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Dantes929

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Everything posted by Dantes929

  1. Dantes929
    Of course we won't walk this much going forward but the willingness to take a walk is important. If the scouting report is "except for Mauer and Grossman these guys will swing at anything" the pitchers will continue to nibble at edges and expand the strike zone until the Twins prove differently. If the report is "these guys walk a lot and don;t chase much" then the Twins will get better pitches to hit.
  2. Dantes929
    Too bad you didn't make that bet a decade earlier. You would be up nearly $500 to date even with the lousy last 6 seasons.
  3. Dantes929
    Sounds like Dozier. Was hoping he would start on a tear so the sentence would read "Buxton will have hot streaks and then slump for weeks to weaken the overall numbers."
  4. Dantes929
    Here I will disagree with Brock. Mauer has a history of doing ok with this pitch. Of course if he hammers it anywhere in the air it will be to left field where Gordon has a history of robbing Mauer of everything. Still it is a strike and Mauer has a chance of getting a hit much like Castro's (that was elevated a little more but still). So #4 is a possibility if not a probability but it is a pitcher's pitch so why would anyone be complaining about Mauer taking it? I don't really like Buxton batting 3rd but if he does then Mauer demonstrated why he should be in the 4 spot between Buxton and Sano. You don't want three undisciplined hitters in a row. Home run power isn't what Mauer brings to the table so why all the focus on that? Its like obsessing about when Sano will steal his first base of the season. I care about Mauer's OBP because this group has a short history of being OBP starved..
  5. Dantes929
    LOL. Sorry but if he only plays in 34 the projected RBI and runs will be 68 each with 68 Runs produced. Unless you think he will hit about 9 home runs per game. Please be realistic like I was.
  6. Dantes929
    Runs produced is RBI plus runs scored minus home runs since you get a run scored and RBI for a home run but it is still only one run. Mauer is on pace for 162 RBI and 162 runs scored for Runs Produced of 324. Bumgarner is on pace for 324 RBI and 324 runs scored but also 324 Runs Produced.. Joe is just more efficient.
  7. Dantes929
    The nickname was inspired by the sculpture "the thinker" which was depicting scene one of the Divine Comedy. I have a talent for looking like I am deep in thought while I am usually just replaying my last round of golf in my head.
  8. Dantes929
    Couldn't tell if you got Dan Santana mixed up with Ervin. If you did then I certainly hope you are not right. Santana pitches like an ace fairly often. If you did mean you think yesterday was Danny Santana's best game of the year then that is kind of funny since he did not play but kind of mean also.
  9. Dantes929
    I recognize and accept that you were probably being sarcastic in your first sentence but it was the word goat that I objected to. If you look up goat and sports on google you will not find an instance of a goat on the winning side. If a 3 point specialist went 1-5 from beyond the arc no one would say he had a great game but if they won by 1 or 2 you would still say he made a contribution that was key in winning the game. No, Mauer and Dozier didn't do all that much either but they did enough.
  10. Dantes929
    I'll just disagree with you. Grossman and Kepler executing bunts because they are supposed to is like saying Sano shouldn't get credit for his home run swing because he is supposed to hit home runs. Its to their credit that they did execute it. Castro only got a chance to deliver because of what Kepler and Grossman did. No goats in a win because you never know what play turns things. For example if Kepler's first bunt attempt had been just fair instead of just foul there is a double play and the whole game is changed. Then you can talk about him being a goat but instead he executed a great bunt which believe me is no gimme in the big leagues as you imply. Buxton making two great plays also could have changed the game dramatically if they had not been made. Not saying these guys played great but they all certainly contributed to the win.
  11. Dantes929
    Two hours and 47 minutes. Did not miss the 4 pitches to intentionally walk Dozier at all. Also liked the quicker review. Very good pace of play today.
  12. Dantes929
    Huh? Buxton played great D and Grossman had a key walk. Kepler had a game changing bunt single. People here undervalue bunt singles but teams just do not defend bunts very well and it seems to rattle teams and pitchers way more than solid singles do. No goats here.
  13. Dantes929
    Of course you need 30+ days getting warmed up and ST stats are pretty meaningless. I don't know why you equate 0-9 opening season stats with ST performance. Last year the Twins were 19-11 and I think they won 8 of their last 10 before the season started. One of those stats truly were meaningless and one was not. Angels were 19-8, Arizona was 24-8. Cubs were 11-19 and the Giants, Red Sox and Dodgers were just as bad. I think they should have kept Park up but if spring stats meant as much as regular season then Luke Hughes, Kevin Slowey and Brian Buscher would be all stars and Justin Morneau would have been off the roster.
  14. Dantes929
    Aaron Hicks had a nice power surge one ST which isn't too much different than doing it in September so lets not assume Buxton is the next Mantle or Trout. Even if he does hit 20 homers that is still only once every 8 games or so. Contrary to popular belief Puckett still bunted a lot even after he found power and to great advantage because he could bunt well. I am guessing it added quite a few points to his career BA. If Buxton gets good at it he can put the ball in play more often than not and I am guessing can hit way over .300 when he does put it in play. That's a great weapon. Plus it drives other teams and pitchers nuts. If he can do it well he should be attempting the bunt for base hit every other game at least.
  15. Dantes929
    It looks a little friendlier than some years. Never cared for facing Detroit in the first series back when they had the top rotation. Hopefully miss Verlander first time around. Going to cheer them on in the opener. Hopefully get off to a good start. Can't win em all if you don't win the first one.
