Logan Morrison signs for $5.5m on 2018 (Twins)

[Dick B Back]

Who ever wanted Morrison anyway?

@Lou can you look that up?

[eaterfan]

1 hour ago, totdprods said:

Joe Mauer is a fringe HOF candidate and has had the same routine and same org for 15 years. 

Logan Morrison is a journeyman role player who was fartin' around with a bunch of other jobless fringe players waiting for a gig two weeks after players reported on the heels of an offseason where he probably expected to land a safe job in December.

All that is fine, but any 1B FA we signed wasn't going to get much playing time. If you can't hit with sporadic ABs then the situation with the Angels wasn't the right one. 

[Lou]

9 hours ago, totdprods said:

Joe Mauer is a fringe HOF candidate and has had the same routine and same org for 15 years. 

Logan Morrison is a journeyman role player who was fartin' around with a bunch of other jobless fringe players waiting for a gig two weeks after players reported on the heels of an offseason where he probably expected to land a safe job in December.

So Morrison is sucking because his routine has been screwed up by the numerous rainouts, yet Mauer's hasn't? After all, he's had the same routine for 15 years.

You can call Morrison a role player, but he's averaged playing 134 games/yr over the last 3 seasons. Mauer has averaged 144. 

[totdprods]

12 hours ago, Lou said:

So Morrison is sucking because his routine has been screwed up by the numerous rainouts, yet Mauer's hasn't? After all, he's had the same routine for 15 years.

You can call Morrison a role player, but he's averaged playing 134 games/yr over the last 3 seasons. Mauer has averaged 144. 

You don't think Mauer is used to April games being postponed and snowed out? He was born and raised in Minnesota. This has been a problem since Target Field opened. LoMo's been home teaming out of Florida/domes his entire career. Mauer's pocketed $218 million - that's $200m more than LoMo - and hasn't had to sit through an entire offseason wondering where he'd play or move his family, especially coming off a career year. 

The dude's probably sucking because 1) he didn't have a normal winter/spring 2) he's not really a good player as is and 3) a shitty line tends to look really shitty after a mere 12 games/44 at-bats. I'll give the guy a pass before I write off that deal given the circumstances. 

Also, comparing LoMo's ability to Mauer's? Why? Mauer has 54.5 career WAR to LoMo's 4.5. Mauer has topped that amount in 5 seasons alone, and nearly topped it last year, even with LoMo putting up a career year. Kind of an unfair guy to lump LoMo against. 

[Lou]

Morrison was signed on Feb 25th. Minnesota didn't have their first ST game for another week. He played beginning Game 2, going 3-3. He began the spring going 8-20 (.400) .btw, he grew up in KC, where we saw how cold it can get. Btw, it's not like he's standing out in the cold all night. He's the DH. 

Ok, so I won't lump Morrison with Mauer. How about I lump him with every single player in Major League Baseball? Would that be better? 

Fact is, he has the worst BA and OPS in MLB. Worse than all of them.

Every single one. 

If we had signed him and he was putting up those stats, this place would be going apeshit. 

 

Edited April 21, 2018 by Lou

[totdprods]

28 minutes ago, Lou said:

Morrison was signed on Feb 25th. Minnesota didn't have their first ST game for another week. He played beginning Game 2, going 3-3. He began the spring going 8-20 (.400) .btw, he grew up in KC, where we saw how cold it can get. Btw, it's not like he's standing out in the cold all night. He's the DH. 

Ok, so I won't lump Morrison with Mauer. How about I lump him with every single player in Major League Baseball? Would that be better? 

Fact is, he has the worst BA and OPS in MLB. Worse than all of them.

Every single one. 

If we had signed him and he was putting up those stats, this place would be going apeshit. 

Hah, alright. Sure seems to me your thread-bumpin' trigger finger got a little itchy on this one. It hasn't even been two weeks and there's no way around the fact he's had an unconventional offseason and spring. Good point on the DH actually, maybe that is what's hurting him at the plate? He's already DHed 9 times this year, and his career high in a season is 17. Maybe he's one of those guys that needs to be in the field. That's another unfamiliarity he's dealing with.

And spring stats? Really? We're seeing firsthand with Shohei and Calhoun those mean jack...in fact, Kole stands a good chance at falling below LoMo's BA/OPS by the end of the weekend the way things are going. 

Let's bump this again in June or July and see how Morrison's doing. I doubt he'll replicate '17, but I'd be surprised if he's the worst player in baseball. 

[Lou]

1 minute ago, totdprods said:

And spring stats?

I guess you forgot about this:

 

2 hours ago, totdprods said:

The dude's probably sucking because 1) he didn't have a normal winter/spring

You excused his suckage due, in part, because of his spring.  Have you seen LoMo? Does he look like a guy who sits around until ST eating bon-bons while watching Doris Day movies? 

