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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    I have been disappointed by Max for a couple years. I had hoped he would move up and make that transition to a star player, now I want him to be a good player. With the rookies rising something needs to happen this year.
  2. mikelink45
    I am afraid injury prone is not affixed - it is earned and it is unfortunate. A lot of players have had careers fall short because their bodies did not hold up. It is not a put down, but the team does need to think about how to protect its investment. I loved Arraez at second - not so much at third. But we have a weak back up to this position at all levels.
  3. mikelink45
    I think it will change over the year with Rogers getting the first shot, but I bet on Colome
  4. mikelink45
    For the TWINS he is more than mid rotation. We need him. Maeda has had one short season year where he looked great, Berrios has given us a number of good and steady years. We are not going to sign a Bauer or Cole or any other true number one and we do not need to. The pitchers are not the reason we have not won in post season. Home grown talent is the most important and to let Berrios go would be a big mistake. I hope next year it is Maeda, Berrios, Duran, Balazovic, and ???
  5. mikelink45
    No - I went out of the way to make a point. When I look around MLB right now I am seeing a trend towards younger, less experienced players getting promoted and starting. Celestino may not be a star, but I am not afraid to see him in the majors.
  6. mikelink45
    Max is obviously a nice guy or this site would not over rate him every year.
  7. mikelink45
    Why? Did Ken Griffey need that? Acuna and Soto seemed to do well as young inexperienced players. Sometimes the goods ones are just ready.
  8. mikelink45
    Not everyone needs 1000 ABs in the minors. I remember a guy named Griffey who did pretty well with no minor league experience.
  9. mikelink45
    I think that the top six could/should be lead-off - Arraez(the question is, when he is in who is out). So a lineup has to be fluid if your leadoff hitter (best hitter) is on the bench at least 25% of the time - maybe a third. So to fill out the imaginary lineup that you want to send to Rocco I have to go with the starters: Polanco (if he is healed completely) Donaldson Cruz Kepler (I am not his fan, but no one else fits here) Garver/Jeffers Sano (Too many Ks, too many holes in his swing to have him above this to kill rallies) Now the interesting discussion to me is the bottom third. Simmons, Buxton, Kiriloff or Cave or Rooker depending on LF. I think Buxton has earned the 9th spot. He is the proverbial second leadoff batter and his speed fits between Polanco and Simmons. Don't kill speed with slow batters ahead of them. That puts the LF batting seventh.
  10. mikelink45
    I have been pushing my idea that if Buxton goes down I want Celestino in CF no matter what offense he brings. Kepler and Cave were fill ins but I do not want to see them in CF again if Buxton has another extended period where he cannot play. I really like the idea of contact batters, speed, and defense. Of course in the playoff losses what we have missed is runs. I am not sure how that gets addressed, but contact is one of them, speed is another. When you look at the big power guys like Sano who is 2 for 19 in the playoffs it is easy to see that the best pitching will shut them down. I remember Canseco and McGwire with all their power looking terrible in the WS. Then there was KC who won their last WS with speed, defense, contact, and pitching. We are getting to the place where we can match that formula and add in power.
  11. mikelink45
    What a great post - such pertinent information.
  12. mikelink45
    I would love to see Sano turn the corner. His story is getting old and so is he, we have now seen him in MLB for six years. A good amount of time, he should be coming to his physical (and mental) peak years. He has 7.9 WAR in those six years which makes him more than a replacement player, but not a star. I am sorry that we have exit velocity and make such a big deal about it. Sano can hit HRs with less than maximum bat velocity and maybe control his swing better. He has 834 Ks in 539 games which for an old man like me is atrocious. He and Buxton remain the poster boys for hoped for greatness. - time to rip up the posters and take the crown.
  13. mikelink45
    The biggest puzzle in the Odorizzi saga is the Los Angeles Angels. With a strong lineup and defense they have failed to make the playoffs for years because of pitching, but have done almost nothing in FA signings to fix this. Odorizzi is an instant upgrade and yet they sit back. Beyond Ohtani they have Heaney, Cobb, Quintana, Canning and Bundy. Odorizzi would be number 2 or 3 in that rotation.
  14. mikelink45
    He has not shown anything at any level and unlike Dozier he has a full and really good roster ahead of him. I think he is a trade throw in.
