2018-2019 Minnesota Twins Off-Season Thread

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gophersfan said:
OH Boy.

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Forget trading him for pennies on the dollar. Moron's going to end up released.
 

Word is he ran over a cop resulting in a broken leg. That's bad.
 

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I can't speak about this particular incident but it appears he's still extremely immature. What the hell are you doing out at 3am?
 



ESPN: Twins' Sano won't face charges after hitting officer with his truck

Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sano will not face criminal charges for his involvement in an accident early Sunday morning in which a police officer suffered a broken leg.

Sano, who was leaving a nightclub in his native San Pedro de Macoris at 3 a.m. on Sunday in the company of his wife, had been speaking to police officer Argenis Emilio Gillandeux in front of the club and after the exchange, went to back up his white pickup truck without realizing that Gillandeux had not moved his motorcycle from behind him, a spokesman for the Dominican national police, Coronel Frank Durán Mejía, told Enrique Rojas on Monday.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, Sanó was questioned upon leaving a nightclub because his vehicle did not have a license plate and he was not carrying his driver's license. After speaking with the officer, the accident occurred. Sano was detained by the police for several hours but was released and allowed to return to his home after he agreed to return on Monday to be issued the citation to go to traffic court.

"The citizen, Miguel Sanó, was sent today to the traffic court to comply with the due process in these types of cases," said Durán. "It is a formality when someone is injured in a vehicular accident. It is important to clarify that the policeman declared that the accident was not intentional, and that Sanó hit his leg when Sanó was reversing his vehicle to leave the place and that the baseball player was the first to provide help and never abandoned the scene. Neither the agent nor the national police plan to charge Sanó with anything."

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...-miguel-sano-face-charges-accident-police-say

Win Twins!!
 

BleedGopher said:
ESPN: Twins' Sano won't face charges after hitting officer with his truck

Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sano will not face criminal charges for his involvement in an accident early Sunday morning in which a police officer suffered a broken leg.

Sano, who was leaving a nightclub in his native San Pedro de Macoris at 3 a.m. on Sunday in the company of his wife, had been speaking to police officer Argenis Emilio Gillandeux in front of the club and after the exchange, went to back up his white pickup truck without realizing that Gillandeux had not moved his motorcycle from behind him, a spokesman for the Dominican national police, Coronel Frank Durán Mejía, told Enrique Rojas on Monday.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, Sanó was questioned upon leaving a nightclub because his vehicle did not have a license plate and he was not carrying his driver's license. After speaking with the officer, the accident occurred. Sano was detained by the police for several hours but was released and allowed to return to his home after he agreed to return on Monday to be issued the citation to go to traffic court.

"The citizen, Miguel Sanó, was sent today to the traffic court to comply with the due process in these types of cases," said Durán. "It is a formality when someone is injured in a vehicular accident. It is important to clarify that the policeman declared that the accident was not intentional, and that Sanó hit his leg when Sanó was reversing his vehicle to leave the place and that the baseball player was the first to provide help and never abandoned the scene. Neither the agent nor the national police plan to charge Sanó with anything."

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...-miguel-sano-face-charges-accident-police-say

Win Twins!!
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Two things.
First, nothing good happens at 3:30 am when you've been out drinking. Sano needs to decide if he loves baseball or not.
Second, many years ago, I spent a couple weeks on a humanitarian aid project in the barrios of Santo Domingo. I noticed that most vehicles were beaters and that no one drove anything better than a Honda 100 motorcycle. I asked someone why this was. He said that anything better is confiscated by policemen and kept for themselves.
Note that the report says the policeman is a high school friend and Sano is offering to pay all the bills. That is a common kickback in the DR. Buy off the police and you'll be fine.
Again...Sano needs to decide if he really wants to play baseball and how hard he is willing to work at it.
 

I don't think the Twins can make him stay in Fort Meyers during the off-season under the CBA, but he really needs to.
 



STrib: If not Joe Mauer, then who plays first base for the Twins?

Less than two weeks ago, Joe Mauer patted his heart dozens of times and did a poor job of fighting back tears as he received ovation after ovation in what might have been (could have been? was?) the final game of his career.

