1. You see, even as the season is winding down, awesome things can happen...like THIS! (I love those sound bytes way more than I should.)
2. Cleveland fired their manager on Wednesday. Really? You couldn't wait 5 days later to deliver the news at the end of the season?
3. Everyone likes a good foul ball catch or two!
4. The Twins announcers this weekend were talking about how great outdoor baseball will be next year. And then I see a commercial about how the Twins will play under the same sunshine as Harmon Killebrew. Then I look outside and see that its gray, cloudy, rainy and about 50 degrees out. Awesome.
5. Well, the Twins made it interestng, but ultimately they didn't have the pitching to come through. I mean, when you're relying on the likes of Carl Pavano then you know you're in trouble...wait, the Twins did what? They even managed to beat Zack Greinke? The Tigers choked? DELMON YOUNG ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTED?!?!?! I don't believe it...
6. Apparently the Twins still have at least one more game to play. The Twins have a chance to accomplish a couple of firsts. They are already the first team to play in a one game playoff for the division two years in a row. If they win they would be the first team to win their division after trailing by 3 games with 4 games to play. They would also become the first team to make it to the post season when playing the last year at a stadium.
You know my opinion, I'm results orientated. If the Twins don't win their game on Tuesday then all these heroics will be for naught. But it's fun for now...
Showing posts with label Brief Thoughts About Baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brief Thoughts About Baseball. Show all posts
Monday, October 5, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (09/21/2009 - 09/27/2009)
For multiple reasons this will be a shorter edition of my brief thoughts. I'll assume you're all devastated.
1. It's everyone's favorite part of baseball...THE STUPID INJURIES!!!
2. The Twins won two of three against the Royals, which was expected when they went against Greinke. But I still feel that the Twins need a sweep of Detroit (all 4 games) to pull off the division win. I'm still not feeling it.
3. I can't find the article, but I know Yankees GM Brian Cashman said that Joba Chamberlain will need to "step up" if he wants to be on the post season roster.
How about the Yankees stop babying Joba and allow him to pitch more than 4 innings and then he might be able to step up? The Yankees have no one to blame but themselves for the Joba mess.
4. I'm amused by this Ian Kinsler clip because of how excited they get. It's amusing how much we get caught up in "mile stone" numbers. Sure, 30 home runs and 30 steals is a good season, but would it be a bad season if he has 32 home runs and 29 steals? Or 35 steals and 28 home runs? It's silly, but we all get caught up in it.
5. Give the White Sox some credit for continuing to play hard...sometimes.
1. It's everyone's favorite part of baseball...THE STUPID INJURIES!!!
2. The Twins won two of three against the Royals, which was expected when they went against Greinke. But I still feel that the Twins need a sweep of Detroit (all 4 games) to pull off the division win. I'm still not feeling it.
3. I can't find the article, but I know Yankees GM Brian Cashman said that Joba Chamberlain will need to "step up" if he wants to be on the post season roster.
How about the Yankees stop babying Joba and allow him to pitch more than 4 innings and then he might be able to step up? The Yankees have no one to blame but themselves for the Joba mess.
4. I'm amused by this Ian Kinsler clip because of how excited they get. It's amusing how much we get caught up in "mile stone" numbers. Sure, 30 home runs and 30 steals is a good season, but would it be a bad season if he has 32 home runs and 29 steals? Or 35 steals and 28 home runs? It's silly, but we all get caught up in it.
5. Give the White Sox some credit for continuing to play hard...sometimes.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (09/14/2009 - 09/20/2009)
1. So Morneau is out for the year due to a back injury. But franky, he seemed to be gone from the team for the last month. A lot of people think this is final nail in the coffin of the Twins. But right now it seems that anyone who is in the lineup over Morneau in Septemeber is an improvement.
2. If you build it, Torii will come.
3. Joe Nathan gave up a home run on Wednesday and nearly cost the Twins the game. I'm not liking what I've been seeing from Nathan lately.
4. Everyone likes a good brawl, right? But why the hell are the Yankees even bothering with Toronto?
5.Magglio Ordonez got enough plate appearances to kick in a clause in his contract which guaranteed him a 18 million dollar one year extension. I wish I could get 18 million dollars by making an out...or by making out!
6. Well this was ugly for both teams!
7. The Twins won two of three from the Tigers (with a little help from the dome). I hate losing the last game of series when you have a chance to sweep. That being said, I did believe going into the series that if they win two out of three they still have a chance at the division. (I still can't believe the Twins got back into the race, but it's thanks to the Tigers' ineptitude.)
Anyway, now that the Twins did win two out of three, that three game lead the Tigers have is looking a bit more daunting than I thought. But if the Twins can make up one game this coming week and then win three out of four against the Tigers, they would be tied for the division. This could get interesting...
2. If you build it, Torii will come.
3. Joe Nathan gave up a home run on Wednesday and nearly cost the Twins the game. I'm not liking what I've been seeing from Nathan lately.
4. Everyone likes a good brawl, right? But why the hell are the Yankees even bothering with Toronto?
5.Magglio Ordonez got enough plate appearances to kick in a clause in his contract which guaranteed him a 18 million dollar one year extension. I wish I could get 18 million dollars by making an out...or by making out!
6. Well this was ugly for both teams!
7. The Twins won two of three from the Tigers (with a little help from the dome). I hate losing the last game of series when you have a chance to sweep. That being said, I did believe going into the series that if they win two out of three they still have a chance at the division. (I still can't believe the Twins got back into the race, but it's thanks to the Tigers' ineptitude.)
Anyway, now that the Twins did win two out of three, that three game lead the Tigers have is looking a bit more daunting than I thought. But if the Twins can make up one game this coming week and then win three out of four against the Tigers, they would be tied for the division. This could get interesting...
Monday, September 14, 2009
Brief Thought About Baseball (09/07/2009 - 09/13/2009)
1. Twins won in Toronto on Monday. It shouldn't be too surprising since Toronto is bad. However, that was the Twins first win in Toronto since 2006.
2. Of course, the Twins ended up splitting the series in Toronto 2-2. Because that's what the Twins do.
3. On Monday, Chris Carpenter pitched a complete game shut out with 10 strike outs, 1 hit, and two walks. On ESPN's Baseball Tonight, the host said "It may be the best pitching performance of the year." Ummm...is he aware this happened this year? Hell, this was better too!
3. Sure the Twins are floundering. but it could be worse. This season will mark the Pirates' 17th losing season in a row. Ouch.
4. Not that I'm a Tigers apologist, but this suspension was kind of lame.
5. Carlos Gomez hasn't given up on the season, apparently.
6. The Tigers lost 5 of 6 games this week and were simply begging, BEGGING the Twins to get back into the divion race. But the Twins absolutely refused to do so. The Twins lost 4 of 7 to the likes of Toronto and Oakland. If you can't win 5 of 7 against those teams, then you don't deserve to win the division.
2. Of course, the Twins ended up splitting the series in Toronto 2-2. Because that's what the Twins do.
3. On Monday, Chris Carpenter pitched a complete game shut out with 10 strike outs, 1 hit, and two walks. On ESPN's Baseball Tonight, the host said "It may be the best pitching performance of the year." Ummm...is he aware this happened this year? Hell, this was better too!
3. Sure the Twins are floundering. but it could be worse. This season will mark the Pirates' 17th losing season in a row. Ouch.
4. Not that I'm a Tigers apologist, but this suspension was kind of lame.
5. Carlos Gomez hasn't given up on the season, apparently.
6. The Tigers lost 5 of 6 games this week and were simply begging, BEGGING the Twins to get back into the divion race. But the Twins absolutely refused to do so. The Twins lost 4 of 7 to the likes of Toronto and Oakland. If you can't win 5 of 7 against those teams, then you don't deserve to win the division.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (08/31/2009 - 09/08/2009)
1. I don't know how many more of these I can do. Really, the only races in questions is the two Wildcard races. And I just feel like the Red Sox are going to pull out the AL Wild Card. I'll get to the death of the AL Central Division race later. But honestly, I was busy this week and missed a lot of baseball. But we'll see what I come up with.
2. I went to the Twins game last Monday. (Feels like months ago.) I saw Jim Thome play for the White Sox. I got home and saw that he was traded to the LA Dodgers. It was weird on many levels. One level is: Why would an NL team want Jim Thome? He can barely walk. Since moving to the Dodgers Jim Thome went 1 for 3 and then injured his ankle.
3. The Twins wanted to trade for Rich Harden but the Cubs were apparently asking for too much. I don't know what "too much" really means but on the surface I can't rip the Twins. You shouldn't give away too much for a one month rent-a-pitcher.
4. No "hip hip" for Jorge after this.
5. I suppose he made up for that embarrassment, though.
6. Here's a pet peeve of mine. David Wright came back to play after getting a concussion from getting beaned in the head by a pitch. (I'm not sure why he came back to play since the Mets' season is essentially over, but that's neither here nor there.) But Tim Kurkjian said that an ordinary person would never be able to get in the batter box again. (The implication was that most people would be too traumatized.) He said that's why they're baseball players and we're not or something like that. Well, you know what? BS!!!
During my High School Archery, Golf, and Bowling class I took a golf club too the forehead. I had a gash down to my skull and needed forty stitches. You know what? After a weekend I went back to the class and still golfed. It's really not a big detail. The human brain is very good at disassociating and filtering things. I'm not bragging either. I'm just an average person. In fact, a lot of people would consider me below average. I'm just saying it's not that impressive to get back into the batter box after taking a pitch to the head.
