scottz

I think people want to be entertained, and sometimes teams being as smart as they can might interfere with that.

What's your favorite Target Field food?

Dereck Rodriguez with another nice outing, and against the Houston Astros no less. 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K - left with his team leading 1-0. Rodriguez has allowed three or fewer runs in 10 of his starts. On the year, he is 5-1 in 13 games (11 starts) with a 2.34 ERA. Over 73 innings, he has a 7.52 K/9 and a 3.39 K/BB ratio (61/18).

pretty important guy though.

Yeah, filed under "Rotographs". I posted the link here before I read it. Not sure I would have posted it if I would have read it first, as it seems...half-assed? Anyway...grain of salt.

https://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/minnesota-twins-top-10-prospects-updated/

I am very, very, very, very, very, very excited for Johnny Field to be on this team.

I think positional flexibility is a great thing to try to maximize a 25-man roster. It's not for every player - for example, no one would dream of putting Sano in RF - but some players really do seem to thrive on being able to take the field in any position. If Rosario is up for some time at the keystone, give him an infielder's glove. If Garver can play 1B or RF on occasion, let's go. Kepler at 1B, sure! I dare say it makes the player more marketable (if they like it and can play multiple positions reasonably well), and it allows the team to play match-up against a pitcher. Heck, I'd go so far as to identify relief pitchers that can track down a fly ball reasonably well so they could play the outfield for an out if necessary. So I'm all on board with suggestions of moving players around the diamond on two conditions: 1) they want to, and 2) they are good enough. No force fitting. The only other thing I'd comment on is something I know nothing about. If there are guys that have to be added or kept on the 40 man who we haven't seen (including newly added players), let's take a look.

Too bad Mejia pitched 3 innings in relief the other day in Boston. Pulled in the 5th after 74 pitches - 1 hit, 3 walks up to that point. Hopefully on full rest before his next start we'll see him pitch into the 6th-7th-8th.

Hey man, I hope you’re right. You probably should be committed, but I hope you’re right.

Disagree.

From Fangraphs on 7/26/2018: Gabriel Maciel, CF, Arizona Diamondbacks (Profile) Level: Low-A Age: 19 Org Rank: 18 FV: 40 Line: 2-for-4, 2B Notes The 19-year-old Brazilian has hit in every July game in which he’s played and is riding an 18-game streak, including multi-hit games in eight of his past 10. Maciel was hitting .249/.336/.305 on July 1 and is now at .291/.367/.338. He’s a plus-plus running center fielder with very limited physicality, but he understands what his offensive approach has to be to reach base and he has played well-executed small-ball throughout his pro career. There’s risk that this style of hitting won’t play against better defenses and that Maciel winds up as a bench outfielder. From Fangraphs on 6/18/2018: Jhoan Duran, RHP, Diamondbacks: If you’re looking for a deep-ish sleeper to keep an eye on, Duran is a name to know. He has a great pitcher’s frame but room to continue to get stronger and perhaps pick up even more velo. He’s already in the 94-98 mph range with his fastball, though, and it’s really the secondary offerings (breaking ball, change) that need the most focus. As is, Duran uses his height to create excellent downward plane on his heater and most hitters simply pound the ball into the air. He can miss bats, too, and has whiffed 47 batters in 41 innings since joining low-A ball in early May. The swing-and-miss ability paired with ground-ball tendencies makes him an extremely attractive pitching prospect and this 20-year-old hurler could be a valuable reliever if the secondary stuff doesn’t develop enough for him to be an impact starter.

Phillies are getting Asdrubel Cabrera. We'll be able to compare returns. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/07/phillies-to-acquire-asdrubal-cabrera.html

"TRANSACTIONS Jeremy Hazelbaker was acquired from Tampa Bay for cash considerations and was assigned to Rochester. Another left-handed hitting outfielder, Hazelbaker has hit .258/.327/.500 (.827 OPS) over 285 plate appearances with the Cardinals and Diamondbacks. The 30-year-old was having a rough go of things for Durham, Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, hitting .210/.293/.397 (.690 OPS)." Complete unfounded gut reaction conspiracy theory: That sounds like the kind of move you'd make if you were going to trade someone like Kepler. More likely: Oh, another AAAA outfielder for depth since LaMarre is gone.

Yeah, but nothing else.

As someone from rural Minnesota with lots of town (and township) ball teams to watch when growing up, I'd definitely be interested in that. Even if it just something featured around playoff time (playoffs underway now, with state tournaments the 3 weeks before Labor Day).

In order, my preference of trading pitchers: Lynn, Santana, Odorizzi, then Gibson. Obviously, you listen if the deal offered for Gibson is a monster, so orders of preference probably don't mean much. Especially from me because they never invite me to any of the FO meetings, so they likely won't even consider my input.

