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Dantes929

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Everything posted by Dantes929

  1. Dantes929
    Comparisons to Trout are just anecdotal in terms of adjusting to higher levels of play. I hope so anyway. I don't compare him to anyone. He seems fairly unique. I don't get your next paragraph. It wasn't a push to promote him at any given time but rather to give him the best chance for early success when they do promote him.. Its just my opinion that Valencia had a great year in 2010 partly because he got some weak infield and seeing eye hits early which allowed him to relax a little bit about his batting average. I don't think bringing Hicks up north in 2014 was any big mistake by the Twins but having him face arguably three of the best pitchers in the AL to start out the season did him no favors. There is a difference between major league and minor league pitchers and a much larger gap between minor league pitchers and elite major league pitchers. Whether the minor league player is named Buxton or any one else I think it is a good idea to give them the best shot at early success in terms of when to promote them. Seriously!
  2. Dantes929
    I would have been ok with him staying up also as long as he was learning and wasn't losing confidence. I would probably leave him there for a little bit but I am not going to criticize one way or the other. The Twins handling of him may have been bad or it may have been the best thing that could have happened for him. No way to tell. What I would do for sure is time it so his first three games are against the 3, 4, and 5 guys, preferably on a weak team. At least give him the best shot of getting off to a running start. I hate when guys are brought up to immediately face aces. What kind of transition is that?
  3. Dantes929
    Yes, it was definitely cherry picking. I believe I 2nd guess manager decisions less than most. I just remember saying to my wife about the Angels game that 6 innings was enough. Third time through the order. He hadn't pitched past 5 yet. Just his 2nd game. Let him feel good about a 6 inning shutout and let the relievers start the inning. Not hindsight because I said it all before it happened but I admit it was just a gut feeling that he should be pulled at that point. The other game I just saw that he was pulled with 2 outs and bases loaded and that all three guys scored. Cherry picking but the overriding principal is that he only got 4 starts. I am guessing that he would have a better ERA than Nolasco at this point mainly because he has a better career ERA (AL vs NL to boot), a better ERA with the Twins and a better ERA last year. I am all for any of the young guys replacing him because of earning promotion. Not so much for Nolasco getting the pick based on 20 innings.
  4. Dantes929
    Best career ERA of any starter but Duffey. 2nd best ERA on the team last year. SSS this year with ERA inflated due to Molitor not pulling him soon enough one game and reliever giving up all three runs in a bases loaded two out situation in another.. Milone should not have been sent down in the first place. Nolasco on the other hand was ok in a very SSS and was kept instead. I also would have preferred Milone to Hughes. When Berrios or Meyer are performing well enough to push for promotion then Milone can be the guy that gets dumped. I prefer to see a guy with limited stuff and great command to someone with limited stuff and very poor command.
  5. Dantes929
    When Crain had trouble with control they sent him down, he worked on it and came back up and did great. Same thing with Liriano. I would have had no problem with one more start but definitely have no problem with sending him down. He appears to have pretty good stuff but his command in ST was off and it sounded like he got by in the minors despite not being pin point accurate. He was minor league pitcher of the year twice because of great control, not in spite of it. 2.4 BB/9 in 2014, 2.1 in 2015 and now 4.2 in the minors and 7.2 in the majors. I am not arguing for the seasoning. I am arguing for him to get his control back. Get back to around 2.00 over a couple games and then bring him back. Something is off compared to last year whether it is trying to strike everyone out or mechanics. Duffey took one game for the nerves. May had a whole September and then an off season. Berrios needs to regroup and it will be easier for him without the pressure of the major leagues. Its up to him. This is short term if he goes down and figures it all out. .
  6. Dantes929
    Duffey has pitched more against the Indians than any other team and they have obviously figured out that he is just a two pitch guy. I wonder how much more of a shutout he would have had if he just had a third pitch. Just like last year I feel like the Twins have a pretty good shot when Santana or Duffey start. Next level of confidence is in Berrios mainly because Gibson hasn't pitched much. Would still prefer Milone to NOlasco or maybe even Hughes. .
  7. Dantes929
    I haven't lost patience. I don't think you even mentioned the best pitcher of the last 10 months. Duffey.
  8. Dantes929
    Ricky's and Duffey's ST numbers were not all that different and Duffey had the excuse ob being instructed to work on his change up. I think he has an elite curve ball and an underrated fastball. He throws both pitches with enough variations to effectively be classified as much more than just a two pitch guy, imo. No one else is even close to his 9 QS in 12 outings so to me he is the de facto ace. I fear that Berrios is the odd man out unless he pitches a gem tonight.
