Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Darius

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,085

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Minnesota Twins Videos

2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

Guides & Resources

2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

The Minnesota Twins Players Project

2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Darius

  1. Darius
    Big win. Have to keep salvaging a game here or there to hold off the Indians, who can’t lose these days. Everyone better enjoy being the most prolific offensive club in history for one more day. The Yanks are now within a single run scored (incredible considering how far ahead we were of the field a month ago).
  2. Darius
    This team is falling apart. The offense will always be there, but I have significant doubts anything meaningful will be accomplished with this pitching staff.
  3. Darius
    Massive win on multiple different levels. 1). The struggling offense (relative to earlier in the year) put a beat down on the reigning Cy Young award winner. Huge confidence booster. 2). Similar to the above, but on an individual level, Rosario and Garver had huge games. Getting those guys hot again solves a lot of problems (pitching well doesn’t matter a whole lot when you’re scoring 7-8 runs). 3). If things do continue to fall apart (again, relative to earlier in the year), the Rays are the direct competition for a wildcard spot. Conversely, if things don’t, doing as much damage to Rays as possible isnt a bad thing. Not sure I’d like to see Snell, Morton, and Glasnow (maybe) in a playoff series. 4). Capitalized on an Indians loss, which is a rare occrrence lately. Building the lead back up before their pitching staff gets healthy is imperative. With all of the games we have left with them, a lead in the ballpark of 4-6 games scares me. 5). People are blasting Gibby, but I think it was a great performance for the team. Didn’t have to work the bullpen. K’d 7, which means his stuff is working. Kept the lead comfortable. Would it be nice to see more from him? Sure. But, going 7 and getting a win is big. Winning tonight and taking the series would really put a nail in the coffin of that bad week. The only negative in my mind is potentially losing Kepler (maybe news has broken, Im under a rock). That would hurt.
  4. Darius
    The excuses I’m reading regarding the Pressley trade are starting to get a little rich. 1). Is they can’t develop pitchers like some other organizations, they’re just not that good at developing pitching. Wasn’t that one of the main bullet points when we brought them in? 2). People are saying the front office needed more than the significant amount of time he spent patching well for this club. Really? Then why would the Astros target him for trade? They had nothing more than game tape and scouting reports. 3). The sentiment that Astros got lucky, and he just happened to explode after arriving in Houston is just flat out ludicrous. 4). If they thought this team wouldn’t compete in 2019, they didn’t have a very good handle on what they had here. It’s Rosario, Kepler, Buxton, Polanco, Berrios, Gibson, Odiorizzi, Garvey, Castro, etc that are driving this team’s success. Not Jonathan Schoop or Marwin Gonzalez. They shouldn’t get a pass for their faulty assessment of their own team. At the end of the day, they got brought and paid to make the right decisions. To this point, it’s primarily been the previous regime’s players that have turned things around. And now, their prized number 1 overall pick is flailing in A ball. The Astros turned around and laughed all the way to the back, with arguably the best reliever in the game right now, for what amounts to almost nothing. Why is so hard to some to admit that Falvine got taken behind the woodshed by superior baseball minds. Not only that, but could’ve well put the nail in the coffin of this current team’s World Series aspirations before they even knew they existed. I need to start seeing more out of Falvine in terms of player acquisition. So many have chosen to blindly follow these guys because they’re young, cool, and follow all the trendy analytics. I’ll base my opinion on results. This year has been great....but it’s far from over and we’re seeing the seams start to fray.
  5. Darius
    Great relievers are developed....then traded to the Astros for marginal prospects that will never see Target Field.
  6. Darius
    I’m not ready to say Gordon is back on track. He is known to fall off a cliff in the second half. If he can put together a reasonable second half, I’ll pay some attention. It looks like Lewin Diaz is ready to reappear in the prospect rankings. Pretty good story.
  7. Darius
    Agree. Astudillo has gotten so overrated by many twins fans. His slugging percentage is abysmal. He’s not particularly hard to get out in a jam (just make him chase). We’ve already seen him drop fly balls in the outfield in key situations. I’ll take Arraez 10 time out of 10. He’s the better player. It looks sustainable. It clearly never was with Astudillos hot start.
