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Platoon

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Everything posted by Platoon

  1. Platoon
    Those SS innings behind the plate from Garver were less than impressive defensively. We better hope it was just butterflies he felt, instead of it looking like he was trying to catch one!
  2. Platoon
    I think these are all valid points that John has reported Tony Clark believes affect the market. But I am surprised the issue of more analytical FO's and their supposed cooling on the practice of buying the last 3 good years of a veteran player, with a 6 year contract was not part of the discussion. i think to an extent that will continue to lower contracts, or at least lengths of them. As for tanking, that is common in other sports. Revenue sharing can be a factor. But as long as drafting in inverse order is in place, there will always be a race to the bottom. The NBA has done it for years. Different league, same issue. And they buy and sell contracts like commodities as well. There were a lot of moving parts to this years FA market, which was already weak at best. It might take a couple years to see if Clark is right. But I do think there is a change in philosophy in the majority of FO. More executives believe they can win by being smarter, not richer. That may well be a factor in changing contract structure. But sooner or later the fact that being smarter, and richer is even better, than just being smarter, will again become evident. That doesn't mean 6 year contracts for 32 yr. old pitchers will continue, but it does mean that someone will still be overpaying for players services, just possibly for shorter lengths of time.
  3. Platoon
    The teams last three years, more likely 4 years were schizophrenic. And last years seemingly successful season was not looking good at the break. Closing the year out by getting bombed in NY didn't generate any enthusiasm either. There's just too many gaps for the average fan. One has to go into the season knowing it's going to be a good year, not hoping it will. And those empty early season seats can't be recouped.
  4. Platoon
    The fact that the Twins are touting the lack of a need for a fifth starter ignores the fact that the fifth starter is actually needed. He will be pitching not every 5 days, but every 4. Sadly it's the Twins first starter that will be missing those games, something Molitor selectively avoids mentioning, at least to The extent he can. So in essence Molitor does have to name a fifth starter on day 4 of the season, for short of injury or performance deficientcy, that pitcher will be in the rotation from day one going forward. It's the first starter he doesn't have to name, that guy has a cast on his hand.
  5. Platoon
    Defense, and pitching is defense, wins the most consistently in any sport. That's because it's more easily repeatable. And that's magnified in the baseball playoffs, where offenses cannot feast on the 4-5 starters. Doc has a point on the 3 number 2's theory. But it is complicated if you get stuck in the WC one and done. Other than that, I would rather have the 3 number 2's than a 1,3,4 combo.
  6. Platoon
    An interesting question is why Dozier prefers leadoff? While analytics has changed the evaluation of players in the FO, I doubt the view of traditional lineup spot prestige has changed among players. Everyone normally wants to hit 3-4, from the time they start in Little League on up. Ten bucks says EE secretly sees himself as a 3 hole hitter, and would jump at the chance.
  7. Platoon
    A Strib writer (apologies for not remembering who) put forth a couple prospective opening day lineups. In the course of that exercise he made note of how Doziers insistence on leading off made one of his presented options, not his first choice. Add to that conjecture, Mauer was said to have resisted for several years moving out of the 3 hole, despite his post concussion struggles and it seems Molitor might be prone to accommodating a veterans desires/demands. I have also never managed anything past a low amateur level. But I just can't see myself acquiescing to a players demands for playing time, or position. I manage, you play. Frankly if you do this with all your players fairly and consistently, you will have less problems than coddling a select few.
  8. Platoon
    I will give Dozier credit for one thing. He knows his strengths and exploits them. A lot of his numbers yell 3 hole. But he clings to the leadoff spot. I have always thought it's simply because he feasts on get em over FB. The only place you may get more of them than leadoff is 9th. I know analytics value highly the extra PA a good hitter gets for each notch up in the order. But I have never been convinced the loss of RBI type AB has been worth it. Whether BD's numbers would be as good in a 3-4 slot as leadoff is hard to say, but it's likely we won't find out. As for the original OP, I really think Polanco can and will just flat out hit. He would not be my SS, but he would be in my lineup somehow.
  9. Platoon
    I will likely get flack for this, but he is why I would have, or still would trade Dozier for the best arm out there, or package Dozier. Slide Polanco to second, put a glove first SS out there, until one of the younger glove/bat SS prospects develop. While Polanco won't hit the HR's BD will, he will be a better pure hitter. Some of Doziers value as a HR guy is lost in his insistence on leading off. And the added defense at SS will mitigate the offensive loss. But then again that's just me.
  10. Platoon
    "That's Offensive"! The teams biggest flaw was not offensive. They of course could have used a left handed power bat, but that's not anywhere near the top of the list. They did tweak the BP IMHO in a positive manner. While there was a little movement the starting rotation, much of it is negated by the loss of Santana. I do think if there is any significant improvement it will come from a youngster in the orginisation surprising us. As for position players, most of the flaws there are liveable, maybe even picky. Sanos situation really is non solvable since it's not been decided. Good catching is very hard to find, and the Twins haven't. And the middle IF defense is pretty mediocre. While one cannot fix all things on any team, one can prioritize them. And in the case of this team their temporary patches to the SP look frankly temporary.
