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LastOnePicked

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Everything posted by LastOnePicked

  1. LastOnePicked
    Agreed. Yes, Buxton has been and will likely be injury-prone. This is also the only reason they can even possibly afford an extension. If this FO can't get this done over the offseason, I hope this will be the last straw for the fanbase.
  2. LastOnePicked
    For the foreseeable future, the Twins won't be able to win a weak AL Central division and then be totally unprepared for competition in the playoffs. That's a good thing. If they win another division title over the next five years, they'll have to earn it. 2022 will be interesting. This FO has stated their desire to retool and compete next year. One of two realities will become pretty clear by June: they were right, and it'll be fun to watch new free agents, rookies and veterans from 2019-20 get fired up for competitive baseball again OR they are unable to field a team that can keep up, and will be buried in the division pretty early on. I'm betting that they won't sniff an AL Central pennant chase for years. I don't think this FO has what it takes to retool, and they've given away too much talent that could have played a big role here in 2022-25. But I'm hoping I'm wrong.
  3. LastOnePicked
    I think you're probably right about Baldelli here, though I would have loved to see Gordon get more chances at SS. He seems to have surprised the team with his promotion, grit and play this year - he may have a few surprises left. But you're wrong about calming down. Twins fans watched our young talent (Gil, Ynoa, Baddoo, Wade) bloom elsewhere in 2021 - we needed a young hero here, and Gordon's doing what he can to deliver.
  4. LastOnePicked
    Good post, but I politely disagree. The way this FO evaluates talent, the "one of our 10 good pitching prospects" that they give up will become far better than anything they get back in such a trade. I would welcome a Kepler trade, and I always thought he'd make a good Yankee. But up-and-coming contenders looking for an offseason trade don't typically need the kind of guys we'd have to offer. With the exception of a good catcher.
  5. LastOnePicked
    Thoughtful analysis - I appreciate all you put into this. Would be fascinating to compare this with our market and division competitors. It seems to me that the large number of times we see "Aggressive" or "Reach" here is an indication that this FO thinks they are smarter than the average MLB bear. Though the results so far just don't back this up at all They don't draft well, and that's a MAJOR part of the talent pipeline for a mid-market team. They also bleed talent in Rule 5, they don't sign FAs well and their trades are a mixed bag at best (sellers: OK, buyers: terrible). Can someone please remind me why so many on TwinsDaily are eager to keep this duo at the helm?
  6. LastOnePicked
    This is a really good take. I wanted to say that Kepler was my bounce-back pick, but he had a terrible Spring Training and acted like he was a star who was just taking the time there to tinker around. Instead, his season was pretty much a long extension of his spring. He doesn't seem curious enough to make adjustments, and established MLB pitchers have completely figured him out. Here's hoping I'm wrong. With Morneau's support as a mentor, I'm hoping Larnach bounces back in a big way in 2022.
  7. LastOnePicked
    "Unfortunately, the Twins lost two players who have been impactful for their new organizations. They were lucky not to lose Jose Miranda or Jovani Moran too. However, they did well in recognizing the need to protect Bailey Ober." Going 1-for-5 wouldn't typically keep a player in the majors, so not sure why it would keep an executive in a major league FO. Good article, but it certainly dredges up some 2021 pain ... and highlights my deep skepticism over whether these guys should be making these evaluations for our Twins moving forward.
  8. LastOnePicked
    What role did Cave play in those titles that a replacement-level free agent, or LaMonte Wade even as a rookie, couldn't have provided? It's just so unwise to trade a promising pitching prospect for a 4th outfielder.
  9. LastOnePicked

