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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    Great speculation, but my problem is defining a bust. Danny Santana last year was a bust. Dozier and Perkins had bad half years. If Duffey is expected to continue what he did last year he is a bust candidate. Suzuki is going to do what he has always done, except for his career year with us, and therefore cannot be a bust for living up or down to expectations. Eddie Rosario's OBP is a concern so it depends on how much you think is a normal year and reasonable expectations, because of his promise and excitement last year he could be the second bust. Michael Tonkin was the player I thought would step forward this year and for me, he is near not making it which would make him the biggest bust.
  2. mikelink45
    Get the triples number up. No idea about the others, but this is a player who likes to take that third base (the most exciting hit in baseball).
  3. mikelink45
    It is true that the clogging of good players at multiple positions can be a good thing. Who does not want someone really good in the minors if needed. The OLD yankees of the 1950's - 60's used to have that all the time - Berra, Blanchard, Howard at catcher! and the Twins have potentially good players at all the positions - DH, RF, 1B where the abundance is pushing good players down. What is important is the courage of the team to assess and sit the weakest of the options and this is where I worry that the Twins will not act. Kepler, Rosario, Buxton would make all our pitchers happy. Park if he delivers on his promise and Sano at DH and 1B make the most sense, but we have the Mauer issue that will not be addressed in a pure baseball manner.
  4. mikelink45
    In many ways this is what was expected, but if Gardy was still around we would have had one of the veteran outfielders on the bench. Good to see some leadership! The pitching has been the big mystery and still remains so. More stories to examine ahead!
  5. mikelink45
    I am fine with Tonkin going, but prefer he is picked up. He has had enough time in AAA and has not had a real extended look. If he can catch on elsewhere I wish him luck. Nothing else is really exciting here. We have some real potential in the minors and when they come up I will be really pleased.
  6. mikelink45
    Spring predictions are seldom worth the effort. Interesting to speculate, but who knows what either will do? Murphy does not have enough time to establish a good track record and Suzuki does, but either can suffer one of the numerous injuries that plague catchers. Look at HOF Roy Campanella: .258 .345 .416 1949 28 Dodgers 130 436 65 125 22 2 22 0 82 67 17 36 1 0 3 11 .287 .385 .498 1950 29 Dodgers 126 437 70 123 19 3 31 2 89 55 15 51 0 0 2 17 .281 .364 .551 1951 30 Dodgers 143 505 90 164 33 1 33 2 108 53 14 51 0 0 4 19 .325 .393 .590 1952 31 Dodgers 128 468 73 126 18 1 22 2 97 57 12 59 5 0 3 22 .269 .352 .453 1953 32 Dodgers 144 519 103 162 26 3 41 0 142 67 13 58 0 0 4 13 .312 .395 .611 1954 33 Dodgers 111 397 43 82 14 3 19 0 51 42 6 49 4 1 2 13 .207 .285 .401 1955 34 Dodgers 123 446 81 142 20 1 32 0 107 56 9 41 5 9 6 14 .318 .395 .583 1956 35 Dodgers 124 388 39 85 6 1 20 0 73 66 15 61 4 2 1 20 .219 .333 .394 1957 36 Dodgers 103 330 31 80 9 0 13 0 62 34 6 50 6 6 4 11 .242 .316 .388 Career G AB R H 2B 3B HR GRSL RBI BB IBB SO SH SF HBP GIDP AVG OBP SLG 10 Years 1,215 4,205 627 1,161 178 18 242 6 856 533 113 501 30 18 30 143 .276 .360 .50 Injury stopped career, but look at the BAs. What stands out is the OBP from year to year, but the other stats swing wildly with the wear and tear of the catcher position. I'm glad we have two that seem to be Major leaguers and some in the wings.
  7. mikelink45
    TR does not have a limit or a leash - he is our guy and he will remain our guy, despite our frustrations.
