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jimbo92107

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Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. jimbo92107
    Duffey will be fine because he's got one of the most mind-bending curveballs in the league. He will continue to use that pitch to get hitters out, and to set up his decent heater and change-up. He does need to get a little better at mixing up the change and his heater, but he spots that curve so well, he can always fall back on it.
  2. jimbo92107
    After watching some of that Park Byung Ho video, I can see why the Twins were pretty eager to acquire the young man. He's got that Cuban style 'point the bat at the pitcher' wind up, a strong stride and hip turn, and then a Reggie Jackson finish. Some of those 2014 homers looked like they were going 330 to 350 feet or more. He might have a little trouble adjusting to the extra few mph of MLB pitchers, but when he catches one flush, it'll go a long way.
  3. jimbo92107
    Wrong year for a deal like Chapman. 2016 is the show-me year for a lot of Twins prospects, including some of those fire-ballers in AA and AAA. It's time for Alex Meyer, Nick Burdi, J.T. Chargois and Jake Reed to step up and show they can blow heaters past some major league hitters. This the start of the big harvest, when all our patience as fans should start to pay off. As fans, we should not expect 2016 to be a big playoff year. But it should be another step forward towards that goal, with more young power arms arriving from the minors. Of course, things never work out that neatly. Guys get hurt, or just don't pan out, or need yet another year to learn how to throw a baseball without hitting the mascot, or hold a runner without having a nervous breakdown, etc. I wanna see some young power arms in spring training. Some of these guys could be good.
  4. jimbo92107
    PEDs became ridiculous in baseball when over-beefed roid monsters like McGwire, Sosa and Bonds made a mockery of home run totals. Then A-Roid did it and now it looks like Ryan Howard did it. I don't mind drugs used by doctors to help a player recover from injury. If HGH would help a fine pitcher like Johan Santana heal up his shoulder, why should we object? He's fun to watch. Fun to watch is important, but when a guy launches a ball 450 feet because he's all roided up, or throws pitches five mph faster because he's juiced, that's just too much of an unfair advantage. We want to watch a contest of skill, not a contest between drug makers.
  5. jimbo92107
    Eddie Rosario is one smart ballplayer, and he loves beating his opponents. If that takes more plate discipline, I expect Eddie will add that to his bag of tricks. If Bruno and Molitor put it in terms of upping the pressure on the pitcher, Eddie will be right there with 'em. Get the count in your favor, Eddie!
  6. jimbo92107
    Sano also may be a better athlete than people realize. He's not a Kennys Vargas. He's built more like an NFL tight end. Speed, power, coordination, great hands, and he can throw a bullet. Don't expect a lot of diving, but Sano might gun down a few guys at second base if they get greedy on a single. It'll be fun to see how the kid's arm compares to Cuddyer's.
  7. jimbo92107
    So many uncertainties, it's impossible to say how it will shake out in spring. It seems silly to continue down the road with fading starters like Nolasco and Hughes, while Tommy Milone seems better suited to long relief and spot starts. I'd put them all in the pen to see if their numbers improve with fewer times through opponents' batting orders. Hughes especially could shine in late inning roles, possibly as a closer. That would leave the starting ro open for Santana, May, Gibson, Duffey and Berrios, any of whom could break out for 180 to 200 innings. Meanwhile, you put three good vets in the pen, you can forget about iffy middle relievers for a year or three. Add Burdy, Meyer to Perk and Jepsen, maybe Rogers for loogy, that's looking not bad. Position players is such a mess right now, not even worth guessing. Dozier at second.
  8. jimbo92107
    Bravo and thank you to Michael Cuddyer. He was an excellent player, a real team leader, and could become an excellent coach or manager. What an arm!
  9. jimbo92107
    Santana? He hasn't proved he can hit or field very well off the bench. Nunez has actually been pretty good at both those things off the bench. I'm not confident anymore that Santana will learn to hit, and his fielding has been inconsistent.
  10. jimbo92107
    Especially number 4. Aaron Hicks was improving from the left side of the plate, but his lefty stroke is VERY unlikely ever to be as good as Max Kepler's, and Max may turn out to be just as good as Hicks in the corner OF.
  11. jimbo92107
    Nolasco and Hughes to the bull pen, May to the starting rotation. Hughes could dominate for several years as a closer, while Nolasco would be a good middle inning guy.