  9. Dantes929
    Nolasco is somehow off the hot seat with two quality starts in 6 games. I would rather have kept Milone. Duffey was the best starter last year and the best starter this year and has 9 QS in his last 12 games. The pecking order should have Duffey in the 1st spot by a wide margin, Santana, Berrios, Gibson, Hughes and Nolasco in that order. Better yet, Duffey, May, Santana, Berrios and Gibson. If this team is to get jumpstarted into winning ways it will be because of Duffey, Berrios and Santana getting them on track. Hopefully starting with Berrios tonight.
  10. Dantes929
    You may be right but then again Molitor had a lot less movement than either Span or Buxton. I never, ever had thoughts of Buxton turning into Mike Trout. If he has the high .200's batting average and OBP over .350 like Span I would be just fine with that given his other assets. Hoping for something closer to Molitor but anything between Span and Molitor will make me happy. 22 years old, missed a season to a concussion and may have similar recovery time to Mauer and Morneau. Many wrote those two off as finished so I don't regard any predictions as worthy.
  11. Dantes929
    Jepsen was awesome for us last year as was May. I thought Perkins was the key because I figured someone like Pressley would step up and that we would have young guys ready to contribute. Bringing in added quality depth would probably have changed very little to this point. We were still going to give the ball to those three late in the game in tight spots and they would still have failed. Now is when depth would have mattered with Perkins down and the others not doing well. I do think Jepsen is better than what he has shown but it does hurt to think we could just as easily be close to .500 if the guys we were counting on did their job better. I liken it to when we faced the Yankees and everyone said we didn't have the talent to compete and yet we had games where we had the lead in the 9th with Nathan pitching. Sometimes its not so much about talent as performance.
  12. Dantes929
    I guess I diffentiate amphetamines from steroids. Steroids change the composition of your body. This is more what I consider performance enhancing drugs. I don't think greenies get those guys to 70 homers but I might be wrong. From Ball Four I always got the impression guys used them when they were drinking all night and the drugs just got them back to feeling normal. Of course things are different now. No great answers but if I didn't want the bad effects of juicing I wouldn't consider it fair that others were able to.
  13. Dantes929
    Some may be harmless and if they simply kept the players on the field I doubt anyone would have a problem with any of it. Performance Enhancing Drugs live up to the name of performing enhancing though and create and unfair advantage of those that use them vs those that do not. Or does anyone think Bonds, Sosa and Mcquire would have hit 70 homers without the use.
  14. Dantes929
    I have no problem with this stat as is. If a reliever gives up too many he gets both a blown save and a loss. Blown save/win means he gave up a score but still kept his team in it by limiting the damage. Yes, his teammates bailed him out but it is a team game and many baseball stats are team dependent.
  15. Dantes929
    I don't expect what others seem to expect out of him. At least not until I actually see him pitch. I would be thrilled if he gives us what Duffey gave us last year. Of course I would be thrilled if Duffey were given the chance to give us what he gave us last year. I just hope he pitches so well it will be impossible to demote him when Gibson and Santana come back.
  16. Dantes929
    I think Milone has been undervalued his entire time here and probably his entire career. Four starts isn't enough to pass judgement. I am reasonably sure that after another 4 starts the pecking order will look different. However, a move to the bullpen is not the same as a demotion to the minors and I would also like to see Meyer while he is hot. 6 man rotation?
  17. Dantes929
    I have been heavily in favor of Duffey. He had a great year last year in the miniors, a great year last year in the majors, a great start to the minors and was doing just fine until getting hit by that batted ball. That all said, with Meyer pitching so well and for who knows how long I would really like to see him in the rotation. Does anyone know Duffey's status? Maybe it is Gibson and Santana to DL and we have Nolasco, Hughes, Milone, Meyer and Berrios. Maybe they go to a 6 man rotation. Too bad Buxton and Kepler got sent down. Remember 2011 where a bad AAA team got promoted to the big leagues because of injuries. It was hard to see much light at the end of that tunnel,. If we see a team of Kepler, Buxton, Arica, Rosario, Sano, Polanco, Meyer, Duffey, May, Berrios in place by the end of the year I there will be plenty of light regardless of the record.
