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mnfireman

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Everything posted by mnfireman

  1. mnfireman
    I would say getting him to put in 6 hours a day is pretty invested (even though not all 6 hours are dedicated to OF play). The team also has no responsibility to let the media and fans know anything about how the transition is going.
  2. mnfireman
    Being a fan of Mauer, I hope he rebounds. That being said, I don't think it will happen unless he changes his approach at the plate. I know that is easier said than done, but if he is as great as he showed early in his career, I think he can do it. He needs to look to drive the ball early in the count, because now that he is no longer behind the plate he is no longer getting favorable calls on close pitches. Whether this is because the umpires no longer feel obligated to give him the call both ways (at bat and as a catcher) or because he got those calls for so many years he thinks he should still be getting them I don't know, but he needs to adapt to the umpire's zone. I also think he needs to get away from the "give yourself up to move the runner over" train of thought. Teams expect this and adjust accordingly, playing heavy to the pull side (probably the only time!) Not every time, but every so often cut loose and swing for the fences. And along with those two points, almost every at bat he gets a pitch that is belt-high, right down the gut. Whether its the first pitch, or 2-0/3-0, he gets one and needs to start turning on those. Again, not every time (he won't get them any more) but once in awhile (remember him going upper deck on Sabathia!).
  3. mnfireman
    Yeah, let's make a move just to keep the twins daily blog posters happy! Because the team never fully committed to a rebuild, they are stuck in flux; the prospects are almost ready and no major leaguer wants to sign a one year contract to fill the void until they are. Deal with it boys and girls. 80-85 wins again this year, middle of the pack.
  4. mnfireman
    Wieters Steamer (top) & Baseball-Reference (bottom) 2016 projections. If he is betting on himself, I am hoping he performs better than this. They both have him projected for about 370 plate appearances. AVG OBP SLG OPS .244 .302 .410 .712 .256 .308 .428 .736
  5. mnfireman
    I guess the trade for JP Murphy may not be so bad now that Wieters accepted Baltimore's QO. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/11/three-players-accept-qualifying-offers-16-decline.html Boras must have seen the FA market dry up, not that C was that strong anyway, and figured this was the best he'd get (but it will be spun that he signed it to build value). This off-season may be get kinda boring really quick!
  6. mnfireman
    Brian Dozier for Andrew Miller. Might be a few prospects from each side thrown in.
  7. mnfireman
    Arcia couldn't justify his return from an injury rehab.........if you can't hit AAA you won't hit MLB. And if you thought Robinson's 50 starts were bad (only 14 in CF), well how about Schafer's 20 (all in CF)? This year was supposed to be 75-80 wins and start moving the kids in. Well they got 83 wins and the rest of the league was mediocre enough to all them to contend until the last weekend. Rebuild still on schedule, now its time to sign and to trade for to move onto the next step of the rebuild. In order to make a trade for a viable player, you have to trade a viable player. Nolasco, Santana, Duensing (I know he was released/not offered arb.) and Herrmann (though he actually wound up getting a return!) are not those viable pieces. Now comes the part everybody seems to have issue with: figuring out which viable player matches the weakness of another team that has an excess of players at a position the Twins need.
  8. mnfireman
    The Twins front office (and Terry Ryan in particular) take a lot of heat for not signing "big-name" free agents. What these posters need to realize is that it takes 3 to tango in baseball: the team, the agent, and the player. Several times over the last couple of off-seasons the Twins have offered or matched the best offer a player received and the player chose to sign elsewhere. As far as trades go, who would the team have to give up to complete these deals? Colorado has a stud at 3B and good OF's, they would have wanted a SP. So would these posters be happy to have given up 2 of Berrios, May, and Gibson plus other prospects? No! But they would have been all over this board if/when Tulo got hurt and/or starts to decline. I can already see the posts about the $43 million per year that would have been guaranteed Tulo and Mauer if they are both hurt and/or not producing. Being a GM in major league baseball takes more than any of us posters will realize. We overvalue our players and undervalue other teams players, think every free agent wants to come here for less than market value, and, worst of all, think we know more than these gentlemen who have been doing these jobs their entire adult life. Ryan's best asset is minor league talent recognition, maybe it is time to hire another GM (insert Anthopoulos pipe dream sequence) and let Ryan return to scouting. But that's not our call and we have to trust that he is doing his best to improve the team, not only for 2016, but going forward.
  9. mnfireman
    Just exploring all possibilities. Who brings a better return in a trade? Which teams do the Twins match up with in terms of positional needs? And I think I would be more inclined to say that they are both about league average at their positions, according to the defensive metrics I have seen. And if you check the stats they are pretty close in offensive production. Dozier has 114 and 101 OPS+ the last two seasons, Plouffe is 110 and 99, and both are a 99 OPS+ for their career.
  10. mnfireman
    What about trading Dozier and asking Plouffe to play 2B? I know he's finally turned into serviceable 3B, but he is a former SS and I think he could transition (again!). He is also roughly the same size as Ben Zobrist, Neil Walker, Daniel Murphy and only a little bigger than Robinson Cano, amongst others.