As he contemplates ending a 15-year career, we’re all left contemplating something else: If Mauer does retire, who in the heck is going to play first base for the Twins next season? It’s a question the Twins have not had to consider often.

Doug Mientkiewicz, the defensive whiz, arrived in 1999, sharing the job with Ron Coomer. Mientkiewicz was demoted in 2000 but came back up 2001 and held the position until he was traded to Boston in 2004, paving the way for Justin Morneau. The power-hitting MVP manned first base until he was traded to Pittsburgh in 2013. Chris Colabello, Chris Parmelee and friends filled in at first base the rest of that season. Then, after suffering a concussion that year, Mauer moved from catcher to first base in 2014.

Morneau was limited to 150 games between 2010 and 2011 because of a concussion, and there was a stretch in 2012 when the Twins gave Parmelee a shot to stick at first. For the most part, the Twins have used three players at that position over the past 20 seasons.

But Mauer might (will?) hang them up, and Logan Morrison’s option likely won’t be picked up, creating an opening. I know what you’re thinking: Kennys Vargas finally gets his chance! OK, maybe I don’t know what you’re thinking.

Will the Twin just put Miguel Sano there? Sano who, over the weekend, accidentally backed his unlicensed truck into a police officer in the Dominican Republic and broke the officer’s leg, committed eight errors in 53 starts at third base last season. However, if Sano comes to camp in better shape, why not leave him at third? He’s shown good reflexes there and has a top shelf arm. And it’s possible that his defense will improve if he’s a little lighter.

Sano might be needed at third if the Twins decide that Tyler Austin, whom they received in the Lance Lynn trade with the Yankees, is ready to handle first base. Austin smashed 17 homers in 69 games between the Twins and Yankees. He batted .236 with nine homers and 24 RBI in 35 games with the Twins.

The question with Austin is if can hit enough to justify the huge strikeout totals he’ll likely have. Austin fanned 35 percent of the time, compared to Sano’s 38.5 percent.

http://www.startribune.com/if-not-joe-mauer-then-who-plays-first-base-for-the-twins/496052111/

Win Twins!!
 

per Neal III:

• I’ve covered three managers in 21 years on the Twins beat — Tom Kelly, Ron Gardenhire and Paul Molitor. Molitor last year as a player was my first year on the beat. I expect to cover a manager next season with whom I have no connections.

• Not sure if they will succeed, but the Twins will try to re-sign Eduardo Escobar during the offseason — for his clubhouse presence as well as his bat.

http://www.startribune.com/if-not-joe-mauer-then-who-plays-first-base-for-the-twins/496052111/

Win Twins!!
 

I'm perfectly comfortable with Tyler Austin taking over at 1B, at least for now. The strikeouts don't bother me, as many MLB experts have said, it's a K/HR league more than ever, feast or famine. The guy is a threat at the plate, if he can play solid defensively at first, leave him there until Rooker or one of the other prospects is ready.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I'm perfectly comfortable with Tyler Austin taking over at 1B, at least for now. The strikeouts don't bother me, as many MLB experts have said, it's a K/HR league more than ever, feast or famine. The guy is a threat at the plate, if he can play solid defensively at first, leave him there until Rooker or one of the other prospects is ready.
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If Sano ever gets his stuff together (he still has a future with Twins since he commiited his newest crime in the corrupt DR)
 



Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I'm perfectly comfortable with Tyler Austin taking over at 1B, at least for now. The strikeouts don't bother me, as many MLB experts have said, it's a K/HR league more than ever, feast or famine. The guy is a threat at the plate, if he can play solid defensively at first, leave him there until Rooker or one of the other prospects is ready.
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This. All anyone does is try and hit homeruns. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
 

BleedGopher said:
• Not sure if they will succeed, but the Twins will try to re-sign Eduardo Escobar during the offseason — for his clubhouse presence as well as his bat.
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This'll go a long way toward determining how reliable my relative is as an inside source in the organization. He told me that Escobar would almost definitely re-sign here if the Twins gave him a decent offer.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I'm perfectly comfortable with Tyler Austin taking over at 1B, at least for now. The strikeouts don't bother me, as many MLB experts have said, it's a K/HR league more than ever, feast or famine. The guy is a threat at the plate, if he can play solid defensively at first, leave him there until Rooker or one of the other prospects is ready.
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That's what I would do as well. Then if Sano is healthy he can fill in. Or maybe Rooker will be ready at some point.
 

