Bleacher Report - Articles by DJ Flow

Francisco Liriano's Debut: Not a Success, But Not a Failure

DJ Flow — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:48:16 -0400

Francisco Liriano's opening-day start my not have been the stellar performance that many Twins fans were hoping for, but it did show some key notes that are both reassuring and scary.

On the good side, he managed his pitch count efficiently, and thus completed a complete seven innings. Also, he managed zero walks, another key component to Liriano's future success.

With that, he also allowed four hits spanning those seven innings, giving him a pretty solid WHIP average of .588 in that performance, which would be ideal in most scenarios.

On the down side, it appeared that Liriano had a case of Long Ball Syndrome (see Kevin Slowey 2008 or Brad Radke 2005) as he allowed two home runs, which lead to his eventual downfall.

Obviously, this hasn't been the case for Liriano's career, so it shouldn't be an ongoing issue, but one that may warrant a look at, due to the amount of deep fly balls shooting off Mariner bats near the end of Liriano's night.

The key fact I want to throw out is that every person who reached base on him scored (generally speaking is not ideal).

All-in-all, it seems as that Francisco Liriano's opening day start may not have been the effort required to get the Twins off to a fresh start, but was enough to keep the promise of this young mans potential ongoing.

The Future Of Wilson Ramos

DJ Flow — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:25:35 -0400

Hot catching prospect Wilson Ramos hasn't whiffed the air above Hi-A Fort Myers, but many scouts within the Twins's organization feel he can be an excellent catcher at one point in his career.

Rated as the No. 71 top prospect by Baseball America, the young slugger had a batting average of .288, with 13 home runs (in the pitcher friendly fields of the Florida State League), and had a startling 40.2 throwing out player percentage in his major league career.

It looks like Ramos may be able to acclimate to the majors after this year, if need be.

But seeing as we already have a superstar behind the plate in Joe Mauer, what should the Twins do?

Scenario 1: I think the most likely scenario heading into Spring Training next year, is that a battle will ensue with catchers Joe Mauer, Jose Morales, Drew Butera, and Wilson Ramos. At this point, it seems imminent that releasing seasoned veteran Mike Redmond is in the plan, for it would offer both a set of fresh legs and the cheaper price tag of a half-million dollars.

As the eternal optimist, I feel young Ramos will pull through with his bat, and settle into a position as the backup, so he can get some playing time here and there.

Scenario 2: The Twins are fortunate enough to sign Joe Mauer to a long-term deal, and thus Ramos can become a nice bargaining chip in terms of bringing some hardcore talent.

Scenario 3: The Twins are unable to sign Mauer and are either forced to allow him to leave via free agency or trade. Either way, the Twins are forced to cope with the loss of a force behind the plate, which would call for Ramos to be ready to go in his place.

Whichever scenario ends up, having more than enough promising talent behind the plate is very beneficial in many ways. No matter how much I love Joe Mauer, it's nice to know that in the chance we're unable to retain him, we have a good backup plan in the wings.

R.A. Dickey To Take Over for Scott Baker? Aren't There Other Options?

DJ Flow — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:36:50 -0400

R.A. Dickey, knuckleballer extraordinaire, has been announced to take over the fifth spot in the rotation for the Minnesota Twins, replacing the injured Scott Baker.

I'm all for giving guys a chance, but it seems like the Seattle Mariners tried the same thing with this guy last year, with rather bleak results—a 5.21 ERA—but was found to be rather serviceable from the bullpen.

With a plethora of young arms waiting for a chance at AAA like Kevin Mulvey and Anthony Swarzak, my question is why pull this now when we have the opportunity to see what these young kids can do while the team is not in the midst of a playoff hunt?

The following are Twins who can make an impact this season:

R.A. Dickey:

The guy can chuck, that’s been known, but relies swiftly on the least used and hardest pitch to nail down—the knuckleball. The intrigue itself in the Metrodome is enough to get me hyped, but as a starter makes me weary.

