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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    This seems crazy. Pitchers (Pablo) would throw a pitch they absolutely did not want to throw because that is what is called? I have to think Scherzer looks in and thinks WTF, I'm going to throw my pitch and let the catcher figure it out.
  2. tony&rodney
    Just to be fussy and remembering that I have been high on David Festa since last season as the Twins best pitching prospect, I want to see two improvements in his games. First would be more efficiency with his pitches and second would be to see him throw 90-100 pitches. The Twins may not allow him to reach the higher pitch counts. Festa still has to work on more command as well but that fits into the efficiency wish. I enjoyed watching him pitch yesterday, but wanted to see him throw another inning. I do understand that the Twins are careful with their pitchers and don't really disagree much with that. A couple of years ago it seemed like Festa was a taller version of The Blade, Tommie Hall. Festa was so skinny. Last year he was a little bigger and is noticeably bigger this year. Another 10-15 pounds of useful flesh should help Festa. I think Festa has had to buy new clothes twice in the last two years. Initially he looked like he had a 28 inch waist. Side note - I rarely pay any attention to listed weight. Guys can put themselves at 6'-3" and 145 lbs. on their driver's license when they check in at 5'-11" and 195 lbs. Did anyone believe Miguel Sano was 220 lbs.?
  3. tony&rodney
    I'm not sure Emmanuel is ready for MLB yet. This season has seen some big improvements in approach at the plate, primarily fewer out of control swings and a reduced number of times when he gives at bats away. Having watched him hit this year well more than a couple of dozen times (via milb.com) I want to add that the pitchers rarely throw EmRod strikes. The hits come on those few pitches he sees worth swinging at. Umpires must get tired of him taking pitches just off the plate. I would say that I have seen him called out on strikes on at least six occasions on pitches easily out of the zone. Rodriguez does have a bit of trouble with pitches on the outside corner in the upper reaches of the strike zone which means he still has some adjustments to make. He could learn to drive those pitches to left field. Right now the contact on pitches away are primarily more towards centerfield. Nevertheless, EmRod is probably ready to see AAA pitchers. He may have to wait until some time in June or July but it certainly would not being rushing him to get a promotion now.
  4. tony&rodney
    Excellent recap. The season is young, the Twins are fine - no worries.
  5. tony&rodney
    Kyle Schwarber? He doesn't even run the bases or field and the Phillies are unlikely to DFA him. Julio Rodriguez? There are players who strike out in MLB. I am not a fan of Ks but the game has evolved. Unless umpires noticeably change the zone for a rookie, anyone with a good eye can draw walks. Joey Gallo should be playing in a Men's League but teams keep offering him millions so he suits up. He has more walks than hits (16W/12H) with 54 Ks and a .122 BA (which apparently is not important) in 117 PA. Emmanuel Rodriguez is physically prepared to play every day in MLB. He still has a season of work to do in the minor leagues on cleaning up the mental part of the game. EmRod has improved since last year. Most notable is that he is less prone to taking crazy wild out of control swings and he has become better at not giving away at bats. If umpires call the strike zone reasonably, EmRod will be just fine when his time comes.
  6. tony&rodney
    I'm not sure anyone expects that Kiersey Jr. is going to set MLB on fire and lead the Twins to Valhalla. He bats left-handed, strikes out, and is not in his early 20s which bugs some people. Can the young 27 year old be a better player than a current Twin, say Margot or Larnach? That bar isn't particularly high. An injury to either or to Buxton should increase his chances. At some point the Twins will have a need to find out if Kiersey Jr. is a possible contributor to their major league team and we don't have to worry about his age or other aspects of his game. Julien is not really a good comparison but he was seen as having too many flaws to regard for the roster last season. Julien had many weaknesses but wound up leading the Twins along with a couple of others into the playoffs. (Noted that the most serious hole, defense, has been patched only to see the bat develop an ugly illness this year.)
  7. tony&rodney
    Alcala called up.
  8. tony&rodney
    The Twins called Alcala up today. Hopefully he can stay and be effective.
