CDog

Wouldn't it be surprising if the person who (has claimed he) knows the most about WAR on this site has that wrong? Maybe, maybe not.

Mauers health....not production. Do you really want to double down on that dumb notion about Blackburn? Your schtick is snipe and run but I will gladly retort - just want to give you a chance to back pff that plank. And your schtick is to tell lies about things I have said or done. But yeah, I'd love to see you show that this wasn't Blackburn's worst year.

I read the interview in the Star-Tribune too, and to be fair to him that's not what he said. He is all too aware the pitching staff needs improvement, and he specifically said that trades, FA, and internal development will all have to be part of the picture. He is not ruling out resigning Pavano and Baker, but he is not ruling out much else either, with the exception of going after an "elite FA" because of contract concerns, and personally I agree with him on that. Except that is exactly what he said: Souhan: "Do you feel a responsibility to get this organization back on its feet?" Ryan: "Absolutely. Totally. This is a team I believe in, and I'm at the helm. Our injuries have been less than those of most teams. The payroll is more than adequate. We've just got to get it right. I take responsibility for all of it. Even when it comes to injuries to the pitching staff during the season, you've got to be able to fix some of those things on the fly........"You have to be open to a lot of things when you're looking for starting pitching," he said. "You've going to have to take some risks and you're going to have to look at all markets, not just free agency, but trades and waivers and Rule 5s. But if you want to do it the correct way, that's going to provide stability over the long haul, you're going to have to draft and develop guys, too." "trades" Nope "waiver" Nope " draft and develop guys" Nope "Rule 5s" Yup, one.....Is this how you reach the Pitching Promised Land? Really??? "Free Agency" Nope... given Marquis, et al, do we really want to go there? "You've got to be able to fix things on the fly" Definitely Nope, Ryan's demonstrated a concerted Fear of Flying this season, coupled with the fact that there has been no Plan B since the team began the transition to the new ballpark, and they totally screwed up Plan A from square one by not building a team geared for success in Target Field (taking a ground ball- line drive- lefty bat warning track power-hitting team coupled with a team full of retread/hasbeen/never were SPs was a recipe for long-term failure) So you make the claim that Ryan implied there was "no need to upgrade the pitching staff with trades or FAs"...then go back to the claim saying it's "exactly what he said"....and prove it with a quote where he says the opposite? That was sorta weird.

Just a point of clarification...Did he actually take a pitch off the thumb? I thought he just got jammed and the bat/thumb connection did the damage. Just curious.

pfft. warning track strength. Doesn't count anyway cuz the pitcher threw it hard.

Any list that says Nick Blackburn being awful was "unexpected" is trying WAY too hard. And almost all of the others have similar issues. Well...there's the fact that he was worse than career averages AND worse than the last few years AND by fairly wide margins. So there's that. (And there's Mauer being on your "unexpected" and "lucky" list when he's pretty much right smack in the middle of what he's done in prior years.) But ignoring that is fine...I guess.

Well said. You forgot about the insane month that Plouffe had that completely defied his past career, Doumit's unusually healthy season, Diamond going from AAA filler to a part of this team going forward, Fien and Burton, and Revere becoming a force. Not all of these things will fail, but people are acting like everything has gone wrong this year. Everything went wrong LAST year. This year, one could argue they've been relatively lucky. Certainly not unlucky. When you're the worst team in the AL and you weren't unlucky, talking "contention" the next year with no immediate AAA help seems pretty silly. I will continue to put the list of Valencia, Capps, Pavano, Baker, Blackburn, Marquis and the rest of the hurt or performing below expectations against the list of "unexpected" successes any day.

Yeah, I don't think it changes the conclusion much that it was a weird thing for Gardy to say all of a sudden. I guess there's more collision potential sending home rather than to third. But the reward is obviously a tad higher in getting a guy to the plate rather than third, too (see how smart I am to have figured that out!). On the particular play, he was dead meat had he gone (infield in, hard hit right to 2B, even though it was bobbled he still would have been out by a lot, probably). But that's a place where the Twins have used the contact play a lot in the past, so there definitely SEEMS like there was some reason not to have him going. Really kinda sucks to think it would be concussion related at this point.

You must have been thinking of the announcement that there was going to be this announement that it would be announced on Wednesday.

I didn't see the post-game, but yes I would think it's kind of out of the blue to be hearing about Morneau's concussion in relation to a baserunning situation since we haven't much (ever?) all year. BUT...Morneau led off the 7th with a triple, so the situation was a play at the plate, not advancing to 3rd.

