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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    I barely know who this guy is, but a BP ace with four years of team control is a huge asset. Go for it. TINSTAAP!
  2. stringer bell
    Understand the plan, but trusting Schoop to bunt is probably a mistake. The way Schoop was seeing the ball last night, it probably didn't matter if he gave up two strikes trying to bunt. Excellent contact hitters followed Schoop, so a pretty good chance to take the lead in the game if it is second and third and one out and still an excellent chance to tie with a productive out. Cruz bailed out the lack of execution and the Twins won the game. Tampa hasn't looked good this series. They are finishing a three-city road trip including a visit to the west coast. Good fortune for the Twins.
  3. stringer bell
    I think relief pitchers are incredibly hard to project. Ordinary guys become borderline unhittable and guys who look very good seem to lose it (Cody Allen). Regarding Pressly, while his metrics seemed to indicate he might break out, during his tenure with the Twins, he was the ultimate tease (IMHO). He have a couple of dominant outings and then walk a guy or two and then lay a fastball in to a guy who was looking for it, Would he have flourished for the Twins? I guess we'll never know.
  4. stringer bell
    Is Davis a prospect? A right handed hitter, capable of playing center would be preferable as a fourth OF for the current Twins.
  5. stringer bell
    Target #1 IMHO.
  6. stringer bell
    Those were moves made in June, with each signed to a minor league contract. Low-risk, high reward stuff with players that had success at some point. I expect in the next five weeks that the Twins will trade actual prospects for guys who are doing well in mlb this year.
  7. stringer bell
    The idea of not walking singles hitters makes sense, particularly if they aren't a threat on the bases. One doesn't walk Billy Hamilton because he's liable to steal secord and third, but walking Arraez puts a runner on. Given the composition of this team, an on-base guy would be valuable instead of the sixth or seventh best home run threat.
  8. stringer bell
    Excellent article! While I agree with most everything written, I do think in a longer view, that umps are calling high strikes much more than in previous decades. Ballplayers and coaching staffs are still adjusting to this. Sanó has lots of company in his inability to handle high fastballs. But, as pointed out, he is particularly susceptible and the velocity doesn't have to be 95+. I agree the Sanó needs to make adjustments. Supremely talented hitters can do so. Time will tell if Miguel is able to do so.
  9. stringer bell
    Things change in baseball. Arraez wasn't on the radar as an infield option (Nick Gordon) even at the start of the season. Astudillo looked like he had developed power to go with uncanny contact skills. With the exception of his homer in his first game back, Tortuga is swinging a lot and making soft contact too often. Arraez has taken an opportunity and run with it. Here's my take: Arraez is an on-base guy, he probably never will draw a lot of walks because he hits a lot of singles. He's demonstrated some versatility, but is stretched at both short and third. Arraez fits this somewhat lumbering extra-base hitting team pretty well, get a guy on base before the bashers come up! The other drawback (besides lack of power) is Arraez' lack of speed. He's not a base-stealing threat or someone to distract the defense when he's on base. Regarding Astudillo, he should be in line to be the backup catcher next season. With him on the major league roster, there is versatility as well. The unanswered question, to me, is how much playing time is enough for Willians. With a 26-man roster next year, the Twins might be able to carry three catchers again next year.
  10. stringer bell
    Such a fine line between success and failure. Pérez is out of the first with one run if Polanco makes a play he makes 99% of the time and he was one pitch from a scoreless fifth. In his previous start, Rosario had a ball in his glove that he couldn't hold in the seventh inning that turned into runs. That said, both command and velocity have fallen off. The 97 mph fastball is 93-94 and he's missing both in the zone and out of the zone. I don't think his curve or breaking ball are "A" pitches.
  11. stringer bell
    I agree that Sanó has been bad since the start of the Twins homestand and one homer, even in a big spot, doesn't make up for all of the failed at-bats. The Twins have a nine game lead and a very good offense, so they can afford to be patient with Sanó. Another couple of weeks of regular play with give Miguel about 150 plate appearances. If the OPS drops below league average, then it might be time to consider a trip to Rochester.
  12. stringer bell
    Sanó only had one plate appearance last night, but got four strikes (horrible missed call by the ump) and didn't come close. He's struggling for sure, at a time when the team could really benefit from him hitting his stride.
