Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

TheLeviathan

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    21,307

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    48

 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

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Tracker: Picks & Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by TheLeviathan

  1. TheLeviathan
    Not only is there no evidence for this suggestion specifically to shortstop, it flies in the face of actual evidence that says this isn't true.
  2. TheLeviathan
    Ortiz deserves it. Now elect the other guys that do as well: Manny Ramirez, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens. Right now the HOF morality lines make about as much sense as the CBA negotiations.
  3. TheLeviathan
    I'm confused why Polanco moving to shortstop magically makes him a crappier hitter? People are aware he was so good at SS just a few years ago he garnered MVP votes right?
  4. TheLeviathan
    Couldn't agree more. With our "do nothing" approach this offseason we need to utilize this season to gamble on some upside. Another "plays defense, but can't hit" old guy is the last thing we need. I'm a believer that defense matters, but I'm an even bigger believer that an offense that kicks ass every night is the best tool to win. The Twins run differential (4th best in the league) in 2019 is a testament to that. A relatively poor defense that year and they still won 101 games. The idea that you HAVE to play defense to win is demonstrably false. That said...go get Story.
  5. TheLeviathan
    I'll add to what the Nicks said: if we're not willing to sign a Trevor Story or some other big time bat who can field, I'd be totally fine with a Polanco/Arraez middle infield. What they can do offensively is a major boon and we saw that in our lineup not that long ago. Meanwhile, a no-glove husk like Andrelton Simmons was a black hole in our lineup day in and day out. I don't care if he was the Jesus of Shortstops....it ain't worth that black hole. This isn't your Terry Ryan "Everyone throw a SINKER!" pitching staff any more. The emphasis on infield defense can take a step back in priority. Ideally, sign a guy that can do both and keep Jorge at 2B. If you can't or won't do that, I won't complain about a MIF that can hit instead of the crap-fest we rolled out at SS last year in the name of defense.
  6. TheLeviathan
    Yup. That's a garbage starting point. Baseball should be thinking radically and all we get is this. Plus....14 teams in the playoffs? Ugh.
  7. TheLeviathan
    *Said all future Gopher fans 11 months later the last two years (Hope it happens though!)
  8. TheLeviathan
    His skillset is so unique. I hope the Twins find a way to keep him in the lineup somehow. I don't have any bright ideas on that front, but I like what he does for the top of our lineup. Especially in this era of baseball.
  9. TheLeviathan
    Fun fact: Arraez "horrible" production against lefties for his career is still .100 points higher than 2020 Simmons against humans of any handedness!
  10. TheLeviathan
    Kepler isn't a good CFer. That shouldn't be plan A if Buxton is hurt. Mixed and matched for some games? Sure. Every day? No.
  11. TheLeviathan
    He wasn't good, but I feel it bears pointing out that he was stuck in a place he wasn't developmentally ready for yet. So it may not be a fair evaluation.
  12. TheLeviathan
    The author's point to me seems exactly right. The team has some building blocks and reason for hope in the high minors along with an offense that could very easily be a winning-caliber group. Taking short, mid-tier shots at players has a threefold benefit: A) If they're successful and the team is winning it gives them depth and flexibility in their development of young players (plus...winning!) B ) If they are successful but the team is garbage you have attractive trade options. C) They're garbage and the team is garbage....worth a shot, short term deals come off the books quickly so you can try again. I've said all along I'm building for a 2023 success story, but doing that means I need to make moves now that help with that vision as well. I don't see anyone here saying sign 5 Randy Johnsons and have a sixth one in the bullpen just in case with an eleventy billion dollar payroll while we let the Pohlads eat Annie's Mac and Cheese and live out of boxes to feed our baseball habit. So maybe, just maybe, we could stick to what the OP actually said. (And yet, with this paragraph, I'm still in roughly 6th place for needless, off-track hyperbole for this thread alone. Sad Panda = Me)
  13. TheLeviathan