 

5 minutes ago, totdprods said:

. I doubt he'll replicate '17, but I'd be surprised if he's the worst player in baseball

Ha. Keep reaching for the stars. 

[101halo]

According to FG, his negative value is almost worth as much as his contract. Paid $5.5M, worth -$5M. That's not easy to do. 

[Lou]

Update:

last in BA

2nd to last in OPS  (thanks, Kole!)

[Blarg]

Calhoun has an 18 OPS+. 

That red headed twerp better be given the bunt sign every at bat, even with two strikes, until he raises that to the Mathis line of 60.

[Stradling]

1 minute ago, Blarg said:

Calhoun has an 18 OPS+. 

That red headed twerp better be given the bunt sign every at bat, even with two strikes, until he raises that to the Mathis line of 60.

Holy shit (can I say shit) I knew it was bad but didn’t know it was that bad.  

[totdprods]

10 minutes ago, Lou said:

Update:

last in BA

2nd to last in OPS  (thanks, Kole!)

Oh, hey. I'm glad you bumped this already.

Since the last post, he's gone... .250/.341/.444/.786 over his last 10 games. 

Also, this article came out on the Athletic, talking about baseball shortening the season, which had these excerpts:

Shoveled any snow lately? Brian Dozier has.

“One day [a mere week and a half ago], we got close to 20 inches in Minnesota,” the Twins second baseman reports. “We literally couldn’t open the doors to my house. It was halfway up the door. So we had to get to the garage and open the garage. And it was literally the first time I ever shoveled snow, being a Southern guy. My wife filmed me doing that.”

But if he was shoveling snow, one thing he obviously wasn’t doing was playing baseball. That’s because it feels like the Twins almost never play baseball. Due mostly to meteorological nightmares beyond their control, they’ve only played 18 games – and six home games – in four weeks. You think they’re opposed to figuring out some different way to draw up this schedule?

“I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining,” says first baseman/DH Logan Morrison. “But there has to be a better, smarter way to go about this, because playing baseball in 20 degrees is not smart, healthy or fun. That’s what it boils down to. No fan wants to come watch us play in 25-degree weather.”

I still think it's way, way too early to call LoMo's deal a total miss. 

[Lou]

Last

2nd to last 

[Blarg]

23 minutes ago, SuperTroopers said:

Holy shit (can I say shit) I knew it was bad but didn’t know it was that bad.  

It is DFA bad. The worst part is he is not willing to change his game which means he can't play at this level much longer. He is stubbornly choosing to be benched. 

[Lou]

Btw, Dozier's OPS+ is 99

and he shovels his own snow!

[Angel Oracle]

Cold Calhoun would probably shovel snow back at his face.   Seems that all of his contact made doesn't have the ball travel much further. 

[Lou]

Morrison is 4 for his last 20 (.200)

[UndertheHalo]

I was ok with bringing on Morrison.  Looks bad right now.  

[totdprods]

On 5/2/2018 at 4:33 PM, Lou said:

Morrison is 4 for his last 20 (.200)

And now he's hitting .353 in his last 20 PAs with a 1.097 OPS.

[CubsFan]

On 2/25/2018 at 3:16 PM, totdprods said:

Sure would have liked him as Cron's replacement and back-up corner OF. Still, he may have not received the playing time he desired here, and his pre '17 .245/.325/.416/.741 slash isn't anything special.

More worried about the Twins finding ways to improve and still having money to snag Lynn or Cobb. At some point you wonder if Eppler looks again at the Arrieta, Archer, and Holland's of the world...

I still like Neil Walker on a contract similar to what LoMo just signed. Gives you coverage at 2B, 3B, and 1B, a switch-hitter to platoon with anyone if they struggle against one side, and a back-up plan for next offseason to replace Kinsler or Valbuena.

Fred Lynn

[Lou]

Did I just see a Neil Walker reference? 

.171 BA

.233/.195/.428

OPS+ = 18
 

[nando714]

So the Vikings play in a retractable roof stadium but not the twins........

[totdprods]

On 5/2/2018 at 4:33 PM, Lou said:

Morrison is 4 for his last 20 (.200)

Morrison update:
Last 86 plate appearances - .267/.360/.480/.840, 8 XBH, 9 walks, 11 strikeouts.
WAR is now almost even. Slash is ugly, but a rough two weeks to open the year will do that. OPS+ is up to 73.
 

On 5/4/2018 at 6:26 PM, Lou said:

Did I just see a Neil Walker reference? 

.171 BA

.233/.195/.428

OPS+ = 18

In the month of May, 35 plate appearances, .346/.514/.462/.976, OPS+ has jumped up to 52. 

Seems to be a recurring issue for these vets who signed very late - practically in ST - are struggling at first and then coming around, at least to a hope of respectable production.

Kole's OPS+ is down to 6. How is that even possible?

[Angel Oracle]

Might as well send up Oglivie or Timmy Lupus to hit instead of Cold Calhoun.    Same result happens (an out).