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Ben Noble

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Everything posted by Ben Noble

  1. Ben Noble
    Yes, a player/manager counts against the 25. Not sure if there's a loophole around that, like if your manager only played occasionally and you could 'option' the player to the minors while the manager stays with the MLB team...even though it's the same person. Interestingly enough, the Blue Jays talked about using Molitor as a player/manager in the late 90s. I'd love to see a player/manager in MLB again, but as much as I love Mauer I don't want him on the 2019 team in either role.
  2. Ben Noble
    From what I understand, they won't have Garver catch the rest of the year, but are considering giving him some at bats over the homestand.
  3. Ben Noble
    Right. And moving on from Mauer doesn't just open up the team's ability to sign a better player at 3B because you can move Sano over to 1B. Without Mauer, it's a lot easier to give significant run to a legit right-handed fourth outfielder, with Kepler platooning at first with Austin when he's not in the OF. Without Mauer, it's easier to bring in a new starting/platoon 2B AND sign Escobar or a similar player, because 3B reps open up if Sano can split time between 3B and 1B. Without Mauer, it's easier to bring in a top tier catcher, let Castro and Garver share backup catching duties, and give Garver additional AB at 1B and OF when Kepler is at 1B. You can disagree with the logistics of the above scenarios or come up with your own, these are just ideas off the top of my head, but Mauer doesn't provide enough offensive or defensive value to offset his lack of positional versatility. And that lack of versatility severely limits the team's ability to construct a roster that can consistently optimize matchups. I'm tired of Twins rosters where the bench players are bench players because they provide significantly less value than the starters. I want the players on the bench to consistently provide value when a matchup dictates it, not just play on day games after night games or when a starter needs a break. All of that said, I think Mauer's a G.O.A.T., not a scapegoat, but it's still time for the team to move on from him.
  4. Ben Noble
    Yeah, but Spahn and Marichal had nothing on Will White, who completed all 75 games he started in 1879 for a manly 680 innings pitched. I'm sure there's no correlation with extreme arm fatigue here, but he averaged 2.6 K/9 over his career. His arm might not have fallen off, but Spahn averaged 4.4 K/9. Look, the game has changed and it will never go back to how it used to be. It's evolved and it will continue to evolve. I'm certain there was somebody a hundred years ago who told everyone who would listen about how sick and tired they were of catchers wearing masks and fielders using gloves. Appreciate the game for what it was; respect, admire and celebrate the players who stood head and shoulders above their peers in a different era, when the game was played differently. But denigrating today's pitchers because they don't complete games like Spahn did is akin to denigrating Spahn because he never had the strikeouts that today's pitchers do.
  5. Ben Noble
    Over 21 games since August 5th, Severino has safely reached base in all but two games, and he only had a single plate appearance in one of those games. Really looking forward to seeing how he performs in full-season ball next year.
  6. Ben Noble
    I'd like to see this general idea crafted to the specific strengths/weaknesses of individual starters. For example, Odorizzi would probably do much better if he had someone piggybacking off of his first two times through the order, while Mejia might be helped by 'starting' in the second inning after an opener pitched to the top of the order in the first inning. Maybe you leave Gibson, Berrios and Pineda alone. As Tom pointed out, it helps that we have a lot of relievers with options that could be rotated in and out of the 25 man. I also think it would help bullpen fatigue in the above scenario to identify a couple of relievers that can go more than an inning in high-leverage situations, whether that be your closer, setup man or fireman.
  7. Ben Noble
    I remember words like “raw” and “toolsy” getting thrown around a lot when the Twins drafted Baddoo, so I’m especially impressed that such a young player has such a mature approach to the game. Sounds like he’s got a lot of self awareness, and I love that he’s focused less on immediate results and more on a process that will lead to good results for both himself and his team.
  8. Ben Noble
    I feel you on this. And it's frustrating. So frustrating. Use of 'openers' in the minors does give me some hope that changes in pen usage could, maybe, possibly be coming at the MLB level. If those changes ever do happen, though, they'll undoubtedly come as directives from the FO, not from Molitor.
  9. Ben Noble
    Both of these. I'd like to see May in that fireman/stopper role, and I want the pitcher in that role to be able to go more than three outs. Ideally, I also want my closer (or/and setup man) able to go more than three outs depending on matchups, and I think Odorizzi could work well in that role...although I have no idea how he'd pitch coming in with men on base. Mejia might be an option for one of these roles, too, but I'd keep him as a starter until either he or a starter in the minors forces the issue. Still, would be nice to have three pitchers that could step into one of those roles so that no one gets overused in May, Odorizzi and Mejia. Even if you moved Odorizzi and Mejia to the pen, and didn't make any trades or FA signings, you could still open 2019 with a rotation of: Gibson Berrios Pineda Romero everyone else I'd go hard after a #1 this offseason, but that's a different topic. So to the topic at hand, I want my closer able to go more than an inning and want to see May, Odorizzi and possibly Mejia (when healthy) in high-leverage outings of more than three outs the remainder of the season to get an idea of how they'll slot into my pen next year, or who I might need to go after from outside the org over the offseason to fill those roles if the internal candidates aren't up to snuff.
