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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    I have been wondering about that. Since I am a victim of Keith Law, John Bonnes, and Seth Stohs and what they tell me I only know I hear about Romero and Gonsalves and wonder if they are not ready to step up as starters. I do not know - certain Slegers and the others they called this year did not impress. I also do not know if our minor leaguer relief is as good as we hope too after watching Tonkin and Pressly the last two years. Great arms, no consistency.
  2. mikelink45
    Based on baseball today - the bullpen should have priority over the starting pitching. KC started this trend and the Yankees have adopted it.
  3. mikelink45
    No matter what they do, we and everyone else will route for their home team and baseball will continue to be the most popular regional sport while football is national. In football no one knows all the linemen - just the stars - in Baseball you have to know the entire starting lneup. In football just remember a few great QBs and they will start every game, in baseball we have five in the rotation and they only pitch half the game. It is a fascinating spectacle and the only reason to expand is to capture more regional markets.
  4. mikelink45
    This is a fascinating year. I agree with all three of the selections so far and have a hard time thinking that there was any controversy in any of them. Lots of good stories, but the choices seem obvious. MVP looks like the controversy only because no one can really define what an MVP is.
  5. mikelink45
    Too high - Santana A, yes, Berrios a B - remove the + he needs to hold it together longer and I think he will next year. Gibson had an F the first half and a C+ the second. That makes a C- for the year. Mejia was a C-, he never really shined. Colon gets a PR A, but I am hoping he is gone he was all over the map and after a fun short ride, until the last game when no one cared he was a D.
  6. mikelink45
    It is fascinating to see all the coaches that Molitor hired get fired and Molitor gets rehired. I am fine with him as manager as long as they choose the coaches for him.
  7. mikelink45
    Yes - hire him again. I am not anxious for a new genius when the team has come together under his leadership. I like some continuity for a young team.
  8. mikelink45
    The season turned when Buxton stepped up. For that reason he is the most valuable.
  9. mikelink45
    Fun game - but I did not realize how far the Tigers have fallen. Ausmus must be happy to be out after this year. Their future does not look very promising.
  10. mikelink45
    I would give him the Twins MVP. When Sano went down we all thought this was something that could doom the team, but Eduardo stepped in and stepped up. In tight situations I feel confidence when he comes to the plate. I feel confident when the ball is hit towards him. What more can someone do. Yes Rosario, Polanco, Buxton and now Kepler have had some great hot streaks, but Escobar has been a steady force before, through and after those hot streaks.
  11. mikelink45
    The Tigers just seem too easy to be true. Lousy teams are relaxed and having fun - this is dangerous if our team is pressing. Being a MN fan is always a nervous condition.
  12. mikelink45
    Is there some surprise - Colon has been bad in 21 of 28 starts this year. Those who want to resign him are on a different planet than I live on. The Yankees are patient and they know there will be a big fat one in the selection Colon should not be starting for a contender (I think we are). http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/gamelog/_/id/3602/bartolo-colon I wish I was as confident of beating the Tigers and of Mejia doing well as the rest of the fans, but I am not.
  13. mikelink45
    How does one explain such dominance. It is not based on player comparisons, home field, or the alignment of the stars. This is a case for Freud or Jung - a psychological case that must be diagnosed before the Wild Card Game. I am too old and too jaded to think we can beat the Yankees of legend (I assume that is who we are playing) and even those most of these players are too young to remember a time when playing the Yankees was no big deal, they are not too young to be star struck by the NY mistique. Not even Big Sexy who should be old enough to know better can make the Yankees swing at his off the plate junk or miss his middle of the plate balloons.
  14. mikelink45
    This is a frustrating list. Hildenberger has been too extended. I know we have to, but there is always a downside for young pitchers getting too much use, whether an implosion in the season or a carry over to the next. Rogers is a case in point. Pressley is my biggest frustration. Like Alex Meyer and Tonkin, he has the speed, but cannot sustain success and I have no confidence in him. I like Busenitz and I wonder if Curtiss can overcome his initial poor performance and turn things around yet this year. Then there is the question for September open rosters - why Turley and not another reliever? Sorry to say it is not just the young guys, I still do not like Belisle as a closer.
