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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    Not Royce, the milb pitcher.
  2. tony&rodney
    Trade this year? I would offer Lewis or Culpepper. FA signing? I would offer 3/$15. Correct, I'm not interested in a bungled trade and a free agent signing is not happening above my number, not by the Twins.
  3. tony&rodney
    Hard to see the Twins even thinking about Sheets. Santana, Miranda, Kepler, Castro, Larnach, Kirilloff, Wallner, Martin, and more are already in the organization.
  4. tony&rodney
    Wallner has hit some absolute shots in AAA. Numbers aside, he still looks to have a hole in his swing if you watch him hit. To be fair, all players will have weaknesses. We need to give credit to Wallner for working hard but AAA pitchers have been pretty good about giving Big Matt pitches in his whomping zone. Of course, as a Twins fan, I would like to see Wallner hitting those towering home runs in MLB games. Still, the approach doesn't look so daunting to a pitcher with excellent control. I think both Ryan and Ober would have their way with Matt. I really do wish Wallner could find success in the majors but since last October have felt the Twins should have used him in a trade and I still think he might be a piece that another team finds appealing for their team.
  5. tony&rodney
    The White Sox have some talented players who may be changing uniforms at the end of July. I'm just having a hard time seeing the Twins involved unless the deal heavily favors them. Teams trading good players usually are attempting to add a treasure trove of prospects who are likely to be solid MLB athletes. Additionally, the Twins face a bit of a crunch next season in terms of roster salaries which would likely preclude adding any significant dollars in a deal this year. If the Twins were to add anyone from the Southsiders, my aim would be Crochet. Who goes the other way? Not sure what the Sox want or the Twins are willing to check off on.
  6. tony&rodney
    Nowlin has a ton of moving parts and on any pitch where he aligns everything he is pretty unhittable. No, that isn't true for everyone. Nowlin can get great late movement. His future rests in whether he is able to predictable harness his control. That is a common theme for pitchers with great stuff. I try to catch as many innings of Nowlin's games as possible but missed his recent gem.
  7. tony&rodney
    The Twins have had extremely good luck with their catchers. I don't really understand the criticism of a rotation that keeps both guys healthy. Teams need the catchers for defense, any offense is a bonus. I never understood the demand of catching until I caught several games. When I caught fifty games in a year the realization of the demands of the position became apparent. There is really very little comparison between the physical challenges of any position to catching. The Twins are doing well at the position.
  8. tony&rodney
    Lopez, Ryan, and Ober are capable playoff pitchers. Yes, Gerrit Cole would be nice but I'm not thinking he or another top flight pitcher is available at a price the Twins can afford to pay. Paddack, Woods Richardson, Varland, and Festa provide a fair back end to the rotation. It would be interesting to see what the cost is for an arm that makes a difference in the bullpen. The Twins have some weapons on offense. The consistency and health remains a question but the talent seems reasonable. Correa, Buxton, Kepler, and Lewis are supported by Miranda, Castro, and Jeffers along with all of the other players rotated into the lineup. St. Paul and Wichita have a couple helpers too. When the All Star Game is complete and the Twins have finished with the Brewers and Phillies, there may be a quest to add a bat. Fans should not be surprised if no additions are made from outside the organization this year.
  9. tony&rodney
    My comment was a mild attempt to remind those who assess MLB employees that it is possible to be reflective and treat entertainment less harshly and enjoy aspects of games, even when your team is unsuccessful. All opinions are welcome. I have no criteria. Your responses are angry and while it is a wonderful thing that you may be an avid follower of baseball, perhaps allow a little happiness into the experience. Try to enjoy baseball. I'm sorry and apologize for triggering you with my relatively meaningless comments. Peace.
  10. tony&rodney
    Thielbar will be fine. He just needs to relax, have a few Surly's, and get back on track.