  8. mikelink45
    I know you have listed the numbers for each position, but it would be really great if TD would maintain a roster on its page showing who is left at each position. I am sure we will be down to 2 catchers and 12 pitchers which means there will be seven additional cuts. And if we cut the 6 non-roster players from infield and outfield that still leaves one more. Of course if we keep 13 pitchers one more must go. I need help following all these moves.
  9. mikelink45
    One key question is - where does he stack up - it had better be in front of Fien and a number of others. Jepsen, May and Perkins does not match NY or KC, but it is the best we have. The accumulation of overpaid vets for starting stands in his way and they are not going away this year. So I guess we can say May is in the pen both 20016 and 2017.
  10. mikelink45
    Spring training is about March melt and snows like we have today followed by melting and dreaming. It is a month that passes and the skis sit unused while the rubber boots replace hiking boots for the time being. This is waiting for the migration, watching the ice turn to mush on the lakes while boats wait and ice houses sit idle. Give me spring training and false hopes, talk about baseball and fill the days. After the spring equinox the days get longer than the nights, we will barbecue, mow, plant, and have a pleasant patter on the radio.
  11. mikelink45
    Thanks for this memory. Harmon was so full of potential everyone in the Park had to concentrate when he came to bat - the real reaction was before he even got in the box. If you were in the line for some of the awful food being sold then you would leave even if you finally made it to the counter.
  12. mikelink45
    No to Gibson. We should have learned from the past two years that extending pitchers who are number 3,4,5 guys just is not wise. I am always surprised to read Gibson's age and it is good to see it again because he might be at his peak right now and the worst thing about extensions is paying after the peak instead of before.
  13. mikelink45
    Nice article - forget free agents and rule five picks, the Twins have a treasure trove here and they need to hire whatever coaches are needed to turn them in to the Major League gold. A very exciting time for the team. The catcher position will straighten itself out - we have five potential catchers here and if they perform to replacement level we will still be great with the potential that is pushing at the big leagues. Lets just hope that the coaches and FO are ready to get the youth movement in full swing.
  14. mikelink45
    I really enjoy these reports, however, I have no judgments from a single game or this early in Spring Training. I hope Tonkin figures out how to get movement and makes the team. I always route for the young guys to make the transition and I realize how hard it is. The same for Park, Arcia, and others. Just keep them playing, there are weeks left to make judgments in.
  15. mikelink45
    We are so lucky to have a player with this talent. He is a difference maker and that means we need patience. If he is not Mike Trout this season, we should be content with building his experience, and allowing him to develop towards the superstar we expect. Young players can struggle, but the struggle is part of the learning curve. Go Byron - I am excited to see your development at the major league level.
  16. mikelink45
    The time to add aging players with a year or two of competitive talent is when we are close to a WS team and have an obvious weakness. Otherwise, keep the young players in the majors, let them go up and down if needed, and play to a positive future. For years KC talked about potential and struggled, but then the talent came together and they made the push forward. This is what the Twins need to do. We are not going to sign a Price or Lester so lets be smart in developing talent and moving the vets as the youth is ready to go. Letting Nolasco go will be hard on the Twins FO, but if he fails it is necessary for the fanbase, who are the real employers of these players.
  17. mikelink45
    These are not vital parts of the teams future and are under contract for what might be their most valuable years. The Twins are not adept at trading and we would just sit on them players until they move themselves. Lets save the extension money for the new wave that is arriving in the dugout.
  18. mikelink45
    Whether the players reach their potential or not is a question of coaching, aptitude, and attitude. What is really positive is that we can discuss such potential and know that there are still others behind them if they can stumble. This is very positive.
  19. mikelink45
    This is not an easy question to answer and I, like most of you, lack all the information needed. I can say that I am bothered by TR blocking young players with older acquisitions who have no upside and then signing them to contracts beyond the immediate need. This has happened numerous times and is not a good way to build the roster. But where are our sustained runs to excellence. We have had three series in 55 years which is better than some teams, but what I find frustrating are the close but no chance years when we would not make the move to get us out of round one. We have a poor record of developing pitching staffs and continue to lack that ACE despite the fact that it was Morris, Viola, and Kaat that made the World Series possible. I never want us pursuing the over age veteran who gets the long term contracts like Pujols, but I also do not want the mediocre two-four year contracts that we have had since TR came in. We can say that Nolasco might still become something, but even so it was a bad contract. What this adds up to is a system that is not broken, but it is not good. Only Seth and others who follow the minors can know if we are good in moving players along, getting them ready for the bigs, making significant progress. We can look at trades and signings and hold our noses, but the minor leagues is a different issue. The only true judgment will be in 2018 - are we on our way to being a real contender for the Series?
