Souhan on the Twins

[gunnarthor]

The always fun Souhan has an article up on the Twins.  He credits Molitor, Hunter and Perkins for the Twins improved play.  He notes that the Twins are winning despite not having the young future players up yet, Mauer not doing much and nothing from Nolasco/Santana on the mound.

 

"Hunter has brought life to the clubhouse, which has translated to increased gamesmanship and competitiveness on the field. Molitor has shown a knack for benching slumping players and seeing them improve immediately upon return. Perkins has performed to his All-Star standards while leading a surprisingly effective bullpen."

 

Just your standard puff piece but a fun read anyway.

 

[DaveW]

Mauer hasn't been hitting the cover off the ball and was one of about 10 Twins who had a very slow start, but its worth noting that in the last 20 days or so his OPS is above .800, he has hit 7 of his 8 doubles and has a .311 BA during that time as well, so IMO he has SOMETHING to do with the Twins recent stretch of good play. Ditto with Plouffe who seems to get no love, but actually has better numbers (and plays a more important position and better D) then Hunter.

The potshots at mauer in the press get old.

Perkins is prob one of my favorite two or three current Twins, but its hard to give him so much praise while not even mentioning the likes of Gibson and Pelfrey (who smoke and mirrors or not) both have had fantastic overall results.

[DaveW]

Also beyond Perkins and maybe Thompson I don't see how you can say the Twins bullpen has been surprisingly effective, I am pretty sure they aren't even league average statistics wise and its not like Duensing, Boyer, Stauffer, Pressly etc are getting unlucky/pitching below their potential.

Not to turn this into a bash Souhan thread, but is there actually anything of substance in this article at all? I wish Russo covered the Twins as well as the Wild, at least then we would get accurate articles with substance in them that look like they weren't tossed together in 2 minutes after glancing at a box score.

[gunnarthor]

 

Mauer hasn't been hitting the cover off the ball and was one of about 10 Twins who had a very slow start, but its worth noting that in the last 20 days or so his OPS is above .800, he has hit 7 of his 8 doubles and has a .311 BA during that time as well, so IMO he has SOMETHING to do with the Twins recent stretch of good play. Ditto with Plouffe who seems to get no love, but actually has better numbers (and plays a more important position and better D) then Hunter.

The potshots at mauer in the press get old.

 

Considering the bazooka you shot at Hunter, I'm not sure you should be complaining about Mauer taking a few potshots.

 

[JustinCB]

Seems like he just picked three people to write about because it was convenient to run with the "organizational roots" thing.

[JustinCB]

Also, the comments are much better on this site.  Yikes.

[Danchat]

For what it's worth, Joe Mauer's current WAR on Baseball Reference is 0.0. I'd take that stat with a grain of salt, though.

[DaveW]

 

Considering the bazooka you shot at Hunter, I'm not sure you should be complaining about Mauer taking a few potshots.

If only there was a very obvious and specific difference between the medium of where I posted my Hunter thread and where he posted his Mauer pot shots. It's almost if one of us is paid to write for a living and one of us is just a fan posting on a message board.

[JB_Iowa]

I found this Rand tweet on Mauer interesting:

 

RandBall ‏@RandBall  · 26m26 minutes ago 
Joe Mauer is hitting .375 with a.927 OPS and 16 RBI with runners on base and just .212 with a .534 OPS with the bases empty

 

 

For someone who is frequently criticized for not coming through in the clutch, Mauer seems to be doing pretty well.

[JB_Iowa]

Well, that was hardly worth wasting a click on.

 

The one thing about Hunter -- that some of you like and some of you don't -- is his garrulousness. 

 

Win or lose, Hunter will talk.  I appreciated the fact that he essentially said "I stunk' when talking about the early part of the season.  He didn't try to hide behind past history and he made it clear that he expected HIMSELF to do better.

