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SkyBlueWaters

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Everything posted by SkyBlueWaters

  1. SkyBlueWaters
    Good point about Winder in relief. Possibly Ober, too, if he continues to develop. Just please not Thielbar or Duffy. My heart can only take so much.
  2. SkyBlueWaters
    I have to admit, I looked up the salaries, too. Not to go all Twins-cheap or anything ... Assuming we have $750K to throw around like confetti, I like Pineda, better, too. But the real answer is still making a deal for a front-of-the-rotation horse before the trade deadline. (We're so close to being one of the elite MLB teams ... )
  3. SkyBlueWaters
    With his injury history, the pitching brain trust was smart to limit Archer's pitch count at the beginning of the season. He has been a pleasant surprise, especially with our injury/covid/vax issues. I'm not necessarily optimistic about him for the rest of the season, but if he stays healthy and they can stretch him out ... and his progress continues, I can see him as a valuable number four guy. I so wish we had a deep rotation, and really hope they can make a deal for a frontline starter from someone out of the race at the trade deadline. At his age and with his history of injury, I'm leery of relying on Archer too much, i.e., as a number three starter, should we make the playoffs. But if we could add a front line starter, alongside Gray and Ryan, with Smeltzer, Ober & Winder developing well ... I still miss Taylor in the bullpen. (Sigh.)
  4. SkyBlueWaters
    I've thought about this, too. My problem with Happ and Shoemaker last year is that they were presented to us as the fix. We supposedly had what we needed with them. I don't think the FO has the same mindset now. Even if they did, from what I see in the media, the common perception is that the rotation still needs help. Their feet will be held to the fire a bit more. Deservedly so. I agree with those speculating that the A's are asking a king's ransom. So the Archer signing might be a good countermove. He can eat some innings early in the year while we see where we are at. Which of our young arms make solid progress. Also, some teams may struggle, and more arms may be available as the season progresses.
  5. SkyBlueWaters
    With all of the talented hitters we have, I've got no problem with a rotating DH. This is going to be an intense season, as the 162 game schedule is getting squeezed into a tight calendar. We're going to need to rotate our hitters through the DH spot to get through this. I'm waay more concerned about a rotation of Gray, Bundy, Ryan, Ober & Dobnak or Jax. Fine to make a deal with Mr. Sabrmetric in Oakland; if he's putting the squeeze, find someone else who can give us a frontline starter. But this team is too good to stand pat with the starters we have. Gray might be a no. 2 starter, the rest are more like 4th or 5th starters--perhaps Ryan will develop into a reliable no. 3. Frankly, for this team, the DH spot is a welcome problem to have.
  6. SkyBlueWaters
    Why not Kiriloff in left? Sounds like he's fully healed from last summer's surgery, and is playing pain free.
  7. SkyBlueWaters
    With Urshela, Correa, and Polanco starting, and Arraez, Gordon, Miranda and Lewis backing them up, the Twins are so deep in infielders you have to think someone in that group has to be part of the package to garner the starting pitcher we need. I like Polanco a lot (except for the defense, at SS), but I suppose he is older than a team like the A's would want. I'd hate to give up Lewis, but if that's what it takes to add a front-of-the-rotation starter, then it's time to make the deal. This team is waaay too good in the field to try and compete with a rotation of Gray, Bundy, Ryan, Ober & Dobnak or Jax.
  8. SkyBlueWaters
    Exactly. Some of the young pitchers we are hoping will develop into front-end starters need to see a guy like Gray over the course of the season. This is a smart move in the right direction. We still have a ways to go, but considering how much changes over the course of 162 games, this is a good step, and with any luck maybe some of the young pitching talent we have read about will be pitching well for us in September. Look how much changed for us after the optimism of 2021 spring training.
  9. SkyBlueWaters
    My concern about Pineda, at his age, and with his injury track record, would be how many innings he might give us. So offer him an incentive laden contract, with a ladder of bonuses for innings pitched beyond 100. Mike has shown us he can pitch. If we could get 140-180 IP from him, he would be worth a fatter contract. This team still doesn't have a legitimate front-of-the-rotation starter, but the Gray acquisition was waay better than the free agent signings of Happ and Shoemaker, which doomed last season before it began.
  10. SkyBlueWaters
    I think we agree on wanting a quality rotation. But do you see many rotations with *five* quality starters? We could get bogged down in what quality means I suppose. My problem with the Twins at present is that we have a collection of good no. 4-5 starters. I'd love to see Pineda come back--with Gray, that might mean we have capable no. 2 and 3 starters. We still don't have a horse to front the rotation. I agree with those who point out how deep we are in quality position players. I've got concern about depth at catching, but otherwise, in the field, this team could be playoff caliber. The *huge* problem remains the front of the rotation. We have to hope we are developing good starters for the future. But if we can add another *quality* arm, they could be fun this year. And after the Happ/Shoemaker debacle of last year, wouldn't it be nice to see the Twins simply in contention again?
  11. SkyBlueWaters
    SABR has an interesting bio of Jimmie Hall, including a Kaat quote at the end, indicating he was a bit disgruntled. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jimmie-hall/ For a while, Hall hit so well it looked like we were set at CF for years. Personal favorite, in the entertainment category, is Disco Dan Ford. Mid 70's we had Ford, Larry Hisle and Lyman Bostock all available to play center. Bostock hit for both average and power. Still so sad, how he died.
