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Ben Noble

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Everything posted by Ben Noble

  1. Ben Noble
    I could be misunderstanding you, but I think you might have this backwards. Just to be clear, Rosario didn't come into the Twins system as a 2B. Rosario was drafted as an outfielder and the Twins tried converting him to 2B after a couple of years in the minors -- I believe due to a perceived glut of outfielders in the system -- but moved him back to OF. As a side note, I saw Rosario play 2B for Beloit...back when they were a Twins affiliate...in a game where Sano stole home on a double steal. So do we know that Rosario can't play the infield? I guess not, but it's been a long time since Rosario last got regular reps at the keystone.
  2. Ben Noble
    Worked out pretty darn well the last time the Twins hired a manager in his 30s...
  3. Ben Noble
    They got Jhoan Duran, a total stud pitcher in my opinion. He made some significant adjustments early in the season and really took off, but hasn't climbed up prospect rankings yet. In fact, you could make a strong argument for ranking him ahead of every pitcher the Twins have in the minors not named Brusdar. I think he's undervalued and the Twins nabbed a potential ace in exchange for a couple months of Escobar, and that's an outstanding trade in my book. Got a couple of outfielders, too, that I would have to look up, but Duran is clearly the prize here.
  4. Ben Noble
    Exactly, and that's why I wouldn't move him this winter. Kepler's bat is meh for me in RF but it plays up in CF if Buxton doesn't produce...and that's not that big of an 'if' at this point.
  5. Ben Noble
    I think it's worth noting that there have been no reports that Sano appeared inebriated, even in the report where an anonymous source claimed that Sano stepped on the officer's leg and fired a gun into the air.
  6. Ben Noble
    Damnit
  7. Ben Noble
    I want a more-or-less fluently bilingual manager, doesn’t matter to me what culture or ethnicity they identify as. This seems like it should be a given for any MLB managerial position for the past, idk, quarter century. Communication is absolutely crucial to the role.
  8. Ben Noble
    To each their own, but this is my personal nightmare
  9. Ben Noble
    I get it: Gordon's development has been very frustrating at times, and his highly visible hobby is an easy thing to focus that frustration on. I get it, but I don't agree with it.
  10. Ben Noble
    Well, I did...you did, too, apparently And that's what I would assume, too, re: options. Same would go for a DL stint, I'd imagine.
  11. Ben Noble
    Fine, whatever, I've had enough of your fancy, big city baseball lawyering.
  12. 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.
  13. Ben Noble
    Noticed that too! But did you also notice that he switches which hand he holds the ball in? Manager is plainly forward thinking, using an ambidextrous catcher. You don't build T-ball dynasties without staying ahead of the curve.
  14. 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.
  15. Ben Noble
    So much of how you view this front office at this point will depend on how you weight process vs results. I've been a fan of their process, for the most part, so far.
  16. Ben Noble
    Sure, but I guess the glass-half-full version is that I'd like to know what an Astudillo strikeout looks like, since I missed...both of them. I don't think it's just the baseball card stats, either. I think his offensive profile is so nontraditional that it could potentially benefit an offense if not overused, kind of like a submarine pitcher, to give the other team a different look. Would other teams pitch and defend him differently in certain late-game situations knowing that he's practically guaranteed of putting the ball in play? Maybe. Or maybe his numbers will plummet once the book gets out on him. But I think he'd make a great 25th man until those numbers actually do plummet: has options, crazy defensive versatility, unique offensive profile. And while he might not hustle any harder than other players, it sure physically looks like it and it's fun to watch, and that can't hurt the clubhouse.
  17. Ben Noble
    How would this be any different than a traditional closer's workload? I also want the Twins to start consistently deploying their closer for more than three outs when the situation calls for it, but that's another topic...
  18. Ben Noble
    The short answer is the appeal to tradition fallacy. As the great American poet Too $hort so wisely said, "Get in where you fit in."
  19. Ben Noble
    In theory, there isn't a difference. In practice, both the 'opener' and 'starter' open clean innings in this scenario, and you're assured of your 'opener' facing the top of your opponent's lineup. With Odorizzi specifically, I totally agree with you. He does so well the first two times through the order and is particularly awful the third time through, I think he and the staff might be best served by having a second 'starter' piggyback after he's gone through the order twice. Some starters (Stewart? Littell? Mejia?) will be best served following an opener. Some starters (Odorizzi) profile as providing the most value when pitching in tandem with a second starter. Others (Gibson, Berrios) slot in at the top of the rotation in a traditional starter role. For me, this is about recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of different starters and putting them in a position to succeed, rather than forcing them into a one-size-fits-all approach.
  20. Ben Noble
    What are the quotes from the front office from around July 2? I've only seen quotes from Molitor...asking sincerely, btw, not challenging you or being argumentative.
  21. Ben Noble
    Buxton did start to get more hits, so in that sense his bat heated up, I guess. But he had one walk in August, versus 13 strikeouts, in 12 games, versus AAA pitching. This should be about Buxton's long term success, and I don't think he showed the plate approach in August necessary to build a base for sustained MLB success at the plate. And I suspect the plate approach he was showing in AAA most likely would have led to MLB pitchers, yet again, carving him up in September, even with expanded rosters. Maybe, maybe not, but I don't think it's as cut-and-dry as some make it that Buxton's AAA batting line last month was definitely deserving of a call up. Small sample size regardless. As an aside, I noticed that he hadn't attempted a stolen base in August. Might lend some credence to the notion that the wrist or another lingering injury isn't allowing him to play full speed. Might be the team trying to keep him healthy. Might just be a coincidence.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. 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.
  25. 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.
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