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jimbo92107

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Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. jimbo92107
    AJ, well written and insightful. Thanks for giving us a peek. When the doctor said "no exercise," I hope he just meant no wind-sprints or tackling dummies. You can at least go for walks, right? Get better soon, then show us your baseball super power!
  2. jimbo92107
    Problem is, the headline here is correct. His chances to become a pitcher here in Minnesota probably have run out. He may indeed learn to be a pitcher and do quite well, but unless he clears waivers and signs a minor league deal for another year in Rochester, it won't happen. Meanwhile, a team with an ambitious pitching coach that's looking for a promising young arm could snap up Hendriks and stash him in their MLB bullpen for a season to see what they can develop. It's a fairly low-risk move, and it might pan out. Frankly, it's in the best interest of the player to get some different pitching coaches to see if they can find a good pitcher in there somewhere. If it happens, I wouldn't be surprised.
  3. jimbo92107
    Brian Dozier has proved that he is willing and able to change his approach to hitting by making significant mechanical changes. That takes courage. These guys spend years trying to perfect their swing, and when it's good enough to get them out of the minors, a lot of ballplayers just don't want to tinker anymore. Instead of settling for an approach that had his average hovering around .200, Dozier sought out Tom Brunanski and did video analysis to figure out how to improve his ability to adjust to different speed pitches. The results of his hard work have been spectacular. On top of his improved defense, Dozier now is one of the most dangerous hitters on the team. Can Pedro Florimon do something like that? According to Roy Smalley, Florimon's flaw is that he automatically dips his hands as he starts his swing. This makes the bat dip down under any pitch above his thighs, resulting in a lot of whiffs and pop-ups. Can Florimon break that habit and learn to make smarter up-down adjustments with his hands? His ability to make that change in the off-season may determine whether or not he keeps his job. Meanwhile, Brian Dozier to me is a fine example of a ballplayer that is making himself better, not just by hard work, but by studying the game and figuring out what changes he needs to make himself better. This spells a bright future as a player, and later as a coach.
  4. jimbo92107
    "Has this negatively impacted the Twins 2013 season? As Costa’s points out, the Milwaukee Brewers, who at 55.3% have the highest amount of wrongly called pitches go in their favor, have nearly as bad of a record as the Twins. So it appears that even if the Twins had all the calls go their way, it still would not have changed the overall record much." Good lord man, are you kidding?? With a staff composed of "pitch to contact" nibblers, those bad calls (strikes wrongly called balls) could have been absolutely deadly to pitchers that are hanging on by a thread, as most Twins starters have done all year. Hitter with two outs gets a wrongly called walk. Next guy hits a bloop single. As a Minnesota fan, you know how this scenario plays out, because it happened dozens of times this season. What should have been the end of the inning turns into an undeserved disaster, because for some reason umpires don't call strikes on the edges...at least not for Twins pitchers. This crappy umping probably didn't keep our boys out of the playoffs, but it's not hard to imagine it cost the team a dozen games. I, for one, welcome the arrival of our robot strike zone masters!
  5. jimbo92107
    "Has this negatively impacted the Twins 2013 season? As Costa’s points out, the Milwaukee Brewers, who at 55.3% have the highest amount of wrongly called pitches go in their favor, have nearly as bad of a record as the Twins. So it appears that even if the Twins had all the calls go their way, it still would not have changed the overall record much." Good lord man, are you kidding?? With a staff composed of "pitch to contact" nibblers, those bad calls (strikes wrongly called balls) could have been absolutely deadly to pitchers that are hanging on by a thread, as most Twins starters have done all year. Does this seem familiar? Hitter with two outs gets a wrongly called walk. Next guy hits a bloop single. As a Minnesota fan, you know how this scenario plays out, because it happened dozens of times this season. What should have been the end of the inning turns into an undeserved disaster, because for some reason umpires don't call strikes on the edges...at least not for Twins pitchers. Effectively, these bad calls have given opposing teams four outs instead of three many times this season. This crappy umping probably didn't keep our boys out of the playoffs, but it's not hard to imagine it cost the team a dozen games. I, for one, welcome the arrival of our robot strike zone masters!
