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Otto von Ballpark

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Everything posted by Otto von Ballpark

  1. Otto von Ballpark
    But Franmil Reyes was a position player. We don’t need those, really. We need pitching. And no one is going to trade a good performing MLB pitcher for Berrios.
  2. Otto von Ballpark
    We're all frustrated by the team and by Shoemaker specifically. But the error was his signing and coaching, and the failure to sign and coach effective replacements -- not giving him 19 days to try adapting to the pen when the alternative was apparently Derek Law (again). Beau Burrows can be sent to AAA an unlimited number of times this year, while he is on the 40-man roster. He's a former #1 pick who was lousy in both AAA and limited MLB action for Detroit. He's a project who was absolutely NOT claimed to be immediately thrown into MLB action. (And he just made his first Twins AAA appearance last night.)
  3. Otto von Ballpark
    It's a 2/17 deal, with a $3 mil buyout on a 3rd year $6 mil player option (not team option). So he's guaranteed, and likely getting, 2/20. It would be 3/23 (plus some 2022 innings escalators) if he picked up the player option after 2022, but he won't do that unless he expects less than 1 year ~$3 mil on the open market (and he'd have to be pretty bad and/or injured in 2022 to expect less than that!).
  4. Otto von Ballpark
    Not suggesting a long-term delay, especially for someone ready/well-regarded like Cano. Wouldn't be surprised to see them soon, but some dust will settle on the 40-man by August 1st too. Mostly responding to those wondering why we're not throwing different darts than Law right now.
  5. Otto von Ballpark
    Another complicating factor to adding Cano, or Barnes, or whomever: it looks like we'll be sellers this month, and we may want the flexibility of taking some 40-man roster guys back in trade (or getting near-40-man guys who might need Rule 5 protection more than, say, Barnes for example). Not that this will keep us from adding a guy who we view as legitimately ready on their own merits, but it might discourage us from adding too many guys just for the sake of not seeing Shoemaker or Law again.
  6. Otto von Ballpark
    FYI, not that it changes your larger point, but Taijuan Walker is actually on a 2 year, $20 mil contract.
  7. Otto von Ballpark
    Law may just be a placeholder, if Pineda returns in a few days. Also, Hamilton has some wild walk numbers for the season (18 in 20.2 IP), and Vasquez has 4 HBP in those recent innings too.
  8. Otto von Ballpark
    Two of the main alternatives to Law would be Barraclough (14 BB in 18.1 IP) and Hamilton (18 BB in 20.2 IP). Andrew Vasquez has re-surfaced, although I don't know how they feel about him. Great K numbers at AAA but 14 BB and 6 HBP in 24 IP. Veteran Nick Vincent and prospects Yennier Cano and Beau Burrows recently arrived in St. Paul, although with only 3, 4, and 1 appearances so far, respectively. With Pineda making a rehab start for St. Paul today, Law may be gone again after a few days.
  9. Otto von Ballpark
    The front office has indeed assembled a poor group of reinforcements, although some of that is exacerbated by injuries at the moment. I just posted this in another thread: As far as replacements, while Shoemaker has been in the pen, we've lost Pineda, Dobnak, Farrell, and Duran to the IL, joining Stashak (recently moved to the 60-day IL), Smeltzer, Colina, and Thorpe. (Maeda, Thielbar, and Shaun Anderson were also on the IL at the start of Shoemaker's pen assignment, but have since been activated.) We've already had Jax and Coulombe on the 26-man roster, and ahead of Shoemaker on the pecking order; now Derek Law is returning to take Shoemaker's place. It's not a deep group at the moment.
  10. Otto von Ballpark
    Either that, or he put squirrels down his pants for the purposes of gambling.
  11. Otto von Ballpark
    Astudillo gave up his HR on a 3-0 count, although it was a remarkably fast 3-0 count:
  12. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't think they are hiding -- the front office still appears on a weekly radio show every Sunday, right? I'm not sure the owner coming out and saying "total system failure" would be particularly helpful either, especially since the team wasn't quite as buried yet as the 2016 one which generated those remarks.
  13. Otto von Ballpark
    I guess I'll field this one, now that Shoemaker has officially been DFA'd. Shoemaker's leash in the pen was indeed pretty short -- first relief appearance was on June 11, and last on June 30. That's less than 3 weeks. Only 3 consequential appearances, really -- the controversial first one, an effective extra innings win vs Cincinnati on June 21, and last night. I think if he had struggled vs Cincinnati, he probably would have been cut 10 days ago, which would have been one week and change in the pen. As it happened, he looked good in Cincinnati, and bought himself one more try, in which he epically failed last night. As far as replacements, while Shoemaker has been in the pen, we've lost Pineda, Dobnak, Farrell, and Duran to the IL, joining Stashak (recently moved to the 60-day IL), Smeltzer, Colina, and Thorpe. (Maeda, Thielbar, and Shaun Anderson were also on the IL at the start of Shoemaker's pen assignment, but have since been activated.) We've already had Jax and Coulombe on the 26-man roster, and ahead of Shoemaker on the pecking order; now Derek Law is returning to take Shoemaker's place. It's not a deep group at the moment. (And the point of claiming Burrows was that he has minor league options remaining, not to place him back on a MLB roster immediately.) None of this should be read as a general defense of the front office or field staff -- the Shoemaker acquisition was indeed disastrous, and the lack of viable replacements ultimately comes down on them too. But the leash itself wasn't particularly long or problematic.
