My All-Star break begins today
Posted on July 16th, 2008 – 9:10 AMBy Howard
Unless there’s good reason to do otherwise, I’m going to take a couple of days to get ready for the rest of the season. Curious about how many of you made it through the game last night/this morning. I got suckered into it and went the distance. Lots of good baseball, although as the game was getting to the 11th and 12th innings, I was kind of thinking that it would be nice to have a Rincon-like character, or Josh Hamilton’s 71-year-old batting practice pitcher, to pitch for both teams so they could get some hits and end the thing.
A few quick thoughts:
*The Minnesota contingent acquitted itself quite well. Nice to hear all the love for Joe Nathan.
*Watching Dan Uggla in the field was like watching a hockey game for the fights or NASCAR for the crashes.
*Buck’n'McCarver were absolutely, positively awful in more ways than I care to detail. I used to like Joe Buck, even when it was popular to trash him, but something has gone way wrong. Maybe it was being deified in that Holiday Inn Express commercial. In contrast, I loved the radio call of the winning run: “Here comes Morneau… Here comes the throw… Safe! Safe! The American League wins it!”
*Did anyone else notice that Willlie Mays continued talking to Kasuke Fukudome and paid absolutely no attention to Hamilton when he ran out into center field during pregame introductions?
*Let’s be done with the whining about Justin Morneau’s perceived lack of recognition. Keep it up and you’ll start sounding like Brett Favre.
160 Responses to "My All-Star break begins today"
I’ll be the first to point out the obvious. Minnesota had a near perfect night last night.
Mauer - 1/1 1BB 1.000 OBP
Joe Nathan - 1IP 0.00 ERA
Morneau - 2/4 2R (2 missed opportunities)
I was impressed. I didn’t quite make it all the way. I got to the 14th inning and decided it was enough. Great game otherwise.
I would take your Buck/McCarver criticism and agree with it to a point. Buck was decent, but did what I have come to expect. McCarver was downright awful. He is the reason I don’t watch FOX saturday baseball. He makes Joe Morgan look like Vin Scully. At one point I thought he was going to try and make a move on Yogi Berra. It was unsettling to watch that segment.
I noticed the Willie shun as well. I’m kinda curious if there is anything on that, or if Willie was just really interested in meeting Kosuke. (or learning how to pronounce his name)
Yes, Joe Buck is is horrible and full of himself but McCarver, being a former player, at least has some good analysis.
That really was a snub for all ages by Willie Mays. Didn’t feel like celebrating the recovering addict who couldn’t manage a measly 6 home runs when it counted?
*Let’s be done with the whining about Justin Morneau’s perceived lack of recognition. Keep it up and you’ll start sounding like Brett Favre.”
thank you Howard for saying that!!
Re: Hamilton vs. Morneau
I get it. Hamilton screwed up, big time. Now he’s on the straight and narrow. Good story of redemption. But why is his story so much more compelling than Morneau’s? First Canadian AL MVP. First Canadian derby winner. In the running for the triple crown. He has his own little story of redemption. He didn’t throw it all away only to pick it back up again. But he nearly lost his chance and then found his way. Between the two, I like Justin way better as a person. I think we have a right to ask why he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. Yankee faithful even booed him last night because he was chosen the MVP over Jeter, like Morneau had anything to do with that vote. I don’t think it’s whining when there’s a legitimate argument.
I’m glad J.D. Drew won the MVP. Poetic justice for the pathetic Yankees fans who threatened Papelbon’s wife and chanted “overrated” while he was pitching.
Way to go on the Joe Buck critique, Howard…I couldn’t agree more. Of course, we Twins fans will always have a special place in our heart for the late Jack Buck, but these things don’t always move generationally…
For instance, Chip Caray won’t have a prayer of establishing a legacy anywhere near what his father did; same for Kenny Albert. However, unlike those two, Joe Buck seems dead-set on becoming an American broadcasting icon. I realize that the world of broadcasting is changing; broadcasters today are expected to go outside the box, rather than do the straight-up play-by-play–this is what made Bob Costas and Al Michaels famous. However, with Joe Buck, it seems to be over-the-top and frankly, it doesn’t work for me.
Jim Nantz continues to be the flagship “voice” of American sports…with Michaels, Costas, and yes, Chris Berman (who took a lot of heat this week), close behind. I actually don’t mind Buck as much when he does football with Troy Aikman, for whatever reason.
As for Berman, he’s my TV hero and has been for quite some time. I realize the Homerun Derby act gets old, but I desparately hope ESPN can revive the full NFL Primetime show with Berman and Tom Jackson that captured our imagination for over 20 years, but I digress.
I thought Dan Shulman did a nice job (as usual) on national radio doing this game, but I do miss the old-timers. (Could I please get just one national game with Ernie Harwell, Vin Scully, or Harry Kalas?)
As for the Twins, I continue to stand by my men Dan Gladden and Justin Morneau. Gladden makes Twins games very fun because he’s totally real–nothing fake comes out of his mouth, even if it isn’t the most exciting call in baseball. Morneau, what can I say, the dude is a complete star and he showed it again last night. He also seems like a pretty nice guy at the end of the day, but I won’t pretend to know that personally, and we must be careful to assume such things.
Here’s hoping this time around the All-Star game will propel Morneau / Mauer and the boys to a quality second half…last year it sucked pretty bad!
A bigger snub for Canada and Canadians: FOX cutting away to a commercial during the singing of O Canada!
Yeah - I was wondering about hearing O Canada. I guess you have to watch a hockey game to hear it. Weird.
Keep it up and you’ll start sounding like Brett Favre.
I think the Packers have been far more whiny than Favre. If they want to move on, they should quit holding one of their all-time great players hostage out of childishness and spite. Grant him his release and let the chips fall. What an embarrassing lack of class for a once-proud organization.
Favre has, to an extent, toyed with the retirement idea for the past few years and the Packers org. is prob. sick and tired of his waffling.
both parties are being childish and spiteful.. from a Viking perspective I say let the mayhem continue!!
Didn’t catch the introductions, so I missed the snub. But that must’ve been hilarious (not Erin Andrews’ reaction to “Jason Morneau” hilarious, but still funny).
I can’t figure out the whole Joe Buck thing. Is it because FOX just keeps putting him everywhere so they just ASSUME that he must be good?
He does football, he does baseball…I’m guessing he’ll be doing NASCAR next year.
As far as the Favre thing, that’s ALL his fault. He jerked around the Packers for three years ith the whole retirment thing. Then he comes out and says “I’m retiring” and now the Packers are the bad guys for wanting to move on?
