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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    Dozier's pattern, if there is one, is to have one markedly better half than the other. In 2014, 2016 and last year, that half was the second half. In 2015, Dozier's only All-Star appearance, he was markedly better in the first half. The overall picture in the last two years has presented an elite offensive player at second base. Since he doesn't hit 450 foot moon shots and pulls a high percentage of his homers, I think there is perhaps a smaller margin for error in his approach. Six hits, including two homers in two days tells me that he's not ready to fall off the cliff.
  2. stringer bell
    43 at-bats for the season. Dozier has endured a dry spell of in excess of 50 at-bats (before yesterday). Yes, Buxton might struggle the first series or two after being out nearly a month, but his defense should make up for most of that.
  3. stringer bell
    1 doable thing will get Joe Mauer in the Hall of Fame. Joe needs to win a fourth batting title. The cynic in me says that he needs to sign with the Rockies and win that title in 2019, but maybe he could win his fourth championship as a Twin. Happy Birthday Joe.
  4. stringer bell
    I've thought this for years: Is Brian Dozier a Dan Uggla or a Jeff Kent? If he is another Jeff Kent, he's going to be valuable for a long time, if he falls off a cliff like Uggla, maybe letting him go before his age 32 season is a pretty good plan.
  5. stringer bell
    Congratulations to longshots Moya, Kinley and LaMarre. I doubt all three make it to May 1, but all three seized opportunities. I would agree that middle infield is short. Who comes up in the event of an injury, Gordon?
  6. stringer bell
    To get down to the fine points, why would Granite start any game ahead of Rosario-Buxton-Kepler? The only answer I have is that Granite would give one of the three a day of rest, but they're all young so the number of days rest needed is pretty small. Sight unseen, I would think that LaMarre could on a few occasions be a better offensive alternative against a left handed pitcher than Kepler (and maybe Rosario). Realizing further that the downgrade in defense would be minor or non-existent (as compared to starting Grossman on a corner), I wonder if there is a place for LaMarre on the Opening Day roster. The drawback would be exposing another player when removing him from the 40-man (Vargas?). Is having someone who might be incrementally better vs. LH pitching worth exposing someone like Kennys Vargas? I don't know, but I really don't see much value in having Granite fill the same role.
  7. stringer bell
    The role to be filled is backup outfielder. I think defense is important, as well as the potential to get some PAs against left handed pitching. If the Twins needed a lefty swinger, I think Granite would be a lock, but with Kepler’s struggles vs. lefties last year and Grossman’s poor defense, giving LaMarre a shot makes some sense.
  8. stringer bell
    LeMarre would appear to be a better fit than Granite. He’s been good all spring FWIW, but they’d have to make a space for him on the 40-man roster. I assume he’s a more capable outfielder than Grossman.
  9. stringer bell
    Mejia needs to be able to throw more innings. Part of that is trust from the manager and coaching staff and part of that is pitch count. I like having a lefty with above-average stuff and velocity. He can fool guys with his slider, but he needs to get ahead on counts.
  10. stringer bell
    Vargas was downright bad vs. LH pitching last year. Can he be counted on to be acceptable against lefties, I don't think so.
  11. stringer bell
    I would say that finding a lefty killer who could play first base wouldn't be a bad thing. Not that Mauer is bad against LH pitching, but that I think he needs days off and finding an alternative who could spot him against lefties would be a good thing.
  12. stringer bell
    Right now, Brian Dozier is the Twins best player. As stated above, beyond the outstanding power stats, he is durable and could perhaps move to another less-demanding position. He's a good guy and a clubhouse leader. For the last three years, I have mused "is Dozier another Jeff Kent or is he another Dan Uggla?" Kent became a fine offensive player relatively late (as Dozier did) and continued as a 120+ OPS player into his late 30s. Uggla burst onto the scene as a slugger, but was basically done by 30 or 31. Dozier has adjusted through his career, becoming a home run hitter despite raw power that is less than off the charts. Last year, he used the whole field more, was more selective and had career highs in BA and OBP. This would indicate that he could be a fine offensive players for the next few years. I think Dozier has earned big bucks going forward and if I were the Twins I would not hesitate to give him big money for the rest of the decade, but they should try to limit the years, maybe 3? Perhaps three years of Cano money (3-$72M).
  13. stringer bell
    To the earlier comments that the Twins have too many bullpen arms, remember there are always injuries. They tend to occur in bunches. Last year, it was minor league relievers (and Chargois) who looked like they would be up by midseason. We will see if all eight or nine or ten who would figure to have a good chance to make the team stay healthy.
  14. stringer bell
    I'm old school, but with a dash of respect for today's metrics. I think speed and baserunning are underrated, but stolen bases are overrated, especially if the caught stealing percentage is high. The ability to take the extra base is often huge, but also is unnoticed. Molitor was the absolute master of baserunning when he was a player, both taking extra bases and stealing them with a minimum of outs and maximum reward. I also think the numbers provided by Fangraphs might be arbitrary or not useful. BB Ref, for example made Dozier a negative base runner and had Adrianza at only a +1, both fared much better in Fangraphs. Buxton was +9 in BB Ref, so if you're really good it will show no matter what the metric.
  15. stringer bell
    I saw and liked “Three Billboards” a lot. GF, not nearly as impressed. I intend to see the Churchill flick soon.
  16. stringer bell
    Expanding on Don Walcott’s comments above. According to espn, all qualified second basemen were grouped between +1 and -1 wins IIRC. There weren’t any great or horrible defenders. Dozier won, good for him. Because of Altuve, he may never win a Silver Bat and in another era, he might already have won multiple Silver Sluggers.
  17. stringer bell
    My faith in today's defensive metrics is equal to my belief that traditional defensive stats don't truly represent defensive efficiency. Dozier is an okay defender where there are a whole bunch of okay defenders IMHO. Dozier played more games than the other nominees so maybe that matters. Good for him!
  18. stringer bell
    It looks like the Twins MVP was awarded an additional hit after the season. I was checking BB Ref for Dozier's career bWAR and noticed they had him at .271 to finish the season. I was pretty sure he had exceeded his career high number by one point so I checked a couple other sites. Three of the five have him at .271 (.856 OPS) while two have him at .269 (.853). Somewhere someone must have changed an error to a hit.
  19. stringer bell
    Dozier was a pretty good leadoff guy this year. Yes, he hit 34 homers, many of them solos, but he had his top OBP and he worked the count quite well.
  20. stringer bell
    I agree with the selection. Twins broadcasters said that BD had a better year this year. I wouldn't go that far, but he was very good. I think his overall contribution puts him near elite, with only Altuve being clearly superior to him at his position. There is something to be said for his durability, as well. Since he became a regular st second base, he's logged far more games and plate appearances than anyone on the Twins and I don't know of anyone else in MLB that has over 2800 plate appearances in the last four years. Dozier's ability to adjust (use the whole field, chase fewer pitches) bodes well for the future.
  21. stringer bell
    Bad second strike call hurt Castro.
  22. stringer bell
    Need another hit!
  23. stringer bell
    3-0!
  24. stringer bell
    I believe that since August 1, the Twins have had the best offense in MLB by quite a large margin. We shall see if good offense can beat the best run suppression this week, and get a chance to exorcise the demon in the Bronx.
  25. stringer bell
    We all dislike giving away outs, but bunting for a hit is a completely different animal. In games in the past 7-10 days, how many nominal sacrifices turned into something good? I just wish the Twins bunted better.
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