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Platoon

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Everything posted by Platoon

  1. Platoon
    This could seem off topic, if so I apologize. But it alludes to the dominance of BP's, aka less offense. The emergence of overpowering BP arms has caused me to wonder whether the "working the count" hitting philosophy should be reconsidered. For one reason it hastens the departure of the starter, and gets you into a dominant BP. And for me the most important reason, is you end up taking get me over FB or maybe a hanging slider. Then left with a count in the pitchers favor, you end up swinging at his pitch, not yours. So the question is, does the change in how bull pens are constructed change the way hitting is coached?
  2. Platoon
    One thing you will notice in some of those great Twins teams is that they weren’t afraid to promote talent quickly. Chuck Knoblauch was drafted in 1989. Played in AA in 1990, and was the Opening Day second baseman in 1991. Scott Erickson debuted in 1990, a year after he was drafted in the third round out of college. Matt Garza was the Twins top pick in 2005. He pitched at four levels in 2006, including the Twins.>>>>>. This has been one of my main frustrations with the Twins. They don't seem to trust their own youthful talent. Often preferring someone else's veteran 30 yr old instead. I understand injuries slowed Sano and Buxton, but I still doubt it impacted their arrival by much. And while one can pick and chose and argument over the promotion of position players, it's doubtful that argument would hold up in the pitching department. It seems the only avenue to promotion for a ML Twins pitcher is via injury to one of our 32 yr old MLB staff. Which would be understandable if the staff was in the upper tier of the league, not the dregs of most statistical analysis!
  3. Platoon
    I think May has the stuff to be either a successful starter, or reliever. My only question with him as a reliever is health. He seemed to struggle with that issue in the pen last year. Plus I think deep down he doesn't want to relieve. I realize that is not necessarily his call, but it's still a factor.
  4. Platoon
    I do agree that Vargas is a better fielder than one would think. He has extremely soft quick hands. He made a horrible first impression when he missed that pickoff throw in his first game over there. He was likely so nervous he couldn't move. But I have seen him make some very nice plays there, albeit in a SSS.
  5. Platoon
    I know this opinion is not popular, but I think most of their problems, and more likely so Arcias, are "mental". I doubt either player thought that he got a fair shake. Vargas odd demotion right when he started hitting to find his power stroke. And Arcia goes down, hits the crap out of the ball and the Twins announce a new policy, wherein it's not enough to go down, get healthy, hit and come back after your rehab. A policy that should have been named the "Arcia Policy" as it seemed he was one of the few for which it was invoked. One can argue that such an attitude is immature, and you would be correct. But part of the problem could be a perceived inconsistency in how players are handled. Regardless, Arcia and Vargas did not just forget how to hit. It's very likely they will again, the big question is for whom that will be?
  6. Platoon
    One of the problems relying on the bull pen to "replace" the starting pitchings impact is that as the innings pile up a lot of teams, especially the Twins add an arm to the pen, and shorten their bench. If they are going with a Sano or Arcia in RF this year they might want the flexibility to use a defensive replacement. The other problem, and sadly unavoidable, for the Twins is that if your BP is to be effective in winning games, it should be handed at least a tie in the 6th inning. Not a 2 run deficit.
  7. Platoon
    Looking to pull and trying to pull are two different approaches. Going up there pulling everything no matter where pitched is not a great approach. Looking for a pitch to pull is different. This is more of what guys like Willingham and Dozier were doing. Dozier kept looking for a pitch to pull all the way to a Mendoza line avg in the second half. To the extent that he likely hit more GB to SS than Mauer hit to 2B. Or so it seemed. The fact is, Dozier is really not a power hitter, and his affection for that left field foul pole will end up diminishing his career, not enhancing it. What I find interesting is that even while Bruno talked about how they try to get Dozier to go the other way, he was given Carte Blanche to pull his way to irrelevance at the plate, and it cost him no playing time, in fact he achieved virtual iron man status. Yet the guys with true power are forced to go the other way or forced to go to Rochester. I will preempt any comments about Doziers defensive chops, by acknowledging them and agreeing they are a mitigating factor. But that still does not make the way some players are handled vs others any less confusing.
