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Nashvilletwin

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Everything posted by Nashvilletwin

  1. Nashvilletwin
    Sad, but likely true. Harsh, but likely accurate. If the evidence is there, but the FO somehow deludes itself that we are contenders when we clearly are not and they end up not getting the necessary innings this season to the players who should be comprising our new young core starting next season and for the next five years, then the FO needs to be shown the door immediately..
  2. Nashvilletwin
    Here’s the role that might just best fit Ober if we break camp with our five current starters healthy: tag team starter. Rocco for sure is going to have Maeda and/or Mahle on a conservative pitch count to start the year. So team Ober up with either one of those guys, where, let’s say Maeda, gets 70 pitches and hopefully 3-4 innings and Ober follows for another 80 or so pitches (another 4-5 innings). This is a great way to get Ober his innings/experience, not overtax him, deal with the early season cautiousness, and take pressure off the relief corp.
  3. Nashvilletwin
    Great points. Its a long season - there is no way (sadly) one or more of Mahle, Maeda, Gray, and even Lopez doesn’t go on the IL for an extended stint. The point is that we are likely to get lots of looks at Ober, Winder, Varland, and SWR this season.
  4. Nashvilletwin
    Agree, too bad they are currently OF5 and OF6 on the depth chart and should only see significant innings and ABs if someone is hurt.
  5. Nashvilletwin
    Don’t forget Gordon, Wallner and Martin. All those players need innings in 2023 to see what we really have for the future. The FO, however, is committed to riding this pitching staff - our best staff on paper in years - in 2023. It’s not the time to be giving young players innings - why waste this staff? There is definitely logic to the strategy. I get it. I just hope they have enough self awareness, humility, and fortitude to make the tough decisions if their strategy doesn’t work (so we don’t waste a year of big league development for a lot of those players).
  6. Nashvilletwin
    Great points. Love the actual data that proves my eye test wrong. The Twins have been very poor at playing fundamental baseball (again, I’m sure there is data proving me wrong, but my eyes tell me differently). Hopefully, adding defensive specialists will help address that very big problem at least in the field (not necessarily at the plate or on the bases). But where, other than when BB is on a good streak, is the excitement? This team may win - the FO is clearly betting on the pitching staff and defence to lead the way. And win they better, because this team could be incredibly boring to watch, and, with all the one year “rental” plateaued/declining players in major roles, incredibly hard to form emotional attachments. I will “cheer” for them all, but will I (and other fans) really care? My gut tells me that very few fans will, especially if the wins aren’t piling up.
  7. Nashvilletwin
    Best defensive outfield in baseball (that actually may be true even if any three of Buxton, Taylor, Gallo and Kepler are on the field). Worst hitting outfield in baseball (that actually may also be true if BB is playing (depending on which BB streak we are riding), but it’s certainly true if Gallo, Kepler and Taylor are on the field). Enjoy that combo while we can, because next year (and maybe sooner), all three of Gallo, Kepler and Taylor are likely gone.
  8. Nashvilletwin
    Urbina: possible utility player ceiling Rodriguez: excellent lottery ticket Schobel: possible utility player ceiling Henriquez: solid every day major league relief pitcher Balazovic: could still be anything - let’s chat in August.
  9. Nashvilletwin
    This is exactly when we all should start worrying most….lol.
