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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    The rain, the wind, and fog make this a really difficult playing field. We are seeing some tough baseball today. Our guys are fighting to win.
  2. tony&rodney
    Next year Gonzalez could be a solid fit, mostly as a DH. He has improved tremendously from unplayable to respectable as an outfielder. I have been impressed by the improvements in his routes, jumps, and awareness in the outfield. The Twins are better served to have good defensive gloves at as many positions as possible, which means a good bat like Gonzalez fits better as a DH. Certainly Gonzalez will get some time in the field if he hits.
  3. tony&rodney
    Don't know. These things are impossible for us to know. I'll ask someone in the dugout at the All Star break but intangibles are difficult to quantify. A few of the players are just playing like they enjoy their jobs more than some of the guys who were here before. Who knows?
  4. tony&rodney
    True, it makes a big difference. I can't throw a shutout unless the guys behind me make the plays.
  5. tony&rodney
    I know there have been and will be some rough spots but these Twins are a scrappy bunch and so much more fun to watch.
  6. tony&rodney
    First, Emmanuel needs to stay healthy and then we shall see. I would not bet against him.
  7. tony&rodney
    Should be an interesting game. The Red Sox are not having much luck against breaking stuff and the Twins face Sonny Gray, a pitcher who never gives in to a hitter. Gray can be beat by disciplined hitters.
  8. tony&rodney
    Timely article in that the role players have been picking up the guys who were expected to carry the team (Lewis, Wallner). Each of the guys mentioned and James Outman as well provide value when they play well. Right now the Twins are a little short of full time regulars. Hopefully within a couple of months a few players will step up to claim some positions. Until then we are seeing a strong effort from the players highlighted. Long term the Twins will hope to have a stronger base of regular position players and the list of utility players will dwindle. Of the players noted in the article, Clemens and Kreidler are ideal fits for the team. Both play numerous positions well. Kreidler can also run a bit. Escobar and Castro developed into fair hitters which may be the key to whether Clemens and Kreidler stick around for a few years. In St. Paul, Ben Ross could be a candidate for a role player in the near future. The bat is important though and we are seeing that the pitchers today are making life difficult for most hitters.
  9. tony&rodney
    Watch Lewis hit and you will see him do well when he swings through the ball with a strong/sturdy base. When he tries to yank the ball and has his feet moving, he is in trouble. When the Twins sent him down he was dancing, reaching, and trying to pull everything. Royce will need to eliminate the bad habits before any recall takes place. I don't think the Twins care about his average as much as they are observing his plate appearances.
  10. tony&rodney
    Emmanuel has to stay healthy enough to show his skills. He has had success at every level. The strike outs are a constant as are the walks, power, defense, and running. Mendez can hit and he looks (to me) to be improving in the field. Gabriel Gonzalez might have been the worst defensive player in years just a couple of years ago but he has improved immensely. These young guys work hard and many of them improve pretty quickly. Of course there is a leap for the expectations of a major league performer. Quentin has enormous physical talents and if he were polished the Twins could have never drafted him as is correctly stated in the quote above. The kid has everything to learn and the Twins are letting him play. He won't be a shortstop in a couple of years but his ability to develop skills is going to be a constant at shortstop where the most plays on batted balls are hit. There is a good chance that Young is getting a little bit of work with fly balls and elsewhere in practices. Best to get back to Young in two years before further comments.
  11. tony&rodney
    I love the way that the Twins are using their pitching staff. Tomorrow we could see Gomez, Orze, Rogers or more, as needed, after only using Rojas and Morris with a key short appearance from Rogers today. Maybe Ober is as effective as Bradley too.
  12. tony&rodney
    Tough game for Morris. In the minor leagues he was often hurt by broken bat base hits. That 72.5 mph broken bat base hit by Contreras was a bad omen. First time for Morris in front of a frenzied Fenway Park crowd .... a learning experience. He will settle down and throw strikes the next time. Loved that Shelton stuck with him until the LH bat came up. Good win today. Fenway is such a unique experience.
  13. tony&rodney
    Rojas has a pitch limit.
  14. tony&rodney
    This is what I'm thinking also. The times they are a changin'.
  15. tony&rodney
    Absolutely, Shelton is doing a good job. He is showing quite a bit of belief in his young pitchers. These fellows are learning on the job and the talent is a clear improvement. This team is so much more interesting than what we endured the last two years, forget wins or losses. The club is competing hard. Today was a sweet win.
  16. tony&rodney
    Any player can be traded if the return makes the a team stronger moving forward. Conversely, there is no reason to trade a player who is capable of making contributions towards winning games for a mediocre return. Yes, the Twins should be listening and actively talking to many teams about potential exchanges. Ryan still has another year (2027) before he is a free agent and the same goes for Ober. So, yes, complete deals that make sense. But, no, the Twins don't "need" to trade players.
  17. tony&rodney
    Anyone who has curiosity about the rule can read it. !0 & 5 rights is ironclad decision for player's right to veto any trade. The clause previously in his contract was there for a situation whereby Buck did not get to 10 & 5 before contract was up. While Buxton could demand a trade/accept a trade, I'm not sure any recent player has been more vocal about remaining in the only organization they have known.
