Article: Miguel Sano And Negativity Bias

[Squirrel]

I think some confuse concern with criticism. You can be concerned about Sano's in-season weight gain and k-rate without being a hater. Truth is, he's a top 10 mlb power hitter already. He may or may not be at peak potential. Those who want a Stanton, Trout, Pujols or Miggy and think that Sano has that in him shouldn't be shamed for their belief and desire to see him continue to improve to hall of fame levels.

Would Sano rather we be appreciative of his all-star caliber season or believe he has an MVP in him that we want him to try to reach?

I'm sure the Twins are concerned about all their players and whatever issues are specific to them, including Sano and his weight. And they should be, I'd question it if they weren't. And I have no problem with that. My issue with some of the concern expressed by others are the assumptions that seem to go along with it. Some of these assumptions seem to imply a willfull and knowing disregard by Sano about this concern. That is the bias. I've read hints and accusations that given his size he then must have a poor work ethic, no discipline, he's lazy, or he doesn't care or doesn't try. All things damaging to and demeaning Sano's character as a player. That, to me, is the problem with the piece that Souhan wrote, and the problem with some of the responses. It doesn't matter that he couched some of this in obvious compliments, either... Gee, that's a stunning outfit you're wearing, but it would look so much better if you weren't so fat.

[Doomtints]

 

Sano is one of my favorite players, and one of the Twins organization's biggest assets. The front office would be negligient not to have concerns about the physical condition of all its players, much less one of its most vital. I'm still not seeing what all the fuss about Souhan's, and Reusse's columns is all about. They said the organization has concerns. And the organization should have concerns. Lavelle corroborated those concerns across multiple platforms, but I don't see anyone hammering him.

 

The Twins could do better by not sharing these concerns with the press. This is either clueless/careless or simply a bad tactic to be using at the moment since he is playing well. Probably the former.

[Doubles]

I've already been down this path on another thread in this forum, so I should probably just let this go. But I can't help myself.

 

Here is what I think is the climactic passage of the column in question:

 

"Sano should play at about 260 pounds, if not 250. He would have more energy, would run better, would have a better chance of staying healthy and would remain powerful enough to hit the ball out to any field in any ballpark. He would also be able to remain at third base, where his strong arm is an asset."

 

While I don't know of any scientific fact that would back up any of the above, I find the logic hard to argue with.

[gagu]

Reusse has been a nasty cheap shot artist for decades. I'll refrain from going further on such an easy target. Souhan also thrives on negativity, but he at least makes some arguments in the process of tearing into people. 

Sano is a special talent. We need to remember that he's only 24 and he missed the entire 2014 season before breaking in as a regular midway through the following season. He has really impressed me with his ability at third base this season, especially after going through the RF experiment last season. His best days are ahead of him

[Doomtints]

 

"Sano should play at about 260 pounds, if not 250. 

 

Moving goalposts. At one point Sano weight 280 and vowed to lose 20 pounds. He then showed up to spring training weighing 260. I can buy it that he has put on weight since the season started, but this article states that they are "always working on it."  

 

Not seeing where the problem is. Every player on this team has something they are "working on" with the training staff!

[Nick Nelson]

 

Sorry, the 22 hr was Cody. You were the one who cherry-picked clutch and RISP data in your last Dozier post. That's negativity bias as well.

Putting his numbers with runners on next to his numbers with the bases empty and pointing out the sharp contrast is not negativity bias or "cherry-picking," it's analysis. If all I ever did was harp on Dozier's weaknesses you'd have a point but this isn't the case, is it? The only other thing you pointed to was someone else's HR total prediction for him.

 

 

I don't see how stating an obvious concern is negativity.

I'm not saying there's no validity to the concern. The issue, as others have noted, is with the timing. Reusse's column dropped while Sano was bumbling around in RF last spring, making it seem like a lack of preparation was responsible for the disastrous outcome rather than the terrible idea itself. And now Souhan's piece comes out right after Sano goes on the DL due to a foul ball in the shin, while alluding with no evidence that his weight contributed to the injury and a slow recovery.

 

Thus, an idea is planted in readers' minds that Sano's weight is negatively impacting the team right now, rather than potentially limiting his long-term ceiling (and even that still isn't very "obvious" to me). 

[Don Walcott]

Even if Souhan was "fed" the article, he had a choice to decide if it was newsworthy at this time.  He could have sat on it until the off-season and then he could have spoken to more people with the benefit of the full season behind us, and the off-season plans forming.

