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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    Graphing each pitcher's season would be interesting. Each starter has hit a low spot or fallen off, but the results for all five, on balance, have been pretty good in relation to expectations. Same with the bullpen. Only Rogers has been really consistent all year. His usage has changed, though, and he is getting a ton of high-leverage work. He's clearly the most valuable of the Twins' pitchers. Rating Magill so low is a function of a putrid stretch. Most of the rest of the time, he's been pretty good. Morin doesn't seem to get any high-leverage work, despite really good top-line numbers.
  2. stringer bell
    Nice to see Gordon doing well in AAA. With the success that Arraez is having, he could still be trade bait, but his value should be higher. I'd like to see the speed that Gordon has in the major league lineup, but I have to believe that Arraez has moved himself in front of Gordon.
  3. stringer bell
    Love the "The Wire" reference!
  4. stringer bell
    1) The title of this thread is misleading or wrong. Miguel Sanó was never a superstar. Some may have projected him to that status, but the body of work at the major league level was never that of a superstar. It's pretty tough to be a fading superstar when you weren't one in the first place. 2) After a pretty dramatic cold streak, Sanó has been one of the Twins' best hitters for the last week plus of play. His numbers for the year have bounced back into the "very good" range. 3) I'll repeat what I've said in other Sanó threads--the team promoted this guy as the next Miguel Cabrera or Frank Thomas and he hasn't been that. I think some of the disappointment about Sanó comes from the expectations. 4) Injuries have derailed Sanó more than most. He has been healthy less than two months, but if he stays healthy the rest of the year, I think we fans and the Twins will have a better idea of how good a hitter he will be in the future.
  5. stringer bell
    Honestly, I think the Twins have been extraordinarily lucky on the injury front. Among the position players, Sanó missed almost two months. Astudillo has had two disabling injuries and the second one might keep him on the injured list for over a month. Other than that, Garver missed about two weeks. Gonzalez, Adrianza, Buxton, Cron and Rosario all will have IL stints of less than two weeks. On the pitching side, only Pineda's ten-day "rest" has taken a pitcher off the 25-man along with Odorizzi's blister issue. I didn't mention Wade, but it is doubtful that he would have stayed with the club after the All-Star break.
  6. stringer bell
    I don’t think any of the Twins’ starting infielders will contend for a gold glove, but combined they aren’t bad. I’d say average overall.
  7. stringer bell
    Maybe it is the extra-inning games, maybe it is the long slog that is the major league baseball season, but the Twins certainly do seem to need a break as a team. Every team has high and lows, and if this is their nadir, it isn't very low, since their longest losing streak is two. Yes, the defense hasn't been as crisp of late and there have been a lot more bad at-bats. To name a few, Cron, Polanco, and Schoop have dropped off noticeably. Banged up and recovering injured Buxton, Gonzalez and Kepler could also use the break.
  8. stringer bell
    I really don't want the Twins to acquire someone they have to "fix" while he's performing for the major league team.
  9. stringer bell
    Duffey allowed four straight singles, I think that happens and you have to shake your head and move on. He didn't make matters worse by walking or plunking a couple of guys. If he puts together another half dozen to ten good outings around this one, I'll chalk yesterday up to bad fortune.
  10. stringer bell
    The week before the All-Star break should be fun. Two pretty good teams from the AL West, one at home and one on the road.
  11. stringer bell
    About Mejía, he started his rehab on June 10th, and the limit is 30 days, so by July 10th, the Twins will have to activate him on the 25-man roster or DFA him. On the flip side, he is on the 60-day injured list, so he can't be activated until July 1st, so the window would be between July 1 and July 10.
  12. 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!
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. stringer bell
    Target #1 IMHO.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. 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.
  25. stringer bell
    Dang, you're right. The off day doesn't come until Monday.
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