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EddieMatthews

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Everything posted by EddieMatthews

  1. EddieMatthews
    I'd like to see Dozier move down the line-up and get into more RBI situations. That would require a better option for lead-off. I hope Dozier feels comfortable in the 3-hole or 4-hole with someone on base and someone behind him that forces the opposition to pitch to him. In my dreams I see a .285 / .360 / .490 slash with 40 dingers and 105 RBI. In reality, I see him returning to his career average before 2016 of .240 as pitchers avoid the high fastball and defensive shifts take away hits.
  2. EddieMatthews
    There's been a bigly uptick in TJ surgery at the video gamer's club lately. Maybe the AHCA will exclude this activity from coverage.
  3. EddieMatthews
    With the pitching woes of 2016 fresh in mind, Molitor and the FO will not run out any rookies in the starting five before letting their "proven" starters lose their spots. That means Santana, Hughes, Gibson, Santiago have a lock barring injury. I don't see Duffey in that group. Adalberto (love that name) Meija may bump Berrios. They both have something to prove in spring training. The starters who end up in Rochester will be on standby to return to MN. I don't see the starting five as static over the first two months. Injury and struggles will be the norm. I also don't like to see a starting pitcher moved to the bullpen. Bad thing for May. Don't do it any more.
  4. EddieMatthews
    Don't remember Luke Hughes either. Too many unmemorable outfielders passing through that revolving door in the past 5 years. I agree that it's too early to make this decision. Hitters will not see a lot of MLB pitching until mid March. Lots of prospects and hopefuls throwing fastballs and stretching out their arms right now. Having said that, it is a lot of fun to see Park park the ball in CF bleachers. When he connects, the ball flies a log way.
  5. EddieMatthews
    I hope (predict) improvements over 2016 in offense, defense and pitching. The lineup will be Buxton cf, Mauer 1b, Sano 3b, Dozier 2b, Vargas dh, Kepler rf, Polanco ss, Rosario lf, Castro c. Bench players will be a mix and rotation between MLB and AAA. Improvements in defense will be in the outfield and catcher. Expect weakness on the left side of the infield with Sano and Polanco struggling at times. Pitching will improve with improved defense, catching, and return of injured players. Hughes, Perkins, Chargois, Berrios, all have big upsides. I don't know how pitching could get worse. Net gain will be 10 more wins than last year, with the youngsters showing improvement toward 2018.
  6. EddieMatthews
    There's not a lot of meat on the 40-man. The execs have their work cut out for them. I am surprised that anyone is worried about another team claiming our cast-offs. Maybe the 15-man that didn't play much last year have merit, but the 25-man resulted in 100+ losses, and there's not a lot of upside in that group, IMHO. We need some serious help.
  7. EddieMatthews
    I would pick #45.
  8. EddieMatthews
    Sano is still too heavy at 255. Playing at 3B, he will make a lot of quick steps, putting him at increased risk of muscle pulls and other nagging injuries. The fact that he lost 15 pounds and muscled up says a lot. Now if he can squeeze that tarantula under his Twins cap, he should be good to go.
  9. EddieMatthews
    Mauer's best season, 2009, started for him in May. He was in lousy condition and spent April 2009 in Fort Myers getting in shape. People don't recognize this in their praise of his year. What numbers would he have posted with another 22 games. From May thru Oct Mauer played in 138 games and only missed 2 days. The Twins need to find out what training Mauer had in 2009 and get him in that kind of conditioning. That will improve his bat speed, hard contact, and games played. My guess for 2017 and 2018 is same numbers as we saw in 2014-16 because Mauer will not be in good shape. Maybe he's over the hill and cannot get in good shape, but this is independent of his concussion issues. Morneau worked on conditioning post-concussion and was able to win an NL batting title. Good luck, Joe.
  10. EddieMatthews
    I agree, very generous. Dozier didn't break .800 on OPS, and is an average defender. His BA although career best is still Maueresce. Maybe if he were in the 3 hole his numbers would have been better. I agree on Mauer, so I would use him as a standard for Polenco, Sano, Vargas. No one should get a B if they cannot hit for the MLB average, field to the MLB average, and make MLB plays such as knowing which base to throw to, where to take cutoff throws, and put the ball in play. These guys need to stay after school to bring their grades up to C.
