Tuesday September 2, 2003
MINNESOTA STATE AMATEUR BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
DISCUSSION QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Weekend Tidbits
Labor Day. A day to not do any labor. That totally fits into my goals for life!! I try to be as non-laborious as possible in everything I do! Yesterday, I slept in until 9, which sadly has become a feat for me! I really wish I could still sleep in until noon, like was basically the standard in college. Oh well. But, now I’m all grown up and responsible and stuff. That’s why I’m writing today’s entry on Labor Day!! Crazy, huh? But, oh well! I’m going to just write about a few random topics. If you have any thoughts on any of them, just send me an e-mail.
I need to point out that with the start of the football season, I will be writing more about the Vikings and NFL in general on this site. That said, the Twins are still my #1 team and #1 priority, so most days, there will still be Twins Thoughts. If that’s all you want to see, be sure to check the links at the top of the page each day. However, if you have any friends who don’t care about baseball, but really are interested in football or specifically the Vikings, be sure to tell them about this site!!! Thanks!
And, For all you teachers and students in Minnesota, Welcome back to school!!! Have a great year!
Last week, the Twins won 2 out of 3 games from both the Anaheim Angels and the Texas Rangers, and actually had chances to win all 6 games. This week, the Twins have essentially the same schedule. The only difference is the off day is on Thursday this week. Well, and that the Twins will be at home! Here are the AL Central standings heading into Tuesday’s games:
|
|
W |
L |
GB |
|
White Sox |
73 |
64 |
-- |
|
Royals |
70 |
65 |
2.0 |
|
Twins |
71 |
66 |
2.0 |
GARDY AND THE YOUNGSTERS - If I have learned one thing of late, Ron Gardenhire hates new people and rookies. I don’t know if he thinks that they can’t be as good as “veterans”, or what? How else can you explain him putting Joe Mays back into the starting rotation instead of Grant Balfour? Fortunately, Mays was shelled (as expected) by the Rangers on Friday night. In a surprise move, Gardy actually used both Carlos Pulido and Grant Balfour in the game, and both pitched well, Balfour ending up with his first major league win. Following the game, Gardy announced that Balfour would replace Mays in the rotation.
Another example is Mike Ryan. Yesterday, after being with the Twins for over 3 weeks, Ryan finally got to make a start. For some reason, when the Jones/Hunter/Stewart outfield wasn’t available, it was Dustan Mohr who started in right. In his first at bat yesterday, Ryan homered to left field. His second at bat was a double off the baggy in right. He singled in his third at bat, and ripped a shot that 2B Adam Kennedy leaped to catch.
And again, it fits into my idea on Gardenhire’s usage of new players, or rookies.
JESSE OROSCO COMES BACK TO THE TWINS- The Twins acquired 46 year old left-handed pitcher Jesse Orosco from the New York Yankees for the infamous Player to be Named Later. Orosco was actually the 2nd round pick of the Twins in 1978. He was then traded to the New York Mets (for Minnesota native, Jerry Koosman) where he actually was a roommate of Ron Gardenhire’s. He won a World Series championship in 1986 with the Mets, along with current Twins pitching coach, Rick Anderson.
Earlier in the year, I would have really liked this move. But, Orosco has not been good this year. In 57 games, he has pitched just 29.1 innings, and he is 1-1 with an ERA of 7.98. That really doesn’t bother too much, since generally, he just comes in for one, maybe two, batters a game. So, of course, any bad outing will crush his ERA.
If he can simply be a mentor to JC Romero (and help him get back on track) and Carlos Pulido, the trade will be a good one. Of course, who the Player to be Named Later is also important. Clearly, it won’t be a top level prospect, and probably won’t even be a mid-level prospect, so it should be safe.
THE CALLUPS - On September 1, teams are allowed to expand their roster to include any players on their 40 man roster. Generally, teams call up players for one or two reasons. The teams with a shot at the playoffs will add players who can fill a role for their club (more relief pitching, pinch hitting or pinch running options, etc.). Poor teams call up young players to give them a shot and to be able to see what they can do against big league competition, or as a reward for a successful minor league season.
The Twins called up more players than they have in a long time. First, Michael Cuddyer was called up on August 31st , so he will be on the playoff roster. The other call ups should be at the Dome on Tuesday. They are:
Ariel Prieto - (utility infielder), Michael Restovich (probably just pinch hitting), Lew Ford (probably just outfield depth, although, I think he’s good!), Justin Morneau (another Left-hander off the bench), Brad Thomas (yet another lefty in the ‘pen), and Adam Johnson (pitching depth). By seeing how Gardy uses such players (or doesn’t), I wouldn’t expect any of them to play too much. I would like to see Restovich, Ford and Morneau all be starters with the Twins next season, along with Michael Cuddyer.
HUNTER’S EXPLOSION - Just when I think I can’t be more frustrated with Torii Hunter’s season, he goes and gets tossed from yesterday’s game after being called out on a third strike in the 2nd inning. Seeing replays of the pitch, it wasn’t low, and it was right down the middle. Hey Torii, swing the bat! Quit whining! As crappy as you’re performing with the bat, you still are important to the Twins!
