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Platoon

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Everything posted by Platoon

  1. Platoon
    One thing you will notice in some of those great Twins teams is that they weren’t afraid to promote talent quickly. Chuck Knoblauch was drafted in 1989. Played in AA in 1990, and was the Opening Day second baseman in 1991. Scott Erickson debuted in 1990, a year after he was drafted in the third round out of college. Matt Garza was the Twins top pick in 2005. He pitched at four levels in 2006, including the Twins.>>>>>. This has been one of my main frustrations with the Twins. They don't seem to trust their own youthful talent. Often preferring someone else's veteran 30 yr old instead. I understand injuries slowed Sano and Buxton, but I still doubt it impacted their arrival by much. And while one can pick and chose and argument over the promotion of position players, it's doubtful that argument would hold up in the pitching department. It seems the only avenue to promotion for a ML Twins pitcher is via injury to one of our 32 yr old MLB staff. Which would be understandable if the staff was in the upper tier of the league, not the dregs of most statistical analysis!
  2. Platoon
    I think you meant the legendary Brooks Pounder, didn't you. Or as he is now known, Brooks Pounded.
  3. Platoon
    I think May has the stuff to be either a successful starter, or reliever. My only question with him as a reliever is health. He seemed to struggle with that issue in the pen last year. Plus I think deep down he doesn't want to relieve. I realize that is not necessarily his call, but it's still a factor.
  4. Platoon
    I know variations of this have been said, but I have to say it anyway. The Twins already have too many starting pitchers. They would either have to: 1. Trade pitchers they shouldn't. In my nightmares. 2. Trade pitchers no one will take. In my dreams. 3. Eat the contracts of a couple and release them. I am holding my breath. 4. Use the BP to integrate as many as you can. The likely scenario. Signing a FA pitcher simply exacerbates the problem. And likely leaves Berrios and Burdi in Rochester until Niagra Falls freezes over! The SP roster is a bubbling mess!
  5. Platoon
    Ruesse has an interesting piece on a conversation he had with some local Korean baseball fans about Park. It included Jack Hannahans appraisal of Korean League pitching. It also included an interesting comparison to how Park performed with his original Korean team, vs the current Nexem one. The article caused me to wonder whether Parks success here will be determined more by the Twins willingness to let the inevitable SO's pile up, vs Parks ability to hit the ball out of the park! The Twins philosophy on this matter seems to have evolved, but also seems to waver from player to player. Regardless it's a fun read. http://www.startribune.com/local-koreans-hope-byung-ho-park-a-big-hit-if-twins-sign-him/351591141/
  6. Platoon
    FO management is not all about money, not even close. It's about drafting, scouting, hiring competent field staff from A ball on up. It's about trying to sell high when you have the opportunity. It's about being fluid and adaptive in roster decisions, and accepting of the fact that it may be necessary to blend very divergent personalities on a roster to win. It's about recognizing changes in the sport and accepting them, hopefully in a timely manner. If simply money bought flags, the playoff contenders would be easily identifiable, and predictable. But it doesn't. For a local comparison try the Timberwolves. Flip, rest his soul, might have finally gotten them pointed in the right dirction. But prior to that all of Glenn's money proved useless. It takes someone to spend whatever you have wisely. As for the 90 win theory? You can pile up regular season wins in a weak division. But then consistently getting yourself blown out in the first round(s) of the PO puts your record in perspective. My personal angst over the FO is not based on any specific deal or year. It's based on the cumulative record, and the inconsistent roster management.
  7. Platoon
    You can argue each and every deal Ryan or Smith/Ryan made or did not make. Some could be easily cast as good, some bad, some neutral, and all in the eyes of the beholder. But I can't really think of a good defensive response to the record of the last 17-20 years. The results just aren't there. And while there may be, likely are teams with equivalent stages of mediocrity, few have held unto the status quo as the Twin have. When the only major orginisational change after such a yawn inducing stretch is the termination of Wally the Beer Man for selling to minors, it might not be a bad idea to consider some new blood in the FO?
  8. Platoon
    I do agree that Vargas is a better fielder than one would think. He has extremely soft quick hands. He made a horrible first impression when he missed that pickoff throw in his first game over there. He was likely so nervous he couldn't move. But I have seen him make some very nice plays there, albeit in a SSS.
  9. Platoon
    I know this opinion is not popular, but I think most of their problems, and more likely so Arcias, are "mental". I doubt either player thought that he got a fair shake. Vargas odd demotion right when he started hitting to find his power stroke. And Arcia goes down, hits the crap out of the ball and the Twins announce a new policy, wherein it's not enough to go down, get healthy, hit and come back after your rehab. A policy that should have been named the "Arcia Policy" as it seemed he was one of the few for which it was invoked. One can argue that such an attitude is immature, and you would be correct. But part of the problem could be a perceived inconsistency in how players are handled. Regardless, Arcia and Vargas did not just forget how to hit. It's very likely they will again, the big question is for whom that will be?
  10. Platoon
    Shouldn't Ortiz be mentoring his successor?
  11. Platoon
    One of the problems relying on the bull pen to "replace" the starting pitchings impact is that as the innings pile up a lot of teams, especially the Twins add an arm to the pen, and shorten their bench. If they are going with a Sano or Arcia in RF this year they might want the flexibility to use a defensive replacement. The other problem, and sadly unavoidable, for the Twins is that if your BP is to be effective in winning games, it should be handed at least a tie in the 6th inning. Not a 2 run deficit.