7. The Twins playoff hopes are all but dead. And it's a bit surprising who drove the final nail into the coffin though...Joe Nathan. One out from sweeping the White Sox and he gives up back to back home runs to tie the game? Unacceptable. I'm not saying he should be cut, but it was painful. And you know, Matt Guerrier has been decent this year, but you can't bring into the game with runners on base. They'll score, seemingly every time.
Anyway, back to the brutal loss the Twins took on Wednesday. Teebore predicted that they'd lose two out of three the following series against Cleveland and that's exactly what happened. The Twins are now a weeks worth of games out of first place. So you could argue that that White Sox game didn't mean much. I mean, if they won that game then they'd still be 6 games out of the division which isn't much better. You're right, but I feel like that blown save had a snowball effect on the Twins.
If the Twins win that game and sweep the White Sox, it really puts the heat on Detroit. I'm not convince the Tigers win their game that night or the following day. And if that was the case the Twins would only be 2 1/2 games out going into the weekend and on a hot streak. At that point, they may have pulled off a sweep of Cleveland which would really would put the Twins in the thick of things.
Now I could be overestimating the momentum the Twins would gain from that win and really there's no way to know either way what would have happened if Nathan could have gotten that final out. But I would have liked to have found out. As it stands, the Twins are hopelessly behind the Tigers and simply left with a whole bunch of what-ifs.
2. I went to the Twins game last Monday. (Feels like months ago.) I saw Jim Thome play for the White Sox. I got home and saw that he was traded to the LA Dodgers. It was weird on many levels. One level is: Why would an NL team want Jim Thome? He can barely walk. Since moving to the Dodgers Jim Thome went 1 for 3 and then injured his ankle.
3. The Twins wanted to trade for Rich Harden but the Cubs were apparently asking for too much. I don't know what "too much" really means but on the surface I can't rip the Twins. You shouldn't give away too much for a one month rent-a-pitcher.
4. No "hip hip" for Jorge after this.
5. I suppose he made up for that embarrassment, though.
6. Here's a pet peeve of mine. David Wright came back to play after getting a concussion from getting beaned in the head by a pitch. (I'm not sure why he came back to play since the Mets' season is essentially over, but that's neither here nor there.) But Tim Kurkjian said that an ordinary person would never be able to get in the batter box again. (The implication was that most people would be too traumatized.) He said that's why they're baseball players and we're not or something like that. Well, you know what? BS!!!
During my High School Archery, Golf, and Bowling class I took a golf club too the forehead. I had a gash down to my skull and needed forty stitches. You know what? After a weekend I went back to the class and still golfed. It's really not a big detail. The human brain is very good at disassociating and filtering things. I'm not bragging either. I'm just an average person. In fact, a lot of people would consider me below average. I'm just saying it's not that impressive to get back into the batter box after taking a pitch to the head.
7. The Twins playoff hopes are all but dead. And it's a bit surprising who drove the final nail into the coffin though...Joe Nathan. One out from sweeping the White Sox and he gives up back to back home runs to tie the game? Unacceptable. I'm not saying he should be cut, but it was painful. And you know, Matt Guerrier has been decent this year, but you can't bring into the game with runners on base. They'll score, seemingly every time.
Anyway, back to the brutal loss the Twins took on Wednesday. Teebore predicted that they'd lose two out of three the following series against Cleveland and that's exactly what happened. The Twins are now a weeks worth of games out of first place. So you could argue that that White Sox game didn't mean much. I mean, if they won that game then they'd still be 6 games out of the division which isn't much better. You're right, but I feel like that blown save had a snowball effect on the Twins.
If the Twins win that game and sweep the White Sox, it really puts the heat on Detroit. I'm not convince the Tigers win their game that night or the following day. And if that was the case the Twins would only be 2 1/2 games out going into the weekend and on a hot streak. At that point, they may have pulled off a sweep of Cleveland which would really would put the Twins in the thick of things.
Now I could be overestimating the momentum the Twins would gain from that win and really there's no way to know either way what would have happened if Nathan could have gotten that final out. But I would have liked to have found out. As it stands, the Twins are hopelessly behind the Tigers and simply left with a whole bunch of what-ifs.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (08/10/2009 - 08/16/2009)
1. Is it just me or has there been a lot of cycles this year?
2. Some people get stuck on milestones, but when Valdimir Guerrero hit his 399th home run he decided to just go ahead hit his 400th in the same game.
3. White Sox are still in the hunt for the Division and obtained Alex Rios, who was an All Star and is still young. I'd be more upset but the Twins have enough outfielders as it is.
4. Ouch
5. Double ouch
6. Triple ouch
7. As for some updates, David Wright (5) may be out for the rest of the season with a concussion (continuing the Mets epidemic of injuries). Hiroki Kuroda (6) was released from the hospital on Monday but will miss his next start. It sounds like he may come back after that. Ian Kinsler (4) seems to be doing just fine.
8. The Angels did something similar to the Twins a week or two ago. On Sunday, when the Angels faced the Orioles, the Angels ended up winning the game in what at first glance looks like a 17 to 8 blowout. However, the game was much closer that that. It was an extra inning game that just happened to have a 9 run top of the 13th.
9. Well, every year there are teams that look like they in contention after the All Star break but in August they fade and you soon realize that they just don't have what it takes. The Twins are one of those teams. They're still mathematically in the division race, but really, they've got no shot. It's just frustrating by how un-Twins-like this season is. The Twins offense is actually downright decent. But the pitching is so atrocious that no leads are held for more than an inning or two and 5 runs by the Twins offense rarely seems like enough. I'm not sure how the Twins will fix their pitching problem for next season.
2. Some people get stuck on milestones, but when Valdimir Guerrero hit his 399th home run he decided to just go ahead hit his 400th in the same game.
3. White Sox are still in the hunt for the Division and obtained Alex Rios, who was an All Star and is still young. I'd be more upset but the Twins have enough outfielders as it is.
4. Ouch
5. Double ouch
6. Triple ouch
7. As for some updates, David Wright (5) may be out for the rest of the season with a concussion (continuing the Mets epidemic of injuries). Hiroki Kuroda (6) was released from the hospital on Monday but will miss his next start. It sounds like he may come back after that. Ian Kinsler (4) seems to be doing just fine.
8. The Angels did something similar to the Twins a week or two ago. On Sunday, when the Angels faced the Orioles, the Angels ended up winning the game in what at first glance looks like a 17 to 8 blowout. However, the game was much closer that that. It was an extra inning game that just happened to have a 9 run top of the 13th.
9. Well, every year there are teams that look like they in contention after the All Star break but in August they fade and you soon realize that they just don't have what it takes. The Twins are one of those teams. They're still mathematically in the division race, but really, they've got no shot. It's just frustrating by how un-Twins-like this season is. The Twins offense is actually downright decent. But the pitching is so atrocious that no leads are held for more than an inning or two and 5 runs by the Twins offense rarely seems like enough. I'm not sure how the Twins will fix their pitching problem for next season.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (08/03/2009 - 08/09/2009)
1. Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers gave up 5 runs in his first inning on Monday, but that was all he gave up. The Tigers came back and got him the win. If it were the Twins, they'd end up one run short of a comeback.
2. Don't get Prince Fielder angry...you won't like him when he's angry.
3. On Wednesday the Twins lost to Cleveland. And looked terrible. The two biggest culprits in the 8-1 loss? Liriano, whose showing that he pretty much just sucks, and Morneau, who went 0 for 4 and left 5 men on bad.
4. While listening to the Thursday Twins' game I dubbed Cleveland's pitcher Fausto Carmona the Cleveland Francisco Liriano. Well, the Cleveland Francisco Liriano managed to hold the Twins to 1 run but looked horrible in the process. The Twins just couldn't get a clutch hit.
After the game, the Twins clubhouse sounded like it was beginning to implode.
You've got Justin Morneau blaming Alexi Casilla, Alexi blaming the umpires, and Mike Redmond blaming the manager for having the gull to actually play him. In the end, I don't know what the players are complaining about. There's plenty of blame for everyone, fellas.
5. Wednesday was "Mannywood Day" at Dodger Stadium. Manny Ramirez did not play in that game.
6. During Thursday's Red Sox/Yankees game, Posada pulled a Twins and egregiously refused to slide (yes, that was the only clip I could come up with). Of course, unlike the non-sliding Twins, Posada did make up for it later... hip hip, Jorge!
7. Friday had two bad calls at home. First, Mauer literally pushed Guillen across home plate with his glove (and the baseball inside it), but Guillen was called safe. Then San Diego got a break when they tied the game in the 9th when Kyle Blanks slid into the glove of catcher Ryan Schneider in front of home plate but was called safe. (Of course, both clips were neutered by MLB and slow motion replays of the close calls were not shown.)
Purists still claim that instant replays of plays at home should not happen. Lord knows we wouldn't want the right call to occur.
8. David Ortiz may or may not have taken steroids accidentally when he was taking legal supplements back in 2003. Apparently back in the day you just swallowed any pill that was given to you.
It's also nice to see the players union step in and defend its players while poking holes into "the list". Of course that only happened after the precious Big Poppi got outed.
9. Ozzie Guillen continued his bid for "Manager Most Likely To Shiv A Player" by stating that he wants his pitchers to hit...everybody?