  10. Ben Noble
    Is it showboating when a player makes the sign of the cross, fist bumps his chest, kisses that fist, then points and looks skyward? Rhetorical question maybe, and I'm certainly not picking on you...
  11. Ben Noble
    While he was worth more in the Twins lineup over the last two months, I wonder if he was worth more out of the Twins clubhouse over the last two months. Conjecture, of course...but I really do wonder if that dude's 'tude played into the trade.
  12. Ben Noble
    Posted it here when it was first published. I agree, very interesting read.
  13. Ben Noble
    Romero is in AAA. He may or may not take a Berrios-like step forward next year, but I suspect he will. If he does, Berrios - Gibson - Romero would be the best top of the rotation we've had in a long time.
  14. Ben Noble
    Used to live in SD and was just there for a game last month vs ATL, really great park. Few things: The grassy area by the bullpens is really cool: you can sit and picnic like at Saints games. There's a mini diamond for kids to play on and staff on hand to supervise, too. Very family friendly.BBQ and pizza??? Dude: fish tacos. Seriously, come on. They're overpriced like stadium fare everywhere, but they sell amazing swordfish tacos at Petco.The site lines are the best, bar-none, especially along the third base line. First game I went to in like 2007 it freaked me out a little, like I felt a little TOO close considering I was in left field.I like to drink beer, but I've never drank an IPA there or been to either of the bars you're talking about. Wasn't a big fan of the Gaslamp in general, but Petco is also a quick train to/from the beach communities. Guess this is a roundabout way of saying that there's something for most tastes/preferences at the stadium and it's centrally located.
  15. Ben Noble
    Also worth noting that they slotted Graterol just one spot behind Hunter Greene...
  16. Ben Noble
    I'm usually not too high on guys coming out of independent ball, but Tyler Palm could be worth keeping an eye on as a late bloomer. Went to a small school in MI, a small college in MI, then played in a small independent league in MI. Only 23 and stands 6-8, and added 4 mph to his average fastball in the past year. Small school guys from the Midwest sometimes need extra time to develop, and tall young pitchers have mechanical issues that need cleaning up more often than not. No walks in his first start are, well...a good start!
  17. Ben Noble
    Big believer in Thorpe here, too. In his start before this one, he gave up 9 earned runs on nine hits in 3.1 innings...but in the three starts previous to that, he didn't give up an earned run over 16.2 innings to go along with 19 Ks and just 10 hits/six walks. He's young and missed two full seasons, he's going to have plenty of ups and downs.
  18. Ben Noble
    Rortvedt/Banuelos are both legit catcher prospects with solid defensive reps. Will be interesting to see how things shake out at the plate for the pair over the course of the season.
  19. Ben Noble
    Hell, at $6.5M base it's still probably a steal even if he gets on base closer to his career mark and jacks 20.
  20. Ben Noble
    Yeah, but he does hit LHP well, .921 career OPS, a gnarly .684 last year, but .954 in 2016 and an .821 mark over the past three years including last season's stinker. The question for me is, what would LAD give up to dump Kemp's salary if they're intent on signing Darvish? What would you want in return to take on about $30M for a part-time platoon player over the next two years? (Through a couple of previous trades, I think about $10M of Kemp's salary is already covered). I'd love it if the FO got creative and figured out a way to pry Buehler away from LA by both taking on Kemp and sending prospects back to the Dodgers, but it would probably take a significant haul. Maybe not as much of a prospect hit as Archer would require, though, with MN adding so much cash.
  21. Ben Noble
    I don't think the idea of a closer is in and of itself outdated...but I do think the value that many teams, managers and fans still place on the role of closer is definitely outdated. I agree with you completely about how to utilize your best reliever (Reed), but I still like having one guy in that defined closer role, and I want that guy to have the right skill set to succeed in that role. Kintzler is a great example that we're all familiar with of a guy with less-than-stellar stuff who slotted in well as closer. Rodney has less-than-stellar stuff at this point in his career, but I don't want to just go off of stats and honesty haven't watched him pitch enough the past few years to know how well his skill set matches up with what I want in a closer.
  22. Ben Noble
    What do you project happens with Rosario? Does he play himself out of a starting spot, or does he play himself into being traded for assets?
  23. Ben Noble
    Fairly certain that's Thorpe...but he still does look older in that photo than someone who just turned 22 in late November. Must be all the vegemite.
  24. Ben Noble
    I would think Watson could get there, too. There's a lot of room for projection with a skinny 6'5" 20-year-old lefty who averages over a K per inning. Looks a lot like Gonsalves on paper.
  25. Ben Noble
    I don't get why Lewis Thorpe isn't even being mentioned here, but Romero had everyone drooling last offseason. Lefty starter and still just 22 next season, former nationally ranked prospect who had a great bounce back campaign after missing the previous two. And I've always heard that he has great stuff. What am I missing here?
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