  12. Platoon
    I seriously waffle on the trade, so to me it's a meh! The part of me that doesn't like the trade because we gave up Hicks likes the general fact that we addressed the catching situation. An absolute necessity. The part of me that wishes the catcher acquired was "more talented" acknowledges we dealt from excess and needed to clear the OF logjam. And understand high end catchers are rare as hens teeth. The part of me that's a pragmatist says that this trade is not enough to make or break TR's legacy. It's just a trade of two mid level players which in its own way helps each team. Its pros and cons will not be defined for about two years, and is certainly not work 20 pages of digital distress! (He says as he types on pg. 20)
  13. Platoon
    While I don't think they should, if I remember correctly 2 yrs ago he had a 1/2 to 3/4 mil bonus for plate appearances, and in a 90 loss season, they caught him everyday and let Pinto sit so he could cash in! While it certainly wasn't funny that Pinto got whacked in the head 3 times next spring wiping out his season, it would have been humorous to listen to the Twins say he needs more MLB experience had that not happened.
  14. Platoon
    Is it possible that Jokins #1 in his most recent post touches on a factor in all this angst. The Twins often lean so heavily on beloved and admired veterans that they have a very hard time reducing their playing time regardless of the vets performance. It tends to distort the actual pros and cons of a trade, or delays if not diminishes the improvement of a rookie player. There is not a doubt that Suzuli is a FO and managers favorite. Murphy just outperforming Kurt will not get him significant playing time, it's going to have to be by a considerable margin.
  15. Platoon
    Since Torri retired, its Nov., and Hannah has put her horse in the stable one does have to admit that any Ryan thread will fill pages. . Speaking of Hannah.................
  16. Platoon
    Looking to pull and trying to pull are two different approaches. Going up there pulling everything no matter where pitched is not a great approach. Looking for a pitch to pull is different. This is more of what guys like Willingham and Dozier were doing. Dozier kept looking for a pitch to pull all the way to a Mendoza line avg in the second half. To the extent that he likely hit more GB to SS than Mauer hit to 2B. Or so it seemed. The fact is, Dozier is really not a power hitter, and his affection for that left field foul pole will end up diminishing his career, not enhancing it. What I find interesting is that even while Bruno talked about how they try to get Dozier to go the other way, he was given Carte Blanche to pull his way to irrelevance at the plate, and it cost him no playing time, in fact he achieved virtual iron man status. Yet the guys with true power are forced to go the other way or forced to go to Rochester. I will preempt any comments about Doziers defensive chops, by acknowledging them and agreeing they are a mitigating factor. But that still does not make the way some players are handled vs others any less confusing.
  17. Platoon
    There are two issues in play here as regards Buxton and Kepler. One is the talent issue. On this point I would also "take the bubble wrap off" and see what happens. But the other issue is service time. That's the big unknown. I could possibly see Buxton coming north, but almost no chance for Kepler. I think if he keeps Plouffe Sano will start in RF, if he trades Plouffe, I think Arcia gets another shot. Plouffe really is the elephant in the room.
  18. Platoon
    Is this observation inclusive? :!
  19. Platoon
    Since the title is about the perceived mediocrity of the FO I have these thoughts. You can, and I do, opine about any trade made. It depends on your view of the game. Defensive, offensive, pitching? Each philosophy clouds the view of the transaction. My issue with the FO is based more on long term results. Results that over 17 yrs are exactly the mediocrity the post refers to. It also is based on the total lack of accountability in this orginisation. 13 years of pretty much nothing lets you resign, but keep your hand on the tiller. 3 yrs of, it's actually hard to say, leaves Bill Smith with a job in the FO. And 3 more years, which culminated in chasing the much sought after 2nd WC slot unsuccessfully is considered laudatory. As is keeping a manager through 4 90+loss seasons. And spending a significant amount of payroll dollars on SP which has been somewhat south of satisfactory. And yet , unless someone has not been paying attention, Ryan will ride off into the sunset at his own time, with the platitudes and fare thee wells of the Twins ownership. To be replaced by Ryan's hand picked replacemant, Rob Anthony! Thus continuing the "Twins Way". That is in essence the true meaning of the mediocrity of not only the FO, but the ownership as well.
  20. Platoon
    .......and winning the Park bid, and moving Sano to the OF'is not going to increase his leverage for Ploofy, in fact it should decrease it! Bill Clinton, like him or hate him, is fond of saying "it's the arithmetic"! And the arithmetic shows 4 players, Mauer, Sano, Ploofy, and Park for 3 spots. I think Park and some of our Canadien readers would need to do the math metrically, but it still don't come out. One of them is going to RF, the bench or the airport!
  21. Platoon
    .......and winning the Park bid, and moving Sano to the OF'is not going to increase his leverage for Ploofy, in fact it should decrease it!
  22. Platoon
    It's a little known fact that games in the first two months of the season don't count, nor do games that the rookie you brought up late needs to acclimate count. The only games that count are after the AS game! . The ones where you are -9 in the standings, but battling 5 teams for the second WC spot. That said, this trade will make more sense if Buxton starts in CF off the bat. If they keep him back for service time, and Kepler, and move Sano to RF because they did not trade Plouffe for a catcher instead, then the trades real ramifications will be felt. This trade, as it stands did not happen in a vacuum.
  23. Platoon
    . I reversed these, but the point remains! If you are gonna do monthly stats, you better throw Doziers and Hunter's in there also!
  24. Platoon
    50 OF starts for a 4th OF means you start almost a third of your games without your optimum talent in the OF. And btw, I like Robinson as a 4th OF. As long as he remains a 4th OF.
  25. Platoon
    " Even with the league's caveats (lower velocity, smaller ballparks, juiced baseballs), hitters do not reach those totals that consistently without being a special talent." Agreed! You have to be able to make solid contact, and have an obvious power stroke. But will he be able to overcome those three caveats, in a non HR friendly park, and still put up numbers that will be any better than cheaper options? To me, one of Arcia, Vargas, or Walker will turn into a DH power threat. And IMHO for less money and less risk.
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