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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    Funny, for as good as the Cowboys have been, those coaching jobs there can't be terribly attractive. Looks like a bomb is about to go off. With McCarthy's job on the line, people screaming that Dak isn't a big game player and with the star players' families and friends (boneheadedly) saying unflattering things about leadership on social media, they could be a surprise train wreck team next year. Lots of folks seem to think they can't handle the pressure in the playoffs, well next year, the whole season is going to be pressure like the playoffs.
  2. nicksaviking
    I could begrudgingly be talked into giving up Julien for a top end pitcher, but I don't think they'd have to since is Lee still hitting the prospect charts so high and being capable of playing SS. And Julien is my second favorite Twin right now, I don't say that lightly. I like Jeffers and wouldn't move him. Now at least. If the young guys in the system are killing it and knocking on the door, I may consider next year. But Jeffers gets no league wide buzz; perhaps there's some skepticism after a slow 2021-22 seasons, but I think the team would actually be selling low on him now. Even if 2024 is merely good, and not as great as 2023, I think his value goes through the roof. But then again, that could make him untouchable for the Twins. But if they got one more controllable top end pitcher now, the top four rotation spots should be set for the foreseeable future and they can then supplement as needed with the high ceiling prospect arms when needed.
  3. nicksaviking
    How do they improve the team? They're the same as Ryan/Ober/Paddack but on the backside of their careers instead of being still in their mid-to-late 20s. I want a top end pitcher to go with Lopez then the back three in the rotation. Signing either of those Royals pitchers pretty much closes the book on that.
  4. nicksaviking
    I'm annoyed, but there were only three free agents I wanted. That was literally it. Otherwise I wanted them to go with the higher ceiling internal guys and trade for the Sonny Gray spot. I'm disappointed as well, but at the same time realize that my pickiness about only three of about 100 players available was also probably unreasonable. And to be clear, the players I wanted were not unreasonable, all were affordable. Just my tiny circle compared to the circle of overall free agents in the Venn diagram was too narrow to expect to get what I wanted. They better do that second part, that being trading for the Sonny Gray replacement. If they don't do that, I'm already writing this season off as a loss. And I'll rag on them all year if they don't.
  5. nicksaviking
    I doubt there's a poster on here who has said anything remotely like this that hasn't also been critical of the team. I've said these things AND have been very critical, Not being jealous of mid-to-low level free agents isn't some kind of brown nosing effort by any fan. You simply don't build a winning team by signing this caliber of player that blocks your higher ceiling internal options or instead of trading for players that will actually put you over the top. And I've said I'd prefer to win a World Series by making bold moves like the Royals did last decade then suffer a few years after. But these are not bold moves. These moves look exactly like the Twins upon Terry Ryan's return. They were half measure moves made to make it look like they were trying even though everyone who puts this to any kind of scrutiny can see this Royals team still has zero shot at a championship.
  6. nicksaviking
    Just like with DeSclafani, I have no interest in that type of free agent pitcher. And at least with DeSclafani, I don't think the Twins have closed the door on getting an arm I actually want. Had they given out those contracts, I'd be sure the door was closed. Looks an awful lot like the Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes, Kevin Correia era for the Twins; surprising paydays for a team not used to giving them out. However, while these arms may make you look more respectable through the regular season, they aren't nearly good enough to make you a contender. Those are treading water moves.
  7. nicksaviking
    Good for them with Witt, but the reason the Royals are spending so much money is because they have been terrible at developing good young players. There wasn't a free agent they signed that I wanted on this team. Just because the Royals can't build a roster via the farm and have to sign a half dozen bottom barrel free agents doesn't mean I wan the Twins to follow suit just to spend money.
  8. nicksaviking
    Looking at the aging players since 2010 (37 years old+) and it's not surprising that it's filled with HOFers: A few of these guys didn't have much of a drop off from their heydays. The rest that did have a drop off didn't have a sustained rebound period. None of these guys had sub .700 OPS seasons three years running, or even close to those numbers, and then went on to have more than one season of relevance. Lot's of one-off rebound seasons, but nothing longer than that; there were no extended renaissance eras for these guys. and Santana's rebound season seemed to be last year.
  9. nicksaviking
    https://theathletic.com/5250968/2024/02/05/rosenthal-zack-greinke-oakland-athletics-mlb/ Still looking for a shortstop, and have I got a deal for you!
  10. nicksaviking
    I mean, either he'll be really, really good, or he won't be. Come 2029, it seems hard to envision a scenario where he'll be good enough to be worth paying 35M per year but not good enough to elect free agency. I suppose there's a real fine line there somewhere.
  11. nicksaviking
    I presume it will be Gordon or Larnach, which doesn't trouble me as I've kind of seen enough from them. I just don't like the fact that now there are more hurdles for the higher ceiling players. It's becoming a yearly thing. I mean it's a better situation than when even worse vets like Jordan Schaffer Pedro Florimon and Doug Bernier were taking up roster spots, but back then there were no realistic options in AAA either.
