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bighat

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Everything posted by bighat

  1. bighat
    I'm surprised to hear so many complaining. I know there were some other 2nd basemen on the market but this guy had to be among the top 5 available. The Twins haven't had much luck bargain shopping for down-on-their-luck stars (LoMo, Lynn, Rodney come to mind), but they might have found something in Schoop. Remember Schoop was injured at the beginning of last year and it really nagged him for a while. When he came back he performed well enough for the NLCS-bound Brewers to trade for him at the deadline. This might be one of those TJMaxx specials that the Twins can brag about next year.
  2. bighat
    Watching Twins batters strike out with a runner on 2nd base and nobody out last year was just brutal. I can't stress how many runs were wasted simply because guys couldn't make contact. Astudillo might not be Tony Gwynn but his contact rate is desperately needed on this team. He puts the ball in play, period. I hope the Twins are seriously considering ways to get him as many ABs as possible. Really hope he makes the team out of ST. Astudillo's not a "nobody" anymore. A diamond in the rough is only valuable if you use the player. He won't do us any good stashed in the minors.
  3. bighat
    I remember how jazzed I was when I heard the Twins were signing Reed, Rodney, and Duke last winter. All of a sudden they had an All-Star bullpen. Poof. Alas, Reed seemed like the most solid guy of the whole bunch and he turned in one of the worst seasons of the year....on a bad team. I hope it was just a fluke year. Maybe he'll return to become an average arm, but I don't think he's ever going to be lights-out again. I don't think the Twins are counting on him being a shut-down reliever in 2019.
  4. bighat
    Agreed. Players the Twins used at DH in 2018 include: Johnny Field, Chris Gimenez, Logan Forsythe, Ryan Lamarre, Ehire Adrianza, and Gregor Petit. Ouch. Robbie Grossman started the most games at DH for the Twins with a grand total of 36! Nelson Cruz, on the other hand, was the DH in 136 Mariners' games last season.
  5. bighat
    Why not extend Jorge Polanco right about now-ish? Along with Rosario, he's our most consistent bat. He's going to want to get paid and he should. I'd prefer it would be the Twins who pony up.
  6. bighat
    Because Buxton's had plenty of time to play healthy and he's still struggled when he's ship-shape. I hope he becomes a star also. I just stopped pretending he is one.
  7. bighat
    Bingo. Every single article about Buxton seems to operate on the assumption that he's a future Hall of Famer that's somehow snakebit by injuries. That's simply untrue, and the numbers show it. Aside from a 2-month stretch in 2017, Buxton has been a well below-average hitter to the point where the Twins can't afford to keep him on the major league roster. He is the 4th outfielder going into Spring Training on a team that had its 3rd outfielder (Max Kepler) finishing with a .215 average. I don't think it's quite time to give up on Buxton. But it is time for the Twins Daily reporters to stop writing about Buxton like he'd be Mookie Betts if not for a pesky sore toe. Buxton is a great human being, but he's failing professionally at this point. I think Rocco will have a positive influence on Buxton and Sano, for what its worth.
  8. bighat
    Yep. "Waiting for Buxton" sounds more and more like the title of a sad ESPN 30-for-30 documentary. I think not calling Buxton up this September was a nice move by Falvine and it should set the tone moving forward. At this point the Twins should be penciling in Cave and Rosario in the OF, and should be looking hard at making moves for another starting OF to join them next year.
  9. bighat
    Middle infielder free agents who are at the "Top of the pile" (not including Machado): Ian Kinsler - Age 36 Eduardo Nunez - 31 Jose Iglesias - 28 Marwin Gonzales - 29 Alceides Escobar - 31 Eduardo Escobar - 29 DJ LeMaheiu - 31 Brian Dozier - 31 Asdrubal Cabrera - 32 Josh Harrison - (if club declines option) - 31 Freddy Galvis - 28 Anything look appealing to you guys? I like Harrison, Eddie Escobar, and Jose Iglesias. Not sure if I'm in love with any of these players, though.
  10. bighat
    Fun topic! I'd give it to Cave. The batting average and RBI were identical to Garver, but Cave hit 6 more HR. Caveman also played very good defense, while Garver....struggled at times. Garver's a nice player. Cave was better.
  11. bighat
    Agreed. A few have said that Molitor did a good job winning 78 games with this ramshackle squad. But don't be fooled - those last few series were gift-wrapped and featured clubs with 100+ loss records who were treating the games like a scrimmage. The 2018 Twins lost when they needed to win, and went on 7-game losing streaks when they absolutely needed to get hot. Nothing went right for this team and it was an extremely disappointing year.
  12. bighat
    That "but you can't replace Molitor" clause was one of the biggest bush league moves in the history of sports ownership. You can't hire a new president and then tell him "but you can't make changes" - well, what's the point then? I think the spotlight is finally turned on and Falvine now has their time to show what they can do. Ridiculous that we had to wait 2 years for the show to start.
  13. bighat
    I am happy to see this news. Molitor's a good dude but he's not a manager who can keep up with today's Whiz Kids. Some "new school" managers I really like: Joe Maddon, Alex Cora, Dave Roberts, Kevin Cash. Granted, 3 of them are managing perennial dynasties, but any one of them would have come to the Twins if they'd come calling a couple years ago. The Twins need to make sure they get the right guy to manage in today's climate. I think Falvey and Levine have plenty of skill gaps, but I have faith that they are really going to knock this one out of the park. They were built for this.
