Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

USAFChief

Twins Daily Contributor
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    35,867

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    577

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by USAFChief

  1. USAFChief
    "Move to middle relief." Now you're paying FA starter prices to a reliever, and chances are he's not an asset there, either. So you're not just wasting money, you're weakening the pen.
  2. USAFChief
    I also take exception to describing Burton or Fien as "striking gold." More like "striking adequate."
  3. USAFChief
    There's little reason to believe Shields is a sure "problem." In a down year last year, he would have easily been one of the Twins best five starters. Easily. Also, can you name these three relievers? Once you've done that, explain why the Twins couldn't add Shields AND sign these three.
  4. USAFChief
    I'd trade Nolasco for Shields without so much as a second thought, but that's a pipe dream. No way SD gives away Shields for nothing. Shields still has value. Right now,you couldn't give Nolasco away. A more realistic deal would be Nolasco for Melvin Upton.
  5. USAFChief
    Concur. Those aren't the only options, though.
  6. USAFChief
    Isn't it Ryan's job to be out in front of trends, rather than be surprised and frustrated? Actions speak louder than words. If improving the pen is truly a priority, do something about it. Offering Fien and hoping on minor leaguers seems to me the opposite of "priority."
  7. USAFChief
    It's like my cousin, Johan Santanaroseannadanna always said...
  8. USAFChief
    Yes...Byung is as close to one syllable as us westerners can manage. Much like the car is actually "Hyundai."
  9. USAFChief
    More Korean language trivia: Hangul is the name of the Korean language. Though the written Korean language originates from Chinese characters, pronunciations and some meanings are different. Further, centuries ago a Korean monarch developed an alphabet system, so written Korean is actually comprised of "letters," much like English. Just to confuse students of the language, though, in South Korea newspapers and the like will toss in a random character here and there, to make the meaning clearer...or so they say! Interestingly, North Koreans avoid using characters, it's all Hangul. To bring this back to Mr Pak, the "P" in "Pak" and the "B" in Byung are actually the same "letter." The "B" gets a slightly different pronunciation because it follows a "consonant"... the "k" in Pak. So technically, if westernized, it should really be Pyung Ho Pak.
  10. USAFChief
    Byung Ho Park. Technically, Pak (rhymes with sock) is actually the Korean family name, Park a common westernization of that name. I have no idea which he prefers. And further, his family name comes first in Korea. Pak Byung Ho. It's common for Koreans to reverse that in the west, but not universal. My qualifications: it was a long time ago, but I'm a graduate of the Korean Dept of the Defense Language Institute.
  11. USAFChief
    The problem with non tendering Milone is, whether or not he is one of the Twins best five starters in December isn't the issue. He may or may not be. But the question is whether or not he'll be one of the Twins best five AVAILABLE starters for good chunks of 2016. The answer to that is almost surely yes. Teams who plan on five starters getting them through a season are always disappointed. Milone is a capable big league pitcher, and will prove useful. I doubt the Twins add a better starter if they drop Milone. Fien is the opposite...the Twins can and should be adding better arms to the pen.
  12. USAFChief
    Props where props are due...remarkably accurate contract estimate.
  13. USAFChief
    Concur!
  14. USAFChief
    I agree May is a quality arm. I don't think it plays as well as a starter as is common opinion, but I could be wrong. I disagree with "pecking order." I think it had to do mostly with need, and who was most likely to help alleviate that need. And if the Twins fill the pen this winter with better options than May, I would be fine with May to the rotation.
  15. USAFChief
    I'm not talking about revolutionizing pitcher use. I'm talking about maximizing run prevention for the last 3-4 innings of games for the 2016 Twins. Get quality arms in the pen, more than just a couple, and then use them by trying to limit non dominant starters getting into trouble. When there is reason to avoid it, don't send a starter out for the seventh inning to face the top of the order in a winnable game. Get a fresh arm in there, BEFORE trouble brews. As for asking players to perform as asked, if that's a problem, you have bigger problems.
  16. USAFChief
    So make having a deep and effective pen a priority. Don't scrounge the scrap heap for important pieces of your pen...find quality arms. Like, say, a Trevor May.
  17. USAFChief
    Innings from starters has been in decline for about a century. It's nothing new. In the case of the Twins bullpen for upcoming seasons, I'd leave May in the pen, look to add a quality RH arm through FA or trade, find a dependable LOOGY, keep Tonkin and hope, move on from Boyer and Fien, give Meyer a shot out of spring training, convert one or two of Rogers and Dean to reliever in spring training, and aggressively promote the better minor league arms so they are in AA or AAA and better prepared to potentially help during the season. And then I'd tell Molitor to look long and hard at the data which clearly shows sending starters out to face hitters for the third and fourth time is risky, and it's better to get him out of the game a bit early than a bit late. I'd also make sure he is aware that one of the secrets to KC's bullpen success is often letting his bullpen start innings, rather than coming in to clean up messes already in progress.
  18. USAFChief
    The 8.7 percent comes from pitch/fx. Click on the bolded word "this" in the OP
  19. USAFChief
    I don't know what I WOULD do, but what I wouldn't do is count on internal options to provide a playoff worthy bullpen in 2016.
  20. USAFChief
    That statement assumes, among other things: -- Jepsen and Perkins will be healthy and productive. All year. -- The "two guys who don't make the rotation" are still here, in the pen, and are productive. -- The Twins will have a seven man pen, only a seven man pen, and it'll be the same seven men through the entire season. Nobody is saying it's a good idea to fill 8 or 9 bullpen spots with FA's, particularly those on the expensive side. But "don't sign FA relievers" isn't realistic either. Nor is "don't sign FA relievers who cost some money." A deep, dependable and dominant bullpen isn't something that can come entirely from the minor leagues. Bullpens are at least 7 deep these days, sometimes 8. And you can't count on the same 7 or 8 to last the season, so realistically having 10 or more on hand should be the goal. I don't think any minor league system can be expected to continually cough up quality arms to fill those spots. Bodies? Sure. But not quality bodies. Same with digging through the FA scrap heap, hoping something sticks. That might yield a temporarily adequate guy on occasion, but usually just means you're stuck with a bullpen piece you don't want on the mound, and you're looking for help by June. When--or if--those minor league arms force their way into the discussion, they'll get their shot. If they don't, it's only because the arms in the big leagues are getting the job done, which is a good thing.
  21. USAFChief
    You could say the same about any position. Stop chasing catchers and develop them. Stop chasing starters and develop them. It's one of those theories that has the ring of authority but has little chance of working. Forcing players onto your big league team simply because you drafted them isn't how you get consistently good. There is nothing inherently wrong with signing FA relievers. The key, as with any position, is signing talent, and then getting lucky with health. Not to mention, adding relievers from outside your organization is doubly important simply because you need so many of them. You might hit on two draft picks to fill your C position. Having 8-12 good relievers available to get through a seaon entirely from your own system is unlikely at best. Don't pay for saves. Absolutely pay for guys who get results.
  22. USAFChief
    Concur. I think Arcia has only himself to blame for 2015. I hope he comes to camp raking in the spring.
  23. USAFChief
    For his career, Mauer has an OPS 150 pts higher vs RH pitching. Platoon splits are real, or will be real eventually, for virtually every hitter in MLB history.
  24. USAFChief
    If Wieters was going to be too expensive, I don't think it's likely they'll be shopping in the Cespedes section of the FA outfielder market.
  25. USAFChief
    It would be nice to have at least three. Right now I'm not sure the Twins have even that many.
×
×
  • Create New...