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ewen21

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Everything posted by ewen21

  1. ewen21
    The average major league salary is a shade over 4 million a year. By the rationale (or lack of it) provided through FanGraphs' valuation system Max is worth roughly five times more than the average player if he were to step into the FA market. In reality, I don't think there is a team in the league that would have handed Max the deal the Twins gave him. It isn't an astronomical amount of money, but I cannot envision some other team handing him a 7 year deal. This is comes with him being a known commodity and generally well-liked within the organization. They are betting on Max, and that is a good thing for Max. He knows how to "play the game" and be a good soldier so he gets his deal. As far as FanGraphs money goes, it is like the defunct Italian Lira to me. I had a few friends go to Germany/Italy for several weeks in the fall of 1984. They drank some towns dry in Italy and spend like $10 American dollars in the process. It was too hard to believe, but that was how the currency was valued.
  2. ewen21
    It was precisely this kind of thought process that generated the notion last winter that Machado and Harper could be signing $400 million dollar contracts. The kind of thinking that has Machado and Harper both believing they shouldn't take anything less than $300 in guaranteed money.
  3. ewen21
    That is just the thing. FanGraphs disgustingly overrates player value, in my opinion. If you check Brian Dozier as an example he was "according to FanGraphs" worth $40 million and $46 million in 2016 and 2017 (if he were a FA in the open market). How does this jibe with reality? The player valuations based off WAR seems completely arbitrary to me. While WAR is an indicator I like to see it is not infallible and should not be viewed as a singular confirmation of how much a player is worth. What exactly is the logic here? It starts to become far too removed from any kind of common sense and more about numbers. Seems to me in this valuation they assume "average player" has a WAR of 1.0 so that should be in proportion to the average salary. They set that at 7 million and for every WAR point they score you multiply by 7 million? Whatever they do to value Dozier over $40 million in two different seasons says all you need to know about it. I appreciate everything else about FanGraphs, however, this valuation system is utterly absurd. Maddening actually.
  4. ewen21
    Fangraphs is brilliant in many ways, but the least brilliant thing about it is their valuation system in regards to dollar value based off the player's WAR. They had Dozier at and above 40 million. In what fictional world can that be justified? Completely absurd What is important is that Kepler is making significantly more than Polanco in his deal and I just don't get that
  5. ewen21
    I don't understand why people suddenly the Twins to spend like a top 10 team. These are two analytics guys. The whole premise behind bringing them in was to build a competitive cost-effective club. They are not going to take costly risks by definition. About the only time they might is if this team has a more stable core. Not sure why so many are challenged by this notion
  6. ewen21
    Again. If not a single person said a thing about his performance he would still have to dig himself of the hole he has dug.
  7. ewen21
    Not sure what you mean by that. He had a .544 OPS in 382 at Rochester last year. There have been concerns about his glove and how he can hold up to a long season. I had a much more positive view of him before the his callup to Rochester, but after that performance I am not so sure how can take a glass half full view of him at this point in time. If not a single person said BOO about him he would still need to dig himself of this hole that he is in now.
  8. ewen21
    Well, that is your opinion. They have generated so much money because they have expanded the product and priced it out nearly to it's limit. Now a correction in salaries is happening. Do you feel that is unfair to these players?
  9. ewen21
    And everyone was saying BUY REAL ESTATE in 2004. How did that workout. This endless bounty of risning salaries is ending. And it needs to.
  10. ewen21
    Athletes and entertainers make way WAY too much. They do not solve problems and we can stand to divorce ourselves from the lunacy if they cannot accept a period of austerity. Every other field has faced it and if they want to cry about it then that is not a good look
  11. ewen21
    Because no entertainer, athlete deserves to make the money these guys now make. Do you realize how much salaries have increased over the last 25 years? Do we continue to endorse this insanity or is it time for a reality check? I think this correction was inevitable and these dudes really need a reality check. As far as the owners go, I do not support their side BUT they are the ones incurring the risk owning the franchise. Same with any privately owned business. They ultimately decide how much their employees should earn. These guys make enough. I ask again.....are you OK with the next 25 years being like the last 25? Consider how jacked up cable bills have gotten, how much it costs for a family to attend a game, etc....Name me a union that is more powerful from the MLPA. Name me a union that gives that kind of protection to their constituents. This is the second time you hit me with this. If you want to demonize the owners and absolve players from all responsibility in this salary ridiculousness then we will never agree so I will read your response and consider whether or not I should respond. Not interested in an acrimonious exchange since I do respect your baseball knowledge. I just don't like the way you absolve the MLPA. Them and the agents can kick and scream about this and even go on strike. See where that lands them this time. It is a different world and they need to wake up
  12. ewen21
    I hope Harper is sitting on the sidelines during ST and is forced to sign a contract significantly less than what Washington offered him
  13. ewen21
    First base! Jim! Holt! My brother and I used to get a kick out of the way Casey announced him. I had a bunch of him in that '74 set
  14. ewen21
    In 1975 I think I got ten freakin Vic Albury cards. Grrrr!
