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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    I think Buxton has the inside track for CF. However, I expect him to struggle enough at the plate that he ends up hitting ninth for a while. If in doubt the Twins should hit him down in the order to take some pressure off the young man.
  2. stringer bell
    Good review. I'm hoping Molitor starts with a 60-40 Suzuki split and re-evaluates sometime in May. Murphy has to do his part by showing that he is equal to or better than Suzuki.
  3. stringer bell
    He was my "adopt a prospect" a few years ago and I met him and shook his hand when he was in Cedar Rapids. I've always liked what he might have to offer and believe he will pitch for the Twins sometime this year.
  4. stringer bell
    Pressly has an option remaining. It wouldn't surprise me if it is used this year. Probably at the beginning of the year.
  5. stringer bell
    The problem is that Tonkin has been on the AAA/MLB elevator. His 60 appearances are spread over parts of three seasons (IIRC) and interrupted by multiple options to AAA. He's also been in multiple roles. I agree that his MLB numbers are no reason to keep him around, but he's been effective at AAA, throws pretty hard and is still fairly young.
  6. stringer bell
    Morneau and Cuddyer (and their batting championships) disagree with you.
  7. stringer bell
    I think it is pretty likely that one of the starters is at least "nicked up" and disabled coming into the season. If no one truly disappoints, the Twins could have the luxury of being very cautious with any injury. There aren't many guys with options and too many 30+ year old starters. I hope the Twins find room for Pressly, if he is as effective as he was last year. Tonkin deserves one fair shot based on his minor league numbers. Last year's development of bullpen options in the minors was a major disappointment. This year should be different.
  8. stringer bell
    I will remind everyone here that the Twins' 40-man roster is full. If any of the guys above are signed to a major-league contract, someone will have to be designated. Right now, the DFA list would be pretty sparse, starting with someone like Kennys Vargas.
  9. stringer bell
    Pressly has an option remaining, as well. He can be the guy sent back and forth (as Tonkin was last year), but I do think he's a better option than either Abad or Meyer and probably Tonkin as well.
  10. stringer bell
    To me, there are three positions up for grabs--the last two chairs in the bullpen and center field. The job is Buxton's to win, but he must impress. As for the bullpen, Tonkin is out of options and Pressly was the more impressive pitcher last season. Abad is a lefty who has had success and Meyer has considerable upside. I wouldn't be surprised to see Tonkin beat out Meyer and Pressly ahead of Abad. If Buxton is sent to Rochester, I presume that Sweeney is the next guy, with most likely Danny Santana holding down center.
  11. stringer bell
    Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer won batting championships in their mid-30s, Morneau after suffering a severe concussion. If Mauer somehow managed to snag another batting championship, it might secure a spot in Cooperstown that is slipping away.
  12. stringer bell
    Despite having options, I think Pressly makes the club out of ST if healthy. He has had much more success than Tonkin. I actually hope they both make it, but I'm guessing at least one starter is temporarily placed in the bullpen.
  13. stringer bell
    Regarding Killebrew--the entire time he was in Minnesota, he was stout and slow. My guess was that he went about 220 on the 5'11" frame no matter what the baseball card said. He played three complete years in left-'62-'64, first to allow Gold Glover Vic Power to play first and one year of Bob Allison, who was a pretty good outfielder (that never made sense). Harmon was adequate at best in left field from what I remember.
  14. stringer bell
    Dozier's 2014 production would be just fine. I don't know if it was postseason pressure, injury, fatigue or pitchers figuring him out, but he was poor in the second half of the season. I still think he is a top-tier second baseman and not one easily replaced. I don't think the Twins want to waste Polanco's development and service time by setting him on the bench. They have hope for Santana coming back and being an asset as a utility guy to start the season and trying to get at-bats for both DanSan and Polanco would be difficult at best.
  15. stringer bell
    I was going to make this point elsewhere, but if Sano starts the season in the outfield, I doubt he plays more than a handful of games at third base. If he is a regular outfielder, they will keep him there (I think) and not move him about like a utility player. That has been the clear plan in the past and actually continuity is better than playing him in the OF three days, DHing him two and playing third for the other game. Of course, an injury to either of the corner guys or the DH would render this point null and void.
