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bird

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Everything posted by bird

  1. bird
    There are a lot of reasons that this is a nice list. For one, it's just a nice list. Every one of these prospects appears to have a real chance. For another, it's an additional group to get excited about beyond the half-dozen names we're hearing most often: Burdi, Chargois, Reed, Meyer, etc. And for another, it excludes some sleepers who have a chance to arrive as contributors yet in 2016, guys like Graham, Rogers, Wimmers, etc. I wonder if there are any other organizations who can rattle off the names of twenty relief pitching prospects of similar quality.
  2. bird
    83 wins, and still 4th place. I see the difference between the Twins and the other teams in the division kind of like this: if two or three things go wrong for Detroit, Chicago, and KC, and Cleveland on offense, the fortunes of those teams can change dramatically because of the lack of depth. But for the Twins, if a larger number of things go right for them, they might surprise in a big way. Not everything that could go right will go right, but there are a ton of possibilities for upside stories, and I still believe people are under-estimating the impact Buxton will have. The two reasons I'm not more optimistic are 1) the starting rotation, and 2) the lack of experience of the young ones
  3. bird
    Over, but barely. Like with very other competitor in the division, KC will suffer with injuries to any two pitchers in the rotation, and that's more likely than not. I see about one win separating each of KC, Cleveland, Detroit, and about two wins then separating the Twins and finally Chicago. And injuries could easily reverse the standings, it's that close.
  4. bird
    And I'll take the under by a game. But agreed, it's a reasonable enough line. They improved over the winter, but lack of rotation depth might haunt them unless they miraculously avoid injuries.
  5. bird
    Over but barely, 85 wins in a brutally competitive division race. They have both quality and depth in the rotation, and the lineup will be a little better.
  6. bird
    I'm risking my entire savings and am in the "one last gasp" camp, so over. 84 wins. Their #6, #7, and #8 starters are Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, and Michael Fulmer, not too shabby, and they'll probably need all three very very badly, because at least one of Verlander, Sanchez, and Zimmerman is bound to go down, and Pelfrey and Shane Greene are weak at the back of the rotation. If they suffer two lineup injuries of any duration? The under by a few games.
  7. bird
    Yeah, I just don't get why this is so rare, because it would seem to be a good idea in practice as well. Sure wish someone would ask the question some time....
  8. bird
    Reading this made me reflect on and feel extreme gratitude for every one who makes Twins Daily so incredibly exceptional. My own gratitude extends to writers and to community members. And I see the quality of coverage in an almost opposite vein! It's nothing short of excellent, especially when one considers the challenge regarding access and I'm guessing some financial constraints as well. If the access media probed even 20% as deeply and exerted themselves even half as much as the contributors to TD, we'd really have something.
  9. bird
    I'm sorry, h2oface, I misinterpreted your post. My bad. But also, don't you think guys like Maestro are smart enough to read the tea leaves regarding their chances? Guys like Sweeney, Benson, Quentin, and Maestro have a pretty fair idea that they face an uphill battle to earn a roster spot over Rosario, Sano, Buxton, Arcia, and Santana. They didn't stupidly fall for some disingenuous "pitch" from the Twins, right?
  10. bird
    Be the beneficiary of an injury or two.
  11. bird
    There's no real connection. Other variables are obvious.
  12. bird
    The flaw in your thinking regarding Maestro is that decisions get made on the basis of what happens in a few spring games, and that all the rest of what goes on in camp, the billion things you and I don't see, are meaningless. Maestro likely didn't get the job because the judgment is that others are likely to contribute more to the team. His performance during games probably helped him make a stronger case, but it should be pretty clear to the Twins (and to us, frankly) that Maestro has certain limitations. They show up every year over the course of a season. Had he made the team, we'd have some grumpy TD'ers I think.
  13. bird
    In fact, we DO know with this front office. We know that they honor their word. This reputation is clearly why guys like Quentin and Sweeney are willing to trust "gentlemen's agreements" with the club. And it's why guys like Sweeney express gratitude for how the Twins treated him, and why player sentiment in general is favorable towards this organization with very few exceptions, which get brought up ad nauseum with absolutely no attempt at fairness.
  14. bird
    Both players lack positional experience, and both players are being counted on to adequately fill their roles. Not sure what could be more consistent than that.
