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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    Who gets sent down on Monday depends on health as of Sunday night. I am not seeing Buxton's name in the lineup today. Hmmm? I would send down Garlick and IL Sanchez. That leaves 14 pitchers and 12 batters. The Twins will face further decisions when Gray is ready to return as well as a decision on Kirilloff will be made in a week too. When Sanchez comes back Godoy goes down (DFA) and Kirilloff replaces Celestino. Gray comes back and whatever pitcher had tough luck against Tampa Bay goes down (Stashak). Right now I see both Winder and Jax as solid in the bullpen, filling needed, albeit different, roles. Both have looked ready, and better than some of the more experienced options. I'm going with talent. June is a ways off and by that time management should have a good idea of which pitchers need a rest, which are trending up, and who might be headed elsewhere.
  2. tony&rodney
    Kirilloff looked a little awkward in his last at bat today. Lewis looks confident. The Twins have some minor league hitters who are a little challenged defensively (but could certainly improve) but carry really strong lumber to the plate. Martin is getting very comfortable and is athletic, Encarnacion-Strand rakes, and Julien swings it too. Smeltzer sure looked good today and he could help quite a few MLB teams. Does he find success as a relief pitcher? We can hope so because the starting positions look pretty full right now.
  3. tony&rodney
    If Lesko is the best high school pitching prospect in ten years and has such high marks for three pitches, take him if available. The Twins need to go athletic, which means taking a vacation on drafting plodding corner players who project to hit the crap out of the ball but whose primary position is DH. The only bat first player I'm interested in is Juan Soto and we cannot draft him.
  4. tony&rodney
    Well stated and true. Baseball is entertainment and entertainers are well paid. The competition for those jobs is much tougher than for executive positions that pay similar wages. Perform or get cut versus a world of glass floors and privilege. Criticism is a right and sometimes warranted but folks should at least have an appreciation for the level of talent and effort at the MLB level. Oh, and I am grateful for my privilege too.
  5. tony&rodney
    Thing is ... who do you replace him with from the Twins system? Garlick? Larnach? We have already had multiple occasions to see outs turn into doubles with less athletic outfielders and batters hit the ball in the air more often in the launch era. Until the Twins employ someone who can cover the ground in the outfield, run the bases, and provide some offense, Kepler remains the second best option in the outfield. I, too, wish we could see an improved output at the plate on a more consistent basis from Max Kepler but I want him in the lineup every day. I'm not too keen on watching any of the others struggle in right field.
  6. tony&rodney
    I feel this too ... often. Twins fans are frustrated by Kepler because the expectations based on his athleticism are high. However, Max is still right behind Buxton, Polanco, and Correa as the most valuable Twins. In short - he is a keeper.
  7. tony&rodney
    MLB changed it to 14 yesterday. The staffs go to 13 in June.
  8. tony&rodney
    Max is an excellent athlete. He is a fine outfielder with a strong arm and is a good base runner. Kepler also has a beautiful swing. He has not been an All Star level player but those skills listed above put him in the starting lineup. One example - Max scores from second base on Sano's hit last night where another less athletic player does not. Right now Kepler is still easily in the top half of the Twins list of every day players; he is quite valuable. If Max can keep his K rate down, stay in the zone with his swing, and continue to work on driving those strikes on the outer half to the opposite field he becomes even more valuable. Kepler has more skills and more promise than any outfielder in the Twins system not named Byron Buxton. Despite the frustrations of Kepler not leaping forward as a superstar, he brings value to the team that cannot be replaced in the near future.
  9. tony&rodney
    Monday the roster goes to 26 players and if the Twins keep 14 pitchers Nick Gordon could be the only bench player depending on a decision to keep 3 catchers. Rule changes are just as responsible for pitch counts, pitcher usage, and playing time as any other item. Past teams used 25 roster limits. A return to 25 person rosters would require more judicious use of pitchers. Additionally, the requirements concerning the IL (formerly DL) have changed and allowed an easier path to demote or promote players without concern of losing their services for 15 days.
  10. tony&rodney
    The Twins get their very own Juan Soto?
  11. tony&rodney
    I like Trevor Larnach and think he has a future at the plate. I'm just guessing that athleticism and defense will return with the deader ball and this puts a premium on strong outfield defense. In turn, the demand for strong defenders puts Larnach as a DH. If Martin can maintain a .400 OBP in the bigs and run around LF with authority, there is less room for those who are defensively challenged in an era of hitters who send the ball into the outfield.
  12. tony&rodney
    While we still hope Larnach, Wallner, and Sabato do well and wish Rooker luck in San Diego, the Twins need to stick to drafting power pitchers (Petty) or athletes who can do more than swing a bat. There should be delicious choices at draft position #8 this July.
  13. tony&rodney
    I never wanted reviews of the plays and have been opposed to the electronic zone as well. However, it must be more and more difficult to call balls and strikes, perhaps due to velocity. There was an article last week that a MLB home plate umpire (Mark Carlson) missed 47 pitches in one game. It seems like electronic balls/strikes will arrive next year. Reviews? I am ok with them but there needs to be 2-3 challenges allowed per game and the challenge needs to happen within 10 seconds of the play. The micro replays and 4-10 minute delays while MLB figures out which of five camera angles definitively provides an answer is lame. The process is too slow. When people call for a pitch clock they need to remember that the umpires already have a pitch and batter rule clock. Currently, for whatever reason, it is never enforced. Putting in a pitch clock would not necessarily change the situation if the umpires still refuse to call a ball or strike.
  14. tony&rodney
    Palacios is athletic too and he can play shortstop in the bigs.
  15. tony&rodney
    Wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of Martin concerning his defensive position. He sure looks comfortable at the plate though and he exudes athleticism. Makes one wonder ... how much more time does he need at AA?
  16. tony&rodney
    Martin could move up to AAA. He doesn't look like power is in his immediate future but he barrels the ball and gets on base a ton, and brings athleticism to the field with his agressive running. The Twins could use a couple of athletes as soon as possible, whenever that works. Polanco, Gordon, Buxton, and Kepler are it right now and the Twins can count on Correa to play a wonderful shortstop and he will hit. We all hope Kirilloff, Sano, Arraez, Urshela, Larnach, & Garlick hit but they are mostly station to station. Jeffers and Sanchez get a bye because they are catchers.
  17. tony&rodney
    That is what the guy wrote on Gameday. Actually, Morales hit a ball back up the middle off of the pitcher to the second baseman who stepped on second to force out Encarnacion who had singled the Manfredball runner Pratto to third base and then the 2B made a poor throw to first. Morales was safe at first and Pratto scored the tying run. Then Carmargo hit one off the base of the fence in rightfield and Morales scored from first base. The players celebrated wildly. Two walkoffs - fun night. Thank you for writing the summaries. They are excellent. Encarcion swings a pretty mean bat right now. He is a free swinger.
  18. tony&rodney
    Those who may have watched a number of AL Central games the last two weeks may state that the division runs through Cleveland. They run out some fun athletes, can pitch, have a low payroll, the best prospect list, and could easily make a trade to bring in a couple of key pieces. It is a long season though and anything can happen.
  19. tony&rodney
    I watched Cleveland yesterday against Chicago. The Lake Erie crew have some athletic players and with Francona at the helm it would not be shocking to see them win the AL Central. They need Franmil Reyes to have a big year and someone to step up at first base. Straw and Kwan are not going to give up any base hits in LF and Cf; they are both exciting athletes. Maybe the Twins should fold in a few athletes and step away from all or nothing defensively challenged players. Lewis time?
  20. tony&rodney
    Well, on Twins Daily there is much talk about the Twins developing pitching and I know they are trying to do that. There are also many mentions about the success of Cleveland, Tampa Bay, and a couple of others in their development of pitchers. I thought maybe you had read a few comments from scouts from other organizations or a host of comments on other teams fan sites that are similar to TD. I have sifted through various sites from many teams and have never once read a comment that mentions the Twins and their ability to develop pitching. I was just curious where you had seen articles regarding the Twins ability to develop pitching from outside Twins fandom.
  21. tony&rodney
    Add Royce Lewis? He can play in the outfield, infield, and DH. June is coming.
  22. tony&rodney
    Just curious .... What have you heard about the Twins ability to develop pitching?
  23. tony&rodney
    Duffey is part of The Plan.
  24. tony&rodney
    Agree but the game plan likely is made from the private boxes. He was maxed out. We hope his arm felt good this morning.
  25. tony&rodney
    Pagan is mostly an asterisk. The Twins have incredible confidence in their assessment that Chris Paddock will be the real deal (J.D. Durbin). Paddack was a strong prospect in the same vein as Fernando Romero, Stephen Gonsalves, and Lewis Thorpe. Paddack, unlike the others, had a little success in The Show, so the love for him. Emilio Pagan was part of the price extracted to win the Paddack sweepstakes (TR to SD, $6.6 to SD, $2.3 for EP, & $2.25 for CP). The Twins won't keep Pagan past this year and his usage will depend on having some success. We shouldn't be surprised if ZIPs is fairly accurate but relief pitchers can also have short runs where they find their groove and the Twins are hoping for a few good outings from Pagan. Pagan is likely happy enough to be on the roster. He was destined for release by San Diego. Let us hope the new pitches work.
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