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mazeville

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Everything posted by mazeville

  1. mazeville
    This sentiment drives me nuts. The Twins lost 103 games last year. They were awful. No front office in their right mind would blow their wad on free agency in an offseason in which they are trying to recover from that kind of disaster. The Twins' ownership has been awful and is a big -- probably the biggest -- reason for these past few years. But it's simplistic to simply say that the Pohlads won't spend the money. They signed free agents Phil Hughes, Ervin Santana and Ricky Nolasco in misguided bids to contend via free agent spending. That's not the problem. The problem with this team has always been its failure to take aggressive measures when they need to take them. When they had the chance to trade for guys like Alfonso Soriano during competitive years, they balked. When they could have signed a big-name free agent to get them over the hump in 2010, they balked. When they fell to earth in 2011, they didn't do the complete teardown they needed to make to effectively rebuild the club, and then they made poor drafting and trade decisions. The Pohlads have plenty of blood on their hands when it comes to this team, because they watched the front office mess the whole thing up. But it has nothing to do with their refusal to spend money.
  2. mazeville
    I imagine they'll go further before deciding whether to sell. But the fact is, this team has been playing above its heads all year. So they've always been just a few games here or there between buying and selling. What's more, they are now 5.5 games out of first, and four games out of the Wild Card. Both the Royals and the Indians are taking command. While I would love to see the Twins compete this year, it is just not that realistic. So it's perfectly reasonable for this team to go from buy to sell that quickly.
  3. mazeville
    I'm firmly in the "stand pat" crowd. At best they should make a small move for a reliever. Thing is, they've played 90+ games at this point. They are playing .500 baseball, roughly, over the course of the season. That would not be a prescription for buying, except there is no other team running away with either the AL Wild Card or the AL Central. Selling at this point would be horrible and I think the Twins know it. But buying wouldn't be smart, either. Look at what the Yankees just paid to get a couple of relievers and Todd Frazier. Look at what the White Sox got from the Cubs to get Jose Quintana. The Twins would largely empty their farm system to get those types of assets. And doing so would hurt the team's long-term ability to content because this is still a rebuilding team that is playing over their heads. Frankly, I'd rather they sell. I'm still not personally convinced they will remain in contention. But the longer they keep winning and the longer Cleveland keeps messing around, the better the chance the Twins have of making the playoffs and selling when they are in the thick of a playoff race would be a terrible message to send to the fans.
  4. mazeville
    I would trade Nick Gordon for the right controllable pitcher. This team needs pitching more than it needs another middle infielder. It's also nice to see the Twins consider this. I still believe they're winning through smoke and mirrors and are more likely to come back to earth. But if they're going to make a move to improve their ability to contend, this is the way to do it.
  5. mazeville
    I admit I know nothing about any of these players, other than what I've read leading up to the draft. But based on all of that, I loved this draft. There was no Bryce Harper-level player available. So get someone you really like who is cheaper and use the extra money to get better players later.
  6. mazeville
    Decent enough starting pitching? Their starting pitching as a whole has been garbage outside of Santana and Berrios. Also, this team might have contended two of the past three years but it lost 103 games last year and has a really low run differential. And that differential suggests the Twins will ultimately fall out of contention. Again if not, great. Don't trade Santana. But the worst case scenario here is the Twins stay in contention through early August, then stumble badly while Santana loses his value ...
  7. mazeville
    You missed the part where I said "they're too close to contention to trade anyone, I guess." Because I said that. As long as they're in contention, no they probably should not trade Santana. But ... the Twins are absolutely doing things with smoke and mirrors this year and anybody who looks beyond the standings knows it. The Twins have a -54 run differential. Only two other teams in the American League have a worse run differential. Cleveland is at +58. The Twins have a terrible bullpen. Their team ERA is better than only four other teams. OK, sure, trading the best pitcher from a team with a bad pitching staff seems a stupid idea. But this is still a rebuilding club, and they should rebuild. Ervin is not getting any younger, and his value is at his peak. And just because you trade Santana and Dozier doesn't mean you don't expect to contend next year, either. You just get more assets to make trades and do other things to bolster the pitching staff for the next several years.
  8. mazeville
    Trade Santana, DFA or trade Santiago, insert Jorge and Gonsalves in the rotation while Romero and Slegers provide some insurance. They're too close to contention to really trade anybody, I guess. But that's what the Twins should do. I'd much rather have the kids pitching for this team.
  9. mazeville
    I don't get it at all. Leg kick, no leg kick, leg kick, no leg kick. Make up your damn minds you're screwing him up. Ugh, this is so frustrating ...
  10. mazeville
    Cleveland series was painful, but I'm OK with it. The Twins don't have enough pitching to contend and the longer they keep pretending like they will, the less likely they'll be in making the moves they need to make at the trade deadline -- like trading Dozier and perhaps Santana. But next offseason, they are going to have to make some further moves to address that pitching shortage, either through free agency or through more trades. Because this is ugly.
  11. mazeville
    HAHAHAHAHAHA! What? In 2013 the Twins drafted Kohl Stewart. They could have had Clint Frazier or Austin Meadows. In 2014 they drafted Nick Gordon. Fine. He's OK. But they could have had Trea Turner or Kyle Freeland. But at least Gordon is a good prospect. In 2015 they picked Tyler Jay. They could have had Andrew Benintendi or Ian Happ. Their 2016 pick, Alex Kiriloff, had TJ surgery. No, they have not 'drafted well." At best, they've drafted mediocre. But they struck out badly in both 2013 and 2014. Their supposed uber prospect, Byron Buxton, is struggling to get past his alleged floor in his second year in the majors. They haven't made up for the poor showing at the top with better draft picks in later rounds, and they've generally avoided saving money on top picks to spend more on later picks like other teams. So no, they didn't "draft well."