  16. Dantes929
    No facts to back this up but it seemed that in 2015 Sano got tougher in clutch situations and that in 2016, when the game was on the line his at bats just weren't all that competitive. I agree with whoever says we don't need 600 foot home runs. Fun to watch but 410 usually does the trick and generally down the line 360 is good. It is telling to me that batters that over swing usually do it in an effort to pull the ball and pulling the ball over the fence actually requires less distance.
  17. Dantes929
    I know I was very wordy but I acknowledged in the middle that it won't take long for match ups to become more random. Odds are not certainty but if we treat as such then going by traditional prudent set up of the rotation we will start the season 0-5 but if we flip the rotation we maybe go 2-3.
  18. Dantes929
    I would even get May 15th. I kind of get the logic of leaving a guy with upside in the minors to start the season if you think there is a strong likelihood of struggling early. If you think the odds are good that one of Mejia and Hughes will be successful but are not sure which one then it makes sense to start them both to find out which is which. If both pitch well, then great. If both fail then you replace with upside. You don't want the guy with upside that you think will struggle early paired with the wrong guess on Mejia or Hughes. If you think guy with upside is likely to be very good from the start and only one of Mejia or Hughes is likely to be good, but not sure which, then it would be absolutely wrong to start both Mejia and Hughes with upside starting in the minors. This would all be easier to demonstrate with flow charts and probably by identifying minor league guy with upside as Berrios but either way April 15th is way too early to make assessments on performance and August 15th would be way too late.
  19. Dantes929
    I just don't want to be out of the race after 9 games like last year. Interesting that so much analytics goes into this game in terms of the different stats and metrics such that on most sites there is at least one additional tab and sometimes more for advanced metrics. So much made of left/right pitching match ups and just recently there was a post with a lot of input about the preferred batting order. There are a ton of posts about who should be in the pitching rotation but in this day of trying to get statistical edges there is very little consideration of the order of the rotation. We have now had 6 years of being at a disadvantage at every spot in the rotation using traditional orders to start the season. I know the variety of reasons that within a couple weeks team's rotations won't match up but wouldn't it make sense to start the season differently? Rather than have a disadvantage in every spot in the rotation wouldn't it make sense to arrange it so there are a few spots where we have the advantage? Wouldn't it make more sense for Hughes or Mejia facing Verlander the 2nd time through the rotation and have Santana facing a Pelfrey type pitcher? Not that Hughes or Mejia facing Verlander is a gimme but the odds say Verlander is going to win regardless. Wouldn't it make more sense to flip our rotation around? Seems like it might be an advantage of a couple wins throughout the season. A couple wins isn't a huge difference but we sure talk a lot more about stuff that maybe has less impact.
  20. Dantes929
    No two situations are ever exactly alike. 2011 and 2012 Twins promoted a whole lot of guys that were as bad or worse statistically than Puckett's minor league numbers. Also, I wonder if we had two full seasons of Viola with worse than a 5.21 ERA few on here without the benefit of hindsight would be saying "hey, lets make him the opening day starter." I have noticed fans on here do not have a whole lot of patience and those on the Trib board a lot less so. I think we have a decent mix of veteran and young guys in the rotation with more young guys nearly ready. Would have been much better with May. I do get the points above though and have often wondered how long it would take for Bert Blyleven to make it to the majors nowadays given that he had a great rookie season at age 19.
  21. Dantes929
    I don't know if it falls in that basket but I especially liked the comments back in the day of the "there is no way any serious playoff contender would have the likes of Drew Butera or Nick Punto on their 40 man roster much less their 25 man roster" variety. Both subsequently playing on two playoff teams and each on WS winners.
  22. Dantes929
    I admit to not having intimate knowledge of any of them but from afar I wish Duffey and Mejia got the spots in place of Hughes. I just don't trust arms that have had surgery being rushed back as if now everything is as good as it was two years ago. Let Hughes work his way back into quality and consistency and have him and Berrios waiting in the wings. I can pretty much guarantee the starting rotation will not be the ending rotation.
  23. Dantes929
    If Polanco's arm strength is average and it is his biggest weakness then that would make him an above average shortstop. I think I am missing something here. If he ends up average defensively at shortstop I will be happy. I think average is underrated (on average).
  24. Dantes929
    I have contended all along without any evidence but my eyeballs that the league didn't figure out Duffey or that he was suffering because he only had two pitches, especially since his curveball had so many different speeds and planes it was like having 4 different pitches all by itself. The difference between 2015 Duffey and 2016 Duffey was that his command of the fastball was not the same. I didn't think his curve ball was quite as sharp in 2016 either but concede that not having command of the fastball can affect the use of the curve ball. I am fine with Duffey being a bull pen guy but he will do no better there if his command of his fastball isn't there. I don't care much about ST results but it is a good thing if he is putting his pitches where he wants them to go.
  25. Dantes929
    I used to play a ton of cribbage on line and won 60% but would still have stretches where I would go 3-19 with some of them even against poor players. Sorry about the bragging but the coin flip is close to 50/50 odds and randomness is what allows there to be wide variations in small sample results. Twins against the Yankees were less than 50/50 con flip but if they were to play another 22 games I would have been happy to take the chances. In fact I am still a bit bitter about 2008 tie breaker loss. KC was one out from their playoff record being 0-1 in 2014 instead of 11-4. Twins getting hot was always a possibility. The fact that it didn't happen is no proof that it could not happen. Those Twins teams always did well really well in interleague and did just fine against the AL West. They were not as good as the AL East teams but still did even worse against them than the bad KC teams against them. I never understood it. More mental than physical.
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