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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    True
  2. tony&rodney
    No doubt there are connections between poor defense, poor pitching, and the hitting but it should not really make a huge difference. Baseball is a game of dealing with failure and frustration and the mental preparation to avoid the pitfall of giving in because your pitchers are struggling and the defense prone to mistakes is a constant battle. The best players separate and focus, and a key job of a hitting coach is reminders of that.
  3. tony&rodney
    Hard to blame the coaches but difficult to understand why bunting isn't a matter of routine practice. Once upon a time Barry Bonds would place two cones on the field and begin batting practice by executing a series of perfect bunts to each side very close to the cones before he proceeded to bash line drives all over the field. No doubt there was quite a bit of practice to get to that point of expertise and he didn't bunt in games, but it may have increased bat control. I don'y know what the Twins do and am not advocating for more bunts. When the topic of hitting coaches is presented I wonder how much time and practice is spent on bat to ball skills. A personal frustration of mine while watching some of the Twins bat is there insistence on the same swing path no matter the pitch or location, predictable going back to the dugout on three pitches. My guess is that the coaches make suggestions and present information which the player then either tries to use or doesn't. This matter of a batting coach and their influence/ effectiveness is certainly worthy and i hope the Twins are looking into every nook and cranny for improvements.
  4. tony&rodney
    Look, the rookie should have run it back to 3B. I was too protective to deflect/ask for team communication, although that is not a bad thing. Rortvedt made a mistake, but so did the umpire and ultimately the out call should have been made when Donaldson casually tagged Andrus. The best college teams are at a rookie level and the best MLB players are not above making some bad mistakes. But, nobody really has any authority to make the little league comparison unless they have played a good amount of time at the highest level. In that situation, Andrus would find it easy to fool any player below the MLB level, but he might not get the same call from every umpire. I hope Garver hits 35 homeruns, but he should not be catching. The pitchers throw differently to the rookie and Jeffers. So, the Twins need Rortvedt and he will remember that play. There is another game tomorrow.
  5. tony&rodney
    I believe the umpire did assume but we don't know. Umpires are human and mistakes happen but unless the umpire believed Andrus was pushed and the umpire did not assume there should have been a review on the basis of not seeing the play. There were so many mistakes and Rortveldt made a fundamental error in throwing the ball at all. Still, right now he is our only catcher. We can see that the pitchers will not throw the ball low in the zone often enough to Garver won't be caught. I'm not a fan of obvious flops.
  6. tony&rodney
    The Twins have plenty of problems, it is true. MLB has more problems, many more. The umpires are struggling more than I can recall in my lifetime and the number of errors from NYC umpires have piled up even with totally conclusive evidence. Additionally, from high school rules in doubleheaders to Covid 19 rules in extra innings to a lack of clarity on what is or is not reason to go to the headset, MLB is deeply flawed. This follows a winter where DH "discussions", among other problems, were fumbled. The real error on the rundown was a failure of a teammate to VERY loudly yell for Rortveldt to just hold the ball and run Andrus to 3B where another runner created an automatic out. The Twins did not communicate at all on that play. Lastly, you can see Andrus laughing and demonstrating how he acted his way to a poor call. There was no interference, only incidental contact on the grass. It was a poor call and the Oakland announcers felt that too and just called it smart baseball and poor umpiring. None of this excuses the Twins poor play. Garver is not a catcher for starters. Terry Francona would never put him behind the plate. If Kirilloff cannot come back and Buxton is out for a long spell games like the recent debacles will continue to occur. Outside of some changes the Twins will need to crush every game to have a chance with their current defense.
  7. tony&rodney
    That felt good and we stayed tuned too. Really happy for Sano.
  8. tony&rodney
    Polanco, Arraez, Kepler, and Rogers have the greatest value not counting rookies/prospects. Berrios and Buxton are behind that trio and Robles might interest a couple of teams. Cruz might help a few teams but Donaldson has too much money coming in the next few years. Simmons might bring a low prospect but the Angels let him go for reason. Garver and Sano are only useful at DH if they find their bats. Perhaps if the NL adds the DH, they might have value. The Twins built their team to mash and they are not hitting.
  9. tony&rodney
    Sano cracks me up. He had his big foot totally on top of the base.
  10. tony&rodney
    Thought the Twins might look to speed, defense, and a possibly improved hitting by Whitefield when Cave went down. I hope he keeps improving and have to believe he was a better choice for a 4th OF than Refsnyder.
  11. tony&rodney
    Berrios is good, enough said. He won't throw shutouts very often, but does usually give the team a shot. He should not be throwing to 1B with an inflexible Sano there and we just saw that Refsnyder is not an excellent outfielder (frozen by a linedrive that was 3-4 steps in front of him. Twins need to hit.
  12. tony&rodney
    Cave didn't hurt the Twins too much because he really didn't touch the ball very much. Sorry to see Cave hurt and I hope he recovers and plays MLB again. Garver does hurt the Twins. He is a very poor catcher and really struggles to hit. A catcher impacts the game more than a shortstop or centerfielder. Butera is still playing because he can catch. Cleveland uses catchers behind the plate. Right now, Rortveldt is the only catcher on the team. I would love to see Garver recover and hit 35 homeruns but not while catching.
  13. tony&rodney
    Player acquisitions were discussed ad infinatum in the offseason. The Twins went with a Simmons, Cruz, Happ, and Shoemaker. Many of us called to load up the bullpen but many others believed the additions made were the correct choices. The season plays out to shine a light on a strength or expose weaknesses.
  14. tony&rodney
    If Polanco has his wheels beneath him, he will be a good player. Bad ankles led to some habits which changed his swing and lately we have seen him return to a healthy base in his at bats. Jorge is the least of the Twins problems; he looks to be back to form.