You know what it is? It’s the media again. Favre retired and IMMEDIATELY they started the whole “Should/would he come back?” Using the excuse that Rodgers isn’t ready (well he’ll NEVER be ready if they keep going with Favre)
Favre strikes me as an egomaniac, likely from years of having his butt kissed by the likes of Buck. He retired, was out of the spotlight, and realized it stunk.
Just watching members of my family retire, I see the same thing. They go through that phase of “Maybe I shouldn’t have done it” and realize they’ve got all this free time they don’t know what to do with.
Some cave and go back to work, others accept it and find ways to enjoy it. Favre obviously wasn’t able to make it through this phase and (thanks to the media) misinterpreted it as “I’m still good” vs. “I’m just bored.”
A bigger snub for Canada and Canadians: FOX cutting away to a commercial during the singing of O Canada!
Are you serious? You’d think being the way they are they’d have just slapped a Taco Bell logo on the flag and called it a day.
Was I serious? Uhhhhh, not really.
Do I regret mentioning Favre because people are commenting about him here? Totally.
I could not take it if Favre signed with the Vikes… 
Yankees/Red Sox have a rivalry? Weird never hear about it. Papelbon is overrated. Joe Nathan should have been in during the 8th inning and then Rivera in the 9th.
“Do I regret mentioning Favre because people are commenting about him here? Totally.”
Remember that next time, Howard. 
Frankly, I’m ready for some baseball, having been on vaca for the last couple of weeks. As much as announcers generally annoy me, I missed listening to Twins games on the radio.
Mr. Smith: go get a RH bat, please.
Who do you think Seattle would require from the Twins if Billy Smith pressed hard for Beltre?
As far as the Favre thing, that’s ALL his fault. He jerked around the Packers for three years ith the whole retirment thing. Then he comes out and says “I’m retiring” and now the Packers are the bad guys for wanting to move on?
No, they’re the bad guys for holding him to his contract when they apparently don’t want him around anymore. If they’re tired of his act, release him. Problem solved and we can all get back to baseball.
I did pick up an interesting bit of trivia during the broadcast last night. Apparently, that was the last All-Star game to ever be played at the original Yankee Stadium. Why didn’t they play that fact up a little bit more?
Morneau has been to the all star game twice and won an MVP award. Even the most casual baseball fan would recognize his name by this point, even if he does play in the land of 10,000 frozen lakes. Lets just find something else to cripe about, eh? (thats a canadian ‘eh’)
No, they’re the bad guys for holding him to his contract when they apparently don’t want him around anymore.
The Packers are more than willing to take him back. But he has to accept that he’s not automatically going to be the starter.
And what would YOU do if your the Packers? Would you honestly release Favre so he can go play for the Vikings or Bears?
Why not ask the Yankees to release A-Rod so he can go play for Boston while your at it.
Was I serious? Uhhhhh, not really.
I didn’t mean that as a slam against you Howard, I meant it as “Are you serious that FOX did that?”
I missed the opening of the game, (as I hinted earlier when I said I didn’t get to see Hamilton being snubbed) 
Please don’t take offense, it was a sincere question, likely with inflection missed due to being written.
thanks JustinCB for the dose of reality
I made it through the whole deal from tape delayed red carpet parade pregame to Doc beating the tag to the plate in the 15th. Struggling a bit to focus today, though.
I wondered, too, whether Mays’ snub of Hamilton was intentional. It sure looked like it to me. Pretty classless, imo, if it was. Other than that, I enjoyed the introductions. It just felt cool to see the guys I went to watch play as a kid out there with today’s best. It looked like the players got a kick out of it too, for the most part. Almost every one of them trotted out to their position with a pretty big grin on his face.
About the only way it could have been better is if “Jason” Morneau had driven in the game winning run a few innings earlier when he had his chances.
And what would YOU do if your the Packers? Would you honestly release Favre so he can go play for the Vikings or Bears?
Yes. Just to avoid the distraction and to avoid being cast as spiteful and petty. The Packers are a laughing stock with they way they’ve handled this.
I don’t think the A-Rod analogy fits. But if the Yankees decided Alex was a second-stringer and they were tired of his act, the proper thing to do would be to trade or release him. Same goes for the Pack.
ahhhhhhhhh we have a cynic in the house….. well I’m just getting sick of reading it on every twins blog two days after the fact. EXCUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE ME FIRE. (and what is the deal with the name anyway? Vavra maybe but I think the anemic offense the past few years has been more the fault of the front office…. why fire GARDY? He’s been one of the better managers in the game for his entire tenure, wouldn’t you say?)
I made it to the 13th inning and then zzzzz’s were necessary. Lots of great fielding plays, both teams seemed to be giving it their all. I felt bad for Uggla and, although I wanted the AL to win, I didn’t want the win to come in the inning where he had back to back errors. Ugh.
NY fans were absolutely classless jeering Papelbon.
The Buck n McCarver show was beyond atrocious, listening to them was truly nauseating. Every other sentence was singing the praises of the stadium, the Yankees, their ownership or their fans. Um guys, there’s a game being played here with lots of non-Yankee players and lots of non-Yankee fans watching.
Justin rocks.
JustinCB I was agreeing with you.. I have been arguing for 2 days now that the “MN sports inferority complex” needs to stop I was glad you said what you said
oh. Sorry, these vicious baseball blogs are getting me all defensive.
I understand I was under siege yesterday for daring to say Hamilton is a great story and Twins get plenty of love from national media some folks just have to look for a reason to pull the “victim card”
Sorry for shifting to football, but with nothing brewing on the tradewinds (saving Beltre info), I’m in Favre mode right now.
There is a TON of value to having Favre around as a backup. If Rodgers gets hurt or proves to be unready (which is likely), then Favre can quickly step in and take over again without having to get familiar with everybody.
The problem is Favre has his streak to worry about and an ego that won’t let him play second fiddle.
I was under siege yesterday for daring to say Hamilton is a great story and Twins get plenty of love from national media some folks
Except nobody was complaining about Morneau’s credit. They were complaining about the poor coverage overall
Including Riley’s idiotic comments, which had nothing to do with who won the Derby.
I love reading about snubbing “Jason” and rumors about “Favre” and Sox/Yanks and A-Rod. (Leno said he was thrown out at home.)
I don’t mind if people slip one in occasionally!
Count me in as disappointed that the discussion has turned to Favre…but, if you want the best take of all on the situation, read Jason Whitlock’s recent column on Favre at http://www.kcstar.com.
Howard,
We all have regrets, and if your biggest regret today is Brett Favre… I think it’s going to be a wonderful day for you!
I think that Justin is gaining some major ground, but while the game loves him and the nation loves him… he is still a second banana on the hype machine to Baby Jesus which is kind of pathetic. Without Mauer this team would still be a .500 team this season… without Morneau this team would be Kansas City.