  12. SkyBlueWaters
    A deal like this would be a lot more appealing to me if someone in the Glasnow camp signaled that he was open to a multiyear deal, somewhat similar to the Pineda deal where he was paid to convalesce, and then more upon his return, only covering more years for Glasnow. (Maeda signed such a team-friendly long-term deal with LA, albeit while healthy.) Could/would the Rays permit Glasnow to talk about it with another team? The Twins have a lot of talent, much of it in or approaching primetime. Front-end starters are obviously our biggest deficiency. I suppose it makes sense to write off 2022 this way, but it kind of *pains* me to consider dealing away valuable assets for a guy who had TJ surgery last August.
  13. SkyBlueWaters
    As unimaginable as it might seem after this train wreck of a season, some day the Twins might go deep in the playoffs again. Lately, people have been remembering the Halloween blizzard of 1991, which happened right after the series. Now imagine combining the two. The nation tuning into the world series in blizzard conditions at Target Field. The dome offered some advantages, especially after all those years of the country mocking the old Met. Especially Rams fans.
  14. SkyBlueWaters
    My concern about trading Sano is that we would be dealing him after a down year. Not a good way to get comparable value in return. Also, remember letting David Ortiz walk? That one is still nightmare worthy. What if someone gets through to Sano and he adjusts his approach at the plate? I agree with those who want to retain Buxton. Players with that kind of transcendent talent are rare.
  15. SkyBlueWaters
    Frankie "Sweet Music" Viola! I like the song. I couldn't believe it when the guys who were brought in as experts in building a pitching staff last winter brought in Happ and Shoemaker. Who have since turned on them! A multi-year contract for Dobnak? Meanwhile, Houston goes for Greinke, the Dodgers acquired Scherzer, the Yankees ink Cole, the Bosox dealt for Sale ... Do you think their all bummed they lost out on Dobnak? The Twins brain trust treats our pitching staff like it's four A: a notch above triple A, yet not playoff caliber MLB.
  16. SkyBlueWaters
    Mike8971 wrote: “… At that point it is incumbent upon ownership to step up and declare money is available for signing current stars and adding the necessary high end talent rather than nibbling around for bargains - a strategy that has obviously contributed to our record-setting playoff losing streak, as well as this year's collapse.” Couldn’t agree with this more. Losing Berrios would be disastrous for the near future, the mid 2020s, on this team. We can speculate forever about Sano, Pineda, Polanco, Kepler, etc., but we simply don’t have enough quality pitching—especially guys who can give us close to 200 good innings a season—to believe we measure up with the elite teams come October. If they want to see these players contend, the bottom line is that the Pohlads and the FO have to decide to spend what it takes to get the pitching we need to leverage our depth of hitting—a huge plus on this team—to bring this roster to the level of the elite teams.
  17. SkyBlueWaters
    Ha! Reminds me of the classic Ozzie Guillen line about AJ Pierzynski: “If you play against him, you hate him. If you play with him, you hate him a little less.”
  18. SkyBlueWaters
    Oh, yeah. A number of us were not happy with the Shoemaker and Happ signings in January. Life on get by, rather than getting the horse this team needs.
  19. SkyBlueWaters
    Agreed about the boneheaded moves by Falvine, especially this last off-season. What worries me now is that they will be unable to retain Berrios and Buxton when they become free agents. Our rotation isn't deep enough to thrive if Berrios leaves. And knowing that Buxton is in CF chasing down fly balls might help make the Twins more attractive to veteran pitchers. Hopefully pitchers with more talent than desperation moves like Happ and Shoemaker.
  20. SkyBlueWaters
    Bingo. Look at the rotations that have carried their teams to the world series last decade. Do we see anything like the depth of Lincecum/Cain/Bumgarner developing? Strasburg/Scherzer/Corbin? All the talent that has cycled through LA, enough to make Maeda, Wood and others expendable? Falvine was sold to us as the brilliant FO that was going to turn Twins pitching around. I fear they won't even be able to retain Berrios, the ace they inherited.
  21. SkyBlueWaters
    We can't keep signing guys like Shoemaker and expect to contend. Happ isn't a difference-maker, either. Pohlad pockets are plenty deep--it's earmarking the money that's an issue. The Dodgers got Maeda to sign that contract. Obviously, the best pitchers are going to get guaranteed contracts. But we did well with Pineda and Maeda is a cut above the two we signed this off-season, who were mistakes.
  22. SkyBlueWaters
    Bingo. No one could have predicted the injury problems, but Happ and Shoemaker were never legit playoff-caliber pitchers. I really liked the Pineda signing, along with acquiring Maeda. I'm very leery of giving big bucks to pitchers, but they of course want as many years as they can get. I like Maeda's incentive-laden contract. I wish our FO would explore this more often, giving starters fat bonuses for reaching 160, 180, 200 IP. If this is one way to lure Pineda and others (who might pitch at the front of a rotation rather than being mediocrity in the back), I'm all for it.
  23. SkyBlueWaters
    Al Worthington, I love it! He went on to be the "head coach" at Liberty University for years. Retired now, is 92 and lives in Alabama. Says his life has been great ever since he got saved at the Cow Palace in SF. So maybe he does have some saves left in him ...
  24. SkyBlueWaters
    He sounds pretty level-headed. I enjoyed his take on the different levels of MiLB. Thanks.
  25. SkyBlueWaters
    I like your point about the 162 game, full season schedule. Yet I like to look at the opponents over the schedule each season, and try to assess the patches where competition is tough and the places where we have a chance to gain ground. It looked to me like the early schedule was a little easier than later. I may have under-estimated Boston and Oakland--I thought losing Semien would hurt the A's. We still have a lot of P'burgh, KC, Tex and Detroit before facing the Chisox May 11, scheduled now to be their 34th game. It would be good to make up some ground before facing LaRussa & Co.
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