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jimbo92107

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Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. jimbo92107
    Dang, I can practically see it happening: They'll cut Tonkin, he'll get snapped up by the Dodgers, and then he'll pitch like a freakin' all star. Ghaaaaaa!
  2. jimbo92107
    Duffey now has at least four pitches: 4-seamer, 2-seamer, curve, and change. If he actually is able to add a legit sinker, I'm not sure how a hitter is supposed to guess which pitch comes next. Except in pressure situations I still guess his curve. If Duffey can throw a sinker or a change in place of his high-pressure curve, he could befuddle many a flailing batsman. They, as I, will continue to guess curve long after the charts say it will be something else.
  3. jimbo92107
    This perturbs me.
  4. jimbo92107
    I'll trust Kepler's judgement for a very simple reason: He's a dedicated student of the game, and he has gotten better each year. The technique Kepler is attempting to perfect is a mental model that either will help him, or not. Regardless how Kepler translates or mis-translates this meme through his verbal description, the results will be revealed in how well he hits in games. The only important interpretation is between Kepler's head and his hands. If he's onto a good technique, then he'll be mashing screaming line drives with backspin. If he winds up pounding weak grounders to the second baseman, then it'll be time to tinker with his grand theory.
  5. jimbo92107
    Assuming Hughes stays healthy, this is shaping up exactly the way most of us figured. We all know his velocity is well below what he used to have as a power pitcher. Command is not really an issue, but he now lacks an 'out pitch' in favorable counts. What should he do? What other aging veteran power pitchers do is find a new pitch, like a really slow curve he can dangle over the inside or outside corner, difficult to square up because it's coming at 65 mph and bending two feet. Of course that can backfire, too. Balls like that sometimes fly the other way about 450 feet. I think Hughes needs to average 92 mph on his heater to survive as a starter. If he doesn't reach that velocity, he'd better start developing that bolo curve.
  6. jimbo92107
    Well, if they won't hire a drinking buddy, I'm not even going to apply. So there! ;-)
  7. jimbo92107
    Spring training could provide answers. If Hughes is sitting mid-80's in spring, then move him to the pen. If he's touching 91 or 92 fairly consistently (with control) then maybe he's back. The other reason to try Hughes in the pen is his super-low BB/9. That's exactly what you want from a late reliever or setup man - no walks, and get it done fast. Hughes does have a good record of working quickly. One other reason to move Hughes to the pen is the logjam at starter. The Twins have several young candidates on the verge, and the team is still in rebuilding mode, so why keep aging vets as starters? What are they afraid of, another losing season?? It's too late to play the "respectability" card. This team rates no respect from anybody, so they might as well use the whole season for tryouts...at every position.
  8. jimbo92107
    Hughes has seen his velocity drop significantly over the past few years. Maybe it was due to injuries, but it is also pretty well established that pitchers really do simply lose their velocity as they enter their thirties, with very few exceptions. All I'm doing is projecting based on historical trends league-wide. The best use of a guy like Hughes tends to be as a setup man. Fewer pitches means he doesn't have to pace himself for seven innings, so maybe he gets a few mph back over 20 pitches. I would rather have an effective setup guy than another completely mediocre starter that is likely to break down before July.
  9. jimbo92107
    Hughes needs to go to the pen as a setup or closer. He can't go a full season anymore as a starter. He'll break down in the first month.
  10. jimbo92107
    This is where historically bad pitching brings you. It is a stinky place with no toilet paper.
  11. jimbo92107
    I have finalized a list of the best Twins starters for 2017. Unfortunately, it's a little hard to read. To create the list, I filled several small balloons with bright paint, drank half a bottle of whiskey, then hurled the balloons at a large canvass across the room while channeling the spirit of the great Walter Johnson. When I woke up the next morning, there it was. Granted, what I had thought was a large canvass was in fact the side of my landlord's Winnebago, but the meaning was clear. Here was the list of starters. Interpretation may prove difficult, although when I squint I swear I can see an 'Ir', which obviously means Irvin Santana. After that, it's not so clear at the moment. More whiskey!
  12. jimbo92107
    I remember several years ago when I spotted how Francisco Liriano was tipping his pitches. Basically from the set he pointed his lead shoulder where he was going to spot the ball. It was so obvious that I wrote about it repeatedly, with no results. Finally he stopped doing sometime the next season. While he's working on changing his change-up, Berrios could do one other thing: Grip the fastball just a little different, so his pinky sticks out. If batters think that's going to be a change, he'll blow it right by them. As long as they can't be sure what they're seeing, the visual indication will no longer be reliable, and will become a distraction.