Good God, I must be missing something because I’ve totally missed seeing some sort of “hype machine” related to Mauer, especially anything that is done at Morneau’s expense. These are two outstanding ballplayers we’re getting to watch play together. Two guys who continue to show humility and class while performing at very high levels. Do you have to denigrate one to praise the other sufficiently in your mind? That’s pretty sad.
Other stories that never get old to me are Yogi Berra stories. Did you see him on TV last night? I kept thinking he was going to blurt out an AFLAC commercial! That was hilarious!
And 15 innings. We found out it ain’t over ’til it’s over!
T,
No offense taken at all.
JustinCB.
A true Canadian “eh” doesn’t have a question mark at the end. (Ex.: All this talk about Favre makes me wanna drown my face in some Molson, eh.”)
BC,
No argument from me on that one.
Twayn,
I guessed I missed that!
JASON:
That link said “Page cannot be found”
for me. Please repost, I’m addicted to that circus.
Mudcat….
just go to the Kansas City Star’s webpage, click on the sports section…click on Jason Whitlock and his ‘previous columns’ and you’ll find he wrote it earlier this week…
Ultimately, he concludes that Favre has been at odds with the Packers for years (over personnel issues like Randy Moss) and it has gone largely uncovered by the media due to its undying love for Favre and his lore as a Packer. So here we are surprised that Favre and the Packers are at odds, when, in fact, we really shouldn’t be if we had been properly following the story all along.
Whitlock takes sides. He concludes that Favre’s criticisms were absolutely valid, the Packers didn’t do enough to give Favre the chance to be a Superbowl winner, and they should definitely welcome him back and put the Rodgers thing on hold if Favre wishes to return. Instead of making the Packers better pursuant to Favre’s wishes, they instead decided to profit off the popularity of Favre himself.
To that end, I think Whitlock is dead-on.
A true Canadian “eh” doesn’t have a question mark at the end.
Thanks for clearing that up. I had heard it was rather like puncuation.
Since we’re on the subject, what’s the proper spelling of “Dontchya know?”
Inferiority complex? We have a long history of getting snubbed. So it is natural to be sensitive to snubs, real or imagined. The ironic thing is, now there’s a group of folks on this site and elsewhere who claim that every real snub is an instance of an imagined snub. I have no problem with folks demonstrating that a claimed snub was just imagined. But when it’s real, it should be fair game.
I don’t think it’s just my imagination that Morneau does not get the credit he deserves in general–outside of that ridiculous circus the other night. I was shocked before this year how many publications predicted that he would have a year just north of replacement level, for example. Our own Aaron Gleeman ripped the organization for signing him to a long-term deal. These and other snubs have continued despite a very good year. It makes me wonder why. Can anybody help, or is this an off-limits conversation?
I don’t think the commentary for the events could have possibly been any worse overall. Awful, absolutely awful.
Berman (no back-back-back-back-back’s hundreds of times thankfully, but otherwise painful to listen to), Morgan (wrong as usual whenever he tried to state something as a fact, try preparing for once), Phillips, McCarver (his usual self), Buck (ditto), and the insufferable bore that was Riley’s inane drivel. Whoever’s idea it was to involve that hack ought to get canned, but I suppose B!SPN has to recoup its investment in sports most overrated writer somehow.
/rant
Thanks Justin! I love the upheaval in Dairyland! Can’t wait ’til opening game on Monday Night Football! The most Historic game in the history of Monday Night Football! Yep, you read that right. Long after people have forgotten about Jason Morneau they will be saying “Mudhen said it here first!”
my thing with Favre is, if the organization has TRULY ‘moved on’, why so crabby about releasing him and letting him play like he wants?
I understand that he is a Packer Legend and they feel they might tarnish that if they let him go, but thats not really ‘moving on’ then is it?
One or the other Packer GM, you can’t have your cake and eat it too in this case. I think its far more classless to not grant your beloved player his wishes if you’ve ‘moved on’.
There are similar issues from Favres standpoint as well, but I think he’s made it pretty obvious he was wrong and wants to play, let him do it (just not for the vikes…though it would be pretty funny for him to suit up as a viking at Lambeau Field when his Jersey is retired in the opener, if it comes to that…)
what Gleeman said is his OPINION so in reality what you are saying is none cane have a less then rosy take on anything Twins related or it is a “snub”
FIRE:
I think you just described me. If I deciphered it correctly.
actually it was cmathewson’s take
I know this is Non-Favre related, but I’m ready to take on the Texas Strangers. My lineup:
Twins (54-41):
1. Lefty Gomez, CF.
2. Santiago Casilla, 2B.
3. Jake Mauer, C.
4. Jason Morneau, 1B.
5. Justin Kubel, LF.
6. Bucky Harris, SS.
7. Randy Buscher, 3B.
8. Justin Lamb, DH. (I looked that one up.
9. Darnell Span, RF.
Pitching: El Duque Hernandez
While there’s no doubt validity to the contention that we (all of us in fly-over country) get snubbed at the expense of bigger markets, apparently we’re capable of doing some snubbing ourselves. Loved the note in JoeC’s article about Morneau’s lack of “respect” relating to how, after Doc won the 2006 MVP award, the Candadian Prime Minister called to congratulate him… and the Twins put him on hold.
Now that’s a snub!
Morneau was asked to throw out the opening puck at an NHL game once and the two players autographed it. They bothe wrote: To Jason.
True story.
‘Cept the part about the puck.
When someone predicts a career “slightly above replacement level” for a guy who won an MVP award at age 24, that is a snub, whether it’s opinion or not. And since when do we just give opinions a free shot?
Pecota predicted that Morneau’s year would be “slightly above replacement level”, using Kent Hrbek as the chief comp. First, if Hrbek is the comp, they screwed up their analysis. Hrbek never had anything close to a replacement level year. And his 26-year old year was near the top of the league for first basemen. Pecota never explained why they predicted Morneau to be a scrub despite a good comp. That kind of stuff has happened all year with him. I don’t get it.
I meant the part about “throwing out the opening puck.” I was just trying to steer myself back to baseball topics.
Hrbeck replacement level?
So next we’re going to call Liriano a scrub becaues he’s not Santana.
cmathewson I give up!! some rubes will spend their entire lives drowning in bitterness constantly looking for imagined/perceived/delusioned slights to get angry about.. how I miss the old days when I could read 20 postings in a row condemning PUNTO to dead and torture
I’ll tell you where Morneau DID get respected this weekend. There were three intentional walks issued last night. My recollection is that two of them were to Tejada and Guillen, with the intention to load the bases to set up force plays at home and all bases. One of them was specifically to keep a dangerous hitter from driving in a crucial run. That was Morneau.
