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Platoon

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Everything posted by Platoon

  1. Platoon
    We would finally get a throw out % in the 30's! 15 for Kurt, and 16 for AJ.
  2. Platoon
    I agree St. Peter is not the go to guy for roster decisions. It was the eeery similarity to Molitors views that made me mention it. And since they were so in tune, I used the term "company line". And if reading between the lines is required, this is what I read. Only Hunter can save the Twins from Hunter. Our starting pitching will not include Berrios, i.e., it will remain static due to long term contracts. Plouffe ain't going nowhere. Our first decision on the pen affirms our long term belief in low SO rates. If Sano is the DH, Arcia is gone. If Arcia is the DH, and Buxton is wowing the norther NY fans, Hunter or Sano will roam RF. (At least Sano can still run) That's just a few of the lines, but the last one is: We still think we can get people to buy tickets by working feverishly to acquire that last WC spot. To some this may sound sarcastic? Sadly it was not meant that way!
  3. Platoon
    Most of this thinking does not seem as much Molitors, as the "company line". A post on TD referenced Dave St. Peter telling season ticket holders much of the same things. An interview with Ryan would likely sound like a replay of talking points. Is it just me, or does this sound like Gardy never left? Keep Cotts? Agonize over whether Torii returns? Worry about a roster spot for Nunez? Don't trust Hicks? Sano to the OF, having to the best of my knowledge never playing an inning there? The only one I can agree with is Berrios and Buxton, and that only if someone just plain says that it's service time. Which I imagine they can't, even though it is. So you keep Cotts, you have Sano stumble around the OF, but ditch Arcia because he couldn't field, you bring up Berrios and Buxton in late June, and waste a month or two on ML acclimation, and then at the end of the year, bemoan how very close you were to that one and down WC game. Now that truly is the "Twins Way".
  4. Platoon
    . I think the "take charge" aspect. Another way of putting it would be baseball sense. Where to throw that cutoff, when to go to the plate with the infield in, etc. metrics does not measure those things. I think metrics are a tool, and a good one. But there is still a reason scouts are sent to games, and GM make decisions, and mangers make out lineups.
  5. Platoon
    I don't know anything about Vielma except what I have read, so this is not specifically about him. But given a choice I like a SS who can field better than one who can hit. And I like a SS who can field better than one who can hit "a little" and field "a little". I don't think there are metrics that can measure the value of a slick fielding, take charge SS.
  6. Platoon
    Extra years of rebuilding are the cost of leaving your youth in the minors to marinate to a level past what others might. After 4 yrs of 90+ losses, most teams would have started the rebuild in earnest in Nov of 2014. Are we in rebuild mode? I would like to think so. But does the FO? Either way, the question of whether they should sign a $?00,000,000 ace to a ? Yr contract is a moot point. It ain't ever gonna happen.
  7. Platoon
    The conflict of opinions in this post point out one inescapable truth. The Twins roster situation is an incredible mess. Way to much money tied up in contracts to mid to low level 30+ yr old pitchers. And a batting order that lacks a clear #1 or #3 stick. Throw in a soft tossing bull pen, and you complete the picture. The Twins will not and cannot acquire a Price level FA pitcher. There is no reason for them to come here. Market size and chances of winning "now" are not a match. And the thought of the FO going in search of yet another tier 3 type pitcher is scary enough to be featured as this years Halloween theme.
  8. Platoon
    And not to pile on, but the Twins hitters were CONSISTENT! They were consistently poor! As an aside, I have no problem with an umpire being termed consistent. I have done it, and if you are behind the plate, and call the same pitches the same way every time, you stay out of trouble. Even if you are "consistently" a little low. It's the moving target that gets you in trouble.
  9. Platoon
    The Twins just spent 10M to bring back a 40 yr old former Twin OF, and want him back next year. They are likely exploring signing a 39 yr old FA catcher, another former Twin. What makes you think in 3 yrs it will be all over? :) I am sure in 3 yrs we will hear that Vargas still needs some seasoning in Rocherster!
  10. Platoon
    I really was not comparing AJ to Hunter as to talent or disposition. I was strictly referring to the Twins status as a team that should be rebuilding from within via youth. As to Turner specifically, I like most others here have not seen him play. All I can go by is that more than one analysis has his defense as major league ready, and his offense as not. Based on that, as long as Suzuki is in the mix, having a good defensive catcher a couple times a week would not hurt. Having an AJ/Kurt kombo should not preclude a younger catcher surfacing, but it will in effect do just that for the duration of their contracts. I base that opinion on what the Twins history of dealing with veteran FA has been, not what I, or anyone else, thinks it should be. There are a few rare rentals they have been let go in mid season, but as a rule a winter FA is here for the duration. Ryan has made his position clear on that quite often. I agree totally that catching is a problem, but would prefer that we keep the number of veteran catchers well below 2!
  11. Platoon
    I think this decision would depend on whether one thinks the team is going to proceed as a legitimate contender next year, or still be in a youth/rebuilding mode. Some will say both. IMHO they are still strictly in a youth movement. Adding yet another 40 yr old seems a step backward. And it will effectively block a Turner for coming up in mid season. The Twons just do not acquire a FA and then move him in season. Trade Kurt in mid season? Possible, but it would be out of the norm. I have no idea what the real status of Pinto is. But it seems the Twins have catchers who can either catch, or hit, but not both. While AJ can do some of each, this team does not need to delve further into the geriatric ward for players. I would rather a Turner gets his feet wet, or a Pinto be able to return to catching than sign yet another stopgap.
