h2oface
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Everything posted by h2oface
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Nice article and analysis. I hope you didn't jinx him. -
I think he still could. Maybe let Dozier play second the first half of the season, and then Rosario the second. Just Kidding. Dozier is fine. And valuable. He just needs to figure out how to last the whole season instead of fading in the second half.
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Rookie manager decisions in Thursday's game
h2oface replied to Geneb's topic in Minnesota Twins Talk
It always amazes me when pitchers can't make throws to the bases. Jepsen last night, and Boyer to third the other day..... it is just self sabotage. Best athletes on the field, right Bert? Both Mauer and Escobar had an opportunity to end the game as well. I thought Escobars range was exposed a couple of times in this game, and the 0-fer was not a help, but I never would have used Duensing, and definitely not against both Martinez's. Never. -
These guys need to use the offseason to really get in shape to last a whole season. And I don't just mean Dozier. Maybe they should hang with Berrios. He knows what getting in shape to last is all about..... even if they did make him stop. He was ready.
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I didn't really care. I hate to pull the hot hitter during the game, Buxton going 2-3......for the lefty-righty thing..... or for any reason. But I can say history has now shown it was not a good decision.
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The same folks that touted his greatness are now saying back off on the expectations, and touting excuses now. There is a lot to be said about a player that comes out of the box and performs like he has been touted. Buxton has not done that. Watching him slide.... I think he is just mentally challenged - and watching him pop up bunts? Come on. Right now I have no expectations. I am extremely disappointed that he was not able to really help the team, ala Sano, when they really needed him to come up and wow us, especially with Dozier doing the second half fade, and Mauer and Plouffe not stepping up, and Hunter's rapid decline. Buxton is not such a great story right now, but I will leave the door open. Now Carlos Correa....... that is a different story.
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This is a screenshot of the very first batter Duffey faced in the game on Monday, September 14th. The home plate umpire, Chris Conroy, seemed to be having a bit of a problem warming up. Only 2 of 5 calls were correct. I guess we give him some slack, eh? After all, he is just guessing, and doing the best he can, regardless of whether it is fair to the pitcher, batter, fans, or the "game".
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1st At Bat 2015 09 14 Chris Conroy umpire Duffy pitching
h2oface posted a gallery image in Members Albums Category
From the album: Umpire calls
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As a big fan of Joe Mauer, and a believer when his father touted that he would be the next ball player to hit .400, and one who predicted that he would be closer to his 2009 year than not with his switch to first......... I think it is about the production. I really don't care about the money, but I would like a lot more production out of the first bagger on any team than what Mauer has shown for 2 years running. A .260 hitter at first with not even close to 100 RBI? I do have a problem with that for this team, and I don't give a damn what he gets paid.
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I keep seeing the bloopers he can't get to, or the balls just out of reach of his glove, and the balls thrown to first from deep in the hole toward third dribbling to first ala Little Ben Revere, and some bad decisions on when to throw home. But there is some flash and acrobatics for double plays, and like Hardy, he handles his range. If he hits like he has the last 30 days, how do you keep him out of the lineup at short? I have to compare the trade by comparing Liriano's performance since the trade, as if this could have been for the Twins the whole time, to Escobar's performance for the Twins for the whole time since. I can't just call it a half season for several years, as Escobar could have been cast off just as Liriano was at any point, and Liriano could have been resigned or extended. Granted, Gardenhire and Anderson in the ear doesn't help Liriano's performance, and that Ray Searage is the unforeseen potion that couldn't have happened for the Twins....... but..... comparing the total performance of each over the time since the trade, I think it is still highly favored in Liriano's direction.
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Runs batted in?........ or Runs batted ins?..... RBI or RBIs? I guess I contend that it is RBI, whether 1 or 200. It is already plural, and if it is used for just one run, it is a run batted in, and still RBI.
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Quite a strong statement of fact for an opinion.
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Price Dropping For Intriguing Trade Target
h2oface replied to Nick Nelson's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
Perkins is only reliable in the first half of a season, especially as he continues to believe that he doesn't need to get himself in great shape, but just kinda workout in the off season. One may as well plan for his softness to fade now, and be ready to replace his role after the all-star break. -
Burdi and Shag-wa giving it up. I hope they are not practicing for the show!
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This is exactly what I mean. It is not unusual for a very smart and creative person to be in therapy/counseling, and I certainly wouldn't accuse couples that decide to seek counseling as documenting mental issues. Mental issues... head cases.... it is just too easy to throw out there, inherently disparaging, and very irresponsible, I feel. Folks liked to use it to describe Liriano, too. The fact that a posse of people without cred to do so may have said similar disparaging things doesn't make what they said any more meaningful or accurate. May does not remind me of Garza at all.
