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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    The reality is that many of the current "core" are susceptible to the injury bug and unlikely to play the 140 games needed to be worth their salary. Many of us on Twins Daily like our Twins: Jeffers, Kirilloff, Arraez, Polanco, Larnach, Buxton, Kepler, Maeda, and more that seem like players who could jell and win. None of these players were able to stay on the field and the players added, Pagan, Paddack, Lopez, Fulmer, Gray, Mahle, Bundy, and Archer were an uneven bunch that amounted to "not much gained or lost'. Sanchez was a warrior behind the plate, delivering his best glove season in his career. He has lost his stick mostly though. Urshela has been a wonderful player but his real contributions are more our positive impressions than his amazing performance. It would be tough to criticize either player. I admire their work this year. The biggest issues in my opinion are two: the Twins have a very rigid system that ignores the game on the field in any moment, which is termed The Plan; and the Twins disdain for classic fundamental baseball is befuddling. The constant display of a lack of fundamental baseball is often so glaring that I am forced to spend a few minutes looking at Zillow or something else inane before coming back to the game at hand. I'm hopeful that their is some reflection on the part of management in November.
  2. tony&rodney
    Can't fault the Twins for trying to add players at the trade deadline. The mistake is The Plan. The recently completed five game series was a lesson in baseball fundamentals at its core. To the end Cleveland was able to focus despite the raw shenanigans of the Twins reliever. The White Sox would have had words or cleared their bench in a couple of instances, but Cleveland just hits line drives and goes about the business of playing baseball. Two teams in direct contrast to each other in nearly every facet of the game. The future can deliver change though.
  3. tony&rodney
    Totally agree that the Twins will most likely keep Mahle, but they need more than 100 innings from a guy that will earn @$10 million. Mahle at his best is a good #3 type guy. The Twins gave up players to get him but that should not be the reason they keep him if he is indeed burdened with a bum shoulder making him a poor gamble going forward. The Twins should know sufficient information about Mahle's shoulder to make an informed decision.
  4. tony&rodney
    If this is the case the Twins should not offer arbitration; sunk cost of business.
  5. tony&rodney
    Balazovic has work to do but definitely has the stuff. When I watch him I see a guy with a live fastball that moves and a good breaking balls with sharp bend. The problem is twofold: inexperience and he seemingly gets frustrated which is pretty useless to point to except that he often grooves pitches after not getting a close call or making a poor pitch. JB needs polish ecause his ability to command his arsenal of above average offerings is poor. He is pretty much the opposite of Joe Ryan or Bailey Ober, guys who display both command and control of their pitches. Balazovic can still be a very good MLB starting pitcher. He needs to be throwing 80-110 pitches every start and learn to harness his pitches.
  6. tony&rodney
    The Twins struggled against teams with winning records, Cleveland did not. Cleveland has a pile of position players and pitchers that are highly rated and ready after showing their skills at AA and AAA. The Guardians are flush with talent that just needs an opportunity. They are in first place now with the youngest team in baseball. This offseason will be interesting. We hope that Polanco, Kepler, and all of the other injured players will return to full health. The Twins are in a tough spot because they have a number of players whose injuries have become more frequent. I hope their lineup gets 140 games from Arraez, Kirilloff, Polanco, Miranda, Larnach, Buxton, Kepler, and Gordon plus contributions from other healthy bodies but this is difficult to imagine given the last two years. Losing Correa would create a massive hole in the team imho. We assume that Gray and Mahle will be back but we don't know what will occur in the next few months. I will not be surprised by any player getting traded or released from the roster. The Twins need healthy players who want to play for the Twins. Only Falvey can make that determination. The failure to play fundamental baseball remains an issue, but a normal Spring Training could alleviate those issues if the brain trust sees fit to acknowledge that shortcoming. Finally, the Twins need an alternative voice in the dugout to help Baldelli and Falvey would need to be onboard with a more flexible style of managing the players and games. In sum, I don't believe anything is certain about the 2023 Minnesota Twins.
  7. tony&rodney
    Hopefully some miracles intervene because the team today looks unsteady. What you say holds truth and you are generous to have Ryan at the top of the rotation. Maybe the Twins can get a catcher in front of Jeffers who is an adequate reserve; health for 1B-Kirilloff; health for 2B-Polanco; defensive reps for 3B-Miranda; SS-Correa returns; LF-no idea; CF-Buxton for 81 games and ?; magic dust for RF-Kepler; and insane luck for the pitching staff. Hope is all fans have.
