Comments on: Weekend check-in

By: kenny baker

kenny baker — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:01:47 +0000

[…] used my old school leanings and my wide range of knowledpoisonousparagraphs.blogspot.comWeekend check-inWeekend check-in Posted on March 22nd, 2008 ?? 7:44 PM By Joe Christensen As we get ready to crank […]

By: jimbo

jimbo — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:41:01 +0000

a bit serious are we, twins will be alright. what i would say is that once this team gels in a year or two, mr pohlad and his family best not let any and i mean any player go that will help the twins remain contenders for years. if he has to break the bank to do it he had better in future seasons or he and his family will be run out of town one way or another. now that is serious

By: BC Beneke

BC Beneke — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:14:46 +0000

werbellik

I’m not worried, I don’t mind chatting about other things… I am just not allowed to get political without listening to 4-5 people get bent out of shape.

I didn’t say that I didn’t put GOD first… I’m saying I put baseball over organized religion. A strange comment I’m sure, but it’s hard to make a complicated point in a blog, lol.

So by no means do I hold an animosity towards God or Jesus, Buddha, or Allah for that matter… it’s always been the people that tell me how I’m supposed to interpret, and believe… they get my venom… like Kevin McHale, lol.

Seriously though. I am going to post something that is a bit more positive than it might sound. And I want it to be that way because as I said, I want to be wrong sometimes… I don’t want to be perfect, and I fail at that all the time… just look at my spelling for the love of all things holy… perfection is lucky that it’s spelled correctly.

Denard Span has impressed me in how he’s working counts. He has impressed me more this spring than any other player on the team bar none. I will admit that I think he’s worse than Punto as a ball player, and coming from that perspective he has almost nowhere to go but up, but he has shown me to be more of a prospect than I would have ever given him credit for without getting to see the highlights and some of my buddies that live in that area have been keeping me abreast of a lot of things twins related. That being said, he’s still at least 2 years away from being a 5th outfielder… a defensive replacement. His swing is still below average, his baserunning in springtraining is not something I’ve seen enough to see if it’s athletic ability or smarts, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he’s not as stupid on the bases as his career steal percentage would show… But I think it would be a horrible mistake for the Twins to put him in CF ahead of Gomez. There is no logical reason to do that because I’m not convinced that Span has much of a ceiling left, and that he still very well maybe over-achieving to get to where he is in spring training, and that Gomez could very well be 10 times better than I ever would have given him credit for (as I’m still bitter about Ellsbury).

Punto however is overrated as a fielder in my opinion because he still makes a lot of errors, and bad judgements… he can make the ESPN highlight play as well if not better than anyone, but he struggles with throws, and makes tough throws out of routine plays by not setting himself at times which as long as he’s been in baseball is meaning he’s still far too instinctual and not using his brain enough… so as a back up infielder I’m ok with him in a Jeff Reboulet/Denny Hocking/Al Newman role. Beyond that last year I believe until his last 57 atbats he was clocking in with the 4th worst batting average of the last 70 years, and with how he’s looked this spring… he’d need a miracle just to be a .250 hitter. With no pop, and not much in the way of base stealing savy… that’s not exactly what I’d call a major leaguer. I think that the Twins might actually be better going with Tolbert and Buscher as the two infield backups because Tolbert still has potential to get better. Punto I don’t think can.

And finally, back to the religion thing… I’ve never gotten teary eyed walking into a church. However I did walking into Wrigley Field. Heck I did walking into Kaufman stadium, and New Busch as well… Though I did feel a panic attack in a beautiful catholic church in downtown New Orleans once… I actually felt terrified. Maybe that was God getting me back for my comments about Dwight Gooden’s curveball being so good that not even God could hit it, but that’s another story…

By: werbellik

werbellik — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:33:16 +0000

BC, as a kid growing up watching the Twins in the 60’s, I used to go off on rants about players who I thought were lousy and I would wish out loud for the Twins to get rid of them (Bernie Allen was one I used to go off on). My Dad would remind me that any player who could make it to the Major League level was one heckuva player. Even though MLB has grown since the 60’s, only the best players still make to that level. That said, I think it’s an exaggeration to call Punto or Span a “terrible thing..with a bat in their hand”. I disagree that they lower the quality of the game. If they were not or are not good enough, they’ll not last in the majors. Lastly, I have seen you write many times that baseball is your religion. Christianity is my religion, and sports are one of my hobbies, or dare I say past times(as in America’s favorite…)? For me God has to be first in my life, with my family, friends, job and hobbies coming next. It’s the order and perspective that works best for me…tried and true. God doesn’t disappoint, but baseball and sports certainly will from time to time. As you would say, “that’s who I am, and how I am”. Thanks BC, I’ll get off my soap box now and stick to baseball in future posts.

By: Socrates

Socrates — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:14:48 +0000

If baseball is your religion, then you should study the Good Book more diligently and not misquote the DH rule as handed down from the COMMISSIONER!!! (all stand please)

By: BC Beneke

BC Beneke — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:05:59 +0000

Werbelink… don’t go into the Timberwolves blog here on the strib… I say that out of respect for you because you are a nice guy, and in there… I will never hold anything back… they get my venom 100% with every breath I breathe. I only bring them up here to make a point…

It’s very hard to be positive in this world in general, and as a sports fan with the way that they are run… I rarely go after the players except for Punto and Span… I almost always stick with the people making the decisions. You can’t blame a soldier for the war… the leaders put them there, and gave them the equipment, and the battle plan, and sports are the same way. But I didn’t try to offend you at all, and no I’m not getting political, or trying to upset others… I’m making an analogy.