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ThejacKmp

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Everything posted by ThejacKmp

  1. ThejacKmp
    No. I don't see a lot of guys on the roster who have no real point. Only guys I could see an argument for: LaMarre (no track record, nothing invested in him) Grossman (one good season, is it for real?)* Other than that, I think everyone else seems like they could be part of a good Twins team. Hildy had a great year last year, Buesnitz has good stuff, Moya could develop into a nice lefty bullpen guy etc. For the pen, Pressley is a great example of how guys can turn it around. I don't see anyone in the Twins pen who doesn't have a case for being on the roster. I think backup OF is one spot the Twins organization is weak but I expect a competitive Twins team to address that at the deadline (there wasn't much better than LaMarre and Grossman on the 4th OF market this offseason). What's your third? * Note that I think that Grossman has a definite place on the roster. I just think it should be 5th OF and not 4th OF.
  2. ThejacKmp
    I mean, I guess you could get someone but you're looking at either Granite or Vargas reasonably. There really isn't anyone else in the high minors who looks good (I think we can all agree we don't need someone like Cave who is just a journeyman). I don't see what Granite changes for the Twins - he's LH and doesn't pack much pop. I guess he's a better fielder but the Twins could've gotten him up for Buxton and chose not to, which tells you it isn't Kinley keeping him down. Vargas might be a nice PH bat but I don't know that he moves the needle much either. I don't buy not giving Sano time to hit and instead giving . . . Erick Aybar a chance? Rushing Gordon? The Twins need Sano to get on track this year and the only way he's going to get rolling is by getting some reps.
  3. ThejacKmp
    On opening day the Twins had Pressley, Rogers and Moya still in the pen. Kinley played no role in that game. And Rodney threw a total of 7 pitches. I don't think not sending him out for the 10th would have been a realistic concept. The Twins don't have anyone in the top 100 for appearances. Hildenberg is tops with 9 appearances and only 9.2 innings. He hasn't been overworked, he's just sucked. Most teams have a guy who is only used in blowouts. That's not unusual. A better argument overall would be that the Twins would be better off carrying an extra hitter who might be able to help late in games. That hitter would be Vargas, for better or for worse. But I don't think anyone on TD things that they would keep a hitter - they just would have another reliever who wouldn't come in often.
  4. ThejacKmp
    Oh agreed on the age aspect of this. I'm not saying Kinley was the right choice, just that we should expect him to struggle. It feels like Kinley's reward (set-up man?) doesn't warrant the investment in him. But I don't think he's going to be the difference in the Twins being good or not being good this year. I think we overreact because he's an easy target for the frustrations that come from a week of bad baseball.
  5. ThejacKmp
    Follow-up: What game have the Twins lost because of Kinley? What game did they absolutely need another, better relief pitcher? Who is sitting in AAA killing it who shouldn't be because of Kinley? The Twins are losing games because they aren't very good at pitching now. That isn't on Kinley, that's on the staff.
  6. ThejacKmp
    For everyone trashing the Rule 5 moves of the Twins, its time we remember Johan Santana. My point isn't that Kinley is going to turn into Johan Santana (he isn't) but that this is what a Rule 5 is supposed to be. Santana put up a 6.50 ERA in his season and then went to the minors to learn to pitch. The problem for the Twins is not Kinley - he's the last guy in the pen. He's supposed to be bad. The problem is that a lot of the rest of the pen is pitching like hot garbage. Hildenberg, Rogers, Rodney and Duke have all struggled. The starters aren't even making it through the 5th. The long relief guy should not matter that much. The Twins (and any AL team) can easily carry a Rule 5 reliever. They just need the rest of the staff to not all suck at the same time. Kinley is who he is supposed to be. I don't see the long-term value of him but looking at Santana and Pressley, I can see the allure of the Rule 5 daft and don't blame the Twins for taking a shot at it. But the rest of the staff needs to step it up. The positive side is that the Twins have some real options in the minors. Curtiss, Duffey, May are all waiting. I'm confident that the Twins pen can turn it around.
  7. ThejacKmp
    Not arguing that they weren't hits. Arguing that those hits are not indication that similar outcomes will follow. It seems to me you are ignoring/minimalizing/discounting the larger context. Not all hits are created equal. With you on often but I think real-a-tor is kind of funny in a Modern Family kind of way. Woke and narrative aren't bad and have real meaning but I get you on authentic.
