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jokin

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Everything posted by jokin

  1. jokin
    Yeah. Major hole in this report...... Anyone?
  2. jokin
    And that's a good thing. With all of the great pitching performances on the farm, both prospects and non-top 40 prospects, there's finally a fighting chance that the Twins can replenish their major league roster and depth with quality arms developed from within the organization, and not relying so much anymore on scrap heap lottery tickets, bounceback candidates, or weird two-year/one year-on-active-roster deals with another TJ case like Pineda.
  3. jokin
    I'm certainly willing to put my money where my mouth is. Especially after what he's doing in Pensacola. I've been following Jeffers closely since his exceptional debut in E-town. A gutsy 2nd round draft choice by the Twins for a catcher from a small D-1 school. 59th pick overall and not even in the top 250 on prospect lists. As gutsy as the pick was, the Twins FO has been even gutsier in pushing Jeffers rapidly up the system via the fast track. The Twins treatment/advancement of catcher development in the post-Mauer era has been glacially slow. By contrast, we now have Jeffers who has advanced FOUR levels in 1.5 seasons with the Twins. Consider Mitch Garver. Out of a more prestigious school (New Mexico) in a more prestigious conference (Mountain West), Garver was TWICE named MTN. West Conference Player of the Year, and finished 2nd in the Johnny Bench Award TWICE. Batted nearly .400 his senior season. Despite these successes, Garver was slow-tracked by the previous Twins regime, spending full seasons in E-Town (2013), Cedar Rapids (2014), Fort Myers (2015)... and nearly a full season in AA Chattanooga in 2016 before moving up to AAA for his final 22 games. And then, Garver only reluctantly was given playing opportunities with the Twins after tearing up AAA in 2017, until catastrophic injuries forced the Twins' hand to hand the job to Garver in the middle of 2018. The result? Garver is finally in the ascendancy of his career; unfortunately, he turns 29 in January. I'm thrilled to admit my own mea culpa on how Jeffers was initially handled when he was making a mockery of Appy League pitching in 2018. The Twins seemed to have learned, perhaps by the example of Garver, to hypothetically, NOT waste some of Jeffers more productive and healthy years while he's still in his 20s. Is there a review out there about how Jeffers is advancing in his catching skills/pitcher handling? I doubt he would be moving this quickly up the ladder if he was struggling. I'm assuming that the Twins have already made the decision internally for Jeffers to play AFL ball in October. Just one more stepping-stone to claiming a 40-man spot in 2020. Goodbye, Good Luck, Jason Castro. Hello Ryan Jeffers, sometime following Super 2 date, late June 2020?
  4. jokin
    Kudos to him, and perhaps the coaching staff, as well, for helping him to live up to his stuff. From the middle of June until the deadline, May looked clueless and hopeless out there, despite retaining good stuff. What a shot in the arm for the pen if he can continue to roll like he has of late. Rogers recent spotty performances suggest he is beginning to break down from overuse. Cutting back on Rogers' innings might be just what he needs to return to lights out form. May, and maybe Graterol, as well, possibly picking up some of the high leverage innings slack could turn this bullpen from a glaring weakness to a strength down the stretch run and into post-season.
  5. jokin
    Don't get me wrong, I'm all for it. Back in April, I advocated for making him an RP by the All Star break. IMO, given the Twins' ongoing pitching woes, both SPs and RPs, if he's NOT on the postseason roster, it means something has gone horribly wrong. The Twins have nothing but the Tidy Whities and the Kitties over the next two weeks, a perfect chance for Brusdar to make his debut. How about as an "opener" for Odo on Wednesday afternoon vs. Chicago, or for a faltering Berrios vs. the Tigers on Friday night? It would definitely boost attendance a bit. But realistically, as Seth and I have pointed out in the past, confirming to himself and the staff that he can effectively throw that major league ball in AAA for a couple weeks can't do anything but help his chances for success with the Twins. Besides, I applaud the fact that they've been pretty aggressive here, considering the injury, missing over two months of development as a result, his age and the pressure cooker environment he'll be thrown into.
  6. jokin
    Especially since his injury, Rosario has a few gaffes yet to be explained, as well.
  7. jokin
    Seems like a lot of confusion between the dugout and their replay man. And for that matter, I would think that Tommy Watkins would have had the perfect view to insist that Rocco challenge the play. Only Cron, the Rangers RF (and anyone who saw it live on TV)) appeared to know the obvious. It was a critical hit by Cron at that juncture of the game, could have cost the Twins the game, definitely a communication breakdown problem that needs to be addressed.
  8. jokin
    FYI, one more edit needed, it's "dominant", not "dominate".
  9. jokin
    Sep. 1 call-up if the next two weeks go well.
  10. jokin
    It must have been an unwritten rule. The evidence? 1) Dick Bremer first in a state of shock, and then joined by Roy Smalley were both having the vapors at the unseemly specter of anyone actually swinging at a 3-0 pitch in that situation. 2) The first base coach instead of congratulating Cave, quickly upbraided him upon his arrival at first. 3) In reaction to being scolded, Cave looked like a six-year-old who had just been caught stealing the last cookie from his Mama's cookie jar as he profusely apologized to the pitcher in question. 4) Kepler, though from baseball-free Europe, knowingly waited out the next 3 pitches in nervous trepidation, until he was unceremoniously, but surgically, plunked on what would have been ball four. 5) The home plate umpire feigned ignorance of the entire proceedings- in what was an obvious display of Baseball Kabuki Theater- wherein, because of unwritten (and unauthored) rules, the beautiful sport of Base Ball. magically instills "restorative justice" simultaneously as it curiously descends from the sublime to the ridiculous.
