It’s a girl!
Posted on January 5th, 2009 – 7:06 PMBy La Velle
It’s time to celebrate a new life! Joe C. and Mrs. Joe C. welcomed Baby C. into the world this afternoon. Noe Vivienne Christensen was born at 2:19 p.m. weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces and measuring 20.5 inches. Everyone is doing great.
The baby was due Dec. 31 but apparently could care less about the tax implications.
Clarification: Noe sounds like Zoe. There’s a umlaut above the, `e.’ Noe, according a Goole search by Rachel Blount, means, `peaceful.’
133 Responses to "It’s a girl!"
Congrats to Joe and Mrs. C!
Congrats Joe!
Congratulations Joe
Congrats Joe, and family!
Gratz Joe!
(now let the 2-4 year diaper circle begin 
)
Interesting day, isn’t it… C’ est la vie: every day people die and new live arrives and I am sure that for Joe this day will be the day of his daughter’s birth and not of Carl Pohlad’s death.
Joe, I hope that your daughter surpasses Carl in all aspects (and that is a hard thing to do)
Congrats to the C family.
Condolences to the Pohlad family.
Congrats Joe C.! I hope your daughter brings you and your wife endless joy!
Pat Burrell batted .250 last year and whiffed 136 times. He hasn’t stolen a base in 4 years. The Phillies have been trying to give him away for years, but no one would take his contract. I can’t believe the Rays paid 16 mil for that piece of junk.
Congrats to JoeC and his new addition! Always a joy to welcome a new fan into the community!
Congrats to Joe and family! Thank God there’s some things more important than baseball.It’s a nice change of pace for all the angst on this board
rays paid 16 mill for that piece of junk,not very tender loving,Craig!
6 years and Now will sign on as a daughter of a Yankees beat writer.
Congrats Joe.
Daughters are the best!
Noe*
The Yankees paying that guy Teixeira 180 mil is ridiculous. He isn’t even that good. Strikes out too much and is plodding on the base-paths.
Hopefully, the Twins don’t waste anything close to that on Morneau. Morneau is okay, but that kind of money could pay several really good players.
Willy Taveras only received a 2 year contract worth 6.25 mil. Nice signing by the clever Reds. Willy is a fine everyday player and worth way more than a bum like Pat Burrell. I wish the Twins would have inked Taveras. They need a guy like that.
GENO,
Burrell is only a piece of junk and a bum as a baseball player. He is probably a really nice guy, and I like him just fine as a siding salesman.
Great! Just one question: How old was the girl when it was born?
small bit of news: JC Romero was handed a 50 day suspension for testing positive for a banned substance he claims he bought at a GNC store.
Congrats Joe C!
Hmmmm, that would make the day of conception about Opening Day 2008.
I remember, we were all so excited about Livan.
Kids are the best presents. Congratulations to Joe and his family.
Congrats!
Tender Loving Craig???- Burrell is a rich siding salesman,sounds like a classic case of envy on your part!
Kids are the best presents.
Kids and ponies. 
Congratulations to Joe and Mrs C!
Mike WW has it right…children are a blessing, and the absolute best present.
Congratulations to Joe and Mrs. C! This is a great day for them.
The baby was due Dec. 31 but apparently could care less about the tax implications.
How does this impact arbitration eligbility?
Congrats Joe and Julie! I see that they are all about the unique baby names…
[…] Twins Insider – […]
Can she play 3rd? What’s her revised zone rating?
For a second I thought this was going to be about the newest bullpen acquisition.
Congrats on the little one Joe and Mrs. C!
It might be snepp.
Two more opportunities lost. Pat and Milton. What a shame. Not the greatest, but both would’ve looked good in a Twins uniform.
TK’s right, Snepp, it might be.
“Noe-hitter” Christenson
Not to distract from the good news, but somebody mentioned JC Romero’s suspension yesterday…
Looks like he’s not the only one:
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/01/sergio-mitre-ge.html
Another pitcher, and another person saying “I got it at GNC”.
So either the Starcaps situation has crossed over to MLB, or there’s something eles going on here.
