I just wanted to know
This is a week old, and I recognize that Patrick Reusse is an “old-school” sports reporter*, but I’m asking for clarification. Reusse wrote in column at the Star and Tribune that “…if Young were to show up with his hitter's mind as muddled as it was for nearly four months of last season”. I only ask this: what four months did Young show up with a hitter’s mind muddled?
* I’m a fan of old-school mostly. However, in this case, an old-school sports reporter is one who picks players he likes and doesn’t like, and will constantly see that player as great or horrible. There are many bloggers out there that do the same. Me? I tend to see all players as great. I recognize that the worst first baseman in the league is still a better first baseman than billions of people worldwide.
For sake of comparison, I’m going to compare Delmon Young to Michael Cuddyer. (Please note: I love Michael Cuddyer. I have loved him as a baseball player since, well, before he was declared to be the regular third baseman.) I’m going to presume Mr. Reusse would grudgingly accept that last year’s Twins’ home run leader is an okay guy. (Reusse fits the cranky old sports writer role to a tee. He will only admit a player is good when he’s phenomenal (see Mauer, Joe), and even then will point out any possible flaw in his character (“I don’t care if he’s leading the league in innings behind the plate for the last five years! He’s hurt too often!”)
Was Young’s mind muddled in April, when he’s a notorious “slow starter”? In April, Young didn’t hit well, but I wouldn’t say it was horrendous: .241/.276/.315 in 54 at-bats. Bear in mind something I don’t think the fans knew, but Young certainly did: at age 23, his mother was terminally ill, and he couldn’t be near her. So beyond his notorious poor starts, he was dealing with problems beyond baseball. And even if that was a poor performance, I don’t see Reuesse calling Michael Cuddyer to task for his “slow start”. Cuddyer’s April stats read a poor .224/.318/.316 in 76 at-bats (only beating Young in on-base percentage—and age). That’s one poor month for Delmon Young, and according to Reusse: three to go. Cuddyer: 0, Young: 1.
Now let’s look at May. Please recall that Young missed at least a week due to his mother’s death (remember, again, he’s a 23-year-old kid). In 55 at-bats, he hit .236/.288/.236. Cuddyer, on the other hand, dropped off his slow start and hit a stellar .312/.395/.651 in 109 at-bats. Of course, his mother wasn’t dying, either. That’s two poor months for Young, and by Reusse’s standards, two to go. Cuddyer: 1, Delmon: 1.
In June is when Young started to come around. With Span out with an ear infection, Young would’ve had more regular playing time. In 67 at-bats, he hit .284/.279/.388. That’s pretty good, in my opinion, for a 23-year-old not named Joe Mauer*. Cuddyer did just better than him, .278/.333/.481 in 79 at-bats. Young wins in the batting average, Cuddyer in the on-base and slugging percentage. I’ll give it to Cuddyer. Two poor months for Young, Reusse tells us there are two more coming. Cuddyer: 2, Young: 1.
* Joe Mauer, in his June at age 23, hit .452/.528/.624.
Now, onto July. Young hit a surprising .313/.343/.500 in 32 at-bats. Cuddyer, meanwhile, went .250/.318/.490 in 100 at-bats. That’s a clear-cut win for Young, leading in all three stats (including on-base percentage, which is usually Young’s weak point). Two poor months for Young, and Reusse tells us there are still two to go. Cuddyer: 2, Young: 2.
In August, Young fell back a little bit, to .262/.279/.476 in 84 at-bats (clearly, getting more playing time). Cuddyer improved a bit over July and in 102 at-bats, hit .294/.333/.520. This clearly gets handed to Cuddyer, but Young’s August was not poor. Sure, it wasn’t excellent, but it’s not like he challenged the Mendoza line. Two poor months for Young, two to go according to Ruesse. Cuddyer: 3, Young: 2.