The All Star Game alternates leagues, so the rest of those new parks couldn't have it in '14 because of being in the NL.

Before this year, AJ averaged 11.5 HR's from the time he became a regular major leaguer, not 15. This year, AJ's K% is 12.8 and Mauer's is 13.4. Career has Mauer slightly lower than AJ. Who have you talked to about their "fear factor?" He walks more than almost anyone in the league (6th?) with Willingham hitting behind him. And he sees below average % pitches in the strike zone (a lower % than Willingham, btw).

First, I've heard lots and lots of people complain exactly about Mauer not catching enough games. Even comparing him to others (this even before 2011 when he was in the top 5 or so for innings caught in the prior five years). Second, I'd say that's at least the fifth or sixth time I've seen you claim there isn't such a thing as positional scarcity, so I figured since I was replying anyway, I'd go ahead and mention that there is such a thing.

This CAN'T be the first time you've noticed that some people really, really, REALLY just need something to complain about.

I've asked this question before, but don't think I ever found an answer, and part of your list made me wonder about it again. It seems like in situations where and option is declined by the team, the player "never" signs back with that team for a lesser amount. I can see Baker being a different circumstance given the injury, but Capps I thought also had an option for next year. Do players often/ever sign back with a team that doesn't pick up their option?

I'm not sure if this is the place for suggestions or feedback, or if it would be better in the Suggestions forum. But, since both my comments are related to the new look, I'll make them here. 1) Pretty minor, but I don't like that if I don't have the window maximized, I can's see the full width of the posts. Having to scroll side-to-side to read posts isn't much fun. I likely won't check-in as much during work where I don't like to have my internet window maximized. I know, I know...I probably shouldn't be coming here as much as I do during those hours anyway... 2) I very much miss having the time of the latest post included on the left hand side list of recently commented on forums. Especially when I'm checking in semi-often, it was nice to be able to refresh and see what's new since the last time with the time stamp.

Probably won't see this since the game thread is archived already, but ESPN says 448 ft.

I think it might be more interesting if everyone used their actual names and left it up to others to try and figure out what handle they matched to! Of course, now that I've said this under my username, I probably won't be able to pull that off if I make it there tonight or another time. Wait, why am I still typing? How do I backspace?????

I can't speak for anyone else, but my dislike for the Oakland park certainly has nothing to do with the Metrodome. Saying it's better than that is pretty faint praise! In fact, I've often described it as a lot like the Dome, if you cut the roof off old HHH. Granted, that difference alone--especially in California--puts it miles ahead. But it's still a space where the playing area seems like an afterthought and doesn't quite "fit," and the concourses are a sea of concrete without much to add aesthetics. I would think that the smaller crowds actually help with one aspect that I didn't enjoy on my times there: that the better attendance made for the addition of an element that didn't make me all that comfortable. My first time was with a group of 8 or 10 guys and whenever one or two would leave the group for any length of time, there was on every single occasion a near "incident" with some belligerent folks. My second time was with a female co-worker and she commented that she would definitely not feel comfortable if she was there with just another girlfriend or even a group of women. Having said all that, though, it is still a major league park that hosts major league baseball games, and that alone is worth plenty and enough to give a pretty good chance to have a good time.

I don't think you know what "must" means. Fixed it for you. Mauer's differential is so much greater that it seems likely his approach at the plates changes and he becomes more passive. Other than grammer issues do you have any explanation why Mauer is almost %55 more likely to take a walk when men are on base as opposed to when the bases are empty? Especially when given a direct comp that shows different behavior? Ummm...different pitches and stuff? It wasn't a grammar issue, it was a lack of thought issue to be unable to come up with another explanation. Which makes your correction almost as incorrect as your original. Analyze some pitches and baseless assumptions can fall out of the discussion.

They were 14 games under .500 as of May 7th and 17 games under by May 27th. They've been bouncing around close to those numbers of games under .500 ever since. That's where the idea comes from.

I don't think you know what "must" means.

I watched the postgame and did not hear him say anything of the kind.

I would want a player making $23M to do the same thing I would want a player making $1M (or less). I would want my 3-hitter to do the same as I would want my 9-hitter and everyone else to do. I would want him to give the team the best chance to win, every time he can, given the circumstances and situations presented to him. Well done, Kid St. Paul.

In many/most cases, I would guess that the comments and thoughts that "they looked beaten" or "you could just tell the Yankees knew they would win" or anything of that nature is a reflection of the feelings and attitude of the observer much, much more than that of the observed.