The Minnesota Twins - The 18th best organization in the MLB

by lookatthosetwins on Mar 17, 2009 1:50 PM EDT Comment 4 comments

Yes, that is a rediculous statement. But it was made by a very intelligent writer over at FanGraphs, Dave Cameron. .

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/organizational-rankings-18

Now, before we get too upset, we need to understand that he takes into account ownership, and that this is going forward, so we don't get credit for Terry Ryan. But still, The Orioles, the White Sox, and Rangers all ranked ahead of us.

I expect a lot of us to comment over there, but remember that this is a stats first website, so be prepared to back up any statements you make. Lets show Dave that he is wrong, but also that the Twins fans are smart and objective.

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I assumed when I saw this diary title

that you were referring to Baseball Prospectus’ ranking of the Twins farm system, which just came out today—though actually they rank it 20th. Which is what happens when you have so many young players in the majors who are no longer prospects.

As for Cameron, it’s the same complaint: the Twins churn out players from their farm system, but then fail to address the holes on their roster because they are too cheap and lack imagination. I can’t say there isn’t some truth to it.

by Eric in Madison on Mar 17, 2009 3:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I respect Dave Cameron as an armchair baseball analyst

But good lord, could the guy be any more pithy in the comments and have a bigger hate on for the Twins org? Sheesh.

formerly known in these parts as adamb

by ravenfly on Mar 17, 2009 3:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Probably just makes up for the ESPN analysts

who all seem to have a pretty major hardon for the Twins (at least Stark and Caple, Olney and Gammons only have a minor hardon for the Twins).

by montanatwinsfan on Mar 17, 2009 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cameron obviously doesn't do much research

I admit to some homerish sentiments. OK, I give, I’m a total homer hack. But I take issue with his representation of the facts. For example, he doubts the Twins will funnel the additional revenues from the new stadium into the team “given what they have done in the past”. What he doesn’t do is examine what the Twins have spent as a percentage of revenue in the past. If he had, he would see that (with the exception of last year) they have spent more than 50%, which is industry standard. They just haven’t had any revenue to work with considering that they have the worst lease in baseball and one of the worst media contracts in baseball. If they spend according to their history in the new ballpark, they will spend considerably more than they do in the Metrodome.

The other thing that got to me is his laments that Joe Mauer deserves to play on a team that cares about winning. “It’s too bad,” he says, “that Mauer’s prime is going to be wasted playing on some teams that could have been special but ended up fairly mediocre. It’s too bad, because he’s a great player, and he deserves better.” I’m sorry, does Mauer play for the Pirates or Orioles? During the prime of his career, the Twins are in the top 10 in winning percentage in baseball. They have twice won more than 90 games and the division in his five years behind the plate, and only once had a losing record. Every analyst I’ve read projects winning records as far as the eye can see. What team does he think Mauer plays for? Does he expect the Twins to win the WS every year just because Mauer plays for them?

I could go on and on about his inaccuracies, but these two suffice to discredit him as a serious analyst.

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

by cmathewson on Mar 17, 2009 11:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs