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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    Boys like shirtsleeves.
  2. tony&rodney
    only one this year.
  3. tony&rodney
    Or .... not trading Lewis and Julien after the 2023 season was a bad decision. Lots of ways to look at things. The Twins are trying to look forward this year. Me too.
  4. tony&rodney
    Relax. Culpepper is still picking up skills at AAA. Think June or July.
  5. tony&rodney
    Two runs should not insurmountable. Twins need 5-7 inningss from Joe Ryan. Toronto has a very good team and presents quite a challenge for Joe.
  6. tony&rodney
    That ship sailed away. Correa was done with the Twins. All of the speculations within the article could be enhanced greatly by including a half dozen or more "should haves" that might have been easily accomplished last October and November but weren't due to front office paralysis. In December Brother Tom came along and now here we are with what we have. The Twins are moving forward.
  7. tony&rodney
    Austin Martin has improved defensively. The differences between him and Trevor Larnach are pretty noticeable. Does that make any difference to the Twins? Martin has had long plate appearances that can contribute towards offense. His OBP is good. I agree that the Twins need to give Martin 5+ starts per week in left field. 2026 is a time to find out who can play.
  8. tony&rodney
    Kreidler is easily the best defensive player on the roster. A comment above on how this affects James Outman is interesting. I think the Twins see this as just a 10 day placement with no other moves. Bringing up an outfielder, ostensibly for better offense, would definitely have a ripple effect though. The Twins can't really promote a prospect from AAA and let him sit on the bench. Emmanuel Rodriguez (as an example) would need to play every day or 5 times per week. Right now Austin Martin is showing that he can field, run, and get on base. Martin should be in the lineup at least 5 times per week. What does that then mean for Larnach or Wallner. So I think the Twins just keep Outman. Does Kreidler play at all except for once a week? He is a far superior shortstop to Brooks Lee and likely creates an out or three per game more than Lee. However, Lee is the shortstop and pretty young, which means it is unlikely he is replaced. Seems like Kreidler will mostly sit or play a little third base despite the obvious benefits of him playing shortstop. Kreidler has basically been Royce Lewis at AAA. He has drawn walks, strikes out, can run, hits a couple extra base hits but is not a bat to watch. Lewis is a Twins love story whose draft position trumps many realities of his tough career thus far. Kreidler can swing from his heels too. How the Twins use Kreidler will be interesting to watch.
  9. tony&rodney
    Great write-up Seth. Thanks as always. I'm not comparing the two directly but Kade Anderson (2025 pick #3) looked untouchable at AA and Riley Quick (2025 pick #36) looked great at A yesterday. Both SEC pitchers last year. I totally agree with giving Quick a slower ramp up because the Twins wanted to break him in slowly. I do wonder if the Twins will let him get his pitches in at higher levels once the weather warms up a bit. Seems like if Quick is feeling strong he might be able to handle more competition, however Ft. Myers is a good spot to work on his pitches and command.
  10. tony&rodney
    Rough break for Laweryson; he was finally getting a chance to pitch and looked really good. I'm a little disappointed that Andrew Morris doesn't get more time to experiment and develop his craft at the AAA level. He is the Saints best pitcher but he will now be thrust into the bullpen and be required to get outs in tough situations. I'm probably higher on Morris than most, but have felt he was still in need of more experience with commanding multiple pitches as well as refining a couple of pitches that he has been working on in the last year. Hopefully he transitions smoothly. Ryan Kreidler will be an upgrade on Lewis in the field but ....... his bat? There really isn't another option though unless the Twins were ready to give Kaelen Culpepper 300 PA to prove himself. Culpepper is hitting the ball but he also looks like it would be beneficial for him to get a couple more months of AAA before any promotion.
  11. tony&rodney
    Josh Bell and Victor Caratini are solid baseball players. They take professional at bats and provide veteran leadership to the clubhouse. The problem is that both these guys are best at DH or if they play in the field hopefully there are not any other DH guys also playing in the field. However, the Twins routinely play multiple DH fellas in the field with the expected consequences. Nobody should object to adding Bell and Caratini to a team but any team with a plan would then find a way to trade/release two guys from the roster who are DH players. Unfortunately, the Twins have not seen DH filled rosters as an issue. It isn't the specific player that is the problem, although as the games play out we can see the lack of defense hurt the club. It is the failure by the front office to see baseball as a game that requires a balanced roster.