I don’t know the guy. May never meet him personally. But from everything I’ve heard, read and observed, I’m going to guess THAT respect is more meaningful than whether he got more or less attention than Hamilton, Drew, or anyone else this week in NYC.
And as a footnot, it also demonstrates why Bill Smith seriously needs to be working the phones for RH #5 hitter with some pop.
from will caroll bp:
A lot more discussion of Adrian Beltre to the Twins has come up lately, though the Twins have also taken a hard look at Hank Blalock, Garrett Atkins, and even Casey Blake. The Twins have pitching to trade and seem willing to make a move as they chase the White Sox.
i don’t understand why we would want blalock another lh?
FIRE:
You’re right. I’ll insert him in my lineup:
10. Fiat Punto, DH
(too good to make up):
Fiat Punto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Internally codenamed Project 176, the Punto was announced in September 1993 and … The Punto’s distinctive clean-cut styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro was an instant …
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Punto
Mudcat - that nice!
gobble, I have to imagine Blaylock would be down the list if prioritized. I choose to just be encouraged that it demonstrates Smith is serious about finding someone who can cover “Jason’s” back. The strong preference has to be a RHH.
One thing nobody has written much about today (that I’ve seen anyway) is Tim Lincecum’s hospitalization for “flu-like symptoms and dehydration.” Doesn’t anyone else think that sounds like something some people (not me, of course) come down with after a night of excessive merriment? Where are the NY tabloids on THAT story? Enquiring minds want to know!
I love that this “Jason Morneau” thing is catching on….
That guy needs to be abliterated…funny thing is he probably didn’t give it 2 seconds worth of thought…he’s back in his Madison Ave. high-rise office today whistling about his upcoming weekend at Martha’s Vineyard and congratulating himself for how good he looked on TV.
I said it Monday and I’ll say it again…that was the perfect example of why no corporate CEO should EVER be allowed near a television microphone. The last person anyone wants to hear from at that moment is some ultra-rich corporate nerd who doesn’t have a clue about baseball saying things about a guy whose name he doesn’t even know. The event is already fake enough with the corporate labels, no need to completely destroy it by turning the stage over to someone who has no business on it!
Morneau handled this weekend with class, but in retrospect, part of me wishes the first thing he would’ve said when Erin Andrews put the mic in his face was “First off, I just want to clarify my name is Justin, okay, not Jason. But I appreciate your sincere words.”
Look, this dude had to deal with the entire nation mispronouncing his last name for several years (Bert Blyleven still does it)…the least they could do is get his first name right.
That clown had one simple, yet pointless task and he choked even worse than Dan Uggla did a night later…TV execs NEED to take notice and 86 the pathetically awkward CEO interviews.
JASTON:
Team owners can stay in the background also, as far as I’m concerned.
Actually, since it was a State Farm exec who did the presenting, the perfect thing for Morneau to do would be to thank “Allstate” for the award.
Now that would have been priceless.
I must admit to being a life long Willie Mays fan,but I felt like echoing Jack Buck during Mays’ snub of Hamilton “I don’t belive what I just saw”.Sadly Its not out of character for the greatest(IMO)player ever to play the game.Mays has a history of being surly.
I wish I could have found the game on the radio and listened to Dan Shulman,who is by my standards, the best baseball play-by-play man out there.Buck and McCarver are so bad I watched some of the game with the “mute” in play.
It was fun to see this vast collection of SuperStars basically playing small ball all night.An AS record stolen base count,Sacrifice bunts,actual strategy being used by both managers.That was fun.
What wasn’t fun was listening to all of the talking heads this morning trying to disect what was wrong with the game and how to correct it.To me it’s pretty simple.If the game means something play it that way.
I heard Francona during his pre game pep talk saying they were playing to win,but at the same time,they will try to get everyone into the game.You can’t have it both ways.He had basically used up his bench by the 8th inning.I would think that if you are trying to win,give guys like A-Rod,more than two ABs.Same thing for Mauer.Mauer gets only two ABs at the expense of .218 hitting Varitek?
One last thing,if a starting pitcher pitches on Sunday and is basically unusable for the Tuesday AS game,don’t add him to the roster.If the pitcher is unable to throw he is basically “injured”.Let him come along for the festivities but replace him on the roster with a usable arm.Webb and Kazmir were put in tough spots,hopefully it won’t effect their teams during the next week.
Okay, I just looked at the clip again…here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zEuCAXLJ_U
Obviously Erin Andrews reacts to the blunder immediately, but then she starts laughing, which I have to imagine is the result of Morneau whispering something to the effect of “my name’s Justin, you dumb ass”.
By the way, if that had been a big national name, like Manny Ramirez or Derek Jeter, Jim Rome would be mocking that dude’s blunder from now until the end of time…
Jason,
Rome might be mocking it if he weren’t on vacation.
Mr. Crikket, Great posts throughout today. Well thought out and yet thought provoking. Thank you!
I felt terrible for Uggla initially. Then when he kept screwing things up I began to openly root for a spectacular failure on his part to contribute to the National League’s demise.
It seems like when the ESPN/FOX guys try to commemorate a big event with a little more energy they get into trouble. It seems like everyone is trying to make a “STATEMENT” when they say something. Baseball, of course, is not a game of capital letters except when something real exciting is going on.
I wasn’t really a steady rider on the hate-Joe-Morgan bandwagon, but now I’m starting to hear the vibe on that. The dude is a portable buzz-kill.
I have to admit I was finding the situation kind of comical by the 12th inning or so last night. After the tie game several years ago, they added players to the roster so they’d have enough to deal with EI games. So what happens, managers still try to make sure everyone gets in the game by the 9th. No other reason for Francona to pitch K-Rod 1/3 of an inning in the 9th.
I agree with Doug… if a pitcher throws on Sunday and his manager/team says “we don’t want him pitching in the AS Game”, he comes off the roster and is replaced. That won’t solve the problem of what to do with a pitcher that ties one on and gets so sick he can’t play (no I don’t KNOW that’s what Lincecum did, but it’s probably what I would have done if I were his age and found myself in NYC with unlimited funds, so I’m going with it), but it would be a start.
Maybe they need a modified “re-entry rule”. If the game goes EI, any player who left the game before the end of the 9th inning can be brought back once during extra innings. Might have been fun to see some of those starters be able to contribute in EI last night and at least a couple of the pitchers who had already pitched could have no doubt gone another inning.
Why does anyone care if someone that never met Justin got his name right or not? I really don’t get all the fuss.
Mr Smith, please get a legit RHH. thanks,
Daniel. Thank you. I’m even more insightful when I’ve had a few.
