Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Markdumont25

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    74

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Markdumont25

  1. Markdumont25
    Too reasonable a take for Twins Daily to handle! This is generally how I feel but I leaned slightly towards letting him go simply because of all the errors in the fundamentals (baserunning and defense mainly) that we saw over the course of the collapse. We had a young, largely untested team but too many games were lost down the stretch on what should be considered inexcusable mistakes for a professional team with playoff aspirations playing in the best league in the world. Given that we seem to both believe he is otherwise an average (ish) manager, I think not having his team prepared enough to avoid the mental lapses on the basics down the stretch should have pushed us towards giving someone else a chance. My opinion. What really sunk us this year was the pohlads cheapness. Nobody can convince me that an extra $20M in payroll spent on a few arms wouldn't have made the difference between the playoffs and the bitter disappointment we were left with. But since you can't fire ownership then I think Rocco would have been a reasonable enough alternative.
  2. Markdumont25
    I'm not among those that think Rocco is an impassible manager. I think he has his strengths and weaknesses but is probably decent overall. However, after a collapse of this magnitude where we found the most depressingly creative ways to lose, many of which included a complete breakdown of the fundamentals, I think that needs to fall on Roccos shoulders. Since ownership won't fire themselves and their desire for marginal profit gains over serving their community and fielding a team serious about competing, then Rocco should have been the one to go.
  3. Markdumont25
    I've long suspected that the Twins' (and Rocco's) habit of frequently resting players is actually a big part of the injury problem here. A body can't be expected to handle the bursts of activity at the highest level of one's sport when that type of activity is avoided at all other times. Their bodies won't be used to it and will break. How many days in a row did Cal ripken play? And our key players can't get through half a season? Maybe the rest days and all the effort that goes into "protecting" our players health is counterproductive...
  4. Markdumont25
    I think Rocco is both overrated in some circles and underrated in others, meaning he probably averages out to an average manager overall.... But in game personnel moves (specifically overmanaging) is undoubtedly where he is weakest. You only have two reliable starters left in your rotation and a bullpen that has been shaky, when one of those starters is dominating with a manageable pitch count you don't take him out. Anything other than that is overthinking the situation. I think Rocco is overall decent, but this was a really frustrating and avoidable loss that I would pin mostly on him and his managerial decisions.
  5. Markdumont25
    What did everyone think of the balk? I thought I saw it but I was looking at the TV from an angle after several beers so I'm not the most reliable source... Apparently on the broadcast they said they didn't see anything?
  6. Markdumont25
    This is how I feel about dunks in basketball haha
  7. Markdumont25
    I know there's a few out there, but I don't know who can defend the Pohlads with a straight face. I suppose there could be an argument from the perspective of a draconian adherence to maximizing every dollar possible...but when you own a sports franchise you own a pillar of the community and you should have a responsibility beyond your bottom line to invest in your product and make a reasonable attempt at so that everybody can enjoy it. If they can't do that, they should find a new business to run. Also, the twins franchise is worth nearly $2 billion, the idea that an extra $20 to 30 million a year in payroll is intolerable to them is a joke.
  8. Markdumont25
    No offense to OP, since I understand the financial limitations the franchise has placed on itself, but these dumpster dive scenarios being presented are getting so exhausting. Yea, he's cheap, but even as OP presented he doesn't seem all that helpful and/or likely to even be able to finish the season. Control issues and he's already basically reached his highest innings total in a half decade? Seems unlikely to pan out, even as a "innings eater", back of the rotation type.
  9. Markdumont25
    The bottom line is that the Twins overpay when he's hurt and he gets vastly underpaid when healthy... So it's just a matter of how healthy he can be. If he can average 120 games for the next 4 years then this contract will have been a steal for ownership. I liked it at the time and still like it. Most good things in life require some risk and locking down a player with his elite potential for only 15 million a year was well worth the risk of injury or him not playing close to his potential in my opinion
  10. Markdumont25
    I've seen a post or two about him but damn, does our boy Willi still feel underappreciated. What he's done this year compared to what expectations were for him is quite astounding. What a steal and let's hope he can keep it up... But from what I've seen so far I actually believe he can.
  11. Markdumont25
    Despite all the injuries, setbacks, and (arguably) unfulfilled expectations, I love having Buxton on our team. Great man and player.
  12. Markdumont25
    I love my fellow twins fans but, as an aggregate, we seem to have a damned if they do, damned if they don't mentality when it comes to pony-ing up for quality players. There's (rightfully, in my opinion) lots of moaning when the powers that be refuse to make any serious offers for elite players but then when we do actual do go for it there's moaning about how it wasn't the right deal, too long, handicaps filling out the rest of our roster, etc. I think it's crazy. You can never predict how the future will unfold but we locked down a premium player at a premium position for a very fair price and I can't see what there is to complain about. In addition to his track record as one of the leagues better players (including several very clutch postseason performances), he's a clubhouse leader, a mentor to our young core and seems to actually want to be here. Even if his ankle blows out on him in a year or two and he's never the same I don't think there's any question that the risk was worth the reward and this was a great move by our franchise. I can't say for sure if his former suitors regret their decision or not, but we absolutely should not.
  13. Markdumont25
    This is my view as well. Expectations were unrealistic. Pablo is a very good pitcher who I'm glad is on the team but he's elite only as a #2...as a #1 he's closer to average
  14. Markdumont25
    Completely agree with all this except I don't think anyone really needs a shot at first unless Kiriloff is struggling. He should be our presumed every day 1B unless proven otherwise. Larnach has had enough chances that I think he should be more break in case of emergency than anything else at this point
