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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    The Twins do have an opportunity to get back in the Wc race. Despite the inconsistent and often poor play, there is a lot of baseball left on the schedule. Although I doubt it is under consideration, I have wondered if Kaelen Culpepper is an option this year. He has been hitting the ball hard all year.
  2. tony&rodney
    Add my voice to those who appreciate a seeming slight change in play. Wonder where or why this hustle and using all options to win was previously?
  3. tony&rodney
    McCusker went into a total dive after the Twins sent him back to St. Paul. It was, undoubtedly, a humbling experience. Nevertheless, Carson remains a force that the Saints look to for runs. Watching McCusker, he has problems laying off some sliders and has some swing and miss. Pitchers are very careful though with him, more so than any other batter I have seen in minor league games. A slight issue is that it seems the strike zone is a couple inches lower and a couple more inches higher for McCusker. He already has the largest zone in baseball. I also cannot remember him challenging a call, although he may have. It was wonderful watching him crank out that missile last night and run the bases in such an old fashioned manner. The Saints were lost against the Iowa pitchers and then .... victory in one swing. Fun player to watch.
  4. tony&rodney
    Trade Joe Ryan? That totally depends on the return. The heavy pile of prospects type of deal would indeed signal a complete rebuild. I'm looking at the organization and wondering what return is needed to plug holes. Nick Kurtz for Joe Ryan would solve first base. Jackson Holliday would be a good second baseman to roster. Cam Smith and a couple of others from Houston might be reasonable. The Dodgers? I want all of Dalton Rushing, Emmet Sheehan, River Ryan, and Zyhir Hope. I don't think Duran is enough. The Cubs, Mets, Yankees, or some others lack the right pieces. I don't expect the Twins to trade Joe Ryan unless the return is far better than some of the prospects named in the article. No player is untouchable but if a team wants a playoff Game 1/7 starter, pay the price.
  5. tony&rodney
    I have questioned whether Royce Lewis was healthy when he returned on this site. Royce looked off balance and slow in his rehab games with St. Paul. Tonight, Lewis looked good running the bases .... the best he has looked all year. He also looked solid at the plate in his long fly out to right field. This could be good for the Twins. I will quibble and say Royce has to catch that throw from Correa for the force-out and he should know to go home instead of trying for a double play on a fast runner. Still, pleased to see RL look better all around and seemingly healthier.
  6. tony&rodney
    The challenge system is Manfred playing games again. If MLB is totally solid on the technology to call balls and strikes accurately all the time, use it. I'm fine with the umpires until such time as the technology is ready to work full time. Why use a system part time if it is superior to the current system? I watch too many minor league games and the umpires sometimes get a little testy when there are multiple successful challenges in an inning. Eventually teams run out of challenges and then we see some sloppy calls which cannot be challenged. Use ABS or don't - the challenge system is lame.
  7. tony&rodney
    Joe Ryan has value and the talk would need to be guys like Jackson Holliday, Nick Kurtz, and that type. Pitchers are incredibly unpredictable but guys like Ryan seem to have the types of arms that are good for several years, which is hard to find. The last couple of games versus a very good Cubs offense gives fans a glimpse of how Woods Richardson, Festa, and Matthews can be important pitchers now and going forward. The injuries to Lopez, Matthews, and Ober tell us that pitching is tough to accumulate. After watching Kaelen Culpepper this summer, I'm wondering whether the Twins could elevate him in the practice of the LA Angels, calling up college draftees who look mature and capable of taking care of themselves.
  8. tony&rodney
    Hard to add catchers during the season. This feels like a conversation for November. Nevertheless, I'll throw out some names - Christian Vazquez, Griffin Jax, and Emmanuel Rodriguez for Dalton Rushing, Emmet Sheehan, and River Ryan. Seems balanced enough.
  9. tony&rodney
    Lewis moving as well as he has all year. Good news. Sweet hit too.
  10. tony&rodney
    Royce needs to hit to cover up for his defense.
  11. tony&rodney
    What has impressed me about Sabato this year is how he never seems to get all juiced trying to pull the ball or crush home runs. His swing is (seemingly) quicker and to all fields. Having said that I have not looked at the data but have watched him at the plate a fair amount.
