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tony&rodney

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Everything posted by tony&rodney

  1. tony&rodney
    Your points about Before and After are fine, but Lewis really has only played one year of baseball games at the MLB level. Too soon to tell what he was, is, or will be. Putting a crown on a young player is pretty tough. We can hope that Royce can find a process/swing and approach that works against pitchers who have a good book on him. The Twins need to have a plan of some sort pretty soon because just anointing him as the answer hasn't worked out so far.
  2. tony&rodney
    This would totally depend on what one defines as an extended period of time, right? If we are talking about a week or the one-third of a season in 2023 or the career which now is roughly equal to one season, one could come to wildly different conclusions. While I remain hopeful that Royce Lewis can recover his career at the MLB level, I have been consistently surprised at the references to Lewis as a critical core middle of the order hitter and staunch third baseman when the young man has unfortunately encountered the difficulties of playing baseball at the major league level. This has been the fate of too many phenoms in MLB history because baseball is a tough game to excel at on a consistent basis. We can only hope Lewis finds his way.
  3. tony&rodney
    Two budding stars in 2023 with similar WAR (2.6 & 2.4) have fallen badly. One is hallowed and still very much a point of focus, both for the Twins and Twins Daily. The other guy was never accepted, most often a point of derision and ridicule, and then rightfully demoted to AAA where the struggles continue. At a minimum it is an interesting look at bias. More clearly it is an example that baseball is a difficult sport to master. Hopefully both fellows have good lives. Maybe one or both can manage to find the keys to succeed.
  4. tony&rodney
    Play Eeles at second base and see if he can be a good fielder and also hit. We know what Miranda, Julien, and Gasper can do. The Twins don't need any more DHs.
  5. tony&rodney
    Gonzalez was just recently promoted to AA Wichita. I didn't see anything and doubt he was promoted last night to AAA St. Paul. Having watched Gonzalez a couple of times when he was a Seattle prospect and then last year I was baffled why the Twins accepted him in a trade. Gonzalez was the single worst outfielder I think I have ever seen. He made Delmon Young look like a gold glove winner. On at least a dozen occasions Gonzalez let fly balls drop and then picked them up as opposed to catching the ball. Well, he has improved dramatically in the outfield. In roughly a dozen games this year where I have watched him as an outfielder he is making the routine plays. He still isn't a good outfielder but the movement to playable has been a significant leap which indicates that Gonzalez has really worked hard at his fielding. Gonzalez has good bat to ball skills and it will be interesting to see how he does in the next few months for Wichita. FWIW, Culpepper is pushing to join Gonzalez in AA and we should expect this to happen pretty soon.
  6. tony&rodney
    The best answer for why Royce Lewis is struggling is that baseball is a difficult game. Proficiency or just being an average productive regular is incredibly challenging. At least Lewis has benefitted from tremendous support from Twins management. All signs point to him receiving a host of opportunities to recover from his current level of play.
  7. tony&rodney
    Playing baseball in today's Tampa weather conditions allows players to be totally loose and ready to go. Having played numerous doubleheaders in Florida heat, it is incumbent on the guys to keep hydrated. It is much easier to perform at optimum physical ability in 90 degrees F than it is in weather that ranges from 30-60 degrees F. Tampa was just better than the Twins today. The weather was not a factor. For those who find warm weather too difficult the weekend in Seattle should be in the mid 70s or with the roof closed if it rains (not in the forecast now). Stay safe.
  8. tony&rodney
    My comments have extolled the excellence of the Twins pitching staff all season. They are really good. However, we don't need to get all giddy about best ever. The 1965-1969 Twins pitching was really good too. The wins may be tougher this year for a couple of reasons. It isn't negative to note the real lack of foot speed and defense on this squad and the offense struggles to score runs as well. With a philosophy that eschews advancing runners (partially due to lack of speed but mostly due to thought process) and relies on extra base hits from players who are largely singles hitters, there are going to be real challenges. A step forward from several players will be needed before this Twins team can take the next step. While I remain bullish on the Twins, it is still a positive statement to expect around 85 wins and a wild card slot.
  9. tony&rodney
    Nice win. Anyone else worried about the bullpen in September? It is too early to think about that though. Varland has been efficient with his pitches and Jax has his dominant stuff.
  10. tony&rodney
    No big deal. McCusker is being judged on being a rookie pinch hitter. I cannot remember another instance where this has occurred. It is a very strange situation and I'm sure someone else must have questions other than me. To say he has failed is too simplistic to even respond to. Nobody knows what McCusker can do at the MLB level because he just sits and tries to be a good teammate. Can you imagine if Matthews was called up and just sat in the bullpen for a couple of weeks and then was brought in as a closer with a couple of runners on base.
  11. tony&rodney
    Love the way the Rays play. Beautiful play by Correa. The execution on that relay was simply wonderful baseball.
  12. tony&rodney
    So I do not know if you have watched a couple dozen or fifty games with McCusker playing in the field in the minor leagues like I have, but he has actually been a decent outfielder. He is a little bit better on jumps than Wallner and a much stronger defender than Larnach. Unless the lights specifically were the cause of the difficulties in left field last night I would say McCusker catches all three. He has fair speed and is surprisingly athletic. In 9 days McCusker has been mostly on the bench and the strikeouts are not surprising. His K-rate in AAA is about what we saw from both Larnach and Wallner. Yes, we want him to strike out less but acclimating to MLB pitching is not so easy as Jackson Holliday found out last season. It is multitudes more difficult for a rookie batting once every other game. If the Twins just wanted a pinch hitter they should have called up Mike Ford. I'm pretty certain that McCusker goes back to St. Paul soon and would suggest the Twins evaluate where he stands in their pecking order as an outfielder. If the Twins are not keen on Carson in their future plans I'm thinking there would be a decent opportunity to find a Dominican League, Rookie, or A ball player from some team's #10-25 prospect list or a dark horse that someone in the organization likes on another team.
