Crede cuts ties to White Sox, moves to rival

The Chicago Auto Show is taking place downtown this week and heading down for a day has become a minor tradition for my brother-in-law and me. This makes for interesting timing, as we spent part of last year's visit discussing the future of Joe Crede and what the White Sox would do at third base for the 2008 season.

As of this morning, we'll have to think of something else to talk about.

Crede was in the Twin Cities to take his physical and presumably get back on a plane to Fort Myers, where he stands to be the starter at third for the Twins unless he gets hurt again. White Sox fans are more than aware that Crede's back has been a little iffy lately. This could very well be Chicago's version of a Trojan Horse in free agency form.

From the Twins site:

The Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting that the deal features a base salary of $2.5 million, with the chance to earn $7 million in appearance bonuses. The bonuses begin once Crede reaches 250 plate appearances and tops out at $7 million following his 525th plate appearance...

The structure of the contract should help protect the Twins if Crede doesn't prove to be healthy. Crede, 30, has been limited to just 144 games the past two seasons due to back injuries. He's undergone two back surgeries over that time span, including one this past fall to remove a nerve impingement. His agent, Scott Boras, has told reporters that Crede is ready to go for Spring Training.

Back in Chicago, the team put a feature up on their site to pump up Fields a bit, drawing odd comparisons between Crede/Fields and Brett Favre/Aaron Rodgers. I know, weird, huh?

More interesting were the Green Bay parallels that ran right down to managing fan expectations of the new guy getting set to take over.

From the White Sox site:

Truth be told, Fields might not wind up quite as spectacular as a healthy Crede was with the glove at the hot corner. He might never win any accolades for his fielding.

Then again, a scant few third basemen match up with Crede when he's on his game. The present concern for Fields is not these personal highlights, as much as simply fitting into the White Sox big picture. To reach this goal, Fields knew his defensive play had to improve from an inconsistent 2008...

In 2007, Fields hit 23 home runs and drove in 67 over 100 games. In 2008, Fields hit .156 without a home run over 14 games. When Crede went down because of his balky back, the White Sox opted to start Juan Uribe at third because of his stronger defense.

(Image from: MLBlogs.com)

Free baseball!

Well, not free baseball - tickets are going for $200 a pop and climbing as of late this afternoon - but Game 163 is upon us.

John Danks will start for the Sox and Nick Blackburn starts for the Twins. Despite Danks' issues of late - and face it, all of the Sox starters have been shelled in one game or another in September - I'll still take him over Blackburn.

Both have pitched 187 innings this year and have 11 wins. Danks wins pretty much every other category of note, incuding ERA (3.47 to 4.14), earned runs (72 to 86) and K/9 (7.46 to 4.48), just for a random sample.

Also, with the game being held in Chicago and not at the Ball Mall, the Sox have a huge advantage walking into the game.

Twins closer Joe Nathan was on the air with one of the radio shows in Chicago as I ran errands this afternoon and was asked to sum up the season with regard to matching 88 and 74 records leading to the one-game playoff.

Nathan said that in addition to both teams being division rivals and constantly beating on each other for the AL Central title, it seemed fitting to come this far to be tied. He pointed to the teams mirroring each other - when the Twins went on a skid, so did the Sox and when the Sox got on a roll, so did the Twins - all season long.

Regardless, both teams weren't expected to be here at the end of the season. I wasn't the only one to completely write off these two in favor of the Indians and Tigers.

Of course that won't help fans of whichever team loses tonight, but it's something.

Late note: John Kruk got done watching Danks speak to Pedro Gomez and was laughing at Danks' comment that he didn't know where this win ranked for him.

"I can tell him," Kruk said. "It's the best he ever pitched in his life. It's the most important game he's ever pitched in his life and it's the best he's ever pitched because he won the big game for this team."

I need Kruk to help me put events in my life in perspective. What do you think he does in the offseason? I mean other than take naps and make crank calls.

(Image from: Some random blog. I'll assume it's from MLB.com)

Well, this just got interesting

The White Sox game in Minneapolis just ended a few minutes ago in extra innings, with the Twins completing the sweep and giving themselves a slim 1/2 game margin in the AL Central.

For those up to date on their SportsCenter clinching celebrations, the Red Sox have a spot, the Rays have a spot and the Angels clinched in mid-August, leaving Chicago and Minnesota to duke it out for the final playoff spot.

The Twins got the better end of the series.

Now, as Cubs fans quietly whisper about the wisdom of printing World Series tickets by virtue of their best record in the National League, Sox fans anxiously watch the weekend series at the Cell with one eye on the out of town scoreboard.

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but if you could choose three games to determine your fate would it be against the Royals, who never contend but have had a hand in the AL Central two of three years now or the Indians, who were expected to run with the Tigers for the Central crown before the bottom dropped out on both teams?

(Quick time out. Which of those statements would have sounded strangest in early March? Indians and Tigers in the toilet before the All-Star break? White Sox and Twins in the mix with three to play? Cubs with the best record in the NL? The Rays winning the AL East? Seriously, this year is a total funhouse.)

Now, the good news.

Go back two years and the Twins were playing out of their minds down the stretch, winning game after game when - and stop me if you've heard this one - they had no business winning that often.

As Joe Mauer became the first batting champ while playing as an everyday catcher, the Twins trailed the Tigers into the final weekend against the White Sox. Detroit had Kansas City at their own park.

I'll turn it over to me for the breakdown:

Regardless of where you are or how good you think your team will or will not be, strange things can happen at both ends of the season. Just ask the Royals.

With that in mind, we were at the Twins game this afternoon to see a game that on paper in April and May should have been the Twins serving as spoilers to a White Sox title defense run. In practice, it was Kansas City pulling three games from deep in its collective ass to knock the Tigers from the top spot and give the Twins the division title for the fourth time in five years.

So, not only is there historical precedent, but with the teams involved. The Royals have played the frontrunner on the road and swept before.

Is it possible that the Royals are just better at playing the spoiler than other teams? Granted, they get plenty of practice where others teams fold under bad attitudes and crushing expectations, but could they really be the best spoilers in the league?

I'm totally serious about this.

Francisco Liriano starts for the Twins tomorrow, John Danks for the Southsiders. I'd post who they start against, but I'm betting no one else has heard from them unless they have teams in several AL-only keeper leagues.

Oh, and the "Post-Season 2008" tag just got minted for this post. This is the second most exciting thing that's happened today.

Late edit:

The teams that have tickets punched for the postseason are:

NL:
Chicago
Los Angeles

AL:
Tampa Bay
Boston
Los Angeles (by way of Anaheim, etc.)

(Image from: StarTribune.com)

Twin Cities sees uptick in wheelchair thefts

In the land of ice and nice, it's a big deal when people don't act in a manner that would please their parents, so it shocked me to see that a wheelchair was stolen at the Metrodome during last night's Twins-Sox game.

When Danny e-mailed everyone, I saw the Kare 11 web address and knew it was something strange and something from the Twin Cities. I never would have guessed that it would be for this.

I know what you're thinking - Where the hell is the security tape? - well, right here.

Note the helpful stadium attendant who opens the doors for the thief. It just goes to show you that someone stupid enough to steal a wheelchair is also too stupid to operate a door. My guess is that there are too many moving parts.

As for the victim of the theft, he's taking things pretty well, but just wants his chair back.

"It helps me get places. I have much more freedom with it. I can do things with my friends a lot easier," says Sam. "Just no hard feelings. Just bring it back."

I'm at a loss for words. You know, aside from the ones already here. Wow.

