Reusse: Sano has some growing up to do

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I was here for 2½ weeks in early February and was at the ballpark most days to do a radio show. Sano was doing low-key drills with early arrivers for a couple of days, and then he was gone.

The word was he had gone to New York for a weekend for a well-paid autograph gig, and he would be back early the next week. He wound up going back to the Dominican Republic and stayed for two weeks, until camp was ready to open.

Big deal?

No. It’s merely that I heard a Twins official say in an MLB Network interview that Sano was in Fort Myers, working every day on right field skills, while he was in the Dominican hanging with buddies.

Was "the word" about Sano's imminent return passed to Reusse without anyone actually checking with Sano himself?  Was the "Twins official" on MLB Network misinformed or confused?  Without context and dates, it's not even clear there was any real miscommunication or confusion.  Seems like a pretty specious basis for an article.

[HitInAPinch]

 

Just out of curiosity......why does he need to change anything if it isn't hurting his ability to produce on the field? 

Well, one man's opinion here:  Sano has just a partial season in the MLB and I'd think it would behoove Sano to get into better shape to better his chances of being productive in the future. 

[HitInAPinch]

 

........

 

IMHO Sano, if he is the once in a generation slugger I believe he is, he is eventually going to force the Twins to re-think their use of the DH. They will have to accept that they can't have 13 athletes who can all play the field while rotating guys through DH for various reasons like they do now. They will need to carry play a more traditional AL style game where they have 12 athletes and one slow bruising slugger- Sano, who is going to hog the DH spot.

 

This would be my summary, as well.  He's a big kid, who will be a big person the rest of his life.  And the Twins should get over the whole "he's to young to not be in the field" thing and set him up at DH. 

After watching Park play 1B, he'd be my choice for RF.  He looked very graceful around the bag.  I  don't know if he's ever played OF before or anything about his arm, but just a gut feeling.....

[DaveW]

 

Look, Sano came to spring training heavier than last year.

Yes, 21 one year olds often continue to grow/put on weight as t hey go through their early twenty's. The minute he stops hitting .900 then by all means go ahead and focus on his weights or some negatives, until then it's just cheap.

[DaveW]

 

 

This would be my summary, as well.  He's a big kid, who will be a big person the rest of his life.  And the Twins should get over the whole "he's to young to not be in the field" thing and set him up at DH. 

After watching Park play 1B, he'd be my choice for RF.  He looked very graceful around the bag.  I  don't know if he's ever played OF before or anything about his arm, but just a gut feeling.....

Or the Twins could play him at his natural position (3B) for a few years, and then cross the 1B/DH road when they need to...of course that would force them to decide what to do with an average player who is getting more expensive who currently occupies the 3rd base position, decisions, decisions...

[bird]

 

"Right now, Miguel Sano is far from the long-awaited, second coming of the Fat Kid. He’s simply the Big Kid, until he begins to take his shot at greatness more seriously."

 

 

Like I said, if you read the article closely, you'll see that he did not call Sano fat.

 

I'm a little uncertain if you're just being a bit obtuse for the fun of it, or if you just aren't following the story here. Others coined the Fat Kid nickname for Killebrew, even though, as Reusse could not have pointed out with more clarity, Killebrew was not thought of as fat. What Reusse is saying, thrylos, is that Sano is not yet accomplished enough to warrant comparisons to Killebrew, and suggests if Sano plans to get further along in that regard, he needs to get more serious about it. That's all.

[HitInAPinch]

 

Or the Twins could play him at his natural position (3B) for a few years, and then cross the 1B/DH road when they need to...of course that would force them to decide what to do with an average player who is getting more expensive who currently occupies the 3rd base position, decisions, decisions...

 

Natural position??

[DaveW]

If I was Sano I would be pretty mad about this article.

 

He patiently waited for his turn to make the majors (never speaking out when he was in the minors) and when he was called up all he did was completely destroy the ball and put up some of the best raw power numbers for a 21 year old rookie in the history of baseball.

 

The team "anointed" him the 2016 RF and he didn't publicly complain (or privately complain) one bit whatsoever. Every quote his teammates have given in regards to him have been nothing but glowing, how he tapped the veterans for advice on how to face specific pitchers etc Meanwhile it was merely suggested that Nolasco MIGHT start the season in the bullpen and he throws a tantrum and says he will seek a trade. But he is a veteran so I guess the Twins brass and media will let that one slide.

