Friday, November 16, 2007
Friday Notes
And WEEK 11 PICKS
Good Friday morning everyone! Thanks for coming back to the site.
It is Friday so I will be posting several notes, Twins related and others, and they will be followed by our Week 11 NFL “Expert”
Picks. Be sure to check out the sites of the panelists! Let’s get started:
·
Bonds Bashers finally, finally, have something to hang their hats on, and yet, do they?
Yesterday, a federal grand jury indicted Bonds on perjury and obstruction of justice.
First, how did it take so long to do this? If it takes four years to find
something, move on. Secondly, he can and should continue to plead not guilty.
That whole innocent until proven guilty thing just doesn’t hold water in this
country. Third, the federal grand jury doesn’t just issue indictments that they
aren’t sure that they will win. Fourth, Bonds faces up to 30 years in jail if
convicted on all counts. That’s a long time. Fifth, does this affect his Hall
of Fame candidacy or your thoughts on the home run record? It shouldn’t. Those
that felt he was guilty and it really mattered before will still feel the same
way. Those of us who figured he was guilty of using something at some time yet
believed that it shouldn’t affect things like the Hall of Fame or the records
shouldn’t have changed our opinions based on this. Nothing is really new now.
Finally, the happiest man in America right now is likely Bud Selig. His witch
hunt now actually has something that he can use. Also, it would appear that the
playing days of Mr. Bonds are likely over… wouldn’t you think?
·
Is anyone really surprised that the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez ended up reaching an
agreement? I admit, for a few days I actually thought that the Yankees would
stay away. But no, they are now about to sign a ten year, $275 million with
incentives. Scott Boras is the one who is kind of looking dumb right now as he
likely cost A-Rod a lot of money and even more of his reputation. The Yankees
actually get a very good, maybe even great deal that was probably a little
below market value. The real winners though are probably the Texas Rangers who
saved $21 million by A-Rod’s decision.
·
Aaron Gleeman
has done a nice job this week of discussing the Twins 2008 ZiPS
projections for both the Hitters
and the Pitchers.
Obviously the numbers for the pitchers look much more encouraging at this
point!
·
Theoretical
Question – The Twins have announced ticket price increases for the 2008
season. I have been told by some season ticket holders that tickets increased
by about 15%. Now, what happens if the Twins let Torii Hunter and Carlos
Silva walk and were to trade Johan Santana and/or Joe Nathan? Will we all
find out that the Twins tickets will actually go down? Should they? What do you
think?
·
On
Monday, Howard Sinker told us that he was On Hiatus and wouldn’t be writing for
awhile. Well, he has had two postings since then, one on Craig Monroe and one on
Hunter, Santana and
potential Twins moves. I happened to listen to XM Home Plate’s Baseball
This Morning that day and my thought was that if Julio Lugo is part of the
equation, I don’t want anything to do with it! If Wilson Betemit
is part of a deal, no thanks. If you are going to trade someone like Johan
Santana, you don’t deal him for average big leaguers, or less than average big
leaguers. You go after the Clay Buccholz, Jon Lester,
Jacoby Ellsbury, Joba
Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Brandon Wood, and those types of
players.
·
488 Comments on a
trade for Craig Monroe. Imagine how much traffic Joe Christensen’s blog
will get when Torii Hunter signs somewhere else, or when the Twins trade Johan? !
·
Josh
Taylor discusses the Twins minor league free agents. Which should they
keep? I think that Trent Oeltjen should (And likely is) tops on that list.
·
·
Arizona
Update:
1.
On Tuesday,
Matt Macri went 0-4. Anthony Swarzak
started and took the loss. He went the first five innings and gave up three
runs (2 earned). He gave up six hits, walked one and struck out three.
2.
On
Wednesday, Ryan Mullins started and got the win. The lefty gave up three runs
(2 earned) in four innings. He gave up three hits, walked three and struck out
three. Eddie Morlan went another scoreless inning. He
hasn’t allowed a run in 12.2 innings. Matt Macri was
1-5 with his ninth double. Drew Butera went 1-3 with
a walk and two RBI.
3.
On
Thursday, Matt Macri went 0-5.
4.
Trevor
Plouffe hasn’t played in over a week with a bum
shoulder.
5.
The
team won its division and Nick Blackburn will be starting the championship game
on Saturday.
·
Venezuela
Update:
1.
On
Tuesday, Aragua lost to Margarita 5-2. Brian Bass started and gave up two runs
on six hits in 5.1 innings. Bobby Korecky gave up an
unearned runs in 1.2 innings for the loss. He gave up three hits. Jose Mijares got the final out.
2.
On
Wednesday, Aragua beat Margarita 3-1. Oswaldo Sosa
got the win. He went 1.2 shutout innings. Jose Mijares
got the final out of the sixth.
