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jimbo92107

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Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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...
  5. 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.
  6. 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."
  7. 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?
  8. 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.
  9. 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?
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. jimbo92107
    On Baily Ober: To me he now looks like a good middle rotation starter. Not a potential shutout guy (yet), but good now and potential to get significantly better, given his good poise on the mound. On Griffin Jax: This guy might have a higher ceiling than Ober. His slider is better than Ryan's, but his fastball needs more precision if he can't add movement, like a cutter. If Jax can pick the corners with his heater, he could be a good closer, a-la Joe Nathan. Nail the corners at 94 +, then slice 'em up with a power slider. It's like having 5 different pitches to worry about. On the other hand, if Jax continues to be a good multi-inning reliever, maybe he transitions to starter. On Josh Winder: On some teams he's already your #4 or 5 starter. Not quite as precise or consistent as Ober, but lots of potential. Definitely belongs in the pen for now, another long reliever. This is a good development plan for him. On Jhoan Duran: OMG, what to do... Hondo heat, splinker at 96, and a hard slider. It screams "closer" or rally stopper, but he's got serious starter potential, too. Keep him in the pen for now, but USE HIM a lot. Get him used to high-leverage situations for later in his career. Especially, teach him to get guys out with his secondary pitches, by which I mean sliders, curves and changes. Mentor: Dylan Bundy.
  13. jimbo92107
    Here's a question for an equipment expert: If a guy like Correa is hitting the ball on the ground too much, can't they adjust the pitching machine in the cage to make the ball dive even more, so he has to get down to the ball a bit more, thus elevating his average barreled ball? That way, even if he's topping his hits in the cage, it will straighten out his hits in a game. So simplistic!
  14. jimbo92107
    Seeing three Twins that were struggling at the plate finally light it up was just as fun as watching Joe Ryan pitch another gem. When different guys in the lineup start "taking turns" dominating games, that's a very, very good sign. Today Larnach, Jeffers and Kepler did some much-needed bashing. Hugs and high fives from the superstars. What a nice day!
  15. jimbo92107
    Problem is, the Twins can't afford to have a rally-killing hole in their lineup for two months, even if Sano gets red hot later. Sano's notorious early cold spell was one of the reasons that the team fell profoundly out of contention before the halfway point of last season. For that reason I would get rid of Sano, replacing him with a high-average hitter like Kirilloff or Miranda. Late in a tied game with two outs and a runner on second, I'd rather have untested rookie Miranda at the plate than Sano. Kirilloff for sure, if his hand is okay.
  16. jimbo92107
    Bring up Smeltzer. Never enough lefties, and never enough multi-inning relievers. Plus, the guy throws strikes.
  17. jimbo92107
    Something very odd is happening with this team, and maybe it's time we started adjusting our expectations. Usually, fans like us talk about multiple "If's" needing to go well in order for the Twins to be any good at all. Usually we conclude that it's just too many if's (wishes) to come true, and that the team will once again be mediocre. Maybe it's time we start seeing that this team has enormous potential. How good are these guys? How good can they be? It begins with the starting rotation. When the Twins acquired Sonny Gray, we celebrated. Finally, something like an "ace" to go with Ryan and Ober and whoever else they could scrounge up. Multiple rookie prospects were considered, but then Dylan Bundy, Chris Archer and Chris Paddack were added, leaving room for just one prospect, Josh Winder. Now, we were looking at one "ace," two unproven semi-rookies, and three veterans with histories of arm trouble. Plus one more rookie, Winder. Besides Gray, were any of them going to pan out? A ton of nervous "If's" at the most important position, and that's just for starters...heh-heh... It continues with the position players. Could Buck stay healthy? Would he perform? Could they get anything out of Larnach? Would Jeffers learn to hit? Was Arraez going to be hobbled by that knee? Would Sano start to hit? Would Kirilloff recover? Would Gordon continue to improve? Would Urshella be any good? Would Correa become a leader? Would Polanco keep hitting and playing top 2B? Could Sanchez ever field a bounced pitch? Another ton of "If's." Results so far for the starting pitchers has been little short of astounding. They're all pitching well, even the rookies and the retread veterans. Especially good has been Dylan Bundy, the big power hurler that lost his upper 90's fastball, now learning to be an artist on the mound. Using a new mix of off-speed stuff and pinpoint control, Bundy has been a revelation with a sub-1.00 ERA. Results for position players has been puzzling. First couple weeks featured an awful lot of whiffs and bad luck. But now, sparked by a mature superstar Byron Buxton and bat-wizard Louis Arraez, the offense is coming alive. As a squad, they're starting to believe in themselves. That can make a team very dangerous. How good can these guys be? It's beginning to look like this 2022 Twins team can be extremely good.
  18. jimbo92107
    A few threads ago somebody asked if Duffy was done with baseball. I said something about making adjustments. Last night, Duffy showed us what adjustments he needed to survive with sub-94 mph stuff. You have to hit spots with your heater, and you need to bring a very good curve ball. Other pitchers have survived with exactly that combination, and Duffy can, too. As long as he can hit spots with that heater... Pagan showed us what that means, too. Last pitch of the game, bases loaded, full count - fastball, nailed the low-inside corner. Under pressure, that's throwing a bullseye.
  19. jimbo92107
    This is the kind of nail-biting win that tells a team.... ...They better battle all nine innings, or they're going to have the worst record in baseball.
  20. jimbo92107
    Pretty nice situation with the starters, assuming Gray comes back healthy. Each of the six has delivered at least one solid performance, where they kept their team in the game for at least 5 innings. In this game, Baldi then used his best three short relievers, not a bad plan to win a 1-run shutout. The question this early season remains, what the heck, Twins hitters? I sure hope we're not facing every team's ace every game. In fact, I'd say it's high time the Twins greeted an opponent's starter with some rudeness. All strictly legal, of course. How about ten runs in the first couple innings? That would be nice for the home town fans.
  21. jimbo92107
    I have little doubt Ryan's stuff would play all nine innings. We are watching the rise of an ace pitcher.
  22. jimbo92107
    This offense should be averaging 5 to 6 runs per game, even without Buxton. The starting rotation appears pretty solid. Even my initial horror at Paddack's first start was gratefully wrong. He's not a recently converted short stop. He's a good, not great mlb pitcher. That appears to be how we could describe most of the starters, except Ryan, who looks great, Ober, who looks efficient, and Bundy, who looks like a mature professional pitcher.
  23. jimbo92107
    I don't see a problem. Larnach has been a hitter his whole career. He'll learn the ropes at this level, too. The man is built to belt. I agree that Kirilloff should play 1B instead of Sano. Play the hitters!
  24. jimbo92107
    Actually, this game was pretty encouraging. Josh Winder stepped in for his first long relief appearance, and he didn't unravel or look particularly overwhelmed. He did give up a homer to Boston's hottest hitter, but I expect that's going to happen to a lot of pitchers. Let's remember, this is his rookie year. He's not pitching like a rookie. Trevor Larnach had a good day at the plate. Also good to see.
  25. jimbo92107
    Joe Ryan is even better than I thought. He was toying with Red Sox hitters, getting them to swing at pitches outside the zone, Then, a guy came up that looked like he was ready to be patient. Ryan drilled a strike, right down the middle. This kid can put his fastball anywhere he wants, and his slider is getting there. If his change gets more consistent, that could become another out pitch, too. If he can avoid that notorious middle-in zone on power hitters, he'll have a very small ERA. Hey, now I'm wondering if Emilio Pagan was the best part of the Taylor Rogers trade! Looks like a pretty good closer to me!
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