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jokin

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Everything posted by jokin

  1. jokin
    Dave St Peter.... Patient with fans?.... do you mean like the time he called out the fans on Twitter, something to the effect, "I can't believe all of this fan angst about the 25th man (Bartlett)." Yes...... A pre-game DSP vs. KO Funny Insult Slam-Off.... with Seinfeld as the umpire, Comic. Gold: http://www.olbermannwatch.com/images/baseballdiploma.jpg
  2. jokin
    Nope, not on this one. Seriously. A team digging out of a 290+ loss deficit for 3 seasons- going on 4 years now at a similar pace- of miasmic ineptitude, really doesn't allow a team to indulge in rewarding all the playing time that's been allotted this year to guys who clearly won't be part of the solution, and many of whom are now out of baseball altogether, or should be soon.
  3. jokin
    Yeah, building on the future with a 34-year-old minor league journeyman on the major league roster isn't the end of the world, but the term's usage fails badly to explain away why he's involved in taking valuable playing time for a team on a running streak of 4 straight season of 90+ losses.
  4. jokin
    Agreed. And as I noted in Post #23, his off-speed stuff has shown great improvement in the whiff rate. On the FB, his velocity was 91.5 for the first 3 games, and 91.6 for the last 3. On his Strike%/Whiff%, here are the comps: First three: 58.6%/2.6% Last three 67.6%/6.7% Baby steps worth of improvement, to be sure. By comparison, here are "control" pitcher, not "power"-K-pitcher, Phil Hughes' FB Strike%/Whiff% for the 2014 season: 76.4%/9.3%. His average velocity this year is 92.1. Something to strive for, to be sure.
  5. jokin
    Aren't those just about his first two 94s so far? I was under the impression that the reports about occasionally touching 95 and 96 were part of a whole lot of 93s and 94s, as he's been advertised pretty much as consistently throwing 92-95, and Mike Berardino wrote this on the eve of his major league debut: .His velocity stats show he's averaged 91.6 thus far. Seems like too many 89, 90, 91 FBs in the mix, that are perhaps a bit more hittable for major leaguers.
  6. jokin
    But he wasn't even "fast" in his debut appearance. Definitely not as advertised with the big heat, although the "plus-curve" is now working for him much better in the last 3 games, plus the total off-speed package, as well. His strike rate/whiff rate from the first 3 to the last 3: for the curve- 40%/0% to 58/11, for the change- 50/16.7 to 69/20 for the slider- 69/6.3 to 63/14.3 I think certain posters in major panic mode after the first 3 games can climb off the roof ledge. Consider, as Gunnarthor pointed out in the K/9 and BB/9 numbers in his last 3 games, his K/BB ratio for them is a ridiculously good 9.0. His overall strike percentage has gone from 55.9% in his first 3, versus 65.9% in his last 3 games. As stated, in this time frame, his xFIP is 3.45, and is further supported by a SIERA of 3.01. He's taken some definite steps forward, now I'd like to see that alleged 95 MPH FB get flashed a little more often and it's definitely time to start in on some visualization techniques while working out of the stretch.
  7. jokin
    Nope. And Bernier got 3 of his innings and 2 of his PAs tonight against Chicago.
  8. jokin
    Three problems with this, 1) I don't think he gets a lot of say about where he plays in the DWL. 2) Ryan has publicly committed in a lukewarm manner to Santana for the intermediate term at SS, which leaves Polanco looking for a place to play should that come to fruition- as I proscribed, frequent late-inning assignments at 2nd, 3rd and SS would mean he wouldn't need to be sitting on the bench. 3) Unless I'm completely off, and provided he isn't physically spent (certainly a possibility), isn't he likely scheduled for instructionals?, which means he's not getting this month off, so he might as well be getting some major league reps, if that's the case.
  9. jokin
    You beat me to it, great post that leaves many a Twins fan wondering, what is going on with the coaching philosophy? How much is chalked up to luck? How much is individual ability? Milone is working with his #1 fan as his catcher in Suzuki. And the quizzical nature of all of this works for outgoing pitchers as well, ie, Liriano is still having a much better year this year for the Pirates, as well as last year's dominant performance, than he had in his last two Twins seasons (ERA+ of close to 110 with the Bucs, vs. 79 in his last two years with the Twns/Sox) The difference in his pitches? Even with virtually no change in his velocity, he's dropped his overall FB%, from the 50-60% range to 41.6% in both 2013 and 2014, and increased his Change-Up rate by about 50%. Meanwhile, on the flip side, Phil Hughes has found renewed success, he dropped the Slider and the Change from 2013, kept the FB% about the same rate (same velo), added the Cutter, increased the Curve%.
  10. jokin
    No one has said he dominated AA, I think it's general consensus in the Twins FO, based on his placement on the 40-man roster and his previous call-up, that Polanco's a comer in the Twins system. And I already gave a potential solution to your legitimate concern about available positions and playing time You ask if he could learn from a September call-up?. In return, I ask, will he learn any more from no call-up at all? And has it now come to this...? 27 days of service time in September, or even cut that in half to 14, and send him to instructionals the last 2 weeks of September, is that really the level of miserliness that a team going on four 90+ loss seasons should be concerned about?
  11. jokin
    Just a clarification there is absolutely no use of absolutes in the phrase I specifically used, "By age 28, the average player is already in their decline phase" Of course there are exceptions, but in the long-run, the studies show you increase your odds of success by having more younger players approaching their peak years at the ready, both in the pipeline, as well as producing at the major league level.