  14. bighat
    Great to see that sweep! Kepler's batting .222 this year - only 4 players (Chris Davis, Kyle Seager, Joey Gallo and Kole Calhoun) are worse among qualified batters. Kepler has just 56 RBI this year. I'm sure someone will dish out some arcane stat (WAR+BBDO +TK421- OCHO5) actually places him in the top 5 outfielders in the league....but I'm not going to buy it. He's been quite frankly a huge disappointment and it's largely been overlooked. I'm not sure he's a part of this team's future at the rate he's going. I wish the Twins would have taken a look at some young outfielders this September. Looking at the bats on the bench, it's a pretty discouraging state of affairs.
  15. bighat
    I can see being displeased with Joe's play from time to time. But why would a Twins fan HATE him? There's a weird dynamic when it comes to sports. People who hate Joe because they think he's overpayed are the same people who rant "I payed for this stadium!" and somehow think they've had a large chunk of money personally stolen from them by the team. These folks act like players or teams have taken a sizeable amount of hard-earned money directly from their bank accounts, forcing them into hard times. They imagine their personal fortunes have been used frivolously - without their consent - on things like fancy gold beer taps and a locker room nail salon. Everyone in Hennepin County payed the same amount on sales tax to get that stadium built. Everyone. The university students, the minority communities, the small business owners and even the old ladies shopping at Bachmann's. You don't hear these people ranting about the stadium, or acting like Joe Mauer stole their grandkids' college funds. But some people do: they just can't get over the money issue and will always be looking for ways to hate on athletes, actors, and the like. If you're jealous of an MLB salary, learn how to hit a fastball. Otherwise shut up and enjoy the game.
  16. bighat
    I agree, but I have to admit I'm skeptical. I think the Twins want Castro/Garvsauce to split the duties and I fear that no matter how much better Astudillo plays, he won't make the team out of Spring Training. La Tortuga brings fire, passion, and motivates his teammates. He's a solid backstop who can fill in at 3b or OF while hitting .350. And he never strikes out! Isn't that what every team wants???? Vikings...my goodness. If I have to see another replay of Anthony Barr getting beat by a WR or RB in space I might have a seizure. Cousins fumbling, offensive line crappy...running game disappeared...when do we play Detroit for crying out loud!?!
  17. bighat
    I am baffled and confused by the blind faith in Buxton here. He's a good dude, but he's never hit and he's 25 years old. What am I missing here?
  18. bighat
    I agree that 2019 looks like a very, very bad year. The Twins are finishing 2018 with a record that looks like a team who was rebuilding....but they weren't. The breakout players on this team were Jake Cave and Tyler Austin, two Yankee farm-hand rejects. The good news is that they're on the Twins now. The bad news is that the Twins farm system can't come up with anything better. I hope Buxton learns how to hit, but I don't see that happening. I think the FO has to realistically have Cave, Kepler, and Rosario as their starting OF on the board for opening day unless an acquisition is made.
  19. bighat
    Chris Jiminez has a future in broadcasting. He'll be working for ESPN as an analyst or calling games for some team down the road. Always enjoy hearing from him. If the Twins win these last 11 games, we may quickly forget just how awful this team was here in 2018. They should really just shut Sano down at this point. There's no reason to let him "get his timing back" for the final series of the year. Hildy's audition for the closer role has been nothing short of a disaster. Nice to see Jake Odorizzi flashing some talent! Could have used a few starts like this back in June and July.
  20. bighat
    A closer giving up 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th in a 1-run game? That could be a record of some kind. Literally could not do worse than that. Hildy appears to be a below-average middle reliever trending downward. Put his season in the "disappointment" column along with many other Twins. Astudillo is what makes this team worth watching right now. He's the type of guy the Twins need more of...just can't get enough of this guy!
  21. bighat
    Gotta admit, it's been pretty painful watching all these "can't miss" Twins prospects continue to fall flat year after year. Meanwhile every other team in baseball not only has rookies who contribute, but we see guys like Acuna in ATL and Taylor in DC who are 19 years old and playing like MVPs. I'd love to see Royce Lewis join those names next year.
  22. bighat
    Every one of our "openers" has put the Twins in an early hole. Hint: the strategy doesn't work if your bullpen is terrible. Great to see Joe crank one out against the Yanks no less. Very nice moment. Hey, let's take 2-of-3 and win one tonight!
  23. bighat
    Woof, things are getting rough. The Twins prospects have looked pretty terrible since their call-ups. Stewart had that once nice appearance in middle relief...that's what we're clinging to at this point. Nice to see Berrios do well. Do the Twins have anyone they can count on to play good baseball next season besides Rosario, Polanco, and Berrios? They seem to have 3 decent players and the rest are just in a junk heap in the corner. I know I'll be way more optimistic on March 29th, but from where I'm sitting now, 2019 looks like it's going to be a rough year.
  24. bighat
    Really? I think this is a huge overreaction. Buxton's a career .230 hitter who can't hit an MLB curveball. And the FO ain't gonna play him because he can't put the bat on the ball. The Twins are saying they'll play a guy based on results, not hype.
  25. bighat
    Count me in as a Hawkins fan. He's been my favorite guest color-analyst this year. Morneau's good, but he's a bit too bland for my taste. Sorry. Hawkins seems to have the right balance of being both interesting and fun to listen to.
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