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Kirby_waved_at_me

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Everything posted by Kirby_waved_at_me

  1. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I have seen more than one person compare the Qualifying Offer to the old Reserve Clause. I don't think it is quite that, but it certainly does benefit the team to offer it, and doesn't really benefit the player unless they were sure they couldn't get a better deal on the open market. Being tagged with the QO makes a player less appealing to other teams. I think some teams do have a problem with overpaying for any amount of time (the Pirates, in particular, have an unwritten internal rule that they limit the % of payroll assumed by any single player) - sometimes a team will overpay without meaning to do so (a bad contract fueled by an underperforming player), but I think in general the QO is not offered to players if a team thinks they will accept. It's more about attempting to gain additional leverage on the negotiations and if a player walks, the team is rewarded with a comp draft pick... I wonder what the MLBPA thought was in it for the player to accept the provision in the first place. . .
  2. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I think having the option to watch live online is really the way to get more people to watch the games. Blacking out the local games, when the subscriber is paying for the service, really seems like counter productive. It's certainly kept me from paying for MLB's online options. If I can't watch the Twins, I don't want to pay for that privilege. I already can't watch the Twins for free! More people want things on demand, appointment televison is not really a thing anymore. Sporting events are still wildly popular, but getting people to tune in at home at a specific time is less appealing.
  3. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I'm saying it again - Mauer needs to do the whole Rocky IV workout montage and come to Spring Training with a gnarly beard after spending the winter in the North Woods chopping wood and doing one arm push-ups.
  4. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Liriano is another interesting case - would he get 15.3MM/yr on the open market? Possibly, but he's probably on the low end of 12-15MM annually given his inconsistent track record. I would think that Liriano might not decline a QO - it would be a nice raise from what he made in 2014.
  5. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Nice! I will take an 0-4 over DNP-injured from Buxton any day.
  6. Kirby_waved_at_me
    So far, every player that has been offered the QO has declined it - it is likely that teams really only offer it to players seeking multiple year Free agent deals. I think in most cases they offer it with the hope it will be declined. This year could be different based on what happened to Cruz, Santana, Drew, and Morales. The multi-year deals just weren't there for them, so if a player thinks the market will be tough again, they might be asked by the agent to just take the money. The Pirates will definitely offer it to Martin - they want him to sign long term, but they don't want him going to another team for nothing in return. Robertson with the Yankees is an interesting one - I think the Yankees are probably the only team that would pay 15MM to keep a reliever. Granted, Robertson is pretty good. V-Mart should get the offer, it's win-win for the Tigers. The QO is about what he'd be seeking annually, anyway. The Royals should offer it to Shields, might as well get something back for that investment if they can't re-sign him.
  7. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Good point - I also wonder if there are people that have inquired or applied for the job that the media hasn't picked up on.
  8. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I have never paid for cable, never had it growing up, it was "free" in my college dorm and came as part of my rent in my old apartment. At my current home, we just got a deal from our internet provider to add HBO and a basic cable package for just a few dollars more than we were paying per month. I was briefly excited at the prospect, but the "basic" package doesn't include ESPN, FSN, comedy central, along with a host of channels that I just kind of assumed would be included in even the most basic of basic packages. It did come with TBS, so I was able to watch the Tigers get swept (so satisfying!). I have to agree with most of the comments so far, it's too bad that a good percentage of the population is unable to access Playoff games. The regular season I understand to an extent, but playoff games is the chance for baseball to really sell those regular season games and cable access and the MLB network, etc etc etc to people that don't already have it...
  9. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Questions for Terry: Is there a player in the Twins system that you expect will surprise a lot of people in 2015? Who has impressed you the most in the minors in 2014? How long does the organization stick with a player if they've failed to meet expectations? Are the Twins more likely to release / try to trade away a disappointing player, or work with them to improve? Is there a player in the system today that has gone from disappointing to impressive in your opinion in the last year?
  10. Kirby_waved_at_me
    but maybe Bo Jackson? (I don't think he's as fast as Bo Jackson) Most of the info that is out there about Tomas talks about his power and his offense. His defense seems to be a weakness. At 24, there's time for him to get better; but there's also a lot of room for him to grow (like David Ortiz) and become a liability in the outfield. He *might* be better than Arcia as a defender, but we could be talking about trying to sign an older version of the guy the Twins already have. Is having two Arcias better than one? Maybe!
  11. Kirby_waved_at_me
    What will having broken his arm do to his progress this year? I'm curious to see how he swings the bat early in the year.
  12. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I think of the players on that list, Torii is the most likely to end up coming back. I think A.J. would only have been an option if Suzuki had left via Free Agency, but with his contract I don't see the Twins going after A.J. (unless it's be a bench coach - HA).
  13. Kirby_waved_at_me
    The intentional walk also prompted Ausmus to pinch hit - I don't think he really needed to do that, the pinch hitter was not that much different than Romine (and actually was less experienced). Pinch hitting in that moment seem unneccesary to me. I wonder if Ausmus would have pinch hit if Castellanos had reached via a regular walk instead of an intentional walk... The IBB was interesting, I didn't like it that much in the moment. I didn't think Castellanos was that great of a hitter; putting him on to get to Romine maybe wasn't needed. But it sure worked out that time, and setting up a force out came in handy.
