cmathewson
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Everything posted by cmathewson
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Yeah, just heard on the radio that Gilmartin is going to New Britain instead of Darnell (as well as Dean).
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Right, so these things tend to cancel each other out. Given a large enough sample size, a 73% similarity between Pitch F/X and the actual calls is significant, especially when the average is 81%. -
It shows how little importance options play in these decisions. What fans don't get is that every team in the league is facing the same challenges, and it is an opportunity for your team to pick up a player or two if you can create some space on the 40 man.
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Poor Logan Darnell. Probably ends up at New Britain, again. On the plus side, he knows where all the good restaurants are in the Eastern League.
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By the way, throughout his career, he has had a BABIP over .300, often close to .350. Last year in the majors, it slumped to .241. In addition to all the mental errors and other mistakes, he was also unlucky.
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Historically, he'll K about 20% of the time and walk about 15% of the time. So he's not a high-contact guy. When he makes contact, he has a high LD% and a correspondingly high BABIP. He also has a high IsoD throughout his career. So, yeah, Ben Revere he's not. I for one am glad for that.
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Most teams do. It's called a bench.
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I like both. Either one is an upgrade over Bartlett, IMHO.
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Yeah. I wonder how much of that was arm fatigue from TJ. He was hitting his spots more consistently in Rochester. But he would just lose it for innings with the Twins. It will be interesting to see what he can do with a full healthy season.
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That was while base running. I don't think the concussion risk is much different between first and third. It's a LOT lower than catcher. Mauer got hit on the top of the head dozens of times per year. We now know that that has a cumulative effect.
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Article: Kernels Roster Taking Shape
cmathewson replied to Steven Buhr's topic in Twins Daily Front Page News
I like that, with two changes. i think Sulbaran did enough to earn a promotion (better numbers than Berrios), assuming he got into better shape as camp went along. If so, then Stewart will take his place. -
Good stuff, especially the part about not getting strikes low in the zone. With Mauer or Doumit's helmet in the way, umps would call the pitch where it's caught. With the sinker, it was consistently caught below the strike zone even though it crossed the front of the zone above the knees. I look forward to better calls this year, whether from more consistency, a lower target, or a lack of rookie stigma.
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To me, it's not as much about walks but pitch selection. If he waits for his pitch, he has a chance (from the left side, anyway).
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Well that might be a stretch. But it was taken from something Ryan said when he resigned him. The gist, he wanted to give him another shot at getting back to winning. Maybe he has two years to do it. But he is being held accountable.
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Who are the outfielders for AAA and AA? Bigley and Mitchell were on my list for Rochester, but apparently they like Ortiz a lot. Anyone else getting promoted.
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Gardy will get fired if they don't have a winning record this year. That's accountability.
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No one in the organization said that. That was speculation from those here. He had to beat out Presley or go back to AAA. He did that, resoundingly. The pressure is off primarily because of confidence, maturity and familiarity. Also, batting eighth should help.
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We missed Molly yesterday. Oh well.
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Whomever didn't make the team would be gone. Bartlett had an opt-out clause and was reportedly ready to use it if needed. Presley was out of options. So it came down to who is better. The field staff determined that Bartlett is better than Presley, and more versatile, and a better guy in the clubhouse. So they chose Bartlett. It's as simple as that. Any attempt to read a grand conspiracy into it is over thinking it.
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I had not heard the thing about how the large stadiums affect the flight of the ball, or how hard it is to pick up the ball off the bat with a full second deck. It makes sense that there would be a learning curve. In the first couple of months, he was tentative, especially on balls hit in front of him. He looked like he was not picking up the ball very well. But I saw improvement last year on the routine plays. If he cleans that up, he could become an elite fielder.
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The darkest day had to be when Old Man Pohlad offered his team for contraction just as it was on the verge of being good again. But my darkest period as a fan was after the Carew trade. It wasn't just that trade. But Bostock and Hisle had left and now Carew. I thought '77 was the beginning of something great and it was the end of something good. I was disillusioned and disgusted. I didn't follow the team again until the '84 season.
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Great article. It is a clear statement about my optimism for the kid. It's interesting that guys who come in and play well right away tend to slump in their sophomore seasons. Conversely, guys who struggle in their debuts tend to play better the next year. Some of this is simple statistical regression. In Hick's case, I think it's also improvement. You articulated the improvement part very well.
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There might be something to the comments that they hope he adds to the shortstop depth and ultimately takes over there. But they have said nothing to suggest it. What Gardenhire has said (and Antony made it clear that this was Gardy's decision) is that he wants a "Rays-style" bench, meaning a couple of guys who can play everywhere. He also said yesterday that he does not need a backup center fielder. This implies that he is not confident with Presley anywhere else but center. And, come to think of it, Presley pretty much only played center this spring. Clearly Gardy saw him as competing with Hicks. And he lost that competition. I'm not that bothered by it. Presley is slightly above replacement level. But I don't think Bartlett is a viable center fielder for anything but an inning or two in an emergency. If Hicks gets dinged in a way that he needs a couple of days but does not need to go on the DL, they will be in a pickle.
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I like Bartlett. I have always liked Bartlett. He was a good player before he blew out his knee. That player was better than Presley or Parmelee or any of the other guys they sent to Rochester. But I seriously doubt he can return to that level of play. If he can, I will be the first to laud the Twins for the reclamation project. If not, they just lost a valuable asset. Time will tell. I will say that he looked really good when I saw him a week ago. Maybe he impressed all the coaches enough for them to think he is the same guy with a healthy knee.
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Alex Presley claimed off waivers by Astros
cmathewson replied to sandbun's topic in Minnesota Twins Talk
I have to agree with the general tenor of this thread. I projected Presley on the team and Bartlett gone because it just didn't make sense to get rid of a a center field asset. In the end, it came down to Gardy, who didn't like Presley's inability to steal bases. Antony is reported to have said he left the last few roster spots up to Gardy. That's just great. I have a hard time believing Ryan would allow them to let Presley go a year after they suffered through a dearth of center field depth with a struggling rookie. I have a higher opinion of Bartlett than most. But I still think Presley is more valuable to this team and in general. This move baffles me.
