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arby58

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Everything posted by arby58

  1. arby58
    Nelson Cruz isn't going to play forever, and if this year is his last, Rooker would be a perfect candidate for the DH job - and the $ savings would let the Twins chase a front of the rotation guy next year. He's coming off an injury, so parking him in St. Paul until things clarify makes sense.
  2. arby58
    I'll agree that songs like 'Centerfield' and 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' are rock stars of baseball songs, but my musical tastes are more 'out of left field.' I'll go with Warren Zevon's ode to a quirky pitcher, 'Bill Lee.'
  3. arby58
    Agree, and maybe move Buxton down to ninth - as you note, he'll get pitches to look at from Arraez, and I doubt it will bother Arraez to have the Buxton commotion going on at first base.
  4. arby58
    Given that the question was 'best pitching prospect' rather than 'best starting pitching prospect' I'll go with Duran. When you can regularly hit triple digits on the radar gun with reasonable command, you are going to attract a lot of attention. While Balazovic has notably increased his velocity, I doubt he's going to be hitting triple digits. If Duran 'just' ends up as an overpower late inning arm, that would make him a highly valued prospect (see Brusdar Graterol).
  5. arby58
    The fly in the ointment on 'an extension soon' for Kirilloff is he is represented by Scott Boras, and Boras doesn't do the 'pre-emptive contract extension' for pre-arbitration players. My guess is they stash him in St. Paul for 'seasoning' in April.
  6. arby58
    I doubt you'll see Lewis in Wichita (if so, not for long) - more likely St. Paul.
  7. arby58
    If Lewis is better than a player who 'will win a couple of batting titles and an MVP' then the Twins are set up well for the future with the two of them.
  8. arby58
    I've been saying more or less the same thing since the Happ signing. If I had a choice between another starting pitcher ala Odo or a couple of quality relievers, I'd probably take the relievers at this point. Berrios is still only 27 - it's worth recalling that Gerrit Cole's breakout year was at age 27 - the year before he was 12-12 with a 4.26 ERA for Pittsburgh. Berrios for one can still get better.
  9. arby58
    Arraez is not 'fleet of foot' and his play in LF was often an 'adventure.' I'd rather have Polanco take a shot at the OF if that is necessary.
  10. arby58
    Trout has only played 10 years and is 28. In that time, he's been league MVP 3 times and finished second 4 times. Aaron won 1 MVP and never finished second. Trout's 1.000 career OPS is far better than Aaron's .928; Aaron's OPS was over 1.000 5 times; Trout has already topped that 3 times (and had other years of .991 twice and .993 last year). Aaron's greatest achievement was consistent high performance, but for peak performance, Trout is already topping him and probably has another 7-8 years of very high level play.
  11. arby58
    With all due respect to Hank Aaron, who is in the discussion for GOAT, I'd suggest we have another candidate in our midst, and his name is Mike Trout.
  12. arby58
    While this is a useful comparison, I would also note that the White Sox have a couple of young, dynamic players who are likely to perform significantly better than their 2020 WAR - Moncada and Robert in particular. Of course, the Twins expect the same from Kiriloff, Rooker, Jeffers, etc. Donaldson returning to MVP (or close) form would help tip the scales, as would resigning Cruz (if he can continue to perform at the level of the past couple of years, not a sure thing). You would expect the Twins to at least add another starting pitcher and resolve the rest of their infield. If they do that with 'positive WAR' pieces, this probably about evens out. That said, IMHO the Twins are no longer the presumptive favorite to repeat as division champs.
  13. arby58
    I suspect that if the Twins had held onto him and kept him on the big league roster, there would have been plenty of 'fan discord' related to performance. Paging Aaron Hicks, who was sometimes painful to watch, particularly against right handed pitching. It's hard to blame the Twins on this one, just as it was hard to blame them for moving Lance Lynn. Unfortunately, they are both now in White Sox uniforms after figuring some things out.