  18. Dantes929
    I would change "couple" to "few" but the idea is the same. Duffey was great in the minors last year and he was great in the majors and he has been great so far in the minors. Weak ST because the Twins wanted him working on his change up shouldn't be held against him in any way shape or form. Thank you for pointing out some details about Milone. I will add that he left his last game with bases loaded and two outs and would have had a good line if the reliever had gotten the last out. Milone had the 3rd best ERA (ff counting Duffey) last year and has the best career ERA on the whole rotation and that is not small sample size. Three games is small sample size. I am ok with Milone in the pen and I am anxious to see Berrios and Meyer but decisions should be made after at least 6 starts. When the Twins were 0-9 I said a lot can look different in 10 days. They have been 5-2 since then. The same kind of dynamic can work with the rotation. If Milone has a couple gems and a different guy has a couple clunkers the world will look different. They should all have a few more starts to sort out the pecking order.
  19. Dantes929
    He had a 5.71 ERA in ST while the Twins wanted Duffey to work on a change up. Duffey earned the spot by having a great minor league season last year and was the ace of the staff over the last month of a pennant race with the Twins. You really shouldn't be "earning " much in ST. I don't loath anything but think it was wrong and still think that even though I am happy Ricky is pitching well. At time Livan, Correia and Pelfrey pitched well also. Milone on the other hand does not get much respect still. He should have been pulled , IMO, before his last inning against the Angels and he pitched just fine his last time out but left with the bases loaded and two outs and the reliever let all 3 runs score. He has pitched ok. I expect the Twins to give everyone about 8 starts before considering moves but if Berrios comes in and Milone goes to long relief I am ok with that also. I still think Duffey has actually earned the spot though.
  20. Dantes929
    If Meyer keeps going then I would say there aren't any starters that should be ahead of Berrios, Duffey or Meyer.
  21. Dantes929
    I get and agree with the idea that Milone shouldn't face the batters too many times through but there have only been two times I have really questioned Molitor. Against the Angels Milone was great through 6. I would have sat him right there to let him end with a great outing because yes, I don't think I was alone in thinking another time through the order would not be good to him. Then his last outing he was doing great but got the bases loaded with two outs before being pulled. The reliever then gave up all three runs over the next two batters. These two things leave a big mark on your ERA when it maybe it shouldn't have been. Just saying I think he has pitched better than his stats might show but I am ok with him being long relief. Duffey, besides having a great minor league season last year and being maybe our best pitcher down the stretch last year has a 1.72 ERA over 15 innings compared to Berrios 1.8 ERA over 10 innings. I just think he has earned the next promotion.
  22. Dantes929
    I agree. I just remember a decent stretch last year preceding an injury that prompted the Trib to write an article about how he was back. I took it as a good sign but was not convinced. I like that it looks like he is just trying to square it up rather than trying to pull or trying to hit it out. I like his willingness to bunt for a hit if they shift him I can live with the shift beating him on well hit balls as long as he continues to produce well hit balls. SSS or not, these are the kinds of streaks that make me like watching Mauer. I was never one to complain when he sits out with injuries. I don't want him to play hurt and hit .260 even if it is better than the rest of the team because that is not special. What is special is long streaks of him hitting .350 or better.
  23. Dantes929
    Then do what with Nunez? Nunez hot streak is probably a short term thing but I would ride it while it exists. I don't want to bench Dozier for a long time. Santana would be all right at third. My vote once Nunez cools off would be Polanco. Those that think Sano has been jerked around and want him at 3rd aren't going to be any happier moving him to third now where he probably fails and then moved back to the outfield when Plouffe returns. This really sucks for Plouffe and the Twins. Plouffe was starting to heat up.
  24. Dantes929
    Any changes in opinion after the 3 game sweep? I buy into culture of losing but maybe they lost from 2011 to 2014 because they had a bad farm system and pitching to contact failed because they had bad pitchers and using all fields failed because they had bad hitters and not making mistakes in the field failed because they had bad fielders. The 9 game losing streak came partly because of SSS and segued into pressing too much. They look more relaxed now even though they are not scoring a ton of runs. I don't like power at the expense of OBP but still think this is a better than .224 average team. Thank God for Plouffe, Mauer, Escobar, Arcia and Nunez.or that average would be way below .200.
  25. Dantes929
    Well, we lost Johann Santana that same year so you could also make the argument that he was a negative value and losing him (Santana) improved us by 11 games while losing Tori cost us 2 games netting the 9 game improvement from 2007 to 2008. I don't think Santana had a negative 11 WAR in 2007 based on his 15-13 record and 3.33 ERA but if you can sell it then losing Hunter has hurt every team he has left.
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