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Doctor Gast

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Everything posted by Doctor Gast

  1. Doctor Gast
    .I totally agree with you Nick, that catching defense is extremely important to the team's success. Even with Vazquez, the Twins are projected to be in the middle of the pack. The best decision the Twins made this off-season was to keep Vazquez. In '20 Jeffers supported Garver & he had a good season. '21 Garver was injured so Jeffers had the bulk of the playing time, Jeffers slumped. In '22 Jeffers was the sole primary catcher with only Sanchez as the safety net, Jeffers crashed & burned. In '23 Jeffers supported primary catcher Vazquez (his safety net), and Jeffers thrived. As Jeffers's playing time & responsibility increased his defense waned. My observation is Jeffers makes a much better backup than the primary catcher. IMO Vazquez's offense will rebound while Jeffers's will regress. IMO Jeffers's defense was stretched to the max last year & can not be sustained. IMO our catching depth is poor & has been neglected
  2. Doctor Gast
    I'm not quick to criticize the Pohlads because I don't have any facts to go by and I grew up under the Griffins. I loved the '60s Twins & going into the '70s but after they let Carew go, they were bad. Every year I vowed I'd quit listening to the Twins but because of TonyO, I kept coming back until TonyO retired. Then I completely gave up on the Twinkees (I hate that name). I came back when the Pohlads bought the Griffins out & brought back the pinstripes. We have a great core of players. I can accept that there is a money crunch because IMO we can still improve under those parameters through proper evaluations & execution. But it didn't happen.
  3. Doctor Gast
    Facts are exactly what you're not getting from this FO. They let out only the info that fits them. '21 we came off 2 division championships, the fanbase was excited. In the off-season they didn't get the FA SP they wanted, So they got some older SPs in Happ & Shoemaker & ex CWS closer, Colume, they showed some past stats & stated that Johnson was going work his magic & fix Shoemaker's mix, and the fanbase got even more excited, watch out MLB here we come. I criticized that Happ wasn't a good idea because an old slow LHP in a heavy dominant RH-hitting Central Division was never going to work. old Shoemaker had a lot to fix & showed no openness to change. Plus there must be a reason why CWS let Colume go, Closers have a super stressful job, and you need to be highly confident in your stuff & yourself to be one. Colume was having problems (that's why CWS let him go) plus being let go doesn't do anything for your confidence plus getting acclimated to a different club is too much, Plus FO wanted to show they made the right decision by showcasing him as our primary closer. And just like now, I was hammered, "You're crazy", "you don't know what you're talking about", and "Don't rock the boat". Questioning sources, observing, doing research, putting pieces together & making an assumption isn't blindly accusing this FO. I might not be 100% correct but I'm not being blind. I sincerely would like this FO to do well. But I'm going to speak up when I don't agree.
  4. Doctor Gast
    Thank you Cody for sharing that insight with us. Hope you & Liam well. Going through these things helps us to appreciate what we have.
  5. Doctor Gast
    I never said minor leaguers are coasting. I said there's a much higher level at the MLB for SPs with additional physical, mental & emotional baggage. Therefore minor-league stats more often don't translate into MLB stats right away. And many successful minor leaguers can't make that transition.
  6. Doctor Gast
    I'm sorry you felt disrespected that wasn't my intent. I just want to shake people up to actually look at everything & then make a rational conclusion. Many take everything that our FO says & never question it.
  7. Doctor Gast
    It's blindly accepting something (in this case hype) to be true without testing it but later realizing it's false when it's too late. Social media is full of people pushing their agenda. If I was in this situation I wish someone to challenge me. I am always open for logical debate.
  8. Doctor Gast
    Kool-Aid isn't a mind-altering substance, at least not in the way I meant it. People can use the term Kool-Aid for me I don't care.
  9. Doctor Gast
    Yes, Varland is sturdy but as you know there is no comparison from minor leagues to MLB. Because of the level of play an SP has to endure, the added physical effort you tend to throw harder, that extra adrenalin, the extra mental effort, the emotional & stress. All take a toll on a body. In Ober's sophomore season, he started out in the rotation but I'd wager that Varland will pass the # of games that Ober in his sophomore season pitched. But not 25 games, which is being much too optimistic.
  10. Doctor Gast
    I applaud you, Cody. I think the one when they said they weren't taking any prospects' deals on any of the salary dump players was that the deals needed to directly respond to our needs. I applauded the FO for making the correct stand but whenever they make the correct stand you can count on them to change it, Which they did about a week later. They traded Polanco for 2 unnecessary prospects & 2 older vets, 1- RP & 1- 5th SP, positions we had covered in-house & positions that we could easily add to. We definitely got worse & when the Kool-Aid wears off everybody will regret this trade.
  11. Doctor Gast
    I think Ryan hit a wall that caused his injury & made his pitches not as effective. Many made good points about how he needs to make his secondary pitches better. I believe he'll make the needed adjustments & him being one year stronger will make him an improved SP.
  12. Doctor Gast
    No matter how good Miranda will be in AAA or how bad Santana will be, Miranda will be stuck in AAA. Seems to me that Duran had some health & command problems too before he came up as RP. From what I've seen, I believe Canterino will master those problems too. Canterino, because of his friendship with Paddack, can advance much quicker in MLB being groomed by Paddack than in AAA.
  13. Doctor Gast
    Varland is in a different place than Ober was last season (Ober had a year up on Varland), Varland will not be able to come close to start 25 games. Nevertheless, he's MLB-ready, with Paddack & DeSclafani on limited innings, he'd be the ideal back half piggy-back combo & be ramped up that way. Most definitely Canterino won't be a MLB-ready SP this season but IMO he could be in the BP very quickly much like Paddack was (not that he shouldn't be eventually used the rotation). Again holding them back any amount of time is a waste because they advance much quicker pitching against MLB hitting. Miranda was hurt last year so those stats should be thrown out. What we need to look at is his '22 MLB stats.