  15. bird
    IIRC, the Twins received decent, but not stellar grades from the experts who handed out team-by-team grades. Bleacher Report, I think, gave them a B+, and that might've been the high mark from the graders. My recollection is that the grades on TD were decidedly more mixed. Go figure. As for the strength of the draft class itself, I think Seth is right in saying it was regard as being a little weak, at least depth-wise.
  16. bird
    I'll take Chicago's and Detroit's to start the season too, alarp, who wouldn't? Just saying, give me two random injuries in the rotation for each team, and we might be singing a different tune.
  17. bird
    True stuff, but who do you think will log more innings in the OF between Santana and Arcia? Please note you do not have the option here of answering "yes".
  18. bird
    I think Gardy was fired. And past roster choices often gave us a lot worse youthful choices than Molitor has in 2016 with Santana and Arcia. For example, Aaron Hicks. If someone is going to convince me that the Twins have this faulty love affair with "veteran presence" as we see so often argued here, then someone needs to explain how Arcia and Santana made the team and the starting lineup LAST year before being exposed as "unreliable and inconsistent." Arguing that the Twins over-estimated Maestro and Schaefer, who were perhaps equally unreliable and inconsistent, doesn't support an argument that they have an irrational jones in favor of veterans or a negative bias towards youth or even inexperience. How would one explainn their confidence in Buxton going in to 2016, when the consensus on TD was that they needed to sign an experienced FA? I think all of these types of decisions are made with a fairly blind eye towards age, or even experience.
  19. bird
    Molitor is making the call, and I agree with most everyone else that Santana and Arcia are overwhelming favorites. Molitor seems to absolutely love what he sees from Danny Santana. His comments indicate his belief that Santana will ultimately be an asset in the batter's box as well as in the more obvious ways. And I agree that Molitor's criteria for his 5th OF ( I think Santana will get the call to fill in more often than Ozzie) will be a bench bat, someone they can rely on to take competent AB's when called upon. Given Arcia's history of taking some pretty stupid AB's, I think he needs to continue to show the kind of transformation we've seen so far. He has the edge, and of course being out of options is his trump card. Neither Santana or Arcia stand a snowball's chance of slipping through waivers in my view. Molitor does not have a bias towards a "veteran presence", and frankly, I don't think this bias exists at all on the part of Ryan or anyone else still drawing a paycheck from the Twins. The bias is towards reliable, professional, consistent baseball, not tenure. Sweeney and Quentin are here in case Arcia reverts to his past knuckle-headed ways.
  20. bird
    Just read a blurb from a Chicago writer the other day saying Chicago team officials are suggesting that Carson Fulmer isn't on as fast a track as is perceived, and that he needs a full year of development time. Makes the Mat Latos pick-up all the more important as competition for their #4 and #5 slots, as the other contenders, Erik Johnson and John Danks, have scuffled a bit. I'm not so sure MICHAEL Fulmer isn't in the same boat for Detroit. If the division comes down to a war of attrition in rotations, maybe the Twins would fare better. In any event, the three prospects on this list most likely to seriously impact the season for their team are all Twins.
  21. bird
    I get this, and maybe it's completely delusional wishful thinking on my part, but... I can see a scenario where one or more of our most expendable veterans pitches well enough to attract the attention of a good ballclub whose rotation gets decimated by injury. If Duffey, Berrios, and May all pitch well enough for long enough to earn Molitor and Allen's full confidence, I can picture a trade or two to make room for them. Obviously, Nolasco and Milone are the guys who come to mind. But somehow, I could see Santana being dangled too.
  22. bird
    It is a two yr program. But what's the big deal with being held back twice? They MUST have been fond of Chief.
  23. bird
    Yeah, I'll concede this point easily, but point out that the leak could come from Hunter's or Buehrle's agent. I'd suggest that as a slightly more likely source because of the potential benefit involved for the agent and his client. And for sure we agree on your last point. No rumors about Plouffe doesn't clearly suggest a whole lot. Ryan however did.
  24. bird
    Can we just agree that the Twins are less likely to be the source of a rumor than the team on the other side of the matter? Can we also stop arguing that, because the Twins were the subject of one trade rumor, that it means they aren't closed-lipped in general? Can we simply acknowledge that sometimes writers speculate about a trade that has involved no talks between teams? Can we stop speculating, based on the absence of rumors, that the Twins made no calls, or took no calls about a player, when in fact we are clueless? Can we stop saying there are no excuses when something we want to happen doesn't happen?
  25. bird
    Well, they DIDN'T back in the 30's when you and I went to college. That's why I enrolled at Inver Grove Community College instead.
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