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Jim H

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Everything posted by Jim H

  1. Jim H
    Jamming up your bullpen with past their prime relievers really only makes sense if you think your potential one inning relievers need some time in the minors to figure out what they are doing. In the Twins case they don't seem to know yet who is going to transition from starter to reliever. These old relievers aren't going to be around when the Twins are competitive again unless a bunch of players play much better this year and next then they've shown so far. So, what is better? Getting some of these young guys up to the majors in the role they are most likely to fill anyway, and let them figure out things as they go? Or hold them in the minors longer and wait for the old guys to either fail or get hurt? This old guy mentorship thing seems overrated to me. You have 3 major league pitching coaches afterall.
  2. Jim H
    I too would like them to extend Lopez. For pretty much the same reasons you gave. He is one the reasons to watch this version of the Twins. I am afraid it will longer than 2027 to create a truly competitive team. I am hopeful that we may see the bones of a good team by 2027. Zoll and company will need a lot of things to go right to transform their current group into a good team that quickly.
  3. Jim H
    Interesting topic. I have followed the Twins since they came to Minnesota. I tend to agree with Chief on his points about pitching. Pitching shouldn't be all about velocity and spin rate. One of things I miss is the lack of craftmanship. Few pitchers have good command of their pitches. Few pitchers field their position well, cover 1b well, or hold runners on well. It is interesting that with the emphasis on velocity, the use of the fastball is actually less. Reducing workloads for starters means we are seeing more pitchers to the point where we usually see at least 25 different pitchers a year. The rotation of pitchers to protect your best pitchers arms means we get to watch a lot of bad pitching. I don't have good solutions for all this. In the good old days a lot pitchers blew out their arms from overuse and poor management. There were a lot of guys who had a great season or two and were done at a young age. Unfortunately, modern pitcher management doesn't really change that reality.
  4. Jim H
    There is something in what you say here. But, expecting 30 something dfa relievers to develop more velocity and movement on their pitches seems more hopeful than realistic.
  5. Jim H
    Your 7th paragraph suggests the Twins were putting pitchers into bulk reliever roles instead of fitting them into 5 or 6 man rotations. Since the once a week plan for starters in the minors has been in place for a couple of years it would seem that 4 day rotation for bulk pitchers was instituted at least in part to guarantee more innings for certain pitchers. My point is that this plan doesn't seem to prepare pitchers for the majors very well. It is probably a bit off your topic. I personally don't really think this plan for the minors was necessarily being used as a template for how pitchers should be used in the majors. I could be wrong.
  6. Jim H
    Hendry Mendez, part of the Phillies trade. He is younger than the others obtained, but he is a left handed hitting corner outfielder. The Twins are talking about trying him at first base. He falls in the same bucket with Gonzales and Rodriguez. So technically he is mostly blocked, if he is blocked, by the near ready outfielders already in the system. Sure they could dfa Outman and lets not worry about Roden. But I circle back to the question, why did they trade for these 3 guys in the first place? If they don't fit the needs of the organization why not request different players in the trades? They did that with the catchers acquired at the deadline. Why acquire corner outfielders if you already have a bunch and don't really plan to get rid of any? Now, obviously there is likely a plan and the extras will be reduced eventually. You can certainly justify Larnach's current place on the roster as you did. The question is still why did they do what they did at the trade deadline and why have failed to address perceived weaknesses on the current roster?
  7. Jim H
    One of things the author and many others don't realize is that the Twins minor league starters weren't on a 5 man rotation. They pitched once a week. The same day every week unless they were hurt or ill. This was true of all full season teams in the Twins organization. The starters were all on pitch counts and other limitations as well. If you ever wondered why all the Twins minor league starters pitchers have so few innings, that is why. This plan explains in part the minor league bulk pitcher thing. You have to cover innings somehow and designating a couple of bulk pitchers on each staff would be one way to do that. Also nearly all minor league pitch more than 1 inning an outing. My opinion is that this organization plan helps explain why the Twins minor leaguers seem so unprepared to pitch in the majors. They aren't used to 5 man rotation or 1 inning at a time use. They never pitched enough to learn sequencing, holding on runners, or fielding their position. Most throw hard and can spin the ball. Many can throw strikes but have spotty command.