INJURY BUG - Doug Mientkiewicz missed Monday’s game with another wrist injury, and could be out for a couple more games. Cristian Guzman has missed the last three games with a back injury. I still don’t think Jacque Jones is 100% Twins fans got nervous when Johan Santana limped off the field on Saturday night’s game. Fortunately, he was just cramping up in the Texas heat and humidity and shouldn’t miss any time!
SOJO SIGNS - The Yankees re-signed veteran utility infielder Luis Sojo. He hasn’t played in the major leagues for 2 years. He was actually a manager in the Yankees minor league system last year. Interesting move!
HENSON GOES BACK TO THE GRIDIRON - Former Yankees super-prospect Drew Henson, announced yesterday that he will be giving up baseball to pursue his career in the NFL. Had he stayed at Michigan for his senior season of football, he probably would have been the #1 pick in the NFL Draft last year. But, the Yankees gave him lots of money, thinking he would be future star, so he quit football, saying baseball was his dream. Well, he wasn’t a hit… or, couldn’t get very many hits (or even make contact), so he’s now going back to football. The Houston Texans drafted him in the 6th round is this spring’s NFL Draft, just in case. Well, now the Texans have some options. They can keep Henson as a backup to David Carr. Or, they could possibly trade his rights to the right team, probably for as much as a future first round pick! That makes the 6th round pick pretty valuable to the Texans!
Chad Hutchinson did the same thing a couple of years ago. He was a pitching prospect, who actually spent some times pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals, but he gave up baseball and signed a lucrative deal with to be a QB for the Dallas Cowboys.
Well, I’m officially in the playoffs of both of my fantasy baseball teams. In the weekend league, our team was ranked 4th heading into the playoffs. We beat the #5 seed, then this weekend, we were able to defeat the #1 team. So, this week, our team will face the #2 seeded team in the league for the championship!
In my other league, my team goes into the tournament ranked #4. However, we are matched against the #5 team (defending champion), which has definitely come on strong in the second half of the season. If I can somehow manage to win this week, I will have to go up against the #1 seed next week! I’m just not liking my chances!!! Oh well.
The NFL season starts Thursday night on ESPN with the Washington Redskins and NY Jets. The Vikings start on Sunday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. This week, I will have a number of football related topics. How will the Vikings do?
On Wednesday, I will try to analyze the Vikings chances for the upcoming season. Who will play well? Who could struggle? And, who will make news? Of course, that will lead to predictions on their record and playoff chances.
Be sure to check back on Thursday when I will unveil a new weekly segment to this web site. Each week, a number of other baseball bloggers will be sending me their picks for all of the week’s football games. We’ll see if any of us baseball people know anything about football too.
And on Friday, to prepare us for the Vikings opener, we will have a special guest columnist and huge Vikings fan discuss her affinity for the Vikings.
This weekend, I watched three movies. All three were definitely not movies that I would typically rent, but there wasn’t much in at the video store. Maybe it’s good to occasionally get a little culture into my life.
Chicago - It won so many awards at the Oscars that I had to see it, right? Renee Zellweger was great! Richard Gere was really good as her lawyer. Queen Latifah was wonderful in her role as a prison guard. It was interesting! It had a very interesting story regarding lawyers, prison workers, and celebrity favoritism. But, it could have been a really good movie if it wouldn’t have been a musical. To be honest, I watched it, with the Twins game on the radio playing in the background. When the songs started, I would get the gist of what they’re singing about in the song, then hit mute and see how the Twins were doing! I’m glad I watched it, just so that when people around me are talking about, I can say that I saw it. I won’t be able to tell them that I watched it twice though!
Drumline - Nick Cannon stars as a drummer from Brooklyn who gets a marching band scholarship to Atlanta A&T. He’s got a lot of street in him that comes out while in the rigid expectations of the A&T band, a band that has a lot of pressure on it to perform and beat the rival-band from Morris Brown. It’s a story of a kid making adjustments to who he is and what he’s about. He learns to accept being a part of a team, rather than the star. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the movie. It was a bit predictable, but sometimes that’s ok! Note, we really like Zoe Saldana! You may remember her from the classic movie Crossroads!
The Blue and the Gray – Do you remember this movie, the 1982 television mini-series about the Civil War? I must admit, I really enjoy watching historical fiction movies, and this is one of the best ever (along with Amistad). It is the story of an artist who is from Virginia. The rest of his family are farmers, but he leaves the family to move up to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to find a job at his uncle’s newspaper. Of course, his first assignment is to draw the pictures of the John Brown trial. Once the war starts, it is his job to document and illustrate what is happening. Where the movie gets really interesting is when his brothers are fighting for his Confederacy, while his cousins are fighting for the North. There is a definite struggle between supporting his initial family or supporting the cause that he really, truly believes in. This movie is over 5 hours long when watching it consecutively, but it was well worth it! The cast is great, especially the late, great Gregory Peck who portrayed Abraham Lincoln! Plus, it was Labor Day weekend, and I wasn’t laboring!! If you have the chance to see this movie again, I would definitely recommend it!
