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Darius

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Everything posted by Darius

  1. Darius
    Analyzing te MLB draft is fun, but a futile exercise for a couple of reasons: 1). It's not like the NFL, NBA, etc draft in the sense that players don't contribute for half a decade in a lot of cases. There may be players from the Trout/Gibson draft that may not have reached the majors yet, but still may be good players. 2). It's also not like the NFL, MLB, etc draft in the sense that money is a huge driving force. It's the only draft where a team might have a guy as the best player in the draft, but they won't draft him because he wants X dollars. So, how do we really know that some of these guys that got "passed on" we're actually players that those teams would love to have, but were employing a different draft strategy in terms of how they're spending cash. 3). The talent pool is ridiculously big, and diverse. Because of age and projectability, you could find a superstar in the first round, or the 5000th round. There is just no way to know with some of these high school players. It's a total guessing game.
  2. Darius
    Seems like a grounded, hardworking kid from a good baseball family. Sounds like he eats and sleeps baseball. He already has good size, with strong tools across the board. Hard for me to argue with this one. Seems like he has a high probability of becoming a solid MLer, relative to what was the left. Of course, in order to be considered, the FO knows he'll come in at the right price.
  3. Darius
    As much as some are are grasping....there is no reason why Chagrois shouldn't be getting ML innings right now. The current bullpen is a disaster. Chagrois is the most talented bullpen arm suitable to bring up at this point. As was said above, why not get his first few innings out of the way now, and prime him to close or set-up next year, if he's got the arm talent as advertised? Do people think there is really alternate universes where 1) Chagrois gets called up today, and gets high leverage innings, and crashes and burns out of the league vs. 2) He gets called up in September, and gets high leverage innings, and turns into Rivera? If the guy is going to be a good major league player, he's eventually going to be one, regardless of 20 (or whatever) additional innings in AAA. I don't know at what point this whole thing got blown out of proportion (needing X minor league time to succeed, and if not you'll fail). It's utterly preposterous.
  4. Darius
    Buxton just keeps hitting. This franchise desperately needed him to go down and perform like this. Where does Buxton sit with options. Would another call-up and subsequent demotion this season leave him in his last option? Not that I'm advocating calling him up yet. I think he should spend at least another 3-4 weeks down there. But, are we going to look at a scenario where they'll be reluctant to call him back up because of burning that option, and getting into a Jorge Polanco likr situation with options?
  5. Darius
    Everyone seems to have convinced themselves that this is a talented team that is underachieving. By everyone, I mean the front office, the players, the media, and most fans. This is really a really dangerous point of view, IMO, because it implies that it will turn at some point with the same personnel. Frankly, this team isn't as talented as some like to think it is. Ervin Santana and Tyler Duffey are the only pitchers with te big club that belong in an MLB rotation, and they're firmly mediocre. The rest are really bad pitchers. Gibson may return to form and be a solid #4-type. In short, this rotation isn't even close to good enough to compete. Offensively, there isn't much hope to be found. Sano is a good player, with the potential to be a force. However, I'm beginning to think he's closer to the player we see this than what we saw last year. Park is basically the same type of player. The rest of the lineup is awful. Mauer is cooked. Dozier is done. Trevor Plouffe as a middle of the order bat is a joke. Arcia is a lost cause. There isn't another remotely competent offensive player on the major league roster. Again, as much as people like to think otherwise, this lineup is miles from being requisite of a playoff club. Watch one half inning with the team in the field, and it doesn't take Billy Beane to figure out that this is one of the worst defensive clubs in the league. Especially with Buxton gone. The catchers are a trainwreck. The team doesn't have a shortstop. The outfield is a mess (moving Sano out there may have been the dumbest personnel decision in baseball history). The team basically has 5 DHs (who really aren't all that good defensively). Again.... it winning anything with this defensive make-up....ever. The bullpen is self-evident at this point. Kevin Jepsen isn't a closer. Perkins career might be over. May is a total head case, who probably should have never been moved. Pressley has never been any good, not sure why that was expected to change. Again.....not even close to a competitive pen. Couple the lack of talent with an incompetent coaching staff (apparently) and front office, and it's a perfect storm. This is most certainly one of the worst collections of baseball players, coaches, and administrators in the history of the Twins (which is an impressive feat considering some of the teams TR has been running out there since the mid-90s) maybe baseball as a whole. This team isn't even close. Saying changes are necessary is an understatement. It's so bad they may even need to change the team name/mascot to change the level of toxicity ingrained in this franchise right now.
  6. Darius
    No mention of Park? He may be the most valuable trade chip this team has, if he can prove he can adjust out of this recent slide. I don't think anyone can be considered off limits at this point, given the state of the team. There is something toxic in that clubhouse. My guess is the veteran leadership -- or lack thereof (Mauer, Plouffe, Dozier).
  7. Darius
    Everyone needs to settle down Park, apparently. The league adjusted, now it's his turn. Send him down to Rochester? Good grief. Did you really expect that he would keep up that pace consistently and hit 45 home runs? Even the best hitter go through slumps and have to tweak some things. Mauer is widely considered the 2'd coming of Ted Williams in Twins Territory, and he has been slumping for four years. Park has been slumping for a week and half, and still one of the top slugging % guys in the AL (and has o my been in yheg MLB for a little over a month).
