Mike Sixel

I think it's fair to state that WAR doesn't capture everything he does for the team, I think continuing to argue that offense and defense and base running don't matter is silly. If you want, tell us how much he helped the team win this year, compared to other players that played RF, and offers some details for how you came up with how many wins he added.......but just saying WAR doesn't mean anything doesn't actually add to the conversation. Or, just keep typing that, w/o adding any details on how else you'd measure his value to the team. Up to you.

If he added 4-6 wins by his leadership, that makes him worth approximately $35-45MM dollars on the open market......anyone think anyone would pay him that? Do people really think he's responsible for that many extra wins? That would make him one of the 5-10 most valuable players in all of the majors......And let's not derail this into another anti WAR thread, please. His leadership and mentoring might or might not have helped some players, but as pointed out above, does that mean it hurt the players that aren't as good as we thought, or does he only get the positive credit? I think that's a fair question. It's about roster decisions. Does anyone think they'd cut him next year, if they signed him? Once he's here, he's very likely on the 25 man roster all year. Even if they start Buxton in the minors next year, what happens when he's ready to come up? They cut the 3/4 OF that isn't Hunter? Then what happens when Kepler is ready, and he will be ready? Will they keep both Hunter and Arcia on the roster, meaning there isn't room for a defensive substitution for whichever of them starts the game? What happens when/if he hits like he has most of the months, and they bench him, will his personality really handle that?

Trying to win, when it isn't your year. That's what they decided to do. I hope they keep it up, and a lesson is learned.

We should legalize it because every country that does sees a dip in crime and other problems. And, if you believe in less regulation and more freedom.....It should be on your platform. But it isn't really about freedom, is it?

Pathetic.

In previous years, when I have asked for better players, people posted 90 loud teams never signed or traded for really good players at the deadline the next year.....like this year. Just because something hadn't been done before doesn't mean it can't be done. Interestingly, they are better partly because of a lot of free agents.....maybe they should have signed some more earlier. Their plan was for 80 percent of the rotation and half the fielders to be free agents......Why couldn't that have happened before¿ Why couldn't they break the mould, and sign great players?

When did Santana play well? I missed that part this year.

Before you say no because the end of the deal is bad, is that how you feel about the Mauer deal?

So basically, in an entertainment business......it makes sense to keep more fans entertained. Not the hard core, the fans that only sort of like baseball, or the excitement of sports in their city when things are going well. I don't get why that it's so bad. It is entertainment, with no real meaning.

Santana pinch hitting? I can't see how anyone defends that.

Yes, but I will be out of town. And, Ryan will need to trade Santana to protect Molitor from himself.....

Ouch. Not good. Love the numbers, thanks

Affiliates and minor league playoff games, man. There is no justification for Polanco, none.

any idea on start time. No rain in SLP....

If only Arcia was allowed to be on the team right now......or Kepler, both of whom are on the 40 man..... as for the decision, meh. Neither is a good option, but at least Buxton lets you still have an elite CF defender if you do tie things up......that might be the tiniest tie breaker for me. But, ya, not a big deal, imo, either way.

Here is my complex proposal (I realize logistically, this is impossible to pull off). Also, yes, 2 AL teams could play for the playoff championship this way. Also, you need to cut 1-2 weeks off the regular season for this to work...... All 30 teams make the playoffs. Round 1: The 10 worst teams in each league do a 1 game playoff. That gets you to 10 teams remaining. Round 2 (one off day for travel after round 1, games played on back to back days, better team chooses what city they play in first): The winners and the next 3 teams in each league play a 2 game series……if the better team in the regular season wins one game, the series is over. The worse team needs to win twice. That leaves 6 teams in each league remaining. Round 3 (one off day for travel after round 2, 2/2/1 for home games): The remaining 6 teams play a 5 game playoff. Each league sends 3 teams to the WS playoffs. Round 4: The 4 lowest seed teams play a 5 game series (AL2 vs NL3, NL 2 vs AL 3) Round 5: The remaining 4 teams play a 5 game series (AL1 vs NL2, NL1vsAL2) Round 6: The remaining 2 teams play a 7 game series. this greatly increases the rewards for better records after 162 games, gives EVERY fan something to look forward to, and gives sports radio a chance to be amazed that a number 13 seed is still playing (and everyone a chance to talk about "fairness"). The only real issues are logistics, but someone who wants to could figure out a pretty set schedule for this..... like.....rounds 1 and 2 are week 1, every other round is a week also. Post season is now 5 weeks long, with set days to start and end each round.

it already is for this year, for sure. Sports salaries and contracts are tough.......hard to do it right.

Thanks, I love actual data to make a point. I wonder how much strikeout rate matters.....is Plouffe generally a GB hitter, or does it spike with a guy on?

If Plouffe hit where Dozier hits in the order, he'd have a lot less double plays.......it is largely a function of the fact he bats with guys on base, and he hits the ball hard (and he's slow).

Twins traded zero players to get him, did not already have 6-8 SP on the roster......indeed, they signed him to one of the biggest FA deals ever. I think Morris is more comparable to Price or Greinke this year......not to trading for Shields. I would not be opposed to signing an elite player to an elite deal*

I think that's fair, but I do think some people acknowledged the risk, and were willing to take it. Others, for this year they look right, were less willing to take on that risk. That's kind of my point, not all the posts about Tulo were hot takes that were not well considered, on both sides of the discussion.

And there are thunderstorms in the summer, and earthquakes in CA, and hurricanes on the east coast......and it isn't really colder here than Chicago, Detroit, NY, Boston in October/November, not in a way that matters for sports. I remember Halloween very well, first date with my future wife!

got it, thanks,

Not sure why we'd put that chart up, and not the stats of the other top 10 guys that have come up this year.......that said, EXPECTING elite play was always a bad idea, imo. Now, this is a bit worse than I expected, but I am still not worried. That said, there are some "experts" out there that have questioned his hit tool, and they look a little more correct than they did before.

Correct, it is about predictability for everyone involved, not just tv.