Love the posts here! They show the great sense of humor that bloggers have at this site.
“Hmmmm, that would make the day of conception about Opening Day 2008.I remember, we were all so excited about Livan.”
romer, I really like that one!
What is funny is at the top of the page it says:
The Twins’ search for bullpen help continues
It’s a girl!
[…] Congratulations to Joe Christensen and his family on the new addition to their […]
17 years 355 days till she can date T
make that 17 years and 364 days till she can date T
The Burrell thing is really bugging more and more. That is not much money to pay. Every expert on line is saying how great a deal it is. He’s RH, very good OB%, good to great SLG%. It cost no prospects. Just another guy that this team could have signed that they didn’t. Looking a lot like the early part of this decade, a piece or two away, but unwilling to make a move.
I’m sure it was his lack of getting after it, and not sliding head first into first base….
Congrats Joe!
make that 17 years and 364 days till she can date T
I’m not quite sure what your intent is there…
burrell is well known for not getting after it the “twins way” never sliding into first base and rarely battling his tail off. not the kind of player we need. from what i hear he doesn’t do magic tricks either!
he does hit hr’s and drive in runs which doesn’t really fit “gardyball”.
LOL she turns 18. Sorry T I guess you didn’t find the joke humorous.
So does anyone think that the Twins are actually going to sign anyone. Anybody???
Congrats Joe!
While her late delivery has some scouts worried about her speed, at 20.5 inches, she does has projectable power.
Maybe she can field bettter then DY
Burrell and Dunn are/were never going to happen; the Twins have Kubel and whether he’s better than Burrell and Dunn or not, he’s going to stay as their DH. (See Bonds, Barry from last year.)
Interesting that the last WP of 2008 was JC Romero. The boxscore is still on the Twins page on the Strib site.
Congrats to Joe C on the new baby; I assume the first?
mike wants wins -
I’m pretty sure I posted this elsewhere, but I’ll repost, just in case.
Where do you play Burrell? He’s a butcher in the field, so that leaves him at DH. Burrell has a career OPS+ of 119, will be 32 next year, and just signed for 16 million. Jason Kubel, on the other hand, had an OPS+ of 118 last year, is 5 years younger, and costs probably 10-12 million less over the next two seasons.
Signing a DH is, and should be, very low on the Twins priority list.
Congratulations Joe C. Raising a child is truly the best experience you will have in life. Enjoy the journey!
Why dont the Twins get Manny for 2 years and make the playoffs guaranteed
Congrats to you Joe and your wife on your beautiful little girl - she will bring you so much happiness and joy and if you’re lucky, she might make you a grandpa someday - truly wonderful!
Interesting news on JC Romero and one wonders if he will go the way of Juannie once he’s off the juice. Only 43 more days until pitchers & catchers report - Go Twins!!
LOL she turns 18. Sorry T I guess you didn’t find the joke humorous.
I couldn’t tell if it was “until she can date T”…or “until she can date, T”.
jimmy they resigned punto they don’t need anyone else!
[…] DallasI’m flying to Dallas this morning on a business trip to the Beckett Media offices, where I’ll be putting the finishing touches on the annual Rotoworld baseball magazine. Blogging will probably be non-existent until at least Friday, but starting next week my schedule lightens up considerably and the usual AG.com content will resume. In the meantime, my condolences to the Pohlad family and congratulations to the Christensen family. […]
Congrats to Joe and family.
“”Burrell has a career OPS+ of 119…”"
I see what you did there, Pete. (You took Burrell’s CAREER OPS+ and compared it to Kubel’s OPS+ from just last season.)
That’s not really a good comparison, is it Pete?
Burrell’s OPS+ for the last four season’s: 128, 122, 127, 125.
(By the way, he’s had a SLG over .500 in each of the last four seasons, as well, and last four OBPs are .389, .388, .400 and .367)
Kubel’s OPS+ for the last 2 seasons (I’ll leave out 2006, since that’s not fair to him): 109, 118.
(He’s had a .335 OBP both seasons, and has never slugged .500 in the majors).
Burrell is righthanded, and one of the stated goals of the Twins is to add RH power to the middle of the lineup.
