jimbo92107

Is there anybody that still wants to compare Eddie Rosario to Danny Santana? I'm not knocking Santana, but Rosario is a ballplayer through and through.

Sano pulls a low, outside slider off the end of his bat...with power. Jeebus.

Man, I can't wait to get Hicks back. Rosie LF, Buxton CF, Hicks RF. Speed, arms, power, glory!!

That guy's out, dammit. Beautiful throw. EDDIE!

Looks like Bender is breaking out his heater today...such as it is. I guess if you're looking for the hook, then the heat can surprise you. Actually E has a decent mix of fastballs. Fades his two-seamer nicely off the right corner.

Robinson breaks out the power lumber, then Buxton breaks out the pop-up bunt. Doz whiffs, we done.

I hope Alex Wimmers to the pen is just to keep him healthy for next season. I want to see this guy as a starter.

Trying to categorize all the Twins starters... Expensive Veterans with Issues Hughes (back, velocity down) Pelfrey (can't hold runners) Nolasco (arm, ankle) ... Santana (PEDs) <-- not an ongoing problem Young Guys with Upside Gibson (sinker baller, low K) May (keeps improving wherever you put him) DuffEy, aka Extra E, Bender, Dr. Hook Berrios (future staff ace) Talented Prospects with Control Problems Meyer Burdi Unlikely Starters Milone The scene at Spring Training could be very interesting if all these guys are still around. Hughes and Nolasco both will have to prove that they are physically able to perform at a winning level. The four young starters will have to show that they can get guys out without walking people. Burdi and Meyer will have to stop walking people or remain stuck in the minors another year. The one guy that seems least likely to stick around as a starter is Tommy Milone. He's stacked up against a lot of talent. Maybe he becomes Deunsing's replacement? To me it seems like Nolasco could be competing on equal ground with Phil Hughes, who has a slight edge from a great 2014, but now appears to be losing his essential velocity. Nolasco's ability (when healthy) to pepper the zone from different angles with many different pitches might be more effective than Hughes's aggressive attack of the zone, but with less zip on the heater. A better option for the building Twins might be during the off season to unload all the veteran starters except Santana, in an effort to acquire prospects, but especially a catcher that can platoon with Suzuki. I'm not all in for trading for shortstops. Danny Santana could still pan out, and Polanco could, too. The other issue is improving the bull pen, which the Twins already did with Cotts and Jepsen. I could see possibly swapping Pelfrey and May next season, tho it's more likely that Pelfrey will continue to insist on starting, thus wind up somewhere else. Another puzzle is JR Graham. He's not really a bull pen guy, is he. Also wondering about Ryan Pressley. Going forward, a possible starter?

The transition from the 2nd to the 3rd GIF is very revealing. In GIF 2, Kepler's toe touch doesn't do much to load up on his rear foot. His swing releases a small amount of load energy too soon, resulting in a slap swing with not much power. The 3rd GIF shows a much better load move onto his drive leg. This not only provides much more power, but it also helps keep his shoulder and torso closed, which allows him to wait a click longer and drive the ball against lefties. The leg kick does three good things. It provides power from extra loading up, it turns the shoulders, torso and hips to avoid stepping in the bucket against lefties, and it allows you to check your swing before the bat head comes around, like Sano does. Miguel Sano does this so smoothly because he's been doing it since he was a kid. Max Kepler is just learning the kick-load move, so you can see it develop. I'd love to see Kepler get a September call-up, but next spring I'd like to see him start in AAA, so he can get more accustomed to the check swing part of that move. You can actually see Sano's power in the way he checks his swing. Keeping the bat tightly cocked on a check swing reveals just how tight his snap is when he does let it go. If Kepler learns to check his swing like Sano, he will start popping a lot more baseballs over the fence. Saving the snap is one of the Big Secrets.

Same theory of added velocity. Pelfrey's 92 to 93mph heater plus two mph makes him a mid-90's guy for one or two innings. Combine that with his fork ball, you might have a dominant middle inning reliever.

