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Nashvilletwin

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Everything posted by Nashvilletwin

  1. Nashvilletwin
    Exactly. Just when it looked like Gallo would be jettisoned, Kiriloff gets hurt… Just let the kids get their ABs. Anyway, let’s hope we are still above .500 on Sunday night.
  2. Nashvilletwin
    Seriously, talking about putting the cart before the horse….. Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. Geez, this team may win the division with less than 80 wins - boy, what an accomplishment.
  3. Nashvilletwin
    Just great to see him back to health and embracing the type of baseball that made him such a high pick (and will be how he makes his mark in the majors). One has to wonder if the trade to the Twins was a bit of bad luck for him. At the time of the trade, our organization was fully invested in the HR or bust approach. A trade to an organization that would have continue to focus on his true competitive advantage instead of trying to create another one might have been a better move for him. Alas, he is where he is now and, thankfully, it appears the Twins (and the league) may be moving in the direction of his true (and differentiated) skill base. If Lewis finds himself in CF next year (to make way for Lee and Julien in the infield), Martin very well could end up a super utility role or left field. If not, it’s not outside the realm of possibility he develops into a more everyday CFer. Regardless, the prospect of OBA machines with a bit of stolen base prowess Julien, Martin and Lee at the top of the order in ‘24 is exciting.
  4. Nashvilletwin
    Larnach has such a sweet swing. It’s a shame that Gallo basically took his season away from him. It would have been nice to know what we really have in him. Hope he gets a call up and does a few things so he can get traded over the off-season - he needs a new organization. Given how this team is run/managed, and that we are in the stretch run for a playoff spot, I don’t see many ABs being available for the position players. On the other hand, the pitchers should be ready at any time to fill in the bullpen - I’d think they would get the majority of an expanded roster spots.
  5. Nashvilletwin
    Poor Larnach - how he wishes he had been traded at the deadline or instead of Steer or CES. He really needs to get out of this organization if he’s ever going to full fill his dream of being a major leaguer. I feel bad for the guy. Sabato, somewhat quietly, appears to be figuring things out a bit more. Hmmmm.
  6. Nashvilletwin
    Farmer, like Polanco, is under contract for ‘24 - so would need to be traded or released. The first is certainly possible (so you are correct), the second unlikely. Lee will come around at AAA; no worries there - he’s always hit and he knows the game. He will be a strong candidate for AL Rookie of the Year in ‘24, which if it happens I think would accrue draft pick benefits to us if he’s up early enough. He may not break camp per se, but he should be a quick/early call up and, if Lewis does play CF on a regular basis, he should be our starting 3B for most of ‘24.
  7. Nashvilletwin
    There should be room for most of our prospects in ‘24. Here’s a take on the position players who could be coming out of camp: “Youngster Locks” (6): Lewis, Lee, Julien, Kiriloff, Wallner, Jeffers, “Oldster Locks” (4) Correa, Buxton, Vasquez, Farmer. “Youngster Bubble” (3): Gordon, Larnach, Martin “Oldster Bubble” (3): Kepler, Polanco, and Castro The “best” line-up may be Lewis in CF, Lee at 3B, Julien at 2B, Kiriloff at 1B, Wallner in RF and Larnach in LF. Correa stays at SS, BB is DH and Jeffers (60+%) and Vasquez (40-%) split duties behind the plate. Some combo of two of Gordon, Castro, and Martin play super utility roles covering both the outfield (all three spots) and the infield (not including 1B). Farmer should stay as an all infield position playing capable player and for his veteran presence (the man is a pro’s pro). We could keep Polanco as an our primary backup 1B and switch hitting DH plus some 2B work against lefties - he’d get plenty of ABs. That’s 14 position players (one too many?) with excellent flexibility and redundancy at all positions. Plus a good mix of right, left and switch hitting bats, defensive prowess and speed. Eight of the players are essentially making league minimum - freeing up capital to augment the pitching staff.
  8. Nashvilletwin
    An additional benefit of the young players: they are way more fun to watch! I hate to miss any Julien, Wallner or Lewis ABs and Jeffers and Kiriloff are not far behind. When Gallo steps to the plate, it’s time to check emails, grab a snack or take a nap. It just goes to show these players need the ABs and playing time in the majors to see what we have and to develop. Investment is required. Agree with the above post - it’s too bad we aren’t giving Larnach that long look too; instead, Kepler won’t play center and Gallo somehow stays in the lineup. Let the kids play! BTW, Wallner has been getting a fair amount of grief on the TD for his lack of a glove; I’d say he’s been pretty nifty in the field with it lately.
