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jmlease1

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Everything posted by jmlease1

  1. jmlease1
    Great job by SWR! Hope it's a sign of things to come. I've always been a fan of his talent and it's not like he's old for AAA. If the mechanical fix can keep his fastball up and he commands his pitches like he did today it's a good sign. His outing should give people a little more confidence in our ability to manage an injury to the rotation? Love sweeping a doubleheader. Maybe this will help get the team out of its funk and start them on a bit of a run. Still plenty of work to do, but these were good wins. Funny game, baseball.
  2. jmlease1
    you don't get extra for style: a win is a win. considering how much the team has been struggling with offense, I do not care how they got to the 11 runs. interesting game for Ryan: pretty dominant, yet punished for mistakes. 12 K's is 6 innings is pretty good work, though.
  3. jmlease1
    At some point the Twins have to let Marco Raya throw 80-90 pitches and 5-6 innings. I get that it's only his second start of the season, but this is starting to get silly. If he's not going to get more rope and an opportunity to test himself, he's not a starting pitching prospect, and they might as well just move him to the bullpen. He averaged more innings per start at 19 than he has at 20 or 21. I understand they're trying to protect him and keep him healthy, but he's never going to build up the endurance to be a real starting pitcher if he's never allowed to actually pitch real innings in the minors. It's not like it's his first taste of AA either; he had 11 starts last year in Wichita. I have a real questions about how they're handling Raya's development; if this continues he should be dropped at least 10 places on the prospect list at midseason regardless of how well he's pitching because he simply isn't a starter if they're so worried about keeping him healthy that he never throws more than 3 innings. 13 starts in AA and he's only thrown 35 innings. Emma continues to crush it. Which is good, because no one else on the prospect list had a particularly good day. Hard to worry about the 3Ks too much when he hammers a triple and a dinger, but his K rate will be worth keeping an eye on. But he sure doesn't seem worried about AA pitchers!
  4. jmlease1
    what will be funny is how little of a difference it will make. If the players don't play better, changing the manager isn't likely to make much difference. This isn't a case of the Twins having an incompetent manager who has lost the team (what MN fans refer to as a "Les Steckel Situation"). It's a bad storm of poor play, some injuries, and ownership forcing a payroll cut. Really thought the Twins were going to get rolling when they were taking good ABs against Skubal and pumping up his pitch counts in the 3rd & 4th, but they couldn't make him pay. You could see Lopez struggling with his grip in the weather on the other side. Not a fun game. Team's in a real funk right now. Hope the Correa injury doesn't sink them deeper.
  5. jmlease1
    Emma is off to a rollicking start in AA, and I love it. He's really got everything cooking to start the season: 5 of his 7 hits are for extra-bases, he's still collecting his walks nicely...dude is even a perfect 4-4 on SBs! the jump from A-ball to AA can be a hard one, and it doesn't seem to have fazed him a bit. roll on mah dude. Morris is interesting, and threw well. He was way too hittable last season in his first taste of high-A, and while he didn't get punished for it much last season I'm sure he knew he had to do better. So far, the result are what you want to see: he's keeping guys off the bases, striking out a ton of guys, and looking good. I like that he finished 6 this time out; it would be great to see him get deeper into games and consistently show he can go into the 6th or 7th inning. Could this be the year Cavaco figures it out? (I'm not putting money on it) Nice to see him actually hitting, but at 23 he needs to get out of A-ball.
  6. jmlease1
    This story does just keep getting wilder and wilder. $16M is a LOT of money, even for Ohtani.
  7. jmlease1
    Chourio is off to a very nice start. It'll be interesting to see how his development goes over this season and what he looks like as a prospect at the end of the year. Any one know how his defense looks? Winokur has serious power. Can he make enough consistent contact? Will there be too many holes in his swing? I suspect we won't really know until he makes it to the upper minors. Be fun to track Jenkins, Winokur, and Chourio together since they're all in their age-19 season in low-A.
  8. jmlease1
    A good win. The offense still needs work, but it was good to see 5 BBs on the table today. only 1 walk in the previous 2 games really helped keep the offense down, and more baserunners will help. Bullpen did great work, they've certainly been quality to start the year, even with the injuries to a couple of key guys. glad to see it. Correa has been absolutely fantastic to start the season. he really looks rejuvenated. no question the foot is feeling ok!
