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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    This always bothered me, though to be fair, with most innovation there seems to be some bumpy spots and false starts where some theories and procedures show up to not be effective only to be weeded out by trial and error. The delay may have let the Twins bypass those spots directly to a more efficient model. Not that I'd let them off the hook, if any of that occurred it was clearly unintentional.
  2. nicksaviking
    Would that many people be involved though? I can’t imagine they need a whole division to order baseballs. I picture George Costanza who reports to some one else who has additional duties (that’d be Mr.Wilhelm obviously). No idea if this un-juiced ball theory has anything behind it, but it would seem like a 2-3 person conspiracy most likely.
  3. nicksaviking
    Well Ruth would probably strike out 300 times having never seen a modern slider or a 95 MPH fastball in his life. But that obviously just reinforces the same point.
  4. nicksaviking
    Obviously this won't stick, but if they didn't include Graterol, the one guy aside from Berrios who has the upside to be more than a swingman, then they're doing it wrong. Based on his usage down the stretch, I think he's already ahead of Smeltzer, Thorpe and Stewart in the pitcher hierarchy. That's assuming the front office hasn't decided to move him to the pen full time.
  5. nicksaviking
    The threat of the QO is going to be one heck of a negotiating tool. It's hard to say where Odorizzi sees himself in the free agent pitching hierarchy, but after last year it should be very clear that unless he puts himself on par with Cole, it's possible his phone won't ring until June 11th if that QO is around his neck. How long has this QO system been around? 8 years maybe? The Twins finally have a player who is actually worthy of having this discussion! Hooray!
  6. nicksaviking
    True, but you can also pick up usable corner outfielders on the free agent market real cheap. If someone is willing to offer some pitching for one of ours, I'm more than fine picking up whomever next year's Avisail Garcia, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Cameron Maybin or Hunter Pence is and bide our time with them waiting to see if the prospects emerge.
  7. nicksaviking
    Odorizzi has been absolutely awful in Yankees stadium for his career. Yes, I feel much better about him at home.
  8. nicksaviking
    Well the flyball thing certainly can be a factor, but it's more about setting the table for the best odds to win. I like the Twins odds at home with Odorizzi, I don't like the Twins odds at home with Dobnak. I don't like the Twins odds in NY with Odorizzi. There's only one of those three scenarios I feel reasonably comfortable with so I'll take that one. Reusing Duffey is a different issue, which I did not agree with. I'd have liked to done a straight bullpen game for that anyway. If the Twins somehow make it to Game 5 I hope that's the strategy. In a vacuum without knowing the innings these guys will pitch between now and then, I'd open with Romo for an inning, Graterol for two, Rogers for two, Duffey for two and run May out there to finish it off.
  9. nicksaviking
    But there's really no difference if the team wins Game 2 or Game 3 when you still need to win three games to advance. If the Twins go with Odorizzi in NY and Dobnak at home, I don't like their odds of winning either game. If they go with Dobnak in NY and Odorizzi at home, I at least give them reasonable odds of winning Game 3.
  10. nicksaviking
    My point was that they did not sign much in the way of pitching last offseason as they clearly prioritized the offense. Since they won 101 games maybe we need to consider that decisions or non-decisions they made were the right call.
  11. nicksaviking
    They need to get over this playoff funk obviously because my goal is to win the WS as I'm sure it is for everyone in the organization. But they won 101 games this year while prioritizing hitting over pitching last off season, so it seems they're on the right track as far as improving the quality of the team goes. Baldelli made some questionable bullpen calls but the organization has hired front office and coaches that are versed in contemporary baseball strategy and eager to try new things to create advantages for the team. I don't want to get swept by the Yankees, but I think an awful lot of people are blinded by two games and not seeing the giant and completely unexpected strides made this year.
  12. nicksaviking
    I think there’s only one pitcher better than Berríos on the free agent market next year.
  13. nicksaviking
    They can switch out Perez for Gibson against the Astros. I wouldn't bring along a LOOGY simply for one single batter though.
  14. nicksaviking
    Would you even offer a guy like that arbitration? Probably got to DFA him after his options are used up.
  15. nicksaviking
    I dare the Yankees to stick Stanton out in CF.
