Cup of Coffee

November 14, 2019: (Odor)izzi Gonna Sign?

45 Comments

Today is the deadline for Odorizzi to accept or reject the QO.

Odorizzi will:

  • Accept Qualifying Offer (57%, 8 Votes)
  • Reject, but still sign with the Twins (36%, 5 Votes)
  • Reject and move on (7%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 14

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45 thoughts on “November 14, 2019: (Odor)izzi Gonna Sign?”

  1. Ken Rosenthal & Evan Drellich, reporting for The Athletic, ”Three major-league managers are connected to Astros’ sign stealing”:

    Hinch was the Astros’ manager in 2017, and sources said both Cora and Beltrán played a key role in devising the sign-stealing system the team used that season.
    ...
    Cora was the team’s bench coach in ’17; Beltrán was a designated hitter and outfielder in the final season of a 20-year career that might result in his election to the Hall of Fame. Multiple sources said they were not the only members of the team who participated in the Astros’ scheme that season.

    The r/baseball subreddit has multiple threads with links to instances of potential cheating. I’d start with the Astros Sign Stealing Video Footage Megathread.

    1. Meanwhile, mlb.com has gone full Pravda and has absolutely no coverage of this, while dozens of fans have gone through game video easily finding examples of the sign-stealing system in place. Hinch at a minimum should be looking at a lifetime ban, IMO. This is just as bad as gambling in baseball and the longer you think about it, the more crazy the knock-on effects are. Like impacts in call-ups, FA contracts, even just pitchers going crazy trying to figure out how they are tipping pitches.

      1. It’d be something if Hinch, Cora, and Beltrán all got lifetime bans. I’m wondering how high up this went in Houston; it sounds like some of the unnamed sources indicated there were solid connections to the baseball ops department in the front office. In addition to the players & coaches who have spread out across the league since, a former Astros exec (Mike Elias) is now in charge of Baltimore, and just a couple weeks ago Bregman had something pretty interesting to say about Beltrán’s influence on the Yankmes this year:

        “I think Carlos Beltrán helped out the Yankees this year a lot,” Bregman said. “Like a lot lot.”

        The statement came accompanied by a wry smile and a lack of specifics. A follow-up inquiry was unsuccessful. “He helps a lot behind the scenes,” Bregman said, holding his expression.

        [Rustin Dodd, “‘A game-changer’: Before he was the Mets’ choice to manage, Carlos Beltrán was an unofficial coach with the Astros,” The Athletic, 01 Nov 2019

        1. I suppose, at the very least, it would go as far as whoever would need to approve the purchase of the equipment they used to do it. I'd be shocked if the GM wasn't involved.

          1. Too many people had to know—either the GM knew or he is completely disconnected with his team’s daily operations.

            1. On MLB Network radio yesterday, Steve Phillips said it would not be possible for this to happen in this way and the GM not know about it.

      2. This is not as bad as gambling against your team. In that case, you're not competing to win. That's the very worst. But I think this is worse than a player doing PEDs. This is like a conspiracy where a team's leadership is handing out PEDs to all of its players. I would say Hinch should get at least a yearlong ban.

        1. I think it’s just as bad because it goes to the integrity of the game. Sign stealing is allowed within limits, but to me this passes a bright line of what constitutes bending the rules versus subverting the game.

          Literally every team would change up their signs if they knew this was happening, but had no reasonable basis to believe it was happening. I say screw all those guys—they messed with everyone else’s careers, the punishments should be a lot more than a year. Like Joe Girardi lost his job after losing to Houston in 2017–Hinch getting a year off would be a total joke.

    2. Also, you joked that the Astros should be forced the rename their park Enron—LOL—but it reminds me of something somewhat related:

      A few years back now I ran across a guy who had worked for Enron on their trading floor up to and maybe even through the scandal. At the time I met him, he was advising companies on energy regulation (heh), and he seemed like the most mild-mannered, personable guy. He said when he was at Enron, though, it was so easy to just get caught up in their culture and he recalls get in shouting matches with other people on the floor, and it just seeming like another day at the office.