  8. ThejacKmp
    Rosario! But yes, they should not have Grossman batting third. I guess they're trying to keep from being vulnerable against lefties but it seems like Escobar would be a way better choice.
  9. ThejacKmp
    God I love Joe Mauer walks. They aren't sexy but that man never has a bad at-bat.
  10. ThejacKmp
    I don't want them to. I know that you can't be so future focused but I like the Twins young arms. Berrios, Pineda, Odorizzi, Jorge, Romero, Thorpe, Gonsalves, Mejia and maybe Santana? That's a ton of depth there. Bringing in Archer probably costs two of them plus a position player. Seems like too much to pay for a guy who is great but not elite elite.
  11. ThejacKmp
    I'm not so sure on Archer. He's under team control for awhile and the Rays never commit to the full tear-down. They always try to retool. I think they'll move him but only if someone pays a ransom at the deadline. Twins are going to beat Cleveland this year. That's my call.
  12. ThejacKmp
    I mean, they do all the time. This is baseball and even the best teams win only 60% of the time. I imagine if you look at playoff teams, its not uncommon to get swept by a bad team every once in awhile. Not saying we should try to get swept but contending teams absolutely get swept by bad teams (the Rays are not rebuilding BTW, as you can tell by the Twins facing Chris Archer in Game 1 rather than starting him).
  13. ThejacKmp
    Yeah Super 2 is harder for pitchers. Much more likely to need to send them down, especially if you're a competitive team. Though I'm very happy the Twins played around with Berrios' clock and have him for an extra year. I guess more so I'd say that I don't think any of those guys are quite ready yet. Romero has 2 starts at AAA, Gonsalves 5 and Jorge 3. If one of them had 10-12 good starts at AAA I'd say screw it and bring them up. But I don't see the point in starting their clocks when they'll just be back down again in a month and they may get beaten up in the process. Hughes and Mejia are a fine enough bridge to Santana. I hope those other three are called on later in summer if needed though. P.S. Jorge hasn't pitched yet this year. Did I miss something with him?
  14. ThejacKmp
    Not a bullpen game, this guy is their 4th starter. Threw 89 pitches last time. And you are overestimating the Orioles. They are eminently capable of crapping the bed, selling off pieces and sinking to last place.
  15. ThejacKmp
    Not bothered you have an opinion about the interview. But if you post that opinion on a message board, you should expect other people to have opinions as well. Those opinions may not jive with your opinion. There's always the hope that some reasonable discussion might shed some light on the issue and make your opinion better. If you listen and interact that is. I think the Hughes quote is a bit strange and open for interpretation. You interpret it as him saying he's made his money so it doesn't matter. I interpret it as him saying that the past is the past and things can't get worse. We can both be right and wrong. But it seems a flimsy reason to attack a guy on a message board.
  16. ThejacKmp
    You're blaming Phil Hughes because Twins players like to get together and watch The Bachelor? Because you think it would be better if they went fishing? This is by far the weirdest thing I've seen on a TD board. And that's saying something! As someone who watches The Bachelor and gambles on it (I think the show is insipid but a good way to gather with friends and consume beer) I can 100% say that it involves at least as much interaction as bowling. Not sure about fishing, I guess I'm not manly enough to have done that before. Also, are you arguing that Phil Hughes has feminized the Twins with his un-manly bonding activities? You asked why it bothered me that you had an opinion. It didn't before but it certainly does now. Your focus on manly vs. unmanly bonding is kind of off-putting. It's not 1920 anymore, men can watch "The Bachelor" and still be men.
  17. ThejacKmp
    Yeah, I get that. It's always uncomfortable when it feels like the salary of the player is influencing who gets the role. But I'm not sure that's the case. First of all, I don't want them to bring up Jorge, Gonsalves, Romero etc. for Super 2 reasons. Plus I think all of those guys could use a half-season in the minors to polish their game. So it comes down to whether this should be Mejia (Sledgers too I guess but he's behind Mejia for most people). Mejia is a fine pitcher but it's not like he's profiling to be anything but a #5 starter. A good Twins team in the next few years is not going to use Mejia as anything more than the #6 starter filling in due to injury. So it's not really hurting his development to give Hughes a few starts. And I like the idea of rewarding a veteran for working hard. I think that has a good impact on a clubhouse, guys are really going to be excited for Hughes today, they know how long it's been for him. The Twins should definitely have a two start leash on Hughes and be quick to move on to Mejia if Hughes looks lost but I think it's not a terrible decision to give Hughes this opportunity.
