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one_eyed_jack

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Everything posted by one_eyed_jack

  1. one_eyed_jack
    1) Expand instant replay - some kind of system similar to the NFL where the manager gets a set number of challenges per game on safe/out and fair/foul calls while certain calls, like home runs, are subject to automatic review. 2) Outlaw takeout slides and home plate collisions - these are non-baseball plays that create huge injury risks and add nothing to the game.
  2. one_eyed_jack
    Yep, you got it. You take 2 out of 3 in this one, you go home happy, even though the loss was an ugly one.
  3. one_eyed_jack
    And look - the Cubbies lost. With our win tonight, we no longer have the worst record in the entire league.
  4. one_eyed_jack
    Hats off to PJ Walters! Gotta love a complete game W on the road against a division opponent. Key stretch of the schedule here 4 of the next 5 series in the division. No, I'm not suggesting it's realistic that the Twins will climb into the division lead. But if we want to salvage some measure of respectability to this season, we to need to win some of these series.
  5. one_eyed_jack
    1) The phrase "go all in" was the article author's not mine. And I took it to mean that the Twins spend whatever it takes to get him. I'm not opposed to having Greinke on the Twins, but I am opposed to spending what it will take to get him on one guy. 2) I said I'm in favor of spending money, just not all in 1 place. 3) Who said anything about signing horrendous pitchers? It's not like all pitchers who aren't Greinke are just other versions of Marquis. There's some middle ground there. 4) By compete for the division, I mean be able to hang in the race most of the year with a reasonable chance to win it. If the Twins had gotten mediocre as opposed to horrendous starting pitching and a bit more offense this year they'd be right there. I figure we'd have 6 or 7 more wins had we gotten halfway decent starting pitching and a couple of more clutch hits. That would have put us right in the mix in what is a very weak division. No, it wouldn't make us a legit World Series contender, but we'd at least be playing meaningful baseball in August, possibly later. And that would make it a more attractive destination for free agent like Greinke.
  6. one_eyed_jack
    I'm in favor of spending money to improve, but agree with those who say there are too many holes to fill for it to make sense to go all in on one guy. Especially when going all in on that guy will mean locking him in for a lot of money for a lot of years. After all of the recent complaining about how Mauer's contract supposedly hamstrings the team, it's a bit odd to see advocacy for signing up for another long-term huge money deal. The Twins are a long way off from being a powerhouse, but if they were able to upgrade their pitching from horrendous to mediocre and add another decent bat to the lineup, that would be enough for them to compete for the division.
  7. one_eyed_jack
    I can see the retaliation theory, but isn't the timing a little weird? Gray hit Morgan in the 7th. Why not retaliate in the 8th instead of waiting to throw at Carroll in the 9th? The whole culture of throwing at guys is just dumb. Even if you put aside the unnecessary risk of injury, it hurts your team. That game was already way out of hand. The Brewers bullpen had been taxed recently. They should have been focused on getting off the field as quickly as possible in the 9th. Instead, they prolonged the game and had to burn through another pitcher.
  8. one_eyed_jack
    Wow, scoreless inning for Butera. All we need is a couple of touchdowns with 2-point conversions, and we can get him a W.
  9. one_eyed_jack
    Butera on the mound. Now I've seen it all. Though I'd rather have him starting than Marquis in 5 days.
  10. one_eyed_jack
    ---Heck, watching him makes me long for the days of Syndey Ponson. I was skeptical of this signing when it happened, but I figured he'd have his ups and downs and we'd at least get some semi-competent innings out of him. I didn't think he'd be as godawful as he's been (since, oddly enough, his win in Yankee stadium.)
  11. one_eyed_jack
    OK, Butera's offensive outburst was strange enough. But now I see that Nishioka hit a 2-run homer for Rochester. Welcome to baseball bizarro world. Hope it sticks around tomorrow and we can watch the Twins beat up on Greinke while Marquis shuts out the Brewers!
  12. one_eyed_jack
    ---Yeah, Davidson has been all over the place. And it's Wendelstehdt behind the plate tomorrow, so the shape of the strike zone should get even more interesting. Can't believe they have those 2 on the same crew. They might as well have rounded it out with Angel Hernandez and Todd Tichenor (or maybe Brian Runge) for a full crew of incompetent umpires who think they are God's gift to baseball and that the thousands of people in the stands paid to watch them call the game.
  13. one_eyed_jack
    Draft position is overrated. Sure, you'd rather be picking 1st than 10th, but it's not worth it to tank in order to get there. The draft is largely crapshoot. I recall one NHL executive had a good line that I think is equally applicable to MLB, it's like trying to predict which 6th-grader will make the best doctor.
  14. one_eyed_jack
    You can't view winning it as "blowing it". That's the Timberwolves mentality, and it developed into a culture of losing that has festered in the organization for years. It's not where you pick, it's how well you pick.
