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Paul

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Everything posted by Paul

  1. Paul
  2. Paul
    I'm just glad Sano restrained himself.
  3. Paul
    I was a SS and Zoilo was my idol. I remember saving my money to buy the same high end model Rawlings glove Versalles used. There was a sporting goods store in downtown Mpls, I think called A&B Sports, where I went to purchase the glove. I remember the salesman told me when Versalles made an error he would throw the glove away. He said Versalles was only given 2 gloves a year from Rawlings, so he came in often to buy new ones. He said he spent a lot of money there. Apparently his superstition got the better of his common sense.
  4. Paul
    On the first pitch most good hitters who recognize the pitch early (this most definitely includes Mauer) and hitters who try to outguess the pitcher, both pick a zone and/or the type of pitch. If they're right it gives them an advantage that surpasses the advantage that Houston was recently experiencing. This is what you see. Here's an anecdote to illustrate. Back in the dome Verlander threw a first pitch 98 MPH fastball, out of the zone, up and in to Mauer. Mauer turned on it and deposited it in the upper deck for a HR. Verlander said after the game that he threw the pitch exactly where he wanted and no other batter could have done what Joe did with that pitch. Obviously Joe was looking there for that pitch. Look up Mauer"s stats for first pitches he swung at. They're off the charts good. But to say because first pitch swings are so productive players should swing at them more often is misguided.
  5. Paul
    I lost the Twins with Dishnet. Seems to me that Sinclair desires a certain return to justify their purchase price. It also seems to me that carriers have drawn a line. It seems the logical conclusion is the rights contract with MLB will expire and Sinclair will expire with it. Or, Sinclair will aquiesce.
  6. Paul
    In my opinion the biggest error in the chain was Gardy dumping Hardy for a kid who could throw hard but not pitch. The Twins lost one of the better defenders in the league at the SS position. And a guy who was better than an average bat for a SS. And played amateur ball with Mauer since they were preteens. I think this act, and awarding that guy from the Rays the position, and how they chose to respond to in house criticism of it, lost them the clubhouse. And the slide began. I'm still pissed about it!
  7. Paul
    To objectively understand the current Twins situation it's important to not underestimate what the new FO considers their number 1 task. I've read it stated many times and ways in numerous interviews with them. In their words: "Change the culture" "Get everybody on the same page" Reach out to everybody" etc. The current situation has its genesis in whatever transpired in the clubhouse in 2011. It was apparent to me that the clubhouse was lost. When that happens it's almost impossible to get back without changing either the FO or the majority of the players. The player roster is almost completely turned over from then but, the residual effect continues to contaminate every player to a degree. Countering this effect was Torri's contribution in "15". Without a leader with his charisma they finally realized the FO had to be overhauled. The new guys are focused and working hard on this. This could improve fast. With everyone pushing in the same direction this year could be shocking to a lot of people.
  8. Paul
    Respectfully disagree. I've never seen this kid pitch but, the thing Glavine did best was spin a baseball. According to the article they do share the ability to command though. And if this kid can keep from hanging the breaking pitches and hit the corners or run 'em off the plate, maybe he can be something special like Glavine.
  9. Paul
    "playing baseball games is a poor way to condition and a poor way to develop MOST baseballskills" THIS exactly. If he's gonna play the OF he's got a lot of drilling ahead. I listened to a souhan interview with Radcliff. The guy has like 30+ years scouting experience. Radcliff said Sano is the best foreign player he has ever seen. Souhan asked who was the 2nd best. Radcliff responded Cabrera. As in Miguel
  10. Paul
    Kudos to you my friend
  11. Paul
    My opinion is Simmons is already a better SS than Smith. And even Omar Vizquel, who I believed would never be surpassed. You can make a strong argument Simmons is the best defensive SS to ever play. Smith was flashier, and Vizquel had unique hand/eye coordination and was a tad better mechanically. But Simmons is the proverbial whole package. His defensive tools are in uncharted territory.
  12. Paul
    Sometimes a lack of inference can be truly startling. I agree 100% with your take, by the way. As a matter of fact, it smells like the Gomez to Hardy to zero thing to me.
  13. Paul
    One thing you didn't mention, and one I've never seen mentioned on this site, is the catcher's ability to to catch a borderline pitch with the center of the pocket over the plate. This means: recognizing the pitch is off slightly, holding the glove with the center of the pocket over the corner or edge of the strike zone, letting the pitch hit the little finger, heel or thumb of the glove and deflect into the pocket, doing this with enough strength the the glove doesn't rock too badly giving away what you did. I don't recall seeing this kid catch but Mauer was excellent at this. All the best catchers do this. The lesser ones not so much.
  14. Paul
    "I think that the best pitch depends on the pitcher and the situation." Exactly! No matter what you throw, or where you throw it, if the hitter is sitting on it you're in trouble. Nice to see the new technology supporting the old axiomatic thought of "4-seamer up and in...softer stuff low and away".
