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ashbury

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Everything posted by ashbury

  1. ashbury
    There was genuine initial confusion, so anyone doing a remote writeup under deadline was guaranteed to get snared. Complete fluke that I was tuned in. I haven't used my milb.tv account as much as I expected, not that I don't enjoy it. There was discussion elsewhere about Martin getting HBP, so I got curious whether he crowds the plate or something. I tuned in, it was late in the game (middle of the eighth), and I saw that Martin was due up in the top of the ninth so I stuck around. I was pretty excited for the HR, and likewise failed to notice it was #17 at the plate. The scoreboard did not reflect the change, so the call was initially for Martin and I assume whoever was relaying the play-by-play went with that. To his credit, the video announcer did notice that it wasn't Martin who scored. Why they pinch-hit for a prized prospect at the end of a blowout game is a mystery that maybe will be revealed later.
  2. ashbury
    Weirdly, it was not Austin Martin with the homer in the ninth for Wichita. That was the initial call by the broadcast, but no one had informed the scoreboard operator there was a pinch hitter. Leobaldo Cabrera.
  3. ashbury
    There's a limit to how much even an airtight defender can contribute with the glove. At a site called the Fielding Bible I found Simmons's DRS given as 9 runs, good for a rank of 3rd. I'll assume whichever source you use has something similar. Conventional analytics has about 10 runs worth a win, either in terms of what's added over a season or what's saved. So our starting SS has saved approximately a win versus a replacement player from AAA. Meanwhile his bat is somewhere around 0 wins, relative to the same replacement level. An average MLB player is about 2 wins above a AAA replacement. Giving Simmons credit for similar rate of production for the remainder of the season, he's still not average. I.e. below average. I can't see investing in a declining asset if we're trying to win anything next season.
  4. ashbury
    You attempted a bit of satire in the middle of an otherwise serious paragraph - always a risky strategy, as I can attest from hard experience. But I figured the smiley face was enough of a clue that I had fielded your short-hop. And I highlighted the one line because I didn't want misunderstanding about what I was reacting to. Then, the main body of my response was a pretty measured and temperate take, suggesting we're not actually that far apart. You want to give them some rope; I'm willing to give some rope. I'm just not willing to curtly dismiss with satire those who offer less rope than I do.
  5. ashbury
    Wow. Yeah, I think you might be able to scrape together a majority view, in that scenario. I can't believe you'd really set that low of a bar in any other business, or that long a timeline. Me, I haven't called for firings at the top. I have said that I now think the topic is on the table, for the first time. By that I mean that something additional could push me over, such as some kind of fatuous new 5-year rebuilding plan now that we're approaching the 5-year anniversary of their tenure - we're past the trading deadline and that hasn't happened thank goodness. At the other end of the spectrum, I would sit still for a complete "stay the course" approach on their part, but then the results at the end of 2022 (not 4 or 5 more years) could not be like this again. Something in the middle, such as mostly standing pat with the process but deciding that the pitching coach's "best if used by date" has expired and thanking him for his contributions these past seasons, might impress me more that the higher-ups are holding everyone to a high standard.
  6. ashbury
    There are few major league players more irregular than our Tortuga.
  7. ashbury
    "Um, I'll have what he's having!"
  8. ashbury
    “The goal here is straightforward and measurable,” Falvey said. “It’s to build a sustainable and championship-caliber team and organization that Twins fans across Twins Territory will be proud of. "
  9. ashbury
    We're getting hung up on a fuzzy term, 'fine'. MLB average R/G is 4.49, AL average is a tick higher at 4.55, and the Twins have 4.60. Top teams are above 5.00. Well above. If 'fine' is meant to suggest a .500 record is the goal, then sure the offense is fine and the defense/pitching is what's dragging us down below that humble benchmark. But for me the aim is pennant contention and hopefully being able to go deep in the post-season and maybe even win it all. The offense is not 'fine' by that kind of standard. There is NO phase of the game right now that is satisfactory toward what the FO has stated to be their goal, sustainable success.