  8. Darius
    The Indians are just going to keep getting better. They’ll get Kluber and Clevinger back. Lindor will keep getting better as he returns from injury. Things can only get better for Ramirez. They’re getting a number of quality prospects up from the minors. We’re not going to run away with this thing. I’d make the bet that the Indians will cut this lead to less than 5 games by the end of July. The way things are going right now, it’ll be by the end of June....and it’s far from a guarantee that the Central will get a wildcard spot. If this front office doesn’t get proactive now (aka, make some moves in the next couple of weeks), it’s going to be too late. This pitching staff, with the exception of Berrios, is awful and it’s going the wrong direction. If this team misses the playoffs, it’s one of the most epic collapses in the history of baseball. People should be fired if it happens.
  9. Darius
    Nice win tonight. Not sure it relieves my concnerns regarding the bullpen, considering our best reliever blows a multi-run lead to the worst team in the game. But, the offense remains a resilient and productive group. A win is better than a loss with the Indians catching fire. Getting the 3rd out of 4 would be a good start to alleviating my concern.
  10. Darius
    The level of Sano induced insanity has hit an all-time high. He hit a home run in a massive spot to tie the game....and his demotion is called for. Despite a rough patch, he’s still OPSing .850. Astudillo is barely OPSing .600, and the same people are ready to put his number next Mauer’s on the limestone. Taking a step back and thinking about it....it’s comical. It’s very similar to the obsession with Trump right now. Reality is thrown out the window. Facts mean nothing. It’s hysteria.
  11. Darius
    What’s wrong with Martin Perez? He’s Martin Perez. He was great over a small sample. He’s been terrible over a huge sample. Sure, he found some things that made him effective for a minute. Not really surprising that he didn’t turn into an ace overnight.
  12. Darius
    This team will continue to hemorrhage game lunt the bullpen is addressed. The lead is down to 9. It could get down to 5 real quick if this team keeps playing bad defense and pitching terribly out of the pen. People are way too comfortable right now. The eye test the last handful of games has me concerned. This isn’t the same team it was a month ago by any stretch of the imagination.
  13. Darius
    The Sano chatter is ridiculous. They don’t like the man personally, do it affect the baseball opinion (where are all of the overweight comments about fan-fave Tortuga?). First off, he’s basically in spring training right now. He’s behind everyone, and he’s seeing real live pitching (not some guy working on his changeup or career minor leaguer). Before last nights game, his OPS was still over .900, I believe, which is elite. After last night to sill above .850, still elite. I saw a stat recently regarding his HR/AB. It was significantly higher than the year he was called up midway through and took the league by storm (everyone thought he was a future HOF then). Your slump observation is perfectly valid. It’s laughable that people only fault Sano for this (have they seen Schoop lately?). Did people really expect him to hit 85 HRs in 3/4 of a season and OPS 1.200 the whole year? Sano is a huge part of this team. When it comes to Garver, there is no circumstance in any alternate reality where getting picked off of 3rd with 2 on and nobody out is defensible. It’s the worst possible mental mistake you can make. This team is OPSing higher than any other team in history. You don’t have to get the extra 5 ft. If he were a borderline player this year as in the past, he’s back in Rochester the next day.
  14. Darius
    Kepler is a star. Most underrated player right now in the MLB (outside of MN). Very few corner outfielders in the game that are better (yes, he’s better right now than Judge who plays on a T-ball field in NY). He actually had a better game last night than the scorebook will tell you. Be got “robbed” of another XBH and RBI or two on the walkoff Polanco has gotten a ton of praise (rightfully so?), but where would this team be without Kepler?. He might be my front runner for team MVP right now.
  15. Darius
    I, in my lifetime, have never been concerned about the Twins making mistakes at the deadline (other than sitting on their hands). By all means, get some pitching. But, proceed with caution, here. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that nearly every prospect of note has kind of bottomed-out in terms of value right now. Whether due to injuries (Baddoo, Kiriloff, Graterol, Javier, etc.) or performance (Lewis, Gordon, etc.).
  16. Darius
