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nicksaviking

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Everything posted by nicksaviking

  1. nicksaviking
    Makes one a bit jealous when he describes it as a dream job he actually didn't aspire to. Surely he is underselling the difficulties he's had throughout his career, but Anthony is almost selling it like all he had to do was ask for an internship, after that he has just been given promotions unrequested ever since. Souhan/Anthony probably could have provided some anecdotes or allusions to "hard work" and "dedication" found in most profile pieces because surely Anthony wouldn't have risen to this position simply by showing up to work every day.
  2. nicksaviking
    Fielding percentages and errors are largely dismissed as secondary evaluation tools today. I agree that one would think there should still be some correlation between errors and fielding ability, but from all accounts, Santana is a pretty slick fielder. Alexei Rameriz and Ian Desmond are considered among the better defenders in the league yet were 1st and 3rd in the league in errors last year at the position. Heck, Andrelton Simmons only ranked 9th out of 21 qualified SS in fielding percentage and at the moment he looks like a once-in-a-generation defender.
  3. nicksaviking
    I'm a little worried about the Twins not willing to recycle the vets. They've been pretty reluctant in the past to make the mid-season swap, only Morneau and Liriano were moved in season the last two years despite plenty of other options available to be traded/released. I worry that: A) They value the potential return much more than the opening of a roster spot for a youngster (and I often don't like what they value in a return) Opening up the checkbook this offseason will compel the team to act "competitive" and not make the changes that may hurt the short term but help the long term. If the Twins are hanging within a couple games of .500 at the deadline, will they actually move Correia, Willingham, Plouffe or any of the relievers?
  4. nicksaviking
    What about the Carl Pavano for Johan Pino deal? That was a pretty slick trade. So was Orlando Cabrera for Tyler Ladendorf. Still, this trade is way too early to evaluate. What if May replaces Perkins as closer in two years? Is it still a crappy trade then? Too early, there are still plenty of possibilities where either May or Worley rebound. The judgment is too quick here.
  5. nicksaviking
    I had 194 but I also missed some obvious ones. I too missed Valencia and embarrassingly I missed Doumit and somehow Marty Cordova despite the fact one of the autographed balls above my head right now has his name singed to it. I wouldn't have gotten Kevin Maas if I had an hour to guess and that 2008 team, wow, how did that starting lineup win 88 games?
  6. nicksaviking
    I'm fine with keeping him as he was possibly the 2nd best bullpen arm the 2nd half of last year, but saying he has no value isn't true. He's a lefty the Twins are clearly trying to bill as a swingman who put up a 3.08 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 8.9 K/9 and 4.33 K/BB in the second half of last season. Plenty of teams are looking for that. Could the Twins get a top 10 prospect? No, but they would get a top 30 guy for him.
  7. nicksaviking
    Well I think hanging on to Duensing is the right move because he may have some trade value and $2 million isn't going to scare off a potential suitor. Plouffe maybe doesn't quite deserve $2 million this year but he also deserved more than $485K in 2012. It goes both ways.
  8. nicksaviking
    Great news and thanks for the update.
  9. nicksaviking
    MLB has the NFL beat in this situation simply because they have an off-site video specialist making the call. The NFL wastes too much time having the head official run off and on the field and reviewing the feed simply because the it's been collectively bargained that he always has the final authority over any call.
  10. nicksaviking
    They can afford to get burned. For the Dodgers, only having 25 roster spots is more of a hinderance than the payroll. I'm sure they have taken into consideration the possibilities that these guys could go bust, the reward clearly outweighs the risk in thier mind.
  11. nicksaviking
    I really didn't think Ryan and company had it in them to adapt to a new age of baseball and I over-emphasized that point many times. I'm glad to see I'm wrong. Even if defensive shifts don't work, there certainly isn't any evidence that they hurt, so why not give it a shot. I like the part about the pitchers not being sure about the shift. No kidding, they don't like seeing holes behind them. This quote by Jim Johnson tells me either the Orioles don't know what they're doing or Johnson just doesn't understand: "If you’re shifting on a number 8 hitter, just because [the numbers] say he grounds out to the right side, and you’ve got a guy throwing 99mph that he’s probably not going to turn around, then why are you shifting?” A truely analytical teams don't just shift players to the left or right simply by which side of the plate the batter stands. I doubt a manager would shift much in this kind of situation.
  12. nicksaviking
    I thought this was going to turn into a kids/fantasy team kind of thread, as in, everybody wants to talk about theirs but nobody else really cares to listen. Plot twist: Hell no! Great stories everyone and great thread.
  13. nicksaviking
    While he had the UCL issue in 2009, it never got repaired. I'm pretty sure it's still frayed or partially torn. Seems like a ticking time bomb.
  14. nicksaviking
    I think Duensing gets traded and Edgar Ibarra gets a long look for the pen though I like Matt Hoffamn's chances too.
