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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    We're due for a good, close game.
  2. stringer bell
    Quick start for the Motor City Kitties!
  3. stringer bell
    I can't help it. I'm pulling for Detroit.
  4. stringer bell
    The topic is Vikings. This is a playoff game that probably impacts the Vikings and what they do in the off season. Who wins? What is the effect on Minnesota?
  5. stringer bell
    There are a lot of veteran ex-Twins who remain unsigned as we approach a month until pitchers and catchers report. None of them seem to be of interest to the Twins. One possible exception to me is Aaron Hicks, given that the Yankees will be paying his salary. Here is a list--I might have missed someone: Eduardo Escobar, Josh Donaldson, Rich Hill, Gary Sanchez, Jonathan Schoop, Ehire Adrianza, Billy Hamilton, Hicks, Alex Columé, Liam Hendriks, CJ Cron, Fernando Abad, Robbie Grossman, Tommy Milone and Gio Urshela.
  6. stringer bell
    I suppose if you find the right prism to look through, Gordon might be an equal option as a hitter or defender. I see other numbers that don't agree. What shouldn't be disputed is that Gordon struggles mightily against left handed pitching and he is nowhere near the threat on the bases that Willi Castro is. Gordon needs to be clearly superior as a hitter/defender and I don't believe he is. Willi Castro improved dramatically as a base runner and defender last year. If that is not a mirage, I have a hard time seeing Gordon performing well enough to supplant him.
  7. stringer bell
    I think the Rockies would rather have Larnach than Kepler with the difference in their salaries. They probably would prefer Wallner to Larnach.
  8. stringer bell
    It will be interesting what a list of starting pitchers will look like a year from now. Except for the cream of the crop, pitching is so volatile that it is just hard to know. Like everyone else, I'd love to see the Twins add a quality arm before the season starts, but it isn't easy, especially given the (self imposed) salary restraints in place for the Twins.
  9. stringer bell
    I'll pile on about the Mahle trade. I thought getting Mahle and Jorge López at the deadline were exactly the shot in the arm that the Twins needed. Injuries (Mahle) and ineffectiveness (López) proved me wrong. Most of us have come around to loving the Arraez-López trade, but if Pablo gets injured, the second guess would be to hold on to a two-time batting champion. Hindsight is 20-20.
  10. stringer bell
    Happ and Shoemaker were bad all right, but I remember a game or two where they were very good. Happ had a no-hitter going thru 7+ or 8 IIRC. That bring to mind another former Twin, Philip Humber, who had a very forgettable big league career with the exception of a perfect game pitched for the White Sox. It seems that every once in a while the law of averages stands on its head.
  11. stringer bell
    I've probably seen him play only 15-20 including college. He's always had a great offensive team around him and he's got good numbers, but I wouldn't consider Tua an elite QB. Stroud, OTOH, just might be something special.
  12. stringer bell
    If Rocco had a bunch of racehorses, I think the Twins would run plenty. They just don’t. They only have a couple guys who can run without the element of surprise. I haven’t seen anyone say that Lewis is considerably slower than before the two knee surgeries. His sprint speed was listed at 73rd percentile (28.2 ft. per sec).
  13. stringer bell
    Travis Blankenhorn, another guy who got a "cup of coffee" with the Twins, has signed a minor league deal with the Nationals. He got into 10 games with Washington last year. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/nationals-re-sign-travis-blankenhorn.html
  14. stringer bell
    Wow, glad you survived your ordeal. Get well soon. Baseball is just around the corner (about a month from pitchers and catchers reporting).
  15. stringer bell
    I agree. That is not a bet to take. The ray of hope I see is that the specific injury to Buxton which limited him for years (knee) seems so far to be healed by the removal of the plica. He has had a bunch of injuries besides the knee, but the knee has limited him for years and there is hope that that specific injury has been resolved. Similarly, Kirilloff's career was at a crossroads because of his wrist, which limited him, ended two seasons early with surgery. That problem also seems resolved. The surgeons found the best possible result when they looked at the injured shoulder, so I have (maybe too much) hope. I'll add that both Buxton's knee and Kirilloff's wrist will probably need ongoing attention to allow them to compete at the highest level, but as I said, the reports so far give me hope.
