See ya Luis!

by rayken on Oct 5, 2007 12:05 AM EDT Comment 26 comments

Rotoworld:

Padres claimed infielder Luis Rodriguez off waivers from the Twins.
Color us stunned that another team wanted Rodriguez, especially that the team is one that relies more on statistics than most. The 27-year-old Rodriguez is a .243/.311/.339 hitter in 445 at-bats as a major leaguer, and he was especially bad this year. If he were a particularly rangy shortstop, maybe he'd be an acceptable utility-man. However, he's clearly not. In fact, the Twins didn't have him make one appearance there all year. It just doesn't make much sense that the Padres want him anywhere near their 40-man roster.
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Hurray! No more wasting a roster spot on this guy and his 2 AB sample sizes.

Poll

Who is Dickbert's next "emergency catcher" guy?

You down with NPP? Yeah you know me!

17 votes

Punto

0 votes

Nick Punto

1 votes

Nicholas Punto

0 votes

Nicholas Paul Punto

0 votes

18 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 26 comments

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Comments

The last option...

is just too fun not to vote for.

I am stoked as well! That is HUGE.

Now we're just down to Punto/Ford/Rincon as useless players on this team. I think Ford will be gone as well, and I'm hoping against hope that the other two are.

I'm fine keeping Tyner as he is pretty solid as just a sub. Even Keith Law said it in his chat today; the Twins can have 1 of those guys, not 2-3. Exactly right. Even the national media is catching on to our awful utility guys, between Keith Law and Rob Neyer of late.

Stoked though. I feel like drinking heavily tonight to celebrate this!

by djskilbr on Oct 5, 2007 12:14 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well

I'm hoping you're right, but you could also be forgetting good old Rondell if he somehow doesn't retire. I saw an article saying he was "99 percent sure" that he would, but that 1 percent is still lurking out there!

Replace Nick Punto.

by rayken on Oct 5, 2007 12:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Rondell's Retirement

If Rondell's retirement plays out like his career, this is what I see happening.

First, Rondell tries to pick up the phone to let the commish know he needs his papers. BAM, blows out his shoulder. Couple of months later and a rehab assignment with a call center and he finally is able to make the call.

Second, he gets a wicked paper cut opening the envelope on his writing hand. He tries Moises' "home-brewed" recipe for toughening up his hand to get back to the paperwork, but it just gets infected. He also finds he is allergic to Neosporin. Rondell decides to spend a few weeks at Normandale in an entry level writing class.

Finally after the entire off-season is spent trying to retire, he is able to sign just after pitcher's and catcher's report to Florida. Fare-thee-well Rondell.

PS - I still haven't gotten over Moises. I know it happened a long time ago, but WHO PEES ON THEMSELF ON PURPOSE? Wait - don't answer that. But seriously.

by GACTwinFan on Oct 5, 2007 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

and it wasn't just him...

I think Posada and a couple of others do it as well.

by djskilbr on Oct 5, 2007 1:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Machado

That will help make room for Machado, who is the player L-Rod ought to be.

Baseball is great because you cant take a knee or kill the clock. You gotta put the ball over the plate and give the other guy his damn shot E Weaver abridged

by AdamOnFirst on Oct 5, 2007 12:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I still think...

that the other really valuable thing about Machado is that he can ALSO play OF. That's pretty intriguing. I just wish we could somehow dump Punto off on someone and save that $2.4 million, which could go a long way for us. Then you have Tolbert/Casilla battle it out for 2b. I think Machado figures to be a pretty solid utility guy for us by all reports.

As for Bernie Mac, I think he'll retire. I'd be shocked if he didn't in fact. And he's really not even in the same stratosphere as Punto/Ford to me as far as futility goes. At least he WAS good at one point.

by djskilbr on Oct 5, 2007 12:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe he could become Denny Hocking...

-when Denny Hocking was a valuable commodity. He has played 7 defensive positions professionally. Machado is a switch-hitter as well.

-Flip

by Flip27 on Oct 5, 2007 1:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep...

I really believe that if we can get a DH that can also play OF (Quentin or Gomes anyone?) then we don't need another backup OF. Tyner and Machado could fill in adequately if needed.

And that's very helpful because then it allows you to get a more one-dimensional power guy for the bench.

Someone like, oh, Mike Sweeney for instance.

That's my ideal scenario. Quentin or Gomes to DH, play some LF with Kubel getting SOME DH time, and Sweeney for the bench. Machado as the UTIL guy. Those guys, plus Buscher/Redmond would be a fine bench if you ask me.

by djskilbr on Oct 5, 2007 1:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why on earth...

...did he get 16 starts in September?

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Oct 5, 2007 12:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think we all know the sad answer..

to that one.

It starts with "Ron" and ends with "hire."

