Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

tony&rodney

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    9,422

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    85

 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

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    .... except the starting pitchers are not facing 18 batters. They get pulled after facing the top 3-5 batters third time through the order.
  2. tony&rodney
    Agree with the flaw in front office thinking. A way to mitigate the damage or reduce exposure with a third time through the order was to use an opener. This would result in facing batters 5-9, weaker hitters. The Twins don't do that. The only guys our starters see three times is the first four in a lineup. The glaring error for me is that there seems to be very little attention to the actual effectiveness of a pitcher on any given day, except for Bundy. This has resulted in short starts and our starters are totally conditioned to go 4-5 innings and 70-85 pitches. I know we don't have a Gerrit Cole or his contract but look at the number of pitches he threw yesterday (more than normal) and you can see that situation plays a role in managing a pitcher. It all comes down to a failure to develop or manage pitching which is greatly exasperated by failing to sign guys other than Happ, Shoemaker, etc. The Twins are in a pennant race despite their issues and we should look to attendance as the arbiter of whether change is needed. I'm interested to see how the paying fans react with their dollars in the next few home series. One would think that Target Field should be packed this weekend.
  3. tony&rodney
    Varland was the only bright spot in a poorly played game. It was fine to lift him with Judge coming up. Next outing (the Twins would be incompetent to not have him take his next turn in MLB) Varland should be allowed to throw 100 pitches. Just going on his pace today, he has the strength to pitch innings.
  4. tony&rodney
    There were plenty of pitchers that threw hard but the game didn't reward max effort and players had swings that created contact which negated strikeouts. In short it was a different game. Personally, I don't believe that there is much sense in comparing eras because so much has changed and the money in the game leads the list.
  5. tony&rodney
    Best of luck to Louie Varland.
  6. tony&rodney
    Is there anyone who can explain why pitchers are throwing the ball down the middle to Aaron Judge in that lineup? He only has about 80 walks. He had four at bats with 12 strikes thrown to him (using the MLB box), of which 4-5 were in the whooping zone with the HR exactly on a tee. Judge must be beloved across the game to see that many strikes in one game. If he is universally the guy who a team (the pitcher) cannot let beat you, this cannot happen. I'm willing to bet that Barry Bonds never saw that many strikes in a game the last 10 years of his career. I admire how disciplined Aaron Judge is with swinging through the location of pitches, but it is inexplicable to me why the Twins or any other team feels the need to assist Judge in his race towards the records that will easily fall if he continues to get so many batting practice opportunities in games. The only acceptable plate appearance (from my viewpoint) was in his first at bat. All three pitches were strikes (according to the box) with two on the edge and the one slammed for a double wholly within the box. At least each of these were down and away, which would be acceptable. The remainder of the at bats were lessons in how not to pitch, including the walk and the strikeout. On a different note, the Yankees look as weak as I can remember their teams. Of their positions players only Judge and the defensive replacement Florian looked good.
  7. tony&rodney
    Sad to read Minaya was released. He was pretty decent for the Twins but they did not trust him. There are so many variables to sticking in the major leagues. Pagan is assured of a job but Minaya is not worthy. This was a conversation with guys who were released and joined our mens' team in Florida about 20+ years ago. One minute a guy is pitching in AAA, getting a cup of coffee and sleeping in sweet sheets at the MLB level, and then a few weeks later they are playing with a crew of guys in Town Ball. Caleb Thielbar never needed to dip to pitching for the Dundas Dukes ( a fine tradition and squad) but he did find himself on the independent team roster for the St. Paul Saints and now he is among the top three guys in the Twins MLB bullpen. Baseball is a tough job.
  8. tony&rodney
    Bundy is clearly the best SP the Twins have right now. He has been fun to watch lately, even with the short 5 inning outings. We can worry about next year in November. Four games in NYC ... hope for the best.
  9. tony&rodney
    I don't see any Twins winning a Gold Glove. Kepler is our best defender and Correa is really good, but that's it and they are looking to be behind others.
  10. tony&rodney
