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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    So far it's looking like the Twins are batting 0-1 with those. Looks like I'm in the minority, but I love the list. Those are exactly the kinds of guys I'm interested in, I love playing the pitcher lottory even if the odds are stacked. Last I did the math, the three big named pitchers have something like 2 million innings pitched on their arms (though my math could be slightly off). I wouldn't want a single one of them for more than a few years and you'll be getting them for at least a half decade. The only pitcher worth a long term deal is a young pitcher and you generally only get those in-house. So get these upisde types, hope they come through for you this year and either flip them or cross the QO/extension bridge next offseason. Ryan has shown the willingness to eat the contract of a player on a one year deal. No way will he do it for a guy on a 3-4 year deal.
  2. nicksaviking
    I don't believe that is insular to people's opinion of Joe Mauer's toughness. My first thought is to go on a "back in the day" bit about how people are more stubborn now and think changing one's opinion is a weakness, though it sounds wildly inaccurate to credit past generations open-mindedness, so I guess we just have to leave it up to classic human nature/lack of education debates.
  3. nicksaviking
    I don't know that Mauer is all that tough of an athlete, however to be fair, it's probably not something that should be determined by weighing pro/con voices in the media or fandom. After all, the media get more hits the more critical they are of local athletes, and of course the fans opinions are (sadly) all too often formed by what guys like Souhan says.
  4. nicksaviking
    If so, she should start texting us some interesting pics.
  5. nicksaviking
    Ha, yes I was wondering how this conversation took such a u turn. What happened to blaming the trainer for not keeping these guys healty? Who knows what's going on here. One minute we're blaming Ryan and Gardy for criticizing Baker for not playing through what turned out to be an injury that would require TJ surgery, the next we're blaming them for coddeling Mauer. It's possible after the team misses something like Baker's injury they over-react and play it cautious with the next guy. Or it's possible every situation is different and simply put, you'll never get them all right.
  6. nicksaviking
    Wow how time flies. I can't believe it's been so long since he famously helped Santana turn the corner.
  7. nicksaviking
    My post was only half in jest. I was serious in suggesting that if Molitor actually did pick up flaws with pitchers on the staff last year, perhaps he would have done the same with the pitchers whom the Pirates corrected flaws.
  8. nicksaviking
    Liriano + Worley + Molitor = WS I'm not a math wiz, but that formula looks accurate does it not?
  9. nicksaviking
    As in: "There is no possible way a MLB pitching staff can be this bad. Eureka! The only explanation for why this staff looks like they belong in the Appelacian League is that they are tipping their pitches!"?
  10. nicksaviking
    I have to say though, I don't think I ever heard a Denard Span interview that wasn't tepid. He might be robot.
  11. nicksaviking
    I wouldn't choose those two either, but why do you think they wouldn't protect the team's investment? If it's because they are critical of pitch counts etc. that shouldn't matter much as it's the manager that decides pitching changes. I'd actually hope that a pitching coach encourages the manager to let the guys go deeper into games. I don't want a Yes-Man pitching coach.. That's of course assuming Molitor takes the recomendation simply as advice, and uses his own judgment for the final decision.
  12. nicksaviking
    Bert does seem to have the ability to teach pitching and even more importantly, the knack for diagnosing problems and attacking batters. Still, with his broadcasts the last several years, and his vacation schedule, I get the feeling that he doesn't have the desire for a full-time gig anymore.
  13. nicksaviking
    I'd hope a pitching coach would teach players individually and Viola likely would, but it's not a given that's how it would work. Surely some guys teach what they know. It seemed like Gardy did most of the time. We are assuming that Molitor will pick out his staff, but as he's an inexperienced manager and an internal hire. The hiring process also played out a lot longer than we expected. Through negotiation, it's quite possible Ryan told Molitor that the input for these coaches was largely going to come from the GM. I'd prefer Molitor gets to pick his staff exclusive of the GM's preference, but I guess it works out both ways. What if Molitor decided to do The Old Boy's Club bit and no Latin coaches were chosen? Ryan made it pretty clear he would like a Latin presence.