    Marvel gets ripped for being sexless and therefore unable to create fully formed emotional characters, but that argument is such nonsense and No Way Home is a testament to that. That movie threw emotional haymakers that had real tears shed in the audience. It was fun without being overly quippy, it was a coming of age story, a tragedy, fanservice, and so much more all wrapped into one glorious package. Marvel might not be Citizen Kane or Casablanca or Goodfellas or whatever....but they consistently tell heartfelt stories that are fun. I'll buy a ticket for that anytime. You can keep the overwrought cinema opinions...those movies are great too!.....but if I'm going to a theater I want the kind of product Marvel gives me. No Way Home was laughs and tears and gut-wrenching and cathartic and all kinds of other great emotions. That studio knows what the hell it's doing.
  14. TheLeviathan
    7 more years of @Nick Nelsonpreseason articles predicting a Buxton MVP year! We're going to break that "Joe Mauer's got New "Insert Gadgety Thing Here" record the Star Tribune set yet! (All in good fun! Nice article)
  15. TheLeviathan
    I would only quibble that unions do come with downsides. I think this is an oversimplification that isn't fair to the point.. Your last paragraph is spot on though.
  16. TheLeviathan
    Totally with you on the first paragraph. I'm 100% excited about the deal because the upside for a payoff is so tantalizing. It is true that there are worse deals, but with the way the Twins operate 10% is sizable. As with the Mauer deal, it becomes a lame excuse for the organization. I hope that doesn't become the case.
  17. TheLeviathan
    That has been the Plan B. That plan has mostly stunk IMO. We should invest in a better one. Even if it's only a year until Celestino takes that role. We can't afford to keep fielding a craptastic OF every time Buxton gets hurt.
  18. TheLeviathan
    His injury history could lead to him barely playing at all. If 10% of your payroll is devoted to a guy not helping you at all, that is a major problem. As you say, there is a wide range of outcomes on this and hopefully it lands on the upper end of that spectrum.
  19. TheLeviathan
    Well, I like that this signals Cave isn't plan B at CF. But now we, you know, actually need one.
  20. TheLeviathan
    It also explains the sliding, wrist injuries of the past. He has had some bad luck injuries but a ton of them seem to be preventable with better technique and measured aggression.
  21. TheLeviathan
    Or....we could find comparisons that are more applicable to the situation. Molitor was Cal Ripkian compared to Buck.
  22. TheLeviathan
    I think Joe Mauer is the right comp in many ways. We had to sign Mauer and signing him was the right move. But we signed him knowing that there could be serious regression and a good chance he couldn't play catcher his entire term of the deal. Nevertheless it was the right move. Buxton could absolutely flop and earn a tiny portion of this deal and it could be dead money by the end. It could also be an absolute windfall for this team. (Upside the Mauer deal didn't have!) Hell, it could even end up being both....a windfall early and an albatross late. All of those possibilities are part of the fair risk analysis. That analysis is why the Twins were able to land a 7 year, 15M AAV in the first place. There are serious risks. Serious upside. But I've always said....bet on upside. It's a good signing, let's hope we swoon over the results in 7 years.
  23. TheLeviathan
    This routine about Molitor is simply not true. Paul Molitor's early health situations were not nearly as extensive as Buxton's. That comparison has no merit.
  24. TheLeviathan
    It's definitely a win today! I'm all for it and excited we got it done. Hell, I've been on the conservative end with 7/115 in my offseason projection so to get in even further under? Huge win. But there is absolutely the potential we look back in disappointment. That in no way obligates us to change our mind and think we wouldn't do it over, just disappointed in the outcome. It's possible to acknowledge the risks while still being solidly in favor of the move. Jubilant even! But we do assess risks and should assess them in this case. Personally, I feel the upside relative to this cost is tremendous. There is serious downside, but not enough to sway me off that stance. I can see that downside happening, hell it may even be likely, but it doesn't change the value of the upside. So I'd sign that deal today and 7 years from now either way, but we may look back and be disappointed in how it all played out. I hope that isn't the case though!
  25. TheLeviathan
    Every contract comes with risk, no? So, yeah, there could be regret. Isn't that the risk evaluation we do in analyzing any trade or signing? All I've stressed is that I like this deal in full consideration of all the upside and downsides of it. I'm not living a fairytale that what happens from here is irrelevant. It is relevant. Hindsight won't change that I feel this is a great move, but I may end up sad it didn't pay off. Still right to do now. What is irrational is saying this deal is a win because nothing could go wrong. Including, as was mentioned, Buxton never actually playing and getting 100M. We agree that is nonsense right?
×
×
  • Create New...