Kirby_waved_at_me

I wonder ... How are the pitchers' fielding metrics this year? Usually people think of 2B and SS up the middle, but there is a 3rd infielder that's usually positioned right up the middle. Are pitchers getting into a good fielding position after their follow through? Or is this another data point showing that Twins' pitchers are giving up more than a fair share of line drives vs, pop ups or ground balls? Do Twins pitchers have much of a chance to field screamers back to the box?

WWJockettyD?

Can't we just wish for more wishes? Like.... Stanton and Fernandez from Miami? Trout and Shoemaker from LAA ? Trade all four for Brian Duensing and then the Marlins and Angels swap prospects with each other?

He's still a couple years shy of most athlete's physical peak - it could be awhile before his on field performance matches his potential. Hicks was probably rushed to the majors, a lot of people will agree with that. He might need more seasoning at AAA, or maybe he's as good as he's going to get... I bristle at the critics that question his work ethic because I feel that a lot of that stuff is coming from hearsay from (in my opinion skewed) beat writer columns and from opinions that people in the organization formed of him early on. I think about how much Carlos Beltran would get ripped for looking lazy, or on the flip side how Joe Mauer gets criticism for not showing enough outward emotion . . . Professional athletes seem to get burned both ways - either they are called robots (or worse, lazy) for not showing "enough" emotion, or they are called arrogant for showing "too much" emotion. I think judgements of a player should be results based, rather than a judge of their personality. We don't know how much Aaron Hicks cares about baseball, only he can ever know that for sure. Hicks has a lot of things in his game that can be improved, that part is objective. If he had been hitting .300 since he was called up, but had the same expression on his face, he probably wouldn't have the reputation of being lazy or aloof or out of touch.

Hopefully the Twins didn't spend too much on the New Britain system this year...

Pinto can't catch a break, either.

And like I said a few posts back I do believe that three more years for Hardy is a good idea.

yes - I am wrong - sorry y'all I was thinking of something else.

How many of those extensions were shortstops over 30 (not including Ozzie Smith)? uh... Wait. Jhonny Peralta. Nevermind! http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_I5F4U2tYwmk/TD_DkOOfQFI/AAAAAAAACYA/SnSahR6FnQ8/s400/Emily+LItella.jpg

Pretty cool - the Twins should have players on the all-rookie team again the next few years, too.

I actually think 3 years for Hardy is a pretty good move for the Orioles, just agreeing that it's probably not what the Cardinals would do. EDITED TO ADD: oops, it's exactly what the Cardinals would do...

Yeah that JJ Hardy deal . . . Do the Orioles not have anyone coming up to play 3B or SS? I would've assumed that Hardy was just keeping the spot warm for Manny Machado to play SS, but I guess Machado's going to be at 3B for the forseeable future. Could be worse - it could've been more than 3 years. Also, I think the Cardinals were both lucky and unlucky that Pujols decided to go to LAA - lucky in that they aren't paying that contract, but unlucky in that even a diminished 2014 Pujols is better than 2014 Matt Adams. I think both sides came out ok on that deal (St. Louis and Pujols, not so much LAA). I don't know that the Twins would be in that much better shape the last few years if Mauer had decided to go to Boston -- it's not like they were going to sign anyone else to a $200MM free agent deal to replace what they would be potentially losing with Mauer gone. The Compensation pick in 2011 draft would have been in the 19-25th overall area, so the Twins could have selected Levi Michael a few slots earlier and/or added someone like Sean Gilmartin or Alex Meyer ... oh.

The Real Deal pitched this season in the Mexican League for Yucatan for 3 games with a 58.50 ERA... So... sort of?

Cool - hope he gets his hall of fame hermano Roberto to be the 1st base/infield/baserunning coach- that should check all the boxes for getting a high quality team of coaches in Minnesota. I still think Molitor is the Twins' 1st choice, but I like that this interview is happening.

If only we still had Matt Tolbert! I am wondering what the Twins got for Correia - was it just cash considerations or are they waiting to name the player to be named later? Revere --> May and Worley Ramos --> Matt Capps Span --> Alex Meyer Butera --> Miguel Sulbaran --> Eduardo Nuñez Correia --> ??? Morneau --> Alex Presley and Duke Welker --> Kris Johnson Liriano --> Eduardo Escobar and Pedro Hernandez Doumit --> Sean Gilmartin Willingham --> Jason Adam Garza and Bartlett--> Delmon Young and Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie --> (Harris and Hardy) Hoey and Jacobson and (Delmon) Cole Nelson and Lester Oliveros Lohse --> Zach Ward Gomez --> JJ Hardy Valencia --> Jeremias Pineda Fuld --> Tommy Milone! AJ --> Nathan, Liriano, BOOF that was fun! We can do that with lots of teams, though. I think it is ok to lose players via free agency or waivers - it happens to every team. Sometimes the Twins get burned, sometimes they burn the other team. Think the White Sox (or the Giants) wish they still had Liriano? Think the Pirates wish they still had Morneau? Or the Rays, they probably could have still used Garza. I bet the Mets want Carlos Gomez... Point is, the Twins will lose players every few years, the key is what they do to re-stock the shelves.

