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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. Mason Melotakis. Coming off TJ, he hasn't been on many fan's radar, but the Twins protected him from the Rule V draft. There is a need for bullpen help and Melotakis has the stuff to take a large step this year, provided his recovery is complete.
  2. I agree it seems to be a trend. The Twins' hitters were pretty successful in '14 and the additional K's were regarded as the price for more long balls and aggressive hitting, but last year the walks decreased, the strikeouts increased and the run-scoring, despite a high BA with RISP, decresed.
  3. Injuries could occur and Buxton isn't a certainty to start the season in Minnesota. If either of those scenarios come to pass, my best guess is that Sweeney makes the club as an extra OF and DanSan is more OF than IF.
  4. Halsy reported that Arcia was in Fort Myers and working hard. It is time for a thread to offer opinions on him IMHO. Through his minor league career, Arcia was always young for his age, but always a good hitter. The power numbers weren't overwhelming, but he sported good batting averages and got more than his share of extra base hits. He arrived with the Twins and seemed to transform into an "all or nothing at all" hitter, with the strikeouts increasing dramatically. I have been of the opinion that he needs to stop trying to hit the ball 500 feet every time and be a better overall hitter, as he was in the minors. Since he arrived in Minnesota, Arcia has been an emotional player, wearing those emotions on his sleeve. I doubt he could ever carry Mauer's demeanor, but moderating his approach might make him productive again. There is talent there that the Twins need to salvage. I hope he gets consistent plate appearances in the spring and early in the season and I hope he thrives.
  5. I think the aberrations were exposed in the bowl games. Ohio State and Michigan have the talent and the coaching to be national contenders. Michigan State played a solid 29 minutes against this year's probable national champ, but NW and Iowa weren't as good as their records, Wisconsin is sound but unspectacular, Penn State has a ways to go while everybody else was playing so-so teams. Even with a relatively poor recruiting year, some defections after Kill left and coming off a 6-7 record, the Gophers should be able to cobble a winning record next year.
  6. It wasn't Fiorina who congratulated the Hawkeyes,
  7. I didn't mention it in my first post, but I want to echo that access to players and staff is outstanding. A few years ago, TR was standing between two fields and a group of us peppered him with questions for about 20 minutes. He answered them all quite candidly I thought, and I felt like an insider.
  8. I wouldn't want to see that many RH bats in a row on the top of the order. Mauer should probably be in there someplace, most likely second. I don't mind Dozier hitting lower, but I think if Buxton does start the season with the Twins, he hits ninth to start, with Dozier first and Mauer likely second.
  9. The Hawkeyes were great this year, but up until 2015 were in decline. Until and unless they back up this season with more dominance, I'll write it off as fluky.
  10. Sanibel Island is a nice place to visit, lots to see and do there. Lots of good places to eat. Lavelle E Neale has posted his favorites in the strib. I don't know if it can still be accessed. My brother and I always make the trip to Ninos for some good Italian food (love the chicken parm). Besides Sanibel, there is Ft. Myers Beach, as well.
  11. Minor league games are played on the back fields, an easy walk from Hammond Stadium. You can go to the Twins' website for tickets. You can watch minor league action if the big team is on the road. I don't know when the big team starts games, it should be pretty close to March 7. There will be plenty of drills to watch that early in camp. The field adjacent to the stadium is where the big leaguers usually work out--batting practice, fielding drills etc. I have always enjoyed the Twins coaches drilling the minor leaguers. TK led those drills in the past, but I don't think he did last year because of his stroke. Maybe he'll be back in that role next spring.
  12. Not a big Star Wars fan, but wouldn't it figure that Kylo Ren and Rey are cousins? If Kylo is Han and Leia's and Rey could be Luke's child, that would work out, amiright?
  13. It was a good game between evenly matched teams. The Gophers might be a bit better, but when they had half their team injured, they probably weren't. I don't have any basis for this, but I believe the MAC is equal to the leavings of the Big Ten after the high-powered teams (The Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and probably soon again Michigan, Penn State and Nebraska). The remaining ten annually are about the same as the MAC.
