diehardtwinsfan

Plenty of good players never make those lists. Given his age and skills, he won't. Doesn't mean he will have a good (or short) ML career.

Polanco has no options left... That said, Hildenberger has certainly been encouraging. Hasn't given up a run yet. Walk rate a bit high in SSS, but so far he looks like he's going to be staying a while.

I don't see teams doing this, despite it making sense. I have to wonder if there's an unwritten rule here.

to be paired with the blue footed boobie

I think it's control/command they are looking for. His last couple starts have shown that, but it was fairly shaky when he started. I think Stephen will be in Rochester fairly soon.

Santana, Berrios, Mejia, pray for rain. I think Mejia is coming a long nicely, and while we will get the occasional clunker from him, he's starting to go deeper into games and is more effective. He may be a 5 for the rest of this season, but a 5 with upside is something we really need. I'm almost ready to say that I'm quite confident in him for 2018 as well... Not quite there yet, but he's been encouraging.

Today is a very important day, as it is my sister’s birthday. I won’t bore you with how old she is, and she doesn’t read this site, but I’ll simply note that I’m proud of her and wish her a happy **th birthday. With that out of the way, we need to discuss far more important things to think about today, namely regarding our Twins and a game against another good AL contender. My last set of things to think about centered around the 5 stages of grief, and considering how we got our ***es handed to us by our AL Central rivals, it seemed fitting. Of course, the good guys show all that grit and hustle that would make Gardy proud. They went to Cleveland and beat the snot out of them on the road, retaking first place and giving Twins fans hope. Hope is a fickle mistress. She was the really hot administrative assistant that a young DiehardTwinsFan had the privilege of working with in one of his first jobs. She is the mistress that is absolutely obsessed with teasing Vikings fans, but we all know how that ends. She doesn’t like Vikings fans much, neither do the Vikings I might add, as they seem to team together with her step-sister Despair to well…. I really cannot put into words just how gruesome they really are, but no Stephen King novel is able to capture the horror. But for Twins fans, hope has been both kind and evil, much like the average Greek goddess granting them occasional joy, while mostly afflicting them with some despair. Things to think about. 1. Boston. I hate that place. Never mind that I had an employer based out of there which forced me to do some occasional travel. OK, the Italian food is really good. The problem with Boston is the people. In Massachusetts, they take pride in calling themselves M***holes, as this is some sort of extra special a-hole that only Massachusetts can produce. I don’t get it. I’m not Minnesota nice since I live in Indiana, but why take pride in this? Then again, they do have a prominent place in this country’s history, so there’s that. But Boston sport’s fans are as arrogant as Yankee’s fans, but they seem to forget that their team has just a few less WS victories than their chief counterparts after selling some guy named Ruth to the Yankees for cash considerations. Yeah, they basically got Ortiz from the Twins, but at least we DFAd him first after no one would trade an actual player for him. 2. Rick Porcello. Every time I hear someone say “we need to sign an ace,” it usually follows with some names that we like with some names that invariably elicit a WTF moment from a few posters around here. Porcello probably fits that category in the sense that he made it to the majors at age 20, giving lots of people in Detroit hope and causing lots of other fans to covet this young talented “pitching prospect,” if such a thing actually exists. Maybe this is SSS bias, but given that all of my wife’s family consists of Tigers fans, perhaps I heard it there. Then again, I’m sure I heard it here too. In reality, Porcello is a pitching prospect that never lived up to the hype, having only two full seasons in the majors with an ERA under 4, despite being in the majors since 2009 with a Gibsonesque career K rate of 6.24. What that really means is that our K heavy lineup will either explode or turn him into the next incarnation of Cy Young. I don’t know which. 3. Morristown. Believe it or not, that’s where Porcello is from. It’s named after some guy named Jack Morris after he pitched a really awesome 10 inning shutout in game 7 of the 1991 World Series, which still to this date is the best WS game ever played… capping what was one of the best WS matches. We all know who came on top. The good guys of course (except for BigGentleBen who for some strange reason thinks otherwise). 4. History. Not much to say here, except for some guy named Ferdinand being assassinated. It sparked some sort of big war that supposedly was going to end all wars. It didn’t though. Sometime after that, some guy named Keynes in 1919 predicted economic chaos. He was off by about 10 years, but like every prognosticator, close enough was good enough and he’s hailed as some sort of economic expert by people who clearly have never ready his theories. Most importantly, the first Corvette was assembled in 1953 in Flint, Mi. I would still prefer a Shelby Mustang. 5. Game thread streaks. OK, I’ve won two in a row after losing every one of my previous threads. I’m too lazy to look this up to see if it’s 3 or 4, but I’m going with optimism here, as for some silly reason, the Twins like the road more than they like home. I can only go with the idea that they hate something about their lives, or they consist of a team of extreme introverts that prefers the solitude of the road to the noise of home.

The ultimate answer to a guy like Escobar is an issue of velocity vs. acceleration. It's a calculus problem at the end of the day. Top end velocity is one thing, but you have to combine it with fast acceleration. Buxton has both. I'm guessing a guy like Escobar might be missing something in the acceleration category (along with say poorer instincts or a poor lead) making that minor split second of a difference a really big one when the catcher is firing a much faster throw to 2nd or 3rd.

So... fun with numbers, but our friend Nick Tepesch has an ERA of 67.50... in the GCL...

Wait... we are on the road.

well, you said it better than me...

That only depends on how you treat them. Though admittedly, it might still be a waste of money.

SSS I know, but I thought attorneys hired them for reasons other than their abilities...

Is it wrong to think that Santiago returning might be a good thing for this abomination of a rotation after Santana/Berrios?

Personal cheeseball to keep an eye on, but Tademo is a SS who is only 17 in the GCL after doing pretty well in the DSL at 16. That will be a fun one to follow.

I'd have to ban myself if I responded to this post...

Given that Romero will at some point be shut down due to innings, the pen actually does make sense. He may learn a thing or two and collect a major league check for a couple months. Not a bad deal. Gonsalves appears most ready, but I don't see him (or any of them really) skipping AAA. I suspect some moves are made at some point (with Gonsalves likely the first to book a flight), but I don't think all 3 get sent to Rochester.

Logan Forsythe is putting up Buxtonesque numbers at the plate right now. Is his defense that good?

No, that's just the Vikings.

and every American football team has a....

That's a requirement in you're moms basement?

guess that might indicate that the analytics dept. has a bit more pull in this org.

I need a copy of that little almanac... of course if it had that many scores, it wouldn't look like candy aisle comic book... but oh well.

I would also note that it's much easier to make minor adjustments than big ones. He can clean up one item that allows him to do things better, and coaches can help him effectively utilize other items to the swing to accomplish things like timing that he probably doesn't realize he's doing. It doesn't mean scrap the leg kick, but I would be very surprised if it wasn't muted quite a bit by the time he reaches the majors.

(Yankees + Beards + Inferiority Complex -Red)/So?