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mazeville

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Everything posted by mazeville

  1. mazeville
    I'm pretty late to this party but I think it would be a terrible idea to just shut Buxton down for the whole year. Give his wrist plenty of time to heal - couple weeks, a month, whatever. When he's ready to come back, put him in Rochester until the AAA season is over and then bring him up in September and give him a month against major league pitching. The Twins' contention timeline depends an awful lot on Byron Buxton, and it would be nice to at least get him some reps against major league breaking balls. The Twins' contention timeline is a LOT shorter if Byron Buxton is playing to his full potential.
  2. mazeville
    I for one am glad that we have a regime that does not sit on its hands at deadline time, one way or the other. This team clearly could not contend without Sano and Buxton being healthy and productive, among other things, and had little chance to catch the Indians. So they turned expiring contracts into a bunch of prospects. Good. Makes it more fun as a fan and gives the team assets to use in the future.
  3. mazeville
    It's not "too valuable to let go of." It's "too valuable to let go for the price this article seems to believe he is worth." Those are two very different things. Kyle Gibson IS a valuable pitcher. Just about all of his numbers have improved over last year and he is striking out two more batters per nine innings than he did the year before. And his improvement began in the second half of last year when he was as big a part of the Twins' run to the playoffs as any other member of the team. If the Twins hope to contend next year, he'd be a good piece to have on the staff. So you don't give him up for anything. You certainly don't give him up for the pieces suggested in the post above.
  4. mazeville
    Yeah the scenario you're painting here suggests to me that you don't trade Gibson. The Twins want to contend next year. Fabulous. If they do, they need starters, and Gibson under contract for next year and is doing well. I love the trades the Twins have made and am on board with trading free agents. But Gibson should only be traded if the offer is amazing. For instance, any trade with the Brewers HAS to start with Keston Hiura, or perhaps Burns + Ray. If you say, "no way the Brewers do that," then I say no thank you and walk away. The Twins don't have to trade Gibson. That's the best position to be in.
  5. mazeville
    They don't remotely generate the return you'd want for either. They are both too young to trade at this point. I think the Aaron Hicks situation is the perfect example of why you should remain patient with these players as long as humanly possible. Hicks would look great in the Twins outfield right now. He'd look even better alongside a healthy, productive Buxton.
  6. mazeville
    I certainly do not trade Fernando Romero for two years of J.T. Realmuto. We might need catching, I don't disagree with that at all. But as I recall we also need a top starter and Romero has the stuff to pair with Berrios to sit atop the pitching staff for a long time. Romero and Kirilloff for Realmuto is too expensive in any event. Wait it out.
  7. mazeville
    Some of these guys should be traded to at least open up spots for young players to see what you have. So I would trade at least one starter, for instance, to give Slegers, Gonsalves, etc., more time in the majors. And I would trade a reliever or two to get some of the young guys in AAA more time up here and let someone like Pressly get a shot at closer. Depressing. I'd rather be competing for the playoffs.
  8. mazeville
    I agree with this. Trade Gibson, get a couple of prospects for him. And do so quickly. Frankly, I would love to see the Twins trade Gibson and Lance Lynn and give guys like Aaron Slegers, Aldaberto Mejia and Stephen Gonsalves extended looks. Because they'll be needed next year.
  9. mazeville
    It's hard for me to answer on what kind of return would be adequate. I'd probably expect a pair of decent prospects for him and if I can't get that, then I probably don't do it. I won't argue that the Twins' problem this season has been luck to an extent. Buxton's regression this season has probably cost the team about four wins and probably more than that given that the team has had to trot out guys like Robbie Grossman in the outfield. So who would it be then? Escobar is a free agent. Dozier is probably gone next year. Mauer probably retires but is a shadow of what he once was. Maybe Max Kepler can finally put things together and maybe Polanco plays like he did in the second half of last year. But none of those guys have the potential that Buxton and Sano do. If those two are both playing to their capabilities this season it's no exaggeration to say they'd be right behind Cleveland and we're not having this conversation. Bad luck or not, this team has no chance this season. So you make an assessment of your team and its chances for next year and you trade players based on that. It's just hard for me to see this team contending next year, however, without one of those two players anchoring that team.
