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jimbo92107

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Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. jimbo92107
    Wondering how good a kid like Berrios could be is almost better than finding out. It's before anything bad happens, no blown elbows, no off-field embarrassments, no worries about service time or if a contract suits the player's ego... Right now I'm wondering if JO Berrios is really the top man in the Twins farm system. I'll let myself dream about that for a little while longer.
  2. jimbo92107
    Of course you trade him if the return is good. You could even include Duensing in a package deal for Suzuki. Two good players currently performing at a high level for one or two top-20 prospects. Orioles? They could use a good catcher, and every team can use another good lefty reliever. Twins need a fire sale, quick. I'd dump most of this team, including Joe Mauer, whose bat doesn't fit at 1st base unless he's banging doubles off the Green Monster in Boston. Too bad Mauer has a no-trade clause, but he might okay a trade to the Red Sox, where his average would go back up to about .370 the rest of his career.
  3. jimbo92107
    Bring up May, Darnell, Meyer, Tonkin, Pinto and Ramirez. Make room however you feel. Move Hicks to AAA, learn how to be a hitter.
  4. jimbo92107
    Why not Trevor May? If Pino fizzles, bring up the kid and keep that coffee pouring. It's not like the Twins are real worried about their playoff position, not with this pitching staff. Let everybody not in a body cast have a cuppa joe in the show. Maybe somebody will shine...maybe Trevor May.
  5. jimbo92107
    Give that man a cuppa coffee! Drink it while it's hot, Jorge!
  6. jimbo92107
    Good observations all around. I'm in the keep him, play him camp. Arcia is a major leaguer now; he's got to learn to control his emotions at this level, where the pressure is highest. Young sluggers have to avoid the temptation to swing out of their shoes for home runs. You see how Willingham does it, with a controlled, powerful, repeatable swing. Hammer's homers all travel about the same direction, about the same distance. His swing is very powerful, but it's just a tick under max effort. He also uses situational awareness to narrow his swing zone, and he's willing to take a walk if a pitch isn't in his zone. Arcia's problems actually started before he turned his ankle. I think a macho contest started right about the day that Morales arrived, along with Josimil Pinto and all the Latin boys hitting well at the same time. Right about then Arcia got into a mindset like he was in not just a home run contest, but a "see who can hit the longest home run" contest. It culminated in his massive grand slam, and since then he's been trying to hit the moon with every swing. Get it under control, Oswaldo. A 500-foot homer doesn't count any more than one that barely clears the fence - ask Brian Dozier, a guy that's way ahead of you in home runs. Dozier is a perfect example of a guy that has been doing a great job of reading the situation, then being ready to turn on just the right pitch with an aggressive, but not crazy hard swing. Dozier is going to finish ahead of Arcia in home runs this year, and the harder Arcia swings, the farther he will fall behind the second baseman.
  7. jimbo92107
    I know that hitters try to read pitchers. Do pitchers read hitters, too? I suppose they do, if they think they see something that indicates a hitter's intention. Recently I've been watching Joe Mauer's at-bats, and I may have detected something that pitchers and catchers are using against him. It's common knowledge that Mauer wants to become more of a power hitter, turn on inside pitches, pull and lift them. What I've noticed is that Mauer seems to be tipping off his intention to try pulling the ball. When he waggles the bat over his head, he's looking to pull it. I think when a catcher sees him doing that waggle, he instantly positions himself outside, so when Mauer tries to pull it, he can't do it effectively. Conversely, when Mauer holds the bat very still above his head, he is signalling that he's going to do his patented inside out swing down the third base line. When the catcher sees that, he positions himself inside, so Mauer has to get his hands inside and fight off the pitch. Has anybody else noticed this tell? It may have something to do with Mauer's peculiar ineffectiveness this season. If it's true, then Mauer certainly is clever enough to reverse reverse his behavior, making the current tell useless. Waggle the bat, then hit the outside pitch to left field. Hold the bat still, then smash an inside pitch over the fence. Do that a couple times, and the joke will be over.
