Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Jocko87

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    3,894

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Jocko87

  1. Jocko87
    I thought they were close and I can see both sides of going hard for the catch. When the arm has a good chance to hold to a single or throw someone out it might be a better play than a bad miss that becomes a triple. Does Kepler catch those balls comfortably? Serious question, I don't know.
  2. Jocko87
    He made two great throws on the other doubles too. Hopefully the sore right side is just from uncorking the hose too many times. I like him in right with that arm, absolute weapon.
  3. Jocko87
    I think the point is that when he swings at that pitch he needs to by trying to murder it instead of hitting it. The change in approach may not require a swing change as much as a mindset change. Accept striking out in exchange for when you swing, swing like you mean it. That will result in more strike outs by nature. Julien is looking special in that he works the count and takes a lot of walks but when he is thrown a strike he swings with intention to do damage. Its the basic summary of everything that frustrated me about Joe Mauer. When you have an opportunity to do damage you only have one swing. Whack it! I like this article in that it is suggesting something that may not have been tried. Its worth a try at this point.
  4. Jocko87
    The salary is the least of it, the true cost would be exposing Gordon and loosing him.
  5. Jocko87
    I believe both of these statements to be true. If the full roster is healthy, Gordon might have been the odd man out in favor of Castro except for Castro having an option available.
  6. Jocko87
    I like how it seems to level the field, bringing more skill types into play brings more players into the pool and helps the smaller markets. I don't think it will change the big market bombers, the analytics will always favor the 3 run bomb in the long term if you can afford that talent. It will change how those teams play situational ball at times. They will be more likely to have a scrappy fast bench guy to install for those spots where one run is crucial. The analytics will adapt to this new reality and make that last bench spot a weapon rather than an emergency catcher. I've long believed that the extra inning free runner situation always favored a more old school approach but teams haven't had the personnel on the roster. Taylor can fill this roll for the Twins a little bit, he's not Terrance Gore but can run, steal and bunt and stay in for defense. Lewis when he comes back also. That's reason #987 Buxton in CF is better than DH, Taylor is very valuable when you can install him in short term attack mode.
  7. Jocko87
    Somebody post receipts that they wanted Garlick on the roster over Castro before today. If not, please stop. Luzardo is a flat stud, when you check on Arraez line everyday keep an eye on him too. If he stays healthy, Miami has a 1A and 1B set of aces (on a 4th place team).
  8. Jocko87
    I think I just figured something out about how the Twins feel about this. It occurred to me after watching Rocco use the LLRR setup at the bottom of the order as a weapon to get plus matchups multiple times. I think they value the ability to neutralize tough lefty relievers in late and tight games over who bats leadoff. Setting the lineup this way takes away several of the leadoff options that have been discussed here. With this group of healthy players its probably the optimal use for everyone and may change as guys come and go. It might also be a good example of using the analytics in a way others aren't and kudos to them. The WPA difference of making their lefty face at least three lefty mashers in the 7th or 8th compared to whatever the difference in random leadoff hitters is probably pretty significant.
  9. Jocko87
    This is 100% why they should be playing matchups with that days starters when the prototypical lead off hitter isn’t on your roster. If you have a hitter that matches up well many of the other factors fade away. Getting your best hitters more ABs in favorable situations will pay off short and long term. In one game having a looming bad matchup can make a manager go to the bullpen earlier than he may want or you get one more favorable AB. Over the course of the season the composite #1 hole hitter should look like a pretty darn good player.
  10. Jocko87
    Battle of the hats? Loser has to switch to lower case comic sans font M? M m
  11. Jocko87
    This is the proving ground for trade chips for the next few years. Hopefully it will be very tough to crack the big league roster for awhile as you say but AA is going to still be crucial to watch. I'm really looking forward to getting to as many games as possible and watching with a closer eye toward the development. The last time I lived in Wichita the Twins weren't here so that really changes how I will watch the games. Feel free to let me know if you want me to check anything out in person. I'm not a scout by any means but I take a mean video. I enjoy observing body language and approach and feel like it can tell me a lot. Also excited to see the likes of E-Rod and Raya and Prielipp if he can get here this year. Lots to be excited about.
  12. Jocko87
    Not necessarily harmful but the rule changes with the clock, batter minimum etc were largely implemented to counter the effects of hyper analytics. Paralysis by analysis was slowing down the game. As you say, they are solving that problem and evolution continues.
  13. Jocko87
    Shane McClanahan for the Rays too. They slowly built him up to starting in the majors. Going to the pen now does not automatically rule out starting in the future. Getting the confidence built up getting big league hitters out regularly can do wonders, now just work on getting more of them out in each outing. He may be able to retain any velocity gains made from going to the pen that way. Everyone develops a little different.
  14. Jocko87
    This ties in nicely with the Correa leadership thread. A ton of this stuff is very hard, if not impossible to quantify in a data driven way. What analytics would predict that Kepler would own prime Bauer? I think the analytics, as a term, is badly misused in baseball. Its talked about like moneyball was the first time analytics were used. In reality, analytics have been part of the game from the beginning, only the data used and available has changed. Noted analytical manager Earl Weaver said something like, pitching, defense and the 3 run homer, which is very oddly mostly correct still to this day. He didn't have a computer running the data, he was probably mostly doing it in his head but was performing the same processes with different data. Now that all of us slappys have access spin rates and tendencies and tons of other data we don't need the key to modern analytics comes back to knowing which data to use at the correct time. Does L/R override batter v hitter historical or vs versa? It was an interesting call yesterday when Rocco left Gallo in to face a tough lefty in Garrett, who he had never faced before. Probably thought it was too early in the game and leading off the inning but no one would have raised a single question if Solano hit there. We all saw how that worked out. By leaving him in at that point he got another at bat against a righty later with runners on. The computer can tell you the moves to make but it can't always tell you when to make them or not depending on several of the factors mentioned in the article. Now that the extra inning runner rule is permanent, I'm hopeful they will spend some analytical capital on this as a situation. My hunch is that there will be a few more bunts or situational hitting for WPA moment of 1.00. I also misspelled anylitics every time I typed it in this post. Use that data point as you see fit.