  8. Jim H
    I care nothing about Larnach's salary. What I care about is that he is a below average corner outfield platoon bat. The Twins were dissatisfied enough with their current corner outfield options to bring in 3 left handed hitting corner outfielders at the trade deadline. Now those guys are blocked by the holdover corner outfielders and are likely to be leapfrogged by the near ready minor leaguers. Explain how any of that makes sense. Even better the Twins have likely blocked up the dh spot by what they did this winter at catcher and first base. One of the reasons people are expecting a Larnach trade is that its the cleanest way to clean up the mess they have made of their roster. Now, that might not be the best way to fix the outfield situation but by waiting this long to address the situation they will likely find limited ways to improve their roster.
  9. Jim H
    Several years ago I read a comment by a national prospect guru that the Twins had a lot of interesting prospects. Right now the Twins have Jenkins and a lot of interesting prospects. The major question is whether all these interesting prospects can turn into at least some effective major league contributors.
  10. Jim H
    Yes, moving Mendez to first was talked about last fall. Yes, it is a good idea. Filling the lineup with good hitters is always a good idea. It is likely he adds power as he matures. I also think that having big power isn't absolutely necessary for a first baseman if there is gap power and a high average and good defense. Good defense at first includes reducing infielders errors.
  11. Jim H
    There are currently 9 outfielders on the 40 man roster. Adding in Jenkins that gives 10 ready or near ready major league outfielders. There are several other guys on the 40 man who could potentially see time in the outfield. If I am reading the comments right, most commentators here view Lanarch and Wallner as platoon players who shouldn't see more than 450 plate appearances or so a year. Very few view either one as more than major league average. If that is true, trade them both. Find out if we have anybody that is at least potentially, a full time player. As far the rest of the big moves, keep Jeffers. Extend him if you can. At least he helps give you above average catching. Keep Lopez and Ryan too. They help make the Twins watchable. If you don't catch lightning in a bottle among the position players, they can still be traded at the deadline. The bullpen needs to be sorted this spring. Figure out which marginal starter should be a reliever and get them to figuring out what they need to do to be successful in that role. I also don't view the first base situation very favorably. I wish that there was someone there who could be viewed as a middle of the order bat who is above average defensively. Maybe someone will emerge there.
  12. Jim H
    I don't know if any of these players are underrated, except possibly Lewis. They are probably rated pretty much as they are. Jeffers is a bit above average hitter for a catcher. Probably a bit below average defensively and who knows working with the staff. He is unlikely to be an all star but he is better than a lot of major league catchers. Wallner even if he regains hIs form is slightly above average offensively and below average defensively. Neither Wallner nor Jeffers should be hitting in the top half of the lineup but way too often they have. That isn't their fault but it shows the lack of better options. It is likely they are what they are. Better performance is possible, but? Sands is likely what he is as well. Maybe he could perform better than he has so far, but he wasn't used in high leverage situations until the sell off. He has yet to show that he should be. As far as Lewis goes, the talent is still there. If the injuries are behind him I think he could become what he has shown in brief flashes. I don't if that makes him underrated.
  13. Jim H
    I think the let Falvey off the blame articles can stop. Everyone who follows the Twins has an opinion on Falvey that is cemented in stone. That opinion, whatever it is, won't be changed. Move on.
  14. Jim H
    If Caratini is a better hitter than Clemons, why is Clemons on the roster?
  15. Jim H
    All of this is likely true. He also likely didn't benefit from the weird platoon role he was put in in 24. Still, he is largely a 3 true outcome guy. He needs to be a lot more consistent then he has been to this point. Right now he looks to be more like a guy who should be batting in the bottom third of a lineup then the middle of the lineup. As I said above, his rope should be kind of short. There are a lot of corner outfielders on the 40 man who could potentially provide or exceed what Wallner has achieved so far.
