As I predicted a couple of weeks ago, the Twins traded Denard Span yesterday. The story isn't about who we got rid of though, the story is about who we got in return.
Alex Meyer is a 6-foot-9 hard-throwing first round pick with talents that have impressed baseball insiders.
The Nationals didn't need him as they are stocked with pitching. What they needed was a good outfielder who can hit. Both teams got what they needed.
Meyer throws in the UPPER 90's and has a devastating breaking pitch. But those stats won't mean anything unless he demonstrates control.
In his first year of pro ball he struck out 26.6% of all batters he faced. Liam Hendriks is the only Twins starting pitcher who compares to that and he averaged less than 20% over his last 100 innings.
When they do hit him, he's known as a ground ball pitcher.
All of these things are really good.
Will he help the Twins this coming season?
Maybe.
But we have lots of outfielders to trade and this was a trade that made sense. We don't see many of those types of trades as Twins fans and I sure won't mind seeing Revere in the lineup every day as our regular center fielder. I'll miss Span's power, but I won't miss his ups and downs as a hitter. Rever might hit .300 some day soon. I think Span has already peaked. He'll be solid for the Nationals for years. But Revere still has lots of potential.
Friday, November 30, 2012
NBA
From ESPN:
The NBA's most powerful man and its most respected and iron-willed coach plunged into an unexpected battle of wills Thursday over a basic tenet: A coach can decide what is best for his team.
San Antonio's Gregg Popovich sent stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, plus key role player Danny Green, on a commercial flight home instead of playing them in a nationally televised game against the Miami Heat so they could rest ahead of the Spurs' Saturday home game against the league-leading Memphis Grizzlies.
NBA commissioner David Stern issued a statement before the game started apologizing to fans and saying, "This was an unacceptable decision by the San Antonio Spurs and substantial sanctions will be forthcoming."
So the commissioner now decides what's best for each individual TEAM?
I don't think so. The Spurs were playing their fourth game in six nights and their sixth game of the road trip. The coach decided to go with his more rested bench so that the starters could get a rest before the huge game with Memphis on Saturday night. AS A COACH HE HAS TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR HIS TEAM. He did that. The commissioner should have no say in this matter at all.That he's injecting himself into the situation AND threatening some sort of sanctions shows you just how idiotic PRO sports have become.
IF he does something I hope San Antonio takes him to court with all barrels blazing. Teams need to do what is best for themselves looking at the longterm perspective of what THEIR own individual team needs.
Baseball rests stars all the time. It's a long season. The BEST NBA teams have good benches and know when their stars NEED rests. What Popovich did was brilliant and necessary AND as the head coach of that team, Commissioner Stern has NO RIGHT sticking his nose in San Antonio's business.
NONE!
I can't wait to see what happens next. Sports are better than regular television shows.
Sometimes the drama is better, too.
The NBA's most powerful man and its most respected and iron-willed coach plunged into an unexpected battle of wills Thursday over a basic tenet: A coach can decide what is best for his team.
San Antonio's Gregg Popovich sent stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, plus key role player Danny Green, on a commercial flight home instead of playing them in a nationally televised game against the Miami Heat so they could rest ahead of the Spurs' Saturday home game against the league-leading Memphis Grizzlies.
NBA commissioner David Stern issued a statement before the game started apologizing to fans and saying, "This was an unacceptable decision by the San Antonio Spurs and substantial sanctions will be forthcoming."
So the commissioner now decides what's best for each individual TEAM?
I don't think so. The Spurs were playing their fourth game in six nights and their sixth game of the road trip. The coach decided to go with his more rested bench so that the starters could get a rest before the huge game with Memphis on Saturday night. AS A COACH HE HAS TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR HIS TEAM. He did that. The commissioner should have no say in this matter at all.That he's injecting himself into the situation AND threatening some sort of sanctions shows you just how idiotic PRO sports have become.
IF he does something I hope San Antonio takes him to court with all barrels blazing. Teams need to do what is best for themselves looking at the longterm perspective of what THEIR own individual team needs.
Baseball rests stars all the time. It's a long season. The BEST NBA teams have good benches and know when their stars NEED rests. What Popovich did was brilliant and necessary AND as the head coach of that team, Commissioner Stern has NO RIGHT sticking his nose in San Antonio's business.
NONE!
I can't wait to see what happens next. Sports are better than regular television shows.
Sometimes the drama is better, too.
Streak Ends
Drew Brees had thrown a TD in 54 consecutive games which is an all-time record. The Falcons intercepted him 5 times last night and put that streak to end. The Saints, now 5-7, most likely have lost any chance they had at a play-off opportunity.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Free Agent Pitching
Francisco Liriano since mid 2010 has an ERA 0f 5.23 (sixth highest in all of baseball of regular starters) and has walked 12.6% of batters faced (second most in baseball.)
Oddly, Twins officials have been talking to Liriano's agents. Even Scott Baker with a BAD ARM needing Tommy John surgery had better stats during that time and the Twins didn't think he was worth a $5 million a year risk now that he has a brand new arm!
