Twins postgame: Play at the plate edition
Posted on August 27th, 2008 – 9:52 PMBy Joe Christensen
SEATTLE –Ryan Redmond, 7, was in the Twins’ clubhouse after the game, breaking down one of the more exciting plays of the season.
With two outs in the eighth, and the Twins clinging to a 6-5 lead, Miguel Cairo singled to right field, and Mariners pinch-runner Tug Hulett tried scoring from second base.
Denard Span charged from right field, grabbed the ball on a bounce and threw a no-hop strike to Mike Redmond, who blocked the plate and applied the tag as Hulett tried to slide around him.
“Dad, way to tackle that guy,” Ryan said.
Redmond explained that he didn’t tackle Hulett, but he blocked the plate.
“I would have [tackled him],” Redmond told reporters. “I was fully ready for him to blow me up [with a collision], but it ended up working out.”
As for Span’s throw?
“It was perfect,” Redmond said. “You prepare for short-hop or a ball in the dirt. Anything in dirt is tough.”
Span said he didn’t make a conscious decision to throw the ball all the way to Redmond in the air. He was going on instinct and just let it fly. It’s a play he practices every day under the watchful eye of first base coach Jerry White.
“So many things have to happen perfect when you throw the ball in the outfield,” Span said. “It has to hit the catcher right in the chest, and I can see why a lot of third-base coaches send people.
“The chances of a perfect throw are very slim. It’s one of those times where I hit Red right in the chest, and he put the tag down, and we got the ‘W.’ ”
Note: Lots more coverage in my game story and notebook, including the inside story of Brian Buscher’s go-ahead single and a closer look at Eddie Guardado’s second outing since rejoining the Twins. … I’ll check back with you Thursday from Oakland.
154 Responses to "Twins postgame: Play at the plate edition"
Span got the number one web gem for that excellent throw.
Span reminded me of Puckett on that play, it was that good of a throw.
Denard Span will be starting in the outfield for the Minnesota Twins for the next 10+ years. Mark it down. His energy all over the field is just relentless — every pitch, every moment. The guy is becoming the heart+soul of this team and our front office knows to lock these guys up for life (Puck, Herbie, Mauer, Morneau…I know it sounds too early to say it, but that’s why it’s fun to lay down the prediction. I say add Span to that list. . he will be with us for his entire career). - T Mouse
Redmond dove and tagged the runner in the fundamentally perfect way. Span’s throw was beautiful, but not spot-on perfect.
Redmond is awfully valuable, and he saved the Twins today.
I posted earlier today that Span reminds of Garrett Anderson at the plate, except without the constant power threat. Of course he’s much better than Anderson in the field.
So T-Mouse is correct — he’s gonna be around for a long, long time.
Man it got rush-hour crowded here between 5:00 and 5:30 today. Anybody read all that stuff?
Joe C?
[…] Originally published by Around the Majors […]
I think it is hard to call Span’s 210 foot throw that cut the plate in half and that redmond caught at chest level anything but perfect, especially since Span is a lefty and lefty throws from right field usually tail to the first base side…
12,678 people were at the Rays home game today. Can’t blame that on a hurricane…
it was a great play but please, people….it wasn’t Puck’s catch in game 6 or anything…
bottom line is we got away with a squeaker and avoided a most embarrassing sweep against a putrid team…i don’t think we need talk any folk tales out of it.
Personally, I’m more impressed with Span’s presence at the top of the lineup…
Jason
No one said it was Puck’s game 6 catch. It did resemble a lot of throws Puckett made during the regular season. It cut down the tying run at home. We needed that spark. Can’t underestimate the play.
well i now get to collect 205 dollars from my 100 dollar bet on the twins to win more than 74 games maybe now that thats in the bag the team will relax and plAY A LITTLE BETTER LOL ALL YOU NAYSAYERS IM SURE LOST MONEY NO? OR DO YOU JUST TALK LIKE GENIUSES
I can’t help but think that the Twins little funk this week might be related to Lamb’s release. The same thing happened when Livan was released - a team that was tearing the cover off the ball suddenly stopped hitting for a few games.
