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Otto von Ballpark

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Everything posted by Otto von Ballpark

  1. Otto von Ballpark
    To be fair, he was a bit of a late bloomer. He had great BB and K rates but otherwise didn't look like a great hitter until he hit AAA in 1987, and in the PCL at the time, his .907 OPS that year wasn't that outstanding -- his whole team had an OPS over .800. After a cup of coffee, they had him go back to AAA the next year, and he got even better -- legitimately standing out in his league, although it appears he missed a little time due to injury? Could have prevented him from breaking into MLB much that year beyond another cup of coffee. Finally, in 1989, he was in MLB virtually the whole season, mostly as a little-used backup 3B but he did get stretches to start in April and June. He just played very poorly and/or was injured, and did a little stint in AAA in August. 1990, of course, he hit the ground running. Hard to say with the injuries, but perhaps he should gotten more MLB adjustment AB in 1988, and thus been more productive for a full season in 1989. So probably a season''s bonus, using his early career rate stats? 4-5 WAR? I don't think that's holding back his HOF case as much as the DH thing and the general steroid era effect.
  2. Otto von Ballpark
    Does Vogelsong count as an "old dog"? Would a repertoire tweak be a "new trick"?
  3. Otto von Ballpark
    Dropping someone doesn't necessarily make them Rule 5 eligible -- it puts them through waivers and/or into free agency. And since the waiver order is basically the same as the Rule 5 order, it would actually be better for the claiming team to get a guy on waivers, without the roster restrictions, rather than through Rule 5. I suspect you can drop guys right up to whatever administrative deadline they have for starting the draft. (You just can't drop guys you recently protected in November.)
  4. Otto von Ballpark
    I heard Mark Rosen say a similar thing, although he didn't seem to have a real problem with Berardino's method, but he suggested asking Torii privately if he'd like to answer such a question. And I think that's absolutely the wrong way to look at this. Torii quite clearly and deliberately made public statements, and it's fair game to ask him about those statements in public too. And it would equally be fair game for Torii to respond "No comment." But he shouldn't be allowed to simply avoid facing the question altogether. Also, Torii's initial response seemed confused, like he thought Berardino was asking if he was a Republican. I think that was the reason for the follow-up, after which Hunter said some equivalent of "no comment" before the pause and then the attack.
  5. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't mean to rag on sportswriters, but Berardino is "just" a sportswriter. They're not really experts at formal press conferences either. For that matter, a big part of a sportswriter's daily job is to ask questions that he knows will not elicit a particularly thoughtful response.
  6. Otto von Ballpark
    I'm starting to think Hunter should have just said "Jane, you ignorant slut." I would have appreciated the pop culture reference.
  7. Otto von Ballpark
    Hunter's response was more or less valid (if not very eloquent) -- at least after "some people are just messy" (was that an Odd Couple reference? ). Particularly after the follow-up -- "No, I'm not going to talk about it." Which is a perfectly fine answer, and addresses (indirectly) Berardino's questions. And Berardino accepted the answer at that point. Then the "prick" comments. I have no problem with either Berardino's question or Hunter's answer to that question. It was the seemingly unprovoked (and mildly profane) attack after that which was confusing and a little disappointing.
  8. Otto von Ballpark
    It wasn't that confusing. Distilling the tedious sportswriter-athlete press conference verbosity, you're left with the following: Q: Did you feel any effects from your political and religious statements, and are you changing your attitude toward making those statements? A: I still believe those things, I won't stop saying them, but I don't want to say them or talk about them right now. Oh, and you're a prick.
  9. Otto von Ballpark
    Berardino hasn't printed Hunter's "prick" comments in print or on Twitter. Yes, he has fielded a couple Twitter questions and comments about the situation. I think if he was really opportunistic and grandstanding, he probably would have made a bigger deal out of the over-the-top portion of Torii's response.
  10. Otto von Ballpark
    My bad, you are correct, there was a small follow-up in there. A little more jumbled, but still pretty minor: "Just giving you a chance to answer to some of the things that have been pretty ugly at a place like Deadspin, that has a lot of readers, the marriage question, is that the kind of thing that going forward you're not going to mess with, or are you such an open honest guy that if we ask you a question you're going to answer it?" And Hunter kinda answered it, then silence as they were looking for more questions around the room, and then... "prick" rant.
  11. Otto von Ballpark
    I am sure he had the assistance of the Twins PR professionals -- oh wait, never mind.
