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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    I must have missed the part about Nolasco being the piece that brings over Matt Kemp. That would interest me a little, however surely the first Tweet that Kemp gets from a fan saying, "I want you back with LA!" Kemp will respond, "Me too!!!!!!!!!"
  2. nicksaviking
    Well Torii was a free agent and likely trying to get multiple parties intersted. Nolasco's not going anywhere. In fact by moping about not being in LA, he's hurting the Twins leverage (not that there was any after that terrible season) to trade him out of Minnesota.
  3. nicksaviking
    When asked to clarify, I'm sure he'll say he simply wouldn't mind being back home in the nice weather. Still, I'm sure he would rather be in LA in the grand scheme of things. They are in the playoffs, and he had a historically terrible year in Minnesota where has become a goat. Don't forget he also wore a Dodges hat at a Wild game shortly after signing with the Twins. In short, I'm sure he WOULD rather be in LA, and who could blame him? Doesn't everyone want to be where they are liked? Even if you are rolling in money, it seems like an inate desire. It's just not one of those things that should be said out loud. It's not like Minnesota fans don't have enough of an inferiority complex already. Pitchforks will be out. Well, Minnesota is the land of passive aggression, so maybe not pitchforks, maybe garden trowels. He should remember that, LA surely would have pitchforks.
  4. nicksaviking
    I'd rather the Twins emulate the team from the other side of Missouri. Hire scourts who can identify young pitchers who have the potential to throw hard AND hit the strikezone and hire minor league pitching coaches who know what to do to get them to the majors. Use your free agency cash on mid to top tier offensive players to suppliment the talented young position players you already have. And do not waste your budget or roster spots on replacement level free agents. Give those spots to guys in AAA, they will not be significantly worse.
  5. nicksaviking
    I don't want Kemp moping around the clubhouse. He will mope if he's not playing CF and not getting on ESPN. He will not play CF regularly as he cannot handle the positoin any more and he won't get on ESPN playing in Minnesota. That being said, concern for Adam Walker who can't get on base in A ball should have zero considerations in off season moves.
  6. nicksaviking
    I don't really have a problem with there being some guys who are First Ballot HOFers and then all the rest. It's not that I don't think some players have gotten in deservedly, but I do like the idea that players like Mays, Aaron, Spahn and Seaver were of a different class than Andre Dawson and Roberto Alomar. I do think that the unwritten policy of no unanimous selections is a bit childish, but don't mistake this inaction for a slight on Jeter, Maddux or anyone else. The guys who aren't voting for these guys on the first ballot are doing so simply because they won't allow ANYONE to be unanimous if Ted Williams and Babe Ruth weren't unanimous. Someday these guys will be dead and perhaps the practice will be over, but more likely they will indocterined younger voters to this strange jealous slight.
  7. nicksaviking
    Gardy = In Anderson = Out Gardy = Makes a stink trying to save Anderson Ryan = We don't want you that bad Gardy Gardy = (sullenly walks away without a word) Twinsville = Palpable tension among the front office and field staff, drama forthcoming. Queue music = Fur Elise
  8. nicksaviking
    Well as the saying goes, you can't teach speed, but I don't think this has much to do with speed. I think it has more to do with recognition of the batted ball. I'd think that would improve with repitition, just as I'd think the ability to pick up a curveball vs fastball out of the pitchers hand gets easier to do with repitition.
  9. nicksaviking
    Of those pitchers, only Lee was demanding and got a large bonus. Winners got more than the rest of the HS arms.
  10. nicksaviking
  11. nicksaviking
    That's a bit disturbing. The Twins may not have enough data on him, but there's plenty of data out there. The guy's been playing pro ball since 2001.
  12. nicksaviking
    Good to see Gordon looking good. I'd like to see that power develop a bit more too, but it's encouraging that those in the know believe it will. A bit disappointing to hear them question his defensive abilities however since his nearly concrete ability to stick at SS was why he was rated so high pre draft and likely why the Twins took him in the first place.
  13. nicksaviking
    I like having him around, but really only because every time his name gets brought up I get to point out that the Twins passed up on high upside HS arms Jesse Biddle, Zach Lee, Cam Bedrosian, Aaron Sanchez, Noah Syndergaard and Tijuan Walker to draft the safe college arm Alex Wimmers. I do this because I'm petty and like to call attention to the few times I was right.
  14. nicksaviking
    Especially after the team moved him to 3B where some power is generally expected. Hopefully he'll get SS to himself if Polanco stays at a different level, but even after Polanco moved up this year, he still split time at SS with Mejia. I can't see Goodrum sticking on a 25-man, though neither would have Kepler and he got a roster spot last year.
