Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

tony&rodney

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    10,385

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    88

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Tracker: Picks & Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    Emmanuel Rodriguez has a ways to go, but man does he possess a wicked bat. The swing talent jumps off the screen. The discipline to keep the swing under control is a work in progress. Easy to see him as the most talented Twins prospect from milb.com (note - no game feed of Walker Jenkins). I'm wondering what Keith Law will write about ERod this fall. Does he get any Arizona Fall League action? sure seems unlikely.
  2. tony&rodney
    Stevenson has looked good for the Saints, hitting the ball and running the bases aggressively and playing solid defense. He can absolutely help the Twins as a centerfielder and pinch base runner.
  3. tony&rodney
    Bottom line is that if the Twins cannot win the AL Central this season given their current lead and the remaining schedules for the Twins and Guardians, there is nothing or nobody to blame but themselves. The Twins are in the driver's seat and hopefully know how to steer through these last 28 games. Maybe the Twins should be watching the Cedar Rapids team to see how to deliver a knockout.
  4. tony&rodney
    It really doesn't matter who fans are willing to trade. What Twins players are appealing to another team? Then the fun starts. Luis Arraez was a specific target of Miami's plans last winter. We received Pablo Lopez plus in return. This was a good trade for both teams. Seattle has some exciting young arms. What would it take to acquire either Logan Gilbert or George Kirby? This will be a topic for the offseason, but these pitchers could be worth any one of the Twins hot young guys. Julien is fighting a leg injury which is probably fairly minor. He isn't missing by much and is still making pitchers work much harder than they want to with a guy at the top of the lineup. I think he has another hot streak in him. Scherzer challenges batters right away and often finishes hitters with well located pitches. Can EJ strike early?
  5. tony&rodney
    The offense has its turn now. The starting pitching has brought the team to September in a fair position. Now, it is time for C4 and the other bats to bear down, put the ball in play, and score 5 runs or more on a consistent basis. Buxton can get hot, Kirilloff took better swings tonight, and Kepler, Polanco, and the rookies can all be better.
  6. tony&rodney
    The Twins only play 3 games versus Cleveland. The remaining 25 games are against other opponents. The Twins have a schedule that should be in their favor, in terms of teams faced with records below or above .500. I believe that Cleveland can go on a run of 18-10 to close out the season, but I don't see the Twins below 14-14 in the last month. The Twins have the talent. The AL Central crown should be won. Sure would like to see the Twins end up with 87 wins.
  7. tony&rodney
    Floro needs luck, that is for sure. The trade allowed Jorge Lopez a chance to be close to family. He has had some stress. Pitchers live on a fine line. If they lose their edge (command and control), they often lose their jobs. Tough business. Both J. Lopez and Floro are still working hard but struggling to get the results.
  8. tony&rodney
    Nothing wrong with the waiver process. The Angels made a move that was an aberration. The gnashing of teeth will only harm your sleep. The Twins have more than enough talent to win their division. Play ball or go home is September baseball. Does anyone remember the Phillies falling apart down the stretch or the heartbreaking final weekend in Boston in 1967?
  9. tony&rodney
    The Twins need to play good baseball in September. Despite all ridicule of the AL Central, the baseball season is long and any team on top of the standings in their division at the end of the regular season should revel in the accomplishment. There are 28 games remaining and Cleveland will have the edge on a tie in the standings unless the Twins sweep in Cleveland. There are no playoff games to break a divisional or wild card tie. Head to head is first determination. Cleveland will need to go 19-9 to tie if the Twins go 14-14. The Twins have a more favorable schedule. Whomever wins the AL Central deserves it. Anything can happen, but it would be cause for a drastic change in management if this rendition of the Twins implodes and does not win the AL Central title outright.
  10. tony&rodney
    Baseball is a confounding sport at times. Texas is a far better team than Cleveland. The Twins took three out of four from the Rangers but dropped two of the three versus the Guardians. It happens. The Twins looked more focused and had better at bats against Texas and their relief pitchers had better luck too. Minnesota is in a good position here, both with the lead and a favorable schedule in September. We shall see how determined and focused on winning the Twins are in the next month. I'm guessing a 16-12 record closes out the regular season for Minnesota, leaving the team with 85 wins. This was the near consensus prediction before the season started and would represent a solid overall campaign.
