ashbury

If that turns out to be Hicks's comp at bat, just flush him now.

The OBP would be acceptable on the surface, but I don't see him as having reached a stable equilibrium yet. If he doesn't bring that BA up some, the walks are going to melt away as pitchers opt to let the man get himself out. If the BA becomes good, you can expect the walks to continue, and then he's a major leaguer - and if the power ever arrives then he's a plus. But I don't see the current hitting status continuing, so to me it's not productive to speculate on his role in the lineup yet. He's not a #9 hitter in the long run - either he's up higher, or he's selling insurance.

Excessively Noisy Hands for someone not going well = Timing Mechanism when the hits are coming. But a pretty unflattering scouting report for someone in the top ten of your system.

I'll guess the article was written by someone not quite clear on the role of options and the 40-man roster.

Money isn't the only cost. A fair amount of lineup time was wasted trying to determine how he could contribute. Often that's a scarce resource too. Not the first time this has happened, trying to find a gem in the discard heap.

tl;dnr

Love the 30-minute format. My ADD doesn't permit me to sit through 60 or 90 minutes of joshing around.

? Infield defense wasn't the Twins problem in 2014. Ground balls hit to the outfield gap have been a problem however.

Wait, someone mentioned A-A-Ron Hicks?

43/44/13. Final offer.

40% - among the first cuts in spring 40% - the very last cut in spring 20% - Eddie goes north with the team (Odds assume current roster and would change if they sign an experienced outfielder)

I was thinking Marshall Mathers.

http://blogs.twincities.com/twins/2014/11/13/twinsights-aaron-hicks-released-venezuelan-winter-team/ Berardino concurs.

"As he told me before I left the clubhouse just now, 'I am a catcher, no matter what you say,'" Gardenhire said in his Saturday morning news conference. Wait, what? Gardy always liked to slip the needle now and then.

I find it completely believable. ... that a columnist said such a thing.

The story on Radke, maybe embellished at the time, was that he had decided to retire after that season anyway, and in consultation with doctors decided to just go ahead and pitch through it toward the playoffs.

For whatever little it's worth, I notice that in the video of Gordon, one of his feet inadvertently collides with the defender's planted foot, looking like a risk of a sprain. While the wrist is exposed and vulnerable in the headfirst slide, it's under a little more control. Beautiful choices of video.

Approves: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/coot_veal_autograph.jpg

Gagne was a very underrated part of those championship teams, so it's flattering to most players to even be mentioned in the same breath, and it appeals to me, no doubt. A point in favor of Escobar, one that I don't think I ever heard with regard to the Flori-monster. (A nickname that was applied hopefully at one point, but now is just emblematic of a sad era.) I think Esco's 102 was built on an abnormally high BABIP, and he also hasn't yet been thrown into the fire as an everyday player, where I worry that he will both wear down and no longer benefit from any possible cherry-picking of opportunity by his manager.1 As for his defense, I'll admit to a certain bit of sample bias, because in one of the few games I've ever watched him in person, he had a terrible night and messed up I think it was 4 plays (not all charged as errors, obviously) where an out wasn't registered that should have. I'm not on-board with him being a Steady Eddie type, quite yet. If he gets the chance to be a regular, and reaches a truly Gagne-esque level of production, it would be a great thing. It's possible he has that ceiling, though I still doubt it. And he might not get that chance, if TPTB decide he doesn't have the capability to do it, which will have some circularity and be unfair to the young man - but that's baseball. 1 Maybe there's none of that picking-of-his-spots happening. I'd have to go back and see whether in his part-time play he was the guy held out against the tough pitchers or if he was the guy thrown to the wolves, or just luck of the draw. That's one problem with assessing part-timers, it's just not quite the same as going out there every day, and of course you don't know until you try it with him.

We're pretty close. I like him. I was on the bandwagon to give him PA over Florimon a year ago. I just see him a half-grade lower. (C instead of C+, or whatever.)

Buy him a dinner now just to be safe. If you're still alive in 20 years, he can pay you back.

More like this: Maddon: "Hey Terry. You hired anyone yet for me to replace? No? Well, get back to me after you do."

Agreed. 2014 was supposed to be a year of figuring some things out. For some reason, time was invested in figuring out whether Santana could be a good CF. So now in 2015 we have Escobar versus Santana questions. I continue to see Escobar as a utility player (with a ceiling of "very good") on a contending team, and a starter only on a cellar-dweller.

Bud Black too? I think it's not all that rare. What is rare is a guy Molitor's age getting his first big-league managing job, regardless of experience. It just doesn't happen. I'd like to ask someone like Terry Ryan off the record for his thoughts about this. / and then I'd come here on TD and post them.

Ryan is currently listed as executive advisor to the Astros. I doubt there is any chance he would be looking for a random pitching coach position in the majors. It can't hurt to "gauge his interest" I suppose, but I wouldn't invest effort doing so. If I were TR and I wanted to go this route, and I bumped into Nolan at the winter meetings, I might say something leading and specific, phrased as a joke, and see if he perked up at all. Anything else could be almost an insult. He was previously CEO. "Seriously, Terry? But if you're interested, I probably could find a spot for you as a bullpen coach for the 'Stros."