  15. tony&rodney
    Yes, Polanco has always been a better hitter from the left side and he is a really good player. No disrespect intended but this post is misinformed and off. It is true that Polanco played through significant injuries in the last two years because the Twins were short-handed and needed his position in play even with his diminished skills. It does seem like he developed some unfortunate side habits related to compensating for his injuries and he is now working through these inefficiencies. Polanco is a gamer though and while we are not exactly sure how he will look by this summer we do know that his past sacrifice for the team is worthy of a full look and the respect that acknowledges his efforts for the Twins. I expect Jorge will manage to correct his footwork and timing to return to a his prior performance before serious ankle injuries reduced his effectiveness at the plate and in the field. In my mind, Polanco has earned the right to work through these struggles and when he does the team will benefit from the patience.
  16. tony&rodney
    The Tigers and Twins trail the field, but not by much. Every other team has at least eight losses or has won at least eight games. 93 wins always seemed like a big number for the Twins this year and 86 wins might gain a playoff spot. Teams are much more competitive in general than in 2019. Detroit could turn around and be a 75-80 win team. By July the Twins will have a good idea of their weaknesses and how, or if, they can adjust their personnel. Unless a team implodes with a losing streak of 15 games or runs off a 35-5 start like the Tigers did one year, we can find comfort in the notion that teams do start slowly some years. Yes, the Twins are struggling now but their 40 man roster does not seem likely to finish below .500 for the year.
  17. tony&rodney
    Take a sip, but don't jump - it is still April. Bad baseball often happens in April. This year it was our turn. I'm still optimistic but there are some real concerns.
  18. tony&rodney
    Of course, this is obvious. I meant the Twins can still turn it around. I am not real enamored with this team, the manager, or the management. Still, the Twins should rebound. Against the odds, I wanted to trade both Sano and Garver after 2019. I thought the team could get something important for them. Sano is my favorite Twin to watch because he hits the ball so hard and looks so ferocious at the plate, squeezing the bat. But the strikeouts and defense hurt. I really wanted the Twins to sign Realmuto and Hendriks this past offseason, but religiously watch or listen (more often recently) to my favorite nine most games. The catching position was a concern before the season and continues to be. Arraez should rotate through the infield and DH spots. His defense in LF is pretty bad. The announcers from the other teams keep commenting on this when Luis takes up a stance in LF. Buxton needs to be healthy and Kepler and Kirilloff need to hit. Put Larnach in RF and move Kepler to LF. Max is an athlete and could cover the ground out there and Larnach may be more suitable for RF. I like AK at first for now, although clearly Sano goes back to 1B when he returns. Hopefully something clicks soon. The predictable losses are not good to watch.
  19. tony&rodney
    It's cold and rainy in Minnesota right now, but in a month the Earth will turn a bit and sunshine will bring 70 degrees and more. The Twins should be able to rebound as well. While one or two players may not ever return to near their 2019 seasons, it is hard to believe that all of the Twins core will continue to fail. Alex Kirilloff has a sweet swing and should be able to have a decent season despite his abysmal start. Trevor Larnach is also an option should Kepler or Sano not rebound from their April blues. I'm thinking that we can maintain some patience as April closes and May unfolds. The talent to win 90 games is there and summer will be a better barometer of this team. It is going to be difficult to make changes now because the minor leagues have not started yet and thus those players are all a few weeks behind in their development. However, at some point (drop 10-12 games below .500) critical evaluations could effect some roster moves beyond the current shuttling moves. Six or eight games below even is not a time to panic.
  20. tony&rodney
    This will be a fun read for a fan who followed these teams very closely. The pitching and hitting from these teams was terrific and those battles with Baltimore so frustrating. Blair, Belanger, and Brooks Robinson seemed to steal a few runs with their gloves every game. It was a very turbulent period in U. S. history, but the Twins were excellent.
  21. tony&rodney
    Rocco is fine, a decent manager and makes mistakes like everyone. People should relax a little. Perhaps Twins fans have become too used to the likes of Tom Kelly, Ron Gardenhire, and Paul Molitor, but in time Rocco will make a name for himself as well. There are two division banners already and this squad still has time to correct its early struggles. Marwin and Ehire were very special players and we miss them, but it is time to move forward because they are gone; those decisions are past. If the Twins can evade too many injuries their season will turn out fine and Rocco will keep us guessing.
  22. tony&rodney
    While I'm not going to worry about the record in April because everything usually balances over 162 games, I am concerned by the number of swings that miss. The Boston team put hard level swings on the ball that left line drives distributed throughout the field. Too many Twins have serious pull tendencies with pretty drastic upper cuts. The talent should be there but putting the ball in play is still important.
  23. tony&rodney
    Ehire Adrianza was underrated. Defense anywhere was good and bat played as a sub. He was inexpensive and worked everywhere for a low salary. I did not understand that decision at all. I guess Astudillo takes that spot but I'm pretty sure Adrianza would be a better catcher too.
  24. tony&rodney
    Kyle Garlick out with Covid and who knows who else. The Astros put something like five key players out and their young bucks get a chance. The Twins need to roll with whomever is next. It's a bummer but life goes forward. Covid is not insurmountable and wearing masks, taking care of each other, paying attention to crowds and staying attuned to your health is important. Let's hope everyone recovers quickly without any complications due to the virus and that the season remains on schedule. I'm optimistic that with care all businesses can remain open and operational in a positive manner, even if full capacity is still a few months off.
  25. tony&rodney
    Excellent article and appreciate the idea of an interview in a player's original language.
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