  12. Otto von Ballpark
    Milone's 2014, especially the Twins portion, hurt his value, but I don't know that it would have taken too much more than him to equal one year of not-so-cheap J.A. Happ. A marginal prospect, perhaps? I saw a lot of rumors about Saunders being shopped, and none mentioned the Twins. I think the Twins had their sights set on their #1 outfield target from day 1 this offseason, unfortunately.
  13. Otto von Ballpark
    League average ERA was notably under 4.00 for basically Kaat's entire career (once even below 3.00). League average ERA was notably above 4 for Radke's entire career (once an even 5.00 too).
  14. Otto von Ballpark
    I'd say no to a HOF case based on an accounting glitch.
  15. Otto von Ballpark
    I have never heard this rule. I doubt the Twins have either. I am guessing they just didn't have very good PR foresight, which would not be the first time.
  16. Otto von Ballpark
    The question was not about Torii's views, but rather potential effects of those views. And Berardino didn't pursue it at all (in the form of a follow-up).
  17. Otto von Ballpark
    Some of that rambling is standard for these press conferences. These things aren't scripted, and we're talking about sportswriters, not war correspondents. I think Berardino was trying to be delicate with his question, as best as could given the limitations noted above, because it was at heart a question that required some delicacy. Given his initial answer, Hunter apparently does not deal with delicate questions well, and he shouldn't really be expected to -- he's an athlete too, not a war correspondent. That's fine. But I'm glad that part got out, and both did the best they could. After a pause, though, somehow Hunter felt personally attacked by the delicate question, so much so that he had to vocalize an actual personal attack (utilizing a borderline curse word) -- I don't think Berardino should have to be less delicate or forgo the question altogether because of that potential outcome. Neither of these guys are toddlers.
  18. Otto von Ballpark
    And at that point, it might be more of a "freak of nature for his age" case like Jamie Moyer.
  19. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't know about y'all, but I have no clue about career RBI totals, and I don't think I am alone. I doubt any level of career RBIs would, by itself, merit HOF induction.
  20. Otto von Ballpark
    At least we will have a real CF for Rochester? On a more serious note, he's had fairly low K rates during his career, which is refreshing in this day and age.
  21. Otto von Ballpark
    Generally I agree, but TR has been pretty open, direct, and accurate with his public statements recently.
  22. Otto von Ballpark
    Berardino also reports that they made an offer on 37 year old reliever Jason Frasor (he's since signed with Kansas City, admittedly cheaply). I think the average age of our coaching candidates was lower than the average age of our free agent offers so far.
  23. Otto von Ballpark
    It was hardly an ambush. All Hunter had to say was "no." And he said it. That's standard operating procedure. Then Hunter added his little aggressive name-calling thing. And I don't like the idea that a reporter should have to clear his questions with the team in advance, which is what you are effectively saying -- I am guessing the Twins don't call on Berardino (and/or Hunter just ignores him) if they know he's going to ask about this.
  24. Otto von Ballpark
    Berardino's question, in full: "Speaking of storms, you have accepted some criticism, or taken some criticism, from places like Deadspin and social media just since your backing of Gov. Hutchinson. Can you talk about that process, and do you think it affected your market at all? Was it a topic at all with the Twins as you sat down with them, in terms of speaking about your religious beliefs or political beliefs? And, going forward, do you see that experience changing you at all, and your openness to answering those questions?" That's "opportunistic"? "Grandstanding"? C'mon. And when Berardino sat quietly after Hunter gave a long "no, I don't want to talk about it" answer -- was that more opportunistic grandstanding? And that Berardino has yet to put the subsequent name-calling response in print or on Twitter?
  25. Otto von Ballpark
    I don't know if the territory is as uncharted as we think it is -- gay players/prospects/personnel might not be out to the world but could very well be out to their employers, coaches, and/or teammates. And it's not just what Hunter does. Hunter could be a saint in the locker room with a gay teammate, but the PR hassle of his past statements alone might not be worth the performance upgrade he provides at this point in his career. He hasn't been a Twin for 48 hours and they're already likely devising some very careful statements and action plans to disassociate themselves from Hunter's remarks, all while trying not to alienate anyone else. What if the Twins wanted to quietly support pro-equality events at the ballpark, or offer benefits to their employees? Think of the extra scrutiny on them now, from all sides. Related to the Adrian Peterson situation, how do you think Target feels about having their name and logo plastered behind Hunter as a repeatedly calls someone a "prick" in public?
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