For the Minnesota Twins 2017 was a year that surpassed the expectations of most fans. The team made the playoffs, and the manager kept his job (though we finally got rid of Neil Allen). One of the most encouraging features of the 2017 season was Byron Buxton's performance, which netted him a career high 3.5 Wins Above Replacement, placing him 11th among center fielders in 2017. Buxton took a huge step forward in 2017 and we're all hoping for more in 2018. These hopes got me wondering, what
Before we begin let me get one thing out of the way, the Twins are making money. The team is profiting and the owner is increasing his wealth by retaining ownership of the team. There is no doubt about that. As a business professional I can accept this as the way of the world and I am OK with it. However, as a fan I don’t care about earnings and wish the front office had added Lance Lyn and Yu Darvish this offseason. Maybe, though, even as a fan I should care about earnings. At least a lit
Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained?? After years of luke-warm stove off seasons the new front office has made their mark on the roster by signing five players to the big league roster who are ready and able to contribute on opening day. Add to that the trade for Jake Odorizzi and you’re talking nearly 25% of the 25 man roster acquired this off season from outside the team. What is particularly stunning about these additions is the money which was spent on acquiring the players. W
The last time I check Baseball is still a business. We can be sure the owners believe that, and in most cases it seems the players think so too. But what about the fans? If fans do consider baseball to be a business, they would show it via the money and time they spend watching games. When the Twins promised to put a strong team on the field in exchange for a new stadium, they delivered with 94 wins and a playoff appearance in 2010. The payroll increased by 44%, to a then record level of $97.6
For the first time since the Byung-Ho Park experiment the Twins front office has made a concerted effort to fill the DH position with a capable every day bat. In 2017 the likes of Robbie Grossman and Kenny Vargas filled the DH role in a not so exciting fashion. While Grossman was serviceable due to his high OBP (.361), the ugly three strikeout game in last years playoffs and the lack of home run power left a more than a little to be desired. Next in line was Vargas, whose perpetually declining
I really hold back what I would like to say about then payroll arguments here. The fact that people don't accept the amount taken in dictates the amount going out requires one of two things. Extreme financial ignorance or fanatical bias that prevents the acceptance of something some basic. I did not change the argument. It's the same idiocy over and over. Do you really want to be on the side that suggests revenues does not determine spending capacity?
At this point in the pre-season, I’m just so happy to be seeing games again, I don’t care about the Twins record in 2023. I think they’ll win it all, unrealistically speaking 🙂
I really hold back what I would like to say about then payroll arguments here. The fact that people don't accept the amount taken in dictates the amount going out requires one of two things. Extreme financial ignorance or fanatical bias that prevents the acceptance of something some basic. I did not change the argument. It's the same idiocy over and over. Do you really want to be on the side that suggests revenues does not determine spending capacity?· 0 replies
