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Willihammer

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Everything posted by Willihammer

  1. Willihammer
    Some interesting names now and in the pipeline so why does Escobar continue to get playing time out there?
  2. Willihammer
    Siegrist is a stud. A LH bat isn't supposed to do anything in that spot.
  3. Willihammer
    Joe seems to have bungled some first-to-second plays this year for whatever reason. The other day he hit a runner in the back, and in a game a few weeks ago had a double play ball hit to him but he threw it so softly that the return throw didn't come in time. Strange. Maybe nothing tho.
  4. Willihammer
    What do fans of Hunter's leadership think about bringing him back as a coach? Would the impact be there if he's not lacing up as a player?
  5. Willihammer
    So he is swinging at more fastballs inside in an attempt to pull the ball more. He is attempting to pull the ball in order to a. beat the shift and b. hit for more power. However by swinging at these pitches he is neither improving his BABIP or Slg%. At what point do the Twins declare failure at turning him into a "corner profile" guy and just let him do his thing again?
  6. Willihammer
    According to at least one source, ABWII's specific weakness is breaking balls at the knees. Isn't the difference between AA and AAA pitchers, that AAA guys throw better breaking balls and command them better? I thought I read that on these boards somewhere.
  7. Willihammer
    I have this experience all the time as a fan and more at work which involves the restuarant/bar business. It is amazing how many bars in this town dedicate literally no TVs to a Twins game until asked. That said, if you want to drive up Snelling to Grumpy's they will usually have the game going on at least a couple TVs. My personal go-to spot for any MN-based sports viewing is Mac's Industrial on University & Central. They usually pipe the audio as well and most of the patrons are there to watch the game.
  8. Willihammer
    There has been some at-bats recently where there is a man on and Mauer is hacking at pitches in even or hitter-counts and then asking the umpire immediately afterward if it was a strike. I think there might be a conflict with the team asking him to be a run producer and Mauer's ongoing attempt to figure out the expanded strike zone. I wonder how much simply bumping him up in the order and asking him to a run SCORER would change things.
  9. Willihammer
    You might be right about power being a worse predictor than Avg or OBP. Then again, if the industry's understanding of OBP was wrong before, maybe its wrong again? Maybe there is some other aspect of Walker's game that is more important than all of it. The ability to turn on a high fastball, perhaps. Just as easily the inability to lay off breaking pitches at the knees could render his career DOA. All we know for sure is that our understanding is never perfect, and that "non-prospects" will continue to break out and have productive MLB careers (less often than "prospects").
  10. Willihammer
    Yeah I've heard it too. I vividly remember Nick Blackburn telling that to the KFAN morning show guys around May 2011, for instance. First things first. Gibson did throw 7 innings in that Brewer game and got 13 ground balls to 5 fly balls. Only, 3 of those 5 left the park. So it was far from his worst outing. In fact he's had some very good starts on 5 days rest (Apr 26, May 12, May 24). Obviously I can't say for a fact he would perform materially better with 5 than 4 since its never really been tried for any length of time with him or really on any MLB team ever (they do it in Japan however). There's a lot of research out there backing up the theory that increased velocity leads to increased effectivesness - sinkerballers included. I would also point to spring training when Gibson was consistently 94-95 and just dominating. Pelfrey too - he's always been more effective at 94+. Less than that, and he gets knocked around. Leaguewide, the best sinkerballers are hard throwers - Zimmerman, Lynn, Kluber, etc. Its a myth that sinkerballers need to be "tired" or they become ineffictive at higher velocities. The opposite is true.
  11. Willihammer
    Dozier? Kubel? Koskie? Mientkewicz? Pinto?
  12. Willihammer
    Because its a cherry picked sample?
  13. Willihammer
    Actually that would be 17 (including Walker). They won't add all of them but I count the following probables: Walker Duffey Baxendale Melotakis Jones Rogers Buxton and Berrios would make 8. Does that seem realistic? It will be interesting to watch whatever their plan is unfold. One way or another they are going to have some roster turnover.
  14. Willihammer
    Ah yes the old, too strong to get anyone out excuse. I love that one.
  15. Willihammer
    Getting back to the original question - I think its an interesting idea for a few reasons. Like the Mets, the Twins have some starters coming off arm injuries. We are all too aware of how starkly different an unhealthy Nolasco and Pelfrey look compared to being at full strength. If an extra day of rest / fewer starts is good for their health, it ought to be good for their output too. Gibson, May, and Hughes are healthy, though not pitching well enough to really force the issue IMO. And there is a lot of team control left for all 3 so maybe conserving innings now, while the opportunity is there (and when Santana returns), might be prudent. And as Chief has pointed out, there's no point carrying 13 pitchers if 2 of them are going to sit all the time. Swapping a reliever for a starter who is guaranteed innings might trim some of that inefficiency.
  16. Willihammer
    I don't want to go through the entire roster but again there are 14 other '15 eligibles - Duffey, Harrison, Hicks, Jones, Rogers, Baxendale, for example. Then 16 more in '16 - Buxton, Berrios, Garver, Turner, etc. the full list is in the Organizational Chart area. Seems like with a flood of prospects coming through the system, keeping a roster spot for Walker will be the challenge, not running out of option years.
  17. Willihammer
    I won't pretend to be the expert here, but Walker is going to be Rule 5 eligible this winter along with 14 other players, and he hasn't even cracked AAA yet. Compared to other college players the Twins have drafted, Brian Dozier for example, he's nearly a year behind while putting up roughly similar production at each level. And Dozier is considered a late bloomer. If the Twins continue to slow cook a fringy, college-drafted player like this, it seems like they risk handcuffing themselves later when it comes time to test him against MLB competition.
  18. Willihammer
    Also mentioned in that article: http://www.startribune.com/adam-brett-walker-is-long-on-power-short-on-consistency/306439531/ That seems consistent with a BP scouting report from last year: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/prospects/eyewitness_bat.php?reportid=99
  19. Willihammer
    Remember that HR he hit off Matt Barnes in spring training? It was a 95 mph fastball that he hit on a rope over the left field wall. Is that indicative of Walker's approach? Is he a dead fastball hitter? Trying to get a bead on what exactly is the issue with him.
  20. Willihammer
    Personally I would not call Buxton up unless/until he dominates for an extended time at AAA. There are enough workarounds in the OF for the time being that they don't need to jeopordize the development of their best prospect. I would say the same for Sano. IMO the guys you would be willing to recall directly from AA are the Walkers, Joneses, maybe Rosarios - guys who are not top flight prospects but could potentially catch fire while filling more pressing holes (SS, DH, RP).
  21. Willihammer
    Isn't Plouffe's natural stroke to pull the ball? I have to think the counter-adjustment should be relatively easy/quick.
  22. Willihammer
    It doesn't to me either. That's why I'm kinda wondering how widespread it is, and how much merit there might be to the strategy of targeting college pitchers who have been miscast in relief roles. We know that Fulmer and Tate were put in the pen too (before this year). But that's 3 guys and I don't follow college ball enough to understand how widespread the practice is.
  23. Willihammer
    Is that a widespread practice? Also, fewer games > more rest > more starts/innings from your best pitcher, no? Eg. Jay had 28 relief appearances totalling ~58 innings. Whereas his teammates were starting 15-16 games and 100 innings plus. Seems like a bad tradeoff.
  24. Willihammer
    Twins get Robinson and Lemonte from U of MD. Lemonte a junior, hit for a good average but little pop. LH bat again.
  25. Willihammer
    From http://highschoolsports.nola.com/news/article/-8123261326113099881/kolton-kendrick-mlb-draft-2015/
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