  9. Nashvilletwin
    Gallo making himself indispensable as our now starting 1B through injuries (first Kiriloff and now Solano). Next thing we know, those two will come back and then Kepler and Wallner will go down and he will again be a starting outfielder. Sheesh - Gallo has more lives than a cat….
  10. Nashvilletwin
    So, with respect to Gallo, are you implying that the ‘ol “Sooo, you’re telling me I still have a chance” is still on the table? I’d assume Jim Carey had a better chance…but, hey, maybe you’re right - who knows with this FO. Bottom line - nothing to do on Max until year end. Let’s just sit back and enjoy the show (for which we have been waiting for so long and which is really fun to watch).
  11. Nashvilletwin
    Love Max. Absolutely one of my favorite Twins from this recent era. Love what he is doing right now as well. He’s resurgence is one of the key factors in our climb past the Guardians. Geez, hope he keeps it up. Having said that, the question remains - who is the real Max Kepler at this stage in his career? Sorry, but it’s not unreasonable to have the under on the next two years or so of Max’s career vs. how he has played since the All-Star break. Two weeks or so ago, it seemed pretty clear we couldn’t trade him for even a long-shot prospect. Now we are willing to pick up his option for a net $9MM? Let’s hold steady and see how the year plays out. The way things are going, there are a vast range of potential outcomes for Max - from a buyout, a one year pick up, a pickup followed by a trade, a new multi year deal, etc. Poor Larnach, his chances for an extended, real look just get slimmer and slimmer. Next thing he knows Gallo will get hot and there will be talk about another $11MM one year deal for him. How he must wish he had been traded at the deadline.
  12. Nashvilletwin
    And the year before this year it was injuries, and the year before that…..blah, blah blah. I understand your point, but true leaders succeed even if everything doesn’t go their way. This leadership group has not. Sorry, but some of us, and hopefully our owners, expect better results despite annual hiccups in circumstances. Are the horrible? Absolutely not. Have they proven they can win given the historically high resources granted to them? No they have not. If they are unable to win a playoff series this year, they will have failed in their most important, primary objective over their entire tenure. The Twins are entering a new era with essentially an entirely new young core. Perhaps it’s time to bring in new leadership to manage it (and, yes, I mean the manager as well). At some point, excuses need to be parked at the door and results have to matter.
  13. Nashvilletwin
    It’s happening…….! This is a great sign that the transition to a new young core is firmly on its way. The old young core of Rosario, Sano, Kepler, Polanco and, yes, even Buxton did ok, but not great. They were mostly competitive year-in and year- out and gave us one truly exciting season. But they could never provide any post-season magic. A couple of them (probably Rosario and Polanco) came close to reaching their potentials, but no one ever truly became a dependable, multi-year close to star player. 2023 should represent the end of that core’s window. A new core of Lewis, Lee, Kiriloff, Julien, Wallner, and Jeffers should be fully arriving in 2024. With Correa, a hopefully a productive Buxton, and some decent controllable depth on the bump, this new core should play competitive, exciting baseball and open wide a new window for several years. Perhaps a few others, like Larnach, Miranda, Martin, Gordon and Rodriguez (in ‘25) can join the band as well. The key to making this all a reality, of course, is that these young players continue to improve once making the bigs. It’s a fair question to ask whether Rocco is the leader to ensure that development not only happens, but is maximised to the greatest extent possible. As a die hard Twins fan, I’m still excited to see where this season ends up. But I’m also ready to get through this season of transition and “one and dones” to get to our exciting new era.
  14. Nashvilletwin
    Yeah, horrible owners and franchise. Last time in the World Series was way back in 2016 for crying out loud. They haven’t won a playoff series, or a playoff game for that matter, since October 2022. They are so stupid and cheap they continue to retain the best manager in baseball year over year. Boy are they dumb. Yeah, dumb - like a fox. Despite the way the schedules roll out the last two months, let’s not count our division championship chickens before they hatch. We’ve all seen this movie before…
  15. Nashvilletwin
    Currently #58 in WAR among AL pitchers…. He did pitch very well yesterday though and here’s hoping he has a big last two months.