  15. Jocko87
    The legend of Arreaz continues to grow and will reach a fever pitch in the next few days. While his one plus tool plays in the leadoff spot, he was hardly a prototypical leadoff. The minus speed, minus pop and minus defensive flexibility makes him a tough roster fit. I did like him at leadoff last year in the best hitters get more at bats methodology and Correa was never going to run him down from the two hole. Lineup construction for a single game is different than lineup construction for a season. I agree fully with getting the best hitters the most at bats over the course of the season but without a locked in leadoff Rocco should be playing matchups to make the top of the lineup a combined best player. At the end of the year, that lineup spot should be looked at without a name to see how well Rocco played matchups. If he could get assure Kepler 3 ABs against Trevor Bauer by batting him leadoff he should make that move every time. This may mean Gallo, Solano, Farmer, Gordon etc might get reps. I like leaving Buxton in the 3 hole for the most part but don't hate him leading off either. He will certainly up the average for my leadoff conglomeration. If Julien does continue to develop it seems he profiles the best for the spot but its a lot to ask for a rookie. It may be next year before he is solidly in the top 4-5 hitters in the lineup which is where I would like to see him before we lock him in at the top of the order.
  16. Jocko87
    It wouldn't surprise me if Larnach was faster than Gallo, dude can moter for a big man. That said, neither are that fast or profile at the top of the order. Let Larnach hold the 4 hole down as long as he's performing.
  17. Jocko87
    Larnach looks really good, and very athletic for a big dude. His health might be one of the under-rated keys for the lineup. As nice as it was to see Gallo get ahold of a couple Larnach is a more complete hitter for higher up in the lineup L/R splits. Solid swings all weekend.
  18. Jocko87
    This point is part of what makes this topic so fascinating to me. Its part art, part science, part natural talent, part working at the right things and making adjustments based on often minuscule signals. Leadership/social skills are the final frontier for AI. Its just impossible to write a code that can work these variables. Have you ever had a very senior person in your organization recognize you or ask you something personal when you barely knew who they were? They are in your chain of command but 3-6 levels higher and you met them once in the cafeteria line or something. Somehow, they have a surreal ability to remember names, faces, details and when they surprise you with something that makes you feel special you never forget it. It sounds like Correa has that trait. We've seen several stories about him discussing relatively unknown minor leaguers with some hints that he does things like this. Its a very powerful ability that cannot be faked.
  19. Jocko87
    Julien with the reality check. I'm fine with seeing a couple months at AAA to get him level. Big numbers mean big attention from advance scouts.
  20. Jocko87
    Maybe, just maybe, Buxton running around all crazy is a good sign that he feels good?
  21. Jocko87
    To build on the Donaldson point, the presence of a strong well rounded leader like Correa is that it frees up others to lead in their way and not be asked to do something they aren't equipped for or comfortable with. Correa has the ability to lead leaders which is in itself a much different skillset. Buxton is now free to bring boundless energy, Sonny Gray can talk about early hooks confidently and maybe Pablo Lopez is free to assume the mantle for the pitchers. Correa will pull them back if they go too far. Buxton has already talked about how Correa has effected how he looks at leadership and being comfortable being more vocal. He can develop these skills with a Correa to help him. Writing this, another question occurred to me. Who's the leader in the bullpen?
  22. Jocko87
    Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on POV that's easier said than done.
  23. Jocko87
    Hard to say, I haven't seen much written about it. From the outside he seems very rank and file solid troop. His struggles on the field the last couple years make it very difficult to assume a strong leadership role other than people seeing you work hard to get back. I don't remember 2019 well enough to say, was he more vocal and swagger when he was at his best?
  24. Jocko87
    One of the best lessons in leadership I ever got was when I was being mildly chastised for being too hard on someone (in the process of terminating or otherwise moving on 40% of a facility) I told my boss it was very frustrating to walk that line when the senior VP driving the change was an enormous remove the dividers in the toilet stall kind of *******. (yes he actually did that) I did hurt a feeling, but look at my example. My boss very tactfully agreed with me, "sometimes we learn what to do from our leaders, sometimes we learn what not to do." I realized at that point that he was in the same situation. That VP was very high on the charismatic scale but a disaster of emotional intelligence and very low pragmatic. The organization I was in was driving a culture change and in a lot of ways he was the right guy at that time. However, two years in when we realized the madness wasn't going to stop as we got things fixed he lost any good will he had acquired. Donaldson is very similar. In the right situation he can be a spark. In New York he can be that situational leader as hes not the top guy and can fade into the background. In Minnesota, where he was asked to carry the mantle for the organization his limitations are revealed, can't fade away in that situation. The best leaders have traits in all three categories and they build off each other. Limited leaders with a negative in one of the categories will struggle as one negative category will drag the others down over time.
  25. Jocko87
    There are multiple exit paths that can be good for the Twins. Popkins is working as much for building up to play well this season but also to make him a valuable trade or QO candidate. If this lottery ticket hits, he hits 35-40 home runs and the Twins get another high draft pick when he declines the QO. That's significant upside for 11m bucks. Its not like they are hitching the whole wagon to him for multiple years, its part of the push for depth and being able to play all over makes him worth the flyer. If he's completely washed, Lee or Lewis or Julien or Wallner or Kirriloff or Martin will take his roster spot. They will probably still be able to trade him for a low level prospect if they take on some salary.
×
×
  • Create New...