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ThejacKmp

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Everything posted by ThejacKmp

  1. ThejacKmp
    Without Sano this lineup is really rough against lefties. I get that they may want their best defense out there for Melville but this lineup would be way better if Vargas was DHing and Garver was in LF for Kepler. Hopefully not many more lefties during Sano's DL stint.
  2. ThejacKmp
    This is interesting. Looking ahead, Gonsalves looks to get 4-6 more starts in AAA, depending on rotation structuring and playoffs. So that would put him in the 7-9 range for AAA starts. More would obviously be better but if he pitches well (and maybe gets an MLB start down the stretch?) he'd likely be in the mix for 2018. It'll be interesting to see if he still starts in AAA due to service time considerations.
  3. ThejacKmp
    I'm intrigued by this aspect of it. All of last year, the main line of thought was that the 2015 Twins were a fluke. Hard to blame people for thinking that way. But with 2017 going well (with largely the same group as 2015), do we change our mind? Was 2016 the fluke? Pythagorean only goes so far and the Twins are a team that seems designed to mess with it's efficacy. Strong pitching at the front of the rotation and terrible pitching at the back. An offense that can win high scoring close games but that is also prone to getting shut down by good pitching.
  4. ThejacKmp
    I've been hoping he'd make it to AAA the past month or two but not because he'd be available for the Twins this year. I wanted him to get enough time in AAA that it wouldn't be a barrier to him making the 2018 rotation out of spring training. That said, I trust that minor league promotion is not just about numbers. The Twins likely saw things he needed to work on that were best done at the AA level. Or there was a coach at AA who was clicking with Gonsalves and they wanted to plumb that relationship a little bit more. If he'd stayed til the end of the year, I'd get the angst over how long he was at AA but a few months is within the range where I say "The professionals know more than me". I do wish they'd be more forthcoming with that stuff in general. It can't be a competitive disadvantage to say "We want to see how he does with pickoff moves before we move him up" or "We want him to work on his circle change with _______." It would stop the angst considerably.
  5. ThejacKmp
    I know it's just one game but hopefully this will cool the "The Twins are incompetent because they won't bring up Gonsalves" talk. Gonsalves has a bright future but he's only got a few starts at AAA. His year is next year; the Gees, Melvilles and Sledgers can muddle through this year somehow.
  6. ThejacKmp
    Yeah, Garver should be the other half of the 1B platoon and get some occasional work at DH/LF. I'd like to see Vargas get 10 days with 9 starts. He's killed it in AAA and he's a guy you'd like to get another look at since he'll be out of options next year.
  7. ThejacKmp
    Agreed. And Sonny Gray is a nice pitcher but he's not unbeatable - it's not like getting a Kershaw, Sale or Scherzer in that game.
  8. ThejacKmp
    I don't know how you can not like the current MLB playoff structure. 1) It's the most exclusive in major sports. Over half of basketball teams make it, same with hockey. Football has 12/32, baseball has 10/30. It's hard to make the baseball playoffs, which makes it better. 2) They fixed the wild card issue. It sucked when teams didn't really push hard down the stretch for the division because they had the wild card sewn up and that meant a full series. That winner-take-all game is great and makes it so teams really care about the division title. 3) I love that having the best record in your league gives you a sizable advantage. You get to face a team that just played a game where they likely started their best pitcher - they're all out of whack and you get to be rested and ready to go. There should be an advantage to finishing first. Baseball's playoffs are great as is now. The wild card is fun but is truly a wild card and there's a clear advantage to finishing first. They should not change it at all.
  9. ThejacKmp
    Agreed on exciting. I still think the most exciting play in baseball is when a guy gets thrown out at the plate. Always amazing.
  10. ThejacKmp
    First of all, I don't know where you get the idea that we applaud Buxton's all out efforts. Most of TD says he needs to calm down and stay healthy. I can absolutely assign blame on this one. That's a CFers ball. It's Grossman's job to know where Buxton is and to defer on balls he can generally get to. If I'm driving my car and go to take a right and someone coming the opposite way attempts to take a left at the same time and crashes into me, it is 100% their fault. That lane was mine and they deviated from the expected activity. Grossman has nobody to blame but himself. It's his job to know that Buxton can get to that. It wasn't a borderline one either, Buxton wasn't going all out to get it, it was a routine fly ball. Buxton called he had it and that's all he needed to do.
  11. ThejacKmp
    "Buxton said the two called for the ball at the same time and didn't hear each other." So not on Buxton. I still think that a corner OF has to be aware of where the CF is and know that balls in that area are CF's and he should be backing it up.
  12. ThejacKmp
    I like bringing up Gonsalves for Monday and seeing what he has. I'm not as big on bringing him up as 5th starter unless he really kicks butt Monday. He's only started one game in AAA. That's a big jump from AA to the majors and I'd like them to do right by him and his development. The bench seems like a moo point since we're two weeks away from roster expansion. You'll get any of Garver, Granite, Palka, Byung Ho and Vargas up and have a fine and deep bench. We can complain about the last month but at this point, the bench is unlikely to be an issue. And I'm really hopeful for meaningful September ball - more so than most teams, I think the Twins will have a huge benefit from expanded rosters. We'll get some young guys up and our starting pitching is so bad that a few more relievers might be very nice. I wanna see some bullpen games! Concur on Gibson and Sledgers. I'm not optimistic that Sledgers is going to be amazing because his stuff doesn't profile that way but he's at least an unknown. We know Gibson is Gibson. Should have kept Perkins in minors until Sept 1. Then bring him up. Maybe he can get sore for 10 more days? A platoon of Garver and Castro means Castro starts 7/10 games. Something no one thinks of when they recommend the platoon. I don't mind it to start because no one knows if Garver is ready for MLB and bringing him along slowly would be nice but long-term, that's not a great solution.
