Thread: Article: Where are the Twins at with statistical analysis?

We have no idea by whom or how decisions are made. We can only see the outcomes, and speculate. It was a nice article.

Exactly, it is the outcomes. If pitching boils down to this:

Pitching - maximize Ks, minimize BBs, shoot for more GBs and less FBs

Then how do you explain Kevin Correia?

Goin's remarks are evidence that there are very smart people in the organization with advanced ideas. Jr's actions evidence that Goin and his like are being, to some degree, ignored.

Five theories regarding the Minnesota Twins - Baseball Nation

Originally Posted by Willihammer

Five theories regarding the Minnesota Twins - Baseball Nation

That was pretty good. Thanks for posting that.

Originally Posted by Willihammer

Five theories regarding the Minnesota Twins - Baseball Nation

The only thing I don't like about this is that it wasn't BYTO born. Otherwise.....christ that was brilliant.

Originally Posted by Willihammer

Five theories regarding the Minnesota Twins - Baseball Nation

9/10. Would lulz again.

Stat's are extremely valuable with placing value or determining ability in respect to their peers with major league players. They say less about minor league players and absolutely nothing about amatuer players. (The article headline mentions "statistical data" but only pitch fx is discussed in relation to that. I will assume it means newer sabermetrics too.)

None of this really matters because the Twins always seek out the cheapest talent available. Stats or Scouting is always trumped by who can do the job for the cheapest possible price.

Originally Posted by Jack Torse

Twins always seek out the cheapest talent available.

Except that time in 2011 when they had the 9th highest payroll in baseball, or when they gave Mauer one of the biggest contracts in baseball history of course. Don't let facts get in the way of your complaining though

Originally Posted by SpiritofVodkaDave

Except that time in 2011 when they had the 9th highest payroll in baseball, or when they gave Mauer one of the biggest contracts in baseball history of course. Don't let facts get in the way of your complaining though

There's always outliers.

Originally Posted by FrodaddyG

There's always outliers.

Always outright liars, too.

Originally Posted by old nurse

Always outright liars, too.

Good... one?

Originally Posted by Willihammer

Five theories regarding the Minnesota Twins - Baseball Nation

Awesome, my favourite part...that's a strikeout eating a pigeon.

Originally Posted by Willihammer

Exactly, it is the outcomes. If pitching boils down to this:



Then how do you explain Kevin Correia?

Goin's remarks are evidence that there are very smart people in the organization with advanced ideas. Jr's actions evidence that Goin and his like are being, to some degree, ignored.

I think Correia is best explained by a combination of cheapness and desire to fill innings more than a lack of understanding of what makes a good pitcher. The Twins, despite our hopes and what they may have hinted at, were never really on planning on dipping too far into the free agent pool for a pitcher nor guarantee more than a couple of years, so they went for the guy who can fill the most innings at the cheapest rate. I don't especially agree with this plan but I still don't think it shows a lack of understanding on what makes a pitcher valuable.

I think a better example is seen in Meyer/May/Worley, the type of pitchers that they acquired when they traded away assets rather than spent assets.

I am too lazy to look it up, but in the 05-07 range the Twins obliterated the record for K/BB ratio for a staff over an entire season (maybe multiple times). Even though a bigger part of the equation was limiting BBs over high K rates, I would say that shows some understanding of what is necessary for successful pitching.

Originally Posted by drjim

I am too lazy to look it up, but in the 05-07 range the Twins obliterated the record for K/BB ratio for a staff over an entire season (maybe multiple times). Even though a bigger part of the equation was limiting BBs over high K rates, I would say that shows some understanding of what is necessary for successful pitching.

It helped having that one guy...you know...the guy who should have won three Cy Youngs in a row for us.

Ryan said after the draft that they drafted some 'power arms' because people had been harping on it for so long. It was like he was saying I don't agree, but I give in.

Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

I'm actually completely comfortable with St. Peter's comments to you, ABG. I don't feel like the Twins owe it to anyone to give away their inside secrets. Just because Billy Beane was willing to let an author follow him around and see pretty much everything doesn't mean that's how it should be done. Don't get me wrong. I too want to know all of the inner workings of the front office, but it would be silly for them to do that.

I think it's silly to think that HR, RBI and ERA and Wins are all that the team looks at. If Goin was willing to talk about Pitch F/X, that likely means there are about a dozen or more things that he didn't want to talk about.

I won't pretend to understand the Correia signing, but I'm also not going to pretend I'm smarter than the people in the Twins front office either. I have to believe that they make their decisions based on many different factors, some statistical.

Maybe that's naive, and since they don't share their secrets it's obviously debatable with every transaction/decisions, but again, I have no problem with them keeping their secrets to themselves.

Terry Ryan should tell me, because I would like to know. And no one listens to me.
He can't tell you! You're Seth Stohs!

The article doesn't mention the other wing of Twins stat analysis. JR has this one guy on his Friendster account that really seems to like sabermetrics. Or maybe it was that he owned a Buick Lesabre. Either way, if that guy ever logs back into his account, JR's going to pepper him with questions.

Originally Posted by Willihammer

Five theories regarding the Minnesota Twins - Baseball Nation

I actually think the humor is pretty poor, but whatever, the guy's going for it. We get that there's a traditional sense that the Twins are strikeout adverse, but acquiring Meyer and May undercut the comic premise here. So, Meh.

Just to add to the ongoing discussion, of course people are going to overvalue the information they have easy access to (stats) as opposed to the information they don't (game film, scouting).