From My Mind To Yours

By William Thayer: SPM MN Writer
Posted Monday, September 1, 2008

September 2008

Boof Bonser looks like the power pitcher we have needed, albeit from the bullpen side of arms. There are times when the bullpen is needed to get that important K-O. Think about it, if the bases are juiced and the tying or winning run is on 3rd. ,well a strikeout surely would be in order. Perhaps even two, or three. The latter may be a bit too much to ask. Nonetheless, Boof can get that big out and judging from the radar, it looks like he is hitting 94 MPH+. Having Eddie Guardado coming back to join the team, should really help ameliorate their late inning woes for the simple fact that he is a fearless veteran and would probably have some sort of a rejuvenating reunion with the Metrodome mound and the friendly confines deep in the tradition rich fan friendly Metrodome. Even though there is only 93 baseball games left there. Will he still be called “Every Day Eddie” even though this will give the Twins 3 lefties in the pen? We don’t need you to live up your moniker Eddie, just come in the game and save the lead for Joe Nathan. Soon we will find the proper nomenclature that is sure to fit into the lexicon of our local vernacular.

We all know that Boof can drive you nuts if he has to go more than 3-4 innings which is why he shouldn’t start. But then again everybody in the bullpen drives me nuts this year excluding closer Joe Nathan of course. I think the bullpen is perfect for Boof because of his power pitching ability. He seems to get himself in trouble at times as a starter and he paces the mound as if this ritual will guide him through another inning or out. Boof, THROW STRIKES!!!! Trust your stuff. Use that downward angle that always seems to work. Take care of yourself because as you know and the Twins know, this is a great time to audition for next year’s team. Whatever team that may be.

If the Twins do not make the playoffs this year, it will be a direct result of bullpen failure. Then again they have had to rely on the bullpen quite a bit more this year because of their young starting pitching staff. None of these young starters have ever thrown this much in their whole life, so it makes sense to have the bullpen eat up innings more often than not. Once a starter starts nearing the 100 pitch count, or I should say when the coaching staff starts sniffing it, you can hear the mitts popping down the 3rd. base line bullpen. Or wherever their bullpen is. I just made reference to the 3rd. base pen because that is where the Twins have their bullpen at the Metrodome and of course you the reader of this fine piece of literature would be more prone to hear mitts popping. If this year’s bullpen could have held half of the leads they have blown, they would be in first place and should be in first place with breathing room to spare. They call the bullpen the “Firemen” and Firemen are supposed to put fires out, not throw gas on them and ignite them even more!

Denard Span has sure been a pleasant surprise hasn’t he? There was a lot of nattering from the nay-sayers. They were saying that we could not trade or let Torii Hunter go because we did not have a replacement for him. This of course was before they and the reason they insisted on acquiring Carlos Gomez from the New York Metropolitans in the Johan Santana trade. Speaking of which, is anyone glad that the New York Yankees decided not to go through with trading their prospects for the loveable lefty? I for one am. I think that the New York Bankees actually did the Twins a favor by sticking to their plan of wanting to keep their young talent. The last I checked, the players the Banks were dangling in front of us: Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes and Melki Cabrera were either injured or not really a factor. Span has been this year’s version of Shannon Stewart. The Twins traded for Stewart half way through the 2003 season in which would became a playoff run. It seemed that in 2003 every time Stewart came to bat, he delivered a big hit and this is just what Span has been doing since his latest call up earlier this year.

Speaking of Torii Hunter, I hate to say this or bring this up, but for the last few years of him patrolling centerfield it seems that he may have lost a step or two. Take for example the triple that Nick Punto hit off of his glove in Anaheim on 8-21-08. There was a time not so long ago that he admittedly makes that catch. Heck, I would have to say that I think Punto has a better chance of making that catch. There were little plays in his last years with the Twins that he just seemed to miss. I do not know if this was a direct result of him breaking his ankle in Boston back in 2005, or just age slowing him down. It could just be me thinking that he should never miss because after watching him it seemed like he never missed. Until that inside the park homer in the 2006 playoffs that the Oakland Athletics, Mark Kotsay hit where Hunter dove and missed and of course the ball rolled all the way to the wall resulting in this unthinkable feat.

Vibes and Diatribes from the Scribe: Stan Musial the legendary hall of famer from the St. Louis Cardinals, finished his career with 3,630 hits,1,815 at home and 1,815 on the road. How’s that for consistency?...As of August 26, 2008, Carlos Gomez had 114 strikeouts this year and if opposing teams keep their scouting reports of pitching him breaking balls away and fastballs down and in, he is certain to break former Twin Bobby Darwin’s team record of 145 K’s during the 1972 season……Joe Mauer has 606 hits in 1,921 career at bats going into their longest road trip since 1969. With his track record and his perfect swing, he is a lock to win another batting title this year. Well maybe not a lock but a pretty good bet. Well maybe not a bet if you don’t gamble. Lets just say he has more than enough talent to win this coveted Silver Slugger award……Nick Punto is the official, un-official leader for Web Gems on my favorite TV show, ESPN’s, Baseball Tonight…… The Twins, even without Michael Cuddyer and his #1 draft pick pedigree have a starting outfield of 1st. round draft picks. With left fielder Delmon Young being the 1st over-all pick in 2003…. Speaking of road trips, the Twins are embarking on a very long trip that consists of 14 games in 15 days. This is during the dog days of summer and it will be their last dog leg trip of the year and…..Hmmm, emBARK, DOG LEG, DOG DAYS, sounds like some rough sledding doesn’t it? Let’s just hope that the Chicago White Sox and their homer-happy batsmiths slip for a paws at this time in their own doggy-doo.

