UCLA product Shabazz Muhammad got no discernible reaction when he entered the game for Minnesota in the fourth quarter.
This draft pick has the potential to be worse than the Ndudi Ebi pick.
At least the Ndudi Ebi pick was at the end of the first round.
Goodness, his pro career section on his wikipedia page is depressing.
He's a total disaster. Should never have traded down. Now they have two guaranteed contracts to deal with. Dieng might, might be something, but they could have someone better and have only one contract if they hadn't done that.
I'm in a similar spot with advanced statistics in the NBA that I was with baseball when I first started visiting the basement. That means it's a lock that I don't know how best to evaluate them and I'm likely missing some things. But, there's only a dozen guys from this years draft with a WS/48 over .000 and only 4 with a league average or better (.100) who've played more than 50 minutes.
I'll admit to having watched very little actual footage of the kid thus far, but he's played 11 minutes. Is he a disaster because he can't even get himself off the bench? Is it because of the guaranteed contract? Was there someone better available? I'm not defending the guy, I just don't know enough about what happened and I'm wondering why you think the pick was so bad.
Basically they drafted a guy at #14 who's college career indicated he can't shoot, can't defend, can't dribble and can't pass. I'm not super awesome with advanced basketball stats, either, but just from the regular stats it looks like he just can't play in the NBA. He only shot 38% from three in college, and I assume that percentage tends to go down in the NBA. A wing in Adleman's offense who can't do anything else but shoot would at least be useful. At worst, they could have had a hal-way competent big man (Steven Adams) to keep Pek's minutes down.
Steven Adams will be starting in OKC.
And Bazzy could end up in Iowa before the end of the year...
"the year" being calendar 2013.
Yeah, that was definitely my meaning. (Get well soon, Bud.)
co-sign on Steven Adams. The kid can play. He has more than a little Andrew Bogut in him, I think. Not a superstar, but a very useful player on both ends.
Boo.
Again, I only paid attention to what happened in the draft for about 3 days, but until I looked at basketball reference, I hadn't even heard of Adams. I was under the impression they really wanted McLemore or CK-P. Those guys were gone. If you're willing to look at a back-up for Pek! with your first 1st round selection, then why didn't they just keep Burke or take McCollum or Carter-Williams as a Rubio backup? Would that have been a better move?
Keeping Trey Burke as a backup to Ricky! would have been a better move, IMO. There were real questions (in the blogosphere, anyway) about Steven Adams going into the draft.
Me, I'm just grateful they didn't trade up to get Zeller. Drafting Bazzy was totally expected as a next-worse option (other than pulling a Vikings and not drafting during the allotted time).
after game 3 I wasnt too concerned because I thought it was a matchup problem, but we are on game 8 now and D Will is a complete non factor.
The reports are that he was kept out last night because of back spasms, although he said he was ok to go.
ah.
I forgot about that.
The twitters tell me Jason Bartlett has signed a non-roster deal with the Twins. The Twins may know something I don't, but Bartlett's 34 and his last good year was 2009. Color me unimpressed.
I have to imagine that he's AAA filler, right? He played no ball in 2013, and was absolutely brutal in 2012.
Gotta be.
He's 34?!
sounds like the time the Twins brought back Jacque Jones in 2010.
WHOA
Dustin Morse @Twins_morsecode
The @Twins & Joe Mauer announced today that he will switch positions in 2014. He will move from catcher to first base.
Huh. So it begins.
Ugh. If it needs to happen, it needs to happen. But unless Pinto becomes an all-star, this hurts the team today. Hopefully this will increase Mauer's playing time and offensive production.
the story goes on where this is a recommendation from his doctors at Mayo and the team doctors to help prevent another concussion.
I was just coming back here to bring up the theory that it was concussion related. It sucks a bit for the team, but really, I'd rather he move if he's concerned about his brain.
because playing 1b protected Morneau from concussions....
This.
But also... hockey background.
And more importantly...freak accident with a hard knee to the head while running the bases. His first basemanship never came into it.
Didn't he aggravate the injury later diving for a ball at 1? Again, it was a fairly freak occurrence. I don't suppose there's exactly a "safe" position anywhere, but first base seems about as close as anyone's going to get.
that was my point, actually. Stuff happens in baseball.
I'm not suggesting that this switch to first is a bad move. I'm just saying that injuries happen, even to first basemen.
Sure injuries happen, but the question isn't which position gives Mauer a 0% chance of injury. He could re-injure his brain falling down the stairs. If he catches, there is a 100% guaranteed chance of repeated foul tips that hit his head. As much as I'd love for him to keep being a catcher, that seems like an unwise course of action.
and Mauer had a football background. I'd be, not shocked, but surprised, if an elite QB (and he was, remember) never had a single concussion through his youth and HS career.
I wondered this, too.
I read that this was his first concussion. First diagnosed concussion at least.
I am pretty sure I read that he had one in high school. I can't remember the details but I don't think it was football.