September came along to the race to the playoffs. Delmon was up to the task, hitting .309/.326/.444 in 81 at-bats. Cuddyer was equal to the task, hitting .282/.321/.563 in 103 at-bats. This is a hard call and while my gut tells me Cuddyer won, Young did lead in two of the three stats we’re looking at, so I’ll give it to Young. Two poor months for Young, and according to Reusse, we still have two left, which is hard when there’s only one month left to play. Cuddyer: 3, Young: 3.
In October, in the few games played, Young hit .455/.500/.909 with 22 at-bats. These would’ve included the crucial games of the years while the Twins overtook the Tigers. Young was named MLB co-player of the week for the last week of the season for his performance. Cuddyer, meanwhile, was not slouching, and hit .263/.417/.684 in 19 at-bats. We can safely give this one to Young. That leaves us with Cuddyer: 3, Young: 4.
I’m not sure where Reusse got his “for nearly four months” from, because I’m only counting two. Maybe three, if you want to count August, although I’d call you crazy for that. In most months, he and Cuddyer were fairly close, stats-wise.
When it all comes down to it, Young ended his year with a .284/.308/.425 line, and Cuddyer ended the year with a .276/.342/.520 line. Cuddyer’s stat line reads better than Young’s. But Cuddyer is in what’s considered the “prime” years (27-32), and Young is young (23 for much of the year).
I know Ryan has argued in favor of Delmon Young, but it seems the guy gets the bad end of the deal so often, I think it’s time we defend him a bit. Speaking of defending, I’m not good at analyzing defense, so I have to trust the experts who’ve analyzed Young’s poor defense. But I also have to trust the experts who say that Cuddyer’s is nothing to write home about, either. Young is playing out of his natural position (right field), so we’ll give him a small break there, too.
In other words, you can believe what you want to believe about Young. But please remember that what you believe and the reality are two different things. Why, there are even some people who think that the Earth is ROUND. Crazy, crazy people out there.
Timberwolves update: They have a 2-0 record since I last reported (that’s right—they haven’t lost in a week!). They’re now at 11-38, or a 22.4% winning percentage. The have the worst record in the West, but New Jersey has the worst record in the NBA, 4-40.
Wild Update: The Wild have a 27-25-4 record, for a 48.2% winning percentage.
* I’m a fan of old-school mostly. However, in this case, an old-school sports reporter is one who picks players he likes and doesn’t like, and will constantly see that player as great or horrible. There are many bloggers out there that do the same. Me? I tend to see all players as great. I recognize that the worst first baseman in the league is still a better first baseman than billions of people worldwide.
For sake of comparison, I’m going to compare Delmon Young to Michael Cuddyer. (Please note: I love Michael Cuddyer. I have loved him as a baseball player since, well, before he was declared to be the regular third baseman.) I’m going to presume Mr. Reusse would grudgingly accept that last year’s Twins’ home run leader is an okay guy. (Reusse fits the cranky old sports writer role to a tee. He will only admit a player is good when he’s phenomenal (see Mauer, Joe), and even then will point out any possible flaw in his character (“I don’t care if he’s leading the league in innings behind the plate for the last five years! He’s hurt too often!”)
Was Young’s mind muddled in April, when he’s a notorious “slow starter”? In April, Young didn’t hit well, but I wouldn’t say it was horrendous: .241/.276/.315 in 54 at-bats. Bear in mind something I don’t think the fans knew, but Young certainly did: at age 23, his mother was terminally ill, and he couldn’t be near her. So beyond his notorious poor starts, he was dealing with problems beyond baseball. And even if that was a poor performance, I don’t see Reuesse calling Michael Cuddyer to task for his “slow start”. Cuddyer’s April stats read a poor .224/.318/.316 in 76 at-bats (only beating Young in on-base percentage—and age). That’s one poor month for Delmon Young, and according to Reusse: three to go. Cuddyer: 0, Young: 1.
Now let’s look at May. Please recall that Young missed at least a week due to his mother’s death (remember, again, he’s a 23-year-old kid). In 55 at-bats, he hit .236/.288/.236. Cuddyer, on the other hand, dropped off his slow start and hit a stellar .312/.395/.651 in 109 at-bats. Of course, his mother wasn’t dying, either. That’s two poor months for Young, and by Reusse’s standards, two to go. Cuddyer: 1, Delmon: 1.
