chpettit19

Oh, I've been driving the Royce Lewis in CF bus for a while now. To me, it's the obvious choice. I'm good with them letting him stick at 3rd for a while and just concentrate on making adjustments at the plate while playing a position he doesn't have to think much about, but, for next year, Lewis would be my CFer if I were running the Twins.

That was fun, depressing, and rather accurate all at the same time. Not a big basketball fan, so I mostly follow the wolves by chatting with my buddies, and reading articles in The Athletic. But those comps seem pretty accurate. And that's not encouraging.

I'd add 60-day IL Buxton, if there's a chance his knees (that's what I assume is ailing him) can be made good enough to play CF again in the future. If you're selling, and looking to 2024, and beyond, figuring Buxton out is a huge part of that. I don't know what's wrong with his knees, but if it's something that another surgery, and/or rest, can fix to any extent I'd end his season the second I start looking to move other key members of the team. If I'm trading Sonny Gray, I'm ILing Buxton at the same time. If he can't be the CFer next year this team is in a really tough spot moving forward.

You don't see any difference between the wear and tear on one's knees playing 8 innings of defense and hitting 4 times a game with maybe 1 trip around the bases included? Just the jogs to and from CF for 8 innings is as much wear and tear on his knees as an average offensive day.

Isn't watching a game today the same as it used to be? You don't need to look at launch angle or exit velo if you don't want to. We've all watched no hitters, star player's last hits, and any number of great things on the field. Before your time they didn't track BA, HR's, and RBI, and maybe that was complained about when those things started being tracked. Way back in the day it was actually considered rude to hit a HR. The place where I see the new stats being the biggest hurdle is when talking about which players to sign, who's having a better season, etc. The older school people grew up with a definition of "great" based primarily around the 3 stats you listed. Teams, and then fans, have gotten smarter and realized the flaws in those stats so started tracking the deeper happenings in the game that get more to the core of what drives those stats, and what's truly the most important things on the field in terms of scoring, or preventing, runs. Teams getting so heavy into analytics, and diving into the deep end has made the game less enjoyable to watch, in my opinion. It's turned into way too much 3 true outcome, no action baseball. I'm glad the league is attempting to change that. But I go to games semi-regularly, and am pretty sure I watch pretty much the same way you do. Me glancing at the velo numbers when someone hits a mile is basically the same thing as you telling your buddies "dang, did you see how hard he hit that?" We can just put a number on it now.

Thought people may find this interesting...

Oh, so you've just defined BP how you want to. Got it. I follow now. You know they have live pitchers in the cage, too, right? I mean unless you think someone is actually getting on the Target Field mound and throwing real pitches like they're in a real game during the season. That doesn't happen. The only difference in what you're describing is the lighting/backdrop. They have real human beings who go into the cage and throw real baseballs in the cage, too. But I get the disconnect now. Yeah, I understand that's what you want. And, as this conversation started, we will never agree on that. That's fine. We're well aware of our differences on that subject. And we'll never agree on that last sentence either. Since you're still mad after they've publicly stated what Buxton is doing today. So, like I said from the beginning, what they say really doesn't matter, and hasn't changed anything. You're still unhappy. You want them to do things the way you want them done, and it doesn't seem you'll be happy until that's the case. Unless they play better. Which has been my point all along. All that really matters is what they play like.

The Twins website has that as a move they made today. My guess is he goes unclaimed and stays in St Paul. Always ready for the FO to choose him over a younger player by finding a way to get him back on the 40-man. That temptation feels like it will never leave!

I wish he'd play great instead of just feel great!

Looks like a DFA of Garlick, and call up of Oliver Ortega, are the corresponding moves to the Varland option.

De Leon is out of options.

Why do you keep saying "Doesn't take outdoor BP" doesn't actually mean "doesn't take outdoor BP?" Like I honestly want to know. That's not a sentence I've ever said. They have cages inside. You know that, right? They can take batting practice (I assume we're both meaning batting practice when we say BP) inside. That's where that velo machine you want him to use is. Why are you attempting to make it sound like I'm saying something I'm not? Byron does his batting practice inside. Why is that a crazy idea? If I'm remembering correctly, Mike Trout only does his inside, too. Yes, extreme example, but I'm confused on this obsession with the word "outdoor." You do accept that "doesn't take outdoor BP" doesn't mean "doesn't take BP," right? Like those are 2 different things? You've added the word "outdoor" to that second quote multiple times now. I've never had the word "outdoor" in that second quote. I mean you can go back and look at the comments you've quoted of mine. You've added that word in some weird attempt to make it sound like I've said something I haven't.

