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jokin

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Everything posted by jokin

  1. jokin
    Yep. I did a double-take as I was transcribing the stats, but I was motivated to check on the numbers because I noticed how many IF FB and GB he was getting last night. I had no idea where he ranked in FB%- stunning. And from game-to-game, Gibson's pitch chart can vary wildly from primarily down-in-the-zone to up-in-the-zone- so no help there. I was waiting for Cabrera or VMart to really sock one good last night, and they looked like they kept guessing wrong all night, resulting in very weakly hit balls.
  2. jokin
    I like Fien, but I'm not sure if he's the guy you want in the main set-up role on a contender. But I'll defend Fien in the attitude department in maximizing performance relative to Perkins. And maybe Goin can finally convince the braintrust that in order to contend, the Twins simply have to improve on their near-last reliever K% of 18%. The good news is that there are so many viable options for upgrade. And I'm not nearly as worried about veteran complacency from Twins management as in previous years. The Twins are showing new-found aggressiveness to the point that I don't think we'll have to endure multiple 'pen meltdowns. For example, Gardy stuck with Gibson last night in the 7th, even though he was well-past 100 pitches- even he finally realizes that a fatigued Gibson was going to be a better option than a fresh Burton in that situation. I think we see incremental moves to bolster the pen in the next few weeks, perhaps just before, or right after the All Star break.
  3. jokin
    Finally, do we have the exception to the rule that Pitch to Contact is a flawed concept? Through yesterday's game, here are the important 2014 stats for Gibson's success that rank in the Top 20 in the AL: FB%: 29.0% (8th) GB%: 54.8% (5th) LD%: 16.3% (4th) IFFB%: 16.4% (2nd) GB/FB: 1.89 (6TH) K%: 11.9% (3rd Worst) fWAR: 1.2 (Tied for 20th) In 3 starts in June, Gibson has improved on most of these stats, most striking are his June #s in: IFFB% of 35.7% which ranks 1st GB% of 64.4% which ranks 3rd LD% of 11.9% which ranks 2nd So even though he's not missing many bats, batters are either pounding it into the ground, or largely doing the next best thing to a strike out- weakly popping the ball up to an infielder. As the previous study suggested, Gibson is being hit, but ranks with the best in limiting hard hit balls. This phenomena seems to be more than purely luck-related. While he's definitely not a Top 20 pitcher, Gibson has apparently earned Gardy's confidence, when a strikeout was called for in high leverage situations- and even in the situation with 2 outs in the 7th, where Gardy in the past would surely have pulled Gibson- Gibson got weakly hit pop-ups or ground balls. So while SIERA loves Phil Hughes in June- Hughes sits at 2.69, while Gibson's SIERA for June comes in at 3.97......I think the Twins will be quite pleased if Gibson's ERA comes in somewhere close to that number as the season progresses.
  4. jokin
    The one negative that came through from last year was the too-frequent histrionic displays when things weren't gong well. I haven't heard about that at all this year- maybe a sign of increasing emotional maturity that will go very well with the physical maturity that now has his FB touching 98 MPH .
  5. jokin
    I was worried from the moment he was quoted that he had sought "treatment" from a Detroit chiropractor.
  6. jokin
    If you thought that AB vs. Nathan was a thing of beauty, you should have watched Eduardo fight off those post-game questions from Jamie Lee Curtis last night....and sort-of in "English"....gotta give the guy credit for giving it a shot....and the big smile and celebration at the end of the interview translate in any language.
  7. jokin
    Phil Miller‏@MillerStrib Sam Fuld gets the start in CF for Twins today, with Brian Dozier still out.
  8. jokin
    The irony of all of this, the end result is that, whomever the source was/is, the reporting has proven to be accurate. Hicks appears to be at a major crossroads in his Twins career. Gardy piled on the praise for the return of Fuld, and promised he'd see plenty of playing time- and Fuld is in the starting lineup today. As noted in my post last evening, Phil Miller also piled on last night regarding the Twins feelings and seeming indifference about Hicks going on the DL or being optioned, so apparently he was given the same information from the same background source who has proven to be accurate to this point. Care to put 2 + 2 together? It appears to be straight from the horse's mouth, even if the horse is using another mouthpiece.
  9. jokin
    Detroit relievers collectively have the worst ERA in baseball (4.68). And Joe Nathan is the worst individually (7.04).
  10. jokin
    Phil Miller in his postgame notes, on Aaron Hicks going to the 15-day DL with a shoulder injury http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/263119411.html?page=1&c=y : Phil Miller is apparently also not buying the notion that, but for his shoulder injury, that Hicks had turned the corner both in his game on the field, and in winning renewed votes of confidence from the Twins braintrust.
