gunnarthor

Arguably, there is a difference between "best player" and "most valuable". Admittedly, not everyone sees it that way but historically, MVP has not been for the best player. That's why I think Betts will get it this year over Trout. And we should also remember that WAR is not the be-all, end-all. Posnanski reported a few years ago that the Oakland A's internal WAR valuation had Miguel Cabrera ahead of Trout when fWAR and b-r WAR had Trout far ahead.

I think Betts wins. Dozier might get a top 10 vote or two but there are a lot of deserving players this year and are playing on good teams.

Vargas had a nice season in the majors this year if a SSS and he has done a nice job taking more walks. His numbers in AAA weren't as good - .233/.361/.424 - but he still showed decent k/bb ratios. I think I'd line up next April with Joe at first, Sano at third and Park in AAA and let Vargas have month as primary DH. But be prepared to move on when/fi he fails and/or Park is ready to take over.

I love dividends. We automatically reinvest the dividend into the stock so when it's down, we're automatically buying more anyway. It can really grow a stock rapidly.

In all honestly, was this a surprise? Cops should be in Trump's wheelhouse.

I'm not sure that happens. Even if he wins, I don't think Trump would run for a second term anyway. (But I've been really wrong on guessing what happens this cycle). If Trump wins, I think that means the GOP does reasonably well in the Senate elections and then kill the Dems in 2018 midterm elections which are titled badly against the Dems. After that, I'm not sure the Dems have much on their bench. For all the talk about the GOP being a regional party, they've won a lot of elections lately.

Trump will SAY lots of stupid things. Trump won't do the work. President isn't king. He can't wave his hand and change things. He'll sign conservative bills if they get through Congress. He'll pick a few conservative justices that the right suggests to him. He'll do tons of photo ops.

Good for Meyer.

I assume this is the right forum?

I like the article. I'm not sure if he really is tipping pitches or that a pinky would be enough but I do remember Hunter's BP thing so there is some smoke ...

Deadspin had a sort of funny take on Preller - http://deadspin.com/disgraced-san-diego-padres-gm-a-j-preller-certainly-se-1786711969

I wonder if he's burned too many bridges in baseball to be a head guy anymore? If I was a rival GM, I wouldn't trust him at all and I'd never deal with him unless I absolutely had to. Certainly wouldn't do him any favors.

Adding to this, the Twins used to have a roving pitching instructor - Rich Knapp, IIRC - who went to all levels of the minors to help pitchers with their control. I remember he got a lot of credit within the organization. Eventually he was hired away by the Tigers and fired after a few disappointing years for their hitters. It seemed strange. As to defense, it might not be a strength next year but it might not be the hot mess either. Most defensive stats mark the worst players as back-ups and guys not here anymore. Mauer, Dozier, Polanco and Rosario all sort of grade out as average. Buxton grades out above that. Sano at third is, depending on the stat, avg or slightly below and Kepler in RF is the same way. One way to help might be to get a better defensive framing catcher so Twins pitchers (Gibson) might get a few more calls in the bottom of the zone? If Buxton hits enough, he'll cover enough ground in center. They could also target a strong defensive short stop and move Polanco to third and Sano to DH (although that hurts the offense and means Vargas is gone and Park is a bench player full time).

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17554327/san-diego-padres-face-discipline-hiding-players-medical-information-mlb-database Pretty big problem. "In a significant deviation from standard practice within the sport, San Diego Padres officials instructed their organization's athletic trainers to maintain two distinct files of medical information on their players -- one for industry consumption and the other for the team's internal use, multiple sources have told ESPN. Trainers were told in meetings during spring training that the distinction was meant to better position the team for trades, according to two sources with direct knowledge of what was said." The old medical trainer was fired and the Padres hired Mark Ragow from the Dept of Defense. "After Rogow's hiring, there were a handful of meetings during spring training with the organization's athletic trainers, for the major and minor leagues. .... According to the two sources with direct knowledge of the meetings, the athletic trainers were told that by splitting the medical files into two categories, the Padres would benefit in trade discussions. At the annual get-together of athletic trainers at baseball's winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee, in December, MLB officials had informed those in the room that they wanted more medical documentation. Months later, when the Padres' directive to split the documentation was handed down, some Padres staffers were uncomfortable, according to sources, and some expressed that discomfort, with athletic trainers saying there would be backlash for this type of filing system. According to sources, the Padres reached midseason with dramatically fewer medical entries on their players. An average number of entries for a given team might be in the range of 60 by the All-Star break. The Padres had fewer than 10." The article also notes the Padre's GM has a history of violating rules. "A.J. Preller is the Padres' general manager and oversees baseball operations for the franchise. He previously worked for the Rangers and, when Preller was overseeing their international operations in 2010, he was suspended for violations of baseball rules regarding signings. .... Shortly after Preller took over the Padres, the team was reprimanded by MLB for conducting a workout contrary to industry regulations." No idea what the punishment will be.

