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by jiminy

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Everything posted by by jiminy

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. by jiminy
    What about Sands and Winder? They have to be rotation candidates ahead of Cory Lewis.
  4. by jiminy
    Oh, clearly -- there is no way this decision could possibly have anything to do with the salary demands of the other options.
  5. 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. ;-)
  6. 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.
  7. by jiminy
    Thanks, very interesting!
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. by jiminy
    Good slider, hittable fastball? He wouldn't be the first reliever they told, just throw that slider. Of course he also sounds like a potential Pagan 2.0: good stuff but it occasionally gets hammered anyway. Well, worth a shot.
  17. by jiminy
    I LOVE that he wants to avoid unnecessary injuries! Maybe some of that prudence will rub off on Buxton. That could be worth the cost of his contract alone! And I don't think his caution about stealing bases necessarily reflects concern about his ankle plate. The issues he mentioned -- hard tags, hand injuries, and twisting ankles -- are genuine risks in and of themselves. I am always especially appalled to see people slide in hands-first. I remember Cuddyer tearing up his hand that way, just when he was on a tear. It's so easy to hyperextend your thumb or get stomped by spikes. Buxton's speed is too good a weapon to shut down completely, but I hate seeing him slide head first, especially the way he dives so hard. But even sliding feet first, he injured his knee in 2022 and it lingered for months. I don't think Correa is being a worrywart, or revealing some unique hidden fragility, I think he is just being smart. I hope his vaunted leadership applies here, too!
  18. by jiminy
    What's really cool about the vesting options is they don't just protect against the ankle, they protect against any injury.
  19. by jiminy
    The only thing that would make this signing make sense to me would be if they see him as a capable center fielder. I haven't seen him play enough to have an opinion on that. But with the number of games Buxton misses, a backup CF is extremely important. If they trust him to start for months at a time if necessary, his bat has a good chance of being good enough to let them weather a long absence by Buxton. Otherwise he's just another corner outfielder, and not enough better than what we have to justify the expense. But if Buxton goes down and Gallo's fielding is good enough to play in CF, I would rather see him starting out there than anyone else we have, assuming they trade Kepler
  20. by jiminy
    It's too soon to know whether Buxton was a better long-term investment than Berrios. Buxton's injury issues have not exactly gone away. Berrios could have many more productive years than Buxton.
  21. by jiminy
    You convinced me. Using Sands when you just need one inning mop up and Pagan when you need long relief does seem inexplicable. And I am saying that as someone who thinks most criticism of Rocco's bullpen usage is overblown. Most often the problem is just a lack of good options. But I can't defend this. I understand the temptation to stick with Pagan. He throws 97, has filthy stuff, and gets swings and misses. But when every fifth pitch is a mistake right down the middle, the results will be just what you see. Everyone in the big leagues can hit a mistake. It doesn't matter what you do between mistakes if you lead the league in home runs. And he now has a four year track record saying this is not going to stop. I just hope Alcala and Maeda are ready for the stretch run. They don't have starters that can protect the bullpen, and the don't have enough relievers to throw five innings every night. There is no right answer for Rocco till reinforcements arrive. But in the meantime, why not use Sands in long relief? That is a head scratcher. I hope it's not because they need him to start for Mahle, but that might be a consideration.
  22. by jiminy
    Short starts and a long pen is a good strategy but requires a deep bullpen. Otherwise it's like the Timberwolves saying the most efficient way to score points is with the 3-point shot, and leading the league in 3-point attempts, but missing them all because the roster has no shooters. The roster and the strategy have to mesh.
  23. by jiminy
    The current rotation doesn't have to last all year, just till Maeda, Balazovic, and some surprise guy who wasn't even on our radar show up. The bullpen just has to hang in there till Alcala and some current minor league starters get called up. Duran is for real, and they have numbers if not an intimidating top three. The hitting just has to keep doing what it is doing: With a healthy Kiriloff added to Buxton, Larnach, Garlick, Kepler, Celestino, and Gordon, the outfield should be good and deep. And an infield of Correa, Polanco, Arraez, Urshela, Gordon, Lewis, Miranda, and Sano should be able to weather the inevitable injuries. Is this a 100 win team that can beat the Yankees and Dodgers? Probably not. But it's probably not going to collapse like last year, and will probably hang around all year, especially in such a weak division. No team is a sure thing, even the Yankees and Dodgers. I don't think they are head and shoulders above the rest of the league, but I don't think they are a mirage, either. Here's to the pipeline!
  24. by jiminy
    Yeehah! I'm so excited this day finally came!
  25. by jiminy
    He was already under under team control for all those years. So I wouldn't say it brings stability to the rotation. It just brings cost certainty. Which is good for them, in case he becomes a star. And good for him, if he flames out. Signing him now is just a gamble this price will become a bargain later. Which would be great. But the alternative was arbitration, not losing him.
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