(Image from: Blogtown.PortlandMercury.com)

The Twins sure like it when you eat

Aside from the usual late-June spamming from teams to vote early and often for the local All-Stars, the e-mails I receive from MLB are usually of the "Buy this!" variety. Already this week, I've gotten word from two teams that it's time to gear up for the All-Star Game and I can click one simple link to start dropping cash on dated jerseys that my favorite players will wear once at most.

Awesome.

The Twins have bucked that trend by not only urging me to vote for Joe Mauer in his heroic fight against Varitek and Posada, but by sending three food-related e-mails in a little over a week.

In their defense, two were for their all-you-can-eat section, but that's still a lot of invitations to come and power through a few pounds of nachos and a half dozen hot dogs.

It's important to note that, "Beer will NOT be included in the 'All You Can Eat' package but will be sold next to the All You Can Eat concession stand along with ice cream and candy."

Still, at five bucks a pop for a hot dog, you start making money in the middle of your seventh dog. That's a total steal of you come dressed in some sort of pants with an elastic waistband. Additionally, the games offered are against good teams - Tigers, White Sox and A's - I totally would have scheduled these during games against the Royals and other assorted bottom feeders.

For the serious bargain hunter, the other e-mail should raise some eyebrows - $30 for a skybox with one small catch. No peanuts, no Cracker Jacks.

I guess it comes down to how you feel about bumping a child with food allergies from a spot for your shot at sitting in a skybox.

Regardless of the moral implications involved with implying a serious allergy for better seats, tonight is the evening where both worlds collide and you can either opt for a peanut-free evening or jump on board the glutton train headed for Severe Heartburn Junction with a stop in Roll Down the Windows On the Car Ride Home Gulch.

If you ask me, the team is just getting the jump on clearing out their warehouses before the new ballpark opens and the team switches concessions vendors. Really, how else do you offload a few hundred gallons of bright green relish without drawing the suspicions of the EPA?

(Image from: Flickr User anglerove)

Swing and a miss... not in a good way

Normally, the "This is Twins Territory" ad campaign is pretty good. Not so much in a, "Let me see that again and again and set it to play when I boot up my laptop" kind of way, but in a "Heh, that was funny" kind of way.

At the very least, I used to leave them on during commercial breaks instead of TiVoing right through them.

This is not one of those.

Expect this to appear and be summarily mocked on Deadspin 2.0 (with holographic replays!) in 10 years like the cheesy music videos of the Bills in the 80s. Hell, it's being mocked right now on With Leather.

(Not for nothing, but isn't this the worst possible music for a Joe Mauer tribute? It sounds like it came off of a 12-year-old girl's mixtape that she made for her friends to remember her over the summer.)

Francisco Lirian-uh-oh

Three starts after returning from Tommy John surgery and Francisco Liriano is not looking good.

Not at all.

In what should have been a relatively safe start against Oakland, Liriano couldn't even make it out of the first inning as he got shelled for six runs, five hits, walked three and was chased after retiring two batters.

For those frustrated souls who picked him up in their fantasy leagues, that brings his record to 0-3, with an ERA of 11.32 in 10.1 innings of work. Not feeling sick yet? That works out to 15 hits and 13 earned runs in those 10 innings.

Manager Ron Gardenhire wins the understatement of the week award for this gem:

"That was a tough one for Frankie," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He feels bad about it. I don't think he has a lot of confidence right now."

Twins fans, enjoy what's shaping up to be the Mark Prior of the North. And you thought you dodged a bullet by drafting Joe Mauer, right?

(Image from: MLB.com)

For what it's worth

For the fans who are still crossing their fingers regarding the return of Francisco Liriano, I saw this today via Yahoo! Sports:

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune's Joe Christensen reports Kansas City Royals OF Mark Teahen could tell the difference in the 2008 version of Minnesota Twins SP Francisco Liriano and the dominant one in 2006. "I know his velocity's down a lot," said Teahen, who went 0-for-3 against Liriano. "I saw his slider pretty good today. Obviously I didn't produce, but it was easier to pick up the slider. He's still throwing 91 [miles per hour] and can still be a really productive pitcher, but definitely not the flash that was there in '06."

It's not the end of the world, it was just one game and his first back, but that's not very promising if things don't start to get better. Besides, how do the Royals rate "productive?" Is that some sort of sliding scale?

Buy me some peanuts and foie gras

The Twins released word this week that they will be using Delaware North Companies Sportservice to handle sales of their drinks, snacks and overpriced crap at their new ballpark.

This puts Minnesota in the same type of partnership agreement with several other major league clubs - Cleveland, Texas, St. Louis, Milwaukee, the White Sox, Detroit, Cincinnati, San Diego and the Dodgers - who are already working with DNCS.

Speaking as someone who has eaten at Miller Park, this is an awesome idea.

Of course, the suits had to ruin it by unveiling their gourmet options - more than likely not available at the hot dog hut on Concourse A - which seem a little odd for ballpark fare. This tends to crop up when new ballparks are announced, but luckily for Joe Sixpack in Minneapolis, they're trying to add a little local flair at the bottom of the press release.

Of course, DNCS went the extra mile and spoke like the chess club president, trying to talk his way out of an ass-kicking by the football team by awkwardly dropping sports buzzwords.

Rick Abramson, president of Delaware North Companies Sportservice, said his company will try to localize the food and beverage options available at the Twins' new ballpark with the interests of the fan in mind. "We will pick out, with the fans, what the food will be like," he said. "We believe the Twins fans deserve a home run in the culinary area, and we plan to deliver."

For those who won't be dining out of anything fancier than a paper trough choked with nitrates, things get a little more normal.

Some different items expected to be offered at the new ballpark include walleye tacos, meatloaf and potato sliders, Asian dishes* and cheese curds. Traditional ballpark favorites like hot dogs, brats, nachos and peanuts would also be available.

I have no idea what a meatloaf slider is, but it sounds five kinds of kickass.

* Asian dishes? Are the Twins eying up the next Japanese import? From Nomo to Ichiro, this has been a hallmark when a team adds a new player from the Japanese league.

(Image from Aero.com)

Cups, underpants and tiger-related injuries

I was online last night and jumped to the Twins shop linked from their site. Every now and again, I'll see what's been added to the "new" section to see if there's something my wife might like, if a new product line has come out that might look good in Cubbie blue or Sox red or if MLB is just rubber stamping products to make a quick buck.

Here's one from that third column.

Keeping in mind this is a newly released product, what's the thinking behind a Twins tumbler featuring Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Johan Santana? It wasn't a major surprise when Santana left and it had been a major story in the Twin Cities for months before the season ended.

Was this wishful thinking or are plastic tumblers much, much more difficult to manufacture than I ever knew?

I can only imagine that the Twins will sell a few of these cups - great for storing salt to later be ground into open wounds - box up the rest and sell them in 20 years as "throwback glasses."

* This came from the Extra Bases feature on Boston.com today, when Red Sox manager Terry Francona was asked about heading back home after his team was forced to play in three countries over the past two weeks:

Francona said Opening Day is "special anyway. Then you add the ring ceremony and half of us will be wearing clean underwear. How do you beat rings and a clean underwear?"

Uh, buddy? What about the other half? Were they already clean or some of those weird, superstitious guys who never do laundry in season like a boy in a sitcom?

* And finally, from my favorite White Sox site, the April 4 edition of Palehose 8. If you're confused by the set up this season it's well worth the time to start at the beginning and work your way back.

He's not going anywhere and I'm not planning to stop linking to him any time soon.

(Image from MLB.com)

Bill James thinks the Twins are dirty cheaters

I'm not the best person to ask about the Twins teams that won the World Series twice in 1987 and 1991 - my opinions are greatly colored by my own memories from watching the games as a kid and from rosy speeches given by co-workers when we lived in Minneapolis.

