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Dantes929

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Everything posted by Dantes929

  1. Dantes929
    Baseball is great that way. When Santana and Hunter left everyone was saying "how can you expect to get better when you lose your two best players?". The answer is to have enough other guys play well. Berrios, Gibson and Rosario are the three guys that played well last year but most other guys severely underperformed. In 2016 just one guy played well and that was our utility guy. You need about 9 or 10 guys having good solid years. Preferably it is your stars but if Buxton, Kepler, Schoop, Polanco, Peneda, Odorizzi, May, Perez and just one of the three you named have good years it more than overcomes the other two having bad years.
  2. Dantes929
    I agree. What is a possible career threatener for some is an opportunity for others. It puts strategy at a more macro level. Instead of having a starter and then 5 or 6 relievers a game you have a starter and maybe 2 or 3 relievers. Maybe you don't need to carry as many relievers giving you more options on the offensive side. On the micro side its not taking strategy away from the managers, its actually putting a premium on it. Where is the big secret currently of saying "Gee, two guys on and their best lefty is hitting. I think I will throw my lefty specialist out there" Instead, now they have to look at the next three guys and consider risk and reward.
  3. Dantes929
    "Only once in my lifetime have the Twins signed a more accomplished hitter as a free agent, and it worked out supremely well. Can Cruz follow in the footsteps of Jim Thome with a legendary late-career pitstop?" Are you really that young? Paul Molitor in 1996 and I would be thrilled if Cruz follows in his footsteps and has the kind of year Molitor had then.
  4. Dantes929
    Thanks for the link. I looked for it and could not find it.
  5. Dantes929
    I saw a bunch of questions last week in the "Ask Seth" but none of the answers. How do I find that link?
  6. Dantes929
    I just hope the Twins have a big year. I hope Pineda has a big year to help make that happen..
  7. Dantes929
    I'm with you. Twins are already on the hook to pay him more than I would make in a hundred years of actually working. That's not even counting the 17 odd million he's made before this. And he's not even thrown a pitch for us yet. Lets not treat this topic the same as concussion risk. If he has another major arm injury he will still be able to do everything in life aside from throwing a major league baseball game. It distresses me a million times more that the two shoulders I've injured playing for nothing that I can't afford to fix will hamper my golf swing. Protecting his arm is a very nebulous arbitrary thing anyway. After watching 50 years of baseball I think the odds of him hurting his arm in spring training are the same as him hurting his arm in innings 180-200 and the same as him hurting his arm next spring training whether he throws 120 innings or 200 innings this year. I don't think its callous that the Twins wouldn't give much weight to what he does in the future as a non Twin. Its baseball. There are risks of arm injury every appearance. Pitch him as long as he is healthy and effective. If he is not healthy he won't be effective.
  8. Dantes929
    Big fan of Maddux just like I was of all the guys listed. They knew how to pitch even when their velocity took a dip. Maddux strikeout rate was well below Keuchel. The original quote was that Keuchel outperformed his ability for a number of years and that it would catch up with him. My point was that if he does it for a number of years then he is not outperforming his ability. He is simply a good pitcher. He doesn't even have to reinvent himself like some of those other guys. He has always had mediocre velocity. I was being a little snarky by saying outperforming ability caught up with them. It caught up with them after many years of success and mostly when they were into their 40's.
  9. Dantes929
    I thought the same about Maddux, Moyer, Glavine Buehrle, Colon and Sabbathia and you are right. It caught up with them and most of them are not even in the league anymore. 4 very good years out of the last 5 and in the American League is not luck. Velocity is great but run prevention is more important than any other attribute. He had 20 quality starts last year out of 34 games. Berrios was 17 of 32. Gibson was 18 of 32. I would definitely take him over Perez. I am ok if we pass on him but its not like the Twins have a history of saving money one year so they can spend more the next. Bottom line is would you rather have Keuchel or not. If you would rather have him then what else are the Twins going to do with their money? One or two year deal is not going to ham string them. I thought Lynn was a good move last year and many thought the same. I don't call them mistakes just because time says they didn't work out. It should have worked out. Sometimes it is just on the players to perform. Lynn not working out wasn't on the Twins. It was on Lynn.
  10. Dantes929
    I guess I assumed that the time spent on the bunt coverage was for the entire infield and not just the pitchers. My comment about practicing bunting for hits.was not directed at pitchers but the batters.
  11. Dantes929
    I was thinking Lewis at 3rd, Javier at short and Polanco at 2nd with maybe Kiriloff at 1st. Granted that would be a waste of Lewis' athleticism. How about Buxton in left center, Lewis in right center, shift them according to who is up and go with a 5 man infield.
  12. Dantes929
    I'd like to talk a little bit more about Morneau. His 2010 concussion halted an absolute monster year where he would have been a really strong candidate for MVP and might have made a difference in the season and the playoffs. However, if I could go back in time I maybe go back to 2008 and at a minimum keep him out of the home run derby and maybe the all star game itself. Then I rest him as much as I can the rest of the way. He had a sub par August and a very poor September. Later we found out he had been playing with a stress fracture in his back. A healthy Morneau for those last two months very likely makes a game 163 with the White Sox unnecessary and we would have played the Rays who we matched up ok with. Maybe that was the year things would have fallen our way. Who knows? On an individual level we talk about how injuries have derailed or dimmed Oliva and Mauer's chances for HOF. How about Morneau? Without playing 163 games and the stress fracture he would have been a shoo in for MVP that year if he had a strong September and the Twins made the playoffs. Couple that with a possible MVP in 2010 if he did not have the concussion and now you have a guy that wins 3 MVP's. Just on the surface that should get him into the Hall. Add in his performance after 2010 if he never suffered from that concussion just makes an already easy pick that much easier. No one talks about him and the Hall but if things break a different way he definitely had the ability.
