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USAFChief

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Everything posted by USAFChief

  1. USAFChief
    I love the Legends Club. Do it, you can't go wrong.
  2. USAFChief
    Concur. They have not looked like a team ready for a big league season, regardless the talent level. Not ready to compete.
  3. USAFChief
    Great post, Peanutsfromheaven!
  4. USAFChief
    I hate to resort to cliches, but when a classic barn burner of epic proportions comes along once in a generation like this, well sometimes you have to: the resistable force meets the movable object.
  5. USAFChief
    Everywhere. But I think it has more impact in the infield. CF and catcher. Then corner OF. My belief about outfield is, in general, most of the plays are routine outs, and there will be no difference between Hunter and whoever the best RFer is on those plays. Where Hunter will suffer is on the edge of his range, where a faster player will have a step or two and make an extra catch here and there. But I think we're talking about very few plays. If you could draw a rough circle around Hunter depicting his "range," it wouldn't be much smaller than the circle around the RFer with the best range. The number of balls that fall in delta between the two circles just can't be very many. CFers have more space to cover behind them, so speed to get to balls they don't catch becomes more important, and their range may play up more on balls hot over there head. I also believe there's more to playing defense than just range. I doubt Hunter's arm is subpar, nor will he often throw to the wrong spot, miss the cutoff, or commit other "errors" that don't show up as "errors." IF play, on the other hand, is in general comprised of mostly much harder plays. Just fielding a grounder cleanly is way more difficult than catching a ball in the air, so right there defensive ability becomes more important because of the much greater chance of mishandling a batted ball. But that's only part of the job in the infield, to record an out there is often a throw involved, again increasing the risk of a misplay. Infielders also handle the ball more when it's in play, on relays, stolen base attempts, etc. Add that all up, and the difference between a good shortstop and a bad one is pretty significant. All of which leads me to believe, in the grand scheme of things, the difference between major league corner outfielders isn't something I worry about much. Just one man's opinion.
  6. USAFChief
    FYI, my TV is an LCD, AFAIK.
  7. USAFChief
    Concur. Hunter, for example, has to hit to be worth it. And I'm more nervous about that than his defense.
  8. USAFChief
    I'm hoping my instinct that Hunter's and Arcia's defense aren't as bad as advertised is correct, and that my instinct that corner OF defense doesn't matter as much as advertised is correct, and in total we're worrying too much about both. I've seen too many good teams with immobile corner OFers to think it has a big impact.
  9. USAFChief
    I'm not convinced the "May wasn't stretched out" rationale has much merit. He last started a ST game on March 27th. The fifth starter spot first comes up for the Twins on April 11th. That's 15 days, enough time for one more ST start, and a then simulated game in the bullpen, both with 5 days rest in between, and then 5 days rest until his first regular start. Adding 20 pitches per start gets him to 90, which is probably about what you can expect from most starters the first time or two through the rotation. Besides, when did Pelfrey last start in ST? Won't he need a couple starts to get "stretched out" again? EDIT: that should read 4 days rest between, not five. Four days rest is the normal between starts.
  10. USAFChief
    If the Braves knew, then it shouldn't have been all that hard for the Twins to know, IMO. How do you hand someone that many millions without some vetting?
  11. USAFChief
    The kicker is, though, with Santana out of the picture, that young talent still isn't on the roster. Perhaps that was never the plan.
  12. USAFChief
    link, please.
  13. USAFChief
    I'll take "Things I wish I had posted" for a thousand, Alex.
  14. USAFChief
    I'm not sure "we'll be just fine if the bench rarely has to play, the starters pitch more than is reasonable to expect, and only 3 of 7 relievers pitch any time the game is close" is a viable way to start the season. I guess we'll find out.
  15. USAFChief
    So you're more optimistic than most, then?
  16. USAFChief
    .258/.348/.425 .773 OPS. Fewer steals, good defense, 155 games (I hope)
  17. USAFChief
    I would think to sell hope and optimism you'd try to put new players on the roster that generate hope and optimism. Adding Robinson, Staufer, and the like to a 90 loss team doesn't do that for me. It certainly doesn't scream "a lot more talent." At least not to me, and I doubt I'm in a huge minority.
  18. USAFChief
    Plouffe has developed into a solid third baseman, and is not among the Twins problems. Given health, he'll likely continue to perform at that level.
  19. USAFChief
    FTFY.
  20. USAFChief
    Oliva's OPS was also partially obtained in an era that caused MLB to lower the mound, because pitching was too dominant. Killebrew's too, for that matter. EDIT: note to self...refresh prior to posting
  21. USAFChief
    Lets see where Mauer's career numbers end up before comparing career numbers. In my lifetime, Killebrew was the best Twins hitter I've seen. Oliva second, Carew third, It gets hazy after that. But then I don't put as much weight to OBP as some do. And IMO, two sub .800 OPS seasons out of four, and a seeming inability or unwillingness to adjust is worthy of some discontent, but of course YMMV.
  22. USAFChief
    Gwynn had a very nice career. HOF worthy. Not awesome. Miguel Cabrera hasn't OPS's below .879 since his rookie year. He's been over .900 five times, over 1.000 three more. That's awesome, in my book.
  23. USAFChief
    Batting titles in 2006, 08, and 09 are nice, but don't do much for 2015 and beyond. If he gets to his career line, it'll be a vast improvement over 2014, but not "awesome" in my eyes. 2009 was awsome. That's the Joe Mauer I want on the Twins. And I don't think he can do that by taking 2 strikes and flipping a soft fliner to left.
  24. USAFChief
    Of course it matters, or we'd see pitchers in MLB with 59 MPH fastballs. Any pitch that's good at 89 is better at 99. Velocity matters, it's just not the only thing that matters.
  25. USAFChief
    Virtually every hitter in the history of baseball gets pitched low and outside a lot. For good reason, it's the toughest pitch to do damage with. Miguel Cabrera gets pitched low and away a lot, but still manages to find pitches to pull in the air. If Mauer is the great hitter I'm told he is, why can't he adjust and do the same, at least some times? Does he never see a pitch middle in? I often read that "so and so will be a better hitter when he stops trying to pull everything, learns to go oppo and use the whole field." It seems to me Mauer should get the same treatment...he'll be a better hitter when he learns to use the whole field. Which in his case, is to pull the ball, in the air, and do some damage.
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