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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. 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!
  2. 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.
  3. mikelink45
    Great start - now for more trades. Even if we lose a few more games we cannot me more of a last place team. It is only the future that counts now. For some of the players needing to be moved the objective is to clear space. Nunez is a real asset and I wish him luck as he goes forward.
  4. mikelink45
    I am skeptical that they will trade anyone of value - the Twins just don't do that. What ultimately might be the key to the future is jettisoning bad contracts. Berrios needs to be here, who else? I don't know. But right now we have Hughes, Santana, and Nolasco ready for another year or more. These are albatrosses that hang from Ryan's neck no matter how nice a guy he is supposed to be. With them and Mauer what are our chances of moving on? We have some great young players who can grow in the majors, but pitching does not show any potential. Gibson is inconsistent and getting older than most people think. Duffey had a great year last year, but would not be in the rotation for any good team. He has been very bad more than very good. So what do we have for the future? Berrios and Santana. Beyond that I am not excited. DFA is our option for clearing the deck unless Antony demonstrates that he is genius.
  5. mikelink45
    Trade him. Learn from the Jepsen experience. Bullpen pitchers are notoriously unreliable from year to year. Closing tor a losing team is not the same as it is for a winning organization and we need to experiment with our minor league flame throwers and see what else might be there for the future. In this lost year it does not make sense to just pad Kinzler's stats.
  6. mikelink45
    Based on what I expect TR to get for Suzuki I think we have no choice but to keep him. It might not be popular, but the catching cupboard is too bare. We can see what TR gets in trades when we look at the next catcher on the list who is stumbling in AAA. Trading santana and Dozier who have young replacements ready makes sense, Suzuki does not.
  7. mikelink45
    In context I see the Jepsen trade as a push for the playoffs and something to enhance the TR reputation, but in the same year with the same playoff potential we shut down Berrios and didn't try to upgrade the pitching in the closing weeks of the season. It is about having a vision and a plan. Those who look at timelines in the post above are right. That is how good teams move players around, but I keep looking for a Twins plan and it eludes me.
  8. mikelink45
    I really appreciate your reviews. It is hard to comment when all my knowledge comes from your postings, but I wonder if Alex Meyer is ready to drop off your list along with Reed. It seems as if your on the rise list needs to make it in the top 20 and if so, who besides the two I listed would drop off?
  9. mikelink45
    Nice finish to the end of the first half, but we need perspective so we do not go over the emotional cliff again. The article says this was against the first place Rangers which is accurate, but who were their starting pitchers? Will the three we saw be in the rotation in a month (or week)? They are getting their real starters back and when they do the situation could be changing drastically or they will not stay in first place. We have had a nice run of poor opposition and that will change. I love the idea that this will spur the team to the same heights for the second half, but they have disappointed so much this year that I want to be cautious before that old bandwagon rumbles down the road. My old fear from this spurt is that TR will sit back now and say everything is great just like he expected it to be.
  10. mikelink45
    Just read this on ESPN tonight - "Red Sox acting swiftly to address needs, but starting pitching will be harder to find The additions of the past few days have helped the Red Sox, but with a steep asking price on starting pitching, hope might rest on internal options." I believe that Santana and Nolasco both have value right now and it is TRs job to capitalize on the market.
  11. mikelink45
    After reading this posting and writing my response I went to ESPN to check out events and found Boston had just traded for a 36 year old reliever who has an ERA a run higher than last year and then I read about the Mets and Snydergard going down and Harvey taking surgery and then about the Orioles having to replace an awful Jiminez. Of course the Dodgers have almost no rotation and this story can be played out in other places as well. The conclusion is - TR start moving or get a lieutenant who can talk trades and step in before more prospects are wasted through the desperation that these competing teams feel - right now.
  12. mikelink45
    My issue in this report is the idea that teams should be coming to TR with all their ideas. Don't we have some ideas of our own? Can't we suggest some good matches for the other teams to consider?
  13. mikelink45
    I believe that this is a reflection of a long standing issue where Twins for years have had players on the roster but not playing so they can battle a minor issue only to have the issue flair up and inevitable time on DL started late, sometimes costing us spots on the bench that could have aided the team. This has been going on for a long time and I keep thinking that the Twins record of hiring from within and staying with their buddies has not given us the fresh set of eyes to put better procedures in place on all levels. I do hope Park can be allowed to heal, that his mental aspect is not impacted. To which I would add another request to a FO restructure - get some people of color, some people from Latin America and Asia in to the offices and the coaching staff.
