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NoCal

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Everything posted by NoCal

  1. NoCal
    Dare I say that the front office and manager have done a pretty good job of building a bullpen on the fly. Again, the first third of the season is for seeing what you have; the second third is for fixing what is most egregiously wrong; and the last third is do whatever works. Every night a high wire act.
  2. NoCal
    Chris Coghlan? In 2009? And again in 2015? How weird is that? He really knows how to take a guy out. Didn't Rod Carew also get seriously damaged when he was playing 2nd base for the Twins?
  3. NoCal
    Joe Sheehan, in discussing the Rangers, went back to an old maxim of Billy Beane's: The first third of the season is to see what you have; the second third of the season is for re-tooling and adjusting; and the last third of the season is to make your run for the post season. This sounds like the path that the Twins have taken this year, and giving Santana an extended look at shortstop fits this strategy. And it fits the overall strategy that the Twins follow - build from within, using trades as a supplemental tactic to the overall strategy. Requires patience and time (which ironically, Beane has not demonstrated in recent years). And with luck, you end up with a run like the Pirates are experiencing.
  4. NoCal
    I think that Berardino had the correct interpretation in his article. This is about protecting some other talent from Rule 5 selection. Both the Twins and the Pirates (and others) are organizations that have lots of talent, and teams are now willing to hold onto a Rule 5 selection for an entire year, even if it results in a wasted roster spot (note especially how an unusually large number of Rule 5 selections stuck with their teams - including JR Graham on the Twins); so the Twins and the Pirates have to delay short term benefits for longer term gains. I suspect that the Twins will be counting on Berrios being in their rotation next year, but now they won't have to use a roster spot until April, enabling them to keep one more of their assets in the system. They will probably lose some talent this Fall in the Rule 5 draft, and we will be upset about it - and we can blame Ryan then for losing depth.
  5. NoCal
    I like the Mattingly comp. Also, Joe Sheehan wrote a great article about Mauer this week in his newsletter. He points out that two major trends in baseball recently have worked against Mauer's strengths. Namely, the use of extreme shifts, and more importantly, the expansion of the strike zone, especially the low strike - now well below the knees, and often an inch or two off the plate. Mauer's greatest strengths have been his great eye and ability to differentiate between balls and strikes, and his tendency to go off field. The new game featuring low strikes and lots of power pitching, and reams of information, has blunted Joe's game. Maybe it is only partially due to concussions. If he can adjust to the new game, his line can improve - but still not much power. Maybe .290 / .340 / and some low power number.
  6. NoCal
    btw - To change the flow of this for a bit. Last Summer, the Twins sent Correia to the Dodgers for a PTBNL or "cash considerations". Does anyone know if this bit of business has been resolved?
  7. NoCal
    Would anyone have made this trade with the Marlins, sending Dozier to them for Healy? If we are going to dangle players, should Dozier be one of them?
  8. NoCal
    The fan experience in Oakand is a bit different than in Minn. also, and I think it affects decisions. Beane views his players as commodities, and churns the roster looking for the right combo of performance and satisfying the tight budget demands of the franchise. No sentimentality, and fans can't get too attached to players. I think that the Twins give their players a longer rope, and encourage a little more fan attachment to their players, as a value of their franchise. Some people would call it a feature, some would call it a bug.
  9. NoCal
    "Pitch framing " may be over rated. Tampa Bay got all kind of good blog because they bought into pitch framing so much that they traded for Hanigan and employed B. Molina. We might want to speak with Tampa's pitchers to see how that has worked out.......
  10. NoCal
    Injuries happen (ask Texas). Floriman was an exceptional defender last year; probably can be again. He doesn't hit - ok, that is why he was in the minors. Right now, Twins need bodies that can defend their pitchers; if they need a body, Floriman is probably the best choice. It ain't permanent......
  11. NoCal
    I really like this team. They are on the way to building a really fun rotation. This is an incredibly fun ride for a team that still is below .500. Baseball....ya gotta love it. And once they believe that they can compete now, they will. They are.
