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cmathewson

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Everything posted by cmathewson

  1. cmathewson
    I didn't mean to imply that he was not stepping up. Both he and Dozier have been the cornerstones of this offense. Mauer has not and needs to step up. Willingham has been hurt and needs to step up now that he's healthy.
  2. cmathewson
    I never said I wanted to. It is the only viable alternative right now. And it's not a miracle cure, but he's trying to make lemon aid from lemons. I'll be rooting for him.
  3. cmathewson
    No. But he can't do much worse than he's done against Verlander as a left-handed hitter. Against the Tigers, Hicks sports a .098/.196/.171 tripple slash with 20 Ks in 46 plate appearances. I believe 12 of those Ks have come against Verlander. When I think of his weakness against the back-door breaking ball, I remember all his Ks against Verlander, beginning with the very first one. They don't throw breaking balls like that in the minors. Then again, Victorino led the lead in HBP last year. So Hicks better get some armor on.
  4. cmathewson
    Yes. Not as a starter, but we still lack a fourth outfielder and I don't know when Fuld will come back. I remember Span had a mysterious concussion (didn't hit his head, slid into a brick wall [bengie Molina] at home plate). Everybody thought he would be back in the seven days. He missed the rest of the season. I would give up either Pelfrey or Correia for him. I just don't think the Yankees would want either pitcher. And if the Yankees are honoring his wish to start, it wouldn't work to trade him to a team who doesn't promise to make him the starter.
  5. cmathewson
    I think it was his father. Now he's his own man, he can make his own decisions.
  6. cmathewson
    Maybe I'm more optimistic than some because I abandoned switch hitting and I found it much easier. In particular, I had an easier time recognizing the breaking ball out of the hand of a right hander as a right handed hitter. I also took away the back-door breaking ball from right handers. That is one of Hick's weaknesses as a left-handed hitter. He was always looking for that pitch middle in. If he didn't get it, he often struck out looking. So right handers stayed away from him and threw a lot of back-door breaking balls. He tended to give up on that pitch as a left handed hitter, and it would get called on him. The one major leaguer who did this recently was successful at it. And he was older than Hicks. Are there examples of players who did worse after making this change?
  7. cmathewson
    I didn't compare offense to defense. I just think you need a good defensive center fielder. Imagine putting Plouffe at shortstop. It would be ugly. Same with Parmelee in center. Up-the-middle positions require good defenders. It's one of those maxims you don't mess with. You start with a good defender. If he can hit, he will stick. If not, you try someone else. It's one of the reasons I hate trying to convert career shortstops into center fielders. Right there you violate a key maxim of team construction. I never said everything is fine. I said it's not a crisis. There are lots of worse things happening to this team than their starting center fielder. Nolasco is a mess. Correia is, well, Correia. Burton is not right. Guerrier is on the roster. Hicks is getting on base and scoring runs. That's a lot more than can be said for Jason Kubel right now.
  8. cmathewson
    My opinion as well. I have been advocating for him to abandon switch hitting for five years. Better late than never. Also, if his long-term position is a corner, he will need to have a power stroke. He has no power from the left side. He'll have to adjust as the season goes along, but I don't get why that needs to happen in AAA. I just think guys with his talent will learn wherever they are. As long as he is needed up here, he'll have to learn up here. Not ideal, but it happens a lot in baseball. The ones with true talent, like Gomez or Hunter, eventually get it. This could be the catalyst for him getting it. I sure hope so.
  9. cmathewson
    Meanwhile, this is Hicks since May 10: May 10: 1-3, BB May 11: 0-1, BB May 14: 1-3, BB May 15: 1-4, BB May 16: 2-4 May 17: 1-2, BB May 18: 1-2, BB May 20: 0-3 May 21: 1-3 May 23: 0-2, 2BB May 24: 0-3 May 26: 2-4 (both right handed against a right handed pitcher) I look at this and ask, where's the crisis? It seems like he has turned a corner. If he has more confidence hitting right handed against right handed pitchers, perhaps he'll be better than he was over the last 15 games. That's a pretty good hitter at the bottom of the order. Let's give him a chance to see if it works. Parmelee is barely a right fielder. The only reason he has done decently in TF is he studied that wall and he plays it very well. But his range is severely limited. Parmelee in center would be a blood bath.
  10. cmathewson
    One other thing about this situation: They put Hicks in an almost impossible situation last year and again this year. How did they handle that with the press? They berated him repeatedly. Antony called him out in spring training and again a month into the year, basically calling him lazy. If they're putting so much confidence in him to stick him in these situations, you'd think they could at least have his back with the press. Something like: "We all know it's been a struggle. But he's putting in extra BP. He's getting after it. He's showing signs of breaking out of an early season slump. Give the kid some credit for doing what he can to make the jump from AA." Instead, Antony blames the player. The onus is squarely on Antony's shoulders.
