Why is Punto in the Majors still?

[hcmpls1]

Big Dave... come on, get with it. You trade prospects. Last time I checked we have one of the better minor leauge systems in ALL of baseball meaning we have a lot of options. Who we would trade would be a matter of what the other team wants in return and what we're willing to give up.

[Big Dave2]

That list was full of players like A-Rod. What prospects are you going to give the Yankees for him?

[hcmpls1]

Big Dave, Big Dave, Big Dave.... That list included half of major league baseball. Literally. Now, I would argue that history shows for a team to give up talent, they typically want prospects in return. Which prospects would someone want for a quality third base? I don’t know. My name isn't Gardenhire, Smith or Pohlad. I do know our minor league system has plenty of talent and other teams typically want it. Not a bad position to be in when you need to fill an immediate gap.

[Ybone]

I think the Twins are quite happy with Punto at 3rd so they are not looking to fill a gap. I'd hate to see them trade a good prospect like Gibson for one for someone who may hit some homeruns but wouldn't play 3rd as well as Punto.

[mnwild]

then how does MLB figure out a players average if the number of at bats has nothing to do with it???

[greebs]

ok before this gets any more out of hand and everyone starts thinking I want arod and his salary on our team, I'm going to remind all that my list was put together quickly because I was playing what has turned out to be a stupid game with big dave. (he must have been one of those kids that always changed the game rules half way through the games so that he could win) I was given the green light to post from all of mlb who I'd rather see as our 3b and those names were pulled from the leaderboard. The list might be even longer if I took the time to see what all the other 3b's are doing this year and the last few. arod can keep his pinstripes because the twins don't buy championships (however, if he'd be willing to accept punto's salary, I think I'd go along with that trade)

[Big Dave2]

Of course you need to factor in the number of at bats to get an average but what I was saying is that it doesn't matter if you have a large number of at bats or a small number of at bats it's still an average. You are not going to necessarily have a better average just because you have less at bats than someone else.

then how does MLB figure out a players average if the number of at bats has nothing to do with it???

[Big Dave2]

You Punto haters just keep skirting the real question. I will ask it one more time for the slow and only one more time.

I-f N-i-c-k P-u-n-t-o s-h-o-u-l-d n-o-t b-e t-h-e t-h-i-r-d b-a-s-e-m-a-n f-o-r t-h-e T-w-i-n-s t-h-e-n w-h-o s-h-o-u-l-d b-e????????????

[mr_jman]

Its simple, the answer is... Nick Punto!

[JBMasterAngler]

I am quite happy with him at 3rd. Personally I think he's a great #9 hitter. His defense is good, and he's also a utility man. What else do you want from him? Compare him to the rest of the #9 hitters in the AL and I bet he's better than most.

[Harmonica Bear]

My lord, don't tell me there is a stat for the best #9 hitters? Ha! Now - that cracks me up! Great and #9 hitter in the same sentence.

[cowdisciple]

The positional flexibility he gives you is really key. If you're going to carry 12 pitchers and give one of your four bench spots to a guy who doesn't play the field at all, you HAVE to have Punto's defensive versatility to make the roster work.

[greebs]

The positional flexibility he gives you is really key. If you're going to carry 12 pitchers and give one of your four bench spots to a guy who doesn't play the field at all, you HAVE to have Punto's defensive versatility to make the roster work.

agree with this statement. twins must really agree with this because they've currently got 4 punto's in the roster now when you throw in harris, casilla, and tolbert.

[pikehunter]

Doesn't defense still win championships?

Every good team has a Punto-like guy. How many runs do you think he saves with his glove over the course of a year?

I'm fine with him. Just like I was fine with Gagne in 87 and 91. Those teams didn't turn out so bad, despite a lineup that ended with him and his mid-.200 batting average.

[greebs]

Doesn't defense still win championships?

It does in basketball and to a lesser extent in football. Defense is important but hasn't got the twins very far in the playoffs the last few years though.

Every good team has a Punto-like guy. How many runs do you think he saves with his glove over the course of a year?

How many runs do you think he saves? Another poster on this forum once said over 100 runs a year. I'm sure if a person looked it up there are stats for this and I'd guess the answer is much closer to 1 than it is to 100.

[Ybone]

Defense wins in baseball too. You can win with bad offense but it's very difficult to win with bad defense in any sport. If it wasn't for the dh a lot of good offensive players would be out of a job like Thome or Ortiz for example however every team has some good defensive players who don't hit very good. As far as losing in the playoffs you can't blame Punto at least not last year, didn't he hit over .4oo and was named most valuable for the playoffs.

[hcmpls1]

I figured out why Punto sucks... He's really George Michael.

[fishyguy]

Doesn't defense still win championships?

It does in basketball and to a lesser extent in football. Defense is important but hasn't got the twins very far in the playoffs the last few years though.

Every good team has a Punto-like guy. How many runs do you think he saves with his glove over the course of a year?

How many runs do you think he saves? Another poster on this forum once said over 100 runs a year. I'm sure if a person looked it up there are stats for this and I'd guess the answer is much closer to 1 than it is to 100.

4 of the last 5 WS champions were top 10 in defense the year they won and more often that not their opponent was also in the top 10. The team that wasn't in the top 10 was 14th. Still top half. Seems to be a pattern there.

Let's face it. If Kubel, Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Young, and Thome do their jobs it would not hardly matter what Punto did at the plate. We generally lose because the pitching staff had a rough night or the big bats didn't do the job. It is pretty rare when we lose because Punto hit a chopper back to the pitcher in the 5th inning. With having Thome or Kubel on the bench most nights we won't see Punto with many meaningful 9th inning at bats (once Hardy returns to the lineup Punto is the last weak hitter left).

On a side note, Nick Punto in not Ozzie Smith by any stretch but Ozzie managed a pretty nice HOF career by batting .262 lifetime. Defense must of meant something back then.

[JBMasterAngler]

Awesome play on defense tonight! One of the better double plays I've seen this year.

[greebs]

that's a play that every mlb 3b is expected to make. just like harris' barehand grab and throwout of go go yesterday. they both look good but both were plays that every other 3b is expected to make.

punto sure had a nice 3 pitch at bat (not) when gardy gave him the opportunity to be the hero on saturday. anybody ever hear why gardy put thome in there to ph in an obvious intentional walk situation with runners on 2nd and 3rd?

[Big Dave2]

Doesn't defense still win championships?

It does in basketball and to a lesser extent in football. Defense is important but hasn't got the twins very far in the playoffs the last few years though.

Your kidding, right?

defense is the most important aspect of baseball and it is just important to winning games in baseball than any other sport if not more so. Thats the first thing I tell my little league teams.

If defense isn't all that important then why do good starting pitchers get paid so much money to play every 5th game?

[foulpole18]

His batting average is still better than Kubels.

[pikestabber]

I figured out why Punto sucks... He's really George Michael.

OK, that's just funny, I don't care what side of the argument you're on!

[mnwild]

I'll take Kubels average (.214) hr's (3) and rbi's (22) over Punto's average (.218) zero hr's with 10 rbi's anyday of the week.

[greebs]

I'm being as serious as a heart attack. The D truly has not gotten the twins very far in the playoffs the last several years. Defense is very important for little leaguers but I'll take strong pitching over defense any day when it comes to the majors.