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jimbo92107

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Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. jimbo92107
    Try as I might, I just can't find myself objecting to having a guy that hits like Tony Gwynn on the Twins roster. I like Schoop, but sometimes it's better to have a guy that's on base all the time batting ahead of your power hitters. I could see Luis Arraez leading off for the next decade, while playing perfectly good second base. He will score and drive in tons of runs.
  2. jimbo92107
    Good point, except that the level of trade excitement for Gibson was not as high as for Pressly. I think teams looked at Gibson's improvements as an anomaly in an otherwise disappointing career. Pressly was easier to read - he looked like a blossoming fireball closer. I think the Twins may have tried to market Gibson, but they were disappointed in the counter offers. In the case of Gibson, the Twins held onto what they had because Gibson's perceived value wasn't that high. Again, there's a chance that Alcala will blossom into a fireball relief pitcher, too. And there's a chance that Celestino will round out into a good outfielder, tho that seems less likely at the moment. Unfortunately, neither of those things will happen this season, when the Twins need it most.
  3. jimbo92107
    20/20 hindsight tells me that the Pressly trade was a major blunder, probably for the reasons birdwatcher suspected - the FO didn't think the Twins would be competitive in 2019. As luck had it, the mlb journeymen the team picked up turned out a lot better than expected, and the young core players came back healthy and mostly improved. Imagine how the Twins would look today if you added Pressly to the pen. Suddenly you'd have stability at closer, meaning Rogers or May could be the setup guy. On the other hand, the two guys Houston coughed up might still turn out pretty good. Alcala is a mid-90's flame thrower in AA, and Celestino...is hitting .217 in low A. Oh, hell. Well, project guys sometimes make good. But Pressly sure would good right now in the bullpen...
  4. jimbo92107
    Duffey and Littell look more reliable than May. There is still time to try out a few minor league starters and bring back a few guys like Hildy, Mejia and Moya before testing the FA market. Smeltzer looks crafty enough to go a couple innings, and Romero can just go with high heat for an inning. Morin and Parker I don't trust. Both seem shaky. Some days I'm glad I'm not Twins FO. Mediocrity abounds when it comes to relief pitching.
  5. jimbo92107
    When David Ortiz left the Twins for Boston, he complained that the Twins tried too hard to make him a "disciplined, complete hitter," or something like that. He said they tried to make him hit the ball oppo in certain counts, while Ortiz simply wanted to bash every ball as hard as possible. According to Ortiz, the Red Sox let him become Big Papi, a home run hitting beast he was meant to be. I am wondering if the Twins are making the opposite mistake with Miguel Sano. Are they simply refusing to tamper with his massive swings, or are they allowing Sano to refuse any significant coaching on his massive swings? Thing is, I have seen Sano hit the ball for singles. The man can handle the bat, when he wants to. To me, Sano's "problems" with his swing seem more like policy confusion than mechanics. When he doesn't commit to his planet-splitting home run swing, Sano can barrel the ball up with shocking precision. I say 'shocking' because his singles swing is so much different than his home run swing. I have seen Sano flip his wrists and send an easy line drive to the outfield. When he swings like that, does he still have the same vulnerabilities? I suspect not. In fact, I suspect that Twins management is telling Baldelli to give Sano the home run green light every at-bat. Why? Comes down to the old butts in the seats. People come to the stadium to see Sano bash a ball twenty feet over the wall, not to see him stroke singles, even if a single would drive in a game-winning RBI. I agree with Parker that Sano needs to load up earlier, so he can get a better read on pitches. But if he does that, it won't change Twins policy about Sano. They will still want him to do his massive swing, even in situations where the team really just needs a hit. The problems may seem separate, but are they really? When Sano reduces his swing to stroke singles, some of those will still go over the wall. He doesn't need to put every ounce of his strength in to every swing, just barrel it up and watch 'em fly. It's a little like the Sandy Koufax problem. Koufax didn't need to throw so hard to get guys out. In Sano's case, he doesn't need to swing so hard to hit balls out.
