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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    I would like your post out of commiseration but I didn't want to send the wrong message.
  2. nicksaviking
    That rotation is becoming very underwhelming. It used to be a group of fireballers that would make the batters walk back to the bench with bat in hand a dozen times a game. Adding Norris, Zimmerman and Pelfrey promises those days are gone. Verlander's 95-97 MPH heater is gone and because of this, his once killer changeup is also done and rarely used last year. Cabrera had a history of playing hurt and still playing well. That ended last year as he finally missed significant time due to injury. He's still a great hitter but his power is fading, we've been saying he's a time bomb for years, one of these years it's going to be true. I think they're trying to patch a sinking ship. Good for them, they haven't given up, but it looks to me like they are just drawing out the inevitable.
  3. nicksaviking
    No I just re-read the article and saw lightening rods sticking up throughout the interview. Looks like Jack's got you whipped into shape anyway!
  4. nicksaviking
    Do any of Sweeney, Benson or Matroianni have opt outs if they aren't called up by xx/xx/xxxx? Because the AAA situation has potential to be a problem. If Buxton isn't ready for opening day, the AAA OF absolutely should be Buxton, Kepler and Walker, but I have a hard time seeing the team sitting multiple vets like Sweeney, Benson and Mastroianni on the bench for long stretches at a time. I have to think at minimum, one of the three vets will have to be released by opening day, and if they aren't looking at a lot of bench time in AAA, it may be something that the vets request.
  5. nicksaviking
    Just a preemptive reminder, let's please not derail this thread going crazy on that old interview. I think it's quite safe to assume that if we as fans have a better grasp and more knowledge of baseball statistical analysis than we did a half decade ago, Rob Anthony surely does as well. Edit: I'm not implying anyone has done anything wrong here.
  6. nicksaviking
    If the Twins wait 7-8 years to sign those guys, they're as good as gone, unless they aren't very good.
  7. nicksaviking
    Sure, there are literally a half dozen guys that should be in AA-MLB that have a shot at what his potential could be as a reliever. Like I said, if he was out of options, then yeah, stick him in the MLB pen and cross our fingers.
  8. nicksaviking
    I don't care about Randy Johnson or Jim Hooey or Wilt Chamberlain. I don't care if there hasn't been a reasonable comp in the history of the game. If he still has three pitches, he should be given a shot at starting, and not just at AAA. A starter who can throw 95+ is way more valuable than a reliever. Besides, if control is his issue, it's not like that's going to improve in the bullpen pitching far fewer innings. I'm more than willing to ride the starter train for one more year, if he was out of options that would be a different story.
  9. nicksaviking
    Chapman and Rosenthal never got a chance, and it's probably too late now. I would have given both a shot, just as I'd give Meyer a shot.
  10. nicksaviking
    I don't want to see them spend money just to spend money. I'm not trying to defend the team, I'm just more concerned with the fact that they still only have 25 roster spots and I want as many as possible to go to players in their early to mid 20s. I'm not against free agents or vets, I'm just against more free agents and vets. We can't un-sign the ones we have, those horses are already out of the barn.
  11. nicksaviking
    How about they put that down as an operating expense akin to advertising, stadium maintenance and hot dog vendor fees. The money went to Park's previous team, not Park. I don't know why a negotiation expense would be added to payroll. It's not going to effect Park's FICA deductions. "Payroll" is pretty arbitrary anyway, an expense is an expense, adding the posting fee to "payroll" is only to inflate the appearance. I doubt there are any rules for calculating and publishing payroll. Should they want, they could probably add the cost of uniforms, travel reimbursements and per diems for the players on road trips to "payroll". Those would elicit an obvious eye roll.
  12. nicksaviking
    I want the Twins payroll to increase. Though I want it hoping/expecting guys like Sano, Buxton, Duffey, Berrios, May and/or others will need attractive pre-arb extensions to keep them in Minnesota through their peak years.
  13. nicksaviking
    I think it was reported as fact that Boggs requested to go in as a Devil Ray. It was also reported that he agreed to sell his hat on his plaque to Tampa, though I'm not sure that was substantiated.
  14. nicksaviking
    I'm cheering for the young guys Rogers or Melotakis to get the gig, but I'm predicting it will be Abad and by the All Star break we'll be talking about an extension on this site. He was a pretty nice pitcher in 2013 and 2014. Looks like he tried to add a cutter last year at the expense of his curve. Not sure if there's any correlation but it is listed as a negative pitch.