So, does Mauer embrace his inner Olerud and wear a helmet in the field?
Well, Mauer hasn't had his skull opened up to deal with a brain aneurysm like Olerud, but why not wear one, I guess?
To someone who knows where to find it, how would his offensive numbers stack up at first w/ regards to his pay? Part of the value of his contract was a position premium, wasn't it?
That's included in WAR. I did a super quick projection on his WAR at first if he manages to play 150 games.
Thanks.
Have the stribbies broken the intertubes yet?
You go look.
Anyone risked their eyes and brain yet care to report?
The brain of anyone doing that will be too wrecked to be capable of reporting.
Anyone got a Turing Machine they'd like to risk on it?
Via Twins' FB feed: Joe Mauer transitioning to first base in 2014.
Damn. Scooped by a mere 540 seconds.
I smarter baseball mind than me could probably break it down better, but a move to 1st is generally seen as a downgrade because you want a 'slugger' at that position. And obviously Mauer's bat at catcher is huge.
But, I view it as something like John Olerud playing 1st. Good average and a lot of doubles. Olerud probably has more power than Mauer.
The relative ease of finding power at first is what makes a slugging first baseman so overvalued. At first, Mauer is just another guy (or not even that, although his OBP should keep him from falling too far down the list), but if this is the only way to keep him on the field, it has to be done.
An OBP-machine at catcher who hits a lot of doubles is much, much tougher to find. Pinto will be no Mauer, but this would be much worse if Pinto was, say, Drew Butera.
I came to terms with this possibility in the last couple of months. Given what we know about concussions compared to even five years ago, they can't be messed with.
Mauer should have above average defense at first, which will help.
Ah, yes. Not that the organization or most fans will notice, since the talking heads praised Cuddyer for his "defense" there.
Mauer's .880 OPS would have ranked 6th at 1B last year. His .404 OBP would've ranked 2nd. His .476 SLG would've been 10th.— Phil Mackey (@PMac21) November 11, 2013
This is in all of MLB. So I think he'll do pretty well. But still, I'll miss watching him make insane plays behind the dish.
Oh, snap. If that's all of baseball, this could be a lot easier to swallow.
This makes me sad. Also, do the Twins have any organizational depth at catcher? That's a big hole to fill. It's still probably a smart move at this point, due to the concussions and the higher likelihood of another concussion at catcher than at first base.
I think Mauer will stack up well as a first baseman. He has a good glove and his hitting will likely improve from not taking a beating behind the plate. He'll also probably play more games, so he'll rack up more counting stats. He could even get to 100 RBI one of these years if the Twins ever put some runners in scoring position for him.
Or conversely, he could get to 100 runs if some of the up-and-coming power guys can help him take advantage of his advanced base running skills.
Oddly, no one seems to care about that stat these days. I find it weird, because even though it is flawed, it seems no more flawed than RBI, and plenty of folks still cling to that one.
I find it slightly less flawed than RBI because it incorporates a bit of baserunning skill into it, but yeah it's a crapshoot. For someone that's on base as much as Mauer, and he is a plus baserunner even if he's not stealing bases, it's an indictment of the people batting behind him that he hasn't scored many more runs.
Now that the Reds have signed Bryan Pena, Ryan Hanigan looks available. It's not a perfect arrangment (both Hanigan and Pinto are right-handed), but I wouldn't mind Hanigan as a caddy for Pinto, with Doumit relegated to emergen-C status.
Also, do the Twins have any organizational depth at catcher?
Looks like the answer is "no". All of their "prospects" at Ft. Meyers and above are age-25 or older, with suspect bats.
Matthew Koch, age-24 this past season, 765 in 803 PA but all at Ft Myers or lower;
Eric Fryer, age-27, 762 in 2081, but only 624 in 562 at AAA
Chris Herrmann, age-25, 721 in 2028;
Mike Kvasnicka, age-24, 703 in 1468 at Ft Myers and lower;
Kyle Knudson, age-25, 668 in 820;
Dan Rohlfing, age-24, 650 in 1589
Danny Lehmann, age-27, 618 in 1272
Jairo Rodriguez, age-24, 609 OPS in 1155.
at even lower levels, there is Michael Quesada (age-23), who spent the year at Cedar Rapids. He's had 633 in 485 at three levels, for none of which was he "young". But he only played 18 games (at Elizabethton) in 2012, so injuries?
Tyler Grimes (age-22) was also at Cedar Rapids this year. 708 in 896 across Cedar Rapids and 2 years at Beloit.
Jhonatan Arias (age-24) also at Cedar Rapids. 611 in 810 over A and rookie ball since 2007.
Bo Altobelli (age-22), split time between Cedar Rapids and Elizabethton. 628 in in 165 over two seasons (E-town and CR).
Pinto's (age-24) 790 over 2395, including 896 in 505 at AA and 819 in 75 at Rochester looks pretty much head-and-shoulders above that crowd.
