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jokin

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Everything posted by jokin

  1. jokin
    Berardino tweets at the Diamond Awards dinner, some unequivocal support from upper management:
  2. jokin
    Thanks for the clarification.... Hmm... "Key piece of team" definitely doesn't directly translate, but I'd say, it translates in any language, that Vargas is definitely well-equipped to help the team.
  3. jokin
    I agree with this exactly. But I'm still thinking that in two other cases, the team strongly "encourages" players like Vargas and Arcia to come, even at the expense of thier PR and VZ teams, which are just beginning the final playoff series to defend their Winter League titles. Whereas for Pinto, seemingly no sense of urgency or insistence on getting him here, but for BJ Hermsen, Mike Kvasnicka, Cole DeVries?--> "The Line Forms to the Left!!!"
  4. jokin
    LOL One always has to be careful about projecting one's fan-like hopes for someone over who and what they actually are and are capable of accomplishing (and I plead guilty on this front), but this kid has been doing and saying all the right things ever since the drug suspension. His continued improvements in plate discipline has defied the image of the typical Latin free-swinging slugger. He was even better at 1st base than I thought might be the case, heck, the kid even volunteered to spend time learning to play in the OF (shudder!). Talking about what Madison Avenue could do with him... With that larger-than-life, but still aw-shucks, persona- with any kind of success on the field, he has the chance to become the PR department's Marketing Moby Dick.
  5. jokin
    Gotta love that BB/K ratio being positive.
  6. jokin
    These Latin players are attending Twins Fest: Arcia Berrios Escobar Polanco Rosario Sano Santana Vargas
  7. jokin
    Somehow, I don't think Dave St Peter and his PR department look at it the same way that you do. I don't know what the new coaching staff thinks long-term about Pinto, or what Terry Ryan thinks, for that matter, but it is worth noting that Escobar and Arcia are shutting down their Winter League seasons at the same time as Pinto, and they are rushing on to Minneapolis. Perhaps there's a potential big trade in the works involving Nolasco and Pinto, admittedly, this is simply speculation. But there's no doubt that he could be the odd man out if Vargas clicks at DH and Suzuki is given the lion's share of the catching duties again. And of course, it's certainly reasonable and possible to assume that he's taking a couple well-deserved days off and then reporting early to Ft Myers, instead of Minnesota. Hope to hear from Halsey on that front to confirm that this is the case.
  8. jokin
    Agreed. although I really hope the Twins are envisioning Pelfrey to consider making a serious attempt at a set-up role. Drop the pretense that he can still be a starter.
  9. jokin
    There are other cheap FA or talented trade options that the Twins possibly might have in mind. Wellington Castillo, Jason Castro and Andrew Susac are all available in trade with the right deal put in place.
  10. jokin
    http://elabonado.com.ve/noticias/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Josmil-Pinto.jpg As I posted on the Arcia thread, Josmil Pinto is curiously not scheduled for Twins Fest. By all accounts, Pinto had a strong showing in Winter League ball at the plate. He also put in most of his time behind the plate, playing much more at Catcher than Wilson Ramos, or any other option for his Aragua Tigers squad once he started playing. In fact, after joining the club after the season started, he played in almost every game through the end of the season, catching in 21 of 27 games played. In the postseason, he played in every game until he shut it down on Sunday- in 13 postseason games he caught 9 games and DH'd the other 4. How was his hitting? Well, with the understanding that the pitching quality is always a question in winter ball, Pinto still acquitted himself quite well. In the regular season, he slashed at .321/.412/.476/(.889). In postseason play, he did that slash line one better, plus he hit safely in all 13 games played- .404/.491/.723/(1.215) . Yes, it turned out to only be about 160 PAs, but he accomplished this after playing 117 games in the States in 2014, mostly at the most difficult position on the field. As I posted elsewhere, ZiPS forsees a big season for Pinto in 2015- around .720 OPS and a projected 2.1 zWAR. Will it be with the MN Twins ? Did the Twins see enough development behind the plate in AAA and Winter Ball or are they preparing to move on?
  11. jokin
    It turns out that Pinto's last game in Venezuela was on Sunday, after a strong Winter League showing- which makes this tweet all the more curious- Seriously?
  12. jokin
    As has been anticipated, Arcia is out of the Caribes lineup tonight in their last postseason game, after clinching the round robin tournament on Tuesday evening vs. Johan Santana's team, Magellanes. Presumably, he's on his way to Twins Fest by Friday- he's scheduled for autographs @ 4:15. Any sightings in Ft Myers, Halsey?
  13. jokin
    Ouch! Seriously, can't this guy afford to hire a PR firm? If he's worried about the money, maybe he could pay them per added adjective to his lexicon.
  14. jokin
    Yep. Gotta give the kid credit for politicking with the Twins to get the extension and being more than willing to putting in the extra time with his team. Until I looked it up, I had no idea that he had played in all but one game in his time down there. And good to see it was almost entirely at 1st. It just seems like he's doing all the right things to insure that he's going to end up being a real fan and teammate favorite very soon.
  15. jokin
    All of the silliness aside, the main thing I got out of all of this was that, as of right now anyway, the Twins see him as a likable and marketable commodity for the fan-base, a must-attend at TwinsFest, and that they have some big expectations for him at the major league level in 2015- and most importantly, that Vargas knows it, and has been putting the work in to make it happen.
