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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    The only game the Twins need to worry about is the next game, which today is tonight in Texas. Baldelli will not be moving players and pitchers around to focus just on one game. Festa should be ready for a really good outing and Kepler, Wallner, and Larnach should be ready to pounce on a right handed pitcher.
  2. tony&rodney
    Winokur is a work in progress for sure. Having watched several dozen of his at bats this year via milb.com, I am intrigued by his athleticism. There are whiffs and tough games, to be sure, yet the improvement is continual. Winokur has a good eye at the plate and a smooth swing. Defensively he is good wherever he has played, pretty quick with a strong arm. The power and speed combination in a guy who plays good defense and hits the ball is impressive. Winokur is not an exploding superstar like Witt Jr. or Holliday but he is learning quickly and could be a really good player. Patience.
  3. tony&rodney
    Hard to be anything but excited about the potential for solid starting pitching for the Twins going forward. The list (Lopez, Ryan, Ober, Woods Richardson, Festa, Varland, Matthews, and Paddack) can grow when Morris and Culpepper are ready with Prielipp, Soto, Bohorquez, and Roque down the line still. Woods Richardson has shown enough in 21 MLB starts to lead the list. His improved velocity and stuff this year are encouraging. Maintaining his current performance makes Simeon a really good #4 SP. Festa and Matthews still have to show that they can adapt within a game and pitch decently on days when their stuff is less than hoped. I think they will. Festa seems to have the edge on his stuff but results still count. I would agree with those who believe in Andrew Morris because he has looked good whenever I watch him pitch. Lastly, there is a reason the Twins still see Louie Varland as a starting pitcher. He is strong and has the pitches. Sequencing, command, and ability to forget the last pitch are areas where Varland can improve. Hard contact will happen to every pitcher (see Blyleven, Bert), but focus and ability to rebound with good pitches on most pitches creates outs. Varland may be moved into the bullpen again in late September but more performances where the line is 6 innings and 0-3 runs in his starts put the Twins in a solid position to win games. Yeah, Twins fans have reasons to feel good about the young starting pitching on August 17.
  4. tony&rodney
    It is a fine line for the Twins. Sure would be nice to see Correa in the lineup before August is over. Festa will be hungry tomorrow.
  5. tony&rodney
    Hayes (The Athletic) reported that Martin missed the take sign.
  6. tony&rodney
    Hopefully, the MLBPA gets active and is able to manage Manfred. Manfred doesn't seem like a baseball fan. He seems like a corporate parody.
  7. tony&rodney
    Vazquez was stealing second and he had it easily too. Martin missed the take sign.
  8. tony&rodney
    Nice win. Twins bat against another LH SP tomorrow.
  9. tony&rodney
    Not only has Lee had few problems, but Brooks has been ticketed/predicted as a 3B all along. Can he hit enough to hold the position? Can he play 2B? Brooks is a little slow for 2B, but he is pretty savvy about the game. For Lee, it all comes down to hitting.
  10. tony&rodney
    Hey I like Royce Lewis. One cannot just pretend he will suddenly become a good shortstop. He has never been considered even adequate for the levels he played at going all the way back to high school. Some of my very best athletes were not good at shortstop. Buxton is a great athlete, not a shortstop. Correa doesn't match either Buxton or Lewis for athleticism, but Correa is a very good shortstop. The Twins put players in the lineup based on offense. That leaves 3B, 1B, and DH for Lewis unless he gets moved to the outfield. If Miranda hits, 3B is his and Royce plays elsewhere. 1B is an important position on the diamond. Every pitcher craves good fielders and don't want to hear comments about 'less demanding" because that guy who scoops everything, comes off the bag to save errant throws, and everything else required by a first baseman is valued. Those who hit get a spot. That's the way the Twins roll. We don't get a voice in how Falvey puts together a team. So if Lewis hits, he plays somewhere.
  11. tony&rodney
    We have a number of Henny-Penny types wishing for bad luck; football fans as their primary love.
  12. tony&rodney
    Wonder what where Woods Richardson fits in? He has increased velocity and command/control. Simeon also has a prototypical workhorse starting pitcher's build like Matthews. These are good problems and I see Festa as the star if he harnesses his stuff and grows into his body. Hopefully Paddack rebuilds some value in September because it might be difficult to trade his $7.5M contract if teams don't see potential.
  13. tony&rodney
    McCusker is so big (6'-8") that he has to conquer a huge amount of strike zone space. Carson is one of my favorite minor leaguers to watch this season and his improvement has been steady and quite impressive. He has sacrificed some power to improve contact but he is still hitting the ball hard. McCusker is athletic and has a chance to move up eventually. Agreeing with Dman above; McCusker is good and getting better.
