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Platoon

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Everything posted by Platoon

  1. Platoon
    The Wire is one of the best series ever! Thanks for reminding me, I think that's one I could revisit.
  2. Platoon
    I know how you feel. Whenever I told my wife I was going out without her I was never quite sure how she felt about it? Last week when I came back my clothes were scattered all over a snow bank. I think she was sending me a subliminal message.
  3. Platoon
    And that is the reason I would not be too quick to throw Tonkin under a Greyhound! Molitor abused him at times last year. I had issues with Gardy, but at least his BP had a rough idea of what was expected.
  4. Platoon
    "Marginal Improvements" can be found in the Webster under "Faint Praise Indeed". :)
  5. Platoon
    I have never had a problem with the concept of Mauer hitting leadoff. He does lack the speed, but seems to be a very intelligent baserunner. But if this then moves Dozier to the third spot, what does that do to the amount of FB's he sees? Guys who hit third don't get pitched like guys who lead off, or hit often with the bases empty. If he is willing to hit two run doubles the move might work, if he tries to hit 3 run homers, I doubt it will.
  6. Platoon
    I really have no problem blaming the FO for treating 2015 as a springboard! None at all. Anyone who watched 2015 could see that sequencing (dumb a*^ luck) was responsible for that out of the box year. But those guys are gone, sort of. As for this year, I think the offense will be a little bit better, but that was not the problem last year was it? We still will trot out a long list of mediocre SP. which will be most likely mediocre. Backed up by what could be a very decent OF, a very bad left side of the IF, and a slightly above average (if Mauer is at 1B) right side of the IF. As for what could have happened in the off season, I ask this question. Would this team be better as it is now constructed? Or would it be better with the acquisition of a fairly top SP prospect, Polanco at second, and a very defensive oriented SS?
  7. Platoon
    If I was a Twins pitcher, I would just close my eyes and sigh audibly!
  8. Platoon
    I fear not having any decent starting pitching, and having Polanco at SS, or just as bad, on the bench while EE plays. I fear a FO that thinks you have to be the "winner" in a deal. I fear someone signing Dozier to a 4 year extension. I fear us winning at most 80 games each year due to no SP, and then losing Dozier for nothing in two years. What we seem to fail to realize is that second baseman are currently a dime a dozen, and that there are 29 other teams in the league. And not one of them made an offer better than the Dodgers did. While one can argue that the Twins deserved more than they were offered, you cannot argue what Doziers current value to MLB teams is at this present time. You can hope for a debilitating injury to a second baseman who happens to be on a team who can afford to give you a couple good SP prospects, of course this has to happen before the trade deadline. And of course you have to have the good BD to deal at that time, not the bad one. I fear that's a lot of "ifs.
  9. Platoon
    All one can do when considering the non trade is to accept what is quite likely. And those things include the good possibility that Dozier will not repeat last year, career/league record years are rare for a reason. That the Twins lost out on a pretty decent low #2, high #3 pitcher. That Polanco is still the SS. That the Twins have few avenues to dramatically improve their SP. That the team lost 103 with Doziers heroics last year. For all these reasons I cannot see how keeping Dozier makes the Twins better? We been dere, done dat. This team needs pitching and a SS. There are only so many ways for them to acquire the SP. The trade chips are BD, or a Buxton or Sano type trade. Trading Santana is not really a net gain. Buy one? The Twins without SP are starting to look like a good football team without a QB. Drafts and economics are cause for windows of opportunities in ML sports. The Twins are entering one, but it won't happen without pitching. IMO they missed their first chance.
  10. Platoon
    SO is a good word. SO if the Twins did not trade Dozier for a piece that was described thusly, "It's possible they'll never get a shot at another prize like De Leon, but that's the gamble they are taking.", what is next? SO do they spend bucco bucks on a good SP, which btw seems neither available or in the teams DNA. SO do they trade a high ranking young player, or prospects? SO how do they fix SS and the lousy roster construction. SO far this FO looks like another Ryan, but with two better heads of hair. Fortunately SO is also the operative word in that sentence! Right now that is my only consolation.
