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jimbo92107

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Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. jimbo92107
    To quote general George Custer... "Ghaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
  2. jimbo92107
    Any calculation of what to do with Royce Lewis when Correa gets back must begin with the assumption that Lewis will NEVER go back to the minor leagues. Friends, Romans and countrymen, look what Lewis is doing in his first month. He's practically putting the team on his back the way Hrbek and Puckett and Buxton used to do. He's playing high-level SS, and he appears to be getting better game by game. When Correa gets back, sure Lewis will have to move around. No big deal. The kid is super-talented - he'll pick up any position in a week, and look polished in two weeks. Let him become the team's second super-utility man along with Nick Gordon. Guys like this don't mind learning multiple positions because it makes them even more valuable to the team. Baldelli knows that Lewis already is one of the best bats in his lineup. There's no way he won't find a spot for him to play every possible day.
  3. jimbo92107
    I'll grant Gio Urshela this - He's making a good case to keep him around, even after Correa gets back. Then the question becomes, what to do with Royce Lewis? Can the Twins really send down a player this obviously good, or do they find a place for him, like 1B while Miranda goes across the river for a bit more seasoning? New euphemism...across the river = down to the AAA Saints. Maybe Miranda to the Saints, Lewis to 1B is the solution, for now.
  4. jimbo92107
    Well, if Sanchez bats like that... I can see him as the semi-permanent DH / emergency catcher. Sadly for Urshela, his hitting is just okay, and the Twins already have Miranda, Arraez and Lewis to move around the infield. Plus all three of those guys are much better hitters than Gio. When Correa gets back and if Kirilloff starts to hit, the Twins may decide it's better to keep Godoy as backup C.
  5. jimbo92107
    I say buh-bye to Sanchez and Urshela. Bring up Godoy, order him to use a quick, flat contact swing for singles, work to look like Arraez. Move Lewis to 3B the day Correa gets back. What the Twins need more than anything else is GREAT defense up the middle (including a catcher that can glove bounced pitches), and the fewest possible holes in the batting order. This solves both problems, poof. Arraez becomes your IF sub and DH,; Gordon is your OF sub plus pinch run and hit. Lewis will be fine at the hot corner until Correa either stays or goes after the season. Plus of course, Lewis is a far, far better all around player than Urshela. What the Twins seem to have forgotten is that their pitching staff is not great. They are good, and great defense makes them look borderline great. Add some healthy offense, and you've got a winning team. Urshela and Sanchez both have been mostly holes at the plate, and Sanchez has the worst defensive glove I've ever seen. Anytime there's a runner, all he needs is to see a ball hit the dirt, and go. Safe, every time because Sanchez will drop the ball, giving the stealer at least an extra second. This makes the pitcher afraid to throw low breaking pitches, which for some Twins arms is their bread and butter. Same thing happens on throws to home. If the ball bounces, Sanchez will boot it. Get. Him. Out. Of. There!
  6. jimbo92107
    Houston is a better team than the Twins...at the moment. In a couple months I'd like to see the same matchup.
  7. jimbo92107
    I see Nick Gordon continuing to get a little better every week. His throws from the OF look better, are carrying better as he learns to lengthen his follow through. His at bats seem more and more comfortable. If the Twins let this guy get away, they'll be sorry. Gordon is finally healthy, so we're starting to see why the Twins spent a first round pick on him.
  8. jimbo92107
    I suspect that Columbe's success is an early season mirage. Hitters across the league have been having a crappy spring. That big hitch in his motion isn't going to help much after guys have seen it a couple times. Other than that, what's he got? A big, slow curve, a so-so slider, a change up, and an average fastball. That walking beam will get narrower each time he pitches.
  9. jimbo92107
    This be creative writing. No hardfast rules, yo. Let the words flow. Stream o thought, yo. Let the uptight go. Let your frogs be free.
  10. jimbo92107
    Oh, I forgot the thread topic: How long a leash... One more game. It is entirely Bundy's decision whether he wants to be a successful crafty veteran or a pathetic has-been power pitcher. He's got sufficient command of his off-speed stuff to get a lot of whiffs. He can spot his so-so fastball to the corners. Why not stick to the plan?
  11. jimbo92107
    Bundy can still get guys out, if he sticks to the new plan, which is for him to be an off-speed pitcher with an occasional fast ball. When he tries to rare back and fire heat, he gets killed.