While both moves were applauded by most of us on this blog, most of us on this blog only know the players by their box scores. It’s easy for us to be impersonal. To the guys in the clubhouse Livan and Lamb were teammates, bridge partners, friends, etc. They were well liked and well thought of and well liked. Their wives probably all knew each other and sat together at games.
I know when I lose a co-worker I can’t help but feel a little empathy. I would imagine it’s no different for ballplayers. I guess I’m wondering if there is a sort of mourning period ballplayers go through when a teammate is cut. Just a thought.
i predicted 75 wins so from here on out is gravy.
interesting point to ponder, sploorp. the twins having their funereal period.
I wonder how Gomez feels watching his starting job slip away.
tom grue,
Good cash. I cashed over 73.5 last Friday.
sploorp, good catch. I do remember the lull after Livan left. How many discount the clubhouse and it’s various currents and undercurrents?
I have no idea how the season will end up. I think it’s probably 58-42 against making the play-offs, and time will tell.
Good to have a lot of the young pups step up and play some unexpected meaningful games. Even if the play-offs don’t materialize, the experience will provide benefits for years to come.
Regards,
The Twins should dump Cuddyer. Ya, I know, there are alot of people thinking, gee, when Cuddyer comes back we will have a better team. Not so! Cuddyer has a resulting negative impact on the team’s win-loss record. His habitually weak performance at the plate in clutch situations goes largely overlooked by the media. His power is lagging and his defense over rated. In fact, Cuddyer can be best characterized as rather clumsy for a major league outfieler. The bottom line is that the Twins are a better team without Cuddyer on the roster. He generally tries to play the clown in the dugout and on the field; a Mr Personality who tries to replace performance with retoric.
well, nice to see that at least one of the multiple personalities are still alive and well, posting this nonsense on Cuddy.
Once Cuddy comes back, he will be a welcome addition to the bench. I don’t know what the history brings in regards to the starting outfield, but there is nothing wrong with having an extra outfielder capable of playing well.
Highly doubtful that he gets traded. Highly doubtful that Cuddy wins back the right field job, however, the simple fact that Delmon is still in Left and Denard is in right makes me wonder why they haven’t made the obvious switch yet. Are they planning on keeping Delmon in left? Why would they keep the weaker arm of Denard in right when Delmon would be better served throwing from left? Is GoGo destined for bench duty? Wondering minds want to know…..
How bout Buscher’s hit? Give him a little credit as well. Against a lefty no less…..
Dang, I meant Denard would be better served throwing from left. He threw a on target strike from the outfield to cut down the runner, but the simple truth is, the throw looked like it didn’t have much on it, at least from the angles that were shown on replays. Definitely doesn’t have the cannon of Delmon or Cuddy, that is for sure.
Buscher was clutch there, good to see him come back a little
does anyone think mauer would have made the play at the plate that red did?
gobbledygookguy–
Man, I was thinking the exact same thing! Redman’s ability to get the big out with a close play at the plate is superior to Mauer. But I am sure Mauer is watching and learning and will eventually be as shrewd in that kind of situation as Red.
ggg - the throw was perfect he just had to wait for the runner to run into his glove Mauer can do that just find
edgar/bob/herb/tommy, I can’t even begin to understand why you haven’t been banned yet.
Nobody’s buying it your act. Go copy/paste your r(h)etoric somewhere else.
So after that ugly losing streak, the Twins manage to stay within one game of the Sox (thanks to their split with the O’s)
Big win last night to keep hopes alive. Seattle emabarrased them on the last road trip and the team responded positively then. Let’s see if they can do the same here.
fire; joe has shown he’s a real battler when blocking the plate to make a tag.
the twins will get after the a’s, i only hope all that foul ground doesn’t screw them up.
does anyone else like the little chip perkins has on his shoulder? be nice if the other starters had a little of that. he seems to be the only one that will knock somebody down or consistently pitch hard inside.
Dump Cuddyer? How about dump Young! His Little League fielding & catching along with his meaningless hits… you can start Span, Gomez and Cuddyer with Kubel to spell them… at least Young could get a good young 3B in return! What are you going to get for Cuddyer?
romer, I too like Span, but you might want to work on your arguement. You say he’s like Garret Anderson–except on offense and defense.
sploorp, I argree completely. Lamb seemed to be liked in the clubhouse. Maybe someone will pick him up–I mean, a contender wanted Cirillo last year. He’s at least that good.
