Comments on: The Punto-Cuddyer Syndrome

By: Craig H

Craig H — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:54:11 +0000

Jim: There are douchebags with every perspective, don’t you think? Who cares about what grumpy old men and grumpy-old-man wanna-be’s write or say?

Bottom line: as with Torii Hunter and Joe Nathan, I wish them well and thank them for a great run. Thanks for leaving your best years and best efforts on the Minneapolis turf; but the team, and the players – and the haters, I guess – have to move on.

By: AW

AW — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:46:09 +0000

Good post, JC. I think part of it must have to do with salary. No one expected much of Drew Butera, for example, making league minimum; but then the Twins go and pay Punto $4 million for 2 straight years (compare that, for example, with the $1.5 million steal we got Thome for in 2010). You probably read Aaron Gleeman’s tweet/blog noting that Punto will make $4 million total for his first 3 post-Twins years. Same with Cuddyer – - I think many felt that he was overpaid for what he produced. But I agree that the Twins’ perceived failure to manage their money shouldn’t be reflected onto the player with the vitirol that we have seen in the past. It’s just that it’s really easy to do.

By: birdofprey

birdofprey — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:19:42 +0000

Very well said, Jim. I tend to think of these small-minded characters as spoiled angry children. But I share some frustration about Cuddyer. I swear that 90% of the audience was able to predict that, on a two-strike count, Cuddyer would swing and miss on a breaking ball low and outside in the dirt. That, the GIDP, the no days off, and the $10M salary all bugged me a little bit.

Some fans, and perhaps some writers, over-hyped Cuddyer’s value, while another set of fans undervalued him unreasonably, and this polarized set of viewpoints for some reason generates emotional reactions.

I share your more balanced assessment of him. I’ve been a proponent of letting him walk for a long time, because I view him as easily replaceable and because the draft picks have real value.

By: JB_Iowa

JB_Iowa — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 02:03:36 +0000

Last winter, I was looking forward to seeing Cuddyer gone after this year. Part of it was money — I thought he would get more in years and $$$ than it appears he may get. Part of it was the Gardenhire-Cuddyer effect (which was similar to the Gardenhire-Punto effect). Part of it was that the media was so in love with him that I thought they didn’t work as hard as they should have to interview other players and add some other voices to their stories. Part of it was that I think he is just too southern, good ole boy for me. Part of it was GIDP.

After reading his blog this year and following him on Twitter, I have come to a greater appreciation for him. I appreciate his willingness to share his photos, thoughts and impressions with fans, to be accessible, to do the endless retweets for causes (although I find this retweet thing for birthdays, etc. to be absolutely stupid). I also appreciate his resolute will to be on the field.

I think that the Willingham pickup is the right thing to do but I’m rooting for Cuddyer to get his 3 years/$30 million somewhere else and for him to get a ring. I hope that his decision works out best for him and his family. And in the long run, instead of going into broadcasting or something, I hope he combines his photographs and writing — perhaps with some contribution from his wife (taught English, I think) — not necessarily just about baseball.