I'm guessing Pinto goes into Spring Training as the favorite, with Chris Herrmann as his backup, barring any trades or free agent signings.
the obvious move is to get somebody tough like Brian McCann. Duh.
The Twins could never care enough about winning to sign Brian McCann.
Hmmm.... From the MLB.com:
Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann will opt for free agency rather than accept the Braves' one-year, $14.1 million qualifying offer for the 2014 season. MLB
No surprise there. He will take a second-round pick to sign now.
Yeah, but isn't he going to command, like, "Kowalski's-type money", or something like that?
Kowalski?
That is... something. I'd prefer a warrior-scientist penquin to McCann, at any rate.
I was in a Kowalski's one time, and I thought it was creepy to be in a grocery store with carpet. It seems like a mold disaster waiting to happen.
That sort of sums up having McCann on your sister, eh?
Wow, that's one hell of a swyping mistake. Sister should have read roster.
I was amused, confused, and... uncomfortable. Thanks for clarifying.
cheaptoy has overtaken bS for the lead in amusing auto-corrects, and I think he's pulling away.
He'll probably get $100 million+. Doogie said on the Twitter machine that the Twins have checked in on Salty. He'd be a decent platoon partner with Pinto, I'd think. I'd probably be okay with that signing.
What is this thing that you call it "platoon"?
Too much truth in this comment. 🙁
Now that trade of Drew Butera looks foolish.
Do you have a different definition for foolish than everybody else?
that one should have been in all lower case, amr.
This is true. Also without punctuation.
Sorry, busy day at work. Should have been this:
now that trade of Drew Butera looks foolish
Unless one still believes in Parmelee or Colabello, they don't really have any depth at first base, either, at least not until you get to Class A.
I'd rather be in the market for a first baseman than a catcher.
I hear that genuine, advanced catching prospects can be had for the low, low price of a "proven" closer.
need to retire that one too
True, although I'm skeptical that the Twins will try very hard to acquire either one.
I sort of view it in a similar way to Carew moving to first from second. Done at a similar age, anyway.
About time. They've played in their decrepit stadium for 16 seasons already.
Here's hoping Turner doesn't see the need to name another stadium after himself.
I feel for the fans (sort of...I mean, they do the tomahawk chop on a regular basis)...they all wanted Hank Aaron Stadium when this one was built, and they'll want it now but probably end up in I Can't Believe it's Not Butter Park or something.
The Waffle House
Ted Turner doesn't own the Braves.
Yeah, but I naturally assumed he was about to buy them again.
#notuptodateonmlbowners
Doesn't mean he couldn't buy the rights to name it after himself.
I assume that this means no return of Morneau as his bat probably wouldn't justify a strictly DH contract.
Mike Berardino @MikeBerardino
Terry Ryan on Morneau return now that Mauer has moved to first: "I’ll never say it’s not a possibility, but it might be improbable."
My wife is horrified.
Can't he play second or third??
I laughed a bit at the idea of the Mountie playing second base.
hey, M-11 did! [err, M-16] [err, whatever we called him]
Just did the maths - M11.
Both are acceptable.
M16 due to the number on the jersey
M11 due to the number of letters on the jersey.
I cant stop watching that incredible Kevin Love outlet pass from last night. Love started that pass BEFORE Brewer was at half court. Brewer is super fast, Love with super precision. Just a thing of beauty.
Apparently, Love was trending on Twitter because of that pass. It was just astounding.
I was at work when it happened, but I spent a rather long time watching the gif posted here.
I came in to the game log way late in the game, but I could not stop watching that. Mesmerizing in its awesomeness.
Holy Jeebus, Brewer didn't even have to put the ball on the floor once. Amazing.
Love was still trending on twitter when I went to bed at 2am
SportsCenter didnt even show that highlight, in fact the only thing they mentioned about that game was Rubio had a triple double. worthless.
Right. I hardly think that Rubio's overall play was the highlight. Martin and Love turned the last 36 minutes into little more than garbage time.
No time. Had to get in all the football highlights.
Corey Brewer passing, then walking away from the play while Kevin martin nails a slot three (shock!)
this team is so fun to watch.
On Saturday, DK was feeling that Minnesota Gopher win and suggested that some of us needed to find another turkey (besides Kill) because 4 conference wins for the first time in a very long time. Winning, it can be pretty intoxicating. Even a little can go a long way.
C'mon. The dude is just saying what everyone else is thinking.
Four straight conference wins. And yeah, it's something that hasn't happened in a very long time. I specifically waited to call you guys out until after seeing if they'd hit that 'achievement' since I do believe Kill is different, and I wanted to have at least that demonstration of something tangible.
You want me to be sorry about liking a team that's been mostly terrible for a really long time? I think most of us like the Timberwolves around here too.
That jab was playful, my friend.
I Herd you, boss.
37-2 over past 2 plus seasons.
Can I jump on the Herdwagon too, Boss?
