Cup of Coffee

23 July 2014: WGOM Radio is back! Well, is gonna be back!

87 Comments

I have good, reliable internet at my house now. So if anyone is interested in any manner of podcast episodes (BKAC, Twins, beer, history, whatevskis) just leave a note below and we'll get this ball rolling.

87 thoughts on “23 July 2014: WGOM Radio is back! Well, is gonna be back!”

      1. I'd like to sentence Jose Abreu to ONE MILLLLLLLLLLLLLION YEARS DUNGEON so I don't have to watch him kill the Twins forever.

  2. Dr. Chop and I celebrated out 8th year (but really our 15th.....damn) last night by going out to Gautreau's for dinner. The meal was one of the most delicious that we've ever had. If you're ever in NOLA and feel like a fancy, uptown dinner is in order I highly recommend Gautreau's.

    8. Noted. I'll put it on the list because your last recommendation (Boucherie) was ridiculously good.

      Oh, and congrats!

    9. Happy Anniversary, meat!

      (I forgot to post that NBBW and I hit 27 clicks last Friday)

  4. Gleeman has a pretty clear-eyed assessment of the Twins possible trading scenarios and it's not very pretty. Where this team is at right now is making me all kinds of sad. I'm at the point that a wholesale cleansing is needed. TR, Rob Antony, Gardy... But alas, that's not the "Twins Way."

    http://aarongleeman.com/

    1. Where this team is at right now is making me all kinds of sad.

      I feel the same way. Despite that fact, I'm heading to the game today. My buddy emailed me like 10 minutes ago with, in his words, "great seats" for today's game. I'll admit that even if they weren't great seats, I'd probably still go. It's supposed to be gorgeous out and I haven't been to the ballpark since April.

      2. A few of us from Marketing are doing the businessman's special today, so I'll be there, too.

    2. What you call "clear-eyed" some might call "pessimistic." I don't think any of our tradeable players are likely to net us a top-50 prospect, but then again, few trades ever do. And even those that do can turn into duds. If we can squeeze a couple future relievers out of this trade market I think we should be happy.

      1. If we can squeeze a couple future relievers out of this trade market I think we should be happy.

        would you be suggesting a catcher for a proven closer?

      2. I think I like this take better. The optimistic view of the Twins is in the farm system, which sounds like its strong enough that there's no need to hit any prospect home runs in trades, provided Sano recovers well and Buxton stops getting hit in the wrist. I'm guessing looking at every teams' mid-season tradeable players list would be pretty much the exact same as what Gleeman wrote about the Twins.

      3. You realize this is the 4th straight pretty much disastrous season with little hope that next year will be much better? Plus prospects don't always turn out to be good as you hoped (Hicks, Arcia, Gibson). IMHO the front office or coaching staff has not shown one glimmer of creative thinking to fix the many problems facing the Twins other than let's hope Sano, Buxton, Mays and Meyer can come up and play to their potential. Sure call Gleeman's article pessimistic. However I doubt that you will be able to toss a "I told you so" anytime soon regarding his article or my post.

        1. It seems there was no planning for this time period, though I'm not sure there's always been a great plan behind the works. 2001 was "let's hope the prospects work out" and they did. It just took 9 years to get there. I don't want to wait that long

        2. Gleeman on Suzuki 12/25/13:
          As spring competition and eventually a backup and mentor for Pinto he's a perfectly reasonable, inexpensive fit, but if Suzuki finds his way into the lineup 4-5 times per week or perhaps even convinces the Twins to send Pinto back to the minors the signing will look a whole lot different.

          Yeah, the signing does look a lot different. Now we've got All-Star trade bait. I realize that's a bit misleading, but Suzuki was a good signing. I wasn't a big fan of the Suzuki signing, so this isn't a case of "I told you so." My point here is that you're calling for the heads of a front office that made a great signing in the off-season that they now might be able to turn into a reasonable prospect to add to the collection. What's more, their signing of Morales, while it hasn't worked out ideally, was absolutely a "glimmer of creative thinking." That was not business as usual for the Twins. Their signing of Nolasco, too, hasn't worked out, but was not par-for-the-course-Twins. That was different, and I liked what it showed.