 

We used to have a local sports press who supported the team, and would even avoid publishing harmful negative stories. Maybe that wasn't the best system, but I don't necessarily like the way our society is going now, with even local sports writers looking for negative stories about our own players so they can get more attention.

 

I love watching Sano. He's a great player, and seems like a good teammate and fun guy to be around. Here's hoping for him to have a quick return for the wild card race.

[VirginSturgeon]

 

I assume the front office would like to see him cut a little weight, but I can't imagine they are at the point they are going to leak it to someone like Souhan and pretend that will motivate him.

 

Agreed why would they leak it to Souhan of all the journalists in the Twin Cities.  Seems far fetched.

[Vanimal46]

 

Even if Souhan was "fed" the article, he had a choice to decide if it was newsworthy at this time.  He could have sat on it until the off-season and then he could have spoken to more people with the benefit of the full season behind us, and the off-season plans forming.

 

That's just it. This wasn't some pressing breaking news that needed to be published immediately. Like you said, every columnist has the choice whether to post the SCORCHING hot taek, or write substance to support the story. Souhan went with writing the hot take, and included columnist jargon like "people inside the Twins' clubhouse" to try and make his take more credible. 

Sano has been very open about his weight and training to multiple reporters and outlets. Probably more than most other athletes in Minnesota. Yet Souhan doesn't go directly to the source for a direct quote.... Hmmm..... 

 

Souhan, or the Star Tribune editor, decided to kick Sano when he was down by strategically posting this story after he was hurt. I don't respect his opinion when he does things like this. 

 

[mazeville]

 

The Twins could do better by not sharing these concerns with the press. This is either clueless/careless or simply a bad tactic to be using at the moment since he is playing well. Probably the former.

 

If they're sharing their concern with the press, it likely means they haven't been able to get to him, specifically. That's usually how this works. Private pressure doesn't work, you then try publish pressure. Not sure I agree with it, but that's likely how this went.

[Doomtints]

 

Sano has been very open about his weight and training to multiple reporters and outlets. Probably more than most other athletes in Minnesota. Yet Souhan doesn't go directly to the source for a direct quote.... Hmmm..... 

 

Exactly. Sano would have commented freely on this if given the chance.

 

Like some others I don't see that this is a scathing article, but I still think the article could have been better, and the Twins could have been smarter....

[nicksaviking]

When it comes to weight, we're never going to really know how the player or the front office feels about it. We can discuss it sure, but it's not like we're ever going to know if either party is concerned about it or if or when it is actually an issue.

 

I'd guess the best indicator we could hope for is if or when Sano is offered an extension and of what length.

[mazeville]

 

That's just it. This wasn't some pressing breaking news that needed to be published immediately. Like you said, every columnist has the choice whether to post the SCORCHING hot taek, or write substance to support the story. Souhan went with writing the hot take, and included columnist jargon like "people inside the Twins' clubhouse" to try and make his take more credible. 

Sano has been very open about his weight and training to multiple reporters and outlets. Probably more than most other athletes in Minnesota. Yet Souhan doesn't go directly to the source for a direct quote.... Hmmm..... 

 

Souhan, or the Star Tribune editor, decided to kick Sano when he was down by strategically posting this story after he was hurt. I don't respect his opinion when he does things like this. 

 

The Strib beat writer defended the column, saying that Souhan got the idea from inside the clubhouse. This wasn't some columnist simply bashing Sano with nothing backing him up. He had people inside the organization worried about his conditioning. That is very significant. 

 

And conditioning IS a legitimate concern when it comes to a professional ball player because poor conditioning absolutely can lead to more injuries and long-tern problems. If the Twins weren't paying attention to Sano's conditioning, then then the GM should be fired and replaced with someone who is.

[mazeville]

 

Even if Souhan was "fed" the article, he had a choice to decide if it was newsworthy at this time.  He could have sat on it until the off-season and then he could have spoken to more people with the benefit of the full season behind us, and the off-season plans forming.

 

We used to have a local sports press who supported the team, and would even avoid publishing harmful negative stories. Maybe that wasn't the best system, but I don't necessarily like the way our society is going now, with even local sports writers looking for negative stories about our own players so they can get more attention.

 

I love watching Sano. He's a great player, and seems like a good teammate and fun guy to be around. Here's hoping for him to have a quick return for the wild card race.

 

Oh, GOD, please.

 

"We used to have a press who supported the team, and would even avoid publishing harmful negative stories." Give me a break. 

