Because we created this monster, and now it just won’t go away. We’re all Dr. Frankenstein, and this one man will haunt us until the end of our days. We let this man get bigger than the game, and now he has a franchise and essentially an entire state of people who put more stock in who is the quarterback of their football team than they do the actual issues of the world.
People protested at Lambeau Field last week. Brett Favre’s interview last night wasn’t on ESPN, or even Fox Sports. It was on Fox NEWS. And it was the lead story instead of an interview with current Senator and Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain. As oil prices skyrocket, the housing market plummets, people lose house and home and employment, Brett Favre is the lead story on Fox News.
What the hell happened to this country?
I am a sports fan. I am a pretty avid one, at that. But I also take the time to read and pay attention to other things, like politics, the economy, and paying my own bills. I write a sports blog because I enjoy writing and I think I am particularly good at it. But I will never protest at the Metrodome if somehow the Twins trade Justin Morneau in his fading years (assuming they even spend enough to keep him that long). I certainly wouldn’t be the television producer who chooses to lead with an interview with Brett Favre over a Presidential Nominee, and I sure as hell don’t see why Brett Favre should be pandered to like this.
He’s only one man - a man who happens to play a game for a living, at that. A man who now, it seems, feels if his image isn’t included in the NFL logo (a la Jerry West), or at least in the Packer logo, his legacy is tarnished.
This may be an exaggeration, but I really am not so sure anymore. Brett Favre has spent this whole off-season going back and forth as to whether or not he wants to play, only to come to the final conclusion that, indeed, he is 100% committed to football just a couple of weeks before the beginning of Packers training camp. And he is stunned when he’s told, “Sorry, Brett, but we’ve moved on.”
He says he’s fine with them moving on. Yet, if he’s okay with that, why all this?
This should be seen as nothing short of unacceptable. But, here we are, with millions questioning what the Packers should do. Here Brett is, demanding not a trade, but an unconditional release, as he feels he has earned that right. He feels the Packers are not telling the whole truth about him. And yet, after hearing his interview with Greta Van Susteren, I am not sure what that truth really is.
Consider that Van Susteren is, in fact, a Favre family friend and an admitted Packer fan who owns stock in the team. Not surprisingly, he really didn’t have anything to say of any real consequence, for there were no hard questions forcing him to do so.
He said he felt pressured into giving an answer, an "honest" one, back in March. But he knew - he had to know - that if he made that decision at that time and were to change his mind later, it would create nothing but trouble. But he did not seem to take it into consideration. He says, “It’s unfortunate that it came to this.” But he does not make the connection, conveniently, that it came to this because of HIM.
Favre did his best to do a little damage control while clearly attacking Packers brass for lying to the media and, thus, the public about Brett Favre. In essence, he blames the Packers organization, specifically Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy, for asking him for a decision too early for him to be able to make up his mind. Yet, he seemed pretty certain when he gave that tear-filled retirement press conference back in March.
Last night he was also abundantly clear on his current demands: “Give me my helmet, release me or attempt to trade me.”
Van Susteren’s comments to the AP ahead of the interview seem to indicate otherwise. From the AP story, Van Susteren said that, “while Favre said the Packers asked him for a list of teams to which he would accept a trade, he wants to be released to make sure he ends up on a competitive club.”
Only in sports are employees remotely allowed to give demands of their employers. Even then, if they do make a demand, they should be prepared to get an answer they do not like (just ask Terrell Owens). However, Favre did not speak as if he were a subordinate. Favre spoke as if he were the owner of the Packers. He compared himself to Bart Starr in the interview and seemed to speak as if he were Vince Lombardi himself back from the grave.
This is partly true, if only because it is currently Favre who is haunting Lambeau Field.
As I said before, I do not just blame Favre for this mess. I blame us all for making deities out of mortals paid to play a game. I blame the “Brett Favre is Brett Favre” attitude people like John Madden trot out there not only to extol the virtues of a player, but to excuse their otherwise unacceptable behavior. And I blame everyone else connected to the sports world, for we have created the hype machine Favre is feeding off of, and nobody’s truly called him out.
This may never happen, for Favre is insulated enough now to be able to pull a President Bush and choose who he speaks to and what softball questions he will answer, if any. Answers will never be extracted from this King of Beer Country. Why would you retire if you might have the itch? If you feel so entitled to making your own decision, why not tell the Packers you need more time and force them to leave the door open? Why agree to a press conference you know there’s a chance will look like a sham within just a few months time?
Sadly, we know the answers, just as we all know where this is headed. Brett Favre will return to the Packers, lest the front office feel the wrath of their rabid fan base, willing to march on Lambeau Field rather than allow the team to make decisions on its own. And in a year, this whole drama will play itself out yet again, as the Packers wring their hands through another offseason and Favre sits in his home in Mississippi, sipping on a drink, riding his Snapper lawn mower, content to hold an entire organization hostage for one more year.
And the most we have gotten out of Brett Favre in this whole mess is a venting session with, basically, an influential fan….
They pressured me into a decision.
I wasn’t committed then.
“Give me my helmet, release me or attempt to trade me.”
Sounds like a lot of whining and demanding to me. This is, essentially, a tantrum from a 30-something millionaire quarterback. Brett Favre wants his way.When it’s all said and done, Brett Favre will have whined his way back into a Packer uniform. Lucky for him, there’s a lot of cheese up in Wisconsin to pair it with.
Good thing there aren’t more important things going on in the world, huh?
Just when I think I can get a routine down on this whole blogging thing, life intervenes.
So, a day late and a dollar short, here it is…
I keep looking at this team, and I keep feeling something is missing. I know I have spent a lot of time talking about what the Twins could do to improve their chances of overtaking the White Sox and winning the division this year. It would be quite the feat to do so, considering all the talk that this team was “building toward 2010”, and the simple fact that this team continues to hit insanely well with runners in scoring position without getting most of those runs off the long ball, which seems to be a staple of offense for every other team in the league.
Moreover, this team continues to win in spite of the continued struggles of Delmon Young, the undisciplined approach of Carlos Gomez and the disappointing year Micnael Cuddyer has had thus far, both from a health standpoint and a production standpoint . Plus, this team lost their set-up man for the year, forcing the rest of the bullpen to shift their roles and get used in situations they simply are not comfortable finding themselves in. Matt Guerrier is not a set up man yet. Brian Bass probably should not be in the majors. Jessie Crain probably should not be called upon as much as he has been, as this is his first season after major shoulder surgery.
Oh yeah, and this team has a ridiculously patchwork “platoon” manning third base.
Yet, here they are, within spitting distance of first place in the division, and most recently won 3 of 4 games against the Detroit Tigers, a division rival. This comes after a 3 game sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox in Fenway. The bounce-back from that embarrassing series sweep might very well be a signal that this team is for real. However, the fact that they could not get a sweep of their own in the Detroit series, especially when they remained tied with the Tigers as they got into the 5th inning, shows there are still things missing from this ballclub.