  12. jimbo92107
    Josh Winder This guy is legit. Full fledged mlb pitcher, good command, good mix of pitches, excellent poise on the mound. Royce Lewis Excellent first game. Covered well at SS, making contact at the plate, got his first hit. The rest is history! Byron Buxton I still think this kid is gonna make it. Only one homer today? Trevor Larnach Starting to do a good imitation of former Twins RF Michael Cuddyer. Bashing line drives, and gunning down runners with his power arm. Jorge Polanco Oh please Jorge, don't lean backwards away from ground balls! Either you play them or they'll play you! Gary Sanchez Anybody here seen Sanchez actually glove a pitch bounced in front of him? Does he even try? Tyler Duffey He's a box of chocolates right now, because you don't know what you're going to get. He can't use his 4-seamer unless it's in a corner because it's too straight. Better to use a 2-seamer, which bends nicely arm side. Clearly he's still searching for the right mix. Lucky he still has that bag of curve balls. Emilio Pagan Another box of chocolates, but with random flavors. Sorry, this isn't what you want at closer. As mentioned earlier, better to go with Joe Smith, who gets three outs in a real hurry, who cares how.
  13. jimbo92107
    Hahahahaha! Sirrah, you doth mock us with power snark! Still, seems a bit much to estimate Correa's return as late as June. A whole month for a bruised finger? I suppose it's to let all traces of swelling and irritation be gone. Early observations on Lewis: Strong arm, not quite the gun of Correa., but plenty for SS. Quick feet, good adjustments on odd hops. Very much engaged in the game, just like Correa. These guys really love baseball. When Correa gets back... hmmm.... Let's just say that Urshela would be well served by an immense hot streak at the plate.
  14. jimbo92107
    When Correa returns, he goes right back where he won a Platinum Glove - Shortstop. Royce Lewis will slide over to 3rd base, taking Urshella's spot. The only thing stopping that would be a prolonged slump at the plate, which to me seems very unlikely. Imagine how Lewis and Correa will eat up grounders hit by righties. Forget about bunts and nubbers down the line. Royce will pounce on them like a cat. For the time being, expect good starting SS from Lewis. Not as radically good as Correa's defense, but solid, with great range. Lewis is supposed to be a Mauer-level athlete, so we can expect some highlights. I hope they put him in today's game..!
  15. jimbo92107
    Broken finger means six weeks before swinging a bat, probably in St Paul for a few games. Can Nick Gordon play good enough SS to fill in for Corea? Probably not. Time to bring up Royce Lewis, the closest thing to a Corea-level athlete in the system, and a competent SS. Lewis is a straight-up replacement, plug and go. I hate to speculate about broken hands, but this is the move, not Kirilloff. Defense up the middle is more important to this team than a good bat. With Arraez out too, that makes the infield Urshella, Lewis, Polanco, Miranda. Not too bad.
  16. jimbo92107
    To me it looks like Dylan Bundy is still struggling internally with being a power pitcher vs. being a crafty off-speed pitcher. The hard contact seemed to be mostly on his low-90's heater, not on his curve, slider, change, etc. He still needs to buy into being a crafty veteran, not the young fireballer. I'd like to see his fastball usage go down to about 30 percent. Curves, sliders and change up's, dude... Hopefully the position players will play a little better defense.
  17. jimbo92107
    Cutting into the fun of guessing who might be the next callup is the sad fact that it depends who either gets injured or starts seriously struggling to perform. Of the position guys with injury histories, Arraez's knee worries me the most, followed by Polanco's ankle. Slightly less likely is that Larnach's bat could go cold, tho it seems he has solved his off-speed pitch problems. Sano's meniscus tear is especially unfortunate for him, because Miranda and Kirilloff should be able to play 3B, 1B, and DH in Sano's place. All in all, the next guy up could be Devin Smeltzer. The lanky lefty is healthy now, and throwing a ton of strikes. If either Thielbar or Duffey go flat, look for Smeltzer to fill in.
  18. jimbo92107
    In a recent interview Baldelli mentioned that he was concerned about Paddack using a slider that Baldi wasn't aware he had mastered. He said he'd prefer that Paddack stuck to pitches in his official repertoire. In this case, I disagree. Don't tell the young man not to throw his slider. Just tell him he's limited to three in the first game, then if results are positive, he can throw five in the next game, and so on. See how Baltimore's hitters were blasting line drives off Paddack's heater? That's why the man would rather mix in a few sliders early on, rather than a lot of fastballs early. Besides, sliders are fun to throw. BTW, Joe Ryan should be taking notes from this game. Baltimore's hitters like to pounce on early fastballs. On the other hand, Ryan's fastballs miss bats...
