Morneau never had much trade value despite the spin that several tried to do. Hopefully he starts out hot and the Twins can get a decent prospect at the deadline. And then he Aguilera's it and resigns with the Twins for a couple more years.

If you were going to trade him, why not eat all the salary? What harm does that do?

Morse went to the Mariners in a three team trade in exchange for the return of AJ Cole along with another"good" prospect and a PTBNL. Top prospect Cole alone is a pretty good return for a defensively challenged rental player. Morse likely is more valued, but perhaps some value does still lie in Morneau after all.

Morse went to the Mariners in a three team trade in exchange for the return of AJ Cole along with another"good" prospect and a PTBNL. Top prospect Cole alone is a pretty good return for a defensively challenged rental player. Morse likely is more valued, but perhaps some value does still lie in Morneau after all.

 

I can't believe the As gave up Cole by himself to get Jaso. Getting Cole, another prospect and a PTBNL was big for the Nats

This doesn't make the Gio trade look any better but Beane zags when others zigs.

Napoli signs a 1 year 5 million dollar contract , a big difference from 3/39

Two different Justins last season: Against righties he was basically his old self, batting.290/.371/.531. Against lefties, he was a dreadful .232/.271/.298. That's not just a platoon split, that's two entirely different hitters.

 

Even though Doumit hits much better left-handed that right, the Twins might want him (or Mauer) to spell Morneau more often against lefties if he can't get it going against them after a couple of months.

Two different Justins last season: Against righties he was basically his old self, batting.290/.371/.531. Against lefties, he was a dreadful .232/.271/.298. That's not just a platoon split, that's two entirely different hitters.

 

Even though Doumit hits much better left-handed that right, the Twins might want him (or Mauer) to spell Morneau more often against lefties if he can't get it going against them after a couple of months.

 

Morneau was hopeless against lefties early in the season, but he gradually got better against them, which leads me to believe it was a symptom of rust. Southpaws seem to really test the reactions of left-handed hitters, and Morneau's reactions were not very sharp those first few months. That just comes with reps. You've got to keep in mind that for much of the 2010/11 offseasons Morneau couldn't even work out vigorously without getting dizzy.

 

It takes a while to come back from that, and the wrist stuff hasn't helped, but I'm very encouraged by the fact that he seems to be back to his old routine this winter. Hard to overstate the impact that a 2009-caliber Morneau could have. That year, he had an .836 OPS against lefties, by the way.

Morneau was hopeless against lefties early in the season, but he gradually got better against them, which leads me to believe it was a symptom of rust. Southpaws seem to really test the reactions of left-handed hitters, and Morneau's reactions were not very sharp those first few months. That just comes with reps. You've got to keep in mind that for much of the 2010/11 offseasons Morneau couldn't even work out vigorously without getting dizzy.

 

It takes a while to come back from that, and the wrist stuff hasn't helped, but I'm very encouraged by the fact that he seems to be back to his old routine this winter. Hard to overstate the impact that a 2009-caliber Morneau could have. That year, he had an .836 OPS against lefties, by the way.

 

And even into 2010. His OPS against LH starters was over 1.000, and his OPS against LH pitchers overall was .966

Morneau was hopeless against lefties early in the season, but he gradually got better against them, which leads me to believe it was a symptom of rust. Southpaws seem to really test the reactions of left-handed hitters, and Morneau's reactions were not very sharp those first few months. That just comes with reps. You've got to keep in mind that for much of the 2010/11 offseasons Morneau couldn't even work out vigorously without getting dizzy.

 

It takes a while to come back from that, and the wrist stuff hasn't helped, but I'm very encouraged by the fact that he seems to be back to his old routine this winter. Hard to overstate the impact that a 2009-caliber Morneau could have. That year, he had an .836 OPS against lefties, by the way.

 

This. Morneau flailed away at lefties early in the season and gradually started returning to respectability as the season progressed. I don't worry much about his ability to hit lefties, only whether he can stay healthy and avoid wrist and concussion issues in 2013.

I can't believe the As gave up Cole by himself to get Jaso. Getting Cole, another prospect and a PTBNL was big for the Nats

Must be nice to have a general manager who makes good trades

Didn't Morneau have some kind of utterly ridiculous .300 OPS against lefties through his first 80 or 90 plate appearances against them?

Didn't Morneau have some kind of utterly ridiculous .300 OPS against lefties through his first 80 or 90 plate appearances against them?

 

Yes. It was lower than the OBP he had posted in previous years. I can't recall the exact number but it was comically low.