I believe this team must address their killer instinct in the second half if they wish to propel themselves into the postseason and make any kind of significant run.
So, Bill Smith, GM of the Minnesota Twins, let’s have a seat here. I would like to discuss a few things with you, if you don’t mind.
You were with this team back in 2006, as an assistant GM under Terry Ryan. You watched this team make an improbable run to the playoffs, winning the division and earning a postseason berth against the Oakland A’s in the first round. To some, getting Oakland in the first round might have been the better draw than to be in the wild card slot, taking on the Yankees.
Back then, however, some of us felt differently. This team thrived on being the underdog, being the little team that could. Had they had the opening matchup against the juggernaut Yankees, I believe this team would have answered that challenge as yet another mountain to climb and would have won that series. But that’s a lot of “what-ifs”. However, I think this attitude may be pretty similar this year, if the Twins continue this run and manage to somehow make it into the playoffs without any changes to the lineup or pitching staff.
What this team needs to take the next step and get into the playoffs and beyond is an infusion not only of confidence, but killer instinct. The utmost belief that when you go out on that field, you’re not just looking for a chance to win, you’re looking to beat the other team. You’re taking this game from them and they will have to fight tooth and nail to take it from you. This is what great teams do.
How do you accomplish this?
For one thing, listen to your manager a little: bolster this bullpen. You acquire a set-up man who can help shorten the game to get the ball to Joe Nathan with the lead in the ninth. This need is even more acute since you have a manager who refuses to use Nathan in any other situation that might stretch him beyond the obvious “save” situation. Giving Gardy someone else to call upon in the 8thwho can shut opponents down will take care of this problem.
Knowing that opponents only really have through the 6th or 7th inning to get ahead of you is a gigantic mental boost, and certainly can affect this team’s confidence level. Plus, having one more shut-down guy along with Joe Nathan could really boost the killer instinct level in this pitching corps, something particularly lacking in that bullpen. As a fan sitting either at home on the couch or in the stands, I feel a large amount of uneasiness whenever Gardy goes to the mound to call upon the bullpen. If I do not have confidence, as a fan, how do the players feel?
I think it is also time to start punishing your young players for not playing up to major league standards. This is not necessarily your province, but you might want to suggest it to your Manager, after you listen to him a little.
When Casilla blows play after play at second, sit him for a day. Let him think about how important defense really is to this ballclub. The same should be true for Delmon Young. Make him work harder on his defense, make sure he shows improvement in the field and at the plate, or else send him down and keep Denard Span in the majors.
In fact, perhaps this should be done with Carlos Gomez. He’s flailing at the plate. The patient approach Casilla shows at the plate clearly has not rubbed off on his best buddy on the team, and yet there has been no effort to minimize the negative impact his recklessness has on the rest of the lineup and thus, this team’s chances of winning. Move him to the 9th spot until he figures it out, or demote him to the minors when Cuddyer returns.
Accepting anything less than a winning approach to the game is not something a team should do at any level, in any stage of a building process. If you do not show your players that their continued mistakes will not be tolerated, they will not learn. There must be consequences for a clear lack of willingness to learn from one’s mistakes.
What might help mitigate these factors would be some added pop to the lineup, particularly against left-handed starters, as your manager suggested. Craig Monroe has shown signs of life, but clearly is not a guy who can be counted on to produce on a consistent basis against righties. Mike Lamb’s acquisition has been a bit of a bust. Making a move to acquire, say, Adrian Beltre might be a worthy endeavor. You lose nothing in terms of defense, and you add a solid, right-handed power bat at a power position. Not a bad move, depending on what you have to give up to acquire him and how much of his large salary you can get the Mariners to eat.
Making this kind of move would signal the exact opposite of the signal sent in the second half of last year, when this team clearly threw up the white flag and traded Luis Castillo to the Mets for prospects. This would be a boon not only to the fan base, but I think to the rest of the team. Certainly your stalwarts in the middle of the lineup, Mauer and Morneau, would know that they will not be the only ones carrying the load as this team starts the pennant race in earnest. More firepower in the lineup breeds further confidence and the belief that the game is theirs and you have to take it from them.
This is killer instinct. It starts from the top. Teams that win championships do so because their front office has that instinct – the willingness to make bold decisions to take advantage of opponents’ weaknesses while mitigating their own. The rest of this division is weak this year. The Twins are pretty strong, Mr. Smith. Make your team stronger. Show that this is not a stepping stone year, that you’re willing to throw it away if the team does not win as currently constructed. Some tweaks and a slight shift in thinking could have you, Mr. Smith, as the GM who finally made the Twins a champion.
The first step toward winning a championship is always made from the top. Show your killer instinct, Bill Smith. Make some moves, hold some guys accountable and see if you can make this team a contender a year or two early. You might be glad you did.
I think your phone is ringing. You probably want to get that; it might be the Mariners calling back...
Twins fans, we got our wish. Manager Ron Gardenhire took Joe Nathan out of the deep freeze in all 3 ballgames thus far in their series against Detroit, and - wonder of wonders - they won all three ballgames.
Granted, each situation was practically tailor-made to bringing in the closer to get the almighty "Save" Gardy clearly considers when deciding whether to bring Nathan into the game. The only slight deviation was the first game of the series, when Nathan pitched the bottom of the 9th in a tie ballgame. However, given the amount the rest of the bullpen was forced to pitch in the previous series, thanks to Nathan's lack of use, he's the only guy with a fresh arm Gardy could have used in the situation. If you think Gardenhire clearly learned a lesson from the Red Sox series, I say no.
He did use Nathan in both save situations in the two following games, which I am sure gave Gardy much consternation. However, ensuring that you win this series is vastly important from an emotional standpoint. Win this series, especially if you win 3 in a row, and that sweep at the hands of the Red Sox might not sting so much anymore.
Yesterday's game looked like a pretty easy victory through the first 7 innings. Brendan Harris was having the game of his life, Joe Mauer hit a 2-run homer, and starter Scott Baker was humming along, looking set to potentially pitch through the 8th to hand the ball over to the bullpen with a comfortable 6-2 lead.
Then, Alexi Casilla's inexperience struck like that bad rash you keep thinking has gone away only to reappear on the morning of your big date with that girl from accounting you'd taken 3 months to work up the courage to ask out.
On a single to left by Tigers SS Ramon Santiago, LF Delmon Young fired the ball back into the infield to Twins SS Alexzi Casilla, who inexplicably fired the ball to first base to try to get Santiago out at the bag. Casilla's throw was way off the mark and went into the dugout, advancing Santiago to third. Perhaps Baker's pitch count, which was creeping close to 100, was the main factor, but one cannot discount the emotonal toll this one play must take on a young starter late in the game on the road. This one play completely rattled Baker and allowed Granderson's ensuing 2-run shot to occur. Suddenly, it's a 6-4 ballgame and an overused middle-relief corps was called upon once again to try to get the bell to Nathan in the 9th.
