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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    Which is better - flexibility or quality? I am high on the quality scale! I like a Verlander who takes the game into his own hands instead of three or four okay pitchers all hoping to be good that day. Baseball is slipping into my rear view mirror with the changes it is making and I do not want to lose it.
  2. mikelink45
    For the sake of debate I would reverse all your takes - let's check in at the end of the season! Thanks for starting a good line of debates. I did enjoy reading the article and your takes.
  3. mikelink45
    I know we tie Donaldson to Correa, but I don't. For a year the Twins could have had them both. Our spending is not crazy wild. If they wanted to save money from Donaldson they should have signed a good pitcher. We could have had Garver, Donaldson, and Correa - now that would be fun.
  4. mikelink45
    By the way - Cueto was signed by the sox as a backup precaution. Smart move - no guaranteed spot, just another arm in the system.
  5. mikelink45
    I know it is a popular stance to always see the Twins in the best light, but Donaldson leaves Urshela in the dust. He is a place holder and that is fine. We dumped a salary and filled a void. That is as far as I can go until I see the season play out.
  6. mikelink45
    Other commenters have noticed the same thing I did. The age range except for a very few is already at peak value. They are backups but not future starters except for Miranda, Lewis, and Balazovic. Double A looks more like the future of the twins.
  7. mikelink45
    Thanks for asking the question. Remember we also have Gant, Albers, Bailey, Perez in addition to Happ and Shoemaker since 2019. I do not have much faith in Archer and Bundy. They were available cheap because they have been going downhill. It would be great to have one of them rebound to a good starter, but I wanted Winder as the fifth starter and still do. Whichever reclamation project falters should be dropped immediately, but I am not sure that history tells us that they will.
  8. mikelink45
    Another good review. The biggest take away is that with ST short and lots of new arms there is still a lot of sorting to do and that can lead to a lot of mistakes. Where is Winder in this discussion?
  9. mikelink45
    Surprises - the end of the roster is a quagmire of decisions. We had the TD stories about Godoy and were just starting to warm to him and now we are supposed to jump on the Sisco bandwagon - how they play with our emotions! By the way Godoy hit 250/333/375 this spring - Gary Sanchez 148/201/222 - I guess this is another case where ST stats don't matter. Garlick or Rooker is a who cares, but it says that the Twins should have been shopping Rooker after last season. He was never going to make it and Wallner, Sabato...are ready to slug their way into the next round of discussions. Good for Coulombe - if he stays long enough I will learn to spell his name without having to go back to the article. But then DFA could still be in the cards. Well the tension is building - can't wait for the next announcement.
  10. mikelink45
    I would like some consistency. Either buy quality SP to build the rotation you want or don't bother with retreads and go all in on the pipeline. If Bundy and/or Archer are mediocre will the team step away quickly and put the young arms in or will we see the Happ/Shoemaker/Bailey...slog through half a season or more? Nick your analyses have really been right on and I love the honest approach.
  11. mikelink45
    Nice article - he would be a good story - better than some of the pickups we have made from other teams.
  12. mikelink45
    Nice job - I am anxious for the season, but hold less optimism than many of the TD fans. That rotation just does not look good enough for me to see more than a 500 season. My best hope is that the vets burn out quickly enough to get some young arms in up to infuse some extra energy. Gray is the only vet I have high hopes for. The best fourth OF has already been sent down so we will have to see if Rooker provides anything of value and if Jeffers can catch fire and live up to status of number one catcher.
  13. mikelink45
    With Moran going down I see both Duran and Winder staying with the team.
  14. mikelink45
    Excellent summary. I cannot argue any of your points. I do hope Smeltzer finds a way to rise again and I expect Moran to be on the team sometime this year. Rooker is a conundrum the way that Cave was the last two years. Do we really need him? Does he offer something other than a right handed bat with a 201 BA and a .328 strikeout average? He has disappointed me with the inability to change and succeed. This spring he is hitting .083 and his K rate is .384. I will take Garlick over him and would love to have Celestino.
  15. mikelink45
    unless they are RP - then one pitch can get a Rivera into the HOF, two pitches and Duffey and Rogers can lead the pen.
  16. mikelink45
    Jeffers OPS+ was 83 - 17% below average. At this point we should have hope, not optimism. I really like him (even though I am not a big framer guy), but he has to step up this year or C becomes a big hole that is hard to fill.