I like Kubel, but using Kubel as trade bait and signing Burrell to DH is a better plan than doing nothing.
Burrell’s a better hitter, a better fit in the lineup, and the return from Kubel makes the team even stronger.
Too late now, of course, but it was doable, as some of us have been saying for weeks.
We have gone from condolences to congradulations. 2 cons in 2 days
jb: It’s an almost bittersweet combination of news.
For the sake of JoeC and his family, I am glad that the news of their daughter’s birth was released following the news of Pohlad’s passing.
There was a lot of negativity brewing, and being able to look at new life gave everybody a chance to get back into a more positive light.
Chief: I don’t know if people realized just how “doable” Burrel (or even Bradley) were going to be once Ibanez, Tex, and his ilk got their contracts earlier.
But now that those two (who were some of the top offensive guys not named “Manny” have landed) it could bode well for not only the Twins, but teams all across the league.
Because I don’t think Wiggy’s going to be able to argue with anybody that he’s worth more than Burrel.
gobbledygookguy says:
January 6th, 2009 at 10:05 am
jimmy they resigned punto they don’t need anyone else!
GGG I agree that the signifigant signing of Punto may be all the Twins needed. But just in case to put the Twins really over the top they brought in the services of R A Dickey
Maybe with the help of the musically gifted BC Beneke we could all write a touching song regarding Mr Pohlad or Joe C’s New born or a combination of the 2
I should add that had I realied Burrell could’ve been had so cheaply I would’ve been far more supportive of his aquisition. 
I still think that I would rather have Dunn over Burrell
Congrats Joe that baby girl will steal your heart trust me i know.
Joe C’s had a girl. CP has left the world. CP is off to heaven. Joe C’s girl will soon be eleven.
To the tune of the hit song “and the beat goes on”
“That’s not really a good comparison, is it Pete?”
I don’t see an issue with it. Pat Burrell is going to be 32 next year. His prime years are behind him, and Kubel is getting into his.
“Burrell’s OPS+ for the last four season’s: 128, 122, 127, 125.”
And Burrell has played in a hitters park for each of the past 5 seasons. Funny how his numbers jumped when he moved parks.
“I like Kubel, but using Kubel as trade bait and signing Burrell to DH is a better plan than doing nothing.”
You think it is a better plan. Obviously the Twins do not. And I happen to agree that spending an extra $10 million or more to slightly upgrade the DH position is a terrible waste of resources.
I didn’t even touch on the issues of Burrell changing leagues and positions. In 97 career PA as a DH - a small sample size, for sure - Burrell has a career .153/.258/.224 line. And in his 590 career interleague PA, he is hitting .199/.327/.384.
Pat is a fine hitter. I’m sure he will adjust to life as a DH in the American League fine. I don’t think he will post numbers like he has the previous 4 years - look at his 2nd half numbers from last year - and his upgrade over Kubel will be minimal at best, and surely not worth an extra $10-12 million.
Jason Giambi To A’s Imminent
By Tim Dierkes [January 6 at 9:54am CST]
TUESDAY, 9:54am: Olney says Giambi is on the verge of agreeing to a deal with the A’s worth $6.5MM guaranteed - $5.25MM in ‘09 plus a $4MM 2010 option with a $1.25MM buyout. Quite affordable!
Pete, if the Twins reject every upgrade that is “minor”, they’ll never upgrade, because we know they are too cheap to do a major upgrade (too cheap monetarily, or in what they are willing to give up to get a proven player in his prime). So, the only way for them to get better is to do it incrementally.
I’d have put Kubel in RF, Burrell at DH and dealt either Span or Young. I’d be ok with trading Kubel instead. They won’t be able to afford him in a year or two anyway, not if they re-sign Mauer and 1-3 of Liriano, Baker, Slowey (or they actually spend to the budget they’ve said they would spend to, which they didn’t last year and don’t look likely to this year).
I think it will be fascinating if they now sign Wiggy because he is cheaper. Did they lie when they said he just wasn’t all that good, and they didn’t want him? I’d love to see the spin on that one.