  10. mazeville
    Well, in any event, you peruse the market. If you feel you can contend next year, then you demand a relatively high price for someone like Rodney and if you can't get that price, you keep him. But I'm not sure I agree with you on this. Rodney has performed quite well this season and I believe he would fetch a good enough price on the market to make it attractive. Part of my problem here is, I just don't know that the Twins can contend next year, either. The biggest issue here is that Sano and Buxton aren't playing to their capabilities. Until they do this entire conversation is moot. The entire rebuild is hinged on at least one of those two meeting expectations.
  11. mazeville
    Then we're basically in agreement. The market is going to be pretty buyer friendly this year. I wouldn't be surprised to see few deals get done as a result. So it's not like I think the Twins should get rid of all of those players. But it's going to make for a rather dull deadline unless the Orioles deal Machado. I doubt Dozier gets much at this point, to be honest. Escobar is the best bet to fetch any sort of return among position players but Escobar is also someone you'd want on your team next year if you plan to contend.
  12. mazeville
    I would highly doubt that the Twins would be able to trade ALL of those pieces, especially in a year with so few contenders. But I still believe in getting something for them rather than nothing and think the team should make an effort to sell off a couple of pieces. In the case of Rodney, a 2019 option would make him a more attractive candidate on the trade market because it means they have an extra year of control. Relievers tend to get the most return at the deadline because contending teams typically can always use an extra arm in the bullpen. Age works against Rodney a bit, but he could definitely fetch a return. As for Dozier, do you really believe the Twins plan to sign him to a QO? They haven't given any indication at all that they would like him beyond this year. And his performance has been terrible thus far in 2018. So maybe it would just be a one-year deal, but it would be an expensive one-year deal. I'm just not so sure they do that. I don't know that I would do that. Assuming the Twins want to compete next year, they would be far better off keeping Escobar and letting Dozier walk. Maybe Escobar is expensive, but with his positional versatility he is a tremendously valuable player to have around and he could man second base while Gordon gets up to speed.
  13. mazeville
    I'm not under any illusion that any of these guys could get much on the open market, though a reliever like Rodney could fetch an OK return. And the Twins have made some somewhat sneaky good trades involving players on expiring contracts. And there's plenty of players available ... The Twins have a number of young relievers in AAA who could step in and help the big league club. They could call up Nick Gordon to replace Brian Dozier and they have Adrianza on the roster who could be the effective replacement for Escobar, given the presence of Polanco. The thing I hate the most is "we can't make trades we won't get anything for those guys." We face the prospect of losing these guys at the end of the year, anyway. People like Zach Duke and Fernando Rodney and Brian Dozier are blocking young guys who WILL be here next year, and we'd lose them for nothing in almost any case. So why not get something for them?
  14. mazeville
    Just sell already. The Twins should make a number of trades. I'd trade Fernando Rodney and Addison Reed for whatever I could get. And I'd trade Eduardo Escobar and Brian Dozier and Lance Lynn. And then I'd try again next year. But what a major disappointment this year has been.
  15. mazeville
    Yeah. They kind of are. Either ignoring it or minimizing it.
  16. mazeville
    In which case they're still trying to punish him for two years ago, while purely ignoring the two unexpectedly good years that sandwiched that bad year. What's driving me absolutely crazy on this thread is that people are blowing off the two good years while providing as much punishment as humanly possible for the really bad year and fully ignoring the clearly obvious factors toward the underperformance this year -- which are a large slate of injuries. He took over a team, remember, that lost 90+ games for four straight years and had several bad drafts while players expected to take the team to the next level took longer than expected to pan out. And he has had winning seasons more often than not, the current one thus far incomplete. Frankly, I think it's a wonder this team is even in shouting distance of first place given the injuries they've had.
