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jimbo92107

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Everything posted by jimbo92107

  1. jimbo92107
    Being a long-time Twins fan, I hate to give my fellow fans hope. However, this 2022 squad is beginning to look like one of the highest quality teams in the league. I realize there are others, so I have refrained from blurting "World Series" to most people, other than one old buddy, who chuckles wistfully, as you might expect. They're pretty close to having the pitching, and they still have a couple minor leaguers, Balazovic and Canterino, that could do well. However, this is a bullpen-dependent pitching staff, like the one KC used several years ago to win it all. That means they must solidify the pen. In the field, they have a couple superstars, and several guys that are playing like stars, at least for now. Kepler may be a key, if he can keep riding his hot streak against lefties. Celestino could be absolutely vital if Buxton continues to be fragile. Never enough pitching, never too much good hitting. Computer tip for the day: Don't spray foamy glass cleaner directly on your laptop keyboard. I thought my PC was inhabited by an evil demon for the next several hours. All those little short circuits trying to type my PIN for me... ? Tip 2: Compressed air helps somewhat. Or just sit the machine in front of a fan and walk away for a while.
  2. jimbo92107
    Buck needs a week off. Celestino is no drop off right now. Pagan comes thru again, but will give us all gray hairs. Urshela is having the kind of hot streak that will keep Royce Lewis stuck in AAA. Skol!
  3. jimbo92107
    This game bodes well for the season. Bailey Ober came in off the IL and showed he was exactly the same good pitcher. Cano showed he needs another month in AAA. Bring up Moran again. Biggest good omen was the comeback. Twins teams in the past have often gone flat in late innings. This squad fought back hard, and put enough pressure on KC's pen to make it crack. Twins teams in playoff years could rally like this fairly often. Best of all, KC is not a pushover. They've got some good young talent, and their bullpen can throw flames. It took a lot of plate discipline to pressure that pen into mistakes. I will include sweet Luis in that number. He got scrawed. Speaking of Arraez, maybe the Twins should leave him at 1B and count their blessings. 1B could be the easiest position on his knees, the one thing that could crash his season. Otherwise (foibles aside), he reminds me more and more of Tony Gwynn. Great eye for the zone, and he can barrel it up just about every time. Is Luis Arraez the fiery heart of this Twins team?
  4. jimbo92107
    Get me RoboUmp! We got clowns calling balls and strikes!
  5. jimbo92107
    Sweet Luis Arraez is becoming the heart of this Twins baseball team. He's scrappy, determined, savors every ball that comes his way. Joe Ryan makes it look easy. His unhurried, deliberate delivery makes it look like pitching at the highest level is just an easy game of catch with his buddy Ryan Jeffers. It's as if a guy throwing batting practice suddenly finds himself striking out everybody. A pleasure to watch.
  6. jimbo92107
    Devin Smeltzer can win at the mlb level...when he's got this defense behind him. Urshela playing 3B like an All Star. Correa at SS. Polanco playing 2B like an All Star. Miranda playing decent 1B. Then the outfield, possibly the fastest OF the Twins have had since Rosie Buck Kepler. Celestino's arm - as good as Rosario's? More data needed. Still, I can see why the FO doesn't want Smeltzer at this moment to be a regular in the rotation. Pitch to bad contact is an old Twins maxim, but today's FO wants more K's. Smeltzer in the past has racked up more K's, so he'll probably be back. Long live the fighters!
  7. jimbo92107
    When your team wins 14 to 4, you don't feel the need for one young star like Royce Lewis. Still, his solo home run for the scuffling Saints seemed like a lonesome cry from across the river. Larnach hit one, too, which is good news for the Twins outfield and for super sub Nick Gordon, who can't give infielders a day off if he's stuck in left field. Twins need a stronger bat out there, as well as Larnach's stronger arm. Speaking of which, Matt Wallner, y'all! 440-foot bash, and I hear he's a converted pitcher, so I figure his arm is at least adequate. Future right fielder? First base? MLB is a business of constant transitions. Only outright superstars get to stay put at their positions for long. Otherwise, some youngster with fresh body parts could take their job. That puts a lot of pressure on players that are just a whit above average. The Twins have a few guys like that...
  8. jimbo92107
    Major league ballplayers are some pretty tough dudes, and Alex Kirilloff is working to prove that now for himself and the Twins. However, it's going to take a lot more than a couple good days at the plate to show that his injured hand has truly healed. Does it hurt on a check swing? A ball off the label? Off the end? Like everybody else here, I'm pulling for Kirilloff to get back to the Twins. He's a good 1B, and Jose Miranda is scuffling at the plate. Miranda is the one that needs some seasoning in St Paul. I'd say Miranda also needs to get some reps at 3B and 2B, as well as corner outfield. He and Royce Lewis should be playing musical chairs at about five positions. Frankly, that's the future of baseball, at least for young players. Hit like crazy, and learn as many positions as you can. Maybe add a decent knuckleball to the mix, too...
  9. jimbo92107
    Wow, was I wrong about that. I assumed the Twins would never option a guy that was carrying the team with his bat. I figured they'd move Royce Lewis around at the mlb level, find a spot for him, like they do with Arraez. Plus, I figured if they were going to option somebody, they'd demote Jose Miranda, whose bat is growing icicles. Sounds like fielding flexibility is the plan, except the moving around will start with a move to St Paul.
