USAFChief

Everywhere. But I think it has more impact in the infield. CF and catcher. Then corner OF. My belief about outfield is, in general, most of the plays are routine outs, and there will be no difference between Hunter and whoever the best RFer is on those plays. Where Hunter will suffer is on the edge of his range, where a faster player will have a step or two and make an extra catch here and there. But I think we're talking about very few plays. If you could draw a rough circle around Hunter depicting his "range," it wouldn't be much smaller than the circle around the RFer with the best range. The number of balls that fall in delta between the two circles just can't be very many. CFers have more space to cover behind them, so speed to get to balls they don't catch becomes more important, and their range may play up more on balls hot over there head. I also believe there's more to playing defense than just range. I doubt Hunter's arm is subpar, nor will he often throw to the wrong spot, miss the cutoff, or commit other "errors" that don't show up as "errors." IF play, on the other hand, is in general comprised of mostly much harder plays. Just fielding a grounder cleanly is way more difficult than catching a ball in the air, so right there defensive ability becomes more important because of the much greater chance of mishandling a batted ball. But that's only part of the job in the infield, to record an out there is often a throw involved, again increasing the risk of a misplay. Infielders also handle the ball more when it's in play, on relays, stolen base attempts, etc. Add that all up, and the difference between a good shortstop and a bad one is pretty significant. All of which leads me to believe, in the grand scheme of things, the difference between major league corner outfielders isn't something I worry about much. Just one man's opinion.

FYI, my TV is an LCD, AFAIK.

Concur. Hunter, for example, has to hit to be worth it. And I'm more nervous about that than his defense.

I'm hoping my instinct that Hunter's and Arcia's defense aren't as bad as advertised is correct, and that my instinct that corner OF defense doesn't matter as much as advertised is correct, and in total we're worrying too much about both. I've seen too many good teams with immobile corner OFers to think it has a big impact.

I'm not convinced the "May wasn't stretched out" rationale has much merit. He last started a ST game on March 27th. The fifth starter spot first comes up for the Twins on April 11th. That's 15 days, enough time for one more ST start, and a then simulated game in the bullpen, both with 5 days rest in between, and then 5 days rest until his first regular start. Adding 20 pitches per start gets him to 90, which is probably about what you can expect from most starters the first time or two through the rotation. Besides, when did Pelfrey last start in ST? Won't he need a couple starts to get "stretched out" again? EDIT: that should read 4 days rest between, not five. Four days rest is the normal between starts.

If the Braves knew, then it shouldn't have been all that hard for the Twins to know, IMO. How do you hand someone that many millions without some vetting?

The kicker is, though, with Santana out of the picture, that young talent still isn't on the roster. Perhaps that was never the plan.

link, please.

I'll take "Things I wish I had posted" for a thousand, Alex.

Thompson to the pen, Pelf to the rotation? Or Thompson to the rotation? Did Trevor May badly end a relationship with a member of TR's family? So many questions.

I'm not sure "we'll be just fine if the bench rarely has to play, the starters pitch more than is reasonable to expect, and only 3 of 7 relievers pitch any time the game is close" is a viable way to start the season. I guess we'll find out.

Better than Ervin. He'd be bald.

So you're more optimistic than most, then?

Detroit wins the ALC.

Haters gotta hate.

If you start your April Fool's joke by telling everyone it's an April Fool's joke, there's an excellent chance you're doing it wrong.

.258/.348/.425 .773 OPS. Fewer steals, good defense, 155 games (I hope)

Be careful what you ask for.

I would think to sell hope and optimism you'd try to put new players on the roster that generate hope and optimism. Adding Robinson, Staufer, and the like to a 90 loss team doesn't do that for me. It certainly doesn't scream "a lot more talent." At least not to me, and I doubt I'm in a huge minority.

Yankees. &;(?!/@ the Yankees.

I'll go with the Gigantes. After that, prolly the Dbacks, cause I can listen on radio. AL, nobody. But I enjoyed the Royals run last year. Grudgingly.

I guess it's possible in the future, but there's no precedent, is there? I honestly don't know...has any church been litigated against in an attempt to force them to perform a marriage? Any marriage?

Plouffe has developed into a solid third baseman, and is not among the Twins problems. Given health, he'll likely continue to perform at that level.

1. Bryant isn't an "official" member of the MLBPA, an "unofficial" member of the MLBPA, or anything in between. Someone, who IS a member of the MLBPA, will lose his MLB job if/when Bryant makes a 25 man roster. It's questionable at best, unethical at worst, for the MLBPA to advocate for a non member over a member. While using the member's dues to do that, to boot. Same thing for the 40 man roster...some dues paying member is going to lose his spot. And I don't see how the union can negotiate the exact terms that the Cubs are taking advantage of, and then argue the Cubs are in violation or aren't "acting in good faith." Did the union argue Travis Lee wasn't "acting in good faith" when he and his agent took advantage of the rules to be declared a free agent after the Twins honored his request and didn't offer a contract within 15 days? Would Boras advise any of his current clients to "act in good faith" if a similar situation arose today? Negotiate different terms in the next collective bargaining. In the meantime, quit complaining about others following the rules.

Arizona Diamondbacks - 71.5 under Atlanta Braves - 73.5 over Baltimore Orioles - 82.5 over Boston Red Sox - 86.5 over Chicago Cubs - 82.5 over Chicago White Sox - 81.5 over Cincinnati Reds - 77.5 over Cleveland Indians - 84.5 under Colorado Rockies - 71.5 over Detroit Tigers - 84.5 over Houston Astros - 75.5 under Kansas City Royals - 81.5 over Los Angeles Angels - 88.5 over Los Angeles Dodgers - 92.5 over Miami Marlins - 81.5 under Milwaukee Brewers - 78.5 over Minnesota Twins - 71.5 under New York Mets - 81.5 over New York Yankees - 81.5 over Oakland Athletics - 81.5 over Philadelphia Phillies - 68.5 over Pittsburgh Pirates - 84.5 under San Diego Padres - 84.5 over San Francisco Giants - 84.5 under Seattle Mariners - 86.5 over St. Louis Cardinals - 88.5 over Tampa Bay Rays - 78.5 under Texas Rangers - 78.5 under Toronto Blue Jays - 83.5 over Washington Nationals - 93.5 over Tie breaker 1: The two AL WC teams will be: Baltimore, CWS Tie breaker 2: The two NL WC teams will be: San Diego, Cincy