Jump to content
The trade deadline is two days away, and 78 of our top 80 are still on the board. Click here to stay up-to-date! ×
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

jimbo92107

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    5,675

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Tracker: Picks & Bonuses

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. jimbo92107
    That was Phil Cuzzi, too?? The infamous Mauer foul ball double. Ball was two feet inside the line, ump calls it foul. After that, Mauer was out easily. That one blown call convinced me that umps were being bribed. Figures it would be Cuzzi.
  2. jimbo92107
    Congrats to Louie Varland. He says he schools off Joe Ryan...might be better if he finds a few vids of 3-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer. Varland's delivery does resemble Sherzer's, so anything he can do to make the resemblance stronger probably would be good. Remember when a few mlb players tried to copy Rod Carew's hitting style? Question for the TD folks: I suppose it can be fun watching major leaguers tee off on a position player pitching, but honestly, doesn't that make a mockery of the game? I would rather see the umpires call it a day and simply say, "game over," than see players going through the motions, especially at what's supposed to be the pinnacle of professional competition.
  3. jimbo92107
    I think Ryan could get some cheap strike one's by starting with his sweeper, 80 percent out of the zone, then hooking into the zone the last 20 percent. Betcha he could do it. Batters would just stand there, like, "I ain't swinging at that."
  4. jimbo92107
    Yes, Joe Ryan is now an ace-caliber pitcher. His off-season addition of a good sweeper and a great splitter has given him an assortment of pitches each of which is difficult to hit, but combined amount to an extremely hard pitcher to predict. Ryan built this trio of great pitches on a foundation of excellent poise, that dynamic balance that allows him to generate hand-speed while keeping the rest of his body quiet. He glides through his motion with the same physical ease we used to see from guys like Kevin Tapani, Ervin Santana and Jose Berrios. None of these guys looks like they're muscling up to exert force. They do it with rhythm and perfect mechanics. This ease of motion also allows them to be very precise with their location inside and outside the strike zone. Finally, it allows them to tinker with grips, letting them bend the ball in various directions from the same release point. The best part about Joe Ryan is that he's dominating without a mid- to upper-90's heater. Through his career, I fully expect him to keep adding pitches to his arsenal. A slow curve for strike one would be nice...
  5. jimbo92107
    I like this pitching staff. Each starter is capable of putting up multiple innings with no runs. Each one can keep his team in the game. The relievers are pretty good, too. Not bulletproof, but all of them are fighters, and each one has talent. Excellent closers with Lopez and Duran. The offense isn't really clicking yet, but it's showing signs of life. Polanco provided some inspiration, and now Kiriloff is doing the same. Correa and Kepler are starting to apply more pressure. The team as it is right now could be capable of making the playoffs. However, to go further, they're going to need more from the rest of the guys. That, or from prospects like Lewis and Lee. The Twins system has the talent to do some postseason damage. But first they have to get here.
  6. jimbo92107
    Brett Headrick appears to be another large factor. The big lefty has shown a very pleasing ability to get hitters out quickly. He should get many more opportunities at the mlb level. Chris Paddack's star has dimmed considerably since first I saw him pitch for the Padres. Now I'm wondering if he'll have enough velocity and durability to be a starter at all, or just another arm in the pen. If his heater doesn't revive, he's a middling reliever. To me the next up now is Headrick and SWR. Then Balasovic. Of them, Headrick looks the most ready to become a starter.
  7. jimbo92107
    Nah, I vote for robo-ump. Don't pressure players or pitchers to get just three chances right. In a typical mlb game I watch, there are a lot more than three bad calls at the plate. Only a couple times have I seen an ump get it right the whole game. I was shocked. If you are going to have a challenge system, the penalty for a failed challenge should be an added strike, not some arbitrary countdown. Also, it must also incorporate a count of how many calls are blown by each plate umpire, so that the worst of them can be culled from the herd. Umpires are there to ensure fair play. If they can't call balls and strikes, they should find a different job.
  8. jimbo92107
    Not only did Ober pitch seven complete shutout innings, he out-pitched a guy that was working on a perfect game. Bailey Ober is an excellent mlb starter.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. jimbo92107
    This gets my early vote for best mixed metaphor of the year!
  12. 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?
  13. 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.
  14. jimbo92107
    This is shaping up to be a VERY interesting season...and this time it's for GOOD reasons!
  15. 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?
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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!
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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... ;-)
  23. 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!
  24. 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.
  25. jimbo92107
    I suppose they could try charging less for tickets and food... Oh, what am I thinking??
×
×
  • Create New...