  11. Platoon
    To me the basic theory of baseball is you cannot hit your way to the pennant. You can win games during the season, taking advantage of weak pitching. That pitching disappears in the playoffs. Good. Pitching. Beats. Good. Hitting. And elite defense at certain positions makes pitchers better. (See Buxton v Shafer) Lots about the game has changed, but some things remain static. Corner guys are bat first, middle guys should be glove first, RF need better arms than LF. A good catcher really makes a staff better. I could go on. These are basics. And until they drastically change the shape of the field, angles and distances will continue to dictate those truths.
  12. Platoon
    IMHO quoting offensive numbers for Polanco and EE is not actually missing the point, it is in fact making it! If you need to beef up your SS's creds with batting stats, it's an indication his glove is lacking. As for moving Polanco to third, putting EE at SS and Sano at DH? Sano is still too young and untested on the MLB level at third to be relegated to DH. He won't be a Brooks Robinson, but it's a bat first spot on the field. Moving Polanco over there likely lowers the offense at that spot and the defense is not markedly improved at SS with EE. And of course you can then deal with the Park, Vargas, Mauer issue. Or? We will just have 4 DH style players on the roster? That has a familiar ring to it!
  13. Platoon
    Cutting Polanco loose, or making him a Super utility player, isn't the answer. Taking reps from Sano at third? The outfield? Obviously SS? And Dozier sits how many games? Polanco appears to be a very good offensive player who can likely play second base. Putting him anywhere else negates his offense. What's troubling, so far, is no lessons appear to have been learned by management. Key word "appeared". They look to be sitting on a unneeded asset. And they appear to be using offense to evaluate a defensive position, while knowing they have a manager who seems to value such a view. Since they can't change managers, they should have changed the roster. (Yes I know that's drastic) The whole situation, and the continuing roster imbalance continue, even as spring training gets closer. While I am patient, and have faith in the core of this roster, the lack of fine tuning and tweaking necessary to move past a -103 team, is disheartening.
  14. Platoon
    I had already filled out half my employment application when I noticed the heading actually read "deploy"!
  15. Platoon
    I still have hopes we trade Dozier, move Polanco over, and bring up Vielma. In the past those hopes would not exist. i don't know if Vielma would be "breakout", as noted defense is not sexy. But if they don't change this infield, and the pitching coach goes out and says, "get us a ground ball, kid" I think the pitcher would be well within reason to look over his shoulder, back at the coach and say, "you gotta be bleeping kidding me"?
  16. Platoon
    Maybe he took the steroids for "contractions"?
  17. Platoon
    How one view injuries in the context of a players career will likely influence that persons perception of Mauer. And here is, IMHO, another. Mauer and Carew had a couple things in common, one was the enormous natural talent to make being an athlete look effortless, and two is the publics misconception that they weren't going all out. The game looked so easy for them. That said, I look at Mauer as someone who's final numbers will be severely blunted by his concussion(s). That he was one of the outstanding two way catchers in baseball history. That batting titles by catchers happen less often than we walked on the moon. And that using the end of a ten year contract to analyze a players career worth is not a useful exercise. The Twins and Mauer did what anyone else would have 8 years ago. The Twins locked up a great player in his prime, an absolute necessity after the TF promise of competitive payrolls, and Mauer took the money and played efficiently and quietly. How the Twins use Mauer in these last two years, is on the Twins, not on Joe Mauer!
  18. Platoon
    The Twins are holding an asset that is valuable to them more so in a marketing, emotional and leadership role, than an on the field role. I say that why? Because he is not going to make this team a winner in the remainder of his likely tenure. This is not a comment on his talent, it's a comment on his timing. That said, he has been put out on the front lawn with a for sale sign all winter, and 29 teams have kicked the tires, and checked the oil and decided that whatever they had at second base was either better than he, or if it wasn't, the asking price was too high. No matter the product, if it doesn't sell at your asking price, it's priced too high. Baring a totally unforeseen stroke of luck, I think the Twins will end up finding this out in June. As to the point that the new FO needs to build trust with the support staff, and help Molitor keep his job, I would not agree. When you start making decisions to curry favor, and worry about what others perception is, you won't succeed , or be around very long. They need the long view. We done the short view thing for years!