Whoa there, that's a bit much. Aaron Gleeman's okay in small doses, but his delivery is waaay too nerdy for broadcasts, not to mention his format, which half the time is broadcasting from bars. Would the Twins be okay with their announcers getting slowly plastered while chatting up a pretty waitress? Would they be okay with constant talk about what a bad season this guy or that guy has had, how totally mediocre all the prospects are, how their veterans are over the hill, etc? Broadcasters are not there just to talk baseball. It's a job in sales, so they're paid to be upbeat, promote the team, to get people to come to the stadium. You can deviate from that basic formula if some guy is obviously dogging it, but if the audience hears a constant stream of negative criticism, listeners will simply think it's too much of a downer, and they'll go away. Management will not cut checks for that. Negative criticism will always be relegated to free media.

A bit early to declare Kolek a bust. http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20150720&content_id=137643248&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb Kolek is 19 now, was drafted based solely on his 100mph high school heater. It takes years for some guys to transition from thrower to pitcher, especially when they grew up blowing the ball by everybody. Now he's got to learn better command of the fastball, plus other decent pitches to mix in. He's in a position similar to our own HS phenom, Kohl Stewart. Both were drafted for their natural talents. Now, they have to build themselves into professional pitchers.

Interesting. That does open up the 4th OF spot for Max Kepler, who can platoon with the other OF's, plus with Mauer at 1B. Actually, that opens up 2 spots, because Kepler is a better version of Robinson. Torii Hunter has worn down a lot this season, and lately his top speed running from home to 2nd looks like what he used to consider jogging speed. He's been getting by in Right with veteran wiles, but when he's got to run down a ball in front of him, it's getting to be a real adventure. Also, his arm at this point is no stronger than Robinson's, which is a big step down, and at the plate he's been struggling to compensate for slower bat speed. Hunter still has great game in his head, but the body is losing steam. One more year maybe, as a platoon OF for somebody, then he's about done.

All these guys traded for mediocre relievers... Kennys Vargas traded to Boston, hits 40+ homers per year for the next 12 years. Arcia to Cleveland, becomes Nick Swisher 2.0. Nolasco DFA'd, signs with Angels, wins a Cy Young. Meyer traded to Washington, wins 15 games, averages 1 walk per 9. Pelfrey traded to Dodgers, becomes their best setup man. AB Walker traded to Padres, becomes Chili Davis 2.0. Nightmares don't have to be likely. I remember being chased all over town by a T-Rex when I was a kid. Woke up and thought, "Damn, that would make a great movie."

Wow, Tommy Milone, ace closer!!

Great hustle by Escobar, sloppy fielding by the O's.

Eduardo Escobar isn't a great baseball player, but he always plays hard.

I will say that's the best I've seen Perkins pitch since the All-Star break. All hail cortisone!

Sorry Bert, that's an error. Rosario should know enough not to slap down at a pop fly. Get your darn glove under it, rookie!

I am gradually becoming more convinced that the Twins should find some excuse to keep Trevor Plouffe around next season. The guy is just a solid ballplayer.

"Some of the fans at Twins Daily need an excuse to go to the store. See what you can do."

Second run that Hicks nails at home from RF, but Robinson's arm just doesn't have enough horse power. Get well soon, Aaron Hicks!

Too bad Hicks isn't playing right field, he nails Parra at the plate. Robinson's arm just isn't that strong.

He stopped in the middle to lay it on the line.

TwinsCD, on 23 Aug 2015 - 09:56 AM, said: Smoothies are great. So many different directions you can go IF you're disciplined enough not to go off the rails with bad stuff. I have a mouth full of sweet teeth and I want to go over to the dark side but I stay good and put the green stuff in it. Been experimenting with frozen ice cubes of high nutrient mixtures. Brown ones are a mix of legumes like kidney, black, red, mayocoba, roman, garbanzo, pinto, etc. Green cubes are watercress plus The Ultimate Meal nutrient powder. In the blender I add frozen chopped onions, bell pepper, micellar caseineate powder, and various flavorings if I want it to taste good, which sometimes I don't. What I add for flavor depends on if I feel like losing weight that day. The less flavoring, the less stuff I feel like drinking out of that infernal Ninja single serve cup. I'm thinking of starting a national franchise where a faceless robot serves you a high-nutrient cup of goo in return for a paltry sum of money to sustain your miserable human existence. Cup of Goo would be a featureless cube of cinder blocks painted a dull gray, with a small hole for transactions. Humans would be allowed free parking for ten minutes, after which all vehicles would be towed. Outdoor seating would be thick, cast-iron stools in the same cubical shape as the building. Aesthetic consistency is important to humans.