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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    I will hold back my enthusiasm. This is the team that chose contraction, that hired Bill Smith and then brought back the man who recommended him. I am glad that something should happen, but the TWINS have had a lot of prospects on and off the field.
  2. mikelink45
    The most important and perhaps the only value in a coaching staff is bringing along the talent and maximizing potential. When that falls flat over and over the coaching staff is at fault. Of course players contribute to their own problems, but we have seen too much to be repeated.
  3. mikelink45
    We sent down two starters and called up one reliever and one starter. What does this mean? Hopefully this is not a situation where we are going to ask Wimmer to go back to starting without stretching out all summer.
  4. mikelink45
    I am still looking for some sense that this team has an idea what it is doing. If the TWINS WAY is to not learn from other teams then this is consistent and the TWINS WAY still rules.
  5. mikelink45
    Good essay - I am all for throwing the young pitchers into the rotation and pen and riding with them. Only Santana looks like a real pitcher among the vets we have and he can be there as a steady influence for four rookies or near rookies (at this point if May goes back to starting he is a rookie again). And yes to your young bullpen. I am not excited about another possible ride to .500 - I would like to see us higher ceiling and its time to make significant strides towards that. Our young batters could really blossom in the next two years, but if we are looking at Gibson as a number 2 we are just overvaluing our own players - again.
  6. mikelink45
    Whoever we get, we need to surround them with the right preparation and coaches. There are three people (or more) working with Berrios, Duffey got worse after his rookie year, May has been mishandled, we break the confidence of some young players, and our staff is a mess. Listening to Mackey on 1500, he listed the bottom half of the teams in all mlb in 2012. Only the Twins are on the same losing track, most have been to playoffs, some to world series and only the Rockies continue to be mediocre. Teams can turn it around with the right people leading the way.
  7. mikelink45
    Still trying to figure out why Vargas was sent down. Since his call up he has hit better than Sano, he has done all he could and deserved a nice long look. Are we messing with the confidence of another young slugger?
  8. mikelink45
    Twins HOF - or course. MLB, no - another very good catcher who because of injuries lost his chances. That happens, the HOF is an accumulating ranking - hitting certain numbers is a matter of longevity and talent, but not necessarily the best talent during the career span. Had Joe retired when the concussion happened he would be in, like Kirby, but now he can join Torii in the Target field hall. What Joe lacks compared to some of these greats is the passion. Kirby and Torii played the game with such enthusiasm that the bat was an addition and not the only reason they were beloved. Joe is so Minnesotan that we never see his emotions. We do not have the give me the bat and I will win this for the team feeling that was in the stadium when I watched the Puckett/Morris world series. Joe goes into that hall of very good, but not really great! Check out this list of some of the best catchers not in the hall - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/162558-the-top-10-eligible-catchers-not-in-the-hall-of-fame - there is even a Minnesotan on it. But the top 8 rank ahead of Joe - Here is number 8 - Walker Cooper – 18 years Walker’s major league career began in 1940 and ended in 1957. Cooper batted over .300 eight times. He was named to eight consecutive all-star teams, and played in three World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals. His career statistics re: BA=.285, HR=173, RBI=812, OBP=.332, SLUG%=.464, OPS=116,FLD%=.977,CS%=.35.
  9. mikelink45
    With TR gone the real question is - did the team learn from these errors? Are we really going to go in a new and improved direction? Will we change the coaching and managers - reevaluate how we operate and quit wasting young talent through capricious decisions? I feel like Arcia will never be the player he could have been and that is divided equally between Twins and the player. It is still my desire to see some latin American coaches at various levels and give our prospects a supportive journey to the bigs.
  10. mikelink45
    Rogers Hornsby did it, so did Lou Boudreau and Yogi Berra twice go to the world series. It has not happened recently, but it is really because so few Hall of Famers choose to manage. There are few managers who really do it well - Maddon and ???? I have seen every manager since the Twins arrived and I do not know any that would have done better.
  11. mikelink45
    I hope that is true, but it is too quick to react. He might be slow to adjust, but until he goes another year or two I will be holding out hopes and expectations.
  12. mikelink45
    Not disappointment - I am disappointed, but the comments are beyond disappointment. I am not ready to relegate him to a position of failure and I will be beyond disappointed if three years from now he is not a star.
  13. mikelink45
    To say I am tired of the Buxton hating would be an understatement. Look at this HOF players who had a tough time getting their careers going. http://www.azsnakepit.com/2012/4/11/2938842/worst-starts-to-hall-of-fame-careers-cooperstown Give talent time!
