SB Nation User Blog: SDTwinsFan

Mauer and the SI Cover Curse

SDTwinsFan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:39:46 -0000

After last night's 0-5, Joe is now 3 for his last 21 at-bats. Just a rough patch that he'll work through or something more? Perhaps Joe is the newest athlete to fall victim to the curse. I don't know if any of you saw the article published in SI a few years back that they devoted to the history of the curse - it was actually pretty creepy. You can see the cover to the issue here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/cover/coverlarge012102.html

For those with a little more time... I strongly recommend you read the full article here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/magazine/08/27/jinx/

At the end of the day, Joe will probably be fine. I'm sure he'll make me look like an idiot tonight with a 3-3 and pair of walks kind of night, but its still fun to think about.

Twins vs. Yanks Tonite on FSN

SDTwinsFan — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 21:46:55 -0000

Twins vs. Yankees in a Spring Training matchup tonite. It should be a pleasant change of pace from the nightly basketball games.

The Chief will throw for the Twins vs. Jeff Karstens for the Yankees.

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Morneau MVP

SDTwinsFan — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 19:21:14 -0000

This is gonna be a race to get the first post up... and damnit... I'm gonna win. Awhile back I posted a diary showing why Justin Morneau was the league's mvp. Today, I look like a genius.

Morneau won the league MVP over Derek The Douchebag Jeter by a point total of 320-306. It's interesting to note that while Morneau recieved three more first place votes than Jeter (15-12), he actually received less second place votes.

Fellow Twins Joe Mauer (6th) and Johan Santana (7th and got the only other first place vote) also garnered respectable vote totals.

What a great year for the Minnesota Twins! To be completely honest, if you told me at this time last year that Morneau was going to be MVP... I would have laughed for hours. Congratulations Justin on being the League's best and even more so for breaking the hearts of the gazillions of people who drop to their knees at the mention of the word Jeter. Hooray Twins.

Steinbrenner is UNBELIEVABLE

SDTwinsFan — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 08:20:35 -0000

I HATE GEORGE STEINBRENNER. I do, I just don't like anything about him. Sportscenter reported tonite that Steinbrenner is going to fire Joe Torre. For those who don't know who that is, he's the manager who has NEVER failed to make the playoffs (in a division that was for a long time, the toughest in baseball). It should also be noted that he also won 4 World Series in eleven years. But on Monday, Joe Torre will be unemployed. I'd just like to take this opportunity to point out the absolute STUPIDITY in Steinbrenner's decision:

1.) Who are you gonna find that's better than Joe Torre? Lou Piniella??? Solid, but get real, you get ZERO improvement with Piniella. (That may be spelled wrong, you'll have to forgive me.)

2.) The Yankees had perhaps the greatest offense ever assembled in the playoffs this season and were done in 4 games. What does that tell you??? Try pitching... it'll help. If you're gonna spend 200+ million dollars... try getting a legitimate ace (no... Mussina and Johnson don't count... it's not 2000 anymore)

3.) There are such things as intangibles. A club house full of all-stars usually doesn't click well. And it REALLY doesn't help when you're team plays in the home city of the world's most unreasonable and often times stupid fans (not all fans... dont wanna stereotype... but those of you who think the team is better without A-Rod... YOU ARE STUPID.)

4.) How do you expect to have success when you're breathing down your players' necks all the time. How the hell is A-Rod supposed to relax when he can't go a week without being booed or badmouthed by you in the papers. Try a little support... the fans might catch on as well. Not everyone feeds off criticism and pressure.

In Summary: Go ahead