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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    Randballs Stu, this might be funny if it wasn't so totally true. I'm a huge fan of the work of Buster Posey and some other catchers but Joe Mauer was the hands down best catcher in baseball from this century. It is insane that he ever received the venom or criticism from his so called local fans base. To those who disagree, go sit in a dark closet for three weeks until your concussion symptoms begin to dissipate.
  2. tony&rodney
    The Twins are not trading E. Rodriguez, R. Lewis, or B. Lee for anyone. Period. It is doubtful there is another trade for a significant player. I cannot think of anyone who is available right now. Come late July, there may be some serious changes in how a team sees their players, which allows for a trade.
  3. tony&rodney
    This is looking true. Look around at the catchers in baseball today. There are some excellent catchers in the game today, but only Realmuto comes even close to matching Mauer. The Hall of Fame voters have to define the differences in their own minds between catching and any other position in the field. Many people have played baseball and some at a high level but unless one has caught a hundred plus games as an adult, it is difficult to explain the measure of physical hardship catching entails. If someone like Joe Mauer cannot be voted into the Hall on the first ballot, then the conversation on how to measure catchers needs to be concluded. Adrian Beltre was a terrific player and I believe a sure Hall of Fame player who should get in next year. One cannot compare on any level a catcher and any other position player.
  4. tony&rodney
    The trades completed thus far were all reasonable in their dimensions. Hopefully, each of the acquired starters manages to reach their potential this year. My own inclination is to allow each of the three on their final seasons reach free agency as a few new starting pitchers take their place. One potential path to finding an ace or additional strong starting pitcher is to gamble on a guy who has not yet established their career. I had hoped that the Twins could get lucky with a pitcher like Edward Cabrera. Another short term addition could arrive this summer. If Lewis and others arrive fully ready for every day play, the Twins will have some players to trade for pitchers approaching free agency on other teams that are looking to restock their systems. Trades remain a viable means to fill a rotation. The Twins prospects should be able to grab several spots too. The stock of talent is good for the team and for competition. If any of Ober, Winder, Varland, Woods Richardson, or others prove they are ready, they will get an opportunity to start and hold a rotation job. While it may be a stretch to see the current group of starters as the best in decades for the Twins, there is depth of quality and this bodes well for the coming season. If the young pitchers do not step up, there will be other opportunities to add to the starting pitching staff via trades and that is ok. We have to remember that the entire minor league system exists to put the best possible team on the field at the major league level.
  5. tony&rodney
    Emmanuel wants that top spot. I'm looking forward to how some of the young guys develop this year, both with the Twins (Kirilloff, Lewis, Miranda, Larnach) and in the minors (Martin, Julien, Lee, Rodriguez). That is just the position side. The pitchers will also be fun to watch. Royce Lewis was the #1 pick. Sometimes i wonder if he could be as good or better than Bobby Witt Jr. Wouldn't that be something?
  6. tony&rodney
    I'll go with Jaffe and his evaluations of Mauer, which pins him as the 7th best catcher in baseball history. I don't know about that exact placement but I believe Joe definitely belongs in next year.
  7. tony&rodney
    I'm a fan of making Spring Training meaningful, at least for that last spot or two. Additionally, the Twins need to keep an eye out for total nonperformance by a position player. Two weeks of nothing doesn't need to spill into five with the depth within the 40 person roster. If Gallo and/or Kepler are going to hit less than .200, give the starts to someone else. I'm not talking about a quick hook, but awareness of the type of at bats.
  8. tony&rodney
    Gallo has to hit much lower in lineup.
  9. tony&rodney
    Pablo Lopez is just coming into his game and should be really good this year. He will have a good defense behind him and a catcher who is excellent at calling a game. Let Vasquez lead Lopez through his starts. I'm excited to have him pitching for the Twins and he will give the team 6-8 innings in most every start.
  10. tony&rodney
    JB has the stuff to start. That's not the problem. I don't think his pitches play up as a reliever at this time. The issue is command and control plus the manner in which he becomes rattled. Whenever I watched Balazovic pitch he seemed to lose focus. I couldn't tell if he was irritated by an injury, his disgust with himself when he did not execute a pitch, disagreements with the pitched called or the umpire on a close call, his fielders when an error was made, or something else. There were a combinations of factors that caused chaos in Jordan's games. He reminded me of some of the pitchers I coached who could never isolate the world around then from the singular focused goal of throwing a specific pitch to a location. The game gets too complicated for him, seemingly. The thing is - this could all change now and we could see Balazovic find his groove and become the pitcher he has worked and hoped to become. Maturation happens. Thus, he remains a starter in my opinion.
  11. tony&rodney
    I see where one could think this way, but baseball players deal in focusing on the positives more than any other sport because failure is so common in baseball. A guy who fails three out of four times at the plate is pretty decent. The prospects are focused on determining their own future. Those who play well can push the veterans aside. Schoop was a premier defensive second baseman and power hitter who is still playing baseball, but when Luis Arraez proved he was ready to play the job fairly went to Arraez. Likewise players like Lewis, Lee, Martin, Larnach, Wallner, and Julien will need to prove that they are ready for MLB.
  12. tony&rodney
    Juiced ball makes the comparison tough.
  13. tony&rodney
    Byron Buxton or .... Edouard Julien. Julien has a huge March and proves he can take pitches and hit line drives everywhere and then proceeds to ROY.
  14. tony&rodney
    Laughed at the title to this post ... exactly what I thought. Taylor does play a great centerfield though and the Twins were not going to use Sisk or Cruz any time soon. Now what does KC want for Bobby Witt Jr.? jk
  15. tony&rodney
    Can the top three on this list become all stars? Every team looks to its prospects to develop into starting players and then star players. Guys like Julio Rodriguez light up the fan base. Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, and Emmanuel Rodriguez could all arrive very soon. It is going to be fun watching a few minor league games to see these and other developing players.
  16. tony&rodney
    The biggest change has been how the payroll jumped in the last five years. Financial constraints can limit the decisions that get made. I don't believe there is much room to compare the different front offices of Falvey and Ryan. The move to sign Buxton was a gamble and continues to carry some low grade risk, while the Correa contract was a real marked change to commit to winning, in my opinion. There are several prospects on the verge of breaking out or crashing. It might be difficult to know right now, but the talent is present. Kirilloff, Lewis, and Larnach could or should be able to contribute in a real meaningful fashion this year and Gordon could easily improve as well. His health issues seem to be in the past. Additionally, there are legitimate reasons to believe in Lee, Martin, Julien, and Wallner as prospects pushing for their opportunity. Miranda had a good year last year and would like to prove he can be much better given a second round at the pitchers. Even Jeffers could rebound. The combination of the older core and the emerging core projects potential success. Falvey and friends have some talent on hand which allowed for the team to swap out Arraez for Pablo Lopez. Depending on how the ten players in the paragraph above perform, the Twins may find it possible to complete a further trade for strong starting pitching again, even as they hope to see some of their own pitching prospects flourish. Buxton, Correa, and Vasquez will be around for at least three years. Polanco and Kepler could be around a couple more years as well. The Twins are building quite a bit of flexibility into their roster management. One could even imagine a mid season push for Burnes via trade in the right situation. The financial support from the top has created real opportunity and flexible alternatives for building the roster in recent history.
  17. tony&rodney

