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jimbo92107

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Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. jimbo92107
    Time and again, baseball teaches us to avoid even a hint of hubris. That's why experienced coaches and managers scrupulously avoid superlatives and extreme terms, opting instead for "pretty good" and "scuffling" over more exciting descriptors. For that reason, and just for politeness, the bit about putting Chicago out of their misery was a bit much. Quite possible it was intercepted by somebody there and posted on a locker room wall. Anyway, now Chicago is playing pretty good, while the Twins seem to be scuffling in the late innings. Okay, tomorrow's another day, they'll have to regroup and try again. Trust the process, and support your pitcher. Pablo Lopez is slated to start on Thursday. Let's hope he can put his previous scuffles behind and put up some zeroes. If so, he can give the Twins a chance to win one off the surprisingly good White Sox.
  2. jimbo92107
    If management's plan is working, then it's not so bad to miss out on Skenes or whoever future superstar goes in the top four picks. Twins can afford to simply go with the best player available, then keep looking for big, lanky college pitchers with good control and less wear on the arm. If the Twins land one Louie Varland per draft, they'll be in the running forever.
  3. jimbo92107
    This gets my early vote for best mixed metaphor of the year!
  4. jimbo92107
    I'm confused about Brett Headrick. He appears to be a standard big, strong, young lefty with standard stuff, a few good pitches, nothing amazing, but good command of all of it. He gets guys out without epic battles. Doesn't appear overwhelmed by the situation, doesn't look like he's exerting max effort with each pitch. If Mahle needs to be replaced, I would have a hard time favoring Louie Varland over Headrick. Varland's heater has a few more ticks, but Headrick doesn't strain as much to get guys out. Either one looks like a good mid-rotation starter. How is Headrick deficient?
  5. jimbo92107
    Agreed. Even without top Maeda, Twins have plenty of fallbacks in Bailey Ober, Louie Varland, SWR, etc. Heck, even Brent Headrick looks like he's got starter stuff. Ober has looked as stingy as ever, and Varland struck out 8 Yankees in his appearance. I expect to see Ober plugged into Maeda's spot, while Varland comes in to give one of the other starters an occasional break.
  6. jimbo92107
    This is shaping up to be a VERY interesting season...and this time it's for GOOD reasons!
  7. jimbo92107
    What's cool about Gray's slider to K Judge was, you could see that Judge was guessing and reading Gray's pitch correctly. He moved and reached for the outside pitch. But Gray's slider started at the outside corner, then bent a foot farther glove-side, out of reach even for Judge's long arms and bat. I wonder if the previous pitch was a slider slightly closer to the zone. Did Gray make Judge climb the ladder sideways?
  8. jimbo92107
    A little sad to see Eddie Julien get sent back down to St Paul, but he needed it. His bat went cold, and as a result he started acting a little desperate at the plate. He'll be back, tho. Too much talent to stay down for long. Meanwhile, it's good to see Polo back. Let's hope he goes on an offensive tear. Team sure could use it.
  9. jimbo92107
    It does sound wasteful to have Ober pitching shutout ball in St Paul while Maeda is wondering if his arm will fall off in Mpls. Give the veteran a couple weeks to stretch and recover while Ober takes a couple turns in the rotation. Frankly, I'd like to do something similar with Mahle, whose stuff does not look sharp. Let Varland take his spot for a couple turns. Lopez, Ryan, Gray, Ober, Varland. I bet we could survive with that group.
  10. jimbo92107
    The deal for Pablo Lopez makes sense because he added another pitch. His new sweeper is a wipe out K pitch, which gives him a solid third option when he's got 2 strikes on a guy. This means he can pitch "within himself," rather than trying to blow a fastball by the hitter or over-throw some other off-speed pitch. Lopez today looks like a mature star pitcher. I fully expect him to pile up strikeouts this season. Should be interesting to see if he or Joe Ryan get more K's this year.
  11. jimbo92107
    Huge plus for the Twins. That video clip is a revelation: Pablo was worth Arraez BEFORE adding his new wipeout sweeper. See what that monster does? You're the batter, you see him release the ball middle-middle, it stays middle-middle until it's half way to the plate, THEN it bends 16 inches glove side, winding up literally half a foot beyond the end of your bat. We see why this works so well based on hitters swinging at a spot they predict at or just after the pitcher's release. If Pablo does a good job masking his delivery, he will get hundreds of strikeouts with his new sweeper. The only defense against that pitch is not to swing. But how can you not swing at a pitch that looks middle-middle out of the pitcher's hand? Oh, the deception! Oh, the cruelty! Pablo Lopez, you naughty boy, I'm telling mom!
  12. jimbo92107
    Louie Varland looks like a fearless young MLB pitcher with excellent stuff. With he and Bailey Ober backing up the starting five, this is indeed the deepest group of quality starters I have ever seen beginning a season for the Twins. This team appears to have seven starters that would be #2's or #3's behind an ace. You really don't need a Cy Young contestant if all your guys are solid pitchers. It means that each time through the rotation, one or two guys will throw and ace-like game, six or seven innings giving up either no runs or one run. Varland today came about as close as you can get, considering the firepower of the Yankees hitters. If the next two starters can do as well, the Twins could take this series.