Awful.

Just glad he's gone though. But those AB's sure would have been nice to go to Tolbert and Macri.

by djskilbr on Oct 5, 2007 12:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Castro

Gardy sensed a form of The Castro Maneuver approaching and had to have him go out with one last hurrah.

Replace Nick Punto.

by rayken on Oct 5, 2007 1:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Gardy forced Smith's hand

If he's diminutive, can play several positions, busts his tail, and is on the roster, Gardy will give him way too many at bats. The only way GMs can deal with that is by getting rid of the player.

My only hope is that the same principle applies to LN-Fing-P.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Oct 5, 2007 8:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Finally...

I wanted him gone in March.

-Flip

by Flip27 on Oct 5, 2007 1:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

So did

So did the Twins, actually, but Machado getting hurt ruined our plans.

Baseball is great because you cant take a knee or kill the clock. You gotta put the ball over the plate and give the other guy his damn shot E Weaver abridged

by AdamOnFirst on Oct 5, 2007 5:46 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

that could be quite true...

solid point, Adam.

by djskilbr on Oct 5, 2007 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Goes to show ya

>>The 27-year-old Rodriguez is a .243/.311/.339 hitter in 445 at-bats as a major leaguer, and he was especially bad this year.

A perfect example of how Fantasy Baseballers and Statheads are disconnected from real baseball.

His stats don't mean snow, except the last word isn't snow.

You get 150 at-bats a season at the big-league level and life is damned tough. DAMNED tough. The Fantasy GMs are so out of touch with the game that this kind of thing never dawns on them.

This guy had some battling ABs, at least. He didn't give it up easily, and he didn't just go up there hacking, using the excuse that he didn't play much so he might as well get his cuts.

Someone has to sit, then go up there and try to play a game once every week or two weeks. Even with big-league managers trying to gain favorable matchups for those guys, it's a tough life. Luis did a helluva job.

I'd take Luis' career in a minute and laugh at you all the way to my comfortable life, which would have started well before age 30.

"Man, the past is a long and twisty road." -- Satchel Paige.

by Firpo Marberry on Oct 5, 2007 11:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Gardy, is that you?

Luis Rodriguez "earned" $300,000-$400,000 the past 3 years to sit on the bench at various ballparks and pretty much suck at playing baseball whenever he was needed. I don't see how this is a positive attribute or makes for a valid point. "He's richer than everyone here, HA HA!"

Replace Nick Punto.

by rayken on Oct 6, 2007 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm just shocked that the Padres wanted him

Guys like Rodriguez are a dime a dozen. Actually, their perhaps more rare because players who can't hit or field don't tend to stick around as long as the slick fielding, no-hot types.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Oct 6, 2007 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep...

shocked as well that they would want him.

There are FAR better utility options than Luis. The fact that he can't even really play SS makes him pretty worthless as a utility guy to me. Plus the fact that he has almost zero speed.

I kind of felt with Luis like Rob Neyer always felt (and I do too) about Nefi Perez. "He has ZERO tools. And as such he's as worthless as anyone in baseball."

I think that's about right on Luis as well.

by djskilbr on Oct 6, 2007 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

His

His minor league stats never said major league hitter either. he was too slow to play shortstop. Where's the value worth going out of your way to hold a spot?

Baseball is great because you cant take a knee or kill the clock. You gotta put the ball over the plate and give the other guy his damn shot E Weaver abridged

by AdamOnFirst on Oct 8, 2007 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Whoa, there

I'd take Luis' career in a minute and laugh at you all the way to my comfortable life, which would have started well before age 30.

I think any of us here would be happy to have had Luis' career - he's had the chance to be a major league baseball player, and it looks like he has a decent opportunity at continued employment. The fact is, though, that while he was one of the few hundred best baseball players in the world, he is a fairly replaceable commodity at the major league level.

A perfect example of how Fantasy Baseballers and Statheads are disconnected from real baseball.
His stats don't mean snow, except the last word isn't snow.

Of course his stats mean something - they mean that he didn't hit very well during the opportunities he had. Whether they fully capture his ability isn't entirely the point - he didn't produce when he had his limited opportunities, and now the Twins are going to give someone else that role and see if they do better. It's not a product of being a "Stathead" so much as being results-oriented, to borrow a horrible business-speak term.

by BeefMaster on Oct 8, 2007 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Minor leagues

Yeah, he had a couple of good years in AAA from an OBP perspective, but those were his second and third years down there, when you would expect him to put up OBPs in the .350 range. Otherwise, nothing too strong there.

My biggest complaint was with his defense: He has a below average arm and little range. Why carry a utility player with those credentials. We could have hung onto Augie Ojeda instead and at least had a versatile defender.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Oct 8, 2007 9:18 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs