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TheLeviathan

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Everything posted by TheLeviathan

  1. TheLeviathan
    I think we should definitely turn this into a thread about what good parents do. In all seriousness, the "language you don't want your kids to see" is probably leaving open this kind of problem. That isn't as clear as I think it's intended to be. Some might see it as very restrictive and others might not take it seriously at all. I think the message is sent by the rest of that paragraph, you could probably just do without that line and save the confusion.
  2. TheLeviathan
    Some analysis of where the players were moved and for what would probably help your cause. That said, I think the Twins have to think long term. They have some potentially valuable pieces that, yes, are fan favorites and play the game the "Twins Way" and all that other stuff, but are aging with injury risk circling them like vultures. If they can get value they have to be able to move them. I guess I've always found this team's unwillingness to trade assets so strange when they almost never have had an issue letting players walk as FA.
  3. TheLeviathan
    This deserves at least a billion likes.
  4. TheLeviathan
    Here's the problem I see with that. First - he has had injuries, lots of them, even during his prime. He's coming up to that age threshold when professional players start to break down physically. If he's continuing to be a very productive offensive player, at that age, it's unlikely he's going to want to go year by year. And it's very unlikely he will continue to be "affordable". It's nothing personal with Willingham, I like him as a player a lot, but you're giving up a lot of potential value now (while he IS affordable and productive) in order to keep him around several seasons from now when the odds are far less likely he will be. Given that corner outfield/DH is the most easily replaced positions on the field I think you capitalize on high value now if the market presents that. I agree with not selling short, I wouldn't just dump him to dump him. But I think there is reason to believe that he would have trade value for exactly the same reasons you believe he has value to the Twins.
  5. TheLeviathan
    It's highly unlikely Willingham is going to be a continuing positive force on the roster beyond 2014. His cost will more than likely increase if he continues to hit this well or his injury riddled past will come back to haunt him as his body ages. Morneau you could be right about, but his concussion history is always a ticking time-bomb that the club is going to have to consider before guaranteeing him anything.
  6. TheLeviathan
    Fair enough, though the same article also quotes Smith as overseeing the scouting department. Any way you shake it, Ryan should get no more or less credit than Smith for what the farm looks like. Ryan has generally gotten a lot of credit (deserved in my opinion) for turning the farm system around in the mid to late 90s. It also suffered horribly towards the end of his run. I just think holding the same standard with another GM is fair. I don't think that's going out on a limb.
  7. TheLeviathan
    Professionally scaring children seems like his best suited role. Unless we're strictly talking baseball.....
  8. TheLeviathan
    Then perhaps Smith should get credit for giving him that job. Sounds like he's the guy that wanted Deron there. Could be that Smith was familiar with what Deron did well and wanted to shift our drafting strategy. In which case I give a big tip of the cap to Deron and a tip of the cap to Smith for putting the right guy in that role.
  9. TheLeviathan
    Huh? So you actually do know what their farm looks like or you don't?
  10. TheLeviathan
    One important thing to note is that while this may be true, it's undeniable that when Smith took over the Twin's drafting philosophy changed. So why or how that happened, I doubt that was coincidental. Smith may not have been making the choices, but he may have been dictating preferences.
  11. TheLeviathan
    Sure, that's one definition. I think "random" is being used here in terms of there not being one set method/formula/recipe etc for winning. So the idea that you can sit, pre-playoffs - and call the winner is not easy to do. The other factors in baseball come into play on a game-by-game basis, but the idea that you can solve the World Series by having a particular roster construction is WAY overplayed. There have been plenty of WS winners in the last ten years that were FAR from ideal on paper and still found a way to win.
  12. TheLeviathan
    Now there is an "Homage to BYTO" topic we could all get fired up about. FWIW - I've always been in the same camp and got a good chuckle out of all of the media and fans that say "what we've always been missing is an ace!" To me, what we've always been missing is just that one break that gets the ball rolling. See: The multiple bad breaks of 2006. Whether or not Gardy should be somehow accountable for not getting those breaks is beyond my pay grade, but at some point continued failure at least should generate consideration for changing up the "mojo" if nothing else.
