Wednesday November 5, 2003
 

TWINS AWARD CORRECTION

TEAM USA WINS AGAIN

MORE MATTINGLY

AL GOLD GLOVE WINNERS

DISCUSSION QUESTION OF THE WEEK

TIMBERWOLVES (And more Hoops)

TV THOUGHTS

MORE RANDOM RAMBLINGS

So, yesterday morning, I got up and went outside to go to work at a little before 8:00. It was about 25 degrees (20 degrees warmer than yesterday), and there were some snow flakes in the air. It was kind of nice. But, that pretty snow just kept falling all morning. By 12:15, when I went to lunch, my car was covered in snow. Before I drove back to work, an hour later, it was covered again. After driving (probably over-conservatively) back to the office and working until 5:00, it took about 10 minutes to clear off the snow. I really love living in northern Minnesota. In the summers, the weather is great. In the winters, well, it’s not always so nice. But if you like snow, and lots of it, and cold temperatures, you would love it here too! In other words, it seems almost strange thinking about baseball when the ball field is completely covered in snow. But hey, it’s the Hot Stove, and I can think of baseball any time! It helps make the winter more bearable!

Be sure to e-mail me your thoughts on anything you read below. Be sure to specifically let me know your thoughts on the Question of the Week as the answers to that question should make for fun reading on Friday!

TWINS AWARD CORRECTION

I need to start by making a correction to yesterday’s posting. I mentioned that Lew Ford had received the Bill Boni Award for the Most Outstanding Twins Rookie by the Twin Cities Chapter of the Baseball Writers of America. Although I agree that Ford performed very well for the Twins in 2003, I wrote that Juan Rincon should have been named the Most Outstanding Rookie. I just thought that he was able to contribute more throughout the whole year. My reasoning was as much based on playing time as anything else.

A daily reader e-mailed me a link to an article written by  Tom Elliott in the St. Cloud Times in which he detailed his votes for the Twins Awards. He also mentioned the other nominees for the award.

“Rookies candidates were: Lew Ford, Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau, Michael Restovich and Grant Balfour. Not one of them even had a good month.”

My choice for Twins Most Outstanding Rookie, Juan Rincon, was not even a nominee on the ballot for the award. The question I have for anyone in the Twins Organization or involved in this process is: Why Not? Looking back at Juan Rincon’s statistics coming into the 2003 season, he had pitched 34 1/3 innings in 14 games. By my understanding, and I don’t think this has changed, a pitcher is considered a rookie until he reaches 50 innings pitched.

So, that would tell me that Juan Rincon was eligible to be the American League Rookie of the Year, but wasn’t even a candidate for the Twins Most Outstanding Rookie. Does this make sense?

I realize I’m making too big a deal out of this. Lew Ford was Outstanding, and he was a rookie. He deserves the award, so, Congratulations to Lew Ford!
 

TEAM USA BEATS COLOMBIA

Yesterday, Team USA went to 2-0 in the Olympic Qualifying tournament with a 7 inning, 10-0 win over Colombia. Joe Mauer again started at catcher and batted 6^th. He played the first five innings, before the Texas Ranger’s Gerald Laird came in to finish the game. Mauer lined out to RF in the first inning for a sacrifice fly. In the 3^rd inning, he singled. In the 5^th inning, Mauer flew out to CF. So, 1-2 on the game.

Atlanta Braves rookie Horacio Ramirez pitched the first five innings, giving up just 2 hits. I wrote in mid-August about Ramirez’s impressive rookie season. The rule for Team USA was that players had to be off of the major league roster on August 31. Ramirez, who was the Braves #4 starter all year, but was sent down on August 31, for a day, and then recalled on September 1. That’s how a man with a full year in the big leagues got on Team USA. Twins prospect JD Durbin came in to pitch the 6^th inning. He struck out the first two batters he faced and got the third to fly out to right field.  Mets prospect (via the White Sox trade for Roberto Alomar) Royce Ring finished the shutout with a scoreless 7^th inning.

Tonight, Team USA plays Panama who comes into the game 3-0. In the other pool, Cuba is standing at 3-0, and Justin Morneau and Team Canada are at 2-0. I don’t know a lot about Team Canada’s games. I know they beat Puerto Rico in their first game and Justin Morneau had a home run. They also won on a forfeit by The Bahamas, who couldn’t get to the tournament because of visa problems.

Check back tomorrow, I will have more on Team USA, and more information on Team Canada. They have a number of current prospects and former major leaguers on their team.
 

