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Dantes929

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Everything posted by Dantes929

  1. Dantes929
    Yes, its likely some will regress but so much depends on Sano and Buxton coming in, doing well and staying healthy. That would make up for some regression from others. Might not be record breaking but should still be a good offense. Rosario could improve. Another year from surgery says Pineda should be better and fresher once the suspension ends. I have less faith in Berrios than I do in Odorizzi and Pineda. I would have had a lot of confidence in our pen if Dyson wasn't a bust but still more than going into last year. I have lots of confidence that Dobnak, Graterol and Smeltzer can improve on what Perez and Gibson gave us. I don;t expect them to win 100 but I expect them to contend which is enough to make me look forward to the season.
  2. Dantes929
    I think you are forgetting we already have Graterol and Dobnak. I already think Odorizzi and Pineda are better so I consider Berrios our 5th starter. Only problem is the 8 starts Pineda will be missing to start the season. We need some one for a stop gap for those games. I'm thinking that Cole kid or Bumgarner would fit the bill. Ok, I am kidding... mostly. I am fine with handing spots to Dobnak and Graterol. They have earned it by excellence at the lower level and have already gotten their feet wet. . Fans here have been so conditioned by pitching prospects not panning out that they don't trust they ever will. Berrios and Gibson and maybe Scot Diamond being the only ones with any success the last decade is just absurd. I think May could have been pretty good if left there but that is still a really small crop for a decade. Last decade we we had Radke, Lohse, Mays,Silva, Liriano, Garza, Slowey, Blackburn and Baker. That is more in line with what one would expect from the system over a decade and those stats have to shift at some point. I am ok with putting a few chips in the pot that we've got two decent starters from the system that can help us this year. I would rather not start out the year relying on 3 of them though. Getting Pineda is a big get in my book but the first 39 games is an issue.
  3. Dantes929
    Well ok. You are right in all you say, or rather the opinion you state has validity. I never said he wasn't useful. He would be an asset but still not sure I would put him above Berrios, Odorizzi or Pineda and the narrative on these seem to suggest he is above at least two of them. If its at worst an opinion that still has a question attached that hasn't been answered. The only plus he has over those guys is innings. Its not nothing but not worth all the love either. That is my opinion welcoming a rebuttal.
  4. Dantes929
    I've asked this in other posts but have not got a great answer. Wheeler was the 3rd or 4th best pitcher on a third place team. Twins had 3 guys that performed just as well last year. His NL ERA, WHIP and SO/9 make me want him on the team but are no better than our guys. Why is everyone thinking this guy is an ace or near ace if they don't also think that about Berrios, Odorizzi and Pineda? Resign Pineda already.
  5. Dantes929
    I don't feel like they do anything to us every off season. Morris, Tapani and Erickson were not a WS rotation, until they were. Wheeler had a 3.96 National League ERA. What makes you think he is better than any of our three you have named? His WHIP isn't better. His SO/9 isn't better. You don't get better just by getting different guys. You can also get better by having guys play better. There is some upside to Graterol, Dobnak, etc. I'm not saying I wouldn't like Wheeler but Koufax he ain't.
  6. Dantes929
    If we resign Pineda I have complete faith that Dobnak and Graterol and Smeltzer can outperform Gibson and Perez. Not that I would mind having Ryu.
  7. Dantes929
    And the Blyleven's, Morris's Odorizzi's , Lynn's, Pineda's? Some pan out, some don't. Correia's ERA with the Twins would have put him solidly in the #4 spot in 2019. Those guys have value also. If I had to bet I would say Gausman would give us better than what Gibson gave us last year. Either of Dobnak and Graterol and probably Thorpe or Smeltzer would give us better than what Perez gave us and possibly a lot more. I have no problem handing over at least one spot to the young guys. Where do people think good starters come from if not the minor leagues? Of course they don't always pan out but Dobnak pitched 135 innings in the minors last year with a 2.07 ERA and then did even better with the Twins in 28 innings. What more can you ask for in an audition? Graterol was equally dominant. I promise you that if this board existed in late 1990 fans would be saying Tapani is an ok middle rotation guy, Morris is washed up, Erickson only has 113 major league innings and should only be considered as extra depth in case of injuries to proven pitchers and Anderson and West would never be on the rosters of a seriously contending team. Sign a couple of guys like Gausman that have apparent upside, go hard after at least one of Pineda, Ryu, Bumgartner or Wheeler (in that order in my opinion) and rely on guys stepping up and thriving.
