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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    I am more interested in getting rid of all of Molitors coaches - especially pitching. Changing them would be my priority.
  2. mikelink45
    When looking at starting rotations I believe we now have to look at least 7 deep. If I look around the league I find it hard to see rotations that hold up all year and this, for most teams, is not performance based, but injury. We cannot find a solid five, let alone 7 and I do not want to think beyond that number. Bullpen - don't we keep reading about the great minor league relievers? Get rid of the rest and let them sort it out this next year. We are not going anywhere in 2017 - it will still be a sorting year. And what about Walker - I think it is a crime he did not get at least bench time - and Palka. What is the true threesome that is in the OF. If Molitor is here we know one will be Rosario.
  3. mikelink45
    The crux of this exercise is getting the new front office in place as quickly as possible. Who will make these decisions? If done wrong we are another year from clearing the congestion and moving forward. Come on Pohlad - get the front office in place.
  4. mikelink45
    Watching the parade of pitchers stumble through the Twins seasons I find myself questioning pitching coaches. If pitching coaches can make a difference then why has this team not fired the entire MILB and MLB staff? It would appear that other teams can prepare their young pitchers to move into the majors and have at least a modicum of success. I read this about Meyer and look at the ridiculous way he has been handled and think of Berrios, May, Duffey and others then I read about the young Yankee pitchers coming up and doing we, the Pirates new rookie and success stories all over the league with an influx of exciting new players. The team that has had the number one ranked minor leagues for the past couple years should be seeing the results in more than the batting lineup. They needed to change much earlier and we have to hope that a new system can save some of them because we cannot make up a staff of just free agents.
  5. mikelink45
    Nicely done - it is similar to the way everyone loves the back up quarterback when things go bad, but seldom does the number two shine when put in the spotlight. I am like the rest of Twins fans, excited to have new leadership - it at least gives us some hope and TR lost all credibility with most of us. The question is - does a new leader improve us? Is the coaching staff changing too? Is ownership and other upper management ready to change with a new leader? Nothing is for sure, but at this point any change is better than the rut we are in.
  6. mikelink45
    I think the Twins need to see what they can get from Walker and Vargas. I do not see them fitting the Twins plans or roster and Walker can't even get a seat on the September bench.
  7. mikelink45
    Why not have Gonsalves throw those innings with the major league club? Or are we afraid the MLB coaches will damage his future?
  8. mikelink45
    I am confused over who is and who isn't a good prospect. Who is and who isn't a major leaguer on this team. I see great MILB stats and horrible MLB stats. I watch players bounce up and down, I see a few fight through the confusion - congratulations Buxton, don't listen to any more advice. I do not know what the connection between MLB and MIBL coaches is. Is this what Total System Failure is? How does it stop?
  9. mikelink45
    Sometimes the coaches need to shut up and let a player play - they come in with a natural talent and then start being told about their step, their swing, their need to adjust and many other things that everyone thinks is perfect information. But the adjustment period is about comfort and letting the player use natural talent for the first period is really important. I think about how many of our young players do great in the minors and then come to the majors where the springs are sprung and the wheels fall off. What is happening in the transition. I listened to an ESPN http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=17466600 interview with Granderson who states that the Mets do a good job of integrating their minor leaguers and having a culture where call ups fit right in. Can that be said about the Twins?
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. mikelink45
    Will Bert Blyleven go down to AAA and help straighten things out? We have gotten to a point where even coaching is a joke.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. mikelink45
    Dozier has a 3B bat, Polanco is a 2B defender. Escobar is the best we have at SS for now, Mauer is 1B no matter what we all write and post. Rosario, Buxton, Kepler give us defense in the OF. I am not comfortable with the catcher defense rankings. Framing means getting a strike out of a ball, just get better pitchers who come closer to the plate with the pitches that are supposed to be on the corners. It is Suzuki's arm that is the concern. I do not see a solution at C - I suspect that we will have Garver/Centeno and Ryan there for the next year. Now if we can get some balls hit that are not launched because of the down the middle pitching we can be ready for a respectable team.
  16. mikelink45
    I agree with your supposition and I also agree with Gonsalves but look at this list of under 25 pitchers - http://www.nbcsports.com/25-pitchers-25-and-under True they were not coached by the Twins, but we can go back and find a lot of young arms that have made good. The essence of the issue is whether we can live with the trend of the last 6 years - free agents are no guarantee.
  17. 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.
  18. mikelink45
    Other teams bring up players from the low levels of MiBL - it is worth auditions at least. What is to lose? Only Santana is pitching like someone who should get all his starts.
  19. 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.
  20. 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?
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. 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.
  25. 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.
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