Thread: Shorten Target Field Fences NOW

A bad IF defense is hard to overcome and will cost you lots of games. A bad OF defense, at the major league level where everyone can catch pop flies, just doesn't make a whole lot of difference.

At the farm, the Twins might have the most athletic outfielders in all of baseball. So do we move the fences back once Hicks, Benson, Buxton, Kepler, Roberts and Arcia are up?

Besides, RF isn't all that big and there is next to no foul territory. There probably should never be an arguement about bringing the fences in, especially to protect the poor defense that will be playing there for hopefully less than half a season. One could possible argue to lower the RF wall because it penalizes line drive hitters, but the dimensions should remain.

Originally Posted by mnfanforlife

Young is a DH for sure, But I thought Cuddyer was slightly above average defensively in RF. No?

Cuddyer had a good arm (that's it), but that "throwing arm" doesn't make any outs chasing fly-balls in the OF, and he was not "rangy" in the slightest. This equals a well below average OF.

I was an early advocate for moving in the fences at Target. Moving in the fences would force our pitchers and pitchers throughout the organization to become better at throwing strikes and keeping the ball down. Why were our pitchers better in the Dome? Because they threw strikes, kept the ball down, and the organization attempted to find people who could throw with some velocity. Sounds strange, but moving the fences in a little bit might on the surface make people think it would help the offense. But I believe it would force the organization to go back to the fundamentals, and that's getting better pitching and better defense, and those 2 factors keep you in games and in pennant races.

Originally Posted by Top Gun

Do they Twins have a chance to play 500? Maybe if they had sign Bedard.
Astros signed LHP Erik Bedard to a minor league contract.

A pitcher who no team was willing to give a major-league contract is the difference between making .500 or not for the Twins?

Originally Posted by twinsnorth49

Nope....I'd rather have a glove swinging from a rope than Delmon..

I may have gotten in trouble laughing out loud at work. I think it's about time to start a thread on things I'd rather have in left field than Delmon....and no, I don't care how long its been since he's been gone.

Originally Posted by Top Gun

Do they Twins have a chance to play 500? Maybe if they had sign Bedard.
Astros signed LHP Erik Bedard to a minor league contract.

It's a nice low-risk move for the Astros, who could spin Bedard for a prospect at the trade deadline if he gets off to a decent start. The veteran lefty posted a 3.12 ERA over his first 10 outings in 2012 for the Pirates before falling apart. He was released by Pittsburgh in August.

Yes, Bedard was worth a shot this spring training

Originally Posted by USAFChief

A bad IF defense is hard to overcome and will cost you lots of games. A bad OF defense, at the major league level where everyone can catch pop flies, just doesn't make a whole lot of difference.

Whoa now Chief, it will be more than just pop-ups heading towards the outfield in Minnesota.

I'm not sure talking about anything swinging from a rope is appropriate.

Originally Posted by Winston Smith

I'm not sure talking about anything swinging from a rope is appropriate.

Soap?

I'm honestly just not that concerned about the defensive make up of the OF at this point. There are so many things that could happen during the course of the season to change the make up of the outfield, that I just don't care that it will likely start out as a bit defensively challenged.

If any one of Willingham, Morneau, Doumit or Parmelee are (a) injured, (b) traded, or (c) take a significant dive in offensive productivity, you'll find two outfield positions filled from among the group of Mastroianni, Hicks, Arcia and Benson and that likely will significantly improve the OF defense.

In fact, realistically, the only way I can envision that original OF remaining intact throughout the season is if NONE of those three factors occur AND the resulting offensive productivity is somehow enough to keep the Twins in contention throughout the season. If that combination does happen to occur, frankly I'll be more than happy about it.

Originally Posted by USAFChief

A bad IF defense is hard to overcome and will cost you lots of games. A bad OF defense, at the major league level where everyone can catch pop flies, just doesn't make a whole lot of difference.

Unless your team sucks at both and tosses out a PTC pitching staff to boot.

Of all the things to complain about, this is hardly it. Willingham is no prize but better than Delmon and Parmalee can be just as good as Cuddyer. Further, any game we have a lead after 7 innings will likely have Mastro or someone else in there.

Originally Posted by USAFChief

A bad IF defense is hard to overcome and will cost you lots of games. A bad OF defense, at the major league level where everyone can catch pop flies, just doesn't make a whole lot of difference.

But what if you have both (like this year's squad)? I can forsee a lot of "routine" singles gapping to the wall, and "pop flies" falling in for singles with the corner OFs having to play so deep. And without one strikeout pitcher in the rotation, the Twins Way of PItch to Contact will possibly result in no improvement in the Twins near-historical 5.40 ERA pitching putridity of 2012. The Twins had a combined starting pitching WAR of 3.1, there were 40 pitchers who had that WAR or higher, just by themselves. Methinks the Twins are looking at threatening that number to the downside, in some part due to the defensive downgrade the Twins inflicted upon themselves.

Originally Posted by howeda7

Of all the things to complain about, this is hardly it. Willingham is no prize but better than Delmon and Parmalee can be just as good as Cuddyer. Further, any game we have a lead after 7 innings will likely have Mastro or someone else in there.

The problem there is Mastro will already be in there in CF, at least for the first month, or two, or three, and Plouffe and Doumit look like the 5th OFer options at this point. Recent past history suggests a Clete Thomas or Brandon Boggs-type heading north from ST as the #4 "someone else" OF. Regardless, there's no way to sugarcoat it, the OF defense will be much worse, not the top complaint, to be sure, but still a big concern for an already-shaky pitching staff.

Willingham - Hicks - Arcia will be in the outfield at some point in 2013. Bench Parmelee so we have a decent PH.

Originally Posted by lee_the_twins_fan

Willingham - Hicks - Arcia will be in the outfield at some point in 2013. Bench Parmelee so we have a decent PH.

What if Parmelee posts an .800 OPS? Then what do you do with him?

One of the major reasons to trade Revere and Span was to clear space for Parmelee and then Hicks & Co. The Twins need to find out what they have in Chris and you can't do that by refusing to play the guy.

Originally Posted by lee_the_twins_fan

Willingham - Hicks - Arcia will be in the outfield at some point in 2013. Bench Parmelee so we have a decent PH.

Bench a guy that posted a 1.000 OPS in AAA in favor of 2 guys that haven't had a plate appearance there?

Originally Posted by jokin

But what if you have both (like this year's squad)? .

then fix the infield. If your car has a bad transmission and it needs a wash, should you ignore the transmission because you also have a little road dirt on it?

On a side note, the Twins have always played their OFers really deep, no matter who they are, since Gardy has been manager. They will continue to do the same no matter who the OFers are, as long as Gardy remains. It's one of my pet peeves.

Parmelee is a big-time hitter, and we certainly DO need to see him get 500 MLB at-bats...maybe he is another guy we could get some big-time pitching prospects for in trade.