Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Althebum82

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    243

  • 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

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Althebum82

  1. Althebum82
    I do like the comparison of Olivar to Chris Herrmann, who finished with a modest but respectable MLB career. If the long-term plan is to not aggressively pursue free agent additions, this would make Olivar a reasonable 40 man roster addition. I was previously excited about Cardenas' potential, but did not realize how mightily he struggled this season. Was he playing hurt most of the time? Not uncommon for a catcher, I suppose. But I would think that kind of a season at that level would be enough to scare away anybody else from picking him in the Rule 5 draft, and at this point there is no urgency to protect him whatsoever. With Camargo and Winkels both having unremarkable seasons, and Chris Williams failing to prove himself defensively, the catching corps in this franchise is overall pretty disappointing, including Vazquez.
  2. Althebum82
    I'm sorry, memory fades, a decade or so ago, the Twins signed a Martinez who was a 30yo former stater who they converted to a RP who was really good for a couple of seasons. (Really wish someone could refresh my memory). DocBauer, I tried to help you on this one but according to the all-time Twins roster the only Martinez to pitch for the Twins was Tippy in 1988 when he concluded his long relief role-only career.
  3. Althebum82
    Julien was not the only sophomore disappointment. Should we really have confidence in the future of Louie Varland? 2024 was brutal for him both with the big club AND St Paul, both as a starter AND as a reliever (granted, that latter role was limited). I mean I get that he is one of us, but in my opinion everybody seems to be willing to hold out hope for him, probably because he does have the stuff to strike out guys. Unfortunately, he was a frequent server of hard contact when he couldn't get the strikeout. As bad as the Vazquez investment is turning out to be, it is true that the Twins do not have someone banging on the door to take his place. Williams continues to show he can hit, but was hurt a chunk of the season and does not get high praise for his defense. Camargo took a huge step backwards even though he was promoted for some time on the big league roster. No one else has shown a glimmer of hope that they are a better option than Vazquez, and any available free agent is likely not going to contribute, either. As frustrating as it sounds, I do believe that we should go forward with his final contract year and then perhaps offer him as bait in July to someone that wants him more than we do.
  4. Althebum82
    right on queue? Perhaps you are saying that if he didn't wait around so much in line that his fly balls would land ten feet further? You may be right, and it would, of course, have to happen right on cue to be true.
  5. Althebum82
    Bullpen, schmullpen. We still have Farmer, Wallner, and Castro available as inning-eaters, right?
  6. Althebum82
    Yup, it is Alcala. Not Thielbar or Varland, guess we gotta hang on to the local boys no matter what they do? I was actually surprised to see that he has appeared in 51 big league games already. It is not too crazy to expect that he has reached his max contribution, especially given where he was at this time last year. Still, it sure seems like we have at least two other options. By the way Dobnak......needed to seize his opportunity but did not even come close. That was an easy choice.
  7. Althebum82
    Ouch. Just ouch. Anyone still looking to Varland as our bullpen savior?
  8. Althebum82
    Festa is, in baby-step fashion, for the most part proving to live up to his hype. Tonkin appears to be a timely pickup. Thielbar did his part this time.....but every time he makes an appearance I keep wondering what keeps him on the roster besides nostalgia and being left-handed. Castillo will be rewarded for his effort this time by being DFA'd again or otherwise returning to St Paul to make room for Varland. It is fun to watch effective pitching, but I am not holding my breath for that to happen next game with a Varland start.
  9. Althebum82
    No matter what happens, we are stuck with Margot. At this stage of the season, probably Farmer as well. And while this game he was not the fault of Thielbar, he just keeps reinforcing what an albatross he has been for this team as we diddle around with other relievers being roster cuts and additions instead of him. Welcome to the fairly successful but still underachieving 2024 Minnesota Twins. News about Correa and Buxton has been far from effusively positive. I have come to expect that they will not be making contributions of any significance if they return. Ugh. Lee, on the other hand, is 4 for 15 in his four games in St Paul with 2 doubles and a home run. I do hold out hope for him still, along with the dominating bullpen appearance by Varland tonight. Eight game losing streaks are gonna happen. But man, it sure makes it hard to find a rainbow while the rain keeps falling.
  10. Althebum82
    Thielbar had two great innings in a tight game yesterday. Then today happened, which has sadly been more typical of how his season has been overall. I personally admire him, but the time has come to acknowledge what a liability he is on this team. The fact that he is the only lefty still standing in the bullpen after starting the season with three is not sufficient justification to keep him around.
  11. Althebum82
    The time has come for this franchise to at least attempt to collect on this investment: Randy Dobnak, Twins agree to contract extension (mlb.com) He appears to be healthy and, at least at the AAA level, competitive after a horrible 2023 season. Also, weird as it may seem, he actually does have mlb playoff experience. I am not saying that he is necessarily a good solution to the Paddack dilemma. But, other than causing another 40 man roster move, for the past four months he has proven that there is little risk in giving him another shot at the big time.
  12. Althebum82
    I'll admit I am part of the problem. It used to be an adventure and a treat to coordinate plans with family or friends and make the hour and a half journey paying a reasonable entry cost for big time entertainment. Concessions can add on to both the experience and cost, but hey, it is still after all a "field" and you can bring your own from home if you like. In the end, it was nice if the Twins win, but it ultimately didn't matter. I would always expect a great experience. Rarely seeing on TV, or even worse being told I have to watch it on a streaming service or app has just turned things sour for me. I do check in on Gameday once and awhile or try to listen to radio, but there's not much joy in using those options. So, yeah I have paid more attention to the Wolves than ever before, as well as the Lynx (or god help me the Indiana Fever). While my perception of Portland is even more horrible, the idea of coming to Minneapolis to endure political stupidity and violence getting in the way of great parks, theatres, and also Target Field has become too much for me. Blah.
