Monday, October 8, 2007
Monday Morning
Good Monday Morning! I will actually be away from home for a few days again this week, but there will be daily updates to the site, so be sure to stop back. They may not be posted until mid-morning though, so please be sure to check back. I will be catching a plane bright and early tomorrow morning and won't be back until Wednesday night. I don't have much today as I have 1.) been continuing to work on the web site for those of you who participated in the Playoff Contest, and 2.) written the two blog entries for Tuesday and Wednesday. Here are just a few quick thoughts on things from the weekend or Twins related items that I haven't officially commented on here.
Matt Garza to the Pirates for Jason Bay? Ah, the Hot Stove League. It's not even here, and it won't be for another four to six weeks. There will be a billion rumors, and who knows what will be true. However, to give my thoughts on this one... I'm a big fan of the Twins system of developing as many pitching prospects as they can. There is never enough pitching. However, if they can deal one of them for a right-handed impact bat like Jason Bay, they absolutely need to consider it. I think that Garza has the ability to be a very good number 2 or number 3 pitcher for the Twins, so I do believe that it is more than fair value for Bay. However, Bay is a legitimate big-time hitter. The team definitely needs a right handed bat to put into the middle of their lineup and a guy who can hit the ball out of the park with some regularity. And hey (or eh?), he's Canadian. Maybe such a move will make Justin Morneau sign a long-term deal.
Johan Santana to the Dodgers for Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw? Another quality rumor, but one going in the opposite direction. The best pitcher in baseball for a guy who can play centerfield for the next six years and arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball. However, Kershaw is three levels from the big leagues, so he will need at least another year if not two to be ready. Now, if the Dodgers threw in Andy LaRoche and a mid-level prospect or two and I'll listen.
Twins lose Luis(!) to the Padres. I know, I liked Luis(!) a lot more than most of you, and most Twins fans. I never had a problem with him. I understood his limitations, but I loved his approach at the plate even if it didn't turn into great numbers. And also, when we are talking about a 2nd backup infielder, not a difference-maker. I wish him well with the Padres.
No more Lewwwwwww... No surprise here. There was no way they would offer him another year of arbitration. I like Lew, and the couple of times I have talked to him, he has been great. He had a great first half of 2004 and really hasn't done a lot since then. Of course, the last two years, his playing time has been greatly reduced, so it wasn't right to think he would perform at the same level. Lew needs a change of scenery, and I hope he goes somewhere and does very well.
Josh Rabe and Tommy Watkins off the 40 man roster. Neither of these moves are at all surprising. Rabe has been up and down the last two years. Very solid player, but certainly not a big league corner outfielder. Tommy Watkins was one of the great stories of 2007, as he finally got a big league call up and did well given the chance, until he got hurt. I think that the Twins will just let Rabe go, but I have zero question in my mind that Watkins will remain with the organization. And he should, until he decides that he wants to accept the job as the manager of the Ft. Myes Miracle.
Who is next? There are several more names on the Twins current 40 man roster that I don't know why they haven't been moved already. There is no reason for Matthew Lecroy or Chris Heintz to still be on the 40 man roster. Why is Chris Basak still there? Lefties Ricky Barrett, Carmen Cali and Errol Simonitsch could all be removed.
Welp, the Phillies got swept by the Rockies, so I was certainly wrong about that series. Jeff Francis, in my mind, was the key to that series. His dominance of some of the Phillies lefties was the key to that game. And any fantasy baseball player would know the name Manny Corpas, but I think that the rest of America does too. The Rockies got great performances, especially from Kaz Matsui. They came up with a lot of big hits.
The Diamondbacks swept the Cubs and it is surprising that there are a lot of people who are surprised by this. First, the D-Backs were better all year. Second, the Cubs are from the NL Central. How is Chris Young so overlooked. A rookie with 32 regular season homers and now two in the playoffs already and yet not many know who he is. I just think it is funny because aren't the White Sox looking for a CF? Young would have fit nicely, huh? Stephen Drew had a disappointing season but has been good in the playoffs and great with the glove. I was also impressed by the poise of Justin Upton. The 20 year old showed great patience and walked three times in the two games he played. Eric Byrnes has one of those swing follow-throughs that make me wonder why he doesn't get a little chin music more often. And hey, Augie Ojeda is taking advantage of his opportunity. And of course, I am very happy that the over-glorified Cubs are out of it! Oh, and former Twin Chip Hale is the third base coach for the Baby Backs!
And now we have to wait until Thursday for Game 1 of the NLCS!
To the American League. The Red Sox absolutely dominated a weak and injury-depleted Angels team. Gary Matthews was missed some, I'm sure. Bartolo Colon hasn't been with them much this who year, so who cares if he was out. Now, unlike the Rockies and D-Backs who are and were led by their youth in round one, the Red Sox got great performances from David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. They will be tough to beat.
I was hoping that Cleveland would make if four first round sweeps but the Yankees were able to win game three 8-3. Now hopefully Cleveland can get a great performance from Paul Byrd and those Indians bats can dominate whoever they get to hit against in Game 4.
The ALCS doesn't start until Friday!
I've got a couple of signed Phil Hughes cards from 2005 Bowman. I'm wondering if those will go up after his performance tonight?
I wonder if that was REALLY the last time that Roger Clemens walks off of a baseball field as a player? (I HOPE SO!)
I wonder if the Minnesota Gophers football team will win another game this year? I doubt it!
By the way, the Arizona Fall League schedule starts on Tuesday. With David Winfree out and getting his shoulder checked out, Matt Macri replaces him. Ryan Mullins will also represent the Twins there. Brian Duensing will be there for a little while as probably the top pitcher for Team USA.
Anyway, again, be sure to check back throughout the week for new postings. I encourage any questions or comments you may have.
Thanks again for stopping by this site. If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future postings, please e-mail me.