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jokin

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Everything posted by jokin

  1. jokin
    Guys like Willingham with expiring contracts are traded every single year. Although we may not like the return we get, he will be moved before season end.....barring a season-ending injury, you can book it right now.
  2. jokin
    His low BABIP rate is actually encouraging, meaning more HRs lately (6) and eventually, the line drives and fly balls that will drop in and normalize the rate, which should support the continued high batting numbers, when the BB% drops. The wRC+ improvement year over year is a signficant plus- and doing it at AA. And as I stated, he's drawing these extra BBs and hitting for average and power without any support around him- give him credit for taking these bad pitches rather than getting frustrated at the lack of meatballs being dished out. When he gets decent plate support, the BB% will surely drop, but he should get more decent pitches to feast upon. Regardiing the DH options, Pinto won't be a DH much longer- he either steps into the C full-time or is replaced at DH when Gardy returns to the 2-catcher lineup (which opens a potential roster spot- think Thome), Willingham will be traded soon, Parmelee is not on the roster, Arcia is currently hurt and struggling with a K% in the mid-30% range, while Colabello is currently in his first significant slump, and some of the above and possibly others are bound to have injury down time over the course of the season. And Vargas already being on the 40-man just streamlines the decision-making process at the opportune moment. This is not as insurmountable a hurdle as it might seem at first glance.
  3. jokin
    Fortunately, that's not an issue, as Vargas is already "current", having been placed on the roster in the offseason. And as we've seen in the first 5 weeks of the season, injuries and trades are inevitable, if he continues to rake, it will be hard to ignore him as a legit power bat option- stepping up to the most significant readiness level for major league consideration- AA....while nearly reversing his K/BB career trends while upgrading his power numbers can't be ignored when the time comes for consideration to the big club.
  4. jokin
    As the weather is finally warming up, so should some of the dormant minor league bats......Here's a line that has yet gone unnoticed, a tasty SSS to be sure, but which demands more careful scrutiny from this point forward: This is Kennys Vargas's plate numbers over the last 2 weeks. The Beast awakens....and few are taking much note,,,,,and he's doing this with virtually no support in front of, or behind him, in the woeful New Britain batting order. Imagine a potential switch-hitting David Ortiz, he's now basically one stop away from the Twins lineup.
  5. jokin
    Since you went a little off topic, may I veer away as well with a tasty little SSS discovery I made this morning: This is Kennys Vargas's plate numbers over the last 2 weeks. The Beast awakens....no one's taking much note,,,,,and he's doing this with virtually no support in front of, or behind him, in the New Britain batting order.
  6. jokin
    Esco/P-Flo/Dozier/Mauer.....This is the team's best defensive lineup in the infield, by far. Santana, our future, now former, SS heir-apparent-turned-Super-Util will be playing 3rd in the event of injury. Gardy will never violate the unwritten "DH can't go to the field in-game" sanctity.
  7. jokin
    Scratch that one, then....losing both Eaton and Garcia, the Sox are in worse shape than the Twins in the OF at this point.
  8. jokin
    Daniel Carbonell from Cuba was just granted free agency. The Twins should be all over him at this point. If not, wait for Baltimore to cut an OF if they sign Morales, Boston looks like they are going to make an OF move. Or they could sign Juan Pierre or claim Moises Sierra.
  9. jokin
    For a weekend, maybe, but longer than that? I couldn't disagree more. Santana showed both in ST and in Roc., that he has the talent and the tools, but is lacking the requisite reps, both in the field and at the plate, to earn a call-up. He needs to be playing every day, honing and refining his deficient areas, building and reinforcing his muscle memory- not suddenly thrust into some ethereal Team Chemist role.
  10. jokin
    Moises Sierra or Juan Pierre could be claimed/signed instead? Or a trade engineered for a AAAA CFer?
  11. jokin
    Agreed, Twins managment has really learned nothing from having Bartlett and Colabello and their laughably, cringe-inducing, pale imitations of major league OFers, why would you double down on this experience? It's as unfair to the rookie presuming they can just plug him into CF, as it was to Bartlett to play anywhere in the OF ....and more than casting grave doubts about Santana's future as the Twins SS, I would add that it also doesn't say much good about the roster constructors who self-inflicted this so-easily-forseeable-roster-crunch wound.