  13. ThejacKmp
    I don't think you'd mess with the lineup as long as you didn't do something stupid like have Vargas hit 3rd in the first inning so that Castro is then 3rd the rest of the way. Yeah, in another post I mentioned Big Papi as a better example of when this might work. Vargas is likely not worth it. I also think the September call-up is a key part of it for pinch hitting purposes - that way you still have a full bench. The place I think it would be useful is giving a guy a day off but still getting something out of him. When the Twins want to give Dozier or Sano a day off, they try not to use him as a PH - they don't want him having to prep all game like he's going to come in because that's not a true day off. This way would allow a guy to know he's batting leadoff, get his swings in, and then relax the rest of the day. It's almost a better way of taking a day off - one at bat and you're for sure done.
  14. ThejacKmp
    I don't know, that's a routine fly ball for Buxton. This is 0% on Buxton and 100% on Grossman for being an amateur. You have to know that's Buxton's ball and there's no reason to come flying in like a madman.
  15. ThejacKmp
    Two weeks til Garver! Unless it's today til Garver!
  16. ThejacKmp
    That guy is likely batting last anyways so second time through it doesn't change anything - he still hits right before the guy you'd normally have hitting #1 (who is in fact in the #2 spot). All you're really doing is making the catcher bat #10 instead of #9 and getting an extra at bat for a better hitting bench guy. I think it really only works if the bench guy is pretty good because you're also making sure that your best players are one spot back all day too (your normal #3, #12, #21 hitter hits #4, #13, #22 etc. Say you're the Red Sox last year and it's Big Papi's day off because of interleague play but you want to get him one at bat at the start of the game. They have a rule for the pitcher that he has to pitch to one batter but not sure you could do that with a position player - I think the advantage is less stark than with not having a pitcher hit. Though with Gimenez not that stark.
  17. ThejacKmp
    1) Well you really wouldn't see it because he'd be yelling 2.) That ball wasn't some in between one where either guy thinks he might have to get it. That is very clearly the CFers ball. He shouldn't have to call it at the MLB level.
  18. ThejacKmp
    Also, just had a thought. When the Twins are on the road in September and rosters have expanded, could they have Vargas start at catcher and lead off the game and then after the Twins bat, immediately sub in Castro? Is there anything in the rulebooks that says you can't do this? I get why a team might not want to burn a position player with 25 man rosters but when they balloon, it gets an extra at bat for a better hitter. It would also be interesting for an AL team in interleague or postseason play. They could get an at bat for their DH early in the game. You lose him as a pinch hitter but it seems like it might be worth it to for sure get a chance to use him rather than maybe get a chance later in the game.
  19. ThejacKmp
    I'd like to see: Gibson to AAA, Grossman to DL, Sledgers stays in the rotation, Garver comes up. Granite is another LH outfielder who does you little good - the Twins need a RH bat to play a corner OF spot. Garver can't be much worse than Grossman in the field and maybe Molitor will be more willing to PH for catchers. Painful to watch those guys swing the bat.
  20. ThejacKmp
    Grossman had no business going for that ball. It's his own damn fault he broke his thumb. You gotta know that's the CFers ball, especially when it's Byron Buxton.
  21. ThejacKmp
    Yeah? Who are the cheap DHs who were signed the last two years? Back it up before you "fix" my post. Sano is likely better than any of the sad sacks . If the Twins aren't going to have Miguel Sano play 3B (and again, I think he should be at 3B for the next 3-5 years), there's no reason to put him at 1B where he isn't particularly adept. He can DH at that point. The Twins don't have anyone coming up with no position.
  22. ThejacKmp
    For the record, Rooker has played mostly corner OF so far. That's not guaranteed to continue but it is where the Twins see him now. Agreed that Sano should be at 3B or DH. It's not like the Twins have a bunch of DH options coming up.
  23. ThejacKmp
    Viola? 2004? he retired in 1996. I think you might mean 1984?
  24. ThejacKmp
    Yeah, hard for me to understand too. That said, I think it's an argument for two weeks ago. At this point it's two weeks until rosters expand and he's got like three or four more starts before then. Then he can become the 3rd catcher and still be a clubhouse leader. So I'm fine with no DFA.
  25. ThejacKmp
    One of the things I love about the Twins this year is how many switch hitters and lefties they have to run out there. When we face a righty, we have the positional advantage for 6 out of 9 matchups. The Tiggers on the other hand, will be facing right handed Kyle Gibson and trotting out seven righties, one lefty and a switch-hitter - including five righties to start off the lineup. Unfortunately, Kyle Gibson is pretty equally awful against righties and lefties but still, it's the principle that matters. Go Twins!
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