  8. Dantes929
    I don't think it is his only position but I think it is his best position. 1st or 3rd until 2021 is fine with me. Buxton, Kiriloff and Balezovic is overpay.
  9. Dantes929
    I didn't think you were trying to be that literal about it. I go to mlb.com and there is zero buzz about Pineda and a lot about Wheeler. Would not surprise me to see Pineda go for less than half of what Wheeler gets and I think I would rather have Pineda. That puts him in the better camp. But ok, zero interest that is better than Wheeler? Graterol or even Dobnak might end up better but can't say no one has interest in them. You win.
  10. Dantes929
    The what if's are easier for me and a little less big picture. What if Littell had just pitched like he did all year (after his first game) and shuts down the Yanks in the first game. We have the lead and now it is Duffey, May and Rogers rather than Stashak and Gibson to close the game. What if we left Dobnak in to get out of the jam in game 2. What if any of the guys came up with a big hit and bases loaded in game 3?
  11. Dantes929
    Pineda? Downside is the 60 game suspension but for the most part losing Pineda and gaining Wheeler would be a zero sum to me.
  12. Dantes929
    So for half the season he was our best pitcher and would have been our #2 pitcher in the playoffs and you all think of him as the 5th starter if he resigns? Odorizzii is currently the headline of the offseason. If we sign Pineda I and rely on two of the young guys I think the young guys can exceed what Gibson and Perez gave us last year so I would not consider the offseason to be a fail but rather a C+.to B- since I was afraid we would lost them both. If we resign Pineda and we sign just one of those 2nd tier guys (Ryu 4th in Cy Young is 2nd tier?) I would be thrilled. If its Hamels or Wheeler I wouldn't even make a distinction between Berrios, Odo, Pineda and new guy in terms of spots in the rotation. If its Dobnak or Graterol I'm not sure you would even distinguish 1 from 5.
  13. Dantes929
    I've never been in love with the long ball. I don't want to see home runs hit off the handle no matter how strong or how much bat speed is created. I used to love watching Mauer hit and the 28 homers in 2009 was just a bonus. For those that thought he would continue with those numbers I pointed out that most of those 28 homers appeared to clear the fence by about 3 feet and most of them came in the metrodome. Rather than leap to all the other variables with Polanco or any other batter I would start with how many home runs he would have hit if the ball carried 20 fewer feet. That takes into account bat speed, launch angle, what field the ball was hit toward and hard hit balls from history and applies it to a non juiced ball. 20 feet is totally arbitrary. I just think that if 20 of your homers are upper deck those will be retained. If 10 bounce off the top edge and go over the fence you will probably lose those.
  14. Dantes929
    "I don't care how the game ended, this moment was baller as hell." I cared! I still can't believe Hicks was even more ballerer as heller after that. Twice! I am hoping Sano works just as hard and comes in healthy. His plate discipline was exponentially better than it was in 2018. As far as defense, I think his future is and probably should be at DH. I suspect that future will be somewhere else though so am not fretting about it much.
  15. Dantes929
    Career 4.04 ERA. I'm not so sure that puts him in top of the rotation territory. Then again, he wouldn't be facing Max Kepler anymore so that might drop his ERA and increase his self esteem substantially.
  16. Dantes929
    I'll take some issue with that. Berrios gave up 1 earned run in 4 innings. The pen gave up 7 in the next 3 innings. Dobnak gave up 1 run and left with bases loaded and the pen let in those three along with 4 more. Odorizzi gave up 2 earned runs only because of bad defense in 5 innings. Relievers gave up 3 more is the next 4 innings. Within these stories are more stories. Berrios should have been out of an inning but Cron dropped a DP ball. Relievers might have been a different story if Littell just did what he did all season. Lets not forget that the offense missed many opportunities and averaged 2 runs a game. Starting rotation wasn't great but relievers, defense and offense were just as much if not more to blame.
