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SkyBlueWaters

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  1. SkyBlueWaters
    My concern about Pineda, at his age, and with his injury track record, would be how many innings he might give us. So offer him an incentive laden contract, with a ladder of bonuses for innings pitched beyond 100. Mike has shown us he can pitch. If we could get 140-180 IP from him, he would be worth a fatter contract. This team still doesn't have a legitimate front-of-the-rotation starter, but the Gray acquisition was waay better than the free agent signings of Happ and Shoemaker, which doomed last season before it began.
  2. SkyBlueWaters
    I think we agree on wanting a quality rotation. But do you see many rotations with *five* quality starters? We could get bogged down in what quality means I suppose. My problem with the Twins at present is that we have a collection of good no. 4-5 starters. I'd love to see Pineda come back--with Gray, that might mean we have capable no. 2 and 3 starters. We still don't have a horse to front the rotation. I agree with those who point out how deep we are in quality position players. I've got concern about depth at catching, but otherwise, in the field, this team could be playoff caliber. The *huge* problem remains the front of the rotation. We have to hope we are developing good starters for the future. But if we can add another *quality* arm, they could be fun this year. And after the Happ/Shoemaker debacle of last year, wouldn't it be nice to see the Twins simply in contention again?
  3. SkyBlueWaters
    SABR has an interesting bio of Jimmie Hall, including a Kaat quote at the end, indicating he was a bit disgruntled. https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jimmie-hall/ For a while, Hall hit so well it looked like we were set at CF for years. Personal favorite, in the entertainment category, is Disco Dan Ford. Mid 70's we had Ford, Larry Hisle and Lyman Bostock all available to play center. Bostock hit for both average and power. Still so sad, how he died.
  4. SkyBlueWaters
    A deal like this would be a lot more appealing to me if someone in the Glasnow camp signaled that he was open to a multiyear deal, somewhat similar to the Pineda deal where he was paid to convalesce, and then more upon his return, only covering more years for Glasnow. (Maeda signed such a team-friendly long-term deal with LA, albeit while healthy.) Could/would the Rays permit Glasnow to talk about it with another team? The Twins have a lot of talent, much of it in or approaching primetime. Front-end starters are obviously our biggest deficiency. I suppose it makes sense to write off 2022 this way, but it kind of *pains* me to consider dealing away valuable assets for a guy who had TJ surgery last August.
  5. SkyBlueWaters
    As unimaginable as it might seem after this train wreck of a season, some day the Twins might go deep in the playoffs again. Lately, people have been remembering the Halloween blizzard of 1991, which happened right after the series. Now imagine combining the two. The nation tuning into the world series in blizzard conditions at Target Field. The dome offered some advantages, especially after all those years of the country mocking the old Met. Especially Rams fans.
  6. SkyBlueWaters
    My concern about trading Sano is that we would be dealing him after a down year. Not a good way to get comparable value in return. Also, remember letting David Ortiz walk? That one is still nightmare worthy. What if someone gets through to Sano and he adjusts his approach at the plate? I agree with those who want to retain Buxton. Players with that kind of transcendent talent are rare.
  7. SkyBlueWaters
    Frankie "Sweet Music" Viola! I like the song. I couldn't believe it when the guys who were brought in as experts in building a pitching staff last winter brought in Happ and Shoemaker. Who have since turned on them! A multi-year contract for Dobnak? Meanwhile, Houston goes for Greinke, the Dodgers acquired Scherzer, the Yankees ink Cole, the Bosox dealt for Sale ... Do you think their all bummed they lost out on Dobnak? The Twins brain trust treats our pitching staff like it's four A: a notch above triple A, yet not playoff caliber MLB.