KP,
“How about dump Young!”
You may be giving up 10 years worth of potential continuous improvement from a kid who is able to play everday. He played 162 games last year and has only missed 1-2 games this year because of injury.
Cuddyer’s career may have already peaked out and he has been on and off the DL for two years.
All a player’s ability is worthless without DUR-ablity.
I’m hoping they send Gomez down to mature. He does have raw talent, but he is sooo immature, and strikes out way to much in critical situations. If we are truly going to make a run, move span to center, young in left and cuddy in right and let Gomez spend the winter working on hitting. Keep him on the bench for bunting or giving the others a day off. Gardy said he worries about their ego, but how much is his ego hurting because he isn’t productive in critcal situations?
I know this is WAY too early to talk about, but in a game like this it’s worth mentioning.
I’d take Span for team MVP over Morneau right now (very slight). All the guy’s done is hit clutch, bat .300 with a .400 OBS, become a godsend in the leadoff spot, and make outfield plays better than Torii Hunter.
Discuss.
1. Gomez is not going anywhere.
2. How is Livan doing?
3. Span for MVP.
nj1227 -
NEWS FLASH: Cuddy is on the DL.
Hernandez is 1-3 with an 11.09 era. Glad he is gone. I realize Gomez isn’t going anywhere, but aren’t you sick of being nervous everytime he comes to the plate with runners in scoring position and two out? He has 55 hits which most are infield hits (yes speed) and 122 flyouts/ground outs.
ES16, earlier comments were about getting rid of him, I was stating what I thought they should do when he returns, I’m well aware that he is on the DL.
UPDATED NEWS FLASH: Cuddy was/is/will be on the DL.
Gomez was used yesterday exactly how he should be used for the rest of the season. We know he’s not going down to AAA, especially with Cuddyer’s status in doubt… so he should be on the bench to come in and pinch run and then play defense in CF when we have the lead in late innings. As he did make a nice running catch in left center to save a hit.
I´ve looked at probable pitchers for upcoming games and while the Twins miss Halladay in Toronto because he pitches Sunday in New York the White Sox are getting Beckett and Matsuzaka this weekend and then Lee and Carmona next week in Cleveland. That looks pretty promising.
Gomez (and everyone else) is not going to down AAA this year because rosters expand Monday.
Plus, Rochester won’t be in the playoffs, so there is no AAA to go to after Monday.
MarkW,
Young, Span, Kubel(OF)and Ruiz (DH) in the lineup every day with Gomez as a late-inning PR-defensive OF, replacing the weakest OF would be interesting.
A lot of people are down on Gomez, but he covers more ground than just about every CF in the major leagues, even Span. Having Kubel in the outfield is a liability. He never would have thrown out that runner at the plate yesterday. He wouldn’t get to half the balls that Span gets to in right.
MarkW-
Agreed. Assuming Cuddy is the RF in your scenario, I’m sliding Span to LF and pulling Young. I’m quite sure Span/Gomez/Cuddy is our best DF outfield
MarkW, agree! The statement from Gardy was that he didn’t play yesterday to settle him down. He’s done that several times, shows how much the guy needs to mature. He has 146 SO and 28 BB’s. I believe he will be a great outfielder, but making a run for the playoffs, we can’t wait for his bat to come around.
i watched sportcenter last night and they said span should get an award for most top plays on top 10
When does Cuddy come off the DL?
I believe the Twins are better with Gomez in the OF and DHing Kubel. Kubel is a bigger liability in the OF than Gomez is at the plate.
fcmlefty -
You would pull young in favor of Gomez/Cuddyer?????
Crazy my friend, purely crazy
Cuddy wasn’t in my scenario as it’s unlikely we see him during the rest of the regular season. We’ll see about the post season, but we haven’t made it there yet.