Yes, they were. What does that have to do with whether or not Popkins has been of any help to them? Way too many guys are playing poorly. Absolutely. No doubt about it. Yes, Farmer has dumped balls into right field. So has Castro. Solano has literally made a career of it. But so have Correa, and Buxton, and Kirilloff, and Lewis, and Jeffers, and all the other guys who were here last year. Castro and Jeffers are hitting better than I think anyone would've expected. MAT, Farmer, Solano, Gallo, Julien, Kirilloff, Lewis, and Kepler are performing pretty much exactly how I think most people would've expected. Correa, Buxton, Vazquez, and Miranda have performed well below what I think most people expected. Do you disagree with any of that? The guys in the middle category aren't all hitting well, but did we really expect Gallo, Kepler, MAT, etc. to be better than this? I'd argue MAT and Farmer, maybe even Solano, have been slightly better than expected. But none of those guys in that category are at an extreme compared to their expected performance. Unless the expectation was that Popkins was going to suddenly transform the type of hitter these guys have been for many, many years why are we mad at him, and not the FO for having a lineup full of guys who they should've known weren't very good hitters? I have no idea how good Popkins is as a hitting coach. But you don't get to take away the success of some guys while dropping the failures of others on Popkins. That's not how it works. You don't get to claim that he's only working with the players you're disappointed in while having nothing to do with the guys who are succeeding.

You know they have cages inside right? Like lots of players take BP inside? I mean you know there's a difference between not taking outdoor BP, and not taking BP at all, right? You using the same quote twice there is literally changing the meaning of what was talked about in the article, and what I said. Again, the word outdoor feels like it's getting a little too much emphasis here. Why are you so obsessed with him doing it outdoors? Do you think there's a lot more BA in Buxton? You think if he took more BP outside instead of inside that lifetime average would .280, or what? Why? Is the velo machine what was needed, or just something you want him to use? What's the difference between the velo machine, and the regular machine? I honestly don't know. Do you? How high does the regular one go? Do you think outdoor BP would make up for the velo machine, or does it have to be both? Who says the manager has no interest in it? Is it possible that Rocco, Byron, and the rest of the Twins staff, knows his swing, his routines, and what he needs a little better than you or me? Your argument has gone from "they don't do enough work" to "they're doing the wrong work." I'm sure one of those is right.

Who suggested nothing needs to change? What's "ludicrous" is the stance that Castro (the cast-off) is magically hitting better here than he did in Detroit without it having anything to do with Popkins. "Best when putting the ball into play and using all fields. And that's what they're doing." is any interesting stance. Do we agree Farmer is doing better this year than he did in a Reds uniform? I mean the stats show that so I guess we should agree. Farmer has his highest pull% since 2019 this year, and lowest oppo% (according to baseballsavant and their fancy cameras that track every ball put in play). That's literally the opposite of your argument. You want to know about Castro's pull tendencies this year? 2nd highest of his career. The only year higher? 2020 when he had his only other good "year" in the majors. Also his lowest oppo% since 2020. Correa's oppo%? Highest since 2018, and 2nd highest of his career. Buxton's numbers? Lowest pull% since 2020, highest oppo% since 2020. Again, literally the opposite of your argument. Maybe you should skip the horseshoe and rabbits foot, and actually look into what's happening instead of blindly making claims you can't back up. Yes, things need to change, but it doesn't seem that you have the best ideas on what needs to change. The argument that Popkins is at fault for the bad hitters, but has nothing to do with the good ones is ludicrous. Especially when one of your go to examples is Willi Castro. He literally got waived from one of the worst teams in the league because he couldn't hit, and now he's hitting, and your argument is that the team he couldn't hit for is the reason he's hitting well with his new team. That's a bold take.

1. Anytime. I aim to please. 2. We'll just never see eye to eye on the fact that "at least they tried" is nothing more than you assuming they aren't trying now. "If they don't tell me they're doing it, they aren't doing it" is an interesting stance. But point 1 means I'm all good with you taking that stance, because that's just how you fan. 3. First, how does he get his timing back against live pitching without playing? Bold strategy, but I'm sure it'd work great. I'd definitely move him down the order, though. Second, you've clearly taken the quote "in a while" to mean more than the IL stint he had that the article immediately talks about. But I admit I have no idea what "a while" really means. Do you know if he's a big velo machine guy normally? This isn't exactly his rookie year. When he's been going well in the past was he doing a lot of velo machine work? How about extra early BP, and extra cage time? Is that what's best for Buck to get on track? I'll admit I don't know. Funny that you take "eschews outdoor batting practice" to mean he doesn't need/take regular BP. Especially funny since, following the comma, it says that he does targeted work in the cage instead. It's almost like they're telling you the type of work he does, but you don't care anyways because it's not the type of work you want him to do based on all your inside knowledge of Buxton, his swing, and his routines.

You're welcome! Wasn't even a reply to you, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I understand that's your, and others, issue. I don't get that issue. I don't get what you want him to say though. "I'm terrible, I should be fired" or "we suck, and never going to get better" aren't ever going to come out of his mouth. And even if they did I don't expect it'd make you any happier. But to each their own. "We aren't playing well enough, and need to change what we're doing" has come out of his mouth, many times. But that hasn't made anyone I know of feel any better. But maybe there is a magic phrase in there somewhere.