  12. tony&rodney
    There are opportunities. The question is how aggressive and at what cost do the Twins pursue players? The Dodgers could use all of Stewart, Bader, Castro, and Paddack but won't want all of them. What can be pried loose from LAD? Emmet Sheehan and/or River Ryan? Add pieces to push for Dalton Rushing? The Rays could use Bader and Stewart and I like the OBP and glove of Tre' Morgan. Milwaukee could use an infielder and a relief pitcher. I'm asking what needs to go their way for Jeferson Quero. There are opportunities. Bader, Castro, Paddack, and Coulombe should have some value to other teams.
  13. tony&rodney
    Emmanuel is an interesting prospect, one who gathers widely divergent views and expected outcomes from various people. Value is strictly according to another team's viewpoint. EmRod probably has 3 times the value of Royce Lewis right now but those evaluations change continually. The bottom line is always the return for any player. I would think that Trevor Larnach has quite a bit of value, both to the Twins and to many other teams. Wallner is cold at the moment, but he is pretty much a similar player with more potential power. Seems like the Twins should find a team that offers a useful player for one of the two big left-handed hitters.
  14. tony&rodney
    My comment earlier was more about hope than any type of measurement. Hope for change. A fair amount of people on Twins Daily do not agree which is perfectly normal.
  15. tony&rodney
    Bader, Castro, Paddack, and Coulombe are all playing well right now. They will be free agents in November. If the Twins think these players are needed for the future they can talk contract at that time. The real question is whether or not any team will trade actual prospects for these guys. Would the Cubs trade Kevin Alcantara for Paddack and Castro or Coulombe?
  16. tony&rodney
    Warm up by tuning in to Detroit-Tampa Bay on mlb.com. The 2 best teams in baseball.
  17. tony&rodney
    Long conversation, but San Diego has nothing in the minors worth trading for at this time.
  18. tony&rodney
    Simeon .... let's go.
  19. tony&rodney
    Castro resigned would be great as strictly a utility player, but totally a luxury on a team that doesn't function with luxuries. Teams win with Castro, Bader, Paddack, and few others as extra players not as starters. While I don't expect any moves at all, I'm thinking there is a small window for the Twins to benefit from moving any or all of Jeffers, Vazquez, France, Miranda, Julien, Lee, Castro, Lewis, Larnach, Bader, and Wallner from the position side and Paddack, Coulombe, Stewart, and Jax from the pitching side. I am also listening on others. Do I expect anyone to be involved in transactions? No. But I'm willing to see some change. No untouchables. As far as the post goes, it is easy to see all of Keaschall, EmRod, Raya, and Prielipp making new memories as major league baseball players this year as Twins. The 2 position players instantly raise the team speed and expectation for some excitement and the 2 pitchers have talent. Let's sweep the Cubs.
  20. tony&rodney
    Matt Wallner needs to become Nelson Cruz in order for him to hold off players like Jenkins or Rodriguez if he is to continue as an outfielder. Best he adapt quickly and follow Cruz as a DH masher who can perform consistently against all types of pitchers. The challenge for Wallner is formidable because, similar to the fall of Julien, it appears the pitchers have developed a book on Big Matt. Baseball is tough.
  21. tony&rodney
    6 games to go before All Star Game and the break. Can the Twins go 5-1 to bring their record to .500 at 48-48? If they cannot, it would be a good time to follow the lead of the Nationals.
  22. tony&rodney
    Congratulations to Byron Buxton.
  23. tony&rodney
    Defense matters (3 runs today).
  24. tony&rodney
    Interesting. While I often watch a fair amount of minor league baseball in addition to the Twins, reality intervenes in the form of time and other responsibilities (which are less than ever in old age). Thus I don't pay any attention to BTV or bloggers, not that I have anything against such a practice. I prefer watching the players than clips, commentaries, and statistics, although one cannot help but be aware of various stats. My comment on the shifting values was more directed at how any team makes decisions about improving their ball team. I was a proponent of trading both Julien and Lewis at the close of the 2023 season only because I felt the Twins needed to upgrade their team and these two guys had sky high values relative to what I perceived as their future worth. I thought the same about Matt Wallner in November of 2024, but these crazy guesses were not popular and there is never any guarantee about returns. It's all wild speculation.
  25. tony&rodney
    Sorry I forgot to answer this question and I meant to be direct (first) with this. No, I believe Duran or Jax can fill the role by themsleves. Additionally, I'm high on Varland. Arms like Sands and Steart are still inexpensive and I would resign Coulombe for $3M. Those 5 can be supplemented by any number of others including Travis Adams, Justin Topa, and a few minor league additions. My thinking is that the Twins need some offense and catch
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