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birddog

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Everything posted by birddog

  1. birddog
    Let's face the facts. Yes, we fans are rushing the young stars to the major league, but that is only because of the team we have been subjected to these past 4 seasons when Twins' fans have turned their allegiance over to the Vikings in early August. If we are posting on TD, it means we love the game and love our Twins. We are finally starting to see some of our young stars at the MLB level and when you see the success Santana and Vargas have had (though in a minimal trial period) we tend to want to rush them all.
  2. birddog
    I totally agree with SpiritofvodkaDave on the original post of changes that should be made. I think our SP is going in the right direction and I love the call ups of Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas who get me to watch the games again for at least most of the whole 9 innings. Parmelee and Plouffe are strictly bench players on a good team and in September Mauer should get some reps at 3B and LF. The Twins said with the new stadium we would not lose our stars to free agency, so we shouldn't have to worry about service time. We have a lot of home games the rest of the season and we need reasons to get excited, so why wait on adding Buxton to the 40-man? It will certainly happen after the season, so bring him up in September and drop Florimon or Burton. It won't hurt his service time and it gives us a legitimate CF to let Santana get his SS reps when possible. He works every day for the last month with the Twins coaches to fine tune and learn. In Gardy's last month as manager, he plays against lower level SP or as a late-inning defensive replacement. He more than likely starts next year in the minors, but with the confidence he can play at the next level.
  3. birddog
    Great article that does make sense, sad as that may be for Twins fans. A great closer for a team like the Twins is a luxury that only the coaches can truly appreciate. As fans we want wins, but what difference does it really make to win the 3-5 more games Perkins will provide when you have one of the ten worst records in baseball? Perkins has become a leader on a team that had none since we lost Torii, Cuddyer, and Morneau and for that fact I hope we retain him. The Twins finally have a personality--which they didn't have the past three years. They have become much more fun to watch, although I still can't watch all nine innings like I used to. Perkins is very cheap, which seems to be the top priority for Twins management. We once again have to put our trust in Terry Ryan to decide what is best for the future. I still believe that TR is a great GM, but not as strongly as I trusted him three years ago. If we trade Perkins, the take has to rival the AJ Pierzynski trade. If not, keep him for all the factors he provides.
  4. birddog
    Good article. Brutally honest, which Twins fans need. Center field is truly an enigma, and how can that happen? Tough to find SP, but OF should be a piece of cake. Hicks is struggling at AA and more than likely would struggle at Elizabethton as he has absolutely no confidence. Parmelee is not your prototypical CF, but he catches balls he can get to and we have to see if he can play at this level. He can't cover the ground that Fuld can, but there is a reason Fuld was a backup OF and then cut. I have to believe we will be sellers at the deadline, and rightfully so. I hope TR can get the final pieces to allow us to contend for many years to come. Question is, will Gardy be the manager to take us there? Not much talent lately, but he's mostly shooting blanks.
  5. birddog
    No doubt TR knows baseball talent and will get the Twins' ship righted again. Nice to once again have a top 5 pick in the draft, but it's time to stop that trend. Maybe a top 10 for next year and then no higher than a top 20-25 for many years to come as the young talent comes to the MLB roster. We are in good hands with TR who already has a tough job maintaining the 40-man roster, but no doubt he will make some shrewd moves to maximize the Twins' success.
  6. birddog
    We finally have some solid options to choose from in the minors, but Meyer has to be the #1 option. Consistency is his drawback, but as soon as the date passes which prevents him from being a Super 3, the Twins need to call him up and work under the tutelage of our top pitching coaches in the system and learn at the major league level. Has anyone noticed all the empty seats at Target this year? I like the influx of the youngsters like Pinto and Santana this year and good to see Gibson staying with the big boys. But a ground ball pitcher like Gibson won't draw the fans like a true #1 who will get double digit Ks (if he can keep his pitch count down) like Meyer is capable of.
  7. birddog
    Exactly, Seth! If he puts up David Ortiz type-numbers, we can very easily take limited range at first. Twins have to get some excitement back at Target with this type of player who gets fans' adrenaline flowing each at bat.
