BK432

Certainly there are circumstances where a hitter should adjust approach to favor a productive out versus not scoring or moving up a runner. But I think those situations are pretty limited. Unless it's late and one run can make a huge difference, I don't want our guys trying to ground out to 2B so we can score a run. Crooked numbers win ballgames, and we're better off in most cases trying to string plate appearances together where guys get on base.

1. Get on base 2. When you can, hit for power

Already read it all. Great job TD!

Oh, that's right, was moved up 8 minutes yesterday I'm with you now.

Huh? This isn't true from what I've seen....

Indians probably 60/40 to win game 7 with Kluber/Miller/Allen but #cantpredictball

Can't cheer for either team but looking forward to a great game. Naquin going to the bench was predictable. Had to be done.

It's an interesting idea. Not to over-WAR the topic, but Urias actually had a higher fWAR and bWAR than Sano in 2016 in just 77 IP. Barring injury, he's going to be awesome. But that's the tricky part, and Sixel is right....the Twins would be very reluctant to do that trade without getting a bit more due to the risk they're buying. The Dodgers, as Jimmer said, would probably be reluctant too as he hasn't shown he can be anything other than a DH at the MLB level. I don't think the value is far off on either side, but at the end of the day, this just probably isn't a fit.

The Radiohead model! Love it - I will probably pay you more than you would have charged.

Yeah, making a 25 year old who basically just needs to play at replacement level for at least 4 more seasons to be a cinch for the Hall as a comp for anyone is probably a bad idea.

I agree that it's most likely that this was the primary reason.

The points enclosed in this discussion re: starting pitcher prices are probably right, so because of that, it's just hard to see how much outside help the Twins truly should or will go get. I think what they should do, and what they'll likely do, is: 1) Focus on developing the young SP talent they have; 2) Consider trading valuable pieces for additional young SP talent (not necessarily low minors but those at the higher levels) 3) Add/promote/develop major league-ready (or close to) relief pitching. A strong bullpen will help to improve this team in the short term, take pressure of the SPs and should be much more affordable and attainable 4) Put the very best defensive team on the field that you can. Your young talent gets you much of the way there. Outfield defense has been continually ignored by the previous regime. This includes signing a catcher who has a track record of positive pitching handling. Reviews are mixed on catcher defensive metric value, but there are catchers who show the ability to frame and call a game well. The team would be improved by accident in 2017 - it's pretty hard to lose 103 games. I think the goal should be to improve far beyond what would be accidental; define accidental as a regression to erase the 'bad luck' in their 2016 record (2016 pythagorean record 66-96, 1st order 64-97, 2nd order 67-95, 3rd order 68-94). So: you can set your goal for the team, I can set mine...but I do believe fixing the bullpen and defense can make for a big positive change in the short term. Just one final caveat - this approach is SUPER frustrating to me and I would guess it is to many others. Simply because we've had the opportunity to improve the team over the last 6 years but did virtually nothing. So the quote-unquote 'standing pat' approach isn't what any of us want to hear. But I can't hold Falvey and company responsible for what occurred previously.

Best of luck to all 5. I don't disagree with these moves. Nice work, Rob.

Answering the question, could they afford to....sure! They're paying him the money to play, so they can surely pay him the money not to play. The alternatives to his playing time are either: a) already on the roster; or almost certainly affordable call-ups or acquisitions The flip side questions: Will they? No. Should they? Probably not, but I don't think that's entirely clear. Guys like Park or Vargas could benefit from more of an opportunity. Can they substitute for Mauer's OBP elsewhere? Is it important in the next two years that they find that? Not sure....

Trevor Plouffe (5.162) – non-tender Hector Santiago (5.016) I lean tender but just barely. Free roll for a year for a team with plenty of money to spend. Brandon Kintzler (5.003) – tender, same as above I guess. But don't feel strongly. Eduardo Escobar (4.128) – clear tender here Tommy Milone (4.113) – clear non-tender Kyle Gibson (3.056) – tender, still time to see what's there. Ryan Pressly (3.053) – anonymous bullpen arm - non-tender Good thread!

Fair enough. I get too fired up sometimes.

2:24 Zonk: What farm system, in your opinion, had the best year in terms of internal prospect growth? What prospects really emerged in that system? 2:25 Eric A Longenhagen: Not sure if it’s the “best” but just off the top of my head (because, ya know, it’s a chat) Minnesota had a bunch of guys perform well this year on the farm. LaMonte Wade, Huascar Ynoa, Luis Arraez… Just thought I'd share. We all need some hope and good news in Twins Territory.

It's hard to quantify the subjective stuff, so let's focus on what we actually know from the numbers: 1. Hitting well in rookie ball at a young age 2. Some troubling signs early in K to BB Hard to draw too much excitement or dread from this. I guess it's probably better than if he were hitting poorly, and probably worse than if he were walking more. Let's see how it plays out.

I'm not, and I doubt anyone else is. I just don't know what to say. I mean, it's shocking to some extent in 2016 that a complete lack of of an internal analytics department in a MLB front office would be truth, but given everything we know about the Twins, it's also not shocking at all. It's just sad that we're this far behind the vast majority of other organizations. The next GM has a lot of work to do.

I'm on Chrome on a PC now and it seems completely fixed from my end. Brock, thank you if you fixed it because it was awful a couple days ago.

I had to switch to IE on my PC because of this. The site is virtually unworkable on Chrome.

It's awful, and I'm not one to complain. I had to switch away from using Chrome and use IE instead. I hate IE, but the experience is perfect. Not sure what happened with the Chrome experience - the video ads seem to jump you back to the top when they start. Really bad.

It feels like this thread has gotten a little off topic, but whatever. The original article talked about a hierarchical shakeup, which is interesting indeed. The ongoing conversation about replacing St. Peter, Ryan etc has also been interesting. Like Riverbrian, I was (too?) patient with Ryan. I think he's likely a very good talent evaluator. His roster formulation and decision-making leaves quite a bit to be desired. But it is clear that the organization needs fresh leadership, and that isn't going to happen with an internal promotion to replace Ryan. For all this, bringing in a heavy hitter to lead all may be the best solution, and if that means St. Peter loses his job too, then that is a necessary consequence. I personally am more positive about his contributions than others (while we all admit we don't know the day to day of his performance) but sometimes good people lose jobs to circumstances. If it's for the greater good of this organization, than so be it.

Correlation does not equal causation. Let's not make that mistake.

Good point! A missed opportunity. I did see the replay from my bed after they were talking about what happened live. Pretty incredible.