  15. nicksaviking
    Ha, I guess we're the opposite. I had written him off, mostly because I never wanted the Twins to draft him to begin with. However I was a bit encouraged that he seemed to get better as the year went on. He pitched better in AA than he did early in the year at Ft. Myers. He still makes me yawn but his increasing K% and substantially decreasing BB% and H% are pointing in the right direction. Not sue he'll ever get a chance to start again, so double yawn, but still, the NB peripheral stats look pretty good.
  16. nicksaviking
    Groundballs to the right side of the infield still score a runner from 3rd, as does a fly ball to the outfield. I care much less whether they build a flyball or groundball rotation then I do that they stop employing starters with a sub 6.5 K/9 rate. The bullpen should require a minimum 8.0 K/9 rate.
  17. nicksaviking
    I'm guessing if Dozier was asked to bunt instead of getting an extra RBI/HR/SB that was going to cost him $500K in a meaningless game, we'd be having this discussion. Not saying that both are the same or that both situations have the same merit. But Hughes was 5th in the league in fewest pitches per innings, yet he was only 40th in total pitches thrown despite being healthy all season. Hughes had 30 more innings in him had his total pitch count lined up with his position in pitches per innings. That's basically an extra inning every game that he got pulled early. There can be debate whether 240 innings is too much for a pitcher these days, but I don't think there is much debate that Gardenhire prefers his bullpen to the starters in the late innings. In fairness to Gardenhire, the bullpen has been better than his starters for the last half decade, still, he should recognize when he finally has a starter that is worth giving the opportunity to pitch into the 8th regularly and into the 9th once in a while.
  18. nicksaviking
    Good points. The thing that makes me hesitate however, is the belief that the Twins offered him a contract that included clauses and bonuses that due to the field managers questionable decision making, made it nearly impossible to reach. Surely neither agent or GM would have thought that a guy who was healthy all year and threw one of the best season's in Twins history wouldn't be able to meet what would be a totally obtainable goal for a similar pitcher for most other clubs. Failure to reach 210 innings lied more on Gardenhire than on Hughes.
  19. nicksaviking
    It kind of speaks to how cautious and quick to give the game over to the bullpen Gardenhire and company are. Hughes likely had the best season a pitcher has had around here since Johan Santana and he couldn't even get to 210 innings.
  20. nicksaviking
    Ha, I loved the article and loved the part about how Ryan had to go out and find a top 20 WAR pitcher to anchor the staff. Then I thought about it, did a quick Fangraphs check and realized they already have one. Who would have thought Phil Hughes is currently #3 in WAR this year?! He's 16th according to BBR. BBR and Fangraphs have different ways to calculate WAR, but that gap is much bigger than I'd expect.
  21. nicksaviking
    His contract isn't preventing the Twins from signing anyone. They are still well below a reasonable payroll. His contract can't just be torn up, in baseball salaries are guarenteed. I'm not sure what you are suggesting the Twins do with it. If you don't want it, understandably other clubs don't want it either.
  22. nicksaviking
    Yeah, we really need to examine the psychology around our word assoiation. For some reason when we here Latin manager, the first response is Ozzie Guillen. There are tons options aside from him.
  23. nicksaviking
    Meanwhile Detroit taxpayers were asked to pay for only 33% of the Tigers stadium and St. Louis had the tax payers pay for 12% of theirs. Doesn't quite look Kosher to me considering those clubs have also received revenue sharing in the past couple of years AND they present the fans with rosters and payrolls in line with a level of competitveness they expect from their players. But what would I know, I'm terrible at econ, stats and math in general.
  24. nicksaviking
    Despite my desire for change, I really am a sentimentalist. I do like the stability and familiarity of Gardy and Ryan, and I would be sad to see them go, even while I think the club needs the shakeup. So I guess my internal compromise is that I like, even prefer to have the familiar faces in and around the club when they have no impact on wins and losses. I'm just fine with Bert and Gladden as broadcasters, even if they aren't particularly good at their job. I've known these men most of my life, even if through the airwaves. I'd be equally sad to have them out of my life, particularly since their departure couldn't possibly affect the actual game play.
  25. nicksaviking
    If no one can pin point the problem, then the organization needs to hedge their bets and wash the whole slate clean, or as much as possible. Otherwise we just put oursevles in a cycle of continual second guessing, wondering if it's perhaps the other factor in the equation that is causing the failure. Sorry, innocent parties my be negatively affected, but we need to be looking at the bigger picture. If you come home to find the window broken and both of your kids say the other did it, they both get grounded until someone comes clean. In this situation, EVERYONE seems willing to take the blame, that doesn't mean there should be no consequences! This seems like it should be a very, very easy decision. Sorry it's harsh, but too much damage has been done and the kids do not look to have the ability to fix the window themselves.
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