No matter how many are on it, there's still room.
Sounds like Stamkos broke his leg sliding into the goalpost today.
Broken tibia, per the Lightning twitter feed. The video is pretty gross.
Dr. Chop and I put an offer in on a house yesterday. It's a beautiful single shotgun house in the MidCity neighborhood of NOLA within walking distance of my favorite bar in the city. We were the first to view the house, with a couple who walked in right behind us, and within minutes they'd placed an offer. We had been anxiously awaiting the news all day when Dr. Chop started hearing rumors of potential lay offs coming down the road. We had to call our realtor to ask him to kindly ask the seller to allow us out of our offer. However, they had just made the decision to accept our offer, but hadn't signed the documents yet. They took the second offer (slightly less money...), and let us off the hook. While I'm grateful we're not going to be on the hook / sued by the seller, I'm feeling like life just keeps kicking us in the nuts.
At least you found out today about the rumors instead of on Friday.
True dat.
Layoffs? What kind of a frackin' college does "layoffs" of faculty? Oy. Best wishes, meat.
The kind that hired a consulting firm to help them reorganize from departments to divisions as a cost saving measure. When it becomes apparent that no money is saved, said consultancy turns around with a large, serrated blade and starts hacking at the exposed underbelly of liberal arts education. They'll likely fire the part timers, offer early outs, raise the caps and offer online as a way to decrease spending and increase profits revenue. HBCUs have been harder hit by the recession, and have been slower to recover than other higher education institutions. Her school is having a hard time recruiting and retaining students, also a common problem for HBCUs.
meat my man - that sucks. On the (slightly) positive side, at this point they're only rumors.
Bummer, meat.
Here's hoping this bad turn brings you & Dr. Chop closer to a good one, meat.
That's a bummer, meat. Hope it's nothing more than rumor.
Bartlett has not played since May 14, 2012, when he was batting .133 and a strained right knee ended his season with the San Diego Padres. Ryan said he didn't believe Bartlett had undergone surgery to repair the problem.
Nor have the Twins attended any of Bartlett's recent workouts. But Ryan added he was confident the well-regarded veteran would come into spring training in shape and ready to go.
[snip]
"There's no downside," Ryan said of the Bartlett signing. "This guy is a good athlete. There's no doubt about that. He's always kept himself in good shape. He's 34, but that's not a bad thing sometimes. Sometimes with a little bit more experience, you know a little bit more how to go about things. It would seem like a good match."
It's a good match in the sense that the Twins aren't likely to be any good in 2014 and neither is Bartlett.
TR's got to be dizzy after that much spinning.
The downside is that you waste time and take at-bats and practice away from guys who might, possibly, help you. Maybe that's not a huge downside, but when there's no upside, even a small downside is a bad thing.
Doesn't know if he's had knee surgery. Hasn't seen him work out. It's a nothing signing. Why bother. I'm sure Bartlett or a reasonable facsimile thereof will be available at any time.
I didn't really think that Shannon Sharpe would end up being the voice of reason in this whole thing.
the winning comments on NPR's The Salt today, concerning Subway's destruction of the street cred of Sriracha:
R H Draney
• 5 hours ago
I will never understand the need for "new and better" hot sauces like Sriracha and Cholula. When I was a kid, there was Tabasco and it only came in one variety, and that was all we needed. Unchanged since at least 1928 when its label appeared in what may be the earliest example of movie product-placement, in the Our Gang film "Rainy Days".
Tabasco tastes like love.
7 2
•
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Todd Bradley R H Draney
• 4 hours ago
I will never understand the need for "new and better" drinks like beer and cola. When I was a kid, there was water and it only came in one variety, and that was all we needed. Unchanged since at least 5000 BC.
Both of those comments were awesome. At least one was intentionally awesome.
"Artist nails his own testicles to the ground" Better: "Artist nails his scrotum to the ground"
The original had me imagining much more serious injury.
The original title had me hoping that the "artist" had successfully removed his genes from the gene pool.
Edited for being a bit too harsh.
Went to see Ender's Game today with the mrs and the Girl. The movie was a tremendous disappointment. Terrible character development, and the whole thing just felt horribly rushed.
But Dude... 3 frigging D!
I am really glad I did not waste money to see it on IMAX. It was Beowulf-level disappointing. which I did see in IMAX 3D.
Ouch- you really didn't like it, huh?
1) Beowulf-level? Really? I didn't have any real problems with it.
2) You saw Beowulf?
Yea, the Boy wanted to go and wanted to see it on the Big Screen. We also saw Matrix 3 there. Don't get me started.
as for Ender's Game, like I said, I thought that the story was way too rushed. Very little character development. They basically make Ender into a psychopath. They cut way too much of the story development. Bean was a non-entity. No explanation of where the nickname "Ender" comes from. No trace of Locke and Demosthenes. The "explanation" of Command School being allegedly close to the Formics' home world was stupid. They never explained what the Ansible was. The ending with the dying queen was...stupid. Etc., etc.