  8. Darius
    What I want from the Twins GM, whoever that may be, is t overly complicated: 1). Forget contracts and service time. Put the best team on the field and draft the best players available. 2). Pound the table and let the Pohlads know what you really need to win. Specifically, top-flight starting pitchers cost a lot of money. Bargain bin doesn't cut it. 3). Being loyal is admirable, in many situations. But, people need to held accountable, regardless of whether or not they're on your Christmas card list. 4). Get with the times. Waiting two decades to catch up with trends (advances statistics, emphasizing velocity, etc), is inexcusable. Basically, I want some semblance of competence. Look, I get that TR is hamstrung by our ridiculously bad and greedy ownership. But, they're clearly not going anywhere, so it would be nice to get someone in here to run the team who is in the cutting edge of trends. Being revolutionary at something is really the only way an organization like this has a chance.
  9. Darius
    Disagree. Way off, here. Expectation for Mauer were at rock bottom. It was the front office, the coaching staff, the media, and Mauer himself who came out and said "the recent struggles were all because of my eye issues caused by concussion symptoms. That's in the past, and Mauer is feeling better than ever. Great year coming." They set the expectation. As for Dozer, he's had about 6 months total in his career in which he was good player. You're right in the sense that some people had expectations for him that were too high. But, what in God's name is this guy doing in the top third of the lineup? He shouldn't even be starting at this point, let alone batting leadoff for a major league club, with which comes inherent expectations. Again, caused by the FO/Manager. You can't really blame fans for being sold a bill of goods, for the sake of making the Pohlad's richer than a Saudi prince, then getting pissed when they don't deliver. The bottom line here, is that changes aren't made. Nobody is pissed at player X for not performing....its that they keep getting run out there for years after its apparent that they aren't a very good player because the FO hands out awful contracts. I guess we do agree on something: The player isn't the one to blame.
  10. Darius
    There is only one choice. Blaming the players, manager, etc., means that, ultimately, Terry Ryan isn't doing his job. He's responsible for putting the team together. TR is the only choice. If there's an off year here or there, OK, blame a player or a manager. But, when you've won one playoff series in a quarter decade, and have a record in that time period that doesn't even sniff .500, its clearly an issue at the top.
  11. Darius
    I look at the worst record in the MLB, and get excited about next year's draft. How nice would the #1 overall pick be for this "future" that keeps getting postponed? It's a nice consolation. I'd rather have the #1 pick to go along with all the young talent, than try and salvage 10 extra wins with some AAAA players, at best. Then I remember that TR would be forced to draft based on signability (aka cheap-out), and probably watch a generational player slip, while taking a "high-floor/low-ceiling" college catcher, or something similar. Then, I also remember that if they did draft that player that would be generational in another organization, they wouldn't be able to develop him, and it would go down in Twins history as another bust. Then, I return to wondering how many more weeks until Vikings training camp.
  12. Darius
    Is Bonnes concerned that the Twins will take his credentials? I mean, he can't honestly buy into some of the stuff he claims he does, can he (defending roster moves, the Twins prospect development/general team building philosophy, Terry Ryan's abilities as a GM, down playing the country club atmosphere, etc)? The guy clearly has a lot knowledge when it comes to sabremetrics and advanced stats, and Twins history. But, it's kind of mind boggling how anyone can objectively look at the Twins organization and think it's anything other than a raging two-plus decade garbage fire...from the ownership, to TR, to St. Peter, to Antony, to the scouts, to the minor league staffs, to the trainers...basically all the way down the line. It has to be a "good-cop/bad-cop" schtik for the podcast, right?
  13. Darius
    Is there any rhyme or reason related to where they send major leaguers on rehabs? Is there some kind of an agreement in place with certain teams, or guidelines they have to follow? Just curious as to why they would send the MLB SS on rehab to take playing time from the best SS prospect in the system. I guess you could say the same for Gibson, taking starts in the most talented rotation in the system. Why not send them to Chat. or CR and keep your better prospects on the field? What am I missing here.
  14. Darius
    I don't think the Twins could put together a package that could land Trout, even if it were a real possibility. There isn't a guy on the major league club that's worth anything, other than Berrios, Sano and maybe Park. That's it. Nobody is paying anything to touch anyone else. That wouldn't get it done. You could offer them the entire Roch., Chatt., and FM rosters and they wouldn't take it. For as good as things were looking a few years ago it's kind of weird to be saying this (or expected, depending on your outlook), but there just isn't a whole lot there. Definitely not as much as anticipated.
  15. Darius
    You can be a fan of the Twins and still admit that the front office is utterly incompetent, and is among he worst in the MLB, if not all professional sport. I get that a lot of people like to go to Target Field to socialize, and enjoy the beautiful weather. But, we're going on 3 decades of awful personnel management here. We're talking one playoff series victory since 1991. Let's come to terms with reality. Fandom and begging for long-overdue front office changes aren't mutually exclusive. So much delusion in this fan base.
