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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    No question. Very few front office people have been played as badly. Many prayers were answered because Jorge Polanco did not have a good year, but it doesn't change what happened one iota.
  2. tony&rodney
    You get to pick who you like too.
  3. tony&rodney
    Nothing wrong with you having an opinion.
  4. tony&rodney
    Tonkin is the only arm in the bullpen who can take the ball on 3 consecutive days or pitch 3 innings if needed. He is a decent MLB relief pitcher. While it is true that Tonkin is not a normal late inning arm, the outs he gets when he is needed in the 5th, 6th, or 7th inning are valuable. Who else can throw 2 innings on consecutive days and come back on a third day with another inning? Most of the Twins bullpen arms are 1 inning every other day. My opinion is that the Twins need Tonkin in their pen.
  5. tony&rodney
    We shall see if Lewis has regained some speed, quickness, and flexibility from his changed workout regime in the offseason. Hopefully he is improved as a third baseman. If Royce struggles this season again with the glove, he could be a good first baseman for the team. A pile of eyes will be watching Lewis because he has been consistently identified in the same sentence with Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton, which seems a little unfair to the young man.
  6. tony&rodney
    The return for Chris Paddack is essentially a shot in the dark, maybe a player from the DSL or rookie leagues. As far as type, it would be 40+ FV at best. Remember that Kyle Gibson is still available and a few guys signed recently for half of what Paddack will earn. The Twins made a concerted effort to retain Paddack. There was zero evidence of trade talk. We also don't know if the Twins wanted to trade CP except for comments that the Twins expected good things from him this year. To be totally fair, silence except for the support statements rules the winter. This is a choice and we as Twins fans hope it turns out well. This is just another reason why it is somewhat ludicrous to gasp about payroll when Paddack's position was easily replaced by several minimum wage guys. So, think positive and hope big Chris has a couple of decent months. I'm happy for him that he gets to earn a good wage and pitch in the major leagues.
  7. tony&rodney
    Congratulations on a significant marker Nick. The dedication and drive to keep at a personal passion through two decades is both remarkable and laudable. While I worked and been married for nearly 50 years, I never worked at the same job for 20 years. Yours is quite an accomplishment. I remember well reading those Nick & Nick blogs having discovered them from a link somewhere, perhaps AaronGleeman or SethSpeaks or one of the other early baseball sites. I bowed out of writing for baseball sites before you began due to a vast array of family and professional responsibilities. To this day I have deep respect for your time commitment for us readers and your patience as well. Thank you and know that you are very much appreciated by myself and many other Twins fans, many whom you know and many more you will never meet. There is an entire world out there that has great respect for you and your work. Keep it up.
  8. tony&rodney
    Cartaya looked pretty decent behind the plate in the couple of March outings thus far. At the plate is a different story. I guess if he can hit .222 Diego has a career ahead of him. Felt a little sorry for him because the umpire rung him up on a pitch 6 inches off the plate. Cartaya just looked him as if he had been betrayed and walked to the dugout.
  9. tony&rodney
    Athletes work incredible hours to reach their dream and often injuries interfere. Really tough. He was 92mph in his only outing according to the MLB.com indicators. Shoulders injuries are crazy difficult to come all the way back from. I guess we shall see what happens next .... wish him well.
  10. tony&rodney
    Per mlbtraderumors, Matt Canterino has a bum shoulder. Tough deal for him.
  11. tony&rodney
    Me either .... and if Paddack is just ok Falvey will want to resign him. Hopefully the new owners will have arrived by then or we will all need the Pohlads to save us. AHHHHHH.
  12. tony&rodney
    Brooks Lee is hitting off of his front foot in nearly every plate appearance. He had a good swing on a first pitch that he fouled off, but has otherwise struggled mightily. His timing ....... he needs at bats to smooth things out.
  13. tony&rodney
    It is just an exhibition games but Wallner has looked totally out of sync, especially today against Atlanta.
  14. tony&rodney
    Paddack is likely quite motivated to prove he belongs in MLB. He must also be very grateful that Falvey had such a crush on him that turned into $7.5 million for this year. I hope Paddack has a good year. No bets though.
  15. tony&rodney
    Perception has become reality for some when it comes to Julien. Seeing the worst of Julien, particularly the called third strikes last year, has made a few totally irrational about anything he does. Julien and Correa were the two best bats for the Twins versus Houston in 2023. Nobody can dispute that Julien fell apart after April last year, but the nonsense of some folks about releasing him/ doesn't belong on the 40 person roster destroys all credibility of those who post such comments. Julien was exposed by MLB pitchers, the Twins were pretty quick to demote him, and Edouard simply did not make the adjustment needed to reclaim a position. The situation as of today requires Julien to show he deserves a position on the 2025 team.
