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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    My take at the outset, was that the way the roster is constructed, and with more players in the upper minors than they can protect, this was likely to be a lower payroll year regardless of the TV deal. This team won't give the required years to get top end starting pitching, and they don't need more back of the rotation arms, to improve the staff, they'll have to trade for it like always, which doesn't tend to add to the immediate payroll. And offensively, the 26-man roster is already full. They can basically just sign one offensive free agent at the expense of Gordon/Larnach. But signing anyone beyond that likely means picking off the more pricey vets already on the team. Obviously signing only one or two free agents as opposed to a half dozen is going to keep the payroll lower. So I'll throw out another possibility. The payroll was always going to be lower organically, and mentioning the TV deal provided a bit of shade for both the front office and ownership.
  2. nicksaviking
    I want a starter more since that's what worked last year, but they need to find or develop more consistent producers on offense. Too many current players are roller coaster rides.
  3. nicksaviking
    Yes, getting another top of the rotation arm needs to be the priority. The Twins won because of the pitching, and getting that back near to what it was last year should be the focus. I'm only taking issue with continued pushing of the idea that the Twins need to keep sacrificing offense for defense, when the defense was fine last year and the offense was extremely inconsistent and unreliable for long stretches.
  4. nicksaviking
    Since I would agree to that deal before the Padres could finish asking the question, my assumption has to be that it's waaaaaay too lopsided in the Twins favor.
  5. nicksaviking
    I think you're underselling the fact that they traded for catcher who could hit. They didn't take a step back offensively with the trade. And we're only a month removed from the season. I don't understand how anyone watched the Twins last year and didn't think that the biggest issues with that team were on the offensive side of the equation. This team can't afford to lose offense, they need to improve it.
  6. nicksaviking
    I agree with all of the Fields stuff, and would add that in addition to the inaccuracy, poor vision and pocket presence, Fields also suffers from severe indecisiveness and a lack of faith in himself. He holds onto the ball way too long and ends up checking down anyway. He's like the worst parts of Mariota, Christian Ponder and Mac Jones, he just so happens to have Jalen Hurts' legs. I think some of those things can be coached, but not the indecisiveness. I disagree that Shanahan is a QB guru though. He can coach one very specific kind of niche QB. If you want an immobile game managing pocket passer, he can work that to a T. But if you're looking for a QB who plays a modern style, he's 0 for 1. At least 0 for 1 in trying to get a modern QB to play within the niche he likes. Shanahan would probably be the last guy who could get anything out of Fields.
  7. nicksaviking
    Hard pass on the draft this year. There is next to no room on the roster for an offensive player, and the little room they can squeeze out needs to go to upgrades not scratch off tickets. And if they are comfortable with the untested youth, they already have at least a half dozen of their own players better than what's in the draft sitting in St. Paul and Wichita. They need at least one more high end starter and a second wouldn't hurt. They could pick a guy for the pen, but this team cycles through the back of the bullpen regularly, this isn't a team that can hide a guy. Let teams like the Royals, Pirates and A's have fun in the sandbox, the Twins don't have room.
  8. nicksaviking
    I like most of this quite a bit. Hoskins would be my top free agent available with Justin Turner trailing close behind. I don't think they need to sign multiple players this year, just get one good one. I like the idea behind the Keller trade, but I'm not nearly as in love with him as many are. Pittsburgh is obviously a terrible place to be a starting pitcher, but I don't think it's a given that Keller ascends to top of the rotation status just because he leaves. I'd offer more to get a better starter than him.
  9. nicksaviking
    I'm more than happy with what he gave the team last year. Yet, his incredible and still unexplained ability to torpedo his own team has me already looking at the Reds roster to see who'll be available when they're sellers at the trade deadline next summer.
  10. nicksaviking
    I think we need some sources for these quotes here before we get out the pitchforks. I don't know enough about Varland to judge his character, but Boras never speaks in such black-and-white terms, he tends to speak with the goal of keeping as many doors open as possible for his players.
  11. nicksaviking
    As a 240 lb defensive tackle. What's your point?
  12. nicksaviking
    Life finds a way. Unlike the MLB the NFL constantly evolves.