  15. mikelink45
    On a night when the bunt could have been a real weapon why did we not have Buxton bunting? Just wondering. With the team speed we could have executed at least a bunt an inning. Good initial strategy that was soon ignored despite its success. Pressley is such a puzzle. It reminds me of the starting pitcher (Alex Meyer) we traded for because he had so much stuff and then we traded him to the Angels. What is the missing ingredient? Of all the teams we play, the patience that is part of the Yankee mystique would seem to be devastating to Colon. I hope I am wrong.
  16. mikelink45
    I continue to wonder how minor league pitcher of the year - Gonsalves - did not get called up to a rotation that could have used a boost in its pursuit of the WC. This is an interesting list of players. As I looked at the ETAs I wondered about the otherside of the ETA - who goes? I can see Booker pushing our Vargas and the pitchers should not be a problem with Colon and Santiago leaving, but 3B and OF for 2018 are interesting. I can see Granite with Rosario, Kepler, and Buxton so where does Wade fit in? If we have Vargas gone for Rooker there is no hole to fill. I think Mauer solidified his position - at least for next year and maybe beyond. Our tiny bench does not leave much space - if we have Ehire, Escobar, Granite, Garver on the bench there is not much room for anything else. Love the projections and it just makes me speculate.
  17. mikelink45
    For August he hit 213 and for September 189.
  18. mikelink45
    Our best pitcher versus their worst starter and we loss. Those bats better be ready to step up the next two games - the Angels are drooling. After all these years I feel like there is some kind of curse that the Yankees have put on the Twins. I normally do not engage in bunt discussion, but the way that Betances was throwing it did not seem like good strategy and as it turned out the bunt - which Granite did a good job on - did nothing for us and just gave them a worthless out. The pitcher throwing and the pitcher in the pen need to be considered with bunts unless it is a bunt for a hit.
  19. mikelink45
    Nice review - I am still not sold on the "pitch framer" - the role of a catcher I am interested in is how they call the game to use the pitchers real assets - his mix of pitching. And I have no way to judge that. I hope Mejia can prove his one game start was a fluke, but Big Sexy does not have my faith. I still wish we could have slotted Gonsalves into the rotation a month or more ago. I think that Ecobar has been the real hero - filling in for Sano at both the bag and the bat - he has more than held his own. I feel like his WAR is too low, but it does not matter because he has give us so much. Berrios has pitched in some bad luck recently and really gave us a chance to win his last few starts. We need him if we have any chance to keep the season going. Kepler has disappointed. His year is okay - but I think he is still going to have the breakout that Polanco and Buxton and Rosario have had. That will really be fun. Duffey's second half also rates as a big disappointment. I expected more and hoped he would come back from his slump like Rogers did. There are a lot of questions for next year and I imagine the FO has to be thinking about them now even as we go to the playoffs - at this point they have nothing more to contribute to the team on the field for the end of the year, but next year? I would not keep Belisle or Colon or Boshers, but otherwise this team looks solid and that is just enough room to do a little roster maneuvering.
  20. mikelink45
    It is very hard for a Twins fan to not start feeling nervous after these two games. I am wondering why we have not had Gonsalves pitch a game. I know we did not call him up and that makes me even more confused. Is there any sign of Sano returning?
  21. mikelink45
    I do not care who we play - the question is - can we rise to the occasion? Do we have pitchers who can step up? Is Colon just an asterisk in Twins History or can he find a way to do more than a miserable quality start? Will Sano ever come back? Can we just step forward with a win streak and look like a championship team?
  22. mikelink45
    I am not a Colon fan. It might be good promotions and he might be a great guy, but his stuff is mediocre and we are justifying poor performances because he is likable.give me a snarly jerk who can pitch 7 really quality innings. Pressley is a tease - great stuff, poor results. A few innings of good stuff, but don't let him come in with a runner on base.
  23. mikelink45
    Yes I can. When someone is doing well there is no reason for pulling the rug out.
  24. mikelink45
    Hildenberger has been great, but when I look at the usage I am concerned. Don't burn him out. Curtiss, Turley, Gee, Busenitz, and Tonkin have to be considered for use soon, what is the use of such a big bullpen otherwise. Duffey has now given up runs in five straight relief appearances. http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/gamelog/_/id/33668/tyler-duffey
  25. mikelink45
    No one is ready to push Excobar off the team, no one else has his combination of skills and he has been terrific regardless of how we choose to use him. I know he is not a starter long term, but what would we have done without him stepping in at 3B this year and even hitting in key 3/4 positions in the lineup. Being steady, reliable and a veteran presence is worth a lot.
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