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Old Twins Cap

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Everything posted by Old Twins Cap

  1. Old Twins Cap
    With Buxton, it's severely painful to watch him swing and miss very hittable in-zone fastballs. Most hitters, when they are not in sych, will at least foul those balls off. So, something fundamental is wrong. Sure, the eyes and head aren't tracking, the lower half of the body is late, the upper half is not fluid. What is that? If any of us knew, we would be millionaires. It will make a very compelling case-history once Buxton emerges, and exactly what it was that held him back -- how he overcomes it. It seems way more internal than just a head thing. If that makes sense.
  2. Old Twins Cap
    It's baseball. It's a long season. You are never as good as you think you are when winning. And never as bad when losing. Hope the young guys grow and contribute. Avoid injuries. It's a game, enjoy it.
  3. Old Twins Cap
    Could not agree more. I looked at the Twins' lineup today against a lefty in Detroit. With Mauer and Kepler out, and Buxton unavailable to hit (sic), there just was not a path to score runs. So, they didn't. And, in the crunch, there was no one to put in or pinch hit, to put pressure on Detroit's fairly mediocre bullpen. So they lost. And that could go on and on and on and on, unless they get some RH pop.
  4. Old Twins Cap
    So, what is the payoff on $100 at 150 to 1?
  5. Old Twins Cap
    Pretty obvious, I think. Catchers are lubing their vests so that balls will not bounce very far if they hit the chest protector. Must be some tough, viscous stuff. And likely, completely legal. The link to pitchers is dubious, IMHO.
  6. Old Twins Cap
    Polanco as protection for Sano. Beats Mauer. As much as Buxton has been poor at the plate, one thing about batting him third is that strike-outs aren't as crucial. At least, that's what I've been telling myself with absolutely no supporting data, except the Twins' record.
  7. Old Twins Cap
    Rosario likely tweaked his arm on that ridiculous throw in from left yesterday, thus 4th outfielder. Come on guys, Santana has to be preferable in the outfield to Grossman, right?
  8. Old Twins Cap
    It helps to open at home instead of on the road, which, because Minnesota is hailing distance to the North Pole, will happen, what, 1 out of 5 years? Don't forget the start in Baltimore, what, 2011, when they get swept, never had the lead the whole series, and were only tied 0-0 for like two innings. We've had some epic fails in season openings, so we'll take this.
  9. Old Twins Cap
    When you don't have decisive numbers, a thoughtful, proven, well-spoken veteran is more valuable to the club. Especially in terms of keeping pitchers focused and encouraged. Extra base pop doesn't hurt either. With Murphy, if he hadn't hit an extra-inning 3R homer to Right Center Field off a Twins reliever in 2015 at Target Field, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Who was that pitcher?
  10. Old Twins Cap
    Aristocratic media. They don't have to be right, they don't have to be good or have cutting edge insights. They just have to produce copy for the idiots that still read their publication. When was the last time they actually wrote something insightful?
  11. Old Twins Cap
    So, who did the Twins pass on that was drafted later -- besides Benintendi -- who is that lock of an Ace starting pitcher?
  12. Old Twins Cap
    The writing is on the wall, of the dugout: Dozier Polanco Buxton Sano Mauer Park Kepler Catcher Rosario With Grossman platooning for one of Kepler/Rosario, depending on who is hitting. If computers ran baseball lineups, it would be different. But, unfortunately, humans got involved and a guy with 42 HRs will lead off. I like Buxton at 3. SOs there will not kill a rally and oddly, I think this puts more pressure on the pitcher than Buxton. Let him live a little and be integral to the lineup's success. Mauer at 5 is also a good call. High OBP and a good at bat in the middle of the lineup, if that's what Mauer still does, is what every good team wants and has. Not the '29 Yankees but in another year or two, could produce a lot of runs.
  13. Old Twins Cap
    Batting Grossman first is icky.