  18. ThejacKmp
    But aren't you kind of excited to be rooting for him? In the same way it's been fun to see LaMarre get some hits, wouldn't it be great for Hughes to have some success after working so hard to get back? He's going to be the guy to go when Santana gets back in the next month so you're really only looking at 4-5 starts at most anyways. I'm excited it's Hughes. It'd be a fun little plot line if he can have a mini hot stretch before he goes to the pen.
  19. ThejacKmp
    Also, Chirinos is now the Rays 4th starter, don't think this will be a bullpen game. Though he may not go 100 pitches, not sure how stretched out he is. He did throw 89 in his last game so maybe he's scaled up to 100? Might see Ryan Yarbrough midway through this game with the lineup so lefty-focused.
  20. ThejacKmp
    Gardy offered him the shot. Hughes turned it down, saying that it wasn't right to manufacture that # of innings - he should have done it earlier in the season in any number of starts. One of the classiest things I've seen in baseball for a while. No one would have objected to him pitching that inning but he took a moral stance. Another reason I think your disgust for Hughes is a bit much. I get hating watching him pitch because it's been rough of late but as a person, he seems the consummate professional.
  21. ThejacKmp
    Grossman is now the "hot bat" after his 2-4 performance yesterday! Also, right hander. Though I can't get a sense of his splits in the minors. Last year they were pronounced in favor of lefties but before that it was kind of a reverse split? Not sure how much it being the low minors changes things?
  22. ThejacKmp
    I think you misunderstood him? The asked him if it was hard to do his job in a season where everything was going wrong and he said it was playing with house money. To me that's him saying that it can only get better from here? It's a bit clunky but I don't think I'd hate a guy over an offhanded comment in an in-game interview that doesn't mean what you think it does. I've never heard anything other than Hughes being a great teammate who has busted his ass trying to get back to the team.
  23. ThejacKmp
    I didn't reply on this but I thought the Hughes extension was a good idea then and I don't feel differently now. Sometimes the thought process is okay but it doesn't work out. We can't be results driven. First point: Phil Hughes has not been the reason the Twins have not been great. His salary hasn't been so onerous that the team was screwed and its not like ownership would've spent that money on some ace pitcher. Secondly, at the time it made sense. Phil Hughes looked like a potential ace pitcher. The Twins had no reasonable internal ace pitchers in the high minors. They weren't a team that was going to spend huge money on the elite free agent (and as we saw with Darvish, even being willing to do that doesn't get you results if you're in an smaller market). So your choices were to find the next Arietta (easier said than done) or take a reasonable gamble that Phil Hughes had turned a corner. I'm not going to fault them for a reasonable gamble on locking up an ace for five years for very little money. Hughes didn't have huge injury risk written on him, he had a good pedigree, he had plus stuff, he had success as a reliever and a starter (at the time I argued that even if he turned out to not be a great starter, he was still an elite reliever). Yeah you ripped up a great deal and made a longer, less advantageous deal but the money wasn't that crazy and the upside was both unique and real. Sometimes bad things happen but that doesn't mean the process was wrong.
  24. ThejacKmp
    Ugh, so sick of this fake news and alternative facts B.S. It's easily the most annoying language trend in the last year. A phrase that allows you to dismiss someone without making a reasoned argument yourself. Where would Western Civilization be if Socrates' discussions always ended with "Nice alternative facts"? I think I made a reasoned argument - he is striking out a lot, which is rarely the sign of a great hitter; he has no extra base hits, which means he isn't driving the ball; he's being helped by an unsustainable BABIP. When someone describes a "hot bat", I'd expect a lot more than that. Which of those were alternative facts? (shudders)
  25. ThejacKmp
    I wrote catcher, not sure why you think I didn't. He does profile to catch at least 1/3 of the time. A typical 3 game series involves a day game after a night game and he catches that. The Twins also just haven't faced many lefties this year.
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