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Dodecahedron

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Everything posted by Dodecahedron

  1. Dodecahedron
    ZiPS predicted that for Shoemaker? Hilarious. Now I'm seeing how the Twins got duped. People have to remember these moments when these predictive systems are so far off, and take that knowledge the next step and question everything they see there. It only took one eye to look at Shoemaker's history and predict what was going to happen.
  2. Dodecahedron
    Not to mention a major rebuild and a major amount of losing seasons for the Twins. Sounds kinda lame to me overall. There was a previous GM who we all know and love who did not know how to build a pipeline of players without doing this, I'm hoping the current group has other ideas.
  3. Dodecahedron
    The team W-L record when he is on the field is a tale of two cities. He leads the team in WAR even in his partial seasons. Buxton is probably smart enough to know that the difference between being the Twins MVP and being a WS MVP are two very different things that are not going to align any time soon. Still, I believe he can be convinced to stay in MN if they treat him right and the price is right.
  4. Dodecahedron
    If he is sore but still smacking home runs and banging out triples as he has in St. Paul, he's probably good to go. Typically when a veteran who is still performing at a high level retires, he talks about how he is done being sore all summer. It's not about no longer being able to perform, it's about being tired of always being sore. Heck, when Radke retired, the story at the time was he could not lift his arm over his head or pick anything up with his pitching hand on non-pitching days. Now that's sore. I imagine everyone on this team is sore by this time in the year. Hopefully this decision is being made by a Twins doctor and not Baldelli. And hopefully if Buxton doesn't like the answer, he has searched out a second opinion as he is allowed under the CBA.
  5. Dodecahedron
    93 pitches for a relief pitcher. Wow. Thank you, Jax, for stepping up. That's a trial by fire, no doubt about it.
  6. Dodecahedron
    He was playing every day, THAT'S the point. Yes, if he is benched, he should not be with the Twins. I believe I said this before?
  7. Dodecahedron
    Leaning on the bullpen in St. Paul does not mean anything. Heck, it's good. It gives people work, no one starts playing professional baseball to top out in AAA. The situation is different in Minneapolis, where the team has no choice* but to lean on bullpen arms that should not be there. *Yes of course the team has a choice, they can cut/sign/trade, but they are choosing not to make moves at this time. One consequence of that choice is Maeda and others need to be able to have some stamina.
  8. Dodecahedron
    If Buxton is playing every day in St. Paul, what is the difference if he plays every day in Minneapolis? As I said elsewhere, the difference is the games in St. Paul mean nothing to Buxton's career. That's the difference. There is literally no good reason to have him playing across the river. If Buxton is "sore" -- he will be "sore" regardless of which side of the river he plays baseball on. If he is too sore to play, which he isn't as he is playing, then that's different. For Maeda, why would he need another month to month and a half to get stretched out? One or two starts should do it, he does not need to be completely stretched out in the minors, he just needs to be on the trajectory. The Twins need pitchers who can eat up innings to keep the ball out of the hands of the clown college in the bullpen. The Buxton and Maeda situations are completely different.
  9. Dodecahedron
    You are raising good points. What are scouts seeing that you're not when it comes to his defense? That's a valid question, whether you are a scout or not. It's also valid to point out that defense does not change from level to level. Are balls hit harder in the MLB? The median is higher I would wager, but AAA surely has a fair share of guys who can smoke the ball and the MLB has its share of guys who can't. However, Celestino skipped AAA. How much is the drop off to AA? I would imagine the difference is palpable to a young player. Celestino probably has the jitters as his numbers suggest he is a legit CF. However, his bat looks uninspiring. There is a reason the Twins called him up instead of starting the clock on someone else. It's not his bat, which suggests he is not in the long term plans (at least not right now).
  10. Dodecahedron
    This is a fun thing to watch if you have not seen it before. Grant does some good things in Games 1 and 6.
  11. Dodecahedron
    Yes. It seems like the Twins had the most success when they tried to be the Twins*, not when they tried to be the As or the Rays. *Except when "Being the Twins" meant "spend nothing."
  12. Dodecahedron
    If you see a pitcher routinely picking up the rosin bag, dirt, or whatever, he is not using Spider Tack, or whatever, as those substances would stick to his hands, leaving an obvious mark. The only way to remove adhesives like Spider Tack is something like WD-40. If a pitcher hits the DL because of blisters or lost fingernails, he may be using an adhesive on his pitching hand. Every pitch thrown with adhesive on your hands has the possibility of taking some skin along for the ride, and even if it doesn't, each pitch is applying more force to the skin itself.
  13. Dodecahedron
    Grant was not too shabby in the broadcast booth, either. I am a little surprised this announcement came first from the Twins org.
  14. Dodecahedron
    Yep. With the bullpen in its current state, let Maeda stretch it out a bit more in the minors first. With Buxton, you get him back and get him in the lineup once he can play. With Maeda, you get him back when he can go deep into a game. The Twins handled these two situations completely backwards.
  15. Dodecahedron
    Is that Gleeman's opinion or is it based on something he knows? I tend to think that Sano is a "risk," but there are teams out there who would feel they can get what they need to get out of him on a consistent basis, at least for a short period of time. And right now, his remaining contract is short. The Twins may not like what they would get back in a Sano trade, but that's very different from nobody wanting him. He is not that expensive, and in the right environment he will do great things (though, yes, it may not last).
