Cup of Coffee

03 January 2017: Pick Three

76 Comments

Over the extended weekend I listened through my backlog of Effectively Wild episodes. Co-host Sam Miller is leaving the podcast after 1000 episodes (reading between the lines, his new employer - the 4ltr - made him quit). He'll be replaced by Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs; the podcast is also moving from BP to Fangraphs.

Episode 999 was a listener question show. A listener who is renovating his office asked for suggestions for three iconic photos that represent baseball's history & greatness. The hosts observed that their top three photos of historic/great moments might not be photos of the top three moments in their lives as fans. Either way, what are yours?

76 thoughts on “03 January 2017: Pick Three”

    1. Unfortunately we're not in the cities and our flight is too early tomorrow. Someday we'll make this happen.

  4. Willie Mays catch
    Babe Ruth tribute (lean on bat)
    Kirby fist pump
    Carlton Fisk waving HR in 75 WS

  6. In case you haven't been keeping track on your abacus, the Dodgers have already spent $192 million on free agents this offseason. That's more than the cumulative total of any of the following divisions: AL East, AL Central, AL West, and NL Central. The fact that they're dickering about including a second prospect with Jose De Leon in return for Dozier is kinda vexatious.

  7. Puckett's fist pump, and :

    'Gehrig' SelectShow
    'Thome' SelectShow

    I have the other two; the Thome picture is just the magazine cover, but I've got a a huge framed poster of the Gehrig. To me, that is... I love that story, so much.

    1. I would substitute Dudeyou'regettingadelmon's "O" face on that Thome blast.

      Plus, the Bertfart and maybe Kirby's catch.

  9. My iconic three:

    '42' SelectShow
    'The Fans' SelectShow
    'Experience vs. Youth' SelectShow

    My personal three:

    'Why I chose catcher' SelectShow
    'Puckett swings and hits a blast!' SelectShow
    'No smoking in the Metrodome' SelectShow

  10. The Chattanooga Lookouts page on the book of faces tells me that Jake Mauer will be the Lookouts' manager in 2017.

      1. Is it common for well-regarded minor league managers to move down the affiliate chain? I guess what I'm asking is: does this make Mientkiewicz less likely to get a shot on the Twins' staff?

        1. I'm not claiming to be an expert, but it seems like it's not all that uncommon. Maybe the Twins think they'll have better prospects at Fort Myers than at Chattanooga and want Mientkiewicz there to help them. Fort Myers is a popular spot for players to go on rehab assignments--maybe they want Mientkiewicz there to oversee that. There could be all sorts of reasons. I could be wrong, but I don't think I'd read much into this regarding his chances to go to the big club eventually.

        2. Don't think it's common. There's plenty of reasons to want to manage in Ft. Myers over Chattanooga, especially since Mientkiewicz is from Florida originally. The Lookouts finished 75-65, so it's not like he had a bad year. He may have just requested the new management a switch to Florida.

        3. Could very well be that management believes M13 is better suited to working with the younger recruits. It's certainly no demotion as long as his pay and his position in the ranks remains the same. Seems to me that it's better these kids get the coaching they need up front before they become set in their habits in the higher ranks. And Florida? That sounds like a promotion to me.

          1. Interesting point. Given the new front office regime's emphasis on player development, perhaps this is actually a promotion.

        4. It should also be noted that Jeff Smith was in Ft. Myers before being promoted to MLB staff. Smith was in AA before being sent to Ft. Myers by his request to be closer to family, so Mientkiewicz could just be on a similar track.

          1. Johnny Goryl also spent many years managing at various levels in the Twins' farm system, including the A and AA teams just prior to becoming a Twins' coach (again) under Gene Mauch in 1979, then succeeding to the manager position in 1980. I'm not entirely sure that that is a path that M11 really wants to emulate, however.

            1. I'm guessing Mitch Leidner ain't on the honor roll. Of course, even with that assumption, yeesh.

          2. So apparently, it's OK to have 10 players sexually assault a woman and get suspended/expelled by the school. However, if you embarrass the administration and support the rest of the team boycotting because they don't like/misunderstand the process (and the difference between what can be proved in court and what the school needs to justify punishment), that's what will get you fired.

            1. I think it's more like firing off a tweet that inflames the situation before you know the facts that gets you fired.

              1. Well, regardless, shouldn't his job have been in jeopardy without that? I mean, 10 of his players took part in or were complicit to sexual assault. That to me is a lack of institutional control and discipline.

    3. From the STrib's piece:

      Coyle’s statement Tuesday continued: “I determined that the football program must move in a new direction to address challenges in recruiting, ticket sales and the culture of the program. "

      Way to order your priorities...

      1. Not really any better, but may instead be the way the higher-ups/PR people think the fans/public would order them.

        1. Considering a high school recruit was a participant, yes. But it's not what you lead with when the entire program is toxic.

    4. The basketball team had a similar problem last year, but it was handled differently. Several players were suspended for the remainder of the season when a sex tape was published on social media. The discipline came from the basketball team in this case, IIRC. There was not a waiting period to see what a review turned up, although the evidence was pretty hard to deny. If Claeys had immediately kicked the primaries in this off the team for good and suspended the others for lengthy periods, like the rest of the season, he'd probably still have a job and would have better control of the rest of the players.

      1. 1. The Gophers are not smart enough to do that.
        2. I'd be happy for him -- he deserves a big pay day, although I'd wish he'd go somewhere else to get that money.
        3. Next man up. 9.1 wins a season for 52 years... it's not about any one person.

          1. More likely to be considered or more likely to be hired? I'm sure the Gophers will go for plenty of high-profile names. Getting them to come to Minnesota is another matter. I think Claeys' parting shot of "Enjoy your winter" was a less than subtle message to his fellow coaches.

  13. Wolves trying to comeback from a 20+ point deficit is not a formula for winning basketball.

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