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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    It is interesting to read about LF and RF in these analyses. I believe there was Akil Baddoo and LaMonte Wade in the system and they are now established starters for Detroit and the Giants. Meanwhile we kept Cave. But you really hit on the key complaint - Baldelli put him in a spot where his weaknesses were magnified - leadoff where we want hits, middle of the lineup where we want power. As someone else said, as a 7 - 9 hitter we would not have been as anxious about his production. But in the long run RF needs to produce more.
  2. mikelink45
    I am still curious about Duran and whether he stays a starter or reliever. He has the stuff to blow batters away.
  3. mikelink45
    Interesting take on Gordon. I agree with you. Letting him go would be like the decision to keep Cave and let LaMonte Wade leave. The giants were delighted to get him.
  4. mikelink45
    MLB ranks of SP did not even have us in honorable mention. Our BP did not make the ranks either. The outsiders are not as excited as Twins fans and I do not think it is a coastal bias. The note on the Twins in the honorable mentions is that Sano and Sanchez have to hit for the lineup to really be good.
  5. mikelink45
    Don't go backward - Cave and Garlick are not answers. Neither is Smeltzer. We need some high upside players, not retreads, or rehabs. We want to be a championship team and that means we want players better than the other teams in our league and division.
  6. mikelink45
    Let's not let the FO off our fandom hook. They blew it. A great SS may save us 3 - 5 games, but a great pitcher can mean 10. Having our current rotation, I hate to say this, but I would just as soon see Bundy and Archer blow out quickly and get replaced by our young guys. I want a high ceiling - I am not worried about the floor.
  7. mikelink45
    I would remove Rooker, Romero and Sanchez - but it would be Godoy first.
  8. mikelink45
    Canterino and Balazovic are my hopes for this year. You have now given me some new prospects to watch.
  9. mikelink45
    For a prolonged period - Celestino is the only one who looks good to me. Remember that Buxton also looked over matched when he first came up. Don't judge a player on a call up that is too early.
  10. mikelink45
    If only the other team agreed
  11. mikelink45
    If Rooker's only asset is the fact he hits right handed I am not ready to give him a spot. He does have versatility - he can play bad defense at multiple positions. Gordon and Arraez I am not sure about Godoy since he can be right across the river if the need for a third catcher comes up. I think Larnach might just make it allowing Kiriloff more time at 1B. The Sano/Sanchez log jam is an issue. Then I am stuck, but I hope not one of the last two - they require a DFA (if Rooker I am okay).
  12. mikelink45
    Huascar Ynoa, Luis Gil, Brusdar Graterol, and Chase Petty - They look pretty good to me. I would be happy to have all four on our staff right now. I am not against the "junk ball" pitcher as a change of pace in the BP and I hope Smith does well. Like Bundy and Archer, we just have to wait and see.
  13. mikelink45
    I forgot to add JT Chargois - 6 - 1, 1.5 WAR, 2.52 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, in 56 games for the Rays to the list of pitcher that did not click under the current leadership.
  14. mikelink45
    The profile of a corner OF has more power than we are seeing from Lewis - at this point he has speed. The other tools are not there for us to see yet. It depends upon his development, but nothing the Twins have done leads me to think corner OF at this point.
  15. mikelink45
    This adds another layer to the fact that so many articles in the last two years said Lewis would not stick at SS - I hope he does. Where else would he play. CF is gone. His value and bat in LF is not very high and lots of posts put Martin there. Polanco has 2B and 3B is an Urshela, Arraez, Miranda logjam. For Lewis to succeed as we all hope Correa has to move on - opt out - after this year, but is that what we really want?
