Jump to content
Our free agent ranking is up to 100 names, and now you can filter by player position! Click here to check it out! ×
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

ThejacKmp

Provisional Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,113

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

 Content Type 

Profiles

Minnesota Twins News, Rumors & Analysis

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospect Rankings

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Minnesota Twins Trade & Free Agent Rumors

Minnesota Twins Fan Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by ThejacKmp

  1. ThejacKmp
    It is a real issue for the Twins going forward. Granite and Wade are fine 4th OF . . . and both hit LH. Your righties in A ball and above are Travis Harrison (not coming off a good season), Aaron Whitefield (super raw, nowhere close to 2018) and Edgar Corcino/Max Murphy (not great prospects). Brent Rooker might move quickly but he's iffy as a corner OF - not likely to be a big improvement on Grossman, who is pretty suspect defensively. Safe to say the Twins have a gap at RH 4th OF. I'd like to see them trade Grossman this offseason and hit free agency for a decent corner OF bat (they have Granite if Buxton hits the DL and Rosario/Kepler for the odd game here and there). There should be someone available on a 1 year deal who can spell Kepler against tough lefties and be a nice bench bat. Totally off topic. I apologize.
  2. ThejacKmp
    And yet he's a lefty too and thus doesn't fit this iteration of the Twins well. Another guy who could be a nice trade piece this offseason.
  3. ThejacKmp
    Hard to see Granite working as a 4th OF since he hits left handed like Rosario/Kepler. Ideally, your 4th OF would be able to hit right handed. I don't know how much value Granite has on the market but I'd look and see if a team loves him and flip him for pitching.
  4. ThejacKmp
    A better question would be "When was Buxton thrown out?" I don't remember. Did he fall down halfway there? One issue might have been that he hasn't had time to study the guy's movement home. He was up early in the inning and the Twins haven't seen that pitcher much. There's groundwork that goes in and Buxton/coaches may just have not felt comfortable sending him with a lot of unknowns.
  5. ThejacKmp
    I think you play him against lefties next year from the get go. Not every day and not the really tough ones but you give him reps. Those reps just can't be during a pennant race. I do like that the Twins seem to find a way to get Kepler back in there once the starter gets pulled.
  6. ThejacKmp
    3.) Agree with you on Vargas vs. Garver, that error was awful. I hope Joe doesn't get too many DH days down the stretch here. The drop from Joe to the others is precipitous. I know they need to rest him some and DHing is a good way to do that but I get scared every time he's not in the lineup. Polanco's throw was off line on the DP but Joe makes that play every time. 5.) I'd go a step further and say that Adrianza has looked downright good out there. And his bat is playing this year. I don't know if that will last but he is 27 and he's getting the most regular MLB playing time of his career so it's no crazy that he might have taken a mini-step. I'd rather see Adrianza out there than Garver just about any day.
  7. ThejacKmp
    1.) He has a stress reaction, not a sore shin. Stress reactions are the precursor to a stress fracture. Those are no joke in the legs/feet of a big guy like Sano. They ended the careers of NBA players like Yao Ming and Amare (obviously much bigger but same area). This is a serious injury and should be treated as such - it's also something that isn't going to have a concrete timeline. 2.) He can't run without pain. He has to be able to run the bases, not just hit. I think that's the goal - given the Twins DH situation, I'd be surprised if he plays 3B again this season, barring the World Series (!!!!!). 3.) It's frustrating not to have him out there but the team is doing well so I'm okay with them making sure he's healthy enough to be back for the long haul. If the Twins don't make the playoffs, it won't be because Miguel Sano wasn't there. 4.) He's also a franchise-type player so I like erring on the side of caution. I'd be okay resting him until the last five days of the season. 5.) I hear your point about Dick's chat but nothing about Sano makes me think he's a guy who isn't gunning to be out there. He's in the middle of the celebrations, he's always been a guy who loved playing. I gotta think that's Dick, not the Twins or the reality of the situation.
  8. ThejacKmp
    I think this will change in time. He didn't struggle this much against lefties last year or in the minors. This is just a bad time for a guy to learn in the majors. I am confident that in two years Kepler will be playing every day.
  9. ThejacKmp
