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birddog

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Everything posted by birddog

  1. birddog
    I really thought this would be the offseason that we would trade some of our plethora of prospects for established, successful MLB players. We had/have the money and early talk about a Paul Goldschmidt trade and possible Greinke throwin to enhance the deal had me salivating. We've talked hot prospects for a decade now and are finding most are suspects we are still waiting on. We have been dealing with futility for a decade now and should have a solid farm system built up from top picks; however, to get to the level of the top teams we have to cash in some of these top prospects not named Lewis, Kiriloff or Graterol to get established stars. Fans need some excitement from the MLB team and not pipe dreams from the prospects.
  2. birddog
    Let's hope for healthy pursuit of his ceiling. Would love to wander over to Cedar Rapids to see this kid play this summer.
  3. birddog
    Lots of doubters with our #6. Hopefully we get lucky with Rooker and he shows us why he was such a great college hitter, and we can put up with defensive inadequacies due to his bat.
  4. birddog
    I agree with having him drag bunt at least once a game. What made Carew such a great hitter and bunter is how long he waited to make contact. See the ball, see the ball, hit the ball. I like the analogy of Carew and Boggs being like rattlesnakes--wait for the prey to come to you and then strike. Buxton is more a cheetah who chases after his prey right out of the pitcher's hand which doesn't allow him to see the rotation or read the pitch. I believe he could bunt every at bat for a higher average than his current MLB lifetime of .230; and if he bunts more often he will learn to see the ball and read the spin before committing or not committing to a swing. It is unlikely he will ever hit for average like Carew or Boggs, but they didn't hit for power like Buck is capable. I believe Buck is without doubt the key position player. Will he be that player? Let's just say I'm praying for it more than expecting it.
  5. birddog
    I did not expect Twins would be major factors in the free agent market. Machado and Harper never even crossed my mind, but I did expect Twins would be active in the trade market. Quite a while ago a post about a trade with the Diamondbacks for Goldschmidt (and possibly Grienke) had me excited that may be the case. When I saw the other teams interested in Goldy, I knew it would never happen here since we value our prospects-who-never-pan-out way too much to trade them for established players even though we have the money to do it. No Goldschmidt? No problem. Cron will be just as good and we can use the money saved on other washed up rejects. I love baseball, and I love my Twins and this is what makes the path of this regime so repulsing. Buxton/Sano--Buckno!--not panning out so let's just wait for the next wave of prospects-the-Twins-won't-develop-into-stars. Normally this time of year I am so excited for the Twins to report to spring training I can hardly stand it. This year, nothing but apathy.
  6. birddog
    So once again the Twins spend more to improve already perfect Target Field than they do to improve the product that plays there?! This front office is reminding me more of Calvin Griffith than of Terry Ryan. It's too bad that beautiful stadium will once again be only one third full.
  7. birddog
    Thanks, Nick for the very entertaining article/series. We can agree to disagree but I know you put a lot of time into your research and I wouldn't change much. All of Minnesota hopes Buxton is deserving of the high rankings. This is such a huge year for him and much of the Twins success will depend on him (and Sano). I totally agree that Garver has to remain a catcher--and improve dramatically as one--to be that high in rank. As a catcher, 11 sounds about right. But if he is moved to 1B or DH he falls out of the top 20 for sure. It is frightening that two guys we got for nothing on waivers, Cron and Cave, are ahead of Gordon and very close to Sano. That either speaks highly of Falvine's shrewd moves or the Twins inability to develop and foster top line talent. Praying Sano doesn't become another Oswaldo Arcia.
  8. birddog
    Great signing. Even if he is in a bit of a decline, he will still put up big numbers--huge numbers--compared to what our DHs have been giving us. Very team friendly contract from what I see. Plus, with him babysitting Sano and Baldelli babysitting Buxton, maybe we will have the output from them that we need. Twins needed a major signing(s) with all their money and this is a good start.
  9. birddog
    It is up to Byron Buxton to fix Byron Buxton; it is up to Miguel Sano to fix Miguel Sano. Those two will have plenty of time to prove they deserve to make big money and "right how they have been wronged". I just pray that they do the work, physically and mentally, and get the help with both to right this off-course ship we call the Twins. To borrow a bit of PJ Fleck: Buxton, along with Sano, have to grab the biggest oars to get us sailing in the right direction.