  15. mikelink45
    We do not make it on the national list. Our team is no longer young and we do not bring up the players when they are really young so Acuna, Soto, Tatis, Luis Roberts, Eloy Jiminex, Bichette and others rank over our prospects because they have already shown themselves in the majors. Using that as the measuring stick Arraez and Jeffers have to be first and second. I wish we did let SP work into the rotation earlier, but that does not seem to be the plan. I was hoping to find more under 25s in the BP but was surprised that Alcala and Stashak are both over the mark so we currently have only two under 25s and hopefully Kiriloff will make number 3. As I was looking at the stats I was surprised that the Twins are as old as their numbers say - the rotation now has 26 year old Berrios and next youngest is 32 year old Pineda and Happ is 38. In the BP Alcala 25 1/2 is youngest and Thielbar at 34 is oldest. In the IF Jeffers is youngest and Donalson is 34. In the OF if Kiriloff starts he is the youngest at 23, Buxton is 27, Kepler 28.
  16. mikelink45
    I hope Garver comes back strong. I still do not understand what happened to him last year and how it gets fixed. I am very happy to have Jeffers on board.
  17. mikelink45
    I do not want Celestino to start the season - I want him if Byron takes another extended injury vacation. I am not excited about Broxton, he is not our future. Celestino gives us defense and most of the value of Buxton has been defense. His WAR todate is 6.4 offense and 6.6 defense (BR) - give me Celestinos defense.
  18. mikelink45
    I really had to laugh when you said "The only hit Twins starter Devin Smeltzer gave up over his two innings was a solo homer." That is faint praise. The real story is Astudillo at 3B, This could go a long ways towards giving him a roster spot.
  19. mikelink45
    I give the Twins a C+. I know it is not a popular thing, but we do tend to over grade on familiarity. The White Sox are A-, Cleveland is a C and the Tigers and KC are where they should be. Do not spend on BP until the team is ready to win. So Tigers D and KC C-. Thanks for the summary. My issue is that in a league that now uses the BP as much or more than SP three arms are not enough to judge.
  20. mikelink45
    Larnach is 24, Rooker is 26 - it is time to play them or trade them. Let's start moving our excess into the trade market and fill other positions. My bias would be to trade Max, but I know he has many fans here. I expect Cruz to be done after this year, but who knows - if he goes one of the these two players can step in. But when are Sabato and Wallner going to be ready with the same skill sets?
  21. mikelink45
    At his age and last years success AAA would be a real set back and we know that unhappy players do not perform (think Lynn). I would like him on the bench and I am happy to see Cave move on. He performed his role, but there is no upside will other teams could see him as a real asset - maybe the A's replace Grossman with him. If Buxton goes down I want Celestino in CF - not sure why all the love for Broxton. Let's look at Arraez as the left side rotation asset - he plays 2B, SS, 3B, LF. Rooker becomes the right side asset - DH, 1B, RF. This sets up two rest and refresh approaches and keeps everyone producing. Of course the third rotation is already set - Jeffers and Garver.
  22. mikelink45
    I have to admit that I see Smeltzer, Thorpe and Dobnak as fill ins and I am anxious for the Duran/Balazovic duo in 2022.
  23. mikelink45
    Another fun essay that allows us all to have our own takes and your grades are really good talking points. Here are some random thoughts that I have: I think Triston MacKenzie is going to be a star. I think last year let him get established. I look at that rotation and think about Bauer, Clevinger, Carrasco, Kluber and think where that rotation would rank and they could have had Hand and Miller in the BP. Is Cleveland lucky or dumb? I don't know. BKenta Maeda had a great season, but a short one. I worry that so much expectation has him an Ace and another Cy Young pitcher. I hope so, but we need the full season to see where he really ranks and Berrios needs to be consistent through out the full year. BThe big three at Chicago have a very poor 4/5 followup and those old arms could break down. I am not convinced that they are the best, but at this point Giolito is pushing Bieber. BKC has two interesting young guys and they are getting aggressive which is fun to see. C-Detroit will have their third prospect in the rotation by June and they will really be starting their road back. At that point I give them a C and potential.
  24. mikelink45
    MLB has a lot of dumb rules and agreements and Boras is smart enough to see the loopholes and weaknesses and exploit them for his players. He has done an amazing job. I get angry at some of the tactics, but I get angry at some of the FO people too. The Seattle situation really opened up a window on many FO personnel.
  25. mikelink45
    Over the last few years I have come to think of AAA as the emergency call up level - not the prospect. I will be disappointed if Kiriloff is there and Larnach is a perfect choice to fit into that slot so the faithful have one bonified prospect to watch. The rest - the minor league pickups, their ages and their stories make them viable for short term fill ins, but not long term. And I think that is what is happening all over MLB. The true potential stars are moved up from AA unless they are just put their for the phony three weeks to avoid the contract issues later on. A player like Lewis would have really juiced this lineup.
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