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Platoon

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Everything posted by Platoon

  1. Platoon
    We have no track record of promoting anyone, who walks anyone. To expect that from high velocity pitchers is not reasonable. One can argue an "acceptable BB rate for that type of pitcher, but applying our PTC standards to that style arm, will mean a long career in Rochester for anyone who breaks 97!
  2. Platoon
    The Twins seem neither to sign top flight FA's, nor agressively promote in house talent. Instead they diddle the first two months of the season away feeling out mediocre veterans, hoping that one will turn from a pumpkin to a gilded carriage. Whether this is the result of financial constraint, or a desire for Ryan to prove he can find his annual needle in a haystack, it puts the team in the worst possible spot. It leaves them losing valuable games, with no real chance of upside. Essentially a nice high floor, and a very low ceiling. A guarantee of not being all you could have been. And, whether intentional or not, allows an escape from the kind of all or nothing decisions that a conservative clan like the Pohlads abhor. Safe solid investments, eschewing risk is a great investment strategy. But used as a philosophy for running a competitive MLB team, it will always leave you looking both up, and down, on what could have been!
  3. Platoon
    Can they save time on Buxtons "clock" by holding him back until May? If they can, and he doesn't really perform at a very high level in ST, I still think he ends up in Rochester. I also note that you, and someone else have listed Sano in LF? I thought Ryan wanted him in RF. I have heard Ryan and Molitor have different views on this topic. Has a winner been declared? Lastly, am really looking forward to Nolasco in the pen. His stuff, history as a SP, and overall mindset of doing anything he can to help the club, should really play well there!
  4. Platoon
    Is the lack of confidence amongst the fans, or the FO? If it was me, he would start, if for no other reason that they painted themselves into a corner with the "Sano Experiment"! They need coverage out there. I love Arcia, but even I would not put an OF of him, Sano, and either DanSan or Rosario out there. Not with the SO rate of Twins pitchers! As for trading Hicks, I personally think the logical thing to do would have been trade Plouffe, have Hicks for insurance on the OF. If as it appears Buxton is a question mark that would have made sense. The Twins needed a catcher. So someone was going to have to go. The choice to trade Hicks, instead of Plouffe, smells more like Ryan getting rid of a player the orginisation was frustrated with, than by trading from a common sense non prejudiced position. Hicks drove them crazy for two years, and that never bodes well in Twins Territory.
  5. Platoon
    He broke down the last two years, and is 33. Do I see a trend here? Aside from that, there appears only two ways this will work. He is either the closer, or injured. He doesn't seem the type to quietly accept a "demotion" to the 7th or 8th inning guy. Plus he always has seemed to struggle in non close situations, even when he is at his best. It's almost like he loses motivation or concentration? His history is not to go quietly into the night?
  6. Platoon
    Spoiler alert! This will be intentional, not inadvertent! :). This will be a better rotation than in the past. But the danger in that thought is using the past as a comparison. No one wants to use the recent Twins SP as a baseline for success. One other thought. Teams spend millions and millions in an attempt to win? Or in some intstances placate the fan base. Yet the Twins won't spend the money it costs to clear a blocking contract from the roster. There are numerous better SP combinations with Nolasco out of the picture, but he is going to end up tipping the entire pitching roster on its ear! No one wants to admit a mistake, but he is eating up too big a spot on the roster.
  7. Platoon
    Just as it seems some players can't handle the mental aspect of batting lead off, some cannot deal with the pressure of the 3 and 4 hole. Being the man, is not as easy as hitting HR in non power spots. It's why whenever Plouffe, and Dozier were advocated for in those lineup spots, solely on their HR # I felt it a poor idea. Hopefully with Sano the days of that being an option are past. I don't know the value of Plouffe on the market. I would not give him away either. But when one considers a list of the feared middle of the order power hitters in the AL, I doubt you would find his name on anyone's list, routside of MN.
