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Doctor Gast

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Everything posted by Doctor Gast

  1. Doctor Gast
    I'm just responding to your hypothetical statement. Last year we had Miranda, Kiriloff & should have sent Julien down to AAA to learn 1B & how to adjust his hitting. Miranda & Kiriloff were mashing coming off shoulder injuries. If they kept them both at 1B/DH they would have both stayed healthy for most if not the whole season & mashed. & we had 1Bman Severino in AAA as a break glass. Because Kiriloff retired & Julien was kept down in AAA to learn 1B, I'm not against signing France as a fulltime DH & partime backup to Miranda but not handed primary 1B on a platter.
  2. Doctor Gast
    Although that is very true. My point is many of these players should be evaluated much sooner that they don't have the ability to play those more demanding positions & given time to better perfect their play at 1B. They come up to MLB & can't adequately play those positions but still aren't groomed at 1B. Because they aren't groomed at 1B, it's their excuse to keep playing them at the positions they're not able to excel. Thus seriously compromises our defense.
  3. Doctor Gast
    To develop players you have to play them. If you are waiting for our players to arrive at a certain level & don't play them, they never arrive & this vicious recycling of veteran FA rejects never end.
  4. Doctor Gast
    Evidently, height doesn't figure into the Twins equation of choosing a 1B. If they did our inhouse Miranda would make the most sense & not only height. Who knows what he plugs into his computer to come up with his choices. I would think 6'8 McClusker would be a good candidate to groom for 1B. Baldelli says he values 1B but who does he really groom at 1B? Sabato? It seems that he tries players at 2B, 3B or RF & if they can't play there, he'd throw them at 1B & let them figure it out.
  5. Doctor Gast
    BAL A squad & Sugano has a 0.00 ERA so far, against MN C squad, only Vazquez & Lee are 2nd string the rest are 3, 4 or higher. BAL leading 2-0 isn't bad.
  6. Doctor Gast
    Exactly, they are making a area of need into a crap shoot. None of them ever live up to their hype. All of them take up valuable playing time from capable inhouse players. They are showcased & when they flop, they still play too much & block the needed young inhouse players. This showcasing is often not only a detriment to the team but also the players. Case in point. Coulume, Pagan & J Lopez all were elevated to closer & all flopped. If they were eased into the team & BP in lower leverage, they could have done well. But that's not Flavey's way. But getting back to the main point. Constantly bringing in 1 year rentals never improves the position from year to year & we aren't developing our young players to take over those positions. Which is cheaper & more beneficial.
  7. Doctor Gast
    Miranda, Flourish or Flounder? It all depends how he's managed. If he was managed correctly last year & going into this year we are talking a healthy Miranda & about a Casas type of player. The way they did manage him last year & into ST, he'll flounder at 1B because of lack of opportunity & preparation, His offense will excel while healthy, but later(I wouldn't say flounder, because that denotes lack of ability) even being a great hitter his offense will falter due to playing hurt.
  8. Doctor Gast
    It won't make much difference who owns the Twins if Falvey & CO, are in control. Our only hope is to get someone in that'll shake the organization up. '25 has been lost, But hopefully a new owner will get in soon enough to get a new baseball smart organization in place to affect '26. Minimize the damage.
  9. Doctor Gast
    What do coaches get paid for? Yes, it's a shame how Martin was managed & sadly when a player isn't managed to fulfill his potential. So why do you blame Martin? You need to go to the root of the problem. If Martin were handled like Julien, settled in 2B his natural position, we'd have much different results. Maybe not the HRs that you overrate, but results resembling more his last year in AAA.
  10. Doctor Gast
    I don't know that for a fact either, but it seems our players who come up are very ill-prepared to play their positions. I've been waiting for years, for Ricardo Olivar who has all the tools to be a good defensive catcher to progress, but nothing. For years, Wallner to be very good OFer. Royce Lewis has played some 3B in MiLB & has been settled in there in MLB but only now discovered that he has a problem with his throwing (maybe that was because Trevor Plouffe had pointed that out) & wanted to shift him to 2B instead of fixing the problem. They also get strange ideas where to place players according to their bats & not their defensive abilities & try to shove them there. Julien isn't a 2Bman & would have been better suited at 1B. But Julien would look better on paper at 2B. They figured they could hide him there even though the Shift was banned yet they thought Correa & Santana could cover for him. Miranda doesn't have the strong arm to play 3B but that's where he is even after shoulder surgery & an injured back. Kiriloff with a long history of arm problems was often trotted out in the OF. Finally Martin who they tried to force to a SS & slugger, then they left him alone in '23 & he excelled at 2B. In '24 they needed a RH platoon OFer (they had already crowned Julien as their 2Bman) so they threw him in the OF & early in the season, because appointed backup CFer was terrible ill-prepared Martin was thrown there. I'm afraid too much of the league & the Twins have gone over the edge as far as analytics go. Where hitting HRs & looking good on paper is all that matters & SOs, defense development, player evaluation, scouting, fundamentals & etc don't compute as to win games. The good coaches that we had lost were not replaced by good coaches but by coaches that adhere to Falvey's weird analytics, Maybe Martin sometimes being lost isn't his fault but Twins' lack of player evaluation, development & coaching. & maybe his lack of hitting is a result of him being hard pressed in positions he's not suited or prepared to play.