  11. Platoon
    I understand the comment about Doziers market value being depressed, but remember his market value is subjective. Regardless of the top dollar amount of an offer for Doziers services, a home town discount would still be a discount from his top dollar offer. The amounts are irrelevant to the perceived value. I think the new philosophy on paying over 30 yr. old players for their history, the plethora of quality second baseman, and the number of FA available next year will negatively impact Doziers top offers. But that does not make him a steal since the market value is set by next years offers, not by what he would have brought in say, 2015, in the same set of circumstances.
  12. Platoon
    I think Gordon did start at SS against the Gopher. He kicked the first ball, and then blew a rundown play. The depth of the Twins MI, current and future, has been endlessly documented. My question has always been when are they going to have a MI who is not only Interesting to watch hit, but also to play his position. And I don't count diving for ground balls that many IF would field standing up, interesting. Last year the value of a defensive player, in a defensive position was emphasized by Buxtons play in CF. I hope sooner or later the team uses that lesson in parceling out playing time in the MI.
  13. Platoon
    There is no doubt that under today's contract structure in MLB Dozier deserves a shot at the pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. But I fear he is in the wrong place at the right time. Lots of competion for cash next winter, and the shifting philosophy on long term deals for 30+ players. Plus this. When he was shopped last year for a pitcher, his value, even with a team friendly contract wasn't exactly overwhelming. I doubt it will have increased after two years pass by. He will do ok, but it's not going to be the haul it would have been a couple years ago. Sadly as trade bait at the deadline this might also be applicable.
  14. Platoon
    I would say Burdi. When not injured, he had a relievers arm and a relievers mentality, it seemed. I realize "when not injured" is a pretty large caveat, but he seemed worth the patience. This still isn't an outfit overloaded with dominant arms.
  15. Platoon
    Won't work! No one would watch it unless each one would start heading around the warning track in opposite directions. . One with the pitcher, one without. The goal would be to cross home plate first. I don't think anyone would watch NASCAR without the real possibility of a big crash. The only problem I can see with my brilliant plan is that one would need more than a 13 man pitching staff.
  16. Platoon
    I would like the commercials to lessen also, but that's not very likely. If you keep time of game comparisons to the last 5 years or so, I would think a lot of the time "wasted" is in situational pitching changes. The minutes pile up in a hurry. A lot of sports have their quirk, all one has to do is watch a college basketball games last 3 minutes to experience what it feels like if time actually did stand still. Fortunately DST starts soon, so the games will all be done an hour sooner! Or is it an hour later? I can never remember.
  17. Platoon
    Nice post. A lot of this will change as this new line of GM's assert themselves. But MLB and its wealthy owners won't give up the control and cheap labor in MiLB without a fight. Always follow the money. There's a reason the system in use is in place. And it's certainly not for the players or the fans benefit.
  18. Platoon
    I think they should simply let Kepler figure it out, he has too much talent to turn into a platoon player at his age. What the Twins don't need is Grossmans defense. Or shall I say lack thereof. Grossman as a true bench bat is one thing, if Molitor can leave him in that position. Therein lies the problem.
  19. Platoon
    If I knew how good an OF he was I would have a more educated opinion. I assume he is functional. And he certainly is a better hitter than anyone not named Sano in the DH slot. The good news, relative to the sense of this acquisition, is there is absolutely no chance that Sano plays the field to start the season, and very little chance he goes north. But sooner or later Miguel will return. The problem is I cannot see him as a regular third baseman this year. And if that happens either Sano or Morrison are redundant. What I do like is that it gives the team quite a bit of trade chips at the break.
  20. Platoon
    I know Garver is the backup, but I was past not impressed with his receiving skills last year, brief as they were. It looked like a total battle for him to catch a baseball, not to speak of blocking one. Stage fright? I hope so. But he didn't look like an MLB receiver.
  21. Platoon
    I wonder how Gladden the analyst would describe swinging at the first pitch, after several walks ahead of him?
  22. Platoon
    I don't think having our best hitter, and best pitcher laid up to start the season is a good omen. Will Sano be laid up? That's hard to say right now, but I don't know of an alternative. And if he is not, and is not effective, and they feel the need to keep him active on the 25, the bench gets really thin, even for the first 6 weeks of the season. I was a member of the "trade Sano for Archer/pitching" group. I still am. Many thought this was a horrible idea. Now I read that it was floated, and turned down? I am a long way from being in the loop with the Twins, but there is something amiss with the whole Sano Saga. This isn't an isolated incidence, it's more of a continuation.
  23. Platoon
    I am curious. If he was reported, or speculated to be 290 last year, then he isn't 290 this year. He just simply looks so much heavier. I am not being critical, more like disappointed. The pictures I have seen of him so far this spring, don't make it look like he will be even able to DH effectively.
  24. Platoon
    I think Sano is young enough to have a lifestyle change. But I doubt it will happen. I know that opinion is from afar, but it's one that seems consistent with those up close also. If for instance Sano would have shown any inclination in the past to care for his conditioning, a pass could be extended for the stress fracture. Instead it seems more like an excuse. He has talent, and may produce. But I doubt he will ever be what he had the potential to be.
  25. Platoon
    First off, I feel sorry for Gardy, sort of. He wants to manage, but sadly he is most likely simply a placeholder until they get their roster rebuilt. But it's still a MLB managers job. I could see spots 3&4 flipping also. 87 wins? To me that's a tad high, 83 would make me more comfy. I wrote on this topic in more detail on a different thread so I will be brief. Upgrade the DH? Won't that end up being Sanos spot quite often this year?
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