  12. jokin
    The guy is gamer and an igniter. He appears to be leading by example and perhaps vocally, as well. Regarding his baserunning and baseball instincits, yesterday, on Hardy's low throw that got through the backup Birds 1st baseman, Dozier had less than a split second to see where the ball was and the backup fielders were, and make a decision on whether or not to take the extra base, when running it back in slow mo, you can see he processed the information in a flash and made it safely to second with just enough margin. On a good team he probably should be batting 6th, it's a shame that all of his HRs are of the solo variety- that's a function of Hicks and Florimon batting in front him at epically futile rates, but there's no doubt in my mind, he's still hands-down the MVP of the team thus far, and he's the leadoff guy until Buxton can ensconce him self for good. Now we've got another guy, in the OF this time, who also doesn't take being a major leaguer for granted in Sam Fuld, he obviously is no Dozier talent-wise, but now having 2 heady guys on the field willing to lay it all out might become contagious- maybe more guys would be willing to explore finding ways to win ballgames. Dozier is a true "Brian Baseball"- Twins-variation- and not the likes of those poser-types we used to be ashamed were on the roster- Lil' Nicky please stand up- Dozier is the real deal. Great post Stringer!
  13. jokin
    What are we missing here? Pino must be the poster boy for AAAA greatness. His numbers at AAA have greatly improved the last 2 seasons, but this year especially, he's currently bolstered by an unsustainble BABIP around .200 and a ridiculous strand rate at 99%. Three shutouts in 9 years of minor league ball and already 2 this year. Nice article on today's game, plus given credit as a mentor for Meyer and his new change-up: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140503&content_id=74203890&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb http://www.milb.com/assets/images/1/9/8/74204198/cuts/640_Pino_2_cp7wpanr_79z0vc4q.jpg There have been five shutouts thrown in the International League this season, and despite only having three starts on the year, Rochester right-hander Yohan Pino now has two of them.
  14. jokin
    Mad Mag had the unique ability to be directed at a youthful audience, and yet without ever talking down to them or preaching. As you so eloquently stated, they inspired you to "raise your game", without forcing you to turn into snobbish Ivy League-types while in the process of doing so. For me, without realizing it at the time, Mad helped me become a critical thinker at a young age, and it let me know it was all right to laugh not only at the little stuff, but more importantly, at societies' stuffiest shirts, as well. The Movie and TV satires were especially good at sending up the highbrow and lowbrow culture shapers. For example, this one shattered all respect for Coppola (and I really liked the film and still do): http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjQwWDQ4MA==/z/BwcAAOxyHntSWVPB/$%28KGrHqZ,%21ooFJQu,E-0kBSWVP%217pYQ~~60_1.JPG [TABLE] [/TABLE] [TABLE=align: right] | Add to watch list [/TABLE] http://p.ebaystatic.com/aw/pics/s.gif
  15. jokin
    8 POs in 9 fly ball outs today and nearly one OF assist at home. And Fuld had the correct read, jump and route on each. His play in the field since he's arrived makes one question Defensive evaluative stats in the aggregate. I've always thought he was a terrific defensive player, a perfect 4th OFer. The Twins were extremely fortunate to win the claim on Fuld, credit to them for being proactive, but they dug themselves this hole in the first place through a series of unforced errors, starting with failing to have legitimate major league depth, both going into 2013 and 2014, and then cutting legitimate CF options in favor of a washed-up Team Chemist. There may be a problem just ahead though. I can think of 4 of the recent Twins concussion victims being out for significant amounts of time (Span, Morrneau, Ramirez and Mauer). So there's no guarantee that Hicks will be down for only the next 7 days. In which case, the Twins should still be working hard to strengthen their OF depth, as Fuld is likely not up to the task of starting every day. Incredibly, and to your bolded point above, it was hinted on today's broadcast that Danny Santana was being drilled in the OF today- c'mon, they gotta come up with a more thought out solution than that.
