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NoCal

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  1. NoCal
    Benson reminds me of another player who had fabulous tools, but in that instant when he needed to relax and let his skills manifest, he couldn't. That player was Billy Beane. The lesson that Beane took from his own experience is one that he now applies to building a team: there is a "sixth tool" - call it makeup, personality, character, whatever - that separates the successful major leaguer from the skilled, but non successful. And often that tool shows up in the numbers, the stats. Scout the player for tools, but pay attention to the actual performance. Benson is like so many other great athletes who could not translate that ability into high performance in the major leagues, and it frustrates him. An example of a skilled athlete with an abundance of that sixth tool - Joe Maurer.
  2. NoCal
    btw - Since his departure from the Twins, Marquis has actually performed pretty well, as a back end of the rotation starter in a pitcher-friendly park, on a non-contending team. (He beat the Giants yesterday...). So maybe the Twins gave up on him a bit early. Pelfrey is really this year's Marquis; if we can tolerate some rough patches and hard hit balls, will he eventually reach his potential of being a decent, back end of the rotation starter in a pitcher friendly park? Parker Hageman's analysis of Pelfrey suggests that he is on a trajectory of improvement, which will require time and repetition to succeed. Should the Twins show that patience?
  3. NoCal
    May I request a tutorial from Mr Hageman that shows us how KC is doing so well? He is making the big bad AL look pretty tame. Are there new pitches? New patterns? We could learn a lot from him.......
  4. NoCal
    I think that an important stat that the Twins put a lot of value on, is the amount of time that Correia - and other pitchers - have spent on the DL. Durability is truly vital (see LA Dodgers this year), and though injuries are always unpredictable, KC has shown that he knows how to take care of his arm, and that he is a major league starter - maybe not the best, but he goes out there every time his turn comes up, and manages to get hitters out. And though Pelfrey has a totally different injury history, he came cheap, and the Twins apparently did enough research to trust in his rehab schedule. In many respects, pitcher health is the greatest contributor to team success in a given year - or to a team's failure.
  5. NoCal
    Just a note about other camps. Scott Baker has been shut down - elbow issues. Sean Marcum has had shoulder problems. Ryan Dempster is having elbow problems. This winter's free agent pitching market really was a minefield.......
  6. NoCal
    The best middle market organization in baseball, right now, is the St Louis Cardinals. One of their fundamental principles is to avoid having to invest resources into the free agent market. They recognize that free agency is the least cost-effective, and riskiest, way to use your resources. I think that the Twins are wise to avoid pouring $$ into free agents, and we will have to take our lumps for awhile. Trading for prospects suggests that Ryan is taking this approach, and he will have to take the heat for a couple of years, and rely on his scouts and organization to build a new foundation for consistent competitiveness. So give him a B for steering this course in the off season, and hope that his organization still knows how to put together a deep group of prospects to maintain a competitive team.
  7. NoCal
    I believe that Brian Sweeney is out there - non tendered by the Red Sox. Can play any of the outfield positions, pretty good left handed hitter.
  8. NoCal
    Pavano, Baker, Marquis, Liriano - last year's starters. Baker did not throw a pitch; Pavano was injured and done by June; Marquis was the worst starter in the AL prior to release; Liriano - inconsistent, no command, frustrating. Honestly - even tho you hate Correia, the trio of him, Diamond, the guy from Philly, plus eventually Pelfrey and Gibson will be better than 2012, if healthy. Not great, but an upgrade. The Twins are not competitive, and they know it; they are rebuilding, and it takes time. Frustrating - yes. But managing frustration is part of building the team, and of being a fan. It will be ok.
  9. NoCal
    I too have been reticent to comment, a bit reluctant to stir up abuse. I tend to skim the comments, and focus on those contributors who (whom?) I seem to trust. One bit of perspective - goodness, two years of poor baseball is nothing, in the grand scheme of things! I have gone whole decades when the Twins have been non-competitive; it is fun to see how this organization can come back from the setback of the last two years. This is a grand puzzle, a fun diversion. Enjoy!
  10. NoCal
    A couple of observations. - Span came back and played a couple of games; the last play he made was a long throw from centerfield to third base, catching a runner advancing on a fly ball. Could he have aggravated the earlier injury? If so, is it not logical that he might be deemed disabled at that point, more so than with the earlier, perhaps less severe, injury? - These players make lots of money. Most probably have personal trainers and other members of their entourage who contribute to keeping the player on the field. And an agent, who most definitely has a say on whether the player goes on the disabled list or not. The medical staff does not have total authority on these decisions. - Looking over the Collateral Damage section of Baseball Prospectus: the Twins injury rate is not exceptional, as measured by players on the disabled list. Excellent organizations like Washington and Texas have had far more injuries. That's life. And probably outside of our ability to evaluate.......
  11. NoCal
    Slama was not on the 40 man roster over the Winter, and any team in baseball could have selected him in the Rule 5 draw. And they didn't. I would think that the A's would have bit, at least.
  12. NoCal
    In today's Baseball Prospectus, Ben Lindbergh writes a fascinating comparison of the way that the Oakland A's and the Tampa Bay Rays have succeeded this year. Very relevant to the Twins - especially the difficulty and high cost of finding pitching success thru free agency. Link is http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18128 , although it may be behind some wall.
  13. NoCal
    Thank you for the report - I was at the game also, and agree with all of your observations, including an appreciation for the Coliseum. One other thing - Plouffe hit the ball hard a couple of times, and seems to be getting more comfortable at the plate. After Carson's double (and there is another guy who is at least showing some ability to take advantage of an opportunity), Plouffe hit a drive to left directly at Cespedes, but it was hit so hard that the runner at third had no chance to even think of tagging and scoring (and Doumit is not exactly a burner). Trevor has some power in his swing, suggesting that he can be a more realistic threat than Valencia was. Hendricks was frustrating, as he just could not capitalize on this new opportunity. His release point seemed to lack consistency at times, and he was behind too many hitters; but he did battle through his struggles and show some quality, especially in the fifth inning, as you mentioned. And it is a game of inches - two run-scoring hits were literally inches from Casilla's glove; another problem revealed - Alexis is too short. Also, one other observation from this West Coast swing - Oakland and Seattle have a bunch of good pitchers.
  14. NoCal
    I suspect that a player making millions of dollars a year - such as Pavano, or Span - probably has his own personal trainer, and a very attentive agent. I also imagine that the final decision on playing, and even medical procedures, lies with the player and agent first, with consultation with the medical staff and outside doctors. Judging by other player's around baseball (Stephen Drew, Carl Crawford, David Ortiz) who have had injury issues that become controversial, I think that a team's medical staff is in a very difficult position mediating between competing interests. The Twins caution around injuries and roster decisions probably is strongly influenced by agents looking out for their clients' - and their own - economic interests. I also think there is a story here which could use some research.......
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