  13. Althebum82
    My opinion of Santana has changed since the end of May. Maybe Kiriloff's disappearance has contributed to that, but Santana has shown that while he is not at the career peak form which was no doubt a factor in his price tag, he is still overall a positive factor on this team. Honestly, Margot is only slightly underperforming his career numbers......he's not going away because he is essentially giving the FO what they expected when they pursued him. As fans, we expect more but as long as he is healthy we are stuck with him. That leaves Farmer as the only obvious position player that we should expect to see go away. Lee is proving this every day as is, to a lesser degree, Martin. This team has been fun to follow, and in ways that a lot of us actually did not expect coming out of spring training. If only we could actually see them on tv once an awhile, it would be even more fun.
  14. Althebum82
    This season's lefty reliever script got flipped as Okert struggled and Thielbar and Funderburk shined! Nice to see the rest strategy pay off at least for this game with Paddack. Lee is increasingly contrasting his value compared to what can only be described as survival by sentimentality for Kyle Farmer. With Martin & Lewis soon to return (Austin and Royce, not Dean and Jerry), that sentimentality is going to need to encounter an expiration date. Yes, it is the White Sox.....but this offense has become breathtaking to behold against every team. Nicely written summary, by the way.
  15. Althebum82
    Great outside-the-box thinking, Cody. You do present as compelling of an argument that can be offered. Alonso is an accomplished and proven force. In the end, I just don't have faith that the Twins can go this direction. But, I would love to be proven wrong.
  16. Althebum82
    Maybe Julien going down presents an opportunity for Farmer to start a Kepler-like rebound? I know it's wishful thinking and pretty hard to envision at this point, but we do have Kepler's precedence from this time last year. The difference, of course, is that the hole from which Farmer would have to climb is deeper than Kepler's, and we have better options at this point which will keep Farmer in strictly a back-up capacity
  17. Althebum82
    Miranda does have 168 minor league games at 2B, including 20 games as recently as 2021 with the Saints. Is it too crazy to think that he could replace Farmer as the right handed hitting platoon to Julien and have Farmer released?
  18. Althebum82
    I'm afraid Twins fans are going to have to endure this season's Joey Gallo, Margot. The team went out of its way to bring him on board in last minute fashion before the season started, and they clearly think (somehow) that he fills a need on this team that they never expected Keirsey or anybody else in the system to fill this season. So far, your point is dead on, Kiersey has earned a call-up. But in my opinion he is more likely be a trade chip than able to claim a spot on this team's major league roster.
  19. Althebum82
    Yeah, Jackson is the one who has my attention. He has never pitched more than 30 MLB innings in a single season over a lengthy career (with several years being in Japan). After a good performance in a limited role last year, it did make sense to give him a try. But one has to wonder how patient the team can afford to be with him as they look forward to the conclusion of Topa's and Stewart's IL tenure. Your overall point is dead on, though......relievers can be quite volatile.
  20. Althebum82
    Yeah, I really believed that Castro was a one season wonder. Having a no-hitting defensively challenged shortstop fill in for Correa was making things look awfully dismal. Yeah, Farmer was hitting even worse, but I was confused as to why he was playing third instead of shortstop when historically he has been a better (and more experienced) defensive option at short. One has to almost wonder if Castro doesn't get a little extra mojo from moving around to different positions. That doesn't really make sense but Correa's return has correlated well with Castro's offensive resurgence. Miranda and Larnach's performances are close to breathtaking compared to expectations. Bottom line.....man, it's fun to watch a team that can score runs, and by means other than setting MLB home run records for team total. We are seeing groundouts score guys from third, sacrifice flies, and taking advantage of opponent defensive mental and actual physical errors routinely again. Suppose that's what happens when the strikeout numbers return to the mean a little bit?
  21. Althebum82
    Dammit, Theodore. You caught me completely off guard and now have me feeling good and wanting the best for a 'sconi. That hasn't happened for me since Jerry Koosman was with the team. Must be the Appleton connection. Well written article telling a terrific, unique story!
  22. Althebum82
    Any chance they instead pull back Bowman from DFA? It would be great to see what Topa can do, but he is still showing on the Saints roster. Bowman certainly did not embarass himself when given the opportunity to contribute.
  23. Althebum82
    Great video find on the Sano fielding play! Yeah, at this point it is hard to envision this White Sox team achieving a forty win season. Everybody wants to see a healthy CC on the field. In this day and age it is pretty uncommon to have a player return without a rehab assignment, but sadly even a rehabbing CC at this point is an upgrade to what has been happening to the left side of the Twins infield without him (even with the birthday boy bash acknowledgement in this game).
  24. Althebum82
    While no one expected Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro to carry this team, they were certainly both key contributors last season each with their own moments in the sun. Right now, their offensive accomplishments more closely match that of Kyle Gibson and Willie Banks during their time with this franchise.
  25. Althebum82
    Geez, for all of the whining and complaining about strikeouts the last few years, a guy tries something other than swing from his heels and not strike out and instead use the element of surprise and his speed and gets vilified for it. I think the bunt attempt, while perhaps somewhat risky, was rooted in a desire to not leave three men stranded on base as has happened many other times the past few years. I'm really not understanding the vitriol.
×
×
  • Create New...