    Would anyone have predicted that this team of free swingers would be walking so consistently. I know some people want to get rid of Molly this offseason (and I am very much on the fence with it) but they need to keep James Rowson around. And Rudy Hernandez, his ability to connect with the Spanish speaking guys has to make a profound difference.
  10. ThejacKmp
    I have never heard of this and a quick Google search shows no indication of a bail out from the government. It also doesn't make sense - ESPN employs about 4000 people. That's nothing when it comes to bailouts. They have a miniscule portion of the economy. No one relies on them so there's no domino effect. There's no reason for a bailout. You have a source? Cuz otherwise I don't believe this at all.
  11. ThejacKmp
    Meh, Adrianza has been working. I think Molitor would stick with what he's been doing lately. Gotta play your game, not reinvent your team in postseason. Moo point anyways - the Yankees only lefty starting pitcher is Sabathia and he's like #4 on the list of starters they would use in the WC game. We'll be facing a righty. Which is drool-worthy when you think about our stacked lineup of lefties and that short porch in right.
  12. ThejacKmp
    1.) Don't list Grossman as OF/PH. He's a DH/PH. I don't want him in the OF at all in the postseason. 2.) Berrios off the WC roster - unless that means he can't sit on the bench. Gotta have him there cuz he's part of the team. You can leave off the 10th reliever and keep Berrios. 3.) ALCS: Berrios Game 1, Gibson Game 2, Santana Game 3, Berries Game 5. For Game 4, I'd like to see the Twins have Colon do the first turn through the lineup and then Mejia the second turn. Use them as a RH, LH platoon starter. They can get through the 5th that way and the opponent will have to adjust to having all of their LH batters suddenly facing a LH.
  13. ThejacKmp
    Or you steal first two pitches and then have Rosario bunt him to 3B if the count is in his favor.
  14. ThejacKmp
    Well, it didn't necessarily prevent us from scoring runs, who knows if we would have. It certainly didn't help. The bunting, the freaking bunting.
  15. ThejacKmp
    I thought about that but I'd rather leave Mauer in just in case it goes on. That Padres team is terrible so even if you don't score, they probably won't. Mauer is hitting over .400 in September, you can't pull that bat. With two outs, he scores on most doubles. If Rosario had walked, I can see it more. Granite scores on any single from 2B.
  16. ThejacKmp
    Yeah, I went nuts in the upper deck about it. That stuff matters but that's Eddie - he plays super hard and sometimes that leads to mistakes. It also leads to the run in the second where he's hard nosed into third and forces a key error.
  17. ThejacKmp
    #1: We're not talking about one at bat last night, we're talking about late-inning at bats in general. We can all remember Eddie taking some terrible at bats in that exact situation. Like last week. His approach last night was great - that's the player he is and he's never going to be Mauer. But Mauer isn't going to be Eddie and that isn't a problem either. #2: No way that Buxton hits in that situation. They'd bring in Vargas/Granite etc. to hit lefty. And I think you've lost your mind when you say he shouldn't walk. It would be a way better situation - you'd move the runner into scoring position on a single. Let's look at it this way - if San Diego let Molly choose whether or not Rosario gets intentionally walked in that situation, he'd say yes every time. That should tell you about "smart baseball". #4: I can't remember an at-bat where I was like, "Man, Mauer had a terrible approach and looked lost." He's been through slumps, he hits too many ground balls etc. - but he never looks lost up there. You never get that Torii/Buxton/Rosario feeling on an 0-2 where everyone knows the pitcher is going to throw a slider down and away and ______ is going to swing as hard as they can and miss it by six inches. That's what I mean by Joe Mauer, Professional Hitter. He takes professional at bats. Always. And that is frustrating when you want him to swing for the fences late in a game but you have to step back and realize that's just not who he is and that what he is has incredible value.
  18. ThejacKmp
    But is he Eddie Rosario, Professional Hitter? You have to earn those capital letters.
  19. ThejacKmp
