LaBombo

And without the makeup, well, I'm a fan of both, but Hrbie's looking a little bit too much like the late, great Canadian comic for my taste... http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqpjwWTJj6E/To_QYMVSJ2I/AAAAAAAALTk/lH0RRJmvhYM/s1600/John-Candy-Uncle-Buck-Rolex-Day-Date-.jpg

As long as he can play Chewie too. http://popdose.com/wp-content/uploads/john-candy-spaceballs-3-600x350.jpg

It's not really a question of whether driving in runs is important, it's a question of whether it's a repeatable, measurable skill that's a separate component of hitting ability. For the most part, what I've read suggests that 'clutch' hitting tends to be random, and highly variable from one season to the next. In other words, not really a skill. It doesn't mean that there aren't noteworthy factors like fly ball rate that affect, say, a player's ability to drive in a run with a sac fly, or guys who consistently underperform with RISP because they press. It just means that 'clutch' is more about perception than a quantifiable skill, and it certainly gets talked attention from Dickbert than it's due.

How can you not like a professional athlete with a single digit vertical leap? Unless you're a Braves fan, I guess.

Wins for middle relievers. Please stop handing out wins for pitching a single inning, or out for that matter.

Heh. Todd Sears. Who'd have thought that 4 years into Target Field, we'd be nostalgic about The Age of Rivas. Not the player, just the team not... sucking all the time, I guess. The defense thing is partly organizational philosophy, and partly that they've dug such a huge hole for themselves with starting pitchers who can't miss bats that they feel the need to go with the better glove almost no matter what. Not much has been made of the toll that bad pitching takes on a team's run production when it places an extreme emphasis on defense.

How often have the Twins not favored the better defender (especially up the middle) unless the the other player had a major edge offensively?

Yup, even Parmelee looked good in right. And there's also the fact that Buxton will probably be covering a whole lot of ground in center next year, making the lateral range of the corner outfielders even less important. Hicks' future as a Twin depends mainly on how his bat plays in left or right. But it also depends on the development of other players and the lineup in general. If Buxton, Pinto and Arcia become everyday players who chip in above average offense, there's less pressure for Hicks to hit like a true corner outfielder. And if Sano is able to stick at third, it's much easier to visualize an above average lineup even without a a lot of offense from one corner OF spot. But if Sano can't stick at third, then does he become a 22 year old DH so that Mauer can stay at first and Hicks plays left or right? One more reason they need to have a much better idea of what they have in Arcia, Pinto, and Hicks before the season is over.

It's an awfully good place to start. This defense of bad hitters, which usually boils down to 'it's their job to suck', has puzzled me going back to the Nick Punto era. It's not just that Florimon is bad compared to other Twins hitters, he's bad compared to other shortstops, and is probably one of the 5 worst-hitting SS's in the majors.

Guess we can throw in the towel on Hicks. And at least a dozen other prospects. But hey, it'll make it a bit easier to keep track of the minors.

He was terrible at the plate and took some routes on fly balls that would have baffled Magellan. And if he's not more worried about the crap season he had last year more than a 2014 'demotion' to the level above the one where he last had success, well, that's an argument against the probability that he'll help the Twins in a meaningful way. PS. Who his dad is? What his body looks like? Really?

Hence the word "established" in my post. Pending good evidence to the contrary, you could substitute the words 'remotely valid'. And yes, Oliver's WAR thinks Hicksie's web gems will offset the continued struggle at the plate that it projects. But it's a small overall edge derived from the much less quantifiable variable of the Offense + Defense = WAR equation. Also, none of the projections account for the potential increase in offensive advantage for the Preslianni platoon as a result of them facing same-side pitching less often. That's not a given, with Presley having had some reverse platoon splits, but it's certainly worth noting. But we agree that it's not worth arguing over (as opposed to discussing?). The decision has been made, and center probably belongs to Hicksie until B^2 arrives. His projected progression and ceiling took a hit last year, but it looks like a setback instead of a wall. He should be a good player, and how the Twins handled the choice probably won't have a drastic effect on either the outcome of the season or his future as a baseball player.

While I don't agree that wins are the most important goal of this season, I certainly understand that philosophy. But why can't we compare the idea of promoting of Meyer to the majors to the decision to re-promote Hicks? And why aren't/weren't Presley and Mastro viable options?

Is everyone who wants Hicks to start in center because winning takes precedence over player development also in favor of putting Meyer into the rotation? Because that's essentially what you're asking for when you put Hicks back into the majors. The highest level that each player has succeeded in is AA. You could argue that Hicks was more ready because he played a full season in AA while Meyer played just under half a season. But you could also argue that Meyer is a lower risk than Hicks to fail if starting the season in the majors because he hasn't already failed once like Hicks. The fact is that Hicks didn't hit much in AAA either. Much has been made of the fact that he was playing through an injury that hampered his swing. That's certainly a strong possibility, but it's also a better argument for him to start the season in Rochester than it is to ignore his performance there and make him the opening day CF, isn't it? Whether his swing was messed up due to injury or not, the point is it was messed up. If it was due to the injury, he should be able to tear it up in AAA for a couple of months, regain confidence, and still have over 400 PA's to contribute to the big club. If his AAA struggles were not due mostly to the injury, then he'll need some more work down there. In any case, the fact that he struggled to make contact all of last year is a better indicator of his present ability level and what to expect at the beginning of the season than two dozen spring training AB's and a home run against a pitcher who may have washed out with the Nippon Ham Fighters. There's a reason why pretty much every established projection system has Hicks OPSing a good 30 or 40 points lower than Alex Presley. Hicks will very likely end up the better player, and he's certainly more fun to watch, but the Twins are making the same mistake twice by having him start the season in Minnesota.

