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Steve Lein

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Everything posted by Steve Lein

  1. Steve Lein
    Sano definitely takes a big cut, but with his body type, I don't think he should be doing anything else. Danny Ortiz absolutely blasted a ball beyond the second fence in one game we were watching on Wednesday, then on our way out, we took the shortcut through the parking lot back there to see if the ball was still around and there it was.
  2. Steve Lein
    Dozier made the play of the game yesterday on a high chopper, had to jump to snag it then fired it across the diamond from deep in the hole to get the out. I've said before that Dozier probably needs some time at AAA to see where he'll fit, but he's very rapidly changing that opinion. He looks ready.
  3. Steve Lein
    Was at the game yesterday and saw 4 or 5 Morneau at bats in a Minor League game on Wednesday. I think his swing looks good, and he has been tagging the ball pretty good right at people. I don't see him flying open with his swing like he was last year, which I take as a good sign. Parker - I've got some video of an at bat or 2, let me know if you'd want 'em.
  4. Steve Lein
    Manship's calling card has always been a big curveball, and I'm guessing it's the same pitch as Seth's "spiked slider". Manship (and that pitch in particular) was actually very highly regarded when he was in high school and if not for his iron-clad commitment to play ball for Notre Dame, would have been a very high draft pick after his senior year. He's one guy who definitely hurt his stock by going to college where he ended up having Tommy John surgery.
  5. Steve Lein
    I don't think Hendriks has the velocity of Baker. Fangraphs says Timothy averaged 91 MPH on his heater in 2011, and Hendriks 90. But going by memory, Baker can run it up to 95 and sits 91-93, and I don't remember Hendrik's hitting anything over 92, and sat 88-90. That's a big difference in velocity for me. Bakers slider and curveball also come in much faster than Hendriks. But there's plenty of value in being a #3, and that's what I'd view Hendriks' ceiling as.
  6. Steve Lein
    Willingham's HR was dead pull down the line in Left. interesting to hear about Burroughs trouble with D this spring, thought he was supposed to be a stellar defender.
  7. Steve Lein
    per Jim Rantz talking to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo, Hicks is going to start in AA this year. You have a very short-sited, unfortunate circumstance, and small sample (or no sample in Michael's case) view of what a "Bust" is, Jack... Adam Johnson, now THAT'S a bust (and a Mike Radcliff guy, at the #2 overall pick)
  8. Steve Lein
    And as for my "Prove what he is" statement, it literally means he needs to be playing every day somewhere to "prove what he is". You're not going to find out if he's a starter by sitting him on the bench with the MLB club, because he's certainly not beating out Carrol or Casilla in Spring Training.
  9. Steve Lein
    Well, last year was the first time he's ever played at AA, so don't know what you're getting at here. He needs to prove it in AAA because he's NOT a sure thing. Joe Mauer was a sure thing, and he's the only guy I can think of who skipped AAA altogether and started the season on the big league club after spending the prior year in AA. 2011 was by far Dozier's best season as a pro: improved his career best batting avg. on a non-rookie league team by .042 points, best OBP by .047 pts, best Slugging % by .137 points... There's not really a track record for stardom here...
  10. Steve Lein
    Dozier has an MLB future, but he's the type of player that needs to prove what he is at AAA first. There's a reason he wasn't talked about that much before last year. Look up anything you can read from National prospect guys or scouts, and they'll say he's a utility guy, not a solid-starter. So let's hope he proves them wrong and temper our expectations a little. If/when he's on the Twins this year, I'd bet it's at 2B, and not SS.
  11. Steve Lein
    I fail to see how playing Revere in LF dramatically takes away his "strength" of running down fly balls, he's not ridiculously better than Span at it, who is also very good, and that would be the only reason I'd move Span out of there. While Revere may run down a few more fly ball's over the course of the season, I'd bet the difference between the runs he'd save with range over Span (if any) would be more than cancelled out by the runs he gives up with that arm in CF. I'm really confused as to why this is such a big issue with so many people.
  12. Steve Lein
    Giving up on Burnett I see, Seth... I'm really curious as to why Anthony Slama was not invited to big-league camp, he came on at the end of last year after his injury and did well in Mexico this winter. Everyone kind of forgot about Manship when he went on the DL last year, but he definitely is in the mix again. I'm not that sold on Doyle being kept on the MLB roster just because he was a rule V pick (Twins made trade last year to keep Diamond at AAA to start), but he might earn it if he keeps pitching well. Also not yet sold on Burton being a better option than some others.
  13. Steve Lein
    Awesome... I remember watching a bunch of the guys run that mile last year, was funny to see the guys who sprinted it lapping the guys who loafed it. I also read the Hunger Games books about a month ago. Finished the 3 of 'em in 5 days.
  14. Steve Lein
    I'm part of a full-season package with a bunch of friends, section 106 I believe. I like sitting in different spots and will go to a lot more than just the games I have the season tickets for though.
  15. Steve Lein
    John - Agree with everything you say about Revere and Span swapping, and the "prideful" impact. Is the same point I was making to Jack earlier in the thread.
  16. Steve Lein
    The Twins have also struggled recently against Toronto. Not really sure why they don't have the same issues with Boston, maybe because they have seen so much of them over the years with having their Spring Training home in the same city that they don't have the same effect.