  6. jimbo92107
    Plan: Move all the guys on this list to AAA under Gene Glynn. After the All Star break, move them all (including Glynn) to the major league club. Keep Dozier, Pinto and Mauer, plus most of the relief staff. How am I doing so far?
  7. jimbo92107
    Pinto looks like the real deal to me. The way he keeps his balance poised and his hands back, he's able to make serious adjustments, and he appears to keep his hands steady, with a light grip on the bat. Frankly his approach reminds me of the new and improved Brian Dozier, except Pinto is a lot younger. Behind the plate he appears fundamentally sound, but inexperienced. He moves his body laterally to block balls in the dirt and wide of the plate, rather than merely reaching sideways with his glove. He's not as sharp back there as Herrmann, but there's no reason he won't improve with experience and mentoring from Mauer and the coaches. Eager, coachable player with a bright future.
  8. jimbo92107
    Good point. Assuming that you can only be either a cheapskate or a spendthrift is foolish. The Twins don't need to emulate the cheapest or spendiest team in the league. In fact, if there's one model the Twins might wisely emulate, it would be something more like the New England Patriots, where they maintain a more equitable balance of salaries across the board, thus sustaining strong play from every position. Right now the Twins seem eager to maintain a roster largely composed of guys playing at or near the major league minimum wage. I wonder if they'd get better production if the team decided to pay every player on the major league roster at least $1 million per year. Would that help motivate players in the minors?
  9. jimbo92107
    In short, the Twins Way (TW) has clearly been trumped by the Rays Way (RW), and finally even the somewhat dull executives in this organization are starting to realize that their MLB product kinda sucks. It's not even that they don't win a Series. These guys aren't even fun to watch anymore. The result has been kidnapping Gene Glynn and stashing him in Rochester, signing teen superstars Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton, luring TW survivors Terry Steinbach and Tom Brunanski back into the fold, trading a couple TW CF's for pitchers that can throw 95+, and drafting more pitchers that can throw harder than Andrew Albers. Sadly, it's a long way from TW to RW. This is gonna take awhile. Meanwhile, this team is going to continue to kinda suck for at least another couple years. Don't buy a jersey with a name on it.
  10. jimbo92107
    A bit premature. A year from now we'll have a better idea if Meyer, Gibson and May are improving, if some of our "contact" pitchers are slightly better than average, if Dozier's improvements stick, if Hicks learns how to bat over .220, etc. Only then will it be interesting to speculate on trading guys like Rosario for pitching.
  11. jimbo92107
    Gardenhire brings in a pitcher, pitcher gives up a bunch of runs. Gardenhire brings in a new position player, player hits under .240. Solution? Fire Gardenhire. Heck, all the next manager needs to do is bring in players that play better. What could be simpler than that?
  12. jimbo92107
    What I've seen from Josmil Pinto has been very encouraging. He looks like a guy that wants to learn. At the plate, he's got what appears to be excellent poise and an almost delicate, fingertip grip on the bat. He's not just up there to see how hard he can swing, which is sometimes the impression I get from guys like Plouffe and Arcia, as well as Willingham. Pinto's swing appears to have good potential for adjusting to pitches. I've seen him lace a couple of line drives on high outside pitches that other Twins would whiff on. That means he's able to delay his wrist flip better than most hitters. I'm pretty sure that's what Brian Dozier was working on with Bruno. Behind the plate, I see good balance and a strong arm, but from what I've been reading, he still needs to learn how to call games. Well, he'll have lots of good advice from Joe Mauer and whoever else is still catching next year. I like this kid.
  13. jimbo92107
    Only one top 20 prospect in the top five pitchers, and Gibson got sent back down. Meanwhile, another minor league prospect (which one) is getting TJ surgery, and Sam Deduno may need work done on his shoulder socket. This is frustrating.
  14. jimbo92107
    I'd like to see Florimon go on a tear at the plate. His batting stance is quite nice, but he doesn't seem to have the best plan when he steps up to the plate. Maybe he should flip a coin whether he's going to swing at the first pitch.