I guess that's why it was so shocking when I read Cameron Martin's piece at Bugs & Cranks about Bill James' suggestions that those teams might have been running on something other than team spirit and a little, old fashioned Northwoods hustle.

Kirby Puckett and Gary Gaetti are targeted because they had oddly sub-par seasons in 1984 before finding their form in time for the two championship seasons. I'll need to grab a copy of James' book to see if he's speculating about the rest of those Twins teams in addition to the two stars.

More from Martin:

Maybe I’ve been on Mars, but I’ve never heard Puckett’s name mentioned in the conversation about performance-enhancing drugs.

He’s become an easy target after his death, especially in light of the unflattering revelations about his personal life, e.g., he was arrested for groping a woman in the ladies’ room of a Minneapolis restaurant, but was acquited at trial. Puckett might have had his cheerful veneer pulled back after his playing days were over, but saying a guy died early because he was using PEDs? I mean, this isn’t Ken Caminiti, who was an admitted steroid user. It’s Kirby Puckett, a Hall of Famer. Who else does James think is in Cooperstown via the aid of performance-enhancing drugs?

As long as it's not Ryne Sandberg, I'll be able to continue to sleep through the night. If a guy who looks like his blood type was cheddar can be accused, who's safe anymore?

(Image from: MSN.com)

Today in closers

Two quick links today as Minnesota kept their closer and the Cubs named theirs.

Joe Nathan inked a four-year, $47 million deal to stay with the Twins, while Kerry Wood is being named the closer in Chicago, despite his little scare from back spasms last week.

I'm currently working on the "don't pay for saves" post as soon as I brush up on Moneyball.

Expect that to follow a sleep-deprived rant after tomorrow morning's 5 a.m. Red Sox season opener, Live! From! Japan!

I'll also point you to numbers 42 and 43 from the Bugs and Cranks listing of the 162 things you need to know about the upcoming season.

42. Sean Casey is inactive for the Red Sox/A’s series in Japan because he got a stiff neck from sleeping in a bad position on the 17-hour flight.

43. Until DeLoreans can transport teams to the Far East in less than 17 hours, trips to Japan are stupid wastes of time for everyone involved.

(Image from CNNSI.com)

Just buy a damn roof

Here's an update on the Twins new stadium, via the Star-Tribune. Apparently, the Twins have discussed the option package on their new home and have reached a decision.

According to the story:

On Tuesday, Twins President Jerry Bell told the Hennepin County Board that the team will cover $22.4 million in upgrades to the stadium plans.

They include a high-definition scoreboard and a soffit to cover the exposed beams of the canopy that hangs over the infield. And then there's Mankato limestone for the stadium's skin, additional restrooms, more concession stands and something you're unlikely to see in a ballpark outside Minnesota: three-sided "shelters" where fans can go to warm up on chilly game days.

Seriously, guys - just buy the freaking roof already.

It'll be much better than shelters with exposed heating elements like they have on the CTA.

I'll keep you posted when they look for funding for empty barrels to start fires in, should the Twins make the playoffs before global warming gets going full swing.

(Image from: CollegePublisher.com)

Dear Twins Fans... Uhhh, sorry?

The Twins spammed their e-mail contacts today to let everyone know that they tried everything they could to keep Johan Santana, but he simply refused to comply with their "don't kill kittens" policy, so they shipped him to New York where that sort of thing is socially acceptable.

At least that's my guess because I lost interest midway through this long-winded e-mail from Twins President, Dave St. Peter. The tone is essentially, don't blame us, we tried. Seems a strange way to bring an end to the Santana Era.

St. Peter also fell back on the cheerful excuse put forth by some Minneapolis columnists - mainly that Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser were all added to the Twins' family because of the AJ Pierzynski trade. Going further back into the past, they point to the Frank Viola trade years back as another lopsided trade with a happy ending.

I'm sure that makes Twins fans feel a lot better about losing the most dominant southpaw since Koufax.

Here's the big hitter in the e-mail:

As the club has stated many times, our first choice was to sign Johan to a contract extension ensuring he remained in a Twins uniform for years to come. Despite the largest multi-year offer in Twins history - one which would have rewarded Johan with the highest annual salary among all pitchers in Baseball - the team and Johan's representatives respectfully were unable to reach agreement. Only at that juncture did the team and Johan's agent begin considering trade options.

In other words, "Please don't come down and set fire to the ticket office on Monday in response to the trade being approved. It wasn't our fault. We checked under the couch cushions for extra cash and everything. Sorry, guys."

If I'm Ron Gardenhire, I'm printing this out and putting it in my personnel file, just in case things go south in March and April this year.

Here's the e-mail in its entirety for those who are curious:

Dear Twins Fans:

On behalf of the entire Minnesota Twins organization, I'd like to take this opportunity to follow up regarding today's announced trade of Johan Santana to the New York Mets in exchange for outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Deolis Guerra, Philip Humber and Kevin Mulvey.

Trading a pitcher of Johan Santana's stature and character was a very difficult decision for the Twins organization. Since being acquired as an unknown 20 year old by the Twins in the 1999 Rule 5 Draft, Johan has emerged as one of the game's elite pitchers, as well as an ultimate competitor, teammate and role model. The Twins organization is incredibly thankful for Johan's significant contributions to this franchise and wish he and his family all the best going forward.

As the club has stated many times, our first choice was to sign Johan to a contract extension ensuring he remained in a Twins uniform for years to come. Despite the largest multi-year offer in Twins history - one which would have rewarded Johan with the highest annual salary among all pitchers in Baseball - the team and Johan's representatives respectfully were unable to reach agreement. Only at that juncture did the team and Johan's agent begin considering trade options.

As has been well documented, the Twins organization has a rich history of acquiring quality players via trade. Examples include the acquisitions of Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser from the Giants; Eric Milton and Cristan Guzman from the Yankees; and Rick Aguilera and Kevin Tapani from the Mets. With that history in mind, Bill Smith and talent evaluators such as Mike Radcliff, Rob Antony and Terry Ryan engaged in a process aimed at helping ensure the long-term competitiveness of the franchise.

With hopes of repeating that trade success, the deal brings four high quality young players to the Twins system:

Carlos Gomez - OF - 22 Years Old - Ranked as Mets' 3rd Best Prospect by Baseball America
Native of Dominican Republic is a true five-tool athlete with game-changing speed and an above average arm ... Made Major League debut with the Mets in 2007.

Deolis Guerra - RHP - 18 Years Old - Ranked as Mets' 2nd Best Prospect by Baseball America
The Venezulean native was the Opening Day starter for Mets' Class A Port St. Lucie club at the age of 17 ... projects to be an impact starter ... pitched in the 2007 Futures Game

Philip Humber - RHP - 25 Years Old - Ranked as Mets' 7th Best Prospect by Baseball America
Won championship game of 2003 College World Series for Rice ... Was the Mets first round pick - third overall - in the 2004 draft ... Has a great curve ball.

Kevin Mulvey - RHP - 22 Years Old - Ranked as Mets' 4th Best Prospect by Baseball America
The Mets top pick in the 2006 draft, throws four pitches for strikes ... Was the Mets Minor League Pitcher of the Year and pitched in the 2007 Futures Game.

These acquisitions only add to the Twins impressive nucleus of young, impact players. Ron Gardenhire can take comfort in knowing he has a lineup anchored by some of the game's best young offensive stars in Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Delmon Young; a veteran bullpen led by all-star closer Joe Nathan; and a young emerging starting rotation featuring Scott Baker, Boof Bonser, Kevin Slowey and the return of Francisco Liriano. The pitching rotation will be young, but talented, and we are confident that Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson will mold this group into a successful unit.

