Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Platoon

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    5,830

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    6

 Content Type 

Profiles

Minnesota Twins News, Rumors & Analysis

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospect Rankings

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Minnesota Twins Trade & Free Agent Rumors

Minnesota Twins Fan Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks & Signing Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Platoon

  1. Platoon
    Let’s see? A player that could matter to the Twins? Hmmmmm? I know one. Eddie Rosario. He could have made the Twins better this year, or then again maybe not? That’s the wonder of Eddie, you just never know. The only thing for sure was that he was often entertaining and aggravating on the same day!
  2. Platoon
    So true. Which is why managers are not simply someone who reads where some stat sheet tells him where to play his SS? There are different personalities involved. Some can handle certain stresses and some can’t, despite seemingly identical talents. It’s the managers job to discern these differences and put the player in his best position to succeed.
  3. Platoon
    Truth be told there are coaches adverse to velocity, since it generally entails walks with the strike outs. That said velocity is the third of the three legged pitching stool, but if you don’t have it the first two legs aren’t as effective. If you can’t get a hitting thinking about keeping up with your fastball, your change up just isn’t as effective despite the difference in velocity. But the big difference maker here is matching consistently low velocity "pitch to contact" pitchers with mediocre defense. Yes we have Buxton, some of the time. But short of that the teams overall defense has been uninspiring for quite awhile. If you don’t have high SO rates by your staff, someone better be turning that contact into outs!
  4. Platoon
    Maybe Rocco will give an emotional press conference on how great it was to have Maggi on the team and see him realize his dream come true. His parents, other family and friends, could all fly in and Marney could interview them? ?
  5. Platoon
    Co-hitting coaches? Ugh! If you want a hitting coach fine, the find one you like and let him coach. Two hitting coaches mean two opinions, even if they are similar.
  6. Platoon
    And what happens if the Twins sign Buxton to big bucks, long term? And then his injury history remains constant? Will he get the same "love" Mauer got from many fans? That’s not a reason to trade him, it’s just a curiosity. The only way the Twins would sign him is if they get the home team discount and I don’t see that happening. While Buxton may have the Twins over a small barrel, Mauer, with the new stadium and being a local, had them over a huge barrel.
  7. Platoon
    I am not going to grade him. But I will make two comments. 1. This team plays fundamentally poor baseball. Some is mental from a seeming disregard for basics, ie, cutoff men and throwing to the correct base. Some seems a lack of focus, lollygagging throws in the infield. 2. Analytics? Analytics have their place, and yes everyone uses them. But, and there is always a but, turning the game over to your BP in the 6th is fine, if you have 4 capable RP available and healthy. Just turning it over on some days when your already suspect pen is deleted by usage or injury isn’t managing, it’s reading a spreadsheet. I did see that later in the year he opened the playbook up and bunted and ran on occasion trying to generate some scoring opportunities. Yes, the book says a 3 run homer or two run double is more productive. But someone better be hitting them in that case. I thought Rocco got dealt a poor hand this season due to injuries, FO mistakes, and subpar years by some players, possibly due to some of those players being over hyped? So there were limits to what he could do. No matter the cause, he didn’t exceed expectations. BTW, any conversation that Rocco is a players manager has to take into consideration the Maggi situation. Absolutely bush league!! It would make me hesitant to buy a used car from him!
  8. Platoon
    I will say this about Cowboy Joe. I didn’t think he was a good umpire, at least in the last years. I can’t really say anything about his abilities earlier in his career. But there is no doubt that anyone who does something that long does it because he loves it. It would not be likely money would have been the driving force. That and the video of Nelson Cruz getting the pic during an at bat for one of Joe’s landmark games still was a great baseball moment. Joe West retiring won’t make baseball a better game, nor will robo umps. It may be a more "accurate" game, but also a more sterile one. Just another step towards more spreadsheet baseball!
  9. Platoon
    Ouch! "Always competitive Central Division"………. My sarcasm needs to be more focused? I had intended to point out that the School Sisters of Notre Dames team wasn’t in the Central last year due to Covid restrictions, but thought that a bridge too far. I may have to reevaluate? Lol. The "always competitive Central" is one of our problems since so little needs to be done to be competitive in that division, and this year we succeeded beyond expectations in the "so little" part! ???
  10. Platoon
    This is a team that wins when it hits HR’s and struggles to score when it doesn’t. It’s still a team loaded with corner power guys, and with the exception of Buxton, nothing to speak of defensively in the middle. The rotation is made up of #3 and #4 starters at best and while the bullpen has had a small run, it’s not noted for shutdown talent, and still has no "closer". That and a serious disregard for fundamentals doesn’t bode well. The Twins didn’t finish last by mistake. Our preseason optimism was based on the 2019 career year, year. And getting to play within the always competitive Central Division in 2020. It now continues with the hope for 2 or 3 SP, a few BP arms and a Good defensive SS who can hit. Fortunately no one else needs any of these talents, so an over winter rebuild should be good to go. That and JP’s long held policy of giving the FO any resources they need to succeed make me very optimistic for next year!