  14. nicksaviking
    I loved Viola, though while his 'playing days' pitching philosphy of change up, change up, change up would likley appeal to an organization that loves the pitch, I wonder if that would raise those strikeout totals mentioned above. Let's also look into St. Louis' minor league pitching coaches. Perhaps it's just their scouting, but someone over there certainly knows how to get those young guys ready for the MLB.
  15. nicksaviking
    Just as I prefer it. I do however see a bit of hypocrasy in chastising a team that may experience muliple years of losing due to large but unproductive contracts when the team you're defending is losing for a similar or longer period of time.
  16. nicksaviking
    I said above that the game wasn't exactly rigged, it was just that Molitor was possibly given an insurmountable advantage. Jon Heyman has a good piece and while it's not the lede, he does cite a "former Twins person" who thinks the hiring process involved a canine and equine parade. http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer/jon-heyman/24779999/twins-choice-molitor-made-sense-for-the-twin-cities-team-all-along Ryan, notoriously thorough, interviewed about 10 candidates even though others saw Molitor as the obvious call all along. While one former Twins person suggested the search seemed at times like a "dog and pony show" with Molitor the obvious call, and at least one other potential candidate suggested he believed Molitor was the strong favorite all along, the fact that there were multiple interview of multiple candidates suggest Ryan was just doing his homework, as usual. I guess one of the other men being interviewed thought the same. I hope it wasn't an internal candidate who had that view, though if the source is a "former Twins person" it's likely quite possible.
  17. nicksaviking
    I don't want the Twins to go hogwild in free agency because the market looks awful this year. But Detroit's fans won't have to be frustrated that long. Only Cabrera is under contract for more than the next six years and all but he and Verlander are off the books by 2018. So if you're going to be critical of the Tigers and a possible 4-6 year low point, I fail to see how you can continue to defend the Twins when they are begninning year 5.
  18. nicksaviking
    I'll look back fondly on the Gardy years anyway. Until the last four years, it was a pretty good run. I wanted a championship and I wanted change, but I still think Gardy was a fine representitive for this organization, even if I didn't think he always made the right decisions.
  19. nicksaviking
    I don't think the process was a show, I think Ryan wanted to consider outside personalities, but he said early on that his preference was to hire internally. The game wasn't exactly rigged, but it was likely heavily tilted in Molitor's favor. I'm guessing the outside voice would have had to be head-and-shoulders better than the existing option. Lovullo probably would have had to be an A+ and Molitor a B+ for this not to turn into an Occam's Razor situation.
  20. nicksaviking
    As long as it's not short for "The Buck stops here."
  21. nicksaviking
    Colby Rasmus making this team a .500 ballclub seems like pretty high expectations. I like his pop and he can play decent defense, but that guy's got some serious strikeout and walk issues. I think for a contending team he'd merely be a platoon/4th OF.
  22. nicksaviking
    So Jim Pohlad has begun taking part in the interview process? http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/blogs/280564562.html Um, not sure what to make of that. If it's a lack of confidence in Ryan's decision, it probably means Ryan shouldn't be there in the first place. If he actually thinks his baseball IQ will be usefull in the decision, then I fear we may have a burgeoning George Steinbrenner or Jerry Jones. I guess option #2 wouldn't be bad if he started commiting payroll like an owner that views the team like a hobby. Not holding my breath though.
  23. nicksaviking
    The Twins surely aren't the favorites, but is Maddon to MN really that much more outrageous than Francona to Cleveland.
  24. nicksaviking
    Nick Blackburn, Jason Marquis and Mike Lamb have weighed in. They all agree that it would be foolish to pay a guy that kind of money who doesn't actually play in the games.
  25. nicksaviking
    Well the Twins have the advantage of not being in a precarious position with an existing manager. If they are interested, they need to get out front of this NOW. Don't allow the Cubs, or whoever else may be interested, to hide in the shadows and try to work out a deal subversively. If the Twins make a bold move, these other teams aren't going to have a lot of time to decide if alienating their current manager and his supporters on the team is going to be worth the chance at getting Maddon. Don't disregard the fact that any other team that wants Madden is takng a risk that he'll say no. That will be damaging considering the existing manager is still under contract. Just think how awkward the situation with Mattingly would be if the Dodgers made a play for Madden but he instead chose the Cubs. The Twins need to make these teams decide now if they are willing to show their hands, or fold altogether.
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