tony&rodney
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Everything posted by tony&rodney
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Time for Kepler and Julien to make a difference tonight.
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Julien has not really been used as a DH this year that I recall. The promise of Julien being a stalwart in the lineup because of his 2023 regular season and postseason accomplishments raised the bar for him. Thus far he has not nearly met expectations. Perception is a big factor for many fans in how they view Julien. The two players most commonly linked to Julien are Lee and Farmer. Neither has done anything to elevate themsleves above Julien. Now that doesn't make Julien a very appealing player but if Castro must play shortstop someone has to play the keystone. Many on Twins Daily have strong favorites and rather intense, even irrational, dislikes of various players and Julien seems to draw the short straw. Hopefully Correa returns and Castro can slide over to second to eliminate a discussion of who is worst among bad choices. Until then, Julien provides the most upside, but he sure better get it together. I agree with those who feel that it looks like Julien has lost some confidence.
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I watch way too much milb and often ask myself this question when reading comments. Statistics, even the most specific of ones, will never replace actually watching a game. The camera angles are often different and never as complete as MLB, but occasionally a wide angle tells a viewer quite a bit. I'm not real big on Winder but I actually thought he did exactly what any manager would want - throw strikes. The contact was poor. I really didn't think he was trying for swing and miss due to the score. If he was, he should not have been.
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- marco raya
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For pitchers with decent stuff, it is the last skill to develop, at least for the overwhelming majority. It is also the first thing to go ... well, command in the strike zone.
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- marco raya
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When I think of Royce Lewis I just wonder how he is handling everything that comes his way. I don't know him and all the media portrays him as this hard working, fun loving, kind, humble, and determined super athlete. He is 25 years old and has been injured quite often, which means his level of experience puts him back quite a bit. Yet, the expectations for Royce seem larger than reasonable. Baseball is largely a game where one must contain one's thoughts and direct physical energy in a controlled fashion directed by the specific scenarios that unfold while playing a game. Lewis comes off as positive but how is he dealing with everything?
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The Twins have control over their own destiny which is a break. Meanwhile the Red Sox and Mariners need help while the Tigers and Rays are long shots. Winning the division is still in reach. If Buxton and Correa can be healthy AND effective the Twins should be tough. The team needs timely hitting though and a prayer that Louie Varland provides an answer for the pitching staff.
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Fine second baseman. The takeout slides at 2B were brutal, even down to high school baseball. I wonder how many 2B today would need to move to another position if Hal McRae types still bore down on them. I feel this is one of the decent rule rule changes. I remember Bernie Allen as a really good second baseman with a decent bat. The enduring image for me of knee injuries from the 1960s/70s is that the injured were basically filleted, spent time in the hospital, and took a year to walk but never returned to 75% of normal. I have had three knee surgeries and each time they were 100% successful. Lucky to escape those olden days butchery. Sadly, Allen did not.
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- bernie allen
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Exactly the swing on that HR .... thought the same thing.
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- marco raya
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Seems crazy to think that Carson McCusker is the most exciting player for the Saints. The swing improvements are continual and his athleticism is impressive. What a story. Morris looks very deceptive. The hitters seem to be comfortable and then take awkward swings. Is it an odd arm angle? The breaking stuff has late movement for sure. He has had a wonderful year.
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- marco raya
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More rain.
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Friday was another tough night for Lee.
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Resetting Expectations for Carlos Correa
tony&rodney replied to Nick Nelson's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
I don't understand this "too comfortable" take either, or the thumb down either for that matter. Are we so surrounded by conspiracies and hucksters that we believe ripped, broken, or otherwise incomplete body parts are not needed to play baseball? Can someone please explain how they come to this point of questioning the integrity of these highly competitive athletes? I'm willing to read a cogent argument from a different direction. -
And yet, with all the above, the Twins are still a fair bet to be in the playoffs and even win the division. The Twins are not done. I'm not wishing for bad luck and knocking on wood.