Once again, thank you for your incredible support of Twins baseball. We look forward to seeing you at the Metrodome again this spring.

Win Twins!!!

Dave St. Peter
President

(Image from: Newsday.com)

Johan Santana needs some boxes and a friend with a pickup

Cheer up, Mr. Met - maybe the addition of Johan Santana will make your long-suffering ballclub suck a little less. Then again, maybe not.

Honestly, I'm OK with Santana to the Mets. I have a feeling that Minnesota was asking for half of the farm club from either the Red Sox or the Yankees (wait, wouldn't the rest of the league be the farm clubs for those teams?) and this deal puts him in a major market without escalating the Cold War showdown in the AL East.

See, it's win-win for all parties! And we don't have to suffer through any more ESPN speculations of where he's headed or more Yankee/Red Sox coverage.

On a related note, how badly is Santana going to destroy the NL hitters this year? If Bronson Arroyo can come into the league and beat down batters, exactly how much damage will Santana do? I'm really looking forward to seeing how this plays out. I imagine it'll look a lot like Pros vs. Joes through the All-Star Break.

According to USA Today, which appears to have broken this story:

The Mets paid a high price in prospects to land Santana, agreeing to send the Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey... While the deal drains much of the talent out of the Mets' farm system, they did manage to hold on to top prospect Fernando Martinez, an outfielder. Instead, they headed the package with Gomez, who turned 22 in December and spent 58 games with the Mets last year.

Well, enjoy that Twins fans - first you get bitch-slapped by mother nature, then your hometown papers can't seem to keep up with this news (I was shocked to see this coming from the McNewspaper and not from one of the local dailies) and now you get a handful of prospects for one of the top pitchers in baseball.

We're just another step closer to my prediction for the the 2010 Twins - Joe Mauer and the 2008 Rochester Redwings! Maybe a little Nick Punto thrown in there to spice things up.

Update: There's two. And the second is from Peter Gammons, so I think it's safe to say that Santana can call his realtor now.

Update 2: Same song and dance from the Star-Tribune, but they're running the headline "Twins trade Santana for four of Mets best prospects." Well, if they're the "best" prospects, I'm sure that'll make the fans much happier with the situation.

(Image from: Cardnilly.com)

Oh yeah, I forgot about him

Out of the shadows and onto ESPN.com (via the St. Paul Pioneer Press) today comes Francisco Liriano. For being the kings of legit media, ESPN.com acts more and more like a blog these days.

The man who no one knew, then everyone knew and then blew out his arm and broke some hearts in the Twin Cities is ready to pitch. Yup, no doubt about it, that arm is right as rain and if you have any doubts, just look at Kerry Wood... wait, nevermind, I'll just see all you Twins fans at church tomorrow morning.

I think the timing is comical - and this isn't an indictment of the the announcement - where as the entire eastern seaboard does the Santana hokey pokey, Liriano pokes his head out and makes his return to the national media.

In another posting from the Pioneer Press, Santana was a no show at TwinsFest. If memory serves, it wasn't always a star-studded event, but it's something to consider anyways.

Honestly, it has everything to do with TwinsFest, but it should come as a ray of sunshine to Twins fans mired in the middle of January weather. After the staff was further depleted by the exit of Carlos Silva who fled for Seattle and the Santana sweepstakes has dragged on for months on end, this has to help just a bit.

They're still having an offseason that only fans of the White Sox, Royals and Marlins can sympathize with, but at least this is a little positive.

Speaking of the Marlins, do their front office workers just put a temporarily out of order sign up at the ticket office until March? You know, after they jettison any star players who kept their heads down enough during the season to still hang around?

(Image from: WYoung.net)

The plot thickens

For those watching the Johan Santana trade with nervous/gleeful/heartbroken anticipation (that would be Red Sox fans/AL Central fans/Twins fans) the Boston Globe is doing a phenomenal job with the updates.

That link is here.

As of a half hour ago, the Angels seem to be making a strong play to close a deal immediately and the Twins are rumored to want the whole thing wrapped up today.

From the site:

From the Globe's Nick Cafardo (3:37 p.m.): "We've said here all along that the Los Angeles Angels have the ability to make any deal they desire because they have the chips to make it happen. If they have jumped into the Johan Santana hunt, they pose a real threat to the Red Sox and Yankees for Santana's services.

The Angels have extra pitching, so they're able to offer a major league-ready starting pitcher like Ervin Santanta or Jered Weaver as well as a host of positional players - anyone from Howie Kendrick to catcher Jeff Mathis, infielder Brandon Wood, outfielder Reggie Willits, and even Gary Mathews Jr."

"I do not believe the Yankees are out of the Santana hunt yet."

Well, OK, then.

Actually that makes perfect sense. The Angels have a recent history of sniping players at the last second, usually with half of America unaware that they were even in the market - this includes their recent signing of Torii Hunter.

No word yet on which fast food restaurant will host the signing if the deal goes through.

Also worth keeping an eye on is this new rumor that sends Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for pitching and prospects.

Update: That last deal appears to be final with Detroit capturing both Marlins stars in exchange for outfielder Cameron Maybin, pitcher Andrew Miller, catcher Mike Rabelo and three other minor league pitchers.

(Image from Angels in the Outfield)

La Velle makes ESPN his bitch

While Minnesota suicide hotline operators hunker down for the next week in anticipation of Johan Santana jumping ship - Nightmare now with 100% more Joe Nathan! - the Twins continue to prove that they are prepared for life after Santana.

A deal is reportedly in the works with Tampa Bay to trade young talent for young talent with Matt Garza headed south as Delmon Young packs his bags for Minneapolis.

According to the story which was first reported by La Velle E. Neal III:

The main pieces changning teams would be outfielder Delmon Young, the first overall pick in 2003, and righthander Matt Garza. But indications were strong on Wednesday that as many as six players could be involved.

In addition to Garza, the Twins would send Tampa Bay shortstop Jason Bartlett and reliever Juan Rincon for Young, shortstop Brendan Harris and outfielder Jason Pridie. Pridie was with the Twins during spring training of 2006 as a Rule 5 pick.

Twins players for several weeks had expected the club to deal for either Young or B.J. Upton.

Young, 22, hit .288 last season with 13 homers and 93 RBI and is considered one of the better young hitters in the game. Harris, 27, hit .286 with 12 homers and 59 RBI.

While surprising, this is actually a safe play for the Twins as they attempt to shore up their outfield with the loss of Torii Hunter. You take a pitcher the casual fan has not seen much of, lacks the buzz of Francisco Liriano and add a young bat to the lineup with a strong outfield arm in the process.

Without being too negative, he has been known to be a little bit of a hothead - not Elijah Dukes hotheaded, but enough to have some baggage - so maybe Minneapolis will mellow him out a bit.

Just to be sure though, the clubhouse attendants might want to make sure that the umpires are reminded to double check their gear before they take to the carpet at the Metrodome.

(Image from: SPTimes.com)

Hunter didn't sign for more money - He left

Say what you will about Torii Hunter, but the guy seems to be pretty honest. In interviews I've heard with Hunter when I was living in the Twin Cities, he towed that line between being straight with the fans and getting himself in hot water for saying things he probably shouldn't have.

I guess there's no reason to expect any less now that he's packing up his things and getting ready for next year in California.

According to Sid Hartman in the Star-Tribune Sunday, Hunter could see the writing on the wall and made his decision partially based on his perception that the Twins weren't gearing up to be a contender.

This is a major problem for the franchise, as Johan Santana has voiced similar concerns this summer following the trade of Luis Castillo to the Mets.

