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Kwak

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Everything posted by Kwak

  1. Kwak
    I having great difficulty shedding a tear for Pelfrey. Considering....
  2. Kwak
    The Twins painted themselves into a corner. The October 2014 proclamation of an $85MM budget "...is about enough..." signaled the Front Office's plan. An immediate howl of disdain came from the "paying peanut gallery". An additional $21MM was found (please tell me where I can find such largesse for me!) and Hunter and Santana were signed to free agent contracts. Bluntly, these guys were signed to immediately "turn the ship around" and WIN NOW. Implications: Hunter and Santana are "regulars" and the entire team must commit to put "the best 9" (as of right now) on the field in order to WIN NOW. The "up-and-comers" will simply have to wait (unless of course a guy is deemed to be in the "best 9" group).
  3. Kwak
    Exactly! The game is decided by runs not walks. MLB succeeded for many years without getting freaked-out by pitch count. Despite yielding the fewest walks per season (frequently), theTwins staff have generally been at or near the bottom in rankings. I think the Twins need to adopt "conventional" thinking about pitching. The use of free-agents to build a staff is a start, but they need to continue to "go mainstream" and forget trying to "outsmart" the rest of baseball.
  4. Kwak
    The LOOGY is the position to eliminate. LHP have to be able to pitch a full inning including RH batters. Granted that inning might be initially against a LHB, but not just one batter. Duensing has pitched against RHBs. If the Twins can't find LHPs they need to find RHP who consistently get the outs. Seek quality pitchers not "one-trick-ponies".
  5. Kwak
    Wait! $21MM was added to the budget this year to "build for the future"--these guys are supposed to "win now". The active roster will skew "old" by design. Milhone, Pelfrey, Stauffer and whatever veterans will be the pitching staff. Position players will also skew old. I believe the real challenge will be this Summer: If the team (somehow) is winning, is more money spent to truly "win now", or is it the same old soft shoe we saw before?; If the team is losing (as expected) do they promote the minor leaguers en masse (like this decade) and charge major league prices for minor league talent and hope the experience the new players get truly develop them?; Or, stick with the status quo for the rest of the season, thus wasting another year? Considering my calendar said "Spring" arrived just yesterday, I guess I will have to wait until my calendar says "Summer".
  6. Kwak
    They traded Denard Span for this?
  7. Kwak
    Some time ago I posted that if neither May or Meyer were in the rotation, what does that say about Ryan's "trades"? The OF was gutted of CFers for minor league pitchers. If these two can't make the rotation because "value-priced" veterans exist, why make the trades? It wasn't like Span and Revere were some overpriced, over-the-hill OFers (like Hunter)?
  8. Kwak
    Exactly! Push the successful pitchers through the organization--until they stall. Utilize the options on pitchers moving them up and down from the major league, not waste them on aguy who will spend the entire season in the minors. If a pitcher burns-through his options, and doesn't "make it'--so be it! Promote the next candidate or rent a free agent.
  9. Kwak
    The title of the thread: Torii might not retire after 2015 leads the discussion. "Blocking" someone in 2015 isn't the issue here (another thread? maybe?) it's about 2016. Whatever "mentorship" value Hunter brings will have been imparted in 2015. The issue is 2016. This season is [supposed to be] a "bridge year", where the 90+ loss seasons end and are replaced by 80+ losses (89 isn't much of an improvement!). Hunter isn't here to reach the playoffs, his signing is to mollify fans and improve attitudes. Therefore, after 2015--irrespective of Hunter's hitting statistics--it is time to sing Happy Trails to You to Torii. 2016 is the time to play "the future's team", preparing them to become a consistent winner. There is a reason why people don't schedule reunions every year!
  10. Kwak
    The Twins have demonstrated a huge bias for "veterans" instead of rookies. Given the people, the contracts, the past four years, and "rumblings" there is little reason to believe the #5 starter won't be either Milone or Pelfrey. I have yet to ever hear/read any regret by Twins' management about acquiring a "value vet", beginning the season with him as a regular, and then watching him disappoint. I certainly don't think I'll read any regret in 2015 either. They will just insert the "replacement" and bite-their-toungue.
  11. Kwak
    It's not hate. Torii isn't the guy I paid to see 8+ years ago, he is simply an over-the-hill ballplayer. Hunter isn't "the solution" and he isn't "the future"--he's "the past".
  12. Kwak
    Hunter can play as long as he wants--so long as it isn't with the Twins!
  13. Kwak
    "... old in the minors..." One could add that to several others, especially those that are projected to be RPs. Given their available options they could yo-yothese guys for three years to challenge them and see who suceeds and who fails.
