I'll admit it - I'm a sucker for John Cusack movies. I have been since The Sure Thing which I quoted roughly 876 times during my college years. So I love the idea of breaking down a possible Joe Crede signing with the guys from Championship Vinyl. Take it away Rob:
Rob Gordon: Top five reasons the Twins should absolutely sign Joe Crede, listed in descending order of importance, from least to most:
One. He's a gold glove caliber fielder, something the Twins haven't had since Corey Koskie. Unless you count Nick Punto. And I don't.
Two. Depth. This team is one infield injury - at ANY position - from having Matt Tolbert be a full time starter. Bringing in Crede puts Brendan Harris as the first utility infielder off the bench. Depth counts.
Barry: Very nice, Rob, very nice. BUT you forgot one important thing. Who is the unlucky sap that doesn't make the roster if Crede is signed, huh? Four bench guys - count 'em - Harris, Redmond, fourth outfielder AND ... who's it gonna be Rob? Buscher and Tolbert represent two of Gardy's bench hard-ons - the left-handed bat versus the second middle infielder. Which desire comes out on top?
Rob (frowning): Three. Brendan Harris and Brian Buscher aren't as good as you think they are. Harris hits a little better than a utility infielder and fields worse than one. Buscher hit the snot out of righthanders but it was 174 at-bats, OK? And he's almost 28 years old. Both of these guys are real assets if they come off the bench, but not as everyday players or even as platoon guys. Especially if the lineup is already saddled with Nick Punto and Carlos Gomez.
Barry: Harris should be immediately disqualified just for how he spells his first name. "Brandon" needs to have a masculine "O" in it somewhere. This derivative of "Brenda" crap sucks @$$.
Dick: I like Harris. He reminds me of Marlon Anderson, except with his career kind of derailed, Warren Morris style. Except white.
Rob and Barry: (Blink. Blink.)
Rob: Four. Screw the money. The money doesn't mean a thing in this case. Twins fans have been brainwashed into thinking that every contract needs to be fiscally responsible. It doesn't. The Diamondbacks won a World Series while being riduculed for paying $10 million a year to a washed up Matt Williams. The Twins know damn well there is no such thing as a bad one year contract, especially when you're $20 million in the black. So don't tell me we should be passing on an opportunity to make the team better just because we want to guarantee $3 million instead of $5 million.
Barry: Yeah, and if the fascist bean counters don't like it, screw them! Let 'em riot! We don't care! We're Sonic Death Monkey!
Rob (Rubs temples. Looks up. Gathers self. Stares into camera): And five - the most important reason. Joe Crede basically is Michael Cuddyer. Both are right-handed with power. They'll both be 30 on Opening Day. Both struggle with batting average. Both were hurt most of last year. Both haven't really met expectations except for huge years in 2006.
So if the Twins had a chance to sign Michael Cuddyer for an affordable one year deal, except that they knew he would play third base at close to a gold glove level, they wouldn't do it? Of course they would. It's a no-brainer.
Barry: BZZZZZZ! Oh, I'm sorry, thanks for playing Rob. But the correct answer was "Ty Wigginton." Yes, yes, Wigginton, though the judges would've accepted any derivation of "Wiggy". Wiggy, you see, slugs left-handers at a .500-plus clip over the last three years. The perfect compliment for Buscher.
Rob: True?
Barry: Ask him.
Dick: .568
Barry: Wiggington, Rob. Wigginton! Yeah! Now let's get outta here. Later losers.
Rob Gordon: Top five reasons the Twins should absolutely sign Joe Crede, listed in descending order of importance, from least to most:One. He's a gold glove caliber fielder, something the Twins haven't had since Corey Koskie. Unless you count Nick Punto. And I don't.
Two. Depth. This team is one infield injury - at ANY position - from having Matt Tolbert be a full time starter. Bringing in Crede puts Brendan Harris as the first utility infielder off the bench. Depth counts.
Barry: Very nice, Rob, very nice. BUT you forgot one important thing. Who is the unlucky sap that doesn't make the roster if Crede is signed, huh? Four bench guys - count 'em - Harris, Redmond, fourth outfielder AND ... who's it gonna be Rob? Buscher and Tolbert represent two of Gardy's bench hard-ons - the left-handed bat versus the second middle infielder. Which desire comes out on top?Rob (frowning): Three. Brendan Harris and Brian Buscher aren't as good as you think they are. Harris hits a little better than a utility infielder and fields worse than one. Buscher hit the snot out of righthanders but it was 174 at-bats, OK? And he's almost 28 years old. Both of these guys are real assets if they come off the bench, but not as everyday players or even as platoon guys. Especially if the lineup is already saddled with Nick Punto and Carlos Gomez.
