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Oxtung

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Everything posted by Oxtung

  1. Oxtung
    Totally agree. Just like Jake Arrieta.
  2. Oxtung
    Look in the end how we think the Twins viewed Pinto is irrelevant to the larger point. At some point they moved on and when they did they found an outside candidate for the job because there was nothing in the prospect pipeline. We will know they have moved on from Sano when they find a long term solution to 3B because there is nothing behind him capable of being a starter.
  3. Oxtung
    Until they "get looks" how do you know if they are a future anything? That's the point. You don't give looks if you've moved on and Pinto was still getting looks. It took Hicks 3 years to become a starter, did they move on from him because they demoted him several times? How about Gibson, Berrios or May because they signed Hughes to an extension?
  4. Oxtung
    Exactly. They thought he could still be a part of their future.
  5. Oxtung
    If that was true why did he still get looks in spring training 2015?
  6. Oxtung
    Ran out of time and had to get back to work. I see no evidence they "gave up" on him until this season. All the evidence suggests they were concerned about his defense but still had hope. They called him up both in 2013, where he raked, and 2014, where he was ok but not great. He got over 200 innings behind the dish in both seasons. Even going into 2015 the Twins were still giving him a chance. He was with the MLB team in spring training until he got a concussion from which he never seemed to recover, hitting .659 in AAA. If the Twins had given up on him as early as 2014, like tobi0040 suggested, why did they give him 30 games at the end of 2014? Why did they not send him down with the rest of the catchers that didn't have a chance in spring training 2015? Let's flip this around. What evidence is there that the Twins had given up on Pinto before September of 2015 when he didn't get called up when rosters expanded?
  7. Oxtung
    Certainly during the dome years the Twins would play anybody with a pulse as long as they were cheap. That shouldn't count against Ryan years later with a new funding environment. Since then SS has always had prospects on the near horizon, even if they were not top 100 quality; Hardy, Nishioka, Plouffe, Dozier, Florimon, Escobar, Santana and Polanco. They were given a chance and once the Twins determined they were not capable of playing the position a new prospect was given a chance (though I realize some people wanted the transitions to be quicker). Third base has had Valencia and then Plouffe. Second base has had Casilla and Dozier. While you might not agree with the leashes on Casilla, Valencia or Nishioka none of those scream "no long term plan". Compare that to the current 3B position if Sano has been deemed not acceptable. Plouffe and then..... ? There aren't even any prospects in the pipeline for the next 4+ years.
  8. Oxtung
    Plouffe has two seasons left of arbitration and there are no prospects in the system that will be ready in that time frame. Frankly I think an argument could be made there are no prospects in the system right now. If Sano can't play 3rd anymore the Twins would have either signed Plouffe to an extension, this is the last offseason this could happen, or they would have made a trade to bring in a young guy like they did at catcher. There are several guys that appear to be blocked in their current organizations like Jeimer Candelario of the Cubs who finished last season at AA and certainly isn't going to unseat Bryant. As has been said many times before Ryan is very conservative and isn't comfortable without a long term plan in place. Just look at catcher, as soon as it was determined Pinto wasn't the answer he went out and got John Ryan Murphy. So when we see a move to shore up 3rd base then we will know the Twins no longer believe Sano is viable there anymore.
  9. Oxtung
    Don't forget Herrmann, Parmelee and Colabello in 2013!
  10. Oxtung
    To answer the OP's question: IMO the first half of the season will be pretty close to a disaster out in the field. The question I have is will the second half be a disaster too or merely below average (assuming Sano remains in the OF)?
  11. Oxtung
    I agree with Chief, these lists get taken out of context. I'd love to see more focus on young talent in the entire system, including the majors. This would give a better idea of the Twins future in relation to other teams. I know one of the sites does an "under 25" list.
  12. Oxtung
    I might not have been clear. I meant there is frequently a pitcher that is legitimately injured or just not quite ready for opening day coming out of spring training. My guess is that happens again this season and therefore there Nolasco gets another chance at starting. Kind of like Pelfrey last season (though hopefully without the drug suspension).
