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TheDean

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Everything posted by TheDean

  1. TheDean
    I know that he was likely committed to his rehab, and position players don't have nearly the recovery time that pitchers do, but I have to assume that he'll continue to get better as he A: shakes off the rust offensively and defensively and B: continues to strengthen and grow accustomed to his repaired elbow. He was out of baseball for a long time.
  2. TheDean
    Bring him up. He's hitting AAA well, so add him to the list of guys who can hit AAA and have struggled in the majors: Parmelee, Colabello (doing better with the Jays I see?), Herrmann, Arcia, et al. What do none of them have that Hicks has? Defensive ability. Sure, it's only a month, but he's not like Buxton, Sano, or even Rosario coming off seasons with absolutely no baseball. He's had a tough time in the majors, but I'd like to imagine it wasn't wasted time. I can buy that he can hit AAA/AAAA pitchers (he did it in Spring Training twice before); it makes sense for his talent level and experience. I don't think it's a mirage. Add on top that he would likely be the second best defensive OFer on the team (assuming Rosario is only here temporarily-arguable on whether he's better anyway, and that Hicks is a more complete OFer than Schafer). Robinson might be better than them all, but even the rookie version of Hicks is on par with him offensively. It's time indeed.
  3. TheDean
    No Deduno on the mound even!
  4. TheDean
    I had Buxton and Sano up at this point, and was campaigning for a WS appearance. I don't get what's so hard about this, TR. I mean, OOTP=Real Life, right? PS. Chris Herrmann is AllStar material - flip him to the Rays for their top pitching prospects.
  5. TheDean
    I know it's early in the season, and there are better measures of performance out there, but looking at the box with everyone under .250 except Mauer...I'm just imaging everyone with OOTP snowflake symbols next to their names.
  6. TheDean
    I'll once again take fellow BHS alum Brandon Peterson. Here's to another TD RP of the year award!
  7. TheDean
    I'd argue that there was room for a FA outfielder due to the lack of outfield prospects near ML level, but I agree to an extent on Hicks. I hope this is just a "rake for a few weeks in Rochester to earn your spot at 8, on defense and in the lineup."
  8. TheDean
    This was my thought. Yeah, outfield is bad, rotation improved, infield the same as last year, but oh man, that bullpen doesn't inspire confidence. I don't actually feel that great about Perkins/Fien for some reason (probably my recent game viewing history) and the rest of the relievers are question marks in some capacity. I hope they prove me wrong.
  9. TheDean
    I totally agree. The Sox should have an excellent pitching staff. And I also agree that they'll probably move to keep the hometown kid on a long deal. Any way you cut it, they're building what should be a better team for next year and probably years to come. I suppose I'm just acknowledging that there's a lot of risk involved here, and as a Twins fan, I hope that none of it pans out.
  10. TheDean
    Watching all these moves made early in a pretty aggressive manner reminds me of Beane's moves during the season. However, I feel like I can usually see the logic behind some of his moves, even if they're risky. I can't say the same for the Sox in this case. Will it improve them? Yes. Do they have a bright future? Yes (and adding Rodon to the mix soon will make the pitching top-notch). That said, they're giving up a lot of money, and a lot of lottery tickets (picks, prospects) for middling upgrades. I say middling not because they're bad players, but because the total benefit:cost ratio isn't the best. Closer or not, I'd rather not invest like that in relievers, and dealing prospects for a rental wouldn't be my approach to climbing out of the cellar. Then again, my opinions are probably skewed by being a bitter Twins fan who wants to see the Sox in a state of continual dumpster fire.
  11. TheDean
    I think you have to keep Milone. I still think he can be better than the majority of the AAAA filler and career #5s we've had lately. Bottom line is that I think he'll be worth more to the Twins than $2.5 mil. Guys get injured, so you need depth. You can't pass up an opportunity to keep a guy with a decent MLB track record approaching what should be his prime for only $2.5 mil and the option to stash him at AAA. A lot of teams would snap up that opportunity in a heartbeat on the free market I think.