  16. Darius
    Funny, all of those justifying this by saying Hicks isn't hitting for the Yanks either (or wasn't when healthy) seem to like to love to leave defense and base running out of the equation. It's not Hicks bat they're missing at this point (even though his bat offers loads more upside than Murphy's, IMO). But, he sure would be a big help in CF/RF right now. Murphy seems to a bad defensive catcher, when this team was desperate for an average one.
  17. Darius
    If Kohl Stewart is traded, as mentioned above, as a team that isn't going anywhere this year (or the foreseeable future), a pitchfork and torch wielding mob should drag Ryan out of his office at Target Field, and tar and feather him on the Nicollet Mall. Ok, maybe a little much. But, my God, that would be an awful decision.....which means it will probably happen at some point.
  18. Darius
    Jepsen shouldn't be a major league closer on any team. The fact that they went into the season with him as a back-up plan after watching Perkins stroll around out of shape and implode two years in a row, is highly suspect. Frankly, Jepsen might not even get 7th inning in a good number of the high end pens in the league.....and he's this team's closer. You can point to depth if you'd like, but IMO, there are more effective relievers in the major league, and in minors. It's just another case of poor personnel management, and choosing seniority over the player that actually gives the team the best chance to win baseball games. This organization has a long history of that all over the diamond, and that's why they've been losers for over two decades.
  19. Darius
    I have to give them some credit for this one. A little late for my liking (a little cheap to milk that extra year with a guy like this), but beggars can't be choosers. I think he's immediately the staff "Ace" (not the most difficult status to achieve in this organization, but again beggars can't be choosers). He's got the make-up and stuff to be very good immediately, and I expect that he will be. He's not the kind of guy that will a return trip to Rochester. Good move, TR.
  20. Darius
    "No need for a catcher right now," is highly debatable. Suzuki and Murphy are providing the Twins with nothing on either side of the ball at this point. Neither should be getting a meaningful amount of MLB at-bats/innings behind the plate. There may not be great replacement options (because of poor planning), but there is most definitely a "need," for a catcher, IMO.
  21. Darius
    What's surprising to me is that people are surprised that TR made another bad move. I'd be surprised if he made a saavy one at this point.
  22. Darius
    Why is everyone worried about when Duffey is going down? The guy just put up a better start than Milone, Gibson, and maybe Hughes/Santana have thus far in 2016, against a legitimate World Series contender on the road. The real question should be, 'why isn't Duffey a permanent member of the rotation yet?' Not to mention, he was the team's best starter for 2-3 months last year after getting the call. Ryan needs to learn to let go. I get that he loves Milone, because he's living back in '95 when any breathing lefty was valuable...but that time has long since passed. This isn't even bringing Berrios into the equation, who hasn't even gotten a major league start yet, despite being the best talented pitcher in the organization for going on two years now. Whatever happened to fielding the team that gives you best chance to win baseball games? I'm glad to see everyone else appears to be getting as frustrated with this front office as I am. It's not an exaggeration to say that there isn't a more poorly run organization in any major sport in the world (football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, cricket, rugby, lingerie football....whatever). Also, sending Buxton to AAA isn't going to do anything for him in terms of learning to hit major league pitching (namely breaking balls), which is his paramount issue. It may increase his confidence level so he's not pressing so much. But, I think it's one of the bigger fallacies in sports (propagated by service time issues) that players need a certain amount of time in the minors. If he succeeds in the future, it will have little to do with spending more time in the minors, IMO. Who is to say he's not equally as likely to figure out with more hands on experience? Who is to say more minor league pitching wont only allow his bad habits to persist? The only practice for a major league breaking ball, is a major league breaking ball. In the same vein, what's the excuse for sending down a guy who has shown he can handle major league pitching and manage the strike zone (Kepler), after basically letting him rot on the bench after showing that potential? I've gone on long enough to discuss the JR Murphy thing in depth. At least Hicks could play defense...and very well... is all I'll say. Its almost like TR is doing everything he can to get fired, and he just cannot make it happen.
  23. Darius
    Any word on Burdi's velocity? Is he up around 100 or does he have some ramping up to do? Nice to see him back, and that it didn't turn into anything serious (yet). I'd like to see both Burdi and Chagrois with big club at some point this year. That bullpen needs all the help it can get. If the Twins would come to their senses and get Berrios in the rotation, and the two mentioned flame-throwers setting up the back-end, pitching could all of the sudden be a strength instead of a weakness.
  24. Darius
    Any idea of how many pitches it took Berrios to get through 7?
  25. Darius
    ...And these innings from Berrios continue to get wasted at AAA while the Twins are getting absolutely nothing from 3/5 of their current starting rotation, and nose diving to the bottom of the standings. The same could be said for Duffey (who looks to finally be getting the call to spot start, and will be right back down). It's crazy to think that Berrios has anything left to prove at this point. Honest question: Does anyone think, even at his worst, that Berrios isn't one of the best 5 starters in this organization right now? I'd really like to try and understand the rationale behind this line of thinking.
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