Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

mikelink45

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    10,533

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    27

 Content Type 

Profiles

Minnesota Twins News, Rumors & Analysis

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospect Rankings

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Minnesota Twins Trade & Free Agent Rumors

Minnesota Twins Fan Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    Move him up quick. Don't waste him in the minors. Get the best in the lineup at Target field.
  2. mikelink45
    It is difficult, for me, to see people so far from major league ready get ranked so high. Yes, he has potential, but I prefer to see the top spots go to the players who have a chance to play this year and next. Players like Kohl are certainly high on the overall list, but not top 5. With so many years left before the top level there are too many things that can go wrong. Maybe we need a prospect ranking and a wish list.
  3. mikelink45
    The Cardinals get their arms to the majors and they work them with the major league staff as support. Young arms like Wacha can be damaged and some do not come back, but they got amazing production for Wacha in the past and if he does not come back they will still have succeeded as a team. We need to learn that lesson. If Meyer goes down, let it be in Major League production. Let the other pitchers and the pitching coach work with him here and as a starter.
  4. mikelink45
    I am pessimistic if this season is supposed to be a winning year - look at the other clubs in our division and what they did and have, but optimistic about next year and the future - if we do not get enamored with the players who can make this a 500 club. Get the youth on board - it is easier to be a fan of a young team working its way up in the standings that a bunch of fringe okay players collecting their paychecks.
  5. mikelink45
    This is one choice I could not see anyone complaining about. His weakness was his stinginess which was not only legendary, but wrong. His teams and players were hurt by this miserliness. I am curious if you could sit back and look at your 25 and consider the wholeness, then realign them again - would you change anything? And then there is the question of who are the top ten GMs in baseball today? I would certainly start with Beane, then Sabean, Since Dombroski is on your list he would be third - who fills out the list? Does Terry Ryan get on the list? I am not a Cashman fan and the last few years have shown his weakness when he does not have all the Steinbrenner overpaying, but does he have credits that will get him on the list? Andrew Friedman, Jed Hoyer (Theo Epstein is no longer GM so he is not eligible.) Thanks for generating the storyline.
  6. mikelink45
    I no longer look at baseball's Monopoly money - it means nothing to me. Most of the free agent contracts are stupid. Who says they have to be that large - the agents. And who is stupid enough to let Boros and others set the bar - the supposedly successful billionaire owners. So set the 10 spot aside and look at him as a short term consultant who will fill a spot where we do not have anyone else right now. In one year and on the coaching staff next year and in the meantime - get some of our ball players without type A personalities to light it up and reach their potential.
  7. mikelink45
    This is one of those step backward moves. Do we want to have okay, maybe even a little mediocre when we could develop Meyer or May? Is a left hander that important if that left hander cannot shut teams down. Remember our outfield defense - near league worst and tell me we need another pitch to contact guy. Have 35% chance is 30% higher than I would like. Having a neck issue myself, I cannot use that for the excuse it might be for others. A trending loss of velocity when his velocity cannot get him on the baseball freeway now is not encouraging. I see him as a nice AAA filler.
  8. mikelink45
    Great story line. Nice pick for the number 2 - expecting Branch Rickey in #1. This has been a very nice series of essays to read. Congratulations on excellent work.
  9. mikelink45
    I am surprised at how few people value the "good teammate", Mentor aspect - look at business and see how mentoring has become extremely valuable and how productive it can be to create a relaxed and open atmosphere in any company. Focus, relaxation, support - I think Hicks needs it and I think Mauer might be in line for some too.
  10. mikelink45
    Barrow is a really top choice. Lots of the men on the list can be shuffled in a variety of ways - the measurements are really difficult, but Barrow is definitely top notch. So far my only major rift with the listing is the placement of Billy Beane.
  11. mikelink45
    Mauer is put in the wrong position in the batting order (because we lacked the talent over the last few years to put together a meaningful set of nine batters) and if I remember he was still a catcher when he signed which changes the equation. Since it is not my money I really do not care about amounts - Pohlad net worth (google) is $3.6 billion. The investment interest along on that amount covers the payroll so I prefer to look at contracts in another light. Mauer was young enough when he signed that he had the potential to fulfill his value, unlike Cabrera, Pujols, Hamilton and others who signed long term contracts at the age Mauer is now. What I do not like are contracts like Nolasco and Pelfrey that get the Twins thinking mediocre fillers rather than developing young talent and getting them on the field. Even Hunter's contract comes to play in the bad category. True we are getting a DH, 1B log jam and Mauer might not have a lot of value at the end if his body is not able to hold up, but then it is on the Twins to eat the money and put him on the bench.
