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ThejacKmp

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Everything posted by ThejacKmp

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. ThejacKmp
    Two weeks til Garver! Unless it's today til Garver!
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. ThejacKmp
    Not if they make a corresponding pitching move. Gibson down and Granite/Garver up. On Monday they get the 26th man again and bring up another starter.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. ThejacKmp
    If this were mid-July I would understand. But we're two weeks from September call-ups. No reason not to keep Gimenez around and make him the 3rd catcher when Garver comes up.
  17. ThejacKmp
    There's no reason that Joe Mauer can't be one of your 12 position players, that stance has never made any sense. Sano can easily play 1B 40 games per year - and it may be a decent idea to lighten his load at 3B a bit, especially with the Twins having Nick Gordon, Vielma, Lewis etc. knocking on the door while Polanco regains his status as a part of the TWins for the next 5 years. That's the second half of your "platoon" right there. You're free to use your 3 bench spots on C, 4th OF and middle infielder to your heart's delight. And if you carry a 13th position player, that can be anyone. Moving Kepler to 1B seems like a pretty big waste of his outfield ability. He may hit himself off this team but I don't think he's going to field himself to 1B. I'm also not as convinced that a corner OF + Kepler at 1B is a huge upgrade. This year in the OF, the guys signed at the level Mauer would cost were John Jay, Rajai Davis, Matt Joyce, Brandon Moss etc. I'm not sure that any of those guys + Kepler at 1B is an upgrade over Mauer and Kepler, especially when you take fielding into consideration. Mauer could regress but I don't really see it - he already regressed. He's going to be about the same fielder (very good) and base runner (very meh). Speed has never been his game and 1B isn't a position where a lack of speed hurts you. Hitting wise he could fall off but at $6 million/yr, I'd bet on him being what he is now - a guy who can put up right around an 800 OPS against RHP (75% of MLB pitchers) and who is a nice bench bat in games where LHP start (most closers and 8th inning guys are RH and Mauer becomes a nice guy to PH with late in games). He's become an elite defensive 1B and he doesn't lose you games with his baserunning. Unless the Twins are jumping payroll, I'll be disappointed if they don't take advantage of Mauer likely giving a hometown discount while locking up Sano, Buxton and co. Spending money on a big free agent OF or 1B just doesn't fit the team's trajectory. Mauer is a great bridge to Diaz and Sano in three to four years.
  18. ThejacKmp
    He's not getting $23 million but I don't think this is about money for Joe at this point. If he's got a defined role, he likes playing with the kids and his wife doesn't want him home 24/7 (hard to see what Joe will do after baseball, maybe coach instructional ball in FL?), there's no reason he wouldn't be open to 2 years, $12 million. That's a nice hometown discount but not chump change. It would be great to watch Twins fans have to deal with the fact that Mauer is underpaid. Some people have never forgiven him for that contract.
  19. ThejacKmp
    And that includes 86 plate appearances where he's hit from the left side (where he hits like Danny Santana but still adds 100 points of OBP with that batting eye). If you can get that down to a mere handful late in games, all the better.
  20. ThejacKmp
    Again, why can't Rooker be part of a 3 man bench? He can (hopefully) play corner OF and 1B. The Twins have three OF who can play CF and any middle infielder can cover 2B, SS and 3B. Your aforementioned backup C gives complete coverage of every position. A platoon is eminently doable. You know how I know? The Twins are basically doing it at 1B already - Mauer consistently sits against LH pitching, as he should. You're also assuming that the Twins will only have a 3 man bench. They have this year due to starting pitching issues but it seems unlikely the Twins will be this weak there in two years. If they are, this is a pretty moo point.
  21. ThejacKmp
    This. Falvey is a but unknown because he won't have any nostalgia for Mauer. That said, Pohldad's might and it might be something they push? They're hands off but they also like butts in seats and Mauer has a panache for many in Twins Territory.
  22. ThejacKmp
    See I think the issue people have with Mauer is they have a preconceived notion of 1B as someone who has to hit for power. That's typically true but value is value in my book. Can you go get someone who hits 20 homers on the bargain 1B market? Probably. But that guy's going to hit .240 and get OBP at a .300 clip while striking out a lot. And the Twins have that guy already in spades. I think it's hard to replace Mauer's OBP unless you see a jump from a Kepler or a Polanco. More HR and SLG is not necessarily if the tradeoff is losing a skill the Twins are pretty lacking in to get something the Twins are already rich in.
  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
    You assume the Twins will carry 13 pitchers forever? They're much more likely to go down to 12 as their pitching improves over the next two years. The massive pen is necessary when you've got three guys who rarely go past 5. And even if you do go 13, Rooker fits the bill. He's playing corner OF and 1B. You have a middle IF and a C. He's not Vargas. There are plenty of platoons in baseball today.
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