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tobi0040

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Everything posted by tobi0040

  1. I think we tend to agree in most cases. Just not this one! I am all for more drug testing, but don't see any risk whatsoever to this incentifying teams to somehow rig a drug test. I just don't see a team attempting that. If one ever did, they would find it extremely difficult to ever attract another free agent. So I guess I don't much care that teams have an incentive here You make a fair point about one failed test doesn't mean his entire career is a lie. But I would rather a team make the call based on the situation at hand. In this case the twins could elect to opt out or keep the existing deal. i think the current rules amount to a crapshoot for teams. It impacts teams and non cheating players negatively, while providing an incentive to players to cheat, as contracts are irrevocable. FWIW, I also think players that lie about their age should be penalized harshly. If a team gives a 27 year old a 5 year deal and then find out he is 29, they should have the option of voiding the last two years of the deal as they thought they were getting ages 27 thru 32. Not 29 thru 34 At the end of the day a 16 year old that is really 18 is taking the job and livelihood away from a legitimate 16 year old. similarly and less dramatic, Ervin likely cost someone money this offseason. Roster spots are fixed and payrolls are probably relatively fixed as well.
  2. I view this as a very black and white thing. You go to a job interview and lie about your experience, they can fire you later if they find out. George O'Leary comes to mind. The guy said he had a degree that he did not have. Ervin Santana's stats are a lie. He is not who we spent $50M on. He was "durable" because he was cheating. He didn't lose velocity as games progressed, as he aged, etc. becase his body was artificially healing better than everyone else. Those stats are a lie as well. The risk of losing money should be on the player that ponders cheating, and not just the lost money during the suspension. Not the team. The teams don't know who is cheating or not, players that cheat know they are cheating.
  3. Here is the issue for me. What Ervin tested positive for only stays in the system for 3 weeks. So in this scenario you can take it every off-season to help your arm and body recover (what i suspect he was doing) and then simply not take it 3 weeks before you sign a deal and have a test.
  4. The testing authority is independent from the team though. So it would be quite the conspiricy IMO for a team to go out and get a player to fail a test. Not to mention teams would likely influence the other way if they could (not wanting say, Ryan Braun to test positive and miss 80 games). To my knowledge no team has been accused of trying to hide a falied test. They usually find out about the same time the rest of us do. If you limit it to PED's versus drugs of abuse I would be 100% for it. GM's and owners have tough enough jobs as it is drafting and signing the right guys. They see a guy, make a huge investment like Ervin Santana based on his numbers and performance he put up in the past that was probably aided by illegal drugs. One of the things that stood out for the Twins was his durability. Well, we aren't going to get that durability. The margin for error is very low for teams like the Twins. We can't afford 5 year deals that are a total sham. Baseball should try and protect their product. Not to mention, voiding these deals would be a deterrent for the scumbags to begin with.
  5. I agree completely. I would like to see the players to band together on this and push the union for rights for teams to void these deals in the event of a failed test (PED only). After all it is the non-cheating players that are hurt the most by cheaters.
  6. I don't know about soundly defeated. I think the minor bullpen is clearly superior. Without question. Sano would put up better numbers than Plouffe this year. No disrespect to Plouffe. I think Sano hits more HR and takes more walks. Given that Plouffe has never been an OBP guy, I think Sano plays better. Buxton would put up better numbers than Schafter this year. May would put up better numbers than Pelfrey this year. Meyer or Berrios could put up better numbers than Milone this year. That is several rosters spots.
  7. I don't know about soundly defeated. I think the minor bullpen is clearly superior. Without question. Sano would put up better numbers than Plouffe this year. No disrespect to Plouffe. I think Sano hits more HR and takes more walks. Given that Plouffe has never been an OBP guy, I think Sano plays better. Buxton would put up better numbers than Schafter this year. May would put up better numbers than Pelfrey this year. Meyer or Berrios could put up better numbers than Milone this year. That is several rosters spots.
  8. If you made an all star team among AA and AAA, I think you can assemble a roster that at least competes with the Twins. The pen is hands down better. Better outfield. Better at 3B. A wash at a few other positions. Better at 2/5 of the rotation. Rotation Berrios, May, Mayer, Wheeler, and Rogers. Pen Burdi, Reed, Jones, Achter, Oliveros, Pressly, and Tonkin Outfield Buxton, Rosario, and Kepler DH Hicks INF Sano, Polanco, Levi, Hicks DH Walker Catcher Pinto/Turner
  9. That makes sense, to line up May with the starts of Pelfrey and Milone. Milone will go Friday and Pelfrey Saturday, which would line up with Rochesters games 2 and 3.
  10. When doctors prescribe you or I steriods, they are typically a measured dose, for a specific instance (like you twisting your knee) , and for a short period of time. Not to mention most are illegal unless prescribed by a doctor. When an MLB player seeks these, very few of these safeguards exist. And I think that it is about an edge. So if Wistrol was legal, the Ervin Santana's of the world would seek something that works harder and is more effective than the Wistrol everyone else is using
  11. I am sure a reasonable explanation for this exists. For instance, maybe Ervin does not like taking pills. So one day his wife is crushing up his legal medication and his dogs Wistrol into applesauce, and then simply mixes up the applesauce. If I had a dollar every time I took ate a hot dog from the fridge and it had a heart worm pill inside it....
  12. jimmer, In the two innings I watched last night, the announcers talked a great deal about how big the strike zone was all game and for both sides.
  13. Can anyone explain why pelfrey was picked over May? The twins know may is better and I thought we threw in the towel on pelfrey in the rotation.
  14. Nothing will change unless teams have the option to void a contract after a failed test And why shouldn't the twins have this option? We signed a guy because we thought he was something he wasn't.
  15. Two years in a row. Right before the season my optimism gets a nice kick in the junk (Sano last year).
  16. I can't rule out a spot start where a guy is a late scratch or a double header. But I think Milone had a head start for the reasons you mentioned. But I think they want Meyer in the rotation and had he showed he was clearly the bettter pitcher it was his job. I don't think you trade for Alex Meyer just to keep him in AAA (I know you are not saying that). But it is up to him now. He needs to show some fastball control.
  17. His OPS was .825 and .842 in August and September. 15 of his 20 HR cleared the wall in the second half. But his K rate was over 30% those last two months. I can't see the righty lefty split by month, but for the year he was at an OPS of .574 against lefties. He will need a meaningful improvement upon those numbers. His minor league OPS was .917. Only 68 HR in 434 games. Not earth shattering or anything. Lots of doubles.
  18. $8M sounds high, but IMO $5.5M of that was not really a threat. I think they had Pelf in the pen the whole time. Milone still has an option left....so I think Meyer had a shot. Not an even-steven chance...but his play did determine the outcome to an extent.
  19. I have made the appropriate edit. As my grandma used to say, I stand corrected!
  20. I think the Twins could do a better job communicating that not all races are starting at the same point. Case and point would be Mike Pelfrey this year. He would have needed a lot of things to break his way, including likely injuries to make the team. But nobody outside of ChiTownTwinsFan thought Gibson had a shot last year and he proved to them that he was ready. I think the Twins want Alex Meyer in the rotation. I think they had serious reservations last year given he was on a pitch count and they would have had to waste a year of service time, but I think he could have forced the issue had been as dominant as he was but more efficient with his pitches. This spring, I think had he shown he was head and shoulders ahead of Milone and May and had command of the heater I think he would have made the team. We will never know now. But that is my opinion.
  21. At a very minimum, a pitcher needs to show some level of command with his fastball. Meyer was auditioning for a spot in the rotation and walked seven batters in 5.2 innings. He was routinely missing the glove by a foot. It does not matter if he throws 98-99 in that case. So I think the Twins did what they had to do
  22. I didn't mean to be look at this great surprise. But players have different trajectories. Had we brought him up at 21 when he was a struggling AA and AAA SS....I don't think we would have the player we have today. .262/.301/.415 9 HR.
  23. For those saying May and Meyer should have come up last May, I guess we have different standards. Both of these guys had some issues. May has always had control issues and came off two consecutive years at AA that was not the least bit impressive. So 4-5 good starts at AAA is not enough time for me. Meyer would have had exactly 70 IP at AA, then shut down with shoulder issues. Then 4-5 OK starts at AAA. He has mechanics issues, which has been present from the scouting reports and what I saw this spring. So as upset as I was, in hindsight I don't think he was ready and needed more time.
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