I didn't say I expected it, but hoped for it. Balanced over the the whole season to date, yes, he's at a pretty respectable OPS+, etc. But almost all of that was generated in a red hot April. In May and June he has an OPS well below his career norms. If he only keeps performing at May and June levels he is NY/LA Gallo, and that guy is unplayable. But they won't cut him loose with that contract. So we have to hope he gets back to being Texas Gallo like he was at the start of the year. He can't OPS in the 600s like he has been since May started.

Significantly better? 10 hits. That's what separates his current batting average this year vs his .362 average from last year on the same date. He has 255 ABs this year, and 102 hits. If he had 92 hits he'd have a .361 average. Yes, he's doing better, but suggesting he's some vastly different hitter is pretty extreme. Ryan Jeffers is doing better this year. Didn't play for another organization last year. Kirilloff is doing just fine. Vazquez played for a different org last year (2 actually), and is doing worse this year. Castro played for a different org last year and was waived in the offseason while still having options left because he was so bad, but now he's one of our "steadiest hitters," and you want to make that about Popkins being bad? What argument are you trying to make? Solano came from another org and has been the same guy. Farmer came from another org, but has been slightly better here. Castro came from another org and has been significantly better. Vazquez came from 2 other orgs and has been significantly worse. MAT came from another org and has been the same guy as last year. Joey Gallo came from another org and has been the same guy after a hot start. What needle are you trying to thread here? 3 guys doing the same (Popkins hasn't ruined them, but hasn't improved them?), 1 guy doing slightly better (Popkins improved him?), 1 guy doing way worse (Popkins ruined him?), and 1 guy doing way better (Popkins is a genuis?). What are you trying to claim is happening with the 6 regulars that came from other orgs as it pertains to Popkins? I don't see the commonality you seem to see.

My point is that there's no reason to think it's coaching. That was your question. "Is Miami's hitting coach teaching new philosophy to a vet?" If it's the hitting coach making the difference Miami would be outscoring the Twins, no? Why would his great philosophy only be improving Arraez? Yeah, that's a 40 point difference, but it's not July 9th yet. My point was you claimed "when Arreaz was here he was a .300 hitter. Now in Miami he's flirting with .400." You're comparing his end of year stats to his June stats. I was providing context by showing that he was doing much better than .300 not only in June, but into July. We'll see where he ends up this year, but there's been nothing about his approach that has changed between his time here and his time there. He wasn't trying to launch HRs here or something. He's just been better this year.

You don't say things differently in public than you do in private? Gray and Rocco were heated in the dugout the other day. Did that make anyone feel better even though the team lost? Rocco is subdued, and doesn't throw guys under the bus, in pressers. Does that make anyone feel better even though they lose? My point is your last paragraph there. We don't know anything. We're not in the clubhouse. We don't know what these guys are like behind closed doors. Fans can absolutely make their displeasure clear, but I don't get why fans care about what these guys say to us. Rocco isn't talking to the players in those pressers, he's talking to us. He talks to the players in the clubhouse. I'm not defending Rocco, the FO, any of their strategies, the players, how they're playing, anything. I'm simply confused as to what people get out of Rocco throwing a tantrum in front of the media, or saying whatever perfect, magic words they want to hear. To me, it's an emotional thing. People are all amped up about their favorite team, and "in their feels" as the kids say. They're mad, and want to see people with the club be mad in "the right way" so they feel like they care, too. I don't have any desire to see any of that. It doesn't change anything. I understand some fans do, and that's fine. I'm just confused on what saying different words in their forced pressers changes. Nothing they say matters to me. Just win more games, or at least play better baseball.

Miami's offense has scored fewer runs than the Twins this year. Luis Arraez was hitting .362 on June 21st last year. It's not quite .400, but it's not some crazy difference either. Arraez was over .350 until July 9th last year.

Why? Do you believe they're not doing any work? Here's an article from today about the work Buxton's been doing. He hit off the velo machine the other day before he struck out. You feel better now? What do their words actually matter to you? Fine, Rocco tells you they're doing "situational baseball workouts." Keeps telling you that through July. The aren't playing any better. Your feelings on Rocco changed because he told you what workouts they're doing? You're choosing to assume they're not doing work. You're choosing to assume they have no "strategy." Them telling you different, but the results not changing, isn't going to change your opinion on any of this. So why choose to be upset about the words Rocco says when all any of us really care about is how well they play? You can fan however you want to fan. I don't get it. I don't see how anything they say changes anything. I don't care what they say. Just play better. Coaches, FO, players, everyone. None of their words matter. Coach better. Build a better team. Play better. Their words mean nothing. Doing their jobs better is all I care about.

While I try to avoid the "Buxton in CF" stuff, I agree with this general take. We know who these guys are, especially the veterans. There's no reason to have Kepler sitting on your bench. None at all. This fake half-step is useless. Cut him loose and try to improve your team. Gallo makes too much so I doubt they cut him loose, so we need to hope he gets back to early season Gallo. I like Farmer, but Lewis needs to be in the lineup darn near everyday. Their sitting around and waiting for these guys to change the type of players they are is mind blowing to me.