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by jiminy

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  1.    USAFChief reacted to a post in a topic: 3 Unlikely Things That Need to Happen for the Minnesota Twins to Be World Series Contenders
  2. by jiminy
    Last year raised an interesting question for me. Would I rather knock the Yankees out of the playoffs and go down in the next round, or get a lucky draw and make the World Series by beating teams like the Blue Jays and Royals, only to get crushed by the Dodgers? I might rather take down the Yankees, even if it meant going one and done. I'm not even sure I wouldn't rather do that than win the World Series, if it was against another pretender like the Marlins. Those wild card championships can seem kind of lame. Fun if you are the winner, of course. But they devalue what the World Series used to mean: the best of the best.
  3. by jiminy
    This is actually far more important than the rest, at least when it comes to winning a World Series. It doesn't matter if Buxton, Correa, and Lewis all have 5 WAR seasons if they are not healthy when the postseason starts. And it doesn't matter if they were hurt or sucked all season if they get hot in the playoffs. The team needs to be good enough and healthy enough in the regular season to make the playoffs, but that's it. Just to be clear, though, none of this is disagreeing with the article, which asked a different question: What would it take for the Twins to be seen and treated as a real contender? That would indeed require almost everyone to reach their upside at once, as he said. And that would be a lot more satisfying than watching a mediocre team go on a playoff run, exciting as that would be. There's a difference between proving you are the best, and proving that there are so many teams in the playoffs now that they don't mean as much anymore. It would be way cooler to actually BE the best team, not just a playoff fluke. But given the unequal funding streams, that's a much bigger long shot. So, given that the deck is stacked against us, even a fluky win would be sweet. And if it involved bearing the Yankees in the playoffs, it would be exquisite. But having all our gambles pay off and our star-studded lineup being favored against the Yankees, and then beating them, would be best of all.
  4.    by jiminy reacted to an article: Twins Establish GoFundMe for Trade Deadline
  5.    DJL44 reacted to a post in a topic: What Does the Rotation Depth Chart Look Like After Louie Varland?
  6. by jiminy
    What about Sands and Winder? They have to be rotation candidates ahead of Cory Lewis.
  7.    by jiminy reacted to a post in a topic: Minnesota Twins Acquire Outfielder Manuel Margot from Dodgers in 3-Player Trade
  8.    by jiminy reacted to a post in a topic: Minnesota Twins Acquire Outfielder Manuel Margot from Dodgers in 3-Player Trade
  9. by jiminy
    Oh, clearly -- there is no way this decision could possibly have anything to do with the salary demands of the other options.
  10.    by jiminy reacted to a post in a topic: Minnesota Twins 2024 X-Factors: Could Brooks Lee's Impact Come Right Away?
  11.    by jiminy reacted to a post in a topic: Joe Ryan Has Reached an Early Career Crossroads
  12.    by jiminy reacted to a post in a topic: TRADE: Twins Send Jorge Polanco to Mariners in Five-Player Deal
  13.    by jiminy reacted to a post in a topic: TRADE: Twins Send Jorge Polanco to Mariners in Five-Player Deal
  14. by jiminy
    Yeah, I agree, it's weird! Truth is I probably shouldn't have included him in the same sentence as Gray and Maeda, but they all signed about the same time and had headlines next to each other. ;-)
  15.    DocBauer reacted to a post in a topic: 5 Realistic Offseason Moves That Would Set the Twins Up for 2024 Success
  16.    NotAboutWinning reacted to a post in a topic: 5 Realistic Offseason Moves That Would Set the Twins Up for 2024 Success
  17. by jiminy
    These are all fine proposals but the Twins' biggest need is a playoff-worthy starter to replace Gray. As others have said, the Pirates are not trading their opening day starter for a rookie left fielder. They would need to get at least two high-upside pitching prospects for Keller. My takeaway from this discussion is that the Twins are going to have a very hard time returning to last year's level of competitiveness after losing Grey, Maeda, and Pagan and cutting payroll by $20 million. The only way to do that would be to forfeit significant minor league talent for low-priced starter with upside, and hope the results are more like Gray and Lopez than Mahle.