  11. tony&rodney
    Nothing wrong with the disagreements. I'm rarely watch any sport other than baseball but I coached basketball for near thirty years. I wondered why the Timberwolves didn't just let Doncic get his points and take away his passing options. No double. I also wondered why the Wolves seemed to avoid driving on Doncic to make him play both ends of the floor. Yes, I disagree with Baldelli too sometimes. Certainly the game has changed in my seven decades. It does seem though that some folks belittle Baldelli as if they ever knew a sliver of baseball knowledge by comparison. Pretend is a wonderful thing but comments should also keep a foot in reality which you clearly do from your reply.
  12. tony&rodney
    We all know that Correa has a huge contract. However, it is a big jump from a shortstop like Correa to the next best available option. I choose to ignore the contract and feel the Twins (and their fans) are lucky to have a very dependable shortstop. I watch a fair amount of minor league games (milb.com) and have yet to see anyone remotely close in skills playing shortstop.
  13. tony&rodney
    The Okert for Gordon trade was win-win for both teams because each player was out of options and there wasn't a roster position for them unless traded. The Marlins were keen to add Luis Arraez and thus the Pablo Lopez trade. I'm not too sure who Miami wants from the Twins at this time. Luzardo would be a good addition but the cost would be high (Lee, Raya, plus two?). Last winter I suggested the Twins add Edward Cabrera and use him in the role currently filled by Cole Sands. I have no idea what it would take to add Cabrera but I'm still interested in him. What does Miami want? The Marlins franchise looks to be in some disarray so the plans are unknown, which makes potential trades difficult to guess.
  14. tony&rodney
    It seems pretty natural to be disappointed by the performance of specific Twins players and understandable that folks want the Twins to win games. Some people are suggesting changes that are a little severe. Sports fans are a little like that though, I guess. The comments make me wonder if people who have or once had a job that required exceptional skills, intelligence, training, and experience would accept the notion that any person off the street could step in and do their job. Could Baldelli take your place in your job today or the job you once had? Decades of playing, coaching, and following baseball has given me a relatively thorough understanding of the game, but it was never my sole means of employment much less expertise. I do find myself at odds with some decisions by both players and managers, thus not attempting to correct anyone for their opinions. Levity is a good thing and it is useful to remember that as fans we have little to no experience relative to the knowledge possessed by professionals such as Rocco Baldelli. This doesn't mean that he is above reproach or criticism. There are 30 MLB managers which means that these guys hold pretty difficult to obtain yet surely impossible to hold positions. I'm pretty sure that no one who has ever posted, commented, or read on Twins Daily has anything close to the expertise of these managers. Baseball is entertainment for us and we should do our part to be entertained in order to avoid a sole focus on the negative, which puts a damper on the fun of following the game. Please forgive me if this is too much like wishy-washy philosophy or something else. The people on this site are interested in baseball and I just wish folks would not let their interests in the Twins or game push them into a poor state of mind merely because of a loss or poor performance. It is a long season.
  15. tony&rodney
    Julien has looked worse for the Saints than he did for the Twins; he is lost at the plate. This will be a big week for him. Maybe he rebounds from the past. I was hoping that Julien would be sent down to Ft. Myers to work on his swing. It sure looked to me like a combination of mental approach (hesitancy) and swing trigger was off. Also, I may be the only one but I see Julien as a second baseman only. His lateral movement is fine. He played one game at 1B for the Saints because they wanted to use Tony Kemp at 2B and others elsewhere while thinking a day at 1B would be a possible positive change. Julien doesn't have the flexibility to play a good first base. Hopefully, for Julien and the Twins, the bat returns. Does anyone else think that Kirilloff's swing looks slower than it did last year? AK looks like he is muscled up.
  16. tony&rodney
    The team sure could use a reliable performer in LF/1B/DH but other than a breakout from someone already in the organization I cannot think of who is available at a salary and prospect cost the Twins would see as amenable. Luzardo would be a nice addition. His salary may be doable now but can the team absorb his rising costs? Lee and Soto should be enough to haul in Luzardo. Are there any teams who are willing to take on a veteran from the current roster or do the Twins just swallow those contracts? Gallo was held until the end (never was released during the season).
