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james2334

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Everything posted by james2334

  1. james2334
    Somebody please tell Polanco that he is one of the best hitters in the American League and to stop sacrificing his at bats in key situations at the end of the game. He has a much better chance of getting a hit than anyone else on the team. Paul Molitor is not the coach anymore, swing away!
  2. james2334
    I made the comment because I feel like Sano has been the target of a lot of criticism for striking out a lot, when the reality is that every player strikes out. I don't really feel bad about the Cruz at bat, that stuff just happens. I found it interesting that after the game the Royal's catcher said that they threw Cruz the same cutter three times because they thought he wasn't seeing the pitch very well. I guess I thought the check swing was actually a swing, but it would have been nice for him to get another shot. As for Sano I do have some concern about his defense. He's committed 3 errors in the homestand and they have been factors in both losses. He makes some of the tough plays, but seems to lose focus sometimes on the more routine plays. He needs to pull it together over there, because the Twins are better with his bat in the line-up.
  3. james2334
    This was a strange game. Normally when you outhit the other team and out homer the other team, and your starting pitcher out pitches the other starter you win. But, since its baseball, sometimes you don't. Perez pitched really well, but had a tough luck inning where everything KC hit found a hole. He probably would have completed the 7th without giving up a run if the ball doesn't bounce off Rosie's glove. It was a tough play, but the outfield prides itself on making those types of plays. I was wondering if it had been Sano that struck out on 3 pitches to end the game, with a check swing, instead of Nelson Cruz, would the torches and pitchforks have come out?
  4. james2334
    While you can complain about the speed of the Twins players, I think it is a result of putting more emphasis on other areas such as power. By contrast the Royals put a ton of emphasis on having players with speed and the ability to steal bases. While the Twins were signing Nelson Cruz, the Royals were signing Billy Hamilton. So far the Twins have scored 411 runs to the Royals 288. I''ll take power over speed every day of the week.
  5. james2334
    Fielders at all positions make errors, it happens no matter how good they are. Gonzo's drop was brutal, but his catch in the 9th was outstanding and I'm not sure very many others make that catch including Kepler. That catch changed the whole 9th inning. As for Schoop getting thrown out, I would take that chance with two outs every time the fielder just made a good play. On another note the Twins should have guests in the booth more often. The broadcast was much more entertaining, especially Johnny Bench.
  6. james2334
    The Twins have 94 games left. If they play no better than .500 ball the rest of the way that would be 47 more wins, which would give us a 93 win season. Prior to the season I would have been very happy if they finished with 93 wins, however 100 wins seems more and more plausible every day.
  7. james2334
    I would disagree with this assessment. Currently, all but 10 teams are within 5 games of the second wild card spot. Most of those teams still think they are contending. So right now most teams are going to take a wait and see approach to trading to see what happens the next month and as the market developes more players will become available. Because of the huge separation at the top this year most fringe teams will find themselves either chasing a long shot bid at the second wild card or selling and the smart teams will become sellers. I could even see a scenario in the AL this year where all 5 playoff spots are pretty much decided by trade deadline. That would leave 2/3 of the American league as sellers. Patience will pay off in the end. The Twins have an excellent farm system and the prospects to make deals happen. Falvey and Levine have shown themselves to be aggressive traders at the deadline in the past and I believe this year will be no different. They can make a good deal without emptying the farm system. I don't want them to overpay and there are certain prospects they should hang on to especially elite pitchers. Looking at this organization now, this year shouldn't be a one year run at a world series, this year should be the first year of a multi-year run at several world series titles. Let's do this!
  8. james2334
    This scenario could never happen, the health insurance cost for the pitchers would be too astronomical.
  9. james2334
    Thanks, I could feel myself approaching enlightenment, but then Rocco sent Magill back out for the 9th inning and I lost it.
  10. james2334
    While watching this game I couldn't help but wonder if our offence ever got to face off against our relief pitchers would the inning ever end?
  11. james2334
    The velocity is the only reason he's effective and when you think of it both seattle players, that popped out to end the game, stepped into the box looking dead red fastball the whole way. Both players got those fastballs in the hitting zone, but neither guy could do anything with it because of the velocity. If he could spot his curveball or incorporate the occasional change up he could be downright filthy.