Bad Gopher said:
This'll go a long way toward determining how reliable my relative is as an inside source in the organization. He told me that Escobar would almost definitely re-sign here if the Twins gave him a decent offer.
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I'm all for bring Escobar back, as long as it's not for more than 3-4 years. Pay the man.
 

My question - Escobar and Dozier were best friends - or at least very close friends. Would Escobar be that excited to return to MN if Dozier is not on the team? Just wondering.

Hey, if he wants to come back, I'm fine with that. at the very least, he's a solid utility man with position flexibility and a decent bat. and he's "good in the clubhouse." Of course, they brought back Belisle because he was "good in the clubhouse." Given a choice between "good player," and "good in the clubhouse," give me the good player.
 

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per STrib:

The wait goes on for new Twins manager and Joe Mauer's retirement decision

Twins fans are playing a waiting game as the team searches for a new manager and awaits Joe Mauer's retirement decision.

Thad Levine, the Twins' general manager, and Derek Falvey, the team's chief baseball officer, had a conference call with reporters Tuesday to give updates on offseason issues.

There is not a firm timetable to replace manager Paul Molitor, but there will be interviews in the next week. The only known interview so far has been with the team's hitting coach, James Rowson. Levine said the team owes fans an "expedient" search.

"We're looking for someone who is truly open-minded. We're looking for a leader," Falvey said. "Someone who will partner with us. Someone who is looking to move this organization forward, not just the 25-man roster.

"We have every expectation, early conversations that we've had with internal and external candidates, that we are going to find that person here who's of high character and a work ethic that we believe a championship-caliber organization puts together. In the short-term here, there are many qualified candidates around baseball no question and I anticipate it will be a difficult decision because of that."

Falvey and Levine have been in contact with Mauer, who is considering retirement, and said they would welcome Mauer back.

"I think with Joe, he wanted to spend some time with his family," Falvey said. "Realistically, free agency doesn't begin for a period of time here. We're still in the window of playoff baseball. I think some time after that would be appropriate time to have any subsequent dialogue.

"We've talked to Joe internally about what this would look like going forward. I think we'll keep the details private. But we told Joe in that right situation and the right thoughts about the future, and obviously there is a lot that goes into signing somebody, we've always told him we'd welcome Joe back, certainly."

They have also touched base with outfielder Byron Buxton, who was said to be upset when he wasn't put on the major league roster in September after injuries and ineffectiveness led to him playing at Class AAA Rochester. Buxton will not play winter ball, and instead will focus on a full return to health.

The Twins brass also addressed the weekend auto mishap involving third baseman Miguel Sano, saying they were satisfied it was "an accident."

•Infielder Ehire Adrianza had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder Tuesday. Adrianza is expected to be ready for spring training in February.

http://www.startribune.com/the-wait...nd-joe-mauer-s-retirement-decision/496322171/

Win Twins!!
 

per Shooter:

Torii Hunter, a member of the Twins Hall of Fame after 12 seasons in Minnesota and currently a special assistant for the club, would be interested in the team’s managing job if the Twins were interested in him.

“Definitely, 100 percent — I’ve thought about it,” Hunter, 43, said.

Hunter was reached Friday evening at the Tender Smokehouse barbeque restaurant he owns in North Dallas, Texas, where he was helping out with the business. Extremely popular with fans and players — especially outfielder Byron Buxton — the five-time all-star and nine-time Gold Glove winner would be an intriguing choice, not only on the field as a motivational leader but in generating season-ticket interest.

“I never thought I’d be managing a business, and baseball is what I know better than business,” Hunter said. “It’s all about who you put around you, No. 2 — your players and your coaches and the front office, all the numbers and everything you need to make decisions. And sometimes, you have gut decisions, too.

“I’m not saying I’m the man for the job, but I’ve got experience, real-life experience. But it’s probably not the right time.”

