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bird

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Everything posted by bird

  1. bird
    I think we've seen both better talent and better performance. I'm not so sure most managers wouldn't be more confident about winning with any of Paxton, Tanaka, or Severino as their starter as opposed to Berrios. No pitchfork here, but once again, the importance of true front line starters is evident. I also think there's still a fairly decided talent advantage for NYY over the Twins, in virtually every phase of the game: rotation, bullpen, lineup, the edge home field offers, postseason experience, on-field game management. The whole nine yards. Again, no pitchfork at the ready here. Frankly, this team got there a year early IMO. I'm not terribly upset by what's happened, just a bit disappointed that so many players, for whatever reason, have so far failed to step up. Our inconsistent Berrios failed to locate his breaking pitch. Dobnak threw it wide over and over and fell behind all-star hitters. Paxton spiked ball four in front of the plate and got guys like Cron to strike out instead of walk to first. Tanaka hit the corners and our pitchers did not. But from my vantage point, even if our hitters take good, smart at bats and our pitchers attack the zone with better command and control and quality pitches that lives up to their best, the Yankees have a decided edge. They're simply a better team right now, even though the talent gap has closed. They've been a much better team each and every time the two teams have played for 15 years. That's the reason they've beaten the Twins, with an assist provide by the home field. I don't buy into there being some mystique.
  2. bird
    Can I have your Kohl Stewart jersey?
  3. bird
    Castro's 2019 OPS of .767 would have been better than Mauer's OPS in 4 of Mauer's last 9 seasons, when Mauer's average OPS was .786. Castro hit 13 homers in 237 AB's. Mauer averaged 552 AB's over his last 9 years, averaged 8 HR's and never hit more than 11. The Turtle is NOT an upgrade over Castro.
  4. bird
    I'm happy with the exclusion of Perez. I've been picturing Gardner and Gregorius getting to 3 and 1 and teeing off on him in a key situation.
  5. bird
    I'm less qualified to venture an opinion on the subject than most. Maybe this is why I'm failing to see and be convinced that the Twins, on paper, hold an advantage in any area in this series. In fact, I'm not convinced the Yankees don't hold a slight advantage in the bullpen, rotation, and lineup, and maybe game management too. I'm neither pessimistic or optimistic. We need Kepler at semi-full strength and making contributions, Arraez healthy, and for the players to stay composed and to step up in those big situations. I'm hoping for a memorable 5-game affair.
  6. bird
    Fun facts: 49 different catchers who had a MLB plate appearance in 2019 were selected in the Rule 4 draft in a lower round than 9th round pick Garver. 49 different catchers, 35 of them selected in the first 3 rounds. Mitch Garver was the 19th catcher selected in the 2013 draft.
  7. bird
    Of the 49 prospects described as first round selections in the 2009 draft, only 7 of them have generated more WAR than Kyle Gibson. Gibson deserves credit for being dedicated to his craft. He has faced and overcome some real challenges as Nick has nicely pointed out. It's possible that he's reached a point where this disease, which has no known cure, will keep him from fully regaining his capabilities as a pitcher. But if the medical professionals and Gibson both are convinced he can come back, I can easily imagine him signing a prove-it one year deal with the Twins. I have to confess, however, that aesthetically he somehow leaves me kind of flatlined even when he's going well. Could be the slow pace I suppose. Like everyone else, I'd love to see him rise up to this latest challenge.
  8. bird
    Nice observation. I'd say every GM in baseball would trade Arraez for a vast majority of the rookies ranked ahead of him. It's a bumper crop.
  9. bird
    Great post. While I share the skepticism of a few others about how sustainable his production will be, I know that if I'm the GM, I place a 20% premium above what the metrics say his value to the team is. Why? One, because I'm convinced he demoralizes the heck out of the other team, especially the pitchers, with his perfectly placed soft liners and instincts for making the right plays. I believe he makes intangible W-L contributions beyond what his incredible numbers show. Two, because I can see that he's an absolute joy for the fans. They love him. And three, is teammates seem to love him too, as do his coaches. I want him in my clubhouse.
