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jimbo92107

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Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. jimbo92107
    Ultimately it comes down to feeling like you can hit whatever a pitcher throws anywhere near the plate. Right now Byron Buxton whiffs way too much. I don't see any way around that problem other than many more thousands of reps in the cage, honing his pitch recognition, timing and mechanics. In games, the very first thing I'd do is work him on mashing first-pitch fastballs. Make it a little harder for pitchers to assume he's just going to stand there and watch the first heater go by. Thing is, Buxton still has to get better at barreling up the heaters in a wider zone, not just right down the middle. Pitchers have to fear throwing a first-pitch heater, or they'll just keep doing it because it's the easiest pitch to command. If Buxton can lay off the spinning stuff on that first pitch, it puts pressure on the pitcher to command a more difficult pitch on the first offering, which starts to get him more favorable counts. Of course, then Buxton has to be better at hitting off-speed stuff, so... Back to the batting cage.
  2. jimbo92107
    Most frustrating for me was that Pelfrey's MO for a bad start is very clear. If his stuff isn't bending enough, they start hitting hard line drives right away. That's the rumble before the avalanche, but Molitor didn't seem to notice, or chose to ignore the rumble. Several Twins pitchers are subject to this form of collapse, but all of them stem from the same thing - lack of command. Pelfrey's craptavalanche comes from a lack of command, insufficient movement on his heater as he tries to bend it right and left, plus elevating it, plus pipelining it down the middle. This makes for a particularly explosive craptavalanche. Thing is, a good manager is supposed to have a weather eye for such things. We here saw it coming several batters before the big, stinky craptavalanche hit the scoreboard. Even after it hit, whom did Molitor bring in? JR Graham, perhaps the second most prone to a craptavalanche. Graham has the proverbial "electric stuff," but his command appears to vary inversely with the importance of the outing. You don't bring in JR Graham to stop a craptavalanche. Frankly, the Twins don't have a craptavalanche stopper in the pen. For that you need either an ace strikeout guy or a reliable sinker baller. A healthy Glenn Perkins could do it. But to prevent one, you have to yank Pelfrey early and have somebody like Trevor May ready to go. Then be ready to yank him early, and so on. No long leashes in this situation.
  3. jimbo92107
    This is one of those seasons where individual awards seem particularly silly, almost like Torii Hunter's whimsical dance awards. So many different guys have contributed in various ways and at various times, any one of them decided games that could have eliminated the Twins from the late-season contention we're enjoying right now. That said, I like Eddie Rosario for team rookie of the year because he has provided such a steady, high level of competitiveness since the first day he stepped on the field. I see multiple All-Star games in his future. For MVP, I go with Torii Hunter for bringing together a team of such volatility and forming one positive spirit. For pitcher of the year I go with Kyle Gibson. He's been the closest thing to a rock of stability in an ever-changing starting rotation. He's an innings-eating horse, a great fielder, and he's developing into a consistent threat to shut down opponents for 7 innings or more.
  4. jimbo92107
    Angular parallax! By moving to the left side of the pitching rubber, Ervin Santana minimized the hitter's perception of each pitch's visual sweep from Santana's right to his left. His release point is more centered, thus making it harder to perceive the trajectory of the ball relative to the plate, which makes it harder to judge speed and distance. With reduced visual cues, hitters are more easily fooled, as each pitch appears headed down the middle for a longer time. Who knew Neil Allen had such a solid grasp of astronomy? He made Ervin Santana into a star! ;-)
  5. jimbo92107
    Based on the hints, I'd guess Dozier's got a strained oblique, which will heal up just fine with a couple weeks off and some hot showers. Right after the season ends, or after they're out of the hunt. This is another reason the Twins need to find a utility infielder to replace Eduardo Escobar, who should have the SS job locked up for next season. Jorge Polanco could step in for that role in 2016, along with Danny Santana. 162 games is too long for most players to operate at their top level. You've got to rotate guys for a little recovery time. The good news is, it looks like the Twins could have a lot of positional versatility in 2016. Polanco and Santana in the infield, Kepler in the outfield. I suppose Nunez and Santana will compete for the super utility role.
