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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    I am dissappointed because the two that did not settle are the two I am most concerned about
  2. mikelink45
    This is disappointing because I did not want a settlement this year, I wanted a settlement for the next five years.
  3. mikelink45
    I look at this and keep thinking extension! Don't just win or lose at arbitration a player like Berrios or Sano need to be locked up for the future. All the angst about Rosario this year means he would probably not be granted an extension - except it actually might make him more tradeable.
  4. mikelink45
    Not just Tony Oliva, Camilo Pascual and Pedro Ramos led the pitching staff in 1961. At least we have another player to watch, obsess over, and dream about for a while.
  5. mikelink45
    https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/28379981/buster-olney-top-10-left-fielders-juan-soto-era-just-begun Wow - Eddie just ranked 9th among LF in Buster Olney's ranking series.
  6. mikelink45
    This site is a wonderful treat - thank you for providing this.
  7. mikelink45
    We talk about all the stats and analytics like we are working with computers and not human beings. But that is not the case and thus we can look at players who have been mishandled by the team and wonder what would have happened if the club had been a little more intelligent in the personal needs department. Oswaldo Arcia is one person who really jumps out at me his minor league slash was 296/368/530 then he came to the Twins and his world and his potential fell flat. What happened. I know he failed with others, but once the slide starts it seldom rights itself. Miguel Sano was 269/385/530 as a rookie 3B and the major league brains said - put him in RF. He hit 236/319/462. Thankfully he has recovered from this wise decision. Now I look at Fernando Romero who was 3 - 3 with a 4.69 ERA as a major league starter. 45/19 k/BB as a starter. So lets make him a reliever. 0 - 1 7.07 ERA, 18/11 K/BB. WHIP went from 1.41 to 2.14. Sometimes changing a players role is good - other times it stinks. I remember the great notes about Romero coming up - nothing like that is written now. Did we out smart ourselves?
  8. mikelink45
    I really liked the thinking that went into this and the thought it generated. I put Berrios first because without him our rotation has no real star potential. Of course if he had an extension (as he should have) he might have moved over the two who do. I share the thought that Graterol deserves to be in the top five, not sure I agree with Lewis at this point, but overall this was a terrific set of essays.
  9. mikelink45
    The one question that this brings is where is his extension. He has the potential and certainly has done more than Buxton to show it, but only Kepler and Polanco were extended. Why? If we can bid on FA and fail, we should be able to bid on our own roster and succeed.
  10. mikelink45
    At this point 1B belongs to Larnach/Kiriloff/Rooker/Raley. I am fine with that. We have gone beyond the guys I care about so lets see what our highly rated minor league prospects can do.
  11. mikelink45
    Nicely done. I am enjoying these write ups and rankings. I suspect is some ways this was a much easier year for you to rank the players than the last three. We seem to be in a more solidified period with the exception of first base and the end of the rotation. Going forward this will again be challenging as players like Sano and Berrios move towards FA. Buxton will have to be healthy this year to keep in the top ten. Garver will be 30, Cruz will be even older...
  12. mikelink45
    I expect all to be impacted. If Rosario is the least impacted it will make all those who wanted to trade him and complained about him look bad! Go Eddie!. I think Sano hits them so far he will not be impacted, but yes Kepler will be by a large amount and he will have to take lessons from Arraez on more contact. He can do it. Cruz is do for some aging and with a dejuiced ball it might be more than we all want to see. Go Nelson, I love to see someone of senior baseball status keep it going. How about Polanco - I think this might hurt his power the most.
  13. mikelink45
    I find this to be a fun exercise and I still cannot really comment until I see the top 10. At the moment I think Rogers is too low because I am not a believer in May and Duffey, but that is not much of an argument. I am waiting to see where Lewis and Kiriloff and Balazovic rank because I would have them in the top ten. But then you create an interesting competition between starters and prospects with only one more pitcher in my expected top 10 - Berrios who I rank #1. Where would we be without him? And I know his contract is not as long as it should be. And we have no first baseman so that is not a position to worry about on this list: My guess list Berrios - because he is the closest to an AceKepler - Long term contract and production and versatilityPolanco - long term contract and ability to hitKiriloff - valuable in trade, at 1B, and OF and he hitsGarver - getting older, not a long contract, but catchers have extra valueBuxton - the great "if only" playerArraez - OBP is still a tremendous asset and he is versatileBalazovic - his arm looks like it is realGraterol - I would start him nowLewis - has he turned the corner. We will need him
  14. mikelink45
    This is why teams are developing new strategies like extending before they even begin to insure control beyond six years. Now we are looking at Buxton and Berrios and Sano and wondering if we will be able to keep them because no extensions have been made - perhaps a very big mistake.
