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one_eyed_jack

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Everything posted by one_eyed_jack

  1. one_eyed_jack
    ---Please tell me you didn't just classify your "Mauer took steroids" claim as "reality".
  2. one_eyed_jack
    ---Yeah, it was fun when Blackburn, Pavano and Liriano could actually get guys out with at least some degree of regularity
  3. one_eyed_jack
    I can't believe how truly awful our rotation has been this year.
  4. one_eyed_jack
    Don't know why you think you made a mistake. This is a great site, and I think there's a healthy range of viewpoints represented. And as for the "rose colored glasses" thing, I don't know that anyone feels that way. We all know the team has stunk it up, but it's a lot more fun to think about possibilities for renewal than to find new ways to pee on everyone in the organization. And don't take it personally on the lack of blog comments. I read them, as did many others. But I find, as many others do, that the amount of stuff worth commenting on far exceeds the amount of time I have to devote to commenting.
  5. one_eyed_jack
    1) This was good for chuckles. Most of your "refutations" were either tangential if not wholly irrelevant the claim at hand or simply non-sequiturs (e.g. when I cited the Giants and Zito's contract as a counterexample and your "refutation" was basically "yeah, well, that's different because Zito is a starting pitcher"), and thus did not merit further response or discussion. So no, it wasn't because I agreed with them. 2) The rest of your incoherent rant about what would, could and should have happened if Mauer had performed differently is pure speculation, the liberal use of bolding and underlining notwithstanding. 3) You have not even attempted to explain the part of your claim most worthy of the "melodramatic and silly" label, which is that Mauer's contract "paralyzes" the Twins until 2018. There is no reason a single contract, no matter how bad, paralyze for 6 years. Such a claim simply has no basis in facts or logic. It reflects the mentality of a child who fails in his first attempt at something and starts whining about how he'll never be able to do it.
  6. one_eyed_jack
    ---I think we have a bit of a vocabulary problem here. 1) "Melodramatic and silly" is a perfectly apt description of your claim that Mauer's contract "paralyzes" the Twins ability to compete for 8 years. "Hamper" might be a reasonable characterization. But "paralyzes" is over the top ridiculous. The Twins payroll was $112 mil in 2011 and $94 mil entering this year. So they've been spending between $70 and $90 million on payroll outside of Mauer. There are teams in the league that have managed to compete on payolls in that range alone, or even less in Tampa's case. So the exact thing you're saying the Twins are "paralyzed" from doing until 2018 has already been done. If Tampa can compete in the AL East with a $64 million payroll, then there is absolutely no reason at all the Twins can't compete in the AL Central with a payroll of $71 million plus Mauer. 2) For all of your lofty talk about "facts", much of your argument is based on Mauer's assumed production for the remainder of his contract. It is not a fact that he will be no more productive in the coming years than he is this season. It is an assumption or projection, but it is not a fact.
  7. one_eyed_jack
    ---Seconded. There always more debate around Mauer, but I think Morneau's fall has hurt more. He's played so little the last few years, I think people tend to forget how good he really was. There was a time when he was one of the most feared hitters in the game. He's the modern day Cam Neely of major league baseball - dominant when healthy, but that was so infrequent that it just leaves you wondering what could have been.
  8. one_eyed_jack
    ---Yawn. He's sticking up for his guys and saying what any manager would say in that situation. We have no idea what's said behind closed doors, but I suspect it's not the same things that are said in response to questions from the media. Gardy-haters always get so worked up over what he says in press conferences. If you're going to rip on Gardy, fine, but at least do it for something substantive.
  9. one_eyed_jack
    Right now it's Willingham in the lead, and it's not even that close. Still, a lot can happen in a month. If he cools off and Mauer gets hot, it will be Mauer. If he cools off and Mauer stays cool, Span could sneak in if he goes on a tear. I have a hard time seeing anyone besides one of those 3, something pretty ridiculous would have to happen. (Like all 3 get hurt or Diamond pitches a bunch more scoreless outings.)
  10. one_eyed_jack
    1. You can't judge a 8-year deal by 33 games. Yes, we'd all like to see more production, but the conclusion that he has "paralyzed" the Twins for the next 6 years is melodramatic and silly. 2. Even if he is as grossly overpaid as claimed, there's nothing that says you can't compete with overpaid guys on your payroll. Barry Zito's contract with the Giants was widely regarded as one of the worst in baseball for years. Yet despite that, they managed to not only compete, but win a World Series. 3. Far too many tears have been shed and tantrums thrown over Mauer's contract. For years I listened to Twins fans whine endlessly about how the team wouldn't pony up to keep its best players. Then they did with Mauer, and it's been a nonstop hissyfit about him being overpaid. Welcome to big league baseball, folks. You either pay big bucks to keep your best players, or somebody else will. And yes, you'll end up overpaying for some guys. It's just not realistic to think you can field a team of all-stars with league-minimum contracts.