  12. TheDean
    FWIW, Hicks has been released by the Bravos de Margarita according to Berardino. Can't be a good sign, but can't be the end of the world either. His line was very much what we've come to expect from Hicks: .220/.381/.280.
  13. TheDean
    Definitely. Fielding and also speed on the basepaths. The fact is that he'll likely have trouble getting on base like he did last year in a Twins uniform. However, when he does get on base, he almost automatically scores on a well-hit ball. He is obviously quite proficient at wreaking havoc on opposing batteries trying to hold him at 1B. That's a worthwhile skillset that I'm willing to put in LF on a regular basis until something better comes along (whether through FA or promotion).
  14. TheDean
    I suppose it makes sense from a 40-man perspective, and he's never crushed AAA in the same way that Parmelee and Colabello have in the past. I just think it's too bad that he hasn't gotten a September callup at some point. He's a guy who has rarely had a bad year with the stick and has spent nearly a decade on Twins farm teams. But hey, who knows, maybe he gets his chance if the Twins resign him and find 40-man space if they ship CC to Korea and Parms leaves without an arb offer. Not likely, but you never know. I think he's only been optioned once, so he'd have the advantage of having options intact to be that 26th or 27th guy.
  15. TheDean
    Maybe someone who knows a little more about the Twins farm system could help me understand why Romero hasn't gotten a look in the bigs at some point over the years? He's been hitting pretty well at AA and AAA for nearly half a decade, but he's been passed over for the Chris's a number of times (C and P deserved their shots, H has positional flexibility). I'd like to see the Twins retain him as their upper level 3B depth seems to be mainly light-hitting MI converts (besides Plouffe and Sano). He and Danny Ortiz were the only Red Wings OPSing over .700 on the season not to get a shot in Minnesota. That said, if I were him, maybe I'd consider taking my services elsewhere if I knew of a place with a less obstacle-filled (Plouffe and Sano) path to the majors. Has it mainly been a question of his glove?
  16. TheDean
    If we view Santana as a SS and Escobar as UT, I don't know where we're going to get proper OF depth to field an acceptable team. There is most certainly room for acquisitions in the OF. In no particular order, names that have been brought up for the 2015 OF internally: Schafer: probably a good 4th OF - only startable against RHP Hicks: not yet starting caliber, maybe you make him prove he deserves a full-time role with VWL, Spring Training, and possibly AAA experience. Especially against RHP. Rosario: didn't perform well in a shortened AA season, hasn't seen a AAA game yet Sano scenario: Has no OF experience. He'll be using a newly-constructed elbow for the first time, aside from some practice in DWL and Spring Training. Hasn't seen a AAA game Buxton: Injury concerns abound, has barely played at the AA level Ortiz: Currently a strikeout machine, can't take a walk Parm: Fairly certain he's not ML-caliber with the bat or with the glove in a corner OF spot. "Good enough" in RF, but a lot of fly balls will drop if he's playing opposite Arcia. Arcia: He's our only "lock" in the OF. He's not going anywhere. Quiz time: which players mentioned above had a season OPS above .700 in the league where he ended last season? Answer: Arcia at .752 (OBP .300) and Ortiz .717 at Rochester with a .283 OBP. Offense obviously wasn't an issue for the Twins last year, but the OF offense numbers got a boost from Santana, Fuld, and Hammer, none of which should be a Twins OF for 2015. Defense was an issue for the Twins last year, and the big upside of most of the names in this group is that they're competent with the glove (Arcia, Parm, Sano wouldn't qualify).
  17. TheDean
    Early in the season, I thought that Nunez was a good addition to ensure that we didn't see any more Florimon, but the problem with both Parm and Nunez is that they'd rate as "good replacement players." They're good to stash in AAA at ML minimum, but they're a burden considering their production if they get arb offers and have no options. The big "if" is whether Santana is a SS or not going into the season. If Danny is in the IF, Schafer could find himself with regular ABs, and Escobar is your bench utility guy instead of Nunez. Either way, Schafer is a keeper for now. He seemed similar to Santana in being a "sparkplug" type player, and he plays a position of need: competent outfielder with range.
  18. TheDean
    I like this strategy from the standpoint that it probably allows the FO to nontender arb-eligible relievers and keeps a chunk of the team at league minimum. With the numbers that smarter posters than me are coming up with for a decent LF signing and the expected payroll ceiling, they might need more room. I think that rolling with young relievers could provide good results, should provide developmental experience, and will provide some budget savings. We're probably only talking a couple million here and there, but still. And you're right, addition by subtraction of the half season with two of Kubel/Colabello/Hammer/Arcia/Parmelee on the corners. One is fine, but two of them plus poor routes from Santana/Hicks was....tough to watch.
  19. TheDean
    Haven't checked the stats, going off a bit of a gut feeling, but seeing as how the Royals pitching staff won them a game or two and has them poised to sweep every postseason game up till the WS, they might allow fewer balls to the OF. The fact that the Twins recorded fewer outs in LF than the Royals is simply remarkable to me. My guess is that Twins LFers had dozens more balls hit at them, but fewer recorded outs. Again, just a guess that maybe more is going on here than simply Royals outs>Twins outs.
  20. TheDean
    With a new manager coming in, I'll be interested to see if he would ever PH Pinto late in the game without a 3rd catcher. That's perhaps the biggest issue with Pinto fulfilling the roles of backup catcher and most talented RH power hitter rostered at the same time (IMO, he edges out Plouffe and Dozier, not sure if Sano will be here yet in April 2015). We know which side of the debate Gardy fell on 99% of the time.
  21. TheDean
    Yeah, if he could figure the fielding out, he's a prototypical RF: power bat, power arm, acceptable but relatively low range. He's not "toolsy," but he's got enough of the tools to be an acceptable RF. I think it's mostly in his head right now. Still, I sure liked him better in the corners than CC, Hammer, or Kubes...but that's not a high bar either.
  22. TheDean
    I'll be curious to hear reports on Sano at the hot corner in the DWL. He was seen as "shaky, but improving" with regards to his defense at 3B before his injury. With a ligament replacement, how authoritative will he be with his throws to first? Will all the power be there, but missing some accuracy? Will the accuracy be there without power? Never thought I'd be saying it, but he could end up being a significant defensive dropoff from Plouffe since he's coming off TJ surgery. I think that he might deserve some time at AAA if the DWL isn't enough to get him into the groove of fielding tough ones at third. It could potentially be a situation akin to Pinto this year; he could end up on an assignment to Rochester solely on a defensive basis. DHing won't do him any good in terms of fielding, and it's occupied by Vargas/Pinto anyway.
  23. TheDean
    The thing I like about Dozier is that he seems to be improving his game, season-by-season in a sustainable manner. Yes, he had a power-binge early in the year, but as a table setter, he has improved his OBP in each season at the ML-level .271, .312, .342. Plus the move to 2B helped his defense immensely. I also like Dozier because this progression provides a nice lens for viewing the development of other players, for example: Hicks OBP .259 last year, .337 this year. Both are 1/2 or 8/9-type players, and OBP is a fine way to evaluate their contributions. It took Dozier till his age-27 season to get his OPS+ above 100, and I think that's a good reminder for anyone proposing to trade him in favor of younger prospects who may also take till their third MLB season.
  24. TheDean
    Obviously happy to see Peterson at the top of the list. As an '09 alum, it's great to see former BHS athletes living out their dreams. Go Blaze! The field was extremely talented for RP of the year, especially in high K numbers, something that we're all excited about. However, I really liked that all of these guys were pretty good at limiting the number of walks.
  25. TheDean
    I'll note that Peterson was hurt a bit by his ill-fated start during the month. He probably wasn't expected to go for many innings, but I can't help thinking that he may have been uncomfortable outside of his normal role. That said, I know it's a slippery slope when you start saying "if only player X hadn't played poorly, then his stats would be better" He finished the season with a 1.49 FIP, 1.56 ERA, .480 OPS, 37% K%, and .306 BABIP. Legit. It might not have been the best month, but I'd put his season up against anyone's, not only from the Twins, but anyone in MiLB.
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