  16. jokin
    Arcia had a pretty bad spring training. And his alarming K rate from last year has actually gotten worse, even in AAA. The dead giveaway that something isn't right was the revelation that the current wrist injury is identical to the one that shut him down last August. Wrists are touchy things- getting back to 100% health should be the priority here, not getting back to the show ASAP.
  17. jokin
    A couple of ways to look at this last sentence. When he's not starting, he's actually helping the team, offensively. And when he is starting, he's also a waste of a roster spot. I'm still trying to get my head around the thinking in early ST by Gardy declaring him- "My starting SS" in the face of all the evidence that physically and health-wise, he never came close to rounding into playing readiness at the plate. And then stubbornly sticking with him when it became painfully obvious throughout April that they were putting him through the same psychological torture they put Hicks through to open 2013. Baffling indeed. Ready or not, Santana should have shared reps with Escobar to start out the season and given P-Flo a chance to right himself in the minors.
  18. jokin
    Equal opportunity satirists, iconoclasts and mythbusters. No one's political persuasions or egocentricities were off limits, sacred cows or gilded lilies. Having said that, I never really appreciated "What, me worry?" until after becoming an adult Twin fan, we've run the emotional gamut with them over the last 30+ years.
  19. jokin
    That's a tall order to ask of someone, starting at SS, chief back-up in CF and 3rd, 4th C.
  20. jokin
    During tonight's game, Dick quoted Willingham as saying he is still unable to even swing a bat, his wrist so sore- it sounds like it's going to be more than just a couple days, probably more like weeks before he is able to return. And on Hicks, it didn't sound like the Twins were very enthusiastic about his return being imminent. Perhaps they should look to the waiver wire? Florimon should not be here, he should be working on fixing whatever he can fix in the minors. Perhaps Moises Sierra, or something else that will pop up on the wire more to their liking?
  21. jokin
    Rb, I forget to send my condolences on behalf of your avatar's "creator": http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/30/showbiz/mad-magazine-editor-dies/ Al Feldstein RIP ....A satirical genius. http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140430182410-01-al-feldstein-story-top.jpg "Mad" magazine editor Al Feldstein works on page layout in his office at the magazine's New York headquarters in 1972. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Al Feldstein, editor of Mad magazine for 29 years, dies at age 88 Originally an artist, Feldstein joined EC Comics, Mad's publisher, in the 1940s Mad captured society's cynicism, he said: "It was the reaffirmation of those feelings in print" (CNN) -- Al Feldstein, who guided Mad magazine for almost three decades as its editor, has died, according to a Montana funeral home. He was 88
  22. jokin
    Not according to Jeremy: [TABLE=class: cms_table_datatable, align: center] [TD=class: cms_table_cnorm, align: center]SS[/TD] [TD=class: cms_table_cnorm, align: center]Pedro Florimon, Jr. #[/TD] [TD=class: cms_table_cnorm, align: center]1.073[/TD] [TD=class: cms_table_cnorm, align: center]MLB[/TD] [TD=class: cms_table_cnorm, align: center]MLB[/TD] [TD=class: cms_table_cnorm, align: center]MLB,AAA,AA[/TD] [TD=class: cms_table_cnorm, align: center]MLB,AA[/TD] [TD=class: cms_table_cnorm, align: center]12/10/86 Options: [/TD] [TD=class: cms_table_cnorm, align: center]10, 11 [/TD] [/TABLE]
  23. jokin
    Apparently someone else's SS was on the Red Wings. Yet another head-scratching move with Anthony also stating that Escobar is the starting SS for the immediate future. This is a team without apparent direction, major scramble mode.
  24. jokin
    Exactly right about Dozier's power. I think it's sustainable and is largely wasted at the top of the order, and especially with 2 guys at the bottom of the order whose hitting prowess has closely matched the average NL pitcher. And on the first part of your post, I don't necessarily see "rapid decline" for Dozier, just that it's likely that while others are more likely to fall back to who they really are at the plate fairly soon, Dozier will likely sustain or hit over his career SLG for the year, but likely gradually finish closer to his career average OBP rather than his current OBP over the season-long time frame.
  25. jokin
    Don't sell yourself short, Stringer, we fans lately appear to know more than the club concerning the situation.
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