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TheLeviathan

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Everything posted by TheLeviathan

  1. TheLeviathan
    The article you posted is filled with generalities about the possibility an overlap helped. There isn't even a token quote from Ortiz acknowledging it. And, what he does now to adjust as an established pull hitting star is very different than trying to establish your game in a suffocating context. It never makes sense to force a player to refine their game when you refuse to let them establish their bread and butter.
  2. TheLeviathan
    1) The types of players those attract are in their mid thirties, with red flags, and a lot of warts to their game. Willingham would've been an amazing 1 year deal, as a three year deal he looks worse and worse. When you pay middling rate for middling years....you get middling results. 2) 35 plus or 32 plus with a significant injury history. i don't want "bridges", I want guys that can produce now and in the future.
  3. TheLeviathan
    You mean that idle speculation vs Ortiz openly blaming the Twins for stunting him are on equal levels? C'mon now.
  4. TheLeviathan
    Part of the problem with looking at the numbers in hindsight is that it was clear, even then, that Ortiz was being asked to alter his game to play the "Twins Way". Some of what paints the Twins decision as reasonable was brought on by their own rigid way of doing things at the time.
  5. TheLeviathan
    I'd happily toss Baker 2 years and 12M. Potential for a lot of upside there.
  6. TheLeviathan
    I'll tell you what I don't want - three year deals to aging players. Either take a flyer on someone or commit to someone.
  7. TheLeviathan
    Good god that fight song is mind blowing. Great find Lars!
  8. TheLeviathan
    I'll just say it: Obama has gotten off so easy on this. Bush was called and accused of some pretty terrible things by the left. All Obama has done is put Bush's policies on steroids and the guy all but gets a pass. Integrity of principle knows no party in this country.
  9. TheLeviathan
    This pales in comparison to the laughable attempt to keep gays from marrying. You should give that one a look. To me harping on this being an issue of offensive language is misguided. This isn't about people being easily offended. The name and logo itself only exist in the first place because of a complete disregard for the idea of respecting Native American culture. This isn't intentional lampooning - it's unintentional driven by ignorance and a lack of empathy. All we're undoing is a wrong that never should have happened in the first place.
  10. TheLeviathan
    Even some of the "less" offensive nicknames lack the recognition of the deeply entwined nature of native religion and their culture. Very caricature is a religious slight in addition to a racial one. I doubt many of the Catholics crying foul on the change would feel the same if similar contemporary mockeries of them were done. And I will say it again....since when does the wrong thing to do require the victim to feel insulted?
  11. TheLeviathan
    Juan Rincon begs to differ.
  12. TheLeviathan
    I think the days of the Tampa 2 are over as a predominant scheme. Too many rules have been laxed to help the passing game.
  13. TheLeviathan
    I appreciate the response, I only highlighted this part because I think it warrants an explanation. (At least from my perspective) I think some of the skepticism you cite is because we've yet to see a different approach to adding free agents than what we've seen in the past. I sincerely hope the organization is using new avenues of assessing potential moves, it just becomes difficult to completely accept until we see changes in the organization's approach. It's like changing the names of ingredients in a recipe for soup - it doesn't much matter if the soup still tastes the same. And from the outside of the preparation you start to doubt anything was really changed at all. Is there anything you can point to that has happened since you or your department has taken on a more prominent role that might elucidate how the organization is changing things? It doesn't have to be certain stats you used or even player names, but something that might provide insight for how you/your department are making an impact that is different than, say, 10 years ago? (I feel safe saying what you do didn't exist then, but feel free to correct me)
  14. TheLeviathan
    I'm unclear what you mean here. I think most of us believe stats analysis can be highly effective as a predictor of success, but also as a viable tool for assessing the prudence of a move. So I think it's quite the opposite - we do hope statistical analysis will lead to smarter decisions and fully recognize that. It's part of why we're concerned. So with that in mind, I'd be curious to hear your response to Psuedo's question a few posts back.
  15. TheLeviathan
    How about...field a pitching staff that isn't historically awful? If he was as much on the ball as you seem to think, he'd have done more to improve an awful team. His poor drafts are largely responsible for this lack of talent. He's added very few long-term assets to the club in two years (other than through the draft), all short-term filler with one or two exceptions. I can't give credit for good drafting until the results hit the field. Prospects are just that, prospects. All the farm top rankings in the world don't win baseball games and are no assurance of wins in the future. It's a complete farce to sight that as a positive at this point. As for "specifics" they are still hypotheticals. We could've signed McCarthy and he would've been great for us. Or Joe Saunders. Or there could've been a better offer for Revere. I fail to see how that is a productive exercise. It boils down to having a low bar to jump and having utterly failed to do so. Houston's GM has managed to turn their farm around and totally restructure the organization. Epstein did the same in Chicago. If Ryan came in, changed the culture, changed the organization in significant ways - he'd have a free pass from me. Instead, he's come in content to keep the engine that has become a total failure chugging away.
  16. TheLeviathan
    What longevity he's had. It feels like another life-time ago he was pitching for us.
  17. TheLeviathan
    I like the Hart idea - I'm also 100% behind being rid of Willingham and Doumit. Doumit for sure needs to go. He's becoming the new Punto - only the bizarro/goatee version that can hit a little but fields like a tee-baller. I'm done with having him on the roster.
  18. TheLeviathan
    When did I ever say I don't think he knows what he's doing? I think he's let himself get behind the times and overconfident in his own way. Even brilliant sports minds have to be willing to change with time. He hasn't. The biggest measure of what he has or has not done well is that he was handed a godawful team and has done virtually nothing to improve it in any meaningful way. (Other than the draft, but everyone gets to draft and we won't know the ultimate value of those moves for some time) He's had an incredibly low bar to improve the team and still failed for two offseasons. And let's put something to bed that is a total double standard on this forum: The call for specifics is silly. If I accuse the team of failing to be aggressive in negotiations, I hear "well yeah, but you don't know what went on in that room". The same works in reverse. I don't know how many offers were on the table that he passed on that would've helped, but he didn't pull the trigger. Or agents or GMs that approached him with deals I'd have loved, but he hated. So as specific as you're going to get from me is that he's had a very low bar to jump and he's failed miserably at it by pretty much every objective and subjective measure you can find.
  19. TheLeviathan
    I don't think that's remotely obvious at all. Especially without any evidence or trends in their player acquisitions to indicate they are using these stats behind the scenes. This isn't just that these things aren't being said publicly, it's that the Twins are still doing things the same as they were 15-20 years ago when these stats were less common. Neither the action nor the rhetoric reflects these things are taken seriously, used, or even understood.
  20. TheLeviathan
    How can you be concerned about injuries but endorse Hughes and Kazmir? Heck, many thought Kazmir was toast. They all have warts, but in Haren and Johnson there is a longer track record of high-level success to hope for.
  21. TheLeviathan
    Absolutely. Bulk of the blame.
  22. TheLeviathan
    That's not a "move" in the context of this discussion. I'm all for half or even quarter-timing him at catcher while we're awful. I endorse that whole heartedly. I do not accept the reasons to "move" him.(permanently per this thread) Not yet at least.
  23. TheLeviathan
    Straightforward, but I disagree when he said they never needed to use free agency during their last run. He's confusing need with desire, there were certainly needs.
  24. TheLeviathan
    This team has enough issues without taking its one special player and making him a whole lot less special.
  25. TheLeviathan
    I meant to go back and edit that discrepancy but ran out of time, so my apologies. I'm not convinced he becomes better at first by a long shot, but I'm convinced we can't find anywhere close to a replacement at catcher.
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