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mikelink45

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Everything posted by mikelink45

  1. mikelink45
    All I could think of when I was reading this was Aaron Sabato. No surprise that a dinged-up player like Lewis would lose speed. Baserunning and speed just don't seem to be part of the team DNA and that is a big miss as the game evolves. As much as I enjoyed the mid-sixties Twins and the 1950s Braves I also loved Whitey Herzog's St Louis Cardinals, the Royals in 2015, the A's in the Rickey Henderson years, the Go-go White Sox of Aparicio, And power did not mean lack of speed - Aaron had 240 SB, Mays had 300, and Barry Bonds had 514. I have looked at Statcast's Sprint Speed Leaderboard and it is not a surprise to see all the playoff teams above us - the Twins rank 18.
  2. mikelink45
    That is for sure! All my early teams - the Braves, Lakers, North Stars disappearing to another city and what happened to the Kicks? I loved going to those games too. Or the Muskies or the Pipers? Of course I enjoyed the Saints and Millers when we were AAA in both cities and that was an acceptable change since we then stole the Senators from DC. Of course I missed the Duluth Eskimos. I have to recognize our changing, shifting baseball history before the Twins and recommend Stew Thomley' summary. Things keep changing and it can be tough on a fan base.
  3. mikelink45
    This gives us something different to talk about, we can thank them for that, but the deal is not done and it remains as speculative as all the trade ideas that have been posted. I will enjoy the conversations and wait and see. I remember the Twolves being sold recently - how is that working out?
  4. mikelink45
    Until we see him in Spring Training and beyond it is all speculation. I know you have to have something to write about, but a rule V guy as our big move is not enough to get me raising expectations.
  5. mikelink45
    There are zero lakes in Los Angeles and I do not remember a Mormon Jazz concert.
  6. mikelink45
    Goltz was effective and often overlooked and under rated because he was a MN boy and low key as far as the press was concerned. Reardon and Worthington were two essential save artists so they get my next votes. From a personal note I was an usher when Mudcat was a pitcher for us and he will always be a personal favorite.
  7. mikelink45
    I forgot how desperate they are to get a major league team.
  8. mikelink45
    As someone who went to Lakers games as a boy I am still bitter about them stealing both our team and our name.
  9. mikelink45
    The good news is that the Twins name does not work in very many locations.
  10. mikelink45
    Not so excited as the rest of the posts. If they buy us, what is their interest in MN?
  11. mikelink45
    We actually did not put up with him, we were stuck with him until the Yankees stepped up. Both teams were worse for having him. I am completely against having bad attitudes on the team.
  12. mikelink45
    sorry - I am just going by the words of TD that say we have such a good roster and it is rated highly MLB.com has us ranked #4 in all the majors. ESPN has us a more realistic 16 But mostly I am going from this quote in the text of this essay -
  13. mikelink45
    Read the TD comments, look at the empty seats, read the columnist - this is not a team that is beloved as it should be. Yes I am pretty sure of this.
  14. mikelink45
    I guess you must have I looked at them in 2024 and wondered if it was the same team
  15. mikelink45
    These essays simply invite the Twins fans to air their frustrations. Trading Correa or Lopez to get better is simply ridiculous. But enough of that - I have been following the baseball news and once again it is the Dodgers, Yankees, Mets doing their outrageous spending and the rest of the teams sitting back and watching helplessly. The Dodgers add Conforto for $17M as just another player on their all-star roster. The poor Blue Jays try to spend money and no one wants to take it. So what do the other teams do? I know fans in Baltimore are as frustrated as Minnesotans. But what can be done to stop the disparity? I see tiers for players, but there needs to be tiers for teams too. Willing to spend outrageous amounts: Dodgers, Mets, Yankees. Boston Wanting spend millions but no one has taken it the last two years Blue Jays, Giants Spent millions and wondering why it isn't working San Diego, Texas Have not spent millions, but somehow stays competitive Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Arizona Has the resources, but maybe not the will to spend Baltimore, St Louis, Cubs, Houston, Atlanta Working with their resources to try to get better but not able to compete with top Detroit, Kansas City, Seattle, Reds, A good team that self inflicts damage to its reputation and team Minnesota Twins At the bottom and trying to climb back up Chicago White Sox, Nationals, Sacramento, Pirates Hopeless (almost included all the above) Miami, Angels, Colorado
  16. mikelink45
    The value that good SP have is mind boggling, but that also means that if we want to have a high quality pitcher we need to hang on to what we have - the price to replace that pitcher will only go up. So I am a no on trading Lopez, Ryan or Ober. I guess I would add SWR right now and I am open to trading Paddack. It reminds me of a discussion with our son who is in a market where the prices are going crazy. Hey we can sell our home now for $$$$$$$$$$ - great, but can you get anything better once you have sold because the prices are going up all over the place. Better to hang on until you can actually afford to improve on your situation. Give our young pitchers all the attention we can. We have 12 coaches - hire two more if needed, they are cheaper than replacements. We seem to have a group of pitchers on the cusp - Festa, Raya, Zebby, Morris. And we have potential RP in Varland and Moran, but no stud, This is also why I do not want to see Jax as a SP - we have more potential there than we do in RP.