If you could suggest some good historical fiction movies for me, that would be great, just send me an e-mail.
Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Tournament
Well, I went to Northfield, MN, on Friday night for the Wolf Lake game against defending champion, Granite Falls. The Wolf Pack were a little short-handed, yet had their chances, but fell up just short, losing 5-3, ending their season.
On a very positive note, I went to Dundas, MN, after the Wolf Lake game and watched another central Minnesota team, Clarissa. They won Friday night and ended up finishing 3rd place in the state.
Congratulations to both teams on great seasons and great tournaments! Also to Wolf Lake’s Ryan Breitbach and Clarissa’s Neil Jensen, who were named to the All Tournament Team.
Heading into Saturday night’s season opening game, the Minnesota Gophers football team was a 31 point favorite over Tulsa. Well, they actually beat the spread, winning 49-10. First, nice non-conference schedule! Second, it’s too early to talk about college football. Third, Sid Hartman’s been talking about how great this year’s team will be. He’s talking Big Ten Championship and a Rose Bowl bid. I’m not buying it. They say that every year, then they play three terrible teams in their non-conference games, so people really start thinking they’re good. Then reality sets in! That said, their RB core is pretty impressive! I can’t imagine many college teams in the country having a group of backs as good. I really like Asad Abdul-Khaliq at QB. Ben Utecht is as good as any TE in the country, and the offensive line should be great. So, yes, I think they’ll be alright. Rose Bowl? Ask me again when they beat someone good!
Did you know the Minnesota Lynx made the WNBA playoffs? Me either. OK, I did actually know that. They even won Game 1 against the 2-time defending champs, the LA Sparks. But, the Sparks came back to win Game 2, and then last night, the Sparks won Game 3, and the series, ending the Lynx season.
DISCUSSION QUESTION OF THE WEEK -
And now for next week’s Discussion Question of the Week which was initiated Friday.
For it, we go back to Mike from Chicago:
“Which brings me to the main point, now that I've answered your question of the week. I'm astounded how Terry Ryan has gotten virtually a free ride this year, not only from the press but from observers like you who follow the team a lot more closely than the so-called experts. Wasn't it obvious to everyone after the ALCS (no homers in 5 games) that this team was in desperate need for a thumper, a veteran who could bat in the four hole, drive in 100+ runs with 35-40 homers. I talked to Terry Ryan in spring training this year and asked point blank why he made no effort to fill this glaring void. His response was "what do you expect me to do, sign Barry Bonds?" I said no, but what about Frank Thomas who was very available this off-season or Jim Thome? Obviously, salaries are an issue for this team, but Pohlad says he wants to go out a winner, and I'm sure if Ryan could have put together a package of a couple of his "phenoms" plus throw in Mentkewiecz or one of the other average starters, he could have landed a big bat without a major hit on payroll. Look what Kenny Williams did to land Alomar and Everett or what KC did to get Anderson and <Rondell White>. They're smaller market teams than the Twins, but the difference is their GM's are unafraid to roll the dice. Terry still has the mindset of a scout and believes that his minor league system can produce future stars to keep the twins competitive. This might happen if he(or his scouting department) had any talent, but look at the crap we're left with, despite all the high draft choices we've had: does anyone even remember BJ Garbe, Adam Johnson, Ryan Mills, et. al. Have we developed internally one all-star during his reign? Does anyone think drafting Mauer (another non-power threat) over Mark Prior was a shrewd move? My point is the Ryan regime is a disaster. He's afraid to take risks, even when a couple of moves in the off-season could have built upon last year, rather than make 2002 a one year wonder. Executive of the Year! Organization of the Year! How many votes do you think Mr. Ryan and the Twins will get this year?
This is the real debate that should be going on among true, knowledgeable fans - not the sophomoric question of trying to imagine why anyone thinks this lineup can be expected to finish better than third or over .500. Forget this year and concentrate on the dysfunctional organization that's led to this one-year wonder. Maybe if enough of us put the microscope over this current management, even Carl Pohlad (or better yet, a new, more vigorous ownership unafraid to rock the boat) will realize that a complete overhaul starting with Ryan's firing is a necessity. But I'm afraid that's wishful thinking and we're going to fall to the same pre-2001 levels we had hoped were a thing of the past. Put these questions to your readers and we might get some real dialogue going.
So, here’s our Discussion Question for next week:
Looking at this e-mail, should Terry Ryan take some blame for what’s been going on with the Twins this year? From his lack of bringing in the power hitter they needed, so some of the roster moves during the season, to drafting, to scouting? Basically, how has Terry Ryan done as the Twins GM?
I can see answers to this question going all over the place, so be sure to think it over, and let me know what you think. As always, you can then e-mail me, then check back next Friday as I’ll include the e-mails that I receive regarding this question.
Have a great week!