Even my much better half, God bless her, was asking the question Twins fans have been asking for a while now: why not use Nathan here? Now, this is a slightly different situation, since Nathan had pitched both the previous ballgames and threw a lot of pitches to get the save Friday night.
Let this sink in for a moment: such is the state of confidence we have in this bullpen here in Twins Territory. If it's not Nathan, all bets are off.
The bullpen certainly made things interesting, as Jesse Crain was able to get a big strikeout on Miguel Cabrera, but was lifted for LegoMan (seriously, Dennys Reyes looks like a lego), who let the runners advance on a wild pitch, which led to an RBI grounder by pinch hitter Ryan Raburn.
Brian Bass then came in for Reyes and, incredibly, pitched well to get Marcus Thames out to end the inning, leaving the ninth to Nathan.
But the Twins still had a chance to get some insurance runs in the top of the 9th. After Gomez weakly grounded out to right, Alexi Casilla roped a double into RF, a play that might have gone 3 bases had Casilla not hit the brakes as he was making his way around second. Perhaps Scott Ullger was giving him the stop sign, but the ball was not coming in as quickly as Casilla made it seem, thus he was at second, instead of third.
In a solid AB, Mauer struck out (props to Zumaya - Mauer does not whiff much), which allowed the Tigers to walk Morneau to pitch to the DH. Kubel comes in for Craig Monroe, with Zumaya, a righty, on the mound. A wild pitch advances both runners, so insurance runs are now in scoring position. Unfortunately, Kubel walked. Yes, I say it's unfortunate, because with the bases loaded, Delmon Young comes to the plate.
To say that Young does not exactly inspire confidence in clutch situations like this would be an understatement. And, this lack of confidence was not brought into question after Young struck out in a particularly ugly AB, flailing on a strike-out pitch in the dirt.
But Nathan closed the door in the ninth and Twins fans changed channels content that at least for one more night, they did enough to eke out the win.
But I'm a fan who has three wishes, and the Twins are my ever-frustrating Genie in the Lamp. One of them seems to have come true, sort of: Ron Gardenhire's at least decided to use Joe Nathan. Unfortunately, he's still only using him in obvious save situations, but at least it's something.
My other two wishes I shall bring in my second post of the day, as I finally have my second iteration of, and my first ever SUNDAY iteration of my Come to Jesus series.
Until then, go eat something. It's breakfast time.
Just for the hell of it, let’s consider the possibility that the Twins might actually go shopping for some help to stay in the playoff race this year.
I know, I know. But I am in a dreaming mood. I spent all last night in my bed, dreaming I was playing in the World Cup. And I don’t even like soccer that much. So I figure if I can spend a night dreaming I am a world class athlete, I can spend a few moments here dreaming that the Twins might actually try to go for winning a World Series instead of just hoping it falls in their collective laps.
Not surprisingly, we learned a lot about the Twins in the 3 game set against the Red Sox that concluded yesterday with a horrendous 18-5 loss. Most Twins fans will say this team desperately needs some more oomph at third base. While that is true, particularly if it’s a right handed hitter at third, I get the feeling the Twins don’t see it that way. They see their platoon of Brian Buscher, Mike Lamb, Nick Punto and a sprinkling of Brendan Harris as being good enough. Given the dearth of trade options at the hot corner, other than big names from teams whose asking price would simply be too high for the Twins, it’s probably safe to assume the current 3.5 man platoon at third will be the procedure going forward.
What is abundantly clear after the sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox is that this team has to bolster their late relief corps (and really ALL their relief corps save for the underused Joe Nathan) if they want to stay in and win close ballgames down the stretch. Unless Gardy decides to FREE JOE NATHAN and give him the ball for more than an inning every once in a while.
Sweep notwithstanding, many eyes are on the Twins now, as they came off a ridiculously hot stretch and still sit just 3.5 games back from division leading Chicago heading into a 4 game set at Detroit before the All-Star break.
All the chatter from ESPN.com to other bloggers to columnists from the Star Tribune, says that many instinctively feel that this is the time for the Twins to try to make a move to stay in the hunt. Indeed, now is the time, as opposed to waiting until the Trade Deadline to try and wring something out of what’s left on the market in the 11th hour, or worse – trying to make a move on someone on waivers after the deadline. Many GMs over the years have been quoted as saying moves you make get worse as the deadline gets closer, since the teams you’re trying to deal with know you’re up against a deadline.
If you peruse the list of guys Tim Dierkes over at MLB Trade Rumors has put together as possible relief trade bait as we go forward, you see some interesting possibilities. The A’s, Rangers and Pirates all seem to have a lot of guys available, with the top options clearly currently under the employ of Billy Beane. Since Beane doesn’t seem to like to play with the Twins front office, I’d doubt that anything will be done there.
A couple of former Twins made the list in LaTroy Hawkins and “Every Day” Eddie Guardado, but both men are far removed from their halcyon days experienced while in a Twins uniform. High impact they are not.
The moves that might be within the Twins reach (again, if they’re even in the mood to make a move) all seem to come from NL teams that should be looking to sell. According to this list, the Rockies are not only looking to move Matt Holliday, but could also be willing to let go of relievers Brian Fuentes or Kip Wells. Given their fall from the highs of last year’s deep run in the playoffs, maybe they’re looking to unload some guys and make room for prospects for a relatively small return.
Perhaps Damaso Marte of the Pirates would be a good pickup? He’s a lefty, which might give the Twins the option of sending Breslow back to the minors for a little more seasoning. Or, they could keep Breslow in order to have a couple of lefty middle relief options and send Bass back down to the minors where he belongs for now.
And finally, the Nationals are always in selling mode, so Jon Rauch could be an option. As Dierkes points out, he’s racked up some saves in the absence of Chad Cordero (17, in fact), so he’s shown he can put guys away at this level, albeit in the NL.
The Twins also have issues when it comes to putting guys in the right situation to perform mop-up duty if and when the starter has to get pulled early, as evidence by ####'s poor outing in relief of Livan yesterday. Peter Gammons made the comment on ESPN just a couple days ago that the trouble with finding good long relief on the market is that all the good long relievers are currently starters in the NL, and thus would come with too high a price tag. So there might even be options out there that might make #### expendable, but one must be careful.
The question, as always, is whether the Twins front office is looking to make a move. One might glean quite a bit of knowledge in terms of the Twins thinking depending whether or not a move is made. If they do not make any moves to greatly impact either their lineup or their bullpen, it probably means they’re going to wait and see if, more by luck than by effort, they make it into the playoffs by staying the course. If not, oh well, they clearly are not looking to stray off the course of building toward 2010.
If they do make a move, however, it shows that they are actually willing to take some risk to gain some larger reward. Twins fans might appreciate that, given the investment they have made into this team not only by putting their tax dollars into the new stadium, but supporting this team over their long home stand in the last few weeks. The surprising success of this team over the first part of the year has brought back quite a few fans who’d gotten fed up with this organization at the end of last season and decided against venturing to the Metrodome last August and September.
