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Otto von Ballpark

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Everything posted by Otto von Ballpark

  1. Otto von Ballpark
    "Even where fun is No. 1, Saints tighten security in wake of Manchester terror attack" http://m.startribune.com/even-where-fun-is-no-1-saints-add-tighter-security-in-wake-of-manchester-terror-attack/424936373/?section=%2F Didn't the Manchester attack happen outside the venue? Guessing the Saints will be using this extra security to confiscate outside food and beverage more than anything else...
  2. Otto von Ballpark
    The Twins won't have a choice. You can't option an injured player. The only choice for the Twins will be whether to add him to the 40-man or expose him to Rule 5.
  3. Otto von Ballpark
    Personally, I could see letting Duffey and Gibson tackle Saturday, then optioning Gibson after the game for Mejia and letting Duffey assume Gibson's rotation spot. But that's just me.
  4. Otto von Ballpark
    No, they both have to stay up. They are starters #4 and #5. But Mejia is currently down (he was the 26th man for Sunday's doubleheader) so they have to make room for him before his next turn.
  5. Otto von Ballpark
    Hey, he wasn't THAT bad. (He was 4 for 49)
  6. Otto von Ballpark
    Still has a .742 OPS in the last 10 games, though. 2 HR, 8 BB, and a .342 OBP in that stretch, but only a .158 BABIP.
  7. Otto von Ballpark
    Molitor said after his start that they weren't making any changes in regards to the status of Gibson, so he's clearly back in the rotation. They'll have to make a roster move to get Mejia back, though. Barring a new injury, my guesses are: 1) Wilk DFA'd 2) Vargas optioned 3) phantom injury to put Haley back on the DL
  8. Otto von Ballpark
    I said it was a "shaky outing" for Meyer. What more do you want? Am I not allowed to go into any detail about the performance? If you don't care about the details of Meyer's performance, that's fine. But I don't see the point in quibbling with people that do.
  9. Otto von Ballpark
    All in one day?
  10. Otto von Ballpark
    Meyer was placed on the 10-day DL today for back spasms, so he will miss at least 1 start. (Probably 2, although perhaps not if they make it retroactive to his last start.)
  11. Otto von Ballpark
    Like Cueto, Ian Kennedy also has an opt-out after this season. Not sure quite how that plays out yet. Seems like the Royals are interested in hanging on as long as possible in 2017, so I'm guessing Kennedy wouldn't be dealt until the deadline. If he's performing well, he'll probably be a rental, assuming he opts out? And even if he doesn't look likely to opt out, he might still be a better value at 3/49 than most of their pending FAs, so I'm not sure how willing the Royals would be to make that exchange. They are in a tricky spot.
  12. Otto von Ballpark
    And we have yet to face... OURSELVES!
  13. Otto von Ballpark
    Seth has an article up about "trusting the process." Duffey has been a starter for 4 years, and less than 2 months ago was in camp as a starter (and did pretty well) and almost won the 5th starter job. I think the process would say he should still be in that mix, able to earn that job again as his performance and team needs dictate.
  14. Otto von Ballpark
    You just said Richard's value isn't high. How much could it plummet?
  15. Otto von Ballpark
    Duensing did not fail quickly as a starter in 2009 or 2010. He was quite useful as a starter both of those seasons. We probably don't make the playoffs in 2009 without him. Given his profile, I doubt his later mediocrity had anything to do with his usage pattern those early seasons -- credit to the Twins for capitalizing when he was performing well. Slowey actually went on the DL when he went to the bullpen in 2011, before they even tried returning him to the rotation. And he spent time on the DL each of the two previous seasons as a starter too. Not sure how any of that is relevant to Duffey, who I don't believe has had any notable health concerns. You're not finding counter points, you're find examples of players who have failed. I don't doubt Duffey might fail too. But fear of failure is not rational decision-making. It's still common practice to move starters to long relief temporarily and back again. I doubt that the failure rate among such pitchers is notably different than the failure rate among pitchers overall, but if you have data (not anecdotes) that suggest such a conclusion, I would welcome it. If there is something specific about Duffey that suggests a move now would be problematic, I would more than welcome that information. So far, all of the concerns have been pretty generic and anecdotal, and seem to be portraying Duffey as more of a "good luck charm" in his current role than as a capable pitcher.
