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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    Emmanuel Rodriguez strikes out quite often. I see a ton of his at bats via milb.com and he rarely gets anything decent to hit and leads baseball in called strikes that are out of the zone. My common sense tells me that EmRod is not ready yet for The Show but he needs to see either better umpires, the ABS system, or the majors. Why not? The Twins are flailing.
  2. tony&rodney
    The schedule turns more friendly after the Twins leave New York on June 6. The stretch from May 3 to June 6 includes only the three with Washington for relief in those 32 games and the Nationals have been pretty good too.. Thus far the Twins are 7-8 for this period. The Minnesota squad is not playing good baseball at the moment and people can justifiably point to the putrid offseason of missed opportunities or pile on about the lack of talent, but there are still months to go in the season where the players can make adjustments and correct current weaknesses. It isn't time to get down on the local nine. I will be curious to see where the Twins are as they head to PNC Park in Pittsburgh for an early June series with the Pirates.
  3. tony&rodney
    We all hope Buxton can get it together. The physical skills such as speed, strength, and reactions seem decent but the fielding is more tentative and Buck's swings are not good at this time. It is still May and thus plenty of games to play, but something needs to be corrected or refined. The current model isn't very promising. I sure hope Byron can make the mechanical changes needed for him to find some success.
  4. tony&rodney
    Betting on the game is a sure no. I believe the NBA just banned a player recently. Not really any way to overlook overt fixing that demolishes the integrity of the games. Steroids are a different tale. Sad the way that so many people abused steroids and caused health issues among other problems. The desire to heal quickly and maintain peak strength in order to compete swept through sports. MLB actually encouraged and advertised the entire steroid era to the max. Do you remember that Sosa-McGuire was featured every single day? Then MLB decided to turn on these guys and made Bonds the poster for badness. While I personally don't doubt that Bonds was involved with PEDs, he was tested more than any other player ever and never tested positive. Ortiz did test positive and is in the HOF. Nonsense by MLB all around. If anything executives from MLB's commissioner's office in that era should be banned well before any of the players.
  5. tony&rodney
    Hard to dismiss how futile the Twins have looked against teams like Baltimore, Los Angeles (Dodgers), and New York (Yankees). Hopefully the players who were expected to play well show in future series versus strong teams. It can happen. The 2024 team is exactly what Falvey wanted because he put it together.
  6. tony&rodney
    I guess my only thought in response is to repeat what I said before, I'm not sure how Kiersey Jr. would hurt the team. I do believe his hitting is questionable but my eyes tell me his is a better defender than Martin. To be clear I'm not down on Martin but he isn't playing so perhaps another guy might get a chance. Overall the thought of adding Kiersey Jr. is indeed questionable. I'm not actually surprised by the shoddy outfield play by the Twins because this is the team Falvey put together.
  7. tony&rodney
    A number of people have wondered about Kiersey Jr. He is a late bloomer (not young) and extremely prone to striking out. It does seem like his defense in the outfield, which looks above average for sure, could help the Twins. He also is also quite speedy and seems like a decent baserunner. The average is good this year and includes power. The Twins outfield defense looks like it needs some relief. At this point I'm not sure how Kiersey, Jr. would hurt the team.
  8. tony&rodney
    The roster payroll discussion has been worked to death. The offseason was tough because some poor decisions were made on trades and player acquisitions. I have no idea what plan Falvey had last offseason or if he had some PTSD from previous years but the Twins were risk adverse in trades and surprisingly impatient as well. What is done is done. Nevertheless, the current team has enough positives to compete for an AL Central Division title. The time to forget the past offseason has arrived even if one had a complete distaste for those actions of the organization. While the team is less interesting than hoped, it isn't like any thoughts from here make a difference.
  9. tony&rodney
    I thought the same thing. Also made me wonder who makes the playing time decisions. Sometimes players have forces opposed to their usage or so it seems. Nevertheless, Austin Martin and others need to prove they must be in the lineup. Baseball is a brutal profession.