  11. Doctor Gast
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QatYpNuXfWk
  12. Doctor Gast
    Miranda is very consistent when healthy. It's Baldelli's job to keep him healthy, which he has done a terrible job. Miranda has at best, an average arm. In '23, they gave the 3B job (you need a strong arm) to Miranda, he blew out his shoulder getting ready. In '24, Miranda was on a tear. Baldelli needed to keep Miranda at 1B/DH for him to recover from his injury & surgery. Baldelli went out of his way to keep him off 1B & to keep his bat in the line-up they shoved him at 3B. Now after his rehab his arm had to be weaker yet, to compensate, he ended up hurting his back. You think Baldelli would learn his lesson but nope. He outright gave 1B to hack Ty France & distributed out 1B time to everybody but Miranda, & where he shouldn't be playing (3B) he's played too much. Even though we have Lewis, Lee & Castro to play there. These decisions are head scratchers Another is we have an over-abundance of true CFers & cOFers where there is a large log jam of capable players. Why hard press Martin to try to master CF? Settle Martin at 2B, which is his natural position so he can focus on his hitting & where there is a greater need. Julien isn't that good at 2B, Gasper isn't much better, Lee is much better at SS & 3B, which he could play more often than not. Castro should be moved around a lot. Why give Martin so much time in CF when our only true LH CFer Keirsey is much more needed there? While we have already 2 accomplished veteran LH cOFer that can play RF. IMO this ST should have been much more forthright but Falvelli have confused & complicated things. Where Miranda could have put forth a very consistently productive season at 1B, but more than likely will put in too much time at 3B to keep his bat in the line-up & end up getting hurt again & wreck his season. Then Baldelli will complain that Miranda isn't consistent enough. Give me a break.
  13. Doctor Gast
    Cruz is retired, he loves to manage the DR team & he's hired by LA to do PR work in Latin America & work with some of their players
  14. Doctor Gast
    I think it's time to have a more full-time DH & my candidate isn't even on your list, it's Ty France. He's bad defensively, if he focuses strictly on hitting, he could greatly raise the level at DH to rival that of Cruz. Julien needs to be sent down to AAA, to figure out his hitting, especially getting his power back & not striking out, Miranda needs to be at 1B. Larnach should get plenty of time at DH against RHPs. But IMO if Buxton, Correa or Lewis needs time away from their positions, they should sit out & rest, not DH.
  15. Doctor Gast
    To give you a general idea, Baseball Trade Values has Lee at 37.1 surplus value, Keaschal has 24.1, Julien has 16.4, Castro has 10.5, Martin has 3.8, & Gasper has 0. IMO, trading Castro, Martin or Gasper we won't likely get back worthwhile players that we'd gain anything. Julien is not needed, but yet can get you something in trade. I'd be open to trade Keaschal or Lee depending the player we'd get in return. Lee, I'm more reluctant because he's our 1st SS sub. We'd need to find a viable replacement.
  16. Doctor Gast
    Stats are so manipulated to make sluggers look more acceptable defensively. Having Correa & Santana cover for him to make him acceptable at 2B, didn't work out, especially when Correa was down. Post shift ban you can no longer hide poor fielders at 2B, Now having France at 1B, Julien is a liability at 2B. To answer your question, that is my point. Last offseason I pointed out that if they don't play Julien at 1B & are determined to play him at 2B they need to trade him when his trade value had peaked. Julien still has value but the Twins are too in love with him, much like Cave.
  17. Doctor Gast
    I was hopeful that France could turn things around offensively & be that safety net for Miranda at 1B. Defensively, France has spent years at 1B & he's still bad. Miranda still hasn't been given the opportunity to learn 1B, so we can get an idea where his defensive ceiling is & keep him off 3B. Julien is a defensive liability at 1B also, but he is finally playing the position that he should have been playing in MiLB so I'll give him a break. France needs very little time at 1B, Miranda needs the great majority of time at 1B, which he hasn't been getting, but he has been put in 3B where he shouldn't be. During ST Julien should only have time at DH & sent down to AAA to learn how to play 1B. I have a difficult time with Baldelli literally giving 1B to France when Miranda can potentially be a better defensive 1Bman after preaching all last season how important 1B is defensively over hitting. Start putting Miranda more often at 1B, give him a shot to be productive & healthy there. Give the team finally an opportunity to improve long term at 1B. France can be impactful at DH if he continues his hitting.