  11. tony&rodney
    Looking at the standings we see both Baltimore and Los Angeles with 83 wins before September, a number that should allow the Twins to win the AL Central. Atlanta already has 87 victories and the Twins need to go 18-10 to reach that total. Our friends, the Tampa Bay Rays, could be a real influence for the Twins by sweeping Cleveland and rolling over when they visit Target Field.
  12. tony&rodney
    No surprise the Twins did not win a claim. The loss to Cleveland opened a window and now the calendar turns to September. If the Twins can go 14-14 to finish 83-79, Cleveland needs to go 19-9 to finish 83-79. In that event Cleveland wins the AL Central with a better record head to head (unless Twins sweep in Cleveland). The Twins have not managed to rise very far above .500 all season but they should be in good enough position with health and personnel to avoid a collapse. Buxton looked ok last night, but Kirilloff looked rusty. AK did have one good swing to plate a run with a line drive single. Austin Martin looks pretty comfortable playing baseball right now. He would be a worthwhile addition for September. The Twins will need to shuffle some relievers around to find a hot hand or two and especially to give Duran and Jax a break. The big question is how long the Twins roll with Luplow and Gallo. Ignoring the statistics all year and focusing on the last week or two, it seems odd to carry players who are struggling to hit foul balls much less move a runner over. Both look very uncomfortable and overwhelmed by MLB pitching right now. I guess we will all find out tomorrow how the Twins plan to finish their schedule.
  13. tony&rodney
    Two good wins versus Texas. For those who wonder about why the Twins lost games to Detroit or Kansas City, note that both teams have managed to irritate a number of other good teams as well. 90 wins is more than expected for most teams which means 72 losses. MLB is a very competitive league and wins are always pretty tough to pile up. The 12-2 last night was a little unusual. It will be very interesting to see how Joe Ryan returns tonight versus the Texas bats as well as it will be fun to see how the Twins fare against a guy who always pitches with a chip on his shoulder, Max Scherzer.
  14. tony&rodney
    Same old strike outs and failure to move runners. Fundamental baseball is not high on Falvey's checklist.
  15. tony&rodney
    The optics are pretty unusual. Buxton can still run but apparently pays a high price every time he runs and was not considered at any point this season to be fit enough physically to play in the field despite the open acknowledgment that being a DH was very difficult for Byron and likely affected him. It is what it is. I'm wondering if Buxton is at a point in his life where he is concerned with his ability to walk without pain and where he decides that the debilitating pain and the potential further damage to his mobility has reached the critical stage. I would not be at all surprised if he is facing retirement.
  16. tony&rodney
    John Prine - " stop wishing for bad luck and knocking on wood ..." The game has changed from 2017 to 2023. Baldelli isn't Molitor. The 2023 Twins have a much higher budget and payroll than the 2017 squad. The general consensus is that a strike out is an out, big deal. So there are annoying features of baseball today. Whatever, the pitcher-batter chess match is still compelling for me. There has been some fun Twins baseball to watch this season. Julien found a way to get the runs across today. Pablo Lopez has been terrific. Max Kepler is on a mini resurgence at the plate. Carlos Correa struggles at the plate and still manages to make every play in the field. The Twins were picked to be a .500 team more or less and are hanging above .500 right now. The next fifteen games should be interesting. A record of 8-7 would be fine and a 9-6 stretch would pretty much push the Twins into the postseason. Too many strike outs all year but a 2-0 win and a lead in the division is worth something.
