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1985Fan

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Everything posted by 1985Fan

  1. 1985Fan
    I just don’t think Keaschall has played enough MiLB to justify being called up. I’m old school and believe player development should trump adding him in an attempt to salvage the season. I think it hurts the player and the team in the long term. I know that rapid promotion is more common now and some players have had success without spending time in the minors. If you call up Keaschall now, he’ll have to learn at the MLB level instead of the minors. That could be ugly if he struggles (like Lee is) on a team that thinks they’re contenders. Too much pressure on the kid could destroy his confidence and set his development back. That’s the risk. After the Twins are out of contention (could be within a month), then call him up when there isn’t pressure to perform. That would be ok, but I still think he needs to get games under his belt at AAA. When I hear that he plays 2B and OF, I’m concerned. Twins push the utility aspect without teaching how to play the position properly. We end up watching a team that doesn’t play fundamentally sound baseball. This teams defense is bad outside of Correa, Buxton, and Bader. That’s a different subject….
  2. 1985Fan
    They’re back to not hitting like they did during the collapse last year. This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. It’s the same players as last year. Bader and France aren’t/can’t carry the hitting load. Lewis isn’t going to save the day. He’s a suspect hitter after his performance during the collapse last year. He needs to prove he can hit at MLB level. We’ll see if Correa and Buxton can get going at the plate, but I don’t think they’re capable of carrying the load consistently. If the answer is Keaschall and Rodriguez, this team is in trouble. Relying on rookies to be MLB hitters out of the gate is putting too much pressure on young players. Adding them to a functional offense would be ok, but throwing them into this mess might set their development back. Let them play at AAA until they’ve set the world on fire there and the season is over for the Twins. That might be by mid-season the way Twins are playing.
  3. 1985Fan
    Twins have called up Blewett and designated McCaughan.
  4. 1985Fan
    The game on Saturday was part of the problem. After gaining the lead, Rocco decided to use BP arms for one inning each. Short starts have to be followed by someone from the BP going at least two innings. The parade of arms from the BP left only Jax as a the unused high leverage option in the pen when the next day is a Paddack start! Not smart management. If Rocco doesn’t have confidence in every arm in the BP, then they shouldn’t be on the 26 man roster. If you’re on the roster, Rocco should use as needed. The way he manages the BP, he goes all in on every game regardless of the rest of the series or short term future. He burns out the BP by pulling starters early and throwing everyone into the game. This is his MO. This situation will continue with him as manager.
  5. 1985Fan
    It just seems like a continuation of last seasons collapse. Offense can’t score and every little error, mistake, or play not made is devastating. When they get behind or the other team evens the score, they look defeated. They just don’t have the confidence to come from behind. Baldelli’s practice of playing the infield in early in the game is another of his tactics that hamstring this team. Give up a run to stop the big inning! He has always played infield in and it doesn’t seem to ever work. You would think that if he was so smart, he’d learn on the fly and make adjustments.
  6. 1985Fan
    I still think it was a bad call that stopped the good inning. Chance of success for that play was lower than letting Wallner hit.
  7. 1985Fan
    Agree with others here about positive steps by Rocco. He counters that with a dumb call on the double steal attempt. Twins were rolling with two outs, leadoff LH hitter at the plate, and Julien at third. Julien went way too early to let the Sox take the bait and throw to second. He’s not a smart player and not suited for that call. Easy tag for the catcher with LH hitter AB. Catcher just had to wait for Julien to get there to apply the tag. That might be a good call with Rod Carew at third, not Julien. Bader bailed him out with the 2-run shot later, but what a dumb call. I’m for more base stealing, but that was a bad call at inappropriate time. He must not have confidence in Wallner, but then why does he have him leading off? I guess it’s one step forward, two steps back with Rocco. Twins won despite him.
  8. 1985Fan
    Too bad Billy Martin is gone. I’d pay to watch him manage this team. Better yet, I’d like to see him be Rocco’s bench coach for one game. It would be better than UFC in the dugout after the 2nd inning.
