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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    You and I agree on this, but what of Ryan and Molitor?
  2. stringer bell
    Not a certainty yet on Boyer. There is also Fryer to consider.
  3. stringer bell
    Because, on average, he will start between one and two games a week in center. Shane Robinson is a role player with the 2015 Twins. He'll start against most left handers in center, pinch run and be a late-inning defensive replacement. If you want Rosario or Hicks for that role, you are sacrificing their future development and adding service time while they mostly sit on the bench.
  4. stringer bell
    Hicks springboarded back to the majors and hit .348/.300/.648, which told me that he still had work to do offensively to be a major league regular. His time in winter ball and this spring have yielded similar numbers. If any move would sound like "scholarship", it would be to anoint Hicks as the regular center fielder with the results he has put up. If we are talking about bringing Hicks north instead of Robinson, with the assumption that he platoons in center, then the questions are whether Hicks is a good fit for the role and what it will do for his development as a player. IMHO, Robinson definitely fits the role better, despite not having nearly the tools of Aaron Hicks.
  5. stringer bell
    Today the posts have mostly been negative with three young players optioned to AAA. Many have pointed out that the rebuilding Twins won't have a single rookie from their system on the 25-man roster going north. The average age of the team won't be considerably different. Despite all of this, I'm optimistic that the Twins will improve. The next wave is very close and they could provide a real boost. I have predicted/advocated for Hicks to be demoted since the end of the regular season and while Schafer/Robinson isn't optimum, the better of Hicks or Rosario should be ready before mid-season. The pitching rotation will be better. Any regression from Hughes should be matched by regression for Nolasco. I think Gibson will be really good and Santana will be the best #4 starter the Twins have had since the 90s. I hope the leash isn't long for the bullpen. I have predicted 85 wins, really against all odds. I think there is enough talent there to improve even though the division will be tough. It will take filling of inside straights and rolling sevens, but I'm sticking with 85 wins, with or without Meyer, May, Rosario or Hicks and a bunch of relievers.
  6. stringer bell
    Hicks had 84 PAs at AAA (SSS), he hit .278 w/ a .738 OPS, not dominance, not mastering that level. No, that isn't enough to convince me that he has mastered AAA. His September numbers were fine for OBP (walks fueled), but he hit for virtually no power. It is unlikely that Schafer duplicates his performance, but I wouldn't rule it out any more than I would rule out Hicks hitting in his next try with the Twins. Schafer's defense in center probably isn't much better or worse than Hicks'.
  7. stringer bell
    The right handed half of a platoon is basically a bench player. Putting Hicks in that role pretty much assigns him to that status. It could end his development well below what was perceived to be his ceiling. We don't know if he could handle a part-time role and he's only played a few innings in right and left. Shane Robinson is the best defensive outfielder that competed for a position and he has been in a backup role. He is a good fit for the platoon CF/fourth outfielder role.
  8. stringer bell
    I would dispute that Hicks did well in AAA last year and his performance in September was pedestrian as well. Nothing he did from the time he was demoted last year screamed readiness. Hicks continues to have tools and potential, but the performance has been pretty abysmal.
  9. stringer bell
    I know that the demotion of Hicks and May and the naming of Milone as the fifth starter are big stories. Most assumed that Eddie Rosario would be optioned at some point. I held out hope that Eddie would win the center field job and in the last week there were rumbles that Eddie might win the left field job over Oswaldo Arcia. Rosario played almost exclusively in left field, leading most to assume that he wouldn't be the best defensive option in center and that Aaron Hicks would be the favorite for the center field job. Rosario's numbers have been so-so, certainly not enough to say he won the competition for center. I would submit that Rosario has been more impressive than the numbers. He has played very well in the field and thrown very well. Rosario has put up good at-bats when the games were on the line and he's hit the ball well, even when making outs. I expect that Rosario will go to Rochester along with Hicks. It is quite possible that they will take turns playing center and left. I believe he will hit better than Hicks at the same level. Hicks still has a good chance to be a better overall player. Whichever is the most productive should be the call-up when the Twins recall an outfielder.
  10. stringer bell
    30 players are in camp. There are four catchers--Suzuki will start, Pinto is on the 40-man but hasn't played in over a week and did not pass the concussion test, Herrmann is a utility guy, has performed well in camp, but not considered the backup catcher, Fryer has logged over a year as a backup, but isn't on the 40-man. With the missed time, it is doubtful that Pinto will be able to open the season as the backup catcher. He has an option remaining, so he could be optioned if it is determined that he needs Triple A time to get ready. I have also wondered aloud whether the Twins could put him on the Concussion Disabled List (10 days) and then have him rehab with the Rochester club until he was ready to help the Twins, saving his option. Herrmann could be the sole survivor as the backup catcher. However, his versatility would be limited if he was the only other catcher on the team, besides Suzuki. His main asset has been his versatility. Fryer is another comfortable fit, but subtracting someone from the 40-man for what could be as short a time as a week (if Pinto is healed and the Twins want him back on the team). If Pinto is not ready, my preference would be to disable him and have him rehab until he is ready to help the Twins. I would keep just Herrmann on the club, saving a 40-man move. If Fryer makes the club, it would indicate that Pinto won't be back with the Twins any time soon.
  11. stringer bell
    I wasn't on board with the Hunter signing, but I wasn't in favor of Rasmus. I wanted to see a right handed hitter who played good defense and was capable of playing center field.
