The Great Hambino

The Twins could've (should've IMO) followed the Padres model of using the MLB.tv platform and selling subs directly - maybe $48 mil was the number that convinced the Twins to go all JKLOL about their promises to end blackouts

As a recent convert to the Fire Rocco side of the ledger, a shot with Hypothetical Manager X is all I'm asking for. I agree that baseball is a very different animal than other sports, and that a good manager only provides marginal improvement. But wouldn't that mean a bad manager only has a marginal negative effect as well? Given the status quo, I'd take that risk. A marginal improvement is still an improvement.

I had to go look it up because I had assumed that the Correa/Lopez funds were handed out before Joe was put in charge - at least Correa, anyway. But no - he was put in charge in December 2022, before both contracts were handed out, so you'd have to assume he signed off on deals of that size. And to the suprise of no one (except Joe, apparently), DSG went into bankruptcy that spring. So he knew TV revenue was going to be seriously in flux (anyone in his positon should've seen bankruptcy coming when they signed Correa, and they signed Lopez after bankruptcy was filed), approved those big contracts anyway, experienced the most successful season in a generation ... and only then decided payroll needed right-sizing? To answer your question: nothing was really different regarding the TV situation. And he followed up the following year by opting back in to Bally's when they were free and clear from that sinking ship. There's just no evidence of any sort of long-term vision at work here. I'm afraid we've already seen the high-water mark for payroll for quite some time.

That was as enlightening as it was disheartening. The radio stations he ran - are those numbers correct? They sold them for about a tenth of their purchase price? I was going to comment that his only qualification for running the team was "Carl's Least Incompetent Grandson." Now I think that would be giving him too much credit

Technically, his lifetime ban should be over, right?

I'm starting to think that right-sizing payroll makes more sense before handing out large contracts with no trade clauses, not after.

Good breakdown of the blind spots Rocco seems to have in implementing analytics. I'd argue another way he misuses them is in scope. This shows itself most glaringly in early pinch hitting deployment. Going all-in on the platoon advantage when the spot is likely to come up in the order again is so short-sighted. How many times were ninth-inning rallies killed by Margot flailing at right-handed pitching because he hit for Larnach in the sixth and now you have no bench. The goal is to win the game, not the sixth inning. He could use the exact same analytical information - the same spreadsheets, if you will - and map out a plan for the rest of the game instead of just that specific matchup when it comes up in the sixth. Now, instead of looking at Margot vs Larnach against that one lefty, he could look at Larnach facing a lefty now AND ALSO facing what would likely be a righty later in the game vs Margot facing a lefty now and the likely righty later, plus having less flexibility with a depleted bench. The spreadsheets aren't the problem, the implementation of them is the problem. A hammer is a useful tool when hanging a picture frame. But if instead of finding a stud and using the hammer to pound a nail into it, I started cracking myself repeatedly in the temple with it, I would have an unhung picture frame and a massive headache. Would you look at me and conclude that a hammer is not useful in hanging a picture frame? Of course not. You'd say "hey dummy, that's not how you use a hammer." Misuse of a tool is the fault of the carpenter, not the tool

The late scratch of Sale certainly thickens the plot

I've had a similarly great experience using the light rail. Even with a small child and a stroller, we've never had any sort of trouble. Tip for anyone coming in from the east side of town: there's a lot of parking around Huntington Bank Stadium that goes mostly unused during the baseball season. We can park less than a block away from the stadium stop, and the cost of parking plus round trip train tickets is less than a spot in one of the Target ramps. No need to cross the river in the car, and no interminable wait getting into the ramp or out of downtown either.

With all the talk of the Pohlads not wanting to pay two managers as a reason for running it back with Rocco, they'd have to get creative to move on. What if they gave the job to someone already on the payroll? Preferably someone with respected leadership credentials, baseball acumen, and likely to have a decent amount of free time (read: time on the IL) next summer. May I present to you Carlos Correa: Player-Manager Would this happen? Not in a million years. Would it be effective? Probably not. Would it be interesting? Definitely. And with the way next year looks to be shaping up, I'll take interesting. For real though, count me as mild-to-moderately disappointed that he's coming back. He had always struck me as better at the macro than the micro - his deficiencies in in-game strategy were (somewhat?) covered by big-picture strengths (team morale/vibes, balancing playing time for a roster that was handed to him with a giant PLATOON ME sign taped to its back, etc). But the nature of this year's collapse has me doubting if he has the handle on the big picture stuff that I'd thought he had. Did he lose the locker room? I don't know, I wasn't there. On the one hand, the comments from Ober/Correa were pretty emphatic that he didn't. I know they're not gonna explicitly throw him under the bus, but they could've avoided answering or offered up some non-answer word salad if they felt he'd lost them. On the other hand, if this wasn't losing the locker room ... Good lord, what would it have looked like if he had?