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
    What a heartwarming story of someone who seemingly has a "head-on-straight" approach to things. It has been a treat to watch him so far. Thielbar is a good role model for him to emulate, things do not always go well, but a little humility and a lot of perseverance can pay off in the long run as it has for Caleb.
  2. Althebum82
    I just don't see him as being high-profile enough to even register on the radar for other franchises. If he is for some reason, I agree with others who say I don't see the Twins regretting it. I agree with the "protection" moves that they did make. I also agree that Prato is more likely to be taken, but even his loss can be absorbed if he is viewed primarily as an infielder where the franchise has had good depth now for several seasons.
  3. Althebum82
    Good for him. With a great deal of patience and desire to show something positive for the loss of Taylor Rogers, he wound up giving this team overall more value than I thought he was capable of giving. But, this is perfectly a fine time for everyone to move on.....just surprised it didn't happen sooner.
  4. Althebum82
    Modestly good numbers this season at St Paul (well, maybe a little high on walks and therefore WHIP) with 35 MLB appearances, he seemed to never really be on the Twins radar once spring training was over. Anyone see him pitch and have an opinion to share about his potential? Patrick Murphy Agrees To Deal With NPB's Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters - MLB Trade Rumors
  5. Althebum82
    People forget that prior to 2022 the last time Gordon played center field was in ninth grade. He learned the position "on the fly" as they say at the MLB level and as far as I know there were not many complaints about he well he did. But the point is, it is not his instinct to play there. To me it would seem to not be too smart to plan on him making an impact at a position learned on an emergency basis. Bring him to spring training and move him around the infield. If somebody gets hurt, he's available. If not, he is Saint Paul depth or released. As others have noted, there is little value for him on the trade market.
  6. Althebum82
    I know that it is important to have maybe about four to six strong sluggers on the roster who are going to strike out more than their fair share as part of their "complete package". But, I personally am still choking on the Joey Gallo experiment and have no stomach to further invest in a player that is so one dimensional (at least Gallo played reliable defense at multiple positions). Time to move on. Someone else may give Sabato a shot and he may wind up with a good one season "Daniel Palka" type of MLB career and spend the rest of his days entertaining MiLB crowds (or crowds in other countries where he gets paid more). It is hard to let go of #1 picks, but the time has come.
  7. Althebum82
    Confidence is high that somehow, SOME WAY, the Twins will find a solution or two at first base better than a Sano reunion. He has apparently turned his back not only on MLB/MiLB but the rest of the planet's professional baseball organizations (including his home country). Maybe on Odorizzi if the Keuchel reclamation project is ended, but let's please not allocate any more resource to taking on more than one of these at a time. Let's not forget that Hicks's good times with the Twins were also mixed with periods of baffling ineptitude. It seems he only accentuated the highs and lows during his time with the Yankees. I frankly would not have the stomach to handle the drama over which Aaron Hicks takes the field for the Twins.
  8. Althebum82
    You present a completely logical question. However, I still believe that Buxton is our current day equivalent of Tony Oliva and should keep battling on in a DH only role until he finally realizes it is no longer in his best interest to continue on.
  9. Althebum82
    While Solano is no embarrassment at 1B, Kiriloff was not really given his due by the tv announcers for his superior snags in the ninth inning that nailed down a couple of outs to close out the game. In that instance, the platoon showed its advantage defensively instead of offensively. With the exception of Correa who is one of the best in the game at what he does, positional flexibility has been the trademark of this team since spring training and Rocco has used that well to the team's advantage.
  10. Althebum82
    What an outstanding comparison (although the additional defensive complication was not a factor this time). I have zero recall of the Laudner-Gaetti play, let's hope the Twins can match the final overall end result of the 1987 team!
  11. Althebum82
    Mmmmm......potato salad........
  12. Althebum82
    Why the heck does this article talk about Jermaine Palacios taking a pitch with two strikes?
  13. Althebum82
    No, only Polanco on the bench in favor of one of the other three.
  14. Althebum82
    Clearly Lewis needs to stay in the DH slot. 3B for him is too risky. Polanco was a logical candidate to try at 3B, but let's instead switch to Farmer, Solano, or Castro for game 2 to address the obvious weakness of the logic. Polanco will still find a way to make an important contribution to this team's success, one way or another.
  15. Althebum82
    Wow, if Polanco has an issue, everyone has been pretty mum about it. Plan A has gotta at least be trying Lewis at DH. Does not make sense to "save" him for round 2. Hard to imagine the Twins not including Buxton on the roster a la Kirk Gibson. But it's pretty obvious that he should not be starting at DH.