If the Twins want to keep those butts in the seats through the dog days of summer, they might do well to keep putting a competitive product out on the field in 2008. And Twins fans might have a little more to dream about as the summer rolls along.
As promised (for all 3 of you who read this regularly), I shall speak (briefly) in regard to our trip to Milwaukee to take in the Twins interleague matchup with the Brew Crew a few weeks back.
First of all, I love Miller Park. What a nice place to see a baseball game. Mind you, I have not been to the more hallowed grounds in MLB – pilgrimages to Fenway, Wrigley, Yankee Stadium, are on my short list of things I want to do before I die. I have been to exactly 3 stadiums for major league ballgames; two of which were outdated domes (Toronto and Minneapolis) and now Miller Park. Needless to say, Miller Park wins the beauty contest hands down, like if you were comparing Sam Cassell with, say, Jennifer Connelly.
Is there a bad seat in that place? Please, Milwaukee fans, help me out. I looked around and I couldn’t see a seat where I would say, “Man, I really wouldn’t want to be sitting there.” It was great to see birds flying around above the stadium, see the SUN through the OPEN ROOF, see the outside world beyond the fence. Well. The view in there is nice. Spectacular? No, but very nice, and a welcome change from all the cement and Teflon nonsense in the Metrodome. It was so nice to be outside breathing fresh air while watching a baseball game, it softened the blow of watching the only loss the Twins had in that series.
However, the duo of douchebags sitting in the row in front of us could have ruined the day, were they not so bizarrely innocently stupid. These two doofuses were part of a much larger party, clearly a rare family outing of some sort, judging from the way they spoiled their children rotten. One kid, I swear, was two-fisting an ice cream cone and a lemonade slushee when he was asked if there were ANYTHING ELSE HE WANTED.
Perhaps some towels and a tranquilizer? Thanks.
In particular, one #### seemed to have a rather high opinion of himself, as evidenced by his need to wear a button-up shirt wide open with nothing underneath, exposing his less than impressive chest and…”abs”.
This gentleman made various idiotic cracks throughout the game, but the two cherries on top were thus:
1. 1. As a handicapped relative accidentally lost control of her crutch, which went over the railing above us and landed on a chair close to him, he turns back and says, “Hey, careful there, we don’t want to be crippled, too!”
2. As I was gone to procure more beer for the Wife and I, he asks, to no one in particular, “What the #### is a Mariner?” To which, my wife proceeds to explain that it is, essentially, a sailor. To which he replies, “Then why doesn’t their symbol have anything to do with the sea?”
Yes, because nobody uses a compass on the ocean.
I weep for the future.
We actually had a damn fine time in Milwaukee, and will make the pilgrimage again in the future, maybe even next year, schedule permitting. There was a fantastic bar in the downtown area I hope survives its first year of operation. They had a pair of superb brews from the Lakefront Brewery exclusive to their joint. Really excellent stuff. If I happen to remember what the name of it was, I’ll include it in a future post.
FREE JOE NATHAN!!! Last night’s loss to the Red Sox was rather frustrating. Just as I think perhaps the Twins will tie this series and make everyone forget the pain of losing a 1-0 game to open the series, the bullpen (Matt Guerrier) implodes. Again. Good thing we didn’t use Joe Nathan, eh? He’ll certainly be good and rested for the next save opportunity Gardy reserves him for that doesn’t come….
Perhaps, much like the Free Jason Kubel campaign Twins fans got behind in the last couple of years, a new campaign should start to Free Joe Nathan...
BASKETBALL
Glad to see the Mario Chalmers trade went to good use. All that financial flexibility the Timberwolves got in return for trading their gift PG to the Miami Heat went to Philly in order to acquire Rodney Stuckey, Calvin Booth and a future first rounder. That first round pick isn’t all that shiny once you realize that the pick actually comes from Utah and is believed to be top-15 protected in 2009.
So, to recap: the Wolves trade away the point guard who hit the game winning shot in the national championship game just a few months back to the Miami Heat for, basically, cash. This same point guard then proceeds to show a fair amount of savvy in owning Bulls #1 draft pick Derrick Rose in his debut in the summer league down in Orlando.
They then take this financial flexibility and turn it into yet another swingman, yet another backup center, and a future first rounder that might be in the high twenties. Meanwhile, the Wolves have helped yet another Eastern Conference team become a contender. The 76ers now look poised to challenge Detroit, Cleveland and Boston for the top spots in the East.
And I guarantee you when the Wolves make that selection some mid-summer day in the near future, they will not get a point guard as good as Mario Chalmers.
I realize a lot of people actually like this deal, but I am not one of them, especially when I look back at the reasons for the trade in the first place.
Yes, this trade exception actually comes from the deal the Wolves made with the Heat last year to rid themselves of Ricky Davis and Mark Blount. But The Wolves used this exception not to address their currently most glaring weakness (backup PG) and instead use it to acquire more of the same parts they already have a glut of.
This is likely a a move made to set up other moves to address this weakness, as Jerry Zgoda points out in the StarTribune. But I keep thinking, "You know what? All this extra movement would not have been necessary had they kept Chalmers in the first place." Plus, stockpiling draft picks would not be such a priority had the Wolves not given up a pick to acquire (the now departed) Marko Jaric from the Clippers a couple seasons ago. I get that the Wolves seem to be trying to address their past mistakes, but that doesn't mean we should excuse them. It really means we have to keep an even closer eye on the proceedings as these moves continue to be made, if only to gauge whether or not it might be worth following this team over the next couple of years as McHale continues the rebuilding process.
Oh, and what must it be like to be Baron Davis? Assuming he cares about wins and losses after agreeing to a deal that makes him worth as much as the GNP of several small countries, it can’t be a good sign to Mr. Davis that just days after he agrees to said deal, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette are headed elsewhere. Might be a long, lonely but very rich few years in L.A….
FOOTBALL
When his career’s finally over, be it 2008 or 2028, can we make the inevitable movie of the Brett Favre Story the next installment of the Friday the 13th series? Seriously. The guy just won’t go away.
I bet Ted Thompson’s not getting text messages just from Favre. I would bet Aaron Rodgers’ agent’s been blowing up Thompson’s cell in the last 24 hours, as well. If he hasn’t, it’s time for Rodgers to get a new agent.
That’s all for now. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a Twins WIN to talk about. Perhaps Joe Nathan will actually pitch? We shall see...
I realize I have not discussed the Twins much in this space lately. I also realize that in the time between my last post and this one, this team has caught serious fire (Winning 18 of 21 games) and now sit within spitting distance of the lead in the division mere days away from the All-Star Break.
This is not to say I have not been paying attention. I have actually made it to a few games, even one quite memorable trip to Milwaukee to take in the Twins interleague border-battle with the Brew Crew (more on that in a moment). I have watched a good portion of their home stand, in fact. I spent one night in a skybox cheering on the Twins as they mounted a huge inning to beat the Diamondbacks at home, then spent a few nights in my recliner, watching portions of their sweep over the Padres (I never finished any of those games, since the late start forced the late innings to cruise past my bed time. Yes, I am getting old). And I took in most of the Detroit series and caught 2 of the 3 games this weekend vs. the Indians.
