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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    I think with the firing squad already lined up for everybody who has 1 Twins Way listed on their W2s (and K1s) there will be lots of scapegoats, and at this point as far as the on field employees go, Suzuki has a big fat bullseye on his back. I think normally the Twins may look to retain him, but this year he's going to take the fall and the Twins will talk publicly (again) about upgrading the position (again). Francisco Cervelli is likely a free agent as the Pirates are uber-cheap, so possibly are Wilson Ramos, Chris Ianetta, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Geovany Soto, Dioner Navarro, Matt Weiters, Nick Hundly and Jason Castro. Most of those names are beyond boring, but still an upgrade to Suzuki, and likely only Cervelli would require an investment in terms of years that the Twins would feel squeamish about.
  2. nicksaviking
    Good lord. I guess baby steps forward is better than stasis. At this point, I really don't get what it is they fear if a young pitcher is called up. To the team's credit, I haven't heard them say anything silly like "getting back into this race" or "making September games count", but their actions make it look like that's what they're thinking.
  3. nicksaviking
    I hope the Twins aren't deciding whether a pitcher needs to be a finished product simply because they are trying to avoid losing 95 games instead of 90.
  4. nicksaviking
    Well WAR agrees with you anyway.
  5. nicksaviking
    Of catchers with 100 PA last year Suzuki was 54th in catcher WAR at -.1. Derrek Norris was fifth in WAR at 2.4. Despite the wide gap in perceived talent, that's only a difference of 2.5 WAR. Every other position has a difference of at least 4 WAR, and most are way more. There's just not much of a difference between "good" catchers and terrible catchers any more. There is one great catcher and a couple of good catchers left; they are all old, and none are for sale. The Twins just have to figure out how to adapt without a good catcher, every other team is going to have to learn eventually, maybe the Twins can gain some kind of advantage with their head start.
  6. nicksaviking
    I don't think teams punted the position, I think the best athletes punted the position. Maybe the Twins could sell the farm and somehow get the last great catcher, but it would just be one more thing the Twins were last at.
  7. nicksaviking
    Yes, in fact, I'd go so far as to say never draft a catcher in the 1st round unless he's a can't miss guy. The best catcher drafted since Posey way back in 2008 is Yasmani Grandal and if you filter catchers by WAR, he's the 19th best catcher over the past three years. This is an increasingly neglected position, the Twins hit bottom rather early on it, but just about every other club is going to follow. All of the best catchers in the league (and best is a very, very relative term for the position) are 29+. Once the McCann's, Martin's, Cervelli's, LuCroy's, Molina's, Norris', et al hang up their cleats, and based on their ages, it will be soon, the league is going to realize they are at a crisis point regarding the position. I'm guessing it's not a popular position to play any longer and fewer kids are volunteering to take up the tools of ignorance, or their parents are telling them not to.
  8. nicksaviking
    Somebody up there really didn't want Mauer to lead off.
  9. nicksaviking
    Duffey has throw his change-up more this year, still not a ton, but he's doubled his usage from 2.5% to 5.5%. Perhaps that is an attempt to assuage the "only a two pitch pitcher" critics. As his curve is working currently, I wouldn't want him to increase the change-up usage. Perhaps he will if batters start keying in on the curve(s). Still, if he has two curves that function entirely different, I'm still in the camp that he has enough pitches for a long look, as he can make his curve act unpredictably. After all, no one criticizes a knuckleballer for being a one or two pitch pitcher.
  10. nicksaviking
    I'm sure he'll be gone much earlier, but I agree, I want no part in Shore. The Twins continual drafting of high floor/low ceiling guys in the middle and late in the first rounds is what crushed the farm system last decade. Aaron Nola has made me eat my words a bit, but these guys with very low strikeout potential should be steered clear of until later rounds; without put-away stuff, they just need so much more to break right for them. Why would you want to use a high draft pick on a #3-4 starter? Even the Twins have shown they can afford to pay those kinds of guys in free agency, draft the guys who have the potential to profile as players you CAN'T afford in free agency.