  14. mikelink45
    A plan? A team that rises like the cubs has a plan, the Astros had a plan - the Twins make it up from week to week. Put your players in their best position. If that leaves a weak position, address it, but not by reducing the quality in another area.
  15. mikelink45
    The rest of the year should be about auditions and that should carry over into Spring Training. To play for anything except 2017 is a waste of time. We are going no where that counts and we should start figuring out the next season when we might climb back up to respectability. Kepler has shown that the only true way to judge a player is to put him on the field - what if we did that with Palka and Walker the rest of the year?
  16. mikelink45
    Lets move on with our minor league catchers and Centeno. The quality that we can sign in free agency is not much better. Let Turner give it a try - there. Out of 26 American League catchers with 100+ at bats - 19 are batting below 250 Out of 54 Major league catchers with 100+ at bats - 33 are batting below 250 and 7 below 200. Our two catchers are in the top 12 of all major league catchers in Pct. with 100+ ABs Catchers do not warrant long term contracts (see Mauer) and they are not going to be the major upgrade that spending on good pitching could be. We can go Suzuki/Centano again or Garver/Centeno and be fine. In JAWS - Suzuki is 12 and Centeno is 33 in WAR Lets move on and address the pitcher position and straightening out the roster.
  17. mikelink45
    That would be my choice - if we can move on to some quality pitchers. If not we move another good bat or two.
  18. mikelink45
    I think that Park is that player in the minors who is insurance. Since TR is gone no one has to explain or apologize so good decisions can be made instead. Sano/Vargas/Mauer at first, Polanco or Plouffe at third, Polanco and Escobar at SS, Santana/Dozier at second. Looks good to me. Outfield of Rosario/Buxton/Kepler - I refuse to give up on 22 year old Buxton - with one of Grossman or Palka in reserve and Santana back up in CF. Walker is interesting, but we cannot have two strikeout machines (unless they are pitching) and he and Sano would combine for ridiculous number of whiffs. I think Suzuki might stick for another year and I am fine with him and Centeno or if needed Stuart - there was some guy that used to be with the Yankees that was up for a while, but I think his bubble has burst and he will need another minor league year to show he belongs in the majors. But no matter who among these players you choose, they are far better than anything that we have had in years and it is very exciting. Now for the pitchers...
  19. mikelink45
    I would love to have Torii Hunter hired to work with him. I would like to see the staff start to reflect the make up of the team. Coaching is more than changing pitchers, it is helping players get better. The pitching coach has no stars on his grade sheet and Brunansky says the right things, but it does not seem like the players are listening and doing what he wants. Keith Law wrote Buxton should be with another organization - that is a real condemnation. I went back to read the March ESPN article about Buxton - read the quote by Brunansky - http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/15053055/why-byron-buxton-next-big-thing-minnesota-twins-baseball Something is not clicking, but I am not qualified to say what. However, there should be someone who is and, if so, that person should be on the staff instead of a Bench Coach.
  20. mikelink45
    Coaching? Who is there to help him. His MiLB stats, his continual ranking as the number one prospect were not just because of optimistic Twins fans. The scouts, the people who should know and do the rankings are not usually this wrong. So beyond Buxton, what the hell is happening?
  21. mikelink45
    Nice to have a hot spell, but at this point we do not know which spell - hot or cold - is the real team. Too early to put this team with Hall, Allison, Killebrew, and Oliva. But it sure is nice while it is happening.
  22. mikelink45
    Let's hope for better than he seems. I am not impressed nor am I confident our pitching coach can get the most out of any of our arms. We the staff results we have shouldn't there be some discussion about getting a new person to work with the pitchers?
  23. mikelink45
    I am too baffled to comment. Why would anyone want Nolasco and Meyer? What am I missing? And they give us players who are not injured and actually perform in exchange. Is Rob Antony related to anyone here?
  24. mikelink45
    What about Hughes - not that it affects the decision to bring up Berrios - I did not think he should have been sent down, but that is over. However when I see rotation projections for the future I do not see Hughes who will be back and starting a three year contract or Nolasco or Milone in the lists. I know this is wishful thinking, but what will we do with those three? And is May a starter anymore? Have we failed to develop his arm so that he can go 6-7 innings? Is he the perennial second string quarterback that everyone thinks should start until it happens and we figure out what the coaches already knew? What a puzzle!
  25. mikelink45
    I enjoy your speculation and can offer no real suggestions since I do not know the minor leaguers well enough, but it is time to shake things up and these are good places to start. I am sure others will find different names, but I am not sure that the names matter as much as the effort. I look at Escobar - is he our SS or is it Polanco. I do not want to see Polanco rotting on the bench again. What about Park? Can we flip him? We have enough other DH/1B players including one who is only clogging the pool because of contract obligations.
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