JB_Iowa

Trying to decide whether that point calls more for an end of season change in manager or in-season (either resignation or termination). If it is at the end of the season, they can say to ticket holders that they are making changes -- but they are asking them to take it on faith that the change will make a difference. And that is kind of where they were last fall with the change of GM. If you shake things up during the season, there is often a "honeymoon" period when the team does better. That might give people hope. But then, if it doesn't materialize, it could backfire. Not sure which way they should go. (But there isn't much doubt in my mind that this organization needs to be "shook up" -- both field staff and front office).

Amen.

But why did they fire the GM? Was it because of his mediocre job performance or was it because Bill Smith wasn't on board with cutting the payroll? Does this ownership and top management have a commitment to excellence or only a commitment to the almighty dollar? (In fairness, they also changed the manager and pitching coach at Rochester although I think that was primarily about keeping the Rochester affiliate happy -- if they hadn't been complaining bitterly I'm not sure that would have happened.) I wish I was convinced that the field staff would change after this season. I wish I was even more convinced that there would be front office changes. While turmoil in the staff isn't good, SOME change frequently creates a new vitality. Finally, I wish that I felt like they were as committed to improving this team as they are to making a profit.

I wasn't a big fan of hiring Terry Ryan back as GM -- primarily because I think this whole organization is way too much of an "old boys club". I realize that atmosphere isn't unique to Minnesota but I do think that the Twins take it to a new level -- if you examine people in front office and management positions, there is very little change. And, regardless of what Ryan thinks, I don't think that changing titles or a bit of a shift in responsibilities really invokes many new ideas or much energy. And I do agree with the original poster that the primary motivating factor in the firing/rehiring of Bill Smith was that the Pohlads wanted to reduce payroll. But then, I thought that was pretty evident already last fall. It's hard for me to criticize the failure to resign Cuddyer and Kubel. Willingham appears to be a more than adequate outfield replacement for Cuddyer (albeit LF not RF) for less money. And while I was more interested in resigning Kubel than Cuddyer, I think he wanted a change from TF. Now he's got a new stadium that is closer to his home in California. I doubt that he'd be producing at the same level in Minnesota. And frankly, I couldn't see spending the money for Nathan when I didn't expect this team to be very good. (Although given a fairly healthy Mauer and Morneau, I did hope that this team would be better than they are now). The Capps and Carroll signings left me pretty much at "meh". Doumit has been a pleasant surprise and is becoming one of my favorites. As for what has or hasn't happened with trades, its pretty hard to make a judgment when you don't know what discussions have occurred. While I don't think Ryan has done a fantastic job, I don't think it has been horrible either. And that, is perhaps my biggest gripe -- the Twins just seem mired in mediocrity and nobody seems willing to do anything to change it. Something has to give -- either a massive change of players, a change in the on-field staff, a shake-up in the front office -- or some meaningful combination of all 3. If nothing much changes, I'm afraid we'll still be having these mediocrity discussions in 2014 and 2015. I'm prepared for a mediocre 2013 but I'd like some glimmer of hope that things will improve significantly thereafter.

When I was thinking about whether Willingham should be traded I went and looked at his home/away stats and saw that he was significantly better at TF than on the road. That started me thinking about some other players mentioned in trade rumors so I took a look at Denard Span. I was really surprised to see the following splits for Denard for his TF seasons – all figures taken from www.baseballreference.com and all generated today: 2012 Split,PA,AB,R,H,2B,3B,HR,RBI,BB,SO,BA,OBP,SLG,OPS Home,207,178,27,60,19,2,2,18,26,18,.337,.422,.500,.922 Away,181,171,15,36,4,0,1,12,9,29,.211,.249,.251,.500 2011 Split,PA,AB,R,H,2B,3B,HR,RBI,BB,SO,BA,OBP,SLG,OPS Home,122,112,19,32,4,2,1,6,10,12,.286,.344,.384, .728 Away,189,172,18,43,7,3,1,10,17,24,.250,.317,.343, .660 2010 Split,PA,AB,R,H,2B,3B,HR,RBI,BB,SO,BA,OBP,SLG,OPS Home,347,305,44,92,13,7,0,36,31,28,.302,.371,.390,.761 Away,358,324,41,74,11,3,3,22,29,46,.228,.293,.309,.602 As you can see, he has (not unsurprisingly) always been better at home than on the road. The splits for 2010 and 2011 seem relatively consistent with each other but this year the numbers look like he is a split personality – one at home and one on the road. Does anyone have an explanation? He’s obviously hitting a lot of doubles at TF (19 vs. 4 away); and walking more (26 at TV vs. 9 away). But why? And does this affect his trade value?

