Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Dantes929

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    3,166

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Dantes929

  1. Dantes929
    I agree with this also except I don't see Mejia starting in the minors. I think he pitched well enough and did not miss enough time to be penalized such that I think he starts ST as either #4 or #5 on the depth charts depending on whether we get someone else. You could talk me out of it but Santana, Berrios, Gibson and ? and ?. . If we don't pick someone up I suspect it will be Mejia and Gonsalves. Would be better than Santiago and Colon anyway.
  2. Dantes929
    "If they get 2 top of the rotation arms"? Odds wise I am guessing you might as well say "If they get 5 top of the rotation arms". I say this because I cannot remember them ever getting what was widely viewed at the time as even 1 top of the rotation arm during the off season. Morris was coming off two mediocre years at age 36 so do not count him. Blyleven somehow or other was acquired for a player to be named later (how did that happen?) during the season. Ervin Santana has been the closest thing I can think of and people still question that status even though he has been nothing but great. Certainly he wasn't viewed that way when we got him. How many top of the rotation guys are there? How many are available? How many teams are going after them? If we get one guy in the Cobb or Lynn category I will consider it a successful off season. Darvish, even better. Again, there might not be 30 teams after these guys but there are no less than a dozen for each. If we get one of those guys then it is that guy, Santana, Berrios, Gibson and Mejia. If we don't it is probably Gonsalves or a different rookie that fills the spot. I hope it is not Santiago. I just don't see May with us out of the gate unless he is throwing 96 with great command. With his back issues I definitely see him as a starter. I have long considered May to be the centerpiece of the Span and Revere trades and am optimistic he will be a big piece this year. I just don't see rushing him in April.
  3. Dantes929
    I'd be ok with 15 innings. If Santana hurts his hamstring and is out for a couple weeks I don't care if he has a few rehab starts where he gives up 8 runs in 9 innings. I just want him to say he is ready to go. The performance is not the issue but rather his health. If you miss most of two years now the issue should be performance and earning your way back. I don't care how low they set the bar. No one that has missed as much time as he has should object to performing at a certain level of competence. I would say the same about Perkins last year. Size of the contract and past performance should not carry much weight. A ship does not sail with yesterday's wind.
  4. Dantes929
    He should be behind Bartola Colon, who should be behind Bert Blyleven on the depth charts. I have no problem with a come back and would set the bar rather low but at least set one. How about any 3 start period in the minors (AAA or AA) where his ERA is less than 3.00. I am guessing May, Gonsalves and Romero would jump at that opportunity. Why not hold Hughes to that standard as well?
  5. Dantes929
    Makes complete sense and difficult to argue with but something happens around the edges that makes it less. Just based on your analysis, two of our 3 best pitchers last year were very obviously Duffey and Pressley and Kintzler one of our worst.. Teams with the most dunks should score the most points because they have the highest amount of 95% shots but I don't think there is that much of a correlation.. A quick look at the team stats says Cleveland had the best ERA and the most strikeouts but its kind of a mixed bag after that. Houston had the 2nd most strikeouts but the 11th best ERA. Twins had the 2nd worst strikeout rate but still managed 19th in run prevention. So we are looking at a connection but rather a loose connection between strikeouts and ERA. Cleveland was also best in the league in not giving up walks. There appears to be a similar connection between walks and run prevention. Its there but somewhat loose. Texas for example had the fewest strikeouts and gave up the 7th most walks but were still somehow better in ERA than 9 other teams. I would tend to say striking out the most and walking the fewest is a great combination but not everyone can be a Verlander or Kershaw. What makes Kintzler better than Pressley or Duffey?
  6. Dantes929
    Santana was our best pitcher and was 3rd among starters for SO/9. Of our top 5 relievers the two with the lowest ERA's were the ones with the lowest strikeout rates. The two with the highest ERA's had the highest strikeout rates. Who did you want to see out there with the game on the line? Kintzler or Pressley? I am not against strikeouts and all for the kind of stuff that can generate them but if it does not have corresponding run prevention what is the point? San Fran won a few WS with pitch to contact philosophy. They just did it better. Way better. I didn't think Gonsalves profiled as a strikeout pitcher. Glad to see the strikeout stats because the impression I have gotten is that he is a pitcher rather than a thrower. Again, run prevention is king. I am less concerned with how it is achieved. Who wouldn't want Glavine and Maddux on their staff? Offensively, the part that offends me about strikeouts is the situations where we don't need a home run but rather just putting the ball in play and the guys are swinging from their heels even with two strikes. Situational hitting still has a place in the game. Even for guys like Sano.
