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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    The argument over ACE is getting tiring. He is our Ace and it is good to have him there. He has done all we could ask of an ACE, but trade him? Yes. Take a look at this 2012 article on pitcher regression: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/pitcher-aging-curves-starters-and-relievers/ Age does matter and it matters where he has a half year off for drug rest or not. Age just happens and the body breaks down. Move him at his peak and we will be better off. Only a few freaks like Nolan Ryan and Warren Spahn keep pitching well into their 40's.
  2. mikelink45
    Romero rated number 1 prospect - is this another Twin prospect wilting under the spotlight? Please no. Get him straightened out we need more starters.
  3. mikelink45
    Its time for Berrios to be back. It is obvious he is beyond the minors. Lets start working on the rotation of the future.
  4. mikelink45
    I like the speculation, but most options are not very inspiring. I think Garver is in a really tough situation. I understand that they love Giminez and Garver sits, but when Giminez goes into the field it is ridiculous. Right now Berrios is really the only interesting SP prospect until the younger guys get established through the season and relief pitching is completely confusing since we have been reading about all the great minor leagur relievers for years and all we have so far is Tonkin and Rogers from the minor league pool. I do not count Pressly as one of our minor league developments. I keep looking for 3B because I do not believe Sano is long for the position and I am not seeing the next player to fill that spot.
  5. mikelink45
    I am not one who thinks it is a challenge unless you want to flip a coin between Haley and Breslow - neither are necessary or showing the upside we need. Haley was supposed to be a long man in the pen, but if he can only do one inning we have nothing to gain. Move him, use Duffey more in that role, get Vargas up, send down Santana and bring up a true fourth outfielder. Eventually we will need a 3B defensive player who can hit and Sano will move to DH or 1B. The Twins should be lining up their options.
  6. mikelink45
    I might add that when we think of the Twins and defense we seldom think of the pitchers, but in this list of the best fielders at each position they choose our Jim Kaat as the left handed pitcher in the line up. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/7787-glove-love-major-league-baseballs-all-time-fielding-team And finally here is an article listing the best Twins fielders at each position. And surprise - Dozier is number one at second base. http://statgeekbaseball.com/fieldingcmin.html
  7. mikelink45
    Look at Earl Weaver's Baltimore Orioles to see what defense can accomplish. They were known for HRs and pitching, but the defense made the pitching staff better than expected. When we look at the cubs the talk is about bats, but defense is what makes their pitchers look goodI . The Royals in their recent great run did not have the starters you expect, nor was their lineup a killer murderers row. It was defense and speed (calling Byron Buxton). I like this article on the best defensive teams of all time - http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/67824/the-best-defensive-teams-of-all-time it includes the 1984 Twins in the discussion. I suspect the value of outfield versus infield defense is also affected by your staff - ground ball versus flyball pitchers.
  8. mikelink45
    I cannot muster as much optimism as everyone else, but I do enjoy what has been going on. Perhaps number one is the change in attitude of Twins Fans, Number two is the insistence on batting Mauer 3/4 even though his line is only better than Buxton. Number three the outfield defense is terrific and flyball pitchers like Hughes are going to benefit. Number 4 we have not seen enough of Mejia and Haley to know if what we saw is what we will get, and number 5 it is nice to been up on bad teams, but in the next two rounds of the rotation we will finally have a better view of the season.
  9. mikelink45
    I believe the Yankees had a can't miss first round pitcher a few years ago that was a sure star - Brien Taylor http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=taylor002bri that does not mean we should not draft a high profile high school kid, but as good as he is, prospects really are challenged to get to the MLB clubs, unlike the other sports. It might be the minor league challenge that keeps some of our better athletes from going the baseball route. I hope the Twins get a great prospect and that we do not have the opportunity to draft this high again for the next decade or two.
  10. mikelink45
    Is Del Rosario like the old pitcher Tom Hall (150 lbs) who had a decent career for us? http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hallto01.shtml
  11. mikelink45
    The dictionary of etymology has it beginning in 1960 in baseball but I think they missed the real beginning of sweep: sweep (n.) Look up sweep at Dictionary.com mid-13c., "stroke, force," from sweep (v.). Meaning "act of sweeping" is from 1550s. From 1670s as "range, extent of a continued motion." In reference to police or military actions, it is attested from 1837. Sense of "a winning of all the tricks in a card game" is from 1814 (see sweepstakes); extended to other sports by 1960. Meaning "rapid survey or inspection" is from 1966. As a shortened form of chimney-sweeper, first attested 1796. sweep (v.) Look up sweep at Dictionary.com early 14c., "make clean by sweeping with a broom;" mid-14c., "perform the act of sweeping," of uncertain origin, perhaps from a past tense form of Middle English swope "sweep," from Old English swapan "to sweep" (transitive & intransitive); see swoop (v.), or perhaps from a Scandinavian source. Related: Swept; sweeping. From late 14c. as "hasten, rush, move swiftly and strongly;" also "collect by sweeping." From c. 1400 in transitive sense "drive quickly, impel, move or carry forward by force;" mid-15c. as "clear (something) away." Meaning "win all the events" is 1960, American English. Sense of "pass systematically over in search of something" is from 1966. To sweep (someone) off (his or her) feet "affect with infatuation" is from 1913. I could not get any further either, but it was an interesting question.
  12. mikelink45
    Nice article, great start. But series one, 159 games to go. I really hope these trends continue. Two weeks is what I need to feel like we can really analyze. My only quick reaction is to Buxton. Too many ks. Where is the sense of fun and relaxation that he needs. I hope it comes in the next series.
