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ewen21

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Everything posted by ewen21

  1. ewen21
    Machado would be a nightmare here. We'd need to outbid the entire market for one player who was discarded by the Dodgers rather quickly for character issues. He is the new A-Rod only his numbers are not nearly as good. I agree with you and I hope Machado remains unsigned for another month or two (or more). Add Harper to that list as well.
  2. ewen21
    Buxton has nothing to do with Hicks. There are far more players who had bad offensive numbers in their first four seasons and ended up being nothing. Not sure what the point of the comparison is. It is far too simplistic. Hicks doesn't have nearly the issues Buxton has with injuries. This is a very real concern and will have a profound amount of influence on how he develops (or doesn't develop). If Buxton crashes into a wall and gets carted off the field he leaves just a little bit more of himself out on the field. There will come a point that the mounting injuries will be detrimental to his development. This must somehow be averted, although with the dialogue Buxton provides running into walls seems to be his trademark. Good luck with that. Hicks doesn't have a concussion history or migraine issues. One similarity both Hicks and Buxton had was that the Twins wanted to throw them out there and let them take their lumps when they were not actually ready. Between Buxton and Hicks our CFs have been absolutely horrid in April. These abysmal starts affected Hicks and it might be affecting Buxton's confidence even more. So when you say, "play this out" what exactly do you mean? Do we allow him to hit .200 and strike out twice a game through the month of June? The game is not played on paper and this gets ignored far too much.
  3. ewen21
    But he asked does KEPLER really need a different WAR calculation for CF and RF. What he meant is that Kepler is different from Palka in that it wouldn't have much affect on his WAR if any. He isn't assuming Palka would gain anything moving to CF. He actually said he would be liability. You are basically correcting him for something he never said
  4. ewen21
    Bottom line is he should not be given an entire season to flounder. If he isn't hitting his weight over the first 3 or 4 weeks the heat is on him. He was the one who said he didn't want to "sugarcoat" things. This is the major leagues. He cannot start off looking completely pathetic again. It kills the lineup to have him doing that and it starts us off on the wrong foot. It is up to him to turn that around. Not up to the Twins to bring him along and give him an over-abundance of patience. He has to meet a standard offensively and he better not start off like he has in other seasons. He just might panic
  5. ewen21
    What? Do I really need to explain it to you or are you intentionally misinterpreting what I said just to make me seem silly? The guys who actually work with him would be the ones doing that. Not saying you are making excuses for him either. I just think your rationale is off. Also, how in the world does stating a fact about his 162 game average understate anything? It states the reality and that is what I am interested in first and foremost. OF COURSE the injuries and horrible starts are a huge concern. I have discussed that already in other posts about him, but you challenged what I said about his 162 game average OPS. As far as your Knoblauch rookie season comparison goes you are comparing apples to trout. Knoblauch had a .351 OPS, was a second baseman, was 21 years old and at a different stage in his career. He also had an OPS of .701 (which for a second baseman with and OPS in 1991 is fine). Furthermore, looking through the league over the last 20 years I tried to find CFs with a OPS lower than .672 with 2,000 plate appearances. Those players would be: Billy Hamilton, Willy Taveras, Ben Revere and Jarrod Dyson. That is all and Buxton's OBP is worse than all of them. Not by a little bit either. In the case of Revere, Tavares and Dyson 35 points. All of them have much higher batting averages. How long exactly does he get? That is my bone of contention. I don't think he should have a whole season starting in the outfield. He can't go on being the one the absolute worst offensive CF in baseball over the last 20 years and remain in the daily lineup. It is wrong on several levels. What message does it send to other players in the system? We are going to give Buxton more rope than anyone even after he publicly moans about his situation? We are miles apart, I think. If he is hitting .190 by Mother's Day I send him down to Rochester. Here is hoping he doesn't give us his career average .464 OPS April (even worse than .550). Dude has had almost 1.000 at bats at the major league level. HOw much further do we continue this apprenticeship?
  6. ewen21
    Is the most important question to ask? The real question needs to be: "do we invest in these guys long term?" As of right now, I am only interested in extending Berrios and Rosario. The others need to show me more.