In June is when Young started to come around. With Span out with an ear infection, Young would’ve had more regular playing time. In 67 at-bats, he hit .284/.279/.388. That’s pretty good, in my opinion, for a 23-year-old not named Joe Mauer*. Cuddyer did just better than him, .278/.333/.481 in 79 at-bats. Young wins in the batting average, Cuddyer in the on-base and slugging percentage. I’ll give it to Cuddyer. Two poor months for Young, Reusse tells us there are two more coming. Cuddyer: 2, Young: 1.
* Joe Mauer, in his June at age 23, hit .452/.528/.624.
Now, onto July. Young hit a surprising .313/.343/.500 in 32 at-bats. Cuddyer, meanwhile, went .250/.318/.490 in 100 at-bats. That’s a clear-cut win for Young, leading in all three stats (including on-base percentage, which is usually Young’s weak point). Two poor months for Young, and Reusse tells us there are still two to go. Cuddyer: 2, Young: 2.
In August, Young fell back a little bit, to .262/.279/.476 in 84 at-bats (clearly, getting more playing time). Cuddyer improved a bit over July and in 102 at-bats, hit .294/.333/.520. This clearly gets handed to Cuddyer, but Young’s August was not poor. Sure, it wasn’t excellent, but it’s not like he challenged the Mendoza line. Two poor months for Young, two to go according to Ruesse. Cuddyer: 3, Young: 2.
September came along to the race to the playoffs. Delmon was up to the task, hitting .309/.326/.444 in 81 at-bats. Cuddyer was equal to the task, hitting .282/.321/.563 in 103 at-bats. This is a hard call and while my gut tells me Cuddyer won, Young did lead in two of the three stats we’re looking at, so I’ll give it to Young. Two poor months for Young, and according to Reusse, we still have two left, which is hard when there’s only one month left to play. Cuddyer: 3, Young: 3.
In October, in the few games played, Young hit .455/.500/.909 with 22 at-bats. These would’ve included the crucial games of the years while the Twins overtook the Tigers. Young was named MLB co-player of the week for the last week of the season for his performance. Cuddyer, meanwhile, was not slouching, and hit .263/.417/.684 in 19 at-bats. We can safely give this one to Young. That leaves us with Cuddyer: 3, Young: 4.
I’m not sure where Reusse got his “for nearly four months” from, because I’m only counting two. Maybe three, if you want to count August, although I’d call you crazy for that. In most months, he and Cuddyer were fairly close, stats-wise.
When it all comes down to it, Young ended his year with a .284/.308/.425 line, and Cuddyer ended the year with a .276/.342/.520 line. Cuddyer’s stat line reads better than Young’s. But Cuddyer is in what’s considered the “prime” years (27-32), and Young is young (23 for much of the year).
I know Ryan has argued in favor of Delmon Young, but it seems the guy gets the bad end of the deal so often, I think it’s time we defend him a bit. Speaking of defending, I’m not good at analyzing defense, so I have to trust the experts who’ve analyzed Young’s poor defense. But I also have to trust the experts who say that Cuddyer’s is nothing to write home about, either. Young is playing out of his natural position (right field), so we’ll give him a small break there, too.
In other words, you can believe what you want to believe about Young. But please remember that what you believe and the reality are two different things. Why, there are even some people who think that the Earth is ROUND. Crazy, crazy people out there.
Timberwolves update: They have a 2-0 record since I last reported (that’s right—they haven’t lost in a week!). They’re now at 11-38, or a 22.4% winning percentage. The have the worst record in the West, but New Jersey has the worst record in the NBA, 4-40.
Wild Update: The Wild have a 27-25-4 record, for a 48.2% winning percentage.
Labels: Delmon Young, G-g-g-girl, Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins
posted by thisisbeth | 2:08 PM
1 Comments:
Yaaaaaaaaay when other people say it, it makes me sound less insane!
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