  13. stringer bell
    Many subtopics here, but one I find interesting is the thought that Sanó mashes fastballs. I seen him whiff on up-in-the-zone fastballs throughout his career and I haven't seen much damage done on those pitches. The majority of hard hits from Miguel middle-middle or middle-down in the zone (observation no graphs or anything). I will also say Sanó is not alone in struggling against high fastballs. To me, Sanó has two distinct weaknesses, high fastballs and chasing breaking balls. That is one too many weaknesses to be an elite hitter.
  14. stringer bell
    Dang, you're right. The off day doesn't come until Monday.
  15. stringer bell
    Maybe the Red Sox were guilty of trying to hit a six-run homer in extras, but outside of Parker, I was pretty impressed with the whole bullpen. Magill allowed a couple of hits (at least one soft contact), but worked out of it. His stuff looks too good to give up on (high velo fastball and good slider). Duffey pitched out of a two-on none-out jam in his first inning and fanned the side in his second and I thought Littell looked very good, too. Rogers needs another quality lefty. It would be great to have a lefty be able to come in in the sixth or seventh to get a key out or two and still have another lefty "in the hole" for a save or key outs in the eighth.
  16. stringer bell
    They do have an off day tomorrow. Perhaps they can slide by today, especially if Gibson gives them more than 6 innings. The fact is that Duffey and Littell both pitched well and shouldn't be sent out on merit, but sometimes merit doesn't have anything to do with transactions.
  17. stringer bell
    I really liked what I saw out of Littell last night. He had trouble, not totally of his own making, in both innings and worked around it.The velocity and breaking pitch were both noteworthy and he showed good command. Finally, he didn't "pitch scared", which is what I've seen out of the pitchers who haven't succeeded for the Twins this year.
  18. stringer bell
    Pretty broad use of "from within". The Twins traded for both Nathan and Aguilera and to my knowledge, they were always used out of the bullpen for the Twins. I know Aguilera left Minny as a free agent and was used as a starter after he had done well here.
  19. stringer bell
    Sanó and JD Martinez had games to forget. At least Sanó contributed on defense.
  20. stringer bell
    Do the Twins get more arms for tomorrow? If so, who do they send down and who do they call up? Candidates to be sent down would be Littell and Duffey (both have had their option used this year and both pitched two innings in Tuesday's game). Who would be called up? Well, not Eades or Romero, since both were optioned less than 10 days ago.
  21. stringer bell
    Polanco squared to bunt twice and Devers was playing in and close to the line. That pretty much makes the bunt Polanco put down a sacrifice. To me, if there is some surprise involved, it might be worth it to bunt, but if it is to give an out in exchange for advancing two runners, it is not worth it.
  22. stringer bell
    The play for Merrifield was not easy, particularly for a non-outfielder (IMHO), To his credit, Merrifield made the play and it looked routine. As far as speed, the Twins appear to have only Buxton with game-changing speed. I think that one reason why the Twins should hang on to Nick Gordon is that he could provide speed along with Buck. There isn't much speed besides those guys in the top tiers of the organization. Polanco, Kepler, and Rosario run well, but not to the point that they are disruptive.
  23. stringer bell
    Gonzalez has played precious little right field until this year. I speculated that he would play left with Rosario and Kepler manning the other two spots when Buxton is on the pine. Margo hasn’t looked particularly comfortable in right, but I think he’s better than “a butcher” out there. Adrianza isn’t slow, but he isn’t fast. Last year he got thrown out several times on the bases. I don’t recall any terrible throw outs this year and his base running sequence on Thursday was textbook. A second baseman was playing right field and he had to run to his left and then make a throw to his right on Schoop’s hit. Merrifield did it perfectly, but it’s a chance to take with two outs.
  24. stringer bell
    Lots of young position players under team control for several years--Buxton, Sanó, Kepler, Polanco, Rosario, Garver. A top ten prospect in the middle infield and two other guys (Gordon and Arraez) who appear to have major league futures at second. On the pitching side, only two starters are under team control for next year and there's only one bullpen arm worth keeping beyond this year. While I'd like to see the Twins pick up a half-season rental, they should use some of their prospect excess to acquire team-controlled pitching for seasons after this one.
  25. stringer bell
    The league has adjusted to Pérez' adjustments. He'll have to adjust a bit more, but he's got a live arm and enough stuff to be a successful starting pitcher. Regarding Encarnación, he is on most everything right now. I would guess right now the word in the Twins' clubhouse is "don't let that guy beat you". May is walking a tightrope on the mound, but the fastball up is hard to square up. If he could drop an occasional curve in there, and get ahead in counts, he could be really effective. Who sits tonight vs. a soft-tossing lefty? About the only sure thing is that Garver replaces Castro.
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