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The Great Hambino

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Everything posted by The Great Hambino

  1. The Great Hambino
    Interesting question Part of me says yes. 21-24 Baldelli even more likely. What gives me pause is a) he seemed to back off the early pinch-hitting this year b) Hrbek was a much better hitter than any of the lefties that were getting the quick hook under Baldelli and c) they were already ahead even before the grand slam and Hrbek was also a better defender than the lefties subjected to Baldelli's quick hook
  2. The Great Hambino
    For what it's worth I tried poking around the Twins website to see who they're featuring in their marketing materials for 2026 tickets. Obviously a lot of Buxton. There's some Lopez and Lewis featured there as well. One guy I didn't notice anywhere? Joe Ryan Maybe it's nothing. Probably nothing. But maybe another possible indicator of where they might be headed.
  3. The Great Hambino
    This discussion of his family didn't mention him, and it seems like it would've come up if they were. However, both have been involved with the Italian WBC team at different times, so maybe cousins or something?
  4. The Great Hambino
    If the whole point of the article is to point to him being "a fitting choice to lead Minnesota’s next wave of stars" (direct quote from the conclusion) and none of his young hitters developed at the major league level, then yeah, he deserves some of the blame. Not all of it or even most of it, but nothing to indicate that he has the skillset that is being claimed or that he should be receiving any sort of positive marks from it.
  5. The Great Hambino
    So he gets no blame for the wholesale failure of the lineup but credit for the success of a single generational pitching talent? I'm not buying it. This write-up glosses over the fact that the Pirates played considerably better once he was fired to a degree that the interim manager was given the job permanently. Steadiness when things are spiraling out of control isn't necessarily a positive. The dog saying "everything is fine!" while the house burns down around him is also showing steadiness. Fine line between steadiness and complacency. This hire feels like it's on the wrong side of that line. I get that someone has to write the positive-spin article, but this one kinda strains credulity for me
  6. The Great Hambino
    My theory: Falvey didn't want to fire Rocco in the first place. Pohlads insisted on a change because they think that will placate the fanbase because they don't understand their fanbase at all and are very bad at what they do. Falvey then hires the absolute closest thing to Rocco that he can find. The Pohlads sign off as they are unaware that he used to coach for the Twins.
  7. The Great Hambino
    Oh. Neat.
  8. The Great Hambino
    What’s the book on Shelton’s managerial tendencies when he was with the Pirates? I wonder how similar or different it was from his predecessor. I’ll reserve judgment until the open letter to the fans comes out
  9. The Great Hambino
    You're not fooling anyone. That's obviously Mickey Gasper
  10. The Great Hambino
    I think the likeliest outcome from that is you've successfully built the middle-to-bottom half of a good 'pen. Your'e asking to win a lot of coin flips for that to result in legitimate high-leverage weapons at the expense of maximizing your return value on your starters. And at a bare minimum, you'd have to trust at least three of those acquisitions in high leverage. It's certainly not impossible. But even if you do hit on those, you still have to hit on a lot of internal development elsewhere in the lineup and the back half of the rotation. Stack all that together, and it starts to become wishful thinking to me given their recent track record. To be fair, I'm of the belief that the starting pitchers will have more trade value in this offseason than they will at the next trade deadline for multiple reasons. If I'm overstating that discrepancy, then maybe it is worth it to give it a go for next year and pivot at the trade deadline if necessary. But I'm also not interested in letting Ryan and Lopez walk for a comp pick for the chance at maybe sorta kinda having a shot at backing into the last wild card spot. I want to see them be legitimately competitive
  11. The Great Hambino
    BAH GAWD, THAT'S RON GARDENHIRE'S MUSIC!!!!!
  12. The Great Hambino
    We're all just projecting right now. That's sort of the point of this hot stove stretch of the year. I just think the ease and speed with which the bullpen rebuild will take gets pretty overstated pretty consistently. And that's a huge consideration in determining how feasible a quick return to competitiveness is going to be, which ultimately should be what determines the path they take going forward.