(As a short sidenote, in the first start for Santana after the trade and minor controversy that followed, Castillo's replacement, Alexi Casilla had a rough game behind the pitcher. At one point a cutoff throw from the outfield hit Casilla in the chest. I was paying attention to those next few starts and it seemed like Casilla's jitters came into play when Santana was the starter. That probably didn't help matters and certainly can't be helping now.)

Hunter had a few choice words on the subject when talking to Hartman (which, of course, are subject to backpeddaling to start the week because of the exclusive nature of the interview):

"Sometimes you're going to ask for a raise or whatever. And it just so happened that in major league baseball the market is up, it's way up." he said. "So, I was going to get what I was going to get. I just wanted to make sure that I was with a team that wants to win, that's going to try to win day in and day out. Whatever pieces to the puzzle that they need, they were going to go out and get it. I just didn't feel the Twins were that ballclub."

I just had this conversation last night with a few White Sox fans I went out with. When the topic turned to the Twins and exactly what was going on up north, it was pretty much word-for-word with Hunter's assessment.

You take away Hunter, you plan on Santana jumping ship before Spring Training and there's not much left on that team for next year. Sure, the Twins appear to be stocked with good young arms from the farm system, but why would you gamble away one of the best pitchers of this generation?

Assuming that the exodus continues, Minnesota will be hurting for star power in March.

There is a very real possibility that Joe Mauer, Joe Nathan and Justin Morneau will be the only bankable stars on the roster in the near future. On it's own, this isn't the end of the world, but Hunter also raised a point that has been kicked around here as well - the new stadium on the horizon.

The simple facts remain that the Twins need to fill that new stadium and the best way to do that would be to stock it with proven commodities like Hunter and Santana. So much for that.

The strongest Plan B would be to sign a new crop of stars to build a buzz around the team, but with Hunter being the first I've seen to publicly question the decision to leave the ballpark without a roof, this doesn't look good.

Now you have the perception that Minnesota is a team that doesn't value its stars, refuses to pay them market value (or negotiate with them at all) and prospective players will spend time freezing their tails off when the weather turns.

Again, quoting Hartman's column:
"People aren't even thinking about [the open air stadium]," he said. "I wouldn't play in Minnesota unless my career was at an end and I had to go to Minnesota to play the game. ... People think that's not true -- that's 100 percent accurate. This is coming from a player, so I'm telling you."

Whether or not Hunter is correct remains to be seen, but there's a lot to be said for perception. People perceive Minnesota to be a very cold place to live and that can't be very appealing to Latino, California- or Florida-bred players.

Think of the problems the Green Bay Packers had signing free agents before they shocked the football world and signed Reggie White. This situation has the possibility to be just as bad.

With the image problems brewing from a fan and a player perspective, it could shape up to be an ugly winter for the Twins. And no amount of small-town charm is going to fix that.

(Image from: MLBlogs.com)

Hunter racking up frequent flyer miles

At the very least, Torii Hunter is going to make some poor airline his bitch.

Bouncing around between Chicago, Texas and who knows where else, Hunter's name keeps coming up in Chicago and in his home state.

Hunter reportedly had dinner with Rangers' owner Tom Hicks Monday night at his home with G.M. Jon Daniels and manager Ron Washington. Frank the Tank officially checked in this week to place his vote for Hunter over the return of Aaron Rowland.

I tend to agree with that take, though there's something to be said for the fan favorite in Rowland, over the on-paper smarts of Hunter. In addition to adding a Gold Glove center fielder, the White Sox would simultaneously cripple a division rival by taking the face of their franchise away.

This also opens the door for all sorts of crazy trade scenarios for Johan Santana as the Twins look to offload his contract - assuming they don't take the savings from passing on Hunter and use that to lock up Santana to pair with Francisco Liriano - and we all love crazy trade scenarios, right?

Incidentally - and this is not backed up with any sort of fact or substantiated rumor - why wouldn't Minnesota be a good fit for Joe Crede? If the White Sox are holding out for young, cheap talent and need to move Crede to make room for Josh Fields, why not Minneapolis?

They have an abundance of young arms, a problem at third with Nick Punto and if the aforementioned intra-divisional incest doesn't bother the Twins or the Sox, it seems like a good solution for the two teams.

At the very least, the Twins would upgrade at a traditional power position - though Crede has not had monster numbers in the past, he's been consistent - and move Punto in the process.

Well, it's that or listen to more fan-generated schemes about Joe Mauer moving to the hot corner.

(Image from: USAToday.com)

The Twins think retractable roofs are for the weak

Think back two years to the Detroit Tigers and their big push to the World Series. It was late October in Detroit - a city that is significantly further south than Minneapolis and is aided in cold weather by multiple car fires at all times of the day and night - and much was being made of the weather and how it impacted everything from hamstrings to starting pitching.

While I understand the basics of stadium funding and that money for a new ballpark is finite, couldn't the Twins have found a coupon for a free roof in the Sunday paper or something? What if they waited for the paper that comes out after Thanksgiving.

Regardless, the team is plowing ahead after apparently clearing up some eminent domain issues over abandoned asphalt, and has released the same pictures as before in addition to - wait for it - a virtual flyby of the new space.

Points for leaving the naming rights up for grabs at "Minnesota Twins Ballpark" instead of trying to force Target's hand or something.

Given today's technology, can't we do some weather simulations to see exactly how far into your throat your nuts will retreat during a game after dark in October? How about estimating just how blue the elderly will turn if left outside during an extra-innings game in April?

I'm betting it's navy.

Given the team's owner, I'd assume more thought would be spent on those sorts of logistics. Sounds like someone got cocky when he bought a hip hop station. Running around now, thinking he's gangsta...

(Image from MLB.com)

Goodbye Johan, Hello Barry?

Some things just don't fly here in Minneapolis. I can safely say that after two years in the Twin Cities, there are some things that will go over well and others that are so jarring to the pace of life that they are rejected out of hand.

Call it a side-effect of having that many stoic upper Midwesterners in one place.

Honking your horn in traffic, even if the elderly gentleman ahead of you has dozed off at the light, is considered bad manners here. So is directly placing blame, even on the most incompetent of people. In still other situations, things are considered to flashy or too over-the-top for Minneapolis or Saint Paul - it's not like the citizens are Amish - that they are ignored by the population as a whole.

Imagine my surprise then, that the team that drove off AJ Pierzynski for being a clubhouse distraction is not so subtly in the running for - wait for it - Barry Bonds. (Hat tip to Nick and Nick's Twins Blog.) And this hot on the heels of last night's rumor from Los Angeles that Johan Santana might need to sell his winter coats and snow tires. (Thanks to Bucs Dugout for this find.)

How the hell does anyone in the Twins' organization see this as a winning formula?

With a new ballpark on the way, why on earth would you trade one of the most marketable players on the team and a definite fan favorite before you open the doors on your new stadium?

More than that, why would you then trade for one of the most controversial players of the decade and try to place him in Minneapolis?

I would like to hear him complain about trying to start his car on a cold October morning and then blaming it on the media, though.

As for Santana, you'd be losing one of the faces of the franchise - second only to Joe Mauer - over a reluctance to pay him market value. In discussions today, the general consensus is that you need to sign four players -five tops - to keep Twins fans interested. Santana, Mauer, Torii Hunter, Joe Nathan and Justin Morneau are the cornerstones of the casual fan's acceptance of the premise that Minnesota is a contender.

Most teams can't find a top-shelf lefty even with a high price tag. Why the Twins would be involved in the discussions is beyond me.

Sure, it will be a staggering price tag, but given the spotty pitching that has dogged the Twins this year, the last thing they need to do is move Santana prematurely.

With a stable of talented young arms, there needs to be a stabilizing force in the rotation. Given the flameouts of Sidney Ponson and Ramon Ortiz, the help hasn't come from outside the organization this year.

