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jokin

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Everything posted by jokin

  1. jokin
    One play is the basis for your decision-making on a player with pretty reliable career numbers? I am all for looking in-house first, as well. The Twins simply didn't have viable options with major league CF experience, hence, why a Pods or Borbon Plan B makes perfect sense to stabilize things when things go south.
  2. jokin
    Gibson, Sano, Buxton, same old, same old. The All-Star game gambit is only the latest artificiality.
  3. jokin
    The 45% K rate in April was one element of some of that "bad luck", too!:fenforcer: But on your meta-point, how did the TWins FO not understand that Hicks has made demonstrably slow and painful adjustments at each successive level and jumping 2 levels without an adequate backup plan was a recipe for short-term disaster?
  4. jokin
    Hicks has improved, but his improvement is off of an incredibly awful debut month. Any signs of showing a pulse had to look better by comparison. For the record, he hasn't batted .280 over the last 30 days, Hicks has in fact, produced this: .227/.261/.455/.715 His April line was this: .113/.229/.127/.356 It's clear Hicks is experimenting with his approach at the plate. From April to May he morphed from being a very lousy NL pitcher at the plate, into a better-average-but-lower-OBP Adam Dunn. You're right in the big picture though, by 2015 he will have likely figured out who he really is at the plate (probably ~.275 BA/.735 OPS), and likely in LF and hopefully leading off, but that remains in doubt.
  5. jokin
    Bryce Harper went directly from A to AA in-season. His OPS dropped from .973 in A ball, to .724 in AA- his HR power disappearing altogether---The following year, 2012, he played 21 games in AAA, batting .243/.325/.365/.690, none of which of these developments dissuaded the Nats from installing Harper at age 19 into the starting ML lineup- mostly in CF.
  6. jokin
    Uhh, "nope". Borbon is a late-inning replacement for the Cubs, mostly not in CF, with all of 56 PAs. Not the same comparison to Hicks, whatsoever. Borbon has been an above-replacement level and competent CF throughout his career. The part of my comment that you bolded has still not been refuted. Assuming that Borbon gives you career average, the numbers would not be similar at all.
  7. jokin
    I guess you are assuming I have a fondness for sugary beverages. A simple glimpse at my posting history would tell you how utterly wrong you are. The scenario for "competitive" is my own construction, not TRs. Spending $1M for a proven veteran, or $2.5M for Nate McLouth? Oh brother, indeed. That would definitely break the bank at 1 Twins Way.
  8. jokin
    The Twins were/are in desperate need of a premier SS they can build the franchise around over the next 10 years- and just as much in need to pay over-slot money down the draft for a couple extra guys. I'm still betting Buxton makes Correia and the couple extra guys resemble Bowie before it's all said and done.
  9. jokin
    Excellent post. The Nervous Nellies and their excessive "nellieness" simply doesn't apply to guys like Trout, Machado, and hopefully, Buxton. The most recent argument used for objecting Buxton's rapid progression was his supposed "slumping badly" May. His "slump" in that month produced a .294 BA with an .834 OPS- a number that still would have placed him in the top ten in the Midwest League. Furthermore, his last 10 game statistics (half of which were in the month of May) are above his April otherworldliness numbers, producing a slash line of .463/.500/.683/.1183. So yeah, he's made the "adjustments to the adjustments", just as many of us predicted he would. (Even overcoming a minor injury in the process). If we really want to "just let him move up at his own pace", look to Trout and Machado as examples, not the Standard Operating Procedure inherent in the usual Twins promotion schedule.
  10. jokin
    Well-stated. If Gleeman said anything like this (which I'm sure he did), he's guilty of overanalysis and ridiculous expectations. What did he expect from Gibson for an encore? A no-hitter with 19 Ks? Gibson is in his first full year coming off of TJ, it is a given that his performances should be somewhat uneven. Given that, I'm not sure if he's more uneven than the next "average" pitcher who never had the surgery- and Gibson's numbers aren't average- he's overall the #2 pitcher in FIP in the IL- even with the uneven performances.
