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Taildragger8791

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Everything posted by Taildragger8791

  1. Taildragger8791
    Mauer/Grossman are playing positions that have much higher offensive expectations. They're also basically at their respective ceilings for production, whereas Kepler is just getting his career started and has a lot of potential growth ahead of him. I don't see the value in this comparison.
  2. Taildragger8791
    So...to sum up the thread: the Twins can win with Mauer and Dozier but not because of Mauer and Dozier. They aren't negatives at their position but they aren't impactful players either. Personally, even if he's not a negative I still think you leave a lot of production on the table by not displacing Mauer (and Grossman for that matter) in the 1B/DH spots. This team is packed to the gills with 50-60 RBI players with mediocre power, Dozier (~80ish) and Sano (>100) being the only exceptions. Guys are generally getting on base but nobody can consistently drive them in.
  3. Taildragger8791
    I don't see what his past concussions have to do with it. If he still has symptoms he shouldn't be playing. If he doesn't have symptoms and he's only 34 playing the least demanding position on the field then he should be available when needed.
  4. Taildragger8791
    So would I, but they can still refocus and try to make that push for the wildcard if they really want to. It's as much about the mindset of battling for it than the reality of being able to attain it. Realistically, this team wasn't going to battle back for a wildcard with a nearly last place ERA and a mediocre offense so I'm fine with letting the expiring contracts go. To put it in perspective, Garcia and Kintzler are only worth maybe a few WAR over the last 2 months. That's no excuse to go in the tank. If it were then I shudder to think how much worse they'd play if a significant injury occurred.
  5. Taildragger8791
    Because Mauer has never wanted to be the clubhouse leader. He's not vocal or assertive. It's not just about MLB experience, it's about an attitude and a mindset. He's always deferred that role to other guys on the team and just gone about his business.
  6. Taildragger8791
    They did soft buy when they got Garcia, but the team was already starting to slide by then and started sliding even harder after that. It was clear the team was getting outclassed by actual contenders and we were no longer going to hold on to a weak division. I understand players aren't robots but they had a chance to convince ownership to buy and instead they flopped. They're a young and incomplete team, so that's not unexpected. The run differential is what it is for a reason. But they're also professionals and have to learn how to right themselves and continue to perform even when things aren't going their way.
  7. Taildragger8791
    I don't see how a different closer would have affected last night's outcome. Nor a starting pitcher that woudn't have played and was on the squad for a whole week (during which time they still lost so much it was deemed pointless to keep him).
  8. Taildragger8791
    I don't know a lot about swing mechanics but Rosario has pretty elite hand quickness and wrist strength, and an innate feel for making contact. Can Polanco realistically reproduce that swing successfully?
  9. Taildragger8791
    You'd be wrong. Only one year in the last 10 has there not been a starter with 5+ CGs (there were several with 4 instead), and usually there are multiple. It's a great feat and indicative of a very good pitcher, but it doesn't make someone an ace. His ERA is over 5 since the start of June. It's still over 4 since the start of May. That's because he's been highly volatile, flipping between good/great and poor. Like I said, a very good pitcher and is a decent #2 or very solid #3 as it stands today. But given the choice there are probably 15-20 pitchers that you'd take before him to start game 1 in the playoffs. That alone kind of knocks him out of the argument of being a #1 on a contender. Also, his FIP is a run and a half higher than his ERA because his peripherals are much more middle-of-the-road. Not that I think his FIP represents the 'true' Santana but it does point to some underlying issues which manifest during his blow-up games.
  10. Taildragger8791
    In a typical year that's good for somewhere in the 6th-8th range, but you're still talking about a pretty useless statistic. It's a rough indicator of performance, at best, with a lot of randomness and external factors built in.
  11. Taildragger8791
    Going to be tough when he already has 7 losses and has a pattern of crapping the bed every 2nd or 3rd start. I'd peg him around 17 wins. Still very good but not a #1 for a contender if that's what you're implying. He plays up to that level at times but the differentiator is consistency. There's a reason his FIP is 4.81 and career ERA is 4.08. He's a very solid #3 that can play up and pass as a #2 for stretches. If the league saw him as more than that then he'd have had a much hotter trade market. Teams would kill to get a true #1/#2 pitcher for only $14 million per year.
  12. Taildragger8791
    Unfortunately, our OF doesn't provide much power or have the potential for it. The most you can reasonably ask for is 15-20 HRs each from these guys, maybe a few more down the road in peak years. Dozier has power but it's way too inconsistent and mostly shows up in empty base situations (only driven in 2 runs besides himself on homeruns, both times it was Chris Gimenez oddly enough). He's stated he doesn't want to hit middle of the order so he's not really compensating for Mauer's and our DH's below average production. If this team is going to take a step forward offensively next year they'll have to address 1B/DH, reducing Mauer's playing time significantly. He'll make a fine parttime player, backup, and bench bat while he rides out the final year of his contract.