  11. EddieMatthews
    If an Old-timers Bomb Squad were named from 1961 thru 2010 they would be able to win a 7 game series from the New-timers Bomb Squad from 2011 - 2016. The recent revolving door has had numerous deplorable (can I use that term again?) players. Many of the players named from the Old-timers had some redeeming years in their careers. The New-timers were cast-offs, dumpster, AAA players that couldn't make it to the bigs with any other team. This when compounded by many questionable roster moves, makes it the all-time worst. I'm not going to build an entire line-up, but will name a few. 1B - Morneau (post concussion) followed by Mauer (post concussion) 2B - Nishi, SS - Nishi, OF - Rene Tosoni, Willihammer, Hicks, etc. And Pitching - pick from the 50+ players that revolved across the mound in that period. Nishi gets "worst" at two positions, a team record.
  12. EddieMatthews
    I gained a lot of respect and insight into how he relates to teammates from a story about him this past year. He was in Rochester on a rehab assignment. After his last game he hired a taco truck to feed his teammates as an appreciation for their support. He sounds like a great guy. Wish him well.
  13. EddieMatthews
    First and Third base are positions that should be held by productive bats. The Twins have had a career .727 OPS at third and a post-concussion Mauer at first. A quick look at other AL teams shows that most have plus .800 OPS at third. Moving Plouffe off the roster opens up the position for Sano. We'll see how he handles it. The money saved by releasing Plouffe should get us a catcher who can handle the pitching staff. Go Twins!
  14. EddieMatthews
    My pick for Twins top five bounce back seasons are Plouffe, Arcia, Nolasco, Suzuki, and Jepsen. If you can pick players (Plouffe) who will not be on the 2017 roster, so can I.
  15. EddieMatthews
    Through the entire series, I enjoyed the differences between an NL and an AL team. I thought about games 6 and 7 and how it would have been differently managed and played if the DH wasn't in the line-up. Although the Cubs didn't play with a DH in the regular season, they had the better DH when in Cleveland with Schwarber who came off the DL to provide several critical at-bats and hits. I also agree that Maddon mis-managed his pitching in games 6 and 7 as many others have said. Bringing in Chapman in game 6 was premature and not needed. The bunt attempt with two strikes and the infield in may not have worked even if executed. Pulling Hendricks was one batter too soon. I don't understand the Jon Lester problem with throwing to first base. When Lindor was caught off first in game 5 and Lester couldn't throw and get the out, I would have had all runners stretch their leads on first. Make him throw a pick-off underhanded. Steal second at will. Fun World Series, and still the best major sports championship. For the players and the fans. The fan involvement is the best!
  16. EddieMatthews
    I for one will be so happy when ABW II gets his promo to the bigs next year. I expect he will have stats similar to BHP, with a 40% K rate, a BA below the Mendoza line, and a few tape measure HRs. Then he will know what to work on when he returns to Rochester.
  17. EddieMatthews
    Kintzler had a half-dozen games where he was asked to pitch the eighth and come back out for the ninth and broke down. These games skewed his stats. I sat through two of these games and it was painful. He should not be asked to be a multi-inning guy. I put this on Molitor for mis-managing his bullpen. Having said that, the Twins need both middle / late inning relievers and a solid closer. May should be a starter. The Twins need to sign one free agent reliever who has potential to be a closer. They need to groom Chargois (if they know how to do this) for the closer role. Let Perkins fill a middle relief role along with Tonkin and a few others. Closer for 2017 should transition from Kintzler to Free Agend to Chargois. Next year is a transition and set up for 2018, Hope the Twins are fun to watch in 2017, but they will still have a losing record.
  18. EddieMatthews
    The Twins need to have the same approach as in 2009. When Mauer comes to Spring Training out of shape again, they need to DL him and assign a personal trainer to him for the month of April. Keep him in Florida and get him in shape, strength, endurance, flexibility. Mauer came north in May and produced MVP numbers. If that happens, Park, Vargas, Sano, etc will sort out the DH, 1B, 3B situation. Let's face it. 2017 will be another losing year, but the Twins should be setting the table for 2018 as the young players improve. By August 2017 the infield, outfield and rotation will be more settled. Mauer should make a contribution as a 75% 1B/DH. His successor should have made a mark by that time. If Mauer cannot get into baseball shape, then consider releasing him.
