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USAFChief

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Everything posted by USAFChief

  1. I've always understood control to mean the ability to throw strikes, command the ability to throw strikes where you want them. A fastball middle middle exhibits control. A fastball on the low outside corner exhibits command.
  2. Well even with 4 LH relievers, that still leaves 4 RHers. As we should know, watching Rocco get outmanaged time after time, PHing for the platoon advantage in the 6th inning has a way of coming back to bite you in the, uh, upper backside of your pants. I'm not going to worry about too many lefties. However, I AM terrified of the Twins pen.
  3. Rojas: "...his fastball and cutter caught too much of the plate, and hitters made him pay. The positive takeaway is that his command was solid; he threw 35 of his 50 pitches for strikes..." Sounds to me like command was an issue. I think you're possibly confusing command with control.
  4. I've felt from the day they signed Bell the intent was to put him at 1st, not DH. Also feel Arcia makes the team as the backup infielder. Less sure, but I bet Outman makes the opening day roster as well.
  5. Yeah, I don't really think the actual distribution of LH/RH hitters matters much anyway. It's the actual batters faced. And that's gonna vary, of course, by pitcher and circumstance, but I don't think it ends up anywhere near 75-25. Sort of related to one of the weaknesses of platooning hitters...you can never really do it to the extent that you'd like. "Lefty mashers" end up facing a lot of RH pitching.
  6. Complete hogwash. I've watched a lot of baseball. Learning and playing a regular position has always been the norm in baseball. Supplement that by finding a utility player that, while not good enough to hold down a regular spot, is good enough to fill in for a regular (ideally at multiple spots on the field) to be acceptable when necessary. What's not normal, nor do I believe beneficial, is to have a team full of players who learn no position, rather are thrown around the diamond willy-nilly. Have players learn the most important defensive position they can handle. Then leave them there. When they can't be in the lineup, find a replacement, but leave the rest of the positions alone as much as possible. There's zero need to weaken multiple positions just because one player is missing. And there's zero need to live with substandard defense solely in the misguided name of "flexibility." That has NOT been the norm throughout history. It shouldn't be the norm now.
  7. For the record, 2nd batter. KABOOM is accurate though.
  8. A couple things: 1. "Roughly three-quarters of hitters in today’s game bat right-handed." I dont think that's accurate. Last year, for example, in the AL roughly 56% of PAs came as a RH batter. https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/split.cgi?t=b&lg=AL&year=2025 It gets a little wonkie with relievers, because of pinch hitting and managers ability to sometimes limit platoon exposure, but Chafin, for example, in his career has faces 1275 RH hitters and 1013 LH hitters. Even with the changes brought by the 3-hitter minimum, last year Chafin faced 71 RH hitters, 72 LH hitters. 2. My belief is imbalance towards RH pitching has more to do with a scarcity of LH pitchers than a preference for RHed pitching. 3. In any case, while the platoon advantage in baseball is real and persistent, ability trumps handedness. The bigger problem for the Twins pen isnt too many LHers, it's too little ability.
  9. Just wanted to say I greatly appreciate your willingness to answer and debate points and/or questions raised in the comments section of your article.
  10. Hey now...you might not be aware, but this is the "most important first half in Twins history."
  11. Plenty of good seats available at lovely Hammond Stadium.
  12. Nobody has even 5 starters now that can give you 3-4 innings, where do you find another half dozen?
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