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KGB

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Everything posted by KGB

  1. KGB
    He also has a non-trade clause, which he could waive but I don't think he is going anywhere. 12:04pm: Hunter’s contract contains a full no-trade clause, per Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).
  2. KGB
    Not me, give me a World Series ring once every 10 years and I don't care what you do the other 9 years. Also a long time Viking fan, so after 40 years I'd be willing to settle for a Super Bowl loss
  3. KGB
    This is also my concern, he seems to have all the physical gifts but I'm not sure he is ever going to pull them together. The Twins really need him to be a player given their lack of ready major league outfielder, but his mental approach reduces my hope for him.
  4. KGB
    Interesting thought, I remember this discussion after the draft when the Twins were in the playoffs. You can't regret the drafting of Mauer considering his career and the resulting AJ trade which worked out great. But 0-9 during Mauer playoff career, it does make you think- What if?
  5. KGB
    Great reminder, the '69 Twins were the reason I fell in love with baseball. Had to be sick from school to watch the playoffs. Still remember my Mom having to break the news of the Twins firing Billy Martin. She got her sports mixed up and told me Joe Knapp was replacing him.
  6. KGB
    If he hits like everyone says he is able to, I think we'll find a place in the lineup for him.
  7. KGB
    But the more important part than the marketing angle and fan interest is that it puts a veteran in the locker room that shows players how to play the game right. That might sound cheesy but young players need strong role models even if those role models aren't great players anymore. I think Molitor thinks the leadership is important. He spent a year in the locker and this was the first sigining they went after. The marketing is important and you could tell at Twins Fest it was a good move. On a one year investment, it should pay off for the Twins.
  8. KGB
    I agree figuring out Mauer is difficult. He doesn’t drive in a lot of runs, but the other problem is he doesn’t score a lot of runs so making him a leadoff hitter seems a stretch. As discussed before, if you believe his value is ‘creating runs’ by not making out and moving other players into scoring position, you probably should leave him in the 3 spot as long as Santana and Dozier continue to score runs at a high rate . Also, I still have not stopped believing a player as talented as Mauer can’t drive in more runs. He is not going to get faster, so he is not going to create runs with speed. He does need to adjust his approach and hopefully he added strength this offseason, which should reduce his strike out which will put his average back over .300 and increase his RBI production.
  9. KGB
    The strike zone is being called more accurate. Mauer is not getting the favorable calls anymore, so unless he adjusts his approach, he going to continue to strike out. It's been 2 years of not adjusting, I think calling it stubborness at this point is probably accurate. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2279903-what-can-mlb-do-to-solve-its-expanding-strike-zone-problem
  10. KGB
    I get it, he creates runs we just can't see it in his stats. Sound like my first financial planner, he created wealth - I just never saw it.
  11. KGB
    With the expection of Mauer, the wRC+ is pretty close to what we'll see. But I think the point is that there is no such thing as a perfect stat. Just because it's new, doesn't always make it better.
  12. KGB
    How about some love for by wRC+ - here's that lineup Postion Name wRC+ 1 Danny Santana 133 2 Brian Dozier 118 3 Kennys Vargas 114 4 Torii Hunter 113 5 Trevor Plouffe 112 6 Oswaldo Arcia 109 7 Kurt Suzuki 107 8 Joe Mauer 106 9 Jordan Schafer 103
  13. KGB
    So if moving runner over is what is important, why have him bat first when the batters in front of him are the 8 & 9 hitter instead of batting 3rd and having the first 2 hitter in front of him? I would think he would "create more runs" in the 3rd hole than as a leadoff hitter. His avoiding outs will be just a valuable in both spots.
  14. KGB
    But is that the most important stat for your best player. To me avoiding outs is playing the game not to lose, which for most players is the best way to win. But when you have a player as talented as Mauer, I would like to see him play to win more often instead of leaving it up to Plouffe or another player on the Twinsd roster. In 2013, with players over 500 PA, he was 15th in wRC+, but when you look at the actual runs created (runs+RBI-HR) per PA, he was 94 place. At the end of the day, the game still decided by runs, and I would like to see him do more on actually producing the runs instead of just getting on base and saying his teammates didn't drive him in enough.
  15. KGB
    If the goal is to score run not just get on base, Santana should be given first shot. He scored 70 runs in 430 PA, while Mauer scored 60 in 518 PA`s. If the numbers are just in theory he should score more runs what good does that do?
