Blog for cmathewson: SB Nation

cmathewson

joined Mar 26, 2008 last login Dec 20, 2009 posts 319 comments 7697

I generally try to give Twins management the benefit of the doubt. But when they make what seem to be obvious mistakes, I call them on it. An example was the Bartlett/Castro position. If two players are demonstrably the same, I think you should take the younger player with more upside and athleticism. And I thought Bartlett was much better than Castro, especially in the field. So it made no sense to me to hold him back in favor of an aged utility player with no track record as an everyday player.

I also believe in a balance of numerical analysis and scouting. Unfortunately, we don't have access to proprietary scouting reports. So I rely more on numbers than scouting. Still, if I find people trying to demonstrate stuff with numbers that only constitute partial proof, I'll call him out. And I make claims that rely on my scouting eye, such as it is. I long for the day when the MLB runs its scouting like the NFL, opening up information on prospects to the general public. We as bloggers could make much more informed positions if they did.

If you want to know more about me in real life, read my LinkedIn profile. Briefly, my real name is James Mathewson. cmathewson is an homage to my father, who's first initial was C. He was a huge Twins fan, and I became a fan of the Twins in the '60's by listening to the radio with him in the back yard or on his sailboat on Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. He didn't know much about the game (when he coached, he taught all the players to slide into first). But his passion for players such as Cesar Tovar and Kirby Puckett was infectious. The fact that my nome de plume is also the initials of the greatest pitcher of all time not named Maddux (and a shirt-tail relative) is just a bonus.

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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?

5 days ago cmathewson 31 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.

7 days ago cmathewson 3 comments 0 recs

Will the Twins be active in the Winter Meetings?

Kelsey Smith of the Pioneer Press thinks so. My top target: Jed Lowrie. Now that the Red Sox have signed Marco Scutaro, Lowrie figures to go on the block. He'd look good at and batting second for the Twins in 2010.

14 days ago cmathewson 8 comments 0 recs

It's official: Red Dog won't be back

Few are surprised. But it is sad to see such a great guy and a great leader move on. Hopefully, he finds another major league job. If not, he'll make a great coach or manager somewhere.

15 days ago cmathewson 12 comments 0 recs

My top 25 Twins prospects

by cmathewson on Dec 1, 2009 6:44 PM EST Comment 58 comments

Everybody loves prospects lists. This is my 25th year of compiling one. I have to say I am not very systematic about it. I spend a lot of time reading about prospects, looking at stats and following minor league games. I then formulate an intuitive ranking, based on some hybrid of upside and performance. In addition to raw numbers, I try to factor in age, level and scouting into my evaluation. But I don't sit down with a computer program and feed all the variables into some formula. It's more like an eyeball estimate.

This year for the first time in my 25 years of making a list, several prospects had very little pro experience to help guage their prospect ranking. In those cases, it is all upside. But the Twins added more high-upside guys in one year than they have since I've followed the system--an indication that the Carl Pohlad days of nixing international signings and discouraging expensive drafting are over. We see the benefits of the Jim Pohlad era: Get the best talent money can buy when it's relatively cheap; develop it into high-end talent; and win. With the new approach, the second decade of the 21st century looks even brighter than the first for the Twins.

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Joe C. gets honorable mention for Reusse's Turkey of the Year

Why? Because Joe cites OPS when evaluating players, which Reusse claims is a "made-up stat." With that one stroke of his typewriter (yes, Reusse probably still disdains a PC), he confirms that he his is a complete idiot.

The TwinkieTown Turkey of the Year? Patrick Reusse. An award that is long overdue. After all, it was just last year that he claimed the AJ Pierzinski is a more valuable asset to a franchise than Joe Mauer.

25 days ago cmathewson 29 comments 0 recs

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