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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    I agree with this, but not in the context of Target Field. There's no foul territory and if your back is against the wall you need to take about two steps to shake the second baseman's hand if he's playing in the hole. And if Buxton is in CF, the territory the right fielder needs to cover is about the size of a wading pool. Look no further than Torii Hunter's transition from the worst RF in the history of the game in Detroit as a 39-year-old to suddenly becoming league average again in Minnesota as a 40-year-old. I don't think the ballpark requires a lot defensively from the position, if anything, the angles of the wall need to be learned. With that belief, I'd take advantage of the ballpark and get the best possible bat for the spot and worry about a defensive platoon or Kepler playing there more often during the road games.
  2. nicksaviking
    If the team isn't going to spend this off season and instead is focusing on developing from within, we may find this part just the opposite, though I'd hope not. Though outside of Berrios, Gibson and Rosario, I don't think there are any MLB assets they could trade that would largely impact the 2019 season.
  3. nicksaviking
    I like it, though like others have said, I'd still like to see Romero be a more traditional starter. If I flex one of the current starters out it would be Odorizzi who has proven to be very good for a few innings but an absolute disaster should he face a batter a third time. He'd probably thrive being a 2-3-4 inning long man used ideally by a forward thinking manager to bridge to the late innings arms, not wasted as a mop up guy used by an old school manager. And I like Kepler playing 1B rotationally. I think those that are opposed are viewing the situation as Kepler-centric, but it's not. Max is most likely and most often going to be starting, but it would be easier to find a corner outfield bat to help bolster the offense than a 1B, which is a position quickly becoming void of offense.
  4. nicksaviking
    After reading Pohlad's comments I'm also going to be surprised if this payroll is over $100M. I'd still bet there isn't a firm dollar amount that anyone is given, just the directive that all of their requests will not be approved this year. If they keep payroll low, they better spend it all on relievers on 2-3 year deals, that position looks to be where the favorable market will be. While that's disappointing, it will leave plenty of room to take on payroll in the middle of the season should the team find themselves in good position.
  5. nicksaviking
    Well Pohlad already all but said they’re not spending money this year. I’d imagine the front office is planning on making some trades and filling some holes in a non-splashy manner and attempting to play smarter and better baseball with the guys the have. That wouldn’t be terribly hard. The A’s and Rays have good teams but with few real excellent players. They’re over achievers but smart, I’d guess that’s the ceiling the Twins are aiming for. The A’s and Rays have next to no shot at winning a title, but we watched this organization do the same thing last decade and play into October. Not that that’s my preference, just where it looks like it’s headed. And I don’t care about Sano and Buxton, if they work out great, if not, there’s other ball players to take their spots. They shouldn’t be counted on or built around.
  6. nicksaviking
    I don't want the nickle and dime approach anymore either. I want quality over quantity. I'm still filing this one under a waiver claim though, not a free agency spend, there's still no commitment here at this point of the year. And if Grossman is waived, that's going to pretty much negate this salary. If Grossman and Cron are both on this team in April I'll be leading the pitchfork brigade. Also I should clarify, in the bullpen I want quality AND quantity; it's currently just such a black hole.
  7. nicksaviking
    Historically no, but his .749 OPS would have placed him 16th out of qualified 1B last year. It's not a strong position any more. Or maybe just at this moment. I would argue for the Twins to find an upgrade over that kind of production, but I don't think it should stop Garver from finding a job somewhere.
  8. nicksaviking
    I would guess Santana isn't going to happen, but the Twins can re-waive Cron pretty easily. Claiming Cron with the apparent intention of getting a full time 1B for 2019 sure would undermine any demands Philadelphia makes for Santana from the Twins.
  9. nicksaviking
    Garver at catcher has grown on me, probably due to that nice outburst in the 2nd half. But if he needs to go to 1B for health reasons I'd hope it's accepted by everyone.
  10. nicksaviking
    I wouldn't expect Austin and Cron to both make the roster, unless Kepler was dealt in which case Austin may get more time in RF. If Austin is the odd man out between him and Cron, I'd imagine he'd get traded since he most likely would get claimed on the waiver wire. I might rather have Austin over Cron in a vacuum, but if Austin can fetch another player or is part or a larger trade, I'd be interested in additional off season transactions. Anyway, I'd think the redundancy is indication that more action is likely, not less. My 1B preference since the end of last season has been a Sano/Kepler/Austin/Garver rotation, though I knew that was unlikely. Got to have a full-time 1B I guess.
  11. nicksaviking
    I was never big on Sonny Gray and had no interest in trading for him a couple of years ago, but I'd be OK with giving him a shot at bouncing back assuming the asking price is quite low. Though I thought he was a bit of a mirage (my default position with all Oakland pitchers) if he did happen to bounce back, he'd certainly help stabilize the rotation.