  8. Platoon
    There are two issues in play here as regards Buxton and Kepler. One is the talent issue. On this point I would also "take the bubble wrap off" and see what happens. But the other issue is service time. That's the big unknown. I could possibly see Buxton coming north, but almost no chance for Kepler. I think if he keeps Plouffe Sano will start in RF, if he trades Plouffe, I think Arcia gets another shot. Plouffe really is the elephant in the room.
  9. Platoon
    " Even with the league's caveats (lower velocity, smaller ballparks, juiced baseballs), hitters do not reach those totals that consistently without being a special talent." Agreed! You have to be able to make solid contact, and have an obvious power stroke. But will he be able to overcome those three caveats, in a non HR friendly park, and still put up numbers that will be any better than cheaper options? To me, one of Arcia, Vargas, or Walker will turn into a DH power threat. And IMHO for less money and less risk.
  10. Platoon
    Oddly it's possible both are correct. Since it seems that Plouffe is not going to be traded, for the time being at least, that left an OF to trade for a catcher. Whether the value was fair is open to discussion. But catchers are harder to find than OF, so looking for a tit for tat trade might be overly hopeful. To address #2, Ryan seems to put an inordinate amount of weight on personality and attitude when making roster decisions. He is loathe to trade a trusted veteran who makes no waves, but has often jettisoned far more gifted players who do not fit what many sarcastically refer to as "The Twins Way". Ryan is lauded by some for his patience in "developing" players such as Plouffe and Dozier. But that patience was notably absent with Gomez, Hardy, Garza, and others.
  11. Platoon
    I do hope we did not trade Hicks for a platoon level catcher! But it would fit the Ryan risk adverse model. Mid level deals, mid level risks, mid level success, mid level failures, and needless to say, mid level in the AL!
  12. Platoon
    I cannot see anyway Kepler starts here in spring, and in today's Trib Rob Anthony already alluded to Buxton possibly starting in Rochester when he said the Twins had options in CF like Danny Santana. I would not be at all stunned to see an OF of Rosario, DanSan, and Sano. Starting Buxton in Rochester for service time I can understand, but I simply do not get the Sano thing at all. Athletic, sure. But to expect him to learn the OF in spring? Maybe there's a secret plan to bring Arcia back?
  13. Platoon
    Ugh! Two of the worst defensive catchers, and definitely the worst two arms, platooning! It's enough to make me change my screen name!
  14. Platoon
    Sano is way quicker, and faster than Willy, Cuddy, or Ploofy! And his arm easily plays well in the OF. Can he catch fly balls? I can, so I imagine he can. Will his pitchers end up crouching down and holding their head in their hands after a ball lands that Hicks, Buxton, Rosario, and yes even Hunter would have caught? Very likely. What I dread is him coming in and diving for a ball, and seeing him holding his shoulder. Big guys like him do not land like cats!
  15. Platoon
    The Twins need to make room in two places, OF and corner IF. What originally did, and still does get Arcia in trouble is his defense. He'll hit. Moving Sano to the OF is likely Arcia 2. Trade Plouffe. I have said this from day one! If Sano is not an upgrade on Plouffe by the middle of 2017, then the Twins, the scouts, and the bloggers all were wrong on him. Even with a Plouffe trade, you still have too many OF'ers. Why add another one!
  16. Platoon
    I totally agree! I would have been too sheepish to even consider posting this thread.
  17. Platoon
    It's a sad commentary that "getting the band back together" is so etched into the Twins DNA, that there has to be a thread based on the topic. This team does NOT need another old catcher who can't throw, an old relief pitcher off surgery, a 37 yr old who hasn't pitched in 3 yrs, or a DH with two HR's last year. And we do not need another veteran OF to either slow or block the young OF excess we already have. ENOUGH ALREADY!