  13. jimbo92107
    One other good thing: Besides the shining outcome, we got to see Eddie Julien execute a couple completely normal fielding plays at second base. Maybe he's not quite the stumbling, bumbling, clumsy clown with a big rubber glove that the prospect descriptions seemed to indicate. If he can play barely acceptable 2B, then he's my new Eddie.
  14. jimbo92107
    After this, it goes without saying that the Yankees will be after blood tomorrow. Tyler Mahle should start with a lot of high fastballs and low change-ups. Let them chase junk for an inning or two. Meanwhile, Joe Ryan glided through seven innings of superb pitching. Like Jose Berrios and Ervin Santana, Ryan has a pitching style that doesn't look like he's applying max effort, but the ball does what he wants. Mostly... ;-)
  15. jimbo92107
    When your least dominant starter is Tyler Mahle, your rotation is pretty good. When your offense is...getting by without your star 2B and your top hitting prospect (Kiriloff)... Get well soon, Polo!
  16. jimbo92107
    The way Joe Ryan throws his fastball, I see two effects: 1) He will continue to get a lot of whiffs and weak pop flies under the ball. 2) When a batter gets around early and adjusts up, we may see some record-breaking velocities and distances. Yes, it is vital that Ryan develops and uses off speed pitches, especially ones that bend DOWN. His new sweeper is a good start. I hope he also develops a splitter and/or a change up that uses the same arm motion as his heater. That would really drive hitters nuts. Imagine the frustration of a batter that has worked his butt off to adjust up to Ryan's riding heater, only to get three splitters in a row. Joe Ryan today has the foundation of a great pitcher's arsenal. How good can he get? I love asking that question.
  17. jimbo92107
    I suppose they could try charging less for tickets and food... Oh, what am I thinking??
  18. jimbo92107
    Thing is, the Saints sounds like a lot of fun to watch. I'd love to go there and check out the atmosphere, baseball aside for a moment. It may just be AAA, but it sounds like you get an experience to remember.
  19. jimbo92107
    First five games were all good news for the starting rotation. Looks like there isn't a serious weakness among them, now including Kenta Maeda. What a wonderful problem to have, a staff so good that Bailey Ober, who gave up zero runs in spring, is stuck across the river, honing his pitches. I can't even seriously complain about the Twins getting shut out. Cy Young winners are pretty good at that. Let's hope their next starter isn't another candidate for top pitcher. In fact, I think they traded that guy to the Twins. Skol, Lopez!
  20. jimbo92107
    What a good problem to have. The other good problem is this starting rotation. Very stingy so far, although only Ryan has completed 6. We'll see how that goes with Mahle, who might get there, and then Maeda, whose pitch limit is probably too low to get there. Rocco wouldn't let him go more than about 60 pitches first time out, would he? I'm just hoping Maeda has decent command, so he can go at least four. Then...bring in Sands, heh-heh!
  21. jimbo92107
    He came sooo close to making the cut out of spring training. I bet he's been swinging out of his shoes the first couple games trying to hit the home run that gets him that cab ride across the river. Speaking of the ride across the river... It occurs to me that St Paul's close proximity to Target Field makes it possible to arrange a special form of transportation for rookie callups. Some candidate vehicles: - Luxury limousine - 1970's era van with wall to wall shag carpet - Multi-pedal circular bar - Parade float - Animal drawn carriage (horse or pig) - Ancient vintage firetruck or car ...or, just walk the whole way, surrounded by teammates, fans, friends and family. That would be a great way to see some sights, tell some stories, and connect with the public.
  22. jimbo92107
    Gallo is 1B until either he shows his bat is a flop, and / or Miranda proves he's an unacceptably bad fielder at 3B. I thought Miranda looked pretty good at 1B last season...he could do that again. Gallo with a good bat would still be valuable in the OF. I hear he has a very strong throwing arm.
  23. jimbo92107
    Is Jordan Balazovic working his way out of the doghouse? I don't see his name in the order of succession. He might be a bit of a hooligan, but he's a talented pitcher, I hear.
  24. jimbo92107
    I was sorry to see Arraez go, but once I heard what a good pitcher Lopez was, I understood the trade. Very few position players are worth a good starting pitcher, plus the logjam in the middle infield made sweet Luis expendable. Want a second baseman that can hit? Stick Ed Julien in there, or give Brooks Lee an early cuppa. Maybe neither one has the barrel rate of Arraez, but both have more pop. On the other hand, maybe more hits will come in game 2. As mentioned, Greinke is still a clever pitcher. He can make good hitters look foolish.
  25. jimbo92107
    This is the first season in a while where it seems like the positive 'ifs' are as numerous as the negative 'ifs.' That is, along with all the usual things that can go wrong, there are also a lot of things that can go right this season. For instance, it is not crazy to think that three or four of the current five starters will have decent seasons, while at least one of the backups (Ober) also has a good chance of having a good season. The probabilities taper off with Varland and Rich, but then you've still got Blaze in the wings. Same goes for position players. Good combo at C, lots of flexible players in the infield, plus Polo doesn't have to play a whole season on his trick knee. Meanwhile Buck and Taylor can juggle time in CF, and several guys can swap around the corner OF.
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