 

That, to me, is leadership.  A willingness to face the press in good circumstances and in bad.  And much as Dozier was the go-to guy for the media last year, he really wasn't experienced enough to be brutally honest. 

 

And a little clubhouse dancing is a nice change from the library atmosphere described the last few years.  I think his personality was more than 50% of why the Twins signed him.

[Rosterman]

I'm sure Molitor and his gaggle of coaches are working their butts off.

 

Many players know this is a make-of-break time for them, not only with the Twins, but possibly in major league ball.

 

The Twins do have some contracts that keep them from making moves. Waste those millions? But when all is said and done, no matter how much we swager about in the blogosphere, the people in charge do seem to have a plan and are moving forth. It's not a predictable biz.

 

Hey, if many of us ran the Twins Staufer and Boyer and Thompson would not be around, Pelfrey would've been released,,the outfield would be a total mess.

 

Right now, the Twins aren't running or throwing out runners. They have no big slugger. The line-up has found its order. The bullpen is deep, but still revolves around 2-3 guys mainly. The rotation is cross-your-fingers and be surprised, of which we have received many surprised in the apst couple of weeks.

 

Now, how does this translate into getting fans in the stands?

[Pius Jefferson]

So he credits the three most media friendly people on the team. 

 

[gunnarthor]

 

For what it's worth, Joe Mauer's current WAR on Baseball Reference is 0.0. I'd take that stat with a grain of salt, though.

You think it should be lower?  Or higher?

 

The unhappy truth is Mauer isn't going to get better and break out.  He's a .280/.350/.370 hitter and there really isn't a lot of reasons to expect that to get better.

[drock2190]

Joe Mauer doesn't deserve any love unless he puts a ball or two into the seats.

 

How many at bats since his last homerun? 

 

1st base is a power position, not powerless position.

[DaveW]

You think it should be lower? Or higher?

 

The unhappy truth is Mauer isn't going to get better and break out. He's a .280/.350/.370 hitter and there really isn't a lot of reasons to expect that to get better.

Are you serious? Try 80%+ of his career where his numbers are signicantly better than that, or his last 15-20 games etc etc

[DaveW]

Joe Mauer doesn't deserve any love unless he puts a ball or two into the seats.

 

How many at bats since his last homerun?

 

1st base is a power position, not powerless position.

Lol

[Joe A. Preusser]

You think it should be lower?  Or higher?

 

The unhappy truth is Mauer isn't going to get better and break out.  He's a .280/.350/.370 hitter and there really isn't a lot of reasons to expect that to get better.

Come on man.

[Thrylos]

 

So he credits the three most media friendly people on the team. 

 

Nothing different.  Business as usual this millennium.  The big mouths always got the stories out and got the credit.  Hunter, Cuddyer, Perkins, Hunter.  Nothing to see here.   

 

Souhan has always been the first to throw under the train players with whom the Twins' brass and management had issues (eg. Lohse, Garza, Slowey, Neshek.)  Barely worth reading any more.

[gunnarthor]

 

Are you serious? Try 80%+ of his career where his numbers are signicantly better than that, or his last 15-20 games etc etc

Over his last 20 he's hitting .289/.344/.398 with a babip of .368.  Over the last 151 games he's hitting .279/.359/.371 with a babip around .350.  He's not unlucky.  He's just declining.  He'll have some hot stretches again, of course, but at the end of the year, his numbers will look a lot like they do now.  He's not a .400 OBP guy anymore and his power is gone.  A .350 OBP isn't horrible but that's what he is now.

[Danchat]

 

You think it should be lower?  Or higher?

 

The unhappy truth is Mauer isn't going to get better and break out.  He's a .280/.350/.370 hitter and there really isn't a lot of reasons to expect that to get better.

I kinda thought it would be higher. Joe Mauer may have no power but he's batting well, especially in clutch situations. He also draws a ton of walks.

[gunnarthor]

 

I kinda thought it would be higher. Joe Mauer may have no power but he's batting well, especially in clutch situations. He also draws a ton of walks.

