Delmon Young question

[Winged_Wheel88]

I've been curious about this one for awhile. Did Delmon Young and the Twins org. not get along? Fox Sports Detroit Announcers don't tell their fans anything if the news might be unpleasant.

Betemit was traded to Detroit from KC, and when Betemit met up with his former Royal's teammates the two traded high fives and all the usual chummy shit. Not so with Young and the Twins. Was Young a headcase for you guys?

BTW, I have the utmost respect for your coach and org. in Minny. Your team knows how to cause the Tigers grief.

 

[powerchord86]

No bad blood as far as I know. Just been an up and down streaky type player.
Guess it was time for him to move on.

 

[Winged_Wheel88]

OK, thanks for replying!

 

[SandyBeach26]

Delmon Young is a talented player.
Of that there is no doubt. Whether there were some issues with Young and Minnesota management, obviously no one but Delmon and the Mn org know for sure.

However, Young DOES have a history of problems both on the field and off....to be fair most of it has been when he was 18-20 and in the minors still. In fact there is a well known incident where he actually threw a baseball bat at an umpire...

Now I am not bringing this up to try to discredit him or say "yea, things like that is why Minny no longer wanted him"...but only to show that his maturity level at the pro level has not always been what it should have, and if not for some patience shown by the baseball people around him (Tampa Bay first brought him up to the Majors) and his own personal growth, he may not even HAVE a career.

Young has always seemed to be one of those players that coaches had to light a fire under his ass to get him going. Don't know why, or how accurate that assessment is, but is just seems that whenever he is challenged, he rises to the occasion. Sounds like a good thing right?
Well....there is a downside: If his situation and his team are not where there is winning going on and there is much adversity, he seems to play DOWN to that level. That happened in Tampa when they first brought him up, and the then Devil Rays would just be horrible year after year....

When Tampa finally gave up on him, they traded him off to Minnesota, where he did quite well, including having a career year in 2010. Of course, he went from a losing situation in Tampa to one where Minny was winning division title after division title. And that "fire" lit under his ass in this case was "I'll show you Tampa"...and he did. He was surrounded by players who were happy, they were winning...so Delmon played UP...

This year, Minny was awful. I mean, there was NO AMOUNT of anything that any one man could have done to overcome the injuries, under performing and just plain bad luck the Minnesota Twins went through. Young (though he had his injuries as well) now found himself once again in a situation where losing was the order of the day, and he once again started to play DOWN to that level.
Fast forward to him being claimed then traded to Detroit....and it was like Tampa to Minny all over again.....Minny was losing, he gets traded to a contender....and VOILA....Mr. Delmon Young shows up again.
Do you see the little pattern here?

In other words, Young though talented as I mentioned, is not really the type of 'team guy' who would take a team on his back and carry them (or at least try to) when they need someone like him the most (Michael Cuddyer was that kind of guy in Minnesota...and Carl Crawford was that kind of guy in Tampa Bay).....

As long as Detroit is winning and he finds himself in a good situation, Young will do well....now should the Tigers falter, and they are in need of him stepping up, don't be surprised if Delmon Young makes like a magician and disappears again....

I really hope he has outgrown whatever it is that makes him that way...he is only 25 or 26 still...and many people expect he can still improve in all facets of his game. Many still, feel what you have with him, is what you have.

Now, whether there were some issues between him and Minny management (or TB management for that matter when he was there).....no one will ever really know that except the people who are there and privy to that.

I was always a fan of his....followed him in Tampa, followed him with Minnesota...but now, MY patience with him and his act has grown thin.

All this is just opinion mind you....but I will say this: If Detroit picks up where they left off for next season, Young will have a MONSTER year. He really does have that in him. If Detroit struggles...well, let's just say, he may lose interest, and may start thinking about where else he can go....and thusly, perhaps, have an issue with Detroit management as well.

 

[buckamania]

Sandy - That was a really well-thought assessment of, "Delmonte", as we know him down here in Ft. Myers. The deal with the ump and the bat is not well-known anymore but it did occur. When the Twins got him I was worried about what he would do next! Looks like he has grown up a lot but he still has to prove he is an everyday player on a win-or-lose team. I think the Twins erred in letting him go so cheap, but it's over now. Everyone has to move on. I think the Twins are on a path, much like Cleveland has been the last 6 or 7 yrs., due to poor decisions by the Twins GM and the Ownership. The Central could be Detroit's for a few yrs. to come.

