Monday, December 4, 2006
Notes from the Weekend
I didn't do much this weekend. I was planning on writing an article for scout.com, and maybe a couple for here for later in the week. Oh, and of course there is that continuing plan to clean around the house. But with a six-and-a-half-month old around, not much of it got done (and no, not the cleaning!). So, you're left with a bunch of brief thoughts and some links and hopefully a few things that you can learn and enjoy. As always, please feel free to comment on anything, or send me an e-mail.
With the Baseball Winter Meetings set to start today in Orlando, I was hoping to write up a list of the goals for the Winter Meetings for the Twins. These are all things that we have covered before at some length, so I won't dive in any further. They need to try to draft someone to help them in the Rule V draft, they need to continue to have conversations with teams in an attempt to acquire a #2 or #3 starter, and a DH. I think that they should start talking to Johan Santana's agent about an extension. They also need to look to sign Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Joe Mauer to long-term deals through their arbitration years and beyond.
That brings us to the key stat of the day... How much should Joe Mauer make in this market? Well, here is just one possible way to look at it. Henry Blanco signed a two year contract with $5.25 million. Joe Mauer is approximately a million times better than Blanco. So, does that mean that Joe Mauer could get a two year contract worth about
Aaron Gleeman has a video at NBCSports.com's baseball page highlighting what could be going on at the Winter Meetings. If have to say, it is VERY well done. Aaron does a terrific job.
Stick & Ball Guy had an interesting posting comparing the career numbers of Kevin Garnett to another great NBA player of the past. You will definitely want to check that out!
Saturday night, Jeffrey Straub of The Minnesota Twins Fan Network posted his podcast that included a large segment of an interview that he had with me. Also, the guys from The Last Shot Podcast, Pulling a Blyleven and Joshua Taylor of Taylor's Twins blog are on the show.
Pat Neshek was named the AAA Relief Pitcher of the Year by MiLB.com.
Matt Garza was named the Minor League Pitcher of the Year by MiLB.com.
Here is their Award page on which you can also watch the video of their Minor League Award. It is a very well done production and NFL "Expert" Panelist Jonathan Mayo and former big leaguer Billy Sample do a great job hosting the show!!
A year after beating Wisconsin in Madison, the NDSU Men's Basketball team went to Milwaukee and beat Princeton and 8th ranked Marquette!
Charley Walters is reporting that the Astros and Rockies are interested in Twins reliever Juan Rincon. As good as Rincon has been the last three or four seasons (which is to say as good as any reliever in baseball), he is a very valuable trade chip for the Twins right now. In arbitration this year, he should get a raise to over $3 million. Even if they were to deal him, the Twins bullpen would still have Jesse Crain, Pat Neshek, Dennys Reyes and Matt Guerrier to go along with other options. I'm not saying that Rincon wouldn't be missed, because he would be. However, if the Twins can get great value like a starting pitcher or a 3B or something to that effect for him, they need to consider it.
For the Rochester RedWings fans out there, check out their Holiday Pack!
Think Sammy Sosa has anything left? Can he hit 25-30 home runs? He is only 38 years old. Could he be a right-handed DH option for the Twins? I say, if the price is right!!!
Saturday I watched The Blue and The Gray. I bought the DVD a few weeks ago and finally sat down and watched it. It is a great move. I believe it was originally a made-for-TV mini-series about the Civil War.
I am going to have to call it a day. As always, if you have any comments or opinions, please e-mail me or leave comments. Thank you!
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