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Dantes929

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Everything posted by Dantes929

  1. Dantes929
    Santana did just fine there in 2014. Cuddyer had very few games in the outfield in the minors and he did ok. I am guessing there are hundreds of players that have done it. Many have failed and I would put Escobar in that group. Many have succeeded. Bartlett was just a dumb idea because even if he could play the position at replacement level he was also only replacement level offense. If Sano can play near replacement level defense (low bar here since :Arcia is probably replacement) then it is worth it due to his bat. If Sano can't do it he won't be out there long.
  2. Dantes929
    His 2014 year was his career year where he out performed anything he did prior. Last year was almost a mirror image where he hit for a little less with a little less OBP but a little more pop. Both seasons he was pretty mediocre as a utility player and then thrived as an every day guy. Regression was more likely last year. I don't really enjoy watching him play for some reason but that is aesthetics. I understand about regression but I am more worried about Dozier for some reason.
  3. Dantes929
    People thought Escobar would be an excellent utility player. He hasn't been. They thought he would be a lousy everyday player. He's been great. They thought Santana would be a lousy center fielder. He was actually pretty good. They then thought he would be even better as an every day shortstop. He was not. They thought Sano would be horrible in right field. He ......... Who knows. Maybe Santana just should have stayed in center and things would have been fine for him. Maybe Sano loves right field and thrives. Maybe not.
  4. Dantes929
    I would love if Hughes regained velocity but I really thought his last couple months last year will serve him well. He became more of a pitcher in changing speeds and changing pitches rather than just the cutter all the time. If he can regain velocity on that pitch as well as incorporate the knowledge gained in 2015 it will all be worthwhile.
  5. Dantes929
    Yes, do what is best for the player but who knows what that is. Maybe Gomez isn't the player he is if he hadn't started for the Twins and honestly, I thought he was an asset for the Twins even though his stats weren't great and its not like he went to the Brewers and was an all star the next year. I don't think he has anything to complain about. Same with Hicks. His OBP two years ago was better than Revere's so its not like he was worthless and all along he has shown an inability to hit from the left side. I don't know that playing more minor league seasons was going to change that. IMO, HIcks wasn't mismanaged. Gomez wasn't mismanaged and Buxton isn't either one of those. If the think Buxton needs time in the minors then by all means send him down. Whenever he is going to come up he will need adjustment time. I am fine with him spending time in the minors and I am fine with Santana in center though I would then be a little less fine with Sano in right.
  6. Dantes929
    "Running down balls in center field and going from first to third on a single is a skill that can't be taught." My understanding is that speed is a talent more than a skill. His talent is unique. The skill is what IS taught. For example, most people have the talent to nitpick, but I have developed my talent so I have the skill.
  7. Dantes929
    Good catch. Possible one or both are left out when you can certainly argue they should both be in. I know ERA is flawed but so is just about every other stat. Say what you will about parks and defense, Milone still holds opponents to less than 4 earned runs per 9 innings.
  8. Dantes929
    Milone has the best career ERA of any starter and was a close 2nd to Gibson for the 2015 season. At some point actual on field results should count for something. The way baseball works is the season will start with Hughes, Santana, Gibson, Nolasco, and Milone and everyone will be disappointed that Berrios, Duffey and May aren't in there and bitch about how Milone and Nolasco are in there. Then, Santana and Gibson will stink and then get hurt while Milone and Nolasco have career years. Berrios will be promoted and stink and Duffey will get promoted and contend for Cy Young. Sano will do well in the outfield but stink at the plate and Arcia will stink in the field and mash. Ok, that won't all happen but stuff like that will. Also some will be smoking hot in ST and slump out of the gate for the season and some will do the opposite. I am intrigued about Polanco. I never gave up faith in Dozier, even in his first couple of struggling years but am not convinced he can continue to have success if he keeps trying to pull everything. I never thought Mauer needed to change because they seem to pitch to get him to hit into the shift. He should be able to square up balls more often even though some get caught. With Dozier it seems they shift him to pull, but pitch to get him to go the other way and he just won't do it. Murphy and Meyer will be interesting to watch also.
  9. Dantes929
    I think of Sano comparisons and I just come up with NFL linebackers who are big, athletic and fast. I am guessing he is faster and maybe even much faster than Willingham, Delmon, Young, Mauer, Hunter and Arcia and probably just as fast as Escobar and Nunez. Can he get good jumps and catch the ball once there? I don't know. Young, Willingham, Arcia, Nunez and Escobar didn't do such a good job of it but Santana did and I don't think Cuddyer's transition was all that bad. Anyone that says he should have played there in the minors probably has a point but his bat was ready before his glove so its not like there was a ton of time for evaluation It will be interesting. I don't think he will be there in 3 years. Maybe because of weight but likely because of opening at 1st.