  14. tony&rodney
    A decision on where Lewis plays is dependent on how a couple of others develop. There are four positions (DH, 1B, 2B, 3B) to fill, not counting the outfield and it is totally fair to include LF and RF. Lewis is behind Lee and Miranda at 3B if looking at production with a glove. I don't believe Lewis or Miranda can play 2B. The best position for Lewis might be 1B or DH. He is prone to injuries and fairly musclebound. I'm not concerned about 3B going forward because any of Lee, Miranda, or Lewis should be adequate. The real concern is 2B and filling 1B with someone who can make the plays, which are far more under appreciated at times. Santana has played a good 1B and the hope is that next year the change doesn't hurt.
  15. tony&rodney
    This is huge. Correa returns and then Castro gives the Twins a serviceable second baseman. Buxton may not be the best any more in CF but he makes numerous plays that drop if Martin, Margot, or Castro are out there. Take Judge and Soto out of the Yankees lineup, .... and so on.
  16. tony&rodney
    Feeling that a quality start from Varland is great/terrific is not an exaggeration. Louie is not a very accomplished or complete pitcher at this time and it is a strong start that kept the Twins in the game. All anyone can expect from these rookies is a quality start at best. Yes, some balls were hit hard (Salvy) and Varland definitely missed on that pitch to DeJong, but Witt Jr. (Superman) hit a pitch that is a swing and miss most times and once again it was a soft double (DeJong) and dribbler (Isbel) that hurt. The Twins are lucky that they are getting these good outings from Woods Richardson, Festa, Matthews, and Varland. Pitching against the best hitters alive is hard, especially for inexperienced players. I might be a little perplexed with the negatives that seem to suggest none of these pitchers are worth beans. The days of 7-9 inning starts giving up 0-2 runs has largely faded. Not a single pitcher in baseball has 2 shutouts and Bert Blyleven had more shutouts as a 22 year old than the entire total of shutouts by all pitchers in 2024. Time to be really pleased right now with our guys.
  17. tony&rodney
    Did you expect Varland to pitch a perfect game? 3 runs in 6 innings from Varland, at this point, is a terrific game. What were your expectations?
  18. tony&rodney
    Ober, Lopez, Woods Richardson, Festa, Matthews, & Varland have been more than holding their own. Perhaps the Twins keep a 6 person rotation to alleviate concerns about overuse and in an attempt to avoid any further injuries. Nobody can predict the future but these guys have looked good. Let's hope Correa and Buxton can lead the charge on offense.
  19. tony&rodney
    Varland pitched wonderfully. Keeping KC to 3 runs in 6 innings was a terrific start. Beating the Royals twice was excellent. Ragans is a really good pitcher. It's baseball, all the teams in MLB are pretty good (well, ? CWS ?). The Twins need Carlos Correa back .... and Buxton. Castro has done a decent job at SS but there isn't anyone behind him. If Correa can return by next week the Twins should be better at the plate and in the field. I'm not sure the team can survive the season with Buck and Correa. They are key.
  20. tony&rodney
    The Twins are in pretty good shape, all things considered. Other teams, like the Dodgers, would trade places. We good.
  21. tony&rodney
    Hill has mountains of experience but his margin for error on every pitch is so small that he needs a field of shamrocks surrounding him to escape 5 innings of MLB at this point. It's an easy no.
  22. tony&rodney
    Go back 15 years (or 20, 25, 40, ... ) and there was a similar positive attitude about the next great wave. I have been watching more minor leagues (via milb.com) in the last few years. The pitchers who especially captured my attention are guys like Varland, Woods Richardson, Raya, Festa, Lewis, Matthews, Morris, and Culpepper with a fresh attention recently to Prielipp, Hall, Soto, and Bohorquez. I'm interested to see what Roque looks like when he makes it to low A. Still, as much as I am excited by the current prospects, I remember that there was also enthusiasm for many prospects in the past. The interest in prospects goes way back and never ends. As much fun as reading/watching/following prospects has been been, especially since 1981 with the beginning of Baseball America, I cannot ever understand the criticism or denigration of past regimes and/or prospect years. Sure hope Matthews is great tonight.
  23. tony&rodney
    I wonder how often a team runs back the same roster?
  24. tony&rodney
    John Prine slots in right behind Bob Dylan as the greatest songwriter of the last 50-75 years. "Hello in There" is the work of a genius. I also love the others mentioned and knew John McCutcheon as a young man in the 1970s. Big fan of Gordon Lightfoot and Kristofferson as well (he helped Prine get his start).
  25. tony&rodney
    Put away that pipe. JK. Gooden was 19 and totally dominated MLB upon arrival. You had to see Gooden pitch to believe it almost. Let us just allow Zebulon Matthews be himself. Dreams are always good though. I like that, so I'm not condemning the comment as much as favoring an avoidance of any comparisons. It is similar to other comparisons, such as in the recent game recap article that suggested Royce Lewis was in Bobby Witt Jr. territory, which is unfair to Royce who will never reach those heights. Zebby = Zebby. Looking for a great debut tonight.
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