MORE ON MATTINGLY

I also wrote yesterday about Don Mattingly being named the new Yankees hitting coach. I acknowledged that he had a great career, was a very solid hitter before experiencing a lot of back injuries. He was Donnie Baseball in New York. I wrote that I never understood this infatuation with Mattingly. I always thought that legendary in Yankees terms meant World Series Championships, and Mattingly played in just one ALDS in his career, a series the Yankees lost in 1995 (note - Mattingly was 10-24 in that series!). I also have heard that Mattingly was a great fielder. So, I acknowledge he was a very solid player for a number of years. I just wasn’t sure why he was so big in New York.  I asked readers to help me understand. I got a great e-mail from Cliff, of Clifford’s Big Red Blog, a website on the Yankees, which really helped me to better understand:

Seth,

Here's the deal on Mattingly:

1) With the exception of the times his back interfered, he *never* did anything wrong. He always hit, he always played hard, he was unreal in the field. During his good years in the '80s he was a dirt dog with all-time great ability (you've seen the numbers--in the pitching-heavy '80s those were unreal seasons!). The back injuries cut into his greatness, but he still played hard and he was so smart and hard-nosed a player that he always contributed. His single season strikeout high was 43 fercryinoutloud, and he hit .307 . . . with power!

2) 1990 and '91 were his worst years because of the back, but from '89-92 the team was so bad that he still stood high above the rest of the team. Basically, if you were a fan of the team during those lean years, Don Mattingly was all there was. He was the beginning and the end. Ernie Banks wasn't Willie Mays or Frank Robinson, but he is Mr. Cub because what else did the Cubs have for the first half of his career? Don Mattingly *was* the Yankees.

3) He was the captain and a leader. He set the tone for the teams that won in '96 and beyond, even though he didn't play on them. It was his influence that helped turn O'Neill into the player he became in New York, and his quiet brilliance that also influenced Williams and even Jeter. He always conducted himself the right way. He was DiMaggio with a mustache and a mullet, except Mattingly was genuine and actually reached out to the younger players rather than deking them into stepping into drainage pipes.

More than anything else, Mattingly was an unblemished hero during one of the ugliest periods in Yankee history. The team didn't win, Steinbrenner went from bad to worse, firing managers, making horrendous trades, eventually getting suspended for hiring a gambler to dig up trash on one of his star players (Winfield). Mattingly got heat from the Boss too, but he dealt with it, and the rotating managers, and the losing, and his back and the resulting unfulfilled promise, all with dignity and professionalism.

You want a quicker answer?

Go compare his career numbers to Kirby Puckett's. Now imagine that Kirby had to play for Steinbrenner at his worst, that he was still an exciting and electric player but ownership and management constantly undermined his team's chances to win, that his team went to the World Series the year before he was called up and the year after he retired, but not once during his career, despite his best efforts. Then when the team hit last place his back crapped out on him, but he struggled through it because he was all the team had and that he finally made it to the playoffs in his last year and had the kind of series that he did in the ALCS in '91 (compare that to Mattingly's '95 ALDS). Now imagine that rather than (ALLEGEDLY) molesting women in bar bathrooms, getting divorced and putting on 300 lbs, Kirby's life after baseball was lived with the same quiet dignity that he played, that he still looked like he could hit .300-25-100 and win a Gold Glove, that he worked with the team every spring training and collected hits every Old Timers day. That's Don Mattingly.

By the way, I knew that Mattingly and Puckett’s numbers were very similar, but take a look at this. You’ll find just how similar their stats are.

In looking at the numbers, can you guess which was a Hall of Famer and which will probably be on the outside looking in to Cooperstown. The reason, sadly, is probably Puckett’s unfortunate glaucoma. He left the game still on top of it, still an All-Star, still capable of hitting .300. Mattingly’s numbers slid in his last four or five years due to his back injuries and that brought his career numbers down a little. Like Dale Murphy, he held on too long, battling injuries and because of it, probably isn’t a Hall of Fame player. Oh, the other thing would probably be Puckett’s two World Series Championships.
 

AMERICAN LEAGUE GOLD GLOVE WINNERS NAMED

Discussing Mattingly and his defensive abilities seems like a pretty good segue into the Gold Glove discussion. Be sure to look back at my selections for the Gold Glove Awards and we will compare them to the actual choices:

Catcher - Seth’s choice - Bengie Molina, Actual winner - Bengie Molina

First Base - Seth’s choice - Doug Mientkiewicz, Actual winner - John Olerud.

