You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?165-We-Lost-Jeff-Francis!-(Yawn-)

Funny John. You mentioned Jeff Francis as one of your targets during a Gleeman and the Geek podcast.

Also, I love how people like to point out Francis's fastball velocity (which sucks, yeah, I know) but it was about as effective as Edwin Jackson's 95+ fastball. What's more is that Francis has been more valuable -WAR wise - than Roy Oswalt.

 

http://overthebaggy.blogspot.com/2011/12/rumors-swirl-as-winter-meetings-begin.html

There's a difference between accepting a guy as an inning-eating fifth starter and grumping about missing out on a guy. Francis falls in that spread.

 

If the overall point is that the Twins overpaid for Jason Marquis, I agree, and I thought that at the time. That's the danger of the Twins "propose an open offer and sign the guy that takes it" method: the guy that takes is the guy you overvalued the most relative to the market. I'd claim the Twins have overpaid for half of the guys they've picked up this offseason: Carroll, Capps & Marquis. But I think they got bargains on the other half: Doumit, Zumaya & Willingham. So I don't know that I can criticize them too vehemently on their strategy.

 

 

BTW, good story. I'm couldn't help but wonder exactly how slow Francis' changeup (his primary offspeed pitch) must be to offset an 84mph fastball. And while the two players' fastballs might be equally effective, the pitchers themselves certainly weren't. It isn't that big a spread between an eight-figure salary and retirement, apparently.