  11. one_eyed_jack
    That's usually true, though it hasn't been here. TK would have been fired years before he hung it up if it were. It also doesn't really tell us anything about the impact it has on a team. It's really more a result of contracts getting bigger and CBAs more complex. Trades are much harder to make than they used to be in all sports. So when a team starts losing and the front office wants to shake things up, they fire the coach or manager - not because it's the best change they can make, but it's the easiest.
  12. one_eyed_jack
    Overall, I'm fine with the FSN coverage. You can't really reconcile the conflict between the interest in accuracy and the interest in maintaining ratings, interest and access. They do a decent enough job walking that line. Yeah, the team stinks, but who would want to listen to them piss all over the Twins for 3 hours? But in this instance, yes, Robby should refrain from engaging with the critics. I can accept that the FSN crew has to cheerlead because it's their jobs. But it's ridiculous to think that cheerleading should be taken seriously. What Robby did here was the equivalent of dropping his pom-poms, putting his hands on his hips and saying with a straight face, "No, come on guys, we really ARE number one!" in support of a team that is dead last in the standings and getting their arses handed to them again.
  13. one_eyed_jack
    I agree that the Twins awful record is much better explained by a lack of talent than poor managing. However, I think manager's can have more than a negligible impact of the team. I mean if it makes no difference one way or the other, why not hire a fan off the street? I'm sure many posters here would be willing to do the job for a mere fraction of Gardy's salary. Manager's make in-game decisions that obviously impact the outcome. But there's all the other stuff too. They've got to make sure that guys don't get too high after wins and too low after losses. They've got to stand up to their players to umpires and the press. They've got to maintain control of the clubhouse. It's impossible to quantify this impact, and I'm certainly not close enough to it to measure it. But I think we've seen situations where players responded very differently to one manager than another. The Orioles seemed to taked on a whole new attitude when Showalter came in and took over. Meanwhile, in Houston not loo long ago, you really got the sense that a bunch of players couldn't wait for Cecil Cooper to get canned. Again, I don't know how much this stuff really comes into play, but I think it's more than trivial.
  14. one_eyed_jack
    ---Now that would be an awesome blog.
  15. one_eyed_jack
    I agree with those who said it should be someone from outside. I don't understand those who cry endlessly for change because the "Twins way" doesn't work, but then want to replace the current regime with other guys from within the Twins organization.
  16. one_eyed_jack
    If want to criticize Gardy for the lack of postseason success, fine. However, it is ignorant and silly to dismiss and belittle the division titles on the grounds that the competition was weak. First of all, it wasn't always that weak. In 2006 for example, there were 2 other teams that won at least 90 games. Also, the Twins were frequently on paper less talented than their division counterparts. They started spending in 2010, but prior to that, they were consistently outspent by the Tigers and White Sox, often by large margins. (Have we forgotten already the years of bellyaching about the team being cheap?) In some of those years, the 'experts' had the Twins finishing dead last in the division, but they didn't. Second, even in weak divisions, getting to the postseason every year is not an easy thing to do. Gardy-haters always compare him to his predecessor, who was a great manager, but even TK wasn't able to win that consistently. In his 15 seasons, the Twins only finished better than 4th in their division 5 times. And it's not like their division was the strongest every year either. Yes, we would all like to have seen more postseason success. But the fact that we didn't does not mean, as suggested, that the last 10 years were a complete and total failure. By that logic, Meryl Streep's acting career between 1983 and 2010 was a failure because although she earned 13 Oscar nominations in that time, she never actually won.
  17. one_eyed_jack
    Feelings about Gardenhire aside, that's been debated ad nauseum, assume for the sake of discussion that he will not be back next year - who would you like to see replace him? Any names come to mind? The ideas I have mos commonly seen throw out there are Francona and Brunansky/Carew/Gladden/various other distinguished former Twins. I'm not sure if Francona would be interested, but is he a good fit? Sure, he had success in Boston, but the 2013 Twins are not going to be anything like the 2004 Red Sox. As far as the 'heroes of yesteryear' crowd, I'd prefer someone with a coaching track record that would suggest they'd be successful as a major league manager. It doesn't have to be MLB managing experience - could be coaching or managing at any level - but there's got to be something more than "they played good for the Twins" on their resume. I'd also prefer someone from outside the organization. There's a feeling of staleness here and it's never a good idea to always promote from within. I don't know a lot about guys in the coaching ranks who may be deserving of a shot, but I'll throw out one name - Ken Oberkfell. Fire away!
  18. one_eyed_jack
    Many a firing has come shortly after a "vote of confidence". I've always been a Gardy supporter, but I think both he and the Twins could benefit from a change. I would be surprised if it happened during the season. There's no reason to do that unless there's a particular replacement you have in mind and you want to grab him before someone lese does. A managerial change to save this season would be silly. That's like entering the Daytona 500 with a '73 Dodge Dart and thinking that changing drivers after a few laps will give you a chance to win. I see a mutual parting of the ways at season's end.