10. Josh Hamilton fell off the wagon. I probably shouldn't joke about that.
11. On Friday the Twins traded for Cleveland pitcher Carl Pavano, which is the equivalent of a villain throwing his gun at Superman after all the bullets bounced harmlessly off his chest.
That being said, on Saturday Carl Pavano proved to be the Twins' best pitcher. Which is like me saying I'm the tallest person in Munchkinland...which I AM, thank you very much.
2. Don't get Prince Fielder angry...you won't like him when he's angry.
3. On Wednesday the Twins lost to Cleveland. And looked terrible. The two biggest culprits in the 8-1 loss? Liriano, whose showing that he pretty much just sucks, and Morneau, who went 0 for 4 and left 5 men on bad.
4. While listening to the Thursday Twins' game I dubbed Cleveland's pitcher Fausto Carmona the Cleveland Francisco Liriano. Well, the Cleveland Francisco Liriano managed to hold the Twins to 1 run but looked horrible in the process. The Twins just couldn't get a clutch hit.
After the game, the Twins clubhouse sounded like it was beginning to implode.
You've got Justin Morneau blaming Alexi Casilla, Alexi blaming the umpires, and Mike Redmond blaming the manager for having the gull to actually play him. In the end, I don't know what the players are complaining about. There's plenty of blame for everyone, fellas.
5. Wednesday was "Mannywood Day" at Dodger Stadium. Manny Ramirez did not play in that game.
6. During Thursday's Red Sox/Yankees game, Posada pulled a Twins and egregiously refused to slide (yes, that was the only clip I could come up with). Of course, unlike the non-sliding Twins, Posada did make up for it later... hip hip, Jorge!
7. Friday had two bad calls at home. First, Mauer literally pushed Guillen across home plate with his glove (and the baseball inside it), but Guillen was called safe. Then San Diego got a break when they tied the game in the 9th when Kyle Blanks slid into the glove of catcher Ryan Schneider in front of home plate but was called safe. (Of course, both clips were neutered by MLB and slow motion replays of the close calls were not shown.)
Purists still claim that instant replays of plays at home should not happen. Lord knows we wouldn't want the right call to occur.
8. David Ortiz may or may not have taken steroids accidentally when he was taking legal supplements back in 2003. Apparently back in the day you just swallowed any pill that was given to you.
It's also nice to see the players union step in and defend its players while poking holes into "the list". Of course that only happened after the precious Big Poppi got outed.
9. Ozzie Guillen continued his bid for "Manager Most Likely To Shiv A Player" by stating that he wants his pitchers to hit...everybody?
10. Josh Hamilton fell off the wagon. I probably shouldn't joke about that.
11. On Friday the Twins traded for Cleveland pitcher Carl Pavano, which is the equivalent of a villain throwing his gun at Superman after all the bullets bounced harmlessly off his chest.
That being said, on Saturday Carl Pavano proved to be the Twins' best pitcher. Which is like me saying I'm the tallest person in Munchkinland...which I AM, thank you very much.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Bried Thoughts About Baseball (07/27/2009 - 08/02/2009)
1. Mmmmm...schadenfreude...
2. Somewhat interesting note. Josh Willingham had two grand slams in one game on Monday. This is impressive, but not as impressive as Fernando Tatis, who had two grand slams in the same inning in 1999. To commemorate Willingham's two grand slam day, Tatis decided to hit a grand slam of his own on Monday also.
3. Was I the only person worried that Mark Buehrle was going pitch another perfect game? Luckily, that did not happen. He did set a record though...grumble, grumble...
4. This week for the Twins could be characterized as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The Good would be the series against the White Sox where the Twins got a rare sweep, thanks to a little help from Alexi Casilla (look for the cameo by Mrs. Dr. Bitz to the left).
5. Greatest "non-catch" ever?
6. So I was watching the White Sox/Yankees game on MLB Network. The announcer, Bob Costas, said that Alexei Ramirez's first name is pronounced "Alice-say" instead of "Alex-ey". I feel like athletes have a month to speak up if their name is being mispronounced. Otherwise you're stuck with whatever people have been calling you. I'm talking to you Justin MORNeau/MornEAU. (And if your name is Chone, you're stuck with Chone no matter what. Sorry, Chone isn't Sean.)
7. So I was watching the White Sox/Yankees game on MLB Network. The Yankees scored a few runs and I heard the fans chant "Yankees Suck!" I just find it funny when fans say a team sucks when they do something well against the fans' own team. If the team that's beating yours sucks, what does that make your team?
8. The Bad for the Twins would be the trade deadline and the Twins nearly doing nothing. You can see the full trade list here, but let me highlight a few players: Jake Peavy (Starting Pitcher), Joe Beimel (Relief Pitcher), Claudio Vargas (RP), Jarrod Washburn (SP), John Grabow (RP), George Sherrill (RP), Freddy Sanchez (Second Basemen), and Ian Snell (SP).
Those were some players that were traded that the Twins could have used but did not get. Most notable from that list is Jarrod Washburn and Freddy Sanchez. Those were the players I really wanted the Twins to get (that they had a realistic chance of getting). They were also flirting with trading for Heath Bell (fantastic relief pitcher in San Diego) but did not get him, either.
At the end of the day, the Twins settled for the trade deadline consolation prize of Orlando Cabrera (shortstop), whose numbers put him barely above Brian Buscher...and his defense isn't all that great either.
What annoys me is that the Twins also complain that teams are asking for too much. What do do they think? That other teams are going to give you players for free? You have to give something get something.
Now the question is, will the Twins inability to show any attempt to make their team a "contender" cause Mauer and Morneau to try and find another team.
9. Which brings us to The Ugly. After the Twins fail to make an impact move at the trade deadline the Twins flop against the the Angels. The Angels had 52 hits and 35 runs against the Twins in the three games they player this weekend. The starting pitching and relief pitching was terrible. Good thing the Twins didn't trade for any starting or relief pitching, right?
The Twins really look like they might be done.
2. Somewhat interesting note. Josh Willingham had two grand slams in one game on Monday. This is impressive, but not as impressive as Fernando Tatis, who had two grand slams in the same inning in 1999. To commemorate Willingham's two grand slam day, Tatis decided to hit a grand slam of his own on Monday also.
3. Was I the only person worried that Mark Buehrle was going pitch another perfect game? Luckily, that did not happen. He did set a record though...grumble, grumble...
4. This week for the Twins could be characterized as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The Good would be the series against the White Sox where the Twins got a rare sweep, thanks to a little help from Alexi Casilla (look for the cameo by Mrs. Dr. Bitz to the left).
5. Greatest "non-catch" ever?
6. So I was watching the White Sox/Yankees game on MLB Network. The announcer, Bob Costas, said that Alexei Ramirez's first name is pronounced "Alice-say" instead of "Alex-ey". I feel like athletes have a month to speak up if their name is being mispronounced. Otherwise you're stuck with whatever people have been calling you. I'm talking to you Justin MORNeau/MornEAU. (And if your name is Chone, you're stuck with Chone no matter what. Sorry, Chone isn't Sean.)
7. So I was watching the White Sox/Yankees game on MLB Network. The Yankees scored a few runs and I heard the fans chant "Yankees Suck!" I just find it funny when fans say a team sucks when they do something well against the fans' own team. If the team that's beating yours sucks, what does that make your team?
8. The Bad for the Twins would be the trade deadline and the Twins nearly doing nothing. You can see the full trade list here, but let me highlight a few players: Jake Peavy (Starting Pitcher), Joe Beimel (Relief Pitcher), Claudio Vargas (RP), Jarrod Washburn (SP), John Grabow (RP), George Sherrill (RP), Freddy Sanchez (Second Basemen), and Ian Snell (SP).
Those were some players that were traded that the Twins could have used but did not get. Most notable from that list is Jarrod Washburn and Freddy Sanchez. Those were the players I really wanted the Twins to get (that they had a realistic chance of getting). They were also flirting with trading for Heath Bell (fantastic relief pitcher in San Diego) but did not get him, either.
At the end of the day, the Twins settled for the trade deadline consolation prize of Orlando Cabrera (shortstop), whose numbers put him barely above Brian Buscher...and his defense isn't all that great either.
What annoys me is that the Twins also complain that teams are asking for too much. What do do they think? That other teams are going to give you players for free? You have to give something get something.
Now the question is, will the Twins inability to show any attempt to make their team a "contender" cause Mauer and Morneau to try and find another team.
9. Which brings us to The Ugly. After the Twins fail to make an impact move at the trade deadline the Twins flop against the the Angels. The Angels had 52 hits and 35 runs against the Twins in the three games they player this weekend. The starting pitching and relief pitching was terrible. Good thing the Twins didn't trade for any starting or relief pitching, right?
The Twins really look like they might be done.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (07/20/2009 - 07/27/2009)
1....mumble...grumble...Twins historic collapse...grumble...against A's...bumble grumble....Cuddyer was safe...
2....mumble...grumble...Supid hated White Sox...grumble grumble...Mark Buehrle perfect game...bumble grumble....historic...grumble...
3....mumble...grumble...Joe Nathan blowing a save...grumble grumble...fourth Twins loss in five games...bumble grumble....
4. Obviously I'm bitter about the Twins...and I hate the White Sox. I'll just say this, I was thinking that the Twins can't win the division without making a trade. But this week has proven that the Twins have too many holes to fill via trading anyway. So the Twins are down to just hoping the division is so weak that they can win by default.
