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LastOnePicked

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Everything posted by LastOnePicked

  1. LastOnePicked
    In agree. Two truths are at play here: 1) pitchers should not have their livelihoods impacted by human error. Even the best umpires get 5-10% of ball/strike calls wrong. Unacceptable. Baseball is a game of inches (or less), and precision tools are needed. It makes sense that Duffey is angry. 2) for over two decades, the Twins have played with a loser's mentality. It's bigger than Rocco and the current staff. When the pressure is on, the team folds. 0-18 in the playoffs, and a .205 winning percentage in Yankee Stadium is the outcome. They're not a big-boy team, and they need to figure THIS out as they retool the rotation. It seems like part of this is that we fans just don't demand that this change. We accept and excuse poor results, time and time again. We're midwesterners - we're often humble, understanding and we don't expect all that much. And not all that much changes. This was one dumb game in a lost season, sure. But this one pretty much exemplified the fault line of this franchise.
  2. LastOnePicked
    Nice that we still got a taste of Twins playoff baseball even in a non-playoff year, That loss would fit right into the streak.
  3. LastOnePicked
    I'm excited for Petty as well. Could be very good. But I think he might struggle with this part, based on his draft day interview.
  4. LastOnePicked
    A last place team really can't find room in September for a guy who tore up AA and AAA all summer? Come on. Donaldson and Arraez can split 3B time with Miranda. Sano can split 1B time with him. He can DH if needed. This doesn't have to be all that complicated. What's he going to learn at AAA that would come close to matching what he'd learn in a month the bigs? He's earned this promotion, period.
  5. LastOnePicked
    Ryan seems like a straight shooter and a sharp young man. At the 3:00 mark of the postgame interview, he gives a pretty remarkable compliment to the Twins organization and to Wes Johnson in particular. From his perspective, the development transition from the Rays organization to the Twins was seamless. That probably matters quite a bit - and it signals to me that this organization might have still been doing a number of things right over the past year that I couldn't see from my perspective as a disgruntled fan. A lot's gone wrong in 2021, and frustration with this organization is understandable. But I'm hoping there's a lot more good like this under the surface that's developing.
  6. LastOnePicked
    I wonder if "least valuable" means "most disappointing." To me, it means "players that we could have reasonably DFA'd/replaced and had a much better season." To me, I wouldn't have Simmons anywhere on this list. He's been durable and reliable in the field - exactly what he was signed for. His bat is terrible - but that wasn't supposed to be his contribution to a team that was seen as already heavy with hitters. And we had (and still have) apparently no SS to replace him. With that in mind, Jake Cave is my #1 LVP, and Dobnak takes Astudillo's place at #5.
  7. LastOnePicked
    I just want them within the top ten so they don't get bumped by the Mets and their compensation pick in '22 for failing to sign their first round selection in '21.
  8. LastOnePicked
    Absolutely this. He's exceeded all expectations. He's become a top prospect. He deserves a chance to put the icing on this incredible cake of a season. And he needs some MLB at-bats so he gets a sense of what he might need to work on over the offseason. He can have Rooker's at-bats, and he can split playing time at 1st with Sano and 3rd with Arraez/Donaldson. Might be good for him to be near Donaldson for a bit as well. After the FO exposed him to the Rule 5 draft last November, it's additionally insulting to completely ignore what he's done in AA/AAA all season. DFA Cave immediately and call up Miranda.
  9. LastOnePicked
    I can see another potentially-contending team signing him next year, and that wouldn't seem too foolish based on his recovery. But for the Twins? I think it'd be best to move on for '22. No need to run for cover, though. He's shown a lot of fortitude in coming back pretty strong from an historically bad start.
  10. LastOnePicked
    I like Gordon, too. I'm pulling for him. I think he's going to play an important role on the big league club in the years ahead. He's going to learn a lot from this year and come into camp even stronger in 2022.
  11. LastOnePicked
    I have dogged the FO for darn near everything lately, but the Thielbar signing really seems like it needs to be appreciated. If this team were on the cusp of another division title, he'd be one of the crucial and maybe unsung heroes. AND ... it seems like they totally won the Happ/Gant trade. A little lemonade out of the lemons of 2021. Build on the bright spots. See, I can be positive!
  12. LastOnePicked
    They HAD to trade Cruz. I'm rough on this FO, but the trade seems fair and even promising. In fact, it's looking a lot better than the Berrios trade. These things will take a lot longer to evaluate fairly, though. And I really hope Cruz helps Tampa to a World Series championship. I respect they way they build a winning team year after year based on player development with limited payroll.
  13. LastOnePicked
    Starting veterans who are maybe only marginally better than rookies just to avoid 100 losses seems like a weird strategy to me. And I'm no team PR rep, but I'm guessing the Twins can sell a few more tickets to fans who want to watch the franchise's future unfold than to watch their past failures moulder away on the mound or field. I do sometimes try to be fair-minded, though, and I know the team has expressed an interest in re-signing Pineda. It's not a terrible idea to try and let him make the case that he's got something left to offer for 22-23. And yesterday, Pineda rose to that challenge. Good for him. Falvey and Levine never call to ask me for my opinion anyway, so go figure.
