Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

shimrod

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    360

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

 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

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by shimrod

  1. shimrod
    Who'd a thunk the athleticism that allows a player to be a good defender also contributes to hitting? The higher you rise through professional baseball the harder it gets to keep up with the pitching talent. Lots of good high school / college bats hit their ceiling at the high minors or MLB. The quick twitch athletic ability and hand/eye coordination that allow a player to become a plus defender are also of benefit matching up with top tier pitchers. It appears the Twins may have learned their lesson and adjusted the last couple drafts but it will take a while to work the legacy prospects out of the system. Another deadline fire sale may add some more of the athletic prospects the Twins should have been drafting all along.
  2. shimrod
    And Buxton has long stretches of inability to recognize and lay off the pitches breaking low and outside.
  3. shimrod
    It appeared to me he knew those were strikes. I think he's using the technique often discussed by Morneau. "Have a plan". If the pitcher doesn't throw what Wallner is planning on he just freezes. The plan with two strikes needs to include protecting the zone even if the pitcher throws a fastball instead of the slider you were expecting. Jeffers shows the ability to choke up and protect the plate. Wallner seems content to swing for the fences if he guesses right and strike out if he doesn't.
  4. shimrod
    I'm ready to just let the ABS call balls and strikes. Terrible game by the home ump (crew chief no less). The majority of the bad calls went against the Twins which matches my recollection from last year when there was no recourse. Perkins noted that with a large lead in bad weather the umps are incentivized to expand the strike zone and get the game over with. Without ABS challenges keeping at bats alive the Twins are blown out last night and never get within striking distance. If the Twins had lost another early challenge we would have seen a completely different game. Umpires are supposed to call them as they see them, not based on who's playing and game conditions. If they can't do that (and they aren't) then let objective technology keep the playing field even for both batters and pitchers. We have the technology to maintain a consistent strike zone. Just use it. EDIT: Some might argue the playing conditions explain the missed ball and strike calls. If so that's one more reason to take that burden off the umpire and let the technology do the job properly.
  5. shimrod
    No, the FO will bring in the usual collection of washed up / underperforming veterans to fill out the roster and keep the prospects in the minors.
  6. shimrod
    We only needed four. Four, however, is well beyond the capabilities of the 2026 Twins.
  7. shimrod
    If we play to our potential I'm expecting a 2/5 ratio - so more like 65 - 97. I wouldn't argue with anyone who wanted to take the under on that however.
  8. shimrod
    Agreed. Programming the spreadsheet for "small ball" and blindly following it is as much a recipe for failure as three outcome game management.
  9. shimrod
    Nope. 0-12 is a definite possibility. As is the likelihood we get fewer than 12 opportunities.
  10. shimrod
    Are we trending up on anything aside from seat availability?
  11. shimrod
    Inexplicable substitutions? Blacked out so my only game experience is reading the comments.
  12. shimrod
    Spring training is not the time to find out, but as the season begins it will be interesting to see if the new management team will "leave them alone" more than the last group. Rocco had guys in and out, and moving up and down the lineup with little apparent rationale. I've seen many comments from players that they prefer knowing their role day in and day out. Perhaps a set routine allows some of our iffy veterans to play their best ball.
  13. shimrod
    Fantastic news. Twins open with the Orioles, 200 miles away. So of course I'm blacked out of the opening series. Between blackouts and spreading games over multiple individual streamers the league seems determined to make it as difficult as possible to actually watch their product. On the bright side the chances are good I may still be able to watch the first win.
  14. shimrod
    Reasons for optimism about the Twins 2026 season? Personally, I can look forward to almost all of their games being available on my MLB.tv package. Better teams games are frequently coopted by channels I don't pay for. There should be minimal demand for the Twins on national broadcasts so aside from regional blackout games I should be able to watch almost daily. I think of a Woody Allen line about a restaurant - "The food there is terrible, and the portions are too small." The Twins may be terrible but I should get a larger than normal portion. Reason for optimism!
  15. shimrod
    Good. My wife and youngest daughter are at the game, glad they saw a win.
  16. shimrod
    Was that a walk-off dinger?
  17. shimrod
    Any idealized defensive lineup includes none of the Twins current infielders. Aside from a couple AAAA guys who can't hit the Twins don't have a single above average infield defender on their roster. Not one. Keaschall is young and athletic enough to maybe become a plus defender at 2B with enough work. Twins seem determined to ensure he never gets that work. They start this BS in the minors, shuffling guys from position to position and then wonder why nobody develops.
  18. shimrod
    And then was criticized in 2025 for defensive shortcomings at 2B, where he played every inning. How much better could his infield defense have been if he'd been allowed to concentrate on mastering that position? We'll never know.
  19. shimrod
    Every inning he plays in the outfield is an inning he's not getting better at second base. The Twins dedication to defensive mediocrity is maddening.
  20. shimrod
    "Alas, normal age-related decline suggests Hrbek may ultimately represent the most realistic ceiling—and, of course, there's a chance he's traded before the contract ends." We're trading Herbie?
  21. shimrod
    And why did we sell off? Because the team assembled by buying low on injured players was terrible. You are correct that depending ONLY on draft and develop isn't a valid path to contention. FA is also not the path for a team that won't spend. Unless you think Josh Bell is putting us over the top. What's left? Draft and develop needs to be supplemented by strategic trades. MN needs to trade from positions of strength for positions of weakness. Trade prospects while they're still prospects, for prospects who are still prospects. MN continues to sit on draftees until they've proven they can't play rather than risk moving an eventual MLB regular. Yes, sometimes you trade a guy you wish you'd kept. That potential, however, is what gets you a prospect with similar potential at a position of weakness.
  22. shimrod
    Sure, let's double down on signing injured players because they cost less. That's the innovative thinking that resulted in a 70 win season last year.
  23. shimrod
    TD is preparing us for a season of drastic underperformance. A two to five ratio of wins to promises is probably what we should expect.
  24. shimrod
    Probably a casual conversation in the private club smoking room. "Things need shaking up so we've decided to fire our GM." "Hey, great idea, I think we'll try that too."
  25. shimrod
    "Buxton remains a long shot, given his no-trade clause, so the focus realistically falls on the two aces." Trading Ryan would likely shorten those odds considerably.
×
×
  • Create New...