Meanwhile, look for the Twins to give serious consideration to hiring as manager Hensley Meulens, 51, the Giants’ bench coach who is bilingual and was hitting coach for three of San Francisco’s World Series championship teams. Meulens fits all the qualifications.

Joe Mauer, 35, who is considering retirement, this season hit .282. That was second on the Twins only to Eddie Rosario’s .288 among players with a full season.

Mauer’s average would have led five American League teams in hitting. And it would have been second on the New York Yankees, behind only Miguel Andujar’s .297.

Overall, Mauer’s .282 was 20th-best in the American League.

https://www.twincities.com/2018/10/...ings-adam-thielen-as-consummate-professional/

Win Twins!!
 

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At dinner last night, watching the 9th inning of the Dodgers and Brewers, I had a moment of clarity. I've gone from "the Twins were justified in firing Molitor" to "the Twins HAD to fire Molitor." You want a manager that isn't just willing to begrudgingly go along with innovative methods, isn't even just enthusiastically embracing and implementing new methods. You want a guy who's constantly inventing new methods in order to get a competitive advantage over other teams. You want a guy who's scheming all the time.

I could go on and on re this subject, but listening to a few interviews and reading a few things over the last week, I'm convinced that pro sports in general are slow to adopt innovations being done at lower levels of their sports. In this environment, a true innovator is going to be like a hungry wolf among the sheep. (Especially true in football, but true in general of all the sports.)
 

BleedGopher said:
per Shooter:

Torii Hunter, a member of the Twins Hall of Fame after 12 seasons in Minnesota and currently a special assistant for the club, would be interested in the team’s managing job if the Twins were interested in him.

“Definitely, 100 percent — I’ve thought about it,” Hunter, 43, said.

Hunter was reached Friday evening at the Tender Smokehouse barbeque restaurant he owns in North Dallas, Texas, where he was helping out with the business. Extremely popular with fans and players — especially outfielder Byron Buxton — the five-time all-star and nine-time Gold Glove winner would be an intriguing choice, not only on the field as a motivational leader but in generating season-ticket interest.

“I never thought I’d be managing a business, and baseball is what I know better than business,” Hunter said. “It’s all about who you put around you, No. 2 — your players and your coaches and the front office, all the numbers and everything you need to make decisions. And sometimes, you have gut decisions, too.

“I’m not saying I’m the man for the job, but I’ve got experience, real-life experience. But it’s probably not the right time.”

Meanwhile, look for the Twins to give serious consideration to hiring as manager Hensley Meulens, 51, the Giants’ bench coach who is bilingual and was hitting coach for three of San Francisco’s World Series championship teams. Meulens fits all the qualifications.

Joe Mauer, 35, who is considering retirement, this season hit .282. That was second on the Twins only to Eddie Rosario’s .288 among players with a full season.

Mauer’s average would have led five American League teams in hitting. And it would have been second on the New York Yankees, behind only Miguel Andujar’s .297.

Overall, Mauer’s .282 was 20th-best in the American League.

https://www.twincities.com/2018/10/...ings-adam-thielen-as-consummate-professional/

Win Twins!!
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This is not my baseball. Can't stand the all or nothing approach. So boring
 

Bad Gopher said:
I could go on and on re this subject, but listening to a few interviews and reading a few things over the last week, I'm convinced that pro sports in general are slow to adopt innovations being done at lower levels of their sports. In this environment, a true innovator is going to be like a hungry wolf among the sheep. (Especially true in football, but true in general of all the sports.)
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Speaking of which.....going for two when down by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Since a team is technically estimated to convert on 50% of their two-point conversions.....going for it on the first one gives the losing team a chance to be down by only six point rather than seven with a chance to win the game with a TD and XP. The Power Trip discussed it last week when talking about the Eagles going for against the Vikings last Sunday. Put them down 20-14 rather than 20-13. Of course....the Vikings were able to tack on another FG with 2:47 left in the game.....but had they not.....the Eagles scored another TD with an extra point to get them to 21. So that decision would have won them the game.

They doubt that Zimmer would ever go for that kind of aggressive play move.
 