  15. ewen21
    Incidentally, I believe both occurred in Chicago
  16. ewen21
    Maybe it was pursued and he wanted nothing to do with the Twins. We did not have the best relationship with him (even though that was with the old guard, not sure if he would feel like coming back)
  17. ewen21
    Ok. There is a positive slant, but understand for every Arrieta there are dozens of others with these numbers who are out of baseball before they turn 30
  18. ewen21
    I remember Joe giving that "do you know who I am?" glare to Joe West. West just shot back with his "do you know who you're dealing with?" gaze. It was hysterical
  19. ewen21
    Some guys did a bat flip when they knew they crushed one. Not Joe. When he "crushed it" he unhooked the shin guard. …...And he did better than anyone
  20. ewen21
    Kiriloff to me is the guy to be excited about because he has hit like a house on fire wherever he goes. I am not terribly interested in hearing about how "athletic" a guy is if he is hitting .275 in A ball. The ability to run fast is a nice trait to have, but if you aren't a great hitter in the minors then......sorry.....I am just not getting that excited until you hit. The hardest thing to do in sports is hit a baseball. There are tons of athletes who cannot hit. We need a few HITTERS. Not sure if Lewis is there, but he is still young.
  21. ewen21
    Very good.
  22. ewen21
    I am just going to say this about Buxton and then bail on this for now...... WIth regards to how much of a leash, he can't do what he has typically done in the first two months of the year. This isn't what I would call a small sample size. Patterns are hard to fathom sometimes, but in the case of Buxton I can say with 100% certainty he has sucked out loud in April every single season. If it gets to Mother's Day and he's hitting .190 then I send him down. He can get as mad as he wants this time. There is something wrong with a guy who just cannot come ready to hit the first half of the season. We don't need him to be half a player, nor do we need to try find ways to prove he is still "fine" when he isn't. Simply put, he HAS TO hit. This has gone on long enough. The team has exhibited enough patience and it is up to Buxton not to put them in a position where they need to act. As with any player in his position he needs to hit in order to stay in the lineup. I have never heard of a guy being held to no standard offensively just because he can run around. It is crazy
  23. ewen21
    Oh OK
  24. ewen21
    Buxton had a miraculous season in the field in 2017. He had 24 defensive runs saved, according to the metric used on fangraphs. The worst CF in that category was Denard Span with (I guess) 27 runs lost or a -27 DRS. The difference between the absolute best and worst is 51 runs. Take a look at the offensive numbers for runs created. Trout had 181 wRC+ and Billy Hamilton was the worst with 65 wRC+ which is a difference of 116 runs. There is not a way on God's green earth you or anyone can prove that offense and defense are equal parts of the pie. Centerfielders typically make slight more than 2 putouts a game on average historically. There is no way Buxton can control where balls are being hit. It could take a few weeks before he makes a catch worthy of being called a web gem (and he isn't the only player who makes them). Meanwhile he gets 4 at bats a game where he can strike out and pop up, ruin rallies and make outs come easier for the other team. Besides just the numbers behind it that has a demoralizing affect on a baseball club. You cannot keep a guy in the lineup and give him an endless amount of rope. There needs to be accountability and if we are not going to hold Buxton to some kind of bottom line standard that that blurs accountability for all the other players. People here suggested that quite a bit over the last couple of years with Buxton. I say NO WAY. He needs to meet a standard and if he can't then that is tough luck for him and for us. A .672 OPS is not what I want in my everyday lineup.
  25. ewen21
    But he doesn't counterbalance his poor offense with speed and defense. Not when he also has a .285 OBP and all those strikeouts. He makes up for it part of the way, but not all of the way. No way in the world Buxton gets enough opportunities to make great plays so as to offset horrible offense. There simply aren't enough balls hit into those tiny zones where he can make a play other good CFs don't make. There just aren't enough opportunities. He cannot control it. You can throw any defensive metric out there and I still won't be convinced. They simply do not measure as accurately as offensive statistics do. I think 2017 was somewhat of a lucky season for him defensively in that he had an inordinate amount of opportunities. Those opportunities are not a given like at bats are We know for a fact, he gets up 4 times a game and there are have been long stretches where he is about as bad as any hitter I have seen come through our system. I am willing to put up with him around his fictional 162 game average. Then again, if he does that I try look for another option in CF for 2020. Honestly.
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