  15. mikelink45
    I am not sure of that - when I look at prospect lists our guys are quite high and have been for a few years now.
  16. mikelink45
    I think the reason is money - a rookie starting his clock and not succeeding right away scares teams That is why the White Sox extended a rookie that they are going to play this year even though he has still not been to MLB.
  17. mikelink45
    Good post, but Soto and Acuna both came up to teams that were going for league championships. They were considered missing pieces for good teams regardless of age.
  18. mikelink45
    I think Garver stays and splits time with Jeffers - hopefully soon. I am not a big Avila fan. Astudillo is not going to last as a catcher or even a bench player even though I love to watch him. It is hard to comment on the placement of Rosario or Cruz without seeing the entire list, but you have me intrigued. Duffey???? Not sure what to think about him. I do understand him over May, but who else is he above?
  19. mikelink45
    Rooker has been ready for a year, but what about Raley?
  20. mikelink45
    Never know until we try, what did they say about the recent 19 and 20 years olds that are now stars?
  21. mikelink45
    So we whiffed in FA and now we have the feeling that we never really had a chance and no one wants to come here! Boo hoo! People say trade the prospects. Wait a minute - they have to come here. They have no choice. For six years they are ours. So lets play them. Cleveland where our FO was trained moved their prospects up to their team and have had a good winning record for a few years now. Forget where they were in the minors - many teams are now running players out at a much younger age - see Acuna (22), Soto (19), Tatis 20, Jimenez (23), Lindor (22), Corey Seager (21), Corea (21), Gleyber Torres (22)... Forget the lets play keep them in the minors for years and push them forward. Noah Syndergaard is one of our targets and he is 26 and came in to the league at 22. Many players have started young and succeeded: Vada Pinson, RF: 19 years, 247 days in 1958 (Reds) ... Sibby Sisti, 2B: 19 years, 265 days in 1940 (Bees) ... Brooks Robinson, 3B: 19 years, 332 days in 1957 (Orioles) ... Rogers Hornsby, SS: 19 years, 351 days in 1916 (Cardinals) ... Adrian Beltre, 3B: 19 years, 363 days in 1999 (Dodgers) Lewis is still our number one rated player - put him at 3B if you want to put Sano at 1B. If he is not ready put Kiriloff, Rooker, or Raley at 1B. If Wade or Kiriloff is better than Cave then replace cave. Put Kiriloff or Larnach in LF since people complain about Eddie Rosario. If Lewis is going to take Marwin's place give him time at all the positions. Then package Gonzales, Rosario, and Cave and instead of trading prospects trade these players for Boyd or some other starter. I want to see the team start to push the envelop and get away from scraping up the crumbs at the end of FA. In other words, what is the plan?
  22. mikelink45
    This seems as inevitable as any column on TD. I believe most readers felt this would be the end result. So if we are back to prospects - then play the prospects - no more questionable moves to veterans who do not move the dial. Give Rooker, Raley, Kiriloff a real chance at 1B. I am not interested in a journeyman, nor am I pleased to think that Marwin starts. Gonzales he had a total fWAR of 1.4. I want more from 1B. Give Graterol, Balazovic real opportunities if we believe they are going to be our best starters for the future and use Thorpe, Dobnak, Poppens, Smeltzer as fill in BP and SP rotations. If they move Sano to 1B, push Lewis to start and figure out if he or Polanco are best at 3B.
  23. mikelink45
    The commentators have covered all the salient issues. My biggest NO is the Sales trade. I think Boston is realizing they overpaid for an arm that will not hold up. I see that as a losing proposition. Archer looks good. I am not big on putting Graterol in any trade. We always need pitchers so putting our most promising pitcher in a trade seems to be self defeating. Gardy likes ex-Twins so he might jump at a Boyd trade to get some bats. Rooker, Raley, and Romero would be my 3Rs trade bait for Boyd. Thor does not get Buxton and Kiriloff. That is too much. Buxton and a lower level prospect or nothing. Keep thinking - your article is good hot stove fodder.
  24. mikelink45
    Arraez and the rest are interesting, but fall short in too many categories for me.
  25. mikelink45
    The rules have changed for this kind of movement and that is going to have a big impact on the rotation of young players
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