  12. mazeville
    I'm going to wait to see what the Twins do from here on to complain. The hope is that savings from the Lewis pick will help them get a better player later on. Personally, I would not have done that because I don't think the current rules make that a good option any longer, but I'll go ahead and trust the process. But the Twins' recent draft history is nothing short of awful - Tyler Jay over Andrew Benintendi anyone? -- and warrants a healthy dose of skepticism, especially since most of the same people are still there. If they get the Lewis pick wrong, or if they missed on a potential HOF player in Greene or Wright or Gore to save a few bucks to pick someone with less upside later in the draft, then that will be a major blunder.
  13. mazeville
    Maybe the Twins are tanking to get another top draft pick. I honestly can't think of a decent rationale to pick up Adam Wilk and give him a major league start. I cannot think of a rationale for giving another start to Nick Tepesch. Clearly, this team does not want me to buy tickets again this year.
  14. mazeville
    What is the point of handing starts to older players who are barely replacement level? We've been waiting for a winner for six years. And if we can't see a winner, we sure as heck would like to see guys who have potential to make this team, and make it great. Jose Berrios has proven all he can at AAA. Aldaberto Mejia is a young starter with upside. Why are we giving starts to Nick Tepesch and Adam Wilk? Why??? This team deserves its declining season ticket base. This is just trash.
  15. mazeville
    Indeed. Cleveland is not mediocre this year. Good pitching + good hitting = good team. And Kansas City isn't mediocre. It's just not good this year. But the general mediocrity of the division should provide an opportunity for the Twins to get some wins this year.
  16. mazeville
    Good for these guys. Nice to see players work hard on their fielding like that. I never, ever, ever understood the rush to DH Sano by people in and out of the media, and even in the Twins organization. Doing so his rookie year was understandable - that's where the team had the opening. But he never really had a chance to play his natural position in the majors before the second half of last year. And yet people simply wrote off his ability to play there. I think he's looked good at third. Will he be Nolan Arenado? Probably not. But he's done quite well at the position so far this year. He should get better with time, too. He still hasn't had a full year's worth of major league experience at the position.
  17. mazeville
    Gordon at short, Polanco at 2nd, Vielma as utility infielder. Dozier gets traded at the deadline this year for pitching.
  18. mazeville
    Boy, for the longest time, Gibson was considered the great hope of the Twins' minor leagues, at least in terms of pitching prospects. But he hasn't done all that much to distinguish himself, at least for the past couple of years. That said, I was at the game yesterday, and I thought that the defense was particularly problematic. Danny Santana, who should not be on the roster, dropped a fly ball. Dozier missed a grounder. A few others managed to get by players. Fly ball to center that Byron Buxton almost certainly catches fell for a hit. Jason Castro allowed a passed ball and then threw the ball into right field. It was ugly.
  19. mazeville
    Three years ago, I opted to go with "saves + holds" for my fantasy baseball team and it's been a damn revelation. Most saves are hardly saves. They're more like, "pitching the 9th inning of a relatively close game." Ignores high pressure situations in middle innings ...
  20. mazeville
    Keep him in the pen. Please keep him in the pen. He's good there. His track record as starter isn't that great. The Twins need good relievers. I mean, they need good starters, too. But I'd rather give Berrios another shot.
  21. mazeville
    Yeah, um, as a reminder, he was absolutely compared to Mike Trout in 2013. http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/deja-vu-byron-buxton-stirs-echoes-of-mike-trout-in-cedar-rapids/#5kRVC6MWag7YCFGp.97 Not "my mistake." People who scout and rank and watch these players have been hyping Byron Buxton since the moment he stepped into the batter's box in Cedar Rapids. He was the consensus top prospect two years in a row.
  22. mazeville
    At this point in the game, that's hard, isn't it? Buxton was the supposed reward for the first in our string of really bad seasons. He was compared early on to Mike Trout and Willy Mays after his first, spectacular season in Class A. And when he finally gets to the majors? Poof. The Buxton we expected hasn't shown up but for one glorious month last year. I personally think he should work out his kinks in the majors and not get sent down - he has nothing to prove in AAA. But we as Twins fans have been told to just be patient, wait for the young guys to arrive, and then all will be well. Kind of hard to lower your expectations after that.
  23. mazeville
    I've been on the be-patient-with-Buxton bangwagon for some time, but boy this start is causing me to change my mind. I don't know if he was overrated in the minors or the Twins mishandled him or some combination of both. But he's been AWFUL early this season.
  24. mazeville
    This is why you let your front office hire the manager and not force them to keep a guy who lost 100-plus games in 2016. The two need to be on the same page, and as TD tweeted today, this sounds like dysfunction between the manager and the team. The team keeps Danny Santana. It sent down a guy who led the team in homers and RBIs during spring training. They are keeping old players on the roster at the expense of young guys with more upside. They have 13 pitchers! In April! Ugh. Two weeks ago I would have told you the Twins would win 75-80 games. This morning I reduced that to 70-75. Now I'm wondering if they'll win 67. I don't think this bodes well at all.
  25. mazeville
    Looking at that bullpen and thinking that maybe I should rethink my personal projections that the Twins will win 75-80 games. Boy I sure hope the new regime is just taking stock of the organization, etc., because from here it sure doesn't look like they're doing things all that differently from the previous one.
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