  16. stringer bell
    The hard contact/soft contact stat is very telling. It seems Arcia is chasing more, making contact less, with no discernible improvement in power. I know he's injured himself at least a couple of times by taking such a hard swing. He needs to tone it down incrementally, while keeping his focus--two things he hasn't been able to do. He's got talent, but he needs to channel it in order to be a good player.
  17. stringer bell
    Mason Melotakis. Coming off TJ, he hasn't been on many fan's radar, but the Twins protected him from the Rule V draft. There is a need for bullpen help and Melotakis has the stuff to take a large step this year, provided his recovery is complete.
  18. stringer bell
    I think the aberrations were exposed in the bowl games. Ohio State and Michigan have the talent and the coaching to be national contenders. Michigan State played a solid 29 minutes against this year's probable national champ, but NW and Iowa weren't as good as their records, Wisconsin is sound but unspectacular, Penn State has a ways to go while everybody else was playing so-so teams. Even with a relatively poor recruiting year, some defections after Kill left and coming off a 6-7 record, the Gophers should be able to cobble a winning record next year.
  19. stringer bell
    I wouldn't want to see that many RH bats in a row on the top of the order. Mauer should probably be in there someplace, most likely second. I don't mind Dozier hitting lower, but I think if Buxton does start the season with the Twins, he hits ninth to start, with Dozier first and Mauer likely second.
  20. stringer bell
    The Hawkeyes were great this year, but up until 2015 were in decline. Until and unless they back up this season with more dominance, I'll write it off as fluky.
  21. stringer bell
    It was a good game between evenly matched teams. The Gophers might be a bit better, but when they had half their team injured, they probably weren't. I don't have any basis for this, but I believe the MAC is equal to the leavings of the Big Ten after the high-powered teams (The Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and probably soon again Michigan, Penn State and Nebraska). The remaining ten annually are about the same as the MAC.
  22. stringer bell
    Not only does Dozier lead the league in pull percentage, he also hits the ball very weakly when it is on the right side of second base. With the exception of a homer against Corey Kluber, he has never hit a homer to the right of center and very few to center and left-center. 95% of his power to straightaway left and down the line. The point is that Dozier needs to adjust to go the other way occasionally with authority. The mid-May 2013 adjustment that made him a relative slugger also limited his ability to use the whole field IMHO. I hope he can incrementally adjust, but I think his ceiling as a hitter might be only .270. It would be nice if he drew as many walks in 2016 as he did in 2014--that would bring the OBP up to good levels and keep him as a factor in the top of the lineup.
  23. stringer bell
    I am a Twins fan and a huge Dozier fan. I saw his defense in 2013 as outstanding and SDI agreed, I viewed his defense in '14 as much less solid mostly because he made errors on plays he should have made (and if someone questions this I will explain). In 2015, I thought Dozier's defense was pretty good, he made a few less "wow" plays, but committed fewer errors. One factor in this plummeting rating might be shifting. Because he is overshifted, he may not get to balls that fall in a traditional zone for an infielder. My opinion is that Dozier is, and has been since moving to second base, a solid defensive player, but probably not elite. This specific rating shows a rapidly declining player and I haven't seen that.
  24. stringer bell
    I am a Twins fan and a huge Dozier fan. I saw his defense in 213 as outstanding and SDI agreed, I viewed his defense in '14 as much less solid mostly because he made errors on plays he should have made (and if someone questions this I will explain). In 2015, I thought Dozier's defense was pretty good, he made a few less "wow" plays, but committed fewer errors. One factor in this plummeting rating might be shifting. Because he is overshifted, he may not get to balls that fall in a traditional zone for an infielder. My opinion is that Dozier is, and has been since moving to second base, a solid defensive player, but probably not elite. This specific rating shows a rapidly declining player and I haven't seen that.
  25. stringer bell
    Welcome to TD Burt! The thing about Trevor May is that he hasn't been a top-flight starter, he projects to be one of the Twins' top five and he has exhibited tools that indicate he could be very good. The performance hasn't been there. Further, I wouldn't consider a move to the bullpen a "demotion", it would be putting May in a role to best help the team win. He's not in a position to gripe at this point.
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