  20. mikelink45
    It is always a fascinating exercise to compare teams before a game is played. All of us have the bias of hope and familiarity which is why one of the notes said our 3b is better than theirs. Others see the fallacy - Fraser is the top tier. The top of the rotation is an obvious advantage to the White Sox and that means a lot. Of course, if the WS schedule Sales against the Twins we will take away that advantage (assuming of course we can own him like we did last year). Our biggest problem with projections whether Percota or Twins Daily is that we need to see our young players in after three years in the bigs when their predictions can be based on better observations and stats. In the meantime we can be last or we can be second (sorry I cannot go for number one) and that means an interesting season with a lot to talk about.
  21. mikelink45
    Lets hope it is Buxton in CF. He is the future and this is the level he has to adjust to now. Berrios is the pitcher I want in the rotation, Milone in the pen. Buxton and Berrios represent the players who can bring us to the next level. I am not interested in place holders who can keep us at the current level. I see Mauer's revelations giving Molitor more flexibility at first - the excuse to substitute playing time for others and that is a potential benefit to Arcia. My feelings about Santana is that he is the one on the spot, if he does not produce with the bat he is not the outfielder that they are now projecting and they need to move to replace him quickly if last year it more the norm than his rookie year. I think the future is taking shape.
  22. mikelink45
    Berrios is the only one I believe in. He has demonstrated his skills, met every challenge and equally important he has the attitude to succeed. He is small framed and could flame on early which leads to my Twins frustration - use him now, it is not about years of team control, but having him perform when he is healthy and strong. The other two are not on my radar at all. Kohl Stewart needs a strong year this year before I become a believer. At this point his ceiling is - Tommy Milone and his floor is in the minors. Talent has to meet performance. I am cannot measure potential. Jay has gotten a lot of press this winter in the blogs but he has not done anything in professional leagues that I can base hope on. Having Tyler Duffey break out this year he might have been a better third pitcher on this list because he needs to perform this year to prove that last fall was not a fluke. What is his ceiling? Will they figure out his curve? Will his curve destroy his elbow or shoulder?
  23. mikelink45
    The issue is why someone who makes the salary he makes, a guaranteed salary could not be forthright before this. Being honest might have led to a solution.
  24. mikelink45
    Thanks for the Stats. I did not know that. Back to the drawing board, but then if he is starting to have troubles with the other side too - I still have a real concern if Molitor does not think he can move him from the finish and in a hurry.
  25. mikelink45
    Bullpens are erratic at best and looking at Perkins three years of stats shows a diminishing level. In the BP a small difference is magnified. It is important to be ready to rotate the players out of their roles and get constant fresh or refreshed arms in. I would be happy to see the Twins get really aggressive and eat Nolasco's contract if he does not perform, move on from Fien, and start to rotate the young arms in and out until they reach their comfort level. I doubt anyone sees a Series ring this year and that is what we should be building towards. Start working the players who can eventually take us to the top in to the pen and elsewhere. I am pleased they did not sign any relief pitchers and I hope that the team will be ready to move the top three relievers around and vary their roles. I believe that MLB teams are starting to shift in their use of relief pitchers - thanks to KC and the Yankees are looking like they are ready to jump in with a use the best against the best hitters opportunity. The Save has to go and our bullpen is a good example. We do not need the traditional LOOGY - we have Perkins. Use him when that lefty comes up and for the others that bat that inning, whether 7,8, or 9. Match the pitcher and the batter not the pitcher and the inning. We the numbers we have in this article we can do well and forget about those who only can get a lefty out.
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