  18. tony&rodney
    Disagreements can be good.
  19. tony&rodney
    Easiest is a relative term. If a player cannot field a ground ball and has problems making quick decisions, first base is impossible. Additionally, a number of infielders have rocket arms and there are decent athletes who can catch a line drive in the outfield but cannot adjust to catching 90 mph from an infielder. Clemens is a pretty good athlete with good hands. He plays fair defense just about anywhere.
  20. tony&rodney
    There is no question that Quentin Young is raw, I would not argue that point. I will tell you that if he cannot field he moves to the OF or DH. First base requires quite a bit of footwork and the ability to field ground balls. As far as players making errors in the minor leagues I seem to remember Trevor Plouffe, off the top of my head, as having troubles. He played on the left side for several years in MLB. He probably wasn't quite down to Young's stats ( I will let you look up people) but he had skills to harness. If Quentin Young ever reaches MLB it will be because of his bat. If he can field a ground ball and move his feet a move to first base is possible. More likely Young gets moved to a corner outfielder. He was drafted to hit bombs. Some people have compared him to Brandon Winokur. They are both tall and have swing and miss in their game. There are no other similarities. Winokur is a good defender and can play wherever and do it well. FWIW, I'm not too high on Young, but he can improve and 20230 is a ways away.
  21. tony&rodney
    Dasan Hill is being treated with kid gloves - low pitch counts. Hopefully Hill can build up over the summer. He can be fun or frustrating to watch from outing to outing because his control is all over the place. He does have dominating stuff.
  22. tony&rodney
    The Twins were basically broke when they traded Rod Carew. This is actually true. The Griffiths were hanging on and cutting costs. These were not people living rich. Carew deserved to be paid more and had to get traded in order to get paid. Carew's comments on all of this are a matter of record. Still, it was a sad day for Twins fans. Reality intervened. The Pohlads have Buxton under contract and it is a good deal; he stays unless he demands a trade. Iagree the Twins need to get better WITH Buck on the team. Ryan can be traded for the right return. The Pohlads are negotiating their investment more carefully than we have seen in a while. Ryan could stay too.
  23. tony&rodney
    The only way a discussion of trading Byron Buxton makes any sense is if Buck would like to play for another team. That seems to have been addressed repeatedly as a "No" and Byron has full say in his employment with both a NTC and 10 & 5 rights. Joe Ryan may have considerable interest from many teams but which team is willing to give up a top prospect or a bundle that makes sense? When one looks around the league, the number of teams with the types of prospects worth acquiring on teams that may be willing to add Ryan are slim. Teams like St. Louis, West Sacramento, and others are doing well but may be reluctant to give up the needed prospects. Teams like Tampa Bay and Milwaukee are hesitant to trade top prospects and their starters are doing well. A pile of teams would like Joe Ryan but their prospects are less appealing than already exists within the Twins organization. Perhaps the Chicago Cubs are the best match. The Twins would need to get a pile of players though and I'm not sure more than Pedro Ramirez are worth the gamble. San Francisco seems like a destination long term for Ryan but their system is thin. So it is hold and listen for now and most likely this rolls into October and November. The CBA was a big concern last winter. Attendance is pretty good around MLB, not in Minnesota. My guess is things are resolved because any lock out would cost owners real money. In sum, as stated earlier, it is too early. There is no future in regretting that nothing was done last winter. We all pretty much agree the club bungled some potential chances. We also cannot predict injuries and need to relax about that ongoing problem. Look at Houston or Detroit for concerns with injuries.
  24. tony&rodney
    The Twins could really use a big hit (relatively fast path to MLB combined with success) on that #3 pick in the first round of the draft this July. The MLB draft is always complicated. The can't miss sometimes miss. Paul Skenes rocketed from the bottom of the top ten to the top in his last year at LSU and hasn't stopped. The position player expected to be a star from that draft, Dylan Crews, has had hiccups and was just recalled. The debate for which player to pick will go right up until the actual draft. While Roch Cholowsky is still looked at as the most likely first pick, all of Grady Emerson, Vahn Lackey, Jackson Flora, and Jacob Lombard could be the player to bring in the fans to Target Field. My hope is that the Twins hit on their pick and a few of the other guys in the system step forward quickly.
  25. tony&rodney
    The minor leagues are for development. Errors are really not that important if the player is gaining skills needed to be an infielder. Reads, first step, angles, set-up, hands, transfers, footwork and more are being taught and worked on regularly. Young may never be slick enough to stay on the left side of the infield but if he cannot learn footwork or field ground balls smoothly and make quick, correct decisions he cannot play first base either. Quentin Young was drafted purely on athletic ability and if he is to rise through the different levels of the minors to reach The Show, he will need to learn quite a bit. Playing and learning defense is a challenge for Young and the organization will be patient with him, especially if he learns to control his powerful bat. 2029 or 2030? The kid has time to learn.
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