  16. tony&rodney
    I'm waiting for the Twins to find a Lou Whitaker or Frank White or even a Chuck Knoblauch. Until then the Twins will need to play the guy who offers the most value overall to winning games. Julien is certainly an odd looking player but I will simple offer several plays observed just recently. On ground balls nearly identical where the second baseman had to go to his left, I watched all of Lee, Castro, and Gasper just miss several balls while i saw a minor league player get to the ball but take too long getting the ball out of the glove to nab the runner at first. In two similar plays, looking as awkward as usual Julien gloved those balls and converted the outs. The choices are not tenderloin at this point but ground beef. I'm still hoping Brooks Lee suddenly becomes what we all hoped he could be, a good glove with a steady consistent bat. There are still 3 weeks of Spring Training left for one of these guys to step forward but people should keep their eyes and minds open for the best available option.
  17. tony&rodney
    The Twins simply don't place a real value on defense. In a spirit of being hopeful Twins fans (me) will pray that our catchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, left fielders, and right fielders are ok and don't cost the team too many games. While Byron Buxton is no longer a superior centerfielder, he is still good and Carlos Correa still plays a very steady shortstop. This is the current reality. The position players will need to hit enough above an average rate to cover for the glove deficiencies, This is the plan as far as I can determine that there is one. Looking through the options at 2B we have different choices. Austin Martin might be an option but the Twins are working him solely in the outfield. Willi Castro is a favorite of some but he seems best suited as a true utility player. Castro has been ok as a leadoff hitter and decent when the count favors him. Mostly he has hustled his way into value but his consideration as a starting second baseman relies strictly on the other choices being failures. Julien was a mess last year post April and his herky jerky awkwardness creates visual alarm amongst viewers to the point that his actual performance is panned unfairly. Julien needs 2023 results or he is likely gone sometime this season. Brooks Lee has been bathed in a favorable light but his bat and body look slower than two years ago. Back problems? Eeles is in minor league camp with zero attention or mention of him from media. He would need to light up St. Paul for two months and have everyone else fail before someone in the organization notices him. Luke Keaschall then becomes the dream savior. Yah, second base may be a concern.
  18. tony&rodney
    Realistically, Luke Keaschall is going to need some further game time in the minor leagues. Ideally, the Twins put him in the lineup right away and he rakes, winning ROY. The hope for Keaschall is magnified because of the factors noted by Nick Nelson in the article. The other choices have flailed away and need a couple of big weeks in ST to show worth, but even then the regular season will still be a challenge. We can only hope one of Lee or Julien steps up. One concerning issue for me is that Lee seems hesitant when he swings. Is this a lack of confidence or just a slow bat? Any time Julien's bat reverts to a steep angle he is toast. There is a genuine reason for people to be concerned at this point. I sure hope one of the two can emerge and hold down the position in a productive manner.
  19. tony&rodney
    Why can't I think of a single high end bat that is available?
  20. tony&rodney
    Thank you. I have been arguing this exact point this entire offseason. The problem we should have with the Pohlads is that they are way too hands off and disinterested in baseball. They have focused in a different manner, which may be excellent except they are not tuned into how their money is spent on their baseball team. In almost every way, the Pohlads are a dream for the front office people because they are so distant and noncritical of whatever occurs with the team. I sincerely hope the team sells soon at the price they wish to receive for everyone's benefit. This article makes some pretty severe assertions. Not everyone worries about the ownership issues. It just doesn't affect us much because we have zero say in the matter. The point on team philosophy is interesting. What is the philosophy? To keep it short, I believe we should avoid all the angst about payroll, owners, and puffy dreams to just keep to the play on the field.
  21. tony&rodney
    Harry Ford is the young guy in the Seattle system. He was actually my fourth or fifth choice mostly as an add on in a larger trade with Seattle. The quest for adding a young catcher is difficult. Trades are risky and teams are often unwilling to even discuss their young catchers. A few guys who seem like possible targets would require an overpay. Jeferson Quero (Milwaukee - questions coming back from surgery), Kyle Teel (Boston - traded to CWS, no longer available), Endy Rodriguez (Pittsburgh - plays all over, questions at catcher), Harry Ford (Seattle - questions about catching), Dalton Rushing (LAD - price would exorbitant), Samuel Basallo (Baltimore - likely untouchable, questions about catching ability), Jimmy Crooks (St. Louis - questionable bat), and Drake Baldwin (Atlanta - likely untouchable) are a few of the young catchers to target. A couple may be totally untouchable but one never knows what happens when a #1-3 starting pitcher is a part of the conversation. It is also very likely that a team can successfully go along using a couple of veterans with strong skills behind the plate until the team develops a catcher. I had a thought that Milwaukee might be open to a trade if a player of high value such as Brooks Lee was offered and I was even willing to add something. That ship has sailed and right now the Twins will be looking to replicate the last two seasons with Jeffers and Vazquez.