The defensive stats don't seem to like him this year.

[nicksaviking]

The defensive stats don't seem to like him this year.

WAR punishes first basemen as it is.

[glunn]

Moderator note -- please avoid making this personal.

[70charger]

 

Joe Mauer doesn't deserve any love unless he puts a ball or two into the seats.

 

How many at bats since his last homerun? 

 

1st base is a power position, not powerless position.

 

lol

[TKGuy]

 

Joe Mauer doesn't deserve any love unless he puts a ball or two into the seats.

 

How many at bats since his last homerun? 

 

1st base is a power position, not powerless position.

Really, I think Mauer started carrying the Twins before the other hitters started to break out.  Stop beating a dead horse

[HitInAPinch]

I didn't think too much of Souhan's column.  I expect much better than this one.  It reads like he took it right out of the comments section and blogs. 

 

Example:  the comment on Joe Mauer.  Least we forget:  Mauer was signed to that contract when he was a perennial Gold Glove winner at the toughest position in baseball and is still a lifetime .318 hitter.  Then came the injuries and his move to 1st base.  Now that he seems to be healthy again, he put in a lot of work in to off season.  In only 31 games in a 162 game schedule, it's early for all the cheap shots.

[bird]

 

So he credits the three most media friendly people on the team. 

 

 

To be fair, it's possible that Souhan's making valid observations. Kevin Gorg and LaVelle were on Rosen's show. Gorg remarked about how different (better) the clubhouse atmosphere was. Neal said several players have told him that Hunter's presence has been hugely positive. I really doubt that these comments are strictly a result of Molitor, Hunter, and Perkins being friendly with the media. And think about it, aren't team leaders often also the media go-to guys?

[bird]

 

Nothing different.  Business as usual this millennium.  The big mouths always got the stories out and got the credit.  Hunter, Cuddyer, Perkins, Hunter.  Nothing to see here.   

 

Souhan has always been the first to throw under the train players with whom the Twins' brass and management had issues (eg. Lohse, Garza, Slowey, Neshek.)  Barely worth reading any more.

 

 

I really think this is a very biased interpretation of things, Thrylos. Yes, those players you cited, and clearly dislike, are outgoing, even garrulous. But to name-call is not very classy. I doubt you have evidence that these players have a history of hoarding credit. I think that's a cheap shot myself.

 

Lohse, Slowey, and Garza had issues with the Twins' brass and management, not the other way around. 

[DaveW]

 

Gorg remarked about how different (better) the clubhouse atmosphere was.

Funny how winning does that...

Winning=Good clubhouses 99.9999% of the time no matter if you have Hunter in the clubhouse or A-Rod.

 

 Notice how Hamilton was a "good teammate" when the Rangers were winning, but the minute he goes to the Angels and they struggle he is a "bad clubhouse guy". Ditto with A-Rod and pretty much every other player.

 

The clubhouse is a positive place because the Twins have won 9 of 11 games, is Hunter part of that reason? Sure, but so is every other Twin who has played well including Plouffe, Gibson, Rosario, Pelfrey, Thompson, Dozier and yes, even Mauer.

Again Souhon comes off like a clown, the Twins are on fire and Mauer has been hitting well during this time (on fire with men on base as people previously point out) taking an inaccurate pot shot at Mauer is just so rubechat-ish.

[bird]

Dave, I'm no fan of Souhan either, but aren't you guilty of taking a big pot shot at Souhan (and Hunter previously) moreso than you say others are taking at Mauer? No need for the name-calling, is there?

 

And your claim here that Hunter (and maybe Molitor and Perkins?) have no added influence on the team atmosphere? Was the atmosphere bad when they were 1-6? Did the atmosphere only get better once they strung some wins together? Not buying that. Several reporters and columnists, people who are close to the situation and presumably possessing at least some professional integrity, are contradicting you. I'm going with them.