  14. mikelink45
    Exercises like this are fun and give us something to read and write about. No projection is truly dependable, but that is not the purpose. If we were leading the division the stories would be different, but if TD is going to keep us entertained we need the writers to play with the facts that they have at hand.
  15. mikelink45
    Nice summary. Let's hope Stewart or Jay can speed up their arrival and fill in the rotation with Duffey, Berrios, and Gibson. For the bullpen, clear the decks and fill it with minor leaguers. Are we afraid we might lose an extra game?
  16. mikelink45
    There has been a flurry of July 4 action, but nothing of great interest. It did catch Twin fans attention and this would be the time for an aggressive team to capitalize on that and move on. A marketing of the Team for the future is better than watch our team try to avoid 100 losses. The problem I see is that the FO and many Twins fans over rate our players. For example Plouffe, we have grown up with him and he has been a nice story, but nothing special in the eyes of the rest of the majors. Think about the 3B transactions from last year and Plouffe is not going to be worth what we think. Since pitching is the name of the game and teams like the Yankees and Dodgers are desperate right now we can move the huge Santana and Nolasco contracts if we work it out right and those teams would not blink at what we consider outrageous sums.
  17. mikelink45
    Not for long. That after the all star break there will be more pitcher news I would bet.
  18. mikelink45
    Which pitcher comes up now? We know that they will not be content to drop a pitcher and bring up a batter. I vote for Berrios and send out Milone and for Jepsen bring back Chagois and give him a real chance. For now - I consider this the first fireworks for the celebration.
  19. mikelink45
    73 home runs in a year unless a new super injection is created that can avoid detection. McClain's 30 wins. I think he is the last. Warren Spahn's left hander win total - 363! Very underrated.
  20. mikelink45
    I find myself enjoying former Twins more than current Twins. I wish Arcia great luck and a long career. I look at his slash line and at Park's slash line. How did Park get the patience of management, but not Oswaldo?
  21. mikelink45
    How many years and how long to diagnose his problems? Even the medical staff is part of the system failure. In a year where there are very few save situations its time to give a few rookies a chance. Burdi - Chagois and others really cannot induce a worse record that our rotation has.
  22. mikelink45
    The problem with moves like this is not the individual player or the individual move, it is the collective confusion that every move seems to reflect. 12 pitchers - yes we have a bad pitching staff - is 12 terrible pitchers better than 11 terrible pitchers? I am so disappointed in the development of players, the swing and miss on so much potential from so many players is beyond frustrating. What does a Twins fan look to for the rest of the season. It already seems so long and we have not even reached the all-star game. And please, change the rules. No Twin All stars this year.
  23. mikelink45
    How do we as fans comprehend how the Twins have dealt with a group of very talented young players.? You can and Berrios and Chargois to this list as well. There is no plan, no safety net for them, and no sense that we are going to get past the growing pains. I would rather have them sent elsewhere, like Ortiz, so we can enjoy their talents.
  24. mikelink45
    The issue is the Twins player development. Do we have the right coaches to lift the players to the MLB level? Buxton and Kepler are close, but should be better. Other teams bring up 21 - 22 year olds (even a few teens) and they transition. Why do our players from the top MiLB system fail to make the jump with style? Rosario and Santana do great and then fall flat their second year (is this just sophmore slump or coaching?) Kepler and Buxton continue to struggle showing a flash at bat, but no consistency. I hope Duffey does well today, but his last six games are not promising, Berrios and Chaguois have been handled poorly and had their confidence shaken, we keep picking up dregs instead of moving minor league relievers up. Why does it take players to reach near their peak ages in the Twins system before they shine?
  25. mikelink45
    I would have Kepler at #1. Berrios took a step backwards and I wonder what has been the reasons for this mixed season. I really expected him to be there now - we have nothing in our rotation that should block him. I would have Polanco #2 and Berrios #3. I just cannot figure out how the twins have handled Polanco, but then their handling of young players, overall, confuses me.
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