From My Mind To Yours is a copyright of FMMTY local #3

billythayer@hotmail.com myspace.com/billythayer

Mid- Month Minnie 8-20-08

Nick Punto is unofficially the “Web Gem” leader for ESPN’s Baseball Tonight The question remains is how are they going to keep Adam Everett ( Adam and Eve rett )in the lineup. He is a great fielder. Do we need to have another light hitting fielder to come in off the bench to provide defense or do we want to have someone with power to put fear in the latter parts of close game opponents? ……August 19th Kevin Slowey sets a career high with 12 strike outs. Ironically that is the most since former Twin Johan Santana rang up 17 Texas Rangers one year ago to the day….Alexi Casilla is rehabbing his injured throwing hand and judging from his strong hand shake he should be ready to join his mates when they embark on their ridiculous 14 game, 15 day road trip. In fact, as they embark on this dog leg of this seasons dog days, this is the longest trip since 1969 in which they played 17 games in 15 days. I for one cannot understand why the Twins should have to leave town just because of the Republican National Convention. Heck, I know that these staunch Republicans would love to take in a game and this would have been a great way to showcase our small market baseball squad. Embark, dog leg, dog days…… hmmm sounds like tough sledding. Lets hope Chicago and there home run happy batsmen get tired and fall into their own doggy doo ….Carlos Gomez is sitting at 114 strikeouts going into this road trip and judging from what manager Ron Gardenhire’s take is, he seems to think that Go-Go is just swinging through everything right now. On the flip side as I witnessed Go-Go and his quest to break Bobby Darwin’s team record of 145 for a season, the Oakland Athletics own Jack Cust was striking out eight times in the three game series! I actually am not sure if it was eight times. I lost count at six in the last two games. Cust is leading the American League with 158 whiffs and counting. Cust is also able to hit a home run every 15.19 at bats so far in his brief two year career! Same with the National league leader Ryan Howard and his holy bat of 162 K’s this year. Could you take 33 HR’S over 162 knock outs?.....Joe Mauer is now the AL leader in batting with a .324 average. This above average Joe has 606 hits in 1,921 at bats giving him a .315 average for his brief and stellar career. Keep in mind people he is only 25 years old. He also should be able to collect his 1st. of many gold glove awards at the catcher position. The Twins have not had such an award since Earl Battey won in 1961, 62 from the catcher position.

There are a lot of teams that are pulling the injury card out as their excuse for bad seasons. Well the Twins have had their own share of the MASH squad and this being sort of a weird year in which hand problems have topped the injury list to key players. It seems like every time they get someone off the disabled list, someone else goes on it….Maybe now that Francisco Liriano is back from his year and a half long stint on the Tommy John elbow list, he just may be the missing ingredient as far as finding a pitcher to lead them into the post season……

Mid-Month Minnie 8-3-08

The Minnesota Twins led by all-star slugger Justin Morneau and his countless big hits slipped just ½ games behind the Chicago White Sox. The Whities came into Minneapolis for a 4 game series hoping to protect a lead from a team ( Mn ) that nobody gave a chance at the outset. The Twins and their young talented arms took 3 out of 4 from the Pale Hose and ended the home stand by taking the rubber match from the now depleted Cleveland Indians. Alone in 1st. place heading into Seattle trying to protect their own ½ game lead is something we all as Minnesota Sports fans can really pay attention to. The Tribe was the team that was favored at the beginning of this season. After all they came within one game of the World Series last year and virtually had the same team coming in, the same team minus some key players due to unfortunate injuries.

The fans are noticing the team’s success and are now being noticed by a section over a quarter million strong for the seven game home stand vs. Chi. and Cle.

The Twins started the day after the trading deadline by releasing two veterans in Livan Hernandez and Craig Monroe. They brought up the much anticipated return of 2006 pitcher of the half year, Francisco Liriano and he notched his 1st. win since said season. While all of the big market teams mortgaged their future by trying to win NOW, the Twins with their lil’ train that could mentality upgraded through their own farm system. Hernandez’s biggest attribution this season was to mentor and anchor a pitching staff that averages 24 years young. Well you could say his work was done and thus gave the team the nerve to call up Liriano. Randy Ruiz was also called up the same day from the same from Rochester…. NEW YORK! The Twins AAA farm club. Ruiz collected his 1st career hit on an opposite field single to right on the 1st. of August.

Twins injuries should not be a concern as much as they are making the masses seem. Michael Cuddyer should be back within a week or two and that should give them a much needed boost in the offensive front. They will have a problem when he does come back because like Cuddyer, Denard Span is also a #1 draft pick who along with Alexi Casilla have really been more than valuable. Where are they going to put Cuddyer? Well, there are only 3 outfield spots and 4 players vying for them. Speaking of Casilla, I had the chance to shake his right hand and judging by the grip in this young man, it shouldn’t be long before he comes back to defend his pesky hitting and gold glove like defense at 2nd base.

Justin Morneau drove in some big runs in the Chicago series and along with him are his best friend Joe Mauer and their potent 1-2 punch from the 3rd and 4th spot in the lineup which is enough for any fan of any sport to appreciate just how valuable they are to their team. They also should add a gold glove to their pedigree that includes this years all star appearance and Morneau’s 2006 MVP and Joe’s batting title of the same year.