  8. Platoon
    I wonder if the Twins view Santana as the Buxton Backup! We may or may not agree, but it's quite possible. Buxtons history is slow starts at every level, and there is no doubt his MLB debut fit that profile. His case is complicated. The "Sano Experiment" will have a better chance of working with elite coverage from CF. he provides that. And he won't learn to hit ML pitching in Rochester. Those things beg for his inclusion going north. His lack of success at the plate in late summer, and the possibility of saving service time??, makes him a candidate for Rochester. Myself? I bring him up, let him learn this level. He needs to see ML pitching, he cuts Sanos coverage area by 15 ft, and if he can't handle the struggle of the learning curve, frankly he is not going to play at the level everyone projects. Self confidence is the 6th tool. Regardless of fan hope, and FO hype, the Twins are a work in progress. The auditioning of Park at DH, Sano in RF, and the apparent reliance on unproven prospects in the BP confirm that. They might yet contend, but it won't be because they are a solid proven entity when ST camp breaks!
  9. Platoon
    If this were a TD game thread, your capitalization of the word "patience" would concern me! But since it's an intellectual discussion on the decisions of the Twins FO regarding roster management, I will assume your finger just bumped the CAPS key!
  10. Platoon
    Since you have 12 pitchers, I assume the backup catcher on the bench refers to either Suzuki or Ryan? And 12 pitchers? Hopefully the day of the third catcher and 13th pitcher are gone. But as one poster noted, NOLASCO! No settling of the Twins staff can take place until his roster situation is resolved. If he is here, it means 2 or 3 other pitchers slide somewhere, including all the way to Rochester.
  11. Platoon
    UNLESS HES DELMON YOUNG! I appreciate someone who can see both sides of a discussion, there have to be two sides, or it ain't a discussion. You are correct sir! It will work itself out. Everything does. The other side of the discussion is the cost in wins during this period. Two points, the thought that EE would still be rummaging around LF without an injury to guide the Twins speaks of itself. Second, Plouffe would have to approach T-Ball level aptitude to get benched. The Twins seldom bench a veteran. Regardless, is there a defensive metric for "rummaging"?
  12. Platoon
    They would likely, and likely will. But when? And if they do, and don't trade Plouffe, where do they stash him? Signing Park, and not trading Plouffe paints them in a corner. This is a team that sent EE to rummage around in LF.
  13. Platoon
    And in my mind, an innovative team would take advantage of those artifificially inflated Dozier numbers, and sell as high as possible to someone who needs help at that position. To me that is one of the FO largest detriments. They don't/won't take advantage of an opportunity to move someone on the upside.
  14. Platoon
    To address your last paragraph first, the Twins have little history of doing anything about a player in a Dozier like situation until something forces their hand. My take on Dozier is there are only going to be two versions available. The current Dozier, but which will be far less than first half Dozier but not as bad as second half Dozier. A few less SO, and a lot less HR's. The other version has him changing his approach, significantly lower his SO's, and hitting maybe .275? But his HR's become a thing of the past. Why? First off, he has no "natural" power. Second, he sat on high inside FB to pull them severely. If he changes his approach, those pitches will get by him. He can't do both. I don't think the Twins year is now. They have too many issues, especially on the mound, to be legitimate. It would be the perfect time to sell as high as you can with him. Or trade Polanco. Having both is a waste of a resource. BTW, I don't think it's fair to disregard Park in the race for the SO crown. I fear he will give Miguel all he can handle!
  15. Platoon
    I don't think this is a popular opinion here, but I would sell high, or as high as I could on Dozier in a heartbeat. His plus as a hitter is the HR. Even if, and at least from last year it looks doubtful, he learns to hit the away stuff, he ends up as a very average stick. But since there is less than zero chance this will happen, we move on to Berrios and Buxton. Berrios will have to pitch lights out in Rochester. Just decent won't do it. The Twins have too many contractual problems in the SP staff. I would bet a years subscription to TD that they will LOOK for reasons to leave him in Rochester. Buxton? He better make it, or the OF will be somewhere between a disaster and the Titanic!
  16. Platoon
    If that's the path they take, I was, I am, and I will be all for it. But if they use April and May to audition 32 year old journey men, while games are given away, I intend to write a firmly worded post on TD protesting in the strongest language possible!
  17. Platoon
    No doubt this is used by most FO's to describe a below average hitter, in a positive light. But IMHO a prime defensive player in CF, SS, and behind the plate will prevent more runs, than an offense first one can produce. Needless to say, everyone wants both offense and defense, but there aren't enough of them to go around.