 

Then to top it off he is given crap about switching agencies (something that a lot of players do) and a passive aggressive jab on him capitalizing, during the off-season on improving his brand. God forbid he makes a few bucks signing autographs/building his brand in the same season when the Twins are paying him the major league minimum, oh the humanity! Oh, and because he does this, he suddenly has to deal with rumors that he is "broke" because he was so foolish that his family and friends milked him out of all his money (even though there has not been a SHRED of evidence that is the case)

 

So let's refresh:

All Sano has done is hit the absolute cover off the ball, be a good teammate, kept his nose clean and hasn't complained once about this stupid position change the Twins are forcing on him (Make no mistake about it, moving Sano to the OF is a very, very dumb mistake, something that extremely few other franchises would do) and how does he get repaid? A bunch of passive aggressive and a couple non passive aggressive jabs at him from the Twins brain-trust/anonymous sources and Reusse.

 

Seriously what is with Minnesotans (and their media) and their constant need to crap on their own star players? Mauer, Sano, Parise, Rubio, Love, Ortiz.

 

Just gives more proof that Minnesota Nice is actually Minnesota passive aggressive. Of course if he was a 39 year old paid 10.5 million to put up the 2nd worst numbers amongst all active OF he would be treated with kid gloves (even after making a bunch of comments re: gay marriage, Dominicans not being "real blacks" etc and even taking punches at teammates you know "the Twins way")

[DaveW]

 

 

Natural position??

As of now his natural position is 3rd base, he has handled 3rd just fine in the minors the last 5 years and in his cup of coffee at the position for the Twins last year he looked the part.

[Otto von Ballpark]

I wouldn't be thrilled about giving up part of my offseason time off either, if my employer decided not to tell me about a big new objective for the upcoming spring until said offseason.  I think if Sano was in Ft Myers at all before the reporting date, and willing to play winter ball as original directed, there should be no issue with any of that.

[DaveW]

Oh and Miguel Sano is built like a tank that would make the Germans jealous. Perhaps he isn't able to "lose" weight at this stage and is continuing to grow?

 

I hear a lot of crazy things in NYC, but I have yet to hear one Yankee fan complain about how Babe Ruth or even David Wells looked.

[Doubles]

Didn't CC Sabathia come under fire for his lack of conditioning (and for eating like an entire box of Cap'N'Crunch for breakfast each day) around the time his ERA went up about a run-and-half in 2013?

 

 

[Shane Wahl]

Good god. Just. Stop. Writing. Reusse.

 

Please don't take this garbage seriously, folks. Let's pick out some nonsense about the best player this team will likely have since Puckett. . . .

[DaveW]

 

Didn't CC Sabathia come under fire for his lack of conditioning (and for eating like an entire box of Cap'N'Crunch for breakfast each day) around the time his ERA went up about a run-and-half in 2013?

Yes he did, but again that is when he was performing poorly on the field, and is actually the point I was making early in this thread.

 

If Sano struggles and dips below where he should be (hell even if he dips below .900 OPS) then by all means you can write this stuff if you want (I think it remains garbage but at least it makes a little sense at that time)

But to write this stuff now? Ridiculous, that would be like the Yankees complaining about CC when he was a perennial top 5 Cy Young performer for them.

 

 

[Shane Wahl]

Sorry to Dave, who was mostly alone in this thread! Shouldn't have been that way.

[SweetOne69]

IIRC, when the pulled Sano out of Winter Ball, the intention was to help him acclimate to RF and to manage his weight.  He was supposed to lose 20lbs over the offseason and he reported to camp having lost 5.

 

I think it is very reasonable to question his personal work ethic/dedication to the sport.

[Pardon My Dinger]

Let this kid do whatever the hell he wants. Whatever the hell he wants. Pay him what he wants, let him eat what he wants. If he gives Mollie a nickname he doesn't like, so be it. If he wants to pet TR's bald head before every home game, then that's the way it's gonna be. DON'T SCREW THIS UP!

[DaveW]

 

Sorry to Dave, who was mostly alone in this thread! Shouldn't have been that way.

http://www.flashfilmworks.com/MovieGuide/Onstar/onstar18.jpg

[Seth Stohs]

On his radio show this afternoon, Reusse said that Twins fans could have read this story locally (by his article), or they could wait to read it nationally because there is no doubt that scouts and evaluators around the league are fully aware of all of these issues with Sano.

 

Again, Reusse isn't calling him bat. He also points out that this topic would be the same whether he is in RF, 3B or even DHing. 

 

The Twins aren't forcing him to do anything. They're encouraging him to think long term, and that's not a bad thing at all. 

