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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    I don't really care about defense with the offense this bad. Rooker has been very good at every level and was good in his call up last year too. I'm not sure where the dismissal is coming from after only 8 games this year. But really, I just want the young guys up to see if the incumbents will fight back and try to make a stake for their jobs. It's been since 2019 now since those three batters who got extensions have looked like they deserved them.
  2. nicksaviking
    I'm ready for Larnach, Rooker and a healthy Kirilloff to replace Cave, Kepler and Sano. The fact that two of the vets got extensions doesn't much bother me; maybe bench time in favor of the rookies will motivate them.
  3. nicksaviking
    Low expectations might be what Gordon needs. If the team continues to struggle hopefully they give us the silver lining of giving us a look at any and every logical guy with a prospect pulse.
  4. nicksaviking
    I'd really like to know how the players are worked with. I'd think that certainly the younger guys get lots of hands-on time with the coaches and instructors. What about the more veteran guys though? Do they need to ask for assistance? Do they need to ask NOT to have assistance? I just remember that Joe Mauer liked to be left alone and the team seemed to abide by that. At this time though, I'm mostly thinking of Kepler and Polanco who have been around awhile now. Is someone working with them? Or are they at a point where they get to make their own choices and if they want to work out their issues on their own then the team is OK with that? Because these were supposed to be the two guys at the top of the lineup and right now, Miguel Sano, who isn't looking great, is taking at bats that look 200% more competent than the two guys who's best skill was supposed to be taking professional at bats. If Polanco and Kepler were OPSing .775+ like they are capable of, I don't think this offense would look half as brutal.
  5. nicksaviking
    Yeah, 2013 and 2015 appear to have been bad years to have high draft picks. A few good players pop up at the end of the first round those years, but overall, those were bad classes. They totally duffed it in 2014 though. Lots of people had them picking Aaron Nola, there were folks here asking for Trea Turner. Wish I could claim I was one of them but I had my eye on the upside arms that year. I wanted Sean Newcomb, Touki Toussaint or oops, Grant Holmes. I thought Nola was a soft-tosser who'd be a high-contact arm like the Twins always fell in love with so I wanted nothing to do with him!
  6. nicksaviking
    The Twins offense was built to play like the 2019 club, then MLB went and de-juiced the ball. That was a bit of a bad break. But the juiced ball probably shouldn't explain why the team had a K rate of 20% in 2019 but has now consistently been 25% the last two years. My guess is the club is missing James Rowson and Derek Shelton more than they thought they would.
  7. nicksaviking
    I fail to see why the team can’t both have a concern for public safety and also support serious human rights issues at the same time. Why do they have to be chastised if there are multiple factors at play?
  8. nicksaviking
    Interesting that the offensive player who had a hot spring, but whom no one had previously heard of, made the team when there didn't seem to be a logical opening for him, but the reliever who had a hot spring, but whom no one had previously heard of, did not make the team despite there seeming to be a logical opening for him.
  9. nicksaviking
    If I'm honest, I'm just not a huge Dobnak fan. He always seemed like a nice story but without the velocity, spin rate or stats to really support being more than a flash in the pan. I figured he'd end up slotting somewhere between Scott Diamond and Les Straker in Twins lore. However, the team also seems to value velocity, spin rates and advanced stats so this extension seems kind of puzzling to me. I'm wondering if this new slider is going to turn out to be a beast and the team is fairly confident that it will be a game changer for him.
  10. nicksaviking
    Could be and it might be a good idea if they can manufacture pitchers with ease like Cleveland does. But this front office wasn't involved with the Cleveland organization when they started trading those guys. Cleveland also appears to be trying to shed payroll in the last few years while the Twins have been fairly consistent and don't seem to be headed for a rebuild.
  11. nicksaviking
    These guys almost always take a full year of not being a starter to become a good reliever, sometimes two. They rarely seem to click in the years they are yo-yoed back and forth between AAA and the majors and the rotation and bullpen. Which makes sense; the approach is totally different. Perkins and Hendricks are good examples we've seen first hand as Twins fans. Trevor May and LaTroy Hawkins as well Duffey was one of those that took two years. Taylor Rogers had his wings clipped in Rochester; also a great move. But then you have Brad Hand, Wade Davis, Andrew Miller and Zach Britton. If the team waits until next year to commit, then there is no margin for error; he'll have to be DFA'd if he struggles with the transition. There's no room for him in the rotation now anyway.
