Twodogs

I'm wondering if the experts were more focused on the lineups than the pitching? I mean the US lineup looks great but the pitching doesn't seem as good as some of the other countries. It always seems like in playoff situations that the pitching is often more important than the hitting. With great pitching you only really need to scrape a few runs together and most of the games are in your favor.

Eddie has always had a flare for the dramatic. It seems he really loves the high pressure situations. Eddie, Eddie, Eddie......

I mean, wouldn't it kind of hurt Bailey Obers development of he was put in a long relief stint or if he was piggy backed where he only throws 3 or 4 innings? Seems to me that you would want ober to be put on a routine to start 30 - 32 games this season. So if he isn't in the starting 5 coming out of spring wouldn't you want to send him down so he could start every 5th day and get 30 - 32 starts? I mean maybe only 15 of those starts are in the minors and the other 15 are with the Twins when someone gets hurt or becomes ineffective. It just seems to me that you would want to train him to pitch 6 - 7 innings not 3? JMO. Also, if you go with a 6 man rotation then I think you need your pitchers to average 6 to 6 and 2/3rds of an inning everytime out so as to lower the dependence on using 4 or 5 relievers every game. I mean I know someone will say if the starter goes 5 then you only need 4 relievers that day, which gives you like 3 un-used guys for tomorrow. But let's be honest, when you stroll out 4 relief pitchers in a day one of them has a likely chance that he is off that day. So when the Twins have a 3 - 0 lead and they bring out their second relief pitcher of the day and he walks two guys and gives up a hit and now it's 3 - 1 you get his butt out of there and bring in another dude which will make you use 5 relief pitchers in that game. So with a 6 man rotation and one less relief pitcher they have to throw more innings in their less frequent starts. Again JMO.

I had the game on the radio on my computer at school. It was on my mlbtv albeit on the radio and not TV. Nonetheless Duran was pumping it in there at 102mph

I think in a season or two the twins could look like this. (Potentially) C Jeffers 1B Miranda 2B Julien/Martin 3B Lee SS Correa LF Gordon/Larnach/Someone new CF Buxton RF Lewis DH Julien/Larnach And I'm not even saying that this would necessarily be better either, just saying this is what it could look like?

When I saw this story all I could think about was. "Did you hit me with your right hand or your left?" "What??". "I said, did you hit me with your right hand or your left!!!??". "My left, I guess?". "Good! Never hit a drunk with your pitching hand, dang, I can't keep giving you these free lessons, now help me up!" Bull Durham. Crash Davis talking to nuke after Nuke got called up to the majors.

Yeah, I don't really care when in the game it happens and it really doesn't matter how high the ball was hit. It was a poor play and that should never happen. I mean we are just fans but if the coaching staff makes these types of excuses then we are going to hear a lot of excuses this season. It's obvious with a play like that, that either their heads weren't in the game or they didn't care, either way that needs to be corrected. Hopefully the coaching staff got on them about that because plays like that will lose a lot of ballgames. I am fully expecting to not see anyone tag up from second and score on a fly ball again this season. I mean it wasn't a strong throw to the cut, it was ho hummed to the cut because I'm pretty sure he didn't think the guy was going to try and score. So yeah it was a heads up play by the Red Sox player or maybe the 3rd base coach? But again that shouldn't happen. After a couple of poor plays and a snowball fight I hope the Twins left feeling a little disappointed with their play in the field. I expect that they will be better and sometimes it may take a poor play like that to wake them up and get after it a little bit better. Again I get that it's spring training but I can't get used to hearing excuses for plays like that.

Speaking of little league, I was astonished when a Red Sox player tagged up and scored from 2nd on a fly ball to center. I mean they hopefully are embarrassed with those types of results from major league ballplayers.

Yeah I'm not exactly sure what the fascination is with Reds players? It's not like they're any good??

I'm thinking that this ranking would be affected had Steer stayed in Minnesota. I mean he would pretty much be blocked at all positions that he is capable of playing, by current prospects and major leaguers. In Cincinnati he probably has a little bit of an opening to actually play. I wonder how much that factors in? I mean even Royce Lewis is SS/CF capable, but is that realistically going to happen in Minnesota with Buxton and Correa in the way? Lewis in a year or so will probably become the left fielder unless there are injuries and such. I just wonder how much opportunity affects these lists?

I hope everything goes right for this rotation. But I'd say the ceiling is high and they could be great, but the floor of any rotation with injuries and whatnot is almost always really low. Because when things go wrong with rotations they tend to go really wrong. If they all have career years I feel the twins would be world series contenders. But I remember in 2015 the Twins had a rotation of Nolasco, Hughes, Santana, Gibson, and Pelfrey/Milone. Now that year the Twins won 83 games, but could you imagine if all 6 of those guys had career years that season. They'd have probably won 100 games. Nolasco delt with injuries, I think Santana had a suspension for PEDs, I think Hughes started to deal with injuries, and that quickly the floor got pretty low. So let's all pray that this group of starters all stay healthy and have close to career years.

I voted for Lopez. I mean if you are going to lead a rotation with a best season of the 5, then I think I'm looking for the guy who is going to actually start 32 - 33 times and average 6 - 7 innings per start. Lopez showed last season that he can do that. No one else in the rotation showed that last year. Mahle has thrown 180 innings in the past and Gray threw over 200 innings before but that was in 2015. Ryan only threw 147 innings last year. So those other guys may have better peripherals but at this point Lopez has shown he can get it done over the course of a season.

Oh I didn't know that. That's good for him for sure.

