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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    Good point on Rosario, I can't see him starting all year if he has a .680 OPS, particularly if that's being weighed down by his OBP, which is a skill the Twins are dearly lacking. Same with Plouffe though. If he's playing that poorly, we should probably expect Sano at 3B. And if Murphy is head and shoulders better than Suzuki, I think the split will be more than 60/40. On one hand, this team likes it's veterans, on the other, they are going to want to showoff what they got for Aaron Hicks.
  2. nicksaviking
    That would be fine, but what if Duffey and Berrios are pitching great and the vets are pitching just "OK"? Will the they have the guts to pull Nolasco/Milone/Hughes if they are pitching like Pelfrey in 2015 even if the young guys are tearing up AAA? Same with the pen. If Fien/Jepsen/Abad are just pitching like Boyer and Fien in 2015, would they get removed if any of the young arms are tearing it up?
  3. nicksaviking
    That collection of vets in the bullpen is pretty uninspiring. If that's who comes north I'd feel much better IF we knew Fien, Nolasco and Abad have little to no leash. I'd also feel more comfortable if the team acknowledged that they understand Jepsen's resurgence with the Twins in 2015 is no more likely to recur than his decline with the Rays in 2015. What he did in Tampa last year was about what Tonkin did in Minnesota last year, Jepsen's role as bullpen Vice President should not be in stone.
  4. nicksaviking
    So Santana's .405 BABIP was flukey, but it in no way helps to explain the drop off in production in 2015 and nothing can? Even though nearly everyone predicted that Santana would drop off in 2015 due to his extremely high BABIP everyone was just a lucky guesser? Because there really isn't any other measure that takes into account "Texas Leaguers", "Seeing-eye Singles" and other various other hits that a fielder probably should have turned into an out but didn't, BABIP is a pretty strong tool for determining if a player had more than his fair share of these during the year. Obviously those kinds of hits are based more on luck than skill, and luck shouldn't be an expectation.
  5. nicksaviking
    I can't see Gus being a main player, because one would have to assume Mike starts working for Gus independent and absent of Saul's knowledge, and the show is still centered Saul/Jimmy. It's not a stretch to think that Gus reaches out to him somehow based on the pill dealers the Hummer guy is working with though. I loved the light switch scene.
  6. nicksaviking
    At this point, barring injury Berrios has gotten close enough that he will get a shot at the MLB regardless of what he does in the minors. He could be terrible at Rochester, but the team will still want to see him before cutting bait as his resume to this point has been so outstanding. The same isn't a guarantee with Stewart of Jay. It's highly unlikely that they don't get at least a taste of the MLB, but as mentioned, their floor is still minor league flameout.
  7. nicksaviking
    Whether it wirked or not, the Twins paid the price and the Braves benefited at the minimum of a draft pick.
  8. nicksaviking
    I agree that one or the other should solve any issues. Though if a team wants to ask a player to take a drug test I think it's a fair request, as long as the league makes it known that teams are to hold the player harmless if they refuse and it can have no bearing on a pending signing.
  9. nicksaviking
    Serious question, are those that think the Twins/MLB shouldn't stop Mauer from currently playing also against the NFL's new concussion directives? I understand the personal liberty point of view, I am just curious if people view these situations similarly.
  10. nicksaviking
    Well these were completely different situations. The Mets now DON'T have to pay him, but even if they did, they could non-tender him any way. The Twins were punished by having to pay a guy who juiced for a different team, and they had no recourse even though they're on the hook for three more years.
  11. nicksaviking
    This has potential to get both parties on the path back to compromise. The immediate thought is Republicans will try to block until the November election. However the leaders have to know that there not only is an overwhelming chance they won't win the presidency, but lose the Senate as well. They would know at that point they may get the most liberal possible judge ever known to man. It may benefit both sides to get someone viewed as more of a moderate now.
  12. nicksaviking
    The NFL took the decision out of the player's hands as they they knew (more accurately were sued into understanding) that players will neglect their own safety to keep playing and get paid. The NFL acted only after they started getting sued and getting the bad end of public opinion. This should not be Mauer's call, it's bad for baseball period.
  13. nicksaviking
    But it sounds like the Twins didn't like the results of his physical and Cody's side disagreed that there was any concern about the physical. Otherwise what's to stop the club from always telling the player his physical showed "concerns"? Now I don't think the Twins of all teams would do some like this, but from a player's perspective, they have to be able to back out if they disagree with the club's interpretation of the physical.