  8. tony&rodney
    The slide may have started on June 1, but the error on a routine ground ball last night brought my ridiculous hopes to a halt. I have enjoyed and appreciated the articles. Twins Daily writers are crazy hopeful and supportive of the Twins. I hope Wallner among others gets plenty of at bats. Cave deserves to play as well. Varland, Winder, Ober and perhaps a few others should get innings. Buxton, Polanco, Kepler, Larnach, and Jeffers as well as those pitchers currently on the IL need to heal entirely, meaning these players should not return and risk further injury. If the team is going to win the remainder of their games it will need to be those on the current roster who accomplish the task.
  9. tony&rodney
    The lack of fundamental baseball shows up in nearly every single Twins game. That and The Plan with starting pitching are a sorry combination. I just don't understand it. I expect if the Twins win in 2023, the regime carries on and if attendance plummets ....?
  10. tony&rodney
    Routine grounder to short, booted by Palacios. Very sad because earlier this summer Palacios looked smooth and had improved his offense considerably with St. Paul. Now he looks slow and entirely overmatched on both sides of the ball. I had hoped he was a possibility. Cleveland with the tiebreaker now has an 8 game lead. It's hard to be a Twins fan.
  11. tony&rodney
    Seems like there might be some further research into ways to prevent injuries, but there is likely quite a bit known at this time; there is much still to learn though. I believe teams are on this at this time. All sports and physical activity require separate skills. Comparisons are pretty pointless, but natural exercises. Athletes at the highest levels perform feats on a regular basis that ordinary people, even those who were MVPs in high school or college conferences, cannot achieve. The training done to improve oneself amongst these professionals may help or ironically hinder their bodies. My experiences were with the common crowd, below the highest levels of professional sports. It did include playing with and against many former professionals. FWIW. Catching is brutal in summation. It isn't just the foul balls, bats, collisions, or fastballs thrown when a curveball was called. These are minor. The crouching is nothing in the moment but it adds up over time to an incredible degree. Ice, stretching and running help only to a point. Pitching is pretty violent. In short stretches, 1-2 innings, the arm gets abused but the body is ok. Pitching 7-9 innings is the most demanding physical exercise I have ever done. The body is sore in every spot possible, but not injured. Ice, stretching, and running help somewhat, but only a couple of days can really allow the body to recover. Pitching is much more strenuous than anything I ever experienced in football, basketball, biking, or running. I always thought gymnasts were the ultimate athletes but I could never attempt their routines. The position players face the usual strains and stresses of all athletes and muscle tears, pulls, and chronic small injuries build up. The professional athlete at the highest levels must operate at peak efficiency to find success. The physicality of separate sports varies widely. Football has ridiculous brute strength and speed (super violent) and marathon runners combine speed, incredible endurance, and mental fortitude. I think it is all relative making the comparisons worthless, but I would think that MLB teams would further examine how Cal Ripken managed to stay on the field.
  12. tony&rodney
    Jeffers has not been as good as Sanchez, whether one uses metrics or the eye exam. Jeffers could easily eclipse Sanchez as soon as next season, but he is still in the learning stages. I expect Jeffers to start in 2023. Sanchez came into this year as a long ball threat at the plate and with a reputation (earned) as one of the poorest catchers in the American League. I was not a fan of Sanchez. What have we seen? Sanchez has been in the lineup often and is a tough guy. At the plate, the bat has slowed down and he struggles any time he gets behind in the count. Lately, we have seen Sanchez using right field less frequently than he usually does. In any event, Sanchez at the plate is no longer the feared bat that the Twins hated to face when he played for the Yankees. Surprisingly, to me, Sanchez has been improved behind the plate. He is still not stellar but he has had his best season as a catcher. There have been fewer moments where he bungled pitches. Overall, I would say the Twins have received more from Gary Sanchez than they could have expected. What does this mean going forward? Jeffers will get the job and Sanchez will be looking for another team. The Twins will continue to have problems behind the plate, but we can hope that Jeffers improves enough to be average. I am skeptical that the Twins will prioritize an acquisition of a frontline catcher, if one is even available. I am very concerned about Jorge Polanco, Byron Buxton, and Alex Kirilloff. One has never proven anything really but his career, with all of its promise, is quite uncertain. Polanco has been the heart of the team, playing through some difficult pains the past several years. Byron has struggled to stay on the field. Both Jorge and Byron may have reached a point where their injuries are no longer going to allow them to regain past promise or performances. Neither of their contracts are debilitating to a team but their loss in the field and in the lineup is huge. The 2022 Twins never changed course from the expectations built in to having these two in the games. A 2023 team will need to plan for a team that does not include all three of those injured players and be delighted if they can play. Right now, either they play or put them on the 60 day IL and let someone else have an opportunity.
