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Platoon

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Everything posted by Platoon

  1. Platoon
    Not only was I being semi sarcastic, i was in no way suggesting that as a way to effectively get hitters out. I was pointing out that many young hitters come to the majors with that malady. And it is often exposed when they try and do to much in a big situation. The only cure is time and patience. And I remember both Hunter and Cuddyer as prime examples!
  2. Platoon
    I saw Sano in Beloit, later in that year. He hit one ball on a short hop off the base of the left center field fence and a line drive single up the middle that I am sure the pitcher still sees in his nightmares. The bat on the ball makes a special sound. He also made two errors on high school type plays, indicating a lack of concentration, and displayed a accurate rocket of an arm. I think he was 19 at the time? From all accounts his fielding has improved. He plays third until he proves he cannot do it. Then you figure out how to keep his bat in the lineup. As Bud Grant always said, never make a decision until you have to, because they normally make themselves for you!
  3. Platoon
    Let me think about these two thoughts: Sano is one of the best hitting third base prospects to come along in years! Sano cannot beat out Plouffe at third base! Hmmm!
  4. Platoon
    Greatest TD headline of all time: WHOOPS, I FORGOT ABOUT BUXTON! More than one commentator has commentated about Sano, Walker et al about swinging at down and out sliders. The standing joke at our house was always, how do you get Torii Hunter or Michael Cuddyer out? Walk the bases full, and throw them three breaking balls in the dirt! (We had a low humor threshold). Regardless, they and others have spent years in the majors trying to harness that temptation. Remember pitchers are not throwing it because it's a bad idea!
  5. Platoon
    Why oh why is Nunez stil on this roster??
  6. Platoon
    The other day I asked rhetorically "what am I missing". Someone alertly noted, "optimism"! There are several scenarios here: They start the season well, then fade, and then slowly start bring in some young talent. The record is slightly better than last year. They start the season and don't fade, but are always on the outer fringes of contention. TR signs an aging (fill in the blank) to get us over the hump. We don't! No matter how they start the season the FO accepts this is the beginning of a rebuild. If a player is in the way, he is moved, this years performance only affects his trade value. All of the above preclude a contender. And frankly I don't care if we are a distant second or 5th. What I would like to see is real movement to the future. If I see that I will be optimistic, regardless of the won loss.
  7. Platoon
    Using his left arm to both pitch, and (likely) sign the arb agreement, is likely the reason that he will end up as the 5th starter. UGH! When people refer to the business side of baseball as the ugly side, they always refer to a player running out of time or talent. They never talk about a lesser talented player blocking someone just because the FO made a mistake. Trevor May had some interesting comments on the subject, about how contracts and salary levels enter into whom plays, when and where. As my 4 yr old granddaughter says, "it's not all about winning"
  8. Platoon
    Sadly I agree with you. To answer what's holding May back? Terry Ryan! May doesn't have to beat out Milone, Pelfrey, or Stauffer. They all have to fail miserably for him to get a chance. That seems to be the reality of life for a Twins rookie.
  9. Platoon
    Here's a question. If you deduct the extra commercial time,both between innings and pitching changes, and remove the 7th inning patriotic salute to America from the current length of games, what do we end up with? (Please don't tell me we should have time for the salute, I know that, this is only about the math). I am not sure when the inning breaks time was increased and to what level? For the record, I am an "old schooler" or at least old something. And I do find the games too lengthly. TIVO solves some of the problem at home, but complicates participating in the TD game threads.
  10. Platoon
    A lot of his problems started when he split up with Kemps. Maybe it was the cows after all?
  11. Platoon
    I truly think Dozier's power is questionable. I just don't see him as being any kind of a consistent power guy. But I guess this season will answer that. As for Mauer not getting the ball up towards right field, he never has. He is most comfortable hitting the ball deep in the zone, and when he try's to pull, or is forced to pull he seems to roll over on it. He might just be the reverse of most hitters. For him going the other way is natural, so pulling is just as difficult as another hitter going the other way.
  12. Platoon
    I have never considered Mauer a 3 hitter. That's kind of odd since your 3 spot usually goes to your best hitter. But you also want more pop in that spot. That said, if my best alternative is Dozier, even in a platoon I would stick with Mauer. As much as I agree he is a true 2 spot hitter, I also have not been able to identify someone to take his 3 hole. Hmm, maybe that's why the Twins have lost over 360 games in the last 4 years?
  13. Platoon
    Mauer is as close to a mechanical hitting machine as plays the game. In theory, and likely in practice this makes a shift in the OF towards left, and in the infield middle right even more effective. Basically you can count on him to hit the ball consistently as pitched. I can't believe the endless well hit balls down the LF line that were caught did not impact his production. As for pulling the ball he never has been God at getting air under anything to the right side. It's just not his strong suit.
  14. Platoon
    The article says he is under team control until 2019. And we don't have a real handle on which BD is the one we would sign? He is a competent ball player, but the Twins have some promising middle infield players in the pipeline. The only reason it seems to sign him at this time would be for ticket sales.