I generally agree that Mcleod would be the preferred hire (although, frankly, I have no real reason to know who would be better). But there is no question that clubs like the Red Sox were able to get more talent to fall to them b/c of their monetary advantage and a guy like Pedroia, IIRC, wasn't drafted particularly out of line. He just ended up a lot better than many thought. Now, to me, Mcleod sounds like a guy who would be pretty good without that advantage but it was an advantage.

Well, in some of those seasons, the Red Sox spent a lot more on falling guys b/c there was no draft pool in place.

Eventually, he'll be fine. He just needs reps. We're probably over analyzing everything right now. He's had about 400 PA in the majors and less than 550 PA in AA and AAA combined over the last three (injury plagued) seasons. Occasionally, you see glimpses of what he can become. I know WAR has a ton of warts but both b-r and fangraphs have him on a 2+ WAR pace for a full season. He's been about as valuable this year, in few PA, as Denard Span has been for the Giants. He has to improve his plate discipline but he's already an asset and he'll get better.

If Trump wins, Pence will be acting President. Strong rightward tilt but not the end of the world.

Considering the reason most of us think Pohlad's fired Smith, I think you'll have to live with ownership keeping us on a shoestring budget. Bottom third constantly in payroll with guys like Sano leaving after their team controlled years are over. I hope I'm wrong but the Pohlad family isn't likely to increase payroll.

Didn't see this, apologies if already posted. http://www.startribune.com/twins-new-boss-will-need-authority-to-clean-house/393489751/ Nice article from Reusse who thinks the new FO should fire Molitor and the coaching staff. "The mystery is CEO Jim Pohlad’s commitment to Molitor, as if he carries a cache of loyalty with the Twins’ ever-diminishing audience. Molitor has tremendous credibility as a player, but as a manager? Forget the bad pitching, the yoke around this club’s neck for six years. The fact the Twins have spent the entire season featuring lousy fielding, asinine base running and stagnation with a hitter such as Miguel Sano (the most important player in the organization) is a troubling reflection on Molitor and his coaches. The endless blunders the manager has overseen far outweigh any positives of 2015. I don’t know how a new baseball boss could take an objective look at the way the Twins have been managed and coached in 2016 without saying to Pohlad: “I have to fire the whole bunch.”"

I think there are two issues here and people are sort of talking past each other. 1) Does pneumonia disqualify her for being President? Of course not. 2) Does the way the campaign dealt with this issue continue to show a problem of transparency and trustworthiness that makes people not support her? I think yes. I do think it's fair to consider the health of the candidates but if pneumonia is the only thing, then move on. But the second one, for me, is bigger. It goes to what we constantly see - a stupid apology while at the same time saying she did something other people who weren't running for President did and wants the same, lower standard applied to her. And when it's not, we get another round of "press treating Clinton poorly" or such.

True, that can certainly happen but Gibson has better stuff and both Blackburn and Slowey got hurt. Slowey's was the more serious as his wrist never quite got right again. But baseball is full of players that had a few good years and then a bad year or even inconsistent years. Some of those had good years again and others didn't. (Former Twins Francisco Liriano, Eric Milton and Kyle Lohse would qualify). Since Gibson doesn't have the injury issue and has a bit better pedigree, I would expect that he's better but he might be cooked.

1) Because, as stated, that's actually not a bad return for that pick. 2) He hasn't been dominating but after a 10 start rookie season, he be had a 2 WAR season followed by a 3 WAR season and was reasonably durable in both 2014 and 2015 (63 combined starts). Obviously, this year has been a disaster for him (and many) but before the season, people were expecting him to make a big jump - fangraphs had a nice little article on him as a potential break out guy. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-unusually-compelling-kyle-gibson-just-a-tweak-away/ Personally, I don't think he's as bad as he has shown this year and we could reasonably expect a better season next year.

Thanks Jack. I really hope you and Brad stick around after the FO change.

That was a HUGE international event. He vomited on the Japanese leader. He was no longer running for President. I was still in HS but vividly remember this. It was before the internet but it was everywhere. It was the cover of Time magazine. They had a photo spread about it and used it as a metaphor for how the US economy was falling to the rising Japanese economy. There were editorials galore. The late night folks had a blast with it because we were all worried that Dan Qualye could become President. The Quayle was a heart beat away from the Presidency stuck and was an actual issue in the 92 election (the first one I could vote in).