  7. Dantes929
    Whoops. Going by memory and this bad list. https://www.truebluela.com/2017/4/5/15188146/dodgers-prospects-2017-trade-rankings.
  8. Dantes929
    I'm in between. When is the last time the Twins added two starters and two relievers that everyone was happy with? I think the answer is never. Every "proven" player has been a prospect at one point and they don't exclusively get their chances with the losing teams and then get picked up by the better teams when they succeed. Every team relies on prospects and not just the non contending teams and not just the top prospects. Look at Bellinger for the Dodgers. He was actually mentioned as an add on piece in a trade for Dozier. and a quick check says he was only the 9th ranked prospect of the Dodgers heading into last season. Of course more prospects fail than succeed but it is a long season and every team has a revolving door of them throughout the year. Many fail but some stick. I don't think adding two starters and relievers is necessary. There are probably 25 teams looking to add starters and relievers and the lists I see usually only mention a COMBINED total of less than a dozen attractive free agent pitchers and probably a similar amount of trade possibilities. . If we could just nab one starter above the Pelfrey/Correia quality and one good reliever I would be happy since the odds say we won't get more than one or the other or maybe even neither. My preference is for Cobb but if it is Darvish or Lynn I am ok with that. Start the season with Santana, Berrios, Cobb, Meija, and Gibson and have the 4 you mentioned be ready my June because the odds are one or two starters will under perform and of those 4 prospects one or two should be able to contribute. Adding Cobb and a good reliever would probably rank with any off season we have had in the last 30 years aside from the AJ trade. Without hindsight that includes the 91 year.
  9. Dantes929
    This is why I am so high on Alex Cobb. In his first full season back he has ERA and QS% very similar to Darvish but in a tougher division and league. That is without the feel of his best pitch having come back yet. To me he is much more attractive since it is not only money that would get him here rather than prospects but much less money than Darvish. Similar stats if your goal is run prevention and yet Darvish is considered ace and Cobb considered middle rotation at best. I don't get it. I would rather have Darvish but not by that much.
  10. Dantes929
    Just my eyeball test here but Duffey was great in 2015. He had good command of his fastball and a dizzying assortment of speeds and angles with his very sharp breaking curve ball. Since then his fastball might have the same velocity but not the same control and his curve ball does not seem as sharp and on average seems to be a little more flat. Kind of like Scott Diamond. His best year he had a great curve ball. The next year, probably because of arm problems it just wasn't as sharp. Saying the batters adjusted to him or that he didn't have enough arsenal just isn't telling the story. If Duffey pitched in 2016 as well as he did in 2015 he would still be in the rotation, IMO. Its been 30 years since I read Ball Four so I may not remember this perfectly but Sal Maglie was a pitching coach that told Bouton he needed to mix up his pitches more so batters couldn't sit on one pitch. Bouton pointed out that Maglie threw a lot of curve balls in his day. Maglie admitted he did. Bouton asked if batters sat on that pitch and Maglie not seeing the hypocrisy said "Yep, they knew it was coming but they still couldn't touch it"
  11. Dantes929
    i prefer light shining brighter over lesser light shining longer. 3 awards does seem to be a pretty good threshold for Cy Youngs and batting titles. If a guy got three of those he should be in even if he only played 3 seasons. That is my case for Oliva and Mauer. Santana should be a shoe in with 3 Cy Young's. The fact that he only has two but should have had 3 or maybe even 4 (2008) is what makes him a borderline guy, IMO. No tears if he doesn't get in. You can make a case, but it is still borderline.
  12. Dantes929
    I don't totally discount wins because whatever the conditions, whether it be weather, home field, good defense good offense, the starter generally has the most impact on the outcome of a game and to get a win you need to do better than the other guy with all of his challenges that particular day. Lets just say I give it weight but not a whole lot. I think game outcome W-L record is just as meaningful but I still like the quality start stats and I still like ERA as a stat. I always thought it a little incongruous that a win requires 5 innings pitched but a quality start needs 6 innings.
  13. Dantes929
    He had a really strong case in 2008 also with the Mets. I think three CYA would get him there. He could have very reasonably had 4. The fact he only had two probably keeps him out.
  14. Dantes929
    In this day and age where athletes have contract provisions that keep them from many activities unrelated to their profession, ie baseball players not allowed to play basketball or hockey, I don't think it unreasonable to have contract provisions concerning weight. I always thought Hrbek's lack of conditioning might have kept him from the HOF. I think an agrees upon condition at various points in the season with monetary incentives or penalties is reasonable. Diet and workout regiment is related to that but as you say, its the weight that is the best indicator with a guy like Sano.
