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gunnarthor

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Everything posted by gunnarthor

  1. gunnarthor
    I think injuries played at least some part. He really fell off a cliff after June - .643 OPS over his last 84 games. Let's hope being healthy gets a big improvement.
  2. gunnarthor
    I do think the teams OBP has to improve or they will see a decline in runs. In another thread I pointed out that 7 guys accounted for 2250 or so PA with a sub .300 OBP. Of those 7, only Rosario and Suzuki will be starters out of ST. Rosario should improve. Long term, Buxton should be a high on-base guy. Addtionally, 1000 of those PA went to Hunter, Vargas and Danny Santana and most of those PA (hopefully) will be given to Sano, Park and Escobar. So, we'll see how they do.
  3. gunnarthor
    You're not saying "facts" in any useful situation though. You're purposefully ignoring all the situations unique to the Twins GM position that Ryan had to deal with to make your one "fact" look accurate. Anyone can list a bunch of facts that, out of context, deliberately deceive others - frankly, it happens all the time, esp in politics. But if you want to pretend that your one fact out of context is fair you shouldn't get all offended when everyone else thinks you have an ax to grind instead of an actual valid opinion.
  4. gunnarthor
    No, I think he was probably deciding between the two.
  5. gunnarthor
    Same rate as Billy Beane, actually.
  6. gunnarthor
    this is getting a little silly but Hicks rankings by BA went from 39, 19, 45 to not ranked to 72. He hasn't been considered a top 50 prospect since before the 2011 season. The Twins also happen to have the #1 ranked prospect who plays the same position. I think it's probably a bit more accurate to look at Hicks more recent track record to figure out what he is at this point. I like him but as others have said, Yankee fans are complaining about trading Murphy for a 4th OFer.
  7. gunnarthor
    If you move Plouffe before you sign Park, you lose some leverage on him, too.
  8. gunnarthor
    I think this is pretty spot on. I do think that IF Hicks could get it all figured out, his tools would make him a better player but I think that's very unlikely. And I do think Hicks is the more likely of the two to fall apart as well. So it seems like a smart trade.
  9. gunnarthor
    Oh. OK, I guess. I figured it was sarcasm because of the Hicks being a 20/20 guy and gold glover. I mean, I liked the guy but, no. He doesn't hit RHP well enough to do that and his defense looks good (I like it better than the stats) but he's not a gold glove guy.
  10. gunnarthor
    And, of course, there are a lot of things still up in the air. It's possible Park doesn't sign and Sano goes back to DH. The Twins could add someone else in FA. Ryan probably has a few moves left to make.
  11. gunnarthor
    I think we need a sarcasm font.
  12. gunnarthor
    I think Rosario/Buxton/Sano is the most likely scenario but the team could decide that Buxton needs another two months in AAA. Then they could go with a top-gap like Rosario/Robinson/Sano. A few other ideas - they could resign Span on a one-year, make good contract. I doubt this happens at all b/c if Span wanted a make good year, he wouldn't want to do it here. So if he signs here, it'll be a four year deal and Boras is his agent now. But Rosario/Span/Sano and then when Buxton is ready, Plouffe is moved or Mauer or Park is benched. They could also let Rosario start in center and give Arcia a last shot - Arcia/Rosario/Sano. Probably not ideal.
  13. gunnarthor
    Defensively, the Twins probably upgrade from Hicks to Buxton.
  14. gunnarthor
    Seems like Yankee fans are split as well http://www.pinstripealley.com/2015/11/11/9715710/john-ryan-murphy-trade-yankees-twins-aaron-hicks#comments
  15. gunnarthor
    Doesn't seem to be that bad - he thinks Hicks may profile as a league average hitter going forward, not a superstar. That seems about right. He's less confident about Murphy's bat but still thinks he has enough skills to be a solid platoon, if nothing else. That seems like a decent enough best case/worst case scenario.
  16. gunnarthor
    The Cameron fangraph articles says he's about average on pitch framing.
  17. gunnarthor
    I liked HIcks but I think people are going a bit overboard here. Defensive stats thought he was about average, although I think he looked better under the eye test. He had a monster July last year but didn't hit much after that (OPS for Aug and Sep were .597 and .701). It's doubtful that bat plays in a corner and the Twins have the best CF prospect in baseball ready to step in this season. Murphy isn't sexy but he's a solid enough catcher with more years of team control. And it's probable that the Twins scouted him a bit in the EL and IL so have several years of reports on him. Sure don't think the comparisons to Herrmann are fair.
  18. gunnarthor
    That was Bill Smith.
  19. gunnarthor
    WTF?
  20. gunnarthor
    Seems about fair. I like Hicks but I'm not sure he has enough bat to play a corner and CF is obviously Buxton's for the long term. And, even with his break out last year, his bat hasn't been ideal. Hicks did, esp in the second half, show an ability to get on base which the team generally lacks and in the short term, that might hurt. I never looked at Murphy from the Yanks, always thought they'd try and target Sanchez instead.
  21. gunnarthor
    I'd do it in a heartbeat but the Cubs wouldn't.
  22. gunnarthor
    http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/11/mariners-search-trade-center-fielder-gardner-yankees.html Twins aren't mentioned but with Hicks and Buxton and possibly Rosario all able to play CF, it could make sense for the Twins to talk. According to the article, the Mariner's have talked to the Yankees about Gardner, who is a LFer but would move to CF. They've also mentioned that James Paxton could be made available.
  23. gunnarthor
    I don't think he (Ward) would be enough. He was taken in the first round but signed at a discount. He came up a few times as a possible pick for us at 73. MLBpipeline ranked him #99 in their top 200 for the draft. He's seen as a defense first catcher with a limited bat. Most likely a backup. Here's the pipeline write up on him - "Ward, who served as a backup on USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team over the summer, is primarily a catch-and-throw guy. He has tremendous arm strength and has worked to improve his release time to get the ball down to second even faster. His other defensive skills aren't as advanced as his arm, but he has the tools to be a quality all-around receiver. While he's hit some in college, his offensive game does lag behind his defense at this point, though he'll flash glimpses of some pull power. He is athletic and runs well for a catcher. Ward has the behind-the-plate skills to at least be a strong Major League backup. The team that takes him early will be the one that thinks he'll hit enough to be a regular backstop at the highest level."
  24. gunnarthor
    I do think the team has to make a lot fewer outs, but that's pretty obvious. I doubt that they can put up a .305 OBP again and score as many runs but I also think they should expect some improvement. They gave nearly 2300 PA to 7 guys with a sub-.300 OBP last year, which they can't really do again and expect to be as lucky. But of those guys, only Rosario and Suzuki may be starters out of ST. It looks like the team is trying to upgrade at catcher and Rosario should be a bit better as part of natural progression (or, if he's not, the team has depth behind him with Kepler and Buxton in AAA). Obviously, some of those PA will still go to bad hitters - another Shane Robinson type - but Hunter, Vargas and Santana amassed nearly 1000 of those PA and those PA should be mostly taken by Sano and Escobar this year. I'm not overly concerned about where they place in a few of these spots, even if you like the stat. They are .06 away from being 6th in FIP, for example which is probably pretty much in the margin of error. The rotation isn't great but they have enough arms to survive.
  25. gunnarthor
    Would we take Bedrosian and Hector Santiago for Plouffe? I've seen that on a few Angel blogs. Santiago seems like a Milone-like lefty. I think that's probably a bit light.
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