It's only a guess, but just from what I've observed. Seems like maybe Wes and the Twins didn't see eye to eye about something? I mean with leaving mid season and making a backwards move. From pros to college. I mean you don't see hardly any lateral moves mid season. I'm not saying that the Twins and Wes had an ugly divorce or anything, but it could have been a break up where Wes just felt like his relationship with the Twins wasn't going in the direction he would like. I get the family stuff, but a lot of times those types of quotes are thrown around so as to not stir up controversy etc..... Hope he does well at LSU.

That's weird I looked up the WAR totals from last season on baseball Reference and this is what I got. Correa 5.4 Arraez 4.4 Buxton 4.0 Urshela 3.1 Polanco 2.8 Duran 2.8 Gray 2.4 Ryan 2.2 Kepler 2.1 Gordon 1.9 Not sure how you got Gray in the top 5, unless baseball reference is wrong? https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/2022.shtml

I know Buxton had some issues when the so called hitting guru's kept tinkering with his swing. I believe Buxton basically said he was going to go back to the way he hit. I mean I'm paraphrasing and trying to remember some of that stuff a couple of years ago. But maybe too many people have been messing with Kepler's swing? Maybe he did something those past years that hitting coaches have tried to change and maybe he goes back to his old ways of hitting?? I'm hoping something like that comes true. But I do remember when it seemed like Buxton couldn't hit either and he snapped out of it.

Personally, I don't think stolen bases are on the Twins radar at all. Not until teams start doing it to them. The Twins seem very reactive not necessarily proactive over the last few years.

Well us Twins fans really need to hope that Kirillof matches Arraez's totals, but I think that is wishful thinking right out of the gate. Kirillof has over 300 AB's and has a .295 OBP and a .694 OPS where as with Arraez high on base and low power numbers still produced an .838 OPS in his first 300 AB's. So Kirillof has some adjustments to make but he has the talent. Lewis won't be available until July so he misses the first 60% of this season at least. That's kind of why I'm thinking the fruits of this trade produces next year. Because guys like Kirillof get more at bats and can figure things out this season.

Yeah that's what I'm saying. Kirillof, Lewis and Julien aren't going to lead the Twins to the promised land this year. But they are the future of the team, so in a year or so those guys will be leading the the squad hopefully and then this trade looks great if those guys become great. Either way, I feel the twins got more value back than they gave up. But in the short term the Twins are going to struggle to replace Arraez and his on base percentage.

Honestly, I think the Twins lineup got weaker and to me it's their lineup that is the glaring hole this season, I hope that players like Polanco, Gallo, Kepler, etc.... all have renaissance seasons and this comment looks stupid. But I think the Twins got weaker in the hear and now. But I also feel like, and again I could be wrong, but I feel like the twins fleeced the Marlins on this one. I think Arraez is one of the best pure hitters in baseball, and the twins have no way to replace him and his OB%, no way. But Arraez, asuch as I love him is always battling nagging injuries, (knees), and is a suspect infielder. So to get a starting pitcher and two prospects for him is like a gold mine. But at the same time like I said the Twins have no way to replace him in the lineup. If the Twins were coming off a season like 2019 and the lineup looked stacked, I wouldn't worry a bit, but these guys haven't performed up to their capabilities recently, only Arraez has so it'll hurt the lineup in the very present. Even though I think the Twins did very well on the trade.

For sure, I hope you accept my apology also because I attacked back when I could have just said we disagree on something. But yeah to me there are no absolutes. The guys playing the best should get to play the most. I hope and pray as a twins fan that Gallo and Kepler lean towards their best evers and not the most recent.

Oh for sure. Heck yeah, if anyone gets in the lineup and does good I'm all for continuing to play them. Like I said I like Nick Gordon, and right now Buxton, Kepler and Gallo are probably penciled in to start at those positions, unless of course Kepler gets moved, which there's been a lot of talk about the possibility of it. I feel Gordon definitely plays a role on this team. Also, if they keep Kepler, and he proves to stink, and Gordon does better I'm all for reversing their roles. I just think that will have to wait and see what happens type of thing.

And I don't believe you any more than I believe them. But where there is smoke there is usually some fire. Also I believe in my first reply I mentioned kicking tires. So yeah I don't know all of the details, but I do know people have been talking and that's what I've alluded to. You didn't like my take or just wanted to argue semantics and have been trying to prove nothing the whole time. My take is still a team is going to assume before the season that their best players will play the best.

OMG. Are you telling me that I'm making up the fact that the Twins are shopping Kepler? (Do I need some inside information)????? I mean there are probably 20 articles out there that are talking Max Kepler trades, what are you telling me you haven't seen any of these?? Who had the higher WAR last year? Kepler did, (and it was a crappy season for him and still had a higher WAR) and Gordon had more at bats and still had a lower WAR (and we are all talking about how great of a job he did with a lower WAR). So like I've said all along, (ON PAPER!) Buxton, Gallo and Kepler are the Twins best option right now. (ON PAPER!!). That's not to say that I'm even disagreeing with you per se. I like Nick Gordon. I thought he did great last year. But on paper Buxton, Gallo and Kepler are the 3 best guys right now. I mean Buxton might only play 10 games before a season ending injury. I mean that's not totally unimaginable, but you don't go into the season assuming that. You (assume) he going to be one of your best, that's why you've paid him. I mean Gordon spent much of his time playing for Buxton last year. How do you prep players that will replace them? How did they prep Gordon to replace Buxton last year?? The same way every player preps for a season. You prep to play and if the situation arises you go out and handle it. None of this changes the fact that (every) front office in baseball goes into a season expecting their best players to play the best. Every front office in baseball has contingency plans if someone gets hurt or doesn't perform up to (expectations).

I know I came late to the conversation here, but what I don't get is how we constantly talk about the Twins players and their deficiencies, (Arraez can't field, he has no power, injury prone, etc.... ), but yet we want some other team to trade an MLB starting pitcher for the Twins deficient player?