  12. nicksaviking
    I'm still a Thorpe believer, but I think they have to commit to him to the pen before they fall into the classic trap of trying too long to make a lefty starter out of a lefty reliever only for the player's next team to realize his potential.
  13. nicksaviking
    Also, I don't see Thorpe listed in the projections, but regardless of that fourth year option, I bet he makes the club over Thielbar. They should have another long man in the pen besides Dobnak. Especially if Stashak is going down. I know Thielbar started off dinged up, but only 2 2/3rds innings so far this spring doesn't seem like a good omen for him.
  14. nicksaviking
    I assume you think Riddle must be a good defensive player because he clearly can't hit? I see no evidence that he's any better than Polanco defensively. Either way, there's no reason to waste an active roster spot for a guy who can't hit just to be an emergency defensive player in today's game.
  15. nicksaviking
    Since it seemed to be a competition between he and Rooker and team could also just as easily manipulate Rooker's service time, I don't think there's anything malevolent here. Kirilloff is going to get way more personalized instruction and see more live pitching in extended spring training than he would being the last man on the bench seeing one spot start a week and being last in line for the batting cages.
  16. nicksaviking
    Buxton, Kepler, Sano and Cruz have all had their injuries in recent years. Should they both produce, I'd give solid odds on both Rooker and Kirilloff getting a chance to regularly coexist in the same starting lineup sometime this season.
  17. nicksaviking
    I'm really excited to see Kirilloff. Larnach, Wallner and Sabatao too. But to be the fourth OF, or more likely the fifth OF as Arraez is going to be getting regular playing time, I don't need to see him just sitting on the bench when Cave is also MLB ready. I don't think there is or should be a specific clock on how long he stays down. There's just not a starting gig for him. If everyone stays healthy and productive he could stay down most of the year. Lucky for him, though unfortunately for Twins fans, OF and corner IF health has been an issue the last several years so he'll likely get a good look real soon.
  18. nicksaviking
    I really wish this wasn't as contentious as it is. Obviously Rooker doesn't have the national prominence of Kirilloff, but man, he's been an organizational top prospect for several years now, has hit at every level and as a rookie looks like he's in line to make the opening day roster without having to dance the delayed-service-time rumba. Normally this would be cause for high-fives.
  19. nicksaviking
    Seems to me that the past two years, when the rest of the OF was healthy (which admittedly was rare) Cave was mostly used as you'd expect a 4th OF to be used. I'd guess if Rooker ends up being the starting RF, he'd more likely see his playing time infringed upon by Arraez, more so than Cave.
  20. nicksaviking
    The day the front office puts guys on the roster because of their prospect ranking or talent level instead of because of production, is the day they probably need to be replaced. It was Rooker's job last year before he got hurt. Rooker was hitting very well last year. Rooker is now not hurt and has resumed hitting well. Kirilloff has not hit well. I don't think we are the one's over thinking this.
  21. nicksaviking
    Previously it seemed like a situation where Buxton may have been happy to bet on himself and hit the free agent market, but considering the news of a possible extension came directly from Buxton's own lips, I'd guess he's receptive.
  22. nicksaviking
    If you are trying to blame either the Twins or Simmons, you clearly only read the headline and skipped the article.
  23. nicksaviking
    I'm a big leg-kick fan, if he can keep that good contact rate with that swing, it looks like he's got plenty of room to develop more power. That's a real fun looking swing.
  24. nicksaviking
    Great news about Thorpe and his increased velocity. While it would be optimal for him to still develop as a starter, I really dislike when the Twins lose the fringe starter prospects without giving them a full season to show what they can do in the bullpen. It seems like it's now or never for Thorpe, so I hope the yo-yo has stopped and they'll settle on him in relief this year. It would be really nice if Rooker unquestionably grabbed the LF gig this year. Just thinking back to early this century it seemed like success was contagious for the entire group of corner prospects. It was hard not to think Cuddyer, Kubel, Morneau, Kielty, Ford, Mohr, Restovich, Mike Ryan, Josh Rabe and Garrett Jones weren't all pushing each other trying to land one of the few available spots on the MLB roster. As for Odorizzi, if he has to settle for a one year deal, and with his injuries last year I don't think that's unreasonable, I could see the Twins jumping back in. But I'm not terribly comfortable with pitchers who hold out for a bigger deal and end up signing in the middle of spring training. Their track records are 50/50 at best.
  25. nicksaviking
    Nice write up. But I want to see the list of the best Twins players over 40.
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