  12. nicksaviking
    That's great, I don't think this move has bearing on doing that though. Other than a trade for one year of Paul Goldschmidt, getting a new 1B wasn't going to meet that criteria this year, there just aren't any good ones out there. There are hardly any good 1B league wide anymore.
  13. nicksaviking
    Well it seems like every move is met with anger these days. This is a molehill not a mountain, the frustration seems out of place when it's on something this small. And I understand why there is frustration overall, I feel it too.
  14. nicksaviking
    They might not do anything and that's the signal they've been giving. If nothing else materializes as far as free agency or trades I think people have reason to vent. This team should be giving out 3 year deals to some of the power-armed relievers like candy. I don't think Cron will stop or has stopped the team from doing other moves though. I don't want any of the free agent 1B anyway. A Matt Adams or Lucas Duda signing would have bothered me more than this.
  15. nicksaviking
    It was just a waiver claim, they didn't give up anything for him and they haven't committed anything to him at this point. I don't really have any interest in Cron, though he does seem to be a better overall player than Austin. I'd prefer the team tread 1B as a second DH and fill it accordingly throughout the season to maximize the offense, but no team has ever done that so it would be crazy for me to expect them to do it. This minor move just doesn't anger me; the negativity surrounding this move seems more like people are upset about the losing and are going to hold the front office's feet to the fire for any decision not deemed excellent. This is just so minimally consequential and non-binding I don't think it is worthy to add to the demerit column.
  16. nicksaviking
    If you have two similar players why would you pay the more expensive one?
  17. nicksaviking
    I wasn't aware of that, that's and odd thing to do. I guess then I'd agree that the plan is likely to roster him, but things change and if he doesn't look like a better player than Austin, I can't see them eating the money just to eat the money. Also, Austin would be a pretty decent toss in piece for any trades this winter. And if Cron is better than Austin, why wouldn't this team want the better player? $5M? This team isn't going to get to any kind of spending limit this year, who cares about the money if the Pohlad's don't.
  18. nicksaviking
    Doesn't his $5M commitment make him LESS likely to make the team? They only have to pay him a fraction of that amount if they waive him prior to the season. If he and Austin are truly similar, wouldn't they keep Austin unless Cron shows to be a better hitter?
  19. nicksaviking
    This was a waiver claim, not a free agent signing. These happen all the time and with his pay, lack of position and noted redundancy, I’d say he’s got an uphill battle to make the team. I’m really struggling to understand why there is so much frustration with this. Like the rest of the league, the Twins will probably make two or three other moves like this before spring, these guys are just lotto tickets. I don’t recall this much anger over claiming Michael Reed.
  20. nicksaviking
    I have little interest in Cron, heck little interest in filling 1B. But I don’t understand all the animosity. This is simply a waiver claim, the Twins make a dozen of these a year, Cron is just a bigger name than your typical waiver claim.
  21. nicksaviking
    I guess you can, the Red Sox had scouts testing Betts in HS during his lunch period I guess: https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/how-mlb-teams-are-using-neuroscience-to-try-to-gain-a-competitive-advantage/amp/ Different than the NFL for sure. Hope it’s not different than the Twins.
  22. nicksaviking
    Yeah I’d like to know which teams are on the list as well. Greinke is a bit eccentric though, his list might be less predictable than most players. Who knows if his is based on financial incentives.
  23. nicksaviking
    Romero is the only member of that group I’d resent losing, so I’d imagine that’s too light. Sounds like the Mets are most interested in MLB ready offense, multiple pieces too. It’s hard to see Kepler as the centerpiece and only MLB ready bat snagging Syndergaard. Though you never know what other teams value I guess.
  24. nicksaviking
    I wouldn’t think the Mets would be interested in a package based on Sano’s potential, they’d base his value off of his production. I’d think he’d be a complementary piece only. I’d think the only way the Twins could do anything to provide the Mets what they want is for the Mets to be convinced Kepler is an everyday centerfielder. Even if they thought that though, it’s hard to believe other clubs be couldn’t blow the Twins offer out of the water. I don’t think the Twins have enough controllable MLB ready/experienced bats for their own team let alone to satisfy the Mets demands.
  25. nicksaviking
    I'd prefer to judge the process of talent evaluation instead of the actual talent produced, of course teams aren't going to disclose that willingly. In the case of Mookie Betts though, we do have anecdotal evidence that the Red Sox were doing some kind of video-game type of test to gauge reaction time and/or eye-hand coordination and Betts was off the charts which is why the Red Sox drafted such a small kid in the 5th round instead of letting him get picked after the 10th round which is typical for HS players with perceived low ceilings. I'd like to know if the Twins were doing something similar, the perception of the club would indicate that their evaluation would consist of scouts in the stands, a chat with a coach and perhaps a firm handshake, but that's only an assumption, maybe there was more. Are the Twins now doing the things other clubs do to find elite talent? Are they now doing things other clubs have not thought about to evaluate elite talent? That's really what I want to know. I think if they put in the effort to distance themselves from their competitors, it will pay off in star players in the long run.
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