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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    Thanks Thrylos. I hope you're enjoying the trip to SW Florida. It does sound like the gun at Hammond is pretty hot. Santana at 97? I know Gibson was clocked a few times at 96 on Wednesday. Didn't see that kind of clocked velo at all during the regular season.
  2. stringer bell
    Abad with another scoreless inning. I think he's in the lead for a spot in the bullpen. Here's my projected roster: Pitchers: Santana (SP) Hughes (SP) Gibson (SP) Milone (SP) Duffey (SP) Nolasco (LR/SP) Abad (RP) Pressly (RP) Fien (RP) May (RP) Jepsen (RP) Perkins (RP) Catchers: Suzuki ® Murphy ® Infielders: Mauer (1B) Dozier (2B) Escobar (SS) Plouffe (3B) Nuñez (U) Designated Hitter: Park (also 1B) Outfielders: Rosario (LF) Buxton (CF) Sano (RF) Arcia (LF/RF) Santana (OF & IF) Adding Abad would mean one guy needs to be taken off the 40-man roster.
  3. stringer bell
    Graham has been underwhelming in the spring. He wasn't great last year. IMHO, he is closer to DFA than he is to making the 25 man roster.
  4. stringer bell
    I don't mind the May move at all given the composition of the Twins staff and who their prospects are. IMHO, May would be a solid starter, but he could be better than that in the bullpen. I haven't seen enough either in the rotation or the 'pen to be absolutely sure. There is a recurring theme that the Twins should have enhanced their bullpen so that May could claim his rightful place (emphasis mine) in the rotation. I, for one, wanted the club to add a good reliever, probably at the expense of Casey Fien. It sounded like the Twins were willing to do so until the contracts for solid relievers got longer and more expensive than they were willing to go. With quite a few prospects ready to contribute by next year, if not sooner, the Twins passed on the likes of Tony Sipp, Anthony Bastardo and a bunch of RH relievers. I'm not sure I agree with their rationale, but it is defensible. The rotation is overpopulated with mid-rotation guys with little upside. However, they have seven guys competing for five spots and IMHO they all belong in the majors. It looks to me like Milone is head and shoulders ahead of both Nolasco and Duffey. I also believe that is the proper decision. I hope Duffey fills out the rotation and Nolasco is assigned to long relief, but Nolasco's resumé tells me that he might have value as a starter although we haven't seen much of it at all since he came to Minnesota.
  5. stringer bell
    1) SSS- Buxton's spring numbers could be changed dramatically in a day or two. If he goes 4-4 on Wednesday, he would be hitting .333. If he goes 0-4, hitting four BBs, he's hitting .167 2) Prospect ratings--A lot of players have failed, but not many when they are ranked first or second. Buxton has been in the top 5 since he was at Cedar Rapids. The people who do the ratings know a little bit. The most likely thing to stop Byron Buxton from being a star is injury. 3) Speed--A few years ago Terry Ryan told me Buxton was the fastest player they've had in the organization since he (TR) had been there. That's pretty fast. That doesn't automatically make Buxton a cinch to steal 50 bases--he needs to work on his jump, his recognition and getting on base--but he's blessed with game-changing speed. I've always thought it was really tough for a right handed hitter to be a speed guy. I hope Buck proves me wrong. 4) Protection--Buxton is not Aaron Hicks, but the Twins should learn a lesson by what happened to a pretty good prospect. Don't pin offensive hope on him early. Don't bat him at the top of the order until he shows he's taking good at-bats. 5) Fatal flaws--Thrylos has constantly pointed out that Buxton has a pitch recognition problem. I do agree to a point, but as a hitter matures, they learn. Buxton has missed a lot of time due to injuries so far in his career and he hasn't dominated really dominated a league since A ball, in part because he's moved up quickly. I think Buxton's first adjustment will be hitting mistakes and hitting them hard, then he'll probably chase fewer balls and finally will be a consistent threat. He's got a long way to go as a hitter, but I think he'll hit .300 before the decade is over.
