ewen21

Sit your ass down! Game

Castro lost that framing magic. Once you get the reputation for being a good pitch framer the umpires are going to correct that

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=5&season=2017&month=0&season1=2017&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&sort=4,a Joe is third from the bottom swinging at pitches in the zone. The idea that it is ridiculous for anyone to say Joe has a penchant for keeping his bat on his shoulders in close games or with men on isn't being fair. We all watch the games so without even consulting any statistics anyone here should readily admit that Joe is in take mode more than almost any other player in the game. No real analysis required when that fact is readily researched (and observed over the course of many years). It just is.

YOu are welcome to do an analysis on the numbers whenever you are ready

To say Rusty was an "on base machine" slights him. He was much more than that as a hitter. This is a guy who drove in over 280 runs for four separate ball clubs for a total of 1,466 for his career. As much as I love Rusty, he is not a HOFer.

I wasn't questioning his approach back the days when he was a catcher winning batting titles. That is YEARS AGO at this point. I am referring to the last seven or eight seasons and how things have evolved. The league adjusted to him and he's being defensed with an over-exaggerated opposite field shift, the likes of which I have never seen in over 40 years of watching major league baseball. It is uncanny and he seems to have ignored it. Maybe there isn't anything he can do about it because he so set in his ways and he can't pull the ball anymore? There is also the fact that when he comes up in tight games or when runners on base he walks a lot more than he normally does. Way more than any of the really good hitters like Trout and even Joey Votto. You watch the games. Don't you notice how he goes into take mode so often in these spots? Is this not an honest observation? Please let me know if it isn't. We are talking about Joe as he has been the last four or five seasons. This isn't the HOF catcher batting champ Mauer. Please make the distinction.

The problem is Mauer walks at a much more disproportionately high rate with runners on and in close and late situations than any other star hitter you want to bring up. If you don't believe me then pick six or seven of the best hitters in the league last year and compare. Heck, do it for the last five or six seasons. The league only approaches Mauer in a way where this happens, but not Mike Trout or JD Martinez or any other great hitter? Seems to me pitchers are more apt to pitch around those guys last year than Mauer. IF not then tell me something I am not a fan of Joe's approach. He tries to swing at the last possible minute when he does commit and committing seems to come harder in key situations. It's almost as if he says, "why worry about swinging and missing when I can draw a walk?" Not saying a walk isn't a positive thing. What I am saying is he's not supposed to be a table setter in those situations. Not when his bat is what gave him his fame.

There were indications that he figured something out, but let me see him pull a Carl Pavano in 2010 trick and by mid June a Gibby outing just might be appointment TV. As it is now I remain wary. He was inches away from Blackburn country

As far as Mauer is concerned, I would have been much more satisfied with him as a hitter if more of his hits were extra base hits. HIs ISO has been pathetic for years. Let's just tell it like it is. He also has a penchant for keeping the bat on his shoulders when runners are on base or when it's a tight game. You'd want your franchise player to take a crack at it in those situations, but it's just not his thing. This the reason why we didn't see Mauer get a walk off hit (not home run) for ten seasons until he got one this past season. Coupled with his dreadful ISO his walk obsession has helped ensure that he won't be making much of an impact on a game with his bat. Don't believe me? If you're like me you have watched almost every one of the games he has played in, but if that isn't enough to tell you go look at his splits from last year: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=mauerjo01&year=2017&t=b In close and late situations he had 79 plate appearances and 19 walks. With a margin of 4 runs or greater he had 81 plate appearances and 9 walks. If you think that is a statistical anomaly then go look at the same numbers for 2016, 2015, 2014..... Also take a look at his numbers with men on base compared to no one on base. It is the same thing. Way WAY more likely to walk with runners on than with runners not on base. ​Does this approach make sense?

With regards to any kind of countdown, can we get to 2,000?

I said HITS, not singles. Walks could only be as good as a single. All other hits besides singles are automatically better than walks (for obvious reasons). Hence, hits are better than walks most of the time.

"Sometimes"? Hits are better than walks MOST OF THE TIME. Players are intentionally walked in certain situations. There is no such thing as an intentional hit

It comes down to his age, really. He is turning 32. Is it smart to give a 32 year old player who isn't actually a superstar a multiyear deal because he is a good guy and fans are used to him? I don't see Dozier as being the player he was the last few years for very much longer. Players like Jeff Kent are the rare exception. Dozier isn't some guy on a HOF trajectory. He hit a mess of home runs for a few years. Chase Utley did as well, but his production tailed off in a big way when he got the age where Dozier will be next year. These guys did an analysis and found that a whole lot of second baseman (and other players) have dips in production in these years. It is inevitable. They don't want to pay the guy for being the player he was as opposed to the player he will be. Dozier seems to want a reward for being the player he was. Sorry dude. Goodbye

Correct. There is no such thing as a team having several players coming up and sticking around for a decade anymore. Terry Ryan operated under that ridiculously outdated pretense. It's a fools errand to think you can project five years down the road, let alone 8, 9 or 10

The speed and defense will be there. That part of the game is based purely off his athleticism. I get concerned with his approach at the plate. YES, some have pointed out that he improved greatly during the second half. He also played very well over the last 25 games in 2016. What I am looking for is carryover from gains last year into this April. The last thing he needs is 2 for 25 with 12 Ks in the first week. I suppose this can be said for any player, but Buxton has two years of this under his belt. Looks like the weather will be in the 60s in Baltimore to open. He is going into a hitter's park as well. Hopefully this gets him settled to where he isn't spending extra time in the cage trying to figure stuff out right off the bat.