  19. EddieMatthews
    The Twins will NOT trade Dozier. He is the only marketing chip that they have, other than the food at Target Field. 2016 did not work out for the Marketing Dept. Sano was a bust, Berrios was a bust, Buxton was a bust, Mauer was a bust. So all they have is Santana every 5th game. Halvey needs to shore up the Twins at C and get one quality starting pitcher and one quality reliever. He has no trading chips and will not mortgage his future for 2017. Polanco and Sano need to go to Spring Training with goals to play solid SS and 3B. Barring injuries, the infield and outfield will be set for 2017. As for hoping that Gordon or any other prospect will bail out the defense in 2018, remember how Buxton, Sano, Berrios, Vargas, DSantana, etc have worked out. Still hoping, aren't we?
  20. EddieMatthews
    In 2014 Vargas had better splits against right handed pitchers. His slash line vs RHP was .309/.338/.561 while he had .228/.287/.318 vs LHP. These are all small sample sizes, but he had over 100 PA's on each side in 2014. Do you think that the Twins have verified that Vargas should be switch hitting? Maybe his eyesight is better from the right side. Maybe he has better mechanics. Like so many young players, the Twins have not always found the best path to success. They should have a plan going into Spring Training or they might lose another Ortiz to the Sox.
  21. EddieMatthews
    I agree, but Colon still is pitching and shut the Twins down this year. Santana (2005) was the best AL pitcher in 2005. He was HOF bound until he went to the Mets.
  22. EddieMatthews
    First, I'd like to see Sano drop 25 pounds and 25 strikeouts for 2017. Baseball is unique in the sport world in that every player needs to play offense and defense, hit for power, get on base, advance runners, run bases, catch the ball, throw the ball, and play as part of a team. Sano needs to work on his entire game. Maybe a few of those pounds that are slowing him down are between his ears. Second, this topic is about first base. Sano needs to play solid third base or be relegated to the designated hitter role. Mauer, as incumbent, needs to come to spring training in shape. The StarTribune showed a picture of him training in the back room of his auto dealership. He was doing squats with a 45 pound bar and a couple of 10 pound weights. He needs a personal trainer and a dietician who can get him ready for 2017. Most bar league players can run from first to home without pulling their quads. Vargas should rotate with Mauer at first and DH. Vargas needs to start hitting right hand pitching. Mauer will hit better if there are solid hitters behind him and runners on base ahead of him. Dozier, Sano, Vargas, Kepler batting third, fourth, fifth will keep the pitching honest as Morneau, Cuddyer, Willingham and others did. Buxton in lead-off will force pitchers to throw better pitches to Mauer. As for Park, he should platoon with Beresford in Rochester. I don't see a future in the majors for Park. He is the odd man out in the 1B / DH crowd. If he learns to hit pitching he may be trade bait.
  23. EddieMatthews
    I'd like to see a fresh start in Spring Training. The coaches will have 8 weeks to get to know the young players and establish communications. Start everyone on page 1.
  24. EddieMatthews
    At the end of the season we got a sample of what could be in 2017. Buxton, Sano, Berrios. Maybe the rotation will be an easier fix than we had thought. Santana, Berrios, Santiago, and two days rain. Put the sophomore jinx behind the young guys, and get a catcher. Voila!
  25. EddieMatthews
    I agree that this is the worst Minnesota Twins team. Injuries were a factor, but not the determining one. There was an expectation that Jepsen could fill Perkins' shoes and that didn't happen. Hughes was a disappointment, but a larger breakdown happened with Gibson, Nolasco, Milone and Duffey not able to pitch at a Major League level. Except for Santana the other starters in 130 games averaged over 6.00 ERA. Some of the starters were barely AAA level. Others were flat out disappointing (Berrios and Meyer). By September the relievers couldn't hold anybody. The field players did not come to Spring Training ready to compete. Sano is a good example. Several players made the team for reasons other than their playing ability. "Out of options" is no excuse for playing someone. Dozier placed himself in the "leader" role and fell on his face in the first two months. Mauer and Nunez were the only competitive players in April. The lack of a consistent line-up and defensive players put added pressure on the pitching. The biggest problem is the players offered up by the front office. Park was a long-shot in overstaffed positions of DH / 1B. Sano in RF was a joke. Plouffe should have been dealt in the off-season. A reliever should have been signed. Most importantly, Molitor as a new manager should have hired seasoned coaches to work with the youth coming up from Chattanooga and Rochester. It was very difficult to watch this team as the veterans struggled and the youth floundered. I am hoping that a couple of pitchers and a couple of coaches can turn the ship around in 2017.
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