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gmarais66

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Everything posted by gmarais66

  1. gmarais66
    All of a sudden, I'm getting a bit worried about next season. Sano needs to play 3B, but the Twins want to play Mr. Average, Trevor Plouffe, ahead of him, forcing the 270-pound (likely more now, after seeing that video) to the OF. Now they yank Sano from winter ball... Not to mention it's looking more like Ricky "Lightning Ball" Nolasco will be a member of the starting rotation, blocking much better pitchers. Oh, yes, and the Twins have about four DH candidates, including Park, Arcia and Vargas, none of which are proven at the Major League level... Not to mention they need another outfielder, because they traded one of their best defensive outfielders for a backup catcher. Meanwhile, the winter meetings have gone by without the Twins doing anything, outside of signing AAA infielder Buck Britton (love the name though), who is likely nothing more than a minor-league filler. Oh, and I almost forgot... The Twins desperately need bullpen help, but they have done nothing to address that. I would love to be a fly on the wall in Terry Ryan's office to know what exactly is going on over there at Target Field...
  2. gmarais66
    I'll admit, Mauer has not been playing to the level we expect, but it's a bit of a stretch to draw comparisons between Mauer and Nolasco...
  3. gmarais66
    Who's to say, at this point, they wouldn't be selling "high". He could be even worse in 2016...
  4. gmarais66
    Anyone who thinks a 270-pound outfielder, who has never played outfield before, is anything but a significant defensive liability, really needs to set down the glass of kool aid, remove their rose-colored glasses and take a good hard look at reality. Last winter, people were complaining about how Torii Hunter was going to be a defensive liability, and he was a former gold-glover, who at age 40 was still faster than Sano... People also complain all the time about how terrible Arcia is in the outfield and he's been playing out there his whole career. It would be a heck of a foot race between Sano and Arcia... And do I even have to bring up Josh Willingham? The Twins made exceptional improvement to their outfield defense last season and it was fun to watch. I for one can't see how putting Sano in the outfield is going to do anything but significantly hurt the outfield defense and remind us how miserable it was to watch the 2014 and 2013 Twins' outfielders.
  5. gmarais66
    How many other 270-pound outfielders are there in MLB?
  6. gmarais66
    Here is a snapshot of Hicks' career. He sounds like he's light years better than your Rohlfing comparison. He's good defensively and is not a liability at the plate. Threw out 38 percent of runners in 2014. He can even steal bases, with 46 in his career. http://seatownmariners.com/2015/03/25/2015-seattle-mariners-top-prospects-16-john-hicks/
  7. gmarais66
    In five minor-league seasons, he hit .280/.326/.408. He might have some potential.
  8. gmarais66
    It's not exactly a stretch to move from third base to first base. Going from third base to the outfield is a huge stretch, especially for someone of Sano's size.
  9. gmarais66
    I would certainly trust Sano's defense at a position he's played throughout his minor league career, in contrast to a position he has never played. This is all posturing. Plouffe will be traded. His trade value will never be higher and Sano needs to play 3B, if he's going to play in the field. People continue to say that Sano is athletic, but he's no outfielder. Heck, Arcia is an outfielder and he looks pathetic out there. I cringe to think of what Sano would look like in the outfield.
  10. gmarais66
    I've been watching the Rochester box scores to see how Vargas is doing, but he hasn't played since being sent down -- not even in yesterday's doubleheader... According to the Red Wings' website, he hasn't even been issued a uniform number. What happened to Kennys?
  11. gmarais66
    During the offseason, Ryan eluded to the fact that Rosario would be given a chance in centerfield. Hicks is a head case... I say send Hicks to Rochester and make him earn his way back to the Twins. Give Rosario a shot... From what I've seen of him, he seems like a much better all-around player. Schafer is just another No. 4 outfielder, who has no business being a starter at the major league level... I think he's a good bench player, but that's it...