  10. Nashvilletwin
    1. If Correa, Lee, Lewis, Julien and Miranda comprise the 2024 primary (notice Kiriloff is missing) infield, which position does Miranda play? So I agree 100% that Miranda is our starting 3B and the Urshela move was made partly to give him that slot. I’m just saying, if Lee, Lewis and Julien are truly the second comings we all think they are, Miranda is the best of that bunch to play 1B long-term. 2. Agree 100% on Kepler still staying and Celestino. As an aside, I’m just having a very hard time imaging an outfield with BB out of Kepler, Taylor and Gallo. Three one year rentals. What a snore. 3. I share your enthusiasm for Gordon, but he should not be expected to get innings based on an injury. He should be our starting left fielder until proven he is not. At the moment according to most of the TD, Gordon, Larnach and Wallner are our 5th, 6th and 7th outfielders behind Taylor, Kepler and Gallo. So we have taken our three ascending younger players and given their innings to three “we know exactly who they are” plateaued/descending players. I mean I hope your are correct on Gordon’s playing time, but none of us will ever cheer/hope it happens due to an injury. 4. If Kiriloff is unable to go, why Gallo at 1B? Everyone just assumes that. He already stinks as a hitter and now we are taking away the only reason he theoretically has any value as a defensive OFer. IMHO, Farmer goes to 3B and Miranda goes to 1B makes more sense. 5. Go Twins!
  11. Nashvilletwin
    Yes, I understand/know the timing of the Urshela deal. I’m assuming the Twins replaced Gio with Farmer in anticipation of/hedge against not resigning CC. Now that that happened and we also dealt Arraez, I personally would prefer Gio’s better bat - we will need it. But, yes, I agree the Gio/Farmer exchange was smart when it happened, but with how CC and Arraez turned out, the value is less IMHO. Oh, btw, if we are counting money ($10MM in savings), please see Gallo for $11MM - talk about bidding against ourselves (I wonder what the cover bid was on him, lol). Miranda will get his shot at 3B, but given the rumours about Kiriloff, he could be getting many more innings at 1B - which is good because when Lewis, Lee and Julien show up that’s going to be his position if he wants to get meaningful innings in the field. Gordon earned those innings and ABs that Taylor is going to take. Gordon also is ascending and Taylor has plateaued or is descending. I’d prefer to have us invest in Gordon. It’s also a trade off between a little better glove and a little better bat. Besides, it’s hard to get to excited as a fan about these meh one year rentals - I’d prefer to at least imagine that any emotional connection I invest will make it to at least next year, let alone past the trade deadline.
  12. Nashvilletwin
    Excellent analysis.
  13. Nashvilletwin
    None, actually. I like our pen as structured a lot. My points were that shutdown pens are critical in the modern game and, for several reasons, we should not necessarily expect less pressure on IPs from our relief corp. Several posters made the point that our IPs from our starters this year were going to increase (substantially). I just don’t think that’s the case. But I like our pen - could be a real strength.
  14. Nashvilletwin
    Exactly. We won’t let the younger guys stay in too long when they are getting hit and/or getting to pitch limits.
  15. Nashvilletwin
    I’m not assuming our entire staff will get “rocked” and never wrote that. My point was when the younger guys begin getting starts, it is more than likely that some of those starts will be short due to performance and/or stamina. Thus, the importance of the pen.
  16. Nashvilletwin
    Good point as always Seth - but good arms are always at a premium and another light hitting likely one year defensive specialist in our outfield is redundant. Gordon earned the ABs that Taylor and Gallo and Kepler will be taking. So, yeah, I liked Sisk, we already have enough D and not enough O in our outfield, and I wanted to see Gordon get the opportunity he earned. That’s why I though it was dumb.
  17. Nashvilletwin
    This 100%. They key to winning in the modern game is a shutdown pen. Especially for a team like the Twins that is projected to struggle scoring runs. And, yes, the predictions that our starters are magically going to be throwing an extra inning plus per game are way overly optimistic. For that to happen: a) Mahle and Maeda will need to be healthy and stay healthy out of the gate; b) we’d need to overly rely on Lopez - which is stupid since he tired at the end of last year and we need him next year; c) we will forgo getting rocked and/or building length when we eventually start our younger guys - Ober, Winder, Varland, and SWR; ; and d) Rocco would need to change his indelible spots. None of those are happening.