First place on the 3rd of August is great but as Morneau put it “I just hope we can be in first on September 28th”

Vibes, Scribes and Diatribes Joe Mauer is hitting .370 vs. lefties this year….Cleveland’s Paul Byrd is 7-1 at the Metrodome in his career…..The Twins new stadium is coming together right on target and promises to be one of the best ever!......Their is a real possibility that we could have an all Disney World Series w/Angels and Dodgers, and all Sunshine State WS between the Marlins and Rays, a Big Apple WS w/ the Mets and the Yankees and a Windy City WS for the Cubs and White Sox….Personally, I would love to see a border battle with the Brewers and the Twins!

billythayer@hotmail.com

7-20-08 / William Thayer’s Mid-Month Minnie

With the Major League Baseball season just past the its half way point, the 55-43 Minnesota Twins opened the second half by taking two out of three from the Texas Rangers. Aside from that little hiccup in Boston, the Twins have been one of the hottest teams in the league. They beat the Rangers who for the second time this season came into the dome red hot only to leave shaking their heads and wondering how top get that magic back.…..again! The Rangers have to start realizing that they are the worst team in the two most important categories as far as keeping the other team from scoring. They do not care about working on defense and they traditionally are lousy on the pitching front. If they could get any sort of pitching and defense they would be a team to reckon with. After all, baseball is the only sport where the defense has the ball. Especially with the offense they always seem to put together. They have a real super star in Josh Hamilton and they have the American Leagues top hitter in Ian Kinsler. Nonetheless, taking two out of three from the Rangers really says something about our young pitching staff. They held these powerful Rangers to 3 runs in three games. Right handed Scott Baker had a no-hitter going into the sixth only to fall behind Talyor Teagarden 3-1 and giving him a fastball that Teagarden parked into the left field seats for his first hit and of course first home run. The two games preceding had the Twins young lefty Glen Perkins and the bull pen shutting out Texas 6-0.

The New York Yankees are next for the team that has two personalities, the team that has two lives. I am talking about the Minnesota Twins. On a side note, there are more sets of Twins born in Minnesota than any other sate in the union. The Twins are going to have to play 36 out of their remaining 64 games away from home. Starting on August 21st, the Twins will have to play on the road until September 4th. This of course is because the other half of the Twin Cities, St. Paul, will be hosting the Republican National Convention. If the Twins are to make any sort of lee way, they are going to have to start winning series on the road. They also have to start beating left handed starters with whom they are 13-14 as opposed to 41-28 vs. righties. If we can start out this road trip vs. NY winning the series, that should give us confidence and leave the pin stripers using their hanky’s. Hey, how about that? The New York Hankees!

It should also be noted that the Twins bats are really on fire and if they can get any sort of production from Carlos Gomez they will be able to outlast the Chicago White Sox in what now appears to be a two team race in the American League Central.

Twins of a different feather ( look-alikes ) John C. McGinley ( Srubs )-Mike Redmond………….Hugh Grant-Phil Mickelson…………Brian Rolston-Ben Affleck…….David Ortiz-Florida Evans ( Mom from Good Times )…….Mike Madano-Napoleon Dynamite……..Willie McGee- E.T.

July 2008

October 2007 Mnls., MN

Johan Santana: They should trade him. I alluded to this in past columns. However, with that being said, I think that this situation has the 1989 trade written all over it. You know the one in which we traded Frank “Sweet Music” Viola to the New York Mets. In fact, they both are left-handed, both are unhappy about current contract status, both have great change-ups, and both have lost their secret weapon, the swing and a miss. (I personally think that the swing and a miss is the greatest event in sports.) If Santana were to be traded to a team in the National League it would keep him away from playing against and burning the Twins and help him be effective again since the National League teams have not seen him and his arsenal of pitches. The Twins could pull this off because teams in the American League have seen enough of Santana that they have pretty much figured him out. We probably could get the most for him right now. If he was the “ace” of the staff, we probably would’ve faired better this past season and last post season. I have three key games in which # 57 has let us down: 1) Game #1 2006 opening playoff game at home vs. the Oakland Athletics. Granted the final score was 3-2 but aces are supposed to win low scoring 1 run games. It also didn’t help that he gave up that home run to Frank Thomas. 2) August 29 , September 3 2007, lost both games to the 1st. place Cleveland Indians and CC Sabbathia when we needed him the most and we were still in the race. Hey, I’m not saying that he is washed up by any means. What I am saying is that I don’t think he is worth 20 million a year. I think that we will be alright come next spring with all of our young pitching led by the Matt Garza and his nervous spitting habit. Johan, you gave us great memories! Right now we need you as trade bate! Isn’t it a little more soothing knowing that our nucleus of talent all have had off years? This should help in the negotiating process shouldn’t it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 2007 Mpls., MN