  14. arby58
    Look up his minor league records. In 2012, 2013 and 2016, he played more games at 2B than at SS in the minors. He also played 14 games at 3B in 2011 and 10 that year in the outfield, in all three positions. He's certainly athletic enough for it - there have been several examples in baseball history of players shifting from SS to CF with little preparation and doing just fine out there. Robin Yount is one example, and Paul Molitor (ironically, he had to move from SS because of Yount) also moved around, to 2B, 3B and the OF.
  15. arby58
    I'm not a fan of making Arraez into a utility guy. My observation of his outfield play is that he is pedestrian at best there, and he doesn't have the quickness/agility for short stop. That pretty much leaves 2B and 3B, and there's not much utility in that. Polanco has better all around ability to be a utility player.
  16. arby58
    I don't understand the seeming interest in 'moving on' from Arraez at second base. At 22/23 years old, he has a combined 438 at bats and has hit .331 with an .819 OPS. He's always a tough out, and, major or minor leagues, he's always been a .300+ hitter. Granted, not much power and not great defensively, but Jorge hasn't exactly lit it up in either category of late either. Plus Arraez has longer control/lower salary. I know people say trade him for a pitcher, but I'd rather have him as a table setter playing every day.
  17. arby58
    Granted, you weren't born yet, but the 1970 Twins had a strong rotation, top to bottom: Jim Perry (24-12, 3.04 ERA), Jim Kaat (14-10, 3.56), Bert Blyleven (10-9, 3.18), Louis Tiant (7-3, 3.40), Bill Zepp (9-4, 3.22). Unfortunately, they ran into an Orioles team with even better pitching (and at least as good hitting) that won the World Series 4-1 over a very good Cincinnati team. That rotation was Palmer (20-10, 2.71), Cuellar (24-8, 3.48), McNally (24-9, 3.22), Hardin (6-5, 3.53) and Phoebus (5-5, 3.07). Imagine winning 20 games and having the third most wins in the rotation!
  18. arby58
    The theme of the piece is patience - this would not be patient. The Twins of old (and several other franchises) have messed up young pitchers via the baptism by fire. Let them gain their experience in the minors - pitching wasn't the Twins' problem last year, and my guess is there will be enough this year as well without leaps of faith with the young pitchers mentioned.
  19. arby58
    Baez and Petit sure sound like the types of relievers the Twins have tended to sign over recent years, and Wood's name comes up a lot (probably the least under the radar guy on this list). Too many logs already at IB for Moreland, although he's one of those players I always respect/fear when he's coming to the plate. Robertson also sounds like a good option if Hernandez et al don't get signed for the utility role.
  20. arby58
    They don't have the money to sign both Hand and Hendriks.
  21. arby58
    A lot depends on Polanco's ankle. If that is a chronic concern and he's regressed to the hitter he was in the second half of 2019 and pretty much all of 2020, it's hard to see how switching him to second base improves the Twins much, even with Lindor in the line-up. In that case, I'd rather trade Polanco and keep Arraez. Rosenthal's comment about Lewis dazzling team officials at the alternate site in 2020 was interesting - I hadn't heard that level of praise. There also seems a lot of speculation that Lewis might eventually switch positions. However, if he truly was 'dazzling' and if shortstop is where he'll stay, it makes zero sense to trade the eventual solution at the position for a year of Lindor, even if he is the best player on the planet without a freshwater fish last name.
  22. arby58
    If nearly all of the offense hadn't regressed in 2020, I might agree with you. They'd be relying on a bunch of guys (Romo, Cruz, Polanco) who were on the down-swing in the second half of 2020 - and some who had really poor full seasons (Marwin, Cave, Adrianza).
  23. arby58
    Last year's team had enough pitching, but you won't win a play-off series (let alone a World Series) scoring one run a game. The all-in isn't going to win it. I'd prefer the 'spread it around.' Of all of the options, the 'do over' sounds the worst.
  24. arby58
    My guess is this is where Lewis lands.
  25. arby58
    Wisler and Dobnak were two pitchers that always seemed to lead to heart palpitations for me when they pitched. Their results seemed too good to be true (in Dobnak's case for half the year, anyway) from 'the eye test.' Granted, that is from the eye of a center field camera and not a batter at home plate, but the provided stats provide some support for that concern.
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