  15. Markdumont25
    I'm kind of over Larnach, agree that it would be a sell low move though so probably best to hang on to him, but I absolutely think Kiriloff needs another year. Big mistake to trade him now. The injury history is concerning but he didn't have the same recurring injury (wrist) So I think it may just be a unfortunate coincidence and he's still been good. Maybe not the superstar we envisioned but definitely a valuable piece. I need further convincing on Larnach.
  16. Markdumont25
    His career was at a different place when Molitor was managing and the composition of the lineup will be different from the previous years of Baldelli (we didn't have Royce and Julien with another top 20 middle infield prospect anticipated to debut this year). We don't know where the Seattle manager will hit him. There's no argument he's been a good player for us but I guess I don't place as much weight on his past performance when he was younger and the overall team composition was much different. I just don't see him being a key piece in a world series run for us in 2024. Offensively, the younger wave is going to have to mature and carry the day if that's going to happen. Similarly, Royce's career and Polancos are at very different stages and I don't think it's appropriate to compare injury histories at their respective stages. All that being said, I do see where you're coming from and reasonable minds can disagree! And, like I said, I do agree that it makes us immediately worse but I'm looking at it as one strategic move in what is hopefully a series of moves that ultimately do make us better overall.
  17. Markdumont25
    I agree the overall trade makes our team immediately worse, but I think that's a shortsighted view. For starters, the added prospect depth could potentially be used to make our team better this year. But more importantly, I think this is a good balance of combining what's best for this year with what's going to be best for the next few years with our new young core. To me Polanco is not a #2 or #3 hitter in this lineup. All signs are pointing to better health for Correa and (admittedly, much less reliably) Buxton this year. Those two playing closer to their full potential combined with Royce, Julien and a potentially still rejuvenated Max Kepler and I don't even see Polanco in the top half of the lineup. Also, as I stated before Polanco only played 80 games last year and 100 the year before. He hasn't been reliably on the field recently and with Julien and Lee waiting in the wings I don't think this is as big a loss as people are making it out to be. The reality is he's a veteran with a pricier contract and a recent injury history on crowded roster of young, upcoming players. And while depth is good, but we can only carry so many people on the roster. We got a top 100 prospect for him with some added bullpen and rotation depth. Again, though it's hard to say goodbye I think this was a reasonable move to make.
  18. Markdumont25
    This comment will get lost in the shuffle but here goes... I guess I'm valuing Polanco a bit less than the majority of the community but I kinda like the deal. A really solid prospect that, at the very least, could be flipped to provide more immediate help and some decent rotation depth. I I still think we need to do more to replace Sonny but filling out the rotation with a solid back-ender is not nothing. Polanco has obviously been a nice player for us but I think people are overlooking how unreliable his health has been recently and we already have Julien and have Lee knocking on the door. For better or worse he was expendable and I think this is a reasonable return for him.
  19. Markdumont25
    Since most seem to more or less agree on the "untouchables" (however you define it), maybe a more interesting question is who is most untouchable. Right now I say Royce. He's got that Puckett energy and has shown the superstar ability to back up the intangibles. Obviously the injuries are the big concern but that would also likely prevent us from getting a "fair" return for his overall skillset. There's also the recent narrative of him being the drought busting hero we've been waiting nearly 20 years for. I know I for one would probably institute a boycott for part (let's face it, I can't keep away for long) of the season if he was shipped off.
  20. Markdumont25
    I'd hard pass on the big name external veterans. Although we don't have any clear cut 1B, it's dizzying the amount of young, cheap internal infield talent we have that are either already MLB ready or right on the cusp. For a team that will always have payroll limitations I think that money is much better spent elsewhere, preferably continuing to stack the rotation and bullpen.
  21. Markdumont25
    I think all those vets in Houston will come ready to hit so I see Sonny having a good but not spectacular start... Maybe two runs in five innings... But I think the bigger advantage is we're past their top two starters and we can just outslug them in game 3
  22. Markdumont25
    Genuine question, why is Louie Varland pitching ahead of Stewart (in game 1), Pagan and even someone like Paddack or Maeda? From my understanding he's got a lot of potential but he's more of a work in progress and his season stats/ performance in the wild card series would seem to back that up. I would think he'd be at the back of the line but he got tossed into a couple high leverage spots already...was surprised by that and wondering what I'm missing.
  23. Markdumont25
    Same...I'm an optimist so I'm still happy he's on our team and remain hopeful he can get back on track next year but I think we're better this year without him. I just don't think he's currently an upgrade over any of our other DH options.
  24. Markdumont25
    To be honest I was a bit relieved he was shut down on this rehab assignment. There was talk of bringing him back as a DH or a twice a week outfielder, none of which sounded like a good idea to me. As much as it sucks for Buxton and fans of his that want to see him thrive, right now we simply don't need him being anything less than a full-time center. Our lineup has been playing better than it has all year long and while we could certainly use a center fielder, we don't need another DH. Better he just sits out the year and works on whatever is ailing him then disrupt a peaking offense. However, I am a fan of Buxton and his contract. Even though the 100 million seems like a lot, we're basically paying him per year what we're paying Joey Gallo and I'd still make that deal today just for the chance that he can eventually become healthy and bring all of his talent everyday.
  25. Markdumont25
    I really like Buxton. I think the contract we gave him made a lot of sense for both parties and am still happy he's on our team. That being said, if he can't be in center 80% of the time (none of this 2x/week I've read elsewhere) then he is a hindrance to our team and needs to sit as long as is necessary to be a more or less everyday outfielder. If that takes the rest of this year then so be it, the fact is we're a better team when he is not the primary DH.
×
×
  • Create New...