Yeah, it looks like a good deal to me too. There's a good chance they'd go too long and/or too much if they waited another year to extend. That or else lose him just as the Twins finally become competitive again and then be forced to audition middle relievers in the closer role while trying to win the division or worse, end up making a trade like the one for the guy whose name rhymed with Cat Naps. That being said, possibly the best part of the deal is that it could substantially increase his trade value should the Twins decide to move him if, by mid-season next year, it appears the rebuild will continue into 2016.

It's interesting to me that even after the fiery crash of Aaron Hicks last year, there's still belief that a handful of spring training at bats is a pretty useful tool to decide who makes the Opening Day lineup and roster, including...Aaron Hicks. He was overmatched in both MLB and AAA last year, and he didn't play winter ball. It's hard to see how 5 hits in 20 AB's (or 15 in 45, for that matter) provides any meaningful counter to the relatively substantial evidence that he's not ready yet.

Or until he gets conked in the melon by a stray round and the replacement level guy behind him coming down the ramp of the Higgins boat becomes the new squad leader. Sorry, over the top, I know, but after all the talk about PST and Wet Blanket Awards, I couldn't resist. Hope Pinto (and the rest of the organization!) stays healthy and sports medicine and equipment people figure out how to minimize the danger of concussion.

KG's Ponder Gorgasm had my backing for #1. And personally I'd like to see them limit the field to quotes about sports, or least quotes from people in sports. Then you could eliminate obvious "winners" that are just too sad to fit the spirit of the tournament, like any entertainment person comparing the gravity of their field to military or EMS service, for example.

The signing of Suzuki wasn't a terrible one to begin with, but it has a chance to turn out that way if Pinto ends up playing only once or twice a week all season. It would be better to let him work on his defense in AAA until he's ready to push Suzuki to the bench and start around two thirds of the games. And however it was phrased, the Antony comment about weight isn't a good sign with respect to how highly they regard him. If there's organizational concern about conditioning, and therefore possibly even work ethic, well, it's going to be hard to overcome in the near term in a franchise that considers Spring Training to be Spring Tryouts. As far as I can remember, at least that hasn't been a recurring theme in the scouting reports on him. It's still disappointing to know that Gardy hasn't overcome his bizarre, inexplicable phobia of 'losing the DH' for two or three at bats when one of two catchers DH's. But at least he's made it clear that he'd rather have two non-DHable catchers than pretend it's the '80's and carry three, which is pretty much a 24 man roster.

Hey, a pleasant surprise for a change. Cool. Worley was sort of the forgotten man in the mainstream media coverage leading into spring, but even as bad as last year was it's encouraging to hear he's off to a good start. Gardy's postgame words gave me an idea for a Twins game promotion. When a weekend game in July or early August isn't selling well, promote it as Kill the Cliche Day. A Twins fan will be chosen at random and given the chance to designate a cliche that will be off limits for Gardenhire and Anderson to use in interviews for the rest of the season. Until recently for me it would be 'keep the ball down' without hesitation, but now the incessant gibberish about 'pitch angle' (not arm slot) and 'downward plane' is making a real run for the money.

It's interesting that in a thread about quantifying what is essentially the skill of deceiving umpires, the only mention of umpires is that they are 'accounted for' in the methodology. If catcher framing is exerting a measurable (let alone significant) effect on ball and strike calls, then MLB either needs to either completely overhaul the umpire selection, training, and review process, or else take the primary responsibility for ball and strike calls away from them. I realize I'm in the unvast minority on this one, but I'd much rather know whether a pitch is actually a ball or a strike than what the vivid imagination of a Joe West or a C.B Bucknor happens to think of it.

http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8d9hgYfD61ryq77fo1_500.jpg "Sure thing, Giant Beer! (*belch*)"

But think of how many lively debates about framing we'd miss out on...

It's surprising how many people would at least consider the Fielder trade, thought I'd be in a tiny minority there. It might be interesting to re-frame a Kinsler deal with the caveat that such a trade would come with a hypothetical assurance that the Twins would use the surplus payroll from the deal to help them sign their first legit free agent 1/2 starter ever to a long-term deal. Also, does this thread get taken seriously or even created if Mauer is still catching? Gonna guess no.

So when considering expensive upper-tier pitchers who are 30, we're told that Terry Ryan would be, in his own words, "very cautious". But when shopping for an affordable back of the rotation starters, a three year deal for a 37 year old with weak peripherals is Kool and the Gang? Lately Ryan has seemed bent on eroding his credibility, and in that sense a three year deal for Arroyo is a perfect fit.