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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    The FO is the key to this question. Who and when will they bring up Sano/Buxton/Romero? Any of those three would be my choice, but if the FO continues to be a mystery I am going to say Rosario is going to have two great halves.
  2. mikelink45
    Sounds like the American League East and Central
  3. mikelink45
    I believe we are going to designate Slegers as our Baltimore specialist - get Romero up here. This FO is driving me crazy. Start auditioning Rooker or some other young prospects and send Logan Morrison away. With Reed in the Tank the FO signings have really bombed this summer. With Baltimore gone, we have moved up to the next worst team in baseball and suddenly we are unable to compete again if Berrios isn't our pitcher.
  4. mikelink45
    These are an interesting five, but I cannot get overly excited by them. It is a good thing that we have the three of you to do the evaluations because I see two young pitchers who have not displayed the skills that you see, a very young catcher with a mediocre track record with the bat, and, as another comment stated, two with the upside of backup/bench players.
  5. mikelink45
    Okay it is mid season and we are getting a reshuffle of prospects and their ratings. Which makes me wonder - what if the ratings include the players already in the major leagues? For example - if all the starting pitchers were put in one pot and we said who has the most potential for the next five years - I would certainly keep Berrios at number 1, but who is number 2? I take Romero. Then I think I would go back to the minors and then Brusdar Graterol. Is it time for someone on the MLB team? I think I would lean to Gibson and then Gonsalves. That is my top five. Who should you invest in? For the Bullpen - I am thinking of five years so we have to drop Rodney - I would drop Belisle if it was five days. So who are the top ranked prospects? Hildenberger has solidified his position. Who is next? Give me Tyler Jay, John Curtiss, Nick Anderson, Andrew Vasquez, and Busenitz. The vets are low on the list. Positions C Rortvedt Garver very poor list 1B/DH Sano Rooker 2B Nick Gordon Wander Javier SS Royce Lewis Jorge Polanco 3B Eduardo Escobar Travis Blankenship OF Byron Buxton Eddie Rosario Alex Kiriloff Akil Baddoo LaMonte Wade Jack Cave List them anyway you want - but by position, this is my Twins of the near future top prospects.
  6. mikelink45
    I am trying to think of the opposition GM and why that person would want Dozier. He has 1.2 WAR which actually shocks me. He is batting 223 with a 309 OPS, He is slugging 402. He is 1.2 runs above replacement, but he is -2 runs against average. This is not a man who is going to be a difference maker. He is not a clutch hitter. He is just a good player and he is not batting like a good player right now. So if you ask me about Dozier I say how about Escobar.
  7. mikelink45
    Thanks
  8. mikelink45
    Mauer is an interesting shadow on this franchise. First we questioned the wisdom of Mauer as the first pick - and later it became a genius choice. Then he was a HOF catcher who was plagued by concussions and mysterious maladies and the Twins used his contract to justify their own lack of action, which of course hurt Mauer's reputation. Then he came back to be a first baseman, where his batting skills, now diminished, became more of a liability in the mind of others who wanted a more traditional first base masher - like Sano. Finally we have an aging Mauer who has some decent replacement level performances and garners more sympathy now that he did during some of his more challenging transitions. At the moment we have no one to take his place, but when we do - Rooker, Sano...it will be time to put sympathy, admiration, history behind us and move on. It is always sad to see vets diminish, but remember even Barry Bonds could not hold on as long as he would have liked. In some ways Mauer is still a true reflection of this team. We remember the good times and think maybe another series will turn him/us around. There are flashes of old skills like Dozier's less than significant HR with a seven run lead, and more than anything we want him/us to succeed. Cave has been a good story, Kepler has had way too few good series and it is now getting harder to envision the OF of the future. Which leads me to wonder why we only got Thorpe and Kiriloff on the world and US teams? The Twins prospect list had me expecting more. And final wandering thought - at a time where we have so many racial and national biases - is it still good to have Americans vs the World in the all star format?
  9. mikelink45
    It is fine. Giancarlo Stanton is on the outside too! In the long run, the all star game is a little vacation in the middle of the season and not much more.