  12. stringer bell
    I am 100% behind the Hicks move. He wasn't the default pick and he wasn't the incumbent and certainly didn't win the CF job. The young man needs to master AAA. I am not in love with the soft tosses of Tommy Milone. He's had success, though, and I expect he'll be adequate in his role. If not, there are higher upside options. The trades of the center fielders are so far empty, but both May and Meyer have potential to make the moves positive. Nothing can make the "Gomez tree" of trades a positive. The Twins traded a future All-Star for a future All-Star and then traded him for next to nothing. That one really hurts. I hope the Twins are active early this year and that we forget the original 25 sooner than normal. We still have the backup catcher and bullpen to finalize.
  13. stringer bell
    I figured that a pitcher or two would get outrighted. I was thinking Achter and Darnell. Who gets outrighted has to do with more than who is evaluated as the 40th best player on the roster. The Twins hoped that they could successfully sneak Oliveros through and they did. They may not have gotten the left handed Darnell through, the same with Achter. I hope Oliveros forces his way back into the conversation and gets another chance with the Twins. So far, he hasn't been that good in his cups of coffee with the team.
  14. stringer bell
    Good report and nice photos.
  15. stringer bell
    Of the names listed in this thread here is my opinion: I think Darnell and Achter could be 40-man casualties and I think that would be fine. There is a pretty large number of guys who didn't make it who could be decent contributors for the Twins (don't give up on them): Oliveros, Pryor, Pressly, Tonkin. Hamburger has mostly looked good for the Twins, I think he is the last cut. Graham has made the club, but could knock himself off the ledge with a bad performance or two in the next week. I wouldn't want more than one fifth starter candidate in the bullpen. If Pelfrey could add a couple ticks to the fastball and utilize his new change-up, he might actually work well there. Milone should either make the rotation or go to Rochester. Boyer probably makes the club, too, on merit, unless the Twins decide to keep two #5 starter losers in the 'pen. I am not a big Thielbar fan, if he is pushed out this spring, so be it. He should be able to get another chance if he performs well in Rochester. So, if I am in charge (and you can't unmake the moves already made) the bullpen is Pelfrey, Graham, Boyer, Fien, Duensing, Stauffer, Perkins. Short leashes for most of those guys, with a nearly equal number champing at the bit in Rochester. Midseason could bring Reed, Burdi and the rest.
  16. stringer bell
    Again, Hicks' "success" against RH pitching thus far is a .689 OPS in Spring Training. Of course, it is a small sample size and of course, he might have raised that number because of the level of competition. On top of that, even with the two caveats, is that mark "winning" the CF job? I think not. Schafer was, by far, the superior offensive player for the Twins in '14. If anyone is the incumbent this year, it should be him. Rosario has impressed with good at-bats and good defense (mostly in LF), Robinson has shown he is a good defensive OF and not a sure out at the plate. None of them have won the job. Both Hicks and Rosario should be in Rochester. Let's see if the approach that Schafer seemed to acquire last year can carry over and, as I've said for awhile, Robinson is a good fit for the fourth OF slot. If Schafer flounders, certainly a good possibility, the better of Hicks/Rosario gets the nod to fill the spot until Buxton is ready.
  17. stringer bell
    But, but , but, it's spring training. In his two months with the Twins, Schafer was serviceable, Hicks was not. Hicks has been very good in spring training the last two seasons and that didn't translate to good performance when it counted. We don't know which RH pitchers Hicks hit against, but if it's a bunch of minor leaguers, it mitigates his "success".
  18. stringer bell
    Yes, he does.
  19. stringer bell
    Warning: After watching Buxton in person for most of the week, he has a very long way to go. He is still a supremely talented athlete, but the hit tool seems to have regressed at this point.
  20. stringer bell
    Reusse's column is on the strib website. He is saying that Arcia has been disappointing this spring. Reusse seems to be saying this is Hicks' last stand.
  21. stringer bell
    I'm still wondering about Pinto. He is doing baseball activities, but probably won't play on the major league team for several more days. LEN3 said that he thought that Fryer was in the lead for backup catcher (ugh!), which would also cut loose somebody on the 40-man roster. With Pinto losing at least a week, it kind of figures that Molitor might go with someone else to back up Suzuki. Does anyone know the rules for the concussion DL? Can Pinto be placed on the list retroactively? Can he do a rehab after being cleared? It would save using an option for what could be a short-term demotion to Rochester. It is legitimate that Pinto has been set back by his injury. I still think they will send him to Rochester for rehab and go with Herrmann (on the 40-man) for the brief duration when Pinto is unavailable.
  22. stringer bell
    One starting pitcher loser in the bullpen is plenty, maybe too much. Get real bullpen guys in the bullpen.
  23. stringer bell
    Well, LEN3 hosted Twinschat on the strib today. He thinks Fryer is in the lead for backup catcher after Pinto suffered his shots to the head. Secondly, he seems to be hinting that Rosario is in the lead for left field, meaning either Vargas or Arcia are in jeopardy of being dispatched to the minors. As for the pitching staff, it seems Boyer and Graham have excellent chances to make the bullpen.
  24. stringer bell
    LEN3 made a hint that Reusse will be saying tomorrow that there is a chance that Rosario will be the starting left fielder when the Twins visit Detroit. That would mean either Vargas to the minors (with Arcia the primary DH) or Arcia to the minors. It could render all the extension talk moot. Even 15 days in the minors would put Arcia below the presumed Super 2 threshold.
  25. stringer bell
    I thought Molitor was opposed to using starters in the bullpen. I guess keeping Pelf there rather than releasing him makes some sense, but with both Milone and May they have options. I certainly hope that the Twins don't clog up the bullpen with losers of the 5th starter competition.
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