  13. jimbo92107
    If Dozier wants to hit his 40th home run, this would be a good time.
  14. jimbo92107
    Who says Garver is going to make it? That's the problem, nobody knows. There is no obvious, outstanding prospect at catcher in the Twins system. That's why Garver didn't get the lion's share of games behind the dish. You want great defense? Call up Turner, he's far better than Zuki or Centeno right now. You want better offense? Garver, but his defense is still developing. No catcher in the organization has both great offense and defense right now. Nobody. The Twins don't have a great prospect at catcher right now. Fact of life. They waived Suzuki and nobody claimed him because he can't throw out a base runner anymore. Centeno can hit a little, throws pretty good, but he lets dirt balls bounce all over the place, which is awkward for a team with a bunch of soft-tossing sinker ballers. Garver may get a September call up, and that's fine, but don't be shocked if he's not ready. As you said, 60 games isn't many at catcher. For whatever reason, the Twins haven't had much luck developing catchers lately. Or pitchers. Or shortstops...
  15. jimbo92107
    Stuart Turner swinging a hot bat, yeah baby! I'm hoping this guy can start really hitting, so he can finally move up and out of the minors. Twins could really use a defensive ace behind the dish. But we don't want another Drew Butera 2.0.
  16. jimbo92107
    As Seth noted, Garver wasn't regarded as highly as Turner in that draft, so he started lower. Raw defensively. Mainly your contention rests on reps behind the plate. There are a few counter arguments. First, the minors is for learning. To learn how to block a curve in the dirt, you can have a coach or a machine fire ball after ball in front of you as you work on sliding and blocking. Second, sharpening your in-game catching skills does not require catching anywhere near 100 percent of games. Like blocking balls in the dirt, you can learn those skills by discussing it with coaches outside of games. Third, minor league games can beat up your body just as much as anywhere else. Foul tips to the mask hurt you just as much in AA as in the MLB. Dividing playing time gives all your catchers a chance to stay reasonably fresh. Fourth, unless you are clearly a star on the rise, there is no reason to bias playing time for a guy like Garver over Turner or any other minor leaguer. If you look like a young Pudge or Mauer, that's one thing. The Twins don't have anybody like that in the minors. Garver's playing time clearly reflects Twins system policy of splitting playing time pretty evenly for catchers. It also may indicate that they don't have anybody good enough to race through the system. Mitch Garver appears to be a possibly good, but probably not great catching prospect. If he keeps playing well, he should get a September call-up. Let us not burden the young man with overly high expectations.
  17. jimbo92107
    Well, nobody can say Wimmers got here just on "talent." The guy has definitely put in the work. Congratulations to Alex Wimmers for earning a shot at the show.
  18. jimbo92107
    That totally sucks, but it does explain why an otherwise pretty mature hitter was having so much trouble adjusting to changing speeds. Imagine how much strain that could put on an already hurt wrist. Hope Park heals up quickly and well. Best of luck to him.
  19. jimbo92107
    Jason Wheeler has earned a shot, dang it.
  20. jimbo92107
    I remember the couple times I saw Mauer pull the ball with authority a couple weeks ago. I saw his stance and thought, "He looks a little like he's copying Kepler." Bang, he pulled a line drive over the right field fence. Drove another one to the right-center gap. Days later, his stance looked like the same old Mauer, and his pull power disappeared. Kepler knows how to pull with power; Mauer knows how to slash the ball oppo for high average. The two styles do not appear to be compatible.
  21. jimbo92107
    Palka should definitely get a September call-up. We all know guys that swing hard also strike out a lot. Can he play decent left field? Is he an okay base runner? Will he strike out a lot more at the mlb level? September would be a good time to find out.
  22. jimbo92107
    It would be fun to see Fernando Romero get bumped to AA before the season's over. That would be a very encouraging sign.
  23. jimbo92107
    Ha! I was right for once - it was a pitcher's duel!
  24. jimbo92107
    Joe is looking very good at the plate. Finally healthy?
  25. jimbo92107
    Mauer's trying to bait the pitcher into an outside pitch...
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