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prouster

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Everything posted by prouster

  1. prouster
    If Harold Baines can get in, I suppose a lot of guys can. I don’t think Cruz will, though.
  2. prouster
    Dan Hayes of the Athletic is reporting that the Twins, in addition to courting Donaldson, are also working the phones to see if they can make any trades happen. This is apparently in part because they thought he’d sign before Christmas and don’t want to be caught with their pants down waiting into February for him to make a decision. From the article: “ One club source said Wednesday that the team has seen an uptick in trade dialogue the past three days after that market was much slower in December. Similar to free agency, where they have courted both Donaldson and several top starting pitchers this winter, the Twins haven’t limited themselves to any one position in trade talks and instead continue to seek a player who would upgrade their 26-man roster. Even though the Twins recently signed free agents Homer Bailey and Rich Hill, the source said the club is still open to adding starting pitching.” Please don’t direct your sarcasm toward me, as I am just the messenger.
  3. prouster
    Point taken. I bet we all wish there was an epidemic of aces.
  4. prouster
    The pitchers you’re describing are the exceptions. I don’t know how they help explain anything about aging curves or what to reasonably expect from most other pitchers.
  5. prouster
    This is not a joke of a rotation. It’s very easy (and therapeutic) to forget about the days when Scott Diamond and Sam Deduno were our aces.
  6. prouster
    Right. My thoughts going into last year were that they could win as few as 70 and as many as 95, depending on how the young players performed. 101 was a bonus, but not totally out of the blue. As things stand, I don’t think it’s at all inappropriate to expect more than 90 in 2020. It’s easy to lose sight of all the good things about this team when the off-season is quieter than it should be, but I think it would benefit everyone to remember that we’ve got a really good ball club to root for.
  7. prouster
    I hope this extended failure results in another 100 win season.
  8. prouster
    I dunno, I’m skeptical that Thorpe will ever have much big league success. The MiLB numbers are definitely there, but in the times I saw him pitch last year I came away thinking he had absolutely no command of his pitches. If he can’t reliably throw the curve for a strike when he needs one, and if he can’t spot his fastball exactly where he wants it, I think he’ll have a really hard time. Major League hitters are good enough to spit on the breaking ball and hammer the fastball if he’s not hitting his spots. I would love to be proven wrong.
  9. prouster
    That would definitely be my personal preference. I can see the logic behind what they’re apparently doing, though. But yeah, this is the kind of roster that in theory should be supplemented at the top. Basically, my mantra is that there are multiple ways to win, and teams should be flexible enough to pivot when their initial plans don’t work out.
  10. prouster
    I haven’t read every post in this thread, so apologies if I’m repeating anyone else’s point. It sure seems like the strategy is to patch holes in the pitching staff with veterans on short term contracts, under the expectation that the prospects will take their place. It’s definitely not the most exciting strategy, and there is plenty of risk associated with it. For a team like the Twins, though, it does make sense. Graterol, Duran, and Balazovic could conceivably all be in the rotation starting next year, pitching as well as some of the costlier and shorter term free agents. I’m not saying that’s anything close to a certain outcome, but it seems to be the strategy. I can get behind it, I guess.
  11. prouster
    I think Berrios will take the next step. He has put up some dominant stretches, and I think those could be more regular if the team manages his workload more carefully early in the season. I also get the sense he might rev himself up too much at times. Being a little older could help him settle down when he’s on the mound (if that’s even a problem).
  12. prouster
    I think you’re responding to the wrong person. I’m not the one saying the twins could have had either for less money over fewer years.
  13. prouster
    Why on earth would he lie about that?
  14. prouster
    We already know Bumgarner turned down larger offers to go to Arizona, because he specifically wanted to live and work there. We also know Wheeler turned down slightly more money from the White Sox. Why would they take even less to play in a spot that apparently wasn’t all that desirable to either of them?
  15. prouster
    I don’t think they should be counted out, but I think a lot will need to go right for them to be a real contender for a playoff spot.
  16. prouster
    Cease and Rodon are not good. Kopech has a lot of upside, but who knows what he’ll be coming back from TJ. Lopez is good. Giolito has a great season, but the year before he was one of the worst starters in MLB. They absolutely have question marks. Keuchel is a solid arm, but his best days are very likely behind him. They’ll almost certainly be better than last year, but I think a lot will have to go right for them to finish with a winning record.
  17. prouster
    I don’t think this is the case. Aside from Giolito (and Kopech if things go right for him), the Sox rotation is hot steaming garbage. They’ve got some guys who can hit, though. Edit: I guess Reynaldo Lopez is good, too.
  18. prouster
    Inlandportland, perhaps?
  19. prouster
    They could let anyone who signs in free agency run the bases after every game.
  20. prouster
    There’s some ambiguity, but Rosenthal’s language makes it seem like they might actually have made Donaldson a 4 year offer. Rosenthal says there are multiple four year offers on the table, and the Nationals and Twins are “believed to be at that level.”
  21. prouster
    I'm no expert, but it seems to me that the only real noisy part of Lewis's swing is the leg kick. Looking at the video in this article frame by frame, his hands don't seem to move all that much during his load. He brings the bat down and then forward before whipping his hands through the zone. I guess they could cut the downward wag out, but it doesn't seem all that disruptive to me. His head stays level for the most part, although it sinks as he comes out of his leg kick. I can see how this might disrupt his eye level and cause him to be slow on fastballs and fail to recognize breaking balls. That said, he seems to get to a balanced position as he makes contact with the ball (maybe he's a bit out front in this specific clip, but I was able to draw a vertical line from his ear hole to his back knee). Again, I'm no expert, but I think shortening his stride just a little bit may do wonders for any pitch recognition issues he might have. Sounds like game planning could also be a major component of his improvement.
  22. prouster
    I see. My bad.
  23. prouster
    They picked Stewart, Jay, and Berrios in the first round/comp A in recent years. So they have drafted pitching (not to mention on the other bonus pool pitchers they’ve taken). I agree with your last point that missing on some of those high picks has really hindered things.
  24. prouster
    FWIW, here is Bumgarner himself on the subject (via MLBTR): “It was the No. 1 place for me,” the 30-year-old said of Arizona (via Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group). “I did tell (my agent) that. We talked about that often.” Once the Diamondbacks showed serious interest, Bumgarner revealed that he “was done” looking for a team. Bumgarner entered free agency reportedly looking for a guarantee of $100MM or more. While he’s not going to reach that total in the desert, perhaps he would have had he signed elsewhere. He stated Tuesday that “we definitely left some money on the table. You can say that.” I think it’s perfectly reasonable to assume a player of Bumgarner’s pedigree can go to the team of his choice, say he wants to get a deal done, then get the deal done. But I guess it makes some people feel better if they refuse to accept the ordinary truth that people are complicated and make choices that don’t always make total sense to others.
  25. prouster
    The only instance I can think of is Knoblauch, but his situation of course doesn’t apply to all the other notable former Twins.
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