A problem with many knucklers like Tim Wakefield and Ron Starr is that they cruise through the first few innings, but can get destroyed through the second and third time through the lineup, as hitters adapt to the relatively unpredictable pitch.

The other fear is that when the knuckler isn't working that day, what can he rely on? A common problem for pitchers is that some days they don't have a knack for one pitch, and in some cases it can be a pitcher’s fastball.

Now if that knuckler goes out, this guy could be doomed.

Now imagine this. After having a solid six innings from one of the starters, what a ridiculous curveball to throw in this guy to totally upset the tempo hitters are banking on. To me, this seems like Dickey's ultimate role in the majors and I feel he could be damn good at it.

Kevin Mulvey

Kevin is my personal choice for the fifth starter job and a poor man's Nick Blackburn. The guy has no flash, but means serious business. After watching him firsthand last year when he was in Rochester, the guy isn't afraid to crash the strike zone with his otherwise balanced, mediocre four-pitch arsenal.

In the end, I see him one day being an average third or very solid back-end starter who will routinely put up around a 4.00 ERA, and become a very serviceable guy once the Twins can't afford the young rotation.

Brian Duensing

He will probably come up as an initial lefty reliever, but has been bred as a starter from the get-go. He doesn't possess anything too special, but has a kind of funny delivery, which compensates for the lack of speed on his pitches. Could be serviceable as a starter in the end, ut could be an even better reliever.

Jason Jones

The Twins 2009 Rule V selection from the New York Yankees is in the same mold as Mulvey, but slightly behind him in his progression. He will solidify the AAA rotation and could be an efficient player in the long run.

Swarzak

He could be a really fun kid to watch seeing as he's been a mentioned prospect for years whether it be positive or not, but isn't mentally ready for the Bigs. However, I expect him to be on the Big League team sometime this year.

Minnesota Vikings: What To Expect from Our LB's

DJ Flow — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:02:54 -0400

Not that the guy got off to one of the most unfortunate injuries to kick off his career, but tearing your Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) during a preseason game in your rookie campaign is bound to set you back right?

Well, in the Case of Mr. Greenway, it looks like we found at least an above-average Will Linebacker that will keep things interesting for many years to come.

Last year, there was a generous debate that Greenway should have been in the pro-bowl. Seeing as that didn't happen and that's behind us we're going to leave it at that, but lets look at whats to come.

Our other young stud E.J. Henderson (Mike Linebacker) is set to return after the painful injury of dislocating his toes on his right foot.

Initially, I thought that dislocating your toe wasn't a serious injury at all, but then a buddy of mine had it happen who plays for the Gophers football team also came down with it, and apparently its a painful ten-week recovery program...if you're lucky.

Enough on that, but the optimism from the beginning of last year that E.J. could make a push for a pro bowl nod is also going to be a key ingredient to our defense as well.

Finally, a scrappy lad named Ben Leber will be entering I believe his third season as a member of the Vikings, and i don't know what you guys think, but I see him as a model of efficiency, with the exception that he sometimes plays a little to downhill ( which as a Sam Linebacker can sometimes be a crucial problem).

But with such excellent tackling corners, we can generally get away with having such aggressive linebackers.

Things to look forward to:

Two above-average to Pro Bowl LB's and one average to above-average Lb whom can both play the Tampa-Two Defense efficiently in pass coverage, as well as maneuvering stealthy blitzes from any point of attack.

Also, the underrated feeling form these guys is the fact that they all have exceptional leadership qualities, which are natural intangibles that can't just be taught or idealized. Truly a work of art

Minnesota Vikings: A Chance To Move Down?

DJ Flow — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:03:31 -0400

Generally speaking, I'm not the type to blister out rants of hopping all over draft boards, but in the case the Vikes are in right now, a shining opportunity has arisen. I would have to say the Vikes have the Best-Worst pick in the draft for many reasons.

First, it would appear highly unlikely that a top flight WR (which I believe to be Crabtree and Maclin), and no clear-cut OT (Smith, Monroe, Smith, Oher), and the easy possibility of no Malcom Jenkins and Vontae Davis.