  12. nicksaviking
    I hope it's not for long as Raya is the pitcher I am far and away the most excited about at any level. He obviously struggled early in Wichita, but his last five starts were utterly dominant. Sorry for the gushing Raya tangent, back to the excitement about Lewis projections. The Twins have been great at getting these later round pitchers to work out.
  13. nicksaviking
    Witt's deal also doesn't buy out any free agent years, unless Witt wants it to. If Witt is as good as the Royals hope he is, he'll get to walk and cash in an even bigger payday. If he's not, this deal will become an albatross. Edit: Looks like the Royals bought ONE free agent year. He would have been a free agent in 2028, now he can opt out in 2029 and every year after. That young man did well for himself. And I'm sure the Royals are happy to have the cost control.
  14. nicksaviking
    I loved Greg Maddux, but pitchers aren't throwing harder today just because they can, they're throwing harder because in today's game everyone can hit an 88 MPH fastball and umpires don't give 3 inches on each side of the plate to experienced veteran pitchers. Whether we like it or not, velocity matters a great deal. I'm curious about Lewis' command. He struggled with walks in college, but not last year. Was it because he improved? Or was it due to 18-year-olds chasing his weird repertoire?
  15. nicksaviking
    Yeah, the Twins do as well if not better with the lesser regarded prospects. I'm excited to see many of the non-sexy youngsters.
  16. nicksaviking
    But should we expect Santana to even produce as he did last year? He only did that once in the past four seasons, so if he only has a 25% shot at replicating last year, yes, I'd say the odds that at minimum one of Miranda, Severino or Martin could do that is higher. And that's not including Lee, Camargo or Prato who should all be similarly ready. Or the loser of the final roster spot which would likely be Gordon or Larnach at this point.
  17. nicksaviking
    There’s another solution to that……
  18. nicksaviking
    Easier to deal with it now than mid season. With the expanded playoffs, teams have to be REALLY out of contention to trade top arms then. Plus, comparing Twins offseason pitching trades vs in-season pitching trades……yikes.
  19. nicksaviking
    Die hard fans will, but what casual fan will pay a dime for it? And casual fans have made up the majority of the sport's fans for a century. The sport is in dire trouble. People who don't know the Broncos from the Buccaneers have NFL games playing in the background of their Sunday afternoons. MLB needs to get back to that level or it's going to die. It will never gain new generations of fans. Young people who don't know baseball but are willing to give it a shot aren't going to fork over money to see it.
  20. nicksaviking
    I don't dislike the player, it could have been worse, but did it work last year? Doesn't last year's team have more wins had Jeffers, Wallner and Julien had 75-200 more PA each?
  21. nicksaviking
    It was over 900 plate appearances in 2020-21. He was a great player back in the day but no longer. But even if he meets those goals of 100 OPS, Juilen, Wallner, Jeffers, Lewis, Miranda and even Lanrach and Gordon have surpassed that number unexpectedly when called upon in a season. And they keep leaving the runs created by those numbers in AAA or on the bench because the team is tethered to these vets which they have to keep on the roster. Santana was great in his prime, not for any particular trait other than his awesome OBP. Now he can't even top .320, even in a rebound year. Even a little regarded prospect like Anthony Prato can do that in his sleep. And he'd be like the third option at best at this point. They can do better internally. Big names do not equal an upgrade, just fanfare. I'm completely serious here, what will the state of this board be come April if Miranda is absolutely crushing in spring training and they have to send him down because Santana has a locked in roster spot? It's going to be really ugly.
  22. nicksaviking
    I think there is a pretty reasonable divining line with players. It's more than fair to expect the young players to get better. Once they've peaked, I think it's unreasonable to expect better. Still, I don't expect Varland to meet those numbers, mostly because I think others should have those innings. I hope there's another big arm added for the rotation and Varland dominates for fewer innings in the pen.
  23. nicksaviking
    Really dang great stuff Seth. Impressive interview, you don't usually get this kind of repartee with a new prospect. Awesome initiative to reach out to him. Looking forward to seeing this guy advance, I'm confident we'll see him at Target Field. The Twins have crushed drafting guys in this area of the draft lately. I'm not surprised he was on the Twins radar before he was ever a pro.
  24. nicksaviking
    I'd do it, but personally, I'm more willing to trade Lee than E-Rod. With the way the Twins are built, I'll rather keep the low floor high ceiling guy over the high floor low ceiling guy.
  25. nicksaviking
    I'm not really interested in the Julien/Arraez aspect of the deal, but I've long thought adding Ryan to a package to upgrade to Luzardo or Garrett would be a great move for both teams. Ryan, Festa and any non-top prospects would be pretty tempting I'd think. Or Ryan and Lee. Heck, that might even be an overpay. Could be Ryan and someone lesser, though I'm Ok with Ryan and Lee to get back to something similar to the Lopez/Gray combo this team had last postseason.
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