  15. Platoon
    Even tho I was/am one of those who think Arcia should have been left in right, I agree that LF is easier to play. (park abnormalities taken into consideration). But that fact then begs the question. Why wasn't he in LF to start with. Plus I still think he is destined for RF, possibly because of his arm? A point to be considered during all of this speculation. And it's a point the Twins internally must have considered: What is our goal for the season?? Not what is our stated goal to the unwashed masses who buy tickets, but what are we truly trying to accomplish. Get an honest answer to that question, and the discussion of who plays where will coalesce. It will also indicate the degree of rationality in the FO!
  16. Platoon
    The question should be, with the assumption Buxton is in the wings, "who is the best DEFENSIVE CF the Twins can put out there"? Using offensive as a criteria in that spot, at this time is not addressing the problems that this roster bring to the field.
  17. Platoon
    Hicksie is 25ish and Arcia is 23ish if I remember correctly. Ergo, Oswaldo could also be a mentoring candidate. The first rule of mentoring should be, if a guy is struggling in a position, don't take it away from him and force him across the diamond! If Arcia stays healthy and hits half of what it looks like he will, he is going to be the Twins right fielder. Defensively this is a lost year for him. Santana HAD to play CF. There was no one else at the time. Can anyone give me one reason why Hunter cannot play LF and leave Arcia in RF. It would seem to me that this move was a handshake agreement before he signed. There is no other rational reason for it.
  18. Platoon
    Random thoughts: Hicks did not seem to run very good routes to balls in CF. He seems very average defensively. And he would have to hit better to be a corner outfielder. Santana looked a lot like an infielder who was a good athlete playing in the OF. Shafer looks like a better defensive choice, which to start the season is where they should go. And I am not really a huge Shafer fan. And as for the mentoring abilities of Hunter, there seems to be no evidence anecdotally of that trait. In fact the few people who would comment or speculate publicly seemed to specifically question that premise. Obviously I dont know him personally, but while he seems to be a publically affable guy, Torrii seems to be all about Torii. There is a reason he is in right, and Oswaldo has made the ill advised shift to left. And it ain't because anyone on the Twins thought it was a great idea.
  19. Platoon
    Two phrases stand out>>>>. "A perceived lack of range at the corners". And >>>> Santana played an adequate CF! This is a team with offense as its strength. While I don't believe the offense will be as good as last year it's still the Twins current boasting point. As to CF, the only criteria at the beginning of the season is how fast you can get between the gaps, with a glove on your hand, and catch the ball while dodging the corner OF's.
  20. Platoon
    I totally agree. I have nothing against him whatsoever. I would taken every penny and a little more. To me he would be a great back up, even on a contender. Maybe more so on a contender. My position relates to his being extended and hindering the evaluation of a Pinto. To me it is symptomatic of many other Twins decisions. When you are where they are, a bird in the hand is not necessarily as good as two in the bush.
  21. Platoon
    I agree with Jokin on this. It was a time to cash in on Suzuki's aberration of a half season and sell high. Then use the last half of yet another lost year to evaluate and educate Pinto. If it works, great, if not what's the worst that can happen. The Twins were in a relatively unique place in their baseball existence. And I have never been sure, or understood who exactly they thought they were fooling by pretending that some of the moves they made were important to their future. The only person with a defensible argument for these moves was Gardy. He needed to squeeze out every win he could in 2014 to keep his job. He can hardly be blamed for making some short term decisions. But for the FO to do so is a troubling sign.
  22. Platoon
    But one of the problems is that it's not all about the money. Once you sign a guy like Suzuki to an extension, his playing time becomes a gauge on commentary on your decision making. I would not only have never extended him last year, I would have sold high. I don't know if the manager change will alleviate the problem/perception that I and I think some others have. And that is the Twins put an inordinate amount of weight to the character and likability of a player, in relation to other teams.
  23. Platoon
    I don't know about other years, or other pitchers, but pitch framing statistics when catching Samuel Deduno might be one of the most overrated metrics of all time. It's just another mystifying case of Gardy's mentality. You put your "worst" catcher in to catch your hardest to catch pitcher. And you put your "best" catcher in to sit in a rocking chair, catching the guy who has the lowest walk rate in MLB history. Perhaps that's why my driver training school for NASCAR drivers is off to such a slow start?
  24. Platoon
    Ryan stil seems to me to be structuring the roster like the Twins won 84 games last year and need a tweak here and there. And I could live with some of this off season maneuvering if he had shown any history of experimenting with veteran additions and then moved them if it did not work out, or even better if they over achieve and he sells high. . That is not the way he works. These guys are probably here for the year, maybe more. The hot stove season is supposed to be of hope, instead I am beginning to dread what each mornings Twins news would bring.
  25. Platoon
    Let’s just hope Ryan doesn't fail to trade Hughes or Santana when they're most valuable. And therein lies the problem! TR has very little if any history of selling high. It seems his theory is to try and win the most amount of games possible. On its face value, that looks like a great idea. But in reality if you are not in the picture for a playoff spot, its little more than a number. It will be interesting to see what happens this year with the pitching. He has kind of painted himself in a corner. If the three high buck pitchers don't perform, he can't trade them. And unless something has drastically changed he won't eat salary. Many might not agree with me, but I see TR structuring a roster as if he has an almost contender, instead of what he really has! A team to be completely rebuilt in 2015!
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