Quarterback may seem appealing; however even the top tier looks to be gone at this point.

Second, I'm a personal believer in a guy named Ebon Britton from Arizona whose projected as a late first round pick, and while checking the current projections could fall into that region if we choose not to take him earlier.

Third, the talent level for our needs at this time may seem rather mediocre for the pick, thus it may be in the triangle of powers best interest.

Finally, with a plethora of talented wide-outs (I think that there are six first-round talents), it would seem like anyone could take a hack at whose ever let, but the demand for wideouts has sky-rocketed in comparison to last year, and teams near the bottom of the first round, like the Ny Giants and the Tennessee Titans, who may be interested.

A quick list of teams who have at least a mild level of wide receiver consideration

No. 2: Rams: No talented wide receivers now that Holt has left, but also have many needs
No. 4: Seahawks: With the addition of Housh it may seem like a stretch, but the intrigue alone of Crabtree may be enough
No. 6: Bengals: The loss of Housh may be more critical than many think, and there are some who feel that Ocho-Cinco may want out sooner than later. If Crabtrees there, than its a strong possibility
No. 7: Raiders: Have been linked to both top-tier wideouts since the season ended, but have many O-line issues that they should address, but its the AL Davis show keep in mind.
No. 9: Jags: Have been linked to many top wideouts, but I have a feeling there deterred from them after being burned by Reggie Williams and Matt Jones in the past.
No. 10: 'Niners: Many have associated them with good wide-outs just for the fact that they haven't had one since the days of T.O. Could be a very interesting pick though, seeing as there are many ways it could shake out.
No. 17: NY Jets: just simply need playmakers. Most likely a WR if no QB is available
No. 19: Bucs: Could go wide-out or WR, but they also need offensive firepower from wherever they can get it.
No. 21 and No. 28: Philly: A disgruntled McNabb has asked for some offensive weapons but has seen nothing surpass to this point in the offseason.
No. 22: Vikes: We need a good No. 2 wideout who runs excellent routes, has reliable hands, and can be a great second selection ( I personally like Brian Robiskie in the second round).
No. 26: Many links have been made for Heyward-Bey going here,but he may be gone by this point, also they're in desperate need of corner depth with the departure of Chris McCallister
No. 29: Giants: Need someone to replace Plaxico Burress, and don't have many holes
No. 30: Titans: lookin' for another offensive playmaker, but may look at Peria Jerry due to the departure of All-Pro DT Albert Haynesworth.

I think that with such a huge margin for losing out on a WR, the Giants may be inclined to bump up, due solely on the fact that that's their main mission in the draft. There problem is that only two guys fit who they're going for and that includes Kenny Britt and Hakeem Nicks, based on the fact that there bigger wideouts, who could easily fill in for Plax.

The Deal

Giants Get

No. 22 - Which I would believe to be Hakeem Nicks

Vikes Get

No. 29: Ebon Britton OT Arizona: Who can play RT, and can contribute right away.

No. 91: (First of their two third round picks) and pick up a solid DT who ma even be able to fill in for the Williams at times and may be a replacement to Pat sometime down the road.

Fourth Rounder: Hopefully laid OT for depth at CB, which is always better to have.

Explanation: The Vikes have a decision to make on draft day and it could go to either OT or WR, but I'm taking the non-sexy, but probably more in need selection in taking Britton.

First, I'll start and say that many elite pass rushers will rush from the right side on passing downs, which will really benefit him in his progression, and he's also known for being a stout run-blocker, which is a must in our offense.

With this, our O-line looks pretty solid through and through with a little question mark at what sullivan can do, but I think we'll pick up a center late for depth and competition. I think that Robiskie should be hanging around at our second pick and fits the perfect possession receiver mold.

The Vikes have a lotof really good players, but lack good depth, which is why these picks will look towards future investments, and roll players.

Also, I chose the Giants third and fourth round picks as they would equal the value points associated with those points far better than the second round pick they would pick at

Finally, I should say that this is merely my personal speculation and that nobody else that I know who professionally or leisurely writes blogs has come up with this knowledge.