  15. jimbo92107
    Agreed. No proof Arcia can field short hop throws from the infield, and we already know Mauer and Colabello are good at 1B. I figure they'll start playing Mauer in thirds at C, 1B, DH. Colabello 2/3rds at 1B, then DH. Arcia will be RF, occasional DH. Not sure how they'll handle the middle infield with Rosario coming up. Dozier has gotten so good at 2B and is batting so well, now it seems stupid to change what ain't broke, unless you give Dozier another shot at SS with Rosie at 2B. Pinto looks like a nice, fresh, unbruised noggin for catcher. Meanwhile, it looks like Plouffe has petered out. He seems done with the Twins. Maybe it's because he sees Sano's name on the bathroom wall, like it's a done deal. Watch him and Parms go to Boston and start whacking homers for ten years.
  16. jimbo92107
    Pelfrey, Gibson, Deduno, Correia, Albers, Diamond, Hendriks, DeVries. There's your talent pool, folks. The Twins aren't going to bring in Tim Lincecum, who would rather retire than pitch here. Ervin Santana ain't going anywhere, and Johan ain't Johan anymore. Keep your fingers crossed that Trevor May learns to stop walking batters and Alex Meyer's shoulder holds up. Maybe Pedro Hernandez will learn to keep his turtle curves lower in the zone.
  17. jimbo92107
    First, Plouffe should get rid of his locked front knee batting stance. Sure, it gets his weight back, but it also limits the flexibility of his lower half when adjusting to pitches. Second, he's stale here, and needs to go to the Orioles or something. They seem to fix a lot of broken Twins. Or the Pirates, Seattle, or Colorado, or Arizona. Frankly, the Twins have a few guys in AA and AAA that could step in and do as well as Plouffe hitting, while being much better utility infielders. Cheaper guys. No reason not to give them a shot. Heck, just bring up Levi Micheal and throw him in at 3rd. Would that be any worse?
  18. jimbo92107
    I like the scenario where the Twins can trot out Hicks, Buxton, Arcia and Rosario in the OF, then also use Rosario to give Dozier an occasional break at 2B. It also helps that the new guy, Alex Pressley, can play all the OF positions and is a good lead-off hitter. Dozier's improved hitting seems to fit better second in the order, where he can drive in a high on-base guy like Pressley.
  19. jimbo92107
    I hope Justin Morneau goes on a legendary hitting streak, drives the Pirates into the World Series, then wins it for them. Get after it, Justin!
  20. jimbo92107
    Oh come on, it's not that hard. Not like we're asking him to start throwing the ball left handed or swap his left and right shoes. Aaron Hicks has been swinging a stick at some kind of ball since he was a little kid. It'd probably take him a couple weeks to start whacking rightie curve balls and sliders again from the right side of the plate. Remember: The guy's an athlete. Not like us.
  21. jimbo92107
    Totally agree. If Sano doesn't come up for a cuppa in September, then send him to Rochester, help stack that team for its playoff run. I'd rather see that, anyway. Let the kid have some fun in a minor league playoff!
  22. jimbo92107
    I read earlier that Buxton's a workout freeek. The extra load of baseball probably doesn't wear him down as much as other guys.
  23. jimbo92107
    Albers will take a spot from either Worley or Diamond. I'd watch out for DeVries, too. Guys that throw strikes are better than guys that don't.
  24. jimbo92107
    On Clete Thomas: Remember him last year? Those same blooper hits were all strikeouts as he waved wildly at a slurve ball sailing two feet outside. I give Thomas credit for shortening up his swing and attempting to formulate some professional at-bats. That, and his occasional home run pop looks about the same, so the shorter swing and better plate discipline are all positives. Granted, he's not going to pull a Dozier and suddenly cure all his hitting ills, but Clete Thomas now looks like a serviceable fourth outfielder, and he no longer looks like the automatic out machine from years past. All hail the blooper single!
  25. jimbo92107
    How is it that the Twins seem to bring up one bust after another, while a team like the Rays seems to bring up one star after another? Meanwhile, Gibson's problems don't trouble me much. Young pitchers often have unstable stuff early in their careers. He'll be at least average next year, then a little better after that. This was not the horse you were looking for.
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