  9. 1985Fan
    This is hard to watch. Makes me angry that I got suckered into watching after seeing the collapse last year and the do-nothing offseason. I should know better! Shame on me….
  10. 1985Fan
    They changed hitting coaches, but it looks like the approach hasn’t changed. Trying to pull everything for power and no change in two strike approach. Here’s a quote from Marmol about St. Louis hitting approach: “The guys have done a really, really nice job of taking their knocks," manager Oliver Marmol said. "Man, that's annoying when you're on the other side of that, when guys don't give in, figure out a way to put it in play and use the whole field.” It would be good to see the hitters at least try to adjust approach during the game.
  11. 1985Fan
    Futile offense so far. Looks like the same as late last year. Every mistake gets amplified when you can’t score runs. Not surprised, nor am I confident in this group of hitters.. I don’t think this team can hit consistently enough to be contenders.
  12. 1985Fan
    Too many ifs to be more than cautiously optimistic. Pitching on paper is good, IF the same guys can duplicate last year AND stay healthy. What are the chances that happens?! I expect health issues and poor performance from some of the starters that will test the depth. The hitting side of things can’t get much worse than last August-September. It can only get better. Worst case, if it’s the same as during last year’s collapse and the pitching is worse, we’ll get to see the highly rated prospects play.
  13. 1985Fan
    Unfortunately, the Twins have built their team around Lewis, Buxton, and Correa. Fingers crossed that Buxton can play 120 games and Correa isn’t sidelined by foot injuries again. Twins two top prospects are also injured, not able to play in the Spring Breakout game. They can’t keep their players healthy.
  14. 1985Fan
    Don’t like this signing. This move cost Headrick. He’s was picked off waivers by the Yankees. I thought Headrick would be good depth or even blossom into a reliable option. I don’t understand why they sign France when they have Miranda, Ford, Severino, and other options. They should have traded for Jake Berger early in the offseason instead of sitting on their hands!
  15. 1985Fan
    This roster isn’t even constructed to their all or nothing approach, so why not adjust the hitting philosophy. Their leading HR hitter was a 38 year old fill in player that hit 23 HR. I’d say something should change cause swinging for the fences sure ain’t working. Earl Weaver’s 3-run HR coaching philosophy works when you have guys that can hit hit 3-run HR when it counts. I know you’re going to bring up stats to say I’m wrong. The reality is when they were facing good pitching(like Cleveland), they were exposed and their all or nothing philosophy failed. Adjusting their 2-strike swing, or knowing to put the ball in play to move a runner over, or focusing on making contact to not K in certain situations should not be a large adjustment or major change. It’s not a radical concept and has been part of baseball forever. This is what Baldelli should have realized DURING the season and made adjustments. It took him time to reflect in offseason? He’s not manager material.
  16. 1985Fan
    SWR and Festa should be penciled in as the #4 &5 starters for 2025. They both earned those spots last year. Paddack didn’t earn anything other than a stint on the injured list again, so I don’t understand why FO hasn’t traded him already. It’s Falvey’s MO to wait, so I expect Paddack to be part of a trade soon. Baltimore needs starters. Hart wants starter money and I can’t see giving him limited payroll to pitch out of the BP. They’ll find a LH RP from the remaining bargain bin to sign for next to nothing. There is also Funderburk and Headrick that will probably get a chance as well. With the managers pinch hitting preferences, you would think the same mentality would play in BP usage. With Thielbar gone, someone (or two) will need to fill the void. I don’t see Hart as that guy.
  17. 1985Fan
    Typical FO move to bring in a has-been player hoping they hit the jackpot. If the FO wants a LH 1B with power, why not give Larnach or Wallner a shot at 1B? This is not a terrible deal since it’s a MiLB signing, unless he makes the MLB team and they let him play too long before pulling the plug. I’m not sure why Severino is not given a chance either. If he’s so terrible, they need to release him so he can sign with a different organization.