  13. TheLeviathan
    Exactly. The Castro over Bartlett one still stands out to me. I don't think anyone disagrees with Gardy in a general sense, I think the disagreement is in how this phrase is used to elevate lesser talents and denigrate others. In fact, I think Casilla was an example of it being used for and against him. I like how others have phrased this and it's an angle I never even considered -these vague intangibles are really being used too heavily to construct our rosters. They are foolish replacements for actual talent and production.
  14. TheLeviathan
    Are you providing the same? It's disingenuous to provide a couple names and say your position of the debate is any more settled than the opposing view. I always bristle at the demand for more facts than a poster has already provided themselves. Personally, I think draft position matters infinitely less than quality scouting. Your post was a mish-mash of bizarre excuses. If you don't feel Ryan is mostly accountable to the dip in our farm, why post a bunch of excuses for him? A simple "well that's not all on Ryan" would've sufficed.
  15. TheLeviathan
    I understand what is generally meant by the term - calling out positioning, relaying calls, taking charge, etc - what I don't understand is the Gardy version of it. I don't think this is a layman's misunderstanding. If you want evidence of that - Jason Bartlett was a pretty established ball player and didn't apparently have a clue what it was either.
  16. TheLeviathan
    First, Ryan is generally getting majority credit for his successes so it only makes sense to give Smith the same. Hell, if you're going to give Smith full blame for his mistakes, full credit only makes sense too. Second, you posted a long, multi-paragraph rant primarily focused on not having a top ten pick as being the reason for Ryan allowing the farm to dip. You said that the Twins scouting department is large....as a reason to bash Smith but promote how great Ryan is? You suggested that only drafting in the top 10 is how the Twins build farm success, yet I'd suggest you look at BA's top 10 Twins prospects and see how (and when) most of them were acquired. You also cited two recent signings by Ryan in a discussion about what he did 5 years ago that hurt the farm. This is not Ryan bashing. I like Ryan, but that shouldn't preclude a tip of the hat to Smith. It certainly shouldn't require us to excuse poor drafting with draft position. It wasn't Ryan's finest time, I think he's even said as much when he briefly retired from the role. (Burnout)
  17. TheLeviathan
    I'm not suggesting I know why the tail-end of Ryan's run was such a failure for the farm system. I will suggest that pinning it on picking later in the draft was baseless. As you said, lots of teams have success picking lower in the order - including Terry Ryan and the Twins.
  18. TheLeviathan
    I thought it was pretty clear that the argument of "we had bad draft position" is a poor excuse for the farm system dipping. And contrary to the claims of some here, it clearly was dipping at the time Smith took over the role. Again, Smith made A LOT of mistakes. But he also oversaw the drafting, signing, or developing of most of our current top 10 prospects which, by the way, makes this farm system one of the top 3-5 in the league at this point. And I'm not convinced that Ryan's track record would have been as positive if he was in charge in that stretch. Ryan has plenty of positives he brings back to the organization, but let's not pretend Smith's aggressiveness had no payoffs. We may be about to reap those rewards.
  19. TheLeviathan
    Man I want to believe this so bad......just can't. Gardy has defeated my will to believe in rationality with this team's roster construction. Fingers crossed.
  20. TheLeviathan
    Skyline - if you swing as close to home plateas you can in that section - best seats in the house. Protected from the harsh elements, convenient for all the good grub, and great sightlines. The rest of the outfield, in my experience, are pretty crummy seats.
  21. TheLeviathan
    One of these days I'd like a detailed description of what this "control the infield" thing is. It's what sunk Bartlett early and has been repeated many times. It's so vague I'm not sure what it is.
  22. TheLeviathan
    I wouldn't say Smith's run was total catastrophe. It bears repeating that most all the pieces we are excited about for the future came during his tenure. I'm not convinced Ryan would've signed Sano, for example. Lots of mistakes, but that shouldn't prevent us from overlooking the positives.
  23. TheLeviathan
    The problem with that idea Highabove is that it presumes the Twins medical staff is aware of a problem requiring action. Typically we play with a 21 or 22 man roster while we wait these things out.
  24. TheLeviathan
    No one hustles more than Mastro? Sounds like the clubhouse leader to me!
  25. TheLeviathan
    I do like the fees dropping, that was a real irritation last year.
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