  16. mikelink45
    My biggest worry is if Bundy and Archer pull a Happ and Shoemaker and we hang on to them too long. If they look lousy cut them and move one. But I am still reeling from the FO pitching moves - besides last year there was Homer Bailey and Andrew Albers and John Gant and Martin Perez - which one of these did Wes Johnson do his, so called- magic, with? Sorry, but you can only tweak so much and it has not given me any great hope. I am beginning to think the Wes Johnson rep is undeserved. We had Zach Littell and now the Giants do - he was 4 - 2 with 2.92 era last year for the first place Giants. Sean Poppin did not have a good year after leaving us, but he is on the Diamondback team. We pushed Colina and then gave up on him. Where was the coaching. He is now with the Rangers. Every year we hear about Thorpe, but no fix there. Kyle Gibson went from a disappointment to an all-star when he left. I am not sure that I can credit very many pitching coaches with changing careers, but it is time we start examining Wes and seeing if he is what they told us.
  17. mikelink45
    My biggest question mark for the Twins is Rooker. Every article talks about his bad glove. Now with Sanchez filling the strikeout and big swing role what does Rooker give us? I would be happy to have Larnach or Celestino as the fourth OF, but Rooker is not a good choice at any position. Catcher was our strength - Jeffers, Garver, Rortvedt - now it is a positional weak spot. Jeffers has to come back strong and Godoy needs to be on the team so Sanchez doesn't wear any glove except for batting.
  18. mikelink45
    Bring back Eddie! Just kidding. Who thought LF would be a challenge for the team? I would like us to move on from Rooker - why didn't we market him as a NL DH? Let's hope Larnach has learned his lesson. Berrios had a terrible first year and learned from it. Larnach could be the same.
  19. mikelink45
    Archer has struggled for a long time. I went to Baseball reference to look at his career. He was terrific with an era below 3.25 for three years! But then he jumped into the 4+ ERA for the next five years with his Whip also jumping up during this period. And then he was 5.19 in 2019, missed 2020 and came back to 4.66. He had an ERA+ of 100 or more for 5 of his 9 years. His WPA was a negative for five years and then was 0.2 last year. This is not a track record that excites me. I would take either Archer of Bundy, I do not like having both.
  20. mikelink45
    Reminds me of Happ and Shoemaker! I would rather go young.
  21. mikelink45
    I love the speculation - but I do not think Arraez will be the DH - I think Sano and Sanchez and maybe Miranda are in that slot. I just do not see Rocco going to the lighter bat even though I too like him. Stolen Bases will never be overrated for me. I love them and the energy they give, but that is not the real issue here. I do agree with those of you who do not want Arraez in front of Buxton. And I do not see Arraez as a number 4 or 5 hitter.
  22. mikelink45
    I think you have nailed it, but in the past Rocco was reluctant to put Buxton first and then we saw way too much of Kepler. Let's hope those days are over. You have Kiriloff slotted fourth (you did not say it, but implied it) so then I tried to think of what follows. I hope we do not have Sanchez and Sano back to back like they did in ST. Ouch. Without Garver how do you split them up? Would Urshela go fifth or are we committed to Sano there? Urshela between Sano and Sanchez? Kepler and Jeffers at 8 and 9?
  23. mikelink45
    Let's hope Correa will want two years of our paychecks - the SS cupboard looks really bare. None of us know what is going to happen with Lewis and the Yankees were so desperate for a SS when they had Urshela that they accepted Donaldson's entire contract to get Kiner-Falefa. Let's nope next year we aren't looking back at that trade with any regret. Give Correa a lot of Minnesota nice, but more importantly have a winning club - he is not used to being on a losing team.
  24. mikelink45
    Just not sure how to react to this. What does it mean to be 20th, 29th, 30th? Just a nice ranking or someone who will make it? Prospect rankings are getting more common, but their interpretation is getting more difficult.
  25. mikelink45
    I love having great players in the field and lineup - we have enjoyed some great ones and Correa should give us a great year of good memories, but the caution is - Mike Trout - the player who is touted as the greatest player in the game today. How many playoffs has his team gotten to in his career? Unlike basketball one great player does not mean a team is going to win. If he were a pitcher that made more difference, but then there is the Carlton year where he won 27 on a team that won a total of 62 games. We win this year if Josh Winder is rookie of the year and Correa makes him and the other pitchers better because he gives them security on ground balls.
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