  10. mikelink45
    Why was Carter cut and what does Kemmer bring. Minor league stats has Carter with 20 HR, 224/317/519 - Kemmer 13 HR 253/334/476. Neither are exciting, but I am still trying to understand this FO reasoning. Since they acquired him I am sure we will see kemmer in Mpls. Littell and his contrast from MiLB to MLB raises the old question about how the Twins prepare and handle players promotions.
  11. mikelink45
    I would love to celebrate the great series, the streak, the pitching, but I have been following this team all year and after reading Eric Karabell on ESPN today I can only say, at least we beat the team we should beat. "I got a closer look at the brutal Baltimore Orioles this week and they look every bit the 100-loss team they appear to be. What is surprising to me is how this lineup, even with awesome infielder -- NO, I'M A SHORTSTOP -- Manny Machado in it, has been so bad. I actually cut second baseman Jonathan Schoop in a rather deep league earlier this week, despite the fact he was one of my offensive building blocks a mere three months ago, coming off a 32-homer season in which he batted .293. Why would we not rely on this fellow? It takes a village, or something like that, to have a .282 winning percentage in July, so here are one writer's thoughts on the disappointing Orioles, um, village."
  12. mikelink45
    Also no reason to hurry his rehab assignment - we do have players to replace him.
  13. mikelink45
    I enjoyed your write up. Celebrating with your fingers crossed behind your back because "so any Twins positivity from these last two games has to come with a grain of salt. OK, maybe an entire block of salt." Great line. Let's hope Cave is as good as he has looked, because we need another good outfielder not named Grossman. I want Buxton back, but only if he is ready and Cave is giving him time. Then if Buxton is back in center and Cave is still looking good Mr Kepler better start upping his game. I am amazed that teams are still challenging Rosario's arm! He really is our all-star.
  14. mikelink45
    I will quote from transactions in the minor league report - "The Twins activated utility man Taylor Motter and optioned him to AA Chattanooga. The decision to send him to Chattanooga rather than Rochester is because the Red Wings start their All Star break on Monday and they want Motter to play." This FO falls in love with its own acquisitions at the expense of our own minor league players.
  15. mikelink45
    Two things stuck out to me in the report - we acquired a 27 year old "LEFT HANDED" outfielder. Have we run out of outfielders? Is this another case where the FO does not want to call up our own minor leaguers - LaMonte Wade comes to mind? "The Twins activated utility man Taylor Motter and optioned him to AA Chattanooga. The decision to send him to Chattanooga rather than Rochester is because the Red Wings start their All Star break on Monday and they want Motter to play." Why do they want him to play so quickly, are we missing him on the major league team? Dumpster diving is okay once in a while, but I hope we can do better than these two moves.
  16. mikelink45
    I understand your stance, but this is a business (game?) and no organization forgets the bottom line for long and thrives. But someone needs to be worried about seats - I would if was the GM. Here is an interesting quote from Jerry Crasnick in 2015, "The GM of yore was a jack-of-all-trades -- and destined to become obsolete over time. With the exception of Terry Ryan's Minnesota Twins and a few other teams, the mom-and-pop front office is as antiquated as relying on fielding percentage as a gauge of a team's defensive prowess. "The key part of the general manager's job now is the 'manager' part. Look at the Red Sox's media guide, and there are 35 or 40 people in the baseball operations side of the business. It wasn't that long ago that it was like three people," said Mark Armour, co-author of "In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball."" http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/13717463/the-changing-face-role-mlb-general-manager That leads me to a 2014 article that says - "That leads us to probably the most important responsibility a GM has – Hiring the Right People. GMs can't be everywhere and see everything. They must rely on a network of people to provide expert teaching, information, and analysis. One bit of bad information or analysis could lead to overspending millions of dollars on a free agent bust or drafting Christian Colon instead of Matt Harvey or Chris Sale. Bad teaching or player development can lead to a minor league system that fails to provide impact major-league baseball players. Allowing those bad decisions to continue to hold back the progress of an entire franchise should be job suicide." https://247sports.com/mlb/royals/Article/GM-Job-Description-Face-of-the-Franchise-105103835/ Have we hired the right people - Who chose Motter, Belisle, LaMarre, Breslow? According to Patrick Reusse today on KSTP the Twins have signed another person and Reusse could only say - we aren't going to play him are we?