  8. jimbo92107
    I was at the game last night to see Yohan Pino's debut. Looked like maybe 10k or so fans. Pino doesn't strike me as a flash in the pan. Unlike Albers, I didn't get the feeling that I was witnessing an heroic, one-off performance as he battled the White Sox. Pino spots his 88mph heater around the edges, and he varies his arm angle along with everything else. He's got a sharp breaking curve and a very deceptive change-up, both of which he can throw for strikes away from the middle. The result of mixing in such good off-speed pitches was that opposing hitters were late on his mediocre heater. And if they sit on his heater, they get the change-up. Seven K's, one BB, 2 runs over seven innings. I think he really could keep doing that. I'd leave him at fifth starter until somebody better comes along.
  9. jimbo92107
    Oh, and on Kyle Gibson... What amazing growth he has shown over the last year. He came to town sporting an excellent sinking fastball, a good curve, and little idea what to do with them. I watched the archive video of his last outing, and man, has that guy become a pitcher. The way he mixed up his pitches and had them all dancing around the edges was really fun to watch. He is now doing everything you want an ace pitcher to do - changing speeds, changing spins, changing locations, holding runners, you name it. Kyle Gibson is every bit as good as Phil Hughes. The Twins right now have two guys that can go up against the best in the American League. If Nolasco gets better, watch out. And another thing Gibson is doing really well - masking his pitches. His release point is almost identical for all his offerings. Very hard to tell which pitch is coming before it leaves his hand.
  10. jimbo92107
    All I can say is, Clayton Kershaw sure is lucky he pitches for the Dodgers!
  11. jimbo92107
    What an embarrassing society we live in. Memo to future generations: I apologize for all the morons that think pot is a big deal. Guy tokes a joint and gets treated like he robbed a string of convenience stores at gunpoint. When will America grow up and smoke a little perspective?
  12. jimbo92107
    Why not go with Pino? He's a starter, and he gets guys out. What does it cost a .500 team to try out a pitcher? If he flops, send him packing after a fair chance. Meanwhile, I'd like to see how Correia fares in the bullpen. He might be able to kick up his heater a notch (like Perkins) if he doesn't have to pace himself. Might make all the difference.
  13. jimbo92107
    True. Williams held his hands where Arcia does after his hitch, about even with his ribs. Not currently kosher, but whatever works. Adjusting to the high pitch must be easier if you start with your hands in the upper third of the strike zone. Still easier to adjust down, but you have a chance to meet the chest high ones.
  14. jimbo92107
    Always liked Jason Kubel. Unfortunately, pro baseball with few exceptions is a game for guys in their 20's, and you have be lucky enough to stay fairly healthy even to stick around to 30. Kubel did an amazing job coming back from a really bad knee injury in the minors, and managed to have a pretty good run in the bigs. I will remember his home run against Mariano Rivera, when he put one of those vicious cutters into the right field bleachers. Kubel swung the bat like he was trying to knock off his own big toe!
  15. jimbo92107
    It's remarkable to me how similar Oswaldo Arcia's swing is to a lefty version of Harmon Killebrew. Same powerful hip turn, same massive thrust of powerful forearms. Almost the same extension on the follow through. With a little better zone management, he's got a chance to be a great one.
  16. jimbo92107
    AJ, thanks for your excellent write-ups on baseball and on your perspective on sports in your life. Your articles have been a pleasure to read, so I hope you keep letting us in on your perceptions. Your writing has a friendly, sociable style that I'm sure reflects the kind of guy you are. I hope your life's adventures are as interesting and enjoyable as what you have shared with Twins Daily.
  17. jimbo92107
    I wonder if Correia would be any good out of the pen. If he didn't have to pace himself, maybe his heater would tick up to the mid 90's like Perkins. Just a thought.
  18. jimbo92107
    Haven't seen much video on Gordon, but he does seem to have a nice swing. He's fast, has a rocket arm, and reportedly is very baseball savvy. Finally a star shortstop? Here's hoping.
  19. jimbo92107
    No-la, No-la, No-la....
  20. jimbo92107
    Ortiz was 0 for 4 in his AAA debut? Alas, another dream of greatness goes poof! On a completely unrelated note, one of the kids on my 13U team (also named Danny) hit a lead-off home run, then later pitched two shut-out innings. I told him he had a pretty good day. Oh, and he stole second, third and home, too. Pretty good day. Mr. Rantz, your next big prospect awaits!
