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Kirby_waved_at_me

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Everything posted by Kirby_waved_at_me

  1. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I think there was a typo - they were 54-51 when the post was written as a blog - it transferred to the forum a couple days later, when the Twins were 54-53 . . .
  2. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I don't think trades work like that - would you like the Twins to call all the other teams to see if they can beat the Twins' offers to acquire new players? The Rockies and Blue Jays didn't need to call anyone else to make this deal. The Twins need bullpen help, a Catcher, some offense (LH power) and maybe a Shortstop, in that order. Tulo is a great player and certainly would have made the Twins' offense better. I don't think he's on the Twins' radar right now, though. I think Hawkins was the guy the Twins missed out on in this deal.
  3. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Save some hits for the rest of the series, guys!
  4. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Phil Hughes going tonight... This will be the 3rd straight series in which a Twins Starter is facing his old team... Milone got knocked around by the A's, but Santana cruised against the Angels. Hoping Hughes can find some of his 2014 stuff for the evening...
  5. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Last night's game was the best they've played since game one of the road trip - yeah they lost and made several poor choices at the plate, but it wasn't an embarrassment. Beyond just trying to find a silver lining, the detail that the Angels are a very good team and the Twins are a very imperfect team that has played well for long stretches in the first half. I agree with (I can't remember who said it) that the Twins seem to have come out of the break playing very tight. Of the many many reasons to bring up Arcia, another one is that he brings a distinct kind of energy to the clubhouse that the team has been a bit short on lately. He's a passionate player, which has a little to do with how he found himself in AAA in the first place, but a little bit of fire could be nice.
  6. Kirby_waved_at_me
    And this one of the few times it is acceptable to not root, root, root for the home team.
  7. Kirby_waved_at_me
    His beard would get caught in the catcher's mask, so it's a no go. Sorry. What's the latest on Pinto? Any chance he's healthy this season?
  8. Kirby_waved_at_me
    The other thing to consider for the Twins is Short Term / medium term / Long Term solution for the position. If Lucroy or Norris is the guy, he may need to find another position in a few years. Maybe that's not a big deal. Susac and Plawecki would probably stick at catcher for at least 5 more seasons given their age, barring injury. Turner and Garver and Navaretto are realistically about 3 years away from regular playing time for the Twins, assuming they continue to develop and everything breaks right for them - that's a lot to ask for. It would be pretty unrealistic for the Twins to go after Lucroy or Norris at this point given the cost. Terry Ryan is notoriously reluctant to deal away prospects for one big name. I could see something being done for one of the younger catchers in the offseason. Mid season this year, I think it is a lot more likely that Ryan would go after a current MLB catcher whose stock has dropped or was never that big of a name in the first place. Someone like Dioner Navarro, Brayan Pena, or old pal AJ are the more likely targets for the trade deadline. My guess is that they may inquire on those three, but not come to an agreement on any catcher until the offseason.
  9. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Certainly the Giants didn't get the last laugh - A.J. was released after one season. Maybe the White Sox for signing him as a free agent? I don't see how the Twins were anything but clear winners and last laughers for getting Liriano and Nathan and Boof Bonser while clearing a path for Mauer to start.
  10. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Cabrera being out means 4 or 5 fewer homers from the Tigers in this series. You always want to face the best competition, but it will be a relief to not have his bat coming around every few innings.
  11. Kirby_waved_at_me
    The Capps mistake had to do with both buyer and seller overstating the value of Capps. A guy like Neal Cotts from the Brewers could have a similar impact (fill a bullpen need), but cost significantly less to acquire. I don't think there's any desire for the Twins to trade away anyone in their top 10 prospects for a short-term fix.
  12. Kirby_waved_at_me
    The Twins should be "wait and see"-ers. no reason to be sellers - They are playing well enough this year that they will likely stay in contention beyond the deadline. They could be buyers - though I think a lot of the problems can be fixed by calling up minor leaguers. They don't have a ready solution at catcher, so that's one area I think they would need to find outside the org. help. The bullpen might also need a little short term boost, as the recently drafted guys are still not quite there yet.
  13. Kirby_waved_at_me
    because home runs are cool? So, uh, almost home runs are almost as cool as that? I think Sac Flies should just be Fly Outs. If a guy scores, sure have an RBI. but it should negatively impact a batting average the same as any other fly ball out. The official rules are sometimes a little funky because of how many times they have been modified. It used to be an out if a guy caught the ball on the first bounce. There used to be no limit to the number of balls in an at bat (no walks)... Stats like sac fly vs. sac hit are one of those odd little things that came out of making up the rules as they went along. I bet if the rule changed now, agents or players or the MLBPA would resist it on the grounds that it would negatively affect free agent stock....
  14. Kirby_waved_at_me
    They made a separate column for Sacrifice flys, at some point, possibly because sacrifice hits are usually on purpose (I.e. intentionally giving up an out) vs. Sac Flies, which are really failures to get a base hit and they wanted to differentiate the two things. It's a way to still give credit for the runner advancing, but not a "hit" because the batter failed. It is a gray area, to be sure... A sacrifice bunt is usually obvious that a batter is giving up an out. I think the sacrifice in which a batter unintentionally grounds out, but a runner still scores from third is now called an RBI groundout and not a sacrifice. On the RBI Groundout, the batter is given an official at bat, with no hit lowering the batting average. With a sacrifice, there's no at bat given, so it doesn't hurt the batting average . I'd like to ask an official scorer to talk about the situations in which they would score something a Sacrifice Hit when it is not a bunted ball. Seems like that would be rare in the current scoring environment.
