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Kwak

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Everything posted by Kwak

  1. Kwak
    Gosh, practicing medicine over the internet is difficult!
  2. Kwak
    It appears we fans will have to suffice with the tone of this story--"they can't all be as bad as they were last year!" After some weather as brutal as the baseball, hope is starting to look pretty good right now.
  3. Kwak
    Mauer should be the emergency catcher. This player is required about once per year. Losing the DH?--for what one AB?--that's what PH are for.
  4. Kwak
    Allow me to be the 17th poster to state: "There isn't any lost draft choice if Garza is signed. His cost is simply a rotation spot and his salary. This fact improves the desirability of Garza over other free-agent pitchers because there is no draft-choice penalty associated with signing him. Correira. He was the most productive SP for the Twins over the entire season of 162 games. He wasn't especially good, just better than the rest. That, plus his "good health" should guarantee him a spot in the rotation come April. Trade him? If someone make a solid offer--sure--but I don't think one is forthcoming. Trade him because he's "blocking" younger pitchers? Foolish! The reason he's "blocking" people is because they aren't good enough. Consider: The Twins have signed three free-agent pitchers not because they are enamored with spending on baseball players--but because the alternative was worse.​
  5. Kwak
    The many short starts caused the bullpen to expand from 6 to 8. Those two roster spots come at the expense of position players. This pretty much eliminates the possibility of platooning players and makes pitch-hitting/running quite iffy. Add to this mess the "need" for three catchers and we find that catchers have to play other position(s)--generally not to MLB standards for that position.
  6. Kwak
    "Change"? 16 months ago it was "..get three pitchers", all were free agents. This off-season's action--sign three free-agent pitchers, and one (discounted) catcher. The only change I saw is that more payroll was available within the budget to sign these free-agents. Hence, they targeted a "better" group and market conditions dictated that longer-term contracts were required. This is as close of an admission as we'll hear/see that the cupboard is bare for the foreseeable future. Real change would have entailed the signing of two "Nolasco-quality" free agent position players also. That would show that the front-office isn't just trying to "bridge to better" players/team but to commit to doing so now. That action would be enough for me that management is acknowledging that the "old ways" failed and that problems will be addressed ASAP rather than by the "luck-of-the-draw" in the draft and augmented by what can be salvaged from the dumpster.
  7. Kwak
    If the extent of the damage was truly known--he would have been shut-down--but it wasn't! He played and things got worse. Scenario #2: Mastroianni goes on DL, someone else climbs-in (like Clete Thomas did)--and plays well. Darin is screwed. He doesn't know how bad it really is--but he has waited years for this opportunity, and isn't going to sit by and watch it disappear and spend the rest of his life wondering "what if?". He got his answer.
  8. Kwak
    The four free-agents will be in the rotation--and with a long leash. Tryouts for the fifth spot will be in Spring training. There likely will be some shuttling up/down between candidates--that have available options. Those without options will be waived, and likely claimed. There is a reason that players are only allowed three options. If a guy can't make it here in three trys--well it's time to move on, there are others who are earning their shot(s) too! If the Twins had set the performance bar higher for pitchers, there wouldn't be so much teeth-gnashing and shuffling--they would just conclude a guy wasn't good enough and move on.
  9. Kwak
    Kepler was added to the 40-man roster--he needs to have a big year at CR to justify this opportunity. There are others that are productive hitters and will pass right by him if he doesn't "shine".
  10. Kwak
    My point exactly! There is no need to draft and develop for 4/5 starters to start, and the loss thereof (especially when their ceiling is as a 4/5 starter) to waive them. The signed free-agent pitchers have demonstrated reliability at the level. Playing them at least provides a somewhat competitive team whereas playing the minor leaguers whose ceiling is as a 4/5 makes no sense. We've seen them, and they're not good enough. We must wait until those at the low levels have had time to progress. I for one would much rather watch an average or so major league quality pitcher rather than someone who might get to the level of a 4/5 pitcher.​
  11. Kwak
    Apparently this thread got high-jacked and shifted from Worley to Correia. Part of the problem (re: playing the minor-league guys) is that the Twins had set the bar for pitchers at innings-eater rather than much higher. They cling to players like they are their children and keep cycling them up-and-down from Minneapolis to Rochester. That idea might be acceptable if said player was a potential all-star rather than an innings-eater. Those discussed have all had a good "look-see" and frankly didn't measure up to MLB standard. Some will have to be released this season (some will be retained). What is happening with the Twins rotation is simply a form of "Natural Selection"--the free agents were paid to put a competitive team (not a contending team) on the field this season. Those who get released--well that's baseball, not everybody succeeds.
