Reusse column on Sano

[ashbury]

To think it... No it doesn't.

 

To Prove it... It does. 

 

Gain 30 pounds and then get back to us.

NOOOOOO!!! Quick, take it back! Brian can resist anything except a dare.

[bird]

 

What a crazy coincidence that Sano went on the DL just before Reusse's latest gem....

 

If Reusse was half as interested in holding the Twins accountable, as he is with tracking Sano's weight we might actually get some articles that answer questions about the bullpen being a dumpster fire, Phil Hughes getting early starts, why Tyler Kinley ever made the active roster, what the rationale was for letting Chargois go, why no 4th OFer was brought in, or what's going on with the bullpen usage. 

 

But then again, his "sources who know Sano much better than the media," might not be as willing to use him as a mouthpiece if those articles came out..... 

 

Reusse holds the Twins front office accountable more vigorously than any other mainstream writer. In fact, it was only a few days ago that he wrote a piece that could only be called a scathing indictment. 

 

You're not the only one, but aren't you missing the fact that Reusse is ripping on Sano because his performance is subpar? Like almost everyone else, he thinks Sano's shabby performance and susceptibility to injury has something to do with him carrying more weight than he should. 

[Riverbrian]

 

Reusse holds the Twins front office accountable more vigorously than any other mainstream writer. In fact, it was only a few days ago that he wrote a piece that could only be called a scathing indictment.

 

I called it a scorching arraignment. 

[Thrylos]

 

No idea what the inference is here.

 

Judge is 3 inches taller than Sano and 22 lbs heavier per their official weights.

 

You asked someone to gain 30 lbs.  If Sano did that, he'd weigh about as much as Judge.

[Thrylos]

 

 

 

Again, to avoid the heat: get, and stay, in the lineup. Perform. It’s really that simple.

 

So how do you feel about Buxton, who is out of the lineup more than Sano and he has performed way way worse?

[ewen21]

Well, you guys convinced me.  Sano is just fine in his current state

[bird]

 

If you feel that a career .252/.344/.493 line, .356 wOBA, 122 wRC+, 124 OPS+ is "pathetic", for a 24 year old, I'd love to hear how you feel about the rest of the Twins, including the guy who was ranked ahead of him in almost all the prospect lists...

 

 

This year. We've been discussing this years performance for the entire thread. His performance this year has been, to be kind, pathetic.

[Riverbrian]

 

This year. We've been discussing this years performance for the entire thread. His performance this year has been, to be kind, pathetic.

 

Some of us have been saying "Stop Swinging at Crap"

 

Others have been saying " Stop Eating Crap"

 

The only thing we know for sure is that there is "Crap" somewhere. 

[ashbury]

Well, you guys convinced me.  Sano is just fine in his current state

I just consulted snopes.com and their research indicates you remain firm in your opinion.

[Thrylos]

 

This year. We've been discussing this years performance for the entire thread. His performance this year has been, to be kind, pathetic.

 

Oh, This.Year.  Sano's numbers: .739 OPS, 100 OPS+, .318 wOBA, 96 wRC+.  If that is pathetic, please let me know what Buxton's .476 OPS, 32 OPS+, .214 wOBA, 27 wRC+ and Dozier's .668 OPS, 83 OPS+, .295 wOBA, 80 wRC+ are?

 

To paraphrase the Mamas and the Papas, no one's gettin' fat except Miguel Sano...

[KirbyDome89]

 

Reusse holds the Twins front office accountable more vigorously than any other mainstream writer. In fact, it was only a few days ago that he wrote a piece that could only be called a scathing indictment. 

 

You're not the only one, but aren't you missing the fact that Reusse is ripping on Sano because his performance is subpar? Like almost everyone else, he thinks Sano's shabby performance and susceptibility to injury has something to do with him carrying more weight than he should. 

I'm not sure we're setting the bar very high there.

 

I'm not defending how he played the last half of April, but I'm also not going to pretend like I know how much weight Sano should or should not carry. Reusse apparently knows, and he's also sure that the weight is affecting his play. I'm questioning the certainty of both assertions. 