Danny Santana has the opposite platoon split, though he still hit over .300 vs. lefties. If the Twins use Santana in CF against lefties and start Eddie at SS in those games, they are probably maximizing the opportunites for both guys. Aaron Hicks also hits LHP better than RHP... So Hicks in LF, Santana in CF, Escobar at SS (unless the Twins sign a FA left fielder that mashes LHP)...

Escobar is my favorite Eduardo - and I was really surprised by all the doubles this year. I think he has played his way into a regular gig with the Twins, it will be interesting to see how the next manager wants to use him along with Santana.

Yes, I agree with that - less players will be offered the QO in the future.

I agree with all of that except for the last bit - some players might get the QO like Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales did last year. I believe there will be a couple fringe guys that get the offer. There have been the last two seasons, I have no reason to think that will change. I agree that Cuddyer is probably not one of those guys, Colorado is rebuilding and shouldn't be looking to spend 15MM on him for 2015. Maybe a player that is not exactly Cuddyer, playing for a team that has a little payroll space could get a QO. That's all I'm suggesting. It's not a totally free market, even for the stars, when the QO is involved, because teams will weigh the value of the player vs. losing a draft pick. I think players this offseason are hoping they don't get a QO, and any team extending one is hoping that the player declines it.

The Twins are emulating the same franchise they've emulated since the early 80's : The Twins. There's a period in which the farm produces talent in bunches - Hrbek, Bruno, Kirby, Viola or Torii, AJ, Mientkiewicz, Radke or Mauer, Morneau, etc etc etc and times when the cupboard dries up. The Twins have never spent much in the offseason, or sought out blockbuster trades... The team is in another classic Twins swoon and assuming the new class is as good as advertised we'll be cheering for a playoff team in 2-3 years. The Twins will have a few years of success and there will be articles about how team X should emulate the Twins' 'patient approach.'

I think it made sense for him to catch as long as Morneau was producing at first base - I could see a strong argument for him to have moved a year earlier than he did. It shouldn't really matter where a hitter plays in the field if he's a great hitter. But it does improve a whole lineup if a traditionally weak position has an elite hitter occupying it. It was a treat to have Mauer and Morneau in the same batting order, and adding Thome as a DH for a short time was icing on the cake. Having a HOF level bat that can catch, or play SS, or CF is great because those are so rare. It's easier to supplement a lineup with a corner infielder or outfielder that can hit for power, that's what a majority of players at that position have to do to make it to the majors. Vargas and Sano and Arcia mashing with Buxton, Dozier, and Mauer getting on base in front of them could be really special - assuming they can all exist in the same lineup without sacrificing too much defensively.

So, Josh Beckett is retiring, creating an opening in the Dodger rotation - LA is expected to go after Scherzer. but if another team sign Max, maybe good 'ol Ricky Nolasco is more appealing to LAD after all.... Or not. That Kemp or Ethier or Crawford for Ricky (and friends) is a little more likely, but still pretty unlikely. Also, the NL West is going to have several new GMs this offseason (AZ, COL, SD all have new hires), now's the time for Terry Ryan to loot those minor league systems and/or make a run at some more major league pitching!

maybe deer or elk hides instead of beef... ?

Last year several veteran players received the offer, declined, and had to settle for contracts that weren't worth the QO - Nelson Cruz, Ervin Santana, Kendrys Morales, Stephen Drew . . . Cruz and Santana might get close to the AAV of the QO this year. I agree that the problem is that the player has to realize their market value. If a team offers a QO this time around, I think there might actually be a few takers unlike in past years. The system provides maximum leverage for a team to retain their veteran players - that's ... good? for the Team, yes. For the player, too bad for them. Again, without saying that it is good or bad in general, I don't see the benefit from the Player's Union perspective, unless players start taking the QO. So far no one has.

It's not good for an older player that thinks they are worth 10-15MM per year and are looking for a multi-year deal. Any player like that is going to have to take the QO or expect to face the same fate as Drew and Morales this past off season. Most teams won't risk a draft pick for a player in that age group and tier of earnings if there are other options out there. I think it works fine for the super stars, they will find a multi-year deal somewhere with the draft pick being less of an issue. It works fine for younger Free agents too, as a team might be fine with losing a draft pick if they can lock a guy up for their prime years. But the average to just above average veteran is losing out a bit. It's smart for the team to go year to year on a decent to good player north of 30 years old, but the player I'm sure would prefer to get more years to cover a potential career ending injury or even just decline. Since I am fan of the Twins, I think it's good - the team can offer the QO to retain a player and avoid a more costly / lenghty extension that will bite them in the end. If I was just a fan of specific players, I would probably think it was unfair. Take Cuddyer - I think if the Rockies offer him 15.3MM for one year, he pretty much has no choice but to take it. With his injury history he may want someone to give him a multi-year deal (and would sign for less than the QO), but the unappealing injury history is made even less appealing when it means losing a draft pick to sign him for a risky multi-year deal. Or worse for Cuddyer, the only deal he might be able to get on the open market is a one year deal for less than the QO, and without Coors to boost his numbers, it will be very hard to turn that make-good contract into a multi-year deal. This off-season is probably Cuddyer's last chance for a multi-year deal. If that's what he really wants, he's probably hoping to not even be offered the QO. I think 15MM would be a very generous deal for Cuddyer, but he probably prefers years with higher totals (even 2/20 would be better than 1/15) because who knows if that 2nd year will ever happen for him? The QO is a kiss of death to a veteran that is not a star.