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Jim Hahn

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Everything posted by Jim Hahn

  1. Jim Hahn
    This is a snapshot in time. A couple of years ago when all the young studs in Boston were breaking in they didn't look all that special. Now they are in their prime and were healthy this year. Maybe they will continue to look like this for a long time, maybe injuries or down years will screw them up. If Buxton and Sano are both healthy and show consistency in performance instead merely flashes you might sing a different tune. Combine that with improvement from the other young core guys and early appearances from the next wave and everyone will will be praising the boy geniuses. Even though it a normal process that most players and teams need to go thro.
  2. Jim Hahn
    The policy may not be discriminatory but unless it provides clear benefit(safety in this case) which it seems it probably doesn't, why are they going out of their way to upset an important part of their their customer base?
  3. Jim Hahn
    Three concerns with the Wes Johnson hire. Usually major league pitchers are in need of minor refinements rather than major overhauls or a build up from little established fundamentals like a raw prospect or a college kid. Major league pitchers are in such different places in their career from where college kids are,that it requires a a very real mind shift to deal with them. The 2nd concern is is managing work loads, when to get up relievers, when to let starters work through early inning difficulties and other things of this nature. Molitor and his pitching coaches seemed to struggle in these areas at times, and he and they had been around major league pitchers for years. The final concern is the mental aspect of pitching in the majors. All major league have enough stuff to get people out, the best ones or at least the ones with the longest careers, have to figure out the art of pitching. Using one pitch to set up another, handling failure and the other mental aspects of pitching. While some of that is certainly addressed in college, one would think that this part of the game is on a different level in the majors.
  4. Jim Hahn
    I thought Brian was arguing that the primary goal should be getting to the playoffs, I tend to agree with that, since you can't win the World Series unless you do. While being being as good as the best teams is a great goal, it doesn't guarantee you anything. Several years ago Kansas City barely dragged itself itself into the playoffs and nearly won the World Series. They weren't the best team in baseball that year. So it happens. The primary job is to get to the playoffs. Several posters seem to arguing that if can't make yourself as good as Boston or Houston you have no chance and you might as well tear things down and start over. What I want is a team that can be a contender for the playoffs every year. If you do that you will likely get your chances at the World Series.
  5. Jim Hahn
    This is an interesting and well reasoned post but I don't know that I quite agree with your main point. While the best regular season team in baseball won the World Series this year, it really doesn't happen all that often that the 2 best teams get to the World Series or that the best team wins the World Series. There are a lot of reasons for this. Often the teams best constructed to win a lot of regular season games, are not necessarily best constructed to winning a short series against other nearly as good teams. Things such as a deep starting staff, a strong 40 roster to help withstand injuries, even a deep bullpen, is often less valuable in the postseason. Matchups are a big deal in the postseason. When the Twins lost those series to the Yankees in the early 2000's part of the issue was that the Twins left handed hitting lineup was neutralized by the Yankee left handed pitching. Another factor is that teams change during the year. A team can be a lot better by the end and total wins won't reflect that. The biggest thing though is that because of the number of games played there often isn't as much difference between a 90 win team and a 100 plus winning team as many people assume. It is a little like the difference between a 12 win team and a 10 win team in the NFL. There can be a difference but strength of schedule and other factors reduce the importance.
  6. Jim Hahn
    The "problem" with many prospect lists is that they value ceiling way more than floor. Often ceiling when talking about very young prospects seems rather unrealistic to me. Often ceiling seems to be "we don't know what he can't do yet so we assume he has no weaknesses ". An example of a prospect who is probably undervalued is Rortvedt. He appears to a catcher who is very good defensively and may provide above average offense as well. If he reaches that "ceiling" he becomes very valuable , all-star level perhaps, because few catchers are able to combine offense and defense. Yet, he gets little run in these lists even though he fairly close to the majors and has made noticeable improvement each year. It is all because of preceived ceiling although he is more likely to reach his ceiling than most ahead of him. I enjoy reading prospect lists, but I don't take them too seriously. Eventually prospects have to prove it on the field .
  7. Jim Hahn
    I rather liked Stewart better than Gonsalves during their debuts this fall based on stuff. Neither probably missed enough bats, but Stewart really limited hard contact. Even when struggling with control and/or his secondary pitches, he wasn't hit hard very often. Gonsalves appears to need very sharp command if he is going to effective in the majors. The reports that he was further along in understanding how to pitch compared to Stewart appear accurate. I don't know if either is ready for the majors but I think both are pretty close. I think both should be able to start in the majors with Stewart having the higher ceiling.
  8. Jim Hahn
    Gordon is a given. I am not so sure about anyone else. I would think Wade will likely be protected as well. After that it really comes down to upside, need and intangibles. I could see any of Quesada, Cutura, Navarretto, Wiel, Stashak, and Rameriez being added. Arraez and Jay are special cases. If Jay has lost his velocity as rumored, he probably doesn't get protected. I think Arraez gets protected only if they think he can add power. Singles hitters without speed and no real position aren't very valuable. 300 hitters with even moderate power, are going to have a place in the majors.
  9. Jim Hahn
    Good post. I especially agree with points 1 and 2. I thought the Brewer/Dodger series probably turned when Miley was pulled when he gave up that single after retiring 16 straight batters. The Brewers got out of that inning all right, but they went to their bullpen earlier then they probably had to. Miley was still pitching well and had more in the tank. If you run 4 or more relievers out there, the odds increase that one won't be on his game. Relieving a starter before he runs into trouble,or shows he is losing his stuff or has reached his pitch limit, seems foolish to me. Even in a playoff game it is overmanaging and will often lead to trouble. Your 2nd point is good as well. Contact skills and on base skills are under valued. Most of the new stats value power above on base skills. Not too many years ago many new stat guys were saying that not making an out was the most important thing a batter could do. Now it seems power trumps that skill. I think eventually starting pitching and contact skills for hitters will be re-emphasized creating a better balance in baseball.
  10. Jim Hahn
    Bringing up young guys who are overmatched is a bad idea on several levels. Making changes to your swing, approach,and other aspects of your game can be difficult enough in the minors against lesser competition in a less stressful situation. Trying to do that in the could be impossible for some players. Another problem is starting the arbitration clock on players a year or two early when they won't contribute to winning and may more easily learn most of those lessons in the minors. Players often have to learn certain things when they get to the majors and often pretty important changes have to be made. But forcing them to the majors before they have earned it is likely to do more harm than good. Maybe it wouldn't of took 1982 twins 5 years to learn how to win if some of them had spent more time in the minors.
  11. Jim Hahn
    My opinion is that the only good reason for not bringing Buxton up is if he is hurt. Since his recent performance and apparent lack of evidence of a doctor's confirmation of any lingering medical issues tend to confirm this discision is largely based on service time considerations,I am not impressed. It is clearly in the best interest of Buxton AND the Twins organization for him to be in the majors and playing baseball, if he is healthy. Anything that brings him closer to realizing his vast potential should be done. I don't see how sending him home helps that. Suggesting that the Twins need to play other guys this fall to find out what they have is rather silly. None of these guys have anything like the upside of Buxton, getting him as close to that upside as soon as possible should be the goal. While service time considerations are a real thing for mid market teams, there are ways to work around them. Potentially delaying Buxton' s emergence as a true impact player seems a bit shortsighted to me.
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