    The difference between winning and losing can come down to fundamentals on a surprisingly large number of occasions. The Twins value base hits and especially home runs which leaves strategies such as bunting, stealing bases, taking an extra base, moving a runner along by giving yourself up, and stuff like a hit and run by the wayside. The Twins want to have solid defensive players but it is just not extremely important to them. The pitchers do not hold the runners as one example. So it is what we expect from the Twins when players we really like do things such as miss the out at first base such as Miranda did, Watch the ball all the way to the wall like Gordon, and try to bust a long one like Arraez. I think the Twins are on the verge of having a really good team but fundamentals are lacking and that piece needs to be in place to compete at the highest level. Hopefully, they sweep Chicago this weekend.
  11. tony&rodney
    Varland, like many before him, will get his shot because he has shown the stuff needed to pitch at the highest level. He can only control the opportunities in front of him. Age is just not going to matter when he takes the mound (Ryan/others) and if he gets a spot in the rotation next season, Varland will have a chance at carving his own path. The future is wide open.
  12. tony&rodney
    Nick Gordon is athletic and has a knack for learning. We saw him improve each time he repeated a level in the minor leagues and now that he gets to repeat at the highest level we see he can manage MLB as well. The intriguing aspect regarding Gordon is that he has the athleticism to fit any number of spots and may use his experiences and improving strength to morph into the type of player envisioned back when he was chosen in Round 1. Despite being in his mid 20s, Gordon could be that guy who blossoms as a regular player who has the skills and athleticism to produce both in the field and at the plate. I would say that the Nick Gordon Story is still developing.
  13. tony&rodney
    Miranda has been a joy to watch hit this season and he has been quite productive. He seems to get bitten by two unfortunate items, one he can correct and one we hope disappears. Jose gets smitten by the high fastball and occasionally amps up where he could shoot right-field gaps. To be fair he does go the other way a decent amount of the time. The other item is that Miranda seems to let bad calls affect his plate appearances. He has had a number of egregious strikes called on pitches 4-6 inches off the plate. He needs to just see those calls early in the count as a foul ball. Defensively, we need to remember that the emergence of Miranda was a little bit of a surprise and he has had to wedge between time for Urshela and Arraez. If Miranda gets a ton of infield work this offseason he can certainly improve to be an average third baseman. The movement between positions will slow his improvement to an extent. Still, this is a thing that may continue as Lewis and Lee approach playing time in the near future. Hard to believe the Twins would be anywhere near .500 without Miranda this year. He has been a real find.
  14. tony&rodney
    I had suggested acquiring talent last winter and included all three of Balazovic, Martin, and Canterino in trades because their value/status was high. However, after the poor results of this summer I see success as a distinct possibility for all three as Twins. Balazovic has good stuff but lacks command, control, and maturity. He has potential that can be achieved with patience from the team, fans, and especially the player. Martin needs to adopt the Luis Arraez style of hitting and forget all attempts to become a power hitter. The physical talent is apparent and athletic players that field and hit can carve out a place as regulars in MLB. Canterino will finally be free from the constant routine of trying to regain health from his frayed arm. Surgery could be a total rebirth for him and we could see a strong return in as soon as 2024 from Canterino. Despite wanting to trade all three last offseason, I see a bright future for all of these guys with the Twins.
  15. tony&rodney
    All about the money. Sanchez and Urshela are in similar situations with current salaries higher than they will get next year. The return of each would be a good idea if they can sign both for around 9-12 million dollars combined. That would necessitate a cut for each as they are at about 15-16 combined now. The players would need to evaluate their next options and make their priorities known though because I do not see the Twins going to arbitration with either player.
  16. tony&rodney
    Wallner has big power, big arm, and knows the strike zone. He is young enough to become a passable outfielder with a couple of thousand repetitions, but struggles with the glove right now. If he adjusts to AAA there is a solid chance he would also make an adjustment in MLB. Wallner is a decent prospect but we should not worry about his age. Sometimes bigger players take a few years to get in sync.
  17. tony&rodney
