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YLT

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Everything posted by YLT

  1. YLT
    On average, if gaining 3-5 runs over the course of a season is as simple and painless as penciling in the lineup in a slightly different way (best hitters at the top, worst at the bottom), what rationale is there for not doing it? It doesn’t take a huge amount of analysis, it doesn’t cost the team any money, it shouldn’t hurt anyone’s ego. I just don’t understand John’s position other than devil’s advocate for the sake of devil’s advocate. The “my precious boy” argument doesn’t hold water. Good players should want as many opportunities to show their talent as possible, especially ones where the current numbers indicate they are way better than a ninth spot hitter.
  2. YLT
    Call me impressed. Any word on whether these dealings were Ryan's? My guess is a little of Ryan and a little of Antony.
  3. YLT
    When a significant portion of the podcast over the last few seasons has been dedicated to both John and Aaron agreeing on the level of mismanagement in the Twins organization - I think Aaron had every right to be taken aback by John's stance. John's opinions are what they are - that's fine, but I think he deserves every bit of grief for statements like, "one of the best organizations in that decade run." Completely ludicrous.
  4. YLT
    The real question for John is why is he so interested in seeing Terry Ryan finish out the season? What value does that have for the Twins short term or long term? Especially if the Pohlad's don't have confidence in him.
  5. YLT
    I doubt Carroll would've put it in play early - he's nothing if not Mauer-esque in his patience and plate discipline.
  6. YLT
    Agreed, it was a bit frustrating to understand the point you were trying to make. Aaron was not arguing sabermetrics - he was simply stating that Dozier getting less at bats is good. There is no simpler way to increase potential run production than that move alone. I don't even know what point you were arguing (fluctuations in the sabermetric unknown?), you weren't even going for devil's advocate, it seemed to be just baying about sabermetrics in general - which was never the point. Better hitters should hit higher in the order and if that's something as simple as Gardy writing it down on the lineup card every day - why not do it? No calculation required.
  7. YLT
    On a similar note: are we of the delusion that players aren't still doping right now? Certainly these guys know about EPO and how well that works and how quickly you can taper off of it before a season starts. How often are major leaguers being tested? Is it ok to dope in the offseason to increase your workload without getting injured and then taper it off before the season begins? Or do they have to be caught in the act? Again, more complex interpretations of "cheating." Cycling and track and field are eons ahead of baseball in this area and I'd say they're still a few steps behind the best dopers. As one track and field commentator put it last summer, "you'd have to be completely stupid to actually get caught at the Olympics using a banned substance." It's all about the timing. So what is it: doping in the offseason is ok and during the season it's not? One time caught and you never go to the HoF? Lifetime ban from baseball on a three strikes you're out rule? What if MLB decides something that's legal today ("natural supplements", suspect use of thyroid medication (steroids), caffeine, etc.) becomes illegal in the next generation? What do you do with the HoF then? Look, I'm not saying we just let everybody dope and be done with it - exactly the opposite. If MLB is serious about this they better up their ante in terms of testing and biological passports, which I am in full support of, otherwise it'll just turn into the NFL. We're simply turning another blind eye if we think doping is over.
  8. YLT
    What's the argument for Perry or Ford being in the HoF then? Is cutting or greasing baseballs not cheating? Or is that just a clever or funny way to cheat so it's ok? How is that advantage any different than steroids? Both of those guys knowingly took illegal measures to enhance their chance of getting an out. Corked bat guys? In or out? How about sign stealers? It's complex and becomes a slippery slope - hence context of the era is needed.
  9. YLT
    I'd also like to point out that while McGwire, Bonds and Sosa were ripping jack-jobs off of every thing thrown their way, no one was saying boo about it. The fans loved it, the media loved it and the owners and Bud Selig knowingly turned a blind eye. The one reporter who wrote an article about McGwire's use of over-the-counter steroids was ostracized for bringing it up during the homerun chase. What McGwire was taking at the time wasn't even a banned substance according to MLB. Certainly he knew that roids = bombs, but there really wasn't much stopping him.