  17. mikelink45
    At least it is something to talk about. Nothing so far this off season is exciting. But it is better to at least see some movement at any level.
  18. mikelink45
    I can feel the ground shake under my feet as the rest of the Central division quakes from this dramatic move. Normally this would have been an okay move - why not, so I apologize for my sarcasm. Like most I am waiting for something that really has meaning for the team this next year. We add Huascar and the Tigers add Alex Cobb and KC gets India while extending Wacha and Cleveland gets back Bieber.
  19. mikelink45
    I always enjoy seeing the moves that others are making while we wait. I know this is TD, but as this excellent essay shows - the moves others make do impact us. KC keeps trying, the Guardians added back their Ace, We were never going to be in the Soto sweepstakes only a few teams can over pay the way the Mets and Dodgers do. I was amazed to see the Dodgers reach out and sign Conforto for $17 M. Wow - we better look in house for the fourth OF. And the O's took O'Neill for a three year overpay. Detroit has done as much as we have - thank you Tigers and the White Sox are looking for a big trade day to restock their shelves. Obviously the most important thing is to keep up and surpass our division foes. The Dodgers, Mets... live in a different world. But right now KC and Cleveland are not waiting to see what we are doing.
  20. mikelink45
    It's all about budget. They have no choice but to rely on what they have because any change will be on the fringe..
  21. mikelink45
    If I am on another team and want a Twin I lowball my offer knowing that they have to cut salary. So the urgency is on our side and that is a poor position to negotiate from.
  22. mikelink45
    I would still take him. Yes he could be traded again, but to be traded you have to have value. We consider Lopez to be our Ace. Miami is trying to build up its system and three of the prospects are in their top 30 - #7, 19, 30. Only Go is not on the list. I agree that he is getting too expensive - but that is the system, not the player. They are all overpaid.
  23. mikelink45
    What do all of these guys do? Should we blame the bench coach when the manager screws up or should we dump on the assistant bench coach. Do they need so many coaches so they can have someone to play cribbage with when the game gets boring? Counting the manager there are 12 coaches for 25 guys! And what the hell is the quality control coach? If the guy in charge of quality control last season is still here he should be fired! And maybe we should hire 13 more coaches so each player can have their own private guru or psychologist or sociologist. Shouldn't there be at least one woman - a mom for when the guys have a bad day?
  24. mikelink45
    No - they cannot really gain financial relief as one of the commentators points out. We would have to include money because of Vasquez inflated contract so what is the gain? If we trade Jeffers we have Camargo and Vasquez as a tandem - that sounds awful. We have some young prospects - let's hope that when we let Vasquez go as a FA in another year we have one of them ready. Catching is one of the most difficult positions to fill. We can concentrate on other issues for now. As the electric strike zone becomes more probable (2026?) it will be the comfort of the pitcher and the ability to call a good game that will count. Little League University has this great quote: "“Catchers have to learn how to use their voice back there,” said Mr. Sarow. The catcher is the only player who starts a play in foul territory and has the perspective to survey the entire field. He/she must be aware of the base runners, and where the defense is set up." RYAN WEISS The ability to throw accurately is one of the most important skills that a catcher must possess. The primary purpose of the catcher is to catch the pitches that the pitcher threw, and there are many situations in which they are required to throw the ball. One example of this is when a batter bunts the ball.
  25. mikelink45
    I know I get a lot of disagreement with my belief that Keirsey is a good prospect for the Twins bench, but all I can say is that he is held back by the same evaluators who thought Margo would be good.
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