  10. Dantes929
    I thought Danny Santana played quite competently in the outfield but Nunez and Escobar did not. We won't find out if Sano can unless it is tried. and he gives us some evidence one way or another. Arcia is a likely candidate to be the outfielder if Sano fails but Arcia, imo takes bad routes, is not that sure handed and plays every ball hit to the corner into a triple. Should the bar be average or should the bar be Arcia? Personally, I am hoping Kepler makes his move sooner than later. Offensively though Park, Sano and Arcia have a lot of potential and some pieces have to move if Kepler, Buxton, and Rosario shine. Season is right around the corner and I while I don't love the log jams and possible mismatched pieces I do like the apparent depth.
  11. Dantes929
    I would guess Sano can be adequate in the outfield because I think he is faster and more athletic than people give him credit for but it is just a guess. Even if he is adequate, average or maybe even a little above average I still foresee him being at 1st base or DHing for most of his career. I dream of a Rosario, Buxton, Kepler outfield though I would have liked Hicks in there as a 4th outfielder to play against left handers and give Buxton the occasional break. I think Hicks would have been a big asset as a platoon player and defensive replacement. Hopefully Murphy will make that trade look good.
  12. Dantes929
    Dozier contract is probably friendly and I don't think he will replicate his power numbers. If we can sell high we should. Or Plouffe. If Dozier happens to have a great first half again then we sell high at that point. I don't care if Polanco hits for power if he can get on base a little better. I can easily imagine Buxton and Polanco doing well in the first two spots.
  13. Dantes929
    I see no harm in it. If he can develop an off speed pitch with sink it will just make his heat more effective. If it messes with his control then I am with you but no need to make that assumption.
  14. Dantes929
    Ok, my post was rather bland but I didn't say what you think I said. Star starter or star reliever is fine though I think it more likely to be the former. While there is a place and maybe even a value to mediocre relievers i don't want that from him because then every time he comes in they will talk about what he is or isn't compared to his potential and I think it will be tiresome. Mediocre is fine if it is Duensing. Less so from Meyer. I don't think lack of command plays better out of the bullpen and I think inconsistency plays better as a starter. In the minors he would have great starts and then clunkers. Kind of either he has it or not. I would rather see 4 great starts a month and two clunkers than the same kind of ratio out of the bullpen. If in fact, he is great in the bullpen that would make me happy also.
  15. Dantes929
    Anyone listening to Bert would be aware of how much he values the downward plane and intuition and logic would tell people that losing a foot in the height of the release point would make a big difference. in a lot of things. If he lowered his release point in 2015 due to injuries and was working on raising his release point and that is the reason his control and movement left him then maybe it will all pay off this year. I am generally a cup half full guy but that doesn't apply here. I want him to be an all star starter or a vague memory. I can put up with the hyperbole for another couple of years hoping for the former rather than the latter. Mediocre relief pitching career would just be annoying.
  16. Dantes929
    It was shorthand. In fact, we don't know that the outfield defense saved 5 runs or it might have saved 100 runs or if it was worth any wins. Rosario throws a guy out at home that another outfielder doesn't (how do they measure that?) and that saves a run but also records an out and maybe if he doesn't throw the guy out the other team scores 10 runs after that but maybe the other team was going to win anyway. If the outfield did prevent 46 runs compared to 2014 it might have made the difference in 46 games or 0 but the pythagorean expectations is reasonable statistics. I don't need the advanced metrics. Rosario, Buxton and HIcks were better than Willingham and whoever and it saved runs which helped the pitchers. Ok, in my opinion. And wait? Pythagoras is dead?
  17. Dantes929
    Pythagoris says 46 runs saved will result in 5 wins. I don not expect Rosario, Buxton and Sano/Arcia/Kepler to be any less than Rosario, Hicks and Hunter and if it is Kepler I expect it to be much better. Who knows if it is truly 46 runs but if it is then how can anyone say saving 46 runs does not help the pitching staff?
  18. Dantes929
    I think it is telling (not sure what it tells though) that we've got Milone who has a better career ERA than any of our starters and was 2nd on the team last year and beats the league average for both and we've got Plouffe who has led the team in RBI the last two seasons and they are the two prime players that fans want gone. Now I am not saying these people are wrong but you do need some guys on the team that perform to their ceiling even if their ceiling does not appear to be as high.