Joe Mauer: Here is another interesting story line I have about Minnesotas very own, Mr. Joseph Mauer. In my humble opinion I think he should be our lead-off hitter. I know in my past columns I lobbied for Joe to play a new position, 3rd. base. This of course may very well happen sooner than later. If nothing else it will prolong his career. Getting back to my latest wish, now that Luis Castillo has been traded and we do need a quintessential lead-off hitter, why not try Joe Mauer there? He doesn’t hit for power, yet. He draws the most walks, sets up the rest of the line up by choosing his pitch, waiting for his pitch or whatever he’s doin’ up there. He also manicures the left handed batters box with his cat like graceful left foot. He also has enough speed to pose a threat on the base paths. I know that typically catchers do not bat lead-off. Well they normally don’t win batting titles either, or do they? Jason Kendall batted lead-off for the Oakland Athletics and he did it for quite some time. Not only would this make sense but it would also solve their other problem. Manager Ron Gardenhire would love to have Justin Morneau batting clean up but that would mean having 2 lefties in a row, when Mauer’s batting 3rd of course. So you could add by subtracting with Mauer moving up to lead off and Morneau batting third. Besides Michael Cuddyer is not our best option in the clean up slot. Torii Hunter is. Morneau may very well be our best hitter and putting him in the 3rd. hole would separate the dynamic “M’s” by putting whoever in the 2 hole. Basically, our line up would be (1) Mauer C,(2) Jason Bartlett SS, (3) Morneau 1B, (4) Hunter CF, (5) Cuddyer RF, (6) Jason Kubel LF, (7) Mike Piazza DH ….Gotcha. Wishful thinking! (7) Rondell White DH (8) Alexi Casilla 2B (9) Nicky Punto 3B. Relax folks they will find a spot for Punto because he is cheap and he is our best infielder. With that being said, and hoping they can somehow sign Hunter, this will be the players that they have to choose from and wouldn’t it make sense to try Mauer batting lead-off?

Little Kids Playing Baseball: When I was growing up, I used to play baseball sun up to sun down. The only thing that would stop my pals and I was someone’s mother bellowing those famous words, “Igor, lunch time”! Of course we would resume play later and into the evening until our dads would come home with their suit coat draped over their back and tickets to the real game for that evening in their hand. Wow, how things have changed. Even if we only had three guys we would still play hot box. Does anyone remember hot box? It’s where you try and beat the rundown between two guys with gloves. This of course was played with tennis balls so if you got hit in the rundown you wouldn’t get hurt. In fact a lot of those childhood games were played with tennis balls. Homerun derby in someone’s back yard would have been quite expensive for our dads if we would have played with a real baseball. You also needed a tennis ball for street hockey as well. If no one would play with you, then you could throw or shoot the tennis ball against the garage for hours on end. There are plenty of parks out there then and there are plenty of parks now if they were to try something like this. Kids today have a hard time organizing these events on their own, and this is a main reason for their lack of outdoor activity. I am trying hard not to age myself but back then “Pong” was the only video game option. What a dumb game that was. After you figured out the angles of this Atari game you could pretty much master the ball and where you wanted it to go. I used to do drum rolls with the angle on high speed up in the corner. As far as mastering, the same can be said about Mattel Football. That was pretty cool though because you could carry it in your pocket and play it in school. You also could play it in the dark and on mute! I think that was the first version of “Gameboy” wasn’t it? Yes, back then the only trouble we got into was to play ding dong ditch, or worse yet, throwing snow balls at moving cars. Oh well at least I still get a kick out of watching the Little League World Series. I wonder if those kids are having any fun. Of course they are. They are playing with their friends and playing outside and not with their thumbs!

Agents vs. Owners And the Almighty Righteous Bookoo!: The owners in sports should just give the agents their commission so the player will stay with current team. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to get rid of those blood sucking sports anti –christs! Think about how many players in their contract years saying repeatedly just how much they love the city and their fellow teammates only to be strung along by commission hungry agents who make sure that once the season is over that it would be in their best interest to move to another team? They don’t even take into consideration that the player may not even have a preference to how much another team may want him. The player gets into this war of absurdity over upfront money, bonus money and guaranteed money and long term money. Sometimes they even leave over the difference of 1 million dollars. What’s the difference you say? Its in the language of the contract where the agent gets the long term effect so of course he ( agent ) gets more money on commission and the player loses out on having his children and family being moved when they were perfectly happy in the city where they were. This is where the Torii Hunter and Johan Santana contracts will eventually come forth. They both want to stay here in beautiful four seasoned Minnesota. With that being said wouldn’t it behoove the Minnesota Twins Brass to just give the agent his commission and work out the players contract on their own. The only reason Johan will get the most money out there is because his agent will tell him how much that hippy south paw (with the almost as good a curveball as Bert Blyleven) received from the San Francisco Giants. I am of course referring to Barry Zito and his 895 million dollars a year contract. I am being facetious of course only to emphasize just how ridiculous Zito’s contract is. Johan’s agent will tell him that he ( #57 ) deserves more in which case talent wise he does. However, how much is the limit on happiness and greed? It’s the percentage that the agent will go for in every case. That is why Carl Pohlad should just say, “take this commission check and have Johan call me”. That way all three parties involved will get theirs. If, in the worst case scenario we lose Johan, we should trade him and not lose him to free agency where the NY Bankees are waiting. We should almost succumb to the fact that we cannot sign all of our core players. Johan would almost certainly warrant at least five players with at least two starting position players. Hey, we did get five players for Frank Viola back in 1989 and those players helped our 1991 run. I hate to think of that probability though because I like our chances with Francisco Liriano coming back and Matt Garza coming into his own. Somebody kidnap Johan’s agent and keep him away from our # 57 so we can enjoy the new park with the players we developed!