  22. tony&rodney
    You are a numbers guy. Why would use your apparent distain for a back of the rotation young pitcher to pull down any credibility you have with research? Nobody has argued (that I have seen) that Woods Richardson is a top or even mid rotation starting pitcher. He did however have a good year for the Twins last season and should earn some respect for his work. No pitcher in baseball can be guaranteed to put up numbers every year but a number of them do. Many others suffer injuries. Jacob DeGrom is fabulous when healthy, he makes huge money, and betting on him for a complete season is a non-thing. Thus is the fate of starting pitching. Tyler Duffey was touched up for 4 or more runs on 18 occasions during the 2016 season. He was hit hard, more hits than innings, 25 home runs in 133 innings, and a pile of stats that indicated he was ready to be a relief pitcher. Woods Richardson wasn't expected to do much but he started 28 games, gave up 4 or more runs 4 times, managed to keep the ball mostly off the barrel, less hits than innings pitched, 16 home runs in 133.2 innings pitched, and a pile of stats that suggest he is a legitimate starting pitcher. SWR was 23 last season and TD was 25 in 2016. Perhaps you might have some success compiling a list of #5 starting pitchers who were 23 years old and threw more than 125 innings giving up fewer hits than innings pitched to show that Woods Richardson is not a good back end rotation pitcher. We already know that he or any other pitcher may not have a good year this year. But that can wait. Until then, we should accept that SWR had a fine year in 2024 and hope he is even better this year. Unless .... you just have something about Simeon similar to a few posters who believe all veterans are inherently far superior to any young players.
  23. tony&rodney
    You lost. Woods Richardson already made it as an MLB starting pitcher. This is indisputable. You can argue that you don't believe SWR can repeat his success from 2024 or that he will fade away, which is fair. You have stated he is only a back end rotation at best. That is a little silly because the Twins use him as a #5 starting pitcher, which is the definition of back end of the rotation. He is what he is and he needs to prove himself again and again. We had this exact conversation about Bailey Ober. He too needs to prove himself again and again. This is the plight of a starting pitching on a yearly contract. The Twins have a decent number of good pitchers but it is always useful to remind oneself that TINSTATMP. Trades. I have my ideas and thoughts as well and expect something next offseason, but then again I expected some trades last and this offseason too. My one thought when I hear of trading for a big bat, either hand, is that I want to hear specific names and read a cogent explanation of how that benefits the team giving up the bat; good for both teams. This offseason I occasionally glanced at the suggestions on Baseball Trade Values site to look for realistic trades. My quick judgment is that 19 out of 20 or lower were totally off the mark. Trading all of your soon to be cut or DFA players for a starter, trading for Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, etc., or sending one or more high priced players to teams with zero ability to carry those contracts were among just a few of the egregious errors in trade suggestions. I do think it is mildly interesting.
  24. tony&rodney
    The Twins prefer to sign veterans like Gallo, Margot (trade), Bader, and France. The record shows this fact, year after year. Carlos Correa and Josh Donaldson stand out as exceptions. Please go to whatever site you wish (BaseballProspectuc, Fangraphs, etc.) and you will see that while the numbers vary, the Twins are spending roughly $20 million more this year than last and within $5 million of 2 years ago. The suggestion that Falvey has no idea about budgets or that a miraculous $5-10 million "go spend" post-it, email, or phone call appears beggars the realities of corporate life. Choices are made. We may like or dislike the decisions and the performance on the field over the course of a full year will tell the story, but we can't keep falling back on the blame game. The Twins could have signed Christian Walker if they wanted to or felt it was the correct plan for the team. They chose a different course. I don't see why this is so difficult to accept. The money? Subtract Paddack, Castro, and half of Vazquez puts the team right about there.Now factor in Bader and Coulombe and it is surplus for the Twins. I'm not suggesting this as a preferred course of action but merely giving a simple example to show that the Twins front office has a plan and proceeds according to that plan. Folks on Twins Daily may have different ideas but we don't have a say in the actual process. We accept the final plan that is put in place by Falvey and hope the team does well. It seems a little chaotic to think the front office of a big corporation doesn't have any idea what is going on from day to day. If that is actually the case, things are far, far worse than any of us could ever imagine in our wildest scenarios.
  25. tony&rodney
    What's done is over. The Twins will go with what they wanted. Spring Training games are not to be confused with regular season contests. This is important to remember because the first couple of games thus far have been ugly. Falvey put together his dream team and when the season begins we shall see the results. While yesterday was a difficult game to watch I'll watch more and remind myself it is just practice.
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