  13. Taildragger8791
    I didn't say 'easy', just 'easiest'. We're not replacing any of the young outfielders. SS, 2B, and 3B are going to be held for players currently on the roster or in the minors. Catcher is what it is. 1B and DH are the only spots that aren't locked down by produtive veterans or young talent. Those are also the spots where more affordable offense-first players can be readily hidden. Whether or not the stars line up to make it happen...who knows.
  14. Taildragger8791
    1B and DH should be the easiest places to find upgrades in free agency this year. They need more XBHs and run production out of those spots, because we aren't going to get it from up the middle players on this squad (Dozier's solo homers excluded) and Rosario/Kepler aren't exactly destroyers of baseballs either. I don't know what this means for Mauer, and he hasn't been bad by any means, but there is so much more opportunity for offense out of the position he occupies. A 60-RBI first baseman, even with gold glove defense, just leaves too much on the table.
  15. Taildragger8791
    I totally understand the zeal - a lot of people recognize that he's the most immediately replaceable veteran on the roster that actually performs at a league average level while also being on a reasonable contract. A slugging 2nd baseman is a luxury on a losing team anyways. That should have made him the best trade asset we've had in a long tim but unfortunately the demand just wasn't there. Oh, and the 2B logjam will be there starting sometime next year when Polanco, Gordon, Dozier, Escobar, and Adrianza are all trying to find playing time. I don't see a logjam in the outfield yet. Granite is likely a 4th outfielder so he fits in just fine. Grossman is an OF by technicality only, he doesn't play out there any more than necessary. There aren't any OF prospects beating down the door next year, and starting in 2019 we'll have an opening at 1B to rotate guys through as well. I see that situation working itself out with minimal pain.
  16. Taildragger8791
    He's eating that money either way. The only decision now is whether he wants to further sandbag his team with an ineffective player eating up a roster spot, and add on the potential expense of losing a future cheap young player.
  17. Taildragger8791
    Playing in the launching pad known as the PCL, where Oswaldo Arcia is hitting .350/.434/.686. So a grain of salt should be taken with the numbers. But to his credit, Calhoun for his career does have a low strikeout rate which should boost his odds of success.
  18. Taildragger8791
    It may be, it may not be. But I don't see any reason for hard feelings and I'm not sure why you're suggesting there is. Nobody is talking about him taking a discount to come back here either, so you can drop that argument. If the Twins put in a competitive offer and he enjoyed his time here, which his comments suggest, then they have a shot to get him back. And if not then he was probably going to walk at the end of the year anyways and we're in the exact same position we are now, with no Kintzler on the 2018 roster. Except now we have one more lotto ticket in the system. Edit: And I say "the only significant contract he'll ever get" because he turns 33 tomorrow and has had a pretty unconventional career path to date. He's not going to be getting any multi-year deals when he's 36+.
  19. Taildragger8791
    Kintzler himself already suggested it was a possibility, so obviously he doesn't share your sentiment. I also doubt he's too upset about getting to leap from a non-playoff team to a World Series contender where he can showcase himself for the only significant free agent contract he'll ever get.
  20. Taildragger8791
    Who are these 10+ (healthy) relievers you refer to? Jake Reed is still on an every 3rd day pitching schedule for some reason. After that it gets pretty meh.
  21. Taildragger8791
    That was my thought too. He gives a little power protection to keep pitchers honest, and even if he is a bit streaky you still have to respect it.
  22. Taildragger8791
    10 K's for Dozier in the series. Ouch. Does he really make the most sense as leadoff hitter at this point? He's hitting .247/.329/.438 which also happens to be almost exactly his career slash line. Looks more like a mid-lineup guy.
  23. Taildragger8791
    Saying they "should have won" kind of hand waves away the reasons they didn't win though. They lost because their starting pitching is wobbly and the bullpen is overworked and lacks both depth and high-end talent. Those are real flaws that they haven't been able to fix for too long now. Even the offense has been streaky and too dependant on performance from a few core hitters, lacking the depth to compensate when those guys occassionally can't come through. Over several games these things starkly separate us from the upper echelon teams and make it difficult to beat them consistently. I think that's all people are expressing here, not that they're outright terrible.
  24. Taildragger8791
    Ahem, he's only 3/4. Not that anyone is complaining about 2 doubles and a jack. Raised his OPS from .790 to .817 in one game.
  25. Taildragger8791
    I didn't see the game so I'm having a hard time understanding reports that Gibson pitched really well when he was at 96 pitches with 6 hits, 3 walks, and 3 runs after 6 innings. Not bad for a back-end starter but still seems inefficient and the WHIP is again too high. If we're grading on a scale then I suppose I understand the faint praise a little more, but even for a 5th starter that line should be more the norm than the exception.
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