5. Anyway, on Monday a 100 year old woman attended a Texas Rangers game. During an interview she said that Michael Young was her favorite Ranger. Apparently inspired by this, Michael Young does this.
6. What's worse, the fact that I was surprised to hear that an old lady's favorite player was African American (basically saying that I feel that all old ladies are racist) or the fact that I simply assumed Michael Young WAS African American....when in fact he's Caucasian.
7. This wasn't any more exciting than Chase Utley's.
8. Manny Ramirez was out of the Dodger's line up when he pinch hit with the bases loaded. Mr. I-Take-Estrogen-Pills did this. An interviewer of Manny said that that might have been the greatest moment in Dodger Stadium history. Someone needs a lesson about Kirk Gibson.
2....mumble...grumble...Supid hated White Sox...grumble grumble...Mark Buehrle perfect game...bumble grumble....historic...grumble...
3....mumble...grumble...Joe Nathan blowing a save...grumble grumble...fourth Twins loss in five games...bumble grumble....
4. Obviously I'm bitter about the Twins...and I hate the White Sox. I'll just say this, I was thinking that the Twins can't win the division without making a trade. But this week has proven that the Twins have too many holes to fill via trading anyway. So the Twins are down to just hoping the division is so weak that they can win by default.
5. Anyway, on Monday a 100 year old woman attended a Texas Rangers game. During an interview she said that Michael Young was her favorite Ranger. Apparently inspired by this, Michael Young does this.
6. What's worse, the fact that I was surprised to hear that an old lady's favorite player was African American (basically saying that I feel that all old ladies are racist) or the fact that I simply assumed Michael Young WAS African American....when in fact he's Caucasian.
7. This wasn't any more exciting than Chase Utley's.
8. Manny Ramirez was out of the Dodger's line up when he pinch hit with the bases loaded. Mr. I-Take-Estrogen-Pills did this. An interviewer of Manny said that that might have been the greatest moment in Dodger Stadium history. Someone needs a lesson about Kirk Gibson.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (7/13/2009 - 7/19/2009)
Well, it's All Star week, so things were pretty slow, so I'll first start with some retro thoughts not confined to this week.
1. First of all, remember Justin Morneau did this to the Brewers?
2. Some people love their reality TV shows more for the "train wreck" factor more than anything else. But frankly, the most entertaining train wrecks out there happen at Cubs game, where they have guest celebrities sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." Like this or this.
3. I think that it's imperative that everybody know about this story.
OK, onto this week...
4. The Home Run Derby starts out pretty fun but it gets really boring as it goes on. MLB needs to find a way to shorten it.
5. Speaking of the Home Run Derby, after hearing all about Josh Hamilton last year in the derby, it was as if Justin Morneau didn't even exist. I think Morneau should've entered the contest just to remind everyone that he was last year's champion.
6. The all Star game was lacking in excitement, but was played fast enough to not being boring.
7. The most entertaining part of the All Star festivities, for me, anyway, has always been the Celebrity Softball tournament. I enjoy it much more than I should.
8. Jim Thome had a big day on Friday.
9. Which should get a pitcher demoted to the minors faster, this or this?
10. I knew the Twins were in trouble Sunday when they were going for a sweep. They love to settle for two out of three. Add to it the fact that I have no faith in the Twins once the game hits extra innings, and I wasn't surprised to see Ian Kinsler hit a two-run bomb.
11. In Saturday's Twins game, the home plate umpire took a foul ball directly into the nuts. He was down for a while and then had to leave periodically during the game for...unknown...reasons. Naturally, this is hilarious to everybody who isn't that ump. But MLB, in an effort to have "integrity" and to "take the higher road" did not post this video. Luckily, the Gentlemen of Leisure have no such restrictions, so in honor of that umpire, here are some videos of shots to the nuts:
1. First of all, remember Justin Morneau did this to the Brewers?
2. Some people love their reality TV shows more for the "train wreck" factor more than anything else. But frankly, the most entertaining train wrecks out there happen at Cubs game, where they have guest celebrities sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." Like this or this.
3. I think that it's imperative that everybody know about this story.
OK, onto this week...
4. The Home Run Derby starts out pretty fun but it gets really boring as it goes on. MLB needs to find a way to shorten it.
5. Speaking of the Home Run Derby, after hearing all about Josh Hamilton last year in the derby, it was as if Justin Morneau didn't even exist. I think Morneau should've entered the contest just to remind everyone that he was last year's champion.
6. The all Star game was lacking in excitement, but was played fast enough to not being boring.
7. The most entertaining part of the All Star festivities, for me, anyway, has always been the Celebrity Softball tournament. I enjoy it much more than I should.
8. Jim Thome had a big day on Friday.
9. Which should get a pitcher demoted to the minors faster, this or this?
10. I knew the Twins were in trouble Sunday when they were going for a sweep. They love to settle for two out of three. Add to it the fact that I have no faith in the Twins once the game hits extra innings, and I wasn't surprised to see Ian Kinsler hit a two-run bomb.
11. In Saturday's Twins game, the home plate umpire took a foul ball directly into the nuts. He was down for a while and then had to leave periodically during the game for...unknown...reasons. Naturally, this is hilarious to everybody who isn't that ump. But MLB, in an effort to have "integrity" and to "take the higher road" did not post this video. Luckily, the Gentlemen of Leisure have no such restrictions, so in honor of that umpire, here are some videos of shots to the nuts:
Monday, July 13, 2009
Brief Thought About Baseball (07/06/2009 - 07/12/2009)
1. I heard a lot about how classy Boston's reaction to Nomar Garciaparra's return to Fenway Park was. I guarantee you that the reaction would have been MUCH different if 2004 and 2007 never happened.
2. This pitching performance was NOT good for my fantasy team.
3. I wasn't happy to hear that Paul Konerko of the hated White Sox had a three home run night.
4. The very next day Andruw Jones of the Texas Rangers hit three home runs in a game too. I was fairly neutral about it.
5. MLB must have been wet and thrown in the dryer. I just say that because I know after I'm done running my clothes through the dryer I always end up with a missing sock...
6. Sometimes it takes someone who isn't viewing things as in depth as I to come up with the most astute comment. While watching the Twins lose to the Yankees for the 7th time this season (thus being swept by the Yankees in the season series) Mrs. Dr. Bitz said this to me, "It's like the Yankees are in a different league than the Twins."
I couldn't have said it better myself. The sad part is that it almost makes this season a wash. Even if the Twins do win the division, what are the odds they even win one playoff series?
7. OK, let's see if I can get this straight. On May 5th a Houston Astros/Washington Natinals game was postoned due to rain when it was tied in the bottom of the 11th inning with Elijah Dukes on base for the Natinals. The Natinal pitcher who pitched the top of the 11th inning was Joel Hanrahan.
Since that game was postponed, Joel Hanrahan and Elijah Dukes were traded. On July 9th the game resumed, but with Elijah Dukes not on the tema anymore, Nyjer Morgan (a player that was traded to the Natinals for Hanrahan) was on base in replacement of Dukes.
Sure enough, Elijah Dukes scored, the Natinals one the game, and Joel Hanrahan, who was no longer on the team, was credited with the "win" thanks to a run a player he was traded for scored.
That's just my long winded way of pointing out that the Win is a pointless stat.
8. They say it's the most exciting play in baseball, but this one wasn't all that suspenseful.
9. My baseball wishes in life is first to see the Twins win a World Series, but second is to see a Twins pitcher do what Jonathan Sanchez did on Friday night. And if it wasn't for Juan Uribe, it would have been a perfect performance. If I was Jonathan Sanchez...I would have punched him.
10. This link is at the request of Mrs. Dr. Bitz. I suppose I could give some bonus links like this and, of course, this from earlier this week.
11. After White Sox Mark Buehrle's last game against the Twins (in which the Twins could only muster up one run of offense) Mark Buehrle claimed that he "owned" the Twins.
Well, the Twins owned Buehrle on Sunday when they got 8 runs off him in 3 and 1/3 innings. The Twins ended up scoring 13 runs total against the White Sox. If could of been even worse, too, if it wasn't for Jermain Dye's outfield assist. Sources say he only made the play due to some practice he got prior to the game.
2. This pitching performance was NOT good for my fantasy team.
3. I wasn't happy to hear that Paul Konerko of the hated White Sox had a three home run night.
4. The very next day Andruw Jones of the Texas Rangers hit three home runs in a game too. I was fairly neutral about it.
5. MLB must have been wet and thrown in the dryer. I just say that because I know after I'm done running my clothes through the dryer I always end up with a missing sock...
6. Sometimes it takes someone who isn't viewing things as in depth as I to come up with the most astute comment. While watching the Twins lose to the Yankees for the 7th time this season (thus being swept by the Yankees in the season series) Mrs. Dr. Bitz said this to me, "It's like the Yankees are in a different league than the Twins."
I couldn't have said it better myself. The sad part is that it almost makes this season a wash. Even if the Twins do win the division, what are the odds they even win one playoff series?
7. OK, let's see if I can get this straight. On May 5th a Houston Astros/Washington Natinals game was postoned due to rain when it was tied in the bottom of the 11th inning with Elijah Dukes on base for the Natinals. The Natinal pitcher who pitched the top of the 11th inning was Joel Hanrahan.