  16. Jim H
    Falvey was in charge of how the money was spent and the overall direction of the franchise. He was in charge of hiring the people who worked for him. He hired Levine and Baldelli and Zoll for that matter. It is true he didn't have control over his budget but how it was spent was entirely on him. I am sure he had to get permission on big budget commitments, but the recommendations and implementation was on him. He was wasn't scapegoated. He was fired or mutually let go because the team and perhaps the whole franchise was in worse shape than when was hired.
  17. Jim H
    This story is about as optimistic take on the bullpen as it possible to take. If you believe a competitive team is possible this year, a reliable bullpen is necessary. While it is likely that building a bullpen the way it was laid out in this story will eventually lead to a good bullpen, it will take much longer than spring training to even lay the framework. If it is true that Zell doesn't even know which young starters are being converted to one inning relievers, I think that getting them ready for the start of the season in that role will be pretty tough. Last year's bullpen was pretty good until the best 5 relievers were traded away. Given the amount of time it took to get to the bullpen to that point, hoping for a decent bullpen this year seems pretty optimistic. If Zell can do that, I will be impressed.
  18. Jim H
    I would be surprised if swinging harder will actually make Wallner into a consistent, effective middle of the order bat. If he can't be that, I would prefer the Twins try out one of the legions of corner outfielders on their 40 man roster. They also have a bunch of other guys on the roster best suited to be DH. I think at this point the string should be pretty short for Wallner. A real middle of the order bat is one the things that is a clear need on this team. Maybe more than one. Buxton is the only one and they tend to use him at lead off.
  19. Jim H
    I will never celebrate someone losing their job. I also think you have to have clear lines of authority and responsibility for everything to go well. When he was GM, Falvey clearly had his fingers all over decisions that have traditionally been the manager's to make. As President, I suspect he likely has been involved in decisions the GM usually makes. All of that would be all right if actually works. When it doesn't people get fired. The same thing can about the analytic driven decisions that have been a huge part of his time with the Twins. They are great if they work.
  20. Jim H
    This discussion highlights the situation the front office put themselves in with the bullpen selloff. Unless you are willing to sign expensive established free agent relievers, you have to find them thru trades or from your own farm system. Most relievers are failed starters. Since major league starters are more valuable than relievers, teams want to give promising pitchers enough chances to prove they are unlikely to succeed as starters. That is precisely where the Twins are with a whole raft of young pitchers. In the case of Ohl and Adams, the Twins may of waited too long to convert them to one inning relievers. They ended up releasing/trading Ohl before finding out if he could succeed in that role. That could happen with Adams as well.
  21. Jim H
    This is a bit disappointing, especially after the infusion of young talent at the trade deadline. Again, I don't take any of these ratings seriously. I am hoping we can start seeing better production at the major league league level. That really is the only thing that matters.
  22. Jim H
    The story says 6 prospects were ranked on the 4 lists mentioned. Only 5 were profiled. I don't take these lists too seriously. After you get past the universally acclaimed prospects, it becomes pretty difficult to project which of something around 3000 prospects currently in the minors is going to rise up and become a significant major leaguer. Trying to determine which team has the best system based on these lists is merely a semi educated guess. It is a bit disappointing that only Jenkins ranks highly on all these lists, however.
  23. Jim H
    Really, you likely know more than I about this. But that seems optimistic.
  24. Jim H
    Thanks for the spell check. I remember an infielder Luke Hughes? Who got a cup of coffee with the Twins. Its seems that were a couple of others from Australia that made the majors as well.
  25. Jim H
    There were a number Australian players who came through the Twins system and made the majors during the Ryan years. They don't seem to scout there anymore. I am not going to look them up but Hendricks was pretty significant.
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