  16. KGB
    I believe in speed at the top if possible and as long as Santana can continue to get on base he should stay at leadoff. He scored 70 runs in 430 PA's and had a Run Scoring Percentage of 43%. Mauer's scoring percentage hovers around 30%. Mauer is never going to be fast, but he has the ability to drive in more runs. I think when we just expect him to get on base, we minimize his value. He should stay in the 3rd spot and work on driving in runs.
  17. KGB
    I think for great hitter like Puckett and Mauer, the HR production has a lot to do with the approach at the plate. If they focus on hitting more HR's they have the ability. I remember when Calvin Griffin said he didn't pay Carew because he only hit a couple HR's each year, then he went out and it career high's over the next 3 years. Mauer was hitting less than 10 HR's and was put in the HR hitting contest. I great hitter with some strength can hit HR's, they just need to put more focus on it,
  18. KGB
    jumped from four home runs to 31 in a single-season - is that a Mauer prediction?
  19. KGB
    Agree, but the way they have structure the roster, I think it very unlikely he'll start at the majors. Of course, I'm still confused on why they have so many veteran pitchers or this roster without having spots for the rookies. Doesn't seem like a good rebuilding plan or they don't believe in the minor league pitchers.
  20. KGB
    On Martinez defense, not sure what stat’s you were referring to on your comparison to Mauer, but looks like the Defense WAR stats are also pretty equal: Martinez: Year Games Defensive WAR 2003 49 2.5 2004 141 5.7 2005 147 9.4 2006 153 -2.9 2007 147 12.7 2008 73 4.6 32.0 Mauer: Year Games Defensive WAR 2004 35 2.1 2005 131 7.2 2006 140 6.2 2007 109 7.6 2008 146 6.9 2009 138 4.6 34.6 What stat were you referring to showing Martinez as being an awful catcher?
  21. KGB
    Historically, I've seen alot of post that say Mauer's production will drop because his time behind the plate and then show the drop off of other catchers in there 30's. Stole this post from another topic (credit to Ken) You have to be careful comparing Mauer to other all-time catchers, he probably going to play other position more than catcher. Here's a listing of the 7 catchers with 2,000 hits and games played as catcher: Ivan Rodriguez 2,427 Ted Simmons 1,771 Carlton Fisk 2,226 Yori Berra 1,669 Mike Piazza 1,630 Gary Carter 1,954 Johnny Bench 1,742 Jason Kendall 2,025 Joe Mauer 920 Mauer is closer to Victor Martinez in the catcher category,
  22. KGB
    I believe the question was how to project a player in his 30's will age once moved from behind the plate. Martinez and Mauer caught similar amount of games, so Martinez should be a good person to use on projecting how Mauer will age as a player. Mauer was a better catcher and athlete, so he should age better. Martinez time behind the plate has not reduced his production, so I don't think we should use that as a reason for a reduction in Mauer's expectations.
  23. KGB
    I think Victor Martinez is a good comparison. I think we often try and compare Mauer to other catchers that caught twice as many games, which isn't a good comparison. I really think if he build up strength and is more agressive earlier in the count to help reduce the strike outs, there is no reason to think he can't still produce like Martinez has in his mid-30's.
  24. KGB
    Here's an article from 1/21/14 about last years training: http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_24962055/minnesota-twins-joe-mauer-feeling-good-taking-it "It varies every year," Mauer said of his offseason routine. "This year I wanted to start off the year making sure I got over this concussion and took the time. It's going pretty good heading into the year." Mauer, who has been symptom-free since late October, typically doesn't do much hitting in the offseason in order to conserve energy for the long grind ahead. "I haven't swung the bat yet," Mauer said. "Last year was different because of the (World Baseball Classic), but every year it's been later and later. I'll get to camp, and I think we'll have plenty of time to get ready for the season."
  25. KGB
    It may not be easy, but Mauer is a borderline HOF player, we shouldn't limit our expectations to what easy for him. I do think being more aggressive at the plate would help. His contact rate on strikes is down the last 2 years (about 88%, down from 93%), so not falling behind in the count would probably help. Remember, the increase in strike outs started in 2013, prior to any concussion or move from catcher. And regarding the 2014 year, other than on this site, I have not seen any report that he suffered from concussion issue during the season last year. Does anyone have a reference that he had any concussion sypmptoms? Not every concussion is the same, so to continue to compare him to Morneau concussion without any support seem to be a excuse not a reason for the decline in average last year.
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