  12. tony&rodney
    Problem is .... one more DH.
  13. tony&rodney
    The major imbalance is in collecting DH players. This has been going on for three years now. The hope is that each of Culpepper, Rodriguez, and Jenkins fills a regular position after the All Star break. Sooner may be a stretch.
  14. tony&rodney
    Yes, true, I did forget that little bit of information. Bebbia is not either. Does that mean Kent and Kreidler?
  15. tony&rodney
    Well, if he were to get $90 M in his 3 FA years, it looks good. Plus, Pittsburgh has sent a message to their fans. I have watched 3 Pirate games and they look pretty good. I'm guessing Griffin draws enough to pay his entire contract in the next 3-4 years. Konnor Griffin has great rage, one of the top three shortstop arms in the game, he has elite speed, hits, and is a beast. If a team cannot take a gamble on Griffin, then they cannot sign anyone. You are correct in saying, we shall see.
  16. tony&rodney
    Stuff happens. It was a rough night. Wonder who comes up. Arcia pulled up lame late in the Saints game but stayed in, so perhaps he is ok. Culpepper is playing really well but he needs more time imo, plus he is much better at shortstop than at third base. Twins are a bit pinched. Guess Arcia comes up more than likely. Raya and Morris need more time but most of the other pitchers struggling a bit. Brebbia?
  17. tony&rodney
    The Blue Jays can hit, that is for sure.
  18. tony&rodney
    A few mistakes but I think this team will keep playing.
  19. tony&rodney
    Lucky
  20. tony&rodney
    Sim needs to pick up Gray.
  21. tony&rodney
    Things went bad quick. Line drives off the bats everywhere. Getting outs when possible is huge.
  22. tony&rodney
    Well, since 1961 I pick the Twins every year .... to an extent. The one hope (for me) is for the Twins to play cleaner baseball in 2026 than in the last three years. By that I mean fewer mental errors. This can be seen in numerous ways. The easiest to see are players throwing to the correct base. Other items are not getting picked off or running into outs through obviously poor choices. Getting bunts down when called for is possible when the pitchers give the batter a pitch to bunt. Less obvious but quite important is for batters to be aware of the pitcher, situation in front of them, and the count. For example, moving runners over is important with 2 on base and no outs or cutting down on the swing after two strikes to force the defense to make plays with runners on base. Mental preparation is difficult but well within every player's ability. Physical mistakes or simple lack of talent limits what each guy can accomplish; play within your skill set. Thus far the efforts have been decent.
  23. tony&rodney
    I don't think there has been a shift so much as the manager wants to use his eyes and the catchers more for decisions as opposed to the concern about third time through the order. It is easy to accept that a manager would find it a sound decision to use reliable, proven arms in previous years though too. The current bullpen is light on power arms and closers. However, now that you mention it (I had not thought of it), is it possible that Falvey's departure plays any role in player usage and/or pitch counts?
  24. tony&rodney
    The San Diego Padres have a pretty good defensive team. All of their guys were shortstops. Jackson Merrill had never played centerfield before he was moved out there in his rookie year. Merrill is very good in CF. Same for Tatis, moving from SS to RF. The hit tool is what drives playing time. If Brandon Winokur hits, he plays anywhere the Twins need him. If he doesn't hit, he never makes it. Ryan Kreidler is a terrific defensive player but simply hasn't been able to hit.
  25. tony&rodney
    Unless you have seen these guys play several times in the last month I'm not sure why you take such a strong stand. Prospects, notoriously, have movement and variance in their play in a year. Many factors can change an outlook on a player. Competition and physical plus mental growth lead the way. I'm not in a position to travel around to see these guys and have not seen the games, if televised or streamed. The scouts I know keep information close to themselves and prospect writers vary quite often. Video highlights aren't very useful. Thus I'm open to the consensus from the Twins in early July. We may see the same information, don't know though. One detail concerning Emerson that causes me some doubt is his foot speed and there isn't universal agreement that he stays at shortstop either at this time. April, May, and June should allow for some assessments based on good competition. We should remember that Paul Skenes was not a top three pick a year ahead of the draft and Brooks Lee was seen as the best college bat when he was drafted. I say BPA because the draft in baseball is difficult. On April 10 I'm not ready to pick anyone even as a fan.
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