base. There isn't a single, proven, every-day player in the lineup. It's all if, if, if. If he stays healthy, if he bounces back, if, if, if. Nobody wins with ifs. I see them finishing fourth, third at best.
  22. Mahoning
    The obvious solution at 1B is Royce Lewis, as the Twins seem to have decided he can't play 3B -- why else would they work him out at 2B? Castro at 2B, Lee at 3B, Miranda DH and fill-in. All done. Whether that's any good is a different question. But, is this a good team? Better than the White Sox, for sure. But not in the same universe as, say, the Phillies or the Yankees.
  23. Mahoning
    One thing for sure: If they made that deal, Casparius would immediately require arm surgery.
  24. Mahoning
    I have the long-term solution to the Twins at first base: Royce Lewis. He was always a shortstop, until the Twins decided he couldn't play there. Then he was at third. Now they want him at second. First base is obviously next, so why not do it now? Unless they decide he isn't worthy of a glove at all and make him DH.
  25. Mahoning
    A big problem in understanding all this is the lack of financial transparency. The Pohlads say they need to keep the payroll in the $130M range, for business reasons. Maybe so, but how do we know that? We are asked to accept this based on their assertions alone. We are asked to support the team (and the Pohlads) no matter what, but we're not being told the whole story. One can see that "keeping the books clean" is a plausible feature of attracting a buyer, but the other side of that is a team with fading public enthusiasm. Wouldn't you rather sell an asset that people like rather than one that inspires indifference?
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