“Did they lie when they said he just wasn’t all that good, and they didn’t want him? I’d love to see the spin on that one.”
The Twins FO didn’t feel a match was in place in order to obtain Wiggy. In order for the Twins to obtain a FA there must be 2 important key elements in place
1. We don’t have to trade anything person, place or thing to get the players services
2. They must (the player) be able to be signed for pennies on the dollar
Twins to obtain a FA
I meant to say Twins to obtain a FA or a player via trade
“I’d have put Kubel in RF, Burrell at DH and dealt either Span or Young. ”
If you deal Span, you have created some massive problems - mainly, you have two TERRIBLE fielders at the corners, and no lead off hitter.
And unless you can get a young, high potential guy back for Young, dealing him would be silly.
So now you have to move Kubel. But moving Kubel, just to pick up Burrell, seems like a waste of $10 million to me, as I have already stated.
Who do you move Span or Young for?
Pete D Burrell is 8 mill a year for 2 years
” Did they lie when they said he just wasn’t all that good”
Rob Antony’s interview statement was Wiggington was “adequate defensively”.
That meant “INadequate”, but the literal wording was harmless enough to require no retraction.
Fair enough, sane.
Pete, if Young is so terrible, why not deal him? Except the price difference isn’t $10MM, is it? What is Kubel paid? And, like I said, if you never increment, you won’t get better.
Sane
I don’t have a quote to throw at you, but Bill Smith indicated the Twins would be satisfied with Buscher/Harris at 3b. Certainly Butcher’s D qualifies as inadequate.
Kubel is up for abritration so we’ll find out soon how much he’s making i’m guessing he will get a raise into the 4 mil range unless the Twins offer him a longer conract.
The Twins are cheap and will not spend the money on FA’s to improve the outcome of the team. They seem to always be 1-2 players away from dominating the AL Central division
Hmmm…
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/01/white-sox-and-o.html
Looks like the O’s shot down the Sox attempt to get Brian Roberts for only Gavin Floyd.
Twins have pushed for Roberts in the past, does this perhaps set a starting price? Rumors suggest that the O’s would want an infield prospect. Twins have some of those (though I don’t know if they’d have anything the O’s would wnat)
What would the equivalent of Floyd be for the Twins? Slowey? Perkins?
saam,
I would also be satisfied with Buscher/Harris at 3B, especially if:
1)Harris plays 155 games at 3B, and
2)Buscher plays 7 games at 3B, and
3)Buscher pinch-hits, DH’s and rests Morneau at 1B, when he isn’t sitting.
Of course, I am also satisfied with my girlfriend, but that doesn’t mean I have ruled out all possible upgrades.
T i like Roberts but isn’t he a 2B or can he play 3b as well?
I’m pretty sure I’m the only blogger here who likes Buscher, but here’s why:
Buscher figured out how to hit when he was 26 years old, hitting .309 and .319 in the minors, then .294 in 2008 for the Twins.
Apparently stats like batting average with RISP are seemingly too pedestrian for the true stat-heads. Nonetheless, some of us do look at things like that to try to determine how a player performs under pressure. For the Twins in 2008, BA w/ RISP was led by Buscher (.386) followed by Mauer (.362), Morneau (.348) and Span (.346). Kubel, our DH, batted .245 in similar situations, though he did hit
.500 (7 for 14) with bases loaded.
I think Buscher can hit. True, his fielding has never been great at any level, but I’m anxious to see what he does with the bat this year.
Spin it any way you want, Pete. You deliberately distorted the numbers in the Kubel/Burrell comparison, and you got caught.
And by the way, you’re completely ignoring the additional benefit to the Twins of whatever Kubel could bring in a trade…say, a nice RH power reliever?
Which Twins team is better…Kubel at DH plus more money in the Pohlad family fortune, or Burrell at DH plus a better bullpen?
BC of ND,
Roberts is strictly a 2B. If the Twins traded for him, I would imagine Casilla would move to SS and Punto would slide to third. But, it seems like the Twins are set on Casilla at 2B and Punto at SS.
