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bighat

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Everything posted by bighat

  1. bighat
    Great win. Berrios with a gem. Cron, Cruz, and Gonzalez coming through - just fantastic to see the new guys carry the load. But hands down my favorite moment was the Buxton double. Not even close.
  2. bighat
    Great article, thanks to all at Twins Daily for keeping the blood flowing this offseason. Can't wait to leave our predictions behind and watch the Twins play ball and see how this all shakes out.
  3. bighat
    I'm worried about the bullpen but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Can Thursday get here already? These cold-weather, early season games look like a drag for players but they count in the W/L column. Hoping this team gets off to a good start. Clubhouse energy looks solid, for what that's worth. I think Rocco's going to have a good year.
  4. bighat
    He's "injured" - aka: can't hit the broad side of a barn and has been going downhill since July of 2018. It looks like he's just out of gas and unfortunately hasn't been a good signing for the Twins. I wouldn't be surprised if they released him or put him on the 60-day IL. It's pretty clear to me that management and the front office don't want him anywhere near the bullpen as things stand. Great for Astudillo! And Austin! And we still get Adrianza, Cave, and Garver. What a story Harper has been this year - I really feel he can contribute.
  5. bighat
    I always liked Vargas! It seemed like he had such a small window and such a short leash. He hit a huge walk-off HR for the Twins in '17, great moment. But it almost seemed like the Twins didn't want him to succeed. He'd be immediately pulled if he went 0-3. Meanwhile the Twins let Buxton go up there and strike out 4 times per day for weeks in a row. It kind of shows how top prospects are treated vs. just "regular guys". I always thought Kennys had something to bring to the table but he just never got regular playing time. When the Twins re-claimed Vargas after Cincy grabbed him last year I kinda felt bad for the guy. I hope he hits 40 HR in Japan and comes back and gets another shot in the bigs. I think part of the reason I'm high on Austin is that I'm still chasing the Ghost of Aaron Hicks. Part of me wants to see Austin become the next Edwin Encarnacion and belt 38 HR per year for the Twins for the next 5 years. In your face, Yankees. My motivation is admittedly flawed. Man, the things we talk about in March, it's been a looonggg off-season. Can't wait 'til a week from now when we can get off these tangents and talk about what's happening at Target Field.
  6. bighat
    Austin isn't Babe Ruth but he is a proven MLB caliber player who can play every day at the top level in the sport. Wade, Kiriloff, Rooker, and Larnach are prospects - nothing more. We're biased and we see them as 4 future all-stars, but the odds are highly stacked against that. In reality, very few top prospects truly become long-term contributors. Like everyone else, I really hope these guys work out but we have to keep our expectations realistic. Even if they do become contributors, it'll probably take a few years for some of them to even hit above .230 at the major league level. Saying "just ditch Austin because Kiriloff is going to be better" isn't a good strategy.
  7. bighat
    If Buxton strikes out in his first AB of the year I'm going to just collapse in despair. If he grounds out to short stop, I'll jump for joy. Please Bux, just put the bat on the ball and good thing will happen. We don't need him to bat .320, I think we'd all settle for .250. Very anxious about Bux again this year.
  8. bighat
    I think it's pretty normal for fans of teams like the Twins to take solace in the fact that our farm system is stacked. But that said: you never know which of these minor leaguers will actually work out. The odds highly unlikely that Kiriloff, Larnach, Lewis, Gordon, and Rooker are all going to be future all-stars. In fact some of them may not even get more than a cup of coffee. Like it or not, none of these prospects I just mentioned have proven anything in the bigs, and out of the 5 I listed the odds are that 1 of them becomes a long-term every-day player. That's why you can't just "trade your bench guys".
  9. bighat
    From what I understand the consensus is there's no way Austin clears waivers. The Twins will lose him if they don't bring him north.
  10. bighat
    I also think losing Austin would lead to some regret. If he has a chance to start, he'd hit 35 HR and could be dangerous in the middle of the lineup somewhere. I bet a lot of teams would be interested in the guy if their 1st baseman goes down for the year. Speaking of which, lord forbid we don't keep Austin and Cron goes down with an injury...going to be some tough decisions in Fort Myers over the next week. As for Addison Reed, I'd be fine if the Twins just cut the guy. I prefer Jake Cave over Reed in the outfield and I think Cave earned his spot after what he did last year.
  11. bighat
    So does May have the closer job yet? It seems like the Twins are still playing coy with the subject...but one has to assume it's his job to open the season. Right? I almost think that when the team announces their closer, they can kind of establish a foundation for the 9th inning and then build from there....I've never liked "closer by committee" as it seems like a thing that bad teams do in September (ie: last year's Twins).
  12. bighat
    I'm shocked as well. Manfred is trying to make baseball appealing to people who don't like the sport. Instead he's making major changes that casual fans won't notice - and it's awful.