  8. birddog
    A lot less risk of paying hitters than pitchers, and Dozier continues to improve his numbers as he is on the leader board in HRs, Rs and SBs. Enough said. Twins told us when we give them a new stadium they will pay to keep our stars. Dozier is our star, possibly even moreso than Mauer, and continues to get better every year. The exodus of our stars has to stop or we will add Dozier to the former Twins putting up all-star numbers.
  9. birddog
    Being a switch hitter definitely helps his future with the Twins. I saw him in spring training hit from both sides of the plate and he had good at bats. He is not over-matched and has a good swing from both sides of the plate. Twins already have issues with the 40-man roster and whom to protect, but it will get much tougher as these young guys mature and roster decisions need to be made. This year we have lost many of our CF tweeners like Pressley and Mastro, but what happens in the very near future when we decide to keep our good young hitters or pitchers. TR will have to be very creative, but I hope we get to see some of these young power hitters like Vargas in the majors before dropping them from the 40-man. Twins need some big boppers that you stick around to watch hit a bomb in the 9th inning. We haven't had that threat since Morneau's prime years.
  10. birddog
    Twins have to start looking at who will sell some tickets. Arcia definitely will, Hicks will, if not for his defense alone, and Colabello should also if he can replicate his numbers of last year. If they feel a need to keep Parmelee, then Pressley should go down; however, why do we think someone will claim Parmelee? A 1b/OF who doesn't hit should not be considered a valuable commodity, especially when you look at our minor league system which is stacked with younger, more promising versions who will require 40-man roster spots in the near future. Parmelee had one great September, but has done nothing since to justify keeping him.
  11. birddog
    I am very happy that Pinto has made the team. On a team that can't score, we need his bat. And I think we need Colabello's as well. Not quite sure why we have to worry about losing players without options. If they can't make the Twins 25-man roster why would anyone else claim them? We might just as well open up some 40-man roster spots.
  12. birddog
    Fans won't last that long before they quit coming to see games. I really hope for Perk's sake we can make it fun and exciting before his contract expires. It is a great stadium, but fans need to see the Twins baseball we had been accustomed to prior to 2011.
  13. birddog
    It is such a long season it really doesn't matter who starts out with the big club. Shortstop has to make the plays so I guess that's Florimon, but Santana has a great bat and will be the shortstop of the future--maybe before the All-Star break. Colabello looks like the hitter he was in AAA last year and deserves to go north. I also am hoping Hicks is the CF and last year's issues are behind him much like Dozier two years ago. If Pinto doesn't start the season with the Twins, he should be there before school's out. Without at least some of these youngsters starting out with the big league club, attendance will drop faster and farther than the thermometer did this winter.
  14. birddog
    Looking forward to seeing them play in 5 days.
  15. birddog
    Yes indeed, great article, Seth. You guys do such a great job keeping us informed of the youngsters in the minors. As we know all too well, that has been our only bright spots of optimism these last few years in Twins territory. Looking forward to keeping tabs on these kids in the minors and hopefully more than a couple of them with the big boys this season.
  16. birddog
    I agree with Highlander that Parmelee could have a lot to say about our outfield platoon if he would put up in the majors some of the numbers he had in the minors. He's a very good defensive outfielder, who could--even should--put up Kubel-in-his-prime type of numbers. Best bet for the Twins is that Willingham puts up numbers close to 2012 and we get some excellent prospects for him. Needless to say, we have to get much better production from our DH than we got last year.
  17. birddog
    We have our top two pitching coaches with the Twins in Anderson and Cuellar. Don't you want your top prospects to learn from the best coaches and pitch in front of the best defensive players? I agree with those who say Meyer and Gibson need to throw a majority of their innings in the majors this year.
  18. birddog
    I'm hoping it will be Deduno. Sure he had way too many walks, but he had the stuff to get himself out of jams. I love the movement of his pitches as players can't dig in on him. If Diamond is off by an inch, it gets pounded. Worley was not regarded as a big-time prospect in Philly and I'm afraid his good years will prove to be more aberrations than the norm. I also agree that Swarzak should be given at least a shot at starting. We all have to remember that we're not talking dominant, get-back-in-contention starting pitching here. Nolasco and Hughes have the ability to be decent #3 starters, but until we get the young studs up here playing .500 ball is the biggest dream Twins fans can have. And the scary thing is the pitching appears to be better than our hitting this year. 2015 can't get here soon enough for me.