  18. Doctor Gast
    His bat shouldn't have anything to do with it if his glove doesn't play there. If Wallner gets squeezed out of RF I wouldn't want him play 2B because his high OPS. If he can get his OPS up to .839 that gives him the opportunity to play 1B at the MLB level, that I've advocated since his MiLB days. That why he needs to be sent to AAA to raise his level at both.
  19. Doctor Gast
    Your title is misleading. Because Julien should be sent down to AAA so he can adjust his hitting & finally learn how to play 1B so he shouldn't be considered at 2B. But the Twins want him to be, so unfortunately he'll continue to play too much 2B. Castro is needed all over the field, Lee is the 1st option at SS & 3B (still needs to prove he can hit at MLB). We need more stability at 2B & Julien is a terrible choice. Martin is hard pressed in the OF & he's not needed there, we have (RH) Buxton & Bader & (BH) Castro against occasional LHPs. IMO having Martin stable at 2B, which is his natural position, would do wonders for Martin & the Twins. To make it clear, Martin has pretty much even splits. Since you mentioned Keirsey. I'll note he's our only true (LH) CFer that should be used to platoon against available RHP to sub Buxton.
  20. Doctor Gast
    So why does Julien keeps finding too much time at 2B?
  21. Doctor Gast
    Stringer, we agree more than we disagree & I respect your opinion. Jeffers is a very good hitting catcher, A couple of years ago he changed his hitting approach & hasn't been affected by the league adjusting. I know he works very hard on his defense. Contrary to what many believe, I like Jeffers. but I'm a realist. Jeffers is a good veteran hitter where the league adjustment isn't the cause of his last season slump nor was it a hidden injury (although he might have suffered some secret pain due being overextended) but as I've many times before documented that the correlation of Jeffers's slump offensively & defensively is due to the degree of his overuse. Catching is a very demanding position, you need a lot of stamina to maintain your productivity. Jeffers has his limit & that's weak side tandem. And there is no shame in that. Twins hyping him up more than that has compromised us & come extension time, leave it to Borus to try milk every bit of that hype into big dollars to handcuff us financially, or have Jeffers walking away. Both are negative situations. WAR is a terrible tool to gauge the value of catchers, some are worse than others for they greatly undergrade defense. The WAR you are measuring Jeffers as in the top 3rd of catchers seems to be way off. IMO catching defense is the most important position on the field. fWAR has MN in the bottom half, but I'd rate them a little higher not because of Jeffers's hitting but because of Vazquez's defense. It's admissible if we were in the bottom half at DH or 1B but not catching, IMO I'd love to be in the top 5, at least top 10. I was against signing Vazquez, I'm against signing any FA catcher. I prefer developing our own catchers or at least trade for them, who can excel in the MLB. Twins are hoping that Jeffers, Camargo & Cartaya, will miraculously become what they have hyped them to be. I believe in miracles but in this case I need something more than hope. & I don't want us to sign another expensive FA catcher.
  22. Doctor Gast
    Those who value catching & have it tend to hold onto it, MIL values catching, they scout, draft, develop & trade for good catching. I envy them. IMO trading for your needs has no season unless maybe a starting catcher who has so much to prepare to get ready for the season. But a 3rd catcher, shouldn't be a major deal. Yet for the Twins it is for the reasons I gave. The only other options we have this season is A) suffer through another Jeffers 2nd half slump; B) give Vazquez more playing time, that won't happen; C) if Russian Roulette catches up to us & either get hurt, we have to sign an expensive inferior FA from the salvage pile. How can we compete in that scenario this season? As I stated, I doubt Twins will initiate any trade like this Next season w/o a groomed backup catcher our options are A) extend Vazquez, who knows our pitchers (best alternative) B) sign an expensive FA, who we can afford & doesn't know our pitchers. Season after that, Vazquez will for sure be gone, We have 3 scenarios with Jeffers #1 sign him to an outrageous extension; #2 sign him to a reasonable extension or #3 we lose him. Cartaya is iffy & no one behind him. Even if we extend Jeffers our catching will be a shambles. I don't want to even think about what we look like if we don't sign him or how handcuffed we'd be if we sign him to an outrageous extension. We can't afford to keep kicking the can down the road.
  23. Doctor Gast
    Although he has come up as a catcher, he hasn't even caught a single MLB game at catching-starved BOS. He has hit in MiLB but has yet to translate that at the MLB. I don't see any future for him in catching much less grab a backup job.
  24. Doctor Gast
    Anything can happen. IMO, many in the league are tired of Twins looking good on paper but not producing & they have soured on the Twins, I don't think any of them think that any Twin will amount to much.
  25. Doctor Gast
    IMO sprint speed is deceiving. We need to know the distance they use in their calculations. We all know Wallner has very good top-end speed once he gets going but the fact is how long does it takes for him to get going. He doesn't have that quick burst of speed or instincts that a Brooks Lee has. I'm not trying to take away from Wallner's worth.
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