  21. jimbo92107
    Pitching talent is always the coin du realme in the MLB. Right now it looks like the Twins have lots of potential talent in the minors, but history reveals that most of that promise will evaporate somewhere along that long, winding tube before it drips into that big old jug of sweet white lightnin' we all want a taste of. We all know Tyler Kolek's got lightning in his bottle, but will it keep for three years while he figures out how to pick corners with a curve? I got my eye on a vintage more like Aaron Nola, dude that's got game right now. Some say it ain't so, but I think Nola will hit the MLB with a shot of strong stuff inside a year. Meanwhile, a guy like Nick Gordon could turn out just fine, like a real good beer. But which metaphor tastes better? Which is the heavier figurative boot in the ass of this weak tea of a team? You can trade one jug of white lightning for several cases of good beer, not to mention all the weak tea you can stomach. Take a pitcher!
  22. jimbo92107
    Other than Buehrle, your examples had other pitches that made them special. Frank Viola did in fact have an excellent heater, clocked as high as 96, and as many of us recall, his circle change was truly sweet music to behold. Ryan had an amazing curve ball and a good slider to go with his historic fastball. However, I don't disagree with your point. Pitchers like Bruce Chen and Tanaka for the Yanks prove that you don't need big heat to be successful in the majors. Does Kolek have the ability to learn a couple plus secondary pitches? Unknown. Will his arm hold up throwing that hard? Unknown. When you ask those questions about Nola, you already have your answers. Nola is already a complete pitcher. His route to the majors will take less than one season in the minors. Others say that a quick timeline doesn't matter with the slew of star pitching prospects bubbling up from the Twins minor league system. I say you can't have too many top prospects, because most of the "can't miss" guys will find a way to miss. Guys that are mlb caliber are always valuable, whether it's in your rotation or as trading chips for that shortstop your team really needs. Take Nola, and you've got much more certain value than Kolek.
  23. jimbo92107
    Depends what kind of game you want to play. Today all we really know about Kolek is that he's a big, strong kid that can throw a baseball incredibly fast. Can he learn to control a curve, slider, change, etc? If not, he's a closer you took with the fifth pick in the draft. Can he maintain his incredible velocity without hurting his arm? His mechanics look good, but that kind of speed can wreck an arm in a hurry. If he becomes a mid to low 90's guy with not much for secondary pitches, what a wasted pick. Then you've got Aaron Nola, one of those guys with a smooth, easy whip-arm motion that looks almost like skimming stones on a Sunday at the lake. That guy will be in the majors within one year and pitch effectively for a decade, while Tyler Kolek struggles for at least a couple years to develop a slider, curve and change in the minors. If both guys are available I take Nola for a simple reason: time. If the Twins want to compete while Mauer is still near his peak, they need their young arms to get to the bigs as a group within a couple years. Nola would definitely be a starter in that frame. Kolek would not. Even if he could become the next CC Sabbathia, right now Tyler Kolek is a thrower. This team can't afford to wait for him to become a pitcher. Nola is a pitcher right now. Take the pitcher!
  24. jimbo92107
    Bingo. Kubel's time in the majors looks to be about done, same goes for Willingham. Pinto, Arcia and Parmelee need to play. With very few exceptions, baseball is a young man's game. The Twins have no reason to stock up on aging veterans when young, strong, fast players are clearly on the rise. This club's policy of trying to field a respectable team of veterans (aka: other teams' castoffs) has netted two 90-plus loss seasons. What's the point? Might as well play the kids and let them accumulate game experience. Then in a few years we can have a core of _young_ veterans, not old ones.
  25. jimbo92107
    I disagree. Aaron Nola's delivery transfers power correctly in sequence from push, then turn, then flip. His flip is out front of his right shoulder, so there is no strain to his rotator cuff and little strain in his elbow. He is generating velocity from a rhythmic progression from drive leg to torso to arm, much like the MLB pitcher he most resembles, Jared Weaver. It's a very arm-friendly motion because the majority of the power isn't coming from his arm. My only worry about Nola is holding runners. His delivery seems a bit leisurely, which may allow fast guys to steal his lunch money. Nola may need to vary the timing of his set to keep runners from getting a big jump.
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