  18. 1985Fan
    I also think Larnach has reached his ceiling. I’ll take his second half performance and not expect more. He deserves a spot in the lineup, just not sure where. Lewis is another story. He couldn’t hit water sitting in a boat in the middle of the ocean second half of last year. And his defense is poor. It will be interesting to see if he has it in him to make adjustments to his swing and approach after never struggling before in his career. Maybe now he’ll listen to offers of help after his “I don’t do slumps” comments.
  19. 1985Fan
    Did the Twins miss out on a minor league signing of Eloy Jimenez? Seems like a low cost gamble for bounce back potential for DH. Why not give him a shot when he’s so cheap. I know he has had terrible seasons and is an injury risk, but as a minor league flyer, should have been worth a shot. This also cements earlier comments that Falvey is perfectly fine with the roster as is. I don’t expect any trades or additions unless someone begs to take Vazquez or Paddock of our hands.
  20. 1985Fan
    You’re correct in that Falvey has the roster the way he wants it. Falvey hints at making a trade in article on Twins website. I’m inclined to believe that is just his attempt to keep fans interest during the offseason. I can agree that the pitching staff is deep. Even the BP looks good on paper. Falvey says in the article that the roster has a solid foundation built around Correa, Buxton, and Lewis. He’s betting his job on that foundation. We’ll see how that works out. I don’t see Lewis as a solid piece of the core or foundation. He still has to prove he can hit MLB pitching. He looked completely lost at the plate the last half of the season without an injury to blame. He has a lot to prove. The same is true of the entire roster. Correa and Buxton have proven that they can hit when healthy. Everyone else has only shown flashes of solid offense and then long slumps. Their core is dependent on two guys that can’t stay healthy and the rest are big question marks. Thats a lot of improvement to hope for.
  21. 1985Fan
    Cleanup hitter is an unfilled hole on the current roster. Wallner nor Larnach can handle the pressure of being relied on to drive in runs. Both, along with Lewis, change their approach and swing for the fences, instead piling up strike outs. The four spot should go to a veteran that is comfortable with the pressure that comes with the role. Miranda was doing well but was derailed by his back injury. Buxton could fit if he is able to play consistently and get in a rhythm at the plate, but that never happens. It would be great to have someone that can hit for power and limit strikeouts, but that player doesn’t exist on the roster. Putting ERod in that role would be a shame and probably damage his development. Expecting a rookie to immediately be a run producer in a critical spot on a contending team (supposedly) would do more harm than good. I vote for a trade to bring in Diaz to fill the role. I know his stats were down last year, but he could bounce back to previous levels. I don’t think he would cost much, if the Rays are even willing to trade.
  22. 1985Fan
    Jesus Luzardo was just traded to Philadelphia. Two prospects in return to Marlins. One SS prospect rated as high as #58 and the other CF prospect rated Phillies #21 on their top 30 list. SS is only 19 yrs old. Doesn’t seem like a steep price for Luzardo. Doesn’t have anything to do with 1B for Twins, but aligns with Twins FO wait, wait, wait approach. Looks like this FO will sit on their hands this offseason while fans speculate. They’ve decided to go with the roster they have for 2025.
  23. 1985Fan
    Santana just signed with Cleveland for one year @ $12M. If they can’t swing a trade for Diaz or some other quality 1B hitter, then let Miranda play there. If they want to platoon, and we know they will whether makes sense or not, then platoon Larnach there.
  24. 1985Fan
    There needs to be some kind of salary cap to bring competitive balance to the sport. It’s not about limiting salaries. It is not even close to parity which is what the NBA and NFL have. Competitive balance is a requirement for the long term health of the sport. It’s obvious things are not good when most teams are cutting back and only LA, NYY, NYM, and Boston are adding payroll. Current situation is not healthy or sustainable.
  25. 1985Fan
    Could Paddack and Castro get Diaz from Tampa? They need to trim payroll and are always dealing players nearing FA. This gives them a starter to begin the season until their big guns are ready. Adding Castro will hopefully seal the deal. They also have a backup catcher in Rortvedt that could be included to free up moving Vasquez and his salary. Diaz could fill RH bat at DH and some 1B.
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