But I decided against posting about the team during all that time for a couple of reasons:
1. This was on the heels of a sweep the Twins suffered at the hands of the White Sox at the beginning of June; a sweep I felt would either rally the team or leave them despondent. When they lost the ensuing series against an already struggling Cleveland team, I’d feared the worst and started protecting myself against disappointment and meltdown.
2. It seemed like this team was getting fat off of weaker NL teams. I felt even more certain of this fact after the Twins dropped the first game of the series with Detroit by a score of 4-5 - it was like that first series at Detroit all over again. Twins take the lead, hand it over to their vaunted bullpen, Twins mismanage said bullpen and take the loss.
Yet, the Twins continued to confound my expectations of a let-down. Even as Justin Morneau’s bat has cooled off slightly, they keep winning games. The bottom of the order has shown life, and Denard Span has managed to fill in nicely for the injured Michael Cuddyer, creating a ridiculously fast 9-1-2 lineup turnaround that seems to be giving opposing batters fits (just ask Cliff Lee*).
*I am going to rip off Joe Posanski a moment and do the asterisk thing here. All apologies to the best sports blogger in the world, but this is a parenthetical inside a parenthetical and I see no other way of dealing with it: Listen, Cliff. You weren’t working a no-hitter when Gomez bunted. It’s the first inning. He’s told to bunt, that’s what he does. You know what that looked like? That looked like someone hanging by a thread getting pissed because he can see the thread slowly starting to unravel. Given the fact that this sweep seemed to signal the end of your team’s season, I guess I can understand. Go start the All-Star game now and go down in history as the worst pitcher ever to do so…and get over it.
The fact is, Twins fans, this is a good run and you’d better enjoy it while it lasts. This is like the best dream you’ve ever had, where you score the winning touchdown in the state championship game by outrunning everyone on the field in a Steve Young-like scamper then dunk the ball to end the NBA finals and run out of the stadium and hop into your Porsche to make your flight to Morocco where you spend a weekend with your favorite woman in a hotel where they fan you on a chaise lounge 24-7.
Or is that just me?
This season has been a dream within a dream. The team is doing well, while everyone else seems to be falling to the wayside. Unfortunately, all available statistics seem to point to this team waaay overachieving, particularly when you compare their overall batting average with their batting average with runners in scoring position. This has been extensively covered everywhereelse. I will not reiterate the stats here.
What I will say, however, is that I am continuing my wait-and-see approach when it comes to my expectations for this team going forward. I said a while back that this is a .500 ballclub, and I still feel that’s ultimately the case. This is not to say that this will be their final record for the year, however.
I still feel that this team got fat off of a weak interleague schedule. Moreover, it seems the Twins have gotten fat off the longest home stand of the season at the same time, a roll that allowed them to overcome that loss in the first game of the Detroit series, and one that allowed them to steamroll a pathetic Indians team and by all accounts permanently leave them in the proverbial rear view mirror. Whether the Twins do the same to the Boston Red Sox will remain to be seen – and this is my point. The Twins schedule now gets a little tougher, with a three game set at Fenway before 4 games in Detroit heading into the All-Star break. Boston is one of the top teams in the league right now, while Detroit had found a resurgence of their own before losing the series in the Metrodome against the Twins. Beating them on the road might prove to be a much more difficult task, especially if the Sox take some wind out of the Twins’ sails.
This run may very well dictate what the Twins do as the trade deadline approaches. Those of us who are used to watching this team operate know that the chances of this team being a “buyer” come the deadline are pretty remote, but this team more than likely won’t do poorly enough to be a “seller” at the deadline, either.
It’s hard to know where the Twins would look to upgrade, in any case. The outfield is already at capacity (especially once Cuddyer returns from the DL) and the emergence of Alexi Casilla seems to have taken care of any uncertainty at second base. Brian Buscher is hitting pretty well at third and has thus far managed to hold off the glut of part-time players this team is hanging onto who are overmatched when asked to perform on a daily basis (Mike Lamb, Nick Punto, Brendan Harris).
Yes, the drumbeat continues. I would love to see someone really take the reins at that position, which I am not as yet convinced anyone has done quite yet. Buscher is a solid ballplayer, but not a long-term solution for a team with playoff aspirations, particularly when you consider that he’s only starting to perform at the major league level at the age of 27, an age when most major leaguers should have a couple years of service under their belt. This is not a long-term solution.
I hate to admit this, but if Nick Punto continues to play at his current pace, he’s a good guy to keep as a defensive sub or a very part time member of the lineup. Beyond that, anyone else should be up for grabs.
Now, if you try packaging Lamb or Buscher with prospects to get a third baseman from somewhere, maybe you can get someone in return who can cement that position and add some more pop to the lineup. Perhaps go the route the Brewers took in acquiring C.C. Sabathia - use prospects in return for a proven, high-impact player headed into his walk year. Roll the dice for once.
Who am I kidding? There’s as much chance of this happening as there is of Lynne Spears winning a mother of the year award. More than likely, the team we have heading into the All-Star break is the team we’ll have to finish out the year. Thus, we in Twins territory better hope “clutch” hitting continues to be contagious, and these guys don’t wake up from the dream that has been the first half of the 2008 season.
Did you ever have that on again, off again relationship you just couldn’t shake? I know I did. My high school sweetheart and I broke up and got back together something like 8 times over the course of almost 3 years before she finally said what might have been some of the most important words in both of our lives:
This needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.
Looking back I know I was being an ####, breaking up because I “needed space” and then crawling back when I got lonely. Every once in a while, she would need her space too and we’d take a break and then she’d call and talk to me “just to catch up” and in a few days we were back together and everything would be fine again. For a few months, anyway.
I think it was the beginning of the end of my own innocence when she decided she’d had enough and needed to move on for good. I remember talking to her that night and hearing the determination in her voice, and it made everything crystal clear. I never called again. I knew she was taking control of her life and growing up without me, and that I needed to do the same.
It’s time Green Bay makes that call. This needs to stop, and it needs to stop now.
This is hard for Packer fans to accept, for Brett Favre is the only quarterback many of them know, and those who have known other Packer QB’s are probably not old enough to recall with true clarity the greatness of the Lombardi era with Bart Starr under center. In fact, Brett Favre is probably the only QB most of the personnel in the front office have known. Like that first boyfriend or girlfriend, your first franchise QB is a hard thing to let go.
But Brett Favre needs to go away, and the Packers need to make sure he does. I am glad he’s responded to the reports of his return and said there’s nothing to it. But you know what he really needs to do? Sign and turn in his retirement papers and make it official. To the best of my knowledge and my Google skills, I don’t believe he’s done that yet, and this is damn near 6 months since he had that teary press conference where he told the world he was finished. Green Bay ought to demand that he make it official.