  14. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I think it's ok for the Shields trade to be the right move for the Royals to make, while a similar move for other teams (the Twins included) could be the wrong move. The Royals had a string of bad luck developing Aces in house, some flamed out, the ones they did manage to develop they had to trade away because they were getting to be too expensive. So trading for one with at least a couple years left made a lot of sense for them. Trading a pair of top prospects was certainly hard, but the positions those prospects played were covered by talented major leaguers. The Twins, in theory, still have a couple arms that are in process of developing, and in theory (there it is again) can spend on signing a free agent Starter where KC cannot. I think the Royals can hang with Baltimore - I've been impressed with Showalter as a manager in the Detroit series, as well as his record with the Orioles the last few years, so it will be interesting to see if managing decisions affect the outcome of the ALCS.
  15. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I think the Twins (and everyone else) has better options this year in Free Agency for starting pitching than last year. Having Scherzer and Lester at the top makes everyone else drop down a bit and increases the chances that a team can make a competitive offer to a not terrible pitcher. It would be amazing if the Twins would make an offer to Tomas, but I think that even if they do, it won't be the highest offer that he gets. They have a better chance of signing James Shields this offseason, and an even better chance of reaching a deal with a player a bit lower on the list, like Santana, Masterson, McCarthy, Gavin Floyd, etc. Having Tomas out there I think gives the Twins a better shot at Melky Cabrera; Having Melky as a free agent (and Nelson Cruz) gives the Twins a better shot at signing Colby Rasmus. I don't know if the Twins will have the desire to spend the $$ needed to acquire any of these guys, but they defiintely have better options than last offseason.
  16. Kirby_waved_at_me
    "World Series Champion Kansas City Royals" seemed like a ridiculous phrase for a long time, but it's certainly a possibility now . . .
  17. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Glynn-y is easier than Mientkiewicz-y, though... I'd like to hear about more outside candidates. Are the Twins actually looking outside the org, or are the rumors about Lovullo, Chip Hale, and John Russell just lip service?
  18. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I wonder if Scioscia is on the hot seat for the way he managed in the playoffs - there was an article not that long ago that seemed to imply that he had changed his old school strategies a bit to "favor the sabr," at least during the regular season. But the Royals are pretty good - not sure it would have mattered if he had opted to swing away and had those three outs again.
  19. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Well, the AL held up it's part of the "new blood" bargain - it seems like the national league is going to be more "traditional" and will be spitting out either the Dodgers, Cardinals, or Giants. Looking forward to the BAL / KC series, that should be fun!
  20. Kirby_waved_at_me
    The article points out that Masterson had a 8.1 K/9 rate last year. That would have (barely) led the Twins' starters. He's absolutely worth a look, and if he's open to a one year deal, the Twins would be smart to offer it. He's definitely better than Nolasco; supposedly both Masterson and Nolasco will be healthy at the start of Spring Training. Why not bring a guy in to compete with Ricky for a rotation spot? I think the rotation could be greatly improved if a pitcher of Masterson's caliber is added to it.
  21. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Maybe a good "new ceiling" comp might be someone like Matt Holliday - a little dumpy in the outfield, but power near 30 homers a year and an average that can climb with some better plate discipline. On BBREF, Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner was listed as a comp based on MLB performance through age 23. That might be pushing it a bit... Other names - Dayan Viciedo, Dave Kingman, Chris Young, Travis Snider, Elijah Dukes, Adam Piatt, Brian Buchanon ... lots of range there, which is to be expected for a 23 year old. If he ended up having Dave Kingman's career arc, that would be pretty darn good. Of course, it's still so early in his career, he can go in a lot of different ways.
  22. Kirby_waved_at_me
    There has been a little bit of shuffling going on already, and it seems like Mientkiewicz is moving up (how far up is still a question), so the managers up and down the system could be packing their bags. Glynn being given a shot as the manager or even just a bench coach seems like it is worth considering for the Twins. Were there any good tidbits from the beat reporters while Glynn was in the Twins dugout as a September coaching call-up?
  23. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I bet he can get his average up towards .250 to .275 if he can curb that K-rate. His line drive rate went up from 20 to 25 % since his rookie year, but his K% was steady at 31%
  24. Kirby_waved_at_me
    I was at a game when he broke a bat over his knee Bo Jackson - style after a strike out. He definitely is an entertaining player, I hope he can start putting it all together in 2015.
  25. Kirby_waved_at_me
    Does anyone recall what the ceiling for Arcia was supposed to be while he was a prospect? Were they comparing him to guys like Carlos Lee, Nelson Cruz, Juan Gonzalez, etc. or was he expected to be more like a 20 Homers / 20 doubles kind of player? If he continues to improve, I could see him reaching 25-30 HRs a year.
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