  14. Otto von Ballpark
    But Giolito was just speaking in reaction to Donaldson, who spoke on the field. Up until now, Donaldson had only spoken against pitchers to this press, and no pitchers took exception to it. But by yelling about it on the field, Donaldson basically accused a specific pitcher, which I think crossed a line. That's what Giolito was upset about.
  15. Otto von Ballpark
    MLB draft has to be best player available for sure, but -- scouting amateur talent is still more art than science. There's going to be a lot of ties and biases at play anyway. A little bias toward pitchers or up-the-middle defenders probably isn't going to hurt.
  16. Otto von Ballpark
    It's hard to say. Some guys on the major league roster now were in the minors back then... but 2017 draftees haven't had a lot of time to do much either, especially with the lost 2020 season, to say nothing of more recent draft classes: https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?year_ID=2017&draft_round=1&draft_type=junreg&query_type=year_round And when a guy does well, who do you credit -- the drafter or the developer? Here's a Twins top 20 prospect list just before the new FO took over: https://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/11/8/13555840/minnesota-twins-top-20-prospects-for-2017
  17. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't think Donaldson meant to direct anything specific at Giolito either -- which is exactly why Giolito thinks it was classless, to loudly imply in that moment, for everyone to hear, that Giolito gave up that HR because he isn't cheating anymore. If Donaldson wants to say it to fire up his fellow hitters, that's fine -- and he can do that in the dugout, he can do it in the clubhouse, etc. and I doubt Giolito or anyone would care. No need to do it publicly on the field in front of Giolito, though (especially when Donaldson must know his own pitchers are likely in the same predicament as everyone else). FWIW, Donaldson's ejection at home plate last year was against the White Sox in Chicago too.
  18. Otto von Ballpark
    Donaldson was plenty loud, and the catcher was right there. I doubt Giolito heard about it from the media first. Other than being terrible this year, is there any evidence that Twins pitchers were clean in this matter? That makes Donaldson's celebration a little more odd. In that sense, you could consider that Giolito and the White Sox may have taken the high road by not naming/taunting Twins pitchers about it.
  19. Otto von Ballpark
    If there was no need for him to do anything else, why did Donaldson do it? This is an odd defense of a guy who didn't just let his HR do the talking, and instead treated Giolito like that umpire he was upset with last year.
  20. Otto von Ballpark
    I bet Giolito is going to feel pretty silly when he realizes that, because the Royals loss last night finished just before the Twins loss, we're actually only in SECOND-to-last place -- a half-game ahead of last! * insert laughing/crying emoji slowing transforming into just a crying one *
  21. Otto von Ballpark
    Donaldson crossing home plate last night: "Hands not sticky anymore!" Maeda, hearing this in the dugout:
  22. Otto von Ballpark
    Turns out Baseball Prospectus (the site with that 84 win projection a couple weeks ago) was still relying heavily on their preseason projections. They're now incorporating 2021 performance more and hence the Twins are falling a bit: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/67888/prospectus-feature-information-based-updates-to-projections/
  23. Otto von Ballpark
    "Minnesota Twins placed RHP Scott Baker on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July 7, 2011. Right flexor strain." He did return to make a couple starts but what team wants to pay much to acquire that guy at the deadline? It's like the Sam Dyson situation in 2019 -- no way do we trade anything of value for him if he had been on the IL for arm issues earlier that month. And if the offers are minimal for a guy like Baker, might as well hold on to him and see if his health (and trade value) improves. We still had him for 2012 with a 2013 team option. My point about comp picks was entirely looking backward. For 2011, it was a good decision to let those guys walk instead of trading them. Yes, just about every draft slot has bad results historically -- that's just the nature of the draft. But as a rebuilding team, I'll take adding the #32 and #43 picks in the same year that I have the #2 pick every time over trying to find value in marginal deadline returns. Remember, the 2012 draft was the first with caps/slots too, so those #2, #32, and #43 slots could be leveraged together (like the Astros did). Obviously the calculus is different now. There is no compensation anymore for marginal or short-term free agents like Cuddyer and Kubel (or now Pineda and Cruz). We should trade those guys in 2021 if we can't get back in the race over the next few weeks. 2011 sucked on a number of levels, but there wasn't much we could have done to improve the franchise at the deadline.
  24. Otto von Ballpark
    Is that actually a good argument to buy, though? We have a quality offense now -- not perfect, but clearly good enough to contend. Selling for prospects that might improve the pitching staff by 2024 sort of squanders that offense. Edit: I mean buy pitching for 2022, of course!
  25. Otto von Ballpark
    Yes, the prospect graduations have been on the offensive side. But that still gives us a big leg up on 2011, when the offense was hopeless with no future. Both sides of the ball matter! I agree we need better pitching somehow (although Berrios is a better start than the 2011 team had too). I don't think a deadline teardown / rebuild is the way to quickly improve our pitching to match our offense, though -- you'll just get more prospects who are fungible relievers or 3+ years away. (If it's in exchange for expiring contracts, that's still a fine return -- but nothing that should jeopardize 2022.) We should actually be looking to trade some of our prospects for good pitching, and pony up some money for FA pitching as needed too.
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