  18. Platoon
    Ryan's professed love of innings pitched every five days all season has merit. The problem is that it is the criteria for the 3-5 spots in the rotation, not the #1. That guy has to be the guy that will be a stopper, any day, home and away, against any team. Needless to say that also equates to innings pitched per year, etc, therfore Ryan is partially correct in his definition. But, his definition seems to substitute the word "most". That omission also fits nicely with the Twins Way, buy in the middle, trade in the middle, and sell in the middle. This guarantees your mistakes will be nominal. Sadly it also guarantees your successes will be the same. I used to think the teams lack of spending was strictly based on not wanting to spend money. Lately I have come to believe it's more Ryan's vision of successful management.
  19. Platoon
    To address Seths recent post, I excluded Santana and Liriano because they were not draftes. I could entertain the Santana argument, as he was an ace, but still not a draftee. Liriano was an ace, for 3 months, and got hurt. And when he returned the Twins did not have the patience, or the ability to get him back to that status. Nor apparently did the Sox. And while he has had success in Pittsburgh, is it ace like?
  20. Platoon
    There are only two ways to end up with an "ace". Acquire one or develop one. So does Ryan's definition of the term ace, go towards answering the question of how a team like the Mets can have 4 young 95 plus studs, and we struggle to get someone that tops out at 93? While velocity isn't everything, it does tend to make mistakes in the zone less damaging. And the fact that a team targets that style indicates a very different philosophy. Could Blyleven be the last home grown product with actual league wide ace material? And if so, why? It can't be all bad luck? Or can it?
  21. Platoon
    It's very doubtful the Twins are going to be contenders next year. Their key youthful pieces did not get enough experience last year, with the possible exception of Rosario. And while they have a seeming over abundance of players in some areas, they woefully lack talent in quite a few others. This isn't a situation of turning a sows ear into a silk purse, it more like turning a silk purse into a silk handbag! A lot of the parts are there, but too many are standing in the same place. The starting pitching solution is going to require somebody eating some contract money. There doesn't seem to be an alternative to that scenario. And the BP improvement may revolve around how much trust the orginisation puts in some of the younger power arms that have been drafted in the last few years. Drafting them is one thing, putting them on the mound with the associated learning curve is entirely another. It's going to be a fun winter! Will we accelerate the rebuild, and find out whether all this minor league talent is real? Or will we take the somewhat safer approach, sign a couple of middling vets, and hope that lightning strikes Target Field (metaphorically) two years in a row? Tune in next March.
  22. Platoon
    I would not retire his number either. It's already too easily done. And this would lower the bar further. That's not particularly a shot at Hunter. It's more of a call to keep the standards higher. Hrbeck? Lifelong Twin, although I still think a bit of an underachiever. But also, face of the franchise, and leader. Blyleven? In the HOF, nuff said. Hunter? Great Twin, but also took the money and ran. Had a very convenient and profitable 10.5m epiphany at the end.
  23. Platoon
    I think the article referenced Hunter's decision as saving the Twins from themselves. But who am I to quibble, I withdraw the comment in an attempt to promote harmony and good will!
  24. Platoon
    I was never sure which Hunter was the real one. The one with the views I don't agree with and the accompanying attitude displayed to Bernadino, or the smiley friendly one displayed on the field? Likely a composite of the two. Whichever, it's mostly irrelevant as he is not paid to be my ideal male sports personality, he was paid to play baseball. Which I think he can still do to some degree. So did he retire because it was time, because he thought it best to go out on the higher note? Or because the Twins would not guarantee him a full time gig? If the Twins truly wanted him back with a regular lineup spot, it speaks reams about FO decision making, and the likelihood that any significant improvement is forthcoming. That said, while it can be argued pro or con that Hunter helped the Twins on the field in 2015, his biggest contribution will likely be his retirement, saving the Twins from yet another mind boggling roster decision!
  25. Platoon
    Yes, but it is a well known fact that consistency is one of the hallmarks of any great orginisation.
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