  17. tony&rodney
    Fans have so much more information today on minor league players. I routinely watch various parts of minor league games via milb.com. Fifty years ago, The Sporting News would publish dated milb numbers and then Baseball America began in 1981. BA featured fairly complete coverage of prospects and every minor league team, even if it was a bit dated by the time of being published. The progression of coverage has been outstanding for baseball fans. The Twins have some exciting players worth following in their system. It is also important to remember that experience often defeats youth. There will be roster changes next season, but folks should expect the team to include a number of veterans. I also think the Twins may look to repeat themselves with a trade similar to the Arraez-Lopez deal. There may be a couple of players replaced by less expensive contracts in the utility roles as well. The roster expenditures should be more likely to fall to the $125-140 million range due to a drop in media revenue. I have enjoyed watching the Saints but remember there is a distinct difference between AAA and MLB. I would be surprised if both Kepler and Polanco are dropped. Buxton has a no trade contract, Correa too. Any discussion/suggestions of trading either are useless. We just don't know what is happening with Byron. We hope he returns fully healthy but perhaps he is reaching a point where he is done physically too. We don't know or at least I don't know. Players that could push for full time infield positions are: Kirilloff, Julien, Lewis, Lee, and Martin with Polanco in the picture and Correa fixed at shortstop. Miranda, Castro, Prato, and Farmer could find utility roles. Castro and Martin fit in the outfield too. I don't expect Lewis on the grass. Thus a trade happens.
  18. tony&rodney
    Why not include Jenkins, Rodriguez, or other prospects? Miranda, SWR, and Varland have worn a Twins uniform. Martin and Lee have not made an appearance with the Twins. I do like the possibilities of the five currently rostered: Wallner, Julien, Lewis Duran, and Kirilloff (IL). I might have missed the explanation.
  19. tony&rodney
    Baseball has always used a ton of data as well as other thinking to build lineups and rosters. It all comes down to basically picking a team. One guy picks Royce Lewis, another guy picks Ed Julien and so forth. Then the games are played. Of course there are a host of financial and theoretical differences that combine to give the answers to who is on the roster and plays, but the decisions are made to win games. Right now, I like the way that Julien makes life difficult for opposing pitchers. I see his awkwardness too. He even runs a little funny. I'm not feeling too bad about his defense as long as he hits like has thus far and I think he will improve quite a bit at the plate. I'm picking Julien to play second base or DH for now and next year too.
  20. tony&rodney
    I expect one or two guys to be traded. Based on how they have been used/treated (lineups, demotions, comments) and not understanding anything about whatever the Twins think, I would guess any of Larnach, Julien, and Wallner are fair game. Maybe Kirilloff too. I do not expect either Lee or Lewis to be traded.
  21. tony&rodney
    I commented on this last year when Julien faced the odd crappy umpire in AA. In AAA this year, Julien ws the beneficiary of the ABS system and being able to challenge strike calls. I have no idea why umpires make those calls (actually quite often) against Julien but way less often against either Kepler or Gallo. Julien needs to put some of those balls in play when it is clear that an umpire struggles with the strike zone; adaptation.
  22. tony&rodney
    I agree with the title of the post. Julien does need to keep hitting and having good at bats though. Decreasing the strike out rates as well would be nice. He has cooled off a bit and the Twins need him to be a force at the plate. Finally, pushing him down to the nine hole, but still starting, makes sense against left-handed pitchers. There are benefits of having Julien in the lineup on a full time basis. His long at bats are annoying for opposing pitchers which can have positive benefits for those who come to the plate after Julien.
  23. tony&rodney
    Actually, that is just the beginning of the story. Literally, Brooks Lee has only been in AAA for a little while. Nobody in baseball is making judgments that quickly, which is why a player who enters a level red hot doesn't get immediately sent up. There are so many facets to playing baseball and learning the adjustments at each level. Lee will be fine. I'm not thinking that the Twins will turn to Lee at any point in 2023, but he is an enticing study of a quick learner. Also, I'm with Washington that first base is not an easy position to play well. Mauer is an exceptional athlete, but the other guys have only been playing first base out of necessity. When is Alex Kirilloff going to heal? Of the other options, I'm wondering if Jorge Polanco would be adequate at first base.
  24. tony&rodney
    Some high school kids are exposed to very good pitching, which gives them a solid base from which to begin their careers. The trick is for these young players to stay within themselves with a disciplined approach. That is more difficult, especially for a young athlete who has had a ton of success. Winokur is having some fun right now - good to see/read about.
  25. tony&rodney
    They do.
×
×
  • Create New...