Marv,
I also like Buscher……….with a bat in his hands facing a right-handed pitcher.
When he improves his batting against LHP’s and his defense, I will like him much more frequently.
I’m low on Buescher because he has yet to throw a baseball properly.
I am very fine with him coming off the bench to pinch hit against RHP, I think that’s his value.
Wigginton is the answer my friends. I’ll take his right-handed bat/pop, his 23 HRs (short porch or no porch or long porch or whatever) and the way he plays the game anyday. His defense has to be better than Buescher’s and he has more versatility in the field and in the lineup.
The Burrell signing is a sign that guys like Wigginton can be brought in at a reasonable price. Unless, of course, a team like the Yankees or Mets want to simply add depth and sign him for a 6 year 60 mill deal or something. You know, something reasonable.
Marv: Could you also tell us what Buscher’s (pedestrian) OBP and SLG were last year? Career?
Would you say Punto “can hit,” too? Because Punto (.284/.344/.381) and Buscher (.294/.340/.390) had almost the exact same hitting line last year.
T i like Roberts but isn’t he a 2B or can he play 3b as well?
I look at a Roberts aquisition similiar to a Hardy or DeRosa aquisition. Play them at their natural position, use Casilla to fill the other spot in the MIF, and use Punto off the bench.
Oh…and I should clarify…I’m so high on Wiggy because I just don’t see the Twins pulling off a major trade (or any trade for that matter) after the festivities of last offseason.
I’m cool with them keeping the starting rotation in tact. I’m cool with them keeping D Young.
If they want to stand pat otherwise, fine. But it makes no sense to me not go after a guy, at a reduced cost, who more or less fits the bill for what they are looking for.
He is not Mike Lamb, and it’s a simple coincidence that Wiggy played with the Astros. The Twins wanted to trade for him when he was with the Rays.
T i like that idea but do you honestly think they would pay Punto all that money to be a bench player because moving him to third would not be an answer either.
Disappointed we didn’t try to sign Joe Nelson as an 8th inning setup guy. Rays gave him 1 year and $1.3MM. We couldn’t match or beat that?? Sad
T i like that idea but do you honestly think they would pay Punto all that money to be a bench player
If they brought in somebody like Hardy or Roberts…then yes. They would.
And no, not even Gardy’s man love for Punto would be able to save him from the FO if he started playing Punto over somebody aquired in a trade.
JonG Some proffesionalism would be appreciated please.
I hope some big news comes our way good or bad. Hopefully more good then bad of course
USAFCheif -
I ‘deliberately distorted the numbers in the Kubel/Burrell comparison’? How did I do that? By stating that Burrell’s career OPS+ is 119? Or that Kubel had an OPS+ of 118 last year? Are those numbers wrong? Or that Burrell has played the last 5 years in a VERY hitter friendly park? Or that he has been terrible in his at bats as a DH in his career? Or that his interleague numbers are worse than his ‘regular’ numbers? Or that Burrell will be 32 next year? Or that he hit .215/.313/.413 after the All-Star break last year?
Every single number I stated is true. Then, I made opinions based on those numbers - mainly, Pat Burrell has benefited from hitting in a hitters friendly park, and will struggle as he grows older and moves to the DH position in an American League park that isn’t as friendly to hitters as the place he has called home for the past 5 years. The upgrade from Kubel to Burrell would be minimal, and not worth an estimated $10-12 million dollars more that Burrell will make over the next 2 years. I’ll admit - I’m not very good at judging arbitration values, so I have to put a range on it, and it will probably be closer to 10 than to 12.
“Which Twins team is better…Kubel at DH plus more money in the Pohlad family fortune, or Burrell at DH plus a better bullpen?”
Well, if those are my two choices, option B. Are those my only two choices? What about option C - Kubel, a bullpen arm that gets signed or traded for in spring training, and an opportunity to add payroll later in the summer? Because then I take option C.
The offseason is NOT over. It won’t be until the first pitch is thrown in April.
mikewantswins -
“Pete, if Young is so terrible, why not deal him? Except the price difference isn’t $10MM, is it? What is Kubel paid? And, like I said, if you never increment, you won’t get better.”
