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Willihammer

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Everything posted by Willihammer

  1. Willihammer
    Echo all of this
  2. Willihammer
    Data is from 2009-2011. Umps have only been using Pitchf/x to judge their strike calling since 2008. They do need to get better at calling strikes in 3-0 and 0-2, and I believe they will, but it will take time. http://www.baseballanalytics.org/baseball-analytics-blog/2014/2/27/umpires-calling-balls-and-strikes-better-than-ever-before.html If at some point the quality of umpiring plateaus where umps are repeatedly making wrong calls despite their best efforts to correct themselves, then I think you talk about having tech take over or expanding replay. Right now they are just figuring out those patterns.
  3. Willihammer
    A little disappointing that this place: http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/5d581fe25a8d885dfc3c0d44ae6bc618d961f779/c=300-0-3653-2522&r=x513&c=680x510/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2014/03/26//1395877837001-replay2.jpg can't cope with challenges from 2 games simultaneously. that 5 minute delay yesterday was brutal http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_25480671/twins-lengthy-replay-challenge-impacts-game
  4. Willihammer
    All of those guys have been up and down. Also Rodon's velo is 89-92 this spring which isn't unusual for him to start throwing slower, but its not exactly encouraging either. Beede's been wild at times which as I understand it was the major question mark on him all along. I actually like Hoffman the best of those 3 right now. Regardless, did you see Toussaint's numbers? He is dominating. It just seems strange to me that he would start the year at 8, and pretty much everyone above him would struggle and he'd dominate, and the standings don't really change. In fact I saw one mock with him falling all the way to 18 for some reason. I just don't get it.
  5. Willihammer
    What more does he need to do? Velo is there. Curveball is definitely there. Improved command, improved changeup. Comps to Pedro. He started the year 8 on MLB.com's board. I think he's definitely in top 5 conversation by now, esp. with Rodon, Hoffman and Beede all inconsistent.
  6. Willihammer
    Write up on Toussaint. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-03-28/sports/fl-baseball-touki-touissant-0329-20140328_1_touki-toussaint-maxpreps-big-season He's also getting comps to Pedro now. Throws 97. Hammer of a curveball. Changeup's coming along too? I'm sold. His stuff is electric.
  7. Willihammer
    I'd probably aim for a starter too, but I disagree elite defensive catchers are hard to replace. Last year there were 3 who hit free agency - Ross, Molina, and McCann. The year before 3 - Ross, Molina, Martin. Undoubtedly there are minor league journeymen and backups out there who are just as skilled but nobody seems to be scouting those guys with the exception of a couple teams. Meanwhile guys like Pierzynski and Saltalamacchia (and Mauer) get paid millions for their bats even though they are inferior defensive catchers and overall provide similar value. Its such an obvious area ripe for exploitation, and actually, I think Pinto would be a great candidate to move due to his solid bat and lousy defense. Someone will overpay for him.
  8. Willihammer
    IMO the trade is yet another move where the strategy was sound but the talent eval failed. Either the Twins eval of Ramos, Capps, or both players. I like the strategy of trading catching for pitching (or other players) for 3 reasons: 1. The trend in concussions and other injury risks inherent to catching make them a risky investment. Although probably not quite as risky as pitching. 2. Catchers can provide more value faster with good defense than other position players due to the sheer number of guaranteed opportunities (framing, blocking, pitch calling, etc). 3. These misc. skills aren't valued proportionately to traditional batting stats in free agency yet. Eg. Jose Molina signing for .3 to 3 million dollars / year for the past 10 years compared to Joe Mauer signing for 23m/year.
  9. Willihammer
    Any guy coming off the bench cold is going to do worse than when he starts. Whatever marginal advantage Escobar might have over Florimon would be erased by the fact that he'd sat all game and Florimon had already seen Sale twice. IMO the best move for that spot, in decending order: 1. PH Pinto 2. PH Bartlett 3. Leave Florimon in 4. PH Kubel 5. PH Escobar
  10. Willihammer
    Its also weird that we get all these Dominicans and not a single Haitian.
  11. Willihammer
    Gardy is that you? Of course we could blame ever single loss on the players. Doesn't change Gardy's job which is to get the most out of them and give his team the best chance to win games.
  12. Willihammer
    Thanks, I misremembered. Down 3 instead of 2, Gardy probably was looking to get another baserunner for Dozier-Mauer-Willingham to drive in. Which makes a lot more sense but, is Escobar the best man for that job either? edit (d'oh): Dozier-Suzuki-Mauer
  13. Willihammer
    Down 3-5 in the 8th with a runner on base, I think you're primary concern has to be - who gives us the best chance to tie the game with 1 swing of the bat, doesn't it?
  14. Willihammer
    Recap: Twins were behind 2-5. Due up were Hicks and Florimon for their 3rd PA against Sale, then Dozier for his 4th. Hicks roped a double, then Gardy pulled Florimon back and put in Escobar to PH. (Sale remained in the game). On the bench at this point were: Pinto, Bartlett, and Kubel. ??? edit: Down 2-5 at the time, not 3-5
  15. Willihammer
    ftfy
  16. Willihammer
    I'm pulling for Jason
  17. Willihammer
    His tipping habits? And people wonder why the clubhouse is so quiet. I wonder how different Kirby's perception would be now if twitter had been around and people could scrutinize every little non-baseball related thing he did. Tell you what. Maybe the answer to the clubhouse woes is just to kick the damn media out of it so the players can focus on baseball.
  18. Willihammer
    Haven't seen a lot of chatter about McKinney: [video=youtube;0680YLlT9Hc] Look at that changeup. 6 swings, 6 misses. Anyone know where his fastball has been clocked this spring?
  19. Willihammer
    The thing watching Aiken - he kinda short arms it, doesn't he? Reminds me of CJ Wilson. I'm intrigued by him but skeptical that he has ace upside with that delivery.
  20. Willihammer
    What happened to the optimism? Before Saturday the Twins had lost 10 games in a row. 10 game losing streaks will dry up optimism of any a fanbase, even if it is only spring training.
  21. Willihammer
    Another random mock: http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-mock-draft-6-0-top-41-picks/42145 That's the first I've seen Jackson going no. 1. We've heard that about Sano too (those of us that haven't seen him live). If Jackson falls to 5, should the Twins take him? edit: Put it another way, if the choice is between Jackson and someone like Hoffman or a tailspinning Rodon, should the Twins take Jackson?
  22. Willihammer
    Is it safe to say that Goin talked Gardy out of putting Suzuki in the 2 hole?
  23. Willihammer
    An unspectacular outing for Beede last night. 5 IP, 5H, 3R, 3BB, 4K against Kentucky. http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/friday-roundup-reed-kentucky-add-another-marquee-win/
  24. Willihammer
    LEN3 and Souhan have Mauer at 3rd in their opening day lineups. http://apps.startribune.com/news/sports/20140328-baseball-manager/results.php?1=1&2=2&3=6&4=3&5=9&6=13&7=4&8=5&9=0&C=9&1B=13&2B=2&3B=1&SS=0&LF=3&CF=5&RF=4&DH=6
  25. Willihammer
    I am familiar with the saying, and I wouldn't be surprised if there is some truth to it. I just think its funny that whenever a ballplayer scores lousy in a newish metric (catcher framing, in this case), he will, without fail, say he "doesn't put much stock in it" or repeat some cliche like this that we've all heard a hundred times so that he doesn't have to explain himself. Anyway, Commandf/x has been capturing catcher mitt placement data since 2010, according to Sportvision's website. Unfortunately MLBAM hasnt released it to the public.
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