  8. SkyBlueWaters
    Mike8971 wrote: “… At that point it is incumbent upon ownership to step up and declare money is available for signing current stars and adding the necessary high end talent rather than nibbling around for bargains - a strategy that has obviously contributed to our record-setting playoff losing streak, as well as this year's collapse.” Couldn’t agree with this more. Losing Berrios would be disastrous for the near future, the mid 2020s, on this team. We can speculate forever about Sano, Pineda, Polanco, Kepler, etc., but we simply don’t have enough quality pitching—especially guys who can give us close to 200 good innings a season—to believe we measure up with the elite teams come October. If they want to see these players contend, the bottom line is that the Pohlads and the FO have to decide to spend what it takes to get the pitching we need to leverage our depth of hitting—a huge plus on this team—to bring this roster to the level of the elite teams.
  9. SkyBlueWaters
    Ha! Reminds me of the classic Ozzie Guillen line about AJ Pierzynski: “If you play against him, you hate him. If you play with him, you hate him a little less.”
  10. SkyBlueWaters
    Oh, yeah. A number of us were not happy with the Shoemaker and Happ signings in January. Life on get by, rather than getting the horse this team needs.
  11. SkyBlueWaters
    Agreed about the boneheaded moves by Falvine, especially this last off-season. What worries me now is that they will be unable to retain Berrios and Buxton when they become free agents. Our rotation isn't deep enough to thrive if Berrios leaves. And knowing that Buxton is in CF chasing down fly balls might help make the Twins more attractive to veteran pitchers. Hopefully pitchers with more talent than desperation moves like Happ and Shoemaker.
  12. SkyBlueWaters
    Bingo. Look at the rotations that have carried their teams to the world series last decade. Do we see anything like the depth of Lincecum/Cain/Bumgarner developing? Strasburg/Scherzer/Corbin? All the talent that has cycled through LA, enough to make Maeda, Wood and others expendable? Falvine was sold to us as the brilliant FO that was going to turn Twins pitching around. I fear they won't even be able to retain Berrios, the ace they inherited.
  13. SkyBlueWaters
    We can't keep signing guys like Shoemaker and expect to contend. Happ isn't a difference-maker, either. Pohlad pockets are plenty deep--it's earmarking the money that's an issue. The Dodgers got Maeda to sign that contract. Obviously, the best pitchers are going to get guaranteed contracts. But we did well with Pineda and Maeda is a cut above the two we signed this off-season, who were mistakes.
  14. SkyBlueWaters
    Bingo. No one could have predicted the injury problems, but Happ and Shoemaker were never legit playoff-caliber pitchers. I really liked the Pineda signing, along with acquiring Maeda. I'm very leery of giving big bucks to pitchers, but they of course want as many years as they can get. I like Maeda's incentive-laden contract. I wish our FO would explore this more often, giving starters fat bonuses for reaching 160, 180, 200 IP. If this is one way to lure Pineda and others (who might pitch at the front of a rotation rather than being mediocrity in the back), I'm all for it.
  15. SkyBlueWaters
    Al Worthington, I love it! He went on to be the "head coach" at Liberty University for years. Retired now, is 92 and lives in Alabama. Says his life has been great ever since he got saved at the Cow Palace in SF. So maybe he does have some saves left in him ...
  16. SkyBlueWaters
    He sounds pretty level-headed. I enjoyed his take on the different levels of MiLB. Thanks.
  17. SkyBlueWaters
    I like your point about the 162 game, full season schedule. Yet I like to look at the opponents over the schedule each season, and try to assess the patches where competition is tough and the places where we have a chance to gain ground. It looked to me like the early schedule was a little easier than later. I may have under-estimated Boston and Oakland--I thought losing Semien would hurt the A's. We still have a lot of P'burgh, KC, Tex and Detroit before facing the Chisox May 11, scheduled now to be their 34th game. It would be good to make up some ground before facing LaRussa & Co.
  18. SkyBlueWaters
    I like the sentiment. But I suppose it dates me that I don't recognize those names. Does it make that worse if I suggest some Clash or Dead Kennedys for the clubhouse playlist? Umm, Led Zeppelin? C'mon, if they're getting too New Age, what could be more old school?