  12. NoCal
    I too rarely post, and living in the Bay Area, in addition to following my lifelong team (Twins), I also get to become very familiar with the A's and Giants. The thing that distinguishes them is that they each, in their own way, have a long term strategy for building success at the major leagues. While they differ in many respects, they do respect the need to build a team for their home ballparks. Both teams have fields that have very large outfields, not too unlike Target; both teams put a real priority on outfield defense. I think that the Twins are not as focussed on strategic decisions, and that is exemplified by their terrible outfield defense,which is probably a contributor to their ongoing pitching difficulties. They draft well, they seem to develop home grown players well, but somehow they do not seem to end up with a composite team that fits well in their stadium. Of course, they may still be recovering from tailoring to the Metrodome!
  13. NoCal
    Deduno is your new hero? Oy, perspective please. Its April, lets go a few more weeks before we all join Howard with a "Fans View" that is totally apocalyptic. It will be all right........
  14. NoCal
    I believe that someone did an analysis of injury frequency among the ML teams, and the Twins had one of the better performances; and, except for concussions, they have been rather good at keeping players on the field. Unfortunately, those players aren't that good.....
  15. NoCal
    I think that if the Twins do sign another pitcher, then Correia or others become trade material. There are teams looking for 4th and 5th starters who do not want to pay free agent prices. The Twins could pull in some possible prospect talent to augment their free agent investments.
  16. NoCal
    Actually, I read in the Bay Area media, that Oakland is looking for middle infielders and catchers. The Rosario problem has probably handcuffed the Twins as far as middle infielders, and the Twins do not have much to entice in the catching department.
  17. NoCal
    I disagree that first base is a "lowly position". I expect that Mauer will excel defensively at first base, and with Dozier, gives the Twins an excellent right side; and with Floriman at short, the Twins should provide excellent infield defense (Ploufe is another story). Considering their ballpark, I feel that the Twins should also put a premium on swift, good fielding outfielders also. Eventually, that will mean Hicks, Buxton, maybe Rosario, but for now they should emphasize Willingham as a DH, and try and upgrade their outfield defense. It can't hurt their pitching if they put some resource into defense.
  18. NoCal
    This is a very surly bunch tonight. Frankly, I imagine that Andy and Gardy are pretty good at managing a baseball roster. They just don't have a very good supply of talent. The Twins tend to go in cycles that depend on infusions of talent via the draft; if you are a successful team for 5-6 years, that infusion diminishes, due to draft selections beginning with the 22nd best player available. The well dries up, injuries and misfortune occurs, and soon your organization is struggling. Maybe, like Cleveland and Baltimore, after many years of losing, you make some good trades, you get some good return on your FA investment, and you get a couple of years of being competitive. This blog has a very impatient bunch of subscribers. Knowledgeable, opinionated, smart - but impatient. Cleveland, Baltimore, Tampa Bay - they had many, many losing seasons. The pleasure comes when you hang in there, and then get to revel in success. Lets avoid the Howard S. pessimism -
  19. NoCal
    Spending on free agents is, by definition, the riskiest and most expensive way to acquire players. The most over-valued assets in baseball today (IMO) are prospects. Nobody wants to give up their controlled, high upside prospects. So if you are willing to do so, (see Oakland A's), you may be able to acquire a real haul of good players, to fill many holes, and accelerate your path to contention. The A's got a lot for Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, etc - which of the Twins blue chippers would you be willing to trade to upgrade the starting rotation? Would you travel the road blazed by the Royals?
  20. NoCal
    The Twins were very explicit that this was a transaction for Carroll - he is probably playing his last days of major league baseball, and they did him the favor of sending him to a team that actually was competitive. There was no market for "trading" Carroll; the organization displayed a bit of class here.
  21. NoCal
    Sorry for the careless use of adjective "solid"; actually, Shields is very good. Same question tho: would you be willing to trade the Twins top prospect for a very good major league starter, with two years of team control? Or build with patience, and the Correias......
  22. NoCal
    Are you willing to trade the top Twins prospect to acquire a solid, major league starting pitcher? That is what Kansas City did. Or be patient? Tough choice.....
  23. NoCal
    A long term strategy is better than "embracing the suck". For example, build your team up the middle (catcher, ss, cf); pitching is 75% of the game; tailor your team to your ballpark. Using those principles as a guide, an organization can make decisions about drafting, trading, roster construction. It takes time, it takes patience. It probably also requires taking bloggers with a grain of salt.
  24. NoCal
    Delmon Young was once the #1 prospect in all of baseball. Just saying.....
  25. NoCal
    A veritable Montaigne view of the Twins ........and life?
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