I have no idea if Butera has made Frankie better but I do take a little issue with the paragraph above -- NOT the premise about Mauer having a higher baseball IQ. I'm sure he does and I'm sure he takes that behind the plate and I'm sure that he takes what he has learned as a catcher to the plate with him. But human nature being what it is, I do think that some pitchers probably work better with some catchers. Just as I'm sure most of us have had colleagues (whether at work, in school or in volunteer activities) with whom we "mesh" better. We've heard it said (on TV at least and sometimes in the press), that one of Liriano's problems is that he "overthinks" at times. Maybe Butera is just better than Mauer or Doumit at keeping it simple for Liriano. It isn't a knock on any of the three. It's just an acknowledgment that baseball players are human -- and that there may be some people with whom they work better than others.

While I don't think that these numbers say anything about making him the #1 catcher, it might be reason to split the games a little more closely between Doumit and Butera. Expecially when there are other ways to keep Doumit's bat in the line-up. I also think that might makes sense because Butera is probably a little fresher than either Mauer or Doumit -- and the dog days of summer started really early this year.

No, I'm not comparing it. Someone else brought up Marquis earlier. Of course the stress of dealing with an injured child (or spouse or parent or other loved one) is greater than the stress of moving to another city. But changing jobs or moving to another location is a pretty high stress factor as I recall from all those cute little lists they publish from time to time on life's stressors. And, even when it is by choice, its not really routine. My point was that most at bats for a player (even in front of 30,000 fans) are somewhat routine. Does that mean that he doesn't get stressed? Of course not. And SOME at bat situations are very stressful, I'm sure. But overall, I think that the possibility of being traded -- and in having no say in where you go -- is probably more stressful than routine at bats for which the player has trained.

This should only disturb you if your #1 and #2 catchers play ONLY catcher. Given that Mauer and Doumit also play elsewhere in the field, having a #3 catcher on the roster makes sense. Given the continuing horrendous heat this summer, having 3 catchers makes quite a bit of sense to me. Despite improvements, that gear has to awfully hot. It really doesn't make sense to wear down 2 good hitters by constantly putting them behind the plate.

I disagree. Playing in front of crowds and handling the press is something that the players train for -- and it becomes routine. Since they know what to expect, the stress level is minimized. Dealing with a family situation (as Marquis did) or being traded is a whole different thing. It is stressful because you have no way of knowing what will happen. And each person's view on this question may well depend upon how much of a control freak you are personally. (Since I am one, that may well explain why I think not having a say in where you will be for the next few years would be incredibly stressful)

Going back to some of the earlier comments about stress, I actually think that stress is feeling like you don't have control of the situation. So, to me, Span's situation would be more stressful than Liriano's because Span is locked into a contract through 2014 -- and has no ability to make his own choices until after that season. Liriano becomes a free agent after this season so regardless of what happens, he only has to live with it for a few months. And, some people have a greater need for control than others -- usually these are also people who don't react well to change becaue it affects their control (that is control over their own circumstances not necessarily control over others). I have a feeling from his tweets last year that Span may be someone who needs that control -- it may be part of why he wanted to sign a long-term contract (considered by many to be team-friendly even at the time) in the first place. It gave him some certainty over a period of time. And that is also why all the talk of trades might be more stressful to him than it might be to others in the same situation.

As far as I'm concerned every player (including Mauer if he would waive his no trade clause) is on the block so I have no trouble with the idea of trading Willingham. BUT it is all about getting value back. With Willingham, I have to wonder if the significant difference between his stats at home and his away stats won't somewhat decrease his value to other teams. I also have to wonder if he doesn't have some unique value in Minnesota just in demonstrating to other players in the system (majors and minors) that it isn't impossible to hit well at TF. In other words, does he have significantly more value in Minnesota than he would elsewhere? And does that affect the type of return that could be expected for him?