    Helman

    tony&rodney commented on Paul Walerius's blog entry in Paul Walerius

    I hope Helman gets a look somewhere in the next year. He does quite a few things decently, not a starter at the MLB level.
  18. tony&rodney
    I find my self hoping that Max Kepler stays in right field, batting ninth.
  19. tony&rodney
    I actually believe that the Twins will bring Larnach north but if Julien totally lights it up in the camps, I would like to see him DH. Then again, I want Gordon in LF and it looks like he will be squeezed out. I said on a post several days back that it is likely still too early to tell who will be on the squad in Kansas City. I think, in retrospect, we should all just wait. Me too. I was just thinking about the Cave, Contreras, Wallner outfield at the end of the year and wondering how wild that was compared to what will show up at St. Paul at the beginning of this year.
  20. tony&rodney
    Agree and this is also a reaction to the declining attendance. The Twins look to be good from Day 1 and push this year. Hopefully there is also a corresponding appropriate shift in focus on baseball fundamentals, emphasis on each game, and a general overall more exciting brand of baseball. I think so.
  21. tony&rodney
    St. Paul has Larnach in LF, Celestino in CF, and Wallner in RF.
  22. tony&rodney
    Joe Mauer had a no trade clause in his contract as Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa do now. The most popular and valuable Twins player ever was traded - Harmon Killebrew. Sadly, it is a business just like everything else touching money. Yes, religion too. The way it is. So it goes.
  23. tony&rodney
    When I first saw this trade i thought it was Taylor, Witt, and Singer for Miranda, Lewis, Larnach, Ober, Winder, and Ryan. Oh well. Still a decent trade because it removes all of the angst about poor Byron.
  24. tony&rodney
    Passan reports trade. View full rumor
  25. tony&rodney
    Passan reports trade.
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