  9. jmlease1
    I was thrilled to see him making a diving catch and pop up like he did it every day. He looks great out there, running freely, and it's so fun to see him back to being his best self in CF. He also looks good on the basepaths and is once again dangerous there too; I'm looking forward to a 3B or SS airmailing a throw to 1B because they rushed their throw on what should have been a routine grounder because Buxton flew out of the box. When healthy, he's the most consistently exciting player I've ever watched in a Twins uniform. (I didn't say "best"; lots of arguments on that, but for pure excitement he's #1)
  10. jmlease1
    Reasonable questions. 1. I think my biggest issue with this one is that all of the hitters you named are RH and 2 of them are not OF (Farmer can play there, but it shouldn't be anyone's first or second choice and Miranda has never played the position). I do think Miranda and Martin have the ability to be every day players, but as 1 for 1 replacements for Kepler it's a different fit. 2. I fear (and believed from the start) that the answer to the first part of this is no. And my biggest concern every time we sign a veteran like this is that the sunk cost fallacy will rear it's ugly head and we'll stick with them far past their sell-date in order to try and recoup some value. (Of course, I was also one of the people who thought Kepler had fallen into that boat and was ready to dump him in June, and felt only Gallo's presence as the first to be cut and other injuries made it ok for him to keep his job. His second half was the flip side of this argument and I was proven wrong) 3. I loved Polanco and didn't want him to go. (He's having a dreadful start to his season in Seattle though) But he made the most sense to move with his contract and the depth we have coming up at 2B. Did we make the right deal? Maybe not, but what else was out there? We'll never know. 4. Kirilloff is pretty much in an every day role right now. he's second only to Buxton and Correa in PA's and has played in every game. he's had little opportunity against LHP so far, but I'd bet he'll get more chances if he keeps murdering RHP and being the best offensive player in the lineup. Part desperation, part performance? I think part of what they're doing with Kirilloff is trying to keep him healthy, and it's not unreasonable to sit him against a lefty starter if you are trying to manage his playing time a bit to keep him healthy. He's always hit when he's been right, and every time he falls apart at the plate there's been an injury in play, so trying to manage him for health does make sense.
  11. jmlease1
    I do love the outdoor baseball and it's far better than the Dome. But it's a bit of a crapshoot in april or october.
  12. jmlease1
    Hopefully just a bad day, but 3 errors in one game does pop out. Of course, that's how it happens sometimes for a young player: botch a play and it gets in your head, then you tank another one because you're thinking too much, and then inevitably the ball finds you again and you go to the zoo. Hopefully he can laugh it off and get back to business.
  13. jmlease1
    If he doesn't solve his 3-run HR problem, he'll be in the bullpen. Giving up too many HRs are a problem for any starter, but it's mitigated when you keep runners off base in front of them. If you give up a hit and walk and then the bomb, you're in big trouble. I do still like SWR as a potential rotation option.
  14. jmlease1
    I think it has more to do with how inconsistent weather is in april in MN; today is going to be in the 60's and lovely. monday was dreary, cool, gray, and with showers. people don't want to spend a packet on tickets and then have it be cold and/or rainy for baseball. when it's sunny and nice, a day game at Target Field is glorious. when it's cold and grey and raining...it's ain't as fun. and night games when it's in the 40's can be rough.
  15. jmlease1
    And if Ober had given up the 3-run dinger you'd be burying Rocco for that. If Varland had gotten yanked you'd be burying him for not giving the kid a chance or something. Position noted: you hate the manager, you hate the front office, and want them all fired. Got it. If the offense doesn't get going, it might happen to all of them. That said, anyone who thinks that winning a playoff series last year was a bad thing isn't much of a Twins fan.
  16. jmlease1
    Nick has it nailed that regardless of the reality baseball has a perception problem regarding umpiring, especially with balls and strikes. while no one expects 100% accuracy, the egregious calls really stand out. (Ed Julien's experience against the Dodgers last season stands out, when he was rung up on a "strike" call that was clearly outside, confirmed by aerial view cams, and so dreadful that the Dodgers broadcast crew started laughing about it.) Those are the ones that you just can't have happen. The broadcast box being out of synch with how the umps are graded is a real issue, because the broadcast box is not going away. It's an innovation that fans like and would complain about loudly if MLB somehow managed to bully the broadcasts into dumping it, and that would lead to a bigger perception problem: that MLB did it to cover something up. If they can get it consistently closer to what umps are graded on it would certainly help. Overall the umps are pretty good, even if there are some holdovers who act as if they're who people came to see. (considering training for officials in every sport they usually mention that your best performances are ones where no one remembers you were there, this is a bit odd...but weird umps like Ron Luciano (who was actually very skilled) did make the game more fun) But if MLB can't get a handle on this the cries for the electronic zone are only going to get louder. I'm increasingly ready, because I'm sick of talking about an ump having a shocker.