  12. jokin
    Yep, this sounds exactly right, with all the returning arms, plus Pelfrey, plus May and Meyer vying for rotation spots, plus the fact that the Twins were still bidding on an extra starter going into this season and may very well repeat that exercise this offseason, it would take a monumental string of TJ and shoulder breakdowns for Berrios to get close to the Twins before late July, at the absolute very earliest. My money is on that he starts out in New Britain and forces his way up to Rochester, just as he forced his way up from Ft Myers this year.
  13. jokin
    +1
  14. jokin
    "23 is not super young." Yeah, let's convince the Twins of that fact. But you left out Jordan and Detwiler from the current staff, and the fact that the Nats have demonstrated this type of earlier call-up activity than the Twins and have sustained SP ERA success for the last 5 years, not just this year (and even with bad FA misses like Haren included in those ERA numbers). The main point I was making was the other pitchers that I mentioned beyond Strasburg, for the most part either have, or are still positively contributing to the Nats, or were much-more-quickly-than-the-Twins, moved up, or out, in trade while still young. I'm suggesting that bringing in a different perspective in philosophies on pitcher development from an organization that has found continued and sustained success in just this area for all these young arms now in the Twins system would be prudent. And hiring Randy Johnson as a specific special consultant to Alex Meyer for a year or two wouldn't be a bad idea, either.
  15. jokin
    With all due respect, I don't think I am changing the subject, in point of fact. And while I agree that the it's possible that the FO knows what it's doing here, I think it's prudent to look at the Twins recent results, and then to look at other clubs who are not just succeeding, but flourishing, with a much different approach than the Twins (which includes calling up the other 9 pitchers you ignored in your comparison, but of whom I specifically highlighted in contrast to the Twins philosophy for any pitcher, let alone Meyer).
  16. jokin
    Well, it's certainly an idea that has worked well for Washington. (#1 in team SP as rated by fWAR). And yeah, I know their signing of Fister helps that number, but they've had an SP ERA every season in the low to mid 3s for the last half decade- largely made up of guys called up between 20 and 24, even with added FAs that hasn't worked out as well as Fister has. And Miami has one of the most promising and very young staffs in all of baseball. Something is wrong with the Twins drafting philosophy and/or developmental program, if all we have to show for budding young (24 and under) starting hurlers in the same time frame as Washington is the likes of Nick Blackburn and Anthony Swarzak.
  17. jokin
    No doubt that was the Twins' plan, but after his performance in ST, and the evidence of early promotions as listed above, it's very debatable if that would have been the Nats' plan.
  18. jokin
    This is a much more apt description than hitting the panic button about his inability to go deep into games. The Twins themselves admitted that all along, Meyer was on a preventive-health maintenance plan this season, the only goal of which was to get him through a season of scheduled innings without a shutdown. It takes years for the super-tall guys to refine and harness their deliveries, and as we've seen, he occasionally goes completely off the reservation with his control. Plus, he spent the year learning a new 3rd pitch.
  19. jokin
    I don't think there's any doubt that Meyer would have been up, probably in 2013, everyone knows about Strasburg at age 20 and Zimmerman at age 23 getting the early call up that phenoms deserve, but consider these lesser talents than Meyer, who were already starting games for the Nats over the last seven years: Shairon Martis 21 Detwiler 21 Lannan 22 Peacock 23 Balester 23 Atilano 24 Jordan 24 and last but not least, our very own Tommy Milone 24 That's a total of 10 Starting Pitchers called up by the Nats in the last 7 years, and before Meyer's current age. And I'm sure there are many more call-ups of younger Relief Pitchers, as well.
  20. jokin
    ABW walked twice against strikeout machine, Pirate phenom, MLB Top 100, Tyler Glasnow (Glasnow struck out 8 tonight in 3+ IP). Good for him. If he can get the K rate down next year, just South of 20% and his BB% just North of 10%, he will be on his way.
  21. jokin
    I appreciate your undying support for Adam Walker, he seems like a great, hardworking Midwestern kid from a great family. I would argue that Walker's potential is the main thing that keeps him on every bloggers "intriguing" list, the power and athleticism are undeniable. The flaws in his game at this level are also undeniable. Regarding Cola and Vargas,... those of us that were skeptical on a 30 year old succeeding from 8 years in Indy ball, there was very little to indicate that what he did would somehow translate to the major leagues. But regarding Vargas, I must say that having followed him for the last 3 years, and then especially noticing his major adjustment that he made in late April of this year, which included a very favorable increase in his BB% coupled with a nice reduction in his K%, suggested that he had a decent chance for success at the major league level, and I called for his promotion on the Twins West Coast swing in June when the Twins were short a bat (and chose Hermann, instead)... not because of any prescience on my part, just that the numbers he was putting up were supported by high contact rates and very solid plate discipline for a guy who came in with a rep as a free-swinging big bopper. I'm anxious to see Walker take similar steps next season, if he does, he'll get a great deal more respect from the Twins organization than batting 7th in a playoff game.
  22. jokin
    Nope, but for irrelevant teams, it's the next closest thing.
  23. jokin
    Big Difference. Very good news, by comparison to a broken thumb, anyway.
  24. jokin
    On-base machine Tanner English@ E-Town, probably deserving of an Honorable Mention: .274/.424/.411 OPS .825 Future gettin-after-it scrapper up the organizational chain? Was playing with, and through an injury during August, and this was actually a drop from his season line: .322/.438/.479/.918 If his glove plays well, maybe a future 4th OF depth guy?
  25. jokin
    And presumably, out go September minor league instructionals, as well. Unbelievable.
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