The return of Francisco Liriano next year is a wild card, but what the team will need as the pitchers grow as ballplayers is a stopper to keep things from getting out of hand.

I know that the Twins pride themselves on thrift - such as the Pierzynski for Liriano, Nathan and Boof Bonser trade - but you can only play with fire so many times.

The sick twist to this situation of course is that it was Santana himself who called out the organization for keeping the team as a solid C+ type team that was just better than most, but not an overpowering squad. Shipping off older ballplayers - it was Luis Castillo who sparked Santana's outburst - in favor of young or sub-par talent like Alexi Casilla, Castillo's replacement and Nick Punto, the team's third baseman has not proven to be the right answer during this stretch.

So, while trade rumors are generally ridiculous, and these are more ridiculous than most, it's still scary to think that this is the way Minnesota is leaning.

That leaves one basic question left for skeptical fans: How is Brad Radke's arm feeling these days?

(Image from Boston.com)

What will I do for fun now?

Fanhouse is reporting that Rondell White will no longer be a Twin next year.

For that matter, he'll no longer be an anything - more on this when I get done searching this year's baseball records for a player more inept to gently mock when things get slow around here in July.

Oh Rondell, how I'll miss you.

Terry Ryan is out

It's been a strange summer in Twins Territory with an underperforming team, a new ballpark on the way and hints that Johan Santana might actually be human.

Now this.

Terry Ryan is stepping down as GM and it's being sold as a simple matter of burnout.

According to the Twins' site:

"I felt a lot of elation when we won, and sorrow when we lost," Ryan said. "Now, all of a sudden, the defeats are getting a little harder to take, and the wins aren't as much fun. That's not a good thing to experience as a general manager."

Speculation that he's jumping ship before the off-season that will see the possible departure of Torii Hunter and Santana's free agent year in 2008 was clogging talk radio this afternoon.

Personally, I think spending summer afternoons hanging around minor league ballparks is worth whatever pay cut he's likely to take.

Nick Punto, gaping hole

Granted, it's one quote that could be taken out of context, but if you're Twins third baseman Nick Punto today, you might want to check the housing markets around the majors. You know, just to see what's out there, just in case.

According to the NBC affiliate in town:

(Joe)Mauer and the Twins were worked up on Monday after both local newspapers published columns calling for Mauer to be moved to third base.

"Fill one big gaping hole at third base? Let's just make another gaping hole behind the plate? Tell me which one's more important," manager Ron Gardenhire said.

So, while I'm almost positive that Gardenhire was baited into the quote, probably frustrated and more than a little angry at being second guessed by reporters who smell blood in the water with a team that is done for the season, that is still a brutal quote.

As much as I agree that Punto is in fact a gaping hole on that team, I never thought I'd see that quote in print, especially from the manager.

If only that can become a term of endearment from the fans - kind of like "Human Rain Delay."

Gardenhire might as well have said that Punto sucks as a third baseman, but is really good at picking up after himself in the locker room. Actually, wait, that would have been much better.

At least that's marginally positive.

(Image from: WCCO.com)

Finally, a voice of reason

Had I been thinking, I would have asked for some ID - I just think I was so shocked that I wasn't quite sure how to act. Today, I began to hear serious voices of dissension at the Metrodome and in our own section, to boot.

For all I know, it was out of town fans causing problems in the Dome today. It would certainly explain things.

The "Dump Rondell White" bandwagon has found another gear and I had a new audience to preach to regarding his new depths of disappointing play. The three most telling stats had to be that: he's a.) a designated hitter, who is b.) slotted seventh in the batting order and c.) is hitting .148 in 25 games.

This is not going unnoticed by the Dome faithful. My disappointment with the way the Twins have handled the DH situation has been brought up time and again here, but this was new ground for us. Last year was a different story, with a complete turnaround pulled off in a matter of months, but for as lucky as Minnesota got during last year's playoff push, the Twins seem to be paying the debt on that karma this year.

Justin Morneau isn't hitting, Joe Mauer is hurt again this season and people are starting to warm up to the idea that he should be moved to third base and the team simply isn't winning. Even the gold standard of wins, Johan Santana, has had a hard time through July and August.

This is the exact opposite of the buzz last season, where the team caught up late and backed into the AL Central crown and Mauer's run at the batting title had everyone forgetting exactly how injury-prone he had been.

Is this year's team horrible? Not by a long shot, but it is weak in key positions and the front office dump of Luis Castillo didn't do anything but piss off the team's veterans and kill morale. I grew up with the Cubs - this all makes me homesick some days.

Now the fan base seems to be falling in line with the sour mood the team is in - more than one fan was asking for the team to at least pretend to care as long as they were going to keep collecting ticket revenue for the new stadium - and the overall feeling went downhill at today's game when Alexi Casilla (Castillo's replacement) played two balls off his chest in the opening innings.

Unless the Twins are planning to field a rec league soccer team this fall, those skills aren't really going to be in high demand. Lord knows they'll have the time on their hands in October.

(Image from: SportsLogos.net)

Sometimes you just have a good day

Just a quick note on the two pitching gems of the weekend - Scott Baker's near perfect game for the Twins on Friday night and Clay Buchholz pitching a no-hitter for the Red Sox a day later.

I especially liked these two performances because they came out of nowhere for both pitchers. Baker is still a relatively unknown quantity in Minnesota and Buchholz is a rookie in every sense of the word, but they both managed to put together strong showings, albeit against some pretty suspect competition in the Royals and Orioles.

Considering there are at least two or three starters who are much more likely to pitch no-hitters on each players' team, it made the respective feats that much more exciting.

While I don't quite agree with Josh Beckett's assessment that Buchholz was one better than Curt Schilling - well, maybe Saturday he was - it's what makes these late in the season matchups worth watching.

Given a good day, you're never sure what will happen. Even in a worthless game against the Royals.

(Image from: The Associated Press)

What'll Santana do next?

One of the interesting stories on Ballhype today poses the question: "Who's better - Pedro Martinez or Johan Santana in their respective primes?"

I'll warn you that as a link from The Hardball Times it's a little thick and stat heavy, but it's an interesting comparison. If nothing else, it helps to illustrate just how dominant Martinez was in his 20s (and what a mistake Tommy Lasorda made in shipping him off to Montreal) with some of his unreal numbers.

What it has me thinking of is how similar the two pitchers are, not on paper, but in terms of putting butts in the seats. Need any further evidence? Just look at Santana's line from Sunday.

One of the hallmarks of any great pitcher - and especially the power pitchers - is the spike in attendance when they take the hill. Martinez certainly had that in Boston and Santana is the undisputed champ of the "Are there tickets?" test in Minneapolis.

I've seen this before when Kerry Wood and Mark prior were healthy in Chicago and any fan can rattle the names of the big pitchers who they'd pay to see when they come to town. It's not just the pitchers you're happy to see pop up on the probables list when you have tickets in hand, it's the guys who you'll actively seek out when there name pops up.

Off the top of my head, I'd also put Felix Hernandez and Daisuke Matsuzaka on that list (with Matsuzaka subject to a mandatory one-year review during next year's Spring Training) of guys you just can't miss because something big might happen.

That's not to say I wouldn't enjoy seeing other pitchers or wouldn't pick up a ticket if I happened to be in town - for instance, if I had a chance to see Dontrelle Willis in Florida or Jake Peavy in San Diego I'd jump at the chance - but those three top my list of pitchers that I'd actively feel I was missing something each time I missed a start.

Sure, Martinez has the edge in pure numbers, but Santana is just as capable of delivering a performance for the ages each time he takes the hill.