  16. Otto von Ballpark
    He's pitched 2+ innings each of his last 3 outings. He's some kind of long reliever right now, even if it's not the longest or earliest. Yesterday he came in to start a clean inning with a 6 run lead. That's not exactly fireman usage either! Which sort of plays into my contention that he hasn't been quite so valuable in relief as many are portraying -- valuable, sure, but not enough to scrub his name from the SP depth chart when the alternative is a struggling Gibson.
  17. Otto von Ballpark
    Not necessarily, but Gibson is currently struggling, so he could probably use time away from the MLB rotation to work on things. Just like Duffey has had since last season. Gibson could still be #6 on the depth chart and get another chance soon enough, like Duffey should be in line to do now.
  18. Otto von Ballpark
    I'm not comparing Duffey and Liriano as pitchers or potential injury cases. It's just a simple fact that young starters frequently do a month or two in a long relief role for a variety or reasons and come back to starting. It's not jerking them around, it's common practice. The Twins got excellent value out of Brian Duensing by "jerking him around" in 2009-2010. The Cardinals with Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn a few years ago, etc.
  19. Otto von Ballpark
    Nope, not when we're carrying 7-8 relievers including 2 other long relievers. Stretching him to 3-4 innings in that laugher last night would have probably been perfect preparation to take Gibson's next turn and look to complete 5. (But no, we had to turn it over to his fellow high leverage bullpen mates Breslow and Haley...) Just because your 6th starter does well in the first 1-2 months of the season in a long relief role doesn't mean he should be completely removed from the SP depth chart. In fact, if he's used the experience to further develop as a complete pitcher and not just cut loose with a different approach in short stints, he should probably get a promotion on that SP depth chart.
  20. Otto von Ballpark
    One could argue that, given their 2017 performances to date, letting Gibson/Hughes/Tepesch or whomever pass up Duffey on our current starting depth chart right now would be "jerking him around" more than a simple shift from long relief back to starting would do. Assuming their public statements about seeing him and believing in him as a starter long-term are still true.
  21. Otto von Ballpark
    Thrylos specifically called him a "failed starter" in this very thread. Last I heard, the front office said they still viewed Duffey as a starter. But he had to go to the pen this spring because there was no room in the rotation. Well, now there's room in the rotation! And Duffey has been a starter virtually his entire pro career. He's spent just the last month and a half in a long relief role. Moving him back into the rotation at this point is hardly "jerking him around" it's actually pretty common for young pitchers (Liriano 2006 comes to mind).
  22. Otto von Ballpark
    But, we have other potential assets in the pen -- namely Burdi, perhaps another like Hildenberger could prove useful too if given a chance. Not to mention Pressly who could be ready to step back up into higher leverage (I notice he's struck out 8 of his last 9 batters faced, although he's pitched very sparingly lately) -- not that Duffey has been used in the highest leverage anyway... We don't have any more potential assets in the rotation right now. Gibson is in the rotation now, backed by Tepesch and Wilk. Gonsalves would be 2 months away, at best. Realistically, no one is making trades now either, so that's another 2 months to wait and you might not find a match there anyway. This isn't like July 2015, when we had 5 roughly league average or better starters in the first half plus Ervin Santana coming back, and no pen prospects.
  23. Otto von Ballpark
    I like the low K rate -- 10.7% so far in 2017, which would be his lowest since 2010. Down from 16-18% over the past 4 seasons. Although he did tease us with 8.5% last April, and 10.5% last July. If it sticks this time, and that exit velocity stuff holds, he could approach that 120 wRC+ mark that has long been predicted (hoped?) for him in his later career.
  24. Otto von Ballpark
    And like Winfield, the Padres can sign their hometown kid back 20 years from now.
  25. Otto von Ballpark
    Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against Mauer and his contributions to this franchise. And I'm definitely rooting for him going forward. But he had a great month in April 2016, and again in August 2016. And both times, I think we got treated to articles similar to this one. (Although the addition of Statcast data is nice this time around!) I think both sides of the issue can get a little tiring. (Admittedly, I tend to avoid mainstream media where I imagine the bulk of the anti-Mauer sentiment appears, so sometimes the Twins Daily rebuttal can seem like an over-correction.)
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