·
Have
you heard the rumors that Scott Boras is probably going to get Kyle Lohse a 5 year, $55 million contract with someone?
Currently the Cardinals seem to be the favorite in that race. That is about the
amount and years that Carlos Silva could get as well. Scary!
·
John
Sickels posted his
Top 20 Twins prospects list the other day. He also shared his Comments
on Tyler Robertson from his book.
·
Do
the Twins do the little things right? The Twins Geek discusses.
·
The Baseball
Savant discusses the potential trades of Johan Santana, as mentioned here
last week.
·
Remember that Home Run contest
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that would pit Michael Cuddyer
against other Virginia Beach area big leaguers including BJ and Justin Upton,
David Wright and Ryan Zimmerman? Well, congratulations
to Michael Cuddyer for beating David Wright in
the finals!
·
The awards
keep piling up for Kevin Slowey. Topps named him
a Triple A All-Star as well.
WEEK
11
|
|
Seth Stohs |
Roger Dehring |
||||
|
|
SethSpeaks.net |
Twins Minor League Expert |
Reigning champ, and Twins pitching prospect |
Twins starting pitcher |
Twins Pitching Prospect |
Twins Outfield Prospect |
|
Arizona @ Cincinnati |
Bengals |
Bengals |
Bengals |
Bengals |
Bengals |
|
|
Carolina @ Green Bay |
Packers |
Packers |
Packers |
Packers |
Packers |
|
|
Cleveland @ Baltimore |
Browns |
Browns |
Browns |
Browns |
||
|
Kansas City @ Indianapolis |
Colts |
Colts |
Colts |
Colts |
Colts |
|
|
Miami @ Philadelphia |
Eagles |
Eagles |
Eagles |
Eagles |
Eagles |
|
|
New England @ Buffalo |
Patriots |
Patriots |
Patriots |
Patriots |
Patriots |
|
|
New Orleans @ Houston |
Saints |
Texans |
Saints |
Saints |
Saints |
|
|
Oakland @ Minnesota |
Vikings |
Vikings |
Vikings |
Vikings |
Raiders |
|
|
Pittsburgh @ NY Jets |
Steelers |
Steelers |
Steelers |
Steelers |
Steelers |
|
|
San Diego @ Jacksonville |
Chargers |
Chargers |
Jaguars |
Chargers |
Chargers |
|
|
Tampa Bay @Atlanta |
Falcons |
Buccs |
Buccs |
Buccs |
Buccs |
|
|
Washington @ Dallas |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
|
|
NY Giants @ Detroit |
Lions |
Lions |
Giants |
Giants |
Lions |
|
|
St. Louis @ San Francisco |
Rams |
Rams |
49ers |
Rams |
Rams |
|
|
Chicago @ Seattle |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
Bears |
|
|
Tennessee @ Denver |
Broncos |
Broncos |
Titans |
Titans |
Broncos |
|
|
John Bonnes |
Stick & Ball Guy |
Will Young |
Nick Nelson |
Josh Johnson |
Josh Taylor |
|
|
Arizona @ Cincinnati |
Bengals |
Cardinals |
Bengals |
Bengals |
Bengals |
Bengals |
|
Carolina @ Green Bay |
Packers |
Packers |
Packers |
Panthers |
Packers |
Packers |
|
Cleveland @ Baltimore |
Browns |
Browns |
Browns |
Browns |
Browns |
Browns |
|
Kansas City @ Indianapolis |
Colts |
Colts |
Colts |
Colts |
Colts |
Colts |
|
Miami @ Philadelphia |
Eagles |
Eagles |
Eagles |
Eagles |
Eagles |
Eagles |
|
New England @ Buffalo |
Patriots |
Patriots |
Patriots |
Patriots |
Patriots |
Patriots |
|
New Orleans @ Houston |
Texans |
Saints |
Texans |
Saints |
Saints |
Texans |
|
Oakland @ Minnesota |
Vikings |
Vikings |
Raiders |
Vikings |
Raiders |
Vikings |
|
Pittsburgh @ NY Jets |
Steelers |
Steelers |
Steelers |
Steelers |
Steelers |
Steelers |
|
San Diego @ Jacksonville |
Chargers |
Chargers |
Jaguars |
Jaguars |
Chargers |
Jaguars |
|
Tampa Bay @Atlanta |
Buccs |
Buccs |
Buccs |
Buccs |
Buccs |
Buccs |
|
Washington @ Dallas |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
|
NY Giants @ Detroit |
Giants |
Giants |
Lions |
Giants |
Lions |
Lions |
|
St. Louis @ San Francisco |
Rams |