  15. Kirby_waved_at_me
    There are two types of hits - Base hits and Sacrifice Hits. Base hits require the batter to reach safely. Sacrifice Hits require the runner(s) already on base to advance. If the batter makes contact with the ball and is out and the runners do not advance, it is not a hit of any kind.
  16. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Well, Kris Bryant hit 43 Homers with .325 average in the minors (AA and AAA) last year at the age of 22. Sano has 15 homers so far in AA, and missed all of last year due to injury. I think a better comp for expectations might be Kyle Schwarber, who has 13 Homers in AA this year and just had his cup of coffee. I think some guys are once in a generation, once in a lifetime talents - and some guys are just really good. With Buxton vs. Correa, Terry Ryan has said that Buxton's bat is his least refined tool. He was comparing the two guys just before Buxton was called up and said that Correa has a better bat today, but Buxton is faster, has a better arm, plays better defense, and has the athleticism and desire to improve his hitting to a point where it could surpass Correa. The expectations that Buxton would be a great defender and a burner on the bases were met - his hitting may have been oversold by some. Every prospect is going to bring different things to the table, Bryant (and Sano and Joey Gallo) are bringing raw power, Buxton is bringing speed and defense first.
  17. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Sending Vargas down makes more sense if Sano is going to DH a lot while he's up here. I already thought that Kennys was getting inconsistent playing time (with inconsistent results at the plate), so everybody gets more AB's this way.
  18. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I think people will be pleasantly surprised by Sano's defense. I saw a game in Chattanooga earlier this year and Sano looked really good at third base. He made three good plays on slow rollers/choppers on the infield, and a really good catch on a foul ball that was hit into that Bermuda triangle of foul territory that's near the stands but beyond the dugout. He ran out there, took charge and caught the ball over his shoulder. Granted, it was just one game, and plays that are tough in AA should be considered routine for an MLB 3B - but I stand by the statement that he's not bad defensively. I could see in just one game that he was not tentative, moved well (for a Hulking Man Beast), and has a cannon arm. He might even be able to stick at third longer than most people have projected.
  19. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I went to a Reds game earlier this year and Billy Hamilton was caught stealing -- by AJ Pierzynski - it can be done! http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN201505120.shtml Nolasco is probably going to have to get surgery. He might end up with Santana's spot on the Playoff roster if he's healthy in time, but other than that I am skeptical that he's back this year. Go Twins!
  20. Kirby_waved_at_me
    yeah, it wasn't a bad trade until Hardy was traded again. Then it became Gomez (under team control for several years) for one year of a decent SS. Hardy had even better seasons after he was traded away. I suppose in a way it would be a better trade if Hardy only played one year in MN and then retired. instead the Twins lost out on production in the OF and at SS for several years with nothing to show for it.
  21. Kirby_waved_at_me
    who will pitch more innings this season for the Twins, Meyer or J.R. Graham? I'm hoping for Meyer.
  22. Kirby_waved_at_me
    my point is that you don't carry the bat out onto the field with you, and if you're hitting poorly, it doesn't matter which defensive position you play. If you are a slick fielder, that can give you a little leeway. If the rest of the lineup is hitting, then it's less of a problem. If you're not fielding well, and you're not hitting well (like Mauer), the only saving grace is being the best option out of several bad options. The production team A gets from their first baseman, that same production doesn't have to come from the first baseman on team B.
  23. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Somewhat of a tangent - Mauer not hitting as a first baseman, or Mauer being the worst hitting first baseman is not the thing to focus on. Teams can construct their lineups differently defensively. Dozier's homers and XBH in general are welcome regardless of where he's playing on defense. If the Twins had another player that had no other place in the field and was outhitting Joe right now, then sure, bench Mauer for this other guy that provides more value. I don't see that guy on the current roster. If you wanted to pretend that Joe was at second and Dozier was at first, would it be better somehow? If a team has a cleanup guy an he's a catcher, or a SS, or a 2B... that's great. I don't subscribe to the idea that certain defensive positions have a duty provide a specific brand of offense. What is significant is comparing Mauer to other hitters batting 3rd in the lineup. That feels like fair ground for criticism. In that sense, there's a big problem. Most of the team is slumping right now, so it's not just Mauer, but it couldn't hurt to try some other configurations, they can't hit much worse as a group as they are now.
  24. Kirby_waved_at_me
    So - have any media members had the stones to interview Mauer and ask him questions about his health, or his own theories for his slumping performance in 2015? I think Molitor would be candid if asked point blank about his first baseman. Has anyone asked him on record? It feels like they've ignored the issue on Molitor's radio show on Sundays, maybe I am just forgetting what they talked about. Mauer would not be obligated to really say anything about it, and I wouldn't blame him if he decided to give a non-answer, I think the coaches might be more likely to give some feedback publicly.
  25. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Whatever the opposite of Smoke and Mirrors is - that's the formula the Cardinals have used to somehow have winning teams year in and year out. They've got pitching and defense, they don't really have a replacement in the batting order for Pujols, but that hasn't really slowed them down much. One weakness seems to be that they strike out a lot. Almost everyone in their lineup strikes out twice as often as they take a walk. (let's ignore for the moment that the Twins are even more strikeout prone...)
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