  6. stringer bell
    Rogers wasn't very good in his first outing, but has been fine since. I think he still has a chance to make the team, but more than that I think the Twins want to get more of a look at him against major league hitters. Dean can't be take off the 40-man until later, am I right? He pitched a good clean inning today.
  7. stringer bell
    Keep him hitting ninth for now. Echoing everyone else, beyond hitting he provides a lot and if he hits acceptably that will be more than enough
  8. stringer bell
    In my admittedly short look at the box scores, it appears to me that none of the out-of-options guys has taken the ball and run with it. Tonkin, Arcia, and Santana all have started slowly. I'm sure they will continue to get chances, but none of these guys has claimed a spot.
  9. stringer bell
    For the difference right now between and Milone and Berrios, I would at least go the three weeks in the minors with Berrios. Sometime this year, he will get his shot and I doubt he'll ever be optioned again. Having Berrios for a seventh year is good (general) managing.
  10. stringer bell
    That is correct. Vargas has an option remaining.
  11. stringer bell
    Early spring training stats are close to meaningless. See: Hughes, Luke and Hicks, Aaron for two Twins examples. If the competition is between Carlos Quentin who can't play in the field or Eduardo Nuñez, who can play several positions, I take Nuñez. Nuñez performed well recently (last year) whereas Quentin hasn't performed well since 2013 and he's now 33 years old. Quentin also hasn't played a full season since 2011. Nuñez is well-suited to his role and performed well at it last year. If he doesn't make the team, he'll be claimed by someone else. It doesn't make sense to bring young players like Polanco and Kepler north to be bench options. Both of those guys need more minor league at-bats and Polanco needs reps to help his defense.
  12. stringer bell
    If Polanco is a second baseman primarily and only an emergency shortstop, I think he is a trade chip. It would be between him and Dozier and although Polanco is much younger, I like the proven performance that Dozier has provided.
  13. stringer bell
    Centeno interests me simply because he hits left handed. The other four catchers (Suzuki, Murphy, Hicks and ) all hit right handed. He hasn't had a heavy work load in the minors and hasn't really hit that well, so I presume he is an OK receiver, but I don't know that. So far, he has hit well this spring and if he hits well in the minors, he could be a candidate if an injury occurs.
  14. stringer bell
    I think one more veteran, especially a lefty, would be optimum. People who are counted on get injured or become ineffective. I understand the Twins giving Nolasco an extended opportunity this spring, but he hasn't done nearly enough to be guaranteed anything.
  15. stringer bell
    Going into camp, that is the 25 men I see opening the season. I am not 100% confident that Buxton will be deemed ready, but he is a top prospect who already has spent time with the club. On the pitching side, I think Pressly is probably a better option than Tonkin, but he has an option remaining while Tonkin must be kept with the team or be exposed to a DFA.
  16. stringer bell
    If Perkins and Abad have reverse splits, it seems all the more important to get a LH reliever who is good against LH hitters. I'd prefer someone like Rogers as opposed to a pure LOOGy like O'Rourke. As far as the bullpen composition goes, I think ultimate success or failure will depend on the young guys. I doubt all four of Fien, May, Jepsen and Perkins are both effective and injury-free. At some point, someone will have to emerge. The Twins have a lot of candidates, but many of them were thought ready to help last year.
  17. stringer bell
    They've never taken Mauer out for defense (Or baserunning for that matter) and will never replace a catcher solely for defense. The only defensive switch would be to remove Sano.
  18. stringer bell
    I thought Nuñez played pretty well in the infield last year. He didn't play much second base, but he was satisfactory at short and third.
  19. stringer bell
    Santana and Arcia will both make the team with anything resembling a normal spring training. I think Tonkin will be the last man in the bullpen, but that could change depending on the starters. If one is shipped to the 'pen, Tonkin could be the odd man out.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. 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.
  25. stringer bell
    Morneau and Cuddyer (and their batting championships) disagree with you.
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