  13. Dantes929
    Sure looked like Liriano was heading for Cy Young that year. I agree that having Liriano would not have made the playoffs any sure thing because the Twins didn't score more than 3 runs in any of those games but on the other hand if they had Liriano for more games maybe they wouldn't have been a little more rested and if they just won one of those first three games because of Liriano then you probably have Santana and Liriano for the next two games. Just cuz they have Liriano doesn't mean they would have won. Just because they got swept mean they would have lost the series with Liriano. Its like the series over the years with the Yankees. If they just won one of those heart breakers maybe it changes everything else.
  14. Dantes929
    To each their own. As far as I have seen no one has made any kind of sustained effort to lay down bunts to beat the shift. I am not talking sacrifice bunts. Buxton beating out a bunt is one of my favorite things to watch and I love what it does to the other teams psyche.
  15. Dantes929
    For all their talent and skill I have always thought that major league'rs were not that great at fielding bunts even when they did spend a lot of time practicing it in spring training. How about bucking the trend and using the time saved but not practicing the defense of bunts and use it to actually get good at bunting themselves.
  16. Dantes929
    Every year posters (at least on the Trib site) moaned about how the Twins got worse and every other team got way better. Predictions of 90 plus losses abounded. Of course if you predict it often enough it will come true eventually, as we have seen. What I didn't and still don't like is the reference to those years of the AL Central being the worst division in baseball. I accept that it is true this decade but the Twins would have done just fine in any division in their title winning years except for the AL East where they got absolutely destroyed. That last decade the Twins always did really well against the NL teams and held their own against the AL West.
  17. Dantes929
    Reminds me of my childhood playing games with my brothers. After the game the loser would say " I wasn't even trying" cuz, you know, you can't let the winner feel good about the victory. Of course the winner would say "I wasn't trying either" cuz ya gotta make em feel worse about losing. Good times....good times.
  18. Dantes929
    Don't throw shade on the 87 team. We know they were flawed and helped by the Dome, whether or not it was manipulated or happenstance. Mauer didn't drive in a lot or score a lot either but there is value to advancing players without making outs whether through walks or singles. I am guessing Morneau, Cuddyer and Thome loved having Mauer hit ahead of them. Way easier getting a guy in from third with one out than a guy on 1st with two outs. I don't care what the batting average for the leader was, it was still better than everyone else if you got a batting title. If you have done that three times or more its not a fluke. I don't know why Mauer hung it up. He was still capable of hitting .300 and I loved watching him do it but baseball and money is not everything. . If Molina got in, it wouldn't bother me in the least. The guys a rock and has been for forever.
  19. Dantes929
    If I have have time I will set up a Gofundme page to help you buy a rain coat. I guess on the flip side the fires in Minnesota are small and mostly welcome.
  20. Dantes929
    I have no problem with it especially with no one on base. I wouldn't have even noticed it if it wasn't pointed out. Oddly enough it used to bug me watching Flowers catch for the White Sox. He would lean down and put his right knee on the ground to throw it back to the pitcher. Looked like a right handed bowler throwing the ball off his right leg or when the least athletic person in slow pitch softball was put at catcher would throw it awkwardly back to the pitcher. No impact on the game either but it bugged me way more aesthetically than what Ben is doing.
  21. Dantes929
    I am more about how brightly the star shines than how long it shines. I am a bit old school and still like BA as a stat. In my book three batting titles should get you in. Its the longevity equivalent of 3000 hits. The fact that Mauer did it as a catcher should just be icing. If he had simply quit after concussions his resume would actually look better. That shouldn't be held against him. Larry Walker, Bill Madlock, Mauer and Oliva should all be in.
  22. Dantes929
    Its better to have an explanation or reason for the dropoff and if that reason is correctable, all the better. In highs school I skinned my hand pretty badly and it was a bad month into the season before my coach realized I was still holding the bat with my fingers only on that hand. Ask a golfer if a bad back or hand injury causes a change in swing mechanics. its hard enough hitting without having to make adjustments based on pain, intentional or not. Isn't that why everyone seems happy they are taking things slow with Sano's foot? I also believe Polanco will be and should be slated to move to 2nd in 2020 unless both Lewis and Javier move him aside. Polanco seems like an easy choice over all the others at this point.
  23. Dantes929
    I always thought his swing was too quick because when he make contact he often pulls the ball way left of the foul line. Much more so than most players. He rarely hits it to the right of 2nd base fair or foul. I guess hitting out in front of the plate is a different description of the same problem. I don't know if his swing is too long but a heavier bat might help. And as always, I would like to see him bunt way more often and a thicker bat could help with that as well. I think he should attempt it once a game. If he gets it in play half the time he tries I bet he bats .500 when he does and when he doesn't its just a strike.
  24. Dantes929
    More cowbell.
  25. Dantes929
    Don't see much on here or the mlb site about daily game summaries for Spring Training. Is there a site to go to for that? I see Kepler's name as a possibility for 1st base in the near future. I assume that is with the idea that Kiriloff would be playing right field. Who is faster? Kepler plays a pretty good right field. Do you think it would make more sense for Kiriloff to be slated as 2020 1st base or Kepler?
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