What Disappointing Ex-Twin Will The Cubs Get for Noted Crazy Person Milton Bradley?
Whoever had "Carlos Silva" in the Twinkie Town pool, claim your prize.
The Justin Morneau Snuggie, or "Sluggie"
This is a thing, apparently.
Looking Forward: Projecting the 2010 Twins
by Adam Peterson on Dec 17, 2009 5:00 AM EST
in By the Numbers
50 comments
As the rumor mills fly, optimism abounds for the upcoming 2010 season. Just how good are the Twins going to be in 2010? What are the biggest holes that need to be filled during the off season? And just as importantly, how can we assess the effect that potential moves could have to improve the ball club? Many of you have probably heard of using "Wins Above Replacement", or "WAR" as a method to evaluate a player's total value to a team, compared to a "replacement" player, one who is freely available at no cost from AAA, in season free agents, etc. For the last couple of years, the website Beyond the Boxscore, and more recently on a Twinkie Town Fan Post by Jon Kammerer, fans have compiled a list of player by player WAR projections to project an estimated number of wins for entire teams, divisions and leagues.
I've done similar projections for the Twins the last few years, with varying levels of success. This year, I'm taking my projections in a different direction. Starting with actual 2009 statistics as a baseline, can I track the Twins' WAR projections as moves are made throughout the off season? This article gives us a start for a move-by-move assessment leading up to opening day. First things first, where do I put the Twins as of today? Bottom line, I project the Twins at 84-85 wins as the team is currently constructed. I've posted the full WAR spreadsheet on Google Docs here. I'm sure many of you will immediately be up in arms at a projection of a 2 win drop-off compared to 2009, a full three wins below Jon's analysis. I'll get into much more detail after the jump, but before we get there, let's take a deeper look at the three 2010 projections I've done to date compared to the 2009 data.
| Date | C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | LF | CF | RF | DH | SP | RP | Hit | Pitch | WAR | Wins | Notes |
| 2009 Season | 7.2 | 3.2 | (1.3) | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 12.6 | 5.1 | 19.4 | 17.6 | 37.1 | 82.1 | Actual 2009 season data |
| 01 Nov 2009 | 6.1 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 12.5 | 5.3 | 19.5 | 17.8 | 37.3 | 82.3 | End of season. No free agents |
| 06 Nov 2009 | 6.1 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 12.5 | 5.3 | 20.7 | 17.8 | 38.5 | 83.5 | Hardy-Gomez, Buscher |
| 10 Dec 2009 | 6.1 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 13.5 | 5.4 | 20.7 | 18.8 | 39.5 | 84.5 | Pavano, Bonser |
50 comments | 0 recs |
White Sox continue their trend of overpaying for mediocrity
by DJL44 on Dec 15, 2009 2:07 PM EST
101 comments
Let's look at the offseason moves of the closest division rival, the White Sox.
Exercise options on Freddy Garcia and Matt Thornton ($3-5M)
Cut DeWayne Wise
Give Mark Kotsay $1.5M to spit seeds on the bench
Acquire Mark Teahen for Chris Getz and Josh Fields and give him a $14M 3 year deal to be a below average 3B
Sign older than dirt Omar Vizquel and on his last leg Andruw Jones to join Kotsay on the bench.
Give $3M to JJ Putz coming off injury, dump DJ Carrasco
Send 2 minor league pitchers for the opportunity to pay Juan Pierre $9M for the next 2 seasons so he can play a little bit better than DeWayne Wise.
101 comments | 0 recs
Can the Twins get Chapman?
Dear Santa: Can I add Aroldis Chapman to my wish list? Of course, a contract for Joe Mauer comes first. Then Kouzmanoff, then Chapman, then Jed Lowrie. Can I please Santa, can I please?
3 days ago
cmathewson
25 comments
0 recs
Twinkie Town 2010 Top 50...Voting for Prospect Number 12!
by roger13 on Dec 14, 2009 4:12 PM EST
56 comments
In our second run-off of the season, Deolis Guerra beat Chris Parmelee for the Tenth position in this year's poll. Guerra had 75 votes (55%) of the 135 votes cast. Parmelee had 60 votes (45%) to finish in the eleventh position of the 2010 Top 50. Congratulations to Deolis and Chris!
In the voting for Prospect #10, all of the players scored more than five percent of the total votes cast and will be included in round twelve. We will bring back two players who had appeared in previous rounds for round 12, Anthony Slama and Max Kepler-Rozycki.
Please continue with your suggestions for future rounds in the comments section. In another note, I will be travelling tomorrow afternoon. I expect I won't be arriving until 8-9pm, thus, today's poll will stay open until that time. The next poll will be posted later tomorrow evening. Thanks!
56 comments | 0 recs
All the Headlines Fit To Not Print
by Jon Marthaler on Dec 14, 2009 9:00 AM EST
in WTF
13 comments
The Winter Meetings are over, the Twins have offered contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players, and so the news has, for the moment, slowed down. (This statement will be officially null and void, should Joe Mauer choose to favor us with an early Christmas present.)
So, with the headlines slowing a bit, it's time to fall back on the old standby of lazy journalists everywhere: making stuff up! Below, some of the headlines you won't be seeing over the next few days:
Bill Smith Tenders Contract To Hot Fudge Sundae
Official team site headline: "Smith locks up important piece"
Team Has To Gently Explain Trade to Carlos Gomez for Fourth Time
"I really hope it's just a language thing," say team officials
Cuddyer's Masterpiece: Magician Makes Metrodome Disappear
On same day, Yanks' Sabathia makes fourteen hot dogs and an entire fried chicken disappear
Timberwolves, Wild DIscuss Contract Extensions With Mauer's Agent
May fill third-line right wing, shooting guard holes
Redmond Still Planning To Report To Spring Training
Security to begin extended details on January 1 in hopes of avoiding bloodbath on reporting day
ESPN SportsCenter Special: Target Field - Brett Favre Finally Speaks!
How does this affect Tiger Woods?
CERN Large Hadron Collider Experiments Prove: Prince Fielder's Pants Don't Fit
Researchers hope new theories explain how pants can be built so large
Joe Mauer Displays First Signs of Personality
Doctors hope he may utter first interesting quote within six months
Justin Morneau Still Debating Fan Letter to Spuds Mackenzie
Letter was written in 1989
Wouldn't it be a more interesting world, though?
13 comments | 0 recs |
Boof's Bounty: RHP Chris Province
Len 3 notes at the end of today's story:
"The Twins acquired righthanded (sic.) pitcher Chris Province as the player to be named later in Thursday's trade that sent righthander Boof Bonser to the Boston Red Sox."
Here are the
stats on the 24-year-old right-handed sinker baller. Except for 2008, very impressive FIP and GB stats.
4 days ago
cmathewson
3 comments
0 recs
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
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Recent FanPosts
AL Central Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | STRK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Minnesota
|
87 | 76 | .533 | 0 | Lost 3 |
|
Detroit
|
86 | 77 | .527 | 1 | Lost 1 |
|
Chicago
|
79 | 83 | .487 | 7.5 | Lost 1 |
|
Kansas City
|
65 | 97 | .401 | 21.5 | Lost 3 |
|
Cleveland
|
65 | 97 | .401 | 21.5 | Lost 5 |
(updated 12.18.2009 at 11:48 AM EST)
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