  16. stringer bell
    Mauer was a catcher for only seven plus years. It appears he is being considered as a catcher and that makes his path much, much easier. Dare I dream of Mauer, Jack, Winnie and Molitor all alive and in the Hall? St. Paul can be proud.
  17. stringer bell
    The consensus of the responses to this article is that neither Lee or Julien should be traded. I agree. I think this might be a year where most of the perceived logjams are figured out. There are a lot of "ifs" in looking at the 2024 Twins--if Lewis is healthy, he's an All-Star and MVP candidate, if Wallner keeps the Ks down, he's an offensive monster, if Julien continues to improve, he's an elite leadoff guy, if Kirilloff and Buxton are healthy......and so on and so forth. Putting a solid year behind a breakthrough (Jeffers, Lewis, Julien, Wallner) takes a lot of uncertainty out of the equation. José Miranda is an example of not backing up a breakthrough. I'd certainly like to see Lee get a month or two of big league time to see if he's as good as his boosters say or if he's just another prospect. I think all the guys will get a shot and I have high hopes for almost all of them. I also think Austin Martin will be a good addition to the position player mix. As far as moving Julien to left field. He struggled there before (in the minors). We have no track record for Lee at second base and Matt Wallner probably improved as much defensively in 2023 as any player on the roster, including Julien. Wallner may well end up in right field (better use of the plus arm) if Kepler is traded, but until then, he's decent to good in left.
  18. stringer bell
    Because he's RH hitter who can play first base, I have Miranda on the team on Opening Day instead of either or both Gordon and Larnach. IMHO, the Twins will carry 13 pitchers and two of Gordon, Larnach and Miranda end up in St. Paul or DFAed. Of course, a lower level trade might be made in order to clear space and someone might be placed on the IL. Kirilloff's injuries have opened the door for other options, but I think the FO correctly believes in him. I don't think an outside option is necessary and if Miranda can duplicate his summer of '22 hitting, the Twins might have the nice problem of finding at-bats for a lot of good young hitters.
  19. stringer bell
    mlbtraderumors.com has an item that the Twins have signed 30-year-old right hander Hobie Harris to a minor league deal. Harris got 50-some days on the Nationals roster in 2023, his first major league action. Harris’ stats were pretty poor, but he does have a minor league history with some good results. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/twins-hobie-harris-agree-to-minor-league-deal.html
  20. stringer bell
    From what I see, the best the Twins can hope for is a young guy who can grow into a #2 or #3. I still think their best hope is getting a guy from a bad team and try to “fix” him.
  21. stringer bell
    I agree that the club has handled Ober gingerly throughout, last year giving him a time off/time out in St. Paul late in the season. He publicly said he felt fine and his velocity and extension were consistent. However over 160 innings (AAA and MLB) were quite a step up from anything he had done before. On balance, I think Ober is probably no greater or lesser an injury risk than any random starter in MLB. Almost all of them have injury histories and have worked to get back to the highest level. On the late season IL stint in 2021, I recall that Ober was basically the only guy who could be taken off the roster and they couldn't option him because the minor league seasons were over. I won't swear to this, but that is my recollection.
  22. stringer bell
    From what I can tell, everyone can be expected to see their vote percentage drop. I've seen a couple of in the know types that think a candidate over 80% when the public ballots are counted has a excellent chance of getting elected. Mauer has done surprisingly well and looks like a lock this year and for sure next year. Helton has gained very little from last year when he came 11 ballots short. Wagner and Sheffield need to get a lot of last-chance votes, even though Wagner has another year.
  23. stringer bell
    I'm not certain about this, but I think the time to decide on things like split contracts is when a contract is tendered. Jeffers has more than three years of service, with one very good year so far. I think it might make sense to wait until he sustains that production (maybe mid season, maybe after the 2024 season is over) before committing to a big contract.
  24. stringer bell
    Correct. Yes
  25. stringer bell
    Yes, it seemed that Julien had a lingering leg problem for most of the second half of the season. That he was able to continue to play was a win, I think. I would hope that he could show more speed and be more of an asset on the bases in 2024.
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