The fact is this yearly drama – will he or won’t he – is getting more tired than Pam Anderson’s numerous marriages. I liked Brett Favre as a player. His love for the game, his “gunslinger” style, his willingness to play through injuries and show up every day to do his job through all kinds of adversity is something to be admired in all walks of life. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how you act when you’re a professional ANYTHING.
On the other hand, his willingness to get into other people’s business and hold the franchise hostage year in and year out as he mulls whether or not to continue being the consummate professional tarnishes that very image. And with each year this saga continues, the more dents you find on that trophy.
Professional sports are an all or nothing proposition. You have to take the whole thing, lock, stock and barrel, in order to be a part of it. To start allowing players to take training camps off or not actually travel with the team when they’re not in use undermines the very thing that should make sports inspiring – the concept of team.
I am an actor. Now, I only do live theatre, so I can only speak from that experience. Say I were to be cast in a show, play that role for a while, decide I am done playing it then leave long enough for them to find a replacement for me, that would be it for me and that show. The show has moved on. They sure as hell wouldn’t bring me back.
Brett finally decided to let the show move on, and that’s exactly what the Packers did. Aaron Rodgers has spent an entire offseason being the man. The team has spent an entire offseason with Rodgers as the man. The coaching staff has put in the time and effort to change their game plan to live life without Brett Favre and you know what? They’ll be fine. The Green Bay Packers were a great franchise before Favre took his first snap and it will be long after he’s gone.
In particular, Aaron Rodgers doesn’t deserve this. Recent comments aside, Rodgers has done nothing but conduct himself appropriately while waiting in the wings. It’s not his fault the Packers drafted him, and it’s certainly not his fault he’s in the middle of this whole mess. Think about this – if this continues, Rodgers could be a first round (albeit late) QB selection who spends the bulk of his prime as a backup through no fault of his own whatsoever. If you think for a minute that Rodgers would be the starter if he “won the competition” between himself and Favre, you’re out of your mind. So long as Favre is lacing them up, the Packers coaching staff is starting him. No way do they take the kind of PR hit that would come along with benching the football icon that is Brett Favre.
Look at his stats from two seasons ago, when Favre logged a 1-1 touchdown to interception ratio, or the season before that when Favre threw nine more touchdowns than interceptions. Favre still played and started all 16 games in both seasons. Yes, in the same article, I can venerate Favre for being the consummate pro, ready to play every day. But I can also point out that it’s pretty damn easy to do so when nobody’s trying to tell you no.
It’s time for that. Green Bay needs to tell Brett no. They need to make a statement of their own and say, once and for all, that they have moved on and are ready to start a new era at Lambeau Field. If he decides he wants to return and the Pack brings him back, Rodgers should demand a trade next offseason. It’s time Rodgers gets a chance to prove himself as a player, and I am sure there are several teams that would be willing to give him this chance.
If Green Bay allows this to happen, it damns the franchise to mediocrity for years to come as they draft and groom yet another heir to the throne of Brett Favre while throwing away the time they spent annointing Aaron Rodgers as that heir in the first place.
Please, Green Bay, stop stunting your own growth. Let that boyfriend go and move on to something new and different. Tell Brett that it’s stopping now and you’re moving on without him. You’ll be glad you did.
After the draft last Thursday, I was all ready to mock the ‘Wolves for drafting yet another combo guard they don’t know what to do with. I was ready to bash them for continuing to force Al Jefferson to play out of position and get killed by opposing centers who are bigger and stronger than him, wasting the energy of the team’s sole transcendent (albeit flawed) talent. I went to bed comfortable in the knowledge that the Wolves would continue on their rudderless path, and that I could skewer them accordingly.
I even had a funny anecdote from elementary I was going to employ to show just how ridiculous a pick it was.
Note that it is now Monday, a full 5 days later, and I am just now getting to this post. This is how much the Mayo/Love/Miller trade threw me for a loop.
Let’s think back about the litany of things this team needed in order to improve upon their 2007-2008 campaign and make strides toward future respectability:
1. Find someone to compliment Big Al down low.
2. Sort out the guard rotation
3. Improve overall shooting, especially from outside – make teams pay for doubling down low.
4. Improve overall team defense
5. Please, God, get rid of dead weight (‘Toine, for example)
Let’s look at the frontcourt now. Love’s shooting, rebounding, and passing are immediate pluses. Collins’ defense should be a plus. Add Ryan Gomes or Craig Smith in there and you have an interesting bunch manning the 4/5 spots. Sure, they’re undersized, but the skill set seems to fit better into a cohesive unit. If they remain healthy, the frontcourt looks better heading into the 08-09 campaign than they were a year ago.
(BTW -you can count on Cardinal and Mad Dog chilling on the end of the bench in street clothes, making up the Token White Guy contingent on the bench that every NBA team must have. Kevin Love doesn’t count because he’ll actually see some burn, as will Mike Miller.)
The addition of Miller and Love drastically improves this team’s shooting, as both are proficient from mid-range and beyond. This also puts less pressure on Corey Brewer and his broke #### jumper and offers Ryan Gomes an opportunity to continue developing as a key reserve who can contribute at both the 3 and 4. Matchups and flexibility are paramount in the league, and the Wolves suddenly have a lot of guys they can mix and match to find good combinations.
The backcourt, however, remains a quandary. One hopes Randy Foye will stay healthy and emerge as the leader of this team, the coach on the floor, the man worthy of being traded for Brandon Roy. One hopes Rashad McCants settles into a role coming off the bench as an instant offense kind of guy and that Corey Brewer can at least show a little development with his shot and his decision making.
Had this team kept Mario Chalmers instead of trading him for nothing, I would feel a whole lot better about this team’s chances to make real strides in the backcourt. They are almost forced into keeping Telfair now, and I think anyone would agree that Chalmers would be a much better backup to Foye than Telfair. If nothing else, starting anew with someone who has college experience would be better than continuing to fight Telfair’s bad habits that developed as he began his rudderless career in Boston.
I must continue to remind myself that rebuilding takes time and cannot be done all at once. It’s all about baby steps. Between the KG trade last year and this trade, this team seems to be showing some semblance of a plan, a direction going forward.
Perhaps McHale sees the light at the end of the tunnel and has finally come to terms with the fact that his legacy (yes, both his legacy as a F.O. guy and as a basketball player) has been tainted by his ineptitude as an executive and he’s come to understand that even if his Boss will not hold him accountable, the fans will. This means a lot to a player (see: Roger Clemens), but he also knows he’s in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation of his own making. People who fell in love with the idea of Mayo will be (are) pissed. People who didn’t will still be pissed because nobody believes Kevin McHale knows what he’s doing. Bringing Mayo in would have made a lot of people happy – the kind of people who are willing to crown a guy the next Jordan before he’s even stepped on an NBA court.