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495 vs 1922 is the career comparison for PA (RL-JR.). I love watching Royce Lewis but he can never reach the status of an Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, or Bobby Witt Jr. Lewis is a year older than Junior and cannot do anything as well as the KC shortstop. Superstar is a separate category earned through consistent production year over year. Star potential is an entirely different matter, where young inexperienced players with talent or prospects are discussed. Lewis is still in that category. I often mention that it is somewhat unfair to compare emerging players to the real stars. We would like Royce to settle into being a productive player whose name is in the lineup every day, hopefully playing in the field as opposed to being a 25 year old DH. We know injuries happen (Buxton, Correa) and can see that even the best (Trout) can have their run of excellence thwarted by injuries. Lewis has never been in the conversation as a top player in baseball. He did garner huge love with his grand slams last season and two home runs in the playoffs. Royce can be good and still has potential. I need to see a minimum of 500 PA in several consecutive seasons (which still falls well short of what we see from Junior, Shohei, and Soto every year) before I consider any reason to put Lewis in a higher category than MLB player. I just hope the pressure of expectations are not a hindrance to Lewis but Royce has a good head and that doesn't seem like it should be a problem for him.
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- carlos correa
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Sorry. That was bad. I lost the topic. Agree totally with your thoughts. Yes, bullpen is very important but offense needs to get it in gear when it counts.
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Number one pick overall in 2017, hit some big home runs last season, and then began this season with flair only to get injured again. Royce Lewis has had difficulty playing baseball for extended periods of time. Whatever challenges are current will likely see his usage continue on the path used thus far this season, where Lewis is best utilized as a DH. The offseason is when Lewis will need to look at his body, approach, and strategies to go into 2025 as an every day player. I'm not expecting big things from Lewis and will be happy if he can play in 24 games to close this season and contribute. I'm a huge fan of Royce Lewis but he is 24 and has very little experience. What is the most consecutive full games for Royce thus far in his career?
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Last season I defended Wallner's game, which displayed physical talent and inexperience. He needs a full season of 500 PA before we know how Matt adapts to pitching. Right now, until something major interrupts, Wallner needs to be in the middle of the lineup every game. The Twins need offense.
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The Twins are exactly between the Red Sox and Guardians. MN controls its own destiny going into September.
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I did not watch last Saturday's or Sunday's Saints games when Lee did well. I did see the last two games and Lee looked tired, very slow. We want to see someone step forward and give the team a boost with a bat and if it is Lee, great. It just seems like the best bets are already on the active roster. Lee and Winder come up on September 1. When Buxton and Correa return (hoping at least), a few tough decisions get made. Varland might get a start next Tuesday in St. Petersburg. Hopefully Buxton is roaming centerfield in that game.
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.... and the game is rained out.
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No argument from me. The encouragement for steroids and blatant continual advertisement for Sosa-McGuire was egregious. I still cannot fathom how people blame/hate Barry Bonds when he was just trying to keep up with the game, and oh BTW, never tested positive despite being tested more than anyone ever. However, I do believe he just beat the system whereas Big Pappi did not successfully escape a positive and everyone chose to look the other way despite the positive tests, which were supposed to be confidential. So this all Selig's legacy. That and his glasses. Not a fan of football but the debacles in MLB would never occur under a Pete Rozelle.
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One huge item, from my perspective, that you do not touch on is that KC has a true superstar as does Cleveland. No Twins is even close to as good as either of those players. All of the teams do their best to put a competitive team on the field and money cannot be an excuse in the AL Central. Still expect the Twins to win due to better depth but Correa, Buxton, and Lewis need to play and be effective. I have no illusions of any of them being in a conversation with Ramirez or Junior but the team needs them to play.
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- carlos correa
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I put this elsewhere - Lee looked gassed in his last couple of games; all things slow. Maybe he turns the switch on but right now he would not be an improvement on Julien on either side of the ball. However, there is a game today and things can always change in a hurry.
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- louis varland
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Do you think Stewart and Topa will be brought back? They will likely require more money than their realistic projections. There will be some guys added via trades, promotions from milb, and a few pitchers signed to Spring Training invites. Pitchers like Jax, Duran, Alcala, and Sands are a fair top for a bullpen. Looking around the league at the top bullpens, we can see it often takes a few unknown names and good health.
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Bed mates, in an ironic way. The MLBPA seems to have an agenda which mostly promotes the highest salaried players but largely abandons the integrity of the game. I guess that isn't the focus of the MLBPA though. One would think there would be more push to arrange a better deal for those players who yo-yo back and forth between the minors and majors. Do all players on the 40 person roster receive the MLB minimum salary? I don't think so but don't know for sure. I'm not sure the owners have any ideas about the game as long as the money flows. The current media fiascos seemingly indicates a paucity of long term thought.
