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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. From what I can see, the new strike zone and new catcher both help Santiago. He works up in the zone (so did Phil Hughes during his fine 2014) and has a lot of balls hit in the air. The good defensive outfield the Twins can put out there helps greatly, so does the weather if the fly balls aren't carrying that much. It is an oversimplification to say pitches at the top of the zone are mistakes, particularly fastballs. Last night, Bert criticized every well-hit ball by the Tribe with "he got that one up", more accurately the pitches were up in the zone and over the heart of the plate. Movement can allow a high strike over the middle to be a good pitch, too.
  2. I've seen Mauer make a few back-to-the-infield catches that most immobile first sackers would never get to. Another play he made was retrieving an overthrow on the warning track and throwing a pea to third to get the runner. Despite his advancing years and declining hitting, Joe Mauer is a good first baseman (defensively).
  3. I'd DFA Tonkin. He had a whole season last year and showed flashes, but was unreliable. Eventually, I think Bresow should be replaced, too.
  4. It's the fifth inning men, time to wake up!
  5. I don't know who is twirling for the Whities, but it must be a left hander. Castro and Mauer off and I guess I see who the alternate first baseman is.
  6. Didn't the Twins draw a lot more walks in 2015, particularly when they had that incredible hot month of May? Things do go in cycles, but I'm sure they'll normalize. On Rosario--I don't mind a guy that doesn't walk much (Kirby for example) as long as they don't constantly get themselves out by chasing. If Rosario is more disciplined at what he swings at, he may walk a few more times, but the real benefit will be in getting much better pitches to hit.
  7. Happy Birthday Mike! I hope your predictions come true and that this game is played. Pretty gray down here in Rochester.
  8. A regular season Twins' game thread introed by Brian. Wow, this Monday just might be OK! My ESPN app says that the Twins are favorites in this one. I'm shocked.
  9. To expand my thinking on Park/Vargas, if the team is still thinking Vargas is the better option, it might make sense to save a 40-man spot by sending Park to Rochester. The club seemed averse to risking the loss of Haley, Santana and Tonkin, keeping them all on the active roster. They still have to make room for Gimenez.
  10. Does the brain trust like Vargas that much? Keeping Park at AAA makes sense if the team thinks he'll be replaced by Vargas as soon as he's healthy. On DanSan, my thought is perhaps they think he'll relocate the magic beans from 2014 and again become a dynamic offensive player. The tools are still intriguing. Like most posters here I'm not happy with the 25-man roster. I certainly expect a lot of change in the coming months.
  11. I don't care about BA, but I'd sure like to see Dozier's OBP stay at last year's level or maybe go a little higher. This spring, he's seemed to concentrate on base stealing and I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a career high there. As far as homers, I'm going to go with 30, a big number but still 12 less than last year (42 homers for a middle infielder is insane!) and I, too, would expect a few more doubles with fewer balls going over the fence.
  12. Hughes got knocked around facing mostly major leaguers after a three-hour bus ride. It may be a blip on the radar or it may signal he just doesn't have it after his surgery. As far as Berrios goes, even if he's sent to Rochester, he'll get his chance again in Minnesota, probably long before the All-Star game. Park/Vargas? IMHO, neither is proven, but Vargas is younger and a switch hitter and he's on the 40-man. I don't think the Twins want to give him away (or whoever would have to leave the 40-man) so that they can add Park. Santana? The Twins thought they had caught lightning in a bottle when he came up in 2014, but he hasn't flashed much of that since. The biggest problem is that he's not a good defender anywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if the Twins kept him this spring, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was DFAed early in the season, if not by the final roster cuts.
  13. Here are some roster realities. Haley is a Rule V, so he would have to be offered back to his original club if he's not on the 25-man roster. Santana, Adrianza, Grossman are all out of options. Vargas has another option remaining, as does Murphy. Park, Vogelsong, Schuck, Stubbs, Breslow (today) and Gimenez aren't on the 40-man roster and would have to be added in order to go north with the club. The 40-man is currently full, but Trevor May is a certainty to go on the 60-day DL and open a spot. The only veteran that I know of with an opt-out is Breslow, which is supposed to be resolved today (most likely added to the 40-man, with May on the 60-day DL).
  14. I'm guessing that Gimenez does win the backup catcher position. I like to see righty/lefty balance so adding Breslow makes some sense and perhaps Meijia getting the nod over Berrios, with JO getting the call whenever somebody scuffles or is injured. Santana, Park or maybe Adrianza have a shot for the last position player on the team. I also think one of Haley or Vogelsong will make the club as a long man with the other guy out of the organization.
  15. Pressly also has the stuff to be a closer. I'd like to see him get a chance, although as I remember it, he wasn't great in close and late situations last year (of course they didn't have that many). The BP could be all right, if everybody lives up to expectations.
  16. Goodrum is an interesting guy. He's always seemed to be more of an athlete with plenty of tools, who hasn't produced as much or developed as much as one might expect. He has been playing multiple positions for a while now and if he can handle the glove part, he's got speed and power (especially for an infielder) so that maybe he could get a look at the big stage. I presume he'll go to Rochester or get there sometime this year.
  17. Slegers is a personal favorite of mine. I met his mother at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and got a Mom's report about his progress at that point. She also mentioned Minnesota roots--his grandparents lived in Minnesota and his mom was raised in the state. Good luck to him at Rochester. If he has a good year, it wouldn't surprise me to see him get a chance with the Twins.
  18. I'm in. I'll miss the day games and I doubt I'll watch every game, but I do figure I will find a place to sit somewhere and I'll definitely get a couple of cool hats!
  19. I got the ballpark app during TwinsFest. I'm pretty sure I'm in for this. Will study it a bit more this weekend, but 100 bucks doesn't buy a nice dinner for me and my kids. I'm sure I can get my money's worth.
  20. I remember BYTO fondly. My favorite filter word filter was for Luis Castillo. Some of the debates were classic and memes like "season over" after one out in the opener were always worth a laugh.
  21. Cuddyer is my all-time favorite Twin, so I'm glad he's in the team Hall of Fame. However, I think there are some "classic" Twins like Cesar Tovar who should be inducted and hey, Cuddy could have waited a couple years.
  22. Comments about those that didn't make it: Mussina-He'll probably go the "Blyleven route" and eventually get in the Hall. Qualified? IDK, he bet the Twins all the time. His numbers are very good. I think he's more qualified than some who have made it, but I can't say he absolutely belongs. Guerrero-Not a huge fan. As noted above there are several people in Vlad's range who haven't been treated kindly, but as close as he was this year, he is a shoo-in. I confess I probably saw the "old Vlad" and mostly remember an aging DH more than seeing Guerrero in his prime. Hoffman-I guess he'll get in next year, as well. He pretty quietly put up great numbers as a closer. I'm wondering what standard for relief pitchers there is as far as magic numbers (like 3000 hits and 500 homers for hitters).
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