  10. jimbo92107
    To quote general George Custer... "Ghaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
  11. jimbo92107
    Any calculation of what to do with Royce Lewis when Correa gets back must begin with the assumption that Lewis will NEVER go back to the minor leagues. Friends, Romans and countrymen, look what Lewis is doing in his first month. He's practically putting the team on his back the way Hrbek and Puckett and Buxton used to do. He's playing high-level SS, and he appears to be getting better game by game. When Correa gets back, sure Lewis will have to move around. No big deal. The kid is super-talented - he'll pick up any position in a week, and look polished in two weeks. Let him become the team's second super-utility man along with Nick Gordon. Guys like this don't mind learning multiple positions because it makes them even more valuable to the team. Baldelli knows that Lewis already is one of the best bats in his lineup. There's no way he won't find a spot for him to play every possible day.
  12. jimbo92107
    I'll grant Gio Urshela this - He's making a good case to keep him around, even after Correa gets back. Then the question becomes, what to do with Royce Lewis? Can the Twins really send down a player this obviously good, or do they find a place for him, like 1B while Miranda goes across the river for a bit more seasoning? New euphemism...across the river = down to the AAA Saints. Maybe Miranda to the Saints, Lewis to 1B is the solution, for now.
  13. jimbo92107
    Smeltzer looks good. I mean his beard, it looks quite handsome.
  14. jimbo92107
    Well, if Sanchez bats like that... I can see him as the semi-permanent DH / emergency catcher. Sadly for Urshela, his hitting is just okay, and the Twins already have Miranda, Arraez and Lewis to move around the infield. Plus all three of those guys are much better hitters than Gio. When Correa gets back and if Kirilloff starts to hit, the Twins may decide it's better to keep Godoy as backup C.
  15. jimbo92107
    Man oh man, you cannot send Royce Lewis down when Correa gets back. He's just too damn good. I actually like Gio Urshela, but if I'm managing this team I gotta read the ten-foot writing on the wall. Lewis stays, Urshela sits.
  16. jimbo92107
    I say buh-bye to Sanchez and Urshela. Bring up Godoy, order him to use a quick, flat contact swing for singles, work to look like Arraez. Move Lewis to 3B the day Correa gets back. What the Twins need more than anything else is GREAT defense up the middle (including a catcher that can glove bounced pitches), and the fewest possible holes in the batting order. This solves both problems, poof. Arraez becomes your IF sub and DH,; Gordon is your OF sub plus pinch run and hit. Lewis will be fine at the hot corner until Correa either stays or goes after the season. Plus of course, Lewis is a far, far better all around player than Urshela. What the Twins seem to have forgotten is that their pitching staff is not great. They are good, and great defense makes them look borderline great. Add some healthy offense, and you've got a winning team. Urshela and Sanchez both have been mostly holes at the plate, and Sanchez has the worst defensive glove I've ever seen. Anytime there's a runner, all he needs is to see a ball hit the dirt, and go. Safe, every time because Sanchez will drop the ball, giving the stealer at least an extra second. This makes the pitcher afraid to throw low breaking pitches, which for some Twins arms is their bread and butter. Same thing happens on throws to home. If the ball bounces, Sanchez will boot it. Get. Him. Out. Of. There!
  17. jimbo92107
    Houston is a better team than the Twins...at the moment. In a couple months I'd like to see the same matchup.
  18. jimbo92107
    Move Lewis to 3B, trade or DFA Urshela. Gio is an okay player, but Lewis is an emerging star.
  19. jimbo92107
    We learned something from the Chris Paddack situation. Thinking that injections of enhanced blood cells will magically repair a torn UCL is futile. He tore it again anyway, just a few months later. Sometimes a bandage is what a player needs, and the platelet injections act like a really good bandage. Unfortunately, the underlying tendon damage was still there, and Paddack's sudden acceleration when he pitches pretty much guaranteed that he would make the damage worse. Hey, it may even be possible to "fix" a UCL with platelets, but maybe it takes years, and maybe the fix isn't good enough to serve a major league pitcher. Throwing a baseball 95 mph is not normal usage. For extreme usage, you fix it with surgery.
  20. jimbo92107
    I'd promote Martin and Richardson to AAA right now, make sure they don't utterly collapse from the mental strain of it all, then use them as the next guys up.
  21. jimbo92107
    If Paddack does have TJ surgery, it means the Twins can no longer dawdle about bringing up Cole Sands. If Bundy has one more bad start, time to bring up Jordan Balazovic.
  22. jimbo92107
    I see Nick Gordon continuing to get a little better every week. His throws from the OF look better, are carrying better as he learns to lengthen his follow through. His at bats seem more and more comfortable. If the Twins let this guy get away, they'll be sorry. Gordon is finally healthy, so we're starting to see why the Twins spent a first round pick on him.
  23. jimbo92107
    I suspect that Columbe's success is an early season mirage. Hitters across the league have been having a crappy spring. That big hitch in his motion isn't going to help much after guys have seen it a couple times. Other than that, what's he got? A big, slow curve, a so-so slider, a change up, and an average fastball. That walking beam will get narrower each time he pitches.
  24. jimbo92107
    This be creative writing. No hardfast rules, yo. Let the words flow. Stream o thought, yo. Let the uptight go. Let your frogs be free.
  25. jimbo92107
    Oh, I forgot the thread topic: How long a leash... One more game. It is entirely Bundy's decision whether he wants to be a successful crafty veteran or a pathetic has-been power pitcher. He's got sufficient command of his off-speed stuff to get a lot of whiffs. He can spot his so-so fastball to the corners. Why not stick to the plan?
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