  16. nicksaviking
    If the regular season was the ALDS, the Twins take the Yankees to the fifth game with game 5 being one of the most dramatic playoff games of all time. Except this time the Yankees don't have Aaron Hicks to win it for them! (don't think too hard about who the Twins may or may not have)
  17. nicksaviking
    Tough call, if he gets extended it has to be this winter. Next year either he won’t want to or the team won’t want to, but the either way, the cards will all be down for all to see. I don’t think his bat goes backward from here; I think he’s a pretty easy 12 AB/HR player from here out. You can find room for him even if it’s DH in a couple years.
  18. nicksaviking
    I also am withholding judgment until he gets one more outing from the pen. KC and Detroit are subpar teams, but even if it was against the Astros, it would still have SSS issues. I'd base my decision solely on his velocity. He was back to hitting 94-95 last outing like he was last year and early this year. When he was ailing and not pitching well he was hitting 91-93. I think the velocity would be the only indicator I'd put any stock into at this time.
  19. nicksaviking
    I still want 100 wins, so I was glad to see Budweiser sponsor the after game festivities, no one could get too drunk and hungover off of that swill!
  20. nicksaviking
    If it's the Yankees I don't see any need for Perez or Thorpe. The Yankees left handed hitters are their least feared batters (Yeah, it's relative, all the Yankees hitters are smoking hot). You aren't going to LOOGY Gardner and Gregorious when it's the other 7 hitters you are most concerned with. I could understand the decision to bring Perez/Thorpe more against the Astros as Brantley and Alvarez tend to bat in the heart of the order and with a right hander batting between them.
  21. nicksaviking
    Gibson wasn't great last night, but his velocity was up 2 MPH from the most recent set back from his illness. If he gets one more outing where he's still sitting 94-95, I'd be much more amenable to giving him one of the bullpen spots. There's more to pitching than velocity obviously, but without any medical information to go on, I think it's probably the closest thing we can use to measure whether he's back to reasonable health.
  22. nicksaviking
    If a WS title is the top priority, it's harsh to say, but loyalty shouldn't be in the equation at all. With Gibson's situation seemingly stemming from an illness, chronic or otherwise, I'm not writing him off yet. I'm no doctor so if this is something that ebbs and flows and Gibson gets another outing or two and shows good stuff and doesn't look terribly taxed as he has recently, I'm not against giving him a roster spot. I have no idea if he can bounce back from what ails him, but my unfamiliarity with this gives me less pause than if he was trying to play through an injury, which I've rarely seen work out. I mean aside from that other Gibson fella back in 1988.
  23. nicksaviking
    I might then argue for the extra bench bat if I thought neither Thorpe or Perez brought a net positive to the roster, and I don't. Maybe I'd go with an extra bat if it's against Houston who has the superior rotation and could be a pinch hit away from getting to their pen, and the extra arm against the Yankees who are better offensively and might be more taxing on the bullpen.
  24. nicksaviking
    Houston and New York are about as right-handed as you can get, I don’t think I’d save a LOOGY spot for Perez.
  25. nicksaviking
    I guess the one thing I would argue against in the Dobnak/Arraez comparison would be that it's probably not entirely about the counting stats. By any analysis aside from power, Arraez is clearly a better hitter and all around player than Schoop is at this point in their careers. Perez, for all of his struggles, still has immensely better stuff than Dobnak and Smeltzer, who both would probably be considered "crafty" at best. I'd take both of them on the playoff roster over Perez, but I don't think it's a slam dunk and while I wish there had been better options to replace him earlier, I can see why his superior velocity, movement and repertoire caused him to remain in the rotation longer than he should have. Perez's leash may have been too long, but only because unlike Arraez, I don't think anyone is comfortable with the alternatives either. There's not a ton that is going to ease my mind about a starter going up against the Yankees after I see the number 90 on a radar gun. Neither NY or HOU is very lefty heavy so my choices if it's determined Gibson is back to relative health: Odorizzi, Berrios, Rogers, Romo, Duffey, May and Littell should be givens providing they stay healthy this final week. They need at least 4 more arms... maybe 5. Who gets those 4 spots and who doesn't? Gibson? Perez? Smeltzer? Dobnak? Thorpe? Graterol? Stashak?
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