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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    I keep thinking that Gibson can become a Brandon Webb-type ace. I don't think he'll ever put up huge K numbers, but he gets a really high percentage of ground balls, most of which are not struck well.
  2. stringer bell
    Certainly not an expert on catcher skills, but Herrmann passes my eye test. He throws pretty well and seems to receive the ball well.
  3. stringer bell
    Wouldn't surprise me. But minor league numbers don't always translate--see Hicks, Aaron, Parmelee, Chris and for pitchers Slama, Anthony.
  4. stringer bell
    Without the month in Rochester, would Hicks be playing this well? I thought he needed to be sent to Rochester and while the offensive numbers haven't been great out of the box, he's looks like a different player to me.
  5. stringer bell
    On the lefty pitching front, the AL Central has a lot of left handers, so I guess that 's part of the reason why the Twins have faced so many. It is ironic that the other team that has faced the most lefties is Cleveland because they have had a real lack of success vs. southpaws. The Twins are what? 13-5 when a lefty starts for the other guys, which means they are below .500 when a righty starts for the opponent.
  6. stringer bell
    Side note on this: Buxton is heating up again in Chattanooga, but it is my opinion that this year, his major contribution to the team this year would be speed and defense. If Hicks is playing plus defense in center, the amount of upgrade Buxton would provide would be limited. I think Hicks offense wouldn't be able to hit the .700 plateau with a larger sample size. I don't think that is enough to play every day on a corner. I have said for over a year that the goal should be for Hicks to play well enough to have trade value. I still believe that.
  7. stringer bell
    I have been disappointed in the Twins home run output. They are again near the bottom of the league in long balls despite having a lot of hit-first players. They have three guys who have combined to hit a majority of their homers--Plouffe, Hunter and Dozier. Those three have combined for 20 of the team's 32 circuit clouts. All three hit right handed and all three hit significantly better against left handed pitching. The Twins have faced a surprising amount of left handed pitching. Sunday's game will be the 19th where the Twins opponent started a lefty. It was pointed out that Chicago has faced only six left handed starters all year. The Twins' outstanding (and surprising) success against lefties is a big part of their surprising overall record.
  8. stringer bell
    For most of the offseason, I advocated that the Twins address their outfield defense issues by acquiring a premium defender. The name I put forward was Peter Bourjos of the Cardinals. It turned out the Twins had a player comparable to Bourjos in their system--Aaron Hicks. Hicks has been recalled for almost two weeks and has started every game in center. From what I have seen and read, his defense has been impeccable. I saw Hicks make a fine diving catch in left-center live on Friday and saw the his eighth inning diving catch on video late on Saturday. He has made several fine plays and few mistakes. As a hitter, Hicks has eight hits in 37 at-bats with one double, one walk and ten strikeouts. This translates to an OPS of .480. This is a small sample size to be sure and one 4-4 day would lift his batting average to near .300. In his two previous stints with the Twins, Hicks was passable in the field, but not outstanding. He made some nice catches, but took poor routes to some balls and was too hesitant on too many occasions. He seems to be playing center with confidence. Most observers think Hicks' hitting will come around as well. He seems more aggressive and he does have good strike zone judgement. I haven't seen him hit the ball hard often. I remain hopeful that Hicks hits and fields well enough for somebody to want him as their center fielder. I remain extremely skeptical that Hicks can hit well enough to be a regular corner outfielder. I will say that the team has been better with Hicks in center field than Jordan Schafer.
  9. stringer bell
    Tenth triple today for Buxton. I don't know what the Southern League record is, but he would be a near cinch to set a new one if he stayed in AA all year.
  10. stringer bell
    Coulda, shoulda, woulda.
  11. stringer bell
    0-2 hits.
  12. stringer bell
    Good outing for Hughes. Not delighted with Thompson coming next.
  13. stringer bell
    Small ball now!
  14. stringer bell
    I'm among 'em.
  15. stringer bell
    Lot of bad luck for Hughes. Should have had the third out on the roller. A hard ground ball in the wrong place. Great throw by Rosario BTW.
  16. stringer bell
    I suppose most people have lives. Not many posting on the old game thread.
  17. stringer bell
    Now you tell me. I hadn't seen you post since early and thought maybe you would head south to check out your favorite team.
  18. stringer bell
    And?
  19. stringer bell
    BTW does anyone know if ChiTown is at the game tonight?
  20. stringer bell
    I predict small ball this inning. Edit: Maybe next inning.
  21. stringer bell
    It looks to me like the ball is not carrying well at all at the Cell.
  22. stringer bell
    That was an outstanding catch by Hicks. The ball was slicing away from him and he outran the slice.
  23. stringer bell
    Stolen base nets a run!
  24. stringer bell
    Closers are specialists and (usually) the best bullpen arm. A tie game going into the bottom of the ninth means that the home team won't be able to use the closer in the specialist role, but the visiting team may get that opportunity. Molitor could have gone to Perkins if the situation was dire (winning run in scoring position, nobody out and winning run on third with less than two outs), it didn't come to that. I have no problem with using the best arm in a high leverage situation, but the down side exists--1) Using a non-closer to finish a game and 2) overuse of the best relievers to answer every leveraged situation. It makes some sense to stick to roles, but they shouldn't be adhered to rigidly. Not every save situation needs "the closer". Maybe I worry too much about overusing certain pitchers. I wonder if Boyer wasn't sharp yesterday in part because he got five outs the previous day against the same team. I wonder if Thompson might also being used too much. Somebody else needs to step up to take some pressure off those guys.
  25. stringer bell
    Even when Stauffer got people out, it seemed like he was on the brink of disaster--lots of breaking pitches up in the zone without much bite, "fastballs" that don't hit 90 over the middle of the plate. I fail to see what he offers.
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