Here’s what I wrote six weeks ago:

Many will argue that John Olerud should win this again this season, and Olerud is very solid defensively. But, he’s no Mientkiewicz. I don’t know what the Range Factor for Mientkiewicz is this season, but from seeing how far he goes to field grounders, he’s got great range! Olerud doesn’t. The only reason Olerud stole the award from Mientkiewicz last year was because Doug didn’t hit last year (which still bothers me!). This year, Olerud isn’t hitting at all. That’s probably the truthful reason why Mientkiewicz will reclaim what is rightfully his.

So, as you can guess, I was incredibly disappointed by Doug not winning the Gold Glove. I know that Managers and coaches vote for the award, and they can’t vote for their own players, but what am I missing?  Help me out here. I really need your help. Why does this bother me so much? I would love to add a Discussion Question Part 2 for this Friday (so please e-mail me by Thursday night)… How can we explain how Doug Mientkiewicz did not get the Gold Glove this year? I feel like I deserve an answer to that question from the league offices or something. I don’t get it, and I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Am I just completely biased or blinded by my loyalty toward the Twins? Please e-mail me and help me understand this, because it has bothered me since I heard the news yesterday afternoon.

Second Base - Seth’s choice - Bret Boone, Actual winner - Bret Boone.

Shortstop - Seth’s choice - Alex Rodriguez, Actual winner - Alex Rodriguez.

Third Base - Seth’s choice - Corey Koskie, Actual winner - Eric Chavez.

Here is what I wrote at that time:

I honestly believe that Corey Koskie deserves this award. I thought he should have won it last year. And yes, I am biased, but by seeing Koskie every day, I appreciate just how remarkable a defensive third baseman he is. That said, Oakland’s Eric Chavez will probably win it again, and if he does, it’s warranted. Chavez is very good at the hot corner too.

So, as you can see, I’m not at all surprised by this one. Chavez would have won it anyway, but Koskie also missed a lot of games. Chavez is great!

Outfielders - Seth’s choices - Ichiro, Torii Hunter, Mike Cameron, Actual winners - Ichiro, Torii Hunter, Mike Cameron.

Pitcher - Seth’s choice - Mike Mussina, Actual winner - Mike Mussina.

So there you have it. I got seven out of nine right. And one of those, 3B, I knew would go to Chavez. The first base decision bothers me to no end. Again, Olerud is a solid first baseman, no question. But he can’t do half of what Doug Mientkiewicz does. Maybe some in Seattle will disagree. All I know is Mientkiewicz is the best I have ever seen.

Tomorrow, the National League Gold Gloves will be announced. Again, be sure to check out my choices and we’ll see if I was even close.
 

DISCUSSION QUESTION OF WEEK (reprinted from Monday’s posting)

We haven’t had a Discussion Question of the Week for a while. I have a new one for you to help me answer. As we have done in the past, I will ask a question today, and I’d like to hear your opinions on the question. On Friday, I will post the responses I receive. So, be sure to send me an e-mail and have your voice heard. So, here is this week’s question:

What is your favorite sport to watch? And Why? The second part of the question is just as important as the first. I realize that the majority of people that check out my site on a daily basis are baseball people, but I am beginning to get more and more basketball fans as well. But why? What is it about baseball that we love watching? What is it about basketball? Here is the list of my personal favorite sports to watch, in order (subject to change by Thursday). On Friday, I will also discuss the reasons that I enjoy them (or don’t as much, in some cases).

1.) Baseball

2.) NBA Basketball

3.) NFL Football

4.) NCAA Basketball

5.) NCAA Football

6.) College Hockey

7.)     NHL Hockey

8.)     Other?

·         feel free to distinguish “watching” as “on TV” or “in person”, because, hockey is not enjoyable at all, for me, to watch on TV. However, watching games in person is as exciting as any of the above sports.

·         Feel free to distinguish between regular season and playoffs? I think College basketball is pretty boring, except during March Madness. That said, if college football went to a tournament, I might enjoy that more than the current Bowl process.

·         Baseball is a grind, with six games a week, over a 6 month period. The NFL plays one game per week. Does that factor in?

·         Does the sports marketing affect how much you enjoy the sport? The NBA markets its players. Warren Sapp is right, the NFL markets the teams, and not the players. I don’t really know who the NHL markets.

·         Other thoughts, I’m sure I missed many reasons. Actually, I know I have, because I’ve got more that I’ll share on Friday.

·         Because some might ask, I was driving to my parent’s place last Friday afternoon, a 3+ hour drive. I spent some time listening to the Sports Brothers on ESPN radio, and this was their topic. I didn’t listen to the whole thing because I like to sing to myself (really loudly) in the car so I spent a lot of time doing that too, but I caught a few of their points.

Take a look back at our previous Discussion Questions of the Week to see the format. I like giving the readers a chance to express their feelings, so I basically just post what you write (although expletives will be removed!). Here they are:

6/26/2003 - Would the Greatest Be SO Great?

