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yarnivek1972

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Everything posted by yarnivek1972

  1. yarnivek1972
    I would point out that when the Twins were in contention in 2001, they traded their most experienced position player (and only realistic leadoff hitter) for a middling starting pitcher. There’s no such thing as “never” in baseball.
  2. yarnivek1972
    If Sano is suspended to start the season, one wonders how willing the Twins are to start the season with only one reserve infielder. That could put Aybar on the roster with 12 pitchers. And it would likely buy time at the mlb level for Vargas or Granite.
  3. yarnivek1972
    I still don’t believe Gibson has “turned things around”. I’ll believe it when he actually posts a sub 5 ERA for an entire season. I made the point last year that Gibson’s “turnaround” coincided with him facing some of the worst offensive teams in MLB down the stretch. Granted, he fared better against those dregs than other Twins starters, but I still want to see him pitch well against a half way decent offense a few times in a row before declaring him an asset. I was surprised he was tendered for 2017 and more surprised for this year, even given the lack of viable internal options. Kyle Gibson couldn’t have compiled two more similar seasons back to back if he tried. The likely conclusion is that is simply what he is IMO.
  4. yarnivek1972
    Who’s to say pitchers pitch to Dozier the same way if he hits somewhere in the middle? His numbers with runners on are noticeably worse than his numbers with no one on. He has a .780 career overall OPS. It drops to .754 with runners on. IMO that likely has a lot to do with why Dozier leads off.
  5. yarnivek1972
    Depends on who is in the bullpen. If one or two of those guys can be a spot starter (perhaps Tyler Duffy for example), yes I think 4 starters would be fine until the 19 game stretch.
  6. yarnivek1972
    That’s probably Jim Pohlad’s call. It’s his money.
  7. yarnivek1972
    Sano only started 87 games at any position last year and only 79 at 3b. If he starts 110 games at 3b this year (or frankly any year) I’ll be stunned. 100 might be pushing it.
  8. yarnivek1972
    I’m not excited. He’s not an “exciting” player. He doesn’t have the blazing speed of Buxton. He won’t hit homeruns like Dozier. He’s not Ozzie Smith on defense. Polanco may be the least exciting player on the team. And that’s okay. Because you know what he will do? Win games for the team.
  9. yarnivek1972
    At first I thought you were saying when the Twins started with a lot of infielders. I remember seasons early in Gardy’s tenure when the opening day roster featured 4 or 5 middle infielders. Not even exaggerating. Gardy’s very first opening day roster featured Cristian Guzman, Luis Rivas, Denny Hocking, Jay Canizaro and the extremely forgettable Warren Morris, aka WaMo. After all, the key to a successful roster is 4 weak hitting second basemen.
  10. yarnivek1972
    There are such things as pitching machines. Is it the same? No. But that’s what the 10 ST ABs are for.
  11. yarnivek1972
    Twins need Grossman in case Kepler still can’t hit LHP. They don’t need really Granite’s defense.
  12. yarnivek1972
    They have to pay MLB salary and give him MLB service time if he is on the 60 day DL. There is no other reason not to do so.
  13. yarnivek1972
    As someone who is overweight, I feel I know what the disadvantages are. Lack of stamina. More prone to nagging aches and pain. Granted, that’s me at 45, not 25. But I’m also not being asked to be a professional athlete. I don’t know if his “ideal” weight is 240 or 290. I really don’t care. I do care that he has missed roughly 1/3 of the team’s games the last two years. Is that all because of his weight? No. Some of it? Probably. But there is no way I am going to build a franchise around a player that can’t stay on the field. His best chance of doing that is being in shape, whatever that means for him. He is a pro athlete. His livelihood depends on his body being able to perform. He needs to get that.
  14. yarnivek1972
    Will you care if he averages 115 games per year for his career at $25 mil plus?
  15. yarnivek1972
    There aren’t a lot of 300 pounders in MLB playing any position. Mo Vaughn in his last few years. But really no one has carried that kind of weight through an entire successful career. I personally don’t consider Sandoval to have had a successful career. One season of 80 RBI. Injuries and mediocrity since the age of 24. Ortiz wasn’t in the 300 range for most of his career. Maybe the last 4-5 years of it. Yes, Vargas is there now, but he really hasn’t had much of a career either.
  16. yarnivek1972
    He needs to prove he can actually stay healthy enough to be in the middle of the lineup.
  17. yarnivek1972
    Weight wasn’t an issue for Hrbek at 24. He played 140 plus games all but one season until 1991 (the year after he turned 30). And that was playing 100 plus games on the old fashioned astroturf. Not only at home, many many other stadiums had it during nearly all of Hrbek’s career.
  18. yarnivek1972
    It’s interesting that they both employ the splitter. As I recall, it was a pitch the Terry Ryan regime actively discouraged prospects from throwing (claiming it was more likely to lead to injury). Personally, I always thought the Twins discouraged prospects from throwing it because it led to strikeouts which tends to lead to bigger paydays.
  19. yarnivek1972
    Some on this board still believe Kyle Gibson isn’t a 5 ERA pitcher, despite the results the last 2 1/2 seasons.
  20. yarnivek1972
    One might expect that. Not sure I am willing to accept what they say at face value.
  21. yarnivek1972
    Brad Radke did it. Granted, on a team that was not planning to contend. But he remains the most successful starting pitcher to come up through the system in the last 30 years. Maybe 40. By far.
  22. yarnivek1972
    I like Kepler too, but I guess I am not understanding the angst over trading a guy who is the third best overall outfielder on the team. Trading Kepler would likely mean that Grossman starts in RF (or possibly LF with Rosario switching to RF), Vargas is the primary DH and Granite is a late inning defensive sub a lot. I am not at all convinced that Gordon or Romero will pan out. Romero has substantial injury history and seems destined to be in the bullpen IMO. It’s doubtful Gordon will stick at SS and not at all certain he will hit well enough to stick anywhere. If trading three questionable upside players is what it takes to get a pitcher like Archer, I’d do it everyday and twice on Saturday.
  23. yarnivek1972
    Target Field isn’t a particularly HR prone field either. Also, positional scarcity is exactly why you make the trade. The Twins can far more easily replace Max Kepler than they can add an arm like Archer. Yes, it would be Garza /Young in reverse. Isn’t that a good thing? Doesn’t it make sense to trade from a position of strength, borderline surplus, to augment an area where the Twins are extremely weak?
  24. yarnivek1972
    IDK, if you get 6 shutout innings on the road from your # 3, I’d say your chances of winning that game are pretty good.
  25. yarnivek1972
    This. Exactly. Smart teams trying to contend aren’t likely to trade away a good starting pitcher before the season starts. Especially when they have no glaring deficiencies at the MLB level that trading McHugh would solve.
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