Young/Span/Kubel would be my outfield (I know some folks dont like Kubel in RF, but he’s really no worse than Cuddyer out there…) That would keep Gomez on the bench… HOWEVER… we know Gomez will be getting some playing time, which I guess we can deal with since he’s batting 9th now.
it’s assuming a lot to think cuddy will be back, he has a broken foot and does not seem like a quick healer. when his foot is ready he will have to get into shape in some minor league games, not sure if any teams will still be playing. could be very difficult for cuddy to come back and be productive this year. but let’s just stick him in there in place of which every player we hate this week (young or gomez).
I wonder if we could look into getting Mitch Wild Thing Williams
ggg I would rather have Cuddy in there then a non bbase stealing currently Gomez. Without Gomez’ base stealing ability he is worthless
*base
When (if) Cuddy comes back - more than likely it will be next year - I would trade Kubel. I, quite frankly, don’t see him as much more than a DH and Cuddy can do that next year. Neither Cuddy nor Kubel should start next year. One will have to DH and I think Cuddy is a better OF than Kubel. Gomez and Young have much more upside than either. For you Gomez haters, he will get better and smarter.
Another LHP tonight, so either Kubel sits or you see Gomez sit again… personally I like Kubel in there.
Span CF
Casilla 2B
Mauer C
Morneau 1B
Ruiz DH
Kubel RF
Young LF
Harris 3B
Punto SS
jimmy - he is not worthless!
I don’t hate any of them. I believe they are extremely talented individuals. As I stated earlier, Gomez is just an immature ball player with a lot of raw talent. Gomez just can’t perform at a level we need him to at this moment. Gomez can’t hit right now. He needs alot of development in that area. Puckett swang at anything the first couple of years and developed, but he wasn’t in a playoff race, they had time to work with him. I’d love to make the playoffs and I don’t think just because he can run, we will make it with him. No hits, no runs, no win.
nj1227: Point taken. I just like his speed - both in OF and on base. (I know - he has to get on base first.)
Many problems solved if MVP starts hitting some HRs.
coyotetom says:
August 28th, 2008 at 11:02 am
jimmy - he is not worthless!
Sorry that came out wrong. Without sealing bases Gomez is simply a .250 hitter. Punto has a higher batting avg. He (Gomez) will develop into a good player with some seasoning. I like his upside quite a bit for the future. He is simply not being used effectively in my opinion and should go back to stealing bases. Does anyone know when the last time Gomez even got a SB was?
Situationer-
I was saying this strictly for D at the end of a tight game, not the starting line up, but yes, in a tight game, I want Span/Gomez/Cuddyer as my 3 outfielders. Young is to much of a knucklehead to be counted on out there at the end of a game.
Span made a great throw but Red-Dog single handedly saved that game.
I haven’t seen the Twins look so lifeless in a series since 2005. On Monday and Tuesday they all looked like they’d rather be back in their hotel rooms.
Gotta sweep the lousy A’s and take 2 of 3 from the mediocre Blue Jays!
coyotetom our mvpunto is not a homerun hitter! what are you talking about?
I believe he was talking about morneau, and I agree. We don’t have alot of power and where we do, we need them.
nj1227: thanks for straightening out the gookguy.
Holy, was I (and so many others) wrong about Span. I was not sold on Gomez either so 1/2 ain’t bad I guess. Span has frequently looked like the best and most dangerous hitter on the team over the last 2 months, and his glove & arm has been amazing. You hear visiting broadcasters mention it during telecasts - he could play CF for any team in baseball right now, and he’s playing RF for the Twins. Remember those 3 ESPN highlight catches in Boston about 2 months back? Span keeps making those plays. Amazing performance and I’m happy the Twins gave him a chance.
fcmlefty -
Even if Delmon Young runs like my grandma in the outfield, his arm is still killer, I would have to keep him in just for his ability to throw a strike from the wall to homeplate on the fly…
Span is in no matter what, Gomez and Cuddy are interchangeable…Gomez’s speed and coverage or Cuddy’s arm, take your pick
At the end of the game, I want guys who can prevent balls from getting in the gaps, and can actually run something down. Youngs inability to run or get a good jump on the ball makes him my fielder of choice to replace.