  10. tony&rodney
    Nice job; it's fun to read up on the guys who may be drafted and enter professional baseball. Had the chance to watch a young high school catcher play a couple of games this year who might be worth a look. Burke Mabeus (from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman ) reminds me of A. J. Pierzsinski in a way. He is tall, athletic, talks, and has a full set of tools suited for baseball. While his A. J. antics may irritate some, there is real talent in the player. I have no idea whether he is willing to go pro yet.. Was told that he has committed to play for Oregon. He did well in all areas of the game against top competition. Look forward to these articles .... thank you for putting them together.
  11. tony&rodney
    Eventually, MLB will get interns to film, time, record, and diagram every ball to the outfield mathematically such as the information on outfielders will be as precise as swing speed and pitcher's velocity. Then people who need to see the degrees of variance from a perfect route along with reaction time, etc. will be able to pore over more math. There is already a trove of information but the absolute mathematical takeover of outfield defense has not yet been perfected. Until then us commoners will need to rely on our decades of experience as viewers, players, and coaches. The Twins miss Michael A. Taylor when Buxton goes down. I'm sure others will have their own ideas on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the current group of Twins outfielders, but I generally agree with your list.
  12. tony&rodney
    Line them up and choose for yourself. It isn't a very good group aside from Max Kepler and Byron Buxton. I would take the others in this order: Castro, Martin, Margot Larnach, and Kirilloff. Martin made some poor plays and I expect him to go back to St. Paul soon, but I'm not sure why folks are acting like he cost us a game or is horrible at baseball.
  13. tony&rodney
    Martin sure could use some regular at bats and playing time at the same position. It looks like that might be for St. Paul starting this weekend. It is harder for young players with limited experience to get comfortable in limited playing scenarios. Seems the Twins didn't have too much confidence in Austin. While it is true that Martin has not looked good in the outfield for the Twins, he isn't even the worst outfielder on the current team much less among the random outfield statues employed by our local squad over time. All these inexperienced players need to get it together because their jobs are tied to performance. Hopefully Austin Martin can become a decent major league ball player.
  14. tony&rodney
    While I don't disagree that Festa needs to become consistent with his pitches, there are a couple of things to remember. Festa was around 6'-6" at 165 pounds. He is growing into his body and adjusting to the added strength/weight. Additionally, while he does have the pitches (stuff) there is a learning curve and confidence angle to be gained with someone who didn't grow up totally dominating hitters. I believe he is the Twins best pitching prospect and by next year he will be ready for MLB.
  15. tony&rodney
    Festa has been trending positive for a couple of years now. Each level has been a challenge that he has met thus far with the incremental improvements noted in the Cameron's article. The past two years I have tried to catch his games via milb.com and have seen both the steady gains and areas where Festa can still improve. While I don't think he is quite ready at this time (mid May), a continued increase in command and control along with the opportunity to build stamina could make Festa a solid choice if the need should occur in mid season or later. Having both Festa and Varland available for spot starts or as replacements for an injured or ineffective Twins pitcher is a sweet option for the organization. Each would be exciting out of the bullpen late in the year or in the playoffs too.
  16. tony&rodney
    The Twins have been relatively healthy thus far in 2024. Injuries to key players (Correa, Kepler, Julien) and pitchers (Lopez, Ryan, Ober , Duran) can change fortunes and playoff odds. Hopefully extended IL stints can be avoided and the team wins the AL Central.