Now, maybe someone who's not read the book(s) would not be bothered by all of these issues. I admit that I enjoyed much of the ride, even as I ground my teeth on what was lacking and what was missing and what was altered. But I think the story would have been much better served by two films -- one focused on Battle School, and one on Command School and the Speaker for the Dead coda.
Oh I agree on your last statement, but that wasn't realistically going to happen. And it needed several things, but it certainly didn't need Locke and Demosthenes! Blah.
From the 4ltr game recap:
This draft pick has the potential to be worse than the Ndudi Ebi pick.
At least the Ndudi Ebi pick was at the end of the first round.
Goodness, his pro career section on his wikipedia page is depressing.
He's a total disaster. Should never have traded down. Now they have two guaranteed contracts to deal with. Dieng might, might be something, but they could have someone better and have only one contract if they hadn't done that.
I'm in a similar spot with advanced statistics in the NBA that I was with baseball when I first started visiting the basement. That means it's a lock that I don't know how best to evaluate them and I'm likely missing some things. But, there's only a dozen guys from this years draft with a WS/48 over .000 and only 4 with a league average or better (.100) who've played more than 50 minutes.
I'll admit to having watched very little actual footage of the kid thus far, but he's played 11 minutes. Is he a disaster because he can't even get himself off the bench? Is it because of the guaranteed contract? Was there someone better available? I'm not defending the guy, I just don't know enough about what happened and I'm wondering why you think the pick was so bad.
Basically they drafted a guy at #14 who's college career indicated he can't shoot, can't defend, can't dribble and can't pass. I'm not super awesome with advanced basketball stats, either, but just from the regular stats it looks like he just can't play in the NBA. He only shot 38% from three in college, and I assume that percentage tends to go down in the NBA. A wing in Adleman's offense who can't do anything else but shoot would at least be useful. At worst, they could have had a hal-way competent big man (Steven Adams) to keep Pek's minutes down.
Steven Adams will be starting in OKC.
And Bazzy could end up in Iowa before the end of the year...
"the year" being calendar 2013.
Yeah, that was definitely my meaning. (Get well soon, Bud.)
co-sign on Steven Adams. The kid can play. He has more than a little Andrew Bogut in him, I think. Not a superstar, but a very useful player on both ends.
Boo.
Again, I only paid attention to what happened in the draft for about 3 days, but until I looked at basketball reference, I hadn't even heard of Adams. I was under the impression they really wanted McLemore or CK-P. Those guys were gone. If you're willing to look at a back-up for Pek! with your first 1st round selection, then why didn't they just keep Burke or take McCollum or Carter-Williams as a Rubio backup? Would that have been a better move?
Keeping Trey Burke as a backup to Ricky! would have been a better move, IMO. There were real questions (in the blogosphere, anyway) about Steven Adams going into the draft.
Me, I'm just grateful they didn't trade up to get Zeller. Drafting Bazzy was totally expected as a next-worse option (other than pulling a Vikings and not drafting during the allotted time).
after game 3 I wasnt too concerned because I thought it was a matchup problem, but we are on game 8 now and D Will is a complete non factor.
The reports are that he was kept out last night because of back spasms, although he said he was ok to go.
ah.
I forgot about that.
The twitters tell me Jason Bartlett has signed a non-roster deal with the Twins. The Twins may know something I don't, but Bartlett's 34 and his last good year was 2009. Color me unimpressed.
I have to imagine that he's AAA filler, right? He played no ball in 2013, and was absolutely brutal in 2012.
Gotta be.
He's 34?!
sounds like the time the Twins brought back Jacque Jones in 2010.
WHOA
Huh. So it begins.
Ugh. If it needs to happen, it needs to happen. But unless Pinto becomes an all-star, this hurts the team today. Hopefully this will increase Mauer's playing time and offensive production.
the story goes on where this is a recommendation from his doctors at Mayo and the team doctors to help prevent another concussion.
I was just coming back here to bring up the theory that it was concussion related. It sucks a bit for the team, but really, I'd rather he move if he's concerned about his brain.
I didn't even have to open the spoiler.
because playing 1b protected Morneau from concussions....
This.
But also... hockey background.
And more importantly...freak accident with a hard knee to the head while running the bases. His first basemanship never came into it.
Didn't he aggravate the injury later diving for a ball at 1? Again, it was a fairly freak occurrence. I don't suppose there's exactly a "safe" position anywhere, but first base seems about as close as anyone's going to get.
that was my point, actually. Stuff happens in baseball.
I'm not suggesting that this switch to first is a bad move. I'm just saying that injuries happen, even to first basemen.
Sure injuries happen, but the question isn't which position gives Mauer a 0% chance of injury. He could re-injure his brain falling down the stairs. If he catches, there is a 100% guaranteed chance of repeated foul tips that hit his head. As much as I'd love for him to keep being a catcher, that seems like an unwise course of action.
and Mauer had a football background. I'd be, not shocked, but surprised, if an elite QB (and he was, remember) never had a single concussion through his youth and HS career.