  12. jimbo92107
    Listening to a pundit on the radio today, I had a hard time seeing a counter argument to chasing after the Kansas City model: Decent SP's, great RP's, then tons of speed with just okay hitting to advance lots of runners. Teams that tried to rely on expensive starters have faltered and wasted their money. KC figured out a good recipe and took it to a World Series title. Sonny Gray might be an ace for the Twins, but we don't know that Berrios will be. All we know for sure is that Gray would cost a lot of money and some valuable players. The Twins appear to be poised to follow the KC model with guys like Rosario, Buxton and Kepler providing speed, while Dozier, Sano and Byung Ho Park provide punch, and the rest just try to play above replacement level. The most encouraging sign is that the Twins now have at least a few SP guys that have a chance to deliver close to 200 innings of solid pitching, while the minors is almost ready to pop with some high-90's relief arms like Meyer and Burdi, and later, Jones, Reed, Chargois, etc. We should start seeing some of these guys show up in 2016, and the bulk of a winning team could be in place by 2017.
  13. jimbo92107
    I expect the Twins to play hard and have fun. Was there some other agenda?
  14. jimbo92107
    Posturing or positioning? Just because Terry Ryan is announcing plans to move Miguel Sano to the OF, that doesn't mean he will dismiss all offers for Plouffe. Ryan's job includes finding a plausible configuration for this team whatever the final roster is, and at the moment, that's a plausible team. Sano is an excellent athlete, comparable to a good NFL tight end. He's got a great arm, and we have all noticed that he is, in fact, a pelotero, a ballplayer. The man's got game in his head and in his heart, so he will find a way to be a very good outfielder, quite possibly a larger version of Michael Cuddyer, plus Sano will bang about 40 balls over the fence every year for the next decade.
  15. jimbo92107
    What I get from those clips is not just a failure to load up, but a failure to follow through with the rear hip. Compare any of those swings to Adrian Gonzalez, and you'll quickly see the most important difference - hip follow through. That's what allows the bat to square up and travel farther with power and reach through the hitting zone. It's what allows Gonzalez to drive the ball to the gaps and over the fence to all fields. Now look how all these examples feature either no hip follow through, or a slight hip follow through. This is a terrible way to hit. Not only do you get less bat travel through the zone, you also increase your chances of injuring your torso muscles as you put on the brakes early. The most natural reaction to that style would be to protect yourself by not swinging as hard as you should. Thus, the punchless Minnesota Twins, with both feet rooted in the batter's box.
  16. jimbo92107
    Not that I'd know, but that's about $10 million bucks less than I thought he'd get.
  17. jimbo92107
    Welcome back to CF, Danny Santana. Buxton does half a season in AAA, then returns triumphantly to the bigs with a much improved approach at the plate.
  18. jimbo92107
    Plouffe's pull power would play well in Boston. Lots of doubles off the Monster. Not sure where the Twins will get his level of fielding play, not from Sano. Does Polanco play 3rd?
  19. jimbo92107
    "Massive shot..." Okay, I like that. Let us sign and enjoy the benefits of Massive Shot.
  20. jimbo92107
    Stuart Turner's got more overall upside than Butera ever did, and AB Walker is going to be a terrifying threat in the middle of the lineup.
  21. jimbo92107
    Levi Michael wouldn't be able to crack the Twins lineup, but he might get some interest as a utility guy, then eventually work his way into a starter's job at 2nd base. Too many injuries, other guys passed him up.
  22. jimbo92107
    I would agree with this approach except for one thing I noticed when Meyer was up briefly this season: With runners on base, Meyer's game fell apart. He got eaten alive by base runners, and he appeared to lose command of the zone as he attempted to quicken his delivery. What this suggests is that in the off-season Meyer should focus from the set on quickening his delivery, varying his timing, and holding runners with at least a couple different moves. He's got to pick a few guys off to gain respect from runners, or they'll continue to dog him with stolen bases. It's part of the pro game, especially for a tall pitcher like Meyer. It takes more than just balance; it takes poise.
  23. jimbo92107
    Based on all the comments I've read in this thread, I'd plant Meyer in the AAA starting rotation and make him lose that job before sticking him in the bullpen. One more year to try starting isn't going to make that much difference to his career, and if he's just not a starter, then we should know by the end of 2016. The other factor is timing. 2016 is the last year we can claim this team is "rebuilding," so I'd feel free to do one more year of tinkering with guys like Meyer and May. I'd also like to see a few of the flame throwers come up, guys like Burdi and Reed. Then Polanco, Stewart and Taylor Rogers. First half of next season would be musical chairs, kind of like it was this season.
  24. jimbo92107
    If you're right (and you may be), then the Twins will be a pretty happy team in 2016.
  25. jimbo92107
    Sounds like about what the Twins must be thinking. Trading Hicks for Murphy eases a positional logjam at both ends of the deal, and opens up career opportunities for both players. I hate to see Hicks go because I like watching a guy figure things out, and it looked like he was getting there. Same thing may have been happening to Murphy in NY. Wedged between McCann and Sanchez, Murphy wasn't likely to emerge as the steady starter. Good luck to both guys. Not a steal on either side, but a good team move.
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