I said he is terribly defensively. You don’t trade him because he has a very good shot at being very good offensively.
As for what Kubel is paid - he made 1.3 million last year. I figure, and I very well might be wrong, that he will make about 6 million over the next two years. Will he make more? Perhaps. How high do you want to go?
As for incrementing - I advocate spending the money elsewhere. A minimal upgrade at DH isn’t worth it. Spend it on locking some pitchers up. Or Mauer. Or signing a bullpen arm. Or a third baseman. NOT a DH, when you have a guy who is capable of doing the job.
I hope this doesn’t come out wrong but i wonder what affect Carls passing will have on the Twins. What i mean by that is once his estate is divided up who will get control of the Twins?
The offseason is NOT over. It won’t be until the first pitch is thrown in April.
Uh hum. It isn’t over till we get our perennial has been signed. Whom will it be this year is anyones guess. II will throw my guess out there. I say it will be Curtis Granderson
“I said he is terribly defensively.”
Wow. That is horrible English. My apologies.
Comparing Kubel’s OPS+ last season to Burrell’s career OPS+ is deliberately distorting the picture Pete. Either use career for both, or last season for both, but not one of each.
And forgive me if I don’t see the advantage of “an opportunity to add payroll later in the summer” when the opportunity to add payroll, and improve the team, presented itself NOW.
Particularly since I’m not holding my breath over the likelihood of the Twins actually taking advantage of that “opportunity” later this summer, and even if they do, it’ll come as a result of trading away something rather than getting it for nothing, plus will only benefit the team for HALF the season instead of all of it.
I do agree the offseason’s not over. I’m just wondering when it’ll START for the Twins.
And Burrell has played in a hitters park for each of the past 5 seasons. Funny how his numbers jumped when he moved parks.
Last 4 years:
Home - .270/.397/.517/.914 60 HR
Away - .253/.375/.491/.866 64 HR
The difference is minimal at most, especially when you consider that leagues as a whole hit better at home than on the road.
BC who do you think will get the team after the reading of the will. I think it will be Carl’s son. I just wonder if more money or less money will be given towards the Twins payroll now that Carls tight iron fisted ways of doing things will be gone
Bill Hall for Cuddy and that is my final offer
jimmybee that’s what i’m wondering there could be big changes coming. I’m a Steelers fan and I know the problems Art Jr is having with his brothers now so i would think a smart guy like Carl would see that and divide up his assets appropriately.
“Bill Hall for Cuddy and that is my final offer.”
Good. I don’t want to hear another offer like that one.
BC this change could be terrible or it could be an a grand opportunity to up the payroll to what it once was or even higher. I just couldn’t tell you.
“Comparing Kubel’s OPS+ last season to Burrell’s career OPS+ is deliberately distorting the picture Pete. Either use career for both, or last season for both, but not one of each.”
If they were the same age, or had the same number of career at bats, or something, sure. But, since Kubel appears to be hitting his prime batting years, and Burrell has just finished his, I guess I don’t see an issue with it. My apologies if you felt deceived. Not my intent.
“And forgive me if I don’t see the advantage of “an opportunity to add payroll later in the summer” when the opportunity to add payroll, and improve the team, presented itself NOW.”
Spending money on a DH really doesn’t help us at all. That’s what I’m trying to show you. Spend it on a third baseman if you want. Spend it on the bullpen if you like. Spend it on extending contracts. Just spend wisely.
snepp -
“Last 4 years:
Home - .270/.397/.517/.914 60 HR
Away - .253/.375/.491/.866 64 HR
The difference is minimal at most, especially when you consider that leagues as a whole hit better at home than on the road.”
Burrell’s numbers went up when he moved into a hitter friendly park. And his 48 point difference in home/away stats are larger than what the Phillies as a team did over the past 4 years.
I agree that’s the interesting part. Would they decide to sell the Twins and split the money between all the siblings or does one of them really want full control.
See LEN’s new entry for some insight on how the team will be run from this point foward.
Hey looks like Juan Rincon and JC Romero have something in common.