      I feel like that relates here, because on one hand it seems hard to believe that so many people would go along with this, but on the other hand, we are very social creatures and you wouldn’t really want to rock the boat if you were in Houston, even if it made you feel uneasy (or worse.)

      That also makes me think of unintended consequences—there are public utilities in Washington state that absolutely MADE BANK during the Enron scandal—selling their power down to Cali at huge mark-ups that were caused by Enron’s market manipulation. But there wasn’t really a mechanism to unwind those transactions, and it is so good to be an electric customer there now, some counties are having to deal with bitcoin mining operations moving in.

      We live in a fascinating world—sometimes too fascinating.

  2. Last night the Wolves soundly beat the San Antonio Spurs. I dont know this sporting world anymore but I love it.

    1. Andrew Wiggins getting and deserving of a standing ovation is surely one sign of the apocalypse. If the Gophers go to Rose Bowl, that’s another one.

      1. I'm still skeptical, but if it keeps up for a few more games I might start to believe. Maybe around game 20 or so. He's got over 14,000 minutes of being terrible that its gonna take a lot for me to believe. That said, they need to trade him during the hot stretch because even playing well he's still not remotely close to being a max contract type of player.

        1. I agree from an abstract perspective, but it depends somewhat on the clubhouse. I imagine it would be incredibly demoralizing if it is seen internally as “look, we were finally improving and now they just shipped off a key contributor.” Like if you can’t get KAT some immediate help in the deal, how do you convince him this is for the best?

    2. Unfortunately, the Spurs are not what they once were. They're not the Knicks, but beating them is not nearly as big a thing as it used to be.

  3. I saw Elvis Costello last night and it was ..... boring. Very boring. So much so that my companions all fell asleep during his set. I’ve never been to a rock show where my friends have fallen asleep from boredom and not over consumption of pills or booze.

    1. I have recently heard this about him from other people.

      I always assumed he must be something live, since his studio stuff just seems okay to me... nothing bad, nothing great.

      1. Aaron Gleeman did the free-agent pitcher rankings for The Athletic and he has Odo 6th, so if the Twins get 2 of those 5 ahead of him (assuming you see Berrios ahead of Odo), yeah I would be pretty thrilled with that. I would also be very happy with Strasburg or Wheeler along with Keuchel or Pineda. The last two are ranked just behind Odo.

        1. My instincts tell me we might be a bit too hopeful here. I don't think we will sign Cole, Strasburg or Wheeler, even if we try hard. Cole and Strasburg will sign a bigger contract than we are willing to dish out. Wheeler has some medical issues that may stop a team like the Twins to take on the risk. I think we sign someone of the caliber of Bumgartner or Keuchel, and sign (or trade for) a pitcher we think we can improve, similar to Martin Perez. Or, we sign Gibson as the #4. Again, I think we will try to do more, but I would be very surprised if Odorizzi is our #4 pitcher.

          I have been listening to a ton of MLB network and from all that I hear, I just don't see us succeeding in dramatically upgrading our rotation. I hope I am wrong.

          1. Boo.
            .because you don't ferment or ??

            I need to find mine from the move. I now have a basement, which should be perfect for fermenting pickles and such.

            1. Homemade kraut is awesome. Lacto-fermented pickles: awesome. I need to take another swing at kimchee.

              1. My mom has a friend who makes bucket loads of kraut and she got interested in trying her hand at it. Fortunately, I remembered that conversation and was able to suggest the Kraut Source for her. (I've also been thinking about getting one.)

      2. I think some feel the overall success of the team in the regular season (in making the playoffs) should be part of the equation.

  8. Cruz finished 9th with 62 points
    Polonco 13th with 20 points
    Rosario 18th with 6 points
    Kepler 20th with 2 points

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