Leaderboard

The Ortiz syndrome should not stop the team if the results of a trade are really favorable.

Not enough analysis in this article for me to take it seriously. 100,000 debates? What was the distrubution of results? If simple numberical manipulations reveal interesting results in even 30% of the debates, it is a useful tool. If it carries the debate in more than 70%, that's it, I'll find something better to think about.

If Twins can do another Maeda type trade where Twins give up a player of good value but receive a high quality player that fills a need, then yes/

The Twins should shop everyone. Take the offer that nets you the best players back. They could replace at least two of Sano, Rosario, Kepler, Polanco, Arreaz or Buxton by playing their young players

Goodbye = Romo, Avila, Gonzalez, Hill, Come on Back = Clippard, Cruz If Price is Right = Adrianza, May, Odorizzi

The world of baseball is buzzing after a milestone debate took place in the comments of Greta Larson’s Facebook page Thursday night.It started simply enough. Greta Larson, a Minneapolis-based IT consultant, noted that she was “Bummed that the Twins weren’t in it, but she was pulling for the Rays to beat the Astros” on her Facebook page. This innocuous post led to a 116-comment debate between Mike Dwyer and Russ Gallatin, acquaintances of Larson from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The subject? The merits of analytics vs. “playing the game.” The result? Meandering, occasionally heated, and entirely unsatisfactory. What makes this one different is that it’s believed to be the 100,000th debate on this shopworn topic. “We keep track of everything, and I mean everything, so when this came across the wire at HQ, it was hard to miss,” said Scott Bush, CEO of SABR. “This was 100,000. It’s a milestone of sorts. “I should emphasize it is not a good milestone. I hate it very much and it makes me yearn for the cold dark of the grave.” Gallatin thought he had a shot at convince Dwyer of his profound ignorance. “Any honest person knows that the analytics increase your odds for success, but they don’t guarantee it,” said the Duluth (MN) resident. “Then he asked me how many rings Billy Beane has. I mean, what do you do with that?” For his part, Dwyer was taken aback by how his unassailable logic was so casually disregarded. “Reggie Jackson didn’t hit three dingers in the Game 6 of the 1977 World Series because some Poindexter showed him a bar graph,” said the Wheaton (IL) native. “He just wanted it more than the opposing pitcher. It’s an open-and-shut case, but he refused to see it that way. I’m legitimately surprised.” Larson says she has unfriended both men. Image license here. Click here to view the article

A whole bunch of unproven players on this roster. And I don’t understand the need to turn the #1 prospect into a utility player

Analytically speaking this is quite a terrible article but my gut still tells me it's comedy gold.

It really doesn't matter whether a pitcher or any other player was drafted, traded for, or signed as a free agent. What matters is what that player cost the organization. It all comes down to scouting, player development, and field management. An organization must know how to acquire players by whatever means at a favorable cost and get the most out of the players in the organization. If those things are done well success is assured.

"I hate it very much and it makes me yearn for the cold dark of the grave.” - Me waking up every morning of 2020.

Sure, maybe the Twins can’t shed the idea that they can’t develop starting pitching. But they don’t really need to. They’ve decided instead to focus on making safe bets on veteran starters and improving internally only when the situation calls for it. They have made other teams expend the energy needed to weed out successful pitchers and then they plunder who they want. It’s a proven system of success and the team has no reason to abandon this plan for the immediate future. This last paragraph says a lot. Yes the Twins have had success doing this. The most notable is Jack Morris taking the bull by the horns and winning Game 7 in 1991. Since then the success has fallen short, so is it really THAT successful? The biggest problem I see is that the Twins won't go the extra mile to sign the ACE they need to win a playoff game. Course, when you have to throw a shutout to win because your offense disappears like Harry Houdini maybe it's a moot point.

Let me preface this by saying I love Cruz, and I value known production. But. Not signing Cruz, in addition to saving money for other needs, would also make it possible to find room and playing time for all of our MLB-ready hitting prospects, plus both catchers, while also leaving room on the roster for glove-first utility players. Thus it could improve our defense, our lineup flexibility, and our player development. One could imagine the following hitters on the roster: Rooker Garver Sano Arraez Donaldson Polanco Kiriloff Buxton Kepler -- Jeffers Larnach Lewis/FA (note Lewis could play good defense at either CF or SS) Gordon/FA

I'd like to try and get Cruz and Clippard back. I do want May back, but multi-year reliever deals so rarely work that I'd be cautious.

Maeda was phenomenal. Can’t argue him as MVP. Personally, I think Buxton is the most valuable player (lowercase) on this team, but Maeda’s performance and Buxton’s missed time give the award to Maeda. If Buxton could ever play a full season and hit the way he did, he’s the league MVP. It’s a little disappointing he couldn’t stay healthy again, he clearly dialed it down a notch in center (which I’ve always been against) and still got hurt. No disrespect intended to Cruz, he’s clearly the emotional leader of the team and he had a great year (historic for his age). He probably wins team MVP on 25+ other teams. He just ran into a generationally good center fielder and one of the best (partial) seasons from a pitcher in Twins’ history.