  19. Platoon
    Very nice first post. I would take issue with the offense comments is 4&5 though. IMHO, this team should have enough offense, even sans Dozier. Sano, Buxton, Kepler, Rosario, and Polanco should at a minimum provide an overall uptick. Not all will improve dramatically, but neither will they decline. The bottom line, is that all assets expended on this roster should be directed at defense at SS, and SP. I think the rest is available internally. If I am wrong, and if it is not, we can kiss any playoff hopes in '18 and beyond good bye! One last thought! Protecting Dozier. In the leadoff spot, you don't get protection from the 4 hole. You generally get a lot of get em over FB's. And he did. I, nor it appears Molitor, ever saw him as a middle of the order bat. They tried it a few times, and abandoned it quickly. Whether there was a rationale involved, or more evidence of Molitors dart board lineups is hard to determine. But if they intend to continue to have him lead off, protecting him with an aged stick is not necessary.
  20. Platoon
    Ugh! I don't like the draft pick or the money expended. IMHO, the Twins don't need to add specific players to win this year, they need to add specific players to balance and construct an ongoing roster. If Bautista was going to be around for some years, and if they then could jettison Park and Vargas, mmmmm? But he won't be. This teams future rises or falls on their current youth and their approach to SS and SP. everything else is fluff!
  21. Platoon
    I don't know how to add GIF's but this comment calls for that song? I got parts of it stuck in my brain..... Long beautiful hair? Flaxen waxen? Should be BD's walk up song! .
  22. Platoon
    Maturity by Sano, Kepler, Buxton, Polanco, and yes I think even Roaario will go a long way to making this team semi competitive. But until they fill the black hole at SS and seriously upgrade the SP, they will never be printing playoff tickets as the second WC. If we keep Dozier, meaning Polanco plays SS, or EE, and we then spend the first half of the year trying to decide which 5 of our multitude of SP will be able to pitch into the 6th inning, the season will again be over in May!
  23. Platoon
    Betting on Dozier to have the same value is like betting on an inside straight. Not only did he have a career statistical high, he had one that ranked pretty far up the list in MLB history. Meaning if he is to maintain value, he needs to maintain that level. Not likely. Btw, while your choice of the term "purgatory" was appropo, it could quickly turn into "hell". No I don't think the Twins will lose 103 again, that's the same statistical oddity of Dozier hitting 42 again. There could be more coming, but so far the lack of moves by the new FO greatly resemble the previous administration. But with nicer hair!
  24. Platoon
    If I thought Dozier would be worth more at the deadline, I would keep him, and then move him. But I really do not. This team has the core to move forward. But obvious pieces are missing. And time, and reality are not on Doziers side. When and if this team matures, Dozier will either have declined, or walk in free agency, and his replacement, Polanco will likely be gone also. To this team Dozier and Polanco are like two things in your garage, that you only need one of. Neither will bring you what you really want in value, and will end up devaluing over the years. One has to go. Me? I turn the older, time limited one into something I need, and keep the long term one that fits into my planning. Keeping both, and having one sit there, deteriorating, is short sighted, and frankly stupid!
  25. Platoon
    I saw him in Beloit. He dropped a foul pop fly, and kicked a two hop ground ball, I texted my son and said his high school third baseman would have easily made both plays. I still think it's mental. He is a little too full of himself. Physically he can play third, he comes in on rollers as good as anyone, and range really is not an issue. Concentration is. The Mauer situation is kind of odd. Between his contract, his status, and his middling performance, he holds his position for various reasons. If that doesn't change it leaves Park with one year as a 1B option. That is if you are a Park believer. I am not. Based on these points, I would hope for Sano to hang unto third for a couple years, but always keep looking to 2019 with him at 1B. Baring something unforeseen I think that would be a mandatory trial before he is labeled a life long DH.
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