  17. Dantes929
    Well, taxes take about half but with this contract he should still have 15 mil in the bank if he has any brains. I know I might be in a minority of one but if I had 15 mil in the bank money would never again be a major factor in where I lived or where I pitched or what I do. With unrestricted free agency I would strongly consider doing what Trevor Bauer talks about and just sign one year contracts for the rest of my career. Ironically, he does that and stays healthy he probably maxes out his earning potential. Anyway, if he is back I am pretty happy. I never took his signing for granted. I thought he was our best pitcher last year and the landscape looks a lot different with him on the team than with him out of it.
  18. Dantes929
    Two of our three starts were ok and that is without Pineda or giving Dobnak a chance to work himself out of a jam. Our pen performed less playoff worthy and our offense was less playoff worthy still. We scored less than 2.5 runs per game and a few of those were late and meaning little. The teams that advanced averaged around 5 a game. Ok, that said, yeah, I agree. We need starting pitching most of all. Rendon is pretty awesome though.
  19. Dantes929
    I won't feel good about the rotation if we sign Odorizzi and Pineda but I will feel a lot better. I have no illusions that we are going to sign Cole or Bumgarner. The other names thrown out there are not as good as Odorizzi or Pineda. I am ok with relying on our young guys and actually want us to rely on them to fill a spot, just not 4 or 3 spots and preferably not 2 spots. I just feel like Dobnak, Schmeltzer and Graterol are just as good and potentially better than the guys listed in this post. I thought Lynn and Odorizzi were very good signings in 2018 even though they didn't work out that year. If we can find another guy like that along with Berrios, Odo, Pineda and Dobnak it will exceed my expectations and yeah, I would then feel pretty good about the rotation.
  20. Dantes929
    Add Delmon to the list. I never thought Grossman was bad but Gold Glove consideration?
  21. Dantes929
    I figured this is what you were thinking and it really concerns me. Why are people assuming we will keep Odorizzi (and Pineda). I will feel much better when they are signed even if that is all we do. Its not ideal but my fear is losing those two and replacing them with two lesser pitchers and still having to rely on Dobnak, Graterol to fill two spots.
  22. Dantes929
    Not Odorizzi? I thought he was better. I also assume Johnson works with the relievers but I can't really say for sure what effect Johnson has had. I do think coaches CAN and often do have more impact on a team than managers but it is really hard to judge the impact. Consider that Rick Anderson was once considered a top pitching coach. Hitting coaches have the same ambiguity. They should have some positive impact or they shouldn't be employed. However it is hard to believe that several years ago when our backup infielder was by far our best hitter and everyone else was performing at career worst levels and this year when we set offensive records that the difference is the hitting coach.
  23. Dantes929
    Ok sure. Pineda, Berrios, young arm. That's three. Who are the other two? As far as Rosario goes, what makes him a bad outfielder? Below average speed? Bad routes? Bad glove? I used to think he was a great left fielder a few years ago. What happened?
  24. Dantes929
    I believe in chemistry but it has nothing to do with race, age, position or experience. It has to do with individual and collective attitude. I was on a team once with 2 players I knew to be generally negative people but the rest of the team had positive, upbeat and supportive people and the two negative players bought into it and we had a great season. The next year we lost a couple of the upbeat players and added a couple of talented but negative players and with the two negative players we already had the balance shifted from upbeat and supportive to sulking, criticizing and finger pointing. We lost in the first round but who cares? Its not a team I enjoyed playing with even when we won. Now a team full of Nick Punto's is not going to beat a team full of Delmon Young's over the long haul but given equal talent the upbeat supportive team will probably beat the sulking fingerpointers. Does it matter if you fail and you have teammates that say "nice try, you'll get em next time" vs a negative or no comment at all? I think it does. Has nothing to do with diversity of demographics. It just has to do with are you a good teammate or not.
  25. Dantes929
    Other posts have fans asking for the Twins to sign Cole and another ace to go along with Pineda and Odorizzi when signing aces is unlikely and retaining Pineda and Odorizzi is hardly a given. I'm ok with and support giving young guys a chance and depending on them to step up but not with 3 or 4 spots. Pineda and Odo are both better than Miley and quite possibly Dobnak, Graterol and Smeltzer are also. My priority would be to resign Pineda and Odorizzi. Then talk about how to surround them.
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