h2oface

That's where baseball is at now? A place where the best batting average can be championed as "empty numbers"? Where a base hit is subject to disdain? But Ks and rare hits are accepted for the occasional solo home run? SMH.

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Absolutely. Baseball fan first. Teams come second. Of course there is a favorite. It ususally is the childhood first team. The Twins are mine. But I love baseball and often find myself disgusted with the Twins, especially as strangers are bought as a FO to be the ones that make all the decisions, get rid of favorite players, and make my favorite team a team of strangers and 5 inning starters. l like to follow favorite players. I like other teams, and follow about 5, especially when they play great baseball, steal bases, have pitchers that pitch deep into games, etc. I feel sorry for the extreme fans that put their "team" above "the game". There are so many reasons to become ambivalent about the fav. It is great to go to a game with no favorite and just enjoy the game without emotion. Batter up!

OKAY then. I will keep TRYING. THANK YOU.

Is EGO an acronym here for something I am not aware of, or should I just shout it everytime I read it? Just because someone freely spends their money.... and gives their city and fans something to cheer about... seems that is more in the selfless arena than conceit. Giving away and even losing $ to make others happy? I could use more of that ego. Excuse me now..... I'm getting tired and need a nap.

"They would benefit highly from a guy by the likes of Luis Arraez. Heck, any team would. " Like the Twins.

".... richer than God", eh? Pohlads could do the same thing. So could Dolan of Cleveland. So could most owners. They just whine about baseball being a business. But may there be more owners that make baseball their favorite hobby and an avenue to spend the money that can't be taken to the grave, money that they got lucky to get. Money for money. Spend it. I have more a problem with the billionaires that won't spend it, than those that do. One could say the ultra rich that don't spend are ruining the game as much as the reverse presented here. Spend, Baseball is a game. Stop making it a business. SPEND SPEND SPEND. Personally, I like a guy that wants to have fun with his wealth rather than pinch pennies, or millions. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1125149/wealthiest-mlb-teams-owners/

"And to reiterate, Rogers was NOT GOOD this past season. At no point was he a reliable late-inning fixture resembling his prime years in Minnesota. " Well, for his first 12 appearances of the year he had given up no runs at all. 11 saves, 4 hits total, one walk and one HB. He finally gave up one on May 10th. Thru May 27th - 20.1 innings, 20 appearances (4 times the dreaded back to back days that he always had trouble with on the Twins), 17 Saves in 17 opportunities, 23 Ks, 4 walks, 3 HB (2 in the game he gave up a run but still got the save), 9 total hits, 1 run, .132 BA against, ,44 ERA and .64 WHIP! That is Cy Young votes in 2020 for a 2 month season, the kind that made some declare Maeda an Ace! As I was paying attention to it happening, I thought they were using him too much, and that might be the case. But I would say for 2 months, and not "at no point", that he was "a reliable late-inning fixture resembling his prime years in Minnesota", and it might have even been the best consecutive 2 months of his career. The last 4 months were definitely NOT GOOD, but the first 2 months made Pagan look even more horrid, if that was possible. And the trade for Hader at the end of July (both Hader and Rogers had a magnificent first 2 months and had strugged since).... Hader's July was even worse than Roger's! So it seemed that both San Diego and Milwaukee were betting on each of them returning to form before the end of the year. The market is overpaying everyone this year. So much for collusion theory....

Syndergaard for me. I can't see him as another Shoemaker or Bundy. Many times, the second year past TJ is the velo year, and the pitcher reclaiming his feel. But alas, it is not speculation about where and why he chose to sign.... https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/noah-syndergaard-dodgers-deal

Thanks for the offer. It is some of the mysterious unexplained censorship (comments that just disappear with no explaination or penalty or warning) that deters me from being a caretaker. I truly appreciate the offer and your love of your work and amazing detail to your analysis, even if I sometimes struggle to interpret your complex graphs etc. as much as I try. Many things I enjoy most in life pay nothing but I invest much time and work for the love of it, and give much for free. It is always nice to get paid for it, too, but sometimes it also changes the motive and taints the whole process (ex: coaching/mentoring newer committed skydivers for free instead of being a paid staff of the drop zone to do the same thing).

If I had a vote, I would vote for him. If he had retired after he couldn't play cather anymore, he would be better off for the HOF vote. Playing at first to draw the rest of his salary and performing very non-hall worthy those years only hurt his case, and many will use those years for their reason why he didn't get their vote.

And Grandfathers REALLY REALLY don't like Gallo!