  15. Paul
    "just to show how WAR #s should be taken with a grain of salt, Fuld is currently ranked just ahead of Jacoby Ellsbury" That's not a grain...that's a shovelful.
  16. Paul
    I think Carew might not be recognizing the fact that he acquired a high level of confidence as a baserunner early in his career that those he is referring to may not have acquired yet. It's hard to believe runners are taught different today, namely, if the play is in front of you, you decide. If there is any doubt, listen to the coach.
  17. Paul
    To Aaron Hicks: Dear sir, I wish you the best of luck with going back to hitting from both sides of the plate. I think you corrected a bad decision made under the cloud of desperation. Please don't put much stock in the opinions you read on the internet about this matter. Take this site for example. This is the best baseball forum I have experienced, but I would guess far less than 1% of the posters here have faced a high 80s slider/cutter launched directly at them. Their opinion should carry NO weight with you. You proved it at AA. You have have the tools it takes to make it in the show. Clear your head and do your best on the work your coaches assign/suggest. Let them help you. I have every confidence you will succeed. I look forward to watching your career take off.
  18. Paul
    I may be repeating what someone else has said but, maybe, just maybe, Mauer knows what he's doing. Maybe he's part of that small 99.9% group of players that are taught to look for a particular type of pitch in a particular zone in a hitters count. And maybe, because he has little fear of not being able to get the barrel on the ball, he considers 0-0 a hitters count for him. And maybe the pitch and zone he looks for ain't a grooved fastball down the center of the plate. And maybe if he did look there for that more often his BA on first pitches would drop substantially from almost .500, which ain't too bad. Here's an anecdote for ya. I think it was the last year at the dome, Verlander threw one up and in, 98 MPH. Mauer was looking for that pitch in that zone, turned on it and hit it in the upper deck. Verlander was quoted as saying something along the lines of "I threw that ball exactly where I wanted. No one else in baseball can do that to that pitch."
  19. Paul
    If you wouldn't blame a duck for quacking, then you really shouldn't blame an MBA for trying to increase their revenue stream every way available to them. There's nothing nefarious going on. The anti-trust exemption awarded to MLB in the 20's was the result of the brethren being convinced of two things: ML baseball was somehow essential to the well being of the US and, ML baseball could not survive without the exemption. From my perspective, the validity of both things today could be successfully argued against. In any event, it won't change until our busy legislators are alerted by a focus group. Wait, did I just say that last part out loud?
  20. Paul
    Good for you, AJ. Keep going. You're on a very rewarding track. If you were my son or grandson I' be proud.
  21. Paul
    Bummer, all I got was this old one. lonelyfavour - 03-23-2012 01:12 PM hi my there. my name is favour desmond. i will like to be your good friends i have important thing to share and discuse with you in private so pls here is my private email (favourdesmond51(@)rocketmail(.)c/o/m) thanks I smell an investment opportunity !!
  22. Paul
    Nice article John. I thought it was one of the most insightful things I've read on this interweb thing in some time... until I got to your last sentence. " I suspect the truth lies somewhere in between." (I'm bettin' you couldn't resist turning that phrase.) I think without question both perspectives are the truth. And further, it can be successfully argued that BOTH viewpoints are most definitely subjective. We all see this beautiful immense diamond we call life, but we all only see the facets in our field of vision.
  23. Paul
    Thanks for the link. What a treat. Also, what a blast from the past. Weather forecast that expected rain instead of the nice day they got, advert for a gas station that washed your windows "all the time", advert for White Owl cigars, even a guy hustling (Uhlander) and ending up on 3rd on a routine pop fly to right. Thanks again.
  24. Paul
    This exact sentiment is what really chaps my hide about WAR, which I'll be the first to admit I do not fully understand. But is it that incomprehensible that having a plus plus SS in place of Florimon could add far more wins than 1 or 2? I don't know what kind of guy, or what the quality of Drew's character is, but the SS position is normally a leadership position. I'm not sure how to quantify this, but competency on both sides of the ball coupled with character, and confident leadership from that position can make a tremendous difference in the outcome of games. It's the synergy from a close knit team pushing in the same direction that tips the scale and wins games. I don't know if Drew is the guy to fill that void but, I do know most people continue to mature so he might be. Unless the team has already established he's a negative in this regard, from my perspective this is a golden opportunity to find out if he can. Because it's so much easier to lead from a plus plus status means he's already half way there. Like with a putt, if you don't hit it hard enough it ain't got a chance.
  25. Paul
    To me, the shoes / steel toes thing is an apt analagy Brian. Well said. I view myself as a guest here and behave appropriately. But I can understand people who frequent the site and their desire to take "ownership/host responsibility" and share in the culture creation here. I think that's good for the site. I think the push/pull going on is a healthy thing for Twins Daily. The one caution I would make is the old "power corrupts" thing as it applies to the moderators. In the moderation process their dynamic should be the attractiveness of the site for all, not their own personal attractiveness.
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