Carl Pavano is also a free-agent who has supposedly recovered from his arm problems (many of which were CAUSED by the Twins and their inept training staff) and the Twins have said they will talk to his representatives as well.
Of the three choices the Twins had, Baker would have been the best choice. Pavano with a good arm would be a moderate risk. I hope we're not seriously considering bringing Frankie back. IF we want a wild hard-throwing pitcher, let's give Sam Deduno another chance. He had more good games last season than Frankie's had. WAY more.
Oddly, Twins officials have been talking to Liriano's agents. Even Scott Baker with a BAD ARM needing Tommy John surgery had better stats during that time and the Twins didn't think he was worth a $5 million a year risk now that he has a brand new arm!
Carl Pavano is also a free-agent who has supposedly recovered from his arm problems (many of which were CAUSED by the Twins and their inept training staff) and the Twins have said they will talk to his representatives as well.
Of the three choices the Twins had, Baker would have been the best choice. Pavano with a good arm would be a moderate risk. I hope we're not seriously considering bringing Frankie back. IF we want a wild hard-throwing pitcher, let's give Sam Deduno another chance. He had more good games last season than Frankie's had. WAY more.
Wolves Killed Late
How does a team out-rebound their opponents 52-35 and still LOSE?
On a good note, Ricky Rubio has been cleared for full contact practice. He's returning way earlier than expected.
On a good note, Ricky Rubio has been cleared for full contact practice. He's returning way earlier than expected.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Calos Ruiz
Catcher Carlos Ruiz was suspended 25 games by the Phillies for using a performance enhancing drug.
The cool thing?
It wasn't steroids or HGH. He went old-school. He used amphetamines, the same drugs that stars used in the 50's and 60's to produce all those original homerun records!
Mantle and Maris and Aaron and Mays would be proud! (Though nobody talks about it of course.)
The cool thing?
It wasn't steroids or HGH. He went old-school. He used amphetamines, the same drugs that stars used in the 50's and 60's to produce all those original homerun records!
Mantle and Maris and Aaron and Mays would be proud! (Though nobody talks about it of course.)
Basketball
Kevin Love came back two weeks early from a a broken hand. The worst part was that he wore a glove on that hand for extra protection and as a result he couldn't shoot very well. In fact he shot horribly from three-point range.
I'm not sure why a player known for his shooting bothers playing when he can't shoot.
But that's beside the point. Last night he took off the "kid glove" and had a monster night. His three-point shooting was still horrible, but his touch was back for shorter shots, he also grabbed an NBA-high-for-the-season 24 rebounds.
The result?
The Wolves finally won again after a 5-game losing streak. The best part of that win was that they took the lead late in the first quarter and NEVER trailed after that. The Sacramento Kings are not a good basketball team. But any win is good at this point.
Also nice? Ridnour scored 18. Pekovic had 16 and Kirilenko added 14. There was balance again last night, less standing around and better passing finding the open man. Now if Love's hand can finally heal so that he can shoot successful three-pointers again, we may actually have something.
The Gophers basketball team also won again last night. They've played really well so far this season and are ranked number 21 in the polls. But rankings mean so little in college basketball. The only thing that really matters is that they play well enough and win enough to make the huge play-offs at the end.
Indiana proved how good they were last night clobbering UNC 83-59. They showed why they're currently ranked number ONE. Again, the ranking means little. It's not until the post-season starts that any of these games will really matter, though I am looking forward to how the Gophers play against teams like Indiana and Michigan. It's time to see if they can finally play with the big boys of the Big Ten again. It's been awhile since they've REALLY competed.
I'm not sure why a player known for his shooting bothers playing when he can't shoot.
But that's beside the point. Last night he took off the "kid glove" and had a monster night. His three-point shooting was still horrible, but his touch was back for shorter shots, he also grabbed an NBA-high-for-the-season 24 rebounds.
The result?
The Wolves finally won again after a 5-game losing streak. The best part of that win was that they took the lead late in the first quarter and NEVER trailed after that. The Sacramento Kings are not a good basketball team. But any win is good at this point.
Also nice? Ridnour scored 18. Pekovic had 16 and Kirilenko added 14. There was balance again last night, less standing around and better passing finding the open man. Now if Love's hand can finally heal so that he can shoot successful three-pointers again, we may actually have something.
The Gophers basketball team also won again last night. They've played really well so far this season and are ranked number 21 in the polls. But rankings mean so little in college basketball. The only thing that really matters is that they play well enough and win enough to make the huge play-offs at the end.
Indiana proved how good they were last night clobbering UNC 83-59. They showed why they're currently ranked number ONE. Again, the ranking means little. It's not until the post-season starts that any of these games will really matter, though I am looking forward to how the Gophers play against teams like Indiana and Michigan. It's time to see if they can finally play with the big boys of the Big Ten again. It's been awhile since they've REALLY competed.
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