Censored again. Let's try it this way...... since apparently you can't give a player a nickname, even if he basically gave it to himself. No more shopping at Dior..... time for the Thrift Store. It even rhymes. ? It really surprises me that Correa so easily bows out of SS and is good with playing 3rd. That is another devaluation. Just one year away from his Platinum Glove award at Shortstop, Is Lindor really that much the better option at short? I you had them both, who would you chose to play Shortstop?

As many days off as Baldelli gave him, I would say that the Team Brass wasn't treating it like a one year. They were definitely treating him as an investment to be given rest for long lasting performance and durability (or at least hoping). If not, and he was a one year only investment, they would have played him more. That is what they were paying him to do. Play. Not sit on the bench.

Looks like Thrift Store shopping now. Dior this!

Nobody knows how good Bauer will be now. Basically two years off. But if released, just from a pitching standpoint, I see no downside at the prorated minimum salary, however good he might be again. He didn't get a contract for about $32 million a year for the last 2 and 2023 because he was equal to a Gray or Mahle or Maeda or Ryan. That is definitely ace money at the time of the contract, and that is what he was consensusly considered to be. He should take 2023 off (prorated) paid, and let the story get old and see about his future for 2024, if there is one in MLB. But maybe not. If some team bites the bullet and he gets signed and pitches well, he could have a big contract to sign for 2024 and beyond because he did weather the impending storm. Is it possible to get booed louder than Correa at Dodger Stadium? We might find out.

To this point only - after months of thorough investigation, there was not even enough evidence to even bring Bauer to trial to possibly/probably acquit him, and the only actual legal proceding that did happen, he won, and the female judge ruled against the requested restraining order after all evidence was presented. The rule of law, and our states or federal prosecutorial legal system, which most generally hold in high regard, has filed no charges that I am aware of at all against Bauer (subject to correction if you know of such, and please inform). Bauer would not be a good fit for the Twins, regardless, for many reasons beyond and including the current suspension reason, even though our FO, ownership, and many if not most fans (and other teams as well) will look past outright cheating and cheating the game and embrace a player as a clubhouse leader, and pay them record contract amounts to do it. And...... even though, if LA releases him, he will be available for a virtual pittance - the prorated league minumum for 2023. Most people decide things these days from facts they may or may not know to be true from second and third and fourth hand (or even more distant) sources and reading, or just make them up themselves to fit what they want to believe. Bauer will not be able to escape that for the rest of his life. He definitely chose the wrong kink.

Still the highest AAV he was offered........ I guess he doesn't belive in himself enough to think he would be worth it then for the next two years as a free agent.

Jeremy Peña was a question mark last year. I think it safe to say, Houston doesn’t miss Correa at all.

Or they just don’t care and didn’t see it as a problem. Looks like a $ thing to me. And I am one that never wanted Correa at all.

I may not agree with, or have different take than Nick Nelson on a share of things, but asserting he always leaves out key details that don’t fit his narrative is just not true. Nick is very complete with his and the collection of facts available. We are lucky to have him.

I guess the Twins' crack staff missed whatever it was last year. Interesting.

Maybe Pedro Floriman is available?

Some owners with billions of dollars like to have fun owning an MLB team, because in the end, a person only needs so much money to live, and the rest is to be generous and have fun with, and give the fans a great team to come and enjoy. Too many wealthy owners never evole past the $ trap. Good for Cohen!

First of all, there are only assumptions about how fast the pitchers threw. 1973-74 a radar gun was used. The rest is all speculation and assumption. There are a lot of horrible pitchers that can throw hard. Pitching is not just about velocity. Never was, Never will be. It is such a different game now that not only is the overall hitting success way down, but so is the pitching. And the players are fragile and can't stay on the field and play. So strong and great that the more frequent injuries keep them off the field at an unprecidented rate. In my opinion, the key is flexibilty and balance, and these guys break easier because they don't tap into yoga and pilates and things like TRX. They are fragile. Stronger and more brittle. Yup. So much better now that they are faster and bigger and stronger, etc. That is why the Twins pitching is so great, and so many other teams just can't seem to find all these incredible pitchers. And the batters can't seem to hit the ball as often. And don't care. Nick Nelson spends tons of words to try to convince us that a .199 hitter is great! It is a different game, I will agree with you on that. Athletes are constantly setting records, this is true. Michael Jordan was an incredible athlete. He still couldn't hit very well. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2184581-the-radar-gun-revolution Velocity is great, but movement is still king. Regarding Babe..... I wouldn't bet against him, ever, but alas, one will never know, and my opinion on it means absolutely nothing. Now, back to exit velocities. Just wanted to respond, not hijack a thread. Cheers.