[Pardon My Dinger]

 

Again, Reusse isn't calling him bat. 

Well, then allow me to be the first, because someone has to say it: Sano is the battest dude around. Period. 

[DaveW]

 

On his radio show this afternoon, Reusse said that Twins fans could have read this story locally (by his article), or they could wait to read it nationally because there is no doubt that scouts and evaluators around the league are fully aware of all of these issues with Sano.

 

 

And yet nobody nationally has written about it because it isn't a real story, funny how that works.

[Dozier's Glorious Hair]

 

This would be my summary, as well.  He's a big kid, who will be a big person the rest of his life.  And the Twins should get over the whole "he's to young to not be in the field" thing and set him up at DH. 

After watching Park play 1B, he'd be my choice for RF.  He looked very graceful around the bag.  I  don't know if he's ever played OF before or anything about his arm, but just a gut feeling.....

 

Park did steal 48 bases in his last four seasons in Korea, and won 3 Golden Glove awards. It's not crazy to believe he possesses enough speed and athleticism to at least handle RF.

[zenser]

I guess from my eye test, Sano is just a big strong kid.  Hell, I was I had his build. 

[Pardon My Dinger]

 

Park did steal 48 bases in his last four seasons in Korea, and won 3 Golden Glove awards. It's not crazy to believe he possesses enough speed and athleticism to at least handle RF.

 

That's a sweet take, right there. I'd bet Mollie starts shuffling the deck come May.

[Dr. Evil]

Yes, 21 one year olds often continue to grow/put on weight as t hey go through their early twenty's. The minute he stops hitting .900 then by all means go ahead and focus on his weights or some negatives, until then it's just cheap.

This!

[USAFChief]

 

Yes he did, but again that is when he was performing poorly on the field, and is actually the point I was making early in this thread.

 

If Sano struggles and dips below where he should be (hell even if he dips below .900 OPS) then by all means you can write this stuff if you want (I think it remains garbage but at least it makes a little sense at that time)

But to write this stuff now? Ridiculous, that would be like the Yankees complaining about CC when he was a perennial top 5 Cy Young performer for them.

It's almost like you're saying a player's on field performance should dictate whether or not they get a pass for everything else.

[DaveW]

It's almost like you're saying a player's on field performance should dictate whether or not they get a pass for everything else.

yes Chief, clearly that is exactly what I am saying.

 

Why don't you head over to Vikings journal and go check out my thoughts on Adrian Peterson.

 

Sano has yet to do anything "wrong" period.

[Major League Ready]

 

It's almost like you're saying a player's on field performance should dictate whether or not they get a pass for everything else.

I think you make a good point and the other side of that coin is that the detractors feel his 900 OPS fantastic.  His offensive production does not change the fact that he could be even more valuable if he could play a defensive position.  His refusal to get in shape would have similar consequences if he were at 3B.  being in shape would also help on the bases as well as avoiding injury. 

 

Is it really too much too ask of a professional athlete to stay in shape?  Is it too much to ask that they eat properly?  Is it too much to ask that they devote 3-4 hours a day in the off-season?  Considering it would take the average individual 3-4,000 years to make what Sano will make in a 13-15 year career, it seems reasonable that he could make an effort to get in peak condition. 

 

Try comparing what a surgeon makes in a lifetime.  Take into account the number of years of education and the grueling hours as a resident for a fraction of what Sano will make.  I don't think it's too much to expect that he get in the best condition possible regardless of position. 

 

How is it that if the front office wont operate at break-even or a loss they are accused of not wanting to win but a player that does not care enough to be in the best shape possible is just fine as long as he hits?  Would it be ok if the FO put together a great hitting team and then just ignored the pitching staff or defense because we had a great hitting team".

[alarp33]

Since he is buddy buddy with the media I won't hold my breathe waiting for the hit piece by Reusse the hack on the overweight closer who actually has seen his performance dip due to his physical condition.

[spinowner]

If Kent Hrbek would have been a man possessed in his dedication to conditioning and so forth he could have been one of the best baseball players ever. But here's the thing. That's not who Kent Hrbek ever was. If he would have tried to be that way he would have been miserable, he would have started to hate baseball and he may well have have walked away from the game before he was 25.

To some extent you have to let a player be himself in order to optimize his performance. That doesn't mean giving everyone completely free rein but there's a point of diminishing returns. If a team takes a complete hard-ass approach you'll see a lot of unhappy players, and there will never be success.