Since that game was postponed, Joel Hanrahan and Elijah Dukes were traded. On July 9th the game resumed, but with Elijah Dukes not on the tema anymore, Nyjer Morgan (a player that was traded to the Natinals for Hanrahan) was on base in replacement of Dukes.
Sure enough, Elijah Dukes scored, the Natinals one the game, and Joel Hanrahan, who was no longer on the team, was credited with the "win" thanks to a run a player he was traded for scored.
That's just my long winded way of pointing out that the Win is a pointless stat.
8. They say it's the most exciting play in baseball, but this one wasn't all that suspenseful.
9. My baseball wishes in life is first to see the Twins win a World Series, but second is to see a Twins pitcher do what Jonathan Sanchez did on Friday night. And if it wasn't for Juan Uribe, it would have been a perfect performance. If I was Jonathan Sanchez...I would have punched him.
10. This link is at the request of Mrs. Dr. Bitz. I suppose I could give some bonus links like this and, of course, this from earlier this week.
11. After White Sox Mark Buehrle's last game against the Twins (in which the Twins could only muster up one run of offense) Mark Buehrle claimed that he "owned" the Twins.
Well, the Twins owned Buehrle on Sunday when they got 8 runs off him in 3 and 1/3 innings. The Twins ended up scoring 13 runs total against the White Sox. If could of been even worse, too, if it wasn't for Jermain Dye's outfield assist. Sources say he only made the play due to some practice he got prior to the game.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (6/29/2009 - 7/05/2009)
Note: In honor of Mrs. Dr. Bitz's complaint, none of the links this week will feature a home run...except for this one.
1. First of all, congrats to the Twins finally getting over 2 games over 500. They are now a whopping 3 games over 500.
2. The Baltimore Orioles were down by 9 runs in the 7th inning against the Red Sox. Eventually this happened and secured an improbable victory for the O's. Hehehe..eat it Red Sox!
3. Apparently the Texas Rangers somtimes wear red for their road jerseys instead of instead of their traditional blue. The problem is they played the Angels this week. So any highlight I saw from those game just greatly confused me. Was that Torii Hunter making that catch? Wait, no, it was Marlon Byrd!?
4. I suppose I'll steal a line from Sports Center and say that the Arizona/San Diego on game on Thursday had a delay that would have fans....buzzing! I'm sure PETA wasn't happy with the solution.
5. On Thursday the White Sox faced the Royals. In the 1st inning Billy Butler hit a pop up and for some reason Willie Bloomquist was running on the play and got doubled up. Then, in the second inning, Miguel Olivo hit a pop up and Mark Teahen decided to not learn a lesson from the first inning (or any little league coach) and ran on the play also. Not surprisingly, he got doubled off. And the Royals wonder why they are perennial bottom feeders.
6. You want to know what headline I hope is never written about me? "Big Unit injured!"
7. And of course the Natinals make another bid to be the worst baseball franchise with there own version of premature ejaculation when they lit off victory fireworks before the game was actually finished.
8. I suppose I should say few things about the All Star selections. There's not too much to complain about. Obviously, Justin Morneau should be starting over Mark Texeira since he leads the Yankee's 1st basemen in nearly every offensive statistical category. But Morneau will be playing as a reserve, so that's OK.
Ian Kinsler should be starting over Dustin Pedroia but Kinsler might not even get to play in the game...unless he gets voted in on the last chance vote.
I suppose the only egregious choice is Josh Hamilton, who missed about half his games due to injuries. But that's who the fan's voted in.
I used to not have a problem with fans voting for all stars, I mean, it's an exhibition game that's strictly for entertainment. So let's have the guys play who the fans want to see.
But I heard a counter argument to that that says that the MLB All Star Game is for home field advantage in the World Series. That's important, and with those kind of stakes we shouldn't have fans influencing the outcome. That argument made sense to me so now I'm against fans voting for the MLB All Star Game.
The real solution is to keep fan voting and do away with the stupidity of the game deciding home field advantage in the World Series.
1. First of all, congrats to the Twins finally getting over 2 games over 500. They are now a whopping 3 games over 500.
2. The Baltimore Orioles were down by 9 runs in the 7th inning against the Red Sox. Eventually this happened and secured an improbable victory for the O's. Hehehe..eat it Red Sox!
3. Apparently the Texas Rangers somtimes wear red for their road jerseys instead of instead of their traditional blue. The problem is they played the Angels this week. So any highlight I saw from those game just greatly confused me. Was that Torii Hunter making that catch? Wait, no, it was Marlon Byrd!?
4. I suppose I'll steal a line from Sports Center and say that the Arizona/San Diego on game on Thursday had a delay that would have fans....buzzing! I'm sure PETA wasn't happy with the solution.
5. On Thursday the White Sox faced the Royals. In the 1st inning Billy Butler hit a pop up and for some reason Willie Bloomquist was running on the play and got doubled up. Then, in the second inning, Miguel Olivo hit a pop up and Mark Teahen decided to not learn a lesson from the first inning (or any little league coach) and ran on the play also. Not surprisingly, he got doubled off. And the Royals wonder why they are perennial bottom feeders.
6. You want to know what headline I hope is never written about me? "Big Unit injured!"
7. And of course the Natinals make another bid to be the worst baseball franchise with there own version of premature ejaculation when they lit off victory fireworks before the game was actually finished.
8. I suppose I should say few things about the All Star selections. There's not too much to complain about. Obviously, Justin Morneau should be starting over Mark Texeira since he leads the Yankee's 1st basemen in nearly every offensive statistical category. But Morneau will be playing as a reserve, so that's OK.
Ian Kinsler should be starting over Dustin Pedroia but Kinsler might not even get to play in the game...unless he gets voted in on the last chance vote.
I suppose the only egregious choice is Josh Hamilton, who missed about half his games due to injuries. But that's who the fan's voted in.
I used to not have a problem with fans voting for all stars, I mean, it's an exhibition game that's strictly for entertainment. So let's have the guys play who the fans want to see.
But I heard a counter argument to that that says that the MLB All Star Game is for home field advantage in the World Series. That's important, and with those kind of stakes we shouldn't have fans influencing the outcome. That argument made sense to me so now I'm against fans voting for the MLB All Star Game.
The real solution is to keep fan voting and do away with the stupidity of the game deciding home field advantage in the World Series.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (6/23/2009 - 6/29/2009)
1. On Monday, Donald Fehr retired from being the chief of the Baseball Player's Union. Many people will remember his reign for making the players a lot of money. But because of when I grew up and when I became interested in baseball, I will simply remember him as a giant obstacle to getting steroids out of baseball.
2. Manny Ramirez was getting ready for coming back from his suspension by playing in the minor leagues. Does any one else find it ridiculous that a suspended player is allowed to play in a MLB sanctioned minor league game? (I also find it humorous that many sports analysts have no idea why a minor league team would name themselves the "Isotopes".)
3. On Tuesday, for basically the first time this season, Mauer is hitting under .400. He's slipping, I say the Twins should trade him.
4. Milwaukee Reliever Mitch Stetter had a streak of 15 strike outs "in a row". However, that just referred to a streak of strike outs against batters who were retired, so other batters got hits amidst those strikeout. Basically, that stat is meaningless and should be put right up there with the 4 strikeout inning and hitting for the cycle. (Also, I'm personally fond of this pitch thrown by Stetter earlier this season.)
5. Notice anything different about Magglio Ordonez? No? Well, this is how he used to look and I guess it had a reverse Sampson effect because that day he did this. It was his first home run in 40 games. (Longest home run drought of his career.)
6. It's always nice when you're wife sings the national anthem and then you do this during the game.
7. If you're the Tigers, how do you not argue this and get it reviewed?
8. Albert Pujols pretty much single-handedly beat the Twins on Saturday with this and this...he's good.
9. Hanley Ramirez nearly single-handedly beat my fantasy team this week with this and this...I lost the RBI category.
10. Something you don't see every day, one historic closer pitching to another historic closer...and he WALKS HIM WITH THE BASES LOADED!? K-Rod should be ashamed of himself. (Also, congrats on number 500, Mariano.)
11. I was going to say that Justin Morneau is officially in a slump, but then he did this on Sunday. He also hit the ball well two other times on Sunday. So maybe he's coming out of his slump? Only time will tell.
12. I suppose I'm should also alert you to this highlight. (If he was a Twin he would have just plowed into the catcher.)
2. Manny Ramirez was getting ready for coming back from his suspension by playing in the minor leagues. Does any one else find it ridiculous that a suspended player is allowed to play in a MLB sanctioned minor league game? (I also find it humorous that many sports analysts have no idea why a minor league team would name themselves the "Isotopes".)
3. On Tuesday, for basically the first time this season, Mauer is hitting under .400. He's slipping, I say the Twins should trade him.
4. Milwaukee Reliever Mitch Stetter had a streak of 15 strike outs "in a row". However, that just referred to a streak of strike outs against batters who were retired, so other batters got hits amidst those strikeout. Basically, that stat is meaningless and should be put right up there with the 4 strikeout inning and hitting for the cycle. (Also, I'm personally fond of this pitch thrown by Stetter earlier this season.)
5. Notice anything different about Magglio Ordonez? No? Well, this is how he used to look and I guess it had a reverse Sampson effect because that day he did this. It was his first home run in 40 games. (Longest home run drought of his career.)