  13. tony&rodney
    Injuries happen in sports and it isn't likely that every team can make it through a schedule with their primary players healthy enough to play. When a player goes down another steps in and has an opportunity to succeed. This season the Twins had some losses. There are players that have had previous issues staying healthy. Some guys who stepped in had decent results. It is rather pointless to point to injuries as a determining factor in this season because there were many opportunities to win games that eventually were losses. The Twins are run one way. Some like it and others are not so enamored. The issue with the Twins strategies are that they appear to be quite rigid in their approach. When the personnel changes due to injuries, the strategies remain in place despite vastly different skill sets and talents. Flexibility and preparation is important to an athlete and I would submit that this season we have witnessed a prime example of why those same things are important for management as well. The problem with the 2022 Twins was a failure to plan. If there was any excuse that might make sense it would be the shortened Spring Training which meant that some plans were abandoned, such as extensive practices on basic baseball fundamentals. Injuries did not hamper the 2022 Twins as much as their lack of fundamentals.
  14. tony&rodney
    Good home run for Jeffers and he had a great swing on a single in the 1st inning. There was more though. Jeffers had a very, very poor at bat in the bottom of the 9th inning. He looked overmatched in that at bat, slow.
  15. tony&rodney
    Tomorrow it looks like Varland and Moran in Game 1 and Winder and Sanchez in Game 2; sweep.
  16. tony&rodney
    The White Sox lost tonight because they made an error in a critical situation. The Twins lost with the Gordon error and Sanchez not going back to the screen and then looking for the ball after it got past him. Urshela and Miranda are covering ricochets up either line because you cannot give up two bases on that play which is why it is so rare. Cleveland makes the play to end the game on a slow roller. Can't win if you can't make the plays.
  17. tony&rodney
    Sanchez or Maile? Miranda or Naylor? Gimenez or Gordon? Ramirez or Urshela? Rosario or Correa? Kwan or Cave? Straw or Celestino? Gonzalez or Contreras? The bench, starting pitching, and bullpens? The Twins simply do not have the talent up and down the roster. Sure there are a few guys we might pick and maybe an injured player too, but injured players cannot win games and there is a whole entire difference in styles as well. Cleveland plays fundamental baseball and has an energy and talent lacking in the Minnesota team. The Twins are playing hard and hustling but they are a step short of Cleveland at this time. If Buxton, Polanco, Kepler, or others are too injured to play they need to try replacements. Maybe Billy Hamilton. Maybe someone else. Right now Caleb Hamilton is just taking up a spot that could be used for anyone else: Wallner, etc. Tough to catch a break if you don't look for one.
  18. tony&rodney
    DH? Actually, having watched Wallner from the beginning of the year I would suggest he has improved quite a bit in the outfield. Still for now - DH. Why not?
  19. tony&rodney
    Wallner still has some holes in his swing but considering the guys who have filled the DH and RF positions, it is befuddling why the Twins haven't let Wallner get some starts while Buxton and Kepler heal. I'm not thinking that Wallner is entirely ready for MLB yet, however, how are the Twins getting help from the Hamiltons and Palacios much less Cave and Garlick. Atlanta and Cleveland have gone with some fresh faces when injuries opened a spot. The Twins should have followed suit.
  20. tony&rodney
    Fighting until the last game.
  21. tony&rodney
    Larnach will get his shot. He still has some potential. I'm curious whether any other teams see Larnach as a piece of a puzzle. Last night, Larnach looked helpless against a curve ball, but this is largely meaningless if he can get back into a groove and start smacking the ball around to all fields with power. The other question - Who are the other considerations for corner outfield/DH? Wallner has holes in his swing but I'm not sure anyone hits a ball harder and his on base and slugging are strong and he seems to be making adjustments at each level too. So Larnach gets put in a pile of prospects with Wallner.
  22. tony&rodney
    There are many people who I have known who are serious baseball people. Some made it their career and others were just aficionados who players, coached, did both, or were totally just into the game. Every single person I have met or know who falls under the above categories hold Joe Mauer in the highest esteem. Mauer is a consensus top ten catcher in baseball history. He signed a long term contract with his home town team for far less than he would have received on the open market and as the face of the franchise was worth well more than the contract. His contract never impeded team spending in even the slightest fashion, a fictional fallback of those who choose their own reality. Mauer will soon be a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. I totally understand why Kansas City would be a favorite place to work for an athlete.
  23. tony&rodney
    True. Paul was a superior baseball intellect and the players respected him. There was a huge chasm between the dugout manager and the front office. Although the Pohlads loved Molitor, the payrolls and player acquisition left the team short of competitive players. Take a look at some of those pitching staffs.
  24. tony&rodney
    The team is going in the wrong direction.
  25. tony&rodney
    I'm still waiting for a miracle. However, I might just be seeing a dose of reality heading my way.
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