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TheLeviathan

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Everything posted by TheLeviathan

  1. TheLeviathan
    So yeah, can we not count on him for anything next year and just stick with hoping he makes a surprise impact?
  2. TheLeviathan
    I guess I should have clarified - infielders don't have to run very far. They have to move laterally quickly, but outfielders have to actually run sometimes for much farther distances. They have to move through significantly more space to make plays routinely than an infielder does. Someone who runs like he's caught in quicksand is a guy that just can't be a very good outfielder. See: Willingham, Arcia, the husk of Torii Hunter, Duda, etc. Statue infielders aren't very good either, but being slow is far more apparent playing the outfield. When you couple that with bad instincts (you could seriously put a 3-5 minute clip together of Arcia's routes and awkward catches and put it to Benny Hill music) and you have a bad defender. I can never recall anyone with that athletic skillset being trained to be a better fielder. Never. And the reason for that seems rather common sense to me - "you can't teach speed". In other words - you can't make a non-athlete an athlete. You can, however, minimize his impact. Which is why I've heavily campaigned for the Twins to bring in Bourjos or some other CF with elite range.
  3. TheLeviathan
    We can afford to not be unprepared at both. This doesn't have to be an either/or. Your plan means we have 4 completely unproven guys for 2 spots that are vital offensively and defensively for us. I saw what that looks like last year and I cannot fathom endorsing that again.
  4. TheLeviathan
    From what I can see, no one can think of a slow-footed outfielder who transformed himself. I just think it's the nature of being an outfielder - you either have the skillset to be good or you don't. You might improve on some angles and play next to someone that can mask your deficiencies, but you're still not good. Hicks is a guy who is a bad fielder who might be able to learn to be a good one (might is the key word, he has athleticism but awful instincts), but Arcia is what he is. I wouldn't hold my breath on his defensive improvement.
  5. TheLeviathan
    I would suggest if we have to go back to Olivia for an example that it's sort of the exception proving the rule. I am 100% on board with jorgen's point about getting a rangy CF next to Arcia to cut down on the need to exploit his weaknesses, but that isn't Arcia getting any better, just more marginalized as a liability.
  6. TheLeviathan
    You're going to have to come up with a better example than a supremely athletic, life-long infielder learning to pay outfield because it sort of makes my argument. Gordon was always an athlete with a lot of ability, he just had to adjust to a new position. I never said you can't teach an athlete to play outfield. I said you can't take a guy with bad instincts, bad range, and bad athleticism to be rangy, instinctual, and a better athlete. Since playing the outfield is so dependent upon athleticism (moreso than the infield) it sort of makes being able to do those things a necessity. Gordon could do those regardless of his position, Arcia can't. So to be specific to what you're saying is possible with Arcia, I need an example of a bad athlete becoming a good outfielder, not a good athlete bouncing positions. They aren't the same thing.
  7. TheLeviathan
    Schafer is fine as a plan for fourth outfielder and Rosario should certainly have a shot, but signing no one ensures we have to rely on a bunch of sketchy bets rather than taking a chance on Rasmus like we did Hughes. Wasn't 2014 enough of this same lesson about going into the season without plan Bs? Our CF situation was a disaster for this same line of thinking. I don't want that again, frankly it's unacceptable to go in that unprepared again.
  8. TheLeviathan
    Knocking Rasmus on past performance seems like a very strange take to have for someone campaigning for a Hicks/Schafer platoon. Just sayin'.
  9. TheLeviathan
    Based on their revenues, expiring or traded contracts, likely arby raises. It's a pretty reasonable assumption that this team has some significant budget room to work with.
  10. TheLeviathan
    Because: 1) Money isn't an issue and 2) Schafer's production last year doesn't exactly jive with everything else he's ever done at the big league level. Counting on those two as a platoon might as well come with a wish for another Sam Fuld to get cut around the middle of April.
  11. TheLeviathan
    I was trying to think of any and I'm in the same boat. I can think of infielders who cut down on their errors, but outfielders that went from awful to competent? Complete blank.
  12. TheLeviathan
    Because soft hands and fielding grounders is largely the most you can do with an infielder. For example, Plouffe hasn't become a better third baseman because we increased his range or athleticism. We've just cleaned up his throws and the booted grounders. You can clean that up with repetition. You can't teach instincts, speed, or athleticism and outfielders are almost totally reliant upon that. I'd love to hear a litany of slow-footed, non-instinctual outfielders what were transformed out of that with coaching. I can't think of any.
  13. TheLeviathan
    A player like Rasmus can be moved if those other issues force us to open a spot for him. Buxton's timetable is completely up in the air and likely not a factor this season. Injuries happen. Rosario and Hicks shouldn't be banked on. We need more than one guy in our OF that we can look at and say "you deserve to walk in as a starter." Right now we have Arcia and he's an outfielder in name only.
  14. TheLeviathan
    If your scenario is "what if these four things all happen in the best way then we have a logjam" - I'd suggest that your optimism is clouding the view of what is needed. Good teams don't plan for everything going right.
  15. TheLeviathan
    I don't think you can learn from being a bad outfielder to being a good one. It isn't like the infield where repetition can transform a player. Outfield is so much about instincts, foot speed, angles, and athleticism - I think you can mold a player with these things, but not without them. Arcia looks like a guy who was born to play DH based on those four items.
  16. TheLeviathan
    I think some teams might be willing to go 3, I wonder if Rasmus is the one that will keep it at 1-2 years as a way to rebuild value.
  17. TheLeviathan
    Go for Rasmus - give him a 1 or 2 year deal and overpay in dollars to land the upside. He's not going to want a long-term deal right now so he fits perfectly with what we need.
  18. TheLeviathan
    Only 500 PAs once in three years, dramatic home road splits, 35 years old, bad defender. It'll take a miracle for this not to be a dumb decision.
  19. TheLeviathan
    Colorado got bailed out of a dubious QO. The Met's decision is beyond perplexing.
  20. TheLeviathan
    I wouldn't do this just because of Arcia's upside, but let's not pretend about his defense: it's awful. Absolutely awful.
  21. TheLeviathan
    I can't make a damn bit of sense out of this.
  22. TheLeviathan
    These just seem so....blah. There is nothing about them that makes me say "yeah...that's nice" Let's just embrace throwback!
  23. TheLeviathan
    Rubio going down gives me reason to watch Levine play. And I was impressed against Miami.
  24. TheLeviathan
    Was said to hear this, he was a pretty important player on my favorite team as I really got hooked into football as a kid. The Vikings of his era are a group I can pretty much name from top to bottom.
  25. TheLeviathan
    Hip problems might also explain his offensive struggles last year. Nice buy-low candidate.
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