6. It's always nice when you're wife sings the national anthem and then you do this during the game.
7. If you're the Tigers, how do you not argue this and get it reviewed?
8. Albert Pujols pretty much single-handedly beat the Twins on Saturday with this and this...he's good.
9. Hanley Ramirez nearly single-handedly beat my fantasy team this week with this and this...I lost the RBI category.
10. Something you don't see every day, one historic closer pitching to another historic closer...and he WALKS HIM WITH THE BASES LOADED!? K-Rod should be ashamed of himself. (Also, congrats on number 500, Mariano.)
11. I was going to say that Justin Morneau is officially in a slump, but then he did this on Sunday. He also hit the ball well two other times on Sunday. So maybe he's coming out of his slump? Only time will tell.
12. I suppose I'm should also alert you to this highlight. (If he was a Twin he would have just plowed into the catcher.)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (6/8/2009 - 6/14/2009)
1. This is always scary.
2. On Tuesday the Twins win the game 10 to 5...but it was 10 to 0 going into the 9th inning. They bring in Baker and proceeds to not get an out. So they go to the bullpen, who can barely get an out themselves. Finally, Nathan has to come in up by 5 with the bases loaded and gets the save (because the tying run was on deck). I can't recall a 10-5 win feeling more like a loss than that game.
3. On Wednesday the Twins beat Oakland 6 to 3, but it felt like a better win than Tuesday's 10 to 5 victory. Go figure.
4. Milton 'Candyland' Bradley needs to learn a game called "Count The Number of Outs."
5. Last week I talked about that time Randy Johnson hit a bird with a pitch. Well, I guess that was some sort dark prophecy for birds.
6. And if that's tough way to lose a game, this takes the cake!
7. You know Mauer, Morneau, and Kubel are all great. But part of me thinks the player the Twins can least afford to lose is Joe Nathan.
8. Remember Torii Hunter?
9. Have rumors of Big Poppi's demise been greatly exaggerated? (Also, Boston...you can quit the curtain calls anytime.)
10. Since Tuesday Justin Morneau is 5 for 22 with 2 Runs and that's about it. Nothing to panic about just yet, but Morneau is more than capable of going into extended slumps and it looks like he's trying too hard to home runs right now. I'm getting a little concerned, but I'm no expert. So take that for what it's worth.
2. On Tuesday the Twins win the game 10 to 5...but it was 10 to 0 going into the 9th inning. They bring in Baker and proceeds to not get an out. So they go to the bullpen, who can barely get an out themselves. Finally, Nathan has to come in up by 5 with the bases loaded and gets the save (because the tying run was on deck). I can't recall a 10-5 win feeling more like a loss than that game.
3. On Wednesday the Twins beat Oakland 6 to 3, but it felt like a better win than Tuesday's 10 to 5 victory. Go figure.
4. Milton 'Candyland' Bradley needs to learn a game called "Count The Number of Outs."
5. Last week I talked about that time Randy Johnson hit a bird with a pitch. Well, I guess that was some sort dark prophecy for birds.
6. And if that's tough way to lose a game, this takes the cake!
7. You know Mauer, Morneau, and Kubel are all great. But part of me thinks the player the Twins can least afford to lose is Joe Nathan.
8. Remember Torii Hunter?
9. Have rumors of Big Poppi's demise been greatly exaggerated? (Also, Boston...you can quit the curtain calls anytime.)
10. Since Tuesday Justin Morneau is 5 for 22 with 2 Runs and that's about it. Nothing to panic about just yet, but Morneau is more than capable of going into extended slumps and it looks like he's trying too hard to home runs right now. I'm getting a little concerned, but I'm no expert. So take that for what it's worth.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (6/1/2009 - 6/7/2009)
1. I believe it was Tom Kelly who once said the baseball season could be divided into thirds. In one third of the games nothing will go your team's way. You'll get no breaks, bad pitching, bad hitting, etc. You'll lose those games. Another third of the games you'll get all the breaks, you're pitching and hitting will click, etc. You'll win those games. The final third could go either way. Those are the games you need to win. Those are the games that separate the good teams from the bad ones. Wednesday was like the first third. Thursday was like the second third. Tuesday was like the final third. I suppose it's a good sign the Twins won on Tuesday then. (Although one could argue that the Twins win the games in the final category at home but lose them on the road...as seen in Seattle.)
2. Look at the flubber fly!
3. Tuesday, Colorado vs. Houston. Bottom of the 9th, no outs, tie game, man on first and second. For all you baseball novices out there, there is no option as to what you do. You BUNT. What did Arizona do? Have Hunter Pence swing a away. A double play, two intentional walks, and a line out later and the game goes into extra innings. It's almost a shame the Astros ended up winning the game anyway.
4. Huston Street is white!?
5. This is why Carlos Gomez is still in the major leagues.
6. On Thursday Alex Rios of the Bluejays went 0 for 5 with a whopping 5 strike outs. Adam Lind, on the same team, went 5 for 5. It's apparently the first time that has happened since, like, 1913. (Don't quote me on that.) I just feel like Subway needs to get involved with this somehow.
7. Jason Kubel hit more home runs in the first two innings of Thursday's game than he had in the entire month of May.
8. The Mets got swept by the Pittsburgh pirates, prompting Mets 3rd Baseman David Wright to say: "Three games with this team — I know they’re a big-league ballclub — but we’re better than them. We’re better than them. And we know we’re better than them, but we have to do something about it.”
To which, if I were a Pittsburgh Pirate, I would say:
"You're better than us? Check the scoreboard...ASS!"
9. ...........SLIDE!!!
10. Despite the fact that the Win is a completely fraudulent stat, getting 300 is impressive, if for nothing else its longevity. Randy Johnson got to 300 wins. I salute his ability to pitch, scare young children (and grown adults) with a single look, and kill pigeons.
11. Carlos Gomez and Cleveland pitcher Cliff Lee got into a bit of an argument. Apparently, Cliff Lee got his panties in a bunch because Carlos Gomez had the audacity to try and bunt his way onto base. Give me a break. The bunt is a perfectly legitimate baseball play. It's not illegal, so the prima donna pitchers have to get over themselves. You don't see defensive linemen in football getting in a huff anytime the opposing team tries a quarterback sneak. So nut up and deal with the fact the players are allowed to bunt. If you don't like it, field your position and get them out.
2. Look at the flubber fly!
3. Tuesday, Colorado vs. Houston. Bottom of the 9th, no outs, tie game, man on first and second. For all you baseball novices out there, there is no option as to what you do. You BUNT. What did Arizona do? Have Hunter Pence swing a away. A double play, two intentional walks, and a line out later and the game goes into extra innings. It's almost a shame the Astros ended up winning the game anyway.
4. Huston Street is white!?
5. This is why Carlos Gomez is still in the major leagues.
6. On Thursday Alex Rios of the Bluejays went 0 for 5 with a whopping 5 strike outs. Adam Lind, on the same team, went 5 for 5. It's apparently the first time that has happened since, like, 1913. (Don't quote me on that.) I just feel like Subway needs to get involved with this somehow.
7. Jason Kubel hit more home runs in the first two innings of Thursday's game than he had in the entire month of May.
8. The Mets got swept by the Pittsburgh pirates, prompting Mets 3rd Baseman David Wright to say: "Three games with this team — I know they’re a big-league ballclub — but we’re better than them. We’re better than them. And we know we’re better than them, but we have to do something about it.”
To which, if I were a Pittsburgh Pirate, I would say:
"You're better than us? Check the scoreboard...ASS!"
9. ...........SLIDE!!!
10. Despite the fact that the Win is a completely fraudulent stat, getting 300 is impressive, if for nothing else its longevity. Randy Johnson got to 300 wins. I salute his ability to pitch, scare young children (and grown adults) with a single look, and kill pigeons.
11. Carlos Gomez and Cleveland pitcher Cliff Lee got into a bit of an argument. Apparently, Cliff Lee got his panties in a bunch because Carlos Gomez had the audacity to try and bunt his way onto base. Give me a break. The bunt is a perfectly legitimate baseball play. It's not illegal, so the prima donna pitchers have to get over themselves. You don't see defensive linemen in football getting in a huff anytime the opposing team tries a quarterback sneak. So nut up and deal with the fact the players are allowed to bunt. If you don't like it, field your position and get them out.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (5/25/2009 - 5/31/2009)
1. Mauer hit a meaningless 2 run homer on Monday and then goes homerless for the rest of the week. Pffft, one home run in a week? I could bat for a week and I'd only hit one less home run than Mauer did this week. I expect more from him.
2. Colorado has only been swept twice this year. Oddly enough, both times were by the Dodgers. But still, only two sweeps makes you think the Colorado Rockies are doing alright this year....they're not.
3. I think I found (with a little help from the Mrs.) our first stupid baseball injury of the season. But according to this article it's at least the second this year. Although I don't know what the ruling is since no playing time was missed.
4. The Twins didn't play all that well on Wednesday, but thanks to a record tying six wild pitches , they eked out a victory.
5. Poor Gatorade machine. It was innocent in all this!
6. This recap is the first one I've seen get it right. In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, a Twins manager and catcher and a Red Sox manager and catcher were ejected from Thursday's game, all in the 7th inning. What people miss is why Varitek was ejected.
I saw it live. Josh Beckett threw a pitch that looked to be a strike but was call a ball. Suddenly I hear "God damnit, the pitch was right in there" or something to that effect. I thought to myself that apparently some Red Sox rube in the stands was really upset. Then I realized it was the pitcher Josh Becket who was doing the yelling!