  14. Doctor Gast
    Larnach has had a lot of positive hype. IMO they'll give him one more chance to prove himself & be traded if he can't he'll be forgotten & they'll bring up Martin.
  15. Doctor Gast
    Grichuk's bat might compare favorably to MAT but not his glove, glad we didn't pick him up. With Buck looking good, MAT might want a more full-time & longer contract than what the Twins want to offer. Yet if he can't find a better deal he'd be happy to return to MN. I'm happy we have a great BP but not happy with how the Twins have jammed-packed the 5th SP & RPs with newcomers taking up spots from pitchers who are MLB-ready like Varland & Canterino where they'll waste their bullets in AAA & 1B/DH where I'd like to see what Miranda can do instead of being sent down to & stuck in AAA. In the OF I'd like to see Larnach prove himself before they get an RH OF to take his place, They can hold back Martin for a little while to see where Larnach is at but if they bring someone in Larnach is toast. We have so many MLB-ready players, some of whom need to prove themselves and probably won't get that opportunity. IMO we can afford to wait in the beginning of the season, it's the postseason I'm concerned about.
  16. Doctor Gast
    IMO Lopez was underrated last year & should have gotten more recognition. At the end of the season, Lopez was arguably the best SP. Lopez should be one of those on the top of the list in '24. His durability should play a large role.
  17. Doctor Gast
    My hope is in Noah Miller. His glove is elite & his hitting will come along. Correa's hitting was horrid last season but his glove carried him. At SS IMO glove trumps bats. I'd rather have a very good glove that's average hitting than a very good bat that's average fielding at least at CF, SS & catching.
  18. Doctor Gast
    I never get tired of watching Johan pitch. Very comparable to Kofax who is a legend. He deserves to be in the HOF. MN should do everything they can to promote Santana to get into the HOF. Not only MN but NYM too, Santana was the 1st Met to throw a no-hitter ahead of other Mets who are in the HOF.
  19. Doctor Gast
    IMO the glove has something to do with it. I'd be all in favor if Julien was made the primary 1Bman last year & going into this season (where Kiriloff & Miranda has been in doubt) & give him a solid diet of LHPs to see how he does & if he can improve.
  20. Doctor Gast
    I'm very concerned about the shrinking MN baseball interest. I wrote a blog about this. I gave some suggestions & others gave some. At Twins Fest, there seems to be an increase in fan interest, They need to capitalize on this. I like the idea of free kids' tickets to help reach the younger market & other promotions. We also need to improve the team. The failure of doing that plus the blackouts, I'm fearful of not growing from this initial keen interest plus losing what has been gained. Unfortunately, that's the direction we're going.
  21. Doctor Gast
    For years they've tried to copy TB as far as their innings of short RPs. The problem was we didn't have the arms & the BP quickly burned out which then quickly put stress on rotation to be overstretched resulting in injuries & ineffectiveness for 1/2 the season going into the postseason doomed to fail. Years past FO would pick a reliever (Colume, Pagan & J Lopez) with the intention of showcasing them as the "closer". All of them could not handle the role even though constant persistence in doing so. This year our high leverage RPs are in place so there's no doubt there. Last season we had no major injuries in the rotation but both Ryan & Ober hit a wall at the end of the season. This season if they dial back on them it will definitely help their effectiveness. Paddack & especially DeSclafani need a lot of help not to mention Varland, SWR, Festa, or any other SP that comes up to replace them. For many years there has been famine in the BP but this year it has been an overabundance. We have a large influx of RPS to where it blocks some of our very capable in-house players much like Santana will limit the playing time & spot for Kiriloff & Miranda. I think that they think that quantity makes up for lack of quality this of off-season. I'd prefer the right number of RPs instead of famine or feast. BPs are volatile, yet it should be enough to get our rotation through the regular season in good shape but will our rotation be able to compete in the postseason?
  22. Doctor Gast
    Atlanta is a 1st rate team. It makes no sense to try to find someone to platoon with Kelenic when he has such good splits & there isn't anyone in-house good enough to platoon with. With more playing time those splits should only get better. But if anyone's splits aren't good & you have someone available to fill that slack. I'm all in for platooning especially if you don't have a roster spot crunch.
  23. Doctor Gast
    Adaptability is what baseball is all about. I'm excited that the pitching has made that conclusion. I can't understand why the hitting side has resisted the need to adapt. A good hitter is one who is able to adapt to what the pitchers are doing against him.
  24. Doctor Gast
    Understand where you're coming from. I'm willing to invest in Lewis because I know what kind of person he is. Each time he gets struck down he gets up that much stronger & better both physically & characterwise. His past injuries are leverage & will be considered in the contract.
  25. Doctor Gast
    This is the 1st time I've seen this guy do an interview. I was impressed that he'd decided to do Canterino. I believe he was impressed as I was with Canterino. I'm excited to see what Canterino can do. Aram mentions not wasting your bullets in AAA. That's how I feel about our guys, I'd rather see our guys that are ready to pitch in the MLB to pitch in MLB not tally their pitch count down in AAA. Even if it means pitching long relief/ spot starting, Canterino also mentioned his relationship with Paddack & how impactful it was. I don't think Canterino likes the idea of pitching in relief but that might be the best route for him to break in the MLB. Being close to Paddack should help Canterino make that adjustment to the MLB smoother especially if he starts out in relief because Paddack pitched some in relief at the end of the season.
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