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Wizard11

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Everything posted by Wizard11

  1. Wizard11
    I will try to suspend judgement but my initial reaction to losing Maeda and Gray to very reasonable contracts is one of major disappointment. I realize we are never going to compete for the 5-6 top FA pitchers each year but these signings seem like they should be in our wheelhouse. Twins off seasons have become acid inducing.
  2. Wizard11
    I grew up listening to Herb Carneal and Halsey Hall on the radio. They helped me fall in love with baseball and the Twins. Dick Bremer had reached that iconic status for me in recent years. He seemed kind of stiff and like a company man during the Blyleven era but it felt like he had loosened up and showed more of his personality since then. It felt like he was getting better with each year. He is such an encyclopedia of Twins history. If Corey Provus does get the job I hope loses his lame attempt at a signature home run call….”back it goes, deep it goes”….blech, it sounds so scripted and wooden. I like him otherwise. It seems weird to me to push Bremer out but then to potentially retain Gladden as a broadcaster for whom English is a second language. My teenage son does love listening to Gladden just to hear how he is going to mangle the names of opposing players. It really delights him.
  3. Wizard11
    Mitch Garver is going to be a free agent…just saying
  4. Wizard11
    Given the unknowns about the Twins TV deal I think the chance of one of the “top” (aka expensive) starters landing in MN is zero. MN has the nation’s fifth highest state tax rate and is the coldest place baseball is played. Local fans often try to discount these factors but for those outside of MN it is a big deal. For most high end FAs it is going to require more than matching big market bids. We are mostly going to get the overpays like Donaldson or those with limited choices like Correa. Not a lot of these in most off seasons. Many fans chant the annual chorus of “they should go get…(fill in name with a hyper expensive FA) as if it were a matter of simply ordering from Amazon. This year more than most I think the odds of that are near zero. I suspect the FO hope is that Paddack can replace some of Gray’s production. Bringing Maeda back would make a lot of sense. He pitched well last year and one more year removed from TJ should bring better results and stamina. A trade may be an option but a lot of player capital was spent on the Gray, P. Lopez, Mahle, and J. Lopez trades. A rebound candidate like Gioloto and/or a Pineda like deal for Mahle seem more probable
  5. Wizard11
    To me Henriquez is more likely cut than Moran. I believe Alcala is kept. I think it is possible we see all of the other 6 you listed as being cut. They are all replaceable by widely available minor league free agents. Also I think they would only keep at most one of Stevenson or Keirsey. They would bring similar things to the roster. Given that Keirsey is 26 I doubt either of these 2 are kept. I would add that it puzzles me so many fans think Nick Gordon should be kept. He has zero positions he plays well defensively, is not an accomplished base stealer, is a weak hitter (no, 10 good weeks are not more important than the rest of his major and minor league numbers), and he is no longer a young prospect. He is a very likable player but not the type who is part of a future championship club.
  6. Wizard11
    I would love to hear some fan’s theories on why we are going to win in the postseason. It is boring and a buzzkill to keep reading so many entries about why we are going to lose. Could all you predictors of doom (someone actually used that term) go descend on an Astros fan site and work your dark magic there? You will have all winter to come back here and kvetch about the “terrible” Twins and the leadership you despise. 1987 & 1991 were filled with good vibes. Long time Twins fans deserve the same for 2023..
  7. Wizard11
    The spin to find Rocco hate is mind boggling at times. Gallo and Vasquez were the only 2 pinch runners available for a hobbled Julien. Which one should he have chose? What would your imaginary ideal manager have done? Use of the pen? Look at the recent bullpen usage and availability. Please do get in to the math… on days used and pitch counts. The only master class here is the stunning narrative of Rocco’s perceived inadequacies after another good victory.
  8. Wizard11
    Polanco would be a great super utility man IMO. It is common in baseball for an aging vet to transition to a reduced role. In Polanco’s case that would likely also translate to better health. All the angst about a spot in the infield for Julien seems misplaced to me. He is our next DH who can grab a glove if needed. Maybe he starts 2024 @ 2nd base if they don’t feel Lee is ready or they want to suppress service time for Lee . Lee, Lewis, and Castro will cover 2B and 3B by mid 2024. Martin will likely replace Taylor as the “backup” CF who gets 400 ABs. Kirilloff will likely stay at 1B. Buxton plays CF and IL. Wallner and Kepler in the corners. Lewis, Lee, Castro, and Polanco could all cover SS when Correa is NA. Gordon, Farmer, Taylor, and Solano are likely gone. These are the guys that are pushed off the roster by younger players. This also makes it easier to find 40 man roster space for players like Severino and Prato.
  9. Wizard11
    He was signed to be a fourth OF’er. There was nothing in the article to imply he was as valuable as Mike Trout or anyone else on the list. The message was that he has hit for more power than expected and has been an upside surprise. Why the nitpicking?
  10. Wizard11
    Brooks LeeWalker JenkinsEmmanuel RodriguezDavid FestaMarco RayaCharlee SotoAustin MartinConnor PrielippTanner SchobelYasser MercedesLuke KeaschallBrandon WinokurJordan BalazovicKala'i RosarioYunior SeverinoDaShawn Keirsey JrJair CamargoJose RodriguezAndrew CossettiBrent Headrick
  11. Wizard11
    Pure Gold.