  18. Platoon
    Nice summary. Thank you for making it clear that catching is a defense first position. My biggest "aggravation" about Suzuki was his defense, primarily his throwing, not his offense. We got spoiled by Mauer. His offensive stats set our bar a little higher than it might have to be.
  19. Platoon
    Without being critical, or trying to start a bleep storm, is Arcia "working with Brunansky" going to help. And what exactly do the Twins want. There offense was overall last year, anemic. Opportunistic but anemic. The SO rate was high, guys like Sano, Dozier, and even Rosario were as likely to strikeout get a hit, in some cases more so. Even Mauer was way up. And then they signed what could well be the new SO king of the AL, Park. So far all they have done is talk about plate discipline. But their selective enforcement of it does not make them seem serious. It makes it seem more like an excuse when demoting players. I realize Arcia needs to clean up his strike zone, but that list is really much longer than just him!
  20. Platoon
    I am not quite as high on Park as others here. If he does adjust, a big if, then to hit 28 HR's he will have to hit them at an amazing pace in the second half. Kind of the anti Dozier! Expecting him to compete because Kang was passable is similar to saying the Nishy signing was going to work based on Ichiro! As for Berrios, I really hope they bring him up in May. But for both that to happen, and for four pitchers to win in double digits, something unTwin like will have to happen. They would likely have to move a starter pitching well, or eat a salary. The Twins move very slowly in the first months of a season, very slowly.
  21. Platoon
    Like the setup of the Twins offense will completely depend on what they do with Buxton, the pitching staffs big question is Nolasco. He is the elephant in the dugout. Since nothing historically says they will go to the lengths necessary to get rid of him, his presence disrupts the entire pitching roster. The same history says he will not be forced into the pen, but barring injury will be a SP. Failure will result in another convenient ailment, and off to the DL. Success will result in a conundrum. You couldn't trade him when he had no value, and now you can't trade a "valuable" member of the rotation. Inevitably the Twins will resort to there SOP fallback position! They will send Tonkin back to Rochester!
  22. Platoon
    I think Dozier is a decent second baseman. I know decent isn't a saber metric term, but it's close. I think his diving for everything except pop ups, makes his range appear greater than it is. His arm is average. He is aggressive, and never takes a play off. I do think he struggled coming up with poor throws on steals last year. There were definitely a few that got away. Hitting? Either he will have to change his approach, or he will have to square up an extremely high percentage of the very few FB up in the zone he sees. If neither happens, you will see far more of post ASG Dozier than you would like to. There was another post about HR's which seemed to indicate that he would replicate his last two years of high 20's HR's. I just can't see that happening.
  23. Platoon
    I agree wholeheartedly with everything but this. Their is a difference between the rosters and the starters. Plouffe is the only one who can reasonably solve the roster issue. Mauer cannot be traded. He can be cut, but that's not a reality worthy of discussion. You can reduce his AB's. But not his roster spot. Something often ignored is that the Twins lineup was so putrid last year that as much as I do not believe Mauer is a 3 hitter, I could not come up with another. Dozier? Plouffe? Sano? The HR were there, but for two of them only half the year. Sano might soon be though. But Dozier remains an all or nothing hitter, and truthfully despite Plouffes HR's, does anyone think he strikes fear in any pitcher? The DP's and SO's are too easily coerced.
  24. Platoon
    It will be interesting to see how he holds up physically if he ends up in the pen, which I am sure he will. Last year he had a few issues, which he claimed were pen related. But the real issue here isn't whether he belongs in the pen, or whether the Twins signed to many veteran starters. (They did). The issue is their refusal to deal with this roster crunch in a way that makes the team more competitive. And the continuing cow towing to veterans in roster decisions. See Pelfrey! May will be an improvement in the pen, but only at the expense of watching "The Usual Suspects" pitch.
  25. Platoon
    I truly hate seeing May go the the pen, but at the same time, given the current roster, it's likely the thing to do. Time will tell. It helps clear the jam in the beginning of the year. Of course so would have moving Pefrey there last year. I don't think Milone fits the pen, except for mop up. His stuff doesn't play well there. At the same time, he, more than anyone on the staff pitches at the whim of an umpire. He needs a big outside corner, and when it doesn't exist, he doesn't last long.
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