I wondered this, too.
I read that this was his first concussion. First diagnosed concussion at least.
I am pretty sure I read that he had one in high school. I can't remember the details but I don't think it was football.
So, does Mauer embrace his inner Olerud and wear a helmet in the field?
Well, Mauer hasn't had his skull opened up to deal with a brain aneurysm like Olerud, but why not wear one, I guess?
To someone who knows where to find it, how would his offensive numbers stack up at first w/ regards to his pay? Part of the value of his contract was a position premium, wasn't it?
That's included in WAR. I did a super quick projection on his WAR at first if he manages to play 150 games.
Thanks.
Have the stribbies broken the intertubes yet?
You go look.
Anyone risked their eyes and brain yet care to report?
The brain of anyone doing that will be too wrecked to be capable of reporting.
Anyone got a Turing Machine they'd like to risk on it?
Via Twins' FB feed: Joe Mauer transitioning to first base in 2014.
Damn. Scooped by a mere 540 seconds.
I smarter baseball mind than me could probably break it down better, but a move to 1st is generally seen as a downgrade because you want a 'slugger' at that position. And obviously Mauer's bat at catcher is huge.
But, I view it as something like John Olerud playing 1st. Good average and a lot of doubles. Olerud probably has more power than Mauer.
The relative ease of finding power at first is what makes a slugging first baseman so overvalued. At first, Mauer is just another guy (or not even that, although his OBP should keep him from falling too far down the list), but if this is the only way to keep him on the field, it has to be done.
An OBP-machine at catcher who hits a lot of doubles is much, much tougher to find. Pinto will be no Mauer, but this would be much worse if Pinto was, say, Drew Butera.
I came to terms with this possibility in the last couple of months. Given what we know about concussions compared to even five years ago, they can't be messed with.
Mauer should have above average defense at first, which will help.
Ah, yes. Not that the organization or most fans will notice, since the talking heads praised Cuddyer for his "defense" there.
This is in all of MLB. So I think he'll do pretty well. But still, I'll miss watching him make insane plays behind the dish.
Oh, snap. If that's all of baseball, this could be a lot easier to swallow.
This makes me sad. Also, do the Twins have any organizational depth at catcher? That's a big hole to fill. It's still probably a smart move at this point, due to the concussions and the higher likelihood of another concussion at catcher than at first base.
I think Mauer will stack up well as a first baseman. He has a good glove and his hitting will likely improve from not taking a beating behind the plate. He'll also probably play more games, so he'll rack up more counting stats. He could even get to 100 RBI one of these years if the Twins ever put some runners in scoring position for him.
Or conversely, he could get to 100 runs if some of the up-and-coming power guys can help him take advantage of his advanced base running skills.
Oddly, no one seems to care about that stat these days. I find it weird, because even though it is flawed, it seems no more flawed than RBI, and plenty of folks still cling to that one.
I find it slightly less flawed than RBI because it incorporates a bit of baserunning skill into it, but yeah it's a crapshoot. For someone that's on base as much as Mauer, and he is a plus baserunner even if he's not stealing bases, it's an indictment of the people batting behind him that he hasn't scored many more runs.
Now that the Reds have signed Bryan Pena, Ryan Hanigan looks available. It's not a perfect arrangment (both Hanigan and Pinto are right-handed), but I wouldn't mind Hanigan as a caddy for Pinto, with Doumit relegated to emergen-C status.
Looks like the answer is "no". All of their "prospects" at Ft. Meyers and above are age-25 or older, with suspect bats.
Matthew Koch, age-24 this past season, 765 in 803 PA but all at Ft Myers or lower;
Eric Fryer, age-27, 762 in 2081, but only 624 in 562 at AAA
Chris Herrmann, age-25, 721 in 2028;
Mike Kvasnicka, age-24, 703 in 1468 at Ft Myers and lower;
Kyle Knudson, age-25, 668 in 820;
Dan Rohlfing, age-24, 650 in 1589
Danny Lehmann, age-27, 618 in 1272
Jairo Rodriguez, age-24, 609 OPS in 1155.
at even lower levels, there is Michael Quesada (age-23), who spent the year at Cedar Rapids. He's had 633 in 485 at three levels, for none of which was he "young". But he only played 18 games (at Elizabethton) in 2012, so injuries?
Tyler Grimes (age-22) was also at Cedar Rapids this year. 708 in 896 across Cedar Rapids and 2 years at Beloit.
Jhonatan Arias (age-24) also at Cedar Rapids. 611 in 810 over A and rookie ball since 2007.
Bo Altobelli (age-22), split time between Cedar Rapids and Elizabethton. 628 in in 165 over two seasons (E-town and CR).
