killertwinsfan

Thanks John! I'll work on that. Never did great in my English and writting classes in college but i guess now is as good a time as any to start improving

First of all thanks to those who read my first article thatI posted yesterday. I got more views then I hoped for. One person even likedit, thanks mom! Well if it’s allowed on a Twins blog I have a few thoughtson yesterday’s trades. It looks like the Tigers are going all in for 2012. Theytraded a top 15 pitching prospect a couple fringe prospects and a sandwich draftpick for next season. What they got in return was Anibal Sanchez, Who is an aboveaverage pitcher and certainly a need for the tigers. However he has a 3.94 ERAin the National league and coming to the American League. He does have a FIP of3.41; however that doesn’t count for much in this situation when you considerthe defense that is playing behind him. The problem is compounded even morewhen you consider a groundball rate of 47.6% and the Tigers infield behind him.On the plus side he has a very good strikeout rate of 8.18 per 9. He should fitin nicely behind Verlander, Fister and Scherzer and gives them another solidoption in a playoff game. They also received Omar Infante. Infante is nothing special atthe plate he makes enough contact to hit for a decent average but has a verylow walk rate and an OBP of .312. He has occasional power and speed, but not differencemaking. As far as in the field he is solid average at second base with a 5.5UZR. However compared to what the Tigers had at second base fans are going tobe calling him the MVP. Overall the Marlins did very well in this trade getting agood pitching prospect for the future. I know some Tigers fans are down onTurner but keep in mind the kid is only 21 and may have been rushed to thebigs. The Fish also got a bit of a bonus with 2 prospects who could pan out anda sandwich pick which can produce some nice players. For the Tigers Sanchez and Infante probably add 2-4 wins forthe rest of the season. The big impact is on the playoffs; this solidifies therotation and takes care of the gapping black hole at second base. Do I thinkthat the Tigers gave up too much? Yes, and if this doesn’t go well they couldreally regret it in the near future. However if them helps them win the WorldSeries, to quote ESPNs Keith Law “Flags fly forever.” The other trade involved a big name and little impact. Foranyone gasping in shock the Ichiro is now a Yankee calm down. This isn’t theIchiro of old. His bat speed and leg sped are both down meaning he can’t slapand run like he used to. In fact his .288 OBP is just plain awful. In fact hiswOBA is .281 with .290 being considered awful. The value for the Yankees is hisdefense; it’s the one thing he still can do. Corner outfield defense for theYankees has been brutal this year and Ichiro is still a plus defender. So forthe Yankees you take the defense, bat him at the bottom of the order and maybehe can use his speed for a small advantage with the top of the order up. As for the Mariners they got 2 non prospects for Ichiro anda large chunk of cash. Their biggest gain does not have to worry about resigningIchiro in the offseason and dealing with the fan base about it. Well if anyone has questions or comments feel free and I’lldo my best to get back to you. If you think I’m nuts go ahead and tell me why.If you have any questions about the metrics either ask in the comments or visitfangraphs.com and look at the glossary.

First of all thanks to those who read my first article thatI posted yesterday. I got more views then I hoped for. One person even likedit, thanks mom! Well if it’s allowed on a Twins blog I have a few thoughtson yesterday’s trades. It looks like the Tigers are going all in for 2012. Theytraded a top 15 pitching prospect a couple fringe prospects and a sandwich draftpick for next season. What they got in return was Anibal Sanchez, Who is an aboveaverage pitcher and certainly a need for the tigers. However he has a 3.94 ERAin the National league and coming to the American League. He does have a FIP of3.41; however that doesn’t count for much in this situation when you considerthe defense that is playing behind him. The problem is compounded even morewhen you consider a groundball rate of 47.6% and the Tigers infield behind him.On the plus side he has a very good strikeout rate of 8.18 per 9. He should fitin nicely behind Verlander, Fister and Scherzer and gives them another solidoption in a playoff game. They also received Omar Infante. Infante is nothing special atthe plate he makes enough contact to hit for a decent average but has a verylow walk rate and an OBP of .312. He has occasional power and speed, but not differencemaking. As far as in the field he is solid average at second base with a 5.5UZR. However compared to what the Tigers had at second base fans are going tobe calling him the MVP. Overall the Marlins did very well in this trade getting agood pitching prospect for the future. I know some Tigers fans are down onTurner but keep in mind the kid is only 21 and may have been rushed to thebigs. The Fish also got a bit of a bonus with 2 prospects who could pan out anda sandwich pick which can produce some nice players. For the Tigers Sanchez and Infante probably add 2-4 wins forthe rest of the season. The big impact is on the playoffs; this solidifies therotation and takes care of the gapping black hole at second base. Do I thinkthat the Tigers gave up too much? Yes, and if this doesn’t go well they couldreally regret it in the near future. However if them helps them win the WorldSeries, to quote ESPNs Keith Law “Flags fly forever.” The other trade involved a big name and little impact. Foranyone gasping in shock the Ichiro is now a Yankee calm down. This isn’t theIchiro of old. His bat speed and leg sped are both down meaning he can’t slapand run like he used to. In fact his .288 OBP is just plain awful. In fact hiswOBA is .281 with .290 being considered awful. The value for the Yankees is hisdefense; it’s the one thing he still can do. Corner outfield defense for theYankees has been brutal this year and Ichiro is still a plus defender. So forthe Yankees you take the defense, bat him at the bottom of the order and maybehe can use his speed for a small advantage with the top of the order up. As for the Mariners they got 2 non prospects for Ichiro anda large chunk of cash. Their biggest gain does not have to worry about resigningIchiro in the offseason and dealing with the fan base about it. Well if anyone has questions or comments feel free and I’lldo my best to get back to you. If you think I’m nuts go ahead and tell me why.If you have any questions about the metrics either ask in the comments or visitfangraphs.com and look at the glossary.

First let me say that I think Willingham has been great thisseason. Besides the big power numbers he is also posting a .389 OBP, tied for 8thin the American league with Miguel Cabrera. Also he is tied for 8thin the league in HR again with Miguel Cabrera. In fact if you dive deeper intothe numbers Willingham is in the top 10 as well in ISO (Isolated power), BB%(Base on ball percentage) SLG%, wOBA (Weighted on Base Average) wRC (weighted runscreated) and wRAA (weighted runs above average). Willingham also has a W.A.R.(Wins Above Replacement) of 3.6, which is higher than players with names likeDavid Ortiz, Jose Bautista, Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, and Prince Fielder. Whenyou add it all up Willingham is in the top 10 offensive players in the AL. Now you might look at those numbers and think the Twins needWillingham we would be hurting even more without him. And you would be right, asfar as Win Probability Added there is no one better in the AL then JoshWillingham. He is also a right handed power bat which is becoming more valuablethese days. All that being said these are the reasons the Twins need to trade Willingham. It’s time to realizethat we are in rebuilding mode, we don’t have much in the form of a pitchingstaff, the offense has been ok but not great, and we are showing nothing thatsuggests the twins can climb into contention. The eye needs to move to thefuture and the best way to build that is to restock the farm system. While Spanand Liriano could bring back some decent prospects, a big right handed powerbat is probably our best bet to land a big prospect. And the best time to tradeWillingham is either by the July 31st trade deadline or in theoffseason. Keep in mind Willingham is 33 years old this is probably his topyear. If the Twins wait until 2014 in the last year of his contract and he onlyhas about 10 HR at the deadline his trade value in very little when youconsider he is below average defensively. Right now when he is getting on base,hitting for power in a pitchers park, and the fact that he has a very friendly contractfor a player of his current offensive ability, now is when is value isgreatest. One may argue that this is a guy the twins need to buildaround, and if Willingham was 23 instead of 33 I would agree with you. Most likelywhen the Twins are competitive again Willingham will not be on the team or hisnumbers will be way down. While I love the signing of him and what he has donefor the team the best thing he can do know is bring back future value to theteam. If you have questions about the stats I used at thebeginning of the blog look at fangraphs.com they have a glossary to explain them.

First let me say that I think Willingham has been great thisseason. Besides the big power numbers he is also posting a .389 OBP, tied for 8thin the American league with Miguel Cabrera. Also he is tied for 8thin the league in HR again with Miguel Cabrera. In fact if you dive deeper intothe numbers Willingham is in the top 10 as well in ISO (Isolated power), BB%(Base on ball percentage) SLG%, wOBA (Weighted on Base Average) wRC (weighted runscreated) and wRAA (weighted runs above average). Willingham also has a W.A.R.(Wins Above Replacement) of 3.6, which is higher than players with names likeDavid Ortiz, Jose Bautista, Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, and Prince Fielder. Whenyou add it all up Willingham is in the top 10 offensive players in the AL. Now you might look at those numbers and think the Twins needWillingham we would be hurting even more without him. And you would be right, asfar as Win Probability Added there is no one better in the AL then JoshWillingham. He is also a right handed power bat which is becoming more valuablethese days. All that being said these are the reasons the Twins need to trade Willingham. It’s time to realizethat we are in rebuilding mode, we don’t have much in the form of a pitchingstaff, the offense has been ok but not great, and we are showing nothing thatsuggests the twins can climb into contention. The eye needs to move to thefuture and the best way to build that is to restock the farm system. While Spanand Liriano could bring back some decent prospects, a big right handed powerbat is probably our best bet to land a big prospect. And the best time to tradeWillingham is either by the July 31st trade deadline or in theoffseason. Keep in mind Willingham is 33 years old this is probably his topyear. If the Twins wait until 2014 in the last year of his contract and he onlyhas about 10 HR at the deadline his trade value in very little when youconsider he is below average defensively. Right now when he is getting on base,hitting for power in a pitchers park, and the fact that he has a very friendly contractfor a player of his current offensive ability, now is when is value isgreatest. One may argue that this is a guy the twins need to buildaround, and if Willingham was 23 instead of 33 I would agree with you. Most likelywhen the Twins are competitive again Willingham will not be on the team or hisnumbers will be way down. While I love the signing of him and what he has donefor the team the best thing he can do know is bring back future value to theteam. If you have questions about the stats I used at thebeginning of the blog look at fangraphs.com they have a glossary to explain them.