The good thing is that he is being used appropriately this year -- as a 3rd catcher. Not someone who is out there 3-4 days a week. I wish he would hit better (although he is marginally better so far this year than in the last 2 years). Limiting Mauer's catching duties seems to be keeping him fresher at the plate -- and that's a good thing. If Mauer can catch 3-4 times a week, Doumit 1-2 and Butera 1-2, that would be a good combination. There's room for Doumit at other positions so they can keep his bat in the line-up. Mauer hasn't quite hit that target this season but I have to think that the Twins are being extraordinarily cautious with him given last year and the team's overall performance this year. All-in-all, having 1 defensive catcher on the roster isn't bad as long as you limit his at bats over the course of the season. And yes, Butera does seem to have some 'indefinable intangibles" in working with pitchers. Pavano has been at this a long time -- I have to think that there was a reason he preferred Butera.

Enough is enough. I hope to never again see the guy with Mauer 7 shaved into his back. Blech.

RCP, that's the TV markets, right? That's the one that has Iowa in 6 different markets (thus giving Jim Crikket heartburn). I'm not sure if that is how baseball is defining market size or if they are using Metropolitan Statistical Areas (where Minnesota ranks 11th).

"Fandom" doesn't have anything to do with the competitive market lottery so it doesn't matter how many Braves fans live in Wisconsin. They aren't doing a Harris Poll to determine team allegiance before they determine the bottom 10 in market size. According to Wikipedia (shaky but the only reference I could find that made sense here), the Twins would be the 11th smallest market. They use MSAs and define the following as the lowest 10 (from smallest to biggest): Milwaukee, Kansas City, Cleveland, Cinncinnati, Pittsburgh, Denver, Baltimore, Tampa Bay, St. Louis and San Diego. They have the Mpls-SP statistical area as about 215,00+ bigger than San Diego. Assuming Wiki is correct in how baseball defines market size, that explains why the Twins didn't qualify in the bottom 10 in market size. And, for now, with TF revenues, they aren't likely to qualify in the bottom 10 in revenue. So the first round included those who fall within the bottom 10 in market size or revenue (they overlap so you don't end up with 20 teams). Then Detroit slipped in the 2nd round because they received revenue sharing money last year. I'm not sure how they did that. Saw speculation in Jeremy Nygaard's thread that it was because of Detroit's TV deal but according to Phil Mackey and others, the Tigers have a TV deal that started in 2008 that is worth $40 million/year (as compared to the Twins TV deal started in 2011 worth $29 million/year). So Detroit must have lagged significantly in other revenues to allow it to get revenue-sharing money qualifying them for the 2nd round. Apparently they need Dave St. Peter to help them capitalize on all their other revenue stream possibilities.

Bobby Cuellar .... Okie pitcher whisperer

I didn't think he'd pitch this well. I did think (and say) that I expected 2 to 3 good starts from him before he has problems again. (Not to jinx him). There just isn't anything predictable about this rotation right now. Of course, one could ask, what rotation? One or 2 cycles through it and then it changes again.

I'm a little puzzled by why the Duensing/Diamond comment is there. Is this a warning that Diamond might regress? We all know that is a possibility. Is it a message to Duensing that he can do better? I didn't think there was an exact correlation between "stuff" and pitching success -- although better "stuff" certainly helps. Just not sure why that paragraph is there unless he just needed to say something about both of them but then couldn't complete the inference.

It made my eyes pop.

There's an interview with TR on the PP: http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_21113174/twins-gm-terry-ryan-we-need-starting-pitching I found this quote particularly interesting: "Well, I don't know what you're talking about with a very good offense but we're averaging four runs a game. That isn't a very good offense," he said. "I don't want to berate my own organization here but I have to be honest; we're not scoring runs. We score 19 the other day and then we come back last night and score one. That's the type of stuff we're dealing with here." Thank you, Mr. Ryan, for not trying to convince us that the Twins' problems are only ONLY starting pitching and defense.

All we can ask if that he keep adjusting. We knew this was coming -- I'm just pleased with how he has responded. And while he's not near perfection in the field, he does keep hustling. A good learning season for him.

Thanks for the update -- always interesting. And I'm so glad that you'll get to keep updating us on the Twins' affliliate New Britain Rock Cats. You've done such a great job acquainting us with the team and its operations. Looking forward to more of your Rock Cat stories over the next couple of years.

Well, they have to get rid of Frankie just because they can't score many runs when he's on the mound. Geez.