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jimbo92107

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Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. Wow, immense control of that change up and slider. Was that 90 pitches, or 91? Ervin Zentana! E-Zen!!
  2. Ervin Zentana! What's the lowest number of pitches for a complete game shutout?
  3. ...Unfortunately, his only pitch bends down and away, and Buxton still doesn't know how to step into a pitch. Oh Chili Davis, please tell Buxton to close his stance and drive towards the pitcher!
  4. Buxton might be able to hit this guy. He has only one pitch.
  5. Dang, 7 innings on 71 pitches. Erv gots his Zen thing going on again.
  6. Petco rivals Target Field. A very pretty park in San Diego.
  7. Nice low pitch count, out of the 6th inning...
  8. I was at Santana's game in LA. Blech! I think Glunn said he doesn't pitch very well against the Angels.
  9. Is Erv Santana going to lead this game in RBI's?
  10. It would be funny if Santana wrote a book on hitting: "Relax, Don't Do It"
  11. Wow, look at the easy power Gore gets from that leg kick and the gliding drive towards the plate. This kid could be really good, like Cole Hammels good. I'd still pick Wright because he's closer to mlb level, but if Gore avoids injury, he'll be a very good major league pitcher.
  12. There's fast track, and there's rocket sled. Kyle Wright might actually survive right now in the major leagues. Problem is, even if he's got the stuff, he hasn't built up his body to withstand pitching for a whole mlb season, or even half of one. But what the Twins could do is add Wright to the pen (as was discussed for Jay), and see if he can blow some balls by people in a limited role. The counter argument is pretty simple. What's the rush? The Twins aren't going to the World Series this season, so there's no imperative to mess with a high-end prospect's arm and head. To me Wright looks much better than either Wimmers or Jay did coming out of the draft. His form looks excellent and his command reportedly is good, tho he may need to build up more stamina. Trying him out in low-leverage relief situations (like Belisle and Breslow) is unlikely to hurt his arm or impede his progress next season. If he looks too shaky, send him to AA or A. If he looks great, then keep using him. "Yo Kyle, come on up for an early cup of coffee. Day at the fair, see if you can win a stuffed animal. Make some mistakes, get nervous, plunk the mascot, whatever. Either way you're probably starting next season in the minors." Put it to him like that. If he does well, he starts next season in AA. If he falls to pieces, maybe he starts next season in Fort Meyers.
  13. I've seen a photo of Wright with his elbows drawn up and back, but his throwing forearm wasn't pointed down in the exaggerated inverted W that causes real concern. His forearm was pointed sideways, so he wasn't headed for the damaging torque phase that makes the W so notorious. Also, if you look at Wright's form just before release, you see a very nice squared-up shoulder and elbow, where his throwing elbow isn't lagging far behind a line drawn across his chest. This means Wright is generating the final impulse out front, using the power from his legs and torso more than just his upper body. As long as he keeps that final flip out front at the end of the kinetic chain, he should be okay.
  14. Hulk think line drives good. Higher ones go over fence. Science!
  15. Felix Jorge is a classic under-the-radar developmental prospect. Nothing flashy, no high-90's heat, but a rail-thin control pitcher since he was acquired in 2011 out of the Dominican Republic at the age of 17. Imagine how thin he was then if you consider that today Jorge is 6'2" tall and has bulked himself up to a whopping...170 pounds. How does a guy like that throw a baseball hard enough to get anybody out? Here's the neat part - he doesn't. Jorge learned from early on to be a pitcher, not a thrower. The results are sneaky good. With his excellent command and ability to eat innings, Jorge could become a very valuable back of the rotation starter. Meanwhile, he has matured physically to the point where he can indeed bring respectable heat, sometimes touching 95, with good command. But he's not a big K guy; he gets batters out by mixing it up and using his fielders. Considering the clunkers the Twins have plopped into the rotation this season, I'm beginning to wonder if they're looking to give Felix Jorge a cup of coffee sometime this year. He won't throw shutouts, but it looks like he won't cough up 5-run innings, either, and he can last into the 6th or 7th inning.
  16. If it happens, I'm okay with it. Not a "generational talent" as Nygaard says, but Kyle Wright probably will be a good major league starter within a couple years, just when the Twins will need it.
