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Otto von Ballpark

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Everything posted by Otto von Ballpark

  1. Otto von Ballpark
    First of all, why did you assume I used raw OPS? I didn't actually list any numbers. For what it's worth, I was going by OPS+ actually, which is pretty close to wRC+. Helton's last two seasons (that 88 and 87) weren't part of his big contract . Actually, to your point that we can't re-negotiate anything with Mauer, the Rockies actually did re-work Helton's deal -- he agreed to cut the final year salary of his big contract in half, in exchange for a 2/10 extension. In any case, Helton was only below 117 OPS+ twice through his entire big contract, again non-consecutive and once apparently while injured. Mauer had his poor injury season already in 2011, another tough year overall in 2014 (although not as bad as this year), and now of course 2015. If 2015's numbers are repeated in 2016, he's going to be well beyond Helton's threshold of big-salary suckitude.
  2. Otto von Ballpark
    Both were pretty thoroughly league average prior to coming to Minnesota, and on the wrong side of 30. Healthy mediocrity seemed to be the reasonable upside. That's a lot of resources to tie up for that (money, years, rotation spots), especially when you add in the Hughes extension too.
  3. Otto von Ballpark
    And he might be even more likely to attempt to punch Hicks, miss, and hit Shane Robinson instead.
  4. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't think it is a problem, necessarily. If a team wants a buyout in MLB, they can negotiate it when they sign the contract. Much prefer this system to the NFL, for example.
  5. Otto von Ballpark
    Mauer did play that full contract, the extension did not kick in until 2011. And all pre-arb/pre-FA stars are probably by definition underpaid relative to all players, just due to the system.
  6. Otto von Ballpark
    John, Duffey would have been ineligible to start Saturday until Hughes went on the DL. He wasn't optioned out until August 6-7, and he couldn't be recalled before 10 days unless someone went to the DL. So the original plan for Saturday was probably May / bullpen game. Which they then had to move up to Friday to accommodate Duffey (who will still be one day short of normal rest on Saturday). Funny you bring up Pino and Walters as examples of more disappointing past patches, when both were called up ahead of more promising pitchers in May and Gibson (Walters in 2013, at least). Hopefully Duffey does not become that footnote to Berrios, although the wild card race we are in will magnify this decision more than the Pino/Walters ones.
  7. Otto von Ballpark
    Also, a few guys have retired and skipped some guaranteed money, some while healthy. Sandberg most notably left $16 mil on the table when he retired in 1994. So it doesn't have to be a restructured contract either. Again, not saying it is likely, but a possibility if things don't improve.
  8. Otto von Ballpark
    Different circumstances, but Hamilton and Papelbon have restructured recently. Other guys have restructured to defer money, I think.
  9. Otto von Ballpark
    It would not cost an option if we recalled Berrios again by Sep. 4 (meaning he had fewer than 20 days on optional assignment in 2015). I do think they might be trying to keep him off the 40-man for the winter, which will probably prove unnecessary when we see who they protect/sign.
  10. Otto von Ballpark
    Well, Helton only suffered two seasons at Mauer's current level of play during his big contract, nonconsecutive, and one largely impacted by injury (think Mauer's 2011). I could see Mauer wanting to walk away after three straight years of this, especially when you add in the concussion and what's happened to Morneau this year. Not probable, but possible, I'd say.
  11. Otto von Ballpark
    I agree, although they could get an extra year of control by keeping him down for ~3 weeks into next season (aka the Kris Bryant plan). I don't think they are doing that, but I am not sure what they are doing instead...
  12. Otto von Ballpark
    Thanks for more names! I am having fun learning these histories. Martin was converted to catcher in his first pro offseason, age 19-20. Posada played some catcher his first pro season, age 19. Soto played predominantly catcher in his first pro season, age 18. Barrett was converted his first pro offseason, age 18-19. Lo Duca played exclusively at catcher his first pro season. Posey's been mentioned before, age 19 for his conversion in college. Long story short: a Plouffe to catcher conversion at age 29 would be pretty much unprecedented, in this or basically any era.