  16. Dodecahedron
    The measurement was intended to grade umpires' ability to properly judge a standardized strike zone. The metric very quickly became a measurement to rate catchers' ability to finesse strikes out of what should have been called balls, thus "pitch framing" was born. We know of course that there are reasons a ball may be called a strike other than the catcher's acting ability. Pitch framing has its merits, but it's not the game changer some people thought it was. The Twins overpaid for Jason Castro because of his ability to get good strike calls. He was considered one of the best at pitch framing, if not the best at it, when the Twins brought him in. Castro is back in Houston now, earning about what he was when he was in Houston before, and he's having a great year in the batter's box.
  17. Dodecahedron
    In spite of having just 1 year of service time and predicted to be a #5, Dobnak was signed to a long contract. He may spend time in the minors, but he isn't going anywhere otherwise. In any case, he deserves more time to figure things out, as again he has just 1 year of service time. Shoemaker should already be gone. The Twins don't have to wait for "the right" replacement for Shoemaker. They just have to make one move now. If that move doesn't work out, make another move later. There is no logical reason to prolong the team agony just because "the right" relief pitcher isn't available yet. Managing a baseball roster is a process, not a one-time-event. "Shoemaker's roster spot" does not have to be filled by just one guy for the rest of the year. The only reason I can think of that the Twins have not parted with Shoemaker yet is they want to save face, they are holding out hope that he turns things around and they are not seen as making a mistake, or maybe they truly believe they did not make a mistake and he is just "unlucky." Neither excuses are logical. By wasting time on Shoemaker, the Twins are only hurting their own future. (Though this was true three months ago, as well.)
  18. Dodecahedron
    100%. The problems seem twofold: The Twins pitchers do a decent job getting ahead of batters, then they dink around the edges of the strike zone resulting in a long at-bat. The infielders are bored to sleep by these long at-bats and are seemingly not prepared when a play finally unfolds. 1a. Could easily be that the pitcher invariably tosses a meatball either due to long at-bat mental fatigue or frustration.
  19. Dodecahedron
    I disagree. He can be sore playing in St. Paul or he can be sore playing in Minneapolis. He is not benched in St. Paul, so what's the difference which side of the river he is on? The difference is the St. Paul games are meaningless to his career and the better doctors, conditioning equipment, etc., are in Minneapolis.
  20. Dodecahedron
    I count 8 pitches on that side of the plate for Seattle, v. 6 for the Twins.
  21. Dodecahedron
    Yes. Kind of sad. Analytics are a tool, not the entire factory.
  22. Dodecahedron
    You missed some data there. Of Dobnak's 7 relief appearances, he pitched in the 8th four times. He pitched in the 9th or 10th three times. Here are some highlights. April 1st, pitched in the 10th, takes the loss. April 5th, pitched in the 8th and 9th, allowed 5 runs. April 13th, pitched in the 8th, takes the loss. April 28th, pitched in the 8th and 9th. Did a good job! May 1st, pitched in the 8th, allowed 2 runs.
  23. Dodecahedron
    Gleeman's pitch framing tweet does not mean much without seeing the called strikes for the other pitchers in the game. This might that umpire's strike zone on the night.
  24. Dodecahedron
    Met Stadium was a cool place to watch a baseball game, but it had quirks, like seats on only one side of the outfield. Yes, that would be the side where the sun would be bleating in your face in the late afternoon so the field was impossible to see. A domed stadium was what everyone wanted at the time. Winters were harsh when the dome was built and a domed stadium was seen as a necessity and a shiny new thing. There was an idea that domes were the future and the Twin Cities at the time were desperate to be cutting edge. It was known at the time that the proposed dome was minimalist, even cutting some corners like that ridiculous roof, but anything other than a domed stadium would have been seen by the locals as a failure. The decision was either build a dome or stay at the Met -- it was dome or bust. As for Target field, the suburban/city narrative might be overplayed. Firstly, the Twin Cities are highly suburban anyway. It's difficult to compare the Twin Cities to other cities. Secondly, without Target Center being there, there's no way Target Field gets built in the same place.
  25. Dodecahedron
    Firing Baldelli seemed unfathomable even just a couple of weeks ago. To most of you, I'm sure it still seems unfathomable and highly unlikely. He is still making the same bizarre mistakes. Moving on from Baldelli not only seems fathomable to me now, it seems like a necessity. Does the front office feel the same way? I doubt it, but it would be nice if they did, it could be the difference between 2021 being an aberration v. a long rebuild. This isn't a knee-jerk, "Fire the manager!" reaction to a bad season. Honestly, I'm kind of worried about the guy. I know he's a smart guy and a good guy, but his decisions are baffling. I hope he is OK. Obviously, if he is not OK, the Twins should keep him and work on that. Sports movies and TV shows sometimes have a villain owner who does little things to sabotage the team. Baldelli's decisions are could be written for such a character. He makes decisions that even a casual viewer can see are the wrong decisions. There are many reasons the Twins are having a bad year, but Baldelli is the one person responsible for largest portion of it. Moving on from him would give the Twins the most "bang for the buck" when it comes to moving this team back into contention in future years.
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