Rams |
49ers |
Rams |
Rams |
Rams |
|
Chicago @ Seattle |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
|
Tennessee @ Denver |
Broncos |
Broncos |
Broncos |
Titans |
Broncos |
Broncos |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Howard Sinker |
LaVelle E. Neal |
|||||
|
Arizona @ Cincinnati |
Bengals |
Bengals |
Bengals |
Bengals |
Bengals |
Bengals |
|
Carolina @ Green Bay |
Packers |
Packers |
Packers |
Packers |
Packers |
Packers |
|
Cleveland @ Baltimore |
Browns |
Ravens |
Browns |
Ravens |
Ravens |
Ravens |
|
Kansas City @ Indianapolis |
Colts |
Colts |
Colts |
Colts |
Colts |
Colts |
|
Miami @ Philadelphia |
Eagles |
Eagles |
Eagles |
Eagles |
Eagles |
Eagles |
|
New England @ Buffalo |
Patriots |
Patriots |
Patriots |
Patriots |
Patriots |
Bills |
|
New Orleans @ Houston |
Saints |
Texans |
Saints |
Saints |
Saints |
Saints |
|
Oakland @ Minnesota |
Vikings |
Vikings |
Raiders |
Raiders |
Vikings |
Raiders |
|
Pittsburgh @ NY Jets |
Steelers |
Steelers |
Steelers |
Steelers |
Steelers |
Steelers |
|
San Diego @ Jacksonville |
Jaguars |
Jaguars |
Chargers |
Jaguars |
Chargers |
Jaguars |
|
Tampa Bay @Atlanta |
Buccs |
Falcons |
Buccs |
Falcons |
Buccs |
Buccs |
|
Washington @ Dallas |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
|
NY Giants @ Detroit |
Giants |
Lions |
Giants |
Giants |
Giants |
Lions |
|
St. Louis @ San Francisco |
Rams |
Rams |
Rams |
Rams |
Rams |
49ers |
|
Chicago @ Seattle |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
Bears |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
|
Tennessee @ Denver |
Broncos |
Broncos |
Titans |
Broncos |
Titans |
Broncos |
|
Al Bethke |
Bill Ferris |
JD Arney |
Mike Brasel |
Melissa Lien |
||
|
SethSpeaks.net |
||||||
|
Arizona @ Cincinnati |
Bengals |
Bengals |
Bengals |
|||
|
Carolina @ Green Bay |
Packers |
Packers |
Packers |
|||
|
Cleveland @ Baltimore |
Browns |
Browns |
Ravens |
|||
|
Kansas City @ Indianapolis |
Colts |
Colts |
Colts |
|||
|
Miami @ Philadelphia |
Eagles |
Eagles |
Eagles |
|||
|
New England @ Buffalo |
Patriots |
Patriots |
Patriots |
|||
|
New Orleans @ Houston |
Saints |
Saints |
Saints |
|||
|
Oakland @ Minnesota |
Vikings |
Vikings |
Vikings |
|||
|
Pittsburgh @ NY Jets |
Jets |
Steelers |
Steelers |
|||
|
San Diego @ Jacksonville |
Chargers |
Chargers |
Chargers |
|||
|
Tampa Bay @Atlanta |
Buccs |
Buccs |
Buccs |
|||
|
Washington @ Dallas |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
Cowboys |
|||
|
NY Giants @ Detroit |
Lions |
Lions |
Giants |
|||
|
St. Louis @ San Francisco |
49ers |
Rams |
49ers |
|||
|
Chicago @ Seattle |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
Seahawks |
|||
|
Tennessee @ Denver |
Broncos |
Broncos |
Broncos |
|||
Summary
Looking at the selections of the panelists, here is who the
collective "We" think will win each game:
Sunday –
Arizona @ Cincinnati - Bengals 19-1
Carolina @ Green Bay - Packers 20-0
Cleveland @ Baltimore - Browns 14-5
Kansas City @ Indianapolis – Colts 20-0
Miami @ Philadelphia - Eagles 20-0
New England @ Buffalo - Patriots 19-1
New Orleans @ Houston - Saints 15-5
Oakland @ Minnesota - Vikings 14-6
Pittsburgh @ NY Jets – Steelers 19-1
San Diego @ Jacksonville - Chargers 12-8
Tampa Bay @Atlanta - Buccs 16-4
Washington @ Dallas - Cowboys 20-0
NY Giants @ Detroit - Tie 10-10
St. Louis @ San Francisco - Rams 15-5
Chicago @ Seattle - Seahawks 18-2
Monday Night -
Tennessee @ Denver - Broncos 15-5
Thanks again for stopping by this site. If you have any
questions, comments or ideas for future postings, please e-mail me.
Have a great weekend!