  17. mikelink45
    It is important to say that putting the young arms in the rotation and the BP is not giving up, nor is it tanking. Lynn, LOMO, and others have already taken care of that. Give us some excitement! For that reason I am ready to say thanks and good-bye to Mauer too. Mauer is a solo player - no enthusiasm, no visible energy. It is time to recognize what he was, but not be fooled by what he is. The real question to ponder is this - what if Buxton, Sano and Kepler are as good as they are going to get? What if none of them meets our expectations? Through the 90 loss seasons we said wait until they get here. Now in another 90 loss season we say wait until they get back. What is, when is the payoff?
  18. mikelink45
    You stole my post! Glad you beat me to it. I will add to trade Odorizzi and if Santana comes back move him too. This is audition time and at least it gives fans something to watch and cheer for.
  19. mikelink45
    I just got home the drugstore and the talk on the radio was about trade candidates. I looked at the Athletic and the talk was about trade candidates. These are not candidates for us to acquire, but rather for us to dump. Our year records since 2010 have us barely above 500 twice. Patience is worn thin. Last year was a sign of hope, this year depression. The Front Office has many responsibilities, but one is to maintain the fan base. What has Falvey and Levine done to keep or build that base? Are Twins fans excited about next year? Do they care about the rest of this year? Are they invested in Motter, Belisle...? The fans may not be able to make the trades, but they are the ones who pay for the team to succeed and right now I see a big decrease in the general fan interest. The other teams are getting more press, more interest. As a fan, this bothers me. As a part of judging the Front Office, this also bothers me.
  20. mikelink45
    Santana, like Buxton who was not even mentioned, seems to be having a hard time getting it together in his rehab.
  21. mikelink45
    When I read this list and the write-ups it reinforces why this has been a really frustrating season. Our players have no value on the open market. The market has no home town bias, no history with these players and thus they tend to be interested in worth - and that is not much. You list is not longer because others like Pressly and Kepler have been so bad they have zero value. Of course we do have a 38 year old relief pitcher.
  22. mikelink45
    Ted, I would say this was a great essay, but I am too depressed. These two young FO hires should have been working in the late hours to get to the Twins and start off quickly. We managed to get to the playoffs, but that was not because of them. I look at all their hires - something I have commented on many times. Too many consultants, too many assistants and not enough results. I have no idea who the bench coach is - actually I know his name, but I have no idea why he is there. We made Pickler our on the field stats man, hired so many new batting and pitching coaches and assistant coaches and coordinators and ??? but the players that are in the comments almost all regressed with the exception of the two Eddies. The BP has old guys that will not be around in three years and a minor league with bullpen arms that have not been tested. I am very critical of the fact that we have had only three players and no versatility on the bench and did not even adjust that for the National League games. Some of you will blame Molitor, but I look at what he has to work with and scratch my head. Miller Huggins couldn't win with these players. I do not see a plan, I have not seen a pattern unless Belisle and Motter are a pattern, and thus I have no sense that this FO is doing any more than looking at their statistics. But the most important statistic for the Twins organization is ticket sales and I suspect that Saints, United, and Lynx are grateful for the release of Twins fans to find other entertainment.
  23. mikelink45
    They are in charge, who is there, what they are doing is on Falvine - TR is gone and so is his influence. If something seems to be left over it is because the new FO wanted it left over.
  24. mikelink45
    Don't leave out Taylor Motter!
  25. mikelink45
    This is puzzling, we draft a relief pitcher, change him to a starter, then change him back to relief and now he has the Dozier syndrome - half great/half horrible. Not expecting much from him. Kohl Stewart is annually a mystery and eventually it will be a mystery why we drafted him in the first round. Felix Jorge looks like the best of the bunch - oh never mind we just cut him. Leach is a shiny new thing so he might be good, but then he is on the disabled list. Let's hope Miranda does something. Looking forward to some good players in the top 20.
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