  13. Otto von Ballpark
    To be fair, some of us favor May returning to the rotation *eventually*, not necessarily tomorrow (Berrios!). And would have favored the acquisition of relievers better than Jepsen too.
  14. Otto von Ballpark
    Huskiest?
  15. Otto von Ballpark
    Good catch. I guess he only threw 69 pitches Tuesday, but he also (mercifully) only threw 60 in his MLB debut and 36 (?) in his previous AAA start. 5-6 innings is probably his max on Saturday. And these are now the probable starters listed at the Twins official site too...
  16. Otto von Ballpark
    GO:AO on the stats page is not the same as "Groundouts-flyouts" in the box score. The latter seems to omit foul pop outs, for one thing. Not sure about line outs either. In any case, all minor leaguers should have this same bias, so you can't adjust Stewart's numbers to compare to others.
  17. Otto von Ballpark
    Stewart pitched on the varsity team beginning as a sophomore, at a suburban southern private school with an elite baseball program: http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/kohl-stewart/9fqJ1PTpEeKZ5AAmVebBJg/gendersport/baseball-stats.htm http://www.stpiusx.org/page.cfm?p=1607&teamID=129 He participated in 8 "Perfect Game" events (basically a combine for the top HS talent in the country), as early as age 16, 2 years before he was drafted: http://www.perfectgame.org/Players/Playerprofile.aspx?ID=281876 He may have been a potential college QB too but he wasn't a sandlot player from the backwoods. He wasn't Nick Gordon in his amateur baseball experience, but I'm not sure he was any more raw/inexperienced than your average top high school draft talents.
  18. Otto von Ballpark
    You think it's appropriate to compare RBI's with a leadoff hitter? Might as well say Torii is on pace to shatter Rickey Henderson's career high of 74 RBI...
  19. Otto von Ballpark
    That's a good observation too. We have: - May starting a bullpen game Friday, limited to 50 pitches (probably 3-4 innings), followed by - Duffey on Saturday (who lasted 2 innings his first time out, and will have gone 3 weeks without throwing as many as 70 pitches in a start at any level), followed by - Milone on Sunday, who won't have thrown a single pitch in a game in 2+ weeks, and hadn't recorded an out beyond the 6th inning for 3+ weeks before that. All in a pennant race, without May available in the pen, against the same team that battered us for 34 runs in 3 games last weekend...
  20. Otto von Ballpark
    Thanks, what threw me was the common positive sentiment about May starting, followed by the Boyer comment...
  21. Otto von Ballpark
    Thanks for the names, I got to do some fun research. See my post above about Engle, who played catcher in high school and college. Harper was exclusively a catcher for his first 4 pro seasons. He never had a pro season where he didn't play catcher at some level, although the Twins definitely moved him back to full-time. Carter was converted to catcher immediately upon being drafted at age 18. According to this bio, Elston Howard debuted as a catcher in the Negro Leagues: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/e6884b08 Bresnahan started his pro career "playing mostly catcher" too: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/90202b76 Bragan is the only one of this group who actually converted to the position late (age 24), but he was only a backup or 3rd stringer for about 3 seasons, and even that was likely influenced by the shorthanded rosters of World War II (he first caught on the 1942 Phillies, who at 42-109 were particularly bereft of talent): http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/83f33669
  22. Otto von Ballpark
    About Engle: http://www.startribune.com/catcher-engle-s-stardom-with-twins-was-short-lived/264125541/ So it was more of a return to the position rather than a conversion. Still unusual, but not nearly as unusual as moving Plouffe would be.
  23. Otto von Ballpark
    To be fair, he advanced 6 of them to home plate last night.
  24. Otto von Ballpark
    Wait -- what? Am I reading that correctly? You want Boyer pitching high leverage innings?
  25. Otto von Ballpark
    Any feedback on my day or two off per week suggestion? He's had that usage pattern for much of his career anyway, and it's a good way to rotate in other bats around 1B/DH/OF spots. Plus, if Mauer really does have that clutch gene, he can be deployed as a pinch-hitter in high-leverage situations on his days off.
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