  16. Nashvilletwin
    Poor Larnach - the trade deadline came and went and he’s still stuck behind Gallo and Kepler. It doesn’t look like he’s going to get his chance for a sustained run in the bigs this year. Oh well, there’s always next year, but he is definitely starting to get old for the stage he is in at the moment for his career.
  17. Nashvilletwin
    Probably because Kiriloff is hurt; otherwise I’d think he’d be gone. BTW, third time in the past week or so, Gallo has been lifted for a pinch hitter late in the game facing a RH reliever. Btw, great move by Rocco. But if Gallo’s here mostly because of his bat, then this is a good indication that Rocco has lost faith. Really, it is time to move on.
  18. Nashvilletwin
    Thanks, but no thanks on any Yankees, especially one and dones. We haven’t had much success dipping in that well in the past and we still have not figured out how to get rid of the last one year rental we signed from them. The last thing we need to do is give the evil empire a cheap, controllable legitimate prospect who comes back to haunt us for years. (Sarcasm font implied - sort of).
  19. Nashvilletwin
    Thanks for the info on Prato and his development/resurgence. He may or may not be ready now or soon to be a true major leaguer. But certainly one take away from this article is how Prato is just another young player who comes to the Saints and finds his bat. One take away is the job that Spears and Gardenhire are doing.
  20. Nashvilletwin
    I certainly respect your view that keeping both Gray and Maeda is an option with merit - and probably the correct one if winning in ‘23 is the primary goal. It especially is the right choice for the FO and Rocco if winning a playoff game is needed to keep their jobs (which some speculate, but don’t really know). On the other hand, hopefully you can see (and respect) the alternative of trading one or the other also could also have merit. It’s not clear this team, given its performance to date even with a healthy Gray and Maeda, could be expected to win in the playoffs, let alone hold on to the division title. A unique opportunity to add a projectible quality major leaguer for years to come, let’s say at a position of need like a RHed CF or catcher or starting pitcher, might bring substantially more lasting value to the franchise. The Guardians just made a similar decision (except their pitcher had some control left!) yet are still not throwing in the towel this season. They just sold high in a seller’s market and sought to improve their team looking ahead of just the near term. There are years to go all in, years to sell big time and years to just be smart about the future. It’s not silly to think this year is the latter of the three - and that could include trading Gray or Maeda.
  21. Nashvilletwin
    Dastardly, thanks for this great report. Sounds like Dastardly Jr. knows his baseball - the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree I’d say! What a fun, memory making trip to take with your son. Wow.
  22. Nashvilletwin
    No - do not trade Larnach for a couple of middle aged two month rentals. Why in the world would we even consider that? Do we really think those two players are going to add that much to carrying us to the AL Central crown? To an actual playoff game victory? Are they that much of difference makers on our incredibly average/mediocre team? Next year Larnach will turn into an above average everyday player (like Steer and CES) for the Mets and we will have nothing. The only person hoping Larnach gets traded to the Mets is probably Larnach himself - get out of this Gallo/Kepler morass and find himself in situation where he gets a real chance to develop into a true major leaguer.
  23. Nashvilletwin
    Congrats Toby G - patience my friend, your day is coming and a cross town bus ticket might be on your desk sooner rather than later. The big club is soon going to need a manager whose strength is knowing how to develop young players.
  24. Nashvilletwin
    Yeah, let’s continue to decimate our prospect lists in order to prop up this clearly mediocre team and mortgage the future for an 0.500 team hoping to catch lightning in a bottle during the playoffs. Sorry, but it would take more than one trade (and therefore giving up a lot of future talent) to make this team even a decent long shot bet to make any sort of impact in the playoffs. It’s not the smart move - some years it might be, but this year it is not. Having said that, anyone who is not currently in the running to be an impact player on this team starting as early as ‘24 and possibly running through ‘26 and beyond should be on the block. If we can move those players AND make this season’s team stronger, than that would truly be a win-win, However, we should be satisfied if these types of moves set us up for greater success next season and beyond. Besides, if we trade some of the players who won’t be here next year, it’s likely that the team won’t be overly negatively impacted this season given how the team has played to date. Let’s not give up this season, but let’s certainly not mortgage a brighter future.
  25. Nashvilletwin
    Jeffers is clearly an important piece of the.next young (i.e cheap and controllable) core. Add him to Julien, Kiriloff, Lewis, Lee and hopefully some combo of Wallner, Larnach and/or Gordon as key position players in the ‘24 lineup.
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