  14. Kwak
    Article had detailed analysis and improving the bullpen is a must. The extension of this goal is to stop relying on castoffs from other teams (paying-up for proven quality is different) has to stop. Develop your own RPs, so there is an abundance of young, fresh, and strong arms rather than hoping for "...an extra 3-5 mph because so-and-so moves to the bullpen, thus permitting him to [succeed]...". The youth movement, with sufficient quality (and yes those very useful options) would permit a reduction to 12 and even 11 total pitchers on the active roster freeing-up a spot for an extra position player. Matchups? They work both ways (pitching vs hitting) except the hitting team gets the final move.
  15. Kwak
    This is the last year for Hicks. He succeeds or fails as a primary CF. If he is sent to AAA it is a waste of everybody's time. Hicks must succeed as a Twins--so he can be traded or serve as the fallback option to a promotion of Buxton next season. There are many options for a #4 OF, and frankly said position is a low priority for the Twins. The small market mentality of plugging-in spare parts as starters must send. Develop long-term solutions for every position. Players "get their chance": succeed and the job is theirs; fail and likely watch someone else seize the opportunity. The endless up/down, chance, 2nd chance, etc. must give way to Next! Second chances are for instances when no one has succeeded.
  16. Kwak
    Another "downplay the expectations" statement. While (most likely true) is the purpose to inform (educate?) or to build the foundation to excuse the Front Office? At some point the old excuses become cliches (or just exposed as myths) and must be replaced. I hope this isn't the purpose of the article.
  17. Kwak
    The 3B job is Plouffe's to lose. The Twins will closely evalute Plouffe's performance (more than Sano's), nd if they like it--they will offer Plouffe a long-term (5-6 yr) deal. Of course, maybe Plouffe has been offered a deal (doubt it) and refused. And he might refuse an offer from the Twins (again?)--always a possibility. My best guess: Plouffe s offered a deal and accepts it, and Sao is developed to play elsewhere (probably OF).
  18. Kwak
    "I eat whatever I want", "I eat everything". Perhaps discipline is needed. Given what we see now, the likelihood he emulates Fielder (take your pick) is high. If the Twins can't help him control himself, wait until he hits his 35-40 HRs--and trade him!
  19. Kwak
    Metrics (even the "old-fashioned ones") are to measure the hitting, catching, throwing, and running, (pitching too!). How well they measure each of those attributes is open to debate, but some sort of quantification of the "eye test" is required. Completly dismissing the use of statistics is anal, they have been used for a very long time (e.g. "the old-fashioned ones").
  20. Kwak
    There are differences between the Garnett and Hunter situations: 1) KG will only play for about two months, Hunter from mid February through September--a whole lot more time to grate on everybody's nerves; 2) KG has a much higher stature in BKB, than Hunter has in BB; 3) BKB has "the 1-1 drills" that BB doesn't, allowing KG to "back-up" his words to others. Hunter can only start fights; 4) after a crummy Winter, casual fans are more likely to watch a BKB game than BB fans--and there is only two months to watch KG. The BB season is six months. But, as stated by many, the Twins need to do something more than preach "help is on the way". Options were limited. I don't think for a moment that Hunter had to climb over a bunch of other former all-stars to play for the Twins in 2015.
  21. Kwak
    This reads as a human-interest story: local boy sets out to make his way, struggles, comes home and makes good. I'm conident that a big reason the Twins signed him was "the local connection" (nothing wong with that). But reading between he lines we can see more. Major market team seea a talent promotes him to a level to challenge him in order to see if he truly is "a star in the making". He struggles and since the team is only interested in future stars--they cut him loose. But, the Twins have "a different way". The "local boy makes good" works and so does the "inexpensive spare part" potential, fit the Twins' needs. This makes for the contrast between the goals of a major market team and the Twins. It is an interesting story and on more than one level.
  22. Kwak
    No it won't be forgotten. There will be many posts here on TD to remind everybody of the poor defense.
  23. Kwak
    I think the biggest story line is how much control Molitor has in roster decisions and playing time allocations. If the 2015 Twins soon resemble previous years Molitor is simply Gardenhire II, and the Front Office is really running everything.
  24. Kwak
    Another aspect to consider--your favorite team makes the playoffs. The 3 runs in 7 innings will often be a losing effort, but the 1 run in 8 will carry your team through. If this scenario sounds familar--it should! Pretty good will generally win a weak division--but falls in the playoffs. World Series winning seasons (even losses) are remembered for decades but division championships are soon forgotten (and rightly so).
  25. Kwak
    For me it's an easy choice; a). My team will win almost every start with 1 run in 8, but will still win oocasionally with 5 runs in 6 innings. My estimate is that my team will win 55-60% of those starts given about 30 starts for the season.
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