    Really disagree on several fronts. Mauer not being clutch late has always been a pretty bogus argument. 2 outs and RISP? .945 OPS.Late and close? .822 OPS.Tie game? .833 OPS.High leverage? .823 OPS.The issue has never been Mauer's performance late in games, it's been how we perceive it. Right or wrong, we see him as a guy not trying to make that big hit, to hit the big extra-base hit. I think that's wrong: 1.) How many times have you watched Twins players get themselves out in big situations trying to do everything all at once? That's typical of a young team but no less aggravating. Mauer is never going to take a bad at-bat late in a game. He may walk and leave it to the next guy but that gives the Twins a better position. He's the baseball equivalent of a guy making the extra pass to get a closer corner three instead of a three from the wing. 2) The Twins have never been in a worse position because Mauer draws a walk or hits a single instead of going for a home run. Putting a guy on always makes it more likely that the Twinkies will score. 3) To that tune, Mauer may not get the big hit very often but it's remarkable how often he's on base when that happens. There's value to getting a guy on base, making a pitcher think about a runner, having a first baseman move in to hold the runner etc. 4) Mauer's consistency is great as a teaching tool for young players. He never takes a bad at-bat - even if the Twins are up or down big. He's never up there guessing, he's never up there selling out for an inside fastball, he's never trying to knock the ball 500 feet. He takes every at bat the same and is a consummate professional. If we're going to give Torii Hunter credit for an indefinable leadership boost in 2015, I think it's only fair to do the same with Mauer in 2017. Rosario, Polanco and Buxton have all gotten more discerning and have cut down on those "that guy had no chance" at-bats. Obviously lots of factors but Mauer is without a doubt a great example.
  20. ThejacKmp
    It's crazy, we should all be aboard the extend Molitor train and I get the feeling that we all would be if he would just stop with THE FREAKING BUNTING. There are some issues with handling the bullpen but given the pen he's working with, there really isn't a great decision much of the time. We think about Dozier hitting third but generally get that if it ain't broke, don't fix it and maybe it's what helps the rest of the guys. But the bunting . . . we just can't get past the bunting. It's so patently absurd. Maybe it's time to start complaining about the FO? At this point, they are confederates in Molly's I'm-going-to-bunt-every-chance-I-get-no-matter-the-batter-or-situation conspiracy.
  21. ThejacKmp
    That was a great Joe M conversation.
  22. ThejacKmp
    Agreed. .500 is such an arbitrary number, like dividing a player up by months (what if they're really good from August 15 to Sept 15 but terrible before and after?) All of the coverage on ESPN etc. talks about above .500 and below .500 teams like that's a boundary that matters. Playing Toronto is really different than playing the Tigers or the Padres (God that Padres lineup was terrible - Myers was the only guy you were afraid of).
  23. ThejacKmp
    Agree to a point. I think you need to understand who you are as a player. Joe Mauer, Professional Hitter, is the guy he is because he treats every single at bat the same. He's not chasing or sitting on a pitch because it's the 9th - he's giving you the same at-bat every time. He's castigated for walking in big moments but that's who he is and that's what makes him good. Eddie Rosario is a guy who swings and falls down, who steals 3B with two outs in the eighth. He's an energy, high-risk guy. He's a guy who needs to feel that adrenaline and use it in a constructive manner. Love that he's swinging for the fences there but wouldn't want Mauer to. Wouldn't work for Mauer.
  24. ThejacKmp
    Shaitan, your name truly is demon. I was just typing up a long diatribe about Glenn Williams and you sneak in with your post right before mine. Go back to your hellfire and leave us poor mortals alone.
  25. ThejacKmp
    Okay, I know we're doing one but i scrolled through ten pages and made sure none of these were said so I'm breaking the rules. Like stealing signs without technology. 1.) Paul Sorrento. I was convinced that he was going to be the next big thing for the Twins. Instead, the most memorable thing he did was strike out to end the 9th in Game 7 of the 1991 series, sending it to overtime. 2.) I was at a game at Yankee stadium in like 2007 with my college roommate. Sitting right behind home plate but in the very last row of the upper deck. The Yankees fans around us were like, "Who is Luis Rodriguez?" We said, "Don't worry, he sucks." He hit a three run home run. We told them he still sucked. 3.) This seems like an exercise without a right answer but there is a right answer. Glenn Williams. The Australian literally never played in an MLB baseball game he didn't get a hit in. He got a hit in 13 straight games to start his career (.902 OPS) and then dove back into first base on a pickoff move and injured his shoulder. He never made it back to the majors. I want to say that his 13 games in a row to start a career was tied for the longest hitting streak in MLB history (thought it may have been Twins history)? I always thought the Twins teams of the past four years screwed up by not finding Glenn Williams and having him play one game in September to see if he could get to 14 games and set the MLB (Twins?) record. Might have drawn some fans like us. Sorry to do three but it had to be done.
×
×
  • Create New...