  10. birddog
    He seems as good as any of the other candidates. I'll form an opinion in a couple years, but his success will be based on players. The last time Minnesota hired a "hot commodity" to keep him from signing elsewhere we got Brad Childress. Please don't be Chilly, Rocco.
  11. birddog
    As always, great article, Seth. Appreciate all your research. Top minor league hitters article left me much more excited than top pitchers, especially after seeing Gonsalves' results in MLB. Once again, hope for the future while we take our Rolaids now.
  12. birddog
    I didn't read the whole article yet, but when I looked at previous winners, I cringed. Please, please, please let Kiriloff, Lewis, Rooker, et al become as proficient as major leaguers as they were/are as minor leaguers. We have been living on hope for too long.
  13. birddog
    Great article, though not necessarily an up-lifting one when you look at our "strength" at start of season which is now a major question mark. Once again we have to hope, pray, beg, etc. Buxton to get his second-half-of-a-season act to become a full season. He is without doubt the answer to whether Twins are contenders next season or once again a dismal "wait till next year" team. If Buxton is once again a buxt (pun intended on bust) it won't matter who else is in the OF unless we sign Bryce Harper, which we know ain't happening. I totally agree with Mikelink45 that we found a player in Jake Cave, and I expect him to pass Kepler for playing time in RF next year. I love Max's swing but I'm afraid .230s is all we're going to get from him. Please no more Grossman or Field or any other waiver claim for players who never were or never will be good enough to help a team like the Twins not only get back to respectability, but to contend which has to be the goal. Twins have a ton of money under the cap for free agent signings and lots of young prospects who could bring in some established players in off season trades. I'm not smart enough to tell you who should be in our OF next year, but keeping the status quo mediocrity can not be Falvine's plan of attack.
  14. birddog
    Kiriloff is reminding a few of us of Kent Hrbek who came up from A ball. He would have to dominate at Chattanooga until the All-Star break before any talk of promotion next year. Rochester seems to be where our minor leaguers go to become AAAA fodder so I'm not sure I would send our top prospects there. I hope the front office knows when the time is right to bring players up from the minors, but if they don't make some serious trades or sign some good free agents who will come to the park next year to watch the current team? If they bring up prospects too soon, it means they struck out in improving the team and not many will admit to that. The jury is still out on Falvine. I hope they wheel and deal again like they did last off-season--though with players who actually earn their salary. If not, they will have no choice but to bring up prospects whether they are ready or not.
  15. birddog
    I really hope the Twins front office also wants more than average players across the board. As I watch the current team--actually I can't stand to watch them--I see nothing but mediocrity. We can't replace them all, so we have to hope that an influx of maybe 3 great additions on offense and at least one SP will get the "good hitting and pitching is contagious" thing going. How could they look so good a year ago and so bad now? No, we can't give up on Buxton and Sano, but it doesn't matter if we have confidence in them. They have to have the confidence in themselves, but how will they get that? If Twins can't get them to believe and achieve we have 2019 looking way too much like this year as I don't see any help coming from the minors for the start of next year other than Romero. I feel about 75% that Sano will be an above average hitter and remain an adequate 3B. My belief that Buxton's bat will allow him out of the minors, I'm afraid, is around 20%. I was happy that he was not promoted in September, not as a punitive measure as much as now he can get healthy and come into camp next season with a major chip on his shoulder out to prove his doubters wrong.
  16. birddog
    Delicate situation for a very delicate psyche. Buxton proved last September what he is capable of, but he also proves every April that he is not the same player in April that he is in September. Unfortunately he is paid for the entire season and what is he worth? You gotta like Buck and the Twins need September Buck for a whole season to be successful. He could come up and play like last September or he could be the mess he was earlier this season, which could leave him doubting whether he will ever hit ML pitching consistently. For a player with his speed his K rate can't exceed 20%. IMO he has to learn to consistently make contact in the minors and I think mastering the bunt could/maybe should determine if he will. Twins FO knows what is best and I will leave it up to them to decide.
  17. birddog
    Once again I state that Joe was a great one and I totally respect him. But his numbers just don't warrant bringing him back for anything more than a third of his current contract. Guys comparing him here are saying he's "better than average" and "one of the best players" on a pathetic team. If the front office is content with average, they accept what Joe has become, sign him for more than he is worth, and hope he can bring in some fans with his phenomenal history. If they truly want to field a competitive team, they look at every avenue to improve the team at every position. We probably don't have a better 1B than Joe right now. You may not agree with me, but my opinion is that we can make a trade or sign a free agent who will give us more production than Joe does at this stage of his career.