Local Team Offense: What you need is an offense that runs with a peristaltic rhythm. Steady and consistent. Right now the Timberwolves, Vikings, Wild and Twins all are in the bottom third of each of their respective leagues. Of the above mentioned,

Who has the worse offense of the 4 major teams? It’s been a long time since the Minnesota Vikings set the league record for team scoring with 556 points in 1998! That’s an average of 34 points a game. It’s no wonder that Johan Santana is even pondering the thought of relocating when every time he toes the rubber he feels he has to pitch a gem of a game. I already know that the Twins deficient offense has cost him 1 Cy Young award and numerous victories. He could almost solidify his place in baseball immortality if he was playing for a team that could actually average more runs than the bottom third of their competitors. Actually as I am writing from my mind to yours, the Twins are second to last in runs scored! I happen to think that with this upcoming Minnesota Vikings season that we are headed for more of the same. More of the same as last year! Low scoring, defensive battles. I guess I could live with this game plan if we actually could win and win it all. I’m not completely sold on the fact that last years team was as futile in their offensive execution as the score would lead us to believe. With that being said, I hope that they opened up their game book and ripped up that 2 yard dump pass on third and long. Somewhere, somebody has to emerge and become a star offensive threat. Hmmmm, someone like Troy Williamson, or Adrian Peterson. Besides, how many more games can we sit through 3 and a half hours of watching a 6-3 defeat? Keep those e-mails coming and get outside before your mom calls you to dinner!

billythayer@hotmail.com www.myspace.com/knightcrawlerusa

JULY 28, 2007

Minnesota Twins: Every time that you think they are done and finished, they find a way to get back in the race and look pretty feisty doing it. There may not be a more resilient team in all of sports. When the offense isn’t hitting, or they lose 3 in a row, everyone starts thinking, “Ok this is it” only to be strung along by another classic Twins resurgence. Great hitting….timely hitting, always the same great defense, and what do you know, there they are, right back in the thick of things! Of course they could make it so much easier for themselves by playing more consistently, with reckless abandon. Maybe, just maybe they are playing consistently and this is how good that they really are. I mean a Tiger can’t change his stripes right? Just think how much better they would be if they had that big-bopper to go along with the big four of Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer and Torii Hunter. We as fans have been clamoring over this concept for the past three or four years. On July 27th the guppie powered Twins were 9 games out so resiliency or not, they have a tough road to hoe. In my personal opinion I have the Aneheim Angels beating the Detroit Tigers to advance to the WS and eventually winning it all. Maybe next year the resilient Twins can put together another great season and win the WS. I sure wouldn’t bet against them.

Barry Bonds: By the time that this wonderful magazine goes to press, he may very well be the all-time home run champ. He is becoming the O.J. Simpson of free will. Orenthal was found innocent, right? Is he living free? Barroids never has been caught doing steroids, right? Is he the most miserable athlete that you have ever seen? Most of Bonds’ misery may very well stem from self-infliction. Think about how good Babe Ruth must have been when all he needed was hot dogs, cold beer and promiscuous women. Nonetheless Barry will be the all-time home run king and no one cares. How long will the San Francisco Giants hold on to this modern day martyr? How much longer will they have someone in the outfield like Bonds who cannot and will not run down balls anymore? He is almost starting to remind me of Willie Mays during his last years. Does anyone remember the 1973 WS? The Giants have been out of the race since early June. They probably were hoping he would have hit number 756 by now so they could trade him and start putting together something with their pitching rich roster. He cannot be a good example for anyone involved with that team by the bay. A record that is so coveted has to have some sort of integrity and right now the commissioner Bud Selig is trying his best to not be in attendance when # 755 or 756 hits the record books. Mr. Selig, you and the other owners kept your head in the sand during the 1998 season when it became quite obvious that something was askew with all of the home runs being hit. C’mon, Brady Anderson hitting 50 home runs in 1996. Maybe that is when this all started. Shortsops like Kevin Elster hitting upper deck, opposite field moon shots. It’s now become you and the good ole boys problem Bud, because now that the home run has brought people back to the park, your main problem now is keeping them there. One thing is for sure though you can count on ESPN being there with their neutral stance. Because after all, Barry’s steroid use is all being alleged anyway right? I guess that the purist in me should not worry too long because the natural body of Alex Rodriguez has reached 500 home runs at the age of 32! The record should be his in no longer than 7 years and everyone can watch to see if Barry follows him around to crown him. Hey isn’t that what Hank Aaron is doing with Barry? Don’t get wrong folks, Barry is a talented ball player and I do respect him immensely. If it were as easy put a steroid drug in you to hit home runs then don’t you think the WWF would be lining up with bats in their hands? No way. Hitting a baseball is still the hardest thing to do in any sport and Barry swings the lightest bat with the keenest eye so he still merits the respect. Somehow, somewhere down the line he should explain his activity with steroids so we can at least decide if his record should be an asterisk or an accommodation.

Scandal In Sports: Wow, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League and Major League Baseball have some hot topics to address during this summer in the year of our lord 2007! The baseball problem has been well documented and well exposed in the above mentioned paragraph. With that being said, Tim Donaghy, who just happens to be a referee in the NBA has been suspected of cheating by the FBI and now the Mafia is threatening his life or else. I always thought that if sports were to be fixed it would have to come from the referees and not the players. I guess that he officiated alot of games in which there were some questionable calls. Imagine that, questionable calls in the NBA. You know, phantom fouls, technical fouls, three second violations, etc…..Who knows how many more refs and league officials are involved by having the Mafia paying for a favorable point spread. Innocence is lost because now the flood gates are about to open and if these league officials want to keep any sort of integrity they will tell us the real truth. Maybe what we need is to have Barbara Walters interview Donaghy with the same line of questioning that she asked Marv Albert when he was caught wearing women’s clothes. Right now the sporting public just wants something cut and dry. No more gray area. Don’t insult our intelligence, we deserve the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us truth. I hate to think that after all of these years of following and covering sports, that their really is some form of manipulation involved through referees and maybe even some players. However, the latter being highly unlikely because there is far too much to lose as a player than that of an official. Yikes, even Pete Rose smells like his name now doesn’t he? Michael Vick is another hero that has failed to keep his success under close watch. Dog fighting? Are you serious Mike? I think that he just recently signed a multi-year contract worth the paltry sum of $120 million. What the heck is he doing running a dog-fighting ring? (allegedly) Is his life that rough? Oh boy, when the federal government indicts someone as they have in the Vick case they usually have enough proof to win. They even say that there is more NFL players involved in this sick and crazy under ground world of dog fighting. I guess that by now “Pac Man” Jones has already sent a bone to the soon to be conVICKted since this recent NFL player debacle has turned all of the attention away from him and all of his police blotter activity. Maybe the gift that he sent him was $3800 in singles.