  6. jimbo92107
    At this point it would be better for Perkins if the Twins fell out of the race. His core is messed up. He needs some months of healing and rehab before he will get back his command. Even then, he's going to have to pitch fewer innings going forward. In 2016 platoon him with Jepsen, bring up Burdi, etc.
  7. jimbo92107
    We spank the butt of Death with the angry newspaper of our defiance! Ha! I say. Ha! Feel that defiance? Want another? Ha!
  8. jimbo92107
    Damn, I step out for 20 minutes to get some Chinese food, and now everything has fallen apart. Good food tho. Fried rice, spicy chicken and orange chicken. Yum.
  9. jimbo92107
    Oh great Lord Cortisone, grant Glenn Perkins one good at-bat in this, our moment of slight concern...
  10. jimbo92107
    Good pitch by Boyer. Wipe that ball off quick, Suzuki... ;-)
  11. jimbo92107
    Five innings of one-run ball. Good outing for Pelfrey. That's what he's got, and he gave it.
  12. jimbo92107
    Now THAT's the kind of omen I like. All Rosie did was knock in three runs with his 15th triple, then steal home on an infield pop-up. See why I compare this guy to Bryce Harper? He loves the moment. His baseball IQ is a game-changer. He finds a way to put more pressure on the other team. Eddie is a real player.
  13. jimbo92107
    I suppose Eddie Rosario could do some things better, but I'm pretty happy with what he's doing so far.
  14. jimbo92107
    Pelfrey's pitching great, like the first half version. What happened??
  15. jimbo92107
    I had one of those once. Hard to find parking.
  16. jimbo92107
    Stick a fork in that arm, it's dead!
  17. jimbo92107
    Best sign of all: Pelfrey struck a guy out with the fork ball.
  18. jimbo92107
    Eddie!! Gunned him down, shazzzammm!
  19. jimbo92107
    Omens are cheap. Something bad is bound to happen somewhere, and then you claim all the credit.
  20. jimbo92107
    I expect to see Eddie Rosario expand and refine his game much the same way that Brian Dozier has done, for they are similar characters. With Bruno's help Rosario should improve his situational awareness and ability to read pitchers. Molitor and company should teach him (along with the other young guys) how to better steal bases, bunt, etc. When Rosario, Buxton, Kepler and the other young guns incorporate the finer aspects of the game, this team is going to be even more fun to watch. Goodie!
  21. jimbo92107
    Most impressive to me is Duffey's maturity as a pitcher. He arrived with a fully functional repertoire of pitches, not trying to add mph to his fastball or learning to control his curve. He pitches within himself, commanding the zone with good mechanics. You can see that his catchers love the guy, their delight apparent even as they dig a strikeout curve ball out of the dirt. Improving Duffey's stuff will be a matter of tweaking his change-up and learning not to yank his fastball quite so often. If Duffey threw his change on the same flight path as his dirt ball curve, that could cause nightmares for hitters. How would you like to swing half a foot over the curve, then try to get down for the curve, only to swing half a foot under a change-up? Then you think you've got that figured out, he throws a two-seamer on the corner, and his 91mph heater looks like it's going 96. Literally there's nothing a hitter can anticipate with Duffey. He'll throw the curve on any count, and he's not going to walk you. And he won't just throw the curve for a strike; it's going to be a strike low on a corner. And even his high curve has that crazy bend... Yikes.
  22. jimbo92107
    Good job by Jepsen. He's looking like a pretty good closer. Perk looked good in the 8th, too.
  23. jimbo92107
    Manship always had a good curve. Not a great curve, but tight spin, always diving down. He should throw it even more than he just did to the Twins.
  24. jimbo92107
    Great job by Jeff Manship. Why the Twins didn't bunt with no outs and a runner on 3rd... Can't Sano bunt?
  25. jimbo92107
    Did I just hear Bruno call Rosario "Steady Eddie?" Good nickname.
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