  14. nicksaviking
    This isn't an excuse, it is pre-emptive PR. If Mauer shows up at spring training wearing sun glasses while hitting and we didn't know this, everyone would be jumping to conclusions. What this should be viewed as though, is a cry for help. The league has to be extremely tone deaf in not knowing the current cultural temperature regarding concussions. Someone needs to intervene here and say if the NFL and their history of indifference toward player safety is doing something about this, we probably better act too.
  15. nicksaviking
    I know this may sound biased coming from a fan who has concerns about Mauer and the spot he takes up on the 25-man, but this isn't right. If he's still having symptoms three years later and his brain has been damaged to the point that he needs sunglasses to function properly, where are his people telling him this game is unfortunately too dangerous for him? If this was happening to a player in the NFL right now, it would be a pretty big deal and there would be pressure to stop him from playing even if he was somehow able to pass their cuncussion protocol. This isn't right.
  16. nicksaviking
    Pressly should be more of a lock than Fien, and I'm concerned that the team is going to put too much confidence in Jepsen. He wasn't doing well in TB and with his age, I think it's better than 50/50 that his declining results with TB will be what we see instead of spike we saw with the Twins. But my biggest concern is that Molitor will still run out relievers based on seniority, not talent. He can't keep running guys out in high leverage jams because of "experience". The young guys with the ability to miss bats need to be used when you most need bats missed, not in mop up duty. Fien should NEVER be on the mound with the bases loaded and less than two outs. Unless the game's already a blowout.
  17. nicksaviking
    I don't want either of them hitting and the Twins sure as hell better not be planning on any of them doing it regularly. I don't see value for the position other than defensive replacements, which is probably a push, and base running which Sweeney comes in third place.
  18. nicksaviking
    The Twins could really use a young guy with good on base skills. So far, of the youthful players only Sano has shown that ability at the MLB level.
  19. nicksaviking
    Of those guys only Mussina and Bumgarner were picked in the first round. Bumgarner was throwing mid-90's when he got drafted as a left-handed High Schooler and Mussina had plus velocity when he first came into the league and averaged well above league average strikeout numbers during his time in the league. I also wonder why everyone always throws Maddux into these discussions, it must be because he was known as a control pitcher. Maddux had above league average strikeout numbers during his prime relative to the rest of the league and is 10th all time on the career strikeout list. Lucas Giolito and Brady Aiken were recent top ten-type guys who fell due to injury, I'd be happy if the Twins had a shot at Matt Krook. I don't need velocity, and I'm sorry I put it that way, I just want strikeouts since the draft is the only way the Twins can get them. With the draft, it really hard to judge that ability in a pitcher aside from measuring their velocity. Also, the odds of getting Tom Glavine are no better than getting Randy Johnson.
  20. nicksaviking
    Well I apologize if his sinking two-seamer isn't a sinker. Whatever the hell it is, it is clearly designed to get ground balls, just as a sinker does.
  21. nicksaviking
    No, usually they don't even make it to the majors as Blackburn did for six years. Not many guys dramatically increase their K totals from low A ball, low A ball is usually where they peak.
  22. nicksaviking
    And I get that Blackburn is a punchline now, but he wasn't always. He was a top 100 prospect and pitched well enough for the Twins to (foolishly) give him a pre-arb extension. Not that we shouldn't all be disappointed if Stewart doesn't turn out to be what was advertised with the #4 overall pick. However Blackburn should be held up as an example of what's wrong with sinkerballers who don't strike guys out. It's not like when he didn't get a groundout he was giving up screaming liners everywhere, Blackburn's career LD% is lower than Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale. You just can't rely on the guys behind you to get 90% of your outs.
  23. nicksaviking
    I would rather the Twins fail 9 out of 10 times on the fireballer than go the safe route no matter what the rate of success would be. I don't want a chance at a "good" pitcher in the 1st round, I want a chance at a great one. Again, the Twins have no problem affording "good" pitchers in free agency. The draft, and most likely the 1st round, is the team's only realistic way of getting a great one. I'll never fault them for trying and failing; keep at it, they'll hit on it some time.
  24. nicksaviking
    If the Twins offered Cody well under slot money, I would be pretty disappointed in the club if they were furious. What justification could they possibly have from wanting the guy to take less money than the system said was fair and seemingly asking him to take less than what was discussed prior to picking the player, and getting upset when he decides to try to do better the next year?
  25. nicksaviking
    But last we heard, he wasn't throwing 96 MPH, he was throwing 92-94 AND not striking guys out. I'm glad he's in the top 100, but no pitcher who can't miss bats has a high ceiling. Hopefully Stewart figures it out. I haven't seen that comp, but I don't see what's wrong with it. Blackburn was ranked #56 on BA's 2008 prospect list and relied very heavily on his sinker but struggled to miss bats at every level. That seems at least like a pretty defensible comp.
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