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ashbury

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Everything posted by ashbury

  1. ashbury
    They've scored more runs than our Twins, but have given up a whole lot more. That plus what looks like situational failures, leading to more losses than the aggregate run differential would suggest. Oh, and at a glance, defensive metrics don't seem to like the Angels very well. (Baseball-reference.com's "Defensive Efficiency" shows the bottom 4 teams in the AL being the last place Red Sox, the last place Royals, the last place Angels and the ... first place Rays? Fun With Numbers!)
  2. ashbury
    Did you mean post-season, or are you really in Wait 'Til Next Year mode?
  3. ashbury
    Make it to the fourth? That puts you in the Optimist camp. I'm hoping he isn't knocked out in the second after walking a tightrope in the first. Guess I'm a little shellshocked by the past few weeks.
  4. ashbury
    It's a organization-wide slump. When your play by play man has to walk back a triple play into a humble 4-6 fielder's choice, it's a bad game for everyone involved.
  5. ashbury
    McKenzie was drafted in 2015. That's still Tyler Jay (Terry Ryan) territory for us to carp about, me included. The jury's still very much out on FalVine, but this pitcher isn't the evidence.
  6. ashbury
    This article scratches the surface, but I'd feel better to think that their hitting philosophy is more situational than depicted here. If the batter has power, grip it and rip it when the count is favorable, then go a bit more with the pitch when it's two strikes. If it's two outs and nobody's on, extra bases are worth gambling for even with two strikes. Et cetera et cetera. And of course if opposing pitches take steps to counteract this basic strategy, take steps yourself, until the next round of changes. If our power hitters from last year are selling out early in the count, then yes I would question the strategy. I haven't researched whether we're getting many dink-and-dunk balls in play early in the count. If instead the low-power hits are coming late in the count, after hittable 2-0 pitches got swung through, then there's the problem.
  7. ashbury
    "The Twins worked aggressively to trade for a starter today, but in the end opted not to take part in an overheated market that offered insufficient value in return for prospect talent, especially considering the players about to re-join the Twins' roster anyway." -- nonexistent quote that represents my prediction for MLBTR's followup report later today
  8. ashbury
    Do we know for sure, yet, which week that is to be?
  9. ashbury
    The list of candidates for days to begin one are dwindling fast.
  10. ashbury
    My nominee for Most Tactful Sentence of the Week goes to MLBTR in their analysis of the Twins' starting pitching needs: "It’s not clear how the organization’s familiarity with Lynn affects their interest."
  11. ashbury
    Get him a nice thank you basket - chocolates, wine, whatever little treats they happen to know he enjoys.
  12. ashbury
    Probably you can get someone's medium quality reliever for Rooker. I don't know how to put together a bigger deal, that doesn't involve players I don't want to part with.
  13. ashbury
    It's somewhat cheating since I didn't view this article until a game is already in the books, but I'll go with 12-16. That goes 32-28, if my California math didn't fail me. Third place.
  14. ashbury
    So far, so good. After today's first game, they are right on track to take the series 3 games to 1.
  15. ashbury
    This seems like hoops you are expecting someone else to jump through - "can" or "cannot" resume playing. I see it more simply as, if they choose to send a message by not playing, they just do.
  16. ashbury
    This extreme conclusion should be your indication that something went wrong in the chain or reasoning leading up to it. No, the players weren't on strike, until certain demands were met. Rather, they sat out a game, to send a message that "everything" is not "ok", to borrow the terminology you used. Message sent, now back to work. Weather permitting.
  17. ashbury
    The game's in Detroit.
  18. ashbury
    This layman scout's eye says he lacks the extra gear you want in a center fielder, and you would be disappointed in the results. Watching him a couple of Fall League seasons ago, I felt surprised he didn't get to a foul fly while playing in RF - I was thinking of him as a CF candidate at that time, and decided at that moment he will be an asset on defense in a corner but not in the middle. Others' mileage may vary of course, and maybe something changed in two years, but usually speed is not a slow-developing tool.
  19. ashbury
    Whatever they do, The Bubblewrap Fiasco Of 2018 should not be repeated, ever. We know now that Buxton can't take a punch, so it would end up being counter-productive. Even though Eduardo Escobar is long gone, some new prankster would surely initiate the tiresome "Pop Buck" game and eventually cause another fistfight in the dugout.
  20. ashbury
    His trade value is probably up. Get some more pitching!
  21. ashbury
    Then how will he know to relax and hit?
  22. ashbury
    Interesting. During the first part of the unexpectedly good 2017 campaign, I had the distinct impression that Molly had a two-tiered approach. The starters in the "good" category (Ervin Santana for example) were followed by reliable relievers (notably Rogers, Pressly). "Bad" starters (Hector Santiago) seemed likelier to be followed by less-well regarded pitchers. It was just my impression, that his strategy was to win the winnable games, and take his chances with the remainder (you never know when the offense might bust out with a good game), and it worked out so well that they jumped off to a good start through May. I didn't do a systematic study, and perhaps I was imagining things. And even if true, I don't think it's sustainable to cherry-pick the games beforehand like that. But when you're trying to turn around a losing franchise, it's something to try, just to give a shot of confidence.
  23. ashbury
    From my extreme "armchair" perspective, it's not a good idea to be a one-dimensional hitter. Major league pitchers are just too good, when you present them that simple of problem to tackle. Having a Happy Zone is great, but you need a way to punish pitchers who stay away from it, by having a second or even third approach to low-outside pitches or whatever isn't "Happy". Brian Dozier was a good example, being someone who feasted on high-inside pitches, but occasionally would demonstrate a willingness to go the other way and make the pitcher pay with a higher on-base approach. I don't know if Garver is predictable to the same extent Dozier sometimes was, but if Garver is productive only in the Happy Zone then it's a problem.
  24. ashbury
    I think Rocco explained the strategy well. There's a lot of merit to it. My only quibble is if the offense gets back to being a "no deficit is insurmountable" one again - then it makes sense to bring in a good arm when only a couple of runs down, if the bullpen isn't verging on exhaustion. Last night's game was a hopeful sign in that regard, although once again all the scoring occurred early so there isn't evidence of being a late-innings juggernaut.
  25. ashbury
    Ditto. I watched him get lit up in Pawtucket. Couldn't locate the breaking pitch. Got tattooed when he came in with his heater. I was ready to move on. Wes Johnson, or whoever at AAA, found an answer. Just goes to show how close many pitchers are to making it, and why you see these thirty-something guys still giving it a go. Just one "aha" moment away...
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