Barry: Harris should be immediately disqualified just for how he spells his first name. "Brandon" needs to have a masculine "O" in it somewhere. This derivative of "Brenda" crap sucks @$$.
Dick: I like Harris. He reminds me of Marlon Anderson, except with his career kind of derailed, Warren Morris style. Except white.Rob and Barry: (Blink. Blink.)
Rob: Four. Screw the money. The money doesn't mean a thing in this case. Twins fans have been brainwashed into thinking that every contract needs to be fiscally responsible. It doesn't. The Diamondbacks won a World Series while being riduculed for paying $10 million a year to a washed up Matt Williams. The Twins know damn well there is no such thing as a bad one year contract, especially when you're $20 million in the black. So don't tell me we should be passing on an opportunity to make the team better just because we want to guarantee $3 million instead of $5 million.
Barry: Yeah, and if the fascist bean counters don't like it, screw them! Let 'em riot! We don't care! We're Sonic Death Monkey!
Rob (Rubs temples. Looks up. Gathers self. Stares into camera): And five - the most important reason. Joe Crede basically is Michael Cuddyer. Both are right-handed with power. They'll both be 30 on Opening Day. Both struggle with batting average. Both were hurt most of last year. Both haven't really met expectations except for huge years in 2006.
So if the Twins had a chance to sign Michael Cuddyer for an affordable one year deal, except that they knew he would play third base at close to a gold glove level, they wouldn't do it? Of course they would. It's a no-brainer.
Barry: BZZZZZZ! Oh, I'm sorry, thanks for playing Rob. But the correct answer was "Ty Wigginton." Yes, yes, Wigginton, though the judges would've accepted any derivation of "Wiggy". Wiggy, you see, slugs left-handers at a .500-plus clip over the last three years. The perfect compliment for Buscher.
Rob: True?
Barry: Ask him.
Dick: .568
Barry: Wiggington, Rob. Wigginton! Yeah! Now let's get outta here. Later losers.
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7 comments:
Nailed it. I'm a big fan of high fidelity and now am a big fan of signing Crede
Crede's injury is not like Cuddyer's injury. I like Cuddyer's chances at fully recovering from a dislocated finger better than Crede's chances of fully recovering from back problems.
And according to Joe C, it's $7 mil, not $5 mil that Crede is looking for in guaranteed money.
I'd still like to see the signing, though.
LEN3 just said the Twins are willing to reach $7M if he meets all the incentives. I doubt any other team would top that offer.
that was a thing of beauty there.. I'm STILL giggling.
of course the biggest differences between Cuddy and Crede (funny how that kind of coordinated) are a) their AGENTS and b) history with the team.
Cuddy doesn't have the BorAss complication nor does he have to have a transition period where he learns our way of doing things and builds a rhythmn with the other fielders. To look at stats alone is a huge handicap to understanding player makeup.
But that being said, Crede has his own positives.
I think you chose the correct tool to discuss your Joe Crede feelings.
I agree open the wallet, take a risk, possible high reward, this isn't a Livan Hernandez, Tony Batista type signing. The guy was an All-Star last year and just needs to stay on the field.
If he plays only 90 games, that's 90 games Buscher/Harris aren't playing!
1. He was a Gold Glove caliber defender. Now he's going to be 31 and coming off two back surgeries. There's no guarantee he will retain his defensive proficiency, even if he's healthy.
2. Building depth around extremely injury-prone players is not a wise strategy. There's a reason no one has signed Crede over this entire offseason even though he's only looking for a one year deal and plenty of teams could have used a player of his ilk. Nobody believes he's healthy.
3. I don't think anyone thinks Harris/Buscher are all that great, but they're healthy, cheap, and in their prime years. Yes, Buscher's success last year came in only 174 at-bats, but he's also demolished Triple-A pitching for two straight years. There's plenty of reason to think this guy can hit the ball. Harris has very nice career numbers against lefties.
4. A bad contract is a bad contract. Having money available doesn't make overspending on undeserving players palatable. If Crede can be had for a couple million plus incentives, it's a decent signing. Paying over $5M for him would be foolish.
5. Michael Cuddyer can get on base. Joe Crede cannot. I think Crede bears more similarities to Tony Batista than Cuddyer.
I agree that there's no such thing as a bad one-year contract. I highly doubt the money saved from a no-signing would rollover to 2010 or beyond. That $5mil going right back into the Pohlads pockets, never to be seen again.
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