  9. tony&rodney
    Kiersey Jr. is doing his part to gain attention, but he will need to maintain his current level of play until an injury occurs. It is the end of May, which is usually way too early for teams to pull the plug on declining vets (Joey Gallo). Teams are also reluctant to demote struggling first round draft choices who have shown promise. Kiersey Jr. had a relatively late start to his career but has shown the skills to gain notice now. When an opening occurs I hope DaShawn gets a promotion to the Twins.
  10. tony&rodney
    Jenkins had some leg problems in high school but I'm not concerned about injuries with him at this time. He still is looking like a quick riser (very athletic with skills) and hopefully he can get to Cedar Rapids at least. I'm hoping I can tune in (milb.com) to him this weekend if the Twins let him play for Ft. Myers. Brooks Lee just needs to be healthy and he should make his way onto the roster by August. Back problems are always troublesome but athletes work hard to strengthen their bodies in ways to mitigate injuries. Whereas Jenkins or Rodriguez may be stars if they progress, Lee is more likely a regular who has great value. Emmanuel needs a push to AAA, where he will see pitchers throw all kinds of junk his way. He will need to make some adjustments at AAA, but will benefit from the ABS/ Challenge System. If you watched 25-50 of EmRod's at bats you will see some patterns. In AA, the pitchers are rarely throwing pitches over the plate to him. He probably leads all of baseball in strikes called on pitches out of the zone. He is a little stiff and has some trouble with pitches just off the plate away which result in swings and misses. In AAA, these will be called balls. Emmanuel does need to make better decisions on pitches early in counts where a pitcher occasionally challenges him. This is often where he is passive. He also still takes out of control swings at time but much less than last year. There is still work to do for the 21 year old but I believe you will see prospect writers begin to push him higher on lists because Rodriguez has made some improvements in his game from last season. As of right now, AA is below his level. He needs a new challenge.
  11. tony&rodney
    We would all love to have a shortstop earning minimum salary who makes every play and is average with the bat. That is not in the cards. There is not a prospect in the system who approaches Correa in the field. It might not be incorrect to say that the Twins do not win last year and finish fourth this year without Correa. Carlos is a really good shortstop. His salary goes up next year and hopefully he maintains health, keeps making the plays, and hit at his current rate. Correa's contract has not been a problem thus far.
  12. tony&rodney
    Emmanuel hits left-handed pitchers just fine so it is unlikely he would be platooned unless lefties give him any trouble at AAA, which is also unlikely. Hopefully EmRod pushes his way to AAA soon. Physically he is ready. Worth noting that Robby Snelling is the top rated left-handed pitcher in all of the minor leagues. He has really good stuff and EmRod handled him easily. Had fun switching between Wichita and Cedar Rapids games. Nowlin has a good arm. I think he is possibly a sleeper in the system. Hitters have a really tough time squaring him up when he has control. Culpepper was dealing last night. Lastly, I agree that Keaschall looks to be in need of facing better pitching and AA should happen in a couple of weeks.
  13. tony&rodney
    I am a big proponent of the challenge system. While Emmanuel Rodriguez still has plenty to learn in baseball he would benefit enormously from a challenge system.
  14. tony&rodney
    Impossible to tell where the 2-2 pitch by Jared Solomon was. The umpire was lined up with the pitch location and it very clearly looked like it was a strike directly in front of him. Solomon pumped his fist and the catcher did too as he came out from behind the plate thinking the game was over. The umpire called a ball though and the ensuing reactions were not good. Solomon screamed at the umpire and gestured as well and then proceeded to throw ball four. Solomon should have been ejected before the pitch but got his money's worth after the ground ball out. People make mistakes. It was an odd sequence. For those who do not watch minor league games it might help to know that the minor league players rarely react to any calls on the field. It is rare to see a player argue or make any displays to an umpire. The minor leagues are all about development and the players are taught to just accept the calls and move on.
  15. tony&rodney
    Something seems amiss with comments/apparent statements that suggest a pitcher is an employee and doesn't have a choice in what pitch to throw. Is this a thing? Could this explain what went wrong with Jorge Alcala? Did Alcala go against the called pitches by shaking off the catcher/organization and is now subsequently wearing a St. Paul uniform? I may be a little confused by this thread. Certainly Duran should not be throwing a curve when he feels it best to use his heater. Doubt and lack of conviction is never a good idea for pitchers. Interesting thought for a reporter to delve into in greater depth. It would be pretty wild to have a video gamer making the decisions for what pitch Duran is throwing. This seems a little out there.
  16. tony&rodney
    Add Ty Southisene from Basic High School in Las Vegas to the honorable mention list. He is small and may get moved to 2B because of his size but he is really quick with his bat. Saw him play a couple of times against top competition and came away impressed. Southisene should be a second or third round pick.
  17. tony&rodney
    Maybe the bats are back.
  18. tony&rodney
    Naturally, we will view players differently on occasions. Buxton and Correa were both drafted, signed , and developed as premier athletes and maintain obvious defensive value. Lewis, Lee, and Martin are all seen as offense first baseball players who could possibly be good defenders in time. Lewis is the best athlete but Lee is ahead of the other two defensively but still not anywhere near Correa level. Guys like Margot and Santana have had fine careers but it is just polite to be positive about their skills at this time. There is nothing wrong with the respect these veterans receive but they are not really above average any longer despite all attempts by our broadcasters and fans to view each as still strong gloves. Gallo? He was once a slugger worth avoiding, but the days of Gallo playing decent baseball are in the past by several seasons. We can even look at their minor league system to see some weaknesses with playing in the field. Schobel, Ross, Keaschall, and others are a little weak with the glove. There are some who look decent though and I'm not down on the Twins system, but rather suggesting that the focus for the organization has rather pointedly been bat oriented. Hey, I still hope the Twins win the World Series this year but when a team drafts guys like Rooker, Kirilloff, Wallner, Larnach, etc. it is not with the idea that they will be stellar in the field. You may have a point with the consistency issue of playing in one position. I'm not sure about this element.
  19. tony&rodney
    The Twins are not a good defensive team, but part of the problem is that defense is not an important consideration in the viewpoint of those guys who put together the roster. The Twins are doing, more or less, what could be expected in the field and thus it doesn't make sense to believe these players can be something they just are not ... good defenders. The mental mistakes and poor at bats are a different story.
  20. tony&rodney
    Something is odd about how the Twins have treated Jorge Alcala. It could be legit but I sure don't know or understand anything about the dynamics concerning Alcala.
  21. tony&rodney
    My sense tells me that Baldelli decides on the in game moves/substitutions but not the opening lineup. Seems crazy but it is 2024.
  22. tony&rodney
    The fan in me appreciates the work of those who post articles on Twins Daily. However, a negative look at players probably is misplaced. Perhaps an analysis and look at why the Twins are not very good at playing in the field would be more useful than just using unreliable, at best, defensive statistics to lowlight the efforts of individual players. The team has been constructed with players using a pretty specific eye towards talents judged most important by the people who put this squad together. Nobody should be too surprised by how the Twins field the ball given the design of the roster. The physical mistakes have been mostly average to this point in the season. I will grant that the mental gaffes are troublesome. I wonder if some players are taking their unfortunate at bats into the field.
  23. tony&rodney
    The pitcher always has the final say on what pitch to throw. If a player is less than convicted then it is a mistake to throw that pitch. Yes, catchers get mad sometimes when you shake them off. That is part of the game.
  24. tony&rodney
    Julien is having a hard year thus far, especially at the plate. You are correct about his lack of smooth in the field. There isn't anyone else though. Farmer looks smooth but cover less ground actually and his bat has termites. Everyone seems to like Farmer, including Julien, but this year Farmer has had trouble playing baseball. So it has to be Julien unless there is a more radical move. The season is long so a change is unlikely. I guess we need to hope that Julien gets it together.
  25. tony&rodney
    Julien has gotten away from his game. He will need to respond if he wants to play as a regular.
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