  13. tony&rodney
    Does anyone else think Castro is playing injured. He looks slow in the field and at the plate compared to his usual self. The pitcher needs to make the final decision on which pitch to throw. Sometimes I wonder about the sequencing but the pitching staff has been pretty good this year. Stewart put that pitch on the tee.
  14. tony&rodney
    Doc's comments are the correct response. Read above. I will add that pitching is different today. Roster size has generally been at 25 players and pitching staffs were routinely around 10 or less. The 13 person pitching staffs have changed the makeup of teams position side as well as made max effort pitching more common. If rosters were 25 again, there would need to be some adjustments by a manager. "In the past, players like Rickey Henderson or Lou Brock embodied the classic leadoff profile: speedsters who could steal bases and disrupt pitchers’ rhythms." This line in the article caught my attention right away. Wallner will never hit as many home runs as Ricky did in his career. Wallner is also unlikely to reach the HR totals of Lou Brock. The more things change the more they stay the same. Kids these days.
  15. tony&rodney
    Good point. I thought the same exact thing when the ball was hit. I did not go back and replay that batted ball but it sure did look like Funderburk expected someone right behind him. A pitcher needs to field their position too and we have seen a pile of fielding mistakes by Twins pitchers this season already.
  16. tony&rodney
    Nick, this article may be helpful for some. Personally. I attend or watch a game for the pitching, offense, defense, and base-running; the players/ the game. Neither ownership nor front office management enters my mind in a game. The presence of an MLB team does not drive out small businesses in the manner of a Walmart. MLB (and other sports) teams do push communities to pay for their stadiums, which populations seemingly vote for. The U.S. has nearly always had a rather strange form of extreme welfare for big businesses and then paid their politicians to scream socialism and communism at any attempts to mollify the suffering of the poor or downtrodden. The Twins do have a decent team and their pitching is quite good this year. Where I might have some disagreement concerns the pattern of play and the preferred style of roster. The Twins are the slowest team in baseball, but I must acknowledge the two players who are new this year, Bader and Keirsey Jr., that have some speed. The Twins are also one of the weakest fielding teams. I enjoy watching the Twins but am still hoping Baldelli will try a hit and run or a bunt on occasion. These are seldom used, so I guess the team is outperforming its talent which is a good thing. Hopefully Buxton and Wallner will return healthy and productive, Correa will raise his level of output on offense on a consistent basis, and Lewis manages to do ..... something/anything. The Twins could be a playoff team.
  17. tony&rodney
    Something to consider is that Funderburk is out of the inning without giving up a run if the fly ball is caught. In any event, this game is totally on the offense first and if one needs to wonder what else, look at the defense. Tomorrow is another game and it is a long season. I was commenting that the Twins would get to .500 ball just 3 weeks ago and was told July was possible but not by June. I would like to see a couple of changes from tonight's lineup. Try Jeffers-C, France-1B, Clemens-2B, Lee-3B, Correa-SS, Bader-LF, Keirsey Jr.-CF, McCusker-RF, & Larnach-DH. Castro and Lewis need a day off. Vazquez caught Monday. Bride-?
  18. tony&rodney
    The ball that Caminero hit for a double was playable. Lewis was near the line and barely had to move but he missed. The ball was well struck though. It would have been a good play. That play and the 3 balls in a row to Larnach highlighted a shortcoming of the Twins team. Defense is necessary when you don't have a top offense. The Twins have wonderful pitching but they do not get much help from the guys in the field. Hopefully the Twins learn to hit again because a slow, defensively challenged team that doesn't hit will cause a fair amount of heartbreak, especially to the pitching staff.
  19. tony&rodney
    The Twins will need some decent luck to finish above Kansas City or Cleveland. Detroit is your betting favorite to win the AL Central. They have missed a ton of games from good players due to injuries. When fully healthy, Detroit will be formidable.
  20. tony&rodney
    We all love Larnach and nobody loves Larnach more than Rocco, but when a guy is a true DH let him DH.
  21. tony&rodney
    Pop up/ fly ball to deep left is a double? Ouch.
  22. tony&rodney
    Yes, but your quote from the internet does not cover not retouching first base after running back over the bag on a play. It still hasn't been answered because out Tv announcers are clueless and have not had anyone yet read it up and report.
  23. tony&rodney
    On that play where Rocco challenged retouching first base, I don't think the replay guys could find the rule. When I was involved in baseball I would read the rule book every year. I don't remember that play at all. I have never seen that play. My admitted guess is that the New York dudes had no idea what to do and just made something up. The runner clearly stepped with both feet past the bag. I couldn't tell if his one foot brushed the bag when he started to run to second but they rules he did not step past first base.
  24. tony&rodney
    Tough for a rookie to sit so much and then be expected to produce. As for how he has hit in AAA, I would only ask if one has watched him play in a couple of dozen games for St. Paul. If the Twins wanted a pinch hitter only they should have called up Mike Ford. I'm not going to make any judgments about whether McCusker can hit MLB pitching until he gets a real shot at regular plate appearances.
  25. tony&rodney
    Hey, I'm not one to push Keirsey Jr., but he has never had any regular at bats in MLB. Regular play does make a difference. We actually have no idea how he would do.
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