I also noticed the Fukudome-Mays-Hamilton thing, too. If I remember it right, Mays actually turned his back to Hamilton as he got there. If it was intentional, Mays has earned the right to make such a statement, in my opinion. Perhaps he was just more interested in talking to someone who was more of a student of the game.
Kleiner, when I was watching Uggla in the field, I couldn’t help but think of Kevin Costner’s character in “Tin Cup”… especially when Uggla FINALLY bobbled another ground ball but DID get the ball to first base in time for the out.
Crikket,
Lincecum is so small and baby faced he probably didn’t get into any bars even with the proper ID! but I like your take.
Never before has a players name matched his performance like poor Dan Uggla.On top of the three errors he also struck out twice and hit into a double play I believe.He probably wished he had joined Lincecum on that alleged bender!
UGGLY!
Mr. Crikket 1:57, Aren’t we all…
“Maybe they need a modified “re-entry rule”. If the game goes EI, any player who left the game before the end of the 9th inning can be brought back once during extra innings. Might have been fun to see some of those starters be able to contribute in EI last night and at least a couple of the pitchers who had already pitched could have no doubt gone another inning.”
I was thinking about that same thing today. At first my thoughts were that it would be absurd, especially since it would never happen in a real baseball game. Then I remembered that this isn’t a real baseball game. Never does the SP go only 2 innings in a game. Because of that, there should be some lieniency to bend the rules. OR…better idea, keep it an exhibition game, and one that doesn’t count. You know, like an exhibition game. Of all the knee jerk reactions (to only the 2nd tie ever), this was one of the worst. The worst, of course, involved Joe Buck and his overall displeasure and overreaction to “Moss moons Lambeau.”
Has Happy Hour started early today in the Land of Crikket?!!Just kidding.I share Daniels sentiments.
I’ve never wanted to believe it but I’ve always heard that WM was a jerk.
JM could prove to be the best player in the game shortly
some rubes will spend their entire lives drowning in bitterness constantly looking for imagined/perceived/delusioned slights to get angry about.
Whatever. I don’t mind being called a rube. I take everything as a complement however it’s intended. I don’t have time for bitterness.
I guess it’s better to keep Morneau under the radar as long as he lacks protection. Leyland might start a trend in intentional walks. And JC, that is the ultimate sign of respect, especially hitting in front of an All-Star.
I expect the Twins to get Beltre. He just fits this team: Great defense, good power from the right side, and he’ll be done when either Hughes or Valencia is ready, returning two draft choices through free agency. I’m just wondering about which pitchers Carrol was referring to. It can’t be Livan unless there’s a three-way deal. It better not be any of the other five rotation guys (counting Liriano). After that, I don’t know what might get it done. Mulvey? Duensing? Humber? Manship?
It’s always Happy Hour in Crikketland, Doug. It’s a land where nothing is ever too absurd to suggest. I’m glad I could support your idea, Roto. Just remember, when the re-entry thing is adopted and becomes universally criticized… it was YOUR idea!
DAN MUNSON:
Uggla was ugly, but Justin reached home justin time.
That’s exactly what I felt, cmath, with regard to Morneau’s IBB. This wasnt Leyland giving him a pass to pitch to Kubel or Monroe or someone… I don’t remember off the top of my head who was on deck but it was a friggin ALL STAR. If that had been me, I’d have strutted down to 1B like I was the baddest friggin hitter in the game! But “Jason” is too cool to do that.
CRIKKET:
He should have STARED him down like C. Lee did to Gomez.
That would teach them!
which I have to imagine is the result of Morneau whispering something to the effect of “my name’s Justin, you dumb ass”.
You know, I wonder if there isn’t a camera SOMEWHERE that managed to snag a reaction shot of Justin.
I would picture a quiet sort of confusion, giving way to stoic fuming and a very obvious eye roll. Quickly swallowed back as Andrews points the mic at him.
I get “Dan” Munson about as often as Jutin Morneau gets “Jason”.Sadly,the similarity ends there!
JC: By that point in the evening, I think it was Ian Kinsler that was hitting behind Morneau.
Why does anyone care if someone that never met Justin got his name right or not? I really don’t get all the fuss.
It’s hilarious because (as many have pointed out), the guy had ONE job that night…and it was to hand an oversized check to *insert player here*.
Though I’m guessing by that point in the evening he had been rehearsing it as “Congratulations Josh” so it’s only natural that he was a bit shocked when 30 seconds before he was on camera it was somebody else standing there.
Quiet honestly, I was shocked, but then relieved that he DIDN’T say “Josh” by accident.
And I don’t expect the annoucers to say anything, as they’d be dissing a sponsor. Rule #1 of being in the booth. Never diss a sponsor.
I think Morneau was just happy to FINALLY be standing next to Erin Andrews.Although I don’t know who picked out her All Star wardrobe.Heard she looked much more fetching at the Celeb Softball Game,but there was no way Iwas watching that.
Saw this today in, strangely enough, Rob Neyer’s blog.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB121607752059152487.html?mod=sports
It addresses a heated argument on Bob Costas’ HBO show between sports writer Buzz Bissingerand the guy who does Deadspin.com. There is a link to a clip from the show in the article and its pretty hilarious. I’m sure some of you have already seen it. Any thoughts Howard as somebody who operates one of the allegedly more ‘respectable’ blogs out there?
JimCrikket mentioned Lincecum’s illness, speaking of deadspin, there was an entry about that today with a picture of him (pre-flu? he doesn’t look too sick to me, although he does look 12 years old.)
http://deadspin.com/5025743/morning-blogdome-on-tummy-lincecums-fortuitous-illness
THURMON MUNSON:
Here’s Erin at the All Star Game. She’s on the left, this is legit:
would this be a fair trade?
span possible cf of future in a big park, boof (has shown ml talent) who needs a change and could be ok in nl plus a middle prospect for kouzmanoff (padres top prospect is headley playing out of his 3b spot in outfield and not very well) and kevin cameron, who we used to own, decent set up guy to help bullpen.
now possibly span hasn’t shown enough to have a lot of value and boof has shown to much to still have value which means no deal.
Trade Boof? You want another Kyle Lohse/David Ortiz………..OK trade him.
Mudcat-
I’ll spare you the rest. BILL MUNSON (ex Lions QB) HERMAN MUNSTER ( more apt discription!).
I’m outta here.No Baseball until Friday.that sucks.Have a good couple of days everyone.
That’s a good freakin’ point Crikket. J-Mo got a free pass so they could face Ian Kinsler, who happens to be leading the league in hitting.
That’s essentially the NL saying, “you know what, Justin is so [redacted] good that we would rather face the best/hottest hitter in the AL.”