  17. mikelink45
    It is up to Jeffers to prove that the decision was good. I really loved Jeffers in the minors and then the first season he was up, but he needs to start producing. No longer a rookie, no longer alternating. He needs to show us something to justify your accolades and I hope he does. He is one of the keys to our future success.
  18. mikelink45
    Moran is ready! Canterino should be one of the first SP call ups.
  19. mikelink45
    Byron has more speed, but so far has not had the control that Mays had. Mays always seemed to know where he was and when he made spectacular catches he was not in danger of bodily harm. Byron this spring looks like the batter we all hoped he would be. He is sensational, but so was Mays. In Mays' 1954 MVP season his line was 345/411/667/1.078 and he was 23. Byron was 27 last year when he had his best line 301/358/647/1.005. To me the comparison is a long way from equal. I understand what you are asking and I just cannot make the full comparison. Mays is what I wanted for the last seven years and last year was the first hint at Buxton's ceiling. However at 28 he is already reaching a point where, like Trout, his speed will continue to diminish. I do think that CF is Buxton's much longer than Trout. You can look at Byron's stats at age 27 and then you compare to Trout after his age 27 year. 305/419/591/1.000 are his totals. Mays after his age 27 year 320/393/627/1.021 - these are the stats after Mays came back from military service in 1954.
  20. mikelink45
    I still have a difficult time putting Trout ahead of Mays. But yes, longevity is part of Mays' resume - he was always a CF. Let's look at their accomplishments: Mays 156.1 WAR, lifetime 301/384/557 660 HR before the PEDs His OPS+ before he left the Giants - 157+ (21 years) 3293 hits and 23 years. Trout 76.1 WAR 305/419/583 310 HRs 1419 hits 176 OPS+ 11 years. Now he needs to maintain this for 12 more years to match Willie. Buxton 16.2 WAR 248/299/461 401 hits, 70 HRs OPS+ 102 for 7 years. Why is this even a debate? Check in 10 years from now if Byron stays healthy. I love his play, but right now he is on the outside looking in on this discussion.
  21. mikelink45
    I know it is every fans wish, but the few short seasons of production are a tease rather than a promise. He has all the talent in the world, but let's wait a few seasons before we put him in the Trout, Mays category. In the meantime I hope he is both healthy and productive and then the debate will be settled by him!
  22. mikelink45
    The White Sox are still dealing. Kimbrel for Pollock. And as Twins fans everyone wants to downgrade the Sox. Don't do it. They have a lineup that can match ours, pitching in both the rotation and pen that surpasses ours and I think they are driven to win it this year. So the numbers are too low and they will win 95. The next four are more of a toss up, but I like Detroit. Their pitching has been maturing and their rookies are stepping in at the right time. I put them second. Sentiment makes me put the Twins third and KC seems like an obvious fifth. The Guardians are really a puzzle. The way they run their team makes me wonder if they ever really want to win. (I know we got out FO from them). No team in baseball has screwed up their OF like the Guardians and yet they have Terry Francona and the fact that we are not just ignoring them is because of his leadership. Put them down for fourth.
  23. mikelink45
    Send them all to the minors - see how the season plays out and if we need to make changes. If that means we lose one it is not a big loss. But right now the question is not if these players should be on the roster, but who do we want to get rid of that is on that roster? No more Jake Cave - please. What is this love affair that the team or Rocco seems to have with him. Celestino can cover CF much better and almost all the options can hit better than him. Notice no team tried to claim him when we removed him from the 40 man.
  24. mikelink45
    Nice reflection - I agree with your points and it leads to these questions: Is Sonny Gray not ready to start? I know the ST was short. How long before Archer is ready to start? Is Ryan now set up to be our number one and matched against the other number ones in the league? Is Ober number two? I hope they keep Winder and let him start.
  25. mikelink45
    Thanks for another thoughtful analysis. I have enjoyed these position reviews. I keep hoping some team will offer us a bag of balls or something equivalent and take Sanchez off our roster. I would like Sano to be there, Kiriloff at 1B and Larnach in LF. I have no faith in Rooker and you have documented why that is. Miranda and Arraez are interesting options and Miranda would be the one most likely to produce DH numbers.
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