  12. Wizard11
    I believe Joey Gallo is gone at the deadline. Yesterday’s move of sending down a pitcher was IMO a ST move to facilitate some time to attempt to extract some value for Gallo. I would expect he is DFA’d if they can not package him up some how. This will start unclogging the position player jam
  13. Wizard11
    Much ado over nothing. Sonny Gray is not getting traded, shopped, nor is he retiring at the end of the year. My worst Twins nightmare is waking up and finding out that a collective of negative TD commenters is now running the FO. I appreciate the commenters (many of whom are long time participants) in here who provide nuanced and unique insight about our team and the game. From the rest the torrent of negative commentary is a buzzkill. The team is in first place, will likely win the division and has a very good pitching staff. If you are a Twins fan let’s try to enjoy the ride. To the trolls let me say that you will have all winter to tell us you are right if the Twins flop. Go bother Yankees fans until then.
  14. Wizard11
    Awesome job capturing the persona and demeanor of many TD commenters. Good stuff.
  15. Wizard11
    I love the revisionist history. Last year after the J López and Mahle trades these pages were full of praise for the FO. “We got a second closer for nothing…the guys we gave Baltimore were garbage. Mahle will probably be our best starter Spencer Steer will never hit enough to be more than a utility player, CES has no position and won’t hit enough to be a MLB DH….blah, blah, blah.” Where were all of the searing criticisms at the time of these trades? The ever shifting narratives regarding the FO are ludicrous. Given all the vitriol I would love to hear from the keyboard warriors who exactly they think should be running our FO? If you hate the FO then who would you prefer be in charge? I am calling you out here. I would really like to get back to reading insightful commentary from knowledgeable fans without an agenda.
  16. Wizard11
    Wow, take a breath folks. The Twins are in first place and should remain there. If so, they are heading to the playoffs and for once we have the pitching to compete. As a side note the Twins are 15th in runs scored. For comparison SD with a star studded lineup is 24th. Our lineup is built around 2 players who are underperforming and are likely receiving around 30% of the payroll. The next best player (Polanco) is hurt. Miranda was the tip of the youth movement and was a dumpster fire. The rest of the cast in sum is doing about as expected. It has been frustrating and a bit dull to watch. I do expect that we will see some better baseball ahead. I also think that the concerns about pitchers regressing is overblown. Nothing in the underlying metrics suggests they have been lucky. The bigger risk for our starting pitching is injury. Not many teams will get to the end of the season with all of their starters intact..
  17. Wizard11
    Correa looks awful at the plate. It maybe me but it seems like he has adopted the Miguel Sano approach and hacking wildly at pitches down and away out of the zone. His at bats seem like where hope goes to die.
  18. Wizard11
    I mentioned hitting only because a previous commenter on my post brought up WPA as a way of measuring impact. If you use actual results (Jax not Pagan) has been the worst reliever in terms of the Twins standings. I also think that Jax and Pagan can both be part of a very good bullpen. I know fans are frustrated and so am I. Swapping out a middle reliever however is not going to be much of an impact.
  19. Wizard11
    My point was not about bullpen vs hitting. It was about the obsessiveness of some about Pagan. His impact this season is minimal. You are right about the title and that was part of my point. Write an article with Pagan in the title and turn the dogs loose. Just clickbait
  20. Wizard11
    I appreciate your point on this and I could have been more succinct. Mine main point was about the volume of groupthink spew regarding Pagan vs his actual impact on the season. Negative WPA might also be a good place for looking at hitters or other bullpen members. I am just stunned by the fixation on Pagán by some on here. I guess his name in a title is good click bait to engage an otherwise increasingly checked out fan base.
  21. Wizard11
    It is mind boggling that so many fans who claim to be watching this team can identify Emilio Pagan as the problem with the Twins season. Pretty sure his 2 bad outings are not the reason for this team’s gross underperformance. Pretty sure most of our relievers including Duran have had 2 bad outings this year. The bullpen is not the problem. Some fans reference “low leverage” Innings. Those are unicorn’s for our bullpen. Win or lose most games have been very tight. Score some damn runs and our bullpen will look much better.
  22. Wizard11
    I hope Kirilloff is the star player that we all hope for. That being said he needs to be able to play 6-7 days in a row before we start cutting or benching players to jam him in. As to removing players, Solano was signed to be a right handed bench bat. Castro is only 24 years old with an option year left and plays good defense with speed. Gordon can be used all over the field and has speed though perhaps limited base stealing prowess. Micheal A Taylor is playing great defense, using his speed, and has an OPS over .700 which is great for his role. I am sure Kirilloff appreciates all the fans who are concerned for his future earning power and feel his credentials belie any need to earn his way on the roster by extended healthy performance. His skill set as a left handed corner bat is abundant at the moment and moving other players off the roster with different roles will not logically make this team better. He will get his shot before long as the unfortunate reality is one of the left handed corner bats will get hurt eventually. This team is clicking right now. Winning is the goal, not creating a career path for a much hyped (on TD) minor leaguer. He was drafted 7 years ago and that suggests a bit of muted optimism. That said I do hope he is as amazing as the hype. That would be great.
  23. Wizard11
    Max Kepler went 0 for 5 to start the season. Since then he has hit .260/.316/520. Yeah let’s cut the bum. This anti-Kepler narrative is getting annoying. TD “GMs” will be drooling all over themselves if Kirilloff comes up and produces the same numbers
  24. Wizard11
    Hmmm… let’s see…Kirilloff missed most of last season, had no spring training games…hmmm… I guess maybe finish his rehab? 🤔 He did play back to back nine inning games and has hit 3 AAA HRs so let’s start cutting people to get him on the roster.
  25. Wizard11
    There is some deep irony about a lengthy debate amongst Twins fans as to which healthy players should be on the roster. A quick glance in the rear view mirror suggests that many of these issues will resolve organically. Let’s not underestimate the capacity for this team to find ways to get injured. Kirilloff is still on his 20 day rehab period. When that ends soon we will probably have our first roster friction point
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