You want another Kyle Lohse/David Ortiz
The problem with Kyle Lohse and David Ortiz is that while they are awesome now…they weren’t doing squat for their previous club.
Also, it took Kyle Lohse 2 years to figure it out after leaving. Hardly the same situation as David “Oh Holy Crap I’m Way Better Suddenly” Ortiz.
probably had more to do with jason being lefthanded against a rhp and kinsler being rh’d. some managers are anal about that matchup stuff.
I know Howard probably doesn’t want the discussion to head this direction, but I’ll throw it out there anyway…
I wonder how many Big Leaguers in attendance Monday night were interested in getting Erin Andrews’ number? I have to imagine if you had an honest poll, the number would approach a dozen…
That has to be intimidating for the Big Leaguers, in a sense, as she’s one attractive woman who actually can say ‘umm, sorry, I’m outta your league’ to a lot of them…
Having said that, I’m a huge Erin Andrews fan. I’m not a big fan of sideline reporters generally, whether it be Jim Gray or Leslie Visser, but Andrews knows her stuff and she’s pretty keen on understanding where the story is and how to have fun with it.
T:
I agree, but I think you detected that.
Jason, I think you forgot the obvious part. She’s easy to look at.
Just saying, it had to be said.
JASON:
I’m her fan too but she’s like the wind. Feel her breath on my face. Her body close to me. Can’t look in her eyes. She’s out of my league.
You have to admit it’s an interesting dichotemy…most of the time it’s the reporter who’s nervous to be standing alongside the pro athlete…as far as Monday night goes, I bet it was the other way around at times…
And yes, I did have a moment at home when I pictured some fool saying “I don’t care about the Texas Rangers, I could just kiss you.”
Was Joe Namath at the Derby? I must have missed that.
I remember that, Crikket. Was that Erin Rodgers that time also?
Erin Andrews I meant. Erin Rodgers is the one getting shafted by Brett Favre. Howard regrets bringing him up.
Kind of.
It looks like the closest Twins connection at the Olympics will be Terry Tiffee.
Odds to win the 2008 American League MVP Award
Josh Hamilton (TEX) 5/2
Ian Kinsler (TEX) 4/1
Justin Morneau (MIN) 4/1
Alex Rodriguez (NYY) 6/1 — Bodog
dichotemy - good word. I figured it deserved mention.
Jason,
Re: Erin Andrews.
It’s the All-Star break, so I can’t be too picky about topics.
well, look, again, I know it’s dicey to get into female / sex object chatter when it comes to on-air sports talent…we run the risk of Rachel Blount penning a column which suggests that women are being objectived as sex symbols unfairly in the sports media and men need to stop regarding them as such…(and yes, I did just issue a cheap shot at Blount, but she’s a big girl–I would do the same for any columnist who authors a column I disagree with and Blount has penned a ‘female athletes are more than sex symbols’ column re: Annika and Michelle Wie before)
however, it is undeniable that that’s part of the schtick with Erin Andrews. She would admit as much, I would believe.
But I guess my point is, the point where the viewer shifts its attention to where it belongs is when the on-air talent, in addition to being easy on the eyes, also happens to be damn good at what they do. That’s where we are at with Andrews. So the market corrects itself, morally, in that sense.
I’ve always felt on this issue that it’s better to let the market shape itself up than constantly point a finger saying ‘it’s okay to look, but don’t dare comment or objectify’. In the case of Andrews, it’s fair to recognize and point out that she’s a looker, but it’s hard to go too far down that road because it’s obvious she brings a lot more to the table. So I appreciate Howard allowing the panel to have some tasteful dialouge on this topic.
Oh, and my wife commented that she gave Andrews’ outfit on Monday a thumb’s down. Oh well, guess you can’t please everyone.
Yes to Erin Andrews and no to Brett Favre as topics.
Sounds good to me.
While I don’t typically chime in on topics like this, I’m bored so what the heck.
With regard to Erin Andrews, her looks are a mixed blessing for her, I’m sure.
Would she have gotten the opportunity to succeed in her chosen profession without the looks? Right or wrong, the answer has to almost certainly be answered, “no”.
Do her looks “get in the way” of her doing a good job? Probably, sometimes, yes. Through no fault of her own, I’m sure there are some in sports that she interviews that are much more interested in hitting on her than letting her conduct a serious interview. I would imagine it’s been a challenge for her to get “taken seriously” quite often in her career.
But in the end, when I evaluate the job she’s doing, I think you have to ask yourself two questions:
1- When she’s conducting an interview, do you most often pay attention to the topic/subject of the interview, rather than what she looks like/is wearing?
2- As she ages, will you still pay attention when she interviews someone?
If the answer is “yes” to those questions (for most viewers anyway), she’s doing her job as a professional.
The AL was shutout for at least the first 4 innings,Vavra was in the house,blame him!
How’s Beltre on defense?
At least you can take a guess why Erin Andrews got her job.
Try to do the same for Stuart Scott, Kenny Mayne and all the ESPN talking heads. No brains, no class, no clue, but they’re employed, too.
Give Erin the benefit of the doubt.
Even if she looked like Yogi Berra’s sister, she would still be better than most of the drones on Sports TV.
Honestly, I would say Erin Andrews is the best of the sideline reporters. I think she has the ability to keep you engaged in the subject matter, while still noting her good looks. She is not like most of the sideline reporters that just detract from the game and add no discernable value.
At the same time, I really don’t enjoy the sideline reporters much at all. Usually they add no value, especially in basketball games. I’ve noticed at half time, especially with Greg Popovich, that they are dismissed as obstacles to get into the locker room. The football ones are just as bad. I think overall, it’s a tough position, and one that has more negatives than positives.
So to say Erin Andrews is the best of the sideline reporters is similar to saying Jon Kitna is the best Detroit Lion.
I’m glad somebody brought up the fact about Morneau receiving an intentional walk in the all star game. Perhaps it was because of the righty v. righty scenario by walking Morneau. But I know it wasn’t to set up the double play ball, and it was still an all star behind him. There is real concern about this becoming the norm in the second half of the season. Morneau’s numbers (RBI) will be way down without somebody behind him that would at least make the other team think twice. Even if Kubel’s numbers are decent for the number of at-bats, he is not making anybody nervous. I just don’t see a down side to trading for Beltre. Gold glove, right handed power.
GW: Is Gold Glove good enough for you?
gw, Beltre has won multiple gold gloves at 3B. True, that’s not the be all and end all of defensive evaluation, but at least it’s indicative that he’s not a liability with the glove.