  15. nicksaviking
    I don't think Despaigne really throws a knuckleball. I think it was a half joke made by a scout last fall because nobody knew anything about the guy. A more recent scouting report is here: http://www.amazinavenue.com/2013/11/1/5049362/international-free-agent-profile-2014-odrisamer-despaigne Says he has a curve, slider and good change up. Doesn't throw very hard and didn't get a lot of strikeouts in his Cuban League.
  16. nicksaviking
    I've gotten quite a few BP balls but never an in game MLB ball. Back in the terribly late 90's you only had to fight about six other people to get them because no one was at the dome. One of my favorites is a ball Dan Plesac tossed to me, I think he did it because I called out his name even though he was wearing his warm up jacket over his jersey so you couldn't read his name. No clue how I recognized him, I'm not usually good with faces, but he must have been impressed even though it was probably 30% recoginition and 70% dumb luck. My most regrettable is a JC Romero ball. My sister had a friend who had a season ticket package with seats behind the bullpen and she was regularly invited to go to games. The first game she called out to JC for a ball and he brought her over four. Every game after he started signing balls for her even though she claims she didn't ask for them. I went with her one game and she asked him to sign a ball for me. I still feel gross knowing I got that ball because I was OK with JC Romero hitting on my sister. Not gross enough to stop me from displaying it with my other baseball stuff though I guess.
  17. nicksaviking
    Good news. Unless the training staff mis-diagnosed plantar fasciitis as plantar warts.
  18. nicksaviking
    BA has always loved the shortstops. Santana seems high but surely it's due to the position scarcity. Interesting that May is back up to 8th. I still think he can make the leap, but I haven't seen him this high in awhile.
  19. nicksaviking
    I agree that Duensing is underappreciated here, but I understand why. He pitched two different seasons last year. The first saw numbers like this: 4.67 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and a 1.88 SO/BB, while the second half saw numbers like this : 3.08 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 4.33 SO/BB. Most fans had turned off their TV's or at least tuned out the on field product long before he became a quality reliever.
  20. nicksaviking
    The Twins have signed three free agent pitchers and reportedly still have interest in others. The offense hasn't seen much movement outside of Suzuki and Kubel but the offense is where the prospect reinforcements will come from. There's just not a lot out there. I don't want the soon to be albatross contracts of Boras' decline phase/platoon players Morales and Drew. They're still being connected to Mark Reynolds though and there's plenty of time for trades.
  21. nicksaviking
    Perhaps it's less to do with finding a guy for the 5th starter spot and more about opening up the possibilities for the long man in the bullpen. Maybe the Twins aren't entirely sure they could trade Worley/Diamond/Deduno but still don't want to lose them to waivers. Swarzak almost surely has some trade value and it would only be higher if league-wide perception is that he is a swingman. Of the bullpen arms, Swarzak and Duensing seem the most likely to get traded. Both are in arbitration and the Twins have said they have no intention of working out multi-year deals with either. Seems odd they have no intention of working out multi-year deals with two pitchers they reportedly like as a number five pitcher. Unless this lip services is simply trying to make them more attractive to other teams.
  22. nicksaviking
    Acutally this is why Morris does not belong in the Hall of Fame. Puckett got into the Hall because his reputation during his playing days and upon his retirement was that he was a HOF caliber player. This is evidenced by his high vote total his first year eligible and the many All-Star game appearances and MVP votes he got. He didn't need the stats to get in. Morris was struggling to get 20% of the vote on his first ballots and didn't get nearly the All-Star and Cy Young love that Puckett got. That demonstrates "the other factors" were not there for Morris, at least not like they were for other Hall of Famers who made it in based on reputation over stats. Puckett was recognized as a HOF player while he was active, Morris was not. What could have changed?
  23. nicksaviking
    Game 7 is my favorite Twins memory and I wouldn't be upset if he got in, but he's really not HOF caliber. Guys get in either because of their numbers (Ruth, Mays), or because some intagibles pump up their reputation (Ruffing, Boudreau). Morris didn't qualify for either of these clearly. His numbers never held up, they didn't when people were using basic stats for evaluation and they didn't when people started using advanced stats. Blyleven and Rice got second considerations because of advanced stats, but Morris' numbers just don't hold up. As far as the reputation, we may like to say stuff like "best pitcher of the 80's" (BS, Ryan, Clemens, Gooden, Carlton anyone?) but clearly he didn't have the rep we like to think he has now. If he had been considered elite at the time, he would have more awards and AS game appearances. More importantly, he would have been getting more than 25% of the votes his first few years on the ballot. In other words, people didn't consider him a HOFer during his career and shortly after it was over. It's only revisionist history that makes us think he belongs now.
  24. nicksaviking
    He maybe even has to look better than good. The Twins would save themselves $2 million just by sending him to Rochester for a couple weeks. That's a pretty big incentive. I really doubt Kubel wasn't promised anything, the confident reports about him making the roster are coming from his camp, what else would they say? Also agree that Miller just didn't choose his words wisely. There's no reason for the team to give Bartlet a 25 man spot now and there's absolutely no reason for them to tell that to Phil Miller.
  25. nicksaviking
    It probably does, but they were willing to have Butera as basically the third catcher for much of last year but keep him at Rochester. Hopefully that's still the plan.
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