  11. Platoon
    This was a just ok OP, until I got to the Christian Ponder part at the end! Nailed it!
  12. Platoon
    Fundamentals? This is a horrible team fundamentally. Fundamentals won’t overcome poor talent, but they will help make a average team very difficult to beat. Talent? Is it possible that fans, and media overestimated this group. My thought on this is somewhat driven by constant references to 2019, a year of career years for some on this roster. Also, a year where the roster and the baseball in use made a perfect match. This allowed a very productive offense to cover up some inherent flaws in the roster, such as the aforementioned fundamentals, defense, and an overall lack of pitching talent.
  13. Platoon
    Whether Maggi ever gets back or not, this was totally classless and as usual clueless by Rocco. It would almost have to be intentional. And his completely BS statement about how emotional and difficult it was to send him back down just makes him sound more out of touch than most days. I have no personal investment in Drew Maggi, but this was crap. The Twins have been toast since May. For those who think you should always play two win? The Twins should have worked harder on that approach during last winter!
  14. Platoon
    The Twins win when they go on a HR rampage. They lose when they don’t. Obviously you will win more games when you hit more dingers. But, that won’t ever be the route to the WS or a WS ring. In baseball it’s virtually impossible to win consistently in the playoffs with offense. Pitching rules late in the year.
  15. Platoon
    Is there a dissonance between managers and FO people on call ups? In a season like this there is no reason not to let Maggi play. I don’t say that because I think he is an improvement on anyone else on the roster. He is a minor league lifer. This is his shot. Whether the Twins lose 90, or 91 won’t make any difference to me. Molitor used to do this also.
  16. Platoon
    It was a running joke around our house, how do you get Hunter or Cuddyer out? Intentionally walk the bases full, and throw them 3 breaking balls off the outside corner. The more men on base, the harder they tried to hit that big HR, and usually the less they succeeded. Both good ball players, but the tendency to chase on "clutch" situations kept them no more than that.
  17. Platoon
    "That said, when Sano makes contact, a lot of good things happen, so I for one would certainly love to see him make more contact." And therein lies the problem. Contact. To me the saddest? thing about watching him hit is that when he gets 2 strikes, the only thing keeping him from striking out is whether the pitcher can locate that breaking ball just off the bottom corner of the strike zone "box" off the outside corner. I know it’s coming, he knows it’s coming, and by now my wife knows it’s coming. And he still swings at it, while pulling away, over and over and, well you get the picture. Yup, he can ruin an opposing pitchers day. But while he does that, there are few that wouldn’t want to face him in close RBI situations. Few runs are driven in with a K. But lots are with a deep fly ball, or even a GB.
  18. Platoon
    Nothing ups the click count like a good Twins Yankees game, and some questionable calls by the plate ump. I hope that if they go to Robo Umps everyone will be happy, and there won’t ever again be any whining over balls and strikes. But I highly doubt that, just as I doubt that the change will improve the Twins chances against NY.
  19. Platoon
    A better idea for today would have been for the Twins and Yankees to have simply not played. The Twins take a forfeit and have a nice day with the families. Rocco gets to change the babies diapers. The teams then take all expenses associated with said game and donate that sum to reputable charities! Idiotic you say? Foolish Pollyanna babble you say? If you think the Twins spending many thousand of dollars, and a full day of travel to go to NY is rational I heard that bridge in Brooklyn is still for sale. The only competitive question left to be answered in this "rivalry" is exactly how many runs would the Twins need to lead by that would allow them to eek out a one run squeaker?
  20. Platoon
    Some of this can be explained thusly: In 2019 more than several players had career years, especially offensively. In 2021 many did not. Basing your hopes on a best case scenario is most often a loser. Basing it on a worst case scenario often leaves you pleasantly surprised. The injuries didn’t help, but much of the hype and hope for this team was based on offense. Definitely the hardest talent to repeat and replicate.
  21. Platoon
    Actually the game threads years ago were a hoot, especially when the team sucked. Discussion ranged from music, to old movies, to where to get the best burrito in Chicago. Gallows humor reigned supreme. It sort of changed when the Twins started winning in ‘19 and posters started treating this like a baseball discussion. We got too serious, expected too much, and got to critical.
  22. Platoon
    I meant will bringing him up affect his service time, ie cost the Twins a year of control?
  23. Platoon
    Is this about service time?
  24. Platoon
    Sano reminds me of a guy who used to play for me. He swung in the same place all the time. If you were unfortunate enough to throw one in that area, small as it may be, he could really kill it. Keep it out of that zone, and he would just keep flailing!
  25. Platoon
    No matter what the final outcome is remember this. If the MN Twins make a decision on who they will call on to play SS for next year, you can guarantee one thing. They will bleep it up! I was all for signing Simmons, and somehow we turned one of the best fielding SS’s in history into a blah player. Or I should say he turned himself into one, probably because of the lack of interest due to being out of the race on April 7th? Be that as it may, an infield of Polanco and Arreaz should make baseball purists flock to MLB to watch! ?
×
×
  • Create New...