jimbo92107

I like Duran in the pen. More flames, and he gets time to settle in, renounce all butterflies, and let his carnivorous fastball feed off the life force of a hundred terrified hitters. Their energy will become his, because that is the nature of the hunter / prey relationship. In the end, baseball is frustrating for instinctual reasons. The ball looks so much like an egg, yet even a hard, wooden bat cannot crack it open for its nutritious contents. That is why MLB throws away so many balls. They continue to hope, against all evidence, that one of those balls will contain a creamy, nutritious middle. Foolish baseball players!

Dang it, now I'll have to re-up my mlb membership, so I can watch the Twins break my heart again. Correa will be the best Twins shortstop...maybe ever. Gotta see him and Polanco turn some double plays. As others mentioned, this takes the pressure off Lewis and Martin, no need to rush them to the club level. This also ensures strong D up the middle, for those young pitchers getting their first cuppa. Pretty sure this also means Jose Miranda will get a long look at 3rd base. Could be a serious lumber company in the infield. Miranda, Correa, Polanco, and...who? Kirilloff? That'd be my choice right now.

I was disturbed when I heard about Rortvedt leaving. His floor is Drew Butera defense, plus a possible chance at becoming a power hitter. On the other hand, I think Jeffers is going to be a solid, long-term starter for the Twins. He is so comfortable behind the plate, and to me he looks like an average hitter with some power. We are left to hope that José Godoy is a legit backstop, because Sanchez looks embarrassing.

I wanna see Alex Kirilloff spanking baseballs in a Twins uniform! Wanna wanna!

My Rortvedt guess is based entirely on the few times he did actually barrel up a pitch. The ball jumped out of the park like it had been tased. What I think the Yankees saw was an excellent defensive catcher that just might develop into a power hitter. They will not tone down his swing. Instead, they will work him on reading pitchers better, then swing for the fences like a good Yankee.

Watch the Yankees turn Ben Rortvedt into a baseball crushing home run machine.

I gave the trade a B for a few reasons: First, it resolves the logjam at C. Now Ryan Jeffers will get 2/3rds of the playing time, while Ben Rortvedt gets 1/3rd. Second, Twins must be projecting that Jeffers will get better offensively with more playing time. Third, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa (IKF) is a genuine high-level mlb SS with a decent bat. What this trade does for the team is solidify it as a good defensive squad. This assumes Larnach in LF, Kirilloff at 1B and Sano as DH. No serious holes in the field. That's a pretty good foundation for this team.

This trade bodes well for young, nervous pitchers looking for a measure of comfort from solid defense up the middle. With Jeffers covering home, Donaldson covering 3rd, and SS covered by some kind of falafel guy, the only hole in the defense is that iffy centerfielder, Buxton. If Buck can bring his A game, I'd feel good as a rookie hurler with a habit of throwing medium fastballs center cut. I don't know about y'all, but I actually enjoy the wild up's and down's of a rookie pitcher. He spends much of his youth learning to throw a baseball hissing fast and buzzing with spin. If he finally makes it to the premium level, the emotional pressure suddenly multiplies, not to mention young wives and new mortgages. One of the best aspects of new pitchers is how relieved they are to have professional fielders and hitters around them. They may give up a few runs, but a good hitting team can get them back. They may serve up some cookies, but good fielders can steal away some hits. It can be worth the price of admission just to see how a new pitching staff develops.

I'm a Garver fan - love that short, powerful swing. But he's 31, average as a defensive catcher. Also, the Twins had a mini-logjam at C. Now that is resolved, leaving two very good defensive catchers, one that is a good hitter, and one that will be if he tucks in his chin (hear me Roar-vedt). Just crouch a little more like Arraez, Ben! No idea who the new SS is, but apparently he's at least a solid glove with a good bat. Been a while... Farewell, Mitch Garver. Have fun with your new playmates!

This group of players were not busts. Even Parm and Revere had their uses. If you want a cry fest, do an article about the 40 man, and the guys the Twins lost to Rule 5. Plenty of regret on that topic. Or an article (maybe a giant book?) about all the guys whose careers were snuffed early by injuries in the minors or majors. "If Not for Injuries" could be a major league compendium of alternate universe superstars. Even Ted Williams fits the "If not for..." category. If not for WWII and Korea, Williams might have broken Ruth's home run record in the 1950's.

I can see why the league (at least the lower ranking teams) don't want draft pick trades. This would allow the rich teams to trade tons of mediocre minor league players for top draft talent, cementing the perennial advantage of the rich teams. Even if limited to outside the top ten picks, it helps maintain the separation of rich v poor teams.

Heh-heh, for me it was fifty pounds ago. I feel like Sano in his first year, after eating too many burritos. Except I can't swing a bat, or run, or field... you know... As for playoffs, I mean playoffs as in, not guaranteed to get crushed by the first team with an okay starting rotation. Not the highest bar, I hope...

The only way Twins make the playoffs is if almost all their moves pan out. Not all-star level, but everybody has to at least play to mlb average. Twins haven't had a year like that in a long time. That way, even if Buck goes down again, his replacement (Celestino, Lewis, Martin) has to play decent ball, not become a hole in the lineup or in the field. Same with pitchers. If a starter goes down, his replacement must deliver average performance. Otherwise, they'll be out of it by June.

If Rodon still has gas in the tank, then sure. Pineda, too. Otherwise, bring up the kids and see who can pitch. Years like this, where playoffs are already out of reach, should be used for evaluating your minor league system's talent at the mlb level.

