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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    I used to agree that the Twins would play this game, but I do think some things have changed, mostly because the players used to get their layover in Low A, which now doesn't always happen. Hicks and Arcia were allowed to rise to the majors quickly, and others have been allowed to make multi-level jumps. However, you're right that there is at least an arguement to be made that Gibson, Meyer and May were given the stop sign at AA and AAA. It may be intentional service time manipulation, though based on the pitching results for the last decade, I'm more inclined to think they simply don't know what they're doing when it comes to developing pitchers.
  2. nicksaviking
    I find this pretty amusing. Prospect gurus, front office personell and fans always debate whether Player X will be able to cut it at the premium up the middle positions. However it almost always turns out to be lip service as defense never turns out to be as important when the player gets to the majors. There was discussion about Santana being too erratic to play SS as recent as this spring. Now he's just fine being plugged in just about anywhere and not a rat's ass is given about any shortcomings. People question whether Jorge Polanco will stick at SS, yet he makes a three level jump to do just that at the MLB level. Can Chris Herrmann catch? Not really. Can Chris Herrmann be a backup catcher at the MLB level? Why the hell not, he already has the glove and knows the signals! Defensive ability is way over analyzed in the minors. Sure, having a stud glove is nice, but when you get down to brass taxes, at the MLB level you can plug and play most of these guys either where there is a dire need or where the other option is lacking offense.
  3. nicksaviking
    I get it, relying on youngsters can come back to haunt you, but it didn't stop the Twins from doing this a decade ago when Garza, Blackburn, Perkins, Baker, Slowey and Liriano were all inhabiting the rotation early and often. Heck last year they had Cole DeVries and Liam Hendricks in the opening day rotation and no one was pretending that there was any upside there.
  4. nicksaviking
    Would the idea of a Dozier extension be different if he were playing SS? Because his athleticism, arm, range and intangibles say he could. If on the off chance SS continues to be a problem for the team in 2015 and Gardy says what the hell and sticks Dozier back over there, arbitration, and an extension would become much more expensive I suspect.
  5. nicksaviking
    One thing, with this payroll flexibility for next year, the Twins really should be moving Suzuki even if they want his services next year. If they like him as much as suspected, they can always make an unreasonably high offer to bring him back. Think Mike Pelfrey but with less nausea.
  6. nicksaviking
    If May and Meyer are both rookies come spring training, the front office will have some questions to answer to.
  7. nicksaviking
    I would also think payroll drops simply because most of the holes will be filled by young players. Whether the produce or not is another story. Unless Nolasco (or any projected starter) ends up needing TJ, I just don't see the team getting a free agent arm as we really have to expect them to finally give May and Meyer a shot. That is of course unless they trade someone. Maybe they end up trading Gibson, and then a spot opens up to add a free agent pitcher.
  8. nicksaviking
    I'd listen but not if the Dodgers want top prospects in return. The problem is, as soon as Buxton is ready, we're going to hear the same complaining about playing CF. Also, a guy who's a starter on a championship caliber team is asking to get traded. It's not even like he's on the bench and wants to play more. It's pretty easy to see he's much less concerned with winning than he is with getting his way.
  9. nicksaviking
    Well it hasn't worked out too well with the first wave of studs Hicks+Gibson+Arcia. If you're a terrible team, you're always going to have high draft picks and almost always going to have exciting prospects people want to see. If Buxton+Sano+Meyer struggle, would it then be shoddy to not give them a chance to see the next crop of say, Stewart, Gordon and (insert 2015 top 5 pick)?
  10. nicksaviking
    I think he's tired of losing and I'm hoping he's about done with the country club atmosphere. Even if he is a money counter and could care less about the wins/losses (and I don't think he is), the money is going to dry up if the team doesn't improve. I'm very hopefull on and off field staff are going to start getting evaluated more strongly on production than they will be on years of service.
  11. nicksaviking
    Jay Buhner please.
  12. nicksaviking
    I can't even begin to describe how much 87 MPH fastballs make me want to watch the 2nd half of this season.
  13. nicksaviking
    I'd agree, but only in the short term. The best thing about Hunter was his short contract. The Tigers don't do a lot of those and here's hoping they find another albatross to replace Hunter.
  14. nicksaviking
    I hear you but Max Scherzer, Victor Martinez and Torii Hunter are all free agents after this year and all will leave a pretty sizable hole in the team. They'll almost certainly make at least one more poor contract decision this off season to fill them as they have next to no prospects they can plug in. For fun, my prediction is they keep Scherzer on a terrible 6 year deal and sign Nelson Cruz to an equally terrible four year deal. Let's throw in a three year deal for JJ Hardy as well.