  12. Platoon
    You may have overlooked solid prediction #1, or silly prediction #3! Mays professed hip problem associated with pitching in the bull pen will flair up again. The Twins will waffle for 14 days trying to decide if a few days rest will improve it. They will then announce they can't play short handed anymore, will put May on the 15 day DL, retroactive of course. They will call up Tonkin, who will pitch that day, and they will then send Tonkin back to Rochester, (unknown to Tonkin his ticket was round trip) and reactivate May!
  13. Platoon
    The Twins 30 yr old + SP reminds me of buying something on CL that you thought would work perfectly for a task at hand. So you paid the asking price. You get it home and find out it worked, but not as well as you thought it would. When you try to get rid of it, you find that you cannot recoup your cost. And you either sell it for a loss, or are stuck with a "tool" that does work, but not at the level needed to get the project finished. Sooner or later a shop with too many underperforming "tools" has to get cleaned out.
  14. Platoon
    You (they) forgot #7. Winning baseball games. The Twins are a business, and are run like one. But if you don't include #7, then everyone who goes to the games, buys merchandise, and follows the team must be basically rubes! Or worse! i know it sounds/seems cynical but looking at the last 20 years seems make one wonder.
  15. Platoon
    Great post. After reading some of the comments, I am so glad I did not pay attention in Mr. Jensens English class. Not knowing the difference between a participle, a preposition, or a proposition, has made my life easier, and in some cases much more exciting! Btw, thanks for not writing this in Canadian! Adding, eh, to the end of each sentence would have driven the word count above TD maximum levels.
  16. Platoon
    I would think that Gardy, after all these years in baseball, can handle NL rules. If I had to make a decision on Gardy as a manager, it would be based on my roster. Is it stable? Veteran? Huge egos? Yes to the first two questions and no to the third, would be more important to me than the league rules.
  17. Platoon
    Little known fact: Chief was the prototype on which Dickens based Scrooge! Although Chief was still a young man at the time Charles saw his potential!
  18. Platoon
    Turn your hearing aid up Sid!
  19. Platoon
    I know about the Cubs and the White Sox. But I did not know ther was another baseball team called the "Blackhawks"? Are they an independent league team, like the St. Paul Saints?
  20. Platoon
  21. Platoon
    I don't think the smoking gun memo is forthcoming, but a correlation is. My local high school coach, and my sons, coached 40 yrs. Extremely successful, with the aberration that for the first 39 years he did not win a state tourney. Despite going there numerous times. And despite having a few players Achieve a cup of coffee appearance, to a solid MLB career, I do not recall a ML pitcher coming out of the system, just a couple middling D1 guys. His pitchers were all virtual clones. Strike throwing, breaking ball, control type pitchers. In 40 yrs there were big arms went through the the program, with the attached control problem young velocity type pitchers have at that age. They were always passed over for the control guy, because even a 2-0 count practically threw him into an apoplectic fit. His choice of pitchers was his prerogative, and worked very well during a long regular season. But it left him short on talent needed to finish the job. Again, his choice. Never once did he tell me that this was a "philosophy. Not did he have too. 40 yrs is enough time to discern a trend, as is 17 yrs.
  22. Platoon
    The Twins have not, nor will they ever say anything like that. You may call this an opinion if you wish. I prefer it to be an observation from a long time viewer of Twins Baseball. They don't purposely go and tell their scouts, "hey, find me some guys that top out at 87". They don't take velocity into such esteem as other teams, and they do prefer polished control type pitchers. In young pitchers this by definition precludes velocity. It's akin to me getting ten speeding tickets in a year. I can deny that I drive any faster than anyone else, and assure you that the only times I did, I got caught. But the reality is I was likely a lead foot all the time, and my driving record reflects it!
  23. Platoon
    Nice article. And very informative. And you are correct in that velocity is not as important as location, changing speeds and ball movement. But every tick on the radar makes all of the preceding that much more effective. The upside to velocity is K/9 rate. The BABIP avg is .000 on a K. So the ability to be able to increase your velocity for a couple batters, stress pitches thrown, is important. Further, a Tommy Milone lives and dies with the size of the strike zone that day. Give him a big outside corner and he's Cy Young. Squeeze him and he's Cy Done. While this is true to some extent for all pitchers, a lack of velocity reduces your ability to overcome that small zone. As to the Twins, their low K/9 rates over the years are not due to poor scouting, bad luck, or a statistical fluke. It's an orginisational philosophy, and has been for years.
  24. Platoon
    These replays show just how difficult it is to get the plays right in live action. When you have to look at that many replays, from that many angles, and still it's sometimes a struggle to ascertain what did or did not happen, you realize how hard it is to actually get it right the first time. All that said, I still kind of hate the replays, it takes the old school human element out of the game. I understand there's tons of bucks riding on the outcomes, but it still isn't the same.
  25. Platoon
    When I saw the post header my first thought was "what offense"? Then I saw the date. The Twins were presented with a gift wrapped in a bow early last summer, and did not open the box!
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