  17. tony&rodney
    Agree completely with this sentiment. MLB is a super competitive and balanced league for the most part. The best teams (Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, Braves, Orioles) will win the most games during the long season but the nature of the playoffs make it possible to have a Rangers versus Diamondbacks World Series. Opinions vary on this sight about the ability or willingness for the Twins to add salary. There are always opportunities to make trades though. It will be interesting to see how many games the team can gain in their schedule up to the All Star Game and then how the Twins play in their first five games versus the Brewers and Phillies immediately after the break. These may be the indicators of whether the team makes some trades. The Twins have likely determined that Walker Jenkins is untouchable, similar to their past views on Buxton and Lewis. I would not be surprised at all by a trade that included either Lee or Soto. Emmanuel Rodriguez probably causes the most disagreement among discussions within the organization because he seemingly gets better and more dominant as he moves up each level but also still has warts in his game. It has been odd how AA pitchers basically refuse to pitch to him. I vote to keep David Festa and Zeb Matthews at this time. as well as Luke Keaschall. It isn't totally clear where these three are headed but they all look pretty good.
  18. tony&rodney
    Falvey has the players he wanted for 2024. The budget has been spent. Now it is time to see how that roster finishes the season.
  19. tony&rodney
    If a player wears a major league uniform there are good. Munoz, like so many others, had his ups and downs but hopefully he has a decent pension for his seven years in MLB after 6 years in the minors. Nobody mistook him for a star or even a regular.
  20. tony&rodney
    Do you have mlb.com? If so, you can watch both low and high A, AA, and AAA games on milb.com. One can just pull up the games with four tabs and switch back and forth to watch the pitchers and batters you choose. Watching Festa, Raya, or Soto pitch can give you a sense of where they are in their development. The same goes for watching Jenkins, EmRod, Lee, or others. Naturally, one will not watch the entire games or hours per night but sampling at bats and innings is an option. I do enjoy the minor league reports more than any other part of Twins Daily. One unrelated note - I think the Twins are mishandling Julien. From my perspective he needs a reset, not AAA. Going down to base camp and reworking his swing and taking at bats in the GCL would be more valuable. Although Houston's Abreu is an experienced MLB player, he spent time working on his swing away from trying to contribute to AAA games. Then again, what do I know? Julien looks worse in St. Paul than he did for the Twins.
  21. tony&rodney
    Hey, at least the Twins didn't need to use a position player to pitch like the Yankees.
  22. tony&rodney
    The Twins are a playoff team if the season was over tonight. Yes, the offense has really struggled to find a rhythm but the MLB season is not the NFL; it is long with many different shapes. No reason to panic when the team is above even and in most of their games. Yankee fans shouldn't be panicked either just because they are getting thrashed tonight by the Dodgers.
  23. tony&rodney
    I believe that is the hangup right now. There are silly statements issued about how to know what strike zone to use and a consistent commentary by MLB announcers that the system isn't ready but AAA has zero issues this year from a a viewer point of view. It does look better run than last year. Watch a couple of dozen games via milb.com and see what you think. The dollars from gambling were sought out and are catered to by MLB. This isn't something fans can weigh in on. We would have more luck opposing a plumbing ad. It doesn't matter if one is opposed to gambling. I don't gamble but that is irrelevant. My concern with sports and gambling has already played out with NBA referees and mostly young not well known athletes across sports. It is predictable. I just wonder if the use of an electronic strike zone/ ABS/ challenge system would help avoid issues for baseball. FWIW, the umpires seem to be better than they ever were in the past. The strike zone, however, seems to remain an issue in MLB while safe or out calls on the bases have seen corrections through the manager's challenge. Ironically, the ABS challenge system is lightning fast (less than 5 seconds) while base challenges have routinely taken several minutes and even much more.
  24. tony&rodney
    I'm guessing that Joe Ryan is the only player in the running at this moment in time.
  25. tony&rodney
    How many complaints and articles were there about the umpires during the Twins winning streak? That said, an ABS or challenge system needs to be instituted, particularly with the rise in advertising and promotion for gambling on the games. The intersection of human calls and gambling are on a collision course.
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