Just noticed over at the “competition’s” web site that Asst GM Rob Antony is quoted as saying that the Twins have to make room for Liriano on the 25-man roster, with his role not yet determined. This might be painfully obvious, but still… it makes me wonder if his bosses knew and appreciate him making that kind of public comment at this point.
I think I’ve talked myself into Beltre. Initally I liked the upside of acquiring Garrett Atkins. Now I’m starting to think getting Beltre at the back end of his contract on a team that is already relatively below budget is a good idea. He might even be resignable if he plays well and enjoys his time here. He already got his huge contract in Seattle, and he probably knows he won’t get another one. I like Buscher, but he is a great left handed option off the bench, and that’s the position he would succeed in.
I just don’t know what it would take to get him. I wanna say 1 MLB ready prospect and possibly 2 younger guys.
Say: Boof, Duensing, Lamb. (probably unrealistic, but Seattle is messed up to a point that anything is possible)
JimCrikket,
I would worry about Rob Antony’s future with the Twins. Usually no one says anything publicly in the Twins FO.
I hear the FO personnel are required top get an annual autopsy to prove they are alive for Life Insurance purposes.
Rotoblinders,
“I just don’t know what it would take to get him. I wanna say 1 MLB ready prospect and possibly 2 younger guys.
Say: Boof, Duensing, Lamb”
Which of those three do you consider MLB-ready?
Roto, I’d still prefer Atkins, I think, but the price would be considerably higher, I would imagine. If they can get Beltre for some reasonable price (not sure whether Seattle would look for MLB-ready talent or prospects with higher long term ceilings), I’m good with that. I don’t think anyone is going to take Lamb off our hands at this point, though.
sane, that’s pretty much what I was thinking too. It might be comparable to going on record saying, “the sky is blue”… but it’s just not something the Twins FO allows as a rule.
JimCrikket -
Beltre has only won 1 gold glove, not multiple.
Macleod -
I hope they keep on walking Justin Morneau. More guys on base is a good thing, not a bad thing. Especially with guys like Kubel and Young hitting the way they have for the past month and a half. That’s not to say that getting Beltre is unnecessary. But Kubel and Young are hitting the ball very well, and if teams want to keep putting runners on for them, their RBI totals will shoot up.
I know one thing for sure,Rob Anthony and the FO doesn’t check with this board to judge whether a potential trade meets with the approval of people on this board before pulling the trigger on a trade.I think some think they do!
Roto,
“I just don’t know what it would take to get him. I wanna say 1 MLB ready prospect and possibly 2 younger guys”
I think you are correct on that.
However Boof and Lamb don’t qualify.
Duensing could the MLB-ready prospect.
Then add two younger prospects possibly from AA or A-ball. But they would have to be ACTUAL PROSPECTS, not just failures-formerly-known-as-prospects.
anthony actually said they “will” have to find a spot not that had made a spot. big difference!
While more walks generally is good for us, we need Morneau to be swinging the bat. Picture this: runner at 2nd base. Morneau swings, Morneau gets an rbi. Morneau walks. Runners at 1st and 2nd. Now we need somebody else to get a base hit. You obviously would love to take your chances with Morneau swinging the bat than anybody else. What is he batting? .323 or so this season. 3rd in the league in rbi? So I still say Morneau taking more walks is not in the best interest of this team without bringing in some right handed bat. I’m not saying the Twins can’t pull off a division victory without this happening. I’m saying I like the Twins just a little better with an aquisition.
“Rob Anthony and the FO doesn’t check with this board”.
Very true, but they usually check with each other and Gardy, then issue a joint communique through the GM’s office. This is a different voice than is usually heard from the Twins FO.
i’m crushed i assumed that smith, ryan and gardy would read these blogs before making any decisions. don’t they understand the value of all our mindless speculation?
gobble,
“anthony actually said they “will” have to find a spot not that had made a spot.”
What effect will that statement have on Liriano if he is still in AAA on August 20th and Livan’s ERA has reached 6.00?
gobble,
“don’t they understand the value of all our mindless speculation?”
I think they know the EXACT value of “our mindless speculation”
Pete. Thanks. My bad. I thought he had a couple GGs.
gobble, I don’t think I said that they “had” made room… just that they will have to. Obviously if they already had, we’d see it in the official transactions so we wouldn’t need a quote from the Asst GM.
GENO, are you POSITIVE they don’t check our opinions here before pulling a trigger? Hey… ya never know! Of course, I’m not sure what good it would do since our collective opinions are all over the place!
As with sane, I was just very surprised to see something in the media that wasn’t directly from Smith/Gardy or in an official release.
Actually, I was told that the Twins FO DOES read this blog before making decisions.
They give the MOST credence to the LEAST HYSTERICAL among us. (pay special attention to my moniker)
At least, that’s what I was told.
Yea put me down on the list for those who want Beltre to be a Minnesota Twin. I think Beltre is significantly better than Atkins right now. He is better defensly, and offensly. Career averages,HR,and a gold glove award speaks for itself. Beltre also from what i read, hits in a ballpark that is very bad for righthanded hitters. That is why throughout his entire time in Seatle he bats .50 points higher on the road (that would mean about a .310 average).
Beltre would emmensly help this team, and help Morneau’s power numbers, he is not over paid, and if the Twins could make a deal composed of Boof,two middle to high-end prospects, and Mike Lamb, I would hope the Twins would take it.
I am interested to know more details and furter developements, I hope Joe C or Lavelle gives us a update tommorow. I think the Twins are actually serious in getting Beltre here, but what do i know?!?
Also if the Twins do not make room for Liriano by July 31 by trading Livan, that would be the most idiotic move by this franchinse in years. I just cannot accept an argument for the Twins keeping Livan and letting Liriano waste his time in AAA dominating. It would not make sense financially or for the betterment of the team.
potentially dominating Ace or an overpaid veteran with a 5 ERA?
HHHMMM
And now the latest Favre news… Packers formally charge Vikings with tampering. Can this whole thing possibly get any sillier?
I didn’t hear that JC. I’ll have to read more.
But tampering? Like…how? Because they exist?
JimCrikket,
Its silly only if its untrue.
Remember McHale, KG, and Joe Smith?
At least this time, a good player is the (alleged) target.
Favre and the Vikes’ offensive coordinator are “close friends”. Guess they had a conversation. (gasp!)
I disagree, sane. This whole thing has been “silly” for three years. Every season “will he retire or won’t he retire?” Gotta be the most rediculous soap opera in sports today.
I don’t think it matters how good the player is, but tampering isn’t that big of a deal. The Niners talked with Lance Briggs of the Bears and got caught:
“As a result of the ruling, the Bears will swap third-round draft picks with the 49ers.San Francisco will also forfeit its fifth-round pick, but the Bears will not receive that selection.”