June 30, 2007

Current Twins: Lets face it, the current Minnesota Twins are a good looking bunch of lads. You can see it by looking in the stands. Young girls like them and follow them. They cannot even decide on which one they like the best. Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer, Joe Mauer, Jason Bartlett, Justin Morneau, Johan Santana, etc…The Twins promotions department has done a great job of selling these young “GQ Boys Of Summer”. Of course it doesn’t hurt that they are extremely talented as well. Look around the Metrodome next time and you will see a lot of girls wearing their favorite Twins jersey on their back. In fact, the camera guys do a lot of panning around the road team’s stadium showing girls who have traveled to see their favorite Twin.

These guys are good guys as well. You never hear about them getting into trouble, or disrespecting their home life and they keep their names off of the police blotter. This of course is great for the game of baseball because having these girls infatuated with their favorite Twin has also brought them knowledge of the game. You can hear girls screaming for the hit and run or questioning the umpires call. All this adds up to the greatest advantage of all….T.V. night has changed! That’s right guys, you can thank these current Twins for allowing you to be able to watch baseball everyday now. No more sneaking in the kitchen to see how Morneau's doing. No more, “I’ll go to the store for you, honey”, only to hear what the score is on the radio. The girls know what they like and right now they are watching, reading, and talking baseball because of these loveable rock stars who just happen to play baseball -- very good baseball!

Egos In Sports: Think about how much better teams would be if they would stick together. It has to come down to egos, selfishness and attitudes. Today's current player may not want to stick with a team regardless of how much success that he has had with said team. Money plays a big factor in this of course, but the biggest factor to me is how that player is regarded. The San Antonio Spurs are one of the last teams I can remember who have stuck together through all of their success. They have quiet superstars, if you will. Last time I checked, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant are still playing in the league, so why aren’t they still together? They probably could have won two or three more titles if it had not been for one of them to lose judgement on what mattered most to them -- winning! I mean, come on; how much money do you need today?

Better yet, money probably isn't even a factor anymore since it is more important to try and start another dynasty, giving one player all of the credit. There are a lot of examples of this in today’s egomaniacal, money-driven sports world. It's just too bad that when a team has a group of players who look like they get along great, they cannot seem to finish out their commitment to their team or their fans. I will have more on this later. Leggo my ego!

Mighty Ducks: The cheap-shotters will have until Labor Day to celebrate their Stanley Cup. By that time the National Hockey League will have changed considerably. We hockey fans will start seeing a lot more big players and a lot more physical play. The Wild drafted big players and if the commissioner's office allows teams like the Ducks to play like they did to win Lord Stanley’s Cup, we will see more teams getting bigger and physical! The Ducks looked a lot like the Philadelphia Flyers of the mid-70’s with Dave Schultz gooning the Broadway Bullies. I remember when the Flyers played the Russians in an exhibition game, and the coach of the Russians had his team skate off and not play the rest of the game because of the rough play. Chris Pronger is a cheap shot bully, who deserves a lot more than a couple of games in the commissioner's box. I thought they were going to crack down on this cheap shot sort of mentality. Does the name Todd Bertuzzi ring a bell, Mr. Bettman?

Concussions in football: Football is way too violent. Most running backs say that getting tackled feels like being in a car crash. You have guys who are huge and can run like the wind. Speed and power will always meet with a violent impact!

However, we fans cannot get enough of our modern day gladiators. In fact, they have a whole cable channel devoted to just football. So why change anything? The money is good, television ratings are up and everybody’s happy, right? Well, everybody who can walk normally without the pain they suffered through years of physical abuse. This, too, will be covered further by your favorite “Cub Reporter” as the National Football League goes through the litigation process of former players vs. the current league office. How has it come to that point?

Vibes From The Scribe This exhilarating section return next month with more exciting little tidbits for you and your favorite rival to debate, tackle and discuss at your favorite libation station. However, here is a sneak preview: After winning the gold medal in the running competition at the 1936 Olympics, Jesse Owens could not get a regular job so he raced animals at local fairs to make money.

May 24, 2007

Knuckle Ballers: Do you think that the Yankees, who have to play the Boston Red Sox 19 times a year have someone who can throw the knuckle ball? This would help them in the long run. Batting practice on the day that they will face Tim Wakefield, the Bosox goofy wiffle baller. I know that a lot of players can throw the wiffle ball for fun. This does make sense to me because Wakefield is the only one in the big leagues who is throwing the pitch at the major league level. With that being said, wouldn’t it behoove teams to actually practice hitting this alien pitch? You all know how fastidious George Steinbrenner is and how truculent that their fans can be, or is it the other way around? I am just trying to start something with the idea of having a special batting practice pitcher who can throw the knuckler. Sort of the roving knuckler. Hitting the knuckle ball, how oxy-moronic. Closed-circuit to George, this is the last bit of advice that you will get from me.