  17. tony&rodney
    Bullpens are tenuous even in a good year. Guys get hurt, have ineffective outings from time to time, and overuse is a constant concern. For example, Jax was used too often just recently, Stewart went on the IL, and Thielbar has been inconsistent. The Twins seem to have enough arms but will need to find ways to spread out the workload amongst relievers who are effective. The Twins were counting on Topa but he has been injured or not good for most of the last decade. Jackson might be a mirage as well. There are guys like Sands, Staumont, Funderburk, and more who could be decent through the year and support the pitchers we hope stay solid like Duran, Stewart, Jax, Thielbar, and Okert. It is a long season and there are going to be times when the bullpen is in a down phase. Hopefully that can be minimized. Perhaps one way to reduce stress on the relievers is to allow the starters to go another inning when they are throwing free and easy. Ober has been lifted several times with only 80 plus pitches thrown and the game well in hand. Perhaps he needed to be lifted but when the schedule has an off day it seems like Lopez, Ryan, and Ober would have little trouble going another inning after an easy stretch in the game where they reached 80-9- pitches.
  18. tony&rodney
    To just add to this comment, there were a number of people who were interested in the Twins signing Rhys Hoskins. I never sensed the distaste for signing Santana but rather a preference for other players. To be clear, in lieu of the payroll crunch, I didn't expect any signing. As an aside i have wondered whether Kirilloff has been affected by the lack of confidence shown in him. That said, all players need to earn their playing time.
  19. tony&rodney
    We are 3-4 weeks away from this conversation and plenty can happen in the interim. When Royce Lewis is ready to play again he will likely get some DH time. Miranda is a step slow at third base but makes most of the plays. He will need to hit in order to stay on the roster. As much as I like Kyle Farmer, he needs to show more with the bat. His roster spot will not be in any danger but those people who are still clinging to his defensive value are missing how much the previously awkward Julien has improved with the glove. Julien has better lateral movement than Farmer at second base. Farmer still looks smoother. If Julien can hit better, especially versus lefties, that position is his to hold. Julien needs to be more reliable at the plate. The pitching has been pretty solid from week to week and management will be looking for effective bats when the time comes for decisions. These decisions usually are made by how the position player is hitting. Right now, Austin Martin is struggling a bit. This is an important week for the Twins, playing New York and Cleveland. People have to be reasonably pleased with the Twins record right now, especially with the slow start to the year and the injuries to Lewis and Buxton.
  20. tony&rodney
    Games like this happen almost every year to every team. Unless the Twins flail and become futile in the next week, we can just flush it.
  21. tony&rodney
    One start. It is a long season. If the bullpen shuts down Toronto, we might not even be concerned. Vladdy is nitro right now. Look up on June 15 and assess the team at that time.
  22. tony&rodney
    Jaylin Nowlen is improving.
  23. tony&rodney
    Wichita has some good second basemen playing shortstop and the ball keeps finding them. I'm wondering if DeAndrade will be ready for a promotion in June.
  24. tony&rodney
    The pitching for the Twins has been really fun to watch recently and I enjoy their starting pitching. It doesn't make any difference to me where those guys come from and how their journey brought them to Target Field. "..... their history ...." Slow down a little there. Maybe just go with "in awhile". The ghosts of 1970 and some others were pretty staunch in their day. From a wider point of view it isn't necessary to make these comparisons to appreciate the current pitching staff. We see the same out there opinions on Terry Ryan versus Derek Falvey or going back further even, Calvin Griffith versus Carl Pohlad. It is possible to laud a performance without making references or comparisons.
  25. tony&rodney
    I'm always a little confused why some folks identify Falvey as a guy who was hired to develop a "pitching pipeline". It just doesn't stand up and also doesn't really matter. As TwinsDr2021 states, Ober is it thus far for Falvey. If people want to pursue the idea it might be useful to compare The drafting, signing, and development of pitchers within the AL Central and across baseball. Personally I think one of the main roles of the PBO (Falvey) is putting together a competitive team. The record indicates that Falvey has done that. However, almost any way one looks at past or current Twins starting pitchers in the Falvey era the idea of a "pitching pipeline" where the Twins sign and develop starting pitchers needs to be put to rest. I'm pretty happy to have Pablo Lopez starting for the Twins even if he wasn't signed and developed by the Twins.
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