  10. ashbury
    The Little Hurt.
  11. ashbury
    Let us remanufacture your old, bald pitchers, with our patented process! Before: After:
  12. ashbury
    He does no such thing. He did contribute in yesterday's game, so hurrah - he's on my team and I root for that when I watch a game. The trouble is that he needs to do it more frequently. They keep statistics on players, and guys like Polanco and Donaldson contribute frequently enough to be a net positive for the team. Guys like Sano and Simmons and La Tortuga do the opposite, by that I mean their positive contributions at the plate do not balance out the more frequent inability to get on base or move runners over to score. It doesn't require modern analytics like WPA, either. Just look at the RBI and Runs racked up this year by Astudillo, per plate appearance. Neither number is any good at all. He's been a little better in other years. I want him to do better. We all should.
  13. ashbury
    Right, because last year's world-champion Dodgers sealed their coming success back in August when they made the surprise call-up of... wait, um, no, they didn't. I don't mean to make a federal case out of it. All teams make moves like this one from time to time. But even if the Twins somehow managed to poison their reputation with third-tier free agents, while still keeping all their other options open, I don't believe their fortunes would suffer. Guys like this don't move the needle. Let the "future possible signees" like this one flock to the Pittsburghs and Baltimore for their chances at one more major league payday.
  14. ashbury
    If MLB had 60-man or 80-man rosters to play with, maybe I could support this kind of farting around like we see with Beau Freaking Burrows. But they don't, so I don't. Then again, if the rosters were larger, then the waiver-wire pickings would be even slimmer, and the flyers this team takes would still be impossible to support. This is the kind of Brownian motion that bottom feeder teams do when trying to improve themselves, not a team that styles itself as a contender. Oops, wait, this year we are a bottom feeder team. Again. I still don't have to like these moves, and I remain a skeptic even when they seemingly catch lightning in a bottle with the occasional Matt Wisler (only then to manage to convince themselves that it was all smoke and mirrors and let him go). I'd like to just ignore today's ballgame and pretend it didn't happen, and move Burrows off the roster ASAP.
  15. ashbury
    He built those stats on abnormally low batting average on balls in play. When his BABIP bounced back to league average, guess what: no more dominance. Like magic. I don't trust small sample size numbers for relievers, and Tyler Duffey is an example of why. I don't trust Tyler Duffey on the mound. He's an average MLB pitcher, so he has skills and can be on a major league roster. But let's not hold him up as a benchmark for the next pitcher we have high hopes for.
  16. ashbury
    I hate to throw effluent into anyone's cornflakes, but even at his peak Doof was never more than serviceable, certainly not dominant or lights out.
  17. ashbury
    That won't help the pitchers hit any better when it's their turn to bat.
  18. ashbury
    Is there a term for Polanco's defensive performance today? Badarmitis?
  19. ashbury
    Watching this afternoon's game, and comparisons to Tyler Duffey seem like a kiss of death for a prospect.
  20. ashbury
    Sano is not a "good" defensive third baseman overall, and never was. But even back when we (and the team) were trying to sort out his best role, his first year or three, that was the play he would consistently make as well as anyone there is. He would charge accidental slow rollers or intentional bunts with complete authority and confidence, and his arm was never suspect. If Altuve thought it was a good gamble to test him on that play, after a long absence from the position, well he lost.
  21. ashbury
    Where was this extra-innings moxie earlier in the season when it might have made a difference?
  22. ashbury
    You're describing a bottom-feeder team. I don't actually care very much how my team fills in some holes when they are in that role. Simmons would be fine, not-Simmons would be fine.
  23. ashbury
    He's so easy to root for. Glad his bat has bounced back!
  24. ashbury
  25. ashbury
    His actual words were "it's hard to quote but easy to paraphrase."
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