    Saddest sports city

    LastOnePicked commented on glunn's blog entry in Blog glunn

    "All of that said, if there is such a thing as karma -- and I believe that there is -- the negative attitude of fans may be having some effect." Gee, way to blame the victim, buddy. Just to be clear, these "negative fans" have been shelling out tax dollars and hard-earned recreational bucks to support these teams and house them in state-of-the-art facilities. All this despite a total drought of championships. I think it's more likely exactly the opposite. Minnesota sports fans tolerate failure in ways other fanbases don't, which may mean that FOs and managers/coaches don't feel any great pressure to produce results here. Midwestern culture typically requires one to be even-keeled and humble about expectations. That could be playing a role here, too.
  10. LastOnePicked
    This is the best sentence about this FO I've yet seen written. Being generally sharp but unsuccessful (or even unlucky) isn't enough to keep these kinds of jobs, in my opinion.
  11. LastOnePicked
    The Hicks and Cave trades are good examples of the differences between a top-tier and second-tier MLB club. In each case, the Yankees assessed areas of organizational strength and used surplus prospects to acquire high-upside players who were sold low. Pretty clear how both of these turned out for the Twins, despite different FO staff at the helm. One wonders why Falvey and Levine can't do the same with Rooker, Jeffers or Larnach, or couldn't have done so with Wade or Baddoo. But it's these kinds of moves that separate the best from the also-rans.
  12. LastOnePicked
    Thank you. And yes, we've already had three major Twins Daily posts about how the FO deserves more slack and patience, which I find a little bit funny. To be fair, I also find it fairly laudable and noble. There is something to trying to see the best in others and hoping that something good will come out of something bad. But I do wonder when this seemingly-endless patience for failure is gong to run out around here. And I do kinda wonder if the heat that Yankees fans put on their FO doesn't at least sharpen their moves a bit and keep the team generally competitive. We often perform according to the expectations others have for us.
  13. LastOnePicked
    Based on the way folks often talk about Sano, he could make my top 3. He's not at all the player once hoped for but he has still put together a season with some decent moments. Thielbar #1. Another gutsy season from a guy who was retired. Heck, I even think Polanco is underrated. We're witnessing Twins historic greatness (for a contract steal) and lots of folks don't seem all that impressed.
  14. LastOnePicked
    In agree. Two truths are at play here: 1) pitchers should not have their livelihoods impacted by human error. Even the best umpires get 5-10% of ball/strike calls wrong. Unacceptable. Baseball is a game of inches (or less), and precision tools are needed. It makes sense that Duffey is angry. 2) for over two decades, the Twins have played with a loser's mentality. It's bigger than Rocco and the current staff. When the pressure is on, the team folds. 0-18 in the playoffs, and a .205 winning percentage in Yankee Stadium is the outcome. They're not a big-boy team, and they need to figure THIS out as they retool the rotation. It seems like part of this is that we fans just don't demand that this change. We accept and excuse poor results, time and time again. We're midwesterners - we're often humble, understanding and we don't expect all that much. And not all that much changes. This was one dumb game in a lost season, sure. But this one pretty much exemplified the fault line of this franchise.
  15. LastOnePicked
    Nice that we still got a taste of Twins playoff baseball even in a non-playoff year, That loss would fit right into the streak.
  16. LastOnePicked
    I'm excited for Petty as well. Could be very good. But I think he might struggle with this part, based on his draft day interview.
  17. LastOnePicked
    A last place team really can't find room in September for a guy who tore up AA and AAA all summer? Come on. Donaldson and Arraez can split 3B time with Miranda. Sano can split 1B time with him. He can DH if needed. This doesn't have to be all that complicated. What's he going to learn at AAA that would come close to matching what he'd learn in a month the bigs? He's earned this promotion, period.
  18. LastOnePicked
    Ryan seems like a straight shooter and a sharp young man. At the 3:00 mark of the postgame interview, he gives a pretty remarkable compliment to the Twins organization and to Wes Johnson in particular. From his perspective, the development transition from the Rays organization to the Twins was seamless. That probably matters quite a bit - and it signals to me that this organization might have still been doing a number of things right over the past year that I couldn't see from my perspective as a disgruntled fan. A lot's gone wrong in 2021, and frustration with this organization is understandable. But I'm hoping there's a lot more good like this under the surface that's developing.
  19. LastOnePicked
    I wonder if "least valuable" means "most disappointing." To me, it means "players that we could have reasonably DFA'd/replaced and had a much better season." To me, I wouldn't have Simmons anywhere on this list. He's been durable and reliable in the field - exactly what he was signed for. His bat is terrible - but that wasn't supposed to be his contribution to a team that was seen as already heavy with hitters. And we had (and still have) apparently no SS to replace him. With that in mind, Jake Cave is my #1 LVP, and Dobnak takes Astudillo's place at #5.
  20. LastOnePicked
    I just want them within the top ten so they don't get bumped by the Mets and their compensation pick in '22 for failing to sign their first round selection in '21.
  21. LastOnePicked
    Absolutely this. He's exceeded all expectations. He's become a top prospect. He deserves a chance to put the icing on this incredible cake of a season. And he needs some MLB at-bats so he gets a sense of what he might need to work on over the offseason. He can have Rooker's at-bats, and he can split playing time at 1st with Sano and 3rd with Arraez/Donaldson. Might be good for him to be near Donaldson for a bit as well. After the FO exposed him to the Rule 5 draft last November, it's additionally insulting to completely ignore what he's done in AA/AAA all season. DFA Cave immediately and call up Miranda.
  22. LastOnePicked
    I can see another potentially-contending team signing him next year, and that wouldn't seem too foolish based on his recovery. But for the Twins? I think it'd be best to move on for '22. No need to run for cover, though. He's shown a lot of fortitude in coming back pretty strong from an historically bad start.
  23. LastOnePicked
    I like Gordon, too. I'm pulling for him. I think he's going to play an important role on the big league club in the years ahead. He's going to learn a lot from this year and come into camp even stronger in 2022.
  24. LastOnePicked
    I have dogged the FO for darn near everything lately, but the Thielbar signing really seems like it needs to be appreciated. If this team were on the cusp of another division title, he'd be one of the crucial and maybe unsung heroes. AND ... it seems like they totally won the Happ/Gant trade. A little lemonade out of the lemons of 2021. Build on the bright spots. See, I can be positive!
  25. LastOnePicked
    They HAD to trade Cruz. I'm rough on this FO, but the trade seems fair and even promising. In fact, it's looking a lot better than the Berrios trade. These things will take a lot longer to evaluate fairly, though. And I really hope Cruz helps Tampa to a World Series championship. I respect they way they build a winning team year after year based on player development with limited payroll.
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