 

You really want a press that just writes happy-go-lucky pieces on the local nine? REALLY? And yet here you are on a blog where a sizable portion of the pieces and comments are critical about team decisionmaking and player performance? Honestly ...

 

You can disagree with the article or take Souhan to task for his views -- believe me, some of his stuff makes me want to burn my paper -- but the day we get a press who only "supports the team" will hopefully be the day I did.

[Doomtints]

 

If they're sharing their concern with the press, it likely means they haven't been able to get to him, specifically. That's usually how this works. Private pressure doesn't work, you then try publish pressure. Not sure I agree with it, but that's likely how this went.

 

The article states they are "getting to him" and are working on it.

 

This is one reason I 1) don't see what the fuss is about here, and 2) question why this was so casually put out there by the team.

[mazeville]

 

Putting his numbers with runners on next to his numbers with the bases empty and pointing out the sharp contrast is not negativity bias or "cherry-picking," it's analysis. If all I ever did was harp on Dozier's weaknesses you'd have a point but this isn't the case, is it? The only other thing you pointed to was someone else's HR total prediction for him.

 

 

I'm not saying there's no validity to the concern. The issue, as others have noted, is with the timing. Reusse's column dropped while Sano was bumbling around in RF last spring, making it seem like a lack of preparation was responsible for the disastrous outcome rather than the terrible idea itself. And now Souhan's piece comes out right after Sano goes on the DL due to a foul ball in the shin, while alluding with no evidence that his weight contributed to the injury and a slow recovery.

 

Thus, an idea is planted in readers' minds that Sano's weight is negatively impacting the team right now, rather than potentially limiting his long-term ceiling (and even that still isn't very "obvious" to me). 

 

It absolutely will be negatively impacting a team if his weight prevents him from recovering from this injury faster than he would had his conditioning been better. 

 

This is a team in a playoff race. Sano is the team's most dangerous hitter. He is out after fouling a ball off of his shin. Poor conditioning CAN prevent him from recovering sooner. No question about it. 

[ND-Fan]

This is mirroring the Twins of the past. If you would look back 87 twins to 91 Twins there were writing about Hrbek in similar fashion he was to big and didn't work hard enough. There seems to be this similar attitude with larger players and players that have fun time playing baseball in Minnesota with the media. With Hrbek there was thought it would have extended his career but he had good career who knows if it would have extended his career or improoved on his numbers. He was leader on winning team and now appears Sano may have similar career path and i think may even surpass Hrbek. Players are what they are and it difficult to make whole sale changes in them and if they do change alot of time they miss what made them great.

[jimmer]

 

Oh, GOD, please.

 

"We used to have a press who supported the team, and would even avoid publishing harmful negative stories." Give me a break. 

 

You really want a press that just writes happy-go-lucky pieces on the local nine? REALLY? And yet here you are on a blog where a sizable portion of the pieces and comments are critical about team decisionmaking and player performance? Honestly ...

 

You can disagree with the article or take Souhan to task for his views -- believe me, some of his stuff makes me want to burn my paper -- but the day we get a press who only "supports the team" will hopefully be the day I did.

We could just call it fake news :-)

[Doubles]

From Nick's article:

 

"To write these kinds of columns for a Minnesota sports audience almost feels treacherous, and hugely ill-advised when you think about the big picture. We should all collectively be trying to woo this generational hitting talent into sticking around. One day in the not-too-distant future, Sano will be approaching free agency, and will more than likely have suitors lining up for his services.

 

If he chooses to go elsewhere, Souhan and Reusse will surely be lamenting another star player who left the small market via free agency to chase the spotlight and the big dollars.

 

Maybe they could've tried harder to appreciate what they had, while they had it."

 

Nick-  I enjoy your writing very much and have the utmost respect for you and your work.  But I believe you are a bit off-base in the passage quoted above.  I look to the media to cover what they see, offer up some info as why we are seeing what we see, and to share their platform with the teams & players in serving as a conduit between the team & its fan base.  I don't believe it's the media's role at all to influence matters of team composition or player personnel.  I may be being a bit idealistic here, but I want the media to "Tell it like it is," & "Call it like they see it."  Paying any mind to or trying to influence whether a player will re-sign or be retained would seriously compromise what I want from my local scribes.  Columnists get more leeway to opine than beat writers, but the point remains.