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People seem to forget how valuable Garza was. The 2008 ALCS MVP is not too dim. No pressure in the playoffs, eh? If the Twins had a manager with Phil Jackson's demeanor, things would have been different and the Twins might have seen the brightest years and not the Devil Rays. Shame on Garza for having passion. I am always amazed how folks can diagnose others as "head cases" with no credentials to be qualified to do so. Three fingers are pointing back to the real head cases, perhaps?
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James Shields is the lower tier of a pitcher that could be called an ace. Not a fan of Shields. He also is "old" and has a poor playoff record. It is time to stop thinking the Twins don't deserve the best, or can't pay for it. Neither is true. David Price. Say no more...........
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So..... I think you just supported the statement that the umpires just guess, and they are just not able to do the job they are supposed to do... correctly. It is possible to now do it correctly, and, as you say, we are talking a human eye watching a 80-90 (even 100) mph pitch........ and they just are not capable, not unlike calling the winner of a swimming race in multiple lanes. Thankfully, swimming embraced the touch pad and the tech to get it fair and right. Did that radically change swimming? Not for the athletes. They just really know who won now. Sure, the batter can protect the plate. But it is even more awesome if they can have such a good eye, and not be cheated, that they get the very close ball call. If they are that good, they deserve it, as does the pitcher that can hit the very corners of the zone, which are mostly erroneously called balls by the presents employed guessers.
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It will be interesting to see Cabrera in the outfield, and 3 catchers in their outfield on his days off. It will be fun to beat Gardenhire. I heard that he has been declared an emerging nation, and that no windbreaker made can fit him anymore. Probably just another rumor.......
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Maybe every one else's radar guns are a couple mph slow. That is the thing about radar guns..... lots of things can affect true readings. Cops' radar guns are always off and saying things are faster than they are.......... right?
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Ryan: Berrios will NOT be called up in September
h2oface replied to Seth Stohs's topic in Minnesota Twins Talk
Absolutely! And to think Ryan could have been in Toronto this year. My, how things would have been different for Toronto and the league right now. -
Basically, the ump was saying, "If it is close, you better swing." Is that in the rules of baseball? For the umpire to make up his own rules as the game goes on? That can be spun to be acceptable? To ignore the zone and just call it a strike when it hits the catchers glove where the catcher put it outside the zone? The balls called in the middle of the zone are truly disturbing. The arrogance of an umpire to change the rules on purpose, perhaps because the game is perceived to be out of hand or that he is hungry or just wants the game to end quicker - if that is what they are actually saying - "If it is close, you better swing" - is part of the big problem that is is now possible to fix. There used to be no option but to let someone (an umpire) guess, like who crossed the finish line first in the hundred yard dash, and who won the 50 meter freestyle..... the guy in lane 6 or lane 2. But when tools and tech were readily available to make the calls correct, it was embraced. The athletes were not robbed or gifted anymore by a guess. That is very human. To try to improve the great game we play without changing it. To compete by the same rules, and not ones that change daily due to attitude or ineptitude by a guesser. To get the call right, and have the correct winner within the rules we are all competing under.
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I contend that umpires are the "inhuman" element of the game, and rob the human element, the players, of the rightful event that actually happened. The players never deserve to be robbed, especially if we have tools to prevent that. Calling balls and strikes has always been a guess (especially the outside and low pitches as the umpire looks over the inside shoulder of the catcher - the angle is just too severe for anything but a guess). It doesn't have to be anymore. It would only make the game better, and not cheat the pitchers or the batters, if the strike zone was always what the rules call for, instead of some "inhuman imposter" making the zone up day to day with their best guess that is just not good enough. The graph a few posts back is pretty telling.
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As long as the reviewing "umpires" know the original call while they review the play, the decisions will be skewed. Like "code blue" standing up for their own, the review process, I believe, would come out a lot differently if it was an unbiased and blind review. Knowing the call on the field and being on the "same team" as the umpires is biased, and similar to Roger Goodell handling the appeal of the decision he made.
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Berrios should have been up today to be eligible for the postseason rosters, even if he was used in relief for the rest of the year and was found ready for a roll like Finnegan had for KC last year. Now........ I don't really care. Berrios should be livid. I would be. Santana is not eligible, even if he does continue to pitch like Sunday. Even more reason for me to want a new GM immediately if not sooner (like I don't have a thousand all ready.........). And I don't feel asinine to think so, nor will I accuse those that think differently of anything that would infer that. They saved Strasburg, supposedly, for better things. How is that working out for Washington? Seeing what would happen with Berrios in relief would not be even close to pushing all the chips in, and I would not even call him the "most valued asset", nor is it a given that you would be risking his arm as is a trendy way to think about a healthy young man. He is not a kid. It would have just been a smart experiment that could have been carefully monitored. Now........... we will never know.