  19. one_eyed_jack
    1) The fact that it doesn't happen much is irrelevant. That's the "I drive drunk all the time and have never gotten into an accident, so I don't see what the problem is" argument. Why should it take a tragedy to strike for the culture to change? 2) Interesting that you think I'm not entitled to an opinion on this because I've never set foot in an MLB dugout, but you presume to know how Harper feels about getting beaned and how past MLB players would react to my criticism. That's the discredit the argument by discrediting the arguer tactic, which is typically resorted to when one has no facts or logic to defend their position. It's like when cops respond to criticisms of police brutality and coerced confessions with "well you've never served on the force" There is no reason you can't criticize the culture of a profession you've never been a part of. 3) Of course plenty of pitchers have thrown at guys over the years. Nobody said Hamels was the first is decades to do this. It's the mindset that's out of the 50's, or perhpas earlier - the simple-minded ideology of blindly following tradition straight out of "The Lottery".
  20. one_eyed_jack
    ---Yeah I'm with you. This isn't one of those issues where reasonable minds may disagree. There is no redeeming value to what Hamels did, it's indefensible to put guys at risk of injury in the name of carrying on a childish hazing tradition. Think of it this way: suppose Hamels show of faux machismo had gone horribly wrong. What if instead of plunking him in the back, he hit him in the face, left him with eye damages, and ended his short career? Would you buy "well, I was trying to bring back old school baseball" as a valid excuse? Of course not. And don't start in with the "there was no chance of that happening" argument. Yes, MLB pitchers are accurate, but they aren't perfect. Would you be willing to stand 60.5 feet away from Cole Hamels, legs apart, with your knees on either side of an 'X' painted on the wall behind you and let him throw as hard as he could at the 'X'? If you really believe there's no chance of him missing his intended target, you shouldn't have a problem with it.
  21. one_eyed_jack
    Wow, didn't think there was anyone you despised as much as Gardenhire, but apparently there is! And as with Gardy, your personal dislike of Cuddyer making you willfully blind to certain facts, which leads to irrational conclusions. 1) The Twins lost Game 163 in '08 by one run. The most Cuddyer could have done is tie the game if he had scored. Last I checked, you don't get a bonus run for knocking the catcher over. He could not have "personally won" that game 2) Cuddyer was 1-3 with a double. The rest of the team was 1-23 with no XBH. So pinning the loss on Cuddyer is just plain silly. Not as silly as ripping on Gardenhire for attending his daughter's college graduation, but it's up there. 3) The Twins did not win a divison title after Hunter left. They won 2. Funny how 2009, Cuddyer's best year as a Twin, gets ignored in your little diatribe. Cuddyer deserves a lot of credit for the division title that year for the way he played after taking over first base for an injured Morneau. Certainly more than Young deserves for the 2010 division title.
  22. one_eyed_jack
    ---So unnecessary risk of injury makes the game better? Should we allow guys to carry the bat with them after they put the ball in play and try to prevent the first baseman from catching the throw by whacking them with it? I'm sure that would up the intensity and stir up some rivalries.
  23. one_eyed_jack
    Of course it's reckless endangerment. Yes, it's different than headhunting. Headhunting is not reckless, it's intent to injure. Recklessness is willful disregard to the potential harm caused to others. It is defined by the risks created, not the resulting consequences. What Hamels did is textbook recklessness. Throwing a baseball at someone is putting them at risk of injury. The fact that no actual harm came is irrelevant. The "nobody got hurt, so therefore it's OK" argument doesn't fly with me. This is the same logic employed people who claim that they drive better when they are drunk, do it all the time and have never hurt anyone, therefore it's OK for them to continue doing it.
  24. one_eyed_jack
    http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/phillies-cole-hamels-hits-nationals-bryce-harper-admits-aiming-for-him-050612?ocid=vt_fbmsn Harper came up with two outs in the first inning and Hamels promptly drilled the 19-year-old. Why, exactly? ''That's something I grew up watching, that's kind of what happened. So I'm just trying to continue the old baseball because I think some people are kind of getting away from it. I remember when I was a rookie the strike zone was really, really small and you didn't say anything because that's the way baseball is,'' Hamels said. ----- Curious as to how others feel about this. I would suspend him for 10 games. There is no excuse for recklessly endangering another player like that in the name of "old baseball". Throwing at a guy is not a baseball play. I pay to watch big league pitchers paint corners, not bean guys. There's too much blind deference to tradition in baseball. It's the last sport to have instant replay because of that. There's no point in carrying on or trying to reclaim stupid traditions for tradition's sake. It was once traditional to have separate leagues for players of different colors. Does Hamels want to go back to that as well because we've gotten away from it?
  25. one_eyed_jack
    Good piece, Nick. I especially liked your last sentence about calling for people to "step the hell up". We knew this team was flawed, but they're capable of playing better than this. A lot if the fans ire is directed at TR and Gardy, and some of that is justified (especially in TR's case as you pointed out). But utlimately, players have to go out and perform. The fact the a bunch of fringe MLB players have been suffled in and out does not excuse the lame-ass uninspired baseball we've seen from the regulars.
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