  18. Nashvilletwin
    #7 and #4 were kinda the same deal - could be looked at together. After the Correa signing and Arraez trade were executed, replacing Urshela with Farmer seems like a bad move for a team that is very committed to winning now. IMHO, the Arraez trade was necessary because of a) Mahle’s poor health projection and b) the unlikelihood that any of Mahle, Gray or Maeda will be extended (by our choice or theirs). The fact that the Marlins threw in two upside prospects gives me a sinking feeling about Lopez. Hope I’m wrong. #5 and #6 were just plain dumb. Sisk will turn out to be of much higher value in the future than Taylor.
  19. Nashvilletwin
    I agree that Polanco is probably the key position player this season (assuming Buxton is playing 50% of the games in CF and 30% games as DH). This team offensively could very well go the way of Polanco’s season. You mention Wallner, Julien, Gordon. Those players (and probably Larnach, Lewis, Lee and Martin as well) will need injuries from other players to get meaningful big league innings. The FO and coaching staff seem intent on giving those important innings to Gallo, Kepler, Martin, Farmer and, even, Polanco - all players unlikely to be Twins in 2024. We shall see what the second half of the season brings.
  20. Nashvilletwin
    Agree. Trading Kepler is really the only way the Gallo signing makes any sense. Having Gallo play 1B (which I guess sounds more likely with Arraez gone and more Kiriloff injury rumours) is a complete waste of all this defensive talent everybody keeps extolling as a reason for the signing. It would have been better if we had just gone out and found an actual first basemen in that case.
  21. Nashvilletwin
    This article could have been written about essentially every Twin (Mahle, Maeda, both Lopez’s, Pagan, Buxton, Gallo, Kiriloff, Kepler - just to name a few). “Something to Prove” or “Bounce Back” is essentially the basis of the FO’s entire strategy this season. But re the five highlighted: Ryan will be solid against all teams (new favorite Twin). Polanco will be middling - 0.350s OBP and .250 BA, including while playing the second half of the season on another team, Gordon’s misuse - sitting him behind Gallo, Kepler, and Taylor - will be one of the biggest mistakes of the year. That guy so earned a bigger role. He must be begging for a trade. It’s hard to imagine we are bagging the development of Gordon, Larnach, Wallner and Martin for those three “past their primes”. Maybe that changes by the deadline. Miranda will be serviceable at 3B and at the plate - until he moves to his future more permanent position 1B later in the year and begins to rake. Alcala may be the entire key to pen and will have a super season.
  22. Nashvilletwin
    I get why the FO took the bait in Gallo. Fine, let’s see how he does. But my expectations are low and I have very little interest in developing an emotional fan connection with him, In all likelihood he’s going to perform somewhere between so so and meh and either gone by the trade deadline or by next season. Geez, this team is going to be so frickin’ boring to watch, particularly if Buxton goes down. Kepler, Gallo, Farmer, Taylor, Vasquez, Jeffers, even Polanco - they all are good ballplayers, but it’s all “hope they have bounce back year” and/or just plain meh. CC is a fantastic player to watch, but he’ll never be my fan favorite. Gosh, I hope Miranda, Kiriloff, Larnach and Gordon provide some excitement. Otherwise, I guess I’ll just wait for Lewis, Lee, Julien and Martin…..
  23. Nashvilletwin
    Decent lottery tickets: Chourio, Acuna, De Andrade, Nowlin Likely everyday starter or rotation piece: None Possible utlity player or relief pitcher: Headrick, Sands, Severino
  24. Nashvilletwin
    Cody Laweryson
  25. Nashvilletwin
    I’m glad someone is keeping things a bit real on the TD. Some moves were great and hopefully have an impact - Correa (his return, so it’s not a net pickup per se), Vasquez and maybe Farmer. We shall see how others turn out - Lopez (for Arraez), Gallo, Taylor, and keeping Kepler (and maybe Polanco). But none of these will matter if Buxton only plays 80 games, the Twins continue to play poor fundamental baseball, and Rocco doesn’t up his game.
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