I don’t think going to Gordon makes sense given his current struggles at AAA. September callup to get his feet wet and he will shuttle between here and Rochester in 2019. 2020 is his timeline for “full time.” Also, I’m not convinced Dozier is going anywhere. I think they probably should trade him, but I don’t know if what they are offered from interested teams will satisfy. In fact, I could see them giving Dozier and Escobar both a QO!

1.) Where are you from? Grew up in Sleepy Eye, MN. Currently in St. Louis Park. 2.) Age Range? 47, but my kids ask me questions about what it was like in the 1800s. 3.) What brought you to Twins Daily? I do not recall. 4.) Highest level of baseball/softball played? I played through my age 15 summer. Decent glove, no hit. Thought I should spend more time on the golf course where I was good. I still play softball where our team age is pretty apparent these days. 5.) Favorite Twins Player, and favorite underappreciated Twins player, and if you want, favorite current Twins player? Favorite throughout the years of fandom: Willie Norwood, Hosken Powell, Bombo Rivera, Roy Smalley, Rob Wilfong, John Castino, John Butcher, Frank Viola, Kirby Puckett, Shane Mack, Greg Gagne (all the '87s, really), Denard Span, Johan Santana, Eduardo Escobar. Oh, and Bernardo Brito. What a great name. Underappreciated: Shane Mack stands alone. Current: Escobar. 6.) Favorite non-Twins Daily site/authors? Fangraphs, Baseball Reference, The Players Tribune. Non-baseball/sports: Kurt Vonnegut and Stephen King. 7.) Favorite Twitter follows? Never got into it. I like Instagram though. 8.) Other interests outside of baseball? Wife (1) and Kids (2), golf, poker, deer hunting for one or two weekends in November, stand up comedy, finding time to catch up with old and current friends. 9.) Favorite part of Twins Daily? Minor League Reports - by far my favorite, Game Reports - specifically, I love the bullpen pitch count and the game chart. I also like perusing the Forums. 10.) Tell us what we can do better. I love the idea earlier in this thread of getting a player (or, I'll add on, a front office-type) to do a Q&A. 11.) Have you been to any of the Twins Daily "events?" I haven't, but not for lack of interest. Life is busy, and although it would be nice to meet many of the people behind the screen names, I have a hard time making it a priority when competing with other options involving people more directly in my life. But I hope they continue to be successful and perhaps someday I'll get to one.

April 3, 1998 - Home Opener versus the Royals. Sitting lower deck down the third base line at the Metrodome, about halfway between the bullpen and the foul pole and maybe 10-12 rows up. Terry Pendleton at the plate, Brad Radke on the hill, Pendleton hits a slicing fly ball down the left field line. It slices foul, takes one big, spinny bounce once off the carpet and lands right in my glove. Yes, my glove. A 27 year old me brought a glove to the game. But it paid off. That is the only foul ball I've ever caught. Although probably 15-16-ish years earlier, in nearly the same spot, I had my hand on a foul ball in the row behind me, but my arm was nearly wrenched all the way behind me giving me little leverage, and a classmate had two hands on it, and I grudgingly let it go. I also had a batting practice ball flipped to my by Scott Erickson on fan appreciation night in 1991. I still have both of those balls - they are sitting on my work desk - but I can't tell you which one is which.

Found some. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Buxton

I think the likeliest trade is Lynn. He is a known commodity and has been solid since his terrible start. Santana isn’t going anywhere, unless he comes back and makes several good starts with a hiccup. That means August deadline, not July, if it happens at all. I don’t think anyone offers enough for Gibson to be traded, and I’m ok with that. He has been a good piece to have for a year now. I think you run Slegers and Mejia out there now, and Gonsalves and Littell in September. If anyone wants Rodney or Duke, you say yes. If Belisle’s mom calls and asks to trade for him, say yes. Otherwise, pay him the rest of his money and tell him to buy the most comfortable couch on the market. If anyone inquires about Dozier or Lomo you say yes. If anyone asks about Escobar, you ask for a lot and give him a QO if he’s still around at the end of the year unless you can sign him for a reasonable 2-3 year deal. If anybody asks about Buxton, you think real hard, but say no. He will figure it out sometime next year. If anybody asks about Sano, you say no. He will be a full beast next year or maybe even August. It sure would be nice if they didn’t lose until after the All Star break and make everyone complain when we still do the right thing and makes some trades.

Grossman in the 4 hole. DID WE WIN YET?

Your starting 3B tonight is William Austrudrillons.

Just to get this thread back towards the title: Jorge Polanco - 4 games, 6 for 13, 1 HR, 1 3B, 2 BB, 2 K, .462/.533/.846 (1.379 OPS).