Rochester Red Wings 2006 DVD

OK, I just got my copy of the 2006 Rochester Red Wings Season in Review DVD. I put it in right away and watched it! I don't want to sound too much like an advertiser, but the DVD was terrific. I follow the Twins minor league system pretty much daily and with some depth. I follow the box scores and probably know many of the faces. But I haven't seen many of the minor leaguers play. So for me, it was a lot of fun to actually get a chance to see some of the Red Wings players.

Secondly, it was a pretty magical year for the Red Wings. When you consider that the team has not been to the playoffs in a very long time; when you realize that 18 Red Wings players also played for the Twins at some point of the season. If you realize that a AA utility player like Tommy Watkins became a vital cog in the Red Wings success; when you consider that the Red Wings were one win away from an International League championship... it was a very magical 2006 season. Friends of SethSpeaks.net Jim Mandelaro of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and Josh Whetzel, the radio broadcaster of the Red Wings, did a terrific job. Mandelaro does a great job of adding incite on the players, the plays, the team and the situations. Whetzel was the narrator. There is a lot of footage of manager Stan Cliburn and his post-game press conferences. There are a lot of interviews with some of the players. Josh Rabe, Pat Neshek, Boof Bonser, Matt Garza, Glen Perkins and more are on the DVD. See footage of Kevin Slowey's lone Rochester start, in Game 2 of the Championship series. Did you remember that Dennys Reyes's ERA for Rochester was 0.50, and that he had a streak of over sixteen shutout innings? Terry Tiffee's game-tying grand slam was amazing, but wait until you see just how amazing it really was! See Kevin West's home run in Fenway Park. There is so much more. There are even extras!

In all, it was just a lot of fun to sit and watch. So please, take a minute and check out the specifics. If you would like, place an order for yours. Check out the Red Wings home page as there are other promotions that they have going on.

 

 

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Good morning everyone!

Well, today is the day that Brad Radke will officially announce his retirement from baseball and from the Twins. I am happy for him. he is 34 years old. He has made great money. He has pitched great. As a guy who stayed with the Twins despite being offered more money by other teams, you have to just be thankful for all of his years with the Twins and wish him the best in his retirement!

So yesterday I wrote something very quickly and wrote "It could be argued that he is the best Twins pitcher in their Minnesota history." In the comments, I was called to task on that comment. The suggestion was that Bert Blyleven was the obvious choice. It's hard to argue against a guy who should be in the Hall of Fame, but let's not forget that Blyleven did not spend his entire career with the Twins and some of his numbers came with the Angels, Indians and other teams as well. Another guy whose name should be in the discussion is Jim Kaat who did some incredible things in his time with the Twins too. So, let's take a quick survey. In the comments below, make your choice for the Twins top pitcher of all time. Blyleven, Kaat or Radke. Feel free to vote for others, including Johan Santana if you like.

If you get a chance, be sure to check out Will Young's article on the managerial style of Ron Gardenhire.

There is a discussion on Pat Neshek over at John Sickels' minor league site.

Rich Lederer again Answers the Naysayers, countering more theories on why Bert Blyleven should not be in the Hall of Fame. He's so good! Also, Josh Taylor posts his Hall of Fame choices.

 The Twins also announced their Winter Caravan schedule. Unfortunately, they will not be coming to Warroad this year. The closest to my place is going to be 90 miles away. We'll see if I get there. I am definitely still planning on going to Twins Fest.

Finally, Kyle Waldrop maintained his huge lead in the league. But as you can see, after him, it is still a mess. Our guy Roger  won the week with a monster week to put him back in contention... for second place. I hope that we will be back on Thursday with the NFL "Expert" picks for Week 16. Also, congratulations to Kevin Slowey for being out of last place for the first time in a long time!

On that note, have a great day and rest of the week. I likely will not post much the rest of the week. I will be out of town and in the cities. Like I said, football picks will be here but that may be it. That said, if anything comes up, I will be sure to find a way to discuss it here. Please feel free to send me an e-mail or leave some Comments below.

 

 

|
Final Standings Total Week 15   Over All  
Name Site

W

 L Win% W L Win %
Kyle Waldrop Twins Pitching Prospect 11 5 68.8% 148 76 66.1%
LaVelle E. Neal III Mpls Star-Tribune 11 5 68.8% 139 85 62.1%
Will Young Will's Twins Blog 12 4 75.0% 139 85 62.1%
Roger Dehring Several Blogs 13 3 81.3% 138 86 61.6%
Cory Hepola WENY Sports 11 5 68.8% 138 86 61.6%
Bill Ferris Detroit Tigers Blog 10 6 62.5% 137 87 61.2%
Al Bethke Al's Ramblings 11 5 68.8% 137 87 61.2%
Melissa Lien SethSpeaks.net 9 7 56.3% 137 87 61.2%
Seth Stohs SethSpeaks.net 8 8 50.0% 135 89 60.3%
SethSpeaks Panel   11 5 68.8% 135 87 60.8%
Trevor Born Twins Junkie 10 6 62.5% 133 91 59.4%
Stick & Ball Guy Stick & Ball Guy 9 7 56.3% 132 92 58.9%
Jonathan Mayo mlb.com 11 5 68.8% 131 93 58.5%
Mike Brasel Fantasy FB Guru 9 7 56.3% 130 94 58.0%
JD Arney Reds Reporter 10 6 62.5% 129 95 57.6%
Kevin Slowey Twins Pitching Prospect 10 6 62.5% 128 96 57.1%
Seth's Mom's Class St. Pauls School 6 10 37.5% 124 100 55.4%

 

 

Monday, December 18, 2006

Good Monday morning everyone!

Well, I haven’t had them for awhile, but as of Saturday evening, my computer / internet connection is all messed up again. It’s not working. Or, it doesn’t work long enough to post anything, at least. So, that is why I’ve got nothing for you today.

Well, not nothing. Before the problems occurred, I finished up an article for The Twins Cities Dugout. I thought a little Twins history would be fun, so I went back to the year of my birth and wrote a bit on the Twins team from that year. No, it certainly wasn’t a title team. They didn’t even finish over .500. There was an very interesting group of players, including a Hall of Famer and two guys who maybe should be. So, take a look and head Down Memory Lane. For those who would be concerned, it is free content on the Scout site.  

In other news, the Vikings lost to the NY Jets. I’m not even sure what the final score was. Here is a good indicator about how much I care about the Vikings. I flipped through the channels during the game’s first commercial and found that one Reese Witherspoon movie where she plays a ghost-like character (looked it up, it’s “Just Like Heaven”). That’s actually a good movie. Then Cheaper by the Dozen 2 was on after that. Later in the day, Walk the Line was on too. So, I watched almost no football this week. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad, just a note.

Other quick notes. JC Romero is going to the Red Sox. Maybe he will implode there too. Or, maybe Terry Francona will only use him against lefties and he will be very important for them. JD Drew may not be a Red Sox player after all. Reports are that his shoulder did not pass the first physical. There are varying rumors about just how bad it is. He is getting a second opinion.

Finally, reports are that Brad Radke will officially announce his retirement on Tuesday. 12 years, nine of them he pitched at least 200 innings. He won 20 games once on a really bad team. He was Mr. Consistent. People can, and have, say what they want about him or the type of pitcher he is, but he was solid for a long time, and there is something to be said about that as well. It could be argued that he is the best Twins pitcher in their Minnesota history. Well, at least until Johan Santana puts in another year or two. Perhaps.

With that, I hope to be back tomorrow with something for you. But that is almost completely out of my hands and in the hands of the internet provider people! But, feel free to leave comments as things happen or as you wish.

Thank you and have a great day! 

Seth