  10. bird
    I doubt you'll find many of us who strongly disagree with this assessment, but if you don't mind waiting until after the regular season is over before peeing in the punchbowl, that would be great. It's such a fun party!
  11. bird
    Yeah, instead of lamenting the use of Harper, we might want to consider how lucky we are that they've introduced us to 7-8 relievers since his demotion that are better options than he is. I find it interesting that we disparage all these pitchers, and remarkably they end up being good enough for some other team: Magill, Eades, Morin, Parker, Mejia (who'd I miss?) are all playing for someone else. Harper would find a home real quick-like. What does that tell us?
  12. bird
    Thanks for tempering expectations a bit regarding this series, as apparently a lot of people think this team is a complete pushover. All it would take is for Lopez to throw shutout innings like I believe he did in his last start while Berrios reverts to his struggling form, for Perez to look pathetic against Giolito, and for someone like Jiminez or Moncada to light Odo up while the light bulb goes on for Covey, and presto, we end up losing a couple/three of these games. Not predicting this. This Twins squad is still limping along, let's not fool ourselves too much. Thankfully, we have incredible depth, so unlike Chicago, KC, and Detroit, we're not inserting bona fide AAA talent into four spots in the order every day. The main difference between us and them is the number of lousy players they have to use. Like we did just last season.
  13. bird
    Dobnak deserves a ton of credit for advancing through three minor league levels. Not a weird choice by any means.
  14. bird
    If we're talking strictly about starting pitching, then yes, they clearly don't appear to be up for the postseason challenge against the top teams in baseball. But we have to cut them some slack regarding last night's game against Strassberg. Cruz looks like he's still not feeling great. Rosario looks to be nursing a couple of body parts IMO. That game may have gone so much differently with Kepler in RF and in the lineup, and with a healthy Sano, Cave, Gonzales. Garver and Cron. This team has the ability to sneak in a win against a top pitcher who has something other than his best stuff, but they gotta get healthy. They need to win a game in Cleveland. Not an easy thing right now.
  15. bird
    concur
  16. bird
    Maybe not always, but you make a good point. The difference between bad and good is often the difference between overworked and rested.
  17. bird
    Fangraphs doesn't currently rank Ober among the Twin's first 42 prospects, which means they probably have him at a 35FV grade or lower. This no doubt will change soon.
  18. bird
    I recall reading an article awhile back that described Tyler's injury history necessitating a change to his current sidearm delivery. His delay is probably related to the injury and subsequent adjustment.
  19. bird
    Oakland fans might be saying something similar about THEIR starting left fielder Robbie Grossman.
  20. bird
    It may be as likely that Hildy makes a solid contribution down the stretch rather than Graterol or Alcala.
  21. bird
    Unless the light bulb goes back on for Martin Perez and we see improved pitch quality and some semblance of command again, I don't quite understand why we'd assume he'd be a liability in the rotation but an asset in the pen. Wouldn't it be likely that Thorpe and Smeltzer are better lefty options? Maybe even Gonsalves? I'd probably also take a bet that Hildenberger is a more effective postseason option than Graterol. In fact, it wouldn't shock me if he came back and was one of 4-5 effective postseason performers out of the pen.
  22. bird
    Does anyone else see a discomforting similarity between the calls for Graterol this year and the calls for Romero last year?
  23. bird
    I laughed so hard!!!
  24. bird
    The only thing I can imagine is that they're frantically working behind the scenes to fix May and the pitching coaches are asking Rocco for a little more time.
  25. bird
    I recall Molitor drawing a comparison of Kepler's potential to Yelich. It was a seemingly absurd thought. At the same time, quite a few people were arguing to sit Kepler down in favor of Cave, and to dangle Kepler as trade bait. Guess which idea sounds absurd now, right?
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