  18.    Minny505 reacted to a post in a topic: Twins, Alex Kirilloff Dodge Major Bullet During Shoulder Surgery
  19. by jiminy
    Thanks, very interesting!
  20.    by jiminy reacted to a post in a topic: The Immediate Aftermath Anger Rankings
  21.    Nine of twelve reacted to a post in a topic: Week in Review: Rallies and Relief Woes
  22.    gman reacted to a post in a topic: Week in Review: Rallies and Relief Woes
  23.    Minny505 reacted to a post in a topic: Week in Review: Rallies and Relief Woes
  24.    USAFChief reacted to a post in a topic: Week in Review: Rallies and Relief Woes
  25.    tarheeltwinsfan reacted to a post in a topic: Week in Review: Rallies and Relief Woes
  26. by jiminy
    I agree --it would be great if they could bury Cleveland soon so Jax and Duran could get some rest! They are starting to worry me. But I think there is a good chance it is just from overuse. As for the pen problems in general, I think there is a real chance of improvement despite the lack of additions at the trade deadline. By playoff time, the bullpen reinforcements could include Maeda, Varland, Alcala, Paddack, Stewart, and a healthy Thielbar. I think any of those guys could bring as much as a mid-level reliever acquired in trade, without costing us more prospects. They are all a gamble in one way or another, but so is any reliever. The pen remains a worry but I think it will be better by playoff time, even without a trade. And you gotta figure that about half the trades you make, there is a good chance you wish you could take back. Last year was not some huge outlier, or even really a failure. Every trade is a gamble. We gambled and lost. This time we gambled and may lose again. But we at least didn't lose any prospects. And if even three of the six people above pan out, it could be a very solid win, for this year and the future. I think all six of those guys are realistically as good as almost anyone we would have gotten in trade, unless we were willing to part with someone too good to give up. They were right about the offense coming around with what we had in house. Maybe they will be right about the bullpen coming around, too.
  27. by jiminy
    I'll defend Gallo on that base running gaffe. The infielder made a tough, off-balance catch of a foul ball with his back to the infield. Gallo smartly tagged up and started toward third base to force a throw. He also smartly did not actually go to third. He stopped and returned to second. A bad throw to second could have gotten him to third or even home. The only problem is he fell down. That got him tagged out. It took a fantastic throw though. So, yes, it was a painful and unnecessary out, and was his fault. But it was not a boneheaded TOOTBLAN in my opinion. The problem was execution not stupidity. I liked his aggressiveness and his decisions. Nobody plans on falling down. But I'll take that to just standing around and watching.
  28.    by jiminy reacted to a post in a topic: Did Standing Pat Make (Some) Sense?
  29. by jiminy
    I suspect the asking prices were just too high. If I had to give up someone like Lee or Balazovic or Rodriguez to get an average OF or reliever I would pass too.
  30. by jiminy
    So you would use up your three best relievers in a 9-3 loss? And think it's malpractice not to? Huh. Personally I am hoping we get a lead today and they close it out. Your way, the save would depend on Pagan and Moran.
  31. by jiminy
    The flip side of the injury issues is that there is reason for optimism that help is on the way for their only weakness right now, the offense. Adding a healthy Polanco and Kiriloff could give the lineup just the spark it needs. And if Kepler continues to falter, Gallo is a very nice backup option too.
  32. by jiminy
    If his goal is to throw it right down the middle, and he still had 34 walks in 71 innings, it sounds like he has some command issues.
  33. by jiminy
    That is not crazy though. There is no position with such variance year to year. Paying for past success for a reliever is no guarantee of future success. So if it is always going to be a gamble, why pay extra. If a young pitcher or reclamation project has a good chance to do as well as a veteran, you may as well save your money. Yes the odds are better the more you pay. But if the odds are worse at that position than any other, spending your money where it is more likely to pay off is a good strategy. Then convert some prospects or hire a vet with a good slider and make it work.
  34. by jiminy
    Yeah, it maybe should have said, "Alcala has already proved no matchup is too great for him, except lefties." But he is already up to 97 mph this spring, and if he can master an off speed pitch to flummox lefties he could be lights out.
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