Bad Gopher said:
At dinner last night, watching the 9th inning of the Dodgers and Brewers, I had a moment of clarity. I've gone from "the Twins were justified in firing Molitor" to "the Twins HAD to fire Molitor." You want a manager that isn't just willing to begrudgingly go along with innovative methods, isn't even just enthusiastically embracing and implementing new methods. You want a guy who's constantly inventing new methods in order to get a competitive advantage over other teams. You want a guy who's scheming all the time.

I could go on and on re this subject, but listening to a few interviews and reading a few things over the last week, I'm convinced that pro sports in general are slow to adopt innovations being done at lower levels of their sports. In this environment, a true innovator is going to be like a hungry wolf among the sheep. (Especially true in football, but true in general of all the sports.)
Click to expand...

It all depends on who wins. If some team won the World Series with an old-school approach, then old-school baseball would suddenly be back in vogue. Innovations come and go. Trends come and go. 10 years from now, the analytics craze may have died down, and teams will be stressing something different.

I'm not saying that all new ideas are bad. many of them have merit. but you can't shove a new approach down someone's throat. it has to happen organically. If this is the direction the Twins want to go in, then build it from the minor leagues up to the major leagues, so players who come up to the majors have experience with the system and its principles.

IMHO, Molitor was toast from the time Falvey and Levine were hired, because he wasn't "their guy." in this case, I think analytics is window-dressing for the real reason Molitor was canned. We'll see how successful the next manager is. But, IMHO, his success will not hinge on analytics - it will hinge on Falvey and Levine acquiring better talent. No GM ever fired himself because he made bad trades, or drafted the wrong player. But the manager gets fired for not winning, despite the mistakes made by the front office.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
It all depends on who wins. If some team won the World Series with an old-school approach, then old-school baseball would suddenly be back in vogue. Innovations come and go. Trends come and go. 10 years from now, the analytics craze may have died down, and teams will be stressing something different.

I'm not saying that all new ideas are bad. many of them have merit. but you can't shove a new approach down someone's throat. it has to happen organically. If this is the direction the Twins want to go in, then build it from the minor leagues up to the major leagues, so players who come up to the majors have experience with the system and its principles.

IMHO, Molitor was toast from the time Falvey and Levine were hired, because he wasn't "their guy." in this case, I think analytics is window-dressing for the real reason Molitor was canned. We'll see how successful the next manager is. But, IMHO, his success will not hinge on analytics - it will hinge on Falvey and Levine acquiring better talent. No GM ever fired himself because he made bad trades, or drafted the wrong player. But the manager gets fired for not winning, despite the mistakes made by the front office.
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With all due respect, that's the tired, old, timeless, all-purpose argument against innovation and continuous improvement. It's true that trends or tactics may come and go as professions and industries adjust to them, but evidence-based approaches and statistical analysis ain't going back in the bottle, bub.
 

Strikeouts are boring. If every at bat is going to be a home run or strikeout sit the other 8 players.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
 

short ornery norwegian said:
It all depends on who wins. If some team won the World Series with an old-school approach, then old-school baseball would suddenly be back in vogue. Innovations come and go. Trends come and go. 10 years from now, the analytics craze may have died down, and teams will be stressing something different.

I'm not saying that all new ideas are bad. many of them have merit. but you can't shove a new approach down someone's throat. it has to happen organically. If this is the direction the Twins want to go in, then build it from the minor leagues up to the major leagues, so players who come up to the majors have experience with the system and its principles.

IMHO, Molitor was toast from the time Falvey and Levine were hired, because he wasn't "their guy." in this case, I think analytics is window-dressing for the real reason Molitor was canned. We'll see how successful the next manager is. But, IMHO, his success will not hinge on analytics - it will hinge on Falvey and Levine acquiring better talent. No GM ever fired himself because he made bad trades, or drafted the wrong player. But the manager gets fired for not winning, despite the mistakes made by the front office.
Click to expand...

The reasons the Twins are on 100 game losing streak season by season is that analytics was at best window dressing in the Twins organization. We saw what happened when you held on to the old school approach for tradition's sake. It is a boring and losing brand of baseball. I can't believe people still talk about RBIs. I can't wait to catch up to the times. I actually want the Twins to win, not just hold on to the "old way".
 

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