  7. ewen21
    Precisely what I think on all points.
  8. ewen21
    The idea that we need to give Buxton an endless amount of rope to hang himself this year doesn't wash with me. Not after last year, not after his "I'm not gonna sugarcoat nothing" speech at the Children's Hospital. Sugarcoating things, coddling him and saying his defense and speed bails him out is exactly what needs to stop happening. There needs to be accountability. He is screaming for it.
  9. ewen21
    Once again. Hunter was not THIS bad, nor was he THIS fussed over. No player should have the latitude to play with an endless amount of rope. When you say give him "the whole season" what does it mean? Does it mean he can hit .194 and play everyday? That to me is utterly ridiculous. It shows everyone there is no standard and certain players have certain rules. We cannot operate like this. If he is hitting .190 on Mother's Day he goes back to Rochester. Ultimately it would be nice not to have this problem.
  10. ewen21
    And conversely, if you subtract out those 7 weeks at the end of 2017 you have some historically dreadful numbers for a player with over 800 plate appearances. That burst boosts his numbers unbelievably. If we are going to brush aside 5/6 of his numbers in favor of 1/6 of this numbers then we really need to take a step back and be a little more objective. I* am not saying he is a bust just yet, but he sure is skating on the edge of it if he doesn't start showing some competence as an offensive player.
  11. ewen21
    If you are posting a .672 OPS as a centerfielder in the American League that is pretty damn bad. Name me the CF who had an OPS below .700 with 600 plate appearances. The answer is NO ONE. Take it down to 500 plate appearances and you have some scrub on the Padres, Dee Gordon and Billy Hamilton. If this team aspires to reach higher than they need to stop lowering the bar with Buxton. His bat is a black hole in the lineup if he strikes out nearly 200 times, can't get on base and has an OPS of .672. Whether you agree with me or not a .672 OPS for THIS PLAYER and this point in his career is unacceptable. Can we at least agree on that?
  12. ewen21
    That, to me, is just another illustration of how WAR isn't the end-all/be-all
  13. ewen21
    "Even if Buxton’s bat struggles again, he continues to provide value through his defense and base running abilities." His 162 game average in 518 at bats is a .230 batting average, .285 OBP, .672 OPS and 180 Ks. That is like having a black hole in the lineup. He is too easy an out for the other team if he isn't going to get on base AND he's going to strike out so often. Anything worse than his historical average and he does more harm than good by being in the everyday lineup.
  14. ewen21
    I don't understand this lament about bunting. It isn't part of today's game and quite frankly I don't miss it. When bunts aren't properly excuted (which is often) you are simply giving outs away with a totally non-competitive at bat. Ultimately we want Buxton to be a gap hitter with 25 home run power who can hit about .280 Encouraging him to bunt once a game
  15. ewen21
    THe message would be..... We have given up on you as a hitter
  16. ewen21
    I don't buy the "injuries held him back", excuse He hit like dogmeat out of the gate again and he was injury free the first 12 games he played until we went to Puerto Rico. Who is to say he wouldn't hit .150 in April like he always has if he kept playing? I hate to say it, but he has been an atrocious hitter save those 7 weeks at the end of 2017. I am not sure if that is a mirage yet. You are right to be concerned about injuries, though. I am concerned about that and how he hits out of the gate. If he is hitting .156 by my birthday (4-20) I am not going to be a happy camper. Quite frankly, I think he needs to learn how to settle himself down. The guy is wound up like a top and he seems to let that get the best of him. Hopefully he is over that
  17. ewen21
    This idea that he should bunt that much makes me want to vomit. Is destined to be Willy Mays Hayes or can we expect more out of him?
  18. ewen21
    I would be elated if I never heard anyone say "meh", "random" or "literally" ever again.