          I like what I've seen from the front office lately. I like that they've built one of the best farm systems in baseball (admittedly, it's easier to do with top picks, but see J.O. Berrios as late-first round pick who is working out). I like that they've signed free agents to hopefully build on (like Nolasco). I like that they've taken a chance on one-year trade-bait deals (Morales, Suzuki). I don't see what gutting the front office would accomplish.

          1. Yeah, it does seem like they take way more chances than they used to. I've liked all their offseason signings to some extent. And they appear to be valuing pitcher strikeouts more than they used to. I just wish they had a better grasp of their defense. Having "pitch to contact" pitchers and allowing infielders to play the outfield is just bad planning.

          2. The Twins have signed some starters who, while not expected to be aces, looked like they should be serviceable major league starters. It hasn't worked out that way. Pelfrey and Nolasco have been bad, but they didn't figure to be that bad. And it's a little harsh to call Correia "one of MLB's worst starters". He was decent last year, and after a horrible April he's been decent this year. Also, three of their top prospects, Sano, Buxton, and Rosario, have all been slowed by injuries and/or suspensions. I've been plenty critical of the Twins' front office at times, but there have been some things go wrong that weren't their fault, too.

            My biggest complaints have been the times they've been willing to stick with or acquire mediocre veterans rather than give young players a chance. On the other hand, when they have given young players a chance, it hasn't worked out all that well. Danny Santana is really the only one who's come up and hit well, and we're still dealing with a small sample size there.

            I still think there are better days coming. They just aren't going to come as fast as I'd hoped.

            1. My biggest issue is their lack of foresight in having any sort of available replacement depth in the system, ie: CENTERFIELDERS. It's one thing to put a "Jason Tyner" in CF, but it's a totally different one putting a "Nick Punto" there.

              1. Could the Twins nab Punto for CF in a trade? I'd be for that!

                Gleeman was comparing Tony Batista to Kendrys Morales on the twit feed this morning. Bring him back too! Coach or Cheerleader is he says he's retired. I bet Juan Castro could be persuaded, too!

                Has anyone noticed that Delmon has a 113 OPS+ this season? He'd be among the top Twins.
                (Suzuki and Willingham at 114, Dozier 113, Danny Santana 115, and Jorge Polanco 328 [in 7 PA])

            2. And it's a little harsh to call Correia "one of MLB's worst starters".

              He has been one of MLB's worst qualified starters. Gleeman misses that and the Twins paying him to be mediocre. FanGraphs has him at 60th out of 78 qualified starters. But the Twins are paying him $10 million and he's already posted 2.2 fWAR / 2.1 rWAR. He has outperformed the contract with three months to go. Signing a free agent pitcher at age 32 and getting what you pay for is a good signing.

              2. Thanks. Something was bugging me about that characterization (and Rany Jazayerli does that a lot with Royals batters, too), but I couldn't put my finger on it.

          3. Yea, I'm not a huge fan of post hoc dissing of trades/signings based on observed outcomes either. there's always risk involved.

            The Suzuki signing has turned out much better than anyone has a right to have expected. He probably should be traded, on the "sell high" theory.

            Other than Phil Hughes, none of the starting pitcher deals in the last couple of years (stretching back to the Vanimal trade) has been particularly successful. In isolation, it's hard to complain about any one of the deals too much. Worley and Trevor May for Revere seemed like a decent deal at the time, and May could still turn that deal into a winner. Alex Meyer for DSPAN3 seemed less like a good deal at the time. But the combination of deals seemed terrible at the time, given the lack of CF options that were major-league ready.

            Signing Correia, Pelfrey and Harden in the winter of 2012-13 seemed pretty reasonable. Low-risk, with some upside potential (particularly on Harden). Correia has been worth about what they are paying him. Pelfrey has not. Harden was spilled milk.

            On and on.

            to rebuild, you need high draft picks to pan out, and some middle- and low-draft picks to succeed far beyond expectations, and to get lucky on the trade/FA market. Luck is not exactly a plan. But in a world where you succeed by picking winning lottery tickets, I'm not sure that there really are other choices.