[bird]

 

Oh, This.Year.  Sano's numbers: .739 OPS, 100 OPS+, .318 wOBA, 96 wRC+.  If that is pathetic, please let me know what Buxton's .476 OPS, 32 OPS+, .214 wOBA, 27 wRC+ and Dozier's .668 OPS, 83 OPS+, .295 wOBA, 80 wRC+ are?

 

To paraphrase the Mamas and the Papas, no one's gettin' fat except Miguel Sano...

 

I think you're in a very small minority. You think he's doing just fine. Most of us think he's flailing at the plate and doing poorly. We don't even need to look at his 36 K's in 80 AB's to see that.

 

Maybe if we stopped with the fat talk and stayed with the point of Reusse's (and other's) observation? I doubt you'd find five TD'ers who haven't keenly observed Sano and concluded his approach at the plate this year has been a problem.

 

Sano's supposed to be a superstar. You think the numbers you cited are flattering?

 

I'm happy to have Escobar at 3B in the absence of the GOOD Sano. I'm not missing seeing ground balls get into left field after skipping under Sano's glove and or just out of his reach. If Sano was producing at the plate and fielding the position as well as Escobar, no one would care at all about his weight. Not even Reusse.

[bird]

 

I'm not sure we're setting the bar very high there.

 

I'm not defending how he played the last half of April, but I'm also not going to pretend like I know how much weight Sano should or should not carry. Reusse apparently knows, and he's also sure that the weight is affecting his play. I'm questioning the certainty of both assertions. 

 

I have to assume you read Reusse's very recent piece that ripped on the front office?

 

I think it's fair to question whether Sano's weight or his fitness are a factor in his performance and in particular with his approach at the plate. I also think it's reasonable to think that if he was optimally fit, he'd be doing better. 

 

If someone put a Luger to your temple and said you have 30 seconds to spit out a theory as to why Sano has sucked so far this year, what would you postulate as the reason? And BTW, that was really brave on your part. Man, I would've stammered. I'd be dead.

[ewen21]

He had a titanium rod put in his shin this off season, has had Tommy John surgery and he has been missing time lately due to a variety of injuries.  He is 24 years old and he has gained quite a lot of weight over the last several years.  I cannot understand why it's totally baseless to question this and that his overall physical well-being cannot be connected to performance.  It makes no sense on many levels.

 

He has to be in better condition than he is.  He was drafted as a shortstop and has evolved into a guy who will become a DH exclusively in short order if he isn't careful.  The comparison to Aaron Judge is like comparing apples to trout.  Judge has a completely different body than Sano and has muscular definition.  Sano is bottom heavy, with a big ass.  Judge has plenty of muscle density and Sano obviously does not.  Emmit Smith was 5' 9" and listed at 216lbs.  I guarantee you he didn't need to lose a pound because he had such a muscular physique and was very limber as opposed to my 52 year old ass.  I am an inch taller and a few pounds lighter, but I am a whole lot more restricted than I was last summer when I bought a condo and did a lot of remodeling.  I was about 20 pounds lighter and I feel a HUGE difference from then to now.  I intend on getting back into the condition I was at this time about a year and a half ago.

 

People can let themselves go and it can have a profound effect on a number of things you can do physically.  I don't care who doesn't see that or understand that it.  It is reality.  You can see it or choose not to.  Just how much this extra weight hampers Sano isn't for me to say.  Would it hurt him to lift weights, run and eat smart all winter so as to be in peak performance?  Absolutely not and that is all anyone is saying.  I did not once call him lazy.  I have been far from lazy as I have gained the weight.  My focus is in other places and that was likely the same with him.  As with a lot of young men he needs guidance.

[ewen21]

 

I have to assume you read Reusse's very recent piece that ripped on the front office?

 

I think it's fair to question whether Sano's weight or his fitness are a factor in his performance and in particular with his approach at the plate. I also think it's reasonable to think that if he was optimally fit, he'd be doing better. 

 

If someone put a Luger to your temple and said you have 30 seconds to spit out a theory as to why Sano has sucked so far this year, what would you postulate as the reason? And BTW, that was really brave on your part. Man, I would've stammered. I'd be dead.