  12. james2334
    The start from Perez wasn't great, but there is definitely hope there. He needs to attack the strike zone early in the count and pitch from ahead instead of constantly starting at bats with ball 1 and ball 2. That's fixable, I think. May was OK. He got a gift strike out, but then two weak pop outs from good hitters. I seem to remember him having a good change up when he was a starter. He doesn't seem to use it much anymore. I think it would be an effective pitch for him as hitters have to gear up for his juiced up fastball. Winning games 12-2 is fun, but I actually think the one run games are better for the team as it helps prepare them for the type of games they will face in the playoffs.
  13. james2334
    Currently in the American League Central Division there are 15 players with 10 or more home runs. The Twins have 7 of those players.
  14. james2334
    Forgive me, I'm an old school fan that doesn't know much about xfip. I am curious, what does the xfip for a league average pitcher looks like?
  15. james2334
    I don't think it's time to panic on Gibson. Prior to this start he went 5 and gave up 1 run to Tampa and the start before that he went 7 and gave up 1 run to the White Sox. Yesterday he didn't have his best control and yet if he didn't hang a slider at a bad time his line would have looked a lot better. When Gibby's good he's really good and when he's bad he still gives the team a chance to win most days. I'm much more concerned with Martin Perez at this point.
  16. james2334
    It may be that the team was playing the 9th game of a 10 game road trip and showing signs of fatigue as a result. It's also possible that Willians Austudillo is a magical leprechaun and he took his magical lucky charms with him when they sent him to Rochester. I am pretty sure it's one of those two things.
  17. james2334
    There is no way the Twins take on Max Scherzer's contract. I mean things have changed for the Twins leadership, but they haven't changed that much.
  18. james2334
    Smelly pitched well in this start, but the reality for a pitcher with less than overpowering stuff is that they are often vulnerable the third time through the order. He obviously needed more run support, he also may need to adjust his pitch selection and location as he faces hitters a third and fourth time.
  19. james2334
    I don't really know how much improvement we are going to see in the future from Sano. I think this might be who he is as a hitter and I'm OK with it. As long as he keeps taking walks, he has 7 of them, and keeps getting an extra base hit about every 5th at bat, his production is enough to offset the 33% strikeout rate. Sure some of the strike outs have looked ugly, but I can probably find some ugly strike outs for every hitter on the team. (Maybe not Polanco that dude has been awesome). I'm not saying I want an entire line up filled with hitters that have Sano's profile, but I like having one or two hitters like that because they can win a game with one swing. As far as elite pitching in the playoffs. We'll have to see when we get there. The elite pitchers win most of the battles with whoever is hitting, however, they make mistakes sometimes, and if they make a mistake to Sano he's probably not going to settle for a single.
  20. james2334
    I think the path to 100 wins or close is definitely possible, Especially when you consider that we have 46 more game with KC, Detroit, and Chicago. If they win 2 of every 3 of those games and go 30-16 or something close. They would just have to play a little above .500 against everyone else to get to 100. Also, Cleveland seems to be coming apart at the seems and all 4 of the teams in the division might sell at the trade deadline and could get worse then they currently are at present. You never know because of injuries, slumps, etc. but if I was betting I would bet on us reaching 100 by years end. On the other hand if they have a 20 game lead in September they may take their foot off the pedal so who knows.
  21. james2334
    Things must really be going well when we are talking about getting rid of a player with an OPS over .900.
  22. james2334
    I feel like we can't lose either way. Either we get 4 or 5 twins voted to the all-star game and I have a reason to watch it for the first time in about 10 years. Or half the team gets snubbed and La Bomba Squad comes out for the second half of the season with a massive chip on its shoulder destroying everything in its path on the way to the World Series!!
  23. james2334
    I think it depends on how many at bats you think you can give Arraez once Garver and Cruz are back. If he's just going to sit on the bench he should be sent down to get regular playing time. Then if an injury pops up you can call him up and use him. If you think you can get him in the line up 4 to 5 times per week then keep him around and send down a pitcher.
  24. james2334
    It is a nice problem to have when you can look at your roster and there is literally not a single player on the club that deserves a demotion or DFA. I can remember years when I wanted every player on the team to be DFA'd !!!
  25. james2334
    I hear what you're saying, but the cynic in me says the timing of this is all a little too convenient. He goes on the IL the day after a quality start and right before a stretch with two off days where we can skip his spot in the rotation until the 10 days are done. At the same time you can call up Smeltzer, let him pitch one game, send him down and use the extra roster spot for another player for 10 days. I mean his knee probably hurts, but not to the extent that he needs time on the IL. I think if he comes back at the end of ten days and pitches we'll know we've been had.
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