Delmon Young

[PierBridge]

So much for multiple All star games which a lot of you guys anointed him last year after 2 good months. I think we can close the chapter on the worst trade in Twins history, one that we gave up 2 all stars for a one or actually at this point a NONE dimensional player. This trade will go down as not only the worst in Twins history but one of worst in MLB history. Frankly IMO this trade cost us another World Series! I've tried putting his Fielding woes in the background but now that he's a .200 or .222 hitter in his last 100 games that can't play little league defense or understand basic fundementals and now he's Joe Mauer 2 as far as injurys go.

Let's face the facts boys and girls, it's time to move on.

Thank goodness they didn't sign him to a long term big money contract like some of the mouths in here wanted to...

Am I wrong?

Discuss!

[Getanet]

Am I wrong?

Discuss!

Well, considering Tampa Bay has gotten rid of both Garza and Bartlett I don't think you can make the case either of those two players are future HOFers. Not saying you don't have a point, but as for "one of the worst trades in major league history" I would say, yes, you're wrong.

You would make a great radio talk show host though!

[Willy]

Worst in team history? Maybe, but let's be honest here. Pretty muhc every trade Billy Smith has made has been a failure. The guy needs to go.

- Santana for = nothing

- Garza and your starting shortstop for = Delmon Young

- Wilson Ramos for = a marginal at best reliever

- JJ Hardy for = bunch o garbage

- Signing Mauer for 5 million a year more than he's worth

- Letting Hunter walk without giving even a decent try at an offer

- Letting your ENTIRE bullpen go and thinking you can compete a year after you won 94 game

I guess I can't find too much that he has done right. IMO Twins are looking to be on the downward slide. Poor minor leagues, almost zero prospects down there. A team full of veterans with a payroll around 110 mil. Your highest paid and supposed leader turning out to be the biggest pansy in all of sports. And your one legitimate power hitter with a mushed brain. ZERO bullpen. A rotation without an ace and abunch of # 3-4 staters. Not looking good for the Twins future.

[PierBridge]

Fair enough guys. It just gets so frustrating waiting for him to reach his so called potential. The lame excuse of he's young is getting old, my goodness he's been in the league quite some time now. Terrible defense aside what really bothers me is his strike-out to walk ratio in which he still and always will hold the all time MLB record something crazy like 11 walks and 150 K's for an entire season.

And lets face it MLB pitchers have figured him out which is too bad because the guy has some serious hand eye coordination when it comes to hitting a baseball.

Thanks for letting vent I feel better now.

Go Twins Go Delmonty!

[zepman]

I agree Pier...although the Santana trade was a real doozy too. Who'd we get for him again???

[bigbad3]

we wouldn't let the big D catch for our softball team

[greebs]

the young age factor is reaching the point where that shouldn't be part of any excuses for him as he has plenty of experience now that age shouldn't be a factor. that being said, he is only 25 years old which is about the time many big leaguers finally become regular starters. couple comparisons on the team; morneau I believe was in his second season as a starter at age 25. cuddy and span became starters about that age.

whether it's deserved is questionable but cuddy made the all time twins top 50 team. just as a comparison, at delmon's current age cuddy had around 20 homers and 40 rbi's. delmon has current career numbers of about 60 homers and 350 rbis.

It sure looks like delmon is soon to assume the role of a designated hitter unless his defense picks up. If he remains a twin, I'm hopeful that they will soon move him back to right field where he began his career and that he can perform better there than he can in left field. his attitude is always a question mark but if he can get back to hitting like he did last year and the last half of the prior year, he's a dangerous hitter. seems that he's always been a slow starter so guess we'll see if he picks it up at the plate sometime soon.

definitely not the worst trade in team history and no where close to worst in mlb history. and too early to close any book on his career. in all actuality, if he plays as a twin another ten years (doubtful but possible) and continues with offensive numbers that he's averaged for his career, he might replace some of the guys currently on the top 50 twins roster.