Are players that are on the DL at the time the playoff rosters are set (Sunday Aug 31st), still eligible for post-season play? I think they are. That would be three players: Tolbert, Cuddyer and Neshek. I think Tolbert and Cuddyer could be on the post-season roster. The Twins need them both. Neshek might be finished for 2008.
Cuddyer who?
Craig: Yes they are
Neshek is finished for the year, but his name will still appear on the roster. They’ll swap him out for the hottest hand right before the playoffs start. It’s a nice little quirk in the system that provides some roster flexibility.
I think Cuddy will return the final week, even if his foot is ailing him a little. He can replace Ruiz on the play-off roster.
The pitching staff will probably be shrunk when the playoffs start. (if the Twins are participating)
Which pitcher will be dropped?
Boof?
Breslow?
Blackburn?
Crain?
Reyes?
Eddie?
Guerrier?
Nobody?
fcmlefty,
Do the Twins have to designate on Aug 31 the DL guys as part of the playoff roster, or can they designate other guys and then add the DL players later?
In other words, say they designate Everett as part of the post season roster, but Tolbert comes up in September and plays great. Can they drop Ev and add Tolbert, or do they have to designate Tolbert as being on the post-season roster on Aug 31?
sane, I don’t know if the Twins would drop a pitcher. IF they get to post-season, they could have some tired arms. It’s looking like a battle right up to the end.
Tolbert’s spot is tough, because he will be active in September. The two spots they really have to play with are Neshek and Cuddyer. I see:
Mauer
Morneau
Casilla
Punto
Buscher
Young
Gomez
Span
Kubel
Redmond
Harris
Cuddyer
Ruiz
Tolbert
If Tolbert or Cuddy can’t go, Everett will replace them
Liriano
Baker
Perkins
Slowey
Nathan
Eddie
Guerrier
Crain
Reyes
Breslow
Neshek
Blackburn will be the guy to replace Neshek unless something horrible happens in september
Boof gets left off the playoff roster
Craig’s picks for September call-ups:
Tolbert
Pridie
Butera
Korecky
Long shot:
Humber
The Twins would have to add Butera to the 40 man. Morales is out for the season. They will likely want a 3rd catcher.
craig,
“sane, I don’t know if the Twins would drop a pitcher. IF they get to post-season, they could have some tired arms. It’s looking like a battle right up to the end.”
I understand your reasoning, but there are days off:
1) between the regular season and the ALDS.
2)everytime a playoff series changes cities
3)between the ALDS and ALCS (too optimistic?)
4) And when waiting for the other ALDS to end after we have swept our ALDS. (I’m starting to get dizzy)
There are 3 open spots right now on the 40 man roster, so no problem there.
I think you can add Macri to the list of call ups
I think Humber will be up too
Sane is right on the pitching too. Only 4 startes will go in the ALDS, so the Bullpen will still have 7 arms
I doubt if Boof gets left off, not after being on the roster all season.
Boof has a 2.92 ERA in August in eight relief appearances.
It’s pretty standard procedure to leave off either your 5th starter or long reliever. Blackburn>>>Boof in my opinion
I’m not so sure Blackburn is the #5 starter. He could be as high as #3. The final starts will determine this.
It would be tough to drop a player who has been with the team all season (Boof).
Crain may be the pitcher left out if the Twins feel that he has maxed out his post-surgery innings already.
Any way that they decide, a pitcher should be dropped, BUT all the choices would be very painful.
Macri might get called up, but he has had difficulty playing every infield position at Rochester. All those K’s and a .260 AAA average aren’t too inspiring.
I think Blackburn is definitly #5 right now. I figure Liriano and Baker are sure bets for the post season rotation, and Slowey and Perkins are better than Blackburn right now.
I could see sane’s point. Maybe Blackburn has a spot one way or another, and Crain and Boof are fighting for the last spot
I think calling up Machado (.350 BA) would be more useful as a back-up 2B, 1B and RH DH.
lots can happen before a playoff roster, maybe in 20 gms if we’re still in it. injuries, sore arms, is cuddy healthy many things could change what you’d want along with who the match up is. mauer could seperate his shoulder sliding into first base, cuddy could cut a finger doing magic tricks, punto could get arrested for throwing his bat …… maybe the coaches wake up from their nap and notice who is warming up for the other team, lots of variables.