  17. I like Kepler for a number of reasons. His work ethic is a good as anybody's. He seems eminently coach-able, but what's better is that he appears to have a knack for incorporating the right things into his habits, the way Joe Mauer does. Also like Mauer, Kepler flashes very little ego about his accomplishments. He's a modest guy with great athletic talent. I expect Kepler to continue building upon his solid foundation of baseball knowledge. His career is shaping up to be a good example of how to do it right.
  18. Sort of an inverted W, but not quite. I'm hoping Twins coaches will smooth out that over-extension, tho it's not as extreme as what we see in Greene, whose throwing forearm is near vertical, not pointed sideways like Wright's. Plus, Wright's moment of acceleration starts with a pronounced leg drive, but smooth acceleration to more of a forward position of his elbow before the final rotation of the forearm, where it causes less stress on that elbow joint. Great photo!
  19. If "expert" knowledge is any guide, then yeah, Greene could be more vulnerable to tearing his elbow than some others. I can testify personally that proper form really, really matters. As a kid I got tennis elbow from hitting with too much wrist flip, too much forearm rotation, an aluminum racket, and even from Kevlar strings. That condition is a lesser form of the same injury that could tear completely for a guy trying to throw a ball with max effort, whether it's a fastball, a slider or some other pitch. Form counts a lot, which is why some people spot the "inverted W" as a sign of over-torquing the elbow, and a possible predictor of TJ trouble. Strassborg did it, and so does Greene. Wright does not, his form appears to be less punishing on the elbow. BTW, McKay does an inverted W, too, but not as severely as Greene does. This might explain why Greene's high school coach shut him down before the end of the season. Could be that one or more scouts spotted this problem and recommended that he simply stop pitching until professional coaches could work to give him better form. I hope that's what happened, and that Greene wasn't already feeling pain in the elbow.
  20. I just watched a Youtube video, "Hunter Greene 102mph Pitching Mechanics and Contralateral Tilt - Ep360." Scared me. Two guys that appear quite knowledgeable went through a fairly detailed analysis of why Hunter Greene could be in danger of popping his TJ ligament. Basically it boils down to not using his legs and lower body enough, trying to create speed with his upper body and torquing his forearm. Their solution was for whatever team drafts Greene to put him on a physical training program to add 30 pounds of muscle, then clean up his pitching mechanics to preserve his elbow. They practically predicted TJ surgery if this was not done. Whatever people have been saying about easy velocity, this sure didn't sound like it. Sounded more like an ambitious young kid throwing as hard as he can, with just enough knowledge and development to wreck his arm. If the Twins do draft Greene, I hope they seriously consider a year of building up this young man's physical strength, and then breaking down his mechanics from the ground up.
  21. Part of the problem is identifying buyers. As Christie says, teams right now are trying to assess their own chances at making a run. We can also assume the market will be limited to American League teams, as Santana probably hasn't swung a wooden bat in years. So, who in the American league is ready to make a playoff run, but needs another excellent starter so much that they'd be willing to sell big chunks of their farm system for one? I suppose the Twins would prefer to sell to the Astros, but does Houston need another starter? Who wouldn't want a pitcher with the lowest ERA since the second half of last season, and is capable of pitching complete game shutouts? When the Twins played Houston in Minnesota, it was clear the home team was over-matched. Houston's lineup chewed up that bullpen and spit it out like old tobacco. The Astros have to be considered the best team in baseball right now. A team like that might be willing to cough up a couple high A prospects and maybe a top AA prospect for Santana. We could use a good hitting catcher and maybe some young flame throwers.
  22. I like the look of Gonsalves's delivery. He appears to get efficient thrust out front, where it won't stress his shoulder so much. It's a smooth delivery without max effort. To me, that means he will be able to gain velocity by gradually refining his rhythm. Good to see. A pitcher with good rhythm can last a long time.
  23. After reading more about Wright, I'm starting to lean in that direction. He's already a fine pitcher with all the tools to become a major league starter, where Greene is completely raw and McKay looks like he'd fit better in the National League. With Wright, there would be no argument where he should play: pitcher. He's really good at pitching, everybody says so. Do the Twins need a good starting pitcher? Within a couple years? YES.
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