  16. jokin
    For the Twins and Vargas, it was "Mission Accomplished!" Vargas missed only one game in PR. In 38 regular season games, plus counting the All Star game to make it 39 all-told, Vargas played 1B in 35 games, DH 2 games, PH 1 game. In the round robin playoff in January, Vargas played all 13 games and played 1B in all but the now-infamous game that cost Carlos Baerga, the Mayaguez manager, his job, the January 4th game where Vargas was a Pinch Hitter. He continued to show strong plate discipline, as well, getting 38 walks vs. 37 strikeouts over the entire season, and leading the league in the regular season with a .430 OBP.
  17. jokin
    Maybe he was planning on hitchhiking from Venezuela? The good news is that we've heard no news, but it was odd that he was pulled from the game last Thursday in the 1st inning.
  18. jokin
    Halsey doesn't miss a trick down in Ft Myers. It turns out that Kennys was telling the truth about getting to the States and immediately putting in some work in the batting cages.
  19. jokin
    Arcia reaches base on 2 walks in 6 PAs tonight. No hits, but more importantly no strikeouts.
  20. jokin
    There were many major league catchers on the move in the offseason, just not so much on the FA market. Based on some of the trades I've seen, the Twins had plenty of spare pieces and prospects to snap up another major league catcher without hindering the long-term plan. They can still trade for Wellington Castillo who appears to be expendable in Chicago. They even could have brought back AJ for a year on the super-cheap as a FA. Regarding Pinto, I wonder how good and thorough the Twins assessment actually was? We all know what Gardy did with him early on, slightly less than 30% playing rate at the position. But people forget that Gardy only put Pinto in the lineup at Catcher for 8 games in his September call-up- almost the exact same playing rate at Catcher. The evidence is that Gardy was allowed to play for the present- and his job- when it comes to the catcher position.
  21. jokin
    http://cache3.asset-cache.net/gc/467058927-kenny-vargas-of-puerto-ricos-indios-de-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=GkZZ8bf5zL1ZiijUmxa7QcXS4bqA%2FHUk7XPj4GojC3bWGg%2B8a46qq300tPB%2FiRGb Kennys Vargas drove in the dramatic game-tying run in the bottom of the 9th inning on Saturday- a do-or-die game for Mayaguez, which was ultimately won by Vargas's Mayaguez team in extra innings. Mayazguez is the defending Puerto Rican champion- and also a finalist in the Caribbean World Series in 2013- a team for whom Vargas was also a member. As the final series opened tonight, it became public that Vargas' last game in Winter Ball was the one-game playoff on Sunday (which Mayaguez also won). Another entertaining Google translation, apparently "lanky" means something completely different in Spanish than English- that's definitely not the first word I think of when describing Kennys. Also, unlike the mini-controversy with former Mayaguez manager, Carlos Baerga, there's no doubt that Kennys knows who the boss is, and apparently Vargas has turned the page and is now shooting for more than the Mayaguez Tribe "scepter." For Twins fans, his new goal is to be a "key piece of equipment" as the DH and part-time 1B.
  22. jokin
    So far, Arcia's two seasons at the major league level has been full of streaky stints of dominance and then followed by dreadful droughts. There's little doubt that Waldo's mastered AA and AAA pitching. Here's his combined minor league line for 2012-14: Slash .318/.393/.556/.950 ISO .239 wOBA .420 wRC+ 163 BB/K 10.1%/20.8% Coming off of his AAA demotions in both 2013 and 2014, his return to the Twins in his first 12 games were tremendous, offering fleeting glimpses of potential greatness-- but also illustrative of areas for inevitable subsequent concern and improvement: 2013, first 12 games back from AAA in August- Slash .298/.353/.660/1.013 ISO .362 wOBA .430 wRC+ 176 BB/K 7.8%/37.3% 2014, first 12 games back from AAA in May- Slash .378/.378/.733/1.111 ISO .356 wOBA 482 wRC+ 217 BB/K 0.0%/24.4% Buried within these SSS stat lines is what has always ended up being Arcia's undoing. It looks like he needs to be working in the minor league stints much more focused on the things that will help sustain his productivity at the major league level. Part of the remedy perhaps is better monitoring of his overswinging ways and focusing on making better contact, especially on the outside corner, and better overall plate discipline. I don't have direct evidence, but I'm wondering if his slumps begin with a mini-slump- laden with multiple strikeouts, and then perhaps, he reacts by swinging harder as if to compensate, and ends up hurting his wrists and back in the process?
  23. jokin
    As I wrote at the time of the re-signing- If the Twins were really sold on Suzuki longer-term, after cashing in on him and picking up another propsect or two, they could have easily revisited the FA market for him this offseason. I highly doubt he could have done better than what he ended up signing for with the Twins in July. And Pinto gets his extended look-see. It would have been like having your cake, and eating it too.
  24. jokin
    The extended organizational roster was/is full of AAAA catchers, plus, more importantly, the last two months of 2014 should have been the time for a thorough evaluation of exactly where Pinto (and to a lesser extent, Herrman) was at, and how he fit into future plans. That burning question now remains on hold for at least another season.
  25. jokin
    Spot-on post... recollecting... at the point of the Suzuki re-sign, Zuke-lover Gardy, was still being publicly backed by Ryan, and Suzuki was riding high- both on the field and in the media- he was cast as indispensable in his role with the Twins (by and through the usual suspects clamoring to keep him). Ryan seemingly blinked, and ended up opting for PR upside rather than Personnel upgrade.
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