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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    A lot of teams do. He is elite and not many are. I would put Buck Showalter on the short list, maybe Craig Counsel, and maybe Kevin Cash (but he has too much Rocco in him).
  2. mikelink45
    Are the Twins a good team - definitely. Our bats should have won both games, but the bullpen is a mess. I am not a Rocco fan and I wonder why he had Thornberg warm up so many times but did not use him. He may be burned out from last night without ever getting on the actual mound. But I also wonder how Rocco can or should manage this assortment of arms. If the SP cannot go long, it is a tough night, after night, after night! When will Buxton be back? And I mean in the field too. This really hurts the team, but what is really wrong with him - can it be fixed? I like Arreaz at 2B more than Polanco this season and Polanco might have the value to get us another good arm. Finally, empty the Minors of every arm that looks like it has life and try to rescue the BP. Put Archer in the pen, he only goes 4 innings, what if that was in relief - like last night if he came in for Gray? This is my second post because I cannot get this game out of my mind - I hope the Twins players can!
  3. mikelink45
    Very hard to argue with these five. But to add to the discussion, here are other players who might make this list: Duran - in this BP, what would we do without him? Is there another legitimate arm in the pen? Jeffers - despite our anguish over his bat, which is coming around, he is our catcher. Sanchez is not as good behind the plate and can leave as a FA and we have no one in the minors who is a potential starter right now.
  4. mikelink45
    Nice write up of a complex medical situation.
  5. mikelink45
    I know the bullpen is the big story and it's not a surprise that they're lousy. They have been bad all year and every night I listen to the announcers tell how we've given up more home runs than any other bullpen. It's a real story to me is how Cleveland plays the game. Don't strike out like we did in the extra innings last night, make contact. Sacrifice flies moving the runners and playing the way baseball has been played for decades instead of swinging for the fences is a valuable and successful formula. I know we scored enough runs to win tonight, but even with that I was just enthralled by how Cleveland approached each inning and continued to put pressure on us and our mediocre bullpen
  6. mikelink45
    Let add a sarcastic thought that I got reading the replies. Reducing the number of pitchers just means we carry one less lousy arm and maybe forces decisions on pitchers like Duffey, Smith, and Thielbar since they cannot be buried any more. Start stretching out the starters. Get the computers rebooted and see if there is another way to approach pitching. I would like to add that this hurts all teams equally and I like that. Numbers are not the most important thing - quality is.
  7. mikelink45
    Mark G hit it - I love the rule and would probably reduce it more.
  8. mikelink45
    It was meant as a question about who else can we trust. We have Duran and a lot of mediocre arms. And Duran did two innings, but with short starts we need at least two and usually three arms to finish the game.
  9. mikelink45
    Most disappointing part of the report - Cano and Moran! We need RP and they have a chance to come back up, but they need to succeed at AAA first. Nice to see Wallner going so well. When do we get a revised Prospect list? Like a lot of others I see Martin plummeting.
  10. mikelink45
    It was a good game - back and forth, both teams working hard. But a game like this really emphasizes the value of Arraez who makes contact and challenges the other team while our guys are whiffing in all these situations where contact moves the runner and gives us a chance. With a runner on second we do not need a HR, although Miranda made good contact and I have no criticism of that, but Gio, Sanchez, Correa, Kepler all big Ks I do criticize. We all know Pagan is an instant ulcer, but who else do we have after we have used Duran?
  11. mikelink45
    I thought it would be interesting to see how other teams rank in drafting, but could not access what I wanted. Here is a bleacher report that ranks the last 15 drafts : This is the caveat for the grading of the drafts - "Rather than simply listing every first-round selection, I’ve included only those players who enjoyed—or are in the midst of—a notable big-league career." With that in mind, the Twins had five first rounders in 15 drafts that have made an impact - Joe Mauer 2001, Buxton 2012, Hicks 2005, Revere 2007 and Garza 2005.
  12. mikelink45
    I love the stolen bases - I enjoyed the Go-go Sox of Fox and Aparicio, I loved the Cardinals under Whitey Herzog, It was great to have Billy Martin get Carew stealing home, Maury Wills led a Dodgers team that was not among the best hitters in baseball, Coleman, Henderson, and Brock could hit, score, drive the other team nuts. With catchers forgetting how to throw out runners, or unable with on knee on the ground we are eliminating a spark that might eliminate one of our many shutouts or one or two run games. The Piranha's Twins teams scored runs that we could never get with this team. For all the good Bill James has done, he has really killed the joy of the SB with his statistics which do not measure disruption, morale, and other intangibles.