[zamboni]

Well, considering Tampa Bay has gotten rid of both Garza and Bartlett I don't think you can make the case either of those two players are future HOFers. Not saying you don't have a point, but as for "one of the worst trades in major league history" I would say, yes, you're wrong.

You would make a great radio talk show host though!

They had a fire sale and got rid of alot of players because their minor league system is now what ours USED to be. That's what happens when you are bad for a long time and get decent draft picks. I know in MLB that draft picks rarely pan out, but it doesn't hurt

[zamboni]

BTW, I watch him and CANNOT believe he was a #1 overall draft pick. He is absolutely clueless in the field. We did get one good half of a season out of him! Sled will never let us forget that one!!

[PierBridge]

Not to pile on Delmon....but my goodness Delmon YOU are not the umpire so dont stop on the game winning play when you think the ball was touched by a fan...KEEP PLAYING you probably cost us that run by lolly gagging, waving your arms 20 yards from the ball.... I think his loafing influenced the umpires on that ruling although I do agree the runner probably would not have scored but with Delmon no where in sight the Umps felt he would have scored.

Oh well guess we can't be good every year and it's probably best a lot of our players are having career worst years all at the same time...

[zepman]

Should have been ruled a ground rule double once the ball went into the stands IMO...runner to 3rd and not home. I thought that was a terrible call.

[B. Amish]

one of the worst calls ever. it doesn't matter if delmon was floppin on the ground in center field, the ball went into the stands = ground rule double.

[Musky Buck]

Give it 2 years and we'll wonder is that Delmon or Dmitri Young out there. Twins are a mess at present time. Mauer might as well take a leave of absence for the season. Those first row metrodome jacks are now F 7's for Mauer. Beats having the Yanks beat us down, Nathan can breathe easier now.

[10,000 Casts]

Worst Left Fielder in MLB!!!! Probably AAA and AA too. And now he doesn't have the bat to make up for it. I am to the point now where I find him entertaining instead of frustrating.. He must be a headcase. I feel bad for the starting pitchers having Casilla at short and DY in Left.

Batting G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS

Delmon 32 119 9 25 3 0 1 10 6 25 1 0 .210 .244 .261 .505

.210 avg, .261 Slugging and .244 on base %,

[ted4887]

Worst in team history? Maybe, but let's be honest here. Pretty muhc every trade Billy Smith has made has been a failure. The guy needs to go.

- Signing Mauer for 5 million a year more than he's worth

- Letting Hunter walk without giving even a decent try at an offer

These two points are the only ones I will touch on, but in Smiths defense, the Mauer situation was a lose-lose situation from the get-go. Had Smith not gotten a contract signed with Mauer, and let Mauer hear offers from teams like the Yanks and Red Sox, we would have lost him for sure. The sky would have been the limit for him, and we wouldn't have had him. It's hard to justify not giving the hometown favorite a contract, that up until this year, he had earned.

The Hunter situation sucked, and I agree completely. He's still my favorite Twins player to date, and hope that they find a way to bring him back after his contract with the Angels is up. It would be nice to see Hunter one more time in a Twins uniform before he retires. However, there is no way he was worth the $100 million contract he signed with the Angels. We weren't going to fork over that kind of cash unfortunately.

[Willy]

These two points are the only ones I will touch on, but in Smiths defense, the Mauer situation was a lose-lose situation from the get-go. Had Smith not gotten a contract signed with Mauer, and let Mauer hear offers from teams like the Yanks and Red Sox, we would have lost him for sure. The sky would have been the limit for him, and we wouldn't have had him. It's hard to justify not giving the hometown favorite a contract, that up until this year, he had earned.

The Hunter situation sucked, and I agree completely. He's still my favorite Twins player to date, and hope that they find a way to bring him back after his contract with the Angels is up. It would be nice to see Hunter one more time in a Twins uniform before he retires. However, there is no way he was worth the $100 million contract he signed with the Angels. We weren't going to fork over that kind of cash unfortunately.