What else can you really ask for?

(Photos taken for Siberian Baseball)

Oh, you're so clever - Knock It Off, Bert Edition

Who's to say where the phenomenon of color commentary guys screwing around with the telestrator came from? Personally, my money is on John Madden, whose real-time annotation of groin sweat coming off of 300-pound linemen marked the beginning of the end for the technology, but that's neither here nor there.

Now every bored monkey with access is crudely marking up screens across America as they try to explain a concept that really didn't need annotation in the first place.

Football, basketball, hockey - these are all sports that lend themselves to the technology. You have set plays taking place on an open-ended field, but baseball? Really?

A runner has four places they can possibly be. First, second, third or home. OK, five places if you count the dugout - that's it. Batters are going to move the barrel of the bat from off their shoulder to in front of their bodies. Considering that the football guys have a hard enough time drawing squiggly arrows to the correct guard/tackle gap, I doubt the baseball guys have a level of control with the images to show the correct arm slot for the evening's starting pitcher.

Hell, when I use the same type of technology to sign a credit card receipt at Home Depot, it looks like I signed my name with with my foot. None of this bodes well for baseball color guys trying to make a point.

So what does that leave?

Repeated annoyances from the likes of the Twins' Bert Blyleven, that's where.

While it's nice that fans who bring the "Circle me, Bert" signs to games are given 100 bucks worth of Lotto tickets, the whole thing is a little annoying when signs litter the Dome before games and block views when you're coming back from inning breaks.

The strange thing is that it's much more annoying to watch the whole thing play out on TV, where Blyleven takes the responsibility of circling random fans a touch too seriously, like a younger sibling in charge of counting change for toll roads on a family trip. Give the guy just a thimbleful of power, I swear...

Incidentally, it's been a blast for me to watch games on this road trip, where they failed to bring the equipment along - see above for reasons why it's completely unecessary - and he's pouted a bit and felt the need to alert the audience to the fact that he's not actually circling and it's being added digitally by production staff in the satellite truck.

I have no idea what this is about, but he's either very modest and doesn't want to take credit for such perfectly drawn circles or wants to absolve himself of any issues that might arise from such utter amateurs circling fans without his years of experience.

(Image from WGN Broadcasting)

Teams happy to hear Santana is not

"Why waste time when you're talking about something that's always going to be like that? It's never going to be beyond this point. It doesn't make any sense for me to be here, you know?"

Sounds more like a frustrated middle manager tired with ownership's meddling with "Hawaiian shirt Friday" than a Cy Young pitcher in the prime of his baseball life, huh?

If only it was that simple for the Twins.

Following the trade deadline, the Twins offloading Luis Castillo to the Mets and a muggy couple of weeks in the Twin Cities, Johan Santana went off on management to the media.

"I've been here for eight years, and I've seen a lot of those kind of things," he said. "I've seen a lot of those guys [like Castillo] come in and leave. [The decision makers] don't care. They always talk about caring about it; I don't think they care.

"Because if you're always talking about having young players — that's the philosophy the team has, and I respect all that — but it's been proven that it's not enough to go all the way to the World Series."

He's got a valid point.

Add to that free agency for Torii Hunter after this year and for Santana and Joe Nathan next year and if the Twins' front office isn't treating this with a sense of urgency, they should go back to school and pursue another line of work.

In what has become a familiar refrain here, you have a team with the AL MVP, Batting champ and Cy Young and still can't lead a suspect AL Central this year. This is a team that will be looked back on in 15 years and fans will question why they didn't win bigger games or more often if something doesn't change soon.

Now, it looks like Santana is seeing that as well and for the Twins, that's bad news.

There's a degree of hope in play with those three free agents in waiting - the loyal section of the fan base is crossing their fingers that Hunter takes a major hometown discount, but this suggests that Santana will either wait for his money or wave goodbye to a team he doesn't trust to follow him to the promised land.

Making matters worse, the new ballpark on the horizon, letting Santana slip away would be a major mistake. As a major draw for the casual fan, Santana is worth his weight in gold for the franchise.

Terry Ryan isn't a stupid man - Twins fans better hope he's not a cheap man, either.

If he is, I can't imagine Santana will have to look to hard to find his payday or a legitimate contender.

(Update: Oh, and this certainly won't help matters.)

(Image from USAToday.com)

Twins Postpone Groundbreaking, Day Game

The Twins are playing a glancing role in the bridge collapse tonight, by playing the scheduled game against the Royals and keeping the fans inside the Metrodome to avoid flooding the area with cars.

It was a surprisingly good call for a snap judgment.

While the traffic could have been routed west, away from 35W, it certainly wouldn't have helped with the congestion around the area.

Tomorrow's game and groundbreaking ceremony have now been postponed. Given the proximity of the Metrodome, my heart is with all the victims, but especially to any Twins fans who might have been stuck on the bridge at the time.

(Image from TwinsBaseball.com)

As long as you have the shovels out...

It's pretty funny that the same day I get the groundbreaking announcement for the Twins' new stadium - slated for this Thursday at 7 p.m, get your plane tickets now - is the day they trade away their starting second baseman to the Mets for prospects.

I guess that if you're going to have the shovels around, you might as well start burying the 2007 team while you're at it.

Keep in mind that the trade that got rid of AJ Pierzynski brought in Joe Nathan, Boof Bonser and Francisco Liriano, but this seems to hint that while it'd be nice for the Twins to rally again this year, the front office isn't feeling the warm fuzzies right now.

This weekend had talk about buyers versus sellers and heartfelt assurances from the Dome that the Twins were still very serious about contending through October - and they kept selling that line right through today's announcement.

So with the Twins just seven games back of the Tigers in the American League Central race and 6 1/2 out of the Wild Card, the decision to move the veteran player seemed to be taken by the team as a sign that the club had chosen to put their focus on the 2008 season rather than this year.

But Ryan vehemently denied that notion.

"We're not giving up at all," Ryan said. "We're 6 1/2 games back, and we're better than we were a week ago. If we didn't think we could absorb this, I certainly wouldn't have done that. Now I know the perception sometimes when you give up a veteran player in late July is that it may not look good. But I still think we can absorb this."

With series against the Indians, Mariners, and Angels - a lot against the Indians - in August, this could get ugly quick.

But don't worry, there's a rookie who is on a plane for the Twin Cities right now.

To replace Castillo as the club's everyday second baseman, the Twins promoted infielder Alexi Casilla from Triple-A Rochester. Casilla, who was hitting .269 with the Red Wings, will be making his second appearance with the Twins this season.

No, I agree. The Twins are still totally in this thing.

(Image from the Minnesota Twins)

See Joe Run

Last night I saw my first inside-the-park home run in person when Joe Mauer turned it on, got a favorable bounce and crossed home plate standing up to take a 2-2 tie with the Angels
and flip it over to a 5-2 win with the rally in the eighth inning.

The things I'll remember most are whacking my Dad in the leg as Mauer approached second and yelling, "I think he can do this!" before springing up to see two runs cross the plate ahead of Mauer. I'll also never forget my dad laughing and clapping as he watched the play - I think it's the most excited I've ever seen him for a sporting event.

Considering he's a moderate baseball fan who honestly watches more games to have something to talk about with my brother-in-law (a White Sox fan) and me, it was a fun game to see.

What I'll remember most, though, is that it was probably the biggest "first" he and I were able to see together. His first game was years before I was born, my first game was an exercise in patience for him and made for a long, long day of batting practice, the game and hanging around the players' lot hoping to see three seconds of Ryne Sandberg before he slipped into his car.

It was the first inside-the-parker for both of us and that was a cool thing to share. It makes me hope that I don't see a triple play or a no-hitter before I have kids so I can share that with them.