  12. Kwak
    The free-agents aren't blocking anybody--they're blocking nobodies! True, there isn't "something to work-on (or learn) at AAA", these guys just "don't have it". The strategy of scouring baseball "dumpster-diving" to find people who might succeed (on-the-cheap) has been found wanting. The fans are demanding major-league talent--at least guys who have at least "cleared the bar", even if only by a hair,--rather than guys who are little more than "feel-good stories". No more "Rudy" or "The Replacements" but actual major league players.
  13. Kwak
    I am mystified by all this concern for a bunch of nobodies and the necessity to keep them. Their lack of success was caused by a lack of ability. The theory of pitching previously used by the Twins has been proven a failure, and steps have been taken move from "dead last" to below average. We should all be thankful for the effort as well as the result. Since this result will ultimately "cost" the services of failed pitchers we should (in the spirit of the holiday) sing "Hallelujah".
  14. Kwak
    My guess it was the Mastroianni decision to "play through it". This was his chance, and he wasn't going to watch it vanish without a try. We all see what happened--he got DFA'd because he didn't prove himself. Sitting-out and "being injured" wouldn't have changed things one iota.
  15. Kwak
    Put me in the camp expecting Hicks to start and stay in Rochester.
  16. Kwak
    100 points higher--would still have been >.150 ! I sure hope that isn't the "bar" for success.
  17. Kwak
    Worley's "high BABIP" was caused by an overall lack of ability and not by being "unlucky". I fully expect Ryan to give another "shot" in the rotation to try to justify last year's trade of Revere. But there are sooo many others battling for a spot in the rotation, that Worley's leash will be much shorter than last year--I'm guessing 5 starts maximum. If last year's results are duplicated, he will be waived.
  18. Kwak
    It's pointless to base a decision on who should be the #1 DH (and who is in the OF) based on a hypothetical of the promotion of a minor league player in the Summer. The season starts in April. Personally, I would be very surprised if Buxton was in a Twins uniform in 2014.
  19. Kwak
    Your header said they were draft picks....
  20. Kwak
    Draft decisions should be made on present-day, individual analyses and not on past results. It doesn't matter what happened in the past--it's what is now. There are advantages in both: the HS kid is younger, is more malleable for training, and has less wear-and-tear--he also has less experience and all of of it at lesser competition. The individual(s) is what matters, not past results. Example: Twins results with college pitchers in 1st round has been poor, but that that shouldn't affect this year's decision. In the same vein, the success of other franchises with college pitchers doesn't mean that the Twins will have the same result(s)--so that should not be the basis for decision. The decision must be made on the individuals this year​ and not on previous years.
  21. Kwak
    History has shown that Gardenhire will use many line-ups in April--baseball's version of whack-a-mole. I would expect that Parmelee is the RF most days, Willingham the LF most days, and Arcia plays about as many in RF as he does in LF. There will be several DHs. Kubel is in Rochester at first, but if anybody (other than Willingham) "messes-up"--Kubel will replace him and will play the OF as much as he DHs. Plouffe is a fixture at 3B--unless he "pulls a Valencia", then we might see a merry-go-round there. There should be a contest for the exact number of line-ups used in April (disregarding the SP)--I got 19!
  22. Kwak
    I remember the AB against Rivera (Game Two) much the same way Hunter described; Pitch 1 super-fast cutter on the fists resulting in a foul tip, Pitches 2 and 3 fast balls well out of the strike zone that Kubel whiffed badly (never came close). Kubel was badly over-matched and was embarrassed.
  23. Kwak
    When a poster says "...we need another OF." He means a good OF--not the warm bodies that the Twins have been running out there the past few years. Parmelee is an OF. He took training to become a 1B because of Morneau's concussion issue.
  24. Kwak
    ...and the payroll is back to April 2013. Perfect! Everybody is praising the Twins "for spending money", fixing the rotation, buying a cheap insurance policy for catcher, and clearing roster space to give yet another chance to failed "prospects"--because ya'know some just need more years in the minor leagues.
  25. Kwak
    We can forget Rodon and Hoffman--they will be gone when the Twins select. Beede didn't want to sign last year, and command was reported as "an issue". Vague to be sure. Among LHP Sean Newcomb has been touted above the others and is "...6'5", with mid-90's FB, and uses four-pitches." He had quite a bit of success in the Cape Cod League. Finnegan is a bit small (but then so is C.J. Wilson of the Angels!), but has more velocity than Newcomb and a plus slider. I would sure like to know more: mechanics, fielding skill, holding baserunners/pickoff move, and any past injury. But the twins need to reach for a "star" player, and not just a "safe", college pitcher.
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