  19. Dantes929
    So you are saying stop signing mediocre in favor of impact players but other GM's should take our mediocre in exchange for their impact players? Got it. Great idea. Someone explain to me again how the average starting pitcher has a 4.11 ERA, why a #3 wouldn't be considered to be that average? and why Milone who has beat that average both in his career and last year, is considered a #5 rather than a good #3? I like our rotation if it is Santana, Gibson, Duffey, Milone and Hughes, would like it a lot better if it had May instead of Hughes and eventually Berrios instead of whoever fails. But yes, a good GM would trade them all for Greinke, Harvey, and Kershaw.
  20. Dantes929
    I didn't say he has adapted. I am saying he has tried to adapt by trying to pull the ball. I also said it was my opinion and I don't have the time to go do in depth analysis but are you saying that he is doing the same thing he has always done but the shift is causing him to strike out more and to square up fewer balls? I see him trying to pull the ball and getting fooled by breaking balls and either being in front them or grounding out weakly to the right side when he used to hit those up the middle or to the left. I think he has been trying to pull the ball more and as a result has squared up fewer. Some people can make the adjustment from an inside out swing and some can't. I don't think he should change from what got him batting titles and I don't think the shift would have cost him any batting titles.. The shift has caused some of his hard hit balls to be caught but it hasn't caused him to hit fewer hard balls. That is something else. It looks to me like he has tried to pull the ball more and there have been articles about it. It might also be the concussion and aging plays into it. I just go by what I see..
  21. Dantes929
    Just my opinion but I think Mauer has tried to adapt to his detriment. Its the shift that has stopped him but trying to pull the ball which has ended up with the weak ground outs to 2nd and strikeouts. They pitch him outside to get him to hit the ball to the shift but that is where he likes it so squaring up more balls should make up for more balls being caught by the shift. As far as not telling management I believe, somewhat from experience that the effects of concussions can be quite subtle. He might no feel super sharp but also feel like he can work his way through it. Keep in mind that he faces the best pitching there is and his average was still better than league average and his OBP was the best on the entire team among the 8 guys that had more than 335 at bats. I don't know if he will ever get it back but the farther away he is from the concussion the better his chances become. I don't expect another batting title from him but it wouldn't shock me if it happens. Anecdotal evidence isn't evidence that it will happen for Mauer but a LOT of people wrote off Morneau saying he would never play another game and he came back with his only batting title.
  22. Dantes929
    If we kept Revere until Buxton was ready we wouldn't have Trevor May and I would not trade May back for Revere. Never should have let Hardy go but I doubt he would have made a world of difference. Because of the ridiculous amount of injuries in 2011 we needed 2012 to figure out who could be counted on.and the minors were a mess so as far as I am concerned the rebuilding process was 2013 and 2014. I like having Santana for a fulll year but if we had him for a full year last year he might have taken Pelfrey's place who had a very good first half. Another reliever might have had some impact but you count on your all stars to be all stars and Perkins in all star form probably would have gotten us there. I am not worried about spending money at the moment. If Buxton, Berrios and Sano become who we hope they will the Twins will be spending a lot of money soon enough. What reliever should they have brought in this year? There probably was one or two but as suggested in the article, name some names. How much for how long and how that would have fit into current and future.
  23. Dantes929
    I remember seeing lots of posts in the past about how Punto and Butera would never make the roster with any team that was serious about contending. Both now have a ring. Same has been said about Duensing so it will be interesting if he is able to stick with the team most regard as having the best bullpen.
  24. Dantes929
    I will take the under on Park and Dozier for sure and maybe Buxton and Escobar and the over on Arcia whatever that number is. Maybe $50 on each. I will take the over on whatever people are predicting for the starting rotation. (over in a good way)
  25. Dantes929
    "he 2009, 2004 and 2002 teams were all division-winners, and in the case of '09 they did it without a particularly strong pitching staff, so you can certainly make the argument that this is a sensible approach for a team with question marks at the front of the rotation and in the bullpen." Twins scoring in the last 15 years has been tied more to OBP than home runs. Those three years you mentioned the Twins had OBP of over .332. By contrast last year's team was at .305. My fear is that if we get 200 home runs it will result in 200 runs. I am not saying power and OBP are mutually exclusive but we need to strike out less and walk more or it won't matter how many we hit. 2009 has only 16 more homers than last year but they scored 121 more runs. This was fueled by a .345 OBP. Last year Sano was the only guy to beat that number.
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