  12. mikelink45
    Put him in now. KC showed that you do not need a lot of fancy secondary pitches when you come in with heat for an inning. Why waste his non-TommyJohn years in the minors. There is no teaching 97+ - just turn him loose.
  13. mikelink45
    His lack of integration drops his rank much lower for me and is part of the issue that had to be faced by his successors.
  14. mikelink45
    I will feel progress is being made when Meyer and May are in the starting rotation and the following year Berrios. All these older, experienced and low upside fillers are not going to energize the franchise or the future.
  15. mikelink45
    Nice summary of someone who is truly a great GM.
  16. mikelink45
    Lets move on - I am not rooting for a team that plays 500 ball and if we are going to get past that it will take our young arms or signing player the Twins would never consider for ridiculous contracts.
  17. mikelink45
    I think Joe has been overthinking and probably reading too many of these forums. He is a cerebral person and a person who internalizes too much. If he feels better that is more than half the battle. His skills are still there, but the strike zone changing caused him to think too much, changing positions caused him to think too much, all the criticism and frustration with losing flustered him. Without the big contract we would be moving on and putting him where he could do what his skill set allows. We obsess and really who cares - better Joe than the Pohlads there is plenty of money on the team. Like all the big, long, contracts for players past their prime he will never produce what the rest of us who cannot combine our lifetime earnings to match his annual earnings want to expect.
  18. mikelink45
    Your last two choices are worthy, but how they come out ahead of Billy Beane has me baffled. Detroit is stuck - they cannot get over the hump. They bought good, but need developing players to become great.
  19. mikelink45
    Do you have access to the dialogues from past drafts where we were avoiding agents and people who might not want to sign with us? When did we go from safe pick to good pick?
  20. mikelink45
    It is important to note that Reusse said this was what the beginning of the year should look like, not the end. Lets hope for good results from some vets and then trades to flip them for the future with Meyer, May finally getting in the rotation (and Berrios and Thorpe by the end of the year). Develop, capitalize, trade..the Beane strategy. On Offense get Plouffe going and then really get him going to another team and up with Sano, let Hicks play and then get Buxton. Keep moving the big parts and get a return and then put in the future parts. By the end of the year we should have Hughes, Meyer, May, Berrios, Thorpe and a line up of Buxton, Hunter (he will play out the year and Rosario will be next), Mauer, Sano, Vargas, Arcia, Dozier (flip him if you can and put in Polanco), Pinto, Santana.
  21. mikelink45
    With all the metrics in place I would see attitude as the big unknown, the measurement that cannot be quantified, but is extremely important. Big Papi is a good example and this is what has me excited about Vargas. His attitude will take him past the obvious valleys that will be part of growing in the majors and that can lead to stardom if the mechanics are already in place.
  22. mikelink45
    This is a man who definitely belongs top ten. I am pleased to see him on the list and high up it, but now I am really curious about who you think might be better than Beane. Strange as it sounds, I think BIlly is underrated. He has really made the most of the payroll and situation he has and he has risked tweaking the establishment.
  23. mikelink45
    I had the good fortune of being an usher for the Twins in their inaugural season and I loved Pascaul and Pedro Ramos. Those two were always underrated and I believe Pascual was close to HOF caliber at that time. There were some fun players to watch and a feeling in the evening twilight that we were really BIG LEAGUE. It made me a fan for life. In that year the home town hero was Paul Giel and Jim Kaat was an after thought. Imagine Bill Tuttle and Reno Bertoia in your starting lineup and fielding metrics would have had fun with Jim Lemon.
  24. mikelink45
    one for three is hardly an exciting resume. Still waiting for the ones that are no argument. You have given us a few, but the field as a whole is ho-hum
  25. mikelink45
    I loved the article. The analysis of the analysis misses the point. There is a correlation between good drafting and good results in the MLB standings. The Twins were often afraid of the agents or the potential bonuses if I remember the headlines from those years. We drafted safe! There is something to say about looking at the percent from the entire draft, but like football - it is round one that headlines the draft. We can say that there are a lot of factors that come in to play, but that is why we now use so many tools and the Twins have never been at the forefront of new analysis.
×
×
  • Create New...