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Taildragger8791

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Everything posted by Taildragger8791

  1. Taildragger8791
    They might have fit into the budget, but how do we know that Bill Smith wasn't providing some different direction/priorities at the time that led us to signing those players vs others? It sort of stands out when some of our best international signings the last 10 years came in the short span Smith was at the helm.
  2. Taildragger8791
    The average may come down but the power will remain. And when you hit the ball as hard as he does consistently, the BABIP will be elevated from the norm anyways. So it shouldn't fall off the table completely.
  3. Taildragger8791
    I think that's pretty much the consensus. Nobody is saying he's toast or to give up on him. Just that there are legitimate concerns because of the ongoing severity of his struggles and ineptitude to this point. I just don't think pointing to mini slumps that other players have had really says anything useful one way or the other about Buxton. Particularly when those slumps don't really compare all that well (different root cause, different types of players, different era, etc). It would be more helpful to find cases of talented players that had his level of strikeout and pitch recognition issues and actually overcame them.
  4. Taildragger8791
    All players have slumps that even out in the long run, we know this. That doesn't relate to what Buxton is going through because this isn't just a slump, he's been totally inept with the bat (until yesterday). Other than his September swoon he hasn't shown that he can handle major league pitching at even a basic level in what is now his 3rd year in the show. It would be one thing if he was repeatedly oscillating between stretches of competence and slumps as he makes adjustments back and forth with pitchers. But this isn't that, this has been a guy that's totally lost at the plate and just trying random things to find something that works.
  5. Taildragger8791
    With a strikeout rate half that of Buxton's, and a K/BB rate closer to 2 instead of 7.
  6. Taildragger8791
    It's not about "proving" anything. I'm kind of tired of hearing that phrase. It's about going to an environment more conducive to learning and making adjustments for young players because the difficulty level isn't ratched up to 11. That said, I'm not ready to send him down yet since there has been glimmers of progress lately. Let's see if that turns into anything or if it's just a blip.
  7. Taildragger8791
    I've always wondered this as well. There are many reports about how great and major league ready most of his pitches are, yet that same stuff doesn't seem to be good enough to overpower minor leaguers. He gets by but it doesn't seem sustainable as he keeps moving up. But then again what do I know (don't answer that).
  8. Taildragger8791
    What is going on with Kohl Stewart tonight? 4 wild pitches already, along with 4 runs and a whole bunch of baserunners. The wheels are coming off...
  9. Taildragger8791
    Agreed. I'm thinking this can't just be a platoon thing since Mauer and Vargas are both playing.
  10. Taildragger8791
    That would make me more optimistic about the lack of promise in our pipeline if the Twins had a proven ability and desire to acquire pitchers from outside the organization. Because right now that's the only way this front office is going to get a league-average staff pulled together before the end of the decade.
  11. Taildragger8791
    So how do you differentiate whether the difference is due to luck or due to loss of effectiveness? It's surely a combination of both, but Gibson has been pretty ineffective for the better part of a year and a half now. It's not just luck that he's regularly living on the wrong side of his already unimpressive career numbers.
  12. Taildragger8791
    I was thinking about something like this today too. To take it a step further you could account for outs in the inning as well. Guy on 3rd with no outs shouldn't count against the new pitcher because they can score even on a fly out or slow ground out. Things like that should be considered. But overall I like the idea of splitting the responsibility for the runners.
  13. Taildragger8791
    I flat out admit I don't understand anything about Santiago. The dude just seems to get the job done despite logic and stats saying it doesn't make any sense. Maybe he's the inverse Ricky Nolasco that out-pitches his FIP by a run instead of lagging it by a run. My stance is to be happy and enjoy it for as long as it lasts. No need as a fan to pick it apart with questions while it's working.
  14. Taildragger8791
    I'd much rather have a dominant reliever that can go 2/3 innings than a #4 starter, and I'd guess Duffey would prefer to be one of the best relievers in baseball over being a middling starter. Everyone likes to have an important role that they can execute well and the key bullpen pitchers are heralded more than the back end rotation guys these days. It's not a step down by any means. Find someone else to fill those back-end spots and let's see if Duffey can really carve out an anchor spot in the bullpen. The impact of having a reliever that can salvage short (but not yet hopeless) starts without burning half the bullpen is pretty huge in the modern game.
  15. Taildragger8791
    That haircut. Woah. You could have told me that thumbnail image was from 1992 and I wouldn't have even questioned it. Looks like he's going for the Ricky 'Wild Thing' Vaughn look.
  16. Taildragger8791
    Don't forget Reed injured and not pitching yet. And as good as Berrios has looked it doesn't mean anything until he translates it to the majors. Sooooo...not a lot going on with the minor league pitching right now. At least Burdi is healthy and throwing strikes.
  17. Taildragger8791
    He changes the leg kick usage from pitch-to-pitch at this point. No consistency. He'll use 2-3 different kicks/toe taps in the same at-bat. Definitely something going on there that needs to settle down.
  18. Taildragger8791
    Cheating the quota system? That's a paddlin'.
  19. Taildragger8791
    And the intimidating Grossman forces the 4-pitch walk with bases loaded, stirring up memories of Albert Pujols in his prime.
  20. Taildragger8791
    For how impressed DickNBert are with sky-high popups you'd almost be fooled into thinking they count for something.
  21. Taildragger8791
    As if it was even a competition when to pit Hicks against a 6-foot-7 275-lb slugger with the name "Judge".
  22. Taildragger8791
    I think of a little under .200 reasons why JRM wasn't entrusted with the backup role. The backup catcher spot is pretty far down the list of reasons this opening day roster confuses me. I'll wait to get too riled up until games are played and we see how the roster shakes out over the first month. But I also don't buy into the idea that the opening day roster doesn't matter. As we found out last year the games count in the first week as much as they do in the last week. I'm going to be seriously disappointed if we start out losing big with a bunch of uncompetitive games, ending yet another season before April is over.
  23. Taildragger8791
    Alex Meyer, the one with a 7.20 ERA and 2.20 WHIP in spring training for the Angels this year? That Alex Meyer?
  24. Taildragger8791
    Arcia's problems had nothing to do with being sent down/up. The dude is a thick-skulled knucklehead who stubbornly believes that the only plate approach that matters is swinging hard enough at every pitch to throw his back out every year. He seems like a good guy and teammate, but proved to be incapable of learning the finer points of the game required to be successful in the majors. Vargas isn't at all like that, I think he just doesn't have the requisite contact skills for his role. He has a decent plate approach and will draw walks when his pitches aren't there, which is good. But he's a bit of a guesser and a mistake hitter. He only hit .200/.292/.400/.692 with a 35% strikeout rate in 41 games after the all star break last year. That's brutal production out of your designated hitter. Vargas is going to get extended run in Minnesota this year so starting in AAA shouldn't be a big deal. There will be plenty of at-bats to go around between Mauer, Park, and Vargas for the DH/1B roles. But for now he hasn't done enough to displace Mauer or beat out Park for the everyday job.
  25. Taildragger8791
    While I'm encouraged with Gibson's spring I'm also hesitant to get too excited since he's a bit of a spring queen. His ERA is 2.52 since 2014 in spring training. As we know his regular season ERA is nearly double that, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much yet until I see his new approach working in April or later. But maybe that's just the abused Minnesota fan in me that is scared to have good feelings about anything lest they be yanked away in the most painful way possible.
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