Jump to content
Twins Daily
  • Create Account

Otaknam

Verified Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    280

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Profiles

News

Tutorials & Help

Videos

2023 Twins Top Prospects Ranking

2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks

Free Agent & Trade Rumors

Guides & Resources

Minnesota Twins Players Project

Forums

Blogs

Events

Store

Downloads

Gallery

Everything posted by Otaknam

  1. Otaknam
    I am optimistic because of the upgrade in starting pitching. No dumpster diving for retreads like Archer and Bundy this year, with solid starters 1-5 and some promising rookies and second year guys to fill in when needed. If Mahle and Lopez are very good they have a chance to make a playoff run, even without a shutdown starter. As for the FO and Rocco, their dogmatic adherence to analytics for starting pitching is an aggravation, especially with the leaky bullpen last year. Hopefully Baldelli unleashes his inner Rocco and uses his intuition and actual managing skills upon occasion and shows confidence in his starters to pitch into the late innings. Because right now that’s almost a felony to do that on this team. Solid starters want to win and pitch complete games, because that’s the competitor in them and where the money is at.
  2. Otaknam
    Nickname? “Flavi Five” comes to mind. Or the “Flinging Falvis “. Frankly, it’s about time Falvi did something about the rotation. Is this year six?
  3. Otaknam
    Finally some depth that will give the team a picture of where they are at once free agents like Gray and Maeda potentially leave after this year.
  4. Otaknam
    I’m hoping Alcala has an outstanding spring and Carrie’s that into the season. Another power arm would sure help. Also watching Pagan this spring to see if he can somehow get some high leverage outs, or any outs, without consistent loud contact.
  5. Otaknam
    Who knows? Seems solid considering where he was picked but sometimes you hit it big in lower rounds. Edouard Julien comes to mind.
  6. Otaknam
    Disagree on Larnach. We don’t know what his ceiling is given how few at bats he has. The jury is still out on him but given his power potential and decent defensive abilities he could still be a solid player with 25 HR, 90+ rbi and .275 average. We should know more about him by October.
  7. Otaknam
    Yawn! This column is kind of meandering and I don’t think proves the point that it was trying to make: that a ghost runner in extra innings is a detriment to the Twins. Every season is different, with different rosters. The Twins problem is Rocco, who doesn’t play old school baseball of hit and run, steal a base, move runners up with a productive out, or lay down a bunt. And he burns up his bullpen by yanking starters early, so even losing an extra inning game could be of some benefit if it saves his overworked bullpen.
  8. Otaknam
    Clickbait column. The Twins will never pursue Ohtani because that’s not what they do and the price tag is so high, regardless of the merchandise sales in Japan. And there is the cultural fit, too, so a west coast destination seems likely. Dodgers, anyone?
  9. Otaknam
    They wouldn’t be the first top draft choices to flame out. But Balazovic should know better than to put himself in the situation where he gets his jaw broken in a fight. Just walk away for God’s sake sake! Lack of maturity that may derail his career.
  10. Otaknam
    Is that legal for a Twins player, like Martin, to steal a base? Rocco must have been at the other game site.
  11. Otaknam
    The Sabato pick was a head scratcher from the beginning, considering he is a one tool guy. No FO gets all picks right but this guy, with no defensive skills, was a mistake ready to happen, especially with the need to power arms. They must have hoped for a right handed David Ortiz.
  12. Otaknam
    They call him mellow yellow! What’s next? Tiny Tim tip toeing to first base.
  13. Otaknam
    Bob Costas wrote a book years ago on the topic of MLB revenue sharing, with both a spending maximum and minimum for each team. It seems like the MLBPA would support a system like that since most of those players don’t get $200 + million contracts, only the elite. There is plenty of money to go around but greed always enters into the discussion when you pit millionaires against billionaires.
  14. Otaknam