  11. mnfireman
    Plouffe is an interesting player, or maybe 3B was an interesting position this year. 2015 MLB 3B ranks (20 qualified for the batting title): AVG - 20/20 OBP - 16/20SLG - 11/20OPS - 14/20WAR - 13/20HR - 9(T)RBI - 52B - 6(T)PA - 10/20GIDP - 1 (Led MLB)SO - 9/20BB - 8/20 (Tied with Valbuena who did not qualify but was close)RF - 5/20 dWAR - 8/20The numbers show that he was very solid, even above average, last season. I think there is a market for him should they try to trade him. I just hope they don't give him away for nothing if they do trade him
  12. mnfireman
    It is very much thinking outside the box and could work in the minors but I don't think it would work in the majors for many reasons: I don't think an owner would hire a manager who advocates thisThe team would have to change how it drafts pitchers (and those draft choices may not want to go to that team, not to mention that the manager who started this system may be fired before these prospects make it the majors)I don't think free agent pitchers would sign with that team Based on a strict 1 - 12 pitcher line-up could set the team up for some bad innings (i.e. your 12th pitcher facing Toronto's 3,4,5, etc batters)It is a very interesting outlook, but I think a team would have to implement it in the low-minors first and see how things work out over 3 or 4 seasons.
  13. mnfireman
    The same people on here saying sign Wieters are the ones saying how bad Mauer's contract is, even when he was still catching. This is the SAME thing. And those wanting to trade the young pitching to get catching are the ones trying to figure out how to trade for young pitching. SMH! Yes it felt good to watch the team compete, but it was a year or two early. Let's see what the prospects can do, including bringing returns in trades, but let's not get all googly eyed over a player who's best full season OPS was only 10% above league average and was 5 years ago.
  14. mnfireman
    Better look at different team to try and trade with, this one (or any one with Mets) is not gonna happen. Even without re-signing Cespedes they are full in the OF. Flores and Tejada can handle 2B and SS. And C isn't a position of excess talent in their system.
  15. mnfireman
    The "black eye" here goes on MLB. Irregardless of anyone's personal opinions, he was called safe and at least 6 umpires deemed the slide legal (by not calling him out) and now he is going to be suspended. Everything was deemed legal and he is going to be suspended,somebody has been eating Stupid Sandwiches! They can't do this. The MLBPA better jump in immediately. That or there needs to be a few more suspensions (Donaldson and Arrieta come to mind). Yes it is sad that Tejada got hurt, but I guarantee you that 100% of MLB slides hard to take the SS out on that play.
  16. mnfireman
    I would pass. I don't think he goes for a 1 or 2 year deal because of his age and position and agent. Too many teams have seen what has happened with Mauer, great value as a C, not so much at 1B (and I am a huge Mauer fan). Wieters has no value as a DH and doesn't have enough appearances at another position (also 1B, if anybody is interested). http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wietema01.shtml
  17. mnfireman
    IF all 6 guys can pitch effectively down the stretch, Molitor should try to get them set up for the post-season. That and get his starting line-ups set and working together. Gotta love it, a "rookie" manager thrown right into the thick of a play-off race, with a rookie pitching coach. Hope they can pull it off and get the team there.
  18. mnfireman
    A batters strike zone does not change. Their stance may change, but their strike zone is supposed to remain the same as if they were standing straight up at home plate, getting ready to swing. If an umpire changes it, he is wrong. Read the rule book.
  19. mnfireman
    The NFL officials make the "safe" call knowing that a challenge can be initiated. NBA officials give "star" treatment when in doubt.
  20. mnfireman
    Reviewed plays are overturned 49.63 % of the time (532 of 1072 challenges).
  21. mnfireman
    I'm sorry if this may be against forum rules but I feel it needs to said. After watching many baseball games this year (not just Twins) I have come to the conclusion that major league umpires are terrible. I understand its a thankless job and nobody is volunteering to it, but come on, let's get some guys that know what the hell they are doing. Buckner was terrible last night (and tonight too) and I have seen other games where the strike zone moves from batter to batter, even pitch to pitch. This is unacceptable. This and the fact the base umpires seem disinterested because they know that replay will "fix" any mistakes make watching some games unbearable. How about taking a little pride in your chosen profession and giving a $#!&. I have coached and umpired at many youth levels and I know I have made mistakes, but these guys are well paid professionals. I understand that they "are human like the rest of us", but if my job performance were this bad, I would be looking for a new job. Hold these guys accountable, instill some professionalism and most of all, take a little pride in your performance.
  22. mnfireman
    How about putting the blame on Perkins for not doing his job. All-star closer? Not hardly.
  23. mnfireman
    I think Arcia will be back this year, but probably not until August or September, barring an injury to someone. Sano at DH is blocking his return any earlier. And Arcia should be recalled before Vargas if Plouffe gets hurt and Sano is moved to 3B full time, he has proven to be able to hit MLB pitching and Vargas has not. The other option, like it or not, is to trade him and hope his career numbers are less than Buxton, Sano, Kepler, Rosario, Vargas, Walker and whoever else is kept here to play OF/DH.
  24. mnfireman
    First off, no way does Plouffe get moved to the OF, not with Buxton, Robinson, Rosario, Hunter, Arcia, Kepler, Hicks, etc... Until Plouffe plays his way out or Sano plays his way in, 3B stays as is. Next, if this truly is a youth movement, Arcia, who has seemingly found his stroke again, and Hicks should be promoted. The only argument to not do this is that all the kids need playing time and some have to stay behind. Pinto should be brought up once cleared to play again, and there are enough arms doing well in the minors to overhaul the BP. Good luck to Sano and show us what ya got!
  25. mnfireman
    Molitor is playing the hand dealt to him. If he had 12 pitchers, everyone would have set roles, 13 allows him to play match-ups or face an extra batter or two. The shallow bench is beginning to hurt the team, players are slumping and, with no decent alternatives, are being forced to play through it. For the most part Molitor's line-ups have worked out, but things are adjusting to normal and batters are facing more low-leverage situations with little to no success. Get the bullpen to 12, get the right players on the bench and let's enjoy the next 10 years!
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