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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    There is some value there for all of the players mentioned, but not enough to really change the trajectory of this or next season IMHO. There is certainly a replacement waiting in AAA for Larnach--Alan Roden--who is a better runner and fielder and would profile to be Trev's equal (at least) with the bat. I hesitate to use the word "logjam", but Wallner, Mendez, Rodriguez, Jenkins and Roden is a lot of corner outfielder with all but Gonzalez hitting left handed.
  2. stringer bell
    One more 40-man slot cleared with the Voth DFA and they can add Abel to the 60-day IL if they need a second. 😔 As far as the bullpen goes, it would appear Gomez, Morris and Banda are the back end--not great but more often then not capable.The other spots are up for grabs with Fundy entering "last chance" territory. I think Rogers is cooked and that Adams is a best a last man in the 'pen. Congratulations to Raya. He's finally getting a chance after encountering a lot of detours on his way to the majors. Good for him.
  3. stringer bell
    MLB has someone named Klein as the Dodgers’ pitcher. Late change?
  4. stringer bell
    Step One is to get off the injured List. It wouldn’t be out if the question for him to put in a week or so of good play after that.
  5. stringer bell
    Bell has bottom quartile sprint speed, but in the last two days he aggressively took the extra base, scoring on a ground ball single on Saturday and making third and advancing on the overthrow on Sunday. I was surprised he tried both advances and both worked out. Bell has to hit to help the team, but both his defense and base running have been better than I expected. Also, he's hit well with runners in scoring position. He's nearly on a 100 RBI pace. and the club hasn't had a 100 RBI guy since the Bamba Squad.
  6. stringer bell
    I’ll give a serious answer. Culpepper has a first round pedigree, he has plus tools, including both speed and arm strength and he’s improved year over year. There is no guarantee that he’ll be good, but by every measure, he looks like an improvement over the shortstop play the Twins have received thus far. I fully expect Culpepper to struggle some as a hitter and I’m not sure how good he’ll be as a defender. I also think the TD faithful have probably overestimated how ready he is to contribute.
  7. stringer bell
    The Twins are one game back of a Wild Card slot and just 3.5 behind the Guardians in the division. If they are at a similar spot on August 1st, they can't sell can they? Looking back a couple weeks or a month reveal why patience is usually the best answer when it comes to transactions. Josh Bell, Victor Caratini were viewed as bad signings and a waste of money, but now they are key guys in another run of good baseball. Austin Martin was very good for the first five weeks of the season and has hit like James Outman since. Ryan Kreidler was mocked and the Twins were ridiculed for having a player with a lifetime OPS of under .400. The Twins have one of the top two offenses in the AL with no one really standing out other than Buxton. However, you don't have to look too hard to see reasons why they can't sustain good play. Defense and bullpen are not good. Playing Kreidler and the emergence of Gomez help, but half of the bullpen is really not worthy of being in MLB.
  8. stringer bell
    Roden for Martin? I really think Martin is a far better player than Fedko, but Kyle hasn't had much of a chance. Meanwhile Martin's role has been reduced substantially. Back to my wild speculation about Martin. Two lefties are starting for the Dodgers, so I doubt a move in the next couple of days.
  9. stringer bell
    I old enough and old school enough to remember teams with shortstops like Mark Belanger and Eddie Brinkman, guys who batted eighth or ninth, and when they provided offense it was a bonus. Defensively, Kreidler looks the part of a plus-plus defender. As noted above, he's a pretty big guy and when he makes contact he can clear the fence. 90 plate appearances doesn't undo the almost 200 he had with the Tigers, but he has reduced his K percentage and hit the ball harder than he did in any of his three previous seasons, With average defense from shortstop, pitcher and right field, the Twins are an average defense. In those three positions rank them among the worst in MLB. I think Kreidler improves the defense dramatically.
  10. stringer bell
    Platooning has its place, but isn't optimum for the middle infield, where the shortstop and second basemen really have to work together for the infield defense to be at its best. Asking Gray to become the primary shortstop when he was always regarded as an infielder who could play short was a stretch.
  11. stringer bell
    Banda did a real nice job in the ninth. Part of that (IMHO) is the top-heaviness of the Snakes order, but he's been much better since a really terrible start. I'm not ready to give up on Keaschall as a defensive second baseman. His offense has been so-s0, but better than his defense, but he's got enough speed to have decent range and while he doesn't have a strong arm, if his release is quick enough and he's accurate, arm strength isn't going to matter much.
  12. stringer bell
    Is Jackson doing too much? When Jeffers returns, will they be forced to keep Jackson and go with three catchers? He's a 30-year old guy with some intriguing skills and I'd certainly like to see the Twins keep him not so much for as long as they have Jeffers, but for next year if there is a season.
  13. stringer bell
    It is much better with a good shortstop. I think that Shelton has to stay with Kreidler a) as long as he’s above the Mendoza Line and b) as long as Culpepper is in St. Paul.
  14. stringer bell
    He’s got the tools to be excellent behind the plate and limiting the running game. He has looked better with more playing time.
  15. stringer bell
    Would anybody have written that three weeks ago?
  16. stringer bell
    Lineup doesn’t look as good with Buck at DH and Fedko in center. Also Jackson catching and Bell and Caratini sitting. The bench today is Gray, Martin, Caratini and Bell.
  17. stringer bell
    Buxton doesn't look right to me at this time. I didn't like the way he went after the line drive towards the gap.
  18. stringer bell
    Bad news on the injury front, Abel had a setback and will be getting an MRI. Most seemed to expect him being activated and starting tomorrow.
  19. stringer bell
    Speaking of fairness--life and major league opportunities are not fair. Guys with high velocity on their fastballs seem to get infinite opportunities, while the Randy Dobnaks of the world get considerably less. Right handed hitting corner outfielders get less chances than toolsy middle infielders. Left handed pitchers will be tried time and again.
  20. stringer bell
    It took him 24 games, but Tristan Gray has surpassed Brooks Lee as having the worst Defensive Runs Saved in MLB. Gray is okay at third and second (and probably first), but he shouldn't be playing shortstop. Right now, despite his MLB hitting history, Ryan Kreidler should be playing shortstop for the Twins.
  21. stringer bell
    Gray played well in the field at Texas, but he’s really stretched at shortstop. I’d like to see more of Kreidler until they can recall Culpepper.
  22. stringer bell
    Keaschall had a really nice game yesterday, even made a couple of nice plays in the field.
  23. stringer bell
    A really nice game for Keaschall. Not so good for Lewis and Buxton. Larnach had another nice day at the plate and Brooks’ HR broke it open.
  24. stringer bell
    Projecting is tough. I actually think Brooks Lee could be the moving piece in a future infield, playing third, second and occasionally shortstop and perhaps getting full-time plate appearances without having a full-time position (see Castro, Willi). Royce Lewis is the superior athlete with the stronger arm (over Lee) and it appears that Culpepper will get a shot at short, but second or third will be his ultimate position. There will probably be twists and turns in who will play and where they play. I just hope we have some clarity on a couple of the players by the end of this season.
  25. stringer bell
    By the time he won a Gold Glove, Dozier was less than stellar. When he moved from short to second, he was pretty good.
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