 

[SandyBeach26]

Thank you for the compliment, buck.

Well, I do stand by my feeling the Twins can still contend next year, if they can get everyone healthy again.

I have to think the massive callups have helped to mature their AAA team (almost all the significant ones had MLB playing time!!), and while I don't want them starting right away, it could bode well for down the road a bit.

As of now, yes, you are correct: the Central is the Tigers' to lose. And while I wouldn't say all decisions by Minny mgt were bad, per se, they really didn't allow for any contingency plans (i.e. key injuries). If everyone was healthy and / or performing to their levels, then no one really says they were bad decisions.

Of course THAT is on paper, and real life isn't on paper, and since the Twins didn't plan for certain things to happen, they are paying for it now.

I certainly HOPE Minnesota doesn't go the length of time a team like Cleveland went through before being relevant again....I suppose I could live with a 2-3 year rebuilding project...but anything more than that....ugh....

As for Minny letting Delmon go for so cheap....well, he was getting expensive for what he was providing, and I just got the feeling Minnesota wanted that cleared away asap.

Maybe they could have held out for more....but given the amount of mending throughout their team they are worrying about now, they probably just thought that the "quick n dirty" deal would be the way to go.
Probably the same will happen with Kevin Slowey in the off season.

And nice to meet another Twins fan on here...my fandom for baseball is Rays n Twins...and am a huge fan of the NHL...Lightning and Wild of course. :smile:

 

[buckamania]

Sandy- Again, I like the way you approach your subjects of discussion. You don't let loose a lot of "name-calling diatribes" and ramble from from one topic to another, never really making a case on any of them. Boy, have I seen a lot of that elsewhere!

The Twins are my favorite team as I grew up in Minnesota, but I live in Ft.Myers now and like the Rays and Marlins very much. I'm nearly equi-distant from both those two teams. Of course, I love baseball, first & foremost!

What scares me about Twins upper-mgmt. is the "Nishi" affair. That guy is simply not MLB material, yet he got signed for close to $9 mil. and promptly annointed to the big-leagues where he proved to be hopelessly over his head. Someone "dropped" the ball here and it wasn't Gardy. SS & 2B has be-deviled the Twins for years, and will for years to come if guys like this are all our scouts & Bill Smith can come up with.

I also feel that the Twins players are dangerously out-of-orbit now. Kinda like the "lunatics" running the asylum. Mauer, for the most part, refuses to play 1B even though he has an injury-history that begs to get him out from that brutal position. Then, Mauer comes down with one affliction after another and "clams" up when pressed for more information. A lot of fans are questioning his toughness and dedication now. I can see why. The "real problem" amongst the team then becomes, "If he can do it, so can I!" Suddenly, everyone else won't play either, and that's exactly what seems to have happened.

This isn't a Gardy-thing. He has no power. He makes the lineup, and that's it. I feel the Twins ownership and the GM are milk-toast guys who are missing the element of "being the boss." Note how The Rays quickly dumped Manny as soon as he pulled his sh-t on them. You gotta do that if you want to keep your team's respect.

This "Twins" thing is really way more complicated than it looks but you and I have a lot of time to discuss it, if you are up for it. Come back with some thought when you get some time. I'm a good listener.

 

[powerchord86]

Damn, that's a lot of Delmon talk. Might be too much for me to even read but hey Sandy, good to see someone new show up and do some Twins talk. Buck and I have been hanging around here for a while and haven't seen any new blood until now. Welcome.

 

[buckamania]

PC - Sorry good buddy, but it looks like you're now stuck between two chatterboxes on a slow train headed to Spring Training. You lucky guy! LOL

 

[SandyBeach26]

Damn, that's a lot of Delmon talk. Might be too much for me to even read but hey Sandy, good to see someone new show up and do some Twins talk. Buck and I have been hanging around here for a while and haven't seen any new blood until now. Welcome.

Thanks for the welcome, power...and errr, you may as well get used to it....I tend to be long winded...always seem to have alot to say. What? You think just because a female is into sports you would be spared the long lectures?? :ballchain:

Sorry buddy.....:


But you know, I HAVE been known to just get into a lil smack talk now n again...mostly in hockey, and those are usually kept short (hmm, or not) for the knuckle-draggers' short attention spans....hahahaha...

Nice to be here!!

 

[powerchord86]

That's cool. I just like to say a lot but in fewer words.

I have heard that women talk about three times as much as men. :blabla: