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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    Always appreciate all of the comments and views given by a bunch of people here on Twins Daily. I am very curious though whether people are watching the games, viewing a few highlights, or merely looking over box scores. I look over box scores as a habit I started in the late 1950s. Video wasn't an option and it has only been recently where we can watch the actual games via milb.com. My sense is that watching someone play several dozen to a hundred times gives one a better range of a player's skills, plus or minus, than looking at highlights or a box score or various analytics. This is merely my thinking and others may disagree. Marek Houston has not impressed me yet, either in the field or at the plate. By comparison the change in all things baseball related with Gabriel Gonzalez are plus, plus as far as improvement. The growth of Walker Jenkins jumps off the page, again, in all phases of the game. He looks like the best Twins prospect since Joe Mauer (no, I don't expect him to be as good as Mauer). The book is still wide open on Emmanuel Rodriguez. Erod runs the bases aggressively and is an asset in the field. Just that makes any comparisons overall to Julien not valid. That said, Erod does have a hole that MLB pitchers could exploit. The unknown is whether Rodriguez can stay healthy. All of his injuries seem unrelated, but he misses way too much time to count on him. The big "if" is health which then allows Erod to swing the bat unimpeded by fear of aggravating some owie. I believe Emmanuel can be really good. My thought is whether another team covets his potential in a fashion where the Twins benefit from a prospect for prospect trade. Those of us who saw Erod hit when fully healthy and in the groove (meaning not recently returned from injury or promotion due to rehab) know he has a hit tool. He needs to be in the lineup for months in a row though to prove himself. The fits and starts and constant readjustment back to playing have dulled his value and those who feel he can be easily abused by MLB pitchers could be correct if Erod cannot work consistently on addressing his weaknesses because he is just trying to be healthy. Can ER be a major piece of the Twins future (2026) or his he best used to address an area of weakness by seeking a trade partner? There should be some teams interested in swapping prospects in that gray area of top prospects (#25-75).
  2. tony&rodney
    Baseball has crazy quirks and the failure is ever present, but Sands finished the inning and gets the W.
  3. tony&rodney
    Always enjoy reading these wraps even after watching the games. Thank you. Watched the games, pausing and switching back and forth quickly to catch most of the action. St. Paul is a little tentative due to their long losing streak but played decently. Abel has stuff but finishing off batters and commanding his pitches is still a work in progress. Jenkins, Gonzalez, and Rodriguez looked pretty good tonight. Jenkins is on the quick learning curve, doing fine with a sweet swing. Wichita is tough. They are determined to win. Rosario is a leader and Mendez can swing a bat. Cossetti had a good game. Cedar Rapids got great relief pitching after a power outage caused a long delay in the first inning that resulted in a pitching change. The lineup was relentless with Urbina driving in 3 runs. The Kernels now face West Michigan that finished the year with a 92-39 record, the best in the minor leagues.
  4. tony&rodney
    Fun win for the boys.
  5. tony&rodney
    Does anyone have a bar that players should reach as a hitter? We can consider that the bar includes below average defense. Is it .220? .250? .700 OPS? .750 OPS? What should e expect from our position players at the plate or is that not worth thinking about?
  6. tony&rodney
    Woods Richardson is the only player I can see being rostered next April by the Twins. Perhaps a couple of these guys sign minor league deals but it would seem they would first try to get a similar contract with a different organization. I could see Simeon being a part of a trade as well. He is a fair #5 starter. It is quite difficult to judge Twins pitchers who are in a gray area, like SWR, because the defense is so bad it doesn't reflect how a guy might look pitching for an above average or even average fielding team. Even Paul Skenes would have his numbers scarred and messed up by pitching for the Twins and the Pirates aren't very good.
  7. tony&rodney
    Line from Pink Floyd's song, "Comfortably Numb".
  8. tony&rodney
    Winokur hasn't played since a HBP last week. Any word on the severity of that injury?
