Article: Morneau is steadily improving

[robbie111]

Thru June 17th He was hitting a dismal .091 agains't them and since then he is .324 (11 for 34) and has had a 17 game hitting streak and is hitting close to .320 in his last 25 games overall. I know it's a small sample size, but maybe his concussion isn't affecting him to the same degree it did earlier in the season.

[J-Dog Dungan]

Just saying, who says it was the concussion that was affecting his hitting against lefties? And I haven't seen anything about Morneau having problems with his concussion symptoms.

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

The .091 was also a small sample size. The .324 is VERY good news and shouldn't be dismissed.

[J-Dog Dungan]

Even better, since the All-Star Break, Morneau is hitting .339 with both of his HR's against lefties

[robbie111]

I haven't checked but it would also be interesting to see how his BB/K ratio has changed during the season. I see over the past 10 games it's way better which leads one to believe his eye at the plate and pitch recognition is improving.

[Parker Hageman]

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?872-Morneau-is-steadily-improving

[robbie111]

Great analysis of this now. Thanks Parker. http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?872-Morneau-is-steadily-improving

[Riverbrian]

Players get hurt... players get healthy... Players have up years and players have down years... They have up months in down years and down months in up years.

 

Morneau had been a Great hitter pre concussion. To suggest that he was done always seemed pre-mature to me. I'm not saying he's back but I would never say he is done.

[Pitz]

Thanks for this article. It seems that maybe/hopefully Morneau is finally able to focus on playing baseball and improving at the plate rather than worrying about his injuries. Here's to hoping that he can finish this year strong and get ready for an even stronger campaign in 2013.

[DaveW]

Just saying, who says it was the concussion that was affecting his hitting against lefties? And I haven't seen anything about Morneau having problems with his concussion symptoms.

I think it was the time away from the game (almost 2 years?) along with the lost weight that was effecting his hitting.

 

He still doesn't look like old Justin but he is getting closer, hopefully 2013 can be a break out year for him.

 

One question I have, do you think about offering him a contract extension this off-season?

[TheLeviathan]

Even better, since the All-Star Break, Morneau is hitting .339 with both of his HR's against lefties

Tomlin isn't a lefty.

[diehardtwinsfan]

yeah, that's why the front office shouldn't have traded him for crap. It is obvious he's improving, and if he continues to do something he should fetch a nice price this offseason. The question becomes what his ceiling will be going forward. Even if he doesn't, I'd bet he is a prime chip to trade next July.

[SeanS7921]

Lot of love from the Boogers I mean bloggers for Morneau. Lot of love. Lot of critique of Mauer and his 23 mil. Morneau and his 14 mil? He has a brain injury (ahem mild concussion)! His UZR -2.0 this year at 1B - Pathetic. WAR .6 - Pathetic. 260 ave 322 OBP. Chris Parmelee could do all of that for 13.5 million less. Brian Dozier of all people is worth more to the Twins. BUT, Morneau will play well next year. Do you know why? It's a contract year. His 4 year vacation is over and he will want some new bank roll.

[DPJ]

One question I have, do you think about offering him a contract extension this off-season?

33 year old 1B with an extensive injury history, no thanks.

 

Plus I want to see what Parm can do in extended period (and Parm is no outfielder)

[Mauerzy4Prez]

Thru June 17th He was hitting a dismal .091 agains't them and since then he is .324 (11 for 34) and has had a 17 game hitting streak and is hitting close to .320 in his last 25 games overall. I know it's a small sample size, but maybe his concussion isn't affecting him to the same degree it did earlier in the season.

His concussion was not the problem at all this season. The team would not have even put him on the field if he had any fraction of a symptom still... His problem earlier this season is that he missed almost 2 full years of baseball, was not in shape, and his swing was completely out of whack. He was swinging off his heels trying to pull the ball and just flat out guessing against lefties.

 

Look at his swing now. He is planting his feet, timing his front step and striding towards the pitcher when he swings instead of pulling off. Small sample size? Yes. Noticeable adjustments to his swing that have shown immediate success? YES!

 

They also mentioned on the broadcast last night that Gardy recently said he had absolutely no concern whatsoever with Morny's health, and that he is feeling great. That is very good to hear, maybe the new baby gave him some extra confidence to have fun and enjoy playing the best game in the world!

[Brock Beauchamp]

One question I have, do you think about offering him a contract extension this off-season?

Are you screwing with us, Dave?

[minn55441]

Lot of love from the Boogers I mean bloggers for Morneau. Lot of love. Lot of critique of Mauer and his 23 mil. Morneau and his 14 mil? He has a brain injury (ahem mild concussion)! His UZR -2.0 this year at 1B - Pathetic. WAR .6 - Pathetic. 260 ave 322 OBP. Chris Parmelee could do all of that for 13.5 million less. Brian Dozier of all people is worth more to the Twins. BUT, Morneau will play well next year. Do you know why? It's a contract year. His 4 year vacation is over and he will want some new bank roll.

4 year vacation? Really?

 

thanks for your insight into the discussion.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Lot of love from the Boogers I mean bloggers for Morneau. Lot of love. Lot of critique of Mauer and his 23 mil. Morneau and his 14 mil? He has a brain injury (ahem mild concussion)! His UZR -2.0 this year at 1B - Pathetic. WAR .6 - Pathetic. 260 ave 322 OBP. Chris Parmelee could do all of that for 13.5 million less. Brian Dozier of all people is worth more to the Twins. BUT, Morneau will play well next year. Do you know why? It's a contract year. His 4 year vacation is over and he will want some new bank roll.

Yeah, totally agree. Morneau risked a life-altering injury so he could take some PTO.

 

Sigh.

 

And "boogers"? Really?

[gunnarthor]

The best thing that can happen for the Twins is that the Dodgers and Reds both fail embarrassingly in the playoffs and highlight their needs for Morneau and Span. Not saying we would trade either in the offseason but those would be two teams that might really regret not making moves for them this week.

[DaveW]

Are you screwing with us, Dave?

No, I like Morneau and wouldn't mind keeping him around as a 1b/DH type after next year if the price is right. Parmelee is intriguing, but I'm not completely sold that he can hit enough to be a good first baseman.

[TheLeviathan]

Regret only helps if they can get a time machine somehow. It won't alter anything in the future unfortunately.

[Monkeypaws]

No, I like Morneau and wouldn't mind keeping him around as a 1b/DH type after next year if the price is right. Parmelee is intriguing, but I'm not completely sold that he can hit enough to be a good first baseman.

He would be a classic mid late 30s DH. He's still a decent enough fielder though.

[Brock Beauchamp]

No, I like Morneau and wouldn't mind keeping him around as a 1b/DH type after next year if the price is right. Parmelee is intriguing, but I'm not completely sold that he can hit enough to be a good first baseman.

I'm not against keeping him if he stays healthy in 2013 but we'll cross that bridge a year from now. It makes no sense to sign him right now.

[DPJ]

I'm not against keeping him if he stays healthy in 2013 but we'll cross that bridge a year from now. It makes no sense to sign him right now.

Nobody turns SSS to multi-year contracts like Dave.

[diehardtwinsfan]

No, I like Morneau and wouldn't mind keeping him around as a 1b/DH type after next year if the price is right. Parmelee is intriguing, but I'm not completely sold that he can hit enough to be a good first baseman.

Have you seen what he's doing in AAA? Morneau is my favorite player, and I'd love for him to stick around, but where exactly is he going to play? The DH spot is locked up with Mauer and Doumit. Parmelee needs a place to play. Unless you move Mauer to 3rd on occasion and have Plouffe play more in the infield, so that Morneau can DH, there's no spot for him come 2014. I'm guessing Morneau's improvement continues and he gets traded for something of value next July.

[PopRiveter]

I'm not against keeping him if he stays healthy in 2013 but we'll cross that bridge a year from now. It makes no sense to sign him right now.

It could make sense to extend him now if you are looking for undervalued talent (and every GM should always be looking for undervalued talent.) His market value today is lower than what he is earning by a good margin. If he'd sign an extension at a bargain price now (trading high-end earning potential for security) the buyer could have a low-risk, high-reward signing. However, he's an elite talent at his best and he's been on the upswing. With a year remaining on his contract, I'd expect he and his agent are pretty confident he'll have more value this time next year than he does right now. I wouldn't expect they'd be likely to sell low. It might make sense for the Twins, but probably not for Morneau.

[YourHouseIsMyHouse]

I'd love to have Morneau as a career Twin.

[DPJ]

I'd love to have Morneau as a career Twin.

I'd love to see the prospects they get for him be career Twins.

[jeffk]

I'd just like to point out that all those people who wanted him platooned were wrong. What a short-sighted waste that would have been, not given him a chance to work it out and turning a former MVP into a platoon player with minimal value, all to save a win or two for a losing team.

[diehardtwinsfan]

It could make sense to extend him now if you are looking for undervalued talent (and every GM should always be looking for undervalued talent.) His market value today is lower than what he is earning by a good margin. If he'd sign an extension at a bargain price now (trading high-end earning potential for security) the buyer could have a low-risk, high-reward signing. However, he's an elite talent at his best and he's been on the upswing. With a year remaining on his contract, I'd expect he and his agent are pretty confident he'll have more value this time next year than he does right now. I wouldn't expect they'd be likely to sell low. It might make sense for the Twins, but probably not for Morneau.

I'm not sure it makes sense for Morneau... He might do it if he wants to be a Twin for life, but that comes with a NTC...