Thursday, February 24, 2005
Thursday Topics
Good morning everyone and thanks for stopping by the SethSpeaks site. I've got a lot of stuff going on right now, so I am going to hold off until tomorrow to post my Fantasy Perspectives article on the NL West hitters. But today, there are still a couple of topics that I would like to discuss briefly. Also, last night was the first elimination show of American Idol. They cut from 24 down to 20, eliminating two boys and two girls. Who was kicked off the show, and did I see it coming? Finally, we have some more of Dewey's Quick Hits. I would love to hear your thoughts on any of the topics, so please fee free to e-mail me.
Well, much of this site is dedicated to the Minnesota Twins, but i have said all along that I will talk about other topics, particularly other Minnesota sports teams. I think it is fair to say that the news that came out of Winter Park yesterday was fairly large to Minnesota sports fans!
Yesterday afternoon, Randy Moss's agent announced that the Vikings had agreed to trade Moss to the Oakland Raiders. In exchange, the Vikings would receive linebacker Napolean Harris, the Raiders 1st round pick (7th overall) and a late-round (probably a 7th rounder). The trade can not become official until March 2nd, when it is OK for teams to announce trades.
I am kind of disappointed in the trade. I have to say that I have no problem with the Vikings trading Moss. They have seemed to plateau and maybe a change will be good for the organization. That said, I think that they could have received more for the most dominant WR in football. More than an average (at best) linebacker and a couple of draft picks. I was hoping the team would be able to coax Phillip Buchanan from the Raiders. But that didn't happen.
Of course, Terrell Owens was traded from the 49ers to the Eagles a year ago for a 2nd round pick. So, maybe the Vikings and their fans should be happy with getting a starter on defense and a top draft pick. I don't know. I guess we'll see after the draft.
I never had a problem with Moss. I had no problem with him admitting that he occasionally takes plays off. I had zero problem with his "mooning" incident. The water bottle situation wasn't a big deal. Even walking off the field didn't bother me. From everything we hear and read, Moss was a good teammate, a good locker room guy. Sure, maybe off the field and away from the team, he did a few things to get into trouble. But, why does Moss get such a 'bad guy' label and Jamal Lewis is hardly talked about?
In other words, the Vikings will miss Moss, and I do think that it could affect attendance. That said, I think that the Vikings can use this trade to better themselves. The NFL's leading receiver, Derrick Mason, was let go by the Titans. Muhsin Muhammed is available. Maybe the team can sign one of them. They also need to get some help in the defensive backfield.
What are your thoughts on the trade, or what it will do to the team? E-mail me.
Before I get started on my American Idol Thoughts, I need to point those who are interested in the show to also check out The Baseball Savant. We both enjoy the show and analyzing who we think should be eliminated each week and who we like.
Now on to last night's elimination show. The producers decided to eliminate the lowest vote getting woman first, followed by the lowest vote-getting man. After they were eliminated, they sang their final song. Then they announced the two who were the second lowest vote-getters and they sang.
First up, Ryan Seacrest called out Janay Castine and Melinda Lira. Now, these are the two that I had ranked 11th and 12th. Melinda Lira was eliminated and I thought she was terrible. The look on her face was priceless. She looked legitimately shocked! Amazed! Astonished! Seacrest could tell, so he asked her what she was thinking and if she was surprised. She actually essentially blamed the show. She said that in the previous episodes, she didn't get as much air time as some that have become fan favorites. That is really an excellent and fair point. That said, she was awful.
Next up, Jared Yates and Travis Tucker were the two brought out. One of them was going to be the low-vote getter. I had Jared ranked 7th and Travis ranked 11th, so I assumed Travis would be eliminated. No! Yates was eliminated. He sang his song and actually slightly broke down as he was singing the words "Good Bye."
Next up, Seacrest announced the woman with the second fewest votes. Sarah Mathers was eliminated. She too looked incredibly disappointed. I had her ranked 9th, so I wasn't too far off on that one. It was interesting because the guys eliminated seemed to handle it fairly well, but the women looked upset and almost offended. It was like a high school thing.
And finally, Seacrest brought up six people and each of them got the OK, that they would advance to next week, and then he sprung it on Judd Harris that he was the one who was eliminated. That one really surprised me. I had him ranked 4th based on his Monday night performance. I'm not saying he was great, but he sang well AND he was fun and charismatic. That is why I was very surprised.