Fair enough, Pete, but I think spending money on Burrell WOULD HAVE been spending it wisely. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t have cost them any money.
You then turn around and trade Kubel and Cuddyer, leaving an outfield of Span/Gomez/Young, with Burrell at DH and Pridie as the 5th outfielder. Total cost over the next two years isn’t any more than keeping Kubel and Cuddyer, plus it unclogs the current outfield logjam. Plus, you get the upgrade of whatever you can get in trade for Kubel and Cuddyer.
Plus, it’s not very likely that Kubel is with the Twins past 2010 anyway. They’re not going to sign him long term this winter. He might not even be a Twins past 2009. If he blows up and becomes a really good hitting DH, the Twins won’t pay for that into his free agent period. If he has a really really good year in 2009, he will be awarded roughly Burrell money in arbitration going in to 2010. If he doesn’t blow up, and continues to tease with slightly above average performance, he gets “Ortized,” released next winter or the winter after, as the Twins won’t want to pay him what he’d get in arb and/or after he gets his six years and can become a free agent.
So in effect, for the same money, or less, you could have the more sure thing and better fit in Burrell, plus the trade return from Cuddyer/Kubel, plus free up playing time for Span and Young.
USAFChief -
Those are valid measurements, though Puto has over 1500 more at bats in MLB than Buscher has. I do think it is still interesting to note that when there were Runners In Scoring Position Buscher hit .386 and Punto hit .265. I would rather see Buscher at the plate with RISP.
Sane - No argument that Buscher is a hack in the field (though far better than I would do). And that he doesn’t hit lefties. I’m just saying that if we are going to platoon then Buscher should have the at bats against righties. If someone can teach him how to throw, all the better.
USAFChief -
I would assume that we both agree that the trade market for Cuddyer is basically dead. We could probably move him for another bloated contract, or for some single A ball player with no real shot at the bigs. Other than that, we’d have to eat some salary.
“So in effect, for the same money, or less, you could have the more sure thing and better fit in Burrell”
And this is where we disagree. I don’t think, that over the next two years, that Burrell is a guaranteed better option than Kubel. And it’s for all the reasons I have already stated. I think Kubel is going to put up roughly the same numbers as Burrell over the next two seasons. I see a decline in Burrell with his age and the switches in both leagues and position, while I expect Kubel to get better - and at least keep steady - because of his entering his ‘prime’ years.
Pete, I agree, I’d rather they spend it on a legit 3B. I don’t, however, believe they will do that. They could have both Wiggy and Burrell, at those prices, but they won’t have either.
They just don’t bring in players that are at or just about at their peak earning years. It isn’t their style.
It would be great to re-sign Mauer, but if I’m him, I don’t do it unless they pay me a ton, and for many years. He can name his price in two years, it’s got to take a lot of money to buy out that right.
As for an opportunity to add payroll in the middle of they year, you’re kidding right? They didn’t add any last year. Hunter and Santana were right, they are always playing for a future that never comes. All players they could get are “just too expensive for their worth” or “don’t play the Twins way” or “have {insert something here} liabilities”.
Payroll flexibility only matters if you use it…..
No way the re-sign Kubel in his prime, not if they want to re-sign mauer and 1-3 pitchers. But, no problem, I’m sure they can find some slap hitting, ground ball hitting, nobody to take his place. Either Kubel is making real money (not on the Twins), or he’s not that good. Either way, the Twins have nothing at DH in 2 years (unless Delmon is so fat he can’t run at all).
marv, there is no evidence, in the hisotry of MLB, that players can consistently hit better with RISP than w/o. It just doesn’t exist over the long haul of their careers. It may exist 10-15 points, but that is statistical noise. Buscher will not hit 50-100 points higher with RISP than w/o over his career.
Fair enough, Pete.
If the Twins find a better way to upgrade prior to opening day, I’ll be here to admit you and they had a better plan all along.
And I truly do hope I get the opportunity to admit I was quite wrong. I just have the sinking feeling all that ‘payroll flexibility’ is going to go wasted while opportunity after opportunity disappear in the rear view mirror.