  19. birddog
    I agree with Yoshii. There is just way too much mediocrity with our projected lineup to get excited for the early part of the season. I like our SP much better than last year, but it is so very tough to get excited about our hitters. Every spring I am one of the most optimistic fans when it comes to our Twins, but unless our April lineup looks more like the September predictions, it is tough to expect anything more than 70 wins. Seth, I would love to see your "wish" lineup to go with your "projected" lineup.
  20. birddog
    So great to hear not only do these top prospects have amazing athletic prowess but also the drive to be the best. In addition they seem to possess strong leadership skills. Saw Buxton at Cedar Rapids last year for 3 games, just before the televised game. He was not at his best but still showed enough to get very excited, especially running the bases. Twins have done a great job recently, drafting and signing players to make the future very bright. Gotta believe they will do everything possible to keep these guys in Minnesota.
  21. birddog
    I have never seen a situation where David Otiz wasn't man enough. Ortiz showed flashes of being the hitter he would become with the Twins, only to have the Twins keep Mathew LeCroix and let Ortiz walk. I can't think of a bigger mistake made by the Twins, including the Nishioka debacle. LeCroix, more famous for eating cockroaches than his hitting or catching prowess, never became anything more than a good old boy who never came close to reaching his potential hitting the way the Twins preferred. My point was that Sano is not only a very talented, young power hitter like Ortiz; he is also a free spirit with a ton of self esteem who knows his style of hitting is just what Twins fans crave. He, like Ortiz, wants to become a leader. He is very young and will make mistakes just like Ortiz did when he first came up, but his style of hitting should eventually bring perennial numbers of .300, 30-40 HRs, and 100+ RBIs. Work on his plate discipline, but let Sano be the hitter he is. He, like Ortiz when the Twins let him go, is a very young man with way too much God-given talent to change his style of hitting.
  22. birddog
    After three years of mediocrity at best, Twins fans have hope for the future and no one provides more excitement than Sano. I remember as a kid watching or listening to Twins games until the very end because Killebrew was coming up in the 9th. Or Puckett. Or (in his prime) Morneau. David Ortiz as a Twin was exciting to watch hit--even when he'd swing and miss. With the great ones is possibility that with every pitch he could hit one out. Willingham two years ago fit that mold. Let Sano be Sano and he'll be fantastic. Don't try to change him like we tried to change Ortiz to "use the whole field". The great home run hitters don't need to use the whole field. If Sano never hits a ball to right field, I'm okay with that. Just hit it hard somewhere and utilize the theory "You've got three swings. Don't be afraid to use them." Sano will strike out--but even his K's will be more exciting than any at bat a current Twin can provide, Mauer included.
  23. birddog
    I am really hoping the Twins take Meyer north when they break camp; however, the 40-man roster is quickly becoming a sore spot that could end up biting the Twins as a number of training camp invitees who have a legitimate shot at making the team are not on the roster. With only one open spot and Kubel almost a lock to make the team, the Twins would have to drop players off the roster to make room for young studs like Meyer. TR already faced tough decisions in naming the 40-man after the World Series, choosing whether to protect young prospects or our middling major leaguers. That job will get only tougher in the upcoming seasons. You would never guess it would be an issue for a team that has lost close to 100 games for three consecutive seasons. By the way, our thoughts and prayers are with TR. We hope he is back with the team soon.
  24. birddog
    I have read that Santana, Polanco, and Goodrum--all excellent prospects--are much more likely to end up at 2B than at SS. I certainly hope that is not the case.
  25. birddog
    I applaud TR for his quick signings. With the Twins selling out most games at Target Field, fans should no longer have to worry about saving a few million dollars to get inferior players as we have in the past--and in a few years, keeping Sano, Buxton, Meyer, etc. Terry Ryan has always been astute finding players in the bargain bin. Now that he has the money to shop where the top teams shop, we should see significant signings to plug holes and once again make the Twins winners sooner than later.
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