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James

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Everything posted by James

  1. James
    This is a pretty interesting article. The data shows players getting called up from 2005 - 2009, so it is already 5 years old. There is something to be said about the prospects of that era as well. For comparison, from 2002 to 2009, the Twins never drafted earlier than 20th overall. In comparison, Tampa, which was much more aggressive in promoting, drafted in the top 5 in all but two of those years (and one year was 2005 where they drafted 8th). That also includes 3 #1 overall picks. So, someone could make the claim that the better talent they were receiving in the draft allowed them to promote players more aggressively. I'd really like to see this data from 2010 - 2014. I would expect that the Twins have moved further down the list and will be for a few more years.
  2. James
    I admit, I was reluctant to go after Santana, but it's articles like this that are making me already come around on him, and he hasn't even pitched a game for the Twins yet. Great work, as usual, Parker.
  3. James
    I'm quite bullish about both of those guys. I think May made some strides at the end of last season. Don't get me wrong, the first few were ugly. Ugly is an understatement. But the last few were much better and showed promise. I was hoping to see some Kyle Gibson-esque strides from him this year (as in a similar improvement from year one to year two). I'm also hoping to see Meyer. I don't know where they'll fit them both in, but I'm sure that will work itself out somehow. As for Santana, I can say I wasn't looking forward to it, but it's already growing on me.
  4. James
    My point about the Twins adding payroll was meant for those complaining that they hadn't added payroll had gotten what they wanted. That is all. The Twins could have,in theory,traded for a pitcher that makes league minimum and improved the team and winning more games without increasing they payroll. What if,the 2015 Twins lose 90 games again? Does that mean they didn't add enough payroll, or that does that mean it payroll isn't as highly correlated to wins as you are claiming? As a Twins fan, I don't care what the payroll is, I just want the team to win. I agree with you that it is all about adding assets (talent), but assets are added in many ways in baseball. Not just spending money on free agents.
  5. James
    But not adding payroll doesn't necessarily lose you games either. That's what I'm trying to say. It might in some cases, but payroll overall isn't a good predictor of wins/losses. Moot point as the Twins just bumped up the payroll. Hopefully it's more tolerable and a better product.
  6. James
    Gilmartin wasn't on the 40-man roster, which is why the Mets were able to claim him. Graham will be on the 40-man roster, and will have to be on the 25-man MLB roster all season for him to be controlled by the Twins. If he doesn't stay on the MLB roster the entire season, Graham has to be offered back to the Braves for $25K (The Twins had to pay $50K to grab him in this draft). If for some reason the Braves don't want to pay the money, he now under control of the Twins and they are free to option him to the minors.
  7. James
    You're right, it doesn't mean must. I generally don't speak in absolutes like that. Confidence intervals are usually my thing. What I was basically trying to get at was that wins aren't strongly correlated to dollars spent. Is there some correlation? Probably. To do this topic just would take some statistics that could be done, I just don't have the time at the moment. My argument is more that since the correlation isn't a strong correlation, payroll isn't a very good predictor or wins or losses. Most of the payroll arguments that I read are trying to connect the Twins lower payroll with the cause of the Twins losing. I'm trying to say it's more a by-product of the Twins losing (and replacing players with younger, cheaper player) rather than the cause.
  8. James
    I think the problem is that they payroll hasn't gone up while the team has been bad. I don't think people would really be complaining about the payroll at all if the Twins were still winning games. I agree with you Mike, it probably wouldn't have crippled the team to add contracts 3-5 years ago (besides Willingham). I actually think that 3-5 year deals tend to be about perfect lengths for contracts. The problem with arguments about payroll is that they end up trying to correlate losses with lack of payroll, which logic would follow that higher payroll must mean more wins. But we all know that this isn't true either. Which must mean that there is some other independent reason that is causing them to lose. And all this ranting as the Twins add to the payroll by agreeing to a deal with Ervin Santana that fits in that 3-5 year range.
  9. James
    Vodka Dave is right. The fans aren't shareholders. They're customers. Pocketing money from customers is exactly what businesses do. My point was payroll isn't the biggest reason for the Twins losing in recent years. I also agree that the Twins management shouldn't be avoiding free agents just because payroll doesn't win games.
  10. James
    Remember, Gilmartin has to stick with the team for the entire year or be returned, and most Rule V guys don't stick with their selected team. I'm betting that Gilmartin will be back in the Twins organization before the end of the year. Most likely, before the end of spring training.
  11. James
    Ahh. A good payroll conversation again, huh? There are arguments for both sides, spend or don't spend. I agree that I would like the Twins to me a bit more open and honest about contracts, but there are some things they can't say in public, because they still do need to maintain a relationship with other GMs, so I can see why they tend not to say much about other deals. The argument that I hate to hear is, "The Twins don't spend money and that's why they're losing". We all know this isn't the reason they are losing, because if all it took was to spend money, we would have seen a Dodgers vs Yankees world series last year, and the Phillies wouldn't have spent almost $100 million dollars more than the Twins to win 3 more games. I'm not saying that I agree with the way that the Twins have been spending their money, I'm saying that they payroll isn't the main cause of the Twins problems. The one argument that is not valid at all is people complaining that "The Pohlads are operating the Twins as a business." I really hate to break this to those people, but the Twins are, in fact, a business. In fact, all 30 MLB teams are, in fact, businesses. If you expect the owners to run their teams as anything other than a business, then your setting yourself up to be disappointed.
  12. James
    News today that the Twins are on Bruce's limited no trade clause. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/11/details-on-jay-bruces-no-trade-clause.html I had other issues with this idea, but they are kind of a moot point now that this came out.
  13. James
    Good job with this one. I enjoyed the shorter format. It really moved.
  14. James
    I need to see some pictures of these before I come to a conclusion. As long as they aren't the "Turn Ahead the Clock" Jerseys, I think we'll be fine. http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSzLDBQyPhT9ZapmYx5Kmh9xIUb88xSNWmkQzT5Mu0JC0Ewj-TxeA
  15. James
    What are the odds that they bring Bruno back as a hitting coach? (I know it depends on who the manager will be). Are you two going to watching the world series while you're doing the chat tonight? I mean, come on guys! It's a big deal! Why aren't you watching it? With the Twins pulling Sano out of the winter leagues, do you see this as: Sano having some sort of setback? not progressing as fast as they had hoped? the Twins not wanting to give up control of the rehab of one of their top prospects? Please provide some wild speculation.
  16. James
    The important question is, did you take him up on his offer?
  17. James
    OK. I had a whole message written but it failed to post. so, I'll summarize. I think the argument of "The Pohlads treat the Twins like a business" is fundamentally flawed. This is the main reason: MLB teams are, in fact, businesses. Why would the owners treat them as anything other than that. But, that doesn't mean that the Pohlads don't want to win. In fact, if the argument if you are convinced that they only care about money, they should, in fact, want to ensure that they have a winning team every year. Why, because winning teams draw more fans to the ballpark (except for possibly in Tampa). If all they cared about was the money, they would ensure they put a team on the field that filled every seat of Target Field. If you truly believe that the Pohlads run their business any differently than every other owner, please show me evidence of how. Because this argument contradicts itself.
  18. James
    I'm sorry to see him go, and I thank him for what he has done with the organization. But I also agree that it is time to go a new direction. This wasn't a decision about next year, but rather for the future of the club beyond 2015. I wish Gardy the best of luck in any future endeavors.
  19. James
    I have been buying season tickets with a group for the last 5 years. I'm pretty sure that this year has been the last. Of the group, all but two of us have decided that they don't want to buy in again. So, it seems like time as a season ticket holder has come to an end. It has been tougher and tougher to find people to go with me to games. For the past two years, I haven't been able to find anyone that has been willing to pay full price for the seats (which are very similar to the seats that Nick described). I have been trading the seats for a few beers each game. That's pretty much the only way that I've been able to get people to go to the games with me (and I usually have 4 tickets to games). I will probably still attend 10-15 games per year, but I can't see those tickets coming from splitting season tickets. This article is very accurate, the Twins are in trouble. I have a hard time seeing companies like Budweiser and Delta pulling their sponsorship. It is the smaller companies that need to ensure that their marketing dollars are used in the most effective manner that will be leaving as their exposure will be dwindling. As for options to fix the issue, that is a more complicated issue. It's likely that there is no one solution. It is going to take a few things to turn this ship around.
  20. James
    I pretty much only buy hats with the TC logo on them. The "M" logo has seems kind of dated to me. It looks very 80's. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I feel like the TC logo doesn't quite have that dated feeling, even though it is older. Just my opinion. Besides, people from St. Paul won't wear the "M". Can't alienate the fan base.
  21. James
    Great article. I'm hoping both Thorpe and Burdi keep it up. They are both very exciting prospects.
  22. James
    To be fair, MLB Trade Rumors said "All sign point to him starting on Saturday" not an actual confirmation that he would be. But yes, I read this too, so it's not incredibly surprising. Still good news though.
  23. James
    Awesome news! He's definitely earned it. Here's hoping this is just the start of a long and productive career with the Twins.
  24. James
    I 100% agree with you. I also want to see Meyer up with the Twins. I want to see that soon. I was just commenting about who had a better month of July. There's definitely a case to be made for putting Meyer in the top 5 for July. But I understand this list and the reasoning behind where everyone was placed too. Walks... concerning, but I think Meyer can fix that while up with the big league club.
  25. James
    I like Walker a lot. He strikes out far too often though, and he hardly takes a walk. He'll probably start in AA next year. It doesn't make a ton of sense for him to go up to AA just to have his season be done in a little over 3 weeks. If stays in A+, he will get some more playoff experience. That's valuable too.
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