    It has to be both, the over spending by the Mets and others and bargain basement spending by others. The big markets in NY, Boston, LA, and other places have such lucrative TV contracts that signing players to exorbitant salaries for ten years, when they may only get six years of production, doesn’t really impact their financials going forward. Other smaller markets can’t afford that, creating a competitive disparity. Football solved that with TV revenue sharing. I don’t see the big boys going along with that in baseball.
  15. Otaknam
    A Burnes trade would only make sense if he is the missing piece to a serious WS run. But right now the rotation has solid veterans, with young and capable arms waiting for their chance. I’d roll with that right now and see how the season goes.
  16. Otaknam
    Injuries are the wild card, but I really like their top 10 list of prospects. I think most of them will make it if injury free. I am especially excited about Raya and Prielipp as potential front end starters….finally! No World Series without top of the line starters.
  17. Otaknam
    It is a head scratcher unless another move is imminent, like a trade or injury announcement. And the addition of Gallo will take even more at bats away from Gordon, who clearly deserves the chance to build on his success from last year.
  18. Otaknam
    Except I cringe almost every time he tries to leg out an infield hit or slides into second with a double, expecting another pulled muscle, sprained ankle, concussion, or back trouble.
  19. Otaknam
    We also need to remember that Rocco seldom let Ober pitch past five innings. In fact there were some four inning starts by Ober, so analytics doesn’t seem to be Ober’s friend with this FO and manager that rely on algorithms rather than manager intuition and decision making. Also the trend in baseball is to give starters coming back from TJ surgery low pitch counts, very short starts and maybe a ceiling on innings for the year, which does make sense. So I think Ober will get some starts along with Maeda. It wouldn’t surprise me if they went with six starters for that reason, but that will put more pressure on the BP.
  20. Otaknam
    You have stated the obvious. If a player can hit the team will find at bats, regardless of his defense. Arraez is a good example. But if he has a solid glove but isn’t a good hitter, at best he will be a twice a week utility player on the team to give better offensive player a day off. Pro baseball has been littered with these kinds of players forever. For the Twins Al Newman and Denny Hocking come to mind, but Martin is a much better prospect and I think will prove that he is.
  21. Otaknam
    Pagan had to many cringe worthy moments that cost games last year. Like Ron Davis decades ago it’s close your eyes time when Pagan enter a close game. 97 mph fastball is excellent but not if it gets hammered frequently. But the team must see something they think they can tweak so we shall see. Spring training will be very important for Pagan. I hope someone passes him by, as that would be a positive sign for the BP.
  22. Otaknam
    The starting staff is definitely an upgrade from what we’ve seen for years, with several AAA starters waiting for their chance once someone gets injured. With some of the starters in their final contract it’s great to have some young depth. Hopefully a couple of the young guys show they can be effective starters at the big league level and move into the rotation next year. But still no apparent ace on the staff, so that’s an issue for any serious playoff run. Maybe someone will emerge as at least a number two. Hope springs eternal in spring training!
  23. Otaknam
    Who is Keith Law anyway? My concern is that the FO will trade another good looking pitching prospect for back of the rotation ML starters, which we have enough of already. Also I wonder if the manager who let Raya pitch six innings was fired, despite only 68 pitches, since computer algorithms drive all decisions for this FO and manager. Intuition not required.
  24. Otaknam
    E Rod is a very intriguing prospect from everything I read. Let’s just hope the Twin FO doesn’t package him or any of the other top ten prospects like Lee for another number three starter, as is their MO.
  25. Otaknam
    Yes it does. It taxes the bullpen and we end up with a constant flow of relievers from St. Paul. That may work for awhile until the relievers run out of options. Also what frontline free agent starter would want to come to a team that doesn’t have confidence in their ability to pitch deep into games? Imagine telling Blyleven, Gibson, Verlander, or even Radke that, no matter how well they are pitching, five innings is the limit because the computer algorithm says so. Whatever happened to a manager trusting his instinct on a player. Ridiculous!
×
×
  • Create New...