  11. jokin
    We have to agree to disagree. I'm most definitely NOT OK with not adding a legit Plan B option- and said so at the time. There was certainly nothing to stop them payroll-wise. And there certainly was overwhelming evidence that HIcks was a slow study to reach a level of competence as he climbed the career level-of-difficulty ladder in the minors- and then Ryan expected a seamless jump to the majors moving up NOT one level, but TWO. You sign a Pods, or bring in a Borbon, to give you a slightly above replacement level potential as their career averages suggest. This is what Borbon is currently giving the Cubs, and getting a Plan B option cost them nothing in acquisition cost. Regarding the WAR argument, it is comprised of other batting and fielding metrics. The Twins are at the bottom in virtually every batting metric (wRC, wOBA, wRAA) and in the bottom 25% in every fielding metric. Will you accept these as evidence?
  12. jokin
    The Twins were rated 3rd overall in CF WAR ratings in 2012 with a total of 6.7. This year? Tied for last place- with a NEGATIVE WAR of -1.2. Project the WAR values out to a full season and this plays out to a difference of 10 wins! This current situation is not directly related to injuries. The Twins voluntarily made the decision to start the season without a CF that had starting-level experience at one of the 4 critical defensive positions. While most franchises might struggle to fill the gap, there were multiple FA options in the offseason- ranging from very expensive to dirt cheap- to sign as major league-starter-ready Plan B options. Another proven CF option presented itself in the Rangers Julio Borbon at the season outset in the first week of April- who would have likely been acquirable in trade for a prospect worth less than Joe Benson- who BTW, we then gave away to Texas for nothing!
  13. jokin
    We're not a competitive team BECAUSE this is just one of many problems that weren't properly addressed.
  14. jokin
    The latest video from today's game on Buck's triple shows Buxton cruising in to thrid in just around 10 seconds. And it looked like he was easing it back as he approached third. Unreal.
  15. jokin
    Both middle infield and CF, the most critical players on the field besides the battery-mates, were one-option-only bluffs by TR, that have been called. And neither are "short-term problems"- there aren't any more cards left in the deck for the near-to-intermediate-term, anyways.
  16. jokin
    Blame the copywriter for the video, all I did was cut and paste the link as is.
  17. jokin
    This was a self-inflicted wound, they dealt this hand to themselves, and now they look quite foolish playing 52-pickup.
  18. jokin
    Watch the replay on the triple . It is supposedly established lore that Bo Jackson is the fastest right hander from home to first---at 3.89 seconds. This is youtube, not an official stopwatch, mind you- but Buxton appears to get to first base, leaving home plate between the 5 and 6 second mark in the video and touching first, rounding the base mind you, at just about the 9 second mark. More than that, on about his third stride after just touching first, he appears to actually ACCELERATE his speed to another gear altogether-- just as the RF is getting the relay from the CF, and then he still beats the throw to third. All in all, he goes from home to third in under, or around 10 seconds- in youtube time, anyway.
  19. jokin
    I would hope that Walker would share some of his SB secrets with Buxton, right now, base running is the only visible chink in Byron's armor.
  20. jokin
    Thanks for the great find, cmb! I took some static a month ago when I asserted that the Twins must change their standard operating procedure on how to handle someone this good- I'm now more convinced than ever that Buck must be fast-tracked as quickly as possible to the show.
  21. jokin
    As if "the catch" wasn't enough for one day's worth of legend-building, the legged-out triple was also little short of amazing. A scout had written earlier on that he has never seen a guy cover the ground from first to third quicker- he proved that was a true observation today- there is no question that the Twins have never had a prospect like this before.
  22. jokin
    We gotta have a league leader in at least one category.
  23. jokin
    This is actually an area where the awareness level in the front office has improved dramatically. Meyer in New Britain also.
  24. jokin
    The individual positives have made the team easier to watch, for sure. I just wish they had made a better effort to bolster the areas of weakness in the offseason (what the 3 acquisitons there are as SPs have proven to produce exactly what was expected- a collective ERA over 6.00, one already demoted, another hanging on by a thread- in a word- AWFUL). You are correct, there are enough positives already and more than enough payroll room to have played for this season to make a run, as well as preparing for the future. Very frustrating.
  25. jokin
    Yesterday.
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