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Otto von Ballpark

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Everything posted by Otto von Ballpark

  1. Otto von Ballpark
    I'm not sure Milwaukee rises to the level of "screwing" -- they had an open spot on their 40-man, and claimed a guy who unfortunately was still #40 on their depth chart, so he was the first to get dropped when someone better came along. As it came in the offseason, it didn't materially affect Walker at all, except perhaps he had to investigate where the Brewers offseason training facilities are, and maybe look ahead to his April 2017 living arrangements in the Brewers AAA town? It would be a little trickier for Walker in the regular season, but of course he would be compensated a bit with increased pay while with the Brewers and while in DFA limbo, as opposed to being outrighted by the Twins.
  2. Otto von Ballpark
    So what exactly is the point of your suggested rule change? That the Twins deserve extended control over marginal prospects like Adam Brett Walker, beyond 3.5 years without using a 40-man roster spot (or beyond 4.5 years after only 1 season on the 40-man)? (And that's for a college player -- they already get an extra year of control beyond that for high school / international amateurs.) I'm not seeing that as a pressing issue.
  3. Otto von Ballpark
    Minor leaguers can't opt for free agency until they have played parts of 7 seasons in the minors, like Pat Dean. Walker still has 2 years to go. Even if he clears waivers right now, he would still be property of Milwaukee. He could always retire from the sport, of course, but Milwaukee would retain his baseball rights. Once a player has enough MLB service, they can refuse an outright assignment off the 40 man roster, but Walker is obviously not at that point yet.
  4. Otto von Ballpark
    One problem is, these employees aren't being "terminated" -- they are being transferred or demoted. I could see a small stipend for moving expenses where necessary. Better minor league pay might render some of these issues moot too.
  5. Otto von Ballpark
    Walker can't do that by himself, unless he is released. He still has two more seasons of club control before minor league free agency. I suppose he could request a sale overseas and a club could try to accommodate that request.
  6. Otto von Ballpark
    I think you are exaggerating the effects of this on fans. The vast, vast majority of fans don't even know who these fringe DFA guys are, much less care about where they get their cup of coffee. From a macro view, guys getting claimed off waivers only to get waived again shortly thereafter is almost meaningless. They are marginal players, and these are marginal moves. Pretty much by definition, it's hard to be too concerned about them either way. If anything in the waiver rules needs obvious tweaking, it is the gentlemen's agreement among clubs not to claim players being waived for the purposes of being sold overseas. I understand most clubs like the Twins obviously seek the player's consent to such a sale first, but those players deserve the right to more accurately judge their career prospects stateside first if they want.
  7. Otto von Ballpark
    He was aided by the fact that the Twins kept him on the 40-man roster all season, in part because the waiver rules meant he would certainly be claimed if they tried to remove him.
  8. Otto von Ballpark
    But if you discourage other teams from making "bogus" (or maybe more accurately, marginal) waiver claims, you're just making it more likely that such players will clear waivers and immediately lose 40-man benefits. And thus you encourage teams to waive guys earlier because there will be less risk of a claim. It is in the marginal player's best interest to stay on a 40-man roster as long as possible, and the current waiver system helps facilitate that. And like you say, it doesn't really matter whether Walker is stuck at AAA with the Twins or with the Brewers, so I think he would prefer the waiver outcome that gave him the best pay/benefits in the meantime (although pay is probably moot in the offseason). At some point, free agency is a good option, but part of the value of these marginal guys is the option of team control, so giving them earlier free agency might depress some of their value/usefulness a bit too.
  9. Otto von Ballpark
    If you give the Brewers less incentive to claim him, you give the Twins more incentive to drop him from the 40 man. I guess you could balance that a bit by giving players the option to elect free agency, although I suspect a lot of them would pass. They'd probably rather get claimed even if they know they will probably get DFA'd again in the near future. You get better pay/benefits in the meantime than if you were a FA or off someone's 40 man. And it is easier to stay on a 40 man than to get back on one. Heck, if you get a serious injury while on a 40 man, you go on the 60 day DL. If you're not on a 40 man, you probably get cut.
  10. Otto von Ballpark
    Ashbury -- I am not sure I understand the concern. If you make it easier for teams to remove players from the 40 man roster, more fringe guys are going to get removed from the 40 man roster. Teams have enough advantages over players at that stage in their careers, why would you want to add another?
  11. Otto von Ballpark
    At the same time, Falvey probably knows their flaws too, and participated in the discussions that led to those players being left unprotected. I'd be rather surprised if the first overall pick came from Cleveland or Texas (unless there is some obvious consensus candidate from one of those orgs). Too many interesting guys on the board at that point, familiarity just isn't going to be much of a factor. Maybe if we try making a second round selection, although that might be pretty unlikely too.
  12. Otto von Ballpark
    You should only visit startribune.com in a private/incognito window in your web browser, and you will avoid any limit. I know in desktop Chrome, there is even an extension you can install that will force selected sites to open incognito by default, so you don't even have to remember to do it. I think this is the one: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/incognito-filter/cifilbmpnkjinlkchohdfcpdkmpngiik?hl=en
  13. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't think it is the athletes so much as the coaches and administrators.
  14. Otto von Ballpark
    Another cool thing to check out is what networks/apps support logging in with a Vue or Sling account, like you could with a cable or satellite account. For example, Fox Sports Go, Watch ESPN, etc. Generally you get those channels in the Sling/Vue package, but then you're not necessarily tied to the Sling/Vue apps/interface. DIRECTV is coming out with their own Sling/Vue type streaming service soon, which may also warrant an investigation. I hear they will be offering a free Apple TV box with 3 month subscription too, similar to the deals that Sling has run.
  15. Otto von Ballpark
    You can't record Sling. (Well, other than playing it in a web client while doing a screen capture, I suppose!) You might want to look into Sony's Vue -- a service a lot like Sling, but with an added online DVR feature.
  16. Otto von Ballpark
    The new front office guys did talk to Plouffe's agent very recently. So the call about his release wasn't at all unexpected. Also, would it really be better to leave a voicemail saying "call me back" only to have Plouffe hear the news by some other means first? (Note by that point, the info was out of the Twins control, as it had been filed with league)
  17. Otto von Ballpark
    After a non-tender, the Twins could re-sign Plouffe the same as any other club. If it seems rare, it is probably because nontenders are relatively rare themselves. But it does happen -- just eyeballing last year's nontender tracker at MLBTR, I see 3 guys who re-signed with their previous club. (Marginal players, admittedly, but virtually all nontenders are.) Jack Cust was a notable nontender and re-sign back in the day. I just don't think there is any evidence that teams are losing an exorbitant number of talents like Plouffe thanks to the arbitration system. (Heck, Plouffe himself is 30 years old and has been Twins property for 12.5 seasons, it does not appear the Twins are even losing him egregiously early.)
  18. Otto von Ballpark
    Update: Police officer charged in fatal shooting of Philando Castile http://www.startribune.com/ramsey-county-attorney-choi-to-announce-update-in-castile-shooting/401484635/
  19. Otto von Ballpark
    In practical terms, I think fewer voters are encouraged/empowered by the electoral college, than are discouraged from having their vote manipulated (either ignored in a losing state effort, or cast aside after the state is won). If the nation is evenly divided enough, it doesn't help bridge the divide by unnaturally weighing the results. Admittedly it would be hard to get Republicans to give up the EC since it was their most recent path to victory, but I think it is a worthy cause.
  20. Otto von Ballpark
    If you want local context, there are Senate races, House races, state and local races, ballot iniatives, etc. Huge parts of our American government are based entirely on local context. The presidential election is a single contest for which the entire nation votes simultaneously. It doesn't make sense to weigh those votes to artificially inject local context. It almost certainly discourages participation on both sides and causes dissatisfaction in the unnatural results.
  21. Otto von Ballpark
    This analogy doesn't really work, IMO. Runs are weighted equally in games. And games are equally weighted sequential events in a series, not unequal simultaneous ones. If we were talking about a series of runoff elections, it might work. But in a one-shot contest, it doesn't make sense to weigh certain runs or votes differently. Such weightig almost certainly causes more dissatisfaction or disinterest in the outcome than the perceived benefits.
  22. Otto von Ballpark
    Tyranny of the majority rings hollow here. We still have the Senate giving equal weight to the states. Not to mention a fair amount of autonomy for state governments. Also every other office is decided by majority/plurality vote, and we don't worry about tyranny of the majority there. Why? Because our system has checks and balances, even on the presidency. Letting the presidency be decided by unweighted popular vote wouldn't be ignoring voters, it would just be rebalancing one part of the system where there has been ample evidence it is needed. Diverse geographical areas would still have an equal voice in the Senate, and a hand in approviding Supreme Court justices. That seems plenty fair, and more logical than continuing to let some people's votes count more or less in our one nationwide election.
  23. Otto von Ballpark
    And again, we're just talking about presidential elections. Rural state voters would keep their outsized weighing in the Senate, which is more than enough to keep them from being "ignored" or "completely neutered." In fact, it was those Senate voices who postponed filling the Supreme Court vacancy this year, to further motivate their constituents to vote in the presidential election. So these rural state votes are getting outsized impact on all three branches of the federal government! Even abolishing the electoral college would leave them with outsized impact on ~1.5 branches (recognizing the role of the Senate in forming the Supreme Court). That seems like enough, doesn't it? A far cry from being "ignored" or "completely neutered" or cause for civil war. And a far better blend/balance of that voice in the national conversation than we currently have.
  24. Otto von Ballpark
    But in Minnesota, while that LGBTQ vote might be counted, most rural presidential votes are currently "ignored." Abolishing the electoral college would actually give more power to those individuals, as well as in Illinois, as well as Republicans in California and NY. A far cry from being "completely neutered" as you claim. If you're looking for a "better blend" in vote counting, you can't do much better than eliminate the electoral college. Remove the outsized weighting given to votes in WY, SD, ND, etc., and in turn, increase the weighting of like-minded dissension votes in MN, IL, CA, NY, etc.
  25. Otto von Ballpark
    That LGBTQ individual living in a rural area? Their presidential vote was likely ignored (and practically their state/local votes too). And you're arguing that's a good thing for them? Being LGBTQ in a rural area will likely suck regardless, now and for some time into the future, because of local/state policy and attitudes. I don't see why you'd want to silence their voice in the one election they might be able to affect, and that might help set the tone for how quickly those policies and attitudes change.
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