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Althebum82

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Everything posted by Althebum82

  1. Althebum82
    Baseball Reference shows he had better stats (888 OPS) with a few more plate appearances in 2023 with the Red Sox AAA team in Worcester where his most frequent position was 1B. He also logged a fair amount of time at 2B & 3B. He somehow managed to draw 66 walks with only 218 AB, but he must have also taken a lot of called third strikes as well recording 60 strikeouts. Is this malady now apparently completely unavoidable for the Twins? But I agree, it is always interesting when a player returns to the Twins after departing. He apparently still has something left in the tank, the question is whether or not it is enough to make people forget about that 2022 limited duty season. At a minimum it is a low-risk depth signing for the Saints where the Twins may be promoting other infielders in 2024.
  2. Althebum82
    My answer to your final two question is maybe (but, this doesn't help me any because I am unable to get Bally's currently) and hell no, Amazon is evil.
  3. Althebum82
    Since the last post, the Twins have made two minor league signings: Michael Boyle, a reliever who struggled with the Saints last year but got off to a nice start with Wichita, has been assigned to the Saints. He was a non-roster spring training invite this past season but got knocked around pretty well in the 70 pitches he did manage to record. He is presently 29 and has never appeared in the majors. Jeferson Morales is an intriguing but SSSLLLOOOWWWly developing catcher. He has been in the system five seasons now but never advanced higher than class A(+) Cedar Rapids. Still only 24, he has had 4 solid offensive seasons, so one has to wonder if defense is a challenge for him or perhaps injuries or off field complications have hindered his development. Catchers are always in demand for spring training, but he has yet to make such an appearance with the Twins. Perhaps his turn will come this February. He has been assigned to Witchita, a promotion that seems to have been well earned.
  4. Althebum82
    Interesting thought. This is all we pretty much get to do with a relatively dormant off-season, discuss free agents signing elsewhere (i.e. Stevenson yesterday) and concoct potential trade opportunity scenarios. It is ironic to think that the Yankees may be overloaded in the outfield after their high-profile disasters in LF contributed mightily to a stinker of a season. For me it is hard to give up on a starting pitcher after losing two free agent starters and not knowing for sure how Paddack will shake out (although what we saw last season was promising) post-injury. While I appreciate the vision to see a possible opportunity for the Twins, this does not trip my trigger.
  5. Althebum82
    Lovely sentimental hometown idea. Really, it is. If you can't have Taylor and Tyler (real twins, by the way)....what the heck. Guess this is the next best thing. It is interesting that LA apparently had regrets about letting Gus get away, though. That leads one to believe that they may be a little unwilling to part with him a second time so easily. Apparently they are looking for starting pitching: Dodgers' remaining needs after Shohei Ohtani deal (mlb.com) By the way, this has once again become a need for the Twins as well. The closest thing that they may have to offer is Headrick? He did have twelve starts in Saint Paul last year and has historically been a starter before his utilization change at the big league level. LA may be open to that exchange, but I don't at this point think it would in the Twins best interest. I am not willing to part yet with Sands, and LA is not likely going to want to invest in him as a starting option anyway after having only bullpen experiences in 2023. Great idea for an article, though!
  6. Althebum82
    No mention of the possibility of a local broadcast partner? Hubbard's production subsidiary F&F Productions handles major sports and entertainment events such as the Super Bowl and NCAA Basketball Final Four for the national broadcast and cable networks. One would think they could arise to the challenge of handling roughly six Twins games per week to be aired on KSTC or one of KSTP's secondary digital channels. Hubbard also has sister stations in Duluth and Rochester with secondary channels where the games could be carried as well. Coverage would be trickier, of course, for western MN and neighboring IA and ND/SD viewership where they would need to get creative, but the advantage here is that games would be readily available both over the air and on cable/satellite/YouTube TV for an overwhelming portion of the audience reached by BSN. I am not familiar with the rules on streaming rights for MLB products, but KSTC could handle this as well if it is an option for teams like the Twins to consider online.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. 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!
  17. Althebum82
    Mmmmm......potato salad........
  18. Althebum82
    Why the heck does this article talk about Jermaine Palacios taking a pitch with two strikes?
  19. Althebum82
    No, only Polanco on the bench in favor of one of the other three.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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?
  23. 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.
  24. 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!
  25. 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.
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