Marv: duly noted. I would agree with this much…I’d rather see Buscher at the plate than Punto with RISP.
But I’d really prefer to see neither.
“As for an opportunity to add payroll in the middle of they year, you’re kidding right? They didn’t add any last year. ”
But not because they didn’t try. They claimed both Beltre AND Washburn off waivers from the Mariners. Now, I question the idea of adding Washburn to the roster, but they were willing to add payroll. I don’t doubt that they would do it again, for someone they feel can and will help them.
I’d give Buscher ALL the at bats against RHP’s also……if only he didn’t have to play defense at 3B.
I guess I would rather have Harris bat against RHP’s, than have Buscher play 3B.
And I’m pretty sure that Gardy and the pitchers feel the same way.
The last time the Twins added payroll mid-year was probably Phil Nevin.
My bad!
They added payroll mid-year last year.
Eddie Guardado must have cost more than a Hamburger,
mike wants wins - this is not going to be as much fun if you keep clogging up the blogs with ‘facts’. Point taken.
USAFChief - Give Buscher another year. Pretty early to know if the guy is a hitter or not.
sane - I’m sure you’re right that the pitchers don’t really want him at third.
Actually, the Twins added payroll when they swallowed the Rincon, Monroe and Lamb contracts, because they had to keep paying those guys (and are still paying Lamb) and start paying their replacements.
Burrell’s numbers went up when he moved into a hitter friendly park. And his 48 point difference in home/away stats are larger than what the Phillies as a team did over the past 4 years.
His road numbers improved as well, did every team they play build a new hitter-friendly stadium?
Phillie OPS last 4 years:
.812 - home
.763 - road
That’s a difference of 49 points and is actually a larger percentage difference than Burrell’s totals, which completely contradicts yours claims.
marv, there is no evidence, in the hisotry of MLB, that players can consistently hit better with RISP than w/o. It just doesn’t exist over the long haul of their careers. It may exist 10-15 points, but that is statistical noise. Buscher will not hit 50-100 points higher with RISP than w/o over his career.
But the Twins teach it! They’re the only team in the league that works on situational hitting! They do the little things!!!
[/facetiousness]
That’s a difference of 49 points and is actually a larger percentage difference than Burrell’s totals, which completely contradicts yours claims.
Small clarification, that should say it completely contradicts your claims that “Burrell’s difference is larger than the team’s.”
Yes Burrell has hit better at home than on the road (most players do), but it isn’t some dramatic pre-humidor Coors Field level difference worth making a big stink about. The difference is largely negligible.
snepp - The Twins teach the little things? Like hitting with RISP?
Great line. You should be a coach!
So can anyone tell me what CLUTCH means at fangraphs.com? Is that, too, a figure that basically means nothing?
To avoid the suspense, Mauer led the Twins with 1.42 followed by Morneau (.59), Buscher (.46) and Span (.33). Punto’s CLUTCH rating was -.04.
If I am coming across as unlearned, so be it. I make up for it with baseball enthusiasm.
sane, I’m hoping by “adding payroll” we mean more than $300K for three players….total.
Pete: there is no try, only do. *points for the first person to recognize that
the Twins didn’t add either. I’m sure they also “tried” to acquire other playrs but didn’t. Just like most of the time when they try to add players, something just comes up and it can’t get done. I give no points for trying**, only for succeeding.
**this applies when measuring the success of professionals being paid. It’s nice to have a salesperson that tries to seel stuff, but if they never do, you fire them. This does not apply to children, amatuers, and others who you are not compensating for their actions. Tyner tried, should he be judged based on that, or his actual success rate?
Nope, clutch is a measure that exists. Whether clutch is repeatable over time or not and whether or not it is predictive, that is another question (best asked at fangraphs - a great site - try comparing Mattingly and Hrbek some time).
As for it’s exact meaning, I can’t recall at this time.
Mike wants wins - * Yoda
I’ll pursue an answer from fangraphs.
I also anticipate Hrbek vs Mattingly will be interesting.
Mike wants wins - That Yoda question wasn’t really fair. I remember when Yoda was a kid. He said that stuff all the time.