More than fair it is LOGICAL

 

[Squirrel]

I have to assume you read Reusse's very recent piece that ripped on the front office?

 

I think it's fair to question whether Sano's weight or his fitness are a factor in his performance and in particular with his approach at the plate. I also think it's reasonable to think that if he was optimally fit, he'd be doing better. 

 

If someone put a Luger to your temple and said you have 30 seconds to spit out a theory as to why Sano has sucked so far this year, what would you postulate as the reason? And BTW, that was really brave on your part. Man, I would've stammered. I'd be dead.

I’m beginning to wonder if we’ve over-estimated his star abilities. My concern is that’s it’s not his weight or an unwillingness to adjust or a host of other reasons why his performance has been so bad; it’s that he is just not the player he was hyped to be and we’d hoped he’d be.

[Squirrel]

More than fair it is LOGICAL

I wouldn’t call it logical, I’d call it the easiest answer ... the easiest to point to and the easiest to deal with, IMO, if it is indeed the only answer. But the guy is just HUGE. I think his body type is just wrong for baseball and wonder if he will ever be able to weigh that much less. It’s not like he’s a flabby mess. He wasn’t, at all, in ST when I saw him doing drills and workouts. But I just don’t think it’s exactly logical to say if he’d lose weight he’d be better. And I don’t think his weight is a factor in his mindset at the plate. What is going on there? Is it logical to say if he lost weight he’d have better plate discipline? That doesn’t seem logical to me. So what some of us are trying to say ... we think there is more than just weight going on here and just losing weight isn’t going to solve the over all problem. It would be nice if it’s as easy as that, but I don’t think it is. But it is certainly fair to have that be a part of the conversation. But it’s not fair or logical to have it be the only part of the conversation.

[Platoon]

I think the ability is there. He can just punish a baseball. I don't know, but I do hope he didn't get caught up in launch angle and other changes? He doesn't need it. He is so strong he can hit a baseball out of any park, any where. But I do think three things are at play here. He has always been 'Dah man', so he still thinks he is. The leg injury probably caused his weight to balloon some, but that issue preceded the injury. And finally I don't think he has come to grips with how much work it will be to stay "good" in MLB. Tame down the off season fun. And unfortunately for him, that includes discipline at the table. Some body styles are just harder to maintain. It's going to be a career, and life long, issue for him.

[Platoon]

One observation, as to his weight alone. My wife, who still wonders why there are two guys standing next to second base, and only one is the second baseman looked at Sano on TV the other day. There was also a closeup of him, neck up. I asked if she thought he looked heavy. She said you can tell that just looking at his face, that he is carrying way too much weight.

[Luke Albrecht]

 

The problem with this thread is that it's focused entirely on his weight, and not the real subject of the Reusse piece, which is Sano's swing and the deterioration in his performance. (Reusse calls him "baseball's Uncle Rico" because he keeps swinging for "them mountains.")

 

Exactly! I think it's partly Reusse's fault for including his weight in the article at all, but that's Reusse's love to stir up the pot. I think it's been pretty obvious when watching Sano the last year+ that he's looking to pull balls 500 feet to left. I believe he has the power to hit the ball out to all fields but does not. How many times have you seen him pull a ball 500 feet foul? Too many. If he decided (and I'm sure put in effort and practice, because that's what it takes) to hit the ball to all fields, a la Miggy or any other really great hitter, he could be perennial MVP. As it is, he's a rich man's Mark Reynolds (AKA Adam Dunn). I'm hoping for more, and I believe the potential is there.

[TheLeviathan]

It's easy to lose Reusse's "point" when he spends a chunk blaming a blogger, rambles around about Sano's friends and his weight, and sprinkles in performance issues.  

 

And for those that think his weight issues will "go away" when he's performing?  Well that's just demonstrably false.  

 

It seems like we find a new reason every few months to say "No..no, I'm not talking about his work habits or his weight!  It's his (insert performance/injury/defense/etc here)!  That's the real issue!"

 

And yet, the only thing that ever stays consistent in these threads is bashing his weight, insinuating he is lazy and doesn't care, and questioning him as a person.  There are legit criticisms and concerns to have for sure....but the way they happen every time is really unpalatable.  