  14. Not only does Dozier lead the league in pull percentage, he also hits the ball very weakly when it is on the right side of second base. With the exception of a homer against Corey Kluber, he has never hit a homer to the right of center and very few to center and left-center. 95% of his power to straightaway left and down the line. The point is that Dozier needs to adjust to go the other way occasionally with authority. The mid-May 2013 adjustment that made him a relative slugger also limited his ability to use the whole field IMHO. I hope he can incrementally adjust, but I think his ceiling as a hitter might be only .270. It would be nice if he drew as many walks in 2016 as he did in 2014--that would bring the OBP up to good levels and keep him as a factor in the top of the lineup.
  15. I would suspect that nobody wants Nolasco at the salary that he has now. The Twins have been historically reluctant to eat any salary. I doubt Ryan went to anyone and said "we'll give you Ricky Nolasco and 6 million dollars."
  16. I am a Twins fan and a huge Dozier fan. I saw his defense in 2013 as outstanding and SDI agreed, I viewed his defense in '14 as much less solid mostly because he made errors on plays he should have made (and if someone questions this I will explain). In 2015, I thought Dozier's defense was pretty good, he made a few less "wow" plays, but committed fewer errors. One factor in this plummeting rating might be shifting. Because he is overshifted, he may not get to balls that fall in a traditional zone for an infielder. My opinion is that Dozier is, and has been since moving to second base, a solid defensive player, but probably not elite. This specific rating shows a rapidly declining player and I haven't seen that.
  17. I am a Twins fan and a huge Dozier fan. I saw his defense in 213 as outstanding and SDI agreed, I viewed his defense in '14 as much less solid mostly because he made errors on plays he should have made (and if someone questions this I will explain). In 2015, I thought Dozier's defense was pretty good, he made a few less "wow" plays, but committed fewer errors. One factor in this plummeting rating might be shifting. Because he is overshifted, he may not get to balls that fall in a traditional zone for an infielder. My opinion is that Dozier is, and has been since moving to second base, a solid defensive player, but probably not elite. This specific rating shows a rapidly declining player and I haven't seen that.
  18. Welcome to TD Burt! The thing about Trevor May is that he hasn't been a top-flight starter, he projects to be one of the Twins' top five and he has exhibited tools that indicate he could be very good. The performance hasn't been there. Further, I wouldn't consider a move to the bullpen a "demotion", it would be putting May in a role to best help the team win. He's not in a position to gripe at this point.
  19. Merry Christmas to all, especially to all the contributors who make this site the place to go for Twins news and views.
  20. Oh, I think May has been discussed plenty. Right now he is the white knight who will be the ace of the staff if only management would let him. The accompanying story is that he would also be a valuable bullpen piece, but that then his innings would be limited to about a third as many as if he were in the rotation.
  21. I'll double down on that Mike. If you are under 50, I think revolution talk will occur in your lifetime. You can see the anger in Trump's crowds and also in those advocating for the poor and underprivileged. Wealth disparity is a thing and it's getting worse, not better. I think any Republican elected would exacerbate the problem, but both of the last Democratic presidents have done nothing to counter the trend.
  22. Parker was a large human being, much like Sano. His listed weight was 230, but I'll bet by the late 80s, he was at least 250, if not more. He last played outfield regular in '87 at 35 years of age. Fifteen years ago, another large man played tried to be the biggest ever to play his position. His name was Duante Culpepper, who played in three Pro Bowls and was an All-Pro twice before suffering career-diminishing injuries. Finally, on to Buxton. I agree with theJacKemp, what is best for Buxton and the team long-term is what should be done. It may be best to start Buxton in Rochester, it may be best for him to start in center for the Twins. One mistake learned from Aaron Hicks would be to hit him down in the order to start.
  23. I'll say it again--why the hue and cry to trade Tommy Milone? He is the most consistent starter the Twins have (worst ERA+ 90), he's experienced, under 30 and under team control. I get that we all want to see Nolasco gone, he's been ineffective and injured for two years, he's 33 and he makes three times as much money as Milone will next year, but Milone is decent and will continue to have value as long as he's decent. Every team goes through starters in the course of a year. Unless the Twins could get something substantial back that can help them this year, they should hang on to Tommy Milone.
  24. That's the way I understand it, as well.
  25. That didn't last long. The Padres designated ex-Twin Josmil Pinto for assignment today. Where will he wind up? Should the Twins be interested in him? I wonder if the Pads are trying to sneak him through now while most teams have full rosters so that they can outright him to AAA. He was claimed before he was outrighted by the Twins, so San Diego can outright him, I believe.
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