So, now we're down to 10 men and 10 women left in the competition. Next Monday and Tuesday we will hear performances, and then next Wednesday two more of each group will be eliminated.
Did you have any thoughts on who was eliminated? Maybe some thoughts on the format they used? If so, please e-mail me.
Dewey Moede sent in another group of his quick hits, some thoughts he has had of the Twins, and more baseball. As I did last week, I will respond briefly with my thoughts on a couple of them. If you have any thoughts on anything he's written, please e-mail me and I will forward thoughts to Dewey or respond to them myself.
-- I was sad to read that one of Terry Ryan's assistants has left.....Juanita Lagos-Benson who has spent the last 6 years as Terry's assistant in the office has left. She was always a pleasure to work with.
-- Peter Gammons calls the Twins the best organization in the league! (Seth Thoughts - It is hard to disagree with him. If you look at the major league roster and success and couple it with the minor league prospects and development, the Twins are a model franchise.)
-- Can't Grant Balfour stay healthy???......remember last year coming out of spring training he did not tell the Twins he was hurting....now it is his forearm.......He opted not to have surgery on his shoulder over the winter...I hope this works out because he has tremendous talent. (Seth Thoughts - Balfour is incredible. We all saw that last fall against the Yankees. The forearm injury doesn't really concern me. If he was having shoulder problems, I would worry.)
-- Justin Morneau is another who has trouble staying healthy going into spring training.....I think this is his third in a row where he is not in tip top form. He's had everything from chicken pox to a lung infection this winter. (Seth's Thoughts - I hope he is OK. It does sound like he's had an awful offseason health-wise. The Twins need him to be strong in the middle of their order!)
-- Now we read where Jose Canseco is in trouble for unpaid taxes... why am I not surprised? (Seth's Thoughts - Me neither.)
-- Did you know that Jaret Wright of the Yanks, his Dad is former Angels pitcher and 20 game winner Clyde Wright? (Seth's Thoughts - I did know that. But my main question would be... why did the Yankees sign Wright, who had one good year after years of injuries, instead of keeping Jon Lieber for pretty much the same money?)
-- A couple of weeks ago I found an old clipping from the old Mpls Tribune, not the Startrib....it was the article on Cesar Tovar's death. I did not put a date on the article so I do not have it. Cesar died at 54 of a heart attack. The news service says that he was put into the hospital with renal problems. Pepe was one of my all-time favorites! Remember Pepe in one game played all 9 positions.
-- Did you notice that Denny Hocking is in the Royals camp and Pat Mahomes is with the Mets? (Seth's Thoughts - Yeah, there is nothing better than checking out the minor league free agents signings in the offseason. Next week, spring training games will start. As I did last year, I will discuss the Twins games as well as how former Twins perform.)
-- Wouldn't you love to have a mike on AJ when he catches against the Twins? (Seth's Thoughts - Now that is an excellent idea!)
-- Why did the Phillies sign Jose Offerman???......Did not they watch him play second base and first base for the Twins last year???? (Seth's Thoughts - If Offerman makes the team, as he likely will, it would only be as a pinch hitter. He would not play the field unless there is some catastrophic situation. The Phillies have Chase Utley starting at 2B and Placido Polanco as well.)
-- Dustin Mohr is set to be the Rockies right fielder....finally getting his chance for a full time gig..my guess is he will not cut it as a regular. (Seth's Thoughts - Check back tomorrow for my NL West fantasy preview. But, I would like to see Mohr do well in Colorado. I didn't like that he stole time from Michael Cuddyer and others. But the fact is, although his skills are limited, he played hard and that was something that we had to appreciate! Even if he does well, which I think he will do, it's not like the Twins will miss him.)
-- Terry Steinbach will be coaching the Twins catchers once again in spring training.
-- Rusty Greer who the Twins tried to sign to a minor League deal has retired........... (Seth's Thoughts - Greer was a very underrated player who hit .305 for his career. He was very good, with a sweet left-handed swing. Plus, he was fun to call "Gusty Rear"... Ha!)
-- How about that Phil Roof....Twins Triple AAA Manager... he will manage his 2,000 minor league game in the Red Wing's second game of this season. Roof is very underrated for his performance of Twins players going through the system. He could be the best minor league manager in Twins history!!! What do you think??? send Seth an email and let us know who your favorite all time minor league Twins Manager is........Cal Ermer??? Phil Roof????
And on that note, I wish you a good day!. If you have any questions or comments on anything you have read above, please e-mail me.