  6. jimbo92107
    Agreed for the moment, but things could change if Arraez gets better technique with his feet and glove. Tortuga's glove fails a bit too often to rely on him as your super-sub, and that includes at catcher, where I have seen him muff a few too many pitches in the dirt. A lot has been said about A-Stud's uncanny contact rate, but now we have seen the down side - repeated two-hoppers to SS, or easy fly balls to the outfield. Meanwhile, Arraez's bat seems to produce more genuine hits, and the guy is willing to take a walk, unlike El Cherubo. Which one will be the better hitter a year from now? Arraez. His plate discipline and his ability to aim the ball in holes will win the day. Astudillo will continue to entice with his streaky bat, but once Ben Rortvedt arrives, he and Garver will get the lion's share of catching duties. Unless A-Stud learns to aim his hits better, he'll remain strictly a bench option unless a catcher gets hurt.
  7. jimbo92107
    I was starting to feel that way myself, until I saw the same kinds of changes in Duffey's stuff that we have seen in Martin Perez. I think Wes Johnson truly is the arm whisperer. He is transforming pitchers in the Twins system, making many of them more powerful and effective. Tyler Duffey used to have a barely adequate fast ball, combined with a mind-bending curve. Now, Duffey has become a power pitcher with an effective 4-seam heater, a really good slider, and still has his big curve. That's quite a change. Don't forget, we have also seen the velocity increase for Zack Littell, whose heater used to limp in at about 91 mph. Now he pops it in at a brisk 94 to 96. Johnson's magic may not be enough to save every pitcher, but I say give him a full season to see what his nu-wave mechanics can do for all the arms on this team.
  8. jimbo92107
    Luis Arraez looks like a young star to me. Reminds me of the feeling I got when I first saw Jorge Polanco. Guy just seems to have baseball in his blood. Same is true with Astudillo. I try to keep Torts and Arraez both. Might have to say bye to Adrianza's great fielding. If the Twins do send down Arraez, I hope they work his butt off at all the infield positions. At some point his glove will be good enough so that his bat wins the argument. Pretty much that's what Polanco did.
  9. jimbo92107
    Tom and PDX are right, it's time to face the Pineda Question. Just how long is this guy going to pretend that his whole body hurts after every pitch?? Seriously, he shakes his elbow, his shoulders, his butt, seems like every joint in his body is aching...and then he does this kinda casual looking wind-up and whips another devious pitch just where the hitters don't want to see it. And then it starts all over again, with the shaking, shrugging and stretching. And there's this weird little push thing he does with his pitching hand, like he's reminding himself to push the ball towards home plate. Don't push it, throw it! Is it all an act, designed to make hitters think the man is slightly daft in the noggin? If not, then somebody's got to do something. I nominate Miguel Sano. Sano should take Pineda by the shoulders and say, "Listen, your arm is okay! It's not going to fall off! I had mine fixed too, and now I throw harder than you! You're a big guy, just lean in and let the ball rip!" Something like that, but with more authority. More gravitas. Always use gravitas. It's the cowbell of rhetoric.
  10. jimbo92107
    Yesterday I called Sano and Cave a hole in the lineup. Today, they both hit home runs. Should I stop bitching? No, I can't promise that... Maybe I'll ease down on bitching about those two guys for a couple days, maybe bitch about May for a while... Proper distribution of bitching is so important, and baseball is a target-rich environment for bitching. Even Jorge Polanco fails to get a hit two thirds of the time, tho I guess his OBP is pretty good at the moment... I got my eye on you, Polanco!
  11. jimbo92107
    I'd like to see Lamont Wade try his hand at Cave's OF spot. Cave ain't hitting. Maybe Wade will.
  12. jimbo92107
    Looks like the only uncertainty here is how to get Perez to get his left hand up. Point a gun at him? Ask a question he knows the answer to?
  13. jimbo92107
    I wonder how many guys in the Twins system are destined to be the next Jake Cave / Nico Goodrum types. Lamont Wade may be headed that way, and Nick Gordon. Possibly Rooker, tho his bat will be hard to bid farewell. Problem is, the starting lineup of the club is very hard to crack. One possible opening is at third base, where Miguel Sano continues to look downright depressed at the plate. Team can't wait forever for Sano to start hitting. Right now he's a hole in the lineup. Astudillo can fill that hole for now, but a longer term solution is needed. Can Rooker play 3rd base? You want a power bat there.