  11. nicksaviking
    Well we still haven't put him on the mound yet. I want to see that rumored high 90's heater.
  12. nicksaviking
    You better get back from that meeting and post again soon. Your number of career posts is the same as a very ominous number. I like most of those ideas, I'd hate for none of them to come to fruition due your worship of the dark lord. Edit: Or maybe I have it backwards, perhaps a Faustian deal with the devil can be made if you never return and remain at 666 posts.
  13. nicksaviking
    I think the complaint being made is that there weren't "trades" last year, there was one trade. If Ryan was going to shore up the bullpen to the point where it made a difference, that's one thing, but only getting Kevin Jepsen certainly wasn't going to do the trick alone. So, if you're only going to make one trade, which isn't going to accomplish enough to matter, why make a trade at all?
  14. nicksaviking
    I didn't like the trade last year because Jepsen wasn't very good in TB and looked to be on the decline. That was an incorrect read, at least last year. But this is exactly right, it was just more half-measures. This team just cannot commit to anything, whether it's going for it at the trade deadline or committing to a full rebuild, they hedge their bets every single time and it's beyond frustrating. They have clearly resolved to get harder throwing pitchers in the draft and trade, but then are hesitant to promote them or put them in key spots. They commit to increasing the payroll, but only by getting multiple average players, not a couple of really good players. They replace most of the field staff, but they do it mostly with other organizational guys. Come on, get off the fence and stop being so wishy-washy.
  15. nicksaviking
    Yes such as I suspect is the case with things like not eating shellfish or pork. People were probably getting sick but didn't understand what was making them sick so they kept eating it because, YUM! An intelligent member of the group understood what was going on but the only way he knows how to get them to stop eating this sickening food is to say, "Hey guys, God said we can't do this anymore".
  16. nicksaviking
    I'm not making assumptions, you made a blanket statement about how the young players act entitled. If hitting poorly is proof of entitlement, than mark Suzuki, Plouffe and Dozier as entitled as well, and as much as most of us would like a new catcher, Kurt Suzuki appears to be nothing short of the ultimate professional and team player.
  17. nicksaviking
    Well that's because Kelly never would have let them play, he did not like young players. What kind of evidence have you seen that says the young players act entitled? Arcia, Buxton, Polanco, Kepler, Santana, Duffey, Meyer and May have all been humbled by multiple demotions to the minors, pen or bench. This just sounds like an assumption based on our perception of Millennials. The only person we as fans can even presume to guess has an entitled attitude is Ricky Nolasco who through his agent made a stink about the prospects of him being moved to the pen.
  18. nicksaviking
    I would keep Berrios myself, but I agree on the Murphy comp, I know Swihart has always been a better prospect, but I think a lot of that was buoyed by his status as a 1st round pick. Nothing offensively sticks out with Swihart that screams 'can't miss'.
  19. nicksaviking
    I think he's mad because he knows giving up a run before the fifth is likely to cause Molitor to pull him.
  20. nicksaviking
    It seems to me the projected skills of SS's is too often a crapshoot and usually based off of what would be an elite defender. Escobar's arm wasn't supposed to be strong enough, Dozier was supposed to be able to cut it, JJ Hardy's foot speed and the expected lack of range probably would have made 20 of the 30 teams to move him from the position long before he made the majors. I'd bet that a shortstop who can sling it over to first at 90 MPH can get 99% of the runners out that a guy who can sling it 95 MPH can. I'd think fundamentals are much more important.
  21. nicksaviking
    That sounds a tad optimistic about this club. I was thinking selling high on a player here could happen once every three, four years tops.
  22. nicksaviking
    Good for Casey, it was the right move by the Twins a little too late, but Fien was a nice find and a good Twin for over three years, good luck to him.
  23. nicksaviking
    I just find it odd that the batters don't have to be finished products but the pitchers do. Last I checked it was the batters who had to react to the pitchers, not the other way around.
  24. nicksaviking
    Without additional explanation, I'm going to assume it was square in the nuts.
  25. nicksaviking
    There isn't a rule that you have to replace him with another DH-only is there? Also, I can't watch the game, what happened to Park?
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