I pretty much agree with you. I think Hutner would have signed here for 4/60 though, had it been offered before he reached FA. Twins really haven't had a righthanded bat since he left.

Also Mauer didn't need 23 per year. I think more like 18-19 would have been sufficient. Also, if I were the GM, I woud have told Mauer earlier this year, either you are hurt, or you are not. Get your arse out there. They let Joe run the show and that is not right. Too late now, the season is lost and I am putting it 50% on Bill Smith and 50% on the softest player in modern baseball history.

[zepman]

How do you suppose the East coast media and fans would be treating Mauer right now had he signed with the Yanks or Sox???

[zamboni]

Part of me says the Yanks or the Sox were smart enough to stay away from a guy that owns 3 properties on the DL like in Monopoly

[PierBridge]

one of the worst calls ever. it doesn't matter if delmon was floppin on the ground in center field, the ball went into the stands = ground rule double.

It's not a ground rule double guys. The umpires have to determine where they believe they runners would have ended up if the ball had not went into the stands or was touched by a fan. There were 2 outs and the guy on 1st was past 2nd so it's not all that outrageous to assume he would have score from 1st on a ball hit down the line.

And yes Delmon stopping, starting 3 times waving his arms made the umpires call easier. If Delmon does his job and runs directly to the ball and throws it in in quickly "DUH" the Umpires would have realized that the runner probably would not have scored.

It's not a ground rule double it's a judgment call. I can see auguring the judgment but Delmons not knowing or understanding the game "again" really hurt on this one.

[zepman]

You are wrong Pier...a ball in the stands IS a ground rule double...the umpires called fan interference instead and that's the part that brings in the judgement call by them. On a GRD the player is still at 3rd. They flat out blew the call.

It really doesn't matter anyway....

[PierBridge]

You are wrong Pier...a ball in the stands IS a ground rule double...the umpires called fan interference instead and that's the part that brings in the judgment call by them. On a GRD the player is still at 3rd. They flat out blew the call.

It really doesn't matter anyway....

Is does matter and you are 100 percent wrong...PERIOD! and you answered your question. It was fan interference obviously when the 1st fan reached into play and touched the ball and that is what the umpires called....PERIOD. ...not the 2nd guy and kid that the ball hit when it went into the stands. Then again what do I know I've only umpired for close to 30 years and will be doing another NATIONAL Tourney again this fall in Medford Oregon.

Also if you followed the rules a bit closer you would know if a mistake was made on the rule, as if the umps wouldn't know what ground rule double is "LMAO" the Twins WOULD have PROTESTED the ruling. Instead the Twins like myself understand the RULES and thus All Gardy had to argue was the JUDGMENT on the play which was very arguably in-spite of Delmons basic fundamental blunder.

Hope this clears things up for you guys!

[soldoncass]

Actually nothing is cleared up at all! The fan by the angled wall reached for it.....I can find no evidence he touched it......but that is apparently what was called. The guy in the orange shirt and the kid in front of him FOR SURE WERE HIT BY THE BALL(in the stands). Does a guy reaching FOR the ball trump the ball in the stands??????Just because an ump makes a call, doesn't make it a CORRECT CALL.....# of years you have umped has NO BEARING ON THE CALL.

It sure followed the bad luck of the TWINS this year. It seems like if it could go against us...IT WILL.

[Scott K]

As in highschool sports, the rules are, no arguing calls. What the ump called isnt negotiable. So what he calls is the correct call. Nothing to discuss. The play is over, and nothing can be done about it.

I didnt see the play in question, because I jumped ship a long time ago. Sounds like just drama a bad team will have throughout the year. Carry on!

[zepman]

Funny stuff Pier.

[B. Amish]

except that the umpire that made the call referenced the guy and kid that the ball hit as the ones that were interfering with the baseball in the field of play.