[ashbury]

 

It's easy to lose Reusse's "point" when he spends a chunk blaming a blogger, rambles around about Sano's friends and his weight, and sprinkles in performance issues.  

 

And for those that think his weight issues will "go away" when he's performing?  Well that's just demonstrably false.  

 

It seems like we find a new reason every few months to say "No..no, I'm not talking about his work habits or his weight!  It's his (insert performance/injury/defense/etc here)!  That's the real issue!"

 

And yet, the only thing that ever stays consistent in these threads is bashing his weight, insinuating he is lazy and doesn't care, and questioning him as a person.  There are legit criticisms and concerns to have for sure....but the way they happen every time is really unpalatable.  

It would help if the weight being debated weren't 10 to 20 higher each time the topic comes up.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I’m beginning to wonder if we’ve over-estimated his star abilities. My concern is that’s it’s not his weight or an unwillingness to adjust or a host of other reasons why his performance has been so bad; it’s that he is just not the player he was hyped to be and we’d hoped he’d be.

Yep, this. My theory is that all the check swings tells me he doesn't have the elite vision that the very best hitters have. And he still has some maturing to do.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Hey look at that, Miguel Cabrera just went on the DL with a hamstring pull.

 

The Miggy-Miggy comparisons are back in play!!!!!

[bird]

 

It's easy to lose Reusse's "point" when he spends a chunk blaming a blogger, rambles around about Sano's friends and his weight, and sprinkles in performance issues.  

 

And for those that think his weight issues will "go away" when he's performing?  Well that's just demonstrably false.  

 

It seems like we find a new reason every few months to say "No..no, I'm not talking about his work habits or his weight!  It's his (insert performance/injury/defense/etc here)!  That's the real issue!"

 

And yet, the only thing that ever stays consistent in these threads is bashing his weight, insinuating he is lazy and doesn't care, and questioning him as a person.  There are legit criticisms and concerns to have for sure....but the way they happen every time is really unpalatable.  

 

 

 

I don't see anything that leads me to think that Reusse is saying Parker is to blame for Sano sucking this year. Or that Parker is responsible for Sano carrying more weight than he agreed to carry. How are you drawing THAT conclusion?

 

Obviously, Reusse has talked to people. But he may also have his biases. He obviously believes Sano is immature and irresponsible and is easily distractable, but he's not alone. Ask the female ushers in Chattanooga. Reusse thinks he's a "swing for the mountains" head case and that his failure to be optimally fit (his and many others opinion) indicates a lack of dedication to his craft. I agree with you that Reusse put a bit of a target on Sano's back. He has a sadistic need to see the mighty fall, I guess. But he's not the only one pointing to his fitness (weight) and his lack of discipline as problematic, is he? That said, we can disagree with him and point to all the evidence that something else is to blame for his crappy start. Personally, I blame Seth Stohs.

 

You link to an article written by Zulgad and claim something to be true or false? It's an opinion from an opinionated guy. We could readily find others who will posit that if Sano gets to 260 and stays there and then performs like he can, (almost) all the talk about fitness, and weight as the measurement of that, will cease. Not all, but most. I don't follow closely enough to know if Miggy Cabrera has been the subject of frequent weight-related columns in his market, but I do remember that every time Killebrew pulled a hammy there seemed to be a writer who ignorantly pulled out the weight card, so I'm in mild agreement with your frustration about weight being the blind go-to topic, but think maybe it's a bit extreme to characterize all the talk as a sort of weight first-performance second discussion. Reusse is intentionally inflammatory. I'm ignoring that and looking for (and fearing) other explanations.

 

Being unfit is correctable. I'll take that over an explanation that he'll never have the vision the best guys have and that his past torrid stretches were flukish, right?

[Riverbrian]

I wouldn’t call it logical, I’d call it the easiest answer ... the easiest to point to and the easiest to deal with, IMO, if it is indeed the only answer. But the guy is just HUGE. I think his body type is just wrong for baseball and wonder if he will ever be able to weigh that much less. It’s not like he’s a flabby mess. He wasn’t, at all, in ST when I saw him doing drills and workouts. But I just don’t think it’s exactly logical to say if he’d lose weight he’d be better. And I don’t think his weight is a factor in his mindset at the plate. What is going on there? Is it logical to say if he lost weight he’d have better plate discipline? That doesn’t seem logical to me. So what some of us are trying to say ... we think there is more than just weight going on here and just losing weight isn’t going to solve the over all problem. It would be nice if it’s as easy as that, but I don’t think it is. But it is certainly fair to have that be a part of the conversation. But it’s not fair or logical to have it be the only part of the conversation.

Perfectly expressed

[Guest]

I simply see a 24-year old for whom hitting a baseball very, very hard and very, very far has always come fairly easy.

 

But these days, with advances in scouting and pitching, it's simply never going to be easy to stay ahead of the adjustments that opposing teams will make every time you start to be productive. 

 

Even the most talented hitters have to study video and understand pitching tendencies to identify and make adjustments to changes in how teams are pitching to you. It's not enough to just be able to hit mistakes 450 feet if you really want to be an elite hitter over a full season, much less over a career.

 

The reason... fitness (or lack thereof), disinterest in study or just a lack of understanding of what it takes to become the best hitter he can be... is not something any of us knows for sure, though certainly his weight is going to be focused on because it's something everyone can see, where other factors are all hidden from public view.

 

But, as has been pointed out, unlike those who contribute with their speed and/or defense, Sano will always be judged 100% by what he does with the bat. He needs to understand that his future in baseball will be determined by how well (or how poorly) he adapts to how he's being pitched. 

 

Maybe he already understands this and is actually doing everything reasonably possible to stay on top of his hitting game.

 

I hope not. Because if he is, it doesn't look good for his future with the Twins or anywhere else.

 

I take everything Reusse writes with a grain of salt. Never been a big fan. But my biggest concern of everything in that column, if it is accurate, is the contention that the only way to get through to Sano is by supporting him...

 

If he truly is only receptive to listening to people who only tell him how good he is already and that they support everything he's doing now, on and off the field, in season and off season, then I really don't expect him to ever live up to his obviously enormous potential. He needs people around him telling him how to improve... what he needs to do that he's not currently doing. And he needs to listen to at least some of that advice.

 

Right now, he and his agent should be drooling over what kind of contract extension the Twins are considering or what sort of payday he will get in free agency.  But I doubt that anyone is considering throwing a boatload of money at him any time soon.

 

I wonder who's fault it will be if he doesn't get the offers he thinks he should. Probably Reusse's,

[TheLeviathan]

 

I don't see anything that leads me to think that Reusse is saying Parker is to blame for Sano sucking this year. Or that Parker is responsible for Sano carrying more weight than he agreed to carry. How are you drawing THAT conclusion?

 

 

I posted two articles - one by Zulgad and one by Souhan.  I could post another by Reusse if you'd like.  It's simply false to claim these accusations "go away" when he's producing.  He's been very productive up to this year so then the guise to attack this guy is a Mrs. Lovejoy-like "But what about the defense!" or "But what about his long term position!" and the like.  And, as ashbury points out, there is an ever shifting set of goalposts for his "right" weight.  

 

And yeah, I drew some strong insinuations from this (and several other paragraphs - including the intro one)

 

It is a phenomenal coincidence that Hageman’s instructive blog appeared online at the same moment Sano was overcome with a desire to hit more and longer home runs. He turned into baseball’s Uncle Rico — the guy from “Napoleon Dynamite” trying to get the football over “them mountains.”

 

I guess I learned in early elementary that if my point truly is "he should produce more" I don't spend roughly 40-60% of my article talking about other tangents and making insinuations. 

 

It seems like the point was more to take the scenic route at his target and hit as many others as he could along the way.

[ewen21]

 

I wouldIn’t call it logical, I’d call it the easiest answer 

 

 

I am not saying it is THE reason.  

He's somewhere near the tipping point if he has not reached it yet.

 

 

[ewen21]

This is more about his career trajectory than it is diagnosing his declined production.