    I can’t put this one on the offense. They score 6 runs and still left a bunch on. That tells me we have an awesome offense. 6 runs is enough to win the vast majority of all baseball games ever played. Pitching and defense are the issue here (news flash). It wouldn’t have been asking for the moon to keep it at 5-6 runs after Perez left. This can be a once In a lifetime type season for us fans if they just get some pitching help. If they don’t, I don’t feel real great about about any playoff matchup. Hell, Cleveland is getting hot and getting a potentially elite starter back in Clevinger (and Kluber in August, possibly).
  17. Darius
    I may as well just prepare myself for the let down now. History tells me this team isn’t going to do enough to fix this terrible bullpen (they’ll make some half-a&@ moves for expiring deals). If that is the case, this team isn’t even getting a whiff of the ALCS. A lot of people are giving the bullpen a pass. But, it doesn’t take Keith Law to see that this unit was hanging by a thread thus far. That thread snapped against Milwaukee a couple weeks ago, and it’s in full-blown free fall at this point.
  18. Darius
    I don’t want a guy like Miguel Sano shortening up and chopping a grounder somewhere with 2 on and 0 outs. Try and bounce it off a speaker somewhere. Stay away from GIDP at all costs with this lineup as well (hit it far, or K trying).
  19. Darius
    I’m not mad at all about Kimbrel. Good riddance for a 3 year deal. I am not happy about the refusal to address the bullpen in the offseason. Despite them pitching out of their minds up until this point, its been clear to anyone that the bullpen is sub par. We saw similar themes in the ‘00s when they could never get out of the first round. I’m tired of this franchise always half-a@&ing it and all of the excuses made for it (the small market fan’s equivalent to virtue signaling).
  20. Darius
    As a financial professional (CPA, not a licensed financial advisor/manager, to be clear), it doesn’t make a lot of sense why someone wouldn’t take a contract of that amount. Unless you think you’re surely going in the first round in subsequent years, you’re getting more than any signing bonus after college in total signing bonus/salary (and then, factor time value of money with getting the cash sooner). You work with a professional team’s development staff, getting a head start on what they want to see to crack the big-leagues. You dont spend half the year hurt f with a metal bat. You potentially accelerate your path the majors (at least your first cup of coffee - which is more $$$). I think people get a little desensitized to these dollar amounts, and think, “only a million over the next 3-4 years, why not get your education.” (Just saw this excessively with the Amir Coffey situation). In reality, that’s likely what that person will make in total over the next 30 years....or entire career in other words (median personal income is roughly $31k). Going to college right away is overrated.
  21. Darius
    Which begs the age-old questions about the necessity of 10,000 rounds, the meaning of life, etc.
  22. Darius
    I’m wondering why a team would select a player that has a high probability of going to college. This isn’t a gripe, it’s a legitimate question, Is it a flier type situation? “Maybe we can convince home to sign, let’s take a shot?” Or, is it a way of using picks without having to use the dollar? Can a team use the dollars in that way, or is it only if a player signs under the slot can it be applied elsewhere? I have to think they know what they’re getting into in the late rounds wit’s high-schoolers with major college offers.
  23. Darius
    I like the strategy of going after high-upside hitters and then then going after pitching later (and in international/free agent situations). Hitting is a little more projectable, and there are fewer players out there with real high-end hit tools and command of the strike zone. There dare usually indications that a hitter is going to beak out. Things are more readily measured and applied. Pitching is harder to project. Guys add/subtract velocity for various reasons. Catastrophic injury is more likely (blown elbows are common these days). Development of pitches is unknowable (how do you know if a guy has a feel for throwing a change-up if he’s never thrown one before? Guys have developed knuckleballs and won the Cy Young, Martin Perez’s cutter out of nowhere, Johan Santana’s change, etc.). Bottom line, I think you can grab guys that throw hard outside of the early rounds and develop them (we’re seeing it in the Twins system with Balazovic). I think you’re much more likely to find a guy like that these days (technology, advanced stats, etc) than finding an elite hitter in some obscure place. Could be way off, just a feeling.
  24. Darius
    Really nice to see Larnach breaking out. He’s on a nice run. Just that that, the average is over .300 and the OPS is over .850
  25. Darius
    Really nice bounce-back win. Watching Sano’s possible 2 run HR bounce off a speaker into a dedender’s glove must have introduced a little doubt. Really impressive to bear down and manufacture some runs. 2.1 innings in 27 pitches from Rogers to lock things down is pretty phenomenal.
×
×
  • Create New...