  14. LastOnePicked
    This is about where I am. Seems like a good guy, and wish him all the best. But also seems very much like the kind of starter a contender doesn't have on their roster. No, the contract won't kill the Twins financially, but it is looking like money that wasn't well spent. That said, I'd much rather watch him get 20-30 starts next year to show what he can do than watch some $4M veteran Happ-hazardly signed for a meaningless year.
  15. LastOnePicked
    Well, to a starving man, an Oreo cookie seems like a big dessert. This is kind of the Twins fan's lot in life. How excited have we gotten over the years ago a string of fairly decent starts by the likes of Albers, Smeltzer, Blackburn, etc.? Ober might turn out to be the same. Or ... maybe (just this once) ... his progress signals something legitimately promising.
  16. LastOnePicked
    Polanco deserves a ton of credit for resilience, persistence and conditioning. His complete turnaround since May gives me a fool's hope that Sano and Kepler can do the same next year.
  17. LastOnePicked
    I get your point, but you don't pitch in the rotation on a team headed to 90+ losses solely because you "deserve" it - you get slotted into the rotation because you need to give the FO a chance to evaluate the way you respond to major league hitters and adjust. Prospects, understandably, deserve more slack. But sure, he can take Albers' spot for 5 starts. But so could Strotman. Or Balazovic. Or others. who might need to be a part of the future here.
  18. LastOnePicked
    For good reason. He's been bad for most of the season, and now he'll be blocking starts by prospects who could actually have a role to play here in the future. I guess the Twins want to see if he has anything left in him that would make him worth signing to a cheap deal for 2022-23. But I don't see the point, unless he's an excellent mentor to the young starters in ways we fans can't see.
  19. LastOnePicked
    Really good post, and a good counterargument. I guess I just don't see any of these happening. I mean, if you couldn't extend Buxton or "fix" Kepler or Sano by now, it just ain't gonna happen. I've accepted that the 2019+ window of contention has closed. Only a massive offseason FA spending spree (for players who have something left in the tank and magically stay healthy) can get this team back to contention. NOTHING in this franchise's history suggests that this is even a remote possibility. We don't overpay, and we hear time and time again that top free agents don't want to be here. So, from my perspective, it's total rebuild time. Again, sadly.
  20. LastOnePicked
    I understand this frustration, but I think eating meaningless innings is the only reason why Albers is with a big league club at this point. I doubt he's upset about it. But I get it. We were division contenders not long ago, and within a year we've become a terrible team again, letting other teams just run up the score on us. I had hoped there was some fight in this team left, but that faded away again after just a few nice weeks. Gonna be a tough final month.
  21. LastOnePicked
    Perfectly stated. THIS is absolutely the offseason pitching plan I want to see this organization follow through on. And if not, the chorus for their firing should get much, much louder. We Twins fans have seen this for years and years now - it doesn't matter how many prospects you have, or how many starters you sign, if you don't have an organization that can help your hurlers reach peak performance. Some things may change quickly in baseball, but this glaring defect of this organization hasn't changed one bit. That's why you see the likes of Andrew Albers getting shelled out there again today.
  22. LastOnePicked
    Nope. Saying that isn't magical thinking. But actually putting Dobnak and Pineda into a 2022 rotation and expecting them to repeat past successes is most certainly magical thinking. You saying it is "hope," and that's fine. I like it when Twins fans still have hope. But hope is not a FO strategy for success in baseball.
  23. LastOnePicked
    I agree. For the first time in years, I'm fine if they sign absolutely nobody. Once Berrios was traded and Maeda lost for 2022, the white flag has been waving over One Twins Way. This FO hasn't shown a keen ability to target and sign effective veteran starters, and those they have signed haven't done very well here. We're again a AAAA team. Time to own it and retool the development and evaluation aspects of this team. No more losing the Ynoas and Gils of the future. No more feeding prospects to the rest of the league. Figure out who you have, what they can do and how they can contribute. Then try to supplement that core in 2023 and beyond. What might make all of this harder for us fans is that Chicago looks to be a force for years to come beyond 2022 (unlike the Twins, they seem to be able to make a splash in trades and free agency), and the Tigers have a superior farm system. The chance for the Twins to end the playoff win drought might be years away at this point. Maybe the playoffs will expand in the next collective bargaining agreement - that would help.
  24. LastOnePicked
    I'm 100% certain they feel this way - that's why the traded Berrios and actively shopped Buxton and Rodgers before the deadline. For PR reasons, they're not saying this publicly, but even Dan Hayes indicted recently that they're saying it privately. You watch - they will sign 1-2 Happ-like starters over the offseason, tops. As for trades, there are no takers out there for Kepler, Sano or Donaldson. Perhaps they can rebuild trade value by next year's deadline, but that's doubtful, too. Polanco and Arraez are worth keeping for 2023. You don't end a 90+ loss season, return with virtually no starting rotation and no bullpen, and compete with the likes of the White Sox. It's just not going to happen. Even Nick's blueprint for 2022 success includes a great deal of magical thinking about Pineda and Dobnak. But that's okay. Make 2022 a development year. But then go big on Berrios. Get the pieces ready to retake the Central in 2023.
  25. LastOnePicked
    I like Dobnak, and I'm glad he's back from injury, but the offseason extension seemed like a very questionable deal at the time ... and seems so much worse since then. Add it to the list of unforced errors by the FO. But we'll see if Dobnak has the fire - and talent - to prove his doubters wrong.
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