  19. ewen21
    Pretty much what I said. I also said things don't look good ODAY and maybe it emerges this year. We aren't too far off
  20. ewen21
    Not sure how we can boast about draft signings TODAY. We have had great draft positions for years now. Where is the beef? Maybe it emerges this year, but we have not developed well by any stretch of the imagination. If we had we would be better
  21. ewen21
    I am not looking to argue either. I am simply wondering, after distinctly I spoke about a certain time period and of those only coming through our system, why you'd create a new list that included free agents and guys brought up way before '06? We are an organization that HAS TO do better bringing young players along and we have done an absolutely horrendous job of it for years. One needs only to look back on the pitching we have raised over the last 13 seasons before Berrios arrived. Did we produce anything worthy of note? Gibson had one foot in the grave toward the end of 2017 and he finally turned a corner. Other than him, where were the pitchers we have raised since Garza was called up in 2006 (until Berrios)??? That is an awful long drought and dare I say a serious problem. I think the "piranha mentality" destroyed this franchise. All this pride in the "little things" when we don't have any real starting pitching or a strong lineup that can slug the baseball. Can't do the real important things but......Oh boy we do the little things! Good for us. Do we get cookie? That mentality needs to be annihilated. I don't ever want to hear about the "little things" because those things are fundamental. Running out pop outs and the like is really cute and all, but that isn't to be bragged about or cited as "hustling" Hustle to me is smart baseball. Any braindead player can run the bases hard. Run them smart
  22. ewen21
    I said players CALLED UP SINCE 2006. Why did you quote me?
  23. ewen21
    I think the biggest issue within this organization is culture. And although that may seem vague and hard to fathom, it exists. I think all of us see it to varying degrees. There hasn't been a whole lot coming from the system over the last 15 seasons. I would say the last time I saw a couple of young players really carry the organization was with Johan and Frankie in 2006. There just has not been much of anything consistent or impactful coming through the system. What kind of pitching have we raised? Aside from Sano where is are players who came through our system since 2006 ended who has been in an ASG? It's abysmal. It is embarrassing. Make no mistake there are reasons for that in the ways the Twins attempt to raise young players. There cannot be NO CONNECTION I think the development of these current young players the Twins committed to dictates the course of action for this current regime in the next two seasons. I think the young guys: Sano, Buxton and Kepler have the next two seasons. If they become consistent performers along with Rosario and Polanco THEN I would like to see us dig into the free agent market. What are we supposed to do? Sign a top tier free agent to play with a bunch of over-hyped under-achieving players? I am hoping Cruz and Baldelli are guys who will shift the culture. I have only praise about Nelson Cruz. He is a big tough hombre, more of a silent leader you want players to emulate. He's got the strong work ethic and a stature about him. I was not fond of Rocco visiting Sano at first, but I totally get it and I think it was 100% positive. I think getting Baldelli signals a shift. He is "Falvine's guy" and I think they had the right idea signing him. My greatest concern with the move is that Rocco is too much of a player's manager and an inexperienced game manager.
  24. ewen21
    Those events have notthing to do with my thought process and I do not support signing big free agents right now. You are doing what Mackey did, trying to me in a box Watch it brother :shoot: :shoot: :shoot:
  25. ewen21
    I am going to be somewhat of a dissenter here. I am not disappointed in Falvey and Levine all that much because I don't think all that much of them or the Twins right now I can totally see why they are using this strategy because the young players that were so often bragged about are now in their mid 20s and have not really distinguished themselves as major leaguers. These were the guys they were planning on building around and these young players: Sano, Buxton, Kepler, etc....just have not been as advertised (bragged about). We really need to get over it and move on from "XYZ propsect has a ________ ceiling" or "his numbers at this stage of his career are the same as Torii Hunter's so we need to believe he can do the same thing" It is high time we treat prospects as assets and that we stop getting so attached to them. This team is where it is because these alleged blue chip guys aren't "all that" as it turns out. Now we have our new coach making personal visits just to see where their heads are at. I am far more concerned about where the culture is than I am with the FA market. Sorry. THat FA market isn't going to save us AND if the culture here doesn't change we are going to be able to do much better than what we did last winter and this winter for a long LONG time. The young players not living up to the hype (I did not create the hype, nor did I buy into it) is what the problem is right now. If they approached anything resembling where the pundits said they'd be by now I am certain our GMs would be more aggressive in the FA market. I, quite frankly, don't see it as a smart strategy to outbid the market just to sign a name guy. Not unless the team is going someplace.
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