  13. Oxtung
    Stauffer was throwing 88 mph at the end of spring training and was getting shelled. Here are his game logs with velocity. Presley on the other hand didn't get a chance to show what he could do in spring training. But here are his logs showing he was throwing 94 mph. It doesn't take a genius to figure out something isn't right when a pitcher loses 5 mph on his fastball and is getting shelled. To me it was pretty clear he shouldn't have been handed the roll in that situation. You're argument that Stauffer was a better pitcher when healthy might be true but that wasn't the situation the Twins found themselves in. http://www.fangraphs.com/statsd.aspx?playerid=6432&position=P&type=6&gds=&gde=&season=2015 http://www.fangraphs.com/statsd.aspx?playerid=7005&position=P&type=11&gds=&gde=&season=2015
  14. Oxtung
    You can stand by it but that doesn't change the facts. There are players with MLB clauses the Twins have never placed on the 25 man roster. Kubel wasn't healthy either and they still placed him on the 25 man roster to start the year. I'm just saying you can't make a blanket statement when it comes to minor league signings. They are slightly less predictable.
  15. Oxtung
    It's likely that one of the starters will be on the DL to start the season. I think Nolasco will be in the rotation (or perhaps the one on the DL) because of this. I think Pressly will be with the team to start the year if he is healthy. He pitched real well last year. Tonkin on the other hand seems to be on his last legs. He's never been trusted enough to get an extended look and with the young guys coming up behind him he seems to be getting squeezed. Unless he comes out absolutely on fire I think his days are very limited.
  16. Oxtung
    I've come around to this line of thinking as well. I think the original plan was to sign a bat for the DH (which they did with Park), trade Plouffe and move Sano to 3rd. With the money freed up by trading Plouffe I think they planned on signing/acquiring a lefty relief pitcher. Without moving Plouffe I think they've hit an internal Salary cap and have decided not to pursue further options.
  17. Oxtung
    I don't think your blanket statement is true. The Twins at times seemingly make some questionable calls about who makes the 25 man roster (hello, Kubel and Bartlett), but there are also several players that have had opt out clauses they used because they didn't make the roster by a certain date. Rich Harden comes to mind.
  18. Oxtung
    What do their Sept. 2015 stats have to do with decisions made before April? This is absolutely a case where a mediocre veteran, with significant questions, was picked ahead of younger guys because he had a guaranteed contract. Of course the results were very predictable. I'm not sure how this is an argument. This happens very consistently within the Twins organization. Now, at times they latch on to young guys too (hello Mr. Hicks), but that doesn't change the fact that if you have a guaranteed contract you will make the squad barring injury.
  19. Oxtung
    Ryan Pressly, Michael Tonkin, and AJ Achter all began the 2015 season at AAA after spending all of 2014 there as well. All had sub 3 ERA's and all had >9 K/9 rates. Hell, Pressly had already thrown 100 IP of ~4 ERA at the major league level. Again, there are instances when the Twins make room for young guys, Span, Revere, Pierzynski all are examples; but Stauffer isn't one of them.
  20. Oxtung
    there are a few cases where the Twins moved veterans to make room for young guys but Stauffer isnt one of them. He was throwing 88 mph and was absolutely terrible in Spring training. Given that, the FO still decided to stick with him for many appearances instead of handing one of the young relievers a spot out of spring training.
  21. Oxtung
    plouffe isn't a FA until after the 2017 season.
  22. Oxtung
    I think there are a few good points that we can all agree on. First, the Twins fall in love with certain veterans and they get resigned even though there are frequently better options out there. Sometimes I think the Twins FO makes decisions that are based off of short term results that aren't borne out by long term trends. This includes names like Duensing, Swarzak, Suzuki, Doumit, Palfrey, Correia, Etc... Second, if there is a veteran with a guaranteed contract and a young player with options competing for playing time, the veteran will get the first opportunity to play. Third, at times the FO falls in love with certain hitting prospects and makes aggressive moves to find playing time/room. This includes Arcia, Hicks, Rosario, Sano and it appears as if CF is being set up for Buxton. I'll add more later. Getting kicked off the computer.
  23. Oxtung
    What is the word on Harrison's defense in the OF now that he's had a full season?
  24. Oxtung
    I'd second(3rd? 7th?) Kramarzcuks polishes. I'd add Izzes ice cream for deserts. I'm a fan of the Goose Island beers. One thing I was actually disappointed in last season was the Red Cow burgers. Overpriced and underwhelming IMO.
  25. Oxtung
    Looking at the leverage index from last years relievers the first two were pretty obvious; Perkins and Jepsen who are good though not great. The next two were Boyer and Thompson. That is unacceptable. One will be replaced by May which will be fine but who picks up those lefty innings? What happens when Perkins wears down or Jepsen returns to his pumpkin ways or May is needed in the rotation? At this point this bullpen is neither strong nor deep. There really needed to be another acquisition this winter.
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