  11. cmathewson
    It is strange that the fortunes of this team rest on two guys 24 years old or younger who have fewer than 500 PAs a piece, and who both have significant development issues to work through. Ideally, they would not be the guys who needed to step up. Ideally, it would be Dozier, Mauer Willingham and Plouffe. We should all hope these two youngsters step up, but to demand it is a disservice to them.
  12. cmathewson
    The time to address his development was early in his career. I know switch hitting was a condition his father placed on playing baseball. But it should have been clear to everybody in the organization when he had to repeat Beloit that his best path to the majors was to give up switch hitting. They never pressed him on it. Now it is a desperate situation. The time to address center field was before last year. They traded both center fielders (in good moves) and failed to acquire a replacement. Then they strung him out to dry in the lead-off spot without any back-up for almost two months. So they learned their lesson, right? I thought so when they acquired Presley and resigned Mastro. Then the FO completely botched the roster and we have no viable center fielders above A ball (at least until Fuld returns), again assuming that a kid who was overmatched last year could just jump right in and play every day. The fact that they have had shortstops out there without significant professional expereince at the position for five games this year is just validation of how whacked this situation is. It should be obvious to everyone here that I believe in Aaron Hicks. I also think this is the right thing to do. I am in the minority around here when I say I think he will be OK--not great but not horrible. But that doesn't excuse the FO for completely botching his development and then forcing him to learn basic stuff at the major league level without a viable back up above A ball. I hope the Twins brass learns at least one thing from this: Rob Antony is not qualified to be a GM of a major league team.
  13. cmathewson
    So you would start the next game without a center fielder for some hope that Hicks has prescious development time? I'm glad you are not the Twins GM.
  14. cmathewson
    I have seen enough young players produce before their time to hope he adjusts. I mentioned Dozier. But what about Knoblauch? Or Hrbek. Hunter was as raw as they come when he came up. Even Puckett had a lot to learn. And what harm is it doing him? Gomez turned out all right. If a guy just never adjusts, maybe he didn't have the talent after all. How can we be so sure that it will stunt his growth?
  15. cmathewson
    I actually agree that, ideally, he would have more time in AAA. But that isn't an option. And every other option is worse. So we make the best of a situation that is less than ideal. And that's baseball. Very seldom are teams constructed under ideal circumstances. Sometimes it means guys have to play up here before they're ready. Take Brian Dozier, for example. Sometimes, guys rise to the occasion. Sometimes they don't, sometimes it rains.
  16. cmathewson
    People must really hate Hicks if they think Santana is a better option.
  17. cmathewson
    Better late than never. I don't know where you all think you're going to dig up a better CF on another team. I'm sure they've been beating the bushes since both CFers went down with concussions. They aren't out there. So can we stop with the idea of sending down the only healthy center fielder above A ball?
  18. cmathewson
    That's the answer. Give him a month or more strictly as a right-handed hitter and see how he does. As for tracking fly balls, I wish more outfielders on the Twins tracked them as well as he does. He's gotten turned around on a few screaming liners. But he's the best defensive center fielder in the system not named Buxton. People pine for Revere or some comparable replacement player. Few have the range or arm that Hicks possesses. All the things he has struggled with are unique to the majors (triple decker stands behind home plate where high drives get lost, exploding sliders, etc.) He will only learn to overcome them by playing against major league competition. Meanwhile, how is a .330 OBP out of the number 9 hole hurting us?
  19. cmathewson
    Also, you're spoiled. Puckett. Hunter. Span. Few teams have had that kind of stability at that position. Still, there was Becker. And it took Hunter a couple of years to settle in. If you start chasing replacement players, you'll never develop the kid.
  20. cmathewson
    I don't get the lack of patience. Prior to Saturday's game, he had gotton on base in 12 straight games. It's not as though the rest of the line up did anything on Saturday. So why fixate on one game? I think it's a style thing. If you're going to have a laid-back attitude, you better put up Mauer numbers. Even Mauer takes flack for not busting his tail because he makes it look easy. Give the kid a break. Failure is part of development. Deal with it.
  21. cmathewson
    Trying him there and playing him there are two different things. Don't jump to conclusions.
  22. cmathewson
    Jackson > Kolek > Gordon IMHO.
  23. cmathewson
    So this is why it is not a "no-brainer" to sign guys "because you can always trade them." I will keep the identity of said quotester a secret, but, you know who you are.
  24. cmathewson
    Cola and the German down. Santana stays as the backup CF. When Fuld comes back, Santana goes down. Cola will rediscover his swing and get back up here at some point. He told Berardino that he's been dealing with some "physical issues". So perhaps he's dinged up and trying to play through it. Anyway, time to heal up, get a fresh new start and earn his way back.
  25. cmathewson
    Cola and the German.
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