  14. jimbo92107
    Sean Poppen's build reminds me of Taylor Rogers. Tall, lanky, with arms that look a couple inches longer than normal. Long arms is always a good sign for a pitcher. Now, if he can get his heart rate below 220 bpm, we'll see if he can pitch. Clearly he's got the stuff to get guys out. Command is all that's missing. The age-old story.
  15. jimbo92107
    Har, Littell looked very, very good last night. I like the cut of his jib, the luff of his spinnaker, the twist of his marl! Salty sea dog look, has he. Hard tack and brine for breakfast! Salt pork and a swig o rum! He's a yeoman, says I. Yo man, toss that ball past yon scalawag, the Boston boy wavin' a stick at yer mates, and so he did, and it whiffed like wind through scaffold! Littell's got the look of a man wants work, says I. Put him to work, and see how he fares!
  16. jimbo92107
    Commanding a 2-seamer that precisely is very impressive, but he'd need more than that to get by in the AL. Does he have a good change? Slider? Cutter? Otherwise, paying a ton for him would be a dubious proposition.
  17. jimbo92107
    Saw the pic of Jared Akins, for a sec I thought it was Byron Buxton!
  18. jimbo92107
    Martin Perez summed up his start thusly: “I don’t start to throw hard in the first innings,” Perez said. “I’m trying to find my location, and then I throw hard and use it. You guys know that I can throw 96, 95. So I’m just trying to locate my pitches, and in the second inning, they don’t hit the ball too hard. And that’s the game. Just going to continue to do my job and compete.” Fine, sometimes the ball finds holes. My question to Perez is, where oh where is that devastating cutter, the one that bends down and in on a righty almost like a Liriano slider? It was Perez's devastating cutter that gave him the 1-2 punch to KO so many hitters just a few games back. Where is it? He can't have forgotten a pitch like that. Does it cause pain? Did he lose command of it? Perez without his 95 heater and his wipe-out cutter is back to being the guy that gives up a lot of runs per start. Find that cutter, Martin. That is your ticket to fame and fortune.
  19. jimbo92107
    Blake Parker continues to worry me. Good stuff, but his control is so erratic. At least Trevor May looked a little better than last time out, when he challenged Romero for wildest Twins pitcher of the year. Maybe May needs to learn Zen meditation. All his self-critical muttering and agitation can't be good for his control. Breathe through your eyeballs, Trevor!
  20. jimbo92107
    Romero looked like he forgot how to pitch, and was trying to fake it. Somebody buy this kid a change-up!
  21. jimbo92107
    The mighty El Cherubo strikes again! Ka-Bonngggg!
  22. jimbo92107
    Tyler Duffey needs to refine his command of his amped-up heater. He's a power pitcher now, with a great curve for finishing off hitters, if he can make them respect the heat. He needs those low corners to go with his high heat. The other thing Duffey should do is work on a straight change to go with his fast ball. If he can throw a change-up for strikes, then his 93- to 95 mph heat will have a chance to miss more bats. Doesn't even need to be a plus pitch, just something in the zone with 10 mph knocked off. Throw it once per at-bat, so they can't guess between just fast ball and curve.
  23. jimbo92107
    Sign either of these guys and they'll wind up pitching only half a season. That's a good thing especially for high 90's Kimbrell, especially if Rocco puts him in the regular mix of relief arms, rather than just at closer. I like how Baldy has been spreading the load, both physically and emotionally.
  24. jimbo92107
    "Rortvedt has now played in ten games for Pensacola. He is hitting .382/.488/.647 (1.135)." Those numbers do not hint at a future backup catcher. Ben's oppo dinger to left field also indicates power to all fields. Plus he's reportedly an excellent defensive backstop. A super duo of Garver and Rortvedt could be in the near future for the Minnesota Twins. However, I would still keep El Cherubo in the catching mix, because 1, guys get hurt, 2, guys need a rest, and 3, catcher by committee is how you keep your catchers from wearing down over a 162-game season. Oh, and imagine having a power-hitting catcher on the bench, and not being afraid to use him in a game because you've also got Astudillo, who's perfectly adequate behind the dish. That kind of flexibility would make a manager very, very happy. And Rortvedt bats left... ;-)
  25. jimbo92107
    This didn't happen when Garver was here. Heh-heh.
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