  19. SkyBlueWaters
    DocBauer mentioned he wanted Odorizzi back, and I agree. I even understand that he might be past his prime. (Odo, not the Doc.) I just liked how Jake pitched for us. I wanted to see it more often. Last year was disappointing, and maybe his best is behind him. No, not an ace, but possibly a very good 4th starter. I know people can rain stats on this sentimental choice, but I wanted to see what he might have left while wearing a Twins uni. Also Rosario. Watching the sports highlights and seeing him homer for the Tribe gave me a pang. Also, I know the covid blip at present is short-term, not all season, etc. But what with our outfield decimated during this road trip, it would have been nice to see Rosario in LF. I might even have forgiven a bobble. A ball launched past the cut-off man. Especially if he'd driven in a run or 3 in Oakland ...
  20. SkyBlueWaters
    I have a friend who often carps about the high draft picks for his team that miss. Good guy, but has trouble realizing how deceptive 20-20 hindsight is. I found a list online of the Seattle Mariners first round picks throughout their history and sent it to him. Most are guys we never heard from again, or maybe had a cup of coffee, or rode the bench. Tito Nanni? Al Chambers? Darrel Akerfelds? Patrick Lennon? The thing is, the list also includes names like Griffey, Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. (A few others of note include Dave "Hendu" Henderson, Mike Moore ('89 World Series), Tino Martinez, and Jason Varitek.) It feels so perfectly reasonable for any hometown fan to ask, in hindsight, why did you pick the guy who bottomed out in double A rather than the future hall of famer *who now excels for our arch-rival?!* The media has a field day yammering about the players selected ahead of the GOAT. And why not? Fuel for the hot stove leagues.
  21. SkyBlueWaters
    I completely agree. I was trying to remember how highly Nick Gordon was ranked as as prospect--not just a Twins prospect, but I think in all of MLB he was once given high marks.
  22. SkyBlueWaters
    I gave the San Diego Padres an A right after I saw them add Darvish and Snell to their rotation. I guess you think I was hasty in that. I don't live anywhere near San Diego, but right now I think the Padres taking on *Los Yanquis West* in LA is one of the best stories in baseball. As a Twins fan since a tyke, yup, it has something to do with a game Jim Kaat and Sandy Koufax pitched on October 14, 1965. Maybe I'm just cursed with too long a memory, but there seems to be a difference between the recollections I have for Puckett, Hrbek & crew in '87 and '91 as opposed to, oh, let's say some Super Bowls played back in the 70's.
  23. SkyBlueWaters
    How about when George signed Catfish and Reggie? Was it too early for New Yorkers to be happy about those upgrades? Of course it isn't too early to look at the track records of free agents added to the team. It's what any good FO has to do in trying to find what a team lacks. If your goal is to watch the Twins contend all summer, then be happy with Happ and Shoemaker as additions. Given the good, bad, and mediocre lineups they will face over the course of 30 some starts, they'll have good days. But I notice when they were slotted into the rotation, it wasn't toward the front, which ought to tell us something. When the Padres added Darvish and Snell, did they tuck them in the back? NYY didn't let Happ start one more time because they didn't want to invoke the clause in his contract obligating them to pay him. He wasn't due the kind of money front line starters get. They needed pitching depth, they had Cole as their ace, and they cut him loose. Ask yourself why. Nothing would make me happier than to see Happ make the Yankees regret that move. But that's where my heart lies. When I look at his pitching, I don't see a guy who makes a difference in taking us deep into the playoffs. And yeah, I felt that way in January, too. Please, J.A., prove me wrong.
  24. SkyBlueWaters
    Agreed. The previous FO left this one pretty well stocked. All of these guys were in the system when Falvey & Levine signed on: Sano; Kepler; Berrios; Buxton Polanco; Duffey; Garver; Arraez Balazovic; Kiriloff; Rortvedt; Blankenhorn Thorpe; W. Javier When you think of how much turnover there can be, year to year, that's a pretty good nucleus. Also had some mature talent dealt for current talent/prospects such as Alcala, Smeltzer, Jhoan Duran, Celestino. Top prospect Brusdar Graterol was dealt for Maeda.
  25. SkyBlueWaters
    The Twins "did the Sox a solid today by signing JA Happ. The Sox tee off on LHP." Ouch. Ouch, ouch, ouch.
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