Depending on who you read and listened to, Mayo was either the next great savior, the best player available at #3 in a weak draft, an overhyped “phenom” with character issues and no particular position to play him, or the next Isiah (J.R.) Rider. Depending on where you read and who you listened to, Kevin Love was somewhere between the next Bill Walton, Kevin McHale or maybe even Mark Madsen.
Even if he’s another Nick Collison, I am happy. Because this team doesn’t need another tweener guard. It doesn’t need a “QB controversy” that Randy Wittman will inevitably botch, both in terms of how he deals with the players and how he handles the media scrutiny. What it needs are good players who want to win, and an atmosphere that will not rub off negatively on a crew of young, inexperienced, impressionable ballplayers. OJ Mayo’s reaction to getting drafted by Minnesota tells me all I need to know about whether Minnesota should have kept him. The same franchise that jettisoned Mark Blount and Ricky Davis at least in part because their negative attitudes could not be allowed to taint the younger guys simply cannot hang onto someone with that kind of attitude about playing in Minnesota before he even gets off the plane at MSP International for the first time.
With Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins, at least, you have guys who are either thrilled to be in the league ANYWHERE, or guys who are thrilled to no longer be in Memphis. Love and Miller have both gone on record to say they are happy to be coming here, and I believe them.
This team still has a lot of work to do. They’ll struggle to stop people at every position, unless this team somehow creates a defensive strategy that essentially turns Salisbury Steak into Kobe (Beef, not Bryant). This side of Tom Thibodeau or adding a Van Gundy to the bench, I am not sure the Wolves will be able to make such strategical changes. This is by no means a finished product. Then again, nothing is. But, it at least feels like something heading in a direction that might actually be close to the right direction.
So long as Kevin McHale, Rob Babcock and Fred Hoiberg continue making moves that make sense in terms of putting together a cohesive unit with parts that fit while continuing to monitor things like roster chemistry, heart and desire and financial flexibility, this could be a team ready to make a splash in the league in 2010, right about the same time EVERYONE ELSE will.
Perhaps, however, this brain trust will finally have made Minnesota a place people want to play. Making moves that point toward the creation of a team and the implementing of a plan certainly will go a long way toward making that a reality. So far, it looks better than it did last Thursday, at least for this quasi-Wolves fan.
I wish there were something to be done about the culture in sports that makes the coach the scapegoat every single time a team does poorly. I realize I say this in the very blog where I rail on about certain decisions Ron Gardenhire makes in regard to the Minnesota Twins. However, I also see the good things he does and would question whether we were to find anyone a hell of a lot better with any kind of experience these days.
Plus, unless ownership and management get abducted by aliens who have read anything about baseball statistics, the way baseball is taught under the Twins banner won’t be changing any time soon. That said, I am not sure there’s any manager who would be better at getting an organization like this one to consistent levels of mediocrity.
The New York Mets are a mess. Not a Seattle Mariners-level mess, but a mess in their own right. It will not take as much for the Mets to right the ship and get back to contention. It will take Seattle 3-4 years to do so. At best.
But the Mets have a nightmare on their hands right now, and it's a nightmare entirely of their own making.
This is not just about the insane collapse the Mets experienced at the end of last season. This is also about how the Mets, in particular GM Omar Minaya and the front office, did little to change the clubhouse dynamic in the off-season to improve the club. The move to acquire Johan Santana from the Twins may have given the Mets a bona-fide ace to hang their hat on, but the problem with putting all your eggs in one basket is that you’ve put them all into one player who makes an impact on the game once every 5 days. Other than a flaky Pedro Martinez, the Mets don't have any other pitchers of note. The thing about pitching is that it takes a full staff to make for a GOOD pitching staff. Unless the rest of the rotation can pitch at a competent level, the heroics of the “Ace” are for naught. Just ask Johan about his 2007 campaign here in Minnesota.
The fault really lies in the lack of production and injury issues that have plagued the everyday guys for the last season and a half. The fact that this organization did not see the writing on the wall that clearly stated, “Moises Alou and Carlos Delgado cannot be counted on any longer” and didn’t clearly see that Luis Castillo is a middle infielder playing on a bum everything, is not on Willie Randolph’s head. Well, it is, but that’s because those very people who made the decisions (or the lack thereof) were the ones able to make those failings Randolph’s fault.
Did Willie have some blame to accept? Sure. He makes questionable decisions at times. But all managers do. And it was not helpful when he played the race card when describing the motivations behind the criticism of his performance by the media.
By the way, do you think maybe this is actually why it took so long for the Mets to make Randolph their scapegoat? Do you think maybe they needed to lawyer up so they could be sure they wouldn’t be embroiled in some kind of “They fired me because I am black” lawsuit in the middle of next season?
What also may have made this move take so long is not because they were “giving him a chance”. They were waiting to see the shoe drop somewhere else. Think, for a moment, about all the terrible situations throughout the majors right now: Seattle, Cleveland and Colorado aren’t anywhere near their expectations heading into this season. Nor is the other team in the city that never sleeps. The White Sox may be in the lead now, but they seem one losing streak away from Ozzie Guillen sel####estructing one more time, and this might finally be the time he gets canned for his mouth (really, what's a guy gotta say to get fired these days?).
The Mets didn’t want to make the first reaction to their lackluster performance this season. Unfortunately for Willie Randolph, that meant leaving him twisting in the wind for a couple more weeks than really should have been necessary.
What really makes this an historically awful move is the way they went about it – informing the public in a press release at 3:12a.m Eastern Time. This is maybe the most ridiculously cowardly “professional” move I have seen this side of Bobby Petrino’s graceless exit from the Atlanta Falcons. In fact, this might be worse.
It’s easy to name a scapegoat. We do it all the time. Presidents get blamed for everything from the changing of the seasons to bad economies to the country’s general malaise. Sure, GWB is largely responsible for a lot of the problems we face as a country, but if we cannot also recognize our own culpability – from being the idiots who voted for the guy to being the idiots who signed off on mortgages we couldn’t afford to being the idiots who don’t spend enough time with our children to be sure they learn how to read before they get their diploma – then nothing will change.
This is just one of the many reasons you’ll never find me running for President.
The fact is, if the Mets organization doesn’t recognize that their woes will only change once they accept responsibility for their mistakes at the top levels, then they’ll keep churning through managers, getting nowhere.
Frankly, this is why you won’t ever hear me calling for Ron Gardenhire’s job. The faults that lie in the Minnesota Twins are part of a larger issue as an organization. From the Pohlads on down, their approach to the game flies in the face of all available information. Yet, every once in a while, they find success. I think I might wish to take occasional overachieving over very expensive mediocrity. It’s at least more compelling to watch. That doesn’t mean I won’t #### about it.
But I also know that if the Twins ever fired Ron Gardenhire, they'd at least have the decency to look the public in the eye and say why. And they'd give Gardenhire the chance to walk away with some shred if dignity at the same time - that's what people with class do. They treat others with class and respect, even their scapegoats.
Would that the Mets would have treated their scapegoat this way.