* As a quick side note, I was happy to see a Twins-o-gram on the big screen at the game welcoming Batgirl and Baby Dash to the game. It's nice to see she got home for a game. I was the nerd who clapped as people looked at me like I was nuts.

I was OK with that, though I have to admit, I didn't stand up to claim Justin Morneau as my boyfriend for the game. Sorry if that let here down.

(Image from Minnesota.Twins.MLB.com)

What an unfortunate, albeit fitting, nickname

By now, most baseball fans are well aware of Pat Neshek's web site - it was linked here and recently appeared on Deadspin.com but for as much fun as the whole campaign is, I'd like to point you to two alternate dates.

The first is Sunday, May 27, where it's revealed that Dennys Reyes nickname is "Big Sweat" which is possible one of the best nicknames for a fat guy in baseball since "El Guapo" and we all know how I feel about El Guapo, don't we?

Long story, short, the gentleman at the right is Reyes and aside from sharing a name with a greasy family restaurant chain, Big Sweat is a fantastic front-line nickname.

The running joke in our little corner of the Dome - OK, well, the two season seats we own - is that you have a Dennys, a (Glen) Perkins and Juan Rincon (at right) looks like the live action version of the Big Boy.

All of this in a state that lacks for breakfast restaurants.

We just need an IHOP now - International House of Pitchers or a one-legged DH, either way - to complete the matching sets.

Next, scoll on down to Monday May 7, and silently curse the lack of links on Perkins site. When you have that much gold in one place, you really need to be able to pick and choose where you land.

I always suspected that people were all kinds of stupid, but to try and get another player to grab autographs from the stars for you? How cheap is that?

I'd also bet dollars to donuts that there was more than one letter just like that one sent to other members in the clubhouse. Wow.

It's bad enough to ask for a signed ball, but to have 10 balls personalized from two of the team's biggest stars and to do so in an exasperated tone? That takes stones.

I have to wonder now - what does, "Everything's coming up Malmo?" even mean?

(Images from TwinsBaseball.com)

My, what a fine grassroots effort

I do realize that most people don't buy tickets from multiple teams' ticket offices like I've done. I say that, because I realize most people only get e-mails from their home team.


After a few moves and different ticket situations, I now get regular e-mails from five or six teams - it just so happens that three of those teams have players in the running this year for the Final Vote.


Looks like MLB was all over this as I got three e-mails in rapid succession tonight. I know these need to be worked up quickly and sent along, but this is pretty much the least effort that can be spent and still actually do some work. The team colors don't even match. Can't they at least try to make it look like the teams are excited about their players?



(Images from MLB.com mailings)

"Who the hell is Pat Neshek?" asks America

I'm looking again at the Final Vote for the MLB All-Star Game and the AL options are as follows:

The AL nominees include Jeremy Bonderman of the Tigers, Kelvim Escobar of the Angels, Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays, Pat Neshek of the Twins and Hideki Okajima of the Red Sox.

According to the same post:

Managers Tony La Russa of the National League and Jim Leyland of the American League have gone with pitchers-only in presenting fans with their five nominees per league to decide the 32nd and final rosters spots for the 78th All-Star Game on July 10 at AT&T Park in San Francisco. A pitcher-only ballot only happened once before, when you chose Houston's Roy Oswalt from NL candidates in 2005.

So, in other words, Leyland opted for Neshek and Okajima over Joe Mauer, Joe Nathan and Kevin Youkilis to name a few. That makes little to no sense.

For the record, Neshek and Okajima are having solid seasons - Neshek's numbers are here and Okajima's can be found here - but I doubt Neshek or even Escobar stand a snowball's chance in hell on this one. Not even with Neshek's web savvy disposition, though I haven't checked MySpace for him yet.

On a side note, but because we're talking pitching and El Guapo is one of the funniest characters in recent memory, check out this story from Ump Bump. This plays out exactly like it would if I was drinking with friends in the same ballpark. Only, I never got B's in Spanish, so the second half of the story would have ended with a police officer leading me off the premises after telling El Guapo's mother, "I'm going to hit your son with a cat-flavored empenada."

Also, great play by his fantasy league buddies. Coordination is key in really busting someone's stones.

(Image from: Bat-Girl.com, boy do I miss her)

Torii Hunter doesn't have a gut

Just to piggyback a bit off the big media in the Twin Cities, Torii Hunter broke the constant drone of Kevin Garnett trade rumors yesterday with this interview on Dan Barreiro's show on KFAN - see how easy that is to give a little credit? And on the Internet, no less.

LaVelle E. Neal III from the Star-Tribune had this story this morning and broke it down nicely, but the door is definitely open for Hunter to return with a new contract next year. Whether the Twins pursue this now or at the end of the season is up to them, but Hunter's comments about his love of the team and the city should speak volumes to the fans who are starting to ask the "Will he or won't he?" questions about his future in Minneapolis.

Hunter went out and cranked two homers in today's game against the Blue Jays, so he seems to be just fine with the level of uncertainty about where he'll be next year.

It's worth noting that he mentions at the end of the interview that sooner is better than later for a deal, but from everything I've heard this season and last, Hunter would be willing to employ the hometown discount to stay in Minnesota.

There's something to be said for being the face of the franchise and as a friend at work pointed out, he was taken under Kirby Puckett's wing as a younger player and Puckett was a one-team player for his career. That continuity appears to be important to Hunter and he's made comments in the past about the differences between the Yankee clubhouse and others, so he's aware of the pulse around the league, which should work in Minnesota's favor.

These discussions were had last summer as well, with Hunter returning from injury and heating up for the playoff race and eventually playing a crucial role in the Twins' first-round exit in the fall. The Twins picked up the option on his contract after rumors of a trade to the Yankees in July and August and fans have been keeping an eye on him since Spring Training this year.

Honestly, if I'm the Twins I hold onto Hunter like the Cubs did with Ryne Sandberg and the Padres did with Tony Gwynn because at the very least, he provides a good example for the young players coming in. The big difference is the vocal presence that Hunter provides in the clubhouse as well.

From Hunter's reactions, he'd have no problem holding on to that same jersey for the rest of his career.

(Image from: AaronGleeman.com)

This is getting out of hand.

See the guy to the right?

That's Rondell White - sometimes Twins player, fill-in designated hitter, easy punchline here at Siberian Baseball and injured since April.

You can look it up anywhere, even the Twins site - the last game White played was April 4. He was hitting a blistering one-for-nine when he left the lineup. Oh, and two RBI.

Rondell was on pace to hit no homers for the year before he was cut down by injury.

OK, look to the right now.

See all the Twins the team is trying to get us to vote for in the All-Star Game? Because there they all are - Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Torii Hunter, Nick Punto... Wait, Nick Punto, really? Punto's probably not even the best third baseman in the state when you consider beer leagues and Division III colleges.

Oh, shit - that's White, too! Right at the top! In a picture from an e-mail from this week! And on the Web site!

What the hell is going on?

Not since Nomar Garciaparra was leading voting despite tearing apart his groin on national television - everyone saw it happen, stop voting for the guy - have I been this worked up.

I don't remember things being this out of whack last season. Sure there are weird spikes for Japanese players and those aided by the East Coast (Yankees/Red Sox) bias, but this is out of hand.

If you're trying to put your guy over the top in a close outfielder race or if you have a young star - Like Mauer versus Jason Varitek and Jorge Posada last season - then go ahead and push for your guys from the front office.

When you're just listing your roster, including players who haven't seen the field since the third day of the season and a few who wouldn't make the All-Star team in your division, that's over the line.

I know lots of guys are hurt this year, but let's try and be a little more realistic in the future, shall we?