Craig,
You don’t have to set your playoff roster on Aug. 31.
The players on the 25-man roster plus those on the DL are eligible for postseason play.
If a player on the DL on 8/31 is still on the DL at the end of the season, then you can swap out the DL players slot with anybody that was with your organization on 8/31.
The Twins will have 28 postseason eligible players.
Example Scenario: Neshek is out for the season. At the end of the season the could swap Macri into Nexheks eligibility slot. Then the could add Macri to the playoff roster and leave off a pitcher (like Blackburn).
The wing must be bothering Machado, he is only DH most recently. I doubt if he gets the call, though he could help. He is swift, and he has been hitting.
THE NEW STADIUM SEATS ARE PURPLE AND GOLD???
Sweetone:
Yes, you do have to set a roster on September 1st. It’s just not set in stone because of the DL rules. Actually, any player in the organization on August 31 is eligible to be on the roster. There just has to be room for them on the 40 man when the playoffs start. By rights, Toby Gardenhire could take Cuddys spot on the roster the day before the playoffs start
Sweetone,
That explains it for me. Thank you.
I guess you set your rosters, by making sure you have the right players on the roster on 8/31.
Neshek and Cuddyer, if still on the DL at the end of the season, will give them some nice flexibility.
An NFL team is going to be moving to LA???
fcmlefty,
I think you and Sweetone are saying the same thing only in a slightly different way.
from wiki:
“Players must be on a team’s 25-man roster as of August 31 to be eligible for post-season play. The only exception is that a player on the 60-day disabled list may be replaced by another player from the team’s 40-man roster (as of August 31) who plays the same position.”
Gobble-
Now go look up how K-Rod got added to the Angels roster in 2002
LA is getting a footbal team next year and the Vikings are 1 of 7 teams that may go there. The color of the seats are yellow and purple in the new stadium.
The Twins still have 29 games left to play. That’s plenty of time to injure a lot of fingers.
jimmy,
Vikes cannot get out of their lease until 2011
If they have a team in ‘09, it will be the Chargers
i think k-rod was on the 40 man roster and replaced a pitcher that was injured after sept 1. not sure that the 60 day thing is correct. where are all our resident experts? i’ll look around.
gobble,
Thanks for making it more confusing. Ha-ha.
I think Sweetone and fmclefty have it right.
Shawn in Binghamton I left a link to the article. Wilf wants a new stadium. He is seeing no progress. He said he was interested as were the other owners. The new stadium will have yellow and purple seats. I don’t know. The guy that wants the team there is in real estate and so is Wilf.
I’m trying to get Bud on the line to verify the rules. He’s in a meeting, I’ll try to break it up. Answer your phone Selig, you old geek.
The New and Improved Craig LOL!
Craig can you ask him to force CP into spending more money
the more i read on the roster rules the more i get confused. doesn’t matter we’ll criticize whatever would be done anyway.
In one the previous blogs, Twibnotesguy posted the complete MLB rule regarding postseason rosters (I believe it is rule 40).
I can’t find the actual rule, but my explanation of it is correct.
If a team has no players on the DL, then they have to set the playoff rosters on 8/31.
If you have players on the DL, all of the players on the DL and the Active Roster on 8/31 are eligible for the postseason so there is wiggle room.
If a player is still on the DL at the end of the regular season is eligibity slot can be replace by anybody that was with your organization on 8/31.
We are on the same page sweetone. We just took different paths to get there.
For the Twins, it assuredly means Cuddy and Neshek’s name will appear on the roster on 8/31, and possibly Tolberts too
i have seen the stadium pix before and i know wilfster, like mccombs before him wants a stadium and i could see the vikes leaving…. but not by 09
Here are my thoughts on the Twins Postseason Roster (barring injury):
Starters (9):
Mauer, Morneau, Casilla, Buscher, Punto, Young, Gomez, Span, Kubel.
Pitchers (11):
Starters: Liriano, Baker, Perkins, Slowey
Relief: Nathan, Guardado, Breslow, Reyes, Guerrier, 2 of 3 between Bonser, Blackburn and Crain
Bench (5):
Redmond, Harris, Ruiz, Tolbert, Cuddyer (if healthy)
That’s right, I left Everett off of the roster.
lefty,
Tolbert is a definite since he is on the DL. He was sent to AAA, he was sent on a rehab assignment.
Shawn in Binghamton in the article they said they may get a temp team in there but one would eventually move and the stadium would be complete by 2011 when the lease ends for the Vikes. I could see the Raiders going down there for 2 years then the Vikings move into there new stadium in 2011 when all is complete then the Raiders go back north a whole bunch richer.
Bud used to bite the heads off live chickens at the carnivals before he got in the business of selling grossly overpriced used cars at outrageous interest rates.
Bud made a killing fleecing people even dumber than him. Then he weaseled his way into the commissioners job.
Bud and Carl the Cheap tried to contract the Twins, leaving Minnesota without a team, Carl with a boatload of cash, and Bud with pats on the back from the rich teams that didn’t want to treat the little teams fairly.
There were legal wranglings and contraction didn’t happen, much to the disappointment of the old miser and the geek. Without getting into legalistic details, the bottom line was, Bud the Geek was too stupid to get the job done.
We don’t need an NFL team in LA!
We have the Trojans!
guess if the Vikes move to LA i will have to move to Cali or find a new team.
moving to Cali sounds like the better option for me.
Does anyone else think span is the next lew ford?
The thing with Tolbert I’m not sure on is this:
Lets say he is on the post season roster. Now, he will be active again sometime in September, more than likely right away on the first. I think that he is set in stone on the roster at that point (barring a new injury). What if he sucks it up in September?
jimmy bee,
I don’t know why Bud the Geek, isn’t taking my call. Answer you phone Bud, you old criminal. You should be in the penitentiary.
Tolbert won’t be on the initial postseason roster
W’s says:
August 28th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
“Does anyone else think span is the next lew ford?”
NO.
Span is not the next Lew Ford. Much more patient at the plate, and a much smoother, more natural outfielder
why doesn’t anybody ever talk about giving barrett a shot in the bullpen? He’s got a 3.18 era and 79 SO/68 IP
Do the post season rosters become public info on Sept. 1st?
There is only one Lew Ford. They broke the mold when they created him.
Lefty & Shawn,
True Tolbert won’t be on the 8/31 Playoff roster, but he is playoff eligible and can replace one of the 25.
Tolbert has the month of September to show if he is worth replacing Everett, Harris or Buscher on the roster.
yanks win…. nice.
lefty,
Since you can always see each teams active roster and transactions, yes their postseason rosters will be public info.
Good deal. Thanks Sweetone
I think it will ultimately be Tolbert over Everett
sane says:
August 28th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
We don’t need an NFL team in LA!
We have the Trojans!
I still love the Bruins vs the Trojans every year. Another great game I miss oh so much.
It’s nice to see Guerrier coming back around.
I’d taken to calling him Guerrierhea, as in, he leads to a bad case of the runs.
craig just talked to bud’s sec. and he’s taking a nap, i mean in a meeting.
which market is most likely to lose a football team?
twin cities at about 15 or buffalo/new orleans in the 40’s? that’s about 2 mill more people buying/watching.
The New and Improved Craig I still don’t know why some people out there defend Miser. Even after he tried to contract the Twins. The Geek screwed over Poorlad and made him look like the crooked old miser he is. I love the way he weasled his way into the comminsioner position and allowed steroids to be used for years. This brought in more revenue for baseball and the geek. I could never tell that they were on them. Even when McGwire was hitting 75 hr’s and his arms were bigger then most peoples legs and he had a fungus growing off of his neck. No way that old geek ever had a clue.
Tolbert will never be a smooth fielder like Everett, but he has a more reliable arm, a better bat, more speed, and brings the “energy” Gardy likes.
GGG the Twin cities will lose 1 franchise for every sport by the end. The North Stars, The Lakers, The Vikings and if Bud the Geek and Poorlad had it there way the Twins would have been in that list as well.