Rule changes: The three-point line is out to 60 feet. Smart. Catcher can now move aside and let a pitch hit the ump, but only after a bad call. After a balk, everybody has to stand and recite the balk rule. Tie games now decided by a chimpanzee, handed a loaded revolver. Similar to Australian baseball. Umpire decisions can be changed if the whole audience coughs up enough money. If a DH strikes out, he must pitch the next inning. There must be something he can do right..! To keep fans awake, each team must attempt at least one trick play per game. This can include magic tricks. If they're funny. For Build Back Better, a trained pig will deliver new baseballs to the ump. Solar panels over the dugouts will charge players' phones. Electronic strike zone will sound a ship collision horn when the ump misses a ball or strike.

I'll take this opportunity to challenge the "perceived velocity" attribute of Joe Ryan's fastball. I don't think hitters are being fooled by the speed of the pitch. I don't see them swinging early or late from misjudging the velocity. Instead, I see them swinging a few inches under the pitch, indicating that they are getting fooled by the anticipated height, which they are judging to be a few inches lower. Thus Ryan's funky delivery (lower, extended release point, extra backspin) are doing the fooling, not some deceptive jump or lack of velocity. It's perceived altitude that is making them miss, not perceived velocity. That said, I think Ryan's heater will continue to work, because other pitchers don't deliver the ball like that. Buxton's relative output will improve the longer the season is delayed. If the season is shortened to a month, he's a shoe-in for MVP. Sano will be identical to last year. If Twins make him DH, watch out for weight gain. Kepler will improve, as will Larnach and Kirilloff. All finally healthy. Gordon will continue his gradual rise to stardom. A very slow blooming rose. Arraez makes me sad. Knees don't get better, they get worse. Ask anybody our age, with knees. Of all the Twins young pitching prospects, at least one will pan out. Please? Finally? Just one good starter? No idea what will happen at 3rd base. Like Buck, Donaldson may benefit from a shortened season, if he's lucky enough to be healthy at that time. Or maybe the FO will trade Donaldson and hand the job to Maranda. I would, but hey, I ride a scooter to save gas.

When he arrived at the New World, Cortez had his men burn his ships...no going back. No going back. Release Cave, trade Sano and Donaldson, unload the guys from the last two years that were filler or flops or just mediocre ballplayers. It's hard to find reliable starters that perform well, but as a Front Office you have to keep trying. Twins today are loaded with young prospects that soon will need serious tryouts at the mlb level. Miranda should get an extended shot at third base. Martin, same deal at SS. Kirilloff, same deal, first base. Larnach, left field. Bring them up as a group, the new core of the team. If Buxton gets injured again, bring up Lewis to CF. Get the premium prospects out on the field. That'll put some butts in the seats.

Unlikely as it may seem, I think the Twins have three top shelf catchers at various stages of development. Garver has improved defensively, but at 31 his bod ain't gettin' no younger. Ryan Jeffers looks like a long-term starting catcher to me, including with the bat. That leaves Ben Rortvedt. To me, Rortvedt looks like he could develop into a perennial star, if he'd just tuck his chin into his shoulder at the plate. That's how you find the plane of the ball with your bat, by looking down the length of it. That's how Arraez does it, with his Pete Rose stance. Quit standing so upright.

Looks like a great idea. Griffin Jax has a little of that Eddie Guardado bulldog in him. Even if his heater doesn't add a couple mph, if he can spot it and keep using his slider/change combo, that could get a lot of guys out for a couple innings. If he does add a little more heat, then all the better.

Sounds like a recipe for a perennial loser.

Blazo, Canto, Windo, Duraino, Enlow, Dobsie, Valdemort, Bundo, Cotto, Jaxo, Sando, boom I got your man! All those be good bets for good starters, maybe better. First four got major whiff power, an essential ace ingredient. The rest got some ingredients for a good sauce, a little this and that... we'll see what cooks up in spring. Once again, this ain't the year to trade the farm for no one-year has-been so-so veteran. This is the year to toss some corn on the griddle and see what pops, baby! Pinch of salt. Hope it ain't an elbow!

One thing interesting about Ryan's heater is that he could make it arrive a few inches lower by simply switching to a two-seam grip. Why would he do that? If a hitter starts squaring up his four-seam heater, which rides a few inches higher in the zone than it looks like it should. Cat-and-mouse. For now, Ryan's fastball is fooling most hitters. Eventually, yes, they'll adjust. I just hope Ryan is ready with a quick fix, like the 2-seamer. Keep 'em guessing. Maybe then work on a cutter, so he's got the ball up, down, left and right. Could be a lot of fun, if the catcher remembers which pitches to call...

As I watched the extended highlights, I thought Martin looked like a shoe-in as a future All Star. But then I remembered that sound - the sound of an artificial bat hitting a baseball. Supposedly they try to make composite bats react the same as wood, but it just ain't so. Looking at Martin's swing, I saw he was generating a lot of his power from his upper body, flipping the bat through the contact zone with wrist action. Slap hitter is not what the Twins want from a first round pick. This means the Twins will need to reconstruct Martin's swing to use his legs to generate power. The extra mechanics could bring his average down considerably.

"He’s looked best at third base. Even there, he will be, at best, a slightly below-average defender. " I must challenge this pre-career assessment. We have all seen guys that were butchers at a position work their butts off at defense, later to become top shelf at their positions (Koske, Morneau, and frankly Polanco). All of them got to the majors via that wooden stick they waved so well. Now we have another one that needs work. Besides, the Minnesota Twins are famed for coaching up players on their defense. This franchise has always put a premium on making plays in the field. Teach him what that glove is for, Twinkie coaches!

The only hired gun I've liked was Odo, and he's just about average. I think the Twins have at least two prospects whose floors are better than Odorizzi is today. Blaze and Canto both are better, and they are young young young young. There is a possibility to trade Duran + a top-20 position prospect for Montas (Cavaco? Sabato?), but otherwise, I reject deals with Oakland. I could see Sabato muscled up to be a 1B basher for the A's...