    The season still has legs and if the Twins are limping they still have life. Giving up is just not an option. Injuries have hurt. Other teams have brought players up from AA. Perhaps we can see what one or two of Julien, Martin, Isola, Williams, Helman, or others can accomplish. At this point these guys can only do better than what we have seen from Beckham and Cave. And, yes I have hoped that both would be successful. It hasn't worked this time.
  18. tony&rodney
    Cave and Beckham have reached a point of no return. They performed at AAA and received the call, but while capable in the field they not able to fill in at all at the plate. They are who they are at this point and it is not really a good decision to have them hit in the major leagues. I want both of them to get a broken bat hit or at least make some contact but is is sad to watch them flail away on three pitches. Give someone else an opportunity. The next guy might fail badly too but repeating this same behavior with Cave and Beckham .... you know the saying. Three catchers is defensible if one can mash as a pinch hitter. Why did Sanchez bat in the eighth inning? Injuries have decimated the team but there are still bodies to try from the farm. You can't just give up.
  19. tony&rodney
    Bah. Put it in the books. It is on to Houston.
  20. tony&rodney
    One change in baseball from the 2019 and 2020 seasons is the increased competitiveness of teams with losing records. The Twins feasted on Kansas City and Detroit and everyone rolled over Baltimore. The Twins are definitely in a funk right now with the bats and we should expect more from Correa, Buxton, and Polanco among others. September is right around the corner and the Twins are above .500 and hanging in the division, meaning that we can still hope for good baseball to be played down the stretch. While it is always nice to sweep teams that are lower in the standings, especially at Target Field, the Twins need to show some talent versus those teams similar to them and also against those markedly better. The Twins have 10 games before September 1 and despite some dispirited play recently, the team could wake up in first place before their weekend series in Chicago against the White Sox.
  21. tony&rodney
    Pretty simple really - the Twins need to hit, especially with runners in scoring position.
  22. tony&rodney
    This is a good addition. I thought Rooker and Sabato were very questionable choices and Cavaco was quite the gamble. I didn't object to the gamble as much as choosing slow mashers who will not have a position to call home on defense. At least Wallner has a big arm and looks like he could get better with a couple of thousand repetitions in the outfield.
  23. tony&rodney
    The drop in rankings is only concerning if one forgets that the Twins have a fair nucleus of young players as the post notes. While we can hope that Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, and even Emmanuel Rodriguez are stars soon, the Twins are reasonably set with Jeffers, Kirilloff, Arraez, Miranda, Celestino, and Larnach, while we also have veterans still with some talent like Polanco, Kepler, and Buxton. The Twins could use a stronger catcher and a superstar corner outfielder but they are ok for now. I do think Palacios can play shortstop in MLB and that Wallner could be a fair DH/OF in a few years. I'm not real concerned about the hitting. The biggest problem with some of the Twins pitching prospects has been their struggles with command. If you watch Balazovic, for example, you see a guy with all the pitches or stuff but he is missing the ability to repeat mechanics (command and control) as well as seeming to get frustrated with his pitches. However, pitching is really difficult and he could still develop into a fine starter. This could be quick or take a few years. Maturity in life comes differently for all of us, in our personal lives as well as in our work and pleasures. So it goes with athletes too and I do think Balazovic can be a very good starting pitcher. One of the things that Cleveland does is get their pitching prospects some time in The Show to see where they must adapt when they invariably return to the minors to work on their sequences. They also use some of these young pitchers in relief before they move to the rotation.We saw this with Civale, Plesac, McKenzie, and Quantrilll, and Sam Hentges may be transitioning next. The Twins have some guys but health is important. Ober, Winder, Balazovic, Varland, and Woods Richardson need to step forward. If they can we can forget where the Twins rank with their prospects.
  24. tony&rodney
    Pretty cool story.
  25. tony&rodney
    I watch his starts and see the exact same thing. Town ball and even Senior ball players can hit pitches middle of the zone. Balazovic needs repetitions and will not advance until he can command his stuff. He can be really good when he gains total control of those pitches. I'm just guessing but his short outings are possibly aimed at two purposes: care for his arm and specific to use all of his pitches. When he shows health and ability to throw all of his pitches for strikes he can advance to working on stamina and controlling those pitches within the strike zone. McKenzie for Cleveland advanced in a similar fashion.
×
×
  • Create New...