  15. one_eyed_jack
    ---Well this certainly takes the discussion level up a couple of notches. Were you planning on keeping that dumb poopy-head Joe Vavra or was that an error of omission?
  16. one_eyed_jack
    ---Even if you accept those distinctions as meaningful, I still don't see how it supports the ultimate conclusion that only people who have umpired themselves are entitled to have an opinion about umpiring. But I do think it's cute that you believe that politicians actually read position papers and listen to speeches from their colleagues before deciding how to vote on something.
  17. one_eyed_jack
    ---True, but so what? That's true of pretty much everything, isn't it? The vast majority people who criticize politicians have never served in office - does that mean they don't have a right to speak their disagreement? Can you not say the food at a restaurant stinks if you've never been a chef?
  18. one_eyed_jack
    I don't agree with the parameters either, but to answer the question, I'd probably lean towards Vavra. Yes, the pitching has been worse overall, but the hitting has been worse relative to what it's capable of. I think replacing Vavra is more likely to spark the offense than replacing Anderson is to spark the pitching. You can't really liken this to the Angels situation. They were expected to content this year, and still think they can. So they canned Hatcher hoping it create a spark while appeasing Pujols, who obviously wasn't happy with Hatcher. The Twins have already started focusing on next year and beyond. There's no sense trying to salvage this year by firing coaches in hopes it will spark immediate results. And it doesn't seem like the players have quit on these guys or want them gone. So I don't see what's to be gained in firing one guy in May. The rest of this season should determine the fate of the coaching staff. If we see a miraculous turnaround, fine, keep them. But if this team continues a slow death march to another 90+ losses, it's time for wholesale change this offseason. (And it wouldn't really be fair to whoever replaced Andy or Vavra in May if they had to face an uncertain future with regime change in October.)
  19. one_eyed_jack
    Apologies to jokin and others for going overboard with the snark in this thread. It was unnecessary and uncalled for.
  20. one_eyed_jack
    I'm more interested in WHY Mauer isn't hitting like he once was and how we get him going again. There's a lot of focus on his salary, but not re-signing him was not a realistic option at that point. Beloved local boy coming off an MVP year, new ballpark opening soon - can you imagine the reaction if the Twins had refused to pay up for Mauer? Also, it's not like if he were making half of what he is now that anyone would find his performance acceptable. Is he hurt? Sometimes it takes guys more than a season to get back to where they were after an injury. Are pitchers approaching him differently? Is it a mental thing? I understand why there is so much ire directed at Mauer, even apart from the contract 1) The lack of candor regarding his injury last year created an image of softness 2) He's finally back and playing, but still not producing 3) He's not an emotional guy, and that creates the impression of indifference. He doesn't react to much of anything on the field, and he's a cliche machine in interviews. And while we don't know what goes on in the clubhouse, it sure doesn't seem like he embraces the role of team leader the way an MVP/Gold Glove/Silver Slugger/Batting Champion usually does. Is it just going to take time for him to find a groove again? A new hitting coach? A new manager? Another teammate to get on his case? Or has he really already worn down to the point where this is really the best he can do?
  21. one_eyed_jack
    I feel very strongly that we need an insurance run here.
  22. one_eyed_jack
    ---I don't believe I, or anyone else, argued such a thing. My disagreement was with the claim that Mauer's contract "paralyzes" the Twins until 2018. Like I said, I think "hampers" would be fair, but "paralyzes" is dramatic, particularly when you insist it will last untl 2018.
  23. one_eyed_jack
    I'm starting to come around to the idea of trading Span. He's our best trade chip, and thus our best chance to bring assets in return. Terry Ryan needs to pull another AJ-for-Nathan/Liriano type trade, which obviously isn't easy, but trading Span is his best shot at it.
  24. one_eyed_jack
    Frustration is the right word. This team was full of question marks going in, and was facing a rough schedule to start the season. What's most frustrating to me is that you don't really need much to be competitive in this division. None of these teams would have a prayer of finishing higher than third in the East or West. Everyone assumed Detroit would run away with it, and I'd still pick them to win it. But they are keystone cops on defense, their bullpen is shaky, the rotation after Verlander isn't all that great and while their lineup is strong, I think the absence of V-Mart has hurt. Think about it this way - suppose the Twins had been able to win 5 more games thus far, which they could easily have done had the rotation not been completely awful. We'd be sitting at 16-21, right in the middle of a cluster of teams a few games behind Cleveland and looking at things very differently. With the toughest part of the schedule behind us and a ton of games left against the AL Central, the Twins could have hung around by faring well against their division opponents, none of whom are particularly good. But it's hard to look at it that way having gone 11-26, and looking pretty darn ugly doing it.
  25. one_eyed_jack
    ---I'm with you on bringing in people from outside. I don't understand the people like Souhan who insist that it's time for a change, then suggest firing people and replacing them with other guys in the organization or famous former Twins. If there's going to be change, it needs to be real change - fresh faces and fresh ideas.
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