At that point, catcher Jason Varitek jumps up and starts arguing with ump. I'm assuming this was a move to take focus off the pitcher. Basically, Varitek was taking a bullet for Becket. Red Sox manager Terry Francona ran out of the dug out in an attempt to take the proverbial bullet for Varitek, but arrived too late and Varitek was already ejected. So Francona got himself ejected anyway for the hell of it.
But most sports shows I saw that recapped this game missed the fact that it all started with Beckett's tirade. They think Varitek just started arguing the call. Silly ESPN.
Also, Redmond was ejected really quickly for basically nothing.
7. Finally, the Twins squeaked out a victory on Sunday to avoid a Rays sweep. The Twins' road record is now 6 wins and 16 losses....that's bad.
2. Colorado has only been swept twice this year. Oddly enough, both times were by the Dodgers. But still, only two sweeps makes you think the Colorado Rockies are doing alright this year....they're not.
3. I think I found (with a little help from the Mrs.) our first stupid baseball injury of the season. But according to this article it's at least the second this year. Although I don't know what the ruling is since no playing time was missed.
4. The Twins didn't play all that well on Wednesday, but thanks to a record tying six wild pitches , they eked out a victory.
5. Poor Gatorade machine. It was innocent in all this!
6. This recap is the first one I've seen get it right. In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, a Twins manager and catcher and a Red Sox manager and catcher were ejected from Thursday's game, all in the 7th inning. What people miss is why Varitek was ejected.
I saw it live. Josh Beckett threw a pitch that looked to be a strike but was call a ball. Suddenly I hear "God damnit, the pitch was right in there" or something to that effect. I thought to myself that apparently some Red Sox rube in the stands was really upset. Then I realized it was the pitcher Josh Becket who was doing the yelling!
At that point, catcher Jason Varitek jumps up and starts arguing with ump. I'm assuming this was a move to take focus off the pitcher. Basically, Varitek was taking a bullet for Becket. Red Sox manager Terry Francona ran out of the dug out in an attempt to take the proverbial bullet for Varitek, but arrived too late and Varitek was already ejected. So Francona got himself ejected anyway for the hell of it.
But most sports shows I saw that recapped this game missed the fact that it all started with Beckett's tirade. They think Varitek just started arguing the call. Silly ESPN.
Also, Redmond was ejected really quickly for basically nothing.
7. Finally, the Twins squeaked out a victory on Sunday to avoid a Rays sweep. The Twins' road record is now 6 wins and 16 losses....that's bad.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (5/18/2009 - 5/24/2009)
1. Well, the Twins started the week off terribly. Then Joe Mauer was moved up to second in the batting order and Morneau to third. The Twins got a 20-1 victory over the White Sox followed by a sweep of the Brewers...capped off by this!
2. Speaking of the Morneau's grand slam. Yahoo! had this note...via Rotowire:
It wouldn't be a David Bush start if he didn't get a little unlucky from the lack of bullpen support. He left the game with a two-run lead and two runners on, but lefty Mitch Stetter came on and hit Joe Mauer with a pitch and then gave up a grand slam to Justin Morneau.
(Rotowire.com)
Did they even see the game? Or did they fall asleep before it ended?
3. Here's something you don't see every day. And it was almost unassisted which really would have been something.
4. Speaking of things you don't see every day, apparently Albert Pujols hates McDonald's...or loves them...or just hates the letter I?
5. Last week lack of attention to detail cost the Rays their DH spot. Apparently you have to be detail oriented whilst running the bases too, as the Mets found out.
6. David Ortiz got his first home run of the season on Wednesday. He claimed afterwards he got all his confidence back and feels like a big league hitter again. I was skeptical. David Ortiz numbers for the rest of the week: 1 for 16, 0 Runs, 0 RBI. Yeah, you still have a ways to go Ortiz until you're a big bopper again...if you ever get back there at all.
7. Runner interference can be such a pansy call and it nearly cost Cincinnati a win. (It certainly cost one of my fantasy pitchers a win.) Maybe I'm just bitter because I don't like Grady Sizemore...he just looks like your classic prep school jock.
8. I should end by noting that Mauer is off the hizzy fo' shizzy. (This week's stats: 12 Runs, 4 Home Runs, 13 RBI, and a .458 batting average.) He's already eclipsed his home run total from last year...and he missed the first month of baseball! According to Yahoo! sports he's got the best per game average stats of any player in baseball with a significant number of at-bats. Basically, Joe Mauer is currently the best player in baseball...period. It's hard to believe he'll keep up this pace, but it'll be fun to see how long it can last.
2. Speaking of the Morneau's grand slam. Yahoo! had this note...via Rotowire:
It wouldn't be a David Bush start if he didn't get a little unlucky from the lack of bullpen support. He left the game with a two-run lead and two runners on, but lefty Mitch Stetter came on and hit Joe Mauer with a pitch and then gave up a grand slam to Justin Morneau.
(Rotowire.com)
Did they even see the game? Or did they fall asleep before it ended?
3. Here's something you don't see every day. And it was almost unassisted which really would have been something.
4. Speaking of things you don't see every day, apparently Albert Pujols hates McDonald's...or loves them...or just hates the letter I?
5. Last week lack of attention to detail cost the Rays their DH spot. Apparently you have to be detail oriented whilst running the bases too, as the Mets found out.
6. David Ortiz got his first home run of the season on Wednesday. He claimed afterwards he got all his confidence back and feels like a big league hitter again. I was skeptical. David Ortiz numbers for the rest of the week: 1 for 16, 0 Runs, 0 RBI. Yeah, you still have a ways to go Ortiz until you're a big bopper again...if you ever get back there at all.
7. Runner interference can be such a pansy call and it nearly cost Cincinnati a win. (It certainly cost one of my fantasy pitchers a win.) Maybe I'm just bitter because I don't like Grady Sizemore...he just looks like your classic prep school jock.
8. I should end by noting that Mauer is off the hizzy fo' shizzy. (This week's stats: 12 Runs, 4 Home Runs, 13 RBI, and a .458 batting average.) He's already eclipsed his home run total from last year...and he missed the first month of baseball! According to Yahoo! sports he's got the best per game average stats of any player in baseball with a significant number of at-bats. Basically, Joe Mauer is currently the best player in baseball...period. It's hard to believe he'll keep up this pace, but it'll be fun to see how long it can last.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (5/11/2009 - 5/17/2009)
1. Sometimes it pays to look beyond the box score. Sure, you look at the Thursday's Twins game and you see that Justin Verlander pitched awesome but the Tigers' bullpen fell apart and the Twins won 6 to 5. What you miss is the fact that Verlander went back to the hotel early the night before during the Wednesday Twins game. The hotel clerk got the score wrong when Verlander asked and thus he went to sleep thinking that the Tigers won. Only when he took a taxi with team mate Curtis Granderson did he find out the Tigers actually lost...awesome!
2. The Angels' stud pitcher John Lackey came off the disable list and pitched for the first time this year. His start was auspicious...or is it inauspicious? Either way, you can see his first start of the season in it's entirety here. (Don't worry, it won't take long.)
3. I looked it up, the correct term would be inauspicious. Which would describe Thursday for Boston fans...finally. Red Sox and Celtics lost and the Bruins got knocked out of the playoffs. Yes, I have a bad case of schadenfreude.
4. Walk off grand slams are awesome!
5. Your team losing to walk off hits three days in a row isn't awesome.
6. The problem with following a team with a bad bullpen is that the losses are heartbreaking. But I've realized that any tied game that goes into the 8th inning and beyond for the Twins should be chalked up as a loss.
7. Is there any doubt that the Yankees are looking at the success Mauer and Morneau are having in Yankee stadium (combined 9 for 23, 5 home runs, 6 runs, 5 RBI) and are just waiting for them to become free agents?
8. Steve Phillips, ESPN analyst, said Monday night during the Met's game that the reason Johan Santana gets so little run support from the Met's offense is because his pacing on the mound somehow lulls the Met players to sleep. Ummm...yeah...and he used to be a General Manager!?
9. Did you know that rookie phenom pitcher for the Natinals Jordan Zimmerman's name rhymes with Gordon Fisherman?
10. Remember kids, even in baseball it pays to be detail orientated. The Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon accidentally listed a third basemen twice in his official lineup card. Because of magical baseball rules mumbo jumbo this meant that the DH was lost and the pitcher had to hit in place of MVP candidate Evan Longoria. Despite being forced to play a better, purer form of baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays still beat the Cleveland Indiands. Pathetic, Cleveland.
11. Brandon Morrow, now ex-closer for the Mariners, blew back to back saves against the Texas Rangers taking the loss in both games. He is now an ex-reliever on my fantasy team.
12. On Saturday the Cubs' closer came into the 9th inning with a 4 to 0 lead. He gave up 4 runs without recording an out. In the bottom of the 9th Houston's closer came in and gave up a run in 1/3 of an inning to lose the game. Teebore has both the Houston and Cubs closer. I guess that evens things out regarding Brandon Morrow.
2. The Angels' stud pitcher John Lackey came off the disable list and pitched for the first time this year. His start was auspicious...or is it inauspicious? Either way, you can see his first start of the season in it's entirety here. (Don't worry, it won't take long.)
3. I looked it up, the correct term would be inauspicious. Which would describe Thursday for Boston fans...finally. Red Sox and Celtics lost and the Bruins got knocked out of the playoffs. Yes, I have a bad case of schadenfreude.