  15. nicksaviking
    I did want Mark Lowe and his 95-96 MPH heater. He only got a 2 year deal which would have been more appealing to me.
  16. nicksaviking
    **Moderator Note** If we're going to be talking about analytics in this thread it should be contained to Antonio Bastardo or perhaps the players we may prefer in his place. I'm sure someone can dig up one of the hundreds of old Twins analytical tendency threads if this debate really needs to be rehashed. These conversations nearly always derail the topic at hand.
  17. nicksaviking
    I agree, it's probably not fair to the players themselves, but relievers are so fungible and inflammable that the bullpen really is an ever changing social experiment even for the best of teams. Trial and error, see who works and who doesn't, they all have options so it's not like they only have one shot to make it. And it's not like anyone should ever be worried about service time for a relief pitcher. For the most part these guys throw hard and have only two pitches, there shouldn't be half the concern about developing these guys like there would be for a starter and if these guys had a better repertoire or better mechanics, they'd be a starter. No need for a lot of tinkering.
  18. nicksaviking
    The problem is, adding a guy isn't going to be pushing Fein/Tonkin/Pressly out, it will be pushing the higher upside but untested prospects out, who unlike Fein/Tonkin/Pressly have the stuff to be a late inning guy. The team just has to stop thinking that experience trumps strikeout ability when there's guys on 2nd and 3rd and no outs. They just have to.
  19. nicksaviking
    I realize I'm asking for a philosophical change that emphasizes skill and upside over experience. I also realize philosophical changes are laboriously slow to occur in the real world.
  20. nicksaviking
    Walks don't bother me all that much, if a guy can miss bats, a walk should be way more palatable than a hit despite how the broadcasters may sell it. But no way do I want Bastardo for three years, I don't want any reliever on a free agent contract for three years, I want to see the young hard throwers, and I want them now. I'm also not sorry for my impatience, I don't need a finished product, watching them improve is half the fun. I'll take Ray Searge on a three year deal though.
  21. nicksaviking
    Like it or not, his rep is going to carry a lot of weight. Lot's of baseball people love the guy. Not sure if Barardino gets a vote though.... Plus Edmonds almost certainly was compared to the PED contemporaries, fair or not. Hunter likely will be compared with the post PED era, even if those guys had a lot of overlapping years. I don't think he gets in, but I'd bet good money he stays on the ballot quite a long time.
  22. nicksaviking
    This game was a lot more fun about five years ago when Mauer and Johan Santana looked like shoe-ins and Mornuea, Nathan and Hunter looked like they had an outside shot with a strong finishing kick to the end of their careers. At this point, I actually think Nathan has the best, albeit slim, chance of making it. But he'd have to come back healthy, put together a couple more very strong seasons and get 50 or so saves to pass Billy Wagner who along with Trevor Hoffman are contemporaries who got strong HOF consideration this past year.
  23. nicksaviking
    No thanks on that extension with Jepsen. If the Twins really like him come 2017 they can afford to pay him free agent money, it's unlikely he's so good that he'd get much more next off season than he'd demand right now, no need to do another Suzuki/Doumit blunder and extend him after what is likely his peak. He's not a normal arb guy, he'll be 32 this year and he lost a full MPH on his fastball last year and two from his peak velocity. His curve and change aren't that good, he pretty much relies on that fastball. Let's not forget that he wasn't terribly effective with the Rays last year; 4.19/4.22 FIP/xFIP, his K/9 with the Rays was only 7.34 compared to 2014's 10.38 and his walk rate was rising. In fact his BB/9 with the small sample with the Twins was the lowest of his career, that sounds more like a blip than a trend for a 31-year-old. He looks like a serious regression candidate. Edit: I don't like the word regression. He looks like a prime candidate to begin to succumb to the natural effects of aging.
  24. nicksaviking
    It has been a looooong time since the Twins had a young player of this stature, but for the Twins, in most other situations where the roster crunch involves a young player and veterans, the young player almost always finds himself holding the short straw either on the bench or in AAA. I don't think the Twins will do that, but what if Sano plays bad defense and starts the season cold?
  25. nicksaviking
    Yeah this bizarre situation makes most sense if the team is still planning on a trade. I might guess the Twins had ideas of trading Plouffe but for everyone's sake, including Plouffe's peace of mind, they meant to suggest Sano could play OF. Now Plouffe couldn't be traded for good value and the team seems stuck. I wouldn't be surprised if the team truly doesn't know how they are going manage this current situation.
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