Pinto's (age-24) 790 over 2395, including 896 in 505 at AA and 819 in 75 at Rochester looks pretty much head-and-shoulders above that crowd.
I'm guessing Pinto goes into Spring Training as the favorite, with Chris Herrmann as his backup, barring any trades or free agent signings.
the obvious move is to get somebody tough like Brian McCann. Duh.
The Twins could never care enough about winning to sign Brian McCann.
Hmmm.... From the MLB.com:
Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann will opt for free agency rather than accept the Braves' one-year, $14.1 million qualifying offer for the 2014 season. MLB
No surprise there. He will take a second-round pick to sign now.
Yeah, but isn't he going to command, like, "Kowalski's-type money", or something like that?
Kowalski?
That is... something. I'd prefer a warrior-scientist penquin to McCann, at any rate.
But no, I was referring to the chain of upscale grocery stores.
I was in a Kowalski's one time, and I thought it was creepy to be in a grocery store with carpet. It seems like a mold disaster waiting to happen.
That sort of sums up having McCann on your sister, eh?
Wow, that's one hell of a swyping mistake. Sister should have read roster.
I was amused, confused, and... uncomfortable. Thanks for clarifying.
cheaptoy has overtaken bS for the lead in amusing auto-corrects, and I think he's pulling away.
He'll probably get $100 million+. Doogie said on the Twitter machine that the Twins have checked in on Salty. He'd be a decent platoon partner with Pinto, I'd think. I'd probably be okay with that signing.
What is this thing that you call it "platoon"?
Too much truth in this comment. 🙁
Now that trade of Drew Butera looks foolish.
Do you have a different definition for foolish than everybody else?
that one should have been in all lower case, amr.
This is true. Also without punctuation.
Sorry, busy day at work. Should have been this:
Unless one still believes in Parmelee or Colabello, they don't really have any depth at first base, either, at least not until you get to Class A.
I'd rather be in the market for a first baseman than a catcher.
I hear that genuine, advanced catching prospects can be had for the low, low price of a "proven" closer.
need to retire that one too
True, although I'm skeptical that the Twins will try very hard to acquire either one.
I sort of view it in a similar way to Carew moving to first from second. Done at a similar age, anyway.
The Atlanta Braves are moving to Cobb County in 2017
About time. They've played in their decrepit stadium for 16 seasons already.
Here's hoping Turner doesn't see the need to name another stadium after himself.
I feel for the fans (sort of...I mean, they do the tomahawk chop on a regular basis)...they all wanted Hank Aaron Stadium when this one was built, and they'll want it now but probably end up in I Can't Believe it's Not Butter Park or something.
The Waffle House
Ted Turner doesn't own the Braves.
Yeah, but I naturally assumed he was about to buy them again.
#notuptodateonmlbowners
Doesn't mean he couldn't buy the rights to name it after himself.
Rob Neyer:
First question: Can Mauer really hit well enough to play first base? Hell yes.
I assume that this means no return of Morneau as his bat probably wouldn't justify a strictly DH contract.
My wife is horrified.
I laughed a bit at the idea of the Mountie playing second base.
hey, M-11 did! [err, M-16] [err, whatever we called him]
Just did the maths - M11.
Both are acceptable.
M16 due to the number on the jersey
M11 due to the number of letters on the jersey.
I cant stop watching that incredible Kevin Love outlet pass from last night. Love started that pass BEFORE Brewer was at half court. Brewer is super fast, Love with super precision. Just a thing of beauty.
Apparently, Love was trending on Twitter because of that pass. It was just astounding.
I was at work when it happened, but I spent a rather long time watching the gif posted here.
I came in to the game log way late in the game, but I could not stop watching that. Mesmerizing in its awesomeness.
Holy Jeebus, Brewer didn't even have to put the ball on the floor once. Amazing.
Love was still trending on twitter when I went to bed at 2am
SportsCenter didnt even show that highlight, in fact the only thing they mentioned about that game was Rubio had a triple double. worthless.
Right. I hardly think that Rubio's overall play was the highlight. Martin and Love turned the last 36 minutes into little more than garbage time.
No time. Had to get in all the football highlights.
found this clip today at awolfamongwolves (a blog I really need to read more)
Corey Brewer passing, then walking away from the play while Kevin martin nails a slot three (shock!)
this team is so fun to watch.
On Saturday, DK was feeling that Minnesota Gopher win and suggested that some of us needed to find another turkey (besides Kill) because 4 conference wins for the first time in a very long time. Winning, it can be pretty intoxicating. Even a little can go a long way.
Anyway, Thanksgiving is coming up and Reusse will be writing his annual column. You know who deserves it, right?
seconded.
C'mon. The dude is just saying what everyone else is thinking.
Four straight conference wins. And yeah, it's something that hasn't happened in a very long time. I specifically waited to call you guys out until after seeing if they'd hit that 'achievement' since I do believe Kill is different, and I wanted to have at least that demonstration of something tangible.