4. Walk off grand slams are awesome!
5. Your team losing to walk off hits three days in a row isn't awesome.
6. The problem with following a team with a bad bullpen is that the losses are heartbreaking. But I've realized that any tied game that goes into the 8th inning and beyond for the Twins should be chalked up as a loss.
7. Is there any doubt that the Yankees are looking at the success Mauer and Morneau are having in Yankee stadium (combined 9 for 23, 5 home runs, 6 runs, 5 RBI) and are just waiting for them to become free agents?
8. Steve Phillips, ESPN analyst, said Monday night during the Met's game that the reason Johan Santana gets so little run support from the Met's offense is because his pacing on the mound somehow lulls the Met players to sleep. Ummm...yeah...and he used to be a General Manager!?
9. Did you know that rookie phenom pitcher for the Natinals Jordan Zimmerman's name rhymes with Gordon Fisherman?
10. Remember kids, even in baseball it pays to be detail orientated. The Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon accidentally listed a third basemen twice in his official lineup card. Because of magical baseball rules mumbo jumbo this meant that the DH was lost and the pitcher had to hit in place of MVP candidate Evan Longoria. Despite being forced to play a better, purer form of baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays still beat the Cleveland Indiands. Pathetic, Cleveland.
11. Brandon Morrow, now ex-closer for the Mariners, blew back to back saves against the Texas Rangers taking the loss in both games. He is now an ex-reliever on my fantasy team.
12. On Saturday the Cubs' closer came into the 9th inning with a 4 to 0 lead. He gave up 4 runs without recording an out. In the bottom of the 9th Houston's closer came in and gave up a run in 1/3 of an inning to lose the game. Teebore has both the Houston and Cubs closer. I guess that evens things out regarding Brandon Morrow.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (5/04/2009 - 5/10/2009)
1. The Twins should have swept the Mariners. Instead the Non-Nathan bullpen blows it again. All they needed to do was pitch one scoreless inning. Instead, they give up 5 runs in two innings and lose the game. It's funny, all last year the Twins' number one problem was the bullpen. They did nothing to improve it in the off season. Shockingly, the Twins' number one problem this year is still the bullpen.
2. Apparently my message to Mark Texeira got through. He hit four home runs last week!
3. Liriano looked good early in the week, but struggled in his next start. He'll never be the pitcher he once was, and with him (along with the rest of the Twins pitching staff) being so inconsistent, the Twins aren't going anywhere.
4. So the Red Sox sweep the Yankees in one of those lame two game series that were all the rage last week. The Yankees have yet to win a game against the Red Sox this year. Frankly, the Red Sox own them. So the bloom is off the rose regarding this rivalry. It's just not interesting. Get back to me when BOTH teams are competitive.
5. Joe Mauer's been a freak since he's come back. If this power surge is for real (which it probably isn't) then Joe Mauer would be a top 5 player in baseball.
6. Not to be outdone, A-Rod homered against the first pitch he saw his season. Too bad for the Yankees he hasn't done much since then.
7. Han Ram's the man. That is all.
8. Sunday was a big day for Boston. The Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox all won. It made me ill. Aren't we all sick of Boston?
9. Bobby Jenks threw behind Ian Kinsler. Big deal. It's been done a hundred times before. The only difference between this time and all the others is that Bobby Jenks admitted it was intentional. Now MLB may suspend him simply for not lying? Lame! Listen, Kinsler wasn't hit and even if he was the ball wasn't anywhere near the head. No suspension is necessary...and this coming from a White Sox hater.
10. I suppose I should say something about Manny Ramirez. I'm not sure what to say, though. He's a cheater. Probably has been for a while. I'm just one of the few people who believe that in the height of the steroid era around 90% of the players were taking some sort of steroid or human growth hormone. I have no proof of it. It's just a gut feeling. My point is, none of this surprises me anymore.
Of course, Boston lucks out again because Manny Ramirez forced his way out of the club last year. Now they can delude themselves into thinking he only started juicing after he left the organization. Yeah right...
2. Apparently my message to Mark Texeira got through. He hit four home runs last week!
3. Liriano looked good early in the week, but struggled in his next start. He'll never be the pitcher he once was, and with him (along with the rest of the Twins pitching staff) being so inconsistent, the Twins aren't going anywhere.
4. So the Red Sox sweep the Yankees in one of those lame two game series that were all the rage last week. The Yankees have yet to win a game against the Red Sox this year. Frankly, the Red Sox own them. So the bloom is off the rose regarding this rivalry. It's just not interesting. Get back to me when BOTH teams are competitive.
5. Joe Mauer's been a freak since he's come back. If this power surge is for real (which it probably isn't) then Joe Mauer would be a top 5 player in baseball.
6. Not to be outdone, A-Rod homered against the first pitch he saw his season. Too bad for the Yankees he hasn't done much since then.
7. Han Ram's the man. That is all.
8. Sunday was a big day for Boston. The Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox all won. It made me ill. Aren't we all sick of Boston?
9. Bobby Jenks threw behind Ian Kinsler. Big deal. It's been done a hundred times before. The only difference between this time and all the others is that Bobby Jenks admitted it was intentional. Now MLB may suspend him simply for not lying? Lame! Listen, Kinsler wasn't hit and even if he was the ball wasn't anywhere near the head. No suspension is necessary...and this coming from a White Sox hater.
10. I suppose I should say something about Manny Ramirez. I'm not sure what to say, though. He's a cheater. Probably has been for a while. I'm just one of the few people who believe that in the height of the steroid era around 90% of the players were taking some sort of steroid or human growth hormone. I have no proof of it. It's just a gut feeling. My point is, none of this surprises me anymore.
Of course, Boston lucks out again because Manny Ramirez forced his way out of the club last year. Now they can delude themselves into thinking he only started juicing after he left the organization. Yeah right...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Brief Thoughts About Baseball (4/27/2009 - 5/03/2009)
1. Kerry Wood is brought into a tie game, gives up a few runs, and ended up taking the loss loss. The subsequent day he was presented with the very same situation but pitches well and got the win. Guess which day he was in my fantasy team's line up and which day he wasn't?
2. Zambrano's got quite a bit of power. Maybe the Cubs should put him in the outfield on days he doesn't pitch. He could get any more injured than he already does.
3. Alex Rodriguez is looking like he'll be back in action around the 50 game mark. 50 is the exact amount of games a player is suspended for taking steroids. Coincidence or conspiracy?
4. Speaking of A-Rod, no story should come up that simultaneously involves him tipping pitches and being a poor tipper. It just leads to confusion.
5. Speaking of A-Rod tipping pitches, that's worse than steroids. I've had a long rant about A-Rod before, but let's just say I find it interesting that people are obsessed about A-Rod tipping pitches but nobody seems to care about the other players who presumably reciprocated the action.
6. Rain outs are lame.
7. Speaking of rain outs, the White Sox game was rained out on Monday. It was rescheduled for the next day 3 hours before that day's regular scheduled game. I had a big rant prepared about the stupidity a game starting 3 hours before the next one and the White Sox executives thinking they could get the first game to finish, people out of the stadium, and new people back into the stadium in time for the second game. Then the first game ended up being only 1 hour and 52 minutes long. I should've known the White Sox can predict the future.
8. Brian McCann is now going to use glasses to clear up his blurry vision. McCann is just not going to be himself this year. Then next year he'll be drafted later than usual in Fantasy Leagues but end up being awesome. Mark my words.
9. Mauer comes back in a big way...too bad he can't pitch. The Twins lose two games to the Royals in a series they really should have swept. (And fail to do the little things...again.) If it wasn't for Joe Nathan and the Angels, I would say the Twins have the worst bullpen in the league.
10. Closed-circuit to Mark Texeira: The baseball season started a month ago.
2. Zambrano's got quite a bit of power. Maybe the Cubs should put him in the outfield on days he doesn't pitch. He could get any more injured than he already does.
3. Alex Rodriguez is looking like he'll be back in action around the 50 game mark. 50 is the exact amount of games a player is suspended for taking steroids. Coincidence or conspiracy?
4. Speaking of A-Rod, no story should come up that simultaneously involves him tipping pitches and being a poor tipper. It just leads to confusion.
5. Speaking of A-Rod tipping pitches, that's worse than steroids. I've had a long rant about A-Rod before, but let's just say I find it interesting that people are obsessed about A-Rod tipping pitches but nobody seems to care about the other players who presumably reciprocated the action.
6. Rain outs are lame.
7. Speaking of rain outs, the White Sox game was rained out on Monday. It was rescheduled for the next day 3 hours before that day's regular scheduled game. I had a big rant prepared about the stupidity a game starting 3 hours before the next one and the White Sox executives thinking they could get the first game to finish, people out of the stadium, and new people back into the stadium in time for the second game. Then the first game ended up being only 1 hour and 52 minutes long. I should've known the White Sox can predict the future.
8. Brian McCann is now going to use glasses to clear up his blurry vision. McCann is just not going to be himself this year. Then next year he'll be drafted later than usual in Fantasy Leagues but end up being awesome. Mark my words.
9. Mauer comes back in a big way...too bad he can't pitch. The Twins lose two games to the Royals in a series they really should have swept. (And fail to do the little things...again.) If it wasn't for Joe Nathan and the Angels, I would say the Twins have the worst bullpen in the league.
10. Closed-circuit to Mark Texeira: The baseball season started a month ago.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)