  15. nicksaviking
    There's plenty of reason to like the guy, but the fact that he continues to lead his leagues in HR is also an indicator that he isn't able to move up multiple levels a season. I love the power, but a .295 OBP? Wow, that's pretty awful for the HR leader in A ball. That's led to a rather average .745 OPS, despite all those longballs. He is walking better this year, but still not enough considering the shakey control most A ballers have and the fact that HR leaders often get pitched around.
  16. nicksaviking
    That would be nice, but who pays for those? Is Aiken supposed to shell out a couple grand just so he can give teams ammunition to use against him when it comes time to negotiate the contract? Even if the MLB tried to get them and was willing to pay for 2,000 medical reports, no one is going to be able to force these kids to take an exam and reveal the results.
  17. nicksaviking
    Great stuff. I wonder if these guys are made aware of 40-man and service time implications and why a guy like Berrios wouldn't get a shot this year? It's doubtful anyone in the front office would explain why it's not in the team's best interest to not get a MLB call up this year. I'd think the organization would frown upon any minor league coaches discussing these things. Agents might explain the situation, but a lot of them seem to be brown-nosers spouting happy words of encouragement to the players, they may actually encourage them to embrace the idea of an early call up even if they know it's out of the question. I suppose it would be up to teammates to break this kind of news to a guy who may not understand the ramifications. However, they might not do so either and if they did, it may fall on deaf ears as setting lofty goals for oneself, sticking to them and ignoring everything else is kind of a time honored tradition of being a professional athlete. Either way, I can't wait to see him and I hope he forces the teams hand sometime in 2015.
  18. nicksaviking
    Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't remember the MLBPA getting so front and center about issues with draft picks until recently. Until you got to the MLB players were basically left alone to be canabalized by the clubs. Tony Clark seems to be making a point to be inclusive for future members of the unioin.
  19. nicksaviking
    AJ isn't the reason the Red Sox aren't winning, that team has enough vocal veterans to drown out any kind of distractions. I'm relieved the Twins didn't get him simply because Suzuki has been better on the field. Do I want positive clubhouse guys? Obviously. But only if it doesn't come at the expense of on field production. Also, if the Red Sox were in contention, AJ would still be on the team, they were just making the wise move by cutting bait with a veteran to give a young guy some development time.
  20. nicksaviking
    Well from the last "reliever-to-starter" draft in 2012, it seemed they worked to get Melotakis, Duffy, Baxendale and Rogers more mechanically sound. I guess someone who has seen these guys in person would be more of an expert, but I thought they did improve in this area quite a bit. Though it clearly came at the expense of their velocity/strikeout potential.
  21. nicksaviking
    I picked other, I'm going with Parmelee, though I hope it's Arcia or Dozier. I'll pick a pedestrian total of 11 second half HR for him.
  22. nicksaviking
    Well, they may not be stupid, but they certainly are self serving. Clearly they abuse college arms, making them throw too often and too many pitches, but another issue is that guys who need work on their mechanics probably don't get the time to work on them. Big time programs aren't going to waste a season trying to get Cederoth to work on his delivery or developing his changeup. I've been critical of the Twins style of development often, but if getting his mechanics consistant and developing his changeup are his biggest hurdles, those do seem to be the strengths of this organization's pitching coaches. At least in the minor leagues.
  23. nicksaviking
    Houston's plan seems to be quite flawed. They clearly look to be trying to save money, money that is earmarked for this singular purpose. The thought is that they team is trying to leverage the players to get Aiken to sign for less, but that's rubbish as they'll lose both if they can't get Aiken to take less. If this were the Twins, and they were simply trying to save $2.5 million that was allocated solely for this draft, this board would be rioting, and rightly so. Aiken should head to Japan for a year, he'd probably get paid close to his original agreed upon deal as snagging the #1 overall pick would be huge news there, plus I believe they often have 6 man rotations and only pitch once a week. That should naturally limit some innings, plus give him a taste of really good competition.
  24. nicksaviking
    No kidding, the Twins get off easy compared to East Coast teams. Phil Hughes would die from hysterical laughing if Joe Mauer ever complained about his recent negative media attention. Of course negative attention is better than no attention as the saying goes. If they were in California, any exploits would be met with a shrug of the shoulders and a change of conversation to celebrity fashion or legalizing all drugs, depending on if you're in the southern or northern part of the state.
  25. nicksaviking
    I'm sure Span will be back next year, but is there going to be room for any youngsters with Hunter and Cuddyer manning the other corner spots?
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