  13. mikelink45
    I cannot judge the lineup or the roster at this point. A couple weeks have to pass to see any trends. Its fun to have real games now, but I cannot speculate. I need to see what Park does in MILB, how Buxton performs or does not, how Grossman holds up his OBP, if Mauer does anything. This year is truly a puzzle to me and has been since they finalized their 25.
  14. mikelink45
    TR drafted relief pitchers to turn them in to starters. Now the FO wants to take the starting pitching and turn them into relievers. Who is going to start for us in the future?
  15. mikelink45
    One game - we can not really over analyze it, but the fact is fans needed this as much as the Twins players did. The sense of doom can be put aside for a few days and we can celebrate the fact that in 2017 we will have been above .500 during the season!
  16. mikelink45
    Interesting story lines, but not sure how much of a boost this team will give the MLB club. How will they be coached and how will the opportunities be delivered to this mostly young club? We seem to have a good number of bats and no opportunity in MLB despite being a 103 loss team.
  17. mikelink45
    This is a puzzle that leaves me very confused. Considering the players and their abilities and injuries I expect Park to be there. I do not see April with its lighter schedule being the time to have so many pitchers, and all spring we heard about Mauer getting more rest. Now I am thinking that April 15 is when we will see the real Twins roster - not now. So it depends upon injuries, how Vargas does in AAA and if Park still is slugging in the minors. Trying to explore the injury rates in MLB April is the month of the most injuries https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21709023 so highest likelihood of call ups until roster expands in September. For a look at the costs of injuries I found this to be a very interesting report - http://www.mdedge.com/amjorthopedics/article/106556/sports-medicine/injury-trends-major-league-baseball-over-18-seasons If Mauer or Grossman or one of the outfielders gets injured Park and Vargas will be up quickly, if not I fear Vargas will linger in the minors and eventually move on.
  18. mikelink45
    I think his learning curve is steep and he will have a lot of struggles this year, but still hit 240 with 25 home runs and the second half will outshine the first if they are patient with him.
  19. mikelink45
    I am going for 300. He legs out hits, cuts down on strike outs, and pounds 20 home runs and steals 40 bases. I like him to break out big.
  20. mikelink45
    Without the contract how would we be looking at Hughes? I saw some expensive players jettisoned by other teams this spring, but I know the Twins cannot do that. I hope Hughes turns it around, but right now it does not feel like it.
  21. mikelink45
    I think he continues with the same average and production that he has had in the past. He is not going to have a big peak or a low point. If the phrase - he is what he is - applies to anyone, it is Rosario. No big peaks and valleys. If you like what he has give good, if not, he is not goint to be anything else.
  22. mikelink45
    Well they did give us a fun conversation list and it is still two days until April 1!!! Danny Santana and Molitor obviously have a good relationship and it clouds the overall decisions. I really thought Park had earned his place. If we are waiting for something I do not know what it is. He is not a young player and this should be his peak age. I would have preferred to keep him and then if he fails send him out, but we invested, believed and waited. We should give him his trial in the spring MLB. All we stood to lose was Santana. The question I have with Grossman is whether last year was a career year or has he really turned the corner? His .280 batting average was far over his career figures and continued exposure could have him reverting to norm. We really have a 12 pitcher staff if I am reading this right. It appears that we are burying Haley and will let him pitch some non-stress innings so we can keep him. Not sure why. When I look at the MiLB rosters we have plenty of pitchers with the same or better potential. I guess I am going to assume that we will play Mauer for a week or two and then call up someone who is more agile at first than Robbie Grossman. I do fear that Hughes is going to be a big let down and maybe we will have Duffey moving into that rotation spot as we find various injuries to justify setting the vet.
  23. mikelink45
    I would say his consistency from beginning to MLB is amazing so why stray from what he has been doing. I say that he hits the same as last year, but with more at bats he gets a few more home runs. Hopefully the one thing that changes is his fielding and I think it will improve but remain below replacement.
  24. mikelink45
    Nothing this spring gives the FO a worst grade than the bullpen. Haley, Belisle, Breslow! Is this analytics? As Haley and Beslow struggled it was still apparent they would stay which is similar to the old TR regime. If we sign them they stay on the roster because otherwise we would not look good. Tell me that we have not spent the last three years talking about all the relievers in the system to just be at this place in roster construction. I understand that good teams roll with vets, we are not a good team and the vets are not good vets. If we put our bullpen up for auction amongst the rest of mlb would we get back the value of their low contracts? I am trying to figure out the music that will accompany them when they stroll to the mound. I think the Beatles "Help!" might be needed or the Isley Brothers - "Here we go again", or Kris Kristofersons' "Why me Lord?"
  25. mikelink45
    I love his potential, I hate his K rate. At his current rate we can say that he gives up a high percentage of his at bats. Does this really increase his home runs or does it just reduce batting average and create more pressure for the other batters because they have to play with less outs for moving batters, sacrifice flies and other options. When I look at Cabrera and Ortiz I see K rates half of Sano. Someone has to reach him. The habit of striking out is hard to break as he goes along, but the potential he has to make things happen when he either makes contact or walk is significant. I am hoping ST is just empty stats, but I am concerned. So I give him a 240 BA, 30 HRs when he should have 40. I hope to be proven wrong, but Sano will decide. As for defense, I have nothing to judge it by. He has been here two years and we did not see enough at 3B to know.
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