  14. Old Twins Cap
    The key to pitching, even the bullpen, is the starting rotation. You get guys to throw into the 6th-7th-8th inning, now your bulllpen guys are fresh, live-arms coming in to close out the game. Kintzler, Belisle, Pressly, Rogers -- that's not a bad back half, if they are not overworked.
  15. Old Twins Cap
    Bring it. People say, he shouldn't hit lead-off because it puts too much pressure on him. I say, hit him third so he understands that the Twins have confidence in his abilities. This makes too much sense.
  16. Old Twins Cap
    I guess Twins Daily readers didn't get the memo about spring being the optimist season in regard to baseball. Nice article my friend, a well-researched counter narrative, deserving of praise for using stats as a form of jujitsu against the conformity of saber-geeks. I could literally hear thuds from heads hitting basement cielings as I drove through the northern suburbs.
  17. Old Twins Cap
    Mariano Rivera had all of one pitch. My thesis would be: quality -- meaning location/velocity/movement -- wins out over other factors, including variety, when it comes to pitching. With Santana, it may also include deception because of how smooth and easy is his delivery, and how quickly the ball arrives at the plate.
  18. Old Twins Cap
    I never thought Vogelsong had a chance, but, as a GM, you never know how many injuries are going to accrue in Spring Training. That said, I see value in an old guy showing up to camp, going about his business, and keeping the ball low and on the corners -- even at a top of 88. You got stuff? Throw it where you need to and get the job done. Nothing wrong in exposing Twins' pitchers to that.
  19. Old Twins Cap
    Nah, this makes sense though. Bring Jay up quickly and let him deal with MLB hitters. NOthing wrong with that. If, in the end, he has the stuff and make-up and the stamina to be a starter, it won't be missed or ignored. He can rise to his level this way. On the draft, yeah, prolly Twins were swayed by their own need for a lefty thrower. How that got translated to Jay is another question. To a carpenter, every solution involves a hammer.
  20. Old Twins Cap
    The 'numbers people' have their thoughts about who the lead-off guy should be, whether OBP or OPS or generic threat that puts pressure on the other team. But, what about what makes sense for the culture of the team you are trying to create? Who deserves it? Who has earned it? Who goes down to mat and fights for your sides' ABs? As much as numbers matter in baseball, and they are the ultimate arbiter of W/Ls, you still need to run a team, manage, have an aspirational culture below decks -- a sense of what matters to the proletariat that feeds on possibility. Dozier has earned it and said he prefers batting leadoff. Buxton is hopefully the future. Personally, I like Polanco because he can do a lot of things, bats either handed and will drive the ball. But, this is the stuff of forming a new alchemy for the Twins and let there be some real choices to debate.
  21. Old Twins Cap
    You had me until Grossman. I figured the fourth guy would be Polanco. If they bat Grossman lead off, I will follow the Brewers this year. cheers,
  22. Old Twins Cap
    It's like the Twins bend over backwards to keep Rule 5 guys on their roster, to the expense of players they developed themselves. "Hey, it's free. Even if he loses the game for us."
  23. Old Twins Cap
    Glad you are not the Twins GM if you do not understand the "value" of starting your most expensive pitchers. To wit: They may represent a sunk cost, but they also represent the team's best opportunity to recoup value from that investment. A Hughes, a Santana, a Santiago, one of them will have a good year, maybe a couple of them. Now you can trade them at the deadline and get something of value. Then you bring up your best talent from AAA to finish the year. But giving up on an asset before they even start the season would be foolish to the point of non-sensical. Once a veteran tanks and shows no signs of life, that's when it's hopeless. At this point in the spring, everyone is a potential ace and a potential trading chip. As GM and Manager, I am going to give that every chance to bloom.
  24. Old Twins Cap
    Why do I have a vague memory of a slight middle infielder named Lenny Faedo?
  25. Old Twins Cap
    Good insight as to why we should never sweat the opening day roster. Fact is, with all the inning limits and arm concerns, if you can use a rental for $150K and get "x" number of innings at close to a respectable ERA, why wouldn't you? At the end of the day, it's the equivalent of benefitting -- avoiding costs -- by using some other corporation's asset. AKA, the American way.
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