  12. gmarais66
    I think some people are so fixated on these defensive stats that they can't see beyond them, to what's really happening on the field. Basically, Hunter is replacing Willingham in the outfield. My eyes told me that Willingham was just a touch better than placing a statue in the outfield. I didn't see a lot of Hunter last year, but I saw enough to know that at age 39, he's still magnitudes better than Willingham was last year. Bottom line: this significantly improves the outfield defense. Also, Ryan made a good point about not blaming the outfield for the team's pitching problems last year. This is something many people seem to be overlooking too, with their fixation on outfield defense. No matter how poor the Twins' outfield played last year, it didn't seem to have much effect on Hughes' numbers. Why was that? Because he pitched extremely well. The bottom line here is that pitching needs to improve significantly. If you have a lot of suspect pitchers in your rotation, you need gold-glove fielding to make up for their deficiencies. If you have a high caliber pitching staff, the defense becomes less of a factor. The outfield doesn't have to do much if the batter strikes out or grounds out harmlessly to the infield... Right?
  13. gmarais66
    This came as a surprise to me. Sounds like a good chance to take: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/11/twins-win-bidding-for-hyeon-jong-yang.html
  14. gmarais66
    In my 40+ years of being a Twins' fan, this has to be one of the most perplexing rumors I've ever heard.... Why??? http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/11/wily-mo-pena-becomes-free-agent-twins-have-interest.html
  15. gmarais66
    In case you missed it, the Twins do have an ace... His name is Phil Hughes. Here's how he ranked among American League starters in 2014: Wins (4th) WHIP (8th) Strikeouts ( 7th) Innings (5th) He ranked much higher than many "ace" pitchers, whose names get thrown around on this forum. What more could he have done to reach "ace" status in your mind?
  16. gmarais66
    Byron Buxton had two hits for the Salt River Rafters in a 6-3 win over Scottsdale on Wednesday. He also had two fielding errors. Max Kepler had one hit, a stolen base and an outfield assist. Pitcher Jake Reed earned the win, throwing two innings of scoreless relief, with four strikeouts. In Tuesday's season-opening game, Buxton went hitless, while teammate Eddie Rosario had two hits and a RBI.
  17. gmarais66
    The thing you fail to mention is that Brunansky was working extensively with Arcia, during the latter part of the season. In September, Arcia posted a line of .263/.330/.513... Anyone watching him could see there was a significant change in his approach at the plate during the last six weeks of the season, compared to early in the season... If you're going to write about a topic you need to tell the whole story, not just a glossed-over overview of a situation... Based on what I saw towards the end of the season, I think 2015 could be a break-through season for Arcia...
  18. gmarais66
    Minnesota Twins 2014: SB 99, CS 36 (rank 11th in MLB) Minnesota Twins 2013: SB 52, CS 33 (rank 25th in MLB) Molitor is one of the best baseball minds anywhere. The Twins would be lucky to have him as their new manager.
  19. gmarais66
    I commonly see people commenting about trading players at their highest value, which in many cases, I don't agree with, because trading that player would leave a hole in the lineup that would be tough to fill. However, I think this would be an excellent time to trade Plouffe. He's definitely at a peak value right now, and the Twins have someone to fill his place in the lineup. I'm not sure what they could get for him, but I think it's worth a try.
  20. gmarais66
    I've always liked Gardy and thought Anderson was pretty capable. I don't think they have all of a sudden become bad coaches, but I do think the fire is gone. I think they've been worn down by these losing seasons and they aren't capable of turning things around. I think they both need to go at the end of the season. About a month or so ago, on ESPN 1500, they were talking about how Gardy had really put in a lot of extra time helping players like Hunter, Morneau and other top players from a decade ago, become successful at the major league level. They had a bond and he had a personal connection with them. Because of that relationship, they gave him their best and wanted to succeed under his leadership. To this day, a lot of those players will still credit Gardy for their early development. Yet the new crop of rising Twins' talent can't say the same thing. The person they credit, most often, is Molitor, who worked with them in the minors. My hope is that Molitor is named the next manager. He has one of the best baseball minds around and he has that connection with the younger players. Let Molitor pick his next pitching coach. I'm sure he'd pick a good one.
  21. gmarais66
    I never hear his name mentioned among the team's top pitching prospects, but Chih-Wei Hu has pitched extremely well this season. Is he for real? Does he have the stuff to be a good big league pitcher?
  22. gmarais66
    I think Darnell is pitching Saturday...
  23. gmarais66
    I'm wondering if the Twins thought he was trying to hide an injury from them, so they cut him loose...
  24. gmarais66
    TC Bear would have been on the list, but he's out with a strained oblique...
  25. gmarais66
    Lavelle said he heard it's going to be Darnell... Whether true or not...
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