I will let Mr. Bonnes field that one but I bet it simply comes down to: "Win Probability Added." He loves that stat.

I really want to hear the rationale behind putting Kepler ahead of Cruz and Buxton in the team MVP rankings. lol

The Pittsburgh Pirates have done a pretty solid job in the Postseason this year. No, the organization is not participating, but Gerrit Cole and Tyler Glasnow are certainly representing them well. The Minnesota Twins should look to swing a deal for the next Pennsylvanian mistake. Enter Joe Musgrove.As a former first round pick, Musgrove is now a part of his third organization. Drafted by the Blue Jays in 2011, he was dealt to the Houston Astros prior to now having spent the bulk of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The career 4.33 ERA doesn’t do much to jump off the page, but as a guy about to enter his age 28 season with two more years of team control, a prime before the breakout could be just the recipe for a strong organization to exploit. Since joining the Pirates in 2018 Musgrove has compiled a 4.23 ERA. In those three seasons however, he’s posted FIP’s of 3.58, 3.82, and 3.42, respectively. The strikeout rates have risen each year going from 7.8 in 2018 to 12.5 in what was a muted 2020 season. He’s generally been a guy that’s tough on free passes, middle of the road when it comes to the longball, and relatively difficult to generate base hits. Download attachment: Musgrove.PNG Taking a look at some of the deeper dive numbers, there’s even more to like with Musgrove. He posted a career best 3.19 xFIP in 2020 while still holding onto a consistent 93 mph average fastball velocity. He gave up a career low 24% hard hit rate this past season and the 48% ground ball rate is plenty productive. Missing barrels is something he’s done often throughout his career and generating a new career high 14.4% whiff rate this season was nice to see as well. Musgrove doesn’t rely a ton on deception. In each of his five big league seasons he’s been right around a 33% chase rate. Rather than forcing batters out of the zone, he’s been able to confuse them within it. Despite the rising swinging strike rates, he hasn’t done it as a by-product of his zone profile. Opposing hitters have generated less overall contact and suffered a career worst contact within the strike zone against Musgrove this past season. Clearly some of the developments Musgrove has experienced are helping take his game to new heights. Seeing what some of his counterparts have experienced when going to more well-regarded organizations, however, begs the question if there’s not more to be unearthed. Minnesota’s brain trust, and the tutelage of Wes Johnson could be the thing that takes him to the highest level. Pitching doesn’t come cheap, and a guy with team control still in arbitration isn’t going to be had for nothing. Expecting the Pirates to continue making the same missteps on the swap front also isn’t a good plan of action. On the basis of its own merit however, finding an amicable deal for both sides is certainly a worthy venture. A lot of how Minnesota sets themselves up for 2021 will be reliant upon what internal decisions the organization makes. After all, the 2020 club was very good and simply fell short of even moderate expectations at the worst time. The turnaround in that performance needs to come from within. On the mound though, there’s now some holes and openings that need to be filled. Addressing at least one of them with an arm this good, and a possibility to be even better, would be a great place to start. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

You can’t have the “human factor” without bias. It’s basically a fundamental law like gravity. Bias and error are the only two components of the “human factor” that differentiate it from a computer. There isn’t a human being walking the planet right now, or ever, that is free from bias.

Bad calls happen and I have a bigger problem with umpires being so damn sensitive. nba and nfl refs get yelled at every game and don't react alot of the time. Ejecting a player for questioning a bad call is not always necessary

Until MLB moves to automated pitch calling, I think it should implement standards for umpires. If Joe West and Angel Hernandez fall below a minimum requirement for correct calls, they are sent to the minors or fired. Borderline "incorrect" calls that may have nicked the edge of the plate can be tolerated. But it's the pitches clearly within the strike zone called balls or pitches three or four (or more) inches off the plate that are called strikes that have to be eliminated.

I understand a trend, but balls and strikes is one technology can fix and one that quite frankly will end the frustration that a lot of fans have. It's a game integrity issue. Perhaps it changes the outcome, perhaps not. We don't know, but the idea that it shoudln't be fixed is preposterous in my opinion.

The problem isn't only the bad call, rather, how it affects the outcome of the game. A bad call that doesn't change an at bat or lead to a run scored or not scored is a bad call that you can live with. But, a bad call making the count 0-2 rather than 1-1 in a close game with no outs and a runner on first can be huge. The difference this year is that I remember way to many bad calls that led to shutting down an inning the Twins were looking at potentially scoring. For that reason, I believe MLB must go to robo umps as soon as 2022...assuming there is a 2022. Hopefully, there are enough Donaldson's out there so that the players union will push for this change in the next CBA.

The other night, I watched Brusdar Graterol pitch a great 1-2-3 inning for the Dodgers. Then I immediately thought: Doesn’t Matter. Maeda led our rotation all season.

From what I have seen, you can be very proud of your son. He seems to be a class act who takes the frustrations and struggles that occur in stride. His story is a good one and he has a great future. Undoubtedly, Randy has been a good contributor so far. He faces the challenge of adjusting after the league has adjusted to him. I wish him well, not only as a Twins fan, but also as someone who cheers for those that have faced uphill climbs to reach their goals.