  11. jokin
    Medical report on Jeffers, who left the game after a HBP?
  12. jokin
    We can only hope. But if they come back healthy, and more importantly, not arm-weary, the Twins will likely face their top 4 SPs in most, or all, of their remaining 6 games with the Tribe. Plus, what a shot in the arm for Cleveland to have both Kluber and Carrasco as they face the toughest schedule of any of the contenders over the final 6 weeks of the season. Plus, the addition of Puig into the lineup seems to have been transformative to the middle of the Tribe lineup (OPS of 1.034 since joining the Indians).
  13. jokin
    I wrote about this at the time. Tito was only coming back to the dugout- because Cleveland management assured him that they were fully committed to winning and would make the moves necessary to sustain that commitment- and they kept their word to Francona- just look at the gutsy deals they made at the deadline. The Indians have TWO MORE premiere SPs on the verge of returning to their rotation... I fear this one's over and a golden chance was missed by the Twins
  14. jokin
    Financially, major league baseball has been a disaster in Florida. I wonder if Forbes has done an audit on how much each franchise in the state has lost? Tampa Bay is pulling the rip-cord to Canada in slow motion. The League subsidies and funny money accounting keeps these 2 teams (just barely) afloat. Although Marlins Park via the local politicians is publicly allowing that the stadium cost about $634M, Deadspin has reported on the shady tiered financing, SEC investigations and has also revealed the fact that the stadium won't be paid off until 2048, ultimately ending up costing nearly $2.5 Billion by then. Will the Marlins even still be in Florida, let alone Miami by then?
  15. jokin
    In a nutshell, perfect summation. Kudos... As you mentioned, what many of us have been fearing about faulty roster construction -since the offseason!- is now being realized. As much as the very real prospect of the Twins being swept by the Indians is a dreaded possibility, actually being forced to face the cold, hard reality and outcome of the FO's mis-steps leading to the current situation (starting in 2018 with the trading of Pressly), may improve the learning curve and lead to masterminding some solutions*** to both: 1) overcome the current adversity via philosophical adjustments, and further, 2) deal with the glaring holes in the roster, for the remainder of 2019, as well as going forward into the next decade. *** (In the short term, with AHOD!... some magic mix of: >a more open checkbook, >demanding that the "player leaders" step up in the clubhouse, >play for extended innings instead of the current focus on swinging for the fences, > deal with games being lost by SPs on the 3rd time through the order >waiver claims, >FA signings and/or >prospect promotions all deigned together via some all-knowing ouija board?)
  16. jokin
    Rooker hasn't played in 3 weeks, gonna take some time to get in a groove once he's healthy enough to take the field again.
  17. jokin
    Got that right. Love the top half of the order and the solid pitching performances all around. Great scenic ball park right on the bay. Not quite up to that very special Chattanooga team with Sano, Buxton, Kepler, etc., but it still looks like at least 5 potential future Twins on the Pensacola roster.
  18. jokin
    I'm looping both Sano and May videos. It sure beats watching Sano flail and strike out for the umpteenth time on a ball in the dirt with the winning run on base- or watching May walk the #8 and #9 hitters and forced to groove pitches to top-of-the-order opponent hitters- to the point that he has been in pitcher purgatory for most of the last month. Two of this season's biggest up-and-down whipping boys actually stepped up and carried the team across the finish line to an unlikely victory. If these two key cogs have truly turned the corner and consistently get it done in the late innings, this team suddenly gets 25% more dangerous heading towards the playoffs. One of the top 10 games this year.
  19. jokin
    Good OF. Really slumping at the plate right now.
  20. jokin
    Right now, Cave's main value is the 2 options he has remaining- plus that intriguing little run he had in 2018.. I'm guessing he's top of the trade list in the offseason as a throw-in in a bigger deal.
  21. jokin
    The Stat-centric FO likely has determined that extending Rosario is a less than 50-50 proposition (or he probably would have already had his contract redrawn- they haven't done so). Obviously, at least one of the AA/AAA OFs is going to have to make the case that they'll be ready to claim LF by or before the deadline in 2020. My guess is the FO is thinking the odds are good on just that occurrence.
  22. jokin
    Brandon Barnes has hit 25 HR and plays all 3 OF spots. Lightning in a bottle guy if Cave continues to be unable to hit his weight?
  23. jokin
    As 4th OFs go, imo, Cave is pretty solid in covering all 3 spots, but I would agree that he's not going to win any gold gloves. Kepler seems to the eye to be, at the least, above average in CF, so he deserves the nod over Cave. I think we get easily spoiled by Buxton's play and incredible range, as he makes it fairly easy on the corner guys to only have to more adequately cover a smaller area of the OF.
  24. jokin
    So Kepler is going to the bench, then?
  25. jokin
    Never has been a great defender. But I'm willing to bet via the eye test and the stats, particularly his OF range and his power production, will suggest that he's just not the same player since before the ankle injury.
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