I think when the 2008 season is through, the Minnesota Twins will prove to be the perfect laboratory example of what a .500 team looks like. As of this date, they stand/sit at 23-24, 3.5 games back of the red hot Chicago White Sox. The optimist would say, “You know, the Sox have won 7 straight, but we’re only 3.5 games back!”
This is also the kind of fan who was excited about the fact that a .500 team could sit in first place in their division.
The Twins rank 18th in the majors in runs scored, with 209. They have allowed 219 runs, which ranks 13th in the majors. That this team is only a game under .500 with a -10 run differential means there are a few blowouts in there, so a .500 record is probably a good indication of what kind of team they’ve been this year. Thus the Twins are contenders so long as the rest of the division underachieves. As Chicago is proving, any team that can right the ship and get hot has a chance to leave everyone else in the dust fairly quickly.
The recent series against the Texas Rangers was particularly frustrating and might be a microcosm of the season so far.
The Twins took a wild one in the first game of the series in a 7-6 thriller, with recent call-up Bobby Korecky being the hero of the day, taking the Win and getting his first major league hit of his career and the first Twins pitcher to get a hit in an AL game since the DH rule came into effect.
The Twins' buzz didn’t wear off in the next game, as the Twins clobbered the Rangers 11-4. Not only did the offense get going, but the Twins were afforded the luxury of resting the bullpen that night, with Perkins throwing 6 1/3 innings before turning the ball over to Brian Bass to finish the game. Bass was the only Twins reliever who did not work the game the night before, so the Twins were able to rest their bullpen for a night.
With a day of rest for the relievers and a 2 game win streak, the Twins looked in good shape to be able to take this series heading into Wednesday night’s matchup against last year’s requisite Twins FA bust, Sidney Ponson. Instead of the shellacking most of the fans in the Metrodome expected, Ponson and Twins starter Nick Blackburn engaged in a surprising pitcher’s duel through a lightning quick first 5 innings.
Just as I was thinking, “Man, something’s got to give,” Blackburn and the Twins defense unraveled and the runs started coming. Incredibly, Manager Ron Gardenhire, he of the relatively quick hook this season, picked this game to let Blackburn pitch out of the jam. Unfortunately, Gardenhire miscalculated and Blackburn’s stuff (and confidence) was gone. The Twins thus spotted the Rangers 4 runs and 2 runners on before starting the bullpen. By the time Rincon got the third out, 7 runs crossed the plate for Texas.
With that kind of blunder, I didn’t even have to check the scores during my day yesterday to know that the Twins would inevitably lose and allow the Rangers to escape with a series split. Had Gardenhire pulled Blackburn at the first sign of real trouble, the Twins might have gotten out of the inning with only those first 4 runs on the board. Not a great situation, but not as insurmountable as a 7 run deficit. Plus, given this team’s hitting deficiencies (i.e. the inability to hit the big homer in the key situation), a 7 run deficit can seem like a 10 run deficit.
Losing that game hurt. You know it had to. And the hangover from letting a series-clinching game get out of hand like that can be particularly bad for a young ballclub. Younger players can get too high on the highs of the game and too low on the lows. That the Twins didn’t get rocked again yesterday is the only real surprise.
As if to further prove the point that this team is as good as it is bad, the Twins lost a 1 run game to end the series yesterday, mirroring the start of the series in reverse fashion. Now the Twins hit the road, heading back to Detroit for a 3 game set against the Tigers before another 3 at Kansas City. All these division games should give the Twins a chance to stay ahead of the rest of the pack in the division while staying close to current leader Chicago. This will only happen if the Twins can shake off that ugly end to their last series, get rid of the errors and stay out of the big innings on defense. We shall see.
It was the 4th inning, I believe. We'd just watched Nick Punto botch a play in which he smacked a bunt attempt off home plate which allowed the catcher to nail the runner at third. Making matters worse, Punto didn't run out of the box and thus got doubled up at second.
A possible big inning on the ropes, with a runner at second and 2 out, Carlos Gomez gets in the batter's box, his solo-jack the only run in the ballgame. After his first, violent, "oh my god, son, slow down before you bust a rib" swing, I look to my fiancee and my best man who are sitting to my left, and I say, "Holy ####! He's trying to win the game all by himself!"
I really should have bought a lottery ticket yesterday. Or something else that would have been more useful to me in the long run in terms of prognostication. For yes, Carlos Gomez practically crushed the White Sox all by himself, but all I got for it was the joy as I went to bed, knowing that the wheels had not come off for the Twins during the previous game.
Speaking of: no, Gavin Floyd did not 1-hit the Twins. The Twins only got one hit all by their lonesome. Floyd was like that guy at the bar who just happens to take the seat next to the insanely hot sorority girl who's #### drunk because her boyfriend just broke it off with her. Yes, she might take you home and you might have the best night of your life, but it's not because you're some good looking, irresistible peace of man-meat. It's because she's making this mistake all by her lonesome.
Yes, I just compared the Twins to a drunko sorority girl.
But back to Gomez and the cycle. Just a day after the Twins looked like a bunch of guys from AA taking their hacks after September call-ups, last night it looked like they knew what they were getting from Buehrle - especially Gomez and particularly in his next at bat after that triple. He jumped on that pitch, it wasn't just a wild swing that happened to connect. Gomez is on a tear since getting a day off on April 23. Did he see something he'd missed in all those games previously, or did the day off slow him down just enough to help him get his head on straight? One never knows.
I know this - Buehrle looked like hell on that mound. Nothing was working. Look, when Nick Punto gets 5 RBIs on you in a night where he gets doubled up in a key situation on a botched bunt attempt, you know you had a bad, bad, bad night. Putrid. Horrendous. Worthy of trying to break a bat in the dugout.
In contrast, Livan pitched a complete game. 'Nuff said.
The Twins are looking solid, winning 6 out of the last 7 without Ron Gardenhire in the dugout. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. I can't bring myself to pile on a guy who just lost his brother. Can't do it.
Whatever - just keep running, Carlos! And hey, can you loan me some money to buy a lottery ticket? I have a wedding to pay for....
John McCain. As oil prices skyrocket, the housing market plummets, people lose house and home and employment, Brett Favre is the lead story on Fox News.
the runners advance on a wild pitch, which led to an RBI grounder by pinch hitter Ryan Raburn.
t to end the inning, leaving the ninth to Nathan.
Miller Park wins the beauty contest hands down, like if you were comparing Sam Cassell with, say, Jennifer Connelly.
is, essentially, a sailor. To which he replies, “Then why doesn’t their symbol have anything to do with the sea?”
fact, Brett Favre is probably the only QB most of the personnel in the front office have known. Like that first boyfriend or girlfriend, your first franchise QB is a hard thing to let go.
whole thing, lock, stock and barrel, in order to be a part of it. To start allowing players to take training camps off or not actually travel with the team when they’re not in use undermines the very thing that should make sports inspiring – the concept of team.