8/8/2003 - Who Do You Want To Talk To?

8/15/2003 - All-Time Best Lineups

8/29/2003 - Your Thoughts on the Twins

9/5/2003 - Is Terry Ryan "The Man" or "The Goat"?

10/16/03 - Your Thoughts on the 2004 Minnesota Twins Roster

So there you have it, send me an e-mail and let me know your thoughts. Then check back Friday and see the results.
 

TIMBERWOLVES THOUGHTS (and more hoops)

First, Kevin Garnett was fined $5,000 for throwing the basketball into the stands after getting his second technical foul Monday night in Utah. I would have thought it would have been a lot more than that. Does that mean that the NBA officials are admitting that the double-T’s were ridiculous?

Tonight, the Wolves face off against the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are without the services of PF Chris Webber, who is on the Injured List because of his knee.

What the Wolves need to do? Michael Olowokandi needs to play well. He needs to match Vlade Divac. Brad Miller has actually been starting at power forward for the Kings so far, giving the Kings two big men that can both run the court pretty well. I know Kandi will have his ups and downs, especially early in the year though. I would assume that the Wolves will have Latrell Sprewell locked down on Peja Stojakovic as much as possible. Peja (23 ppg) is the Kings best scorer, best shooter from anywhere on the court. Of course, the other option is to play Madsen against Miller and have Kevin Garnett matchup with Peja. That would work too. Latrell would then be able to play Doug Christie, one of the more underrated players in the NBA. The Sam Cassell/Mike Bibby matchup may be as intriguing as any though. Cassell is more of a scorer, but both can knock down open shots. Where the Kings currently have the advantage is in Bobby Jackson. Jackson, at 13.3 points a game, is third on the team in scoring, behind Peja and Bibby, and just ahead of Vlade and Miller. He can do so much on the court, and his quickness can not be match by many in the NBA. Having Troy Hudson for this matchup would be very good.

The Wolves are at home. They will need the crowd to get into it. They’re going to need an other-worldly performance by Kevin Garnett. Sprewell and Cassell will have to continue to assert themselves in the offense. The role players will all have to contribute. I think the Wolves can take advantage on the boards, and if they can do that, that would be helpful. What I’m saying is that the Wolves will have to play a near-perfect game to beat the Kings.

Lebron v. Carmelo, tonight on ESPN. They’ve been advertising it for some time now. Carmelo played last night in Indiana against the Pacers. The Nuggets lost 71-60 in yet another low-scoring affair. Carmelo shot just 1-13 from the field on the game and ended up with 2 points, 0 rebounds and 0 assists. Lebron and the Cavs haven’t played since Saturday night, so they should be good and rested.

THE LAKE SHOW continues to roll. They went to 4-0 with a 113-107 win over the Bucks in Milwaukee. It was the fourth consecutive game that all five starters scored in double figures. This team is great so far. Look at the shot distribution last night. Kobe Bryant took 22 shots, then Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone and Gary Payton all took 15 shots. Devean George has done everything that the team could have possibly asked from ‘The Other Starter’. In case you don’t know, Devean George is the favorite player of this website because he is from a Division III school that is in the same conference that I went to school in. I was able to see him play a few times in college and was thoroughly impressed!

 Let’s just take a look at their season stats, through just four games.

I love the NBA and won’t apologize for it. If there are others out there that enjoy a little hoops commentary, be sure to let me know. Send me an e-mail.
 

TV THOUGHTS

Did anyone else watch the return of 8 Simple Rules last night on ABC? It was an hour-long, the first episode that did not include John Ritter. It was one of the most touching hours of television I remember ever watching. No! I didn’t cry! My eyes just sweat, just a little bit!

Average Joe was even better than I had hoped. Kathy Griffin is pure evil, but it makes for a good show. The star of the show was clearly excited about getting to meet the guys and was visibly disappointed at the ‘average’ crop of guys presented to her. But I have to say that she did a very good job of hiding that disappointment and enjoying the time meeting these guys. That makes her really attractive!

Joe Millionaire finally got fairly good on Monday night. I was really disappointed that Linda asked to be removed from the show. I think David was equally upset by that decision. Some of those women are evil. I don’t think this show is going to end well at all!

Playmakers is really good. It may be way over-the-top on many of the issues it is dealing with, but it’s good drama, based in the sports world, in a team’s locker room. I find it incredibly interesting. And hey, anything that has Snoop Dogg in has to be good, right?

Well, that’s it for today! Wednesday. Halfway through the week! E-mail me any comments on anything! Have a great day!

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