Former Brewers GM Doug Melvin says he’s sleeping better in the six months since he ceded the team’s GM job to David Stearns, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes. Now a senior advisor, Melvin has continued to work in player development with the Brewers, but he’s also taken more time for himself.  “It’s like the difference between a coach and a manager. When you’re a coach, you have your certain responsibilities. You’re available. But when you’re the manager, you feel responsible to 25 players, plus the coaches and the trainers and everybody,” says Melvin. As a GM, he says, “[you feel a total responsibility. Pro scouting, amateur scouting, international scouting, player development, the Major League team — there’s always something to think about.” Here’s more from the Central divisions.
- Tigers owner Mike Ilitch is the closest thing the game has to a modern-day George Steinbrenner, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. After adding Justin Upton and Jordan Zimmermann this offseason, the Tigers have four players signed to nine-figure contracts. Of course, the ends of those kinds of contracts can create roster flexibility issues of the sort the Yankees have dealt with in recent years, and Sherman notes that the Tigers already have $122MM committed for the 2018 season for Upton, Zimmermann, Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander and Victor Martinez.
- Twins star Joe Mauer says lingering concussion symptoms caused him to have blurred vision while hitting the past two seasons, Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press writes. The vision issues were caused by sunlight, Mauer says he will try hitting with sunglasses in an effort to improve his ability to pick up pitches. “If you’re just a little off, you’re fouling off pitches you should be driving into the gap,” says Mauer. “In the big leagues, you don’t get too many more opportunities to see good ones to hit.” Mauer adds that he does not want his concussion issues to be an “excuse” for his performance the last two seasons, in which he’s seen a dramatic decline in offense. (He’s hit .270/348/.376 the last two years, compared to a previous career average of .323/.405/.468.) Mauer is still signed for the next three years at $23MM per season, so he could provide a big long-term boost to the Twins if he were to get back on track.
Mauer fell off a cliff in terms of production. He went from one of the most valuable positions (catcher) to one of the least (1B/DH). All while losing any power he had and ability to get on base consistently.
He really got beat up behind the plate.
Gee, did it really take two years of blurred vision during sunny days to think of sunglasses? Bright boy. (Pun intended)
Got any more good traumatic brain injury jokes?
Yes but clearly the move the 1B/DH hasnt panned out
There are a lot of “if” here but if Mauer returns to the ultra productive Joe Mauer of old….if Miguel Sano continues to be a force in the middle of the lineup…if Byron Buxton starts to show his skill set…..and if Byung Ho Park transitions well to MLB the Minnesota Twins could have a very potent scoring lineup. They are an interesting young team to keep an eye on.
I think it’s a safe bet that Mauer of old is gone, the question is can Mauer improve on last 2 years into simply being a solid regular. Sano is going to be really good imo, and I’m a total believer in Buxton, 100 PA’s shouldn’t sour you too much but he also needs to stay healthy. It’s hard to see Twins doing the same as last year unless they continue to get the same scatter luck tho, that pitching staff (rotation and pen) looks very bad
Try going to the batting cages and hit with sunglasses. Even if you are a disciplined hitter, and keep your “squared to the plate,” the centrifugal force of your hips, shoulders and arms powering to one direction will cause the glasses to shift during the swing. Imagine trying to beat out an infield hit or stretch a single to extra bases wearing glasses that are ajar. There’s a reason why few players wear sunglasses (or any glasses) to hit. Yes, some do wear them and a hitter can still be formidable. But it’s harder than it may seem and very easy to allow your head to move with your shoulders if you start feeling the glasses move early during the swing. That alone causes all kinds of issues.
So, what would it cost the Tigers to sign Cabrera, Verlander, Martinez, Zimmerman and Upton to a one year deal two years from now? $122MM doesn’t seem too far off. Yes, it’s a lot of money, but it’s also a lot of firepower.
Under the current ownership, money is not an issue.
Of course your right, but my point was many commentators have been saying the Tigers have overspent on aging players. Clearly the market disagrees. Many have vastly underestimated where salaries were going. What may have seemed like massive overpays a few years ago are seeming quite reasonable now.
In this market, it’s a good thing to have stars locked up if you want to compete.
how many of those players are really still stars? Zimmerman and Martinez certainly not. Upton borderline but I’d lean towards, I would say yes on Miguel but he’s aging and unlikely to keep it up much longer. Verlander and Martinez deals look terrible
For all the Tigers signings the one that is probably the most underrated and least discussed is the signing of Cameron Maybin. If maybin is able to duplicate his breakout 2015 year this will be vital to the Tigers success because he plays a sleek defense in center and without great D the reat of the teams strengths become highly marginalized.
Maybin was one of the few starting CFs in MLB that was less valuable defensively than Gose. Due to the Upton signing, he will be relegated to the right side platoon in CF, and he does not hit lefties as well as righties. He just hits them better than Gose does. Barring injuries, he will be no more than a fourth OF, which is why he doesn’t get discussed much, and won’t repeat last year.
Money is nothing for the Tigers
Mike Ilitch is the best.
Zero sympathy for Mauer. Shame on him for not acknowledging the issue and pursuing sunglasses/etc when he first realized it a couple years ago.
I’m so over this guy’s albatross contract and lack of clubhouse or productive leadership that I’m not giving him the benefit of the doubt on anything. Heck, at this point I wouldn’t put it past him to be saying it just to try and salvage his ego.