  17. mazeville
    Sure. But in both Buxton's and Sano's cases you can make a strong case that injuries have played a role in their struggles. It CLEARLY did in Buxton's case after he came back early from the broken toe. And there are some who believe that Sano's leg injury has hampered his swing this season. In both cases, the players are gone and not playing for the major league team. And Polanco hasn't played at all. Neither has Ervin Santana. You can't forget either of those players. They were vital contributors to the team last year. And Jason Castro has always been a defense-first catcher. So his loss has been important, even if he wasn't hitting before he left (and he was clearly injured, too.) So MY point is this: People are jumping off the Paul Molitor bandwagon awfully fast given the sheer number of losses. Cut him some slack. Today's lineup, for instance, includes Robby Grossman (again) in right field, even though he is a horrid defender. It includes Adrianza at short. I don't even know if he should be on the team. And it includes Bobby Wilson at catcher, who can't hit and isn't a good defender. As for Brian Dozier ... he always has one good half and one bad half. This year is no different.
  18. mazeville
    The Twins are missing four players from the opening day lineup, three of whom were expected to be major offensive contributors this season. Step One is to get two of them back and contributing positively on offense: Jorge Polanco, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano. I don't care what two. Just two. It would also help if someone not named Ed that is on the current lineup could step up and elevate their game. Again, pick two from a group that includes Logan Morrison, Brian Dozier or Max Kepler. Invariably, one of the Eds is going to slow down some. So you need three or four guys to step up and make a difference.
  19. mazeville
    All of last year. Look at the lineup from yesterday's game against the Red Sox. It was basically Mauer, Rosario, Escobar, Dozier and then pray that some bloop single falls or a guy gets lucky with a line drive. That they won against Chris Sale was a complete miracle. The point is that the team has lost an awful lot of its key players this season. People have to give Molitor a break on that.
  20. mazeville
    Or, you know, maybe he listened to his coaches; maybe he's been concerned about overuse for a long time; maybe he listened to analytics staff; maybe this is just the random ebbs and flows of season-long usage. DO NOT ASSUME that someone told him to "cut it out."
  21. mazeville
    And yet the injuries have had a far worse impact. And chief's reliever comments completely ignore that only one of those three relievers is currently among the top 10 in the league in appearances. You pointed to a few gaffes. That hardly counts as solid statistics. Give me a few minutes and I'll find some baserunning and defensive lapses by the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs. And in any event, injuries mean you have more replacement players getting more playing time than they should, which exposes all of that. It is completely unfair to look at the first half of 2018 and simply say, "Well, bad managing ..." when the team has lost so many starters. Injuries happen. That many injuries to that many starters at one time is not usual. Talk to me at the end of the year, after Polanco, Buxton, Sano and Santana have all returned and contributed a significant portion to the season. But simply pointing to a few mistakes and some very debatable statistics on bullpen use simply does not work.
  22. mazeville
    Maybe they might be on pace to be "1st, 4th and 5th in the majors" but they are not remotely "1st, 4th and 5th" in the majors this year. Only Pressly is in the top 20. And by the way, we're talking about a reliever whose ERA has improved by more than a full run over last year. So maybe he IS "overworked," as you say, but he clearly likes the way he's being worked this year because his numbers are vastly improved. It's a ridiculous complaint at this point.
  23. mazeville
    Santana + Buxton + Sano + Castro + Polanco = 17 WAR. None currently playing. All of them have missed most of the season thus far, at least. Plus Mauer's absence, which hurt a lot and which I've never mentioned. Injuries matter. They matter a lot. And you're so wrong on Santana it's not even funny. He has not been "easily replaced." You do not "easily replace" a good starter like that. Santana's absence forced the Twins to go with Phil Hughes in the rotation early, then replace him with Fernando Romero. Romero was great early and has been exposed more recently. So no. He has NOT been easily replaced.
  24. mazeville
    Wow, is this comment wrong. Lance Lynn was one of the better starters on the market. Logan Morrison was a legitimate power hitter. Jake Odorizzi was also a solid mid-rotation starter. Frankly, the front office did far more than just about any previous front office did to improve the Twins over the offseason. The FO definitely did its job.
  25. mazeville
    All of this. Outside of Pressly, none of the Twins relievers are anywhere near overworked. That's the one criticism I just don't get, and which just isn't based on any sound data whatsoever.
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