 

And I don't think Reusse or Souhan would give it a nano-second of thought if Sano ended up signing elsewhere someday.  They've seen hundreds of players come & go in their day.  I seriously doubt they'd see Sano any differently than any other player that has moved on from the Twin Cities.

 

Sorry to be critical, Nick.  Again, I enjoy your work thoroughly and always look forward to reading your stuff.

Edited August 28, 2017 by Doubles

[mazeville]

 

The article states they are "getting to him" and are working on it.

 

This is one reason I 1) don't see what the fuss is about here, and 2) question why this was so casually put out there by the team.

 

How do you know it was "casually put out there by the team?" 

 

I hardly think that feeding concern about a player's conditioning to a columnist with a track record such as Souhan's is "casual." 

 

And nowhere does the article say that the Twins are "getting to him." If the Twins were really "getting to him" then they almost certainly would not be feeding this sort of thing to Souhan. 

[mazeville]

 

From Nick's article:

 

"To write these kinds of columns for a Minnesota sports audience almost feels treacherous, and hugely ill-advised when you think about the big picture. We should all collectively be trying to woo this generational hitting talent into sticking around. One day in the not-too-distant future, Sano will be approaching free agency, and will more than likely have suitors lining up for his services.

 

If he chooses to go elsewhere, Souhan and Reusse will surely be lamenting another star player who left the small market via free agency to chase the spotlight and the big dollars.

 

Maybe they could've tried harder to appreciate what they had, while they had it."

 

Nick-  I enjoy your writing very much and have the utmost respect for you and your work.  But I believe you are a bit off-base in the passage quoted above.  I look to the media to cover what they see, offer up some info as why we are seeing what we see, and to share their platform with the teams & players in serving as a conduit between the team & its fan base.  I don't believe it's the media's role at all to influence matters of team composition or player personnel.  I may be being a bit idealistic here, but I want the media to "Tell it like it is," & "Call it like they see it."  Paying any mind to or trying to influence whether a player will re-sign or be retained would seriously compromise what I want from my local scribes.  Columnists get more leeway to opine than beat writers, but the point remains.

 

And I don't think Reusse or Souhan would give it a nano-second of thought if Sano ended up signing elsewhere someday.  They've seen hundreds of players come & go in their day.  I seriously doubt they'd see Sano any differently than any other player that has moved on from the Twin Cities.

 

Sorry to be critical, Nick.  Again, I enjoy your work thoroughly and always look forward to reading your stuff.

 

It's also a notable point that Sano would deal with a FAR harsher press environment wherever he did end up going. 

[mazeville]

 

This is mirroring the Twins of the past. If you would look back 87 twins to 91 Twins there were writing about Hrbek in similar fashion he was to big and didn't work hard enough. There seems to be this similar attitude with larger players and players that have fun time playing baseball in Minnesota with the media. With Hrbek there was thought it would have extended his career but he had good career who knows if it would have extended his career or improoved on his numbers. He was leader on winning team and now appears Sano may have similar career path and i think may even surpass Hrbek. Players are what they are and it difficult to make whole sale changes in them and if they do change alot of time they miss what made them great.

 

I remain convinced that Hrbek could have had a longer and more productive career had he taken better care of himself. That's not "bias." Conditioning matters. This is professional sports, not a desk job.

[Doomtints]

 

How do you know it was "casually put out there by the team?" 

 

Because I read the article....

[Major League Ready]

 

This is mirroring the Twins of the past. If you would look back 87 twins to 91 Twins there were writing about Hrbek in similar fashion he was to big and didn't work hard enough. There seems to be this similar attitude with larger players and players that have fun time playing baseball in Minnesota with the media. With Hrbek there was thought it would have extended his career but he had good career who knows if it would have extended his career or improoved on his numbers. He was leader on winning team and now appears Sano may have similar career path and i think may even surpass Hrbek. Players are what they are and it difficult to make whole sale changes in them and if they do change alot of time they miss what made them great.

 

Are you really suggesting that it is not advantageous for professional athletes to be in the best physical condition possible?   Baseball players can get away with.  Golfers can get away with it.  You dont see any overweight soccer players because they cant get away with.  How many elite NBA players are overweight? 

 

I think we can say with a high degree of certainty Sano would be more agile at 3B and faster on the basis if he were 25lbs lighter.  Would he come back form injury faster?  Probably.  I dont know if it would many any difference at all in his hitting.  Probably not and that's why he can stay in the ML.  

 

While it's hard to quantify in exact terms or measurements.  We can also say with a fair amount of certainty being in better physical condition would extend his career.