  16. Althebum82
    Kepler with the "Game-Winning-RBI", Pagan with the save. Okay, this time technically in a meaningless game, but this is still a reminder that the oft-maligned duo has contributed significantly to this team's successful push to the playoffs once they each shook off horrible starts. Keuchel has been an interesting story to watch, but it sure looks like it would be a big mistake to include him on the playoff roster at the expense of Funderburk. For my money, the rookie has made his "Mark" and deserves to given the opportunity to have an impact. Nice that they stretched him out an extra inning this time. I can understand why Buxton wants to push to return. This is, after all, contractually his team along with Correa. Guess at this point I would take him over Luplow, but not really anybody else. His struggle has been painful to watch and the team has thrived since his placement to the IL. I still think Ryan is our third-best option as a starter despite this showing. But, if he falters in his next start, how great is it to have Maeda on hand to pick up the pieces?
  17. Althebum82
    Larnach was certainly given the first-out-the-gate chance to win a spot on this list back in April, but I agree that he has lost out to Stevenson (even though Stevenson has yet to show the offensive promise that was seen in St Paul) due to the skills that are mentioned as Stevenson's strengths. At this point I would have to agree with Larnach's exclusion.
  18. Althebum82
    He really did make an impression with his initial call-up (from AA if I remember correctly) where he was mostly used for his speed as a pinch runner but did manage to get a lightning-fast triple as well as a double in 6 at bats. Glad he is on our side and that he has overcome two stints on the IL this year to have a significant contribution to this team's success!
  19. Althebum82
    Not intending to take away anything from what the Twins have accomplished this series.....but my oh my what an embarassing display our opponents have presented so far.
  20. Althebum82
    Headrick has been announced as the move to make room for Ober. Nice to have our two back-end bullpen guys finish the game pretty cleanly so that everyone else is fresh for the rest of the series. Based on Maeda's performance it would appear that Keuchel is a likely odd man out of rotation unless things go horribly for Ober for some reason. His inclusion in the bullpen is still of good value to the Twins, and he is smart enough to adjust to whatever role the Twins need him in.
  21. Althebum82
    I was moaning about this trade (although interestingly somehow found comfort in the inclusion of a couple of low-level minor league prospects) the entire month of April. April in Minnesota may just never be Lopez's "sweet spot", but his performance heated up with the weather month by month and he has clearly shown that he is exactly what the Twins needed after last season's starting pitching instabiity. What is even more impressive is to hear him be interviewed. He is incredibly intelligent not only about baseball but health as a pre-med student in college and the son of two doctors. He projects an attitude of quiet confidence that makes you believe that he is every day eager to continue learning new things. It would not surprise me to see him evolve into a front office capacity if he would wish to do so post-playing career. Fantastic writing technique, by the way, of getting an expert opinion of the Marlins to share their perspective. Don't know if you have ever used it before but I actually find this quite refreshing and uniquely brilliant.
  22. Althebum82
    Useful? Not particularly, other than eating a few innings here or there in the last few games strictly for the purpose of reacquainting him the skill level of big league batters again. Sherriff? Definitely not. The Twins will likely see their best return on investment with him by doing what they can to build his confidence but not expect anything beyond Barnie Fife -level duties until next season (unless maybe a little winter ball may make sense for him). But it most certainly is encouraging to have him come as far along the recovery path as he presently is.
  23. Althebum82
    Oy vey, is there no limit to number of subtle Pablo Cruise references on this site? Some people, I guess, Don't Want to Live Without it. But, ultimately, Whatcha Gonna Do? I am just glad we have him in our starting rotation.
  24. Althebum82
    Dallas Keuchel the strikeout master (6 in 5 innings)? Ultimately it amounted to a good enough five inning start followed by outstanding relief work. Nice call on the double steal, but what an embarassing display by the catcher and left fielder not being able to make Stevenson look like the fool he really was on that play.
  25. Althebum82
    So, at a time when medical knowledge and technology were significantly less advanced, knees were the body area that ultimately brought a somewhat premature conclusion to Tony O's career. He may have had other body challenges as well, but none were as prominently documented as Buxton's other injuries. Everyone hopes for healing and recovery for our franchise outfielder. But knees are still a serious area that can effect everything from sleep and mental health to performance on the job. He is a fighter and wants to overcome all obstacles that get in his way of being the best he can be. But some obstacles can ultimately be too much, as we saw with Tony O. He has provided well for his family, and it may be in his best interest to "walk away" from the game while he still can. Literally. It is certainly a legitimate question to ask and I appreciate this article doing so.
×
×
  • Create New...