  13. nicksaviking
    This is all foolishness. Tom Brady is my age. No matter how much money I made, I’d still be in the hospital if I took any number of hits he somehow got back up from. Thiesman never came back from his broken leg, but Rodgers and Cousins should play without an achilles? Burrow should throw without wrist ligaments? How? Rethink your take. And any of these “Old school players were tougher” whines is complete crap. Dick Butkus and Alan Paige wouldn’t even make a DII college team these days. Everyone trying to kill the QB is exponentially faster and stronger than they used to be. Players have been able to develop better muscles, but no one is developing better bones, ligaments or brains.
  14. nicksaviking
    You don't think players consider what they want in free agency until their actually a free agent? He always planned on being a free agent as he told Do-Hyoung Park, likely because he never got to search for that big payday before. He was nothing but complimentary about the Twins: https://www.mlb.com/news/sonny-gray-on-possible-future-with-twins-before-hitting-free-agency And the guy is from and still lives in Nashville. St. Louis, Atlanta and Cincinnati were the spots he could play and still be nearest home. Having the Cardinals give him the big payday probably was his dream scenario and it was no slight on the Twins.
  15. nicksaviking
    I don't think a pitcher has cared about their W/L record since Bartolo Colon robbed Johan Santana of a Cy Young award 18 years ago. Gray started the most games, and threw more pitches and more innings than he has since he was 25. He finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting and just made himself 80M despite already being 34-years-old. Without even getting into Gray's glowing comments about the team after the season, I'm still beyond confident he has no animosity towards the team.
  16. nicksaviking
    If the roster allows it, I'd much rather keep Polanco over Kepler as year-in-year-out Polanco is the much more reliable hitter. While the Twins have several good hitters, they lack reliable hitters, and I think that unpredictability is the main cause of the lengthy slumps this team has seen the last several years. Still, I think if they trade for top end starting pitching, they can use most of the free agent cash to sign a reliable bat making either or both more expendable.
  17. nicksaviking
    The Verlanders and Scherzers are probably never coming here regardless of payroll. But even if the Twins budget was 200M, I'd rather trade for the younger guys on say the Mariners and Marlins over free agents like Blake Snell or Aaron Nola. It's not about the budget, it's getting the guys who are the best bets to be front line starters for the longest duration. If the Twins already had two such pitchers, then I'd reconsider the high priced free agents.
  18. nicksaviking
    I don't actually. I used to, but not at this time. Top free agents starters are already past their prime, I'd rather trade for pitchers who's peak is still projectably ahead of them, like the team has been doing.
  19. nicksaviking
    Seattle's top five arms are pretty tough to differentiate though. Miller is my least favorite, but others seem to like him more. In any case, if they're talking about dealing what they view as their fourth or fifth starter, getting a Polanco or Kepler to help now and a top prospect(s) to help soon is probably somewhat appealing.
  20. nicksaviking
    There is not a number you could insert here that would make that sentence untrue. I'm even assuming you meant $13 and not 13M.
  21. nicksaviking
    Puckett's final season was one of his best offensively. He got in on the fist ballot for the same reason Sandy Koufax did, the baseball world mourned the abrupt ending of two players still playing at an elite level. Had Joe Mauer's career ended after that concussion, he'd already be in the HOF.
  22. nicksaviking
    I was upset about him not rolling out too, but then I remembered how often I complained about O'Neill getting destroyed. Rolling out to the right side probably would have had him getting smoked by Montez Sweat and the OLBs all night too. Rolling out left and throwing across his body may have turned out even worse. But rolling out or not, KOC completely gave up on that last series. They just needed one first down and they didn't even try to get it.
  23. nicksaviking
    Besides Addison did they do anything? I guess Blackmon is OK for a 4th corner, but they missed on everyone else. They had a UDFA better than all but one of their draft picks.
  24. nicksaviking
    The Bears lined up one defensive lineman. Dobbs is (probably???) the best passer on the field. Shouldn't the play be for him to run as far as he can and have him start the laterals? If he runs to one side of the field, he'd be the one who could draw as many defenders as possible and then throw it all the way across to the other side. Of course, the final play of the game is hardly the thing to critique here. Dobbs won't be here long. KOC and his awful late game calls is probably the biggest story here.
  25. nicksaviking
    I would care. Or at least I would if they were any good at using their draft picks.
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