[mazeville]

 

Because I read the article....

 

Um ... so did I. 

[Nick Nelson]

 

Nick-  I enjoy your writing very much and have the utmost respect for you and your work.  But I believe you are a bit off-base in the passage quoted above.  I look to the media to cover what they see, offer up some info as why we are seeing what we see, and to share their platform with the teams & players in serving as a conduit between the team & its fan base.  I don't believe it's the media's role at all to influence matters of team composition or player personnel.  I may be being a bit idealistic here, but I want the media to "Tell it like it is," & "Call it like they see it."  Paying any mind to or trying to influence whether a player will re-sign or be retained would seriously compromise what I want from my local scribes.  Columnists get more leeway to opine than beat writers, but the point remains.

 

And I don't think Reusse or Souhan would give it a nano-second of thought if Sano ended up signing elsewhere someday.  They've seen hundreds of players come & go in their day.  I seriously doubt they'd see Sano any differently than any other player that has moved on from the Twin Cities.

That's a reasonable critique, but I want to be clear: I am NOT saying I have an issue with negative media coverage, and I don't think columnists or writers should be required/expected to serve as cheerleaders for the team. Not by a long shot. I would hope anyone who's read my articles for any length of time understands that.

 

I just think criticism should be fair and warranted. I don't see these examples as such. Have Souhan and Reusse heard rumblings to this effect from within the organization? I have no doubt. Does that mean they're exercising good journalistic judgment by publishing them with so few supporting quotes/facts, and with such extremely questionable timing? Not in my belief.

 

I'm certainly not suggesting Sano will leave one day because he's pissy about a column Jim Souhan wrote. But over time, these kinds of pieces contribute to the overall fan perception of a player. It aids the negativity bias. I see Joe Mauer as a clear example of this. 

 

 

It absolutely will be negatively impacting a team if his weight prevents him from recovering from this injury faster than he would had his conditioning been better. 

 

This is a team in a playoff race. Sano is the team's most dangerous hitter. He is out after fouling a ball off of his shin. Poor conditioning CAN prevent him from recovering sooner. No question about it. 

It can. I just haven't seen any remote evidence of it being the case here. There was none presented in the column. The injury was sloppily thrown in as some way to build timely relevance for his point, at least as I read it. 

[Broker]

 

It absolutely will be negatively impacting a team if his weight prevents him from recovering from this injury faster than he would had his conditioning been better. 

 

This is a team in a playoff race. Sano is the team's most dangerous hitter. He is out after fouling a ball off of his shin. Poor conditioning CAN prevent him from recovering sooner. No question about it. 

Sano's problem is basically a bruised bone. I don't see how it is in any manner related to conditioning.

[Don Walcott]

 

Oh, GOD, please.

 

"We used to have a press who supported the team, and would even avoid publishing harmful negative stories." Give me a break. 

 

You really want a press that just writes happy-go-lucky pieces on the local nine? REALLY? And yet here you are on a blog where a sizable portion of the pieces and comments are critical about team decisionmaking and player performance? Honestly ...

 

You can disagree with the article or take Souhan to task for his views -- believe me, some of his stuff makes me want to burn my paper -- but the day we get a press who only "supports the team" will hopefully be the day I did.

Apparently, you missed the part where I said, "Maybe that wasn't the best system, but . . . ."  From that, you assume that I want a press that only supports the team?  My point is that there should be a middle ground.  Was that really not clear from what I actually wrote?

 

Maybe we should just have trolls for sportswriters, and we can engage in Twitter wars instead of thoughtful debate?

[Doubles]

 

Sano's problem is basically a bruised bone. I don't see how it is in any manner related to conditioning.

 

I don't see where anyone, anywhere, has stated that Sano's injury was related to his conditioning.  

 

I have seen mention made, including in Souhan's column-  that a guy carrying extra weight can negatively impact recovery from a leg injury.  Again, no medical evidence of this, but it sounds logical.  And if Sano's injury is progressing as slowly as Molitor seemed to mention yesterday, and if Sano is out for any stretch of time beyond the 10 days-  this narrative is only gonna gain more steam.

[mazeville]

 

Sano's problem is basically a bruised bone. I don't see how it is in any manner related to conditioning.

 

The injury isn't due to his weight. I never said that. Souhan never said that.

 

Recovery from injury absolutely is related to weight, and if he comes back from the injury slowly, then weight well could be a factor.