Minnesota Twins: They still need a big bopper. Look at our bench compared to the other elite teams. Piranhas are great but not when we are behind. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that I think the Kansas City Royals will be out of the playoff picture when the trading deadline comes on July 31st. With that being said, the Twins should go after the Royals Mike Sweeney. He is sort of a veteran (10 years 69 days +) and KC is going with a youth movement. I will bet you that KC would take Scott Baker, Lew Ford and some future player to be named later. Mark my words, somebody will go after him. Somebody like the Bankees. It should actually be a no-brainer to the Twins brass because Sweeney loves to hit in the Metrodome. We also need some right-handed punch. Of course there are a few more right handed Twin killers that would fit nicely with us, Sweeney just happens to come to mind. You see that opposing pitchers will go right after our little guppies and take their chances giving up singles ,rather than worry about giving up the long fly that we do not have from the top and bottom of our lineup. We just have to decide if we are going to be contenders, or pretenders . Ahhh, if only everyone had a chance to ameliorate their favorite team. Terry Ryan for a day…Hmmm

Minnesota Twins Stadium: Well it looks like we will be breaking ground and not breaking wind after all. I have heard some of the ideas that they have in store for our cozy little ballpark. One of the innovative ideas will be heating the ground from underneath, so that when it does snow, the snow will melt. In theory of course. Heated grass, what a great idea! There was a lot of talk of tearing down Brookdale for the new site. I was totally for this idea. How ironic would this have been. They of course tore down Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington to build the largest mall, The Mall Of America. What I am saying is they talked about tearing down a mall to build a stadium. Twenty five years ago they tore down a stadium to build a mall! I know that the Twins finally finalized the deal to have their stadium downtown, however, the Vikings are still looking for a site. Hmmmmmm……..Brookdale. 694 and Highway 100. Sounds good to me!

Joe Mauer: There are a lot of people talking about moving Mr. Mauer from catcher over to 3rd. Base . To me this makes sense because Joe could actually pull this off. Heck, he is such a gifted athlete that if he wanted to he could walk right into the Vikings training camp and win the starting quarterback position. His arm is strong enough to go bear hunting with an apple. His accuracy is so precise, he could throw a B-B through a life-savers hole. These are just a few of the attributes that make him one of the best catchers in the game today. However, we need him to produce at the plate even more than behind the plate. You see, every time the Minnesota Twins start a series the pitchers and the catchers (along with their respected coaches) go over game plans and scouting reports on how they want to pitch opposing hitters. At the same time the hitters scout and plan their opposing pitchers. Strategy at its finest. You see where I am going with this? Joe could be so much more productive as a hitter if he did not have to worry about calling such a great game for his hurlers. Basically just go up there and hit. This is why most catchers are not the best hitters in the game. Their value is defense, not offense. Which is why having Joe being the 1st. Catcher to win the batting title is even more incredible than ever! Not to mention most catchers are short and stocky and are prone to injury more so than any other position player. We will eventually see Joe switch to another position soon, if not later. Besides, other than Ken Griffey Jr., who has a better swing than “Cool Joe”?

Vibes From The Scribe: Here is my name for the new park… “The Metro Home“...Not so much? …Did you know that the guy (William Woodson) who does those clever radio ads for the Twins is the same fella who thirty some years ago did the opening narration for the Odd Couple show? You know, “Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?”...Former Twin, Cesar Tovar is the all-time leader in breaking up no-hitters…Former Twin Casey Blake now with the Cleveland Indians, has 13 home runs, 75 hits and 39 RBI in just 4 plus years vs. the Twins….. In 1941 Joe DiMaggio hit in 16 straight games after his record streak of 56 games was stopped. Giving him 72 games out of 73 games with a hit!….Our very own Tony Oliva was the first designated hitter ( DH )in 1973 to hit a home run…The New York Yankees colors are white with dark blue trim, not white and black like most people think…Johan Santana is the only player ever named Johan in baseball…..Minnesota is the home of the Twins in baseball and strangely more sets of twins are born in Minnesota than any other state in the U.S.A….The Minnesota Twins were the first professional baseball team to be named after a state, and not a city…..

Twins Of A Different Feather: (Look-alikes) Jason Kubel- Denny Hocking…Eric Balfour ( Milo on 24 )- Joe Nathan….Martina Navratilova-Tom Petty….Gary Busey- John Elway…Chipper Jones- Clint Howard….Spurs coach Gregg Popovich- Donald Sutherland…...Lakers coach Phil Jackson- Col. Sanders…David Ortiz-Florida Evans ( the mom ) from Good Times

April 28, 2007

Harmon Killebrew: Somehow the Minnesota Twins with their (our) new stadium coming up they should involve the “Killer” and his name. The Baltimore Orioles have a barbecue stand with Boog Powell’s name endorsing the rights. Now Boog may very well be some sort of fire pit aficionado and Harmon may not, never the less, Harmon and his name or number, #3 belong as a big part of the Twins and the new park. If you think about it, Harmon and Kent Hrbek and Tony Oliva are probably the last of the big names the Minnesota Twins can push as the face of the franchise. With the past three spring departures of Bob Casey, Kirby Puckett, and Herb Carneal, Harmon and his hall of fame pedigree, is the face of the Twins. We all know that they named a road after him (Killebrew Drive) on the south side of the Mall Of America. We also all know that his batting stance is the logo for Major League Baseball. How about “Killebrews Kove” or “Kave?” Using this logo of course. There is a lot of stats and records that they could use I guess we will have to wait and see what they decide to go for.