  17. jmlease1
    well, most of the people complaining about his "bad managing" here are the ones that already agreed with you before the season started about him as a manager. but you are correct: nothing will change unless the front office goes as well. I'm not advocating for that, just stating a fact. Rocco's in-game decisions are part of an overall organizational philosophy. I don't really blame the manager for the fact that we only have 2 hitters with an OPS+ over 100 right now. I don't blame Rocco for the fact that Wallner, Julien, Jeffers, Kepler, Castro, Santana, and Vazquez have all been bad at the plate so far this season: I blame the players for that. They've been bad on offense, and as a result we're 3-5 when we could easily be 5-3. I assume the "we trade away hitters" comment is another Arraez lament? (he's off to slow start too, BTW) If we hadn't made that move we wouldn't have our ace, and Lopez has a nifty 135 ERA+ and we'd be in trouble without him. If ownership hadn't cut the payroll like they did, we might have gotten better reinforcements. That said, Margot is now putting up a 142 OPS+, because it doesn't take a lot to turn around a small sample size. (and he's certainly not a "bomber" even if he did hit a HR yesterday)
  18. jmlease1
    At least it was nice to see Buxton making a diving catch and immediately bounce up like nothing had happened. I'm so happy to see him playing healthy. The offense disappoints right now, and outside of Royce being on the IL they're pretty healthy, so no excuses. They're just not playing well enough. 2 runs or less in 5 of the last 6 is not going to win very many games. Jackson may have a good slider, but if he flings it in the heart of the zone, he's going to get punished. He was way too middle-middle for success.
  19. jmlease1
    I do not know much about Doncon, but after this fast start, I'm certainly interested in learning more! It'll be interesting to see where he lands at the end of the season in comparison with Noah Miller (also off to a nice start, but still showing absolutely zero power). Chourio is also rolling early and if he can hit like this, maybe people will stop complaining about trading Arraez. (Let's be serious: people will never stop complaining about losing Arraez). I mean, it's only 3 games so you have to pump the brakes on both of these guys, but I'd rather have a fast start than not, especially for a guy like Chourio, getting his first chance at A-ball.
  20. jmlease1
    Schobel struggled a bit at AA last season, but seems to be adjusting nicely. Good for him to be off to such a fast start.
  21. jmlease1
    Fajardo is off to a nice start at AAA; I have to assume that he'll improve the OBP and take walks like he has through his whole minor league career and if his improvement in power production is for real then he's a very nice minor league Rule 5 grab. Could be a fun guy to watch and a useful depth piece. Wichita lineup should be pretty damn good this year. Rosario is looking good so far, it'll be fun to see if he's able to keep making good contact all year and slamming the ball like this as he's rising in the minors. Rodriguez is definitely a beast. Lot of good hitters down there, and if they impressed in AA it's a really good sign.
  22. jmlease1
    These are two really hot prospects and should be a lot of fun to follow throughout the season. I suspect Jenkins will advance faster than Soto, but it's kind of exciting that that Twins felt Soto was ready for full-year baseball in Low-A this season. I hope he gets a little rope on his innings and pitch counts so we can see what kind of starter he might be. Jenkins is just so exciting as a prospect, it's hard not to have insanely high expectations.
  23. jmlease1
    What about Molitor's time as manager makes him superior? Because while he may have played winning baseball, did he manage winning baseball? He managed 3 pretty average teams and one bad one. Looking at the pythagorean numbers, his teams were +2, -7, +2, and +1 against their projected W-L based on runs scored v runs allowed. Was he really out there stealing wins for the Twins based on superior knowledge and execution of strategy in games? Or was he (like most managers in baseball) not as impactful as fans believe? I recall Molitor as being decent enough, with some strengths and weaknesses. his lineups mostly made sense, his bullpen management was not very good. He was a little behind the times on data integration, but a step up from Gardy. For all that Molly was a great baserunner himself, his teams didn't suddenly become substantially better running. Like most managers he looked good when his players were healthy and playing well, bad when they weren't.
  24. jmlease1
    The K's aren't great, but the inability to draw walks yesterday is what really sunk the team. They need more baserunners. Didn't see the first half of the game, but hated the "strike zone" for the last 3 innings, where the ump added 3 inches to the bottom of the zone, and then did the same for the outside part of the plate as well. I'm so ready for the electronic strike zone. Happy with the bullpen performance so far, they've done well. Liked what we saw from Funderburk and Sands; Funderburk is a guy I like as a second lefty and his pitches looked good overall. Sands I was less convinced on, but he did well and looked like he might have a little more going on. Small samples, but it'll be interesting to see where they are at the end of april Hope the bats wake up and get things going. Too soon too make any calls about anyone, but they're capable of much better than this. Some slow starts in here and only a few bright spots.
  25. jmlease1
    I think you're right about Miranda: the Twins definitely prefer to have players that can play multiple positions, even if they're going to most likely play at one. Having Miranda ready to play 3B if needed even if they think he might end up getting most of his time at 1B makes sense, especially if they think he can handle it defensively. I disagree with you a little on Martin: he's had a fair amount of experience in the OF already; he's had about 2100 innings of pro ball and 1400 are on the dirt and 700 on the grass (most of it at SS or CF). He's a more than reasonable OF replacement.
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