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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. tony&rodney
    Julien has gotten away from his game. He will need to respond if he wants to play as a regular.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. 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.
  25. 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.
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