  10. YLT
    Like it or not, baseball's history is nuanced and complex - just like the rest of human history. The fact that it does have such a rich history (for better or worse) is part of what makes baseball such a fantastic game. That begs the question asked recently by ESPN's Jayson Stark: Is the HoF a shrine or a museum or both? If it's a shrine, then a group of people who are already in better get kicked out. Maybe Ty Cobb shouldn't be in the HoF because he was a raging racist. Gaylord Perry and Whitey Ford certainly shouldn't if you consider doctoring baseballs a sin unworthy of the shrine. If it's a museum then that bad part of the history (cheating, drugs, racism, exploitation, etc) can be explained along with the greatness of the player elected. I'm a big fan of the HoF being a museum because historical context is a must. A baseball shrine is sterile, uninteresting and does not tell the story of baseball.
  11. YLT
    If only that were true. 2 of the most secure jobs in baseball. Yup, I'd predict Gardy retires from the job before the front office shows him the door. Andy I'm not so sure of. He might actually be walking on thin ice but again, it's hard to see them breaking up that duo. I think another important point from the managerial/FO side is their handling of injuries and the timing of putting guys on the DL. How many times have injuries been under-diagnosed or guys left on day-to-day status only to later go on the DL for extended stints? There's a major lack of communication between parties somewhere within the organization that is going to bite them some year when they actually are competitive. I'm as frustrated as Gleeman and Bonnes on that topic.
  12. YLT
    The Twins should take whatever they can get for Capps or even just look for a salary dump without any C level prospect - I'd be fine with that. They're paying this "proven closer" ~$80000 per out at this point. What a complete waste of money.
  13. YLT
    Agreed. Just because the Twins have the money doesn't mean those 2-3 (Hamels, Grienke and maybe Peavy) top tier guys are going to sign with a cellar dweller. It's a little harsh to say that the Twins couldn't land a 2nd tier guy as there are more of them in this year's FA class than in recent past. All tier 1 and 2 guys are going to be overpaid - that's just how it works out. If the Twins really are looking to cut payroll then they best roll with whatever sticks against the wall from AAA and maybe hope to luck out on a budget-level arm or two for the time being. It's hard to build a future contending team when you keep throwing money at the Jason Marquis' and Nick Blackburn's of the world or under-utilize high-leverage situation guys like Capps. I dislike everything about the Capps' deals but even more infuriating is how much he makes to pitch 60 innings a year. "Closers" are some of the worst ways to spend money in my opinion - especially a supposed "born closer" of Matt Capps caliber. That was off topic but I needed to get it off my chest.
  14. YLT
    Have the Twins ever spent 5 years / $90 million on a FA starting pitcher? None of those top level starting pitcher FAs would want to come here anyway. I'm very interested to see if the Twins are able to shop Morneau to any extent. Hell, I'd be happy to see a team simply eat his contract - no C level prospects needed. The idea of bundling Liriano w/ Morneau is interesting, though that's a pretty specific need that I doubt many teams have.
  15. YLT
    I'm getting really tired of the money argument for Mauer. It's just an easy out for the booers. When a guy of that caliber comes along you almost never get the value of the long term deal that you put into it. Though, if you don't put that kind of money on the table he's likely to walk and there's no way a guy like Mauer takes on a series of 2 year contracts with the Twins for a career. Only a small percentage of $100 million plus contracts end up actually being "worth" it - particularly in the final years of those contracts. This is why I think long-term deals are not very smart from the standpoint of the front office, no matter what the caliber of player. The Twins did what they did - the money's spent. Just enjoy watching one of the better catchers in the game for the next few years and boo the starting pitching as a whole instead - that's a far more troublesome area for the Twins at this point.
  16. YLT
    For as many question marks there are surrounding Liriano, there is no way the Twins give him the kind of money he'll demand as a free agent. I don't care how much potential he has. If he goes on to another team and finds a little of his old self again I'd be very happy and not incredibly surprised. It just doesn't seem like it's going to happen in MN. Ultimately though it comes down to the cost.
  17. YLT
    Completely agree here. I really like that the Twins mixed up their draft strategy this year with the pitching - go after a whole slew of hard throwing college relief arms and hope for 25% success. Boom, you've got 2 solid relief guys or maybe a serviceable #3 starter if they hit on a successful relief-to-starter conversion. Repeat a similar strategy the next few drafts and you might find yourself with an average/above average pitching staff in 3-4 years time. Maybe not - maybe they all blow their arms out, but I like the gamble over continuing to go after predominantly soft-tossing strike throwers.