  13. bighat
    Ditto. I wonder if Harper's pitching style has something to do with his lack of opportunity? The way he holds the ball out there, is it possible that teams or baserunners could steal pitches and signal the batter what's coming? Could batters possibly read his pitches during the AB? I actually really like the pitching style he has, but just wondering if it's ever been mentioned as a problem.
  14. bighat
    Sure thing. Based on your argument, here's the Twins starting lineup on opening day: P: Martin Perez C: Rortvedt 1B: Tyler Austin 2B: Eihre Adrianza 3B: R. Torreyes SS: A. Rosales RF: Kepler CF: Bux LF: Rosario We'd have to lose Castro, Garver, Marwin Gonzalez, Polanco, and Cron, among others. Lots of them don't have options, so they'd just be let go.
  15. bighat
    Marwin Gonzalez spring stats: 0-for-8 with three strikeouts in 3 games, and he's missed the rest of the games with a bum shoulder. Should we be concerned about our new starting 3B yet?
  16. bighat
    Agree that Wade looked great. But I think Cave played well and his experience and play last year makes him the smart play to open the year. The Twins seem to always have a log jam in the outfield, which is a good problem to have I suppose. Just think about it: Rosario, Kep or Bux goes down with an injury to keep them out a few weeks, the Twins have Cave, Gonzalez, and maybe even a guy like Wade can step in. Speaking of Marwin Gonzalez....has the guy got a hit yet this spring? Last I checked he was 0-fer and had a handful of strikeouts to go with his injured shoulder. Should we be concerned about our new starting 3b yet?
  17. bighat
    I'm going to draft him for the 3rd straight season in my fantasy league. No way I'm letting someone else get him after I've suffered so much over the past 2 years.
  18. bighat
    I've also wondered about the constant complaining about concession prices. You don't have to buy 2 beers, a jumbo brand-name BBQ sandwich, a pretzel and stop at the sushi bar. You can eat before the game, and while in the stands just buy peanuts and a coke and you'll escape with a couple extra $20 bills in your wallet.
  19. bighat
    So Torreyes hit .292 with the Yanks in 108 games in 2017. He only got into 41 games last year in New York but hit .280. He's 26 years old. The knock seems to be that he has very little power. Just hit 4 HR in his career. But the Twins could do worse and he might be a good spare part to have in Rochester. I'm not down on Adrianza. Ehire hit 6 HR and drove in 40 runs last year in 114 games. Not terrible and it seems that the two players are very similar, stat-wise. Adrianza's 29 years old, maybe his experience is what'll land him that 25th spot. How about Tyler Austin catching fire the past 2 games? NOW what?
  20. bighat
    Think if you were drafting a fantasy team with just Twins players. Which position player would be your first pick? I think it would have to be Eddie Rosario. If healthy the guy's going to hit 28 HR, drive in 85 runs and bat .285. He's going to be hitting in the heart of the lineup (maybe 3rd/4th?) and is pretty much the straw that stirs the drink for this offense. The Twins have a boatload of outfield prospects who haven't had a chance to play yet. We'll be lucky if one of them turns in the numbers Eddie did last year - I'd like to extend him but I'm not sure the Twins are of the same mind set. Can't wait to see Eddie play this year - don't forget that arm, he'll certainly have his share of outfield assists!
  21. bighat
    It's crazy to see guys like Keuchel still available on March 8th. The season starts in just 2 weeks - back in the "old days" (ie: 4 years ago) guys like this would have been scooped up and signed for big multi-year deals. What I think is happening in today's market is a bit of an overcorrection to the contracts that guys like Pujols received. Nobody wants to be stuck paying $20 million per year to an aging superstar with no skills. Teams like the Twins shouldn't feel bullied into paying guys like Keuchel for 5 years because he won a Cy Young Award 3 years ago with another team. Players, on the other hand, think guys like Keuchel deserve "back pay" for overachieving years ago. In the end, I think the agents (like Boras) are primarily to blame for what's going on today. I think the second major factor is advanced analytics and high-tech scouting and development. The Twins' brainiacs seem to think that Martin Perez has 10 wins in him this season. I'm all for testing out this theory and letting Falvine run the team their way. Regardless, I'm sure when Keuchel eventually does sign, everyone will be watching his numbers this season to see if he was worth it.
  22. bighat
    Is Gardy really the only Twins manager with an above .500 winning percentage?
  23. bighat
    Much appreciated!
  24. bighat
    The Sano pile-on doesn't need any help from me. But that Marwin Gonzalez signing looks absolutely brilliant right now. I'm guessing the Twins knew exactly how bad that heel was when they added Marwin to the roster. Great move. I suspect one of the reasons the injury was downplayed in the media was so that the Twins could sign Marwin and save a few bucks while they were at it. A bad injury and a blow to the morale for sure - but very savvy handling by the front office.
  25. bighat
    He would've got the call last year, but he wanted to pitch in the Puerto Rico series - I think everyone understood that. Didn't Odorizzi end up pitching on Opening Day?
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