You want me to be sorry about liking a team that's been mostly terrible for a really long time? I think most of us like the Timberwolves around here too.
That jab was playful, my friend.
I Herd you, boss.
37-2 over past 2 plus seasons.
Can I jump on the Herdwagon too, Boss?
No matter how many are on it, there's still room.
Sounds like Stamkos broke his leg sliding into the goalpost today.
Broken tibia, per the Lightning twitter feed. The video is pretty gross.
Dr. Chop and I put an offer in on a house yesterday. It's a beautiful single shotgun house in the MidCity neighborhood of NOLA within walking distance of my favorite bar in the city. We were the first to view the house, with a couple who walked in right behind us, and within minutes they'd placed an offer. We had been anxiously awaiting the news all day when Dr. Chop started hearing rumors of potential lay offs coming down the road. We had to call our realtor to ask him to kindly ask the seller to allow us out of our offer. However, they had just made the decision to accept our offer, but hadn't signed the documents yet. They took the second offer (slightly less money...), and let us off the hook. While I'm grateful we're not going to be on the hook / sued by the seller, I'm feeling like life just keeps kicking us in the nuts.
At least you found out today about the rumors instead of on Friday.
True dat.
Layoffs? What kind of a frackin' college does "layoffs" of faculty? Oy. Best wishes, meat.
The kind that hired a consulting firm to help them reorganize from departments to divisions as a cost saving measure. When it becomes apparent that no money is saved, said consultancy turns around with a large, serrated blade and starts hacking at the exposed underbelly of liberal arts education. They'll likely fire the part timers, offer early outs, raise the caps and offer online as a way to decrease spending and increase
profitsrevenue. HBCUs have been harder hit by the recession, and have been slower to recover than other higher education institutions. Her school is having a hard time recruiting and retaining students, also a common problem for HBCUs.meat my man - that sucks. On the (slightly) positive side, at this point they're only rumors.
Bummer, meat.
Here's hoping this bad turn brings you & Dr. Chop closer to a good one, meat.
That's a bummer, meat. Hope it's nothing more than rumor.
I haven't evaluated Mr. Passan's analysis, but thought having FA's laid out in one place like this was nice.
Mmmmm, this was a good choice.
ooh, haven't seen that yet.
It was perfect timing because we got some slight accumulation today. Also, it tastes good.
Get excited, folks.
It's a good match in the sense that the Twins aren't likely to be any good in 2014 and neither is Bartlett.
TR's got to be dizzy after that much spinning.
The downside is that you waste time and take at-bats and practice away from guys who might, possibly, help you. Maybe that's not a huge downside, but when there's no upside, even a small downside is a bad thing.
Doesn't know if he's had knee surgery. Hasn't seen him work out. It's a nothing signing. Why bother. I'm sure Bartlett or a reasonable facsimile thereof will be available at any time.
If we're not too Incognito'd out, this rant by Shannon Sharpe is worth viewing.
I didn't really think that Shannon Sharpe would end up being the voice of reason in this whole thing.
the winning comments on NPR's The Salt today, concerning Subway's destruction of the street cred of Sriracha:
Both of those comments were awesome. At least one was intentionally awesome.
Suffering for his art.
I successfully avoided that story all day because I was at work...since you reminded me, I had to look. Grumblegrumble.
He's like the Deerhoof of performing artists!
Definitely more creative, and less terminal, than self immolation.
I think that headline is a bit inaccurate.
The original title had me hoping that the "artist" had successfully removed his genes from the gene pool.
Edited for being a bit too harsh.
Went to see Ender's Game today with the mrs and the Girl. The movie was a tremendous disappointment. Terrible character development, and the whole thing just felt horribly rushed.
But Dude... 3 frigging D!
I am really glad I did not waste money to see it on IMAX. It was Beowulf-level disappointing. which I did see in IMAX 3D.
Ouch- you really didn't like it, huh?
1) Beowulf-level? Really? I didn't have any real problems with it.
2) You saw Beowulf?
Yea, the Boy wanted to go and wanted to see it on the Big Screen. We also saw Matrix 3 there. Don't get me started.
as for Ender's Game, like I said, I thought that the story was way too rushed. Very little character development. They basically make Ender into a psychopath. They cut way too much of the story development. Bean was a non-entity. No explanation of where the nickname "Ender" comes from. No trace of Locke and Demosthenes. The "explanation" of Command School being allegedly close to the Formics' home world was stupid. They never explained what the Ansible was. The ending with the dying queen was...stupid. Etc., etc.
Now, maybe someone who's not read the book(s) would not be bothered by all of these issues. I admit that I enjoyed much of the ride, even as I ground my teeth on what was lacking and what was missing and what was altered. But I think the story would have been much better served by two films -- one focused on Battle School, and one on Command School and the Speaker for the Dead coda.
Oh I agree on your last statement, but that wasn't realistically going to happen. And it needed several things, but it certainly didn't need Locke and Demosthenes! Blah.