              1. Always makes me think of this. And with the singer taking over the interwebz this fortnight...
                httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sppRrbtxVD0

                Edit: Probably in my top ten songs by the Beatles or its members. It's no "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" tho.

          4. I get your points, I guess I just don't agree with them. Which is fine, we're just pulling stuff out of our asses anyway. It's just that I wish the "baseball guys" over at Target Field had better ideas than we do. I mean any blogger worth the change found in his mother's basement couch knew how the Bartlett and Kubel experiments were going to pan out and I just can't see how the Morales deal was creative when you had Pinto sitting on the bench-- who could be a decent DH and much more important to the Twins future.

            I guess I wish I could see and understand a cogent Plan. Maybe that's all what I'm trying to say. I'll hang up now.

            1. I've gone into that in the past, so I won't repeat it now, but I fully agree with you that I'd like to see more of a plan.

            2. I have to agree with Free. A big part of the rebuilding of the minor leagues has been the product of having a top 5 pick each year. The front office gets some credit but we don't need to go overboard.

              There are still problems throughout this organization.

              The way injuries are treated and disclosed is still a problem. Gardenhire praising Nolasco for pitching thru pain was ridiculous. So was his statement that Mauer has pain when he sneezes.

              The roster construction is embarrassing. I understand they are rebuilding but Parmalee in CF is an embarrassment. He isn't even AAA level.

              The inbreeding in the front office is ridiculous. The Twins had a nice run in the early 2000s but they weren't as good as their record. If you adjust for strength of schedule, they were barely above average most of those years.

              I think I am as discouraged as I have ever been. The fans are awful and so is the media.

              1. The roster construction is embarrassing.... The inbreeding in the front office is ridiculous... I think I am as discouraged as I have ever been. The fans are awful and so is the media.

                Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

    3. Just remember, the Twins have not reaped one single benefit of finishing last in 2011 and even before that, opening up the pocketbook and signing big-name international prospects in 2009. Those two things go them their two best hitting prospects and one of their best, if not their best, pitching prospect. (Buxton, Sano and Berrios) They also have not had any benefit from trading established players for the future since May and Meyer have yet to reach the majors. The three pitchers will strike out batters like we haven't seen in Minnesota since Liriano was traded away. Three of these five players could be big-time players and all five could be solidly average to above average players. It just takes time in baseball.

      1. Just remember, the Twins have not reaped one single benefit of finishing last in 2011...

        Yes, they have. That is how they have such a high-rated minor league system and that is why I am supposed to trust this organization.

        1. A good minor league system means squat until they make the major leagues. That's what I mean by no single benefit. They haven't reached the majors yet. Of course, if it wasn't for injuries, Buxton would be in center, Sano at third and Meyer in the rotation.

  7. I know people don't necessarily read the intros (myself included), so I'll reiterate:

    If you have any interest in creating an episode of WGOM Radio, let me know.

    2. My time in the evenings has opened up some so I have some interest in participating in episodic content.

      1. If you have Skype and a microphone in your computer, I can take care of the rest.

      1. Nooo!!! There are more pieces to assemble!!!
        Once the whole band is back together, it'll be like Voltron.

      1. LENIII:

        The Twins have designated righthander Matt Guerrier for assignment. The veteran was 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA. He was a competitor, but struggled at times and was clobbered on Tuesday four runs in the ninth inning of a 8-2 loss to Cleveland.
        At one point, manager Ron Gardenhire and trainer Lanning Tucker came to the mound because they thought he was injured.
        ``That was embarrassing,'' Guerrier said when I talked to him this morning. ``I pitched so bad that they thought something was wrong.''
        When relayed to Gardenhire, he said: ``I was embarrassed to go out there.''
        Guerrier was brought in as a chemistry guy and was the same old Matty in the clubhouse. And he battled with everything he had. But the last time he pitched a full clean inning was May 28.
        The Twins are letting him go, but I would not be surprised if another team takes a chance on him.
        And that ends the reunion tour. The Twins brought back Jason Bartlett, Jason Kubel and Guerrier this season. None of them are left.
        The Twins will call up Ryan Pressly from Class AAA Rochester, where he was 1-4 with a 2,98 ERA. Frankly, he should be on the Opening Day roster.
        The 40-man roster is now at 39. meaning they have flexibility to add a player. That could come in handy if Kyle Gibson can't pitch on Saturday. I was told two days ago that Logan Darnell was the favorite to start if needed, but the extra 40-man spot allows them to go with someone else if they want.
        Alex Meyer? He's starting tonight for Class AAA Rochester
        In other news, the Twins received the fourth pick after the second round in the 2015 Competitive Balance Lottery.