He's had two absolutely dreadful Aprils in a row. It amounts 17 for 113 (a .150 batting average) with 54 strikeouts. I understand patterns are not easy to fathom and my observation begs for a the old "small sample size" retort, but I don't think the poor performance can be explained away as one would a random number drawing. I think Buxton was very VERY tight the last two Aprils and THAT is the reason for his poor play. I can excuse it the first two years. In 2016, it was his first opening day and he was given the starting job out of the gate. I can understand and appreciate the kid felt pressure. Then last season, Molitor decided to hit him 3rd and Mauer 4th (which was insane) and that more than likely put added pressure on the kid. I should also note that Buxton has terrible numbers against the Yankees. This is another situation where I noticed him being extremely tense. Against them he is 1 for 25 with 16 strikeouts (including the postseason wildcard playoff game last year 1 for 27 with 17 Ks). If I were allowed only one criticism of the guy I would say he needs to get the mental part of the game down, most notably in situations where he is nervous. He admitted to being nervous at the beginning of last season and this is something that really needs to melt away. A lot was made about settling him down when he first came up. I get it because all people have to face tense situations in work. It is always harder for a neophyte to settle in (although some seem to have no problem). Somehow Buxton needs to rise above jitters and deliver. For me, what he does this April and against the Yankees is an important obstacle for him to clear. If he is to be the superstar everyone hopes he cannot come out of the gate looking like the worst hitter in baseball. He was that last season. He doesn't need to jump out of the gate hitting .400. I would settle for him hitting .215 and striking out 30% of the time as that would be a whole lot better than the last two Aprils. We also have games in NY during the first month. I really would like to see him not look terrified hitting in Yankee Stadium. I took last week's ST game vs the Yankees as a foreboding sign. He looked terrible in that game. I do not think it is unreasonable to notice this pattern in him. I was wondering if anyone else notice that he had trouble with putting pressure on himself. As hitter he seems to be his own worst enemy sometimes

I said that's all I wanted to say but Mike..... You're twisting what I'm saying. If they had a problem with Sano and this kind of behavior they should've spoken about it privately. They should've went to the authorities. speaking to the press and speaking through social media only serve to ease their conscience. Maybe they did go to the authorities but if they had the authorities would've given them instructions not to do such things as they have. That's all. I take offense to you saying that I'm telling them to sweep it under the rug. It's almost like you're saying Immoral. I don't think it's fair that you could say something like that without me being able to respond. I hope this clarifies things and then I will respectfully give you the last word here

Yes, that's the issue I have with May. He wants to go through Twitter and say something then he has to live with it. Not smart. Seems to me he simply heard about the accusation and decided he needed to Tweet something. I don't Tweet or do Facebook or relay anything having to do with the school district where I'm employed. I am in the public and I don't feel at liberty to discuss co-workers personal issues on the Internet. I know he just said: "Sorry Betsy" but he should not feel at liberty to go there on any level. It's just foolish. He needs to be less of a Twitter bro and more of a pro. That's about all I want I say

I don't like that his teammates spoke immediately through social media and anonymously in the press. No comments are needed. If you were there then speak as a witness. If not, you are speaking out of turn. Right or not, I did not like the anonymous comments or the Twitter stuff from the two Trevors. Both have enough to keep themselves busy with regards to their game.

Here is what I don't like. Several people affiliated with the Twins past and present weighed in on this. One of them was Trevor May. I understand he sent what can be thought of as a benign post, as he Tweeted: "Sorry Betsy" but he never should have done that. It reveals that he made the assumption his teammate was guilty. More bothersome were the anonymous quotes and Plouffe's quote. I guess he isn't a teammate so it is what it is, but as far as teammates go I've no idea why any of them would say anything beyond "I'm not aware of this issue" Those who talked about Sano being a "ticking time bomb" need to look in the mirror because they only spoke up after this woman said something. I hope the Twins front office has something to say about this to the players who felt compelled to Tweet or speak to the press about this. They had no business giving their two cents one way or the other

Very disappointed in Polanco. Very VERY disappoointed

Not sure how we can assume these guys will start a fixed number of games. I won't assume there will be no injuries in the outfield and I believe depth is important. THe last thing we need is one of those players going on the 30 or 60 DL and all we have is Robbie Grossman.

If you remember a guy named Tom Paciorek, he had some excellent years as a DH in Chicago during his 34, 35, and 36 year old seasons. Best seasons of his career by far.

Wouldn't be shocked to see him do as well as Darvish does.

It's pretty clear that the Twins are now operating on different terms than they were ten years ago. This isn't a small market team, we are mid-market and have enough resources to compete. If Mauer were not resigned then that money will be allocated to bring in other players. I actually am curious to see what this group can do without Mauer and a payroll equal to the one we have now. We might be able to make a MUCH BETTER team (which is what I am interested in, not whether or not Joe is allowed to play as long as he wishes).