  13. mikelink45
    I really liked this article and your analysis. I have long thought Enlow was not qualified for our top prospect ratings and you seem to confirm that for me. I also hated the Sabato pick. Do we need a new Sano? Jeffers can still come around, Larnach keeps working and can be an acceptable part of the line-up. Leach is a complete miss. Wallner feels like he could surprise and do what Sabato was expected to do. This is not a very impressive showing for the FO, but I think it is accurate. I am really sorry we traded Petty, but if Gray can stay healthy it is an okay trade.
  14. mikelink45
    I love this kind of review and projection. He has prospered and that is exciting. What is the level that is considered the real make or break for players - is is AA?
  15. mikelink45
    bring on the robo umps. This is ridiculous - the umps ought to hate it.
  16. mikelink45
    As I read these stats I think about how BB had the Mendoza line and if you were below it, it was shameful. Now we have multiple players on every team that are striving to get there. I am amazed and disappointed. Now we only have to go down to player #87 (old friend Nelson Cruz) before we dip below 250. And at 151 we are officially below 200. (another old friend - Jonathan Schoop) If we assume 30 teams with 13 position players (I know there have been more) and we have more than half below 200 (I am only able to get the players who have enough ABs to qualify for batting average - none-the-less - it is putrid. Call Pat Reusse.
  17. mikelink45
    If we are looking to improve we do not trade our best player who fills a critical defensive hole. Everything looked good until Correa. This might have worked if Lewis was available, but not now - Palacios and Gordon do not fill that spot and thus we go backwards trying to go forward. Package the rest of them and get that pitcher. It is a nice haul for a team like Oakland.
  18. mikelink45
    BP is a roller coaster. Bundy did a good job of taking care of business the way I expect a SP to do. I am worried about Cleveland and wonder how they are doing it. Our record against KC/Det/Sea/Ariz/Balt is 19 - 16. Those are the bottom feeders. True we beat up Oakland, but they belong in AAA and everyone beats them up. We are 16 - 14 against the good teams. This is not good enough and the reason the articles emphasis on inconsistency is so correct. Cleveland now has a run differential of +35 and we are +25. Watch out. By the way the other two first place teams in the AL are the Yankees with a +143 (second place Toronto +24) and Houston +53. In our division we are first in Runs scored and third in runs allowed. My unofficial tally (could be off a game or two as I lose track moving down the list) has the Twins scoring 0-1 runs 14 times, 2 - 4 26 times (and I was surprised how many of those were 2 runs) 5 - 9 26 times and 10+ 5 times. That is my barometer for an inconsistent offense.
  19. mikelink45
    It is hard to make a positive comment on a game like this. I just know that in the old days none of us ever wanted to rely on our bullpen it was about our starters, our quality arms and not the guys who failed as starters but we're just trying to hang on with one inning. But I know it's a new era so I give up just like the twins did when they turn to the bullpen tonight. As someone else said, this is not a championship team we were playing and we are supposed to beat teams like this. Another commenter said that maybe they're better than we thought because they have all these other good teams in their conference, but then does that mean that we are the last place team in every other conference? It's time to get back on track as we move back into our own division. Let's sweep those damn guardians
  20. mikelink45
    We need to see more before we can compare him to the players that you pulled out to compare. I am sure you can find some statistic from almost every great player that lines up with Jeffers, but what we need is some consistency and I actually have hope that last night's HR might be a jolt to bring him back to what he should be.
  21. mikelink45
    After Smeltzer's melt down the day before this was a real treat. Let us hope Bundy follows up with more performances close to this one. So glad Jeffers got that late HR, he was the only one without a hit from the starting lineup and I think he is pressing and desperate. Saving Arraez was interesting and right. Jorge better come back hot, his bat is not being missed at this time and he could be the real trade candidate for a SP.
  22. mikelink45
    I just have a hard time with all these trade projections. Are they really better than what we have?
  23. mikelink45
    Having a weekly AL Central review would be a great service to the fans. Thank you.
  24. mikelink45
    This is a really random posting and thus enjoyable. It emphasizes something many would disagree with - the clutch ability of certain batters.
  25. mikelink45
    I can see the logic since Kiriloff is in the wings and Steer is right behind him. But a team might want one of the two in line over Miranda and that should be okay too if we get what we need - SP.
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