        1. the last time he pitched a full clean inning was May 28.

          I assume that means a perfect inning. Since then, Guerrier has had twelve appearances out of nineteen where he allowed one baserunner per inning or fewer. He had thirteen appearances out of eighteen where he did not allow a run. He has allowed only four out of eleven inherited baserunners to score.

          I'm not upset about him being DFA'd, because he's clearly not going to be part of the future of the team. But that was written to try to make it sound like Guerrier has been awful for two months, and it's just not true.

            1. Since May 28, his slash line, excluding last night's debacle, was .273/.353/.390 In the last four weeks, excluding last night, it was .316/.357/.421.

              I'm not arguing that he's good. I'm just saying that LENIII, probably at the urging of someone from the Twins, is trying to make it sound like Guerrier has stunk for two months, and he hasn't.

  9. Hey, Bootsy, how is that scrape healing from the NBA draft? I am here to pick at the scab.

    The players we didn’t expect to perform well, or otherwise did something unexpected. Here are the five guys on my list.

    • Russ Smith (New Orleans Pelicans). Summer League often becomes the world of point guards trying to get noticed by shooting the ball. Big men with good post position go hungry while guards pound the ball into the ground then cross-over, step back and fire away. Not Russ Smith, the Louisville guard playing for the Pelicans was a real floor general. Yes he scored 16 points a game but he had 6.4 assists a game as well in Vegas. There are adjustments to be made for him to stick in the league long term (more than four turnovers a game) but he was a second round pick who looks like a guy who could give the Pelicans some steady minutes at the point as a reserve.

    1. I hope no one acts shocked when he makes 2nd team All Rookie and the Woofs are still looking for a back up point guard. Russdiculous, indeed.

      1. I'll keep and eye on him for you, painter. We'll try to make sure he doesn't spend too much time on bourbon street.

    2. New Gal and I are both fairly infrequent facebook users, and we had a longstanding agreement about the unnecessary sappiness of relationship statuses. I'm still a little surprised that she went there.

      1. Facebook is weird. I changed my relationship status to "Widowed" about a month after Elaine's death and all of a sudden I got these friend requests from comely young ladies all of whom I didn't know and all who only had one or two "friends." Plunging necklines and short shorts were the standard attire in the one or two pictures on their facebook page. Obviously some sort of bot that searched for the relationship change. After about a month those types of friend requests stopped coming. I was almost curious enough to approve one of the friend requests just to see what would have happened next but my better judgement prevailed.

        1. Since I had my status hidden, I didn't think to change it until months after the divorce. Before that, fb somehow figured out I was divorced and I started getting ads for singles waiting in my area and a handful of those same friend requests. Kind of creepy.

          1. I have had trouble with the voice recognition on my phone recognizing my wife's name. Instead, I just said "Call my wife" and it popped right up. The only thing I can think of is that it used the Facebook relationship status to know who my wife was.

          2. I get ads for singles waiting in my area too ... but that could just be the pron-surfing.
            😉

            1. Dude, I get those ads. Occasionally they feature men, but it's much more often women. (I'm not on FB, but I get them on other areas of the Interwebs on my home computer.)

            1. I'm with Rhu-ru. Well, not "Do Not Track Me"
              I still open incognito windows when I have to google medical conditions. Forgot that once in the pre-adblocker days and no I don't want those ads.

        2. I accidentally accepted one of those requests once as the person had the same name and kind of looked like someone I did know. Nothing happened in the fifteen minutes during that time and I just defriended.

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