Tag Archives: toledo mud hens

Minors

Toledo Mud Hens make offer to Manny

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Yesterday afternoon the Toledo Mud Hens send Scott Boras the parameters for a Manny Ramirez contract I like the aggressive move by the Mud Hens to put an end to this insanity. Plus it would probably help with AAA attendance and would provide a nice insurance policy should something happen Timo Perez. The proposal is below:

February 27, 2009

Scott Boras

3 San Joaquin Plaza

Suite 100
Newport Beach, CA 92660-5944

Dear Mr. Boras,

Here we go again.

If you remember, we offered your client Alex Rodriguez a $35 million dollar contract in October of 2007. For some reason, he decided to pass on this lucrative windfall.

We would now like to make an offer for the services of outfielder, Manny Ramirez.

Manny’s bat would provide some nice protection in the middle of the line-up between Mike Hessman and Jeff Larish. With a short porch of 320 feet down the left field line, Manny is sure to hit a few homers out onto Monroe Street.

With the tough economy, we do not have as much money to offer your client as we did with A-Rod but are confident that the terms below are more than fair.

Mr. Ramirez would receive an hourly wage of $10.54 (this number was calculated by taking his 527 career HR and doubling it). We had to double it as $5.27 is below minimum wage. So if Manny gets to Fifth Third Field early on a game day, he could make nearly $100.

That is not all. Manny is welcome to still wear jersey #24 with the Mud Hens. In fact, Manny will receive a 24% discount on all merchandise in the Swamp Shop souvenir store, and he can enjoy 24 complimentary Muddy Dogs (chili, cheese, and onions) per homestand. Yummy!

We look forward to hearing back from you on this somewhat lucrative and delicious offer!

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Joe Napoli

President/General Manager

Toledo Mud Hens Baseball Club

Minors

Striking down striking out

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One of the Detroit Tigers organizational goals for the year was to address strike outs throughout the system including the minors. So how did they do on this front in 2007?
Tigers Minor League Strikeout Rates
The organization saw improvement in strikeouts per at-bat through every level. The improvements weren’t huge, but they were most likely real. Whether or not it was due to an emphasis on coaching, or the maturation of players, or the composition of the teams would of course require a deeper dive. Because in large part the teams are made up of new members each year, a proper analysis would require looking at how each player did as they progressed. But I’m oging to stay with the quick and dirty for now and look at the big picture.

At the same time batting averages saw small to increases as more balls were put into play. Walk rates didn’t seem to suffer so the organization saw an increase in batting average. It does appear though that the Tigers minor leaguers sacrificed some power.

What’s particularly encouraging is the progress at the lower levels, which to me seems that there is an emphasis on contact skills in the draft.

Context is always helpful because it’s hard to know what constitutes good or bad rates. The table below shows how each team ranked in their leagues the last 2 years.
Tigers Minor League Organizational Rankings
The upper levels still strike out more than most teams, but the Oneonta and West Michigan teams, the teams comprised of players drafted in the last 2 years, are among the best in their leagues at not striking out.