Baseball in April: Television is so important to the revenue stream that it almost dictates the time and place for the “Great American Pastime” to be played. With that being said, I am sure that all of the stadium bashers and roof wishers are getting their say in with all of the inclement weather that we are having. If the Vikings cannot get their stadium built, that would mean that they will be in the Metrodome for a while. With that being said, why couldn’t we go back into the Dome if the weather dictates so. Hey, if baseball would quit being so dependent on ESPN they could actually play the first week of games during the day. Traditionally this is how the game was played anyway. I know that a lot of players do not like to play under the lights. The ball is already hard enough to see , let alone to try and see it under the lights. It also is not fair to have all of these northern teams without roofs to have to play on the road for the first week either. Besides, I thought that teams get their revenue from suites and sponsors. They don’t have to be dependent on ticket sales as much so go ahead and play the first series during the day. ESPN could broadcast them and people will find a way to attend the game or games regardless. I saw the highlights of the 1965 world series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and our own Mn Twins and every game was played during the day. I happen to like day games don’t you?

St. Paul Saints: They should do some sort of 5 year anniversary of the Mn Twins playoff run. The 5 year of course would be because it was the first since 1991. Think about how many Twins on that 2002 team that are now plummeting with other teams, or they simply are just not in baseball anymore. You could almost have the infield we had in ‘02. Denny Hocking, Luis Rivas, Christian Guzman, Doug Mientkiewicz. Matthew LeCroy. LaTroy Hawkins, Brian Buchanan, Michael Restovich Todd Sears, Mike Lamb, Jay Canizaro, Tony Fiore, Mike Trombley, and Jack Cressand. Think about what kind of night that would be. Think about how far those Twins got with that kind of talent. The Saints are always on the cutting edge for entertainment at the ball park so why not? Mientkiewicz is only playing in the big leagues because of his glove. Better yet, he lucked out and hooked up with the New York Bankees.

Roger Clemens: He is making a mockery of the old fashioned term “Teammate”. No longer will he be asked to train in hot weather or actually hang out with his team . The way that the Yankees are pitching he could almost set his price if he hasn’t already. I believe if you do the math, Clemens makes roughly 4 million per month. That’s if he joins in May. O.K. I will do the math, Roger made 18 million last year in which he went 7-6 in 19 starts. In the words of the late Mel Jass,”he’s got a good job”. Wouldn’t it be a shame to waste the purple-lipped Alex Rodriguez’ great season on a team that may not even make the post-season? Boo Hoo. I feel so sorry for the Banks. It is a bit exciting though to watch them lose. Its becoming as fun to watch them lose as it is to watch the Twins win. Come October, it won’t matter if A-Rod chokes again because he won’t have the chance to. That’s right, regardless if Clemens joins, the Yanks will not even make the post season because the Boston Red Sox have beaten them at their own game. They have out spent the Banks! They have spent wisely and went after pitching. Pitching and defense will always be the most important part of a teams success. After all in baseball, and only in baseball, the defense has the ball. Even if Roger has the kings ransom.

Kent Hrbek and Doug Mientkiewicz: I have been hearing comparisons of the two former Twins first basemen as far as their fielding is concerned. Let me tell you from first hand experience, Hrbek was the better best fielding first baseman I ever saw. He could catch that foul pop down the first base line with ease. He could turn the 3-6-3 double play with ease. He pretty much did everything at first with ease. Scooping bad throws, turning double plays, throwing home, doing commercials, you name it, he did it all. Mientkiewicz is a fine fielder and probably still in the game and not with our St.Paul Saints because he is such a great fielder. He is not as good as big Kent was. Not to mention Kent’s hitting prowess so there.

Minnesota Twins: They still need a big bopper. Look at our bench compared to the other elite teams. Piranhas are great but not when we are behind. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that I think the Kansas City Royals will be out of the playoff picture when the trading deadline comes on July 31st. With that being said, the Twins should go after the Royals Mike Sweeney. He is sort of a veteran (10 years 69 days) and KC is going with a youth movement. I will bet you that KC would take Scott Baker and some future player to be named later. Mark my words, somebody will go after him. Somebody like the Bankees. It should actually be a no-brainer to the Twins brass because Sweeney loves to hit in the Metrodome. We also need some right-handed punch. There are a few more right handed Twin killers that would fit nicely with us. We just have to decide if we are going to be contenders, or pretenders . Ahhh, if only everyone had a chance to run their favorite team. Terry Ryan for a day…Hmmm

New Stadium: (Also see above scribe on Baseball In April) Give me a shovel. Heck, everybody grab a shovel. We may just get this thing done already! 2010 cannot come too soon can it? I need to see shadows, grass stains, and Friday twi-night double headers vs. the Oakland Athletics! We will miss our great defense because of the advantage we have on turf. Hey wouldn’t swivel seats be cool? We will play outdoors without a roof. Not to worry though, when April rolls around we Minnesotans can handle the chilly weather. It may just give us an unfair advantage. We stay inside all winter long as it is. We need one major sport outside don‘t we? Did I say we could have a cold weather advantage? I guess that’s better than ground ball triples and light blinded infield doubles.

Vibes From The Scribe: Here is my name for the new park….The Metro Home…. Not so much?… Did you know that the guy who does those clever, funny radio ads for the Twins is the same guy who 30 some years ago did the opening narration for the Odd Couple? You know, “Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?” ….Former Twin Cesar Tovar is the all-time leader in breaking up no-hitters….. Former Twin Casey Blake with the Cleveland Indians has 13 home runs, 75 hits and 39 RBI in just four plus years against the Twins…. See you next month for the month of June!