  18. YLT
    (1) I'm guessing the Twins have no interest in resigning Baker. (2) Of Gibson, Wimmers and Diamond - I would say maybe one of those guys ends up being a solid #3/#4 starter. Maybe. (3) Pavano and Liriano will be gone next year. (4) Hendriks is a wildcard at this point considering his numbers at AAA vs Majors. So.... Blackburn plus a whole lot of question marks is the idea of a team that's not far from contending? FA pitching has never been the Twins strong suit (plus w/ ticket sales down, the owners will likely nip their spending even further and try to stretch dollars on more high-80s/low-90s "strike throwers") and the farm system is anemic at best as far as starters go. The Twins would be pretty lucky to get anything more than a B/B- pitching prospect for anything they have to offer at this point. That includes Morneau, Willingham, Span, Doumit and Capps. Tough spot to be in and for that reason I see no way this team is anywhere close to contending for the foreseeable future. Unless we consider winning the AL central followed by quickly losing the ALDS as contending. Unfortunately, good pitching is just incredibly hard to get - cheap or not. I'm agreeing with many here that feel the bullpen has been a somewhat pleasant surprise.
  19. YLT
    This is what's tough for a team like the Twins to be in the AL Central: they get on these streaks near the middle of the season approaching the trade deadline and find themselves in no-man's land of "do we buy or sell?" based on how far back they are of whatever mediocre Detroit/Cleveland/Chicago team is ahead of them. When there is no clear cut dominating team in the AL Central, sure, the Twins might look like they could make a go of it being 5-6 games back when in truth they are not a contender in any sense beyond their division, have serious gaps in their farm system and should be sellers all the way if the right offers come knocking that fill those gaps. I don't blame Bremer or the Twins media for being fans, cheerleaders and forever optimistic. That's sort of their job for the casual fan. The average fan doesn't see the medium-long term problems the Twins face like I think many people on here do.
  20. YLT
    I agree to a point. In my opinion, anyone on this team should be considered eligible for trade. Not stupid trades just to dump salary or turn things over for the sake of turning things over, but as Gleeman recently said on the radio broadcast with John Bonnes - if you're going to be a bad team, be a bad team. Blow it all up. Don't straggle along in mediocrity for 8 years. Be terrible for 2-3 years and hope that you've made the smart moves to have a contender for the next 5+ years. I don't buy the idea that they need to put some sort of 'product' on the field that will entice fans to Target Field. It's just as exciting (probably more) to watch a bunch of young guys learn the ropes over a couple of seasons with some high highs and some low lows and see talent develop through the system as it is to watch a (maybe) .500 club with serious holes in the farm system that we'll be subjected to for the foreseeable future if they don't start changing things up. Like I said though, don't trade just to trade but have the attitude that no player is some sacred cow that cannot be parted with if the right offer for what we need comes along.
  21. YLT
    If you know what he's getting at then how were you lost? His WPA has been mediocre at best for the season thus far. I also don't agree with booing Mauer but that doesn't mean we can't look analytically at the situation and call it what it is: he's a great hitter but he hasn't impacted games the way he should be for a guy making >20% of the team's payroll and the "face of the franchise." Again, I would never boo Mauer and I think they paid him what he was worth but lets really look at his impact this year.
  22. YLT
    I'm going to go ahead and agree with you. Ownership seems to work within a pretty specific budget. When's the last time the Twins signed an "elite free agent"?
  23. YLT
    Baseball, as much or more than other sports, has a large mental/psychological/emotional component that I think is largely left up to the individual player to handle. Each an experiment of one. It seems fairly logical that you'd want one of those six trainers to be a pro on the mental front. Think about how many professional golfers use visualization techniques to hone their focus and deal with situations mentally before they meet them head-on during play. I know for a fact that many elite/olympic level marathoners also visualize their race, how the perfect race would go and what happens if the rails come off at some point leading up to the big day. I could see how these techniques might help out Liriano and his rushing. On the Span/Morneau front - no one would blame Morneau if he's been in the dumps throughout his dealings with the post-concussion stuff. If he does have negative thoughts, they should be dealt with if he's to play his best. A sports psychologist may be of assistance there too.
  24. YLT
    I'm hoping you're being sly here, yes? His name is Ramos and we got Capps for him in a trade, who we now overpay and lost two draft picks for doing so.
  25. YLT
    Is it normal for any pitcher no matter his previous arm health to be throwing anywhere near "hard" in the first few days of spring training?
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