They were just talking, dunno how inappropriately.
JimCrikket,
” disagree, sane. This whole thing has been “silly” for three years. Every season “will he retire or won’t he retire?” Gotta be the most rediculous soap opera in sports today.”
I was speaking ONLY of the tampering charge as possibly being “not silly”.
The “will he? - won’t he?” nonsense is absolute b-ll sh-t and I agree with you 100% on that.
Its amazing that Favre doesn’t realize how disgustingly in love with himself that he really is.
Especially now that now everyone else is figuring that out.
Shooter Hunt is blowing the doors off the Appy League.
Tonight: 12K 0BB in 6 inninngs.
So far: 28K 2BB in 14 innings
Thats 2K’s per inning with a 0.64 ERA.
And a 14/1 K/BB ratio.
1 BB? what’s wrong with the kid? he’ll never make the Bigs if he’s gonna walk guys
Joe Buck referred to Joe Nathan as the “most underrated closer in the game.” Underrated by whom? The Twins who gave him 4 yrs/48m? By the people who actually follow baseball and know that Nathan has the most saves in the American League since 2004?
I’m tired of ESPN referring to the Twins as “surprising” and saying “nobody was talking about the Twins during spring training.” Well, maybe if they had stopped covering the Tigers for a two minutes, they could have done some research on the Twins’ solid young pitching staff and realized we had a chance.
Also, one more mention of “they lost Santana, Hunter and Silva, how could they possibly compete?” and I could puke. ESPN didn’t think the Twins could win even when we had those players. Santana and Hunter weren’t even All-Stars this year…and we all know how Silva has worked out for Seattle.
right morgan. buck and espn don’t have a clue sometimes.
“they lost Santana, Hunter and Silva, how could they possibly compete?” and I could puke. ESPN didn’t think the Twins could win even when we had those players”
And last year, with those players (plus Garza and Bartlett), the Twins COULDN’T (or didn’t) compete.
They finished in third place, 17 games out of first place at 79-83.
This winter, after the Santana trade debacle, most of the Twins fans on this blog didn’t think the Twins could win.
IMO, ESPN is a self-promoting sea of crap, but their low expectations for the Twins were the consensus of most of the media, fans and bloggers inside and outside of Minnesota.
We shouldn’t be surprised if national baseball writers focus their praise on teams that are loaded with former all-stars and ignore teams that are loaded with young inexperienced players. They assume (wrongly) that past MLB performance always translates into future MLB performance. And in the absence of MLB experience, they’re skeptical of how a player will perform. I’m not offended by that, I expect it.
What bugs me are the so-called analysts who predict that good young players who have proven it both in the minors and the majors will not perform. These are the guys who we expect to do better. PECOTA was particularly bad in its predictions for Twins players. Analysts who come from the old way of only counting on proven veterans, but might be inclined to at least check PECOTA for the sake of argument, were vindicated in their judgments that the Twins would struggle to win 70 games this year.
I just scratched my head when I read PECOTA and predicted about a .500 record. I’ll be the first to concede that the team has exceeded my expectations, especially the young starters Slowey, Blackburn and Perkins.
I had this team pegged as third or worse with maybe a game over .500 at best.
This season has been a shocker, to the point where I’m actually HESITENT to still get excited because the transition from 06 to 07 is still very fresh in my memory.
I can’t shake it. Especially with Punto apparently showing flashes of 06 himself.
Per my earlier post, which I got railed on, I should clarify that I completely contradicted myself…mostly on purpose.
I still contend to get Beltre we need 1 MLB talent and 2 prospects, however I didn’t wanna give up any of the people I would see that make sense there. Then I had an idea. Bear with me as this could get long. (”That’s what….nvm)
Trade: Boof, Duensing, Valencia
Get: Beltre
Call up: Liriano
Move to Bullpen: Livan into Boof’s role.
Then Livan gets to continue to be our 2nd pitching coach and occasionally mop up games.
Now Beltre will be under contract this and next year. We play him both years, he fills the spot nicely. Then either he signs cheap, or Luke Hughes should be ready to take over 3B by then.
I didn’t include Valencia initially, because I didn’t wanna get rid of him, and I want Lamb to go away. So anyway, there it is. Sorry for the unrealistic trade scenario yesterday.
I wouldn’t say for sure dump Beltre after next year. If he is able to produce the kind of power that we’ve needed from 3B since Koskie left…then it may be worth keeping him around.
yeah, it all depends on what he thinks he is worth. He obviously won’t get the same hugemungous contract as he did in Seattle. But if he signs for a fairly reasonable price, then I say keep him around. Otherwise, I wanna think Hughes, or if we keep him, Valencia could be ready to step in.
If he produces in the Dome, which is much better for him compared to Safeco, it would probably mean that his numbers would increase substancially. He has 16 HRs this year, battling injuries, so it would be safe to say that he would at least put up those numbers with the Twins in a more hitter friendly park. Sadly, if he does do well as a Twin, it would likely mean that he would price himself out of a job with the Twins.
If that happens, well, I guess the trade was a huge success, since if he priced himself out of our ballpark, obviously he provided the offense that we crave from the corner infield position.
Wouldn’t be a bad position to be in I guess.
Dang, I hope that Smith can put something together. Trading prospects always bothers me, but hey, they are prospects, not to be confused with HOF members. Garza didn’t bother me. Santana bothered me, but only to a small degree since I knew he was soon gone anyway. Keilty bothered me, but look how that turned out. Matt Lawton for Rick Reed bothered me, until they kept Reed, so it turned out to not be a rental.
I guess what I am saying, trading prospects isn’t a bad thing to me if they try to resign the players that they traded to get.
“Buck’n’McCarver…absolutely, positively awful in more ways than I care to detail.”
Howard,
That’s nearly the same name I have for McCarver.
I love the national analysts who CANNOT LET GO of the tigers. They aren’t coming back at this point. Writing is on the wall. Everybody still seems to be picking the White Sox too. Pasquarelli @ espn has been giving them some love, but he is always totally on every bandwagon you can get on so whatever.
National “analysts” are morons, just ignore them and stick to the beat writers and the blogosphere who actually know what’s going on.
By the way Joe Buck, you’re not going to be the next Bob Costas when you’re about 2 years from losing your hair. Yeah, that’s what America wants to see on TV–a bald midget with little-man’s syndrome.
I have a feeling that because the Twins don’t want to “eat” the Livan contract they’ll look to package Boof with some prospects in some type of move (Beltre as mentioned or 8th inning help). Liriano will get his call, though I have a real problem with the way he’s handling it. It would be interesting to see who’s really instigating this–Liriano or his agent. Twins fans don’t put up this kind of Boras-esque crap.