  19. jimbo92107
    Given the hot performances of Royce Lewis and Jose Miranda in St Paul, I've got to figure Gio Urshela's time in Minnesota could be growing short. Yes, Urshela has proved himself defensively, and yes, he has done some damage with his bat. But Lewis and Miranda look like much better bats, and both are probably good enough to play 3B without costing the team. If Urshela does get displaced, I hope it's Miranda. His power bat will play well from the hot corner. Meanwhile, I agree with others that Lewis would be better served playing daily SS for the Saints than riding the pine as a sub for the Twins, or playing out of position at 3rd.
  20. jimbo92107
    Sanchez is slightly sub par behind the plate (good arm) except for a couple things, mainly balls in the dirt. That means whoever pitches to Sanchez (esp. Bundy, Duffey) should avoid grounding one, even if it otherwise would be a good idea. Having watched him a few times now, Sanchez is almost completely unable to get a bounced curve or slider or forkball into his mitt. Instead, he does a poor job of blocking these pitches, which allows any runner to simply jog to the next base. Sanchez also has a problem snagging wayward fastballs that drift high and outside. His glove seems to lag behind the pitch too much. Again, runners jog to the next base. Irritatingly, Dick Bremmer called one of these a "wild pitch," when clearly it just got past a slow-reacting Sanchez. Lucky thing Sanchez is a legitimate power threat at the plate. His future screams, "DH."
  21. jimbo92107
    Cole Sands, pure rookie, did well for his first time. Twins again did well by Sands, providing him with a low-leverage situation, along with a plan for low innings his first mlb season. Like Winder, Sands also gets the benefits of a great defense up the middle, plus a red-hot offense to ease any big worries...other than embarrassing himself in front of thousands of people. This he did in his first inning, coughing up a couple runs while struggle to control his heart rate, before self-disgust allowed him to dismiss the final batter of the inning. After that, his second inning was 1, 2, 3. This time he showed the kind of low-zone whiffable attack that got Sands to the majors. Final grade for first rookie appearance: A+. Let us be nurturing in our approach to pure rookies. Sands looks like he's going to be very good, but the numbers game may bounce him back and forth a few times between Mpls. and St Paul. We could be witnessing an historic emergence of a cadre of high-quality organization talent. Ober, Winder and Sands are just the beginning. Are the gods of probability finally going to allow Twins fans to have nice things?
  22. jimbo92107
    Josh Winder was marvelous for his first mlb start and his first win. Vital to that victory was the careful preparation of the Twins, including great care for Winder's arm, strong defense up the middle, and exposing the rookie early in the season to the Show, so that the crowd noise and such were not quite so traumatic. Final grade for his first start: A+. Expecting great things from this pitcher.
  23. jimbo92107
    Josh Winder may have slightly better stuff than Bailey Ober, but Ober has better command, at least right now. However, with Wes Johnson coaching pitchers, don't be surprised if Ober adds another 2 or 3 mph to his heater over the next year or so. Both these guys can dominate, and both of them will give their team a chance to win. Funny how your pitchers tend to dominate when you've got Carlos Correa, Jorge Polanco and Byron Buxton up the middle. Those guys regularly take away hits and runs from opponents. Note: We have now seen Trevor Larnach gun down two guys trying to take home on his arm. Can Kirilloff throw like that?
  24. jimbo92107
    Impressive loss for Bundy. Instead of showing embarrassment, he took his lumps, then kept working on his game. In the end, working against live batters, Bundy got sharp and stayed there, finishing up looking as dominant as he did in his previous start. He also saved the pen from spending at least two more pitchers. Kudos, Mr. Bundy. Impressive loss.
  25. jimbo92107
    Something must be wrong with the Padres pitching coaches. How could they allow a young pitcher to develop a fastball scatter chart that was concentrated right down the middle of the plate?? Also, I saw this guy pitch as a rookie. He looked great, and I swear I saw him throw big curve balls as part of his mix. It wasn't just fastball - change up. Anyway, I hope he does add a big curve to his repertoire. That little cutter won't cut it for long. Doesn't move enough.
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