  15. Dantes929
    Cobb would probably cost a lot less and his ERA was better than Darvish and all in the AL. . Darvish at 3.86 ERA and 10-12 record. Their quality start ratios are roughly the same. Would love to have Darvish but is he really an ace? Santana's ERA is better both of the last two years and no one seems to think he is better than a #2.. Do we value SOs more than run prevention?
  16. Dantes929
    Why not Kintzler? I thought he did very well for us and you appear to put him in the impact reliever category. I was prepared not to like him when he came up but all he did was pitch well for us for two years..
  17. Dantes929
    Obvious answer to all the questions but one is Shohei Otani. Top of rotation pitcher. Check DH most day. Check Backup outfielder. Check Bench bat on days he doesn't start. Check Pinch runner on days he doesn't start. Check (3.9 to 1st base?) Backup 1st base. Check 6'5" Only box he doesn't check is right handed bat but we can teach him to switch hit.
  18. Dantes929
    Definitely an incumbency factor which really diminishes the award for me. Hrbek never winning one always comes to mind. Gordon in the past has played so well in left field that I can hardly believe he shouldn't be on the 60 year team but 2017 he must have been perfect in games I didn't watch because he was far from it in games I did watch. Gibson has had some really good defensive seasons at pitcher but he could be the best ever and not get close to the award if his ERA is north of 4.00. Dozier? meh, he has had some better years based on my eyeball test but as has been pointed out there are probably worse winners every single year.
  19. Dantes929
    I'm not entirely with you on the premise. Every successful or impact SP was an unproven prospect at one time that some one promoted to fill a spot in the rotation. World Series contention is what happened when Cleveland relied on Salazar and Kluver to fill spots in their rotation and I could probably come up with dozens of other examples but you get the drift. Of course there are plenty of examples of going the other way. I am still on the Cobb band wagon and think he could have a very big impact on our rotation though don't know if he would fit your definition of impact SP. If he does then I am completely on board with your last sentence. If the Twins came out of the gate with that signing like they did with Castro a year ago I would immediately rate their off season a B+. As far as myths go I agree with Sconnie. If you think myth 2 is not a myth then myth one becomes pointless.
  20. Dantes929
    Get Cobb. Rotation of Santana, Berrios, Gibson, Cobb. Let ST be the competition between Mejia and May with the loser waiting in the wings as a starter in the minors along with Gonsalves. Starting rotation at beginning of the year is rarely the one in June.
  21. Dantes929
    I get that Deleon may end up being a piece that is well worth having but don't understand why anyone would wish we had made the deal. If the front office is really high on him still I am sure he could be acquired now for something far less than Dozier.
  22. Dantes929
    As I pointed out earlier that top of the rotation pitcher you refer to was 36 and had a prior two year record of 21-32 with an ERA north of 4.5. If you had been the GM at the time you would have said what is the point of signing a washed up veteran if he is not going to win a WS for us and held out for and not gotten Welsh Clemens or Stewart. Just two years ago KC won it all without even a sniff of a top of the rotation guy. We have just seen in these playoffs aces getting shelled and best bullpens in baseball getting rocked. Yeah, I'll take my chances in the playoffs but without giving up on them just because of your notions on what it takes to advance. All #2 and 3 type pitchers are capable of throwing like aces for periods of time and I would be happy to get as many as possible and would not feel like it was throwing in the towel and resigning the team to mediocrity if we didn't have any of what you considered to be an ace.
  23. Dantes929
    Well,.. we haven't exactly signed him yet.
  24. Dantes929
    Cobb's not old. He has a good career resume and he has a good year since his surgery under his belt. His numbers are also AL which is great for me since when any NL pitcher's name surfaces I add .5 to their ERA just as a matter of course. Cobb's 2017 season ranks him ahead of Berrios and behind only Santana. His career ERA against every AL East team is under 3.5 and it is under 3 against the Yankees. Lynn and Chatwood do not excite me but Cobb does and I am not sure why he doesn't excite everyone. As far as I can see he would be the best free agent pitcher the Twins have ever signed without the benefit of hindsight. (Morris was 36 coming off two seasons over 4.5 ERA). If the ONLY thing the Twins did this off season was sign Cobb I would be happy. Someone talk me down here.
  25. Dantes929
    I guess Hrbek never getting one should have taught us that lesson.
×
×
  • Create New...