Jimmy,
Under the Geeks reign, the only thing that could get you banned, is if you talked about where the ‘roids came from. It was always like they dropped out of the sky. Geek never wanted the story to go beyond the guy who tested positive. When Raphael Palmeiro said Tejada gave him the B12 (code word for steroids) shot, he was banned for life.
Has anyone noticed the Indians have a 10-game winning streak? Let’s hope they stay hot until next week against the White Sox.
I could never tell that McGwire and Canseco were on them even when the fungus grew off of McGwires dinosaur size neck. Or the way Canseco’s twin brother Ozzie was 45 pounds lighter then him. I had no clue when Canseco hit a 500 + ft shot at the sky dome.
If the Twins can sweep the A’s here they will either be up on the Reds or the Whites come sept 1st how nice would that be.
Very nice BC
But out of the post season rosters you are dreaming up, how many have actually played in a CS? that is way different than the divisional series, and guys who you are hoping are hot (like Tolbert) might not be what you need (like Everett). Plus you can interchange guys as the levels progress, say you make it bast the ALDS, you can switch Everett out for Tolbert if you wanted to for the ALCS if you so decided to (I think it was barring injury, but I am not sure) But Adam and Lamb to an extent had a reason for being on the team…. and it was the fact they knew how to handle the pressure of the playoffs…. they might not have the ring but they were parts of great runs to make it into the playoffs and made it to the various stages, with some success.
I never understood this playoff pressure thing people always bring up. Everyone one of these players has played to sold out or nearly sold out crowds of people before. I don’t see how playing in the WS or ALCS is going to make any differance.
Miss Optimist,
Good point. You can also include Monroe with Lamb and Everett.
Breslow has a World Series ring, but doesn’t have any post-season experience.
Listen to any player talk about their first world series…. I was at the first game played in Texas…. there is something VERY different…. and you can tell the players know it and there is something to be said about the playoff pressure.
BC of ND -
You are kidding, right?
Miss Optimist i’m sure they’re aware of it but to say they feel extra pressure to the point it affects there play is the part i disagree with.
No ES16 I’m serious these guys live in the limelight all year long it’s not like they’re farm kids playing in a state championship game or something.
The extra adrenaline, especially a smaller market team, or a team, like Houston who had two guys who were given the opportunity to leave numerous times to get the ring finally getting their chance, that will make the more routine plays harder to ground, it might make a player like Harris, who is more fundamentally sound, rush a throw or drop arm his arm slot, or make Mauer throw a ball 20 feet over Lexi’s head, a play he would never ever do in a million years. It is important to have the guys like Monroe, livo, Lamb and Everett around who have been there, and have experienced it. I think Livo is the only one who had a ring for actually playing the series (although Breslows is just as pretty)
Why do you think Buckner’s error was such a big deal? Because it cost his team the world series? That was a play he would make a hundred times over but the stage he was on he booted it. If it was just a regular season game, no one would really care about Buckner’s blunder or that Boston fans FINALLY forgave him or find it ironic that there is a kid now in I think the Diamondback’s system named Billy Buckner…. it was the stage and he himself said it was because he thinking how he was close to being on the team to break the curse of the Bambino, and then….. they have to wait until Papelbon and Manny to break it.
Personally, i was a little ticked that Sportscenter gave Spans throw the number 3 web gem today. A lot of guys go back to the fence and make catches ( the number 1 play). You dont see often what Span and Red did. That should have been the number 1 play of the day. Period.
I can’t believe some of you actually talk about benching Cuddy! He’s definately one of the greatest players! I can’t wait until he comes back. It’s good that Gardy has so many choices - hard choices to pick from!
Adam Everett has had 53 post-season AB. Here are his numbers:
AVG OBP SLG
.208 .232 .264
BC,
“i’m sure they’re aware of it but to say they feel extra pressure to the point it affects there play is the part i disagree with.”
Do you mean like playing at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park didn’t affect the Twins play this season?
I might agree except for the soiled underwear that littered the Visitor’s clubhouse when the Twins left New York and Boston.
Pressure does normally affect young players (or anyone) in a “first time” experience that is in some way unique and stressful to them.
And their are personalities who thrive in those situations - but they are a minority.
“And THERE are”
not
“And their are”
I apologize Miss Nelson.
I DID do my English homework.