  9. tony&rodney
    Baseball loves its analytics and in many areas they are useful, putting numbers to what perceptive baseball minds have always known. Metrics for defense, however, are by their very nature flawed. Perhaps at some point there will be video placed in the exact same place in every stadium with instruments that measure heat, humidity, wind, clouds, sun, and crowd noise and colors and manage to record every movement precisely in the exact same manner. Until such time, the human eye and mind is still a match for a pile of people collecting information. Byron Buxton has not fallen off his game in centerfield to the point where he gets moved to a corner at this point. Buck himself may be totally flummoxed by the mere thought. I suspect he would not accept a move at this time. Byron has retreated from the days of running into the walls and fences which may hurt his stat line but his speed is still elite and he never was all that good at jumps on fly balls. Why downgrade the position? Neither Emmanuel Rodriguez nor Walker Jenkins play centerfield as well as Buxton at this point. Perhaps a Max Clark or Cedanne Rafaela raises the question anew if acquired. Both of the Twins prospects have played a few games in the corners, Buxton has less experience as a corner outfielder than either (only in his minor league days a couple of times) and has been exclusively a centerfielder in his MLB career. Lastly, the largest positive change the Twins can make in their outfield is to actually roster and play guys who are capable of fielding to an acceptable degree in the corners.
  10. tony&rodney
    Watched quite a bit of the Kernels and Saints games, flipping back and forth between them. The minor league players look tired, at all levels. Hill looked ok. He has some stuff. A player who has really surprised me is Gabby Gonzalez. Last year, especially early in the year, he was as bad as it ever gets in the outfield. Whatever caused the improvement, Gonzalez is now capable of playing in the field. He has his youthful moments at the plate but he can put the wood to the the ball. The kid has a future if he can continue to improve in all phases of the game. Tanner Schobel looks lost, both at the plate and in the field. Hopefully it is just a blip to be corrected next year but I'm not seeing much projection from the guy. Lastly, the Saints have some real promise and a pile of dead careers in their lineup. No surprise really to see their putrid record.
  11. tony&rodney
    If the Twins can acquire 3 sets of twins who are all good baseball players, they would really have
  12. tony&rodney
    45 innings at 2B in Wichita this year. Culpepper has been primarily a shortstop and he is pretty quick there too. I'm sure he could adapt to 2B is there was a good reason to move him there.
  13. tony&rodney
    I plead guilty. I'm fine to sweep away all who share DK's way of playing/managing baseball.
  14. tony&rodney
    Brian Dinkelman has done very well in both Cedar Rapids and Wichita. His teams play hard and they don't quit. There are more than a few times when I'm watching the Kernels in years past and Wichita this year that I have enjoyed the hustle of these teams. Numerous times earlier in the summer I just went to the Wind Surge game because the lack of effort from the Twins was discouraging to watch. Put Dinkelman in charge of the Twins and send Falvey home with Baldelli. There must be someone who knows how to run the business side of an MLB team. Zoll and others are fine to stay. Not all of the unknown front office employees drank the cool aid.
  15. tony&rodney
    The child is grown, the dream is gone.
  16. tony&rodney
    I agree. I'm actually a little bullish on Keaschall's prospects for playing good defense because I see him getting better/stronger once he has a full winter of healing. He has looked good at the plate but I'm a little concerned about him becoming too pull oriented or passive in 3-2 counts. Right now, Luke has been great with a bat. Hopefully he builds from here.
  17. tony&rodney
    Luke Keaschall looks a little rough fielding ground balls and hasn't exactly been too stellar at chasing weak bloops into the shallow outfield either. However, Keaschall is quick and he is getting to batted balls that some of our other second baseman were waving at or just meekly pulling up because they lack the quickness, speed, or instincts needed to make a play. Keaschall could improve quite a bit in time. In some ways he reminds me of Koskie, a guy who became a solid defensive player. In any event Luke Keaschall is still at the point where he is learning how to play baseball. I'm hopeful because he has the physical talent to become a solid regular.
  18. tony&rodney
    edited to remove a double post .... an error on my part ..... which means this fan has caught the virus too ...
  19. tony&rodney
    Every person on Twins Daily has a different idea on how the Twins "can" improve enough from now until next season to actually compete. Compete is a loose term itself, but it might be fair to suggest an 81 win team is competitive. I'm hoping that there are teams with talented players who have a real desire to acquire several current Twins. The return from dealing Ryan should be real talent, a top 10 global prospect or an already established regular similar to Jarren Duran. All of Jeffers, Lee, Lewis, and Wallner could have teams interested and willing to exchange real talent for these players. Whatever happens before the 2026 campaign, I'm hoping for some change that results in a team that can catch and throw the ball at an above average level, runs the bases skillfully, and hits at an average level. The idea in my head results in a team that can compete. I don't see the current product as competitive.
  20. tony&rodney
    You bring up a good point in your second paragraph and I'm hopeful that this unexpected change will continue into next season. I know what you mean with your first point but the Twins are wedded to potential offensive slugging which puts players at any open position. We have not seen any focus towards defense. Second base has been bad but since Max Kepler left, the biggest hole has been right field. Hopefully there will be competent defensive players arriving in the next year or two. If that happens I think there will be a real awakening or awareness of just how bad the current roster is at playing defense.
  21. tony&rodney
    On the triple, Martin had to retrieve the ball in right center field. Looking at the replay, Larnach just sat and watched the play and then jogged a few strides after the ball hits the wall. I have never seen that play before and the batter was right handed, although being played straight away.
  22. tony&rodney
    My reply is not really directed towards you but for anyone who has not had a chance to see Andrew Morris pitch in several games this year. Looking over his numbers doesn't really do him justice. Morris suffered a little setback with an injury and he does need to get more movement on his pitches as well as improved command (like most young pitchers) to be successful at the next level. Morris fell victim this year to two factors which I'm expecting/hoping will not follow him into the future. Morris was hurt on numerous occasions by poor defense (routine plays not made) and had more than the usual amount of broken bat hits fall. Overall, I believe Andrew Morris is a bit underrated. He could steal a rotation spot next season with the Twins.
  23. tony&rodney
    These three have each had some solid moments and the Twins management seems to favor them, given their playing time. Most people expect all three to be around on the 2026 team. I am wondering how other teams view these three (and other) players. Is there enough interest to turn one or more of these three current Twins into more talented baseball players? Matt Wallner is strictly a DH (best case scenario). Brooks Lee might grow into a good bat. He isn't very good at the moment. Lee is slow. His lack of foot speed hurts him offensively and also restricts his ability to defend. While Brooks has a smooth glove and quick transfers, we have seen quite a few balls elude his grasp. This is not due to a lack of skill but a lack of physical talent. He just isn't quick or fast enough to play shortstop on a good MLB team. He could be a useful utility player. Royce Lewis is an enigma. It looked like his legs were done earlier this year but he has recovered some spark, which gives him a base for hitting, gives him back his ability to get to baseballs in the field, and makes him a baserunner again. Can Lewis evolve as a hitter? I don't know about that. He insists on trying to yank every pitch, which makes him ver vulnerable to good pitchers. I would trade all of them in a heartbeat if I could get a decent return. I have no idea how others team feel about these guys and how they might fit a specific need. An example (total guess) ..... Would Pittsburgh feel that Wallner is a potential answer for adding offense for them? Would the Pirates trade Jared Jones and Endy Rodriguez for Wallner? In sum, I'm hoping all three finish the year strong and that other teams come calling with great offers. I do not see Wallner as ever reaching just below average in the outfield and Lee lacks the physical talent to play shortstop. I would love if Lewis would become the all around player who drives the team but have little confidence that he will blossom into that guy.
  24. tony&rodney
    The inability of management to complete reasonably significant transactions after each of the last two years (sell high) left the Twins with a slow, defensively challenged roster that struggles to hit. The trades of the top 5 relief pitchers was a disappointment (for me) due to the returns. Expectations and concerns are heavy toward further deals this winter. The returns need to be significant. Look at it in reverse. If the Twins were a team that needed a really good pitcher to win it all next season, would you trade a Walker Jenkins or Luke Keaschall for that guy? Is there an MLB team willing to trade a top talent for Joe Ryan? More importantly, can the current regime identify talent? The downward spiral started when Derek Falvey arrived may be a fair article. The style of play he favors lacks creativity and leaves fans yawning. Some really decent Twins teams could have benefitted from a more wide open approach.
  25. tony&rodney
    Andrew Morris (Saints) and Jose Olivares (Kernels) pitched very well and looked good too. Better defense is required. Winokur must be injured from a HBP last week. He hasn't played since and the Kernels need him in the lineup. Ball did not carry last night in St. Paul.
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