  17. Steve Lein
    For me, it's Anthony Swarzak. I know he can work his fastball up to 95 MPH out of the 'pen and I don't really see the need to send him down the same path as Duensing, where he flashed some back-end starter potential and was given a shot, only to have his deficiencies surface. Twins already have Marquis, Blackburn, Hendriks, Diamond, and Duensing to fill out the back-end of a rotation if needed, so let him fling it out of the 'pen for good and see if he can capitalize on it like Perkins did. I'd also really like to see Gutierrez take a step forward, the Twins almost need him to develop into at least a good setup man.
  18. Steve Lein
    "I like turtles"....
  19. Steve Lein
    There's no way they hold Levi Michael back for 3 months waiting for Elizabethtown's season to start. Beloit is most likely, but I wouldn't be surprised if he starts in Fort Myers either.
  20. Steve Lein
    Jack - It's not impossible for Parmelee to develop into a Morneau, but it's quite easy to call that statement preposterous when there's zero evidence up to this point to suggest Parmelee is capable of doing what Morneau has done. Morneau was a top 20 prospect in all of baseball for 3 years running, Parmelee hasn't been close to this. Morneau was a career .311/.379/.528 hitter in the minors in 2100-some plate appearances, Parmelee a career .266/.355/.436 hitter in 2600-some plate appearances. In 2004, Morneau hit 41 HR's between AAA and MLB. Parmelee's career high in HR's for a season is 17 (last year). He's improved as he's gone up the ladder, but his best season still doesn't come close to comparing to Morneau's in the minors. Then we get to the majors, where Morneau has an MVP award, and had he not got concussed, would have added a 2nd. Parmelee doesn't even have 100 PA's (good ones yes, but how many times has a prospect done the same thing in September?). From what you're saying, Parmelee is a sure-fire hall of famer?! I don't doubt for a second that he'll contribute in a positive way for the Twins this year and in the future, but I don't expect him to exceed, or even match, Morneau's production.
  21. Steve Lein
    I think the issue with Target Field is simply all the guys who seemingly "struggled" there, were brought up playing in the Metrodome which was much more hitter friendly. If a guy's used to the ball going out when it's hit a certain way, then suddenly the environment changes and those same balls are no longer going out, of course they're going to think about it. Tosoni and Parmelee are examples of players who didn't play in the dome so they didn't think about these things and just swing like they always have.
  22. Steve Lein
    This is where I disagree, and disagree strongly. Yes, the managers job should be to put the best players in the best position for his team to succeed, BUT, putting a "player in the best position" is NOT limited to solely their physical spot on the field. Like it or not, players have emotions and an ego, ask any coach who's ever taught a game and these are things they weigh. Span has earned that position, and he'll tell you that's where he wants to play. Would he move to a corner spot if asked? Absolutely, but that doesn't mean for a second it's what is best for him or the team. Remember when Cuddyer couldn't hit because he was worrying so much about where he'd play and having to pick a ground ball? Then Gardy moved him to the OF and he turned it around. Like it or not, in essence, this is the same exact thing that I'm talking about. You said it best yourself: [?] I do NOT believe Ben Revere is a better CF than Span. As someone else mentions, Revere doesn't take good routes and has to make up for it with his speed. Span isn't all that slower and doesn't have the same route-taking issues. Span has an almost average arm, while Revere has a well-below average one. And I did not say Span deserves to be the CF just because he's "been there before". I said he deserves to be the CF because he's earned it. These are 2 drastically different things.
  23. Steve Lein
    It's Coors Field for me. Spent 2 straight 4th of July's out there to watch some games and I don't think you can beat the post-game atmosphere out on the streets of Lo-Do after games, and the stadium is pretty damn sweet too. None of the others I've gone too compare to Coors and Target Field for me. Really want to see SafeCo, PetCo, PNC, and AT&T.
  24. Steve Lein
    I disagree with the notion that Ben Revere is a better in CF than Span, and also disagree that Revere's defensive value would be lost in LF. Last year at Spring Training, Revere was playing LF and ran down a ball deep in the LCF gap, full-out superman diving onto the Warning Track to make the catch. I'd go so far as to say it was a better play than his over the shoulder jumping into the wall catch at Target Field that won awards for play of the year. Revere is a speedy/uber-rangy OF. He'll be successful no matter where you put him as far as running down fly-balls and making plays like that. I leave Span in CF because #1) It's his position, he's earned it through both his fielding and hitting. I'd be pissed if the manager all of the sudden made me switch in this situation. #2) Span is still pretty damn good at it, as mentioned. #3) Arm strength is more important in CF than LF. Span's arm isn't great either, but much can be gained from hiding Revere's in LF.
  25. Steve Lein
    I'll give you that it may be too early, but I don't buy your argument about Baker ($6.5 MIL), Liriano ($5.5 MIL), and Pavs ($8.5 MIL) potentially coming off the books meaning they're likely to be spenders next year more than they have been. If they were going to be spenders, this was the year to do it as they had Cuddyer ($10.5 MIL), Kubel ($5.25 MIL), Thome ($3 MIL), Nathan ($11.25 MIL), and Young ($5.374 MIL) come off the books, and they replaced them with Carrol ($2.75 MIL), Doumit ($3 MIL), Willingham ($7 MIL), and Marquis ($3 MIL).
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