  13. The Great Hambino
    I'd already forgotten about Ridder He must've been really bad in his stint here if a guy that hasn't been in anyone's building since last preseason is a better option If I want to be optimistic (I don't; I'm a Vikings fan), I suppose you could spin this as them feeling confident in Brosmer as a 2
  14. The Great Hambino
    No, I'm not sure if I want to see how everything is gonna play out. That's my fear (I know what you mean)
  15. The Great Hambino
    Even if both those IFs are addressed, which are far from guarantees - if you're counting on internal starter prospects to be that competent bullpen, then it's not gonna happen this season as it's going to take time to sort out the rotation and games in April count in the standings as much as games in September - then you still have to address the lack of quality at the top of the lineup. What you're suggesting I think would require a level of investment that I don't see them making. "Short-term pain" "I expect Ryan and Lopez to be in the rotation. Well, that's my hope" "Limited partners that share Pohlad family values" Etc The tea leaves have not been encouraging
  16. The Great Hambino
    Yeah, seems like more of a Mannion-esque study buddy than an actual backup. He was with KOC in LA a few years ago
  17. The Great Hambino
    So who isn't the good prospect, Roden or Rojas?
  18. The Great Hambino
    I have Smoltz and Haircut
  19. The Great Hambino
    Take off, ya hoser! What a maroon
  20. The Great Hambino
    This is a good thought exercise. With the overall caveat that anyone can be had for the right price, this is how I see it right now: 1. I agree, worse players with a similar arbitration status like Gordon as you mentioned - also Kyle Farmer - have gotten something back in trade, I don't see why Larnach wouldn't. I also agree a middling reliever makes sense here 2. I don't know if now is a good time to move Ober. I think he has an opportunity to add trade value at the deadline if he bounces back strong. Not sure what I would want in return, but it would hopefully be someone with more control. I wouldn't shy away from a prospect if they have an ETA of 2026. 3. I'm only trading Wallner for a steal as I think he also has an opportunity bring his value back up. On the other hand, I feel like there's a very wide range of opinions on him, so perhaps there's opportunity to get good value from someone on the very optimistic end of things. I think the effect the hamstring had on him last year gets undersold. He actually had a pretty solid start to the season, he just had one hell of a time getting back on track. I'm actually a little optimistic on him myself (when will I ever learn...) 4. Too much upside with both of them to sell low now. The value of giving each of them a chance to emerge I think exceeds the value they could get in a trade, even if it is true that there's probably only room for one of them down the line if prospects develop well
  21. The Great Hambino
    I don't know if Bieber has it tonight. This could be a short outing
  22. The Great Hambino
    I agree. And you don't have to worry about those things if you don't acquire him in the first place. I mean what's more likely: the Twins unlock something that the Dodgers couldn't (he was absolutely putrid over the course of a year and a half, even if it wasn't a huge amount of at bats), or those fears you listed become realized.
  23. The Great Hambino
    Fair enough. That's not unreasonable. But in that case, the Twins should've let that other team take him. He's not young enough to expect future development and not good enough to help a team be competitive
  24. The Great Hambino
    David Popkins, obvi I did hear some talking head mention that MLB discourages teams from making major announcements like a new manager on World Series game days. So we could hear as early as Thursday. I'd be surprised if it went past the first week of November unless their top choice takes a different job
  25. The Great Hambino
    I'm not sure where you get that multiple teams wanted him just because the Twins accepted him in trade, or why that should matter to the Twins. They were bidding against themselves for all we know Obviously the Twins wanted him. I'm saying they shouldn't have wanted him. A 29 year old (in 2026) that can't hit his weight at an organizational position of surplus (at least in quantity) is not something a team setting up for a youth movement should be putting trade resources toward acquiring. Now they're committing playing time to him that should otherwise be going to their developing younger players. That's why I would've preferred a long-shot lotto ticket instead. I have no doubt that the Dodgers wanted to get rid of him, but the Twins were not obligated to do them the favor of removing him from their roster. To devil's advocate myself, the only reason I can think of for keeping him around is that they don't trust anyone else likely to debut with the big club on opening day to back up centerfield. Otherwise, it seems like a waste of Stewart to me
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