  11. jokin
    Per Phil Miller this evening, Gardy weighs in on Sam Fuld's role http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/263119411.html?page=1&c=y: Fuld entered tonight's game against Detroit in the 9th inning as a pinch runner for Josh Willingham, and finished off the bottom of the 9th in LF.
  12. jokin
    I agree. He must be right near the very top of their "What If?"/Flavor of the Month scenarios. Yet another prospect with the legitimate chance to seize a huge opportunity. The only questions remaining is how he lands on the roster, whether through injury, attrition or trade.
  13. jokin
    3) Again, another TD contributor got it right in the offseason personnel analysis, started up the "Eddie 400", and was way ahead of Gardy and management on who should be playing in the Twins MI, and why. Escobar is likely not the long-term answer, but you have to love a guy who takes full advantage of an opportunity. 4/5) Give Ryan credit and question Dombrowski's judgement. Putting together a bullpen is a relatively cheap fix, provided a GM has some insight into the process....once again.....Ryan has a decent bullpen that can potentially quickly get much better, meanwhile, the Tigers bullpen has the worst ERA in all of baseball (4.68). Ironic, isn't it, the Twins seem to be one good starter and maybe one good reliever (and they have multiple candidates to fill those roles) from being a legitimate team to beat candidate in the Central, while the Tigers SPs are one injury away from probably a lost season for the Kitties.
  14. jokin
    cdt
  15. jokin
    McCarthy Tatum, great name, nice size (6'4" 180#) and appears to be able to pitch (HS team pitcher of the year) as well as hit. Tatum's HS team is Cali state champion and ranked by Baseball America #4 in the nation. Is he a definite "No!"? Perhaps not: Fresno or Ft Myers? Plus a nice chunk of change in his pocket. And maybe the Twins buy him his college scholarship. This would be the kind of signing that helps to make more sense of the early rounds. Does anyone have a better breakdown of his strengths and ceiling?
  16. jokin
    Tweet from LEN 3: Now they have signed seventh round pick Andro Cutura, a righthander from Southeastern Louisiana, and 10th round pick Randy LeBlanc, a righthander from Tulane.
  17. jokin
    Nunez continues at SS, Escobar at 2nd. Suzuki promoted to the 2-hole in the order.
  18. jokin
    No Dozier. I hope he's healthy enough to be available to PH, both for his power swing and for maintaining his consecutive games streak.
  19. jokin
    Yep. It will be interesting to see if the Twins follow through on their alleged quest in CF for a Jon Jay-type or waiver wire pick-up and burn one of the two remaining Hicks options. Pocketing both options for the future might be the best idea for building and preserving the long-term value of Hicks- the patient approach has worked for Hicks in the past and he might improve enough in AAA to realize his full value (trade chip?), but the team that wants to compete now would probably be hurt by continuing to roster Hicks- is he really going to figure out RHP enough in a short AAA rehab stint to be effective against big league pitchers? Santana is likely to soon fall back to Earth and Fuld is a 4th OF. I don't think the Twins can consider trying to "compete" into September if Hicks in his current state is the primary CFer.
  20. jokin
    To be fair, Garver is 23.5, over a year older than the Midwest League average age, so the onus will remain on Mitch to maintain the gaudy numbers and glowing on-field reports in order to keep knocking down the barrier doors and forcing a move up to Ft Myers, for starters. And how many clubs would put their 2 prize lower-level catching prospects together on the same team (Turner is on Ft Myers)? You might have the same situation for proper playing time that Gardy faced with the big club. A problem, yes, but a good problem to have, the head-to-head competition could be healthy for both players.
  21. jokin
    Texas plays at 2PM tomorrow and Lousiville plays at 7PM. Both games are on ESPN 2. Interestingly, the teams are in the same part of the CWS bracket- if both schools win, they could play each other on June 16 at 2PM or 7PM, or June 18 in the double-elimination game, or again on June 20.
  22. jokin
    You are likely right in all of your personnel conclusions. But I disagree about Meyer. As in the case of Gibson, Kevin Gausman (age 22 for his debut), Michael Wacha (age 21 for his debut), and others, I think Meyer (now age 24) is more than ready to test his mettle at this level, and would benefit greatly from getting himself established this year for a chance at even better effectiveness in 2015.
  23. jokin
    Finally official as of 1PM today:
  24. jokin
    The Fuld Accompli is finally completed- and things around the clubhouse are bound to settle down quite a bit. I'm wondering what the story is, medically speaking, for Hicks' shoulder after his encounter with team physicians yesterday?
  25. jokin
    I'm not yet convinced that Meyer's 2014 "graduation" is a certainty, although it certainly should be.
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