  18. birddog
    Mauer is a hall of fame person, a future Twins hall of famer, and a certain HOF'er had he remained a catcher. Thanks for the memories Joe. The Mauer era ended in 2013, when Joe became just another of the mediocre bunch. His elite status is just a memory. Hitting .275 with 5 HRs, 39 RBIs, and 45 runs?! We all want the Joe from preconcussion back, but all we are getting is the post-concussion Joe. Not his fault by any means, but it is the reality we are receiving and we need much more production from our 1B. I would love to believe that we are contenders once again next year, but I am too much of a realist. I was the most optimistic Twins fan at the start of this year and I am still in shock from this putrid season. If Joe does indeed want to pursue a World Series, I would have guessed he approached the front office and asked to be traded late this year. I doubt that happened but even if it had, a contending team had to believe he was better than what they had. Alas, Joe is still a Twin. Time to move on for both parties.
  19. birddog
    I, too, love the idea. These young guys are all starters but some will become relievers and the Twins can see them in both situations. And each player may learn a little more about the relief end to help them as a starter. Seth, are you thinking that May is a reliever from now on?
  20. birddog
    Gonsalves was not worth the wait, but what in this season was? I hope he gets many more starts.
  21. birddog
    Can't wait to see Gonsalves pitch tonight. Start him every 5th or 6th day until the season ends. Not sure if there is an innings limit with him. Hard not to get excited about Kiriloff, but no early look in this lost year, please. I, too, hope that Kenny Vargas gets a look next year with some team. Is what we've seen of Kepler all we are going to get from him, or is he capable of becoming elite?
  22. birddog
    Just so happy they finally called up Gonsalves that I'm not sure if anyone else matters. We need to find out about our RP prospects, so I would bring up all that are on the 40-man--and use them. I am banking on Escobar being re-signed so I would like to see Gordon dealt as part of a blockbuster this off season. I'm not sure how much value he has any more, but maybe his name would get some team to overpay. I think bringing him up would only hurt his value. Anyone else on the 40 man--bring them up and find out how they perform at the top level even though it will be mostly against the prospects from the Tigers, Sox, and Royals. Don't know if we have another Derick Rodriquez, but we can't afford to miss on prospects who get no chance to display their wares in MLB. Please don't try to win these meaningless games with the underachievers who ruined what should have been a fun season.
  23. birddog
    Except for these past two weeks, Forsythe has been the epitome of a mediocre/serviceable MLB player. Let's hope any talk of the future is not based on mediocrity. If we have no takers for Forsythe hitting .400, why should we sign him for a full season when he will probably hit for half that? Find out if bringing up Gordon in September lights a fire in him. If it does trade Gordon in the offseason for an established player who plays both halves of the season. Dozier was a good player for us, but never put together two consistently solid halves. Gordon has not proved he can do it either though he is still young. Either way, sign Escobar.
  24. birddog
    You gotta like Buck, and I pray he can become the superstar we dreamed of but he just cannot stay healthy. Odds are he gets hurt in the few days he plays for Rochester so we don't have to make a decision. I shudder each time he hits a HR in minors, because he gets in the mindset "I'm a home run hitter and not a contact hitter". If you ask me what he needs to do get back up, I say he has to master the bunt where he successfully gets a bunt hit at least 3-4 times a week. He could probably sacrifice bunt to a .250 average with his speed. Have him stay at Fort Myers for a month and work with Rod Carew. We don't have to worry about the extra year of control since the Pohlads said with the new stadium Twins will re-sign all our free agents.
  25. birddog
    Great article, Nick. Not a feel-good article but this has been a hurts-like-hell season. Totally agree with the good news about Morrison. I had no idea he had been hurting so maybe there was a reason for his ineptitude. Now don't even think about picking up his option for next year. Maybe Belisle provides some veteran leadership, but with the money these guys are making actions have to speak louder than words. Maybe his words offer reassurance, but his pitching offers nothing other than a higher draft pick. Needless to say, Falvine has their work cut out for them as apathy could not be higher right now. If not for Target Field we would have only relatives of the players showing up for games--kind of ironic since only the Eds showed up on the field this year ready to use their bat. And lastly I ask for about the 600th straight day, "Why haven't we seen Gonsalves yet?"
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