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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    I lecture on many historic topics in my job with American Cruise Lines, so I am constantly perusing different historic documents. In the past I have told you how both Wild Bill Hickok and Tom Custer played baseball. This note is from Thoreau's journal - he did not play, but he observed this game that was in Sleepy Hollow where Washington Irving based his stories of Rip Van Winkle and the Headless Horseman. "Fast-Day.—Some fields are dried sufficiently for the games of ball with which this season is commonly ushered in. I associate this day, when I can remember it, with games of baseball played over behind the hills of Sleepy Hollow, where the snow was just melted and dried up, also with the uncertainty I always experienced whether the shops would be shut, whether we should have an ordinary dinner, and extraordinary one, or none at all, and whether there would be more than one service at the meeting-house. This last uncertainty old folks share with me. This is a windy day, drying up the fields; the first we have had for a long time." -From Thoreau's Journal; April 10, 1856 Interestingly, Baseball Reference says this is the year that Major League Baseball began. You can see the teams started this year in this wiki posting. If you are interesting in more about this year try THE NEW YORK GAME.
  2. mikelink45
    Yes we will miss Rogers Do not overestimate the FO strategies. There is a reason only a few pitchers handle the ninth inning.
  3. mikelink45
    I do not have confidence at all. Duffey is heir apparent and does nothing for me. The best arms are young and untested. No they have not built a dependable BP.
  4. mikelink45
    As another old saying goes - "It just one game!" It will be May before we really know any of these things. Let's hope it is a good April!
  5. mikelink45
    Tudo bem? I just read that you are from Brazil - love the country and have many great friends there. For the game - it looked like a game where a short spring training does not really have us ready to go. When I looked at your bottom three WPA - it looks backward! Those will be the top soon. Loved Correa in the field and Urshela did a lot to win the fans over to him. Ryan did not look like he was ready - nerves or lack of ST? I loved the fact that Robbie Ray pitched seven innings. That is what a starter is supposed to do and it is important to have a manager recognize that fact. Great first impression by our pen. Both Duran and Acala started slow which either means that they have beginning of the year jitters or that they should not be brought in with runners already on base. I am ready for another game!
  6. mikelink45
    Excellent coverage - fun to follow the minor leaguers! I imagine it was fun for the Varland brothers. Too early to form any opinions other than it is great to have baseball again.
  7. mikelink45
    making the playoffs is not a really high standard
  8. mikelink45
    If he was Montas this would be a different conversation
  9. mikelink45
    Now we can see Pressly, Hendriks, and Rogers all closing! I am not looking forward to it. Imagine if we had all of them, Graterol (67 games), Chargois (10 - 6 3.73 and 1.6 WAR), and Zack Littell (10 - 2 3.73 1.2 WAR) could fill out the pen. Sometimes what you have is better than the shiny toys somewhere else.
  10. mikelink45
    In an era where the BP seems to be gaining more value than the rotation I am not on board with this trade. If Paddack was performing well I would be okay, but he has not. The Padres saw him as excess now that they have Manaea. We say that Rogers has only one year because we seem to accept that everyone will be gone at the end of arbitration, but that did not have to be true. Paddack is not a sure thing, Pagan is not a sure thing, the rotation might be better, but maybe Winder would have been just as good and the bullpen is now shifted to a chaos where no one is sure of their role. I see lots of positive responses, but I will be the curmudgeon in this discussion.
  11. mikelink45
    I like the idea of Contreras as a 4th OF, but he has a lot of obstacles with Celestino and Larnach well ahead of him. Cano is my biggest question mark. With all the BP intrigue it does not seem like the Twins are interested in him. He is getting too old to be a prospect - he needs a chance. The same is true with Mason.
  12. mikelink45
    I like this - you did a really nice job of grouping and ranking. The catcher position is now the weakest and the one with the most question marks. Your choice of putting them almost in the middle of the rankings was good. Your ranking of Paddack is the most questionable of all the names. I guess you are expecting the rookie to come back - I hope he does, but right now he ranks with Bundy and Archer.
  13. mikelink45
    The Olympics was as big a stage as you can get and I think it really prepared Ryan to be more than a normal rookie. Let's hope he continues to grow as a key part of the rotation.
  14. mikelink45
    Nice start for the Saints. I will be interested in how they use Winder because he would be better off starting in St Paul than rusting in the BP. I hope they are aggressive with him. Sands looks really good to start the season and he should be in line for a call up as the season progresses too.
  15. mikelink45
    I think you got all the questions right. Now we ask - are the expectations for this team a mirage or a miracle?
  16. mikelink45
    Okay - the only thing I can say is -I don't like it. We know what Rogers is and we need it. We don't know what Paddock will be and I am not sure we need it.
  17. mikelink45
    And what are the facts that you use to decide Urshela is a better fielder?
  18. mikelink45
    That's fine. Kiriloff at 1B, Kepler sitting - no problem.
  19. mikelink45
    We had that many starters because they weren't any good so I guess we might need that many again.
  20. mikelink45
    Check out his BR page
  21. mikelink45
    I will take your opinion, I do not know much about him or any of the other 15 coaches. What do they all do? Anyway Paddack was 4 - 5 4.73 era and 7 - 7 5.07 during Tingler's two years in SD. Wow.
  22. mikelink45
    Who is going to get high leverage? The BP was coming together, now we have confusion in both SP and RP - what did this solve? Did Rocco go to the FO and tell them that the pitchers that they signed stunk? This just pushed Winder further from the rotation and I would take him over any of these others. Fourth OF should be Larnach!
  23. mikelink45
    Well time to recalculate - the Rotation now has a proven leader, two good young pitchers and three reclamation projects. The BP has lost its predicted closer and best reliever in the trade - do we now go get another RP or are we promoting from within and will they be as good as Rogers. I do not see the Twins making the WS - sorry, but Paddock, Bundy, Archer do not make a championship rotation. I would have expected Kepler to be in the trade they just did, but I think the Padres value Paddock a lot less than the Twins do. I am fine if he is traded, but I want real value back. I am all in on the first three predictions.
  24. mikelink45
    Those RP better be ready and good - someone has to replace Taylor Rogers and that is a big hole in the BP. When Larnach was pulled many thought he was traded instead of Rooker, but I thought maybe they were going to make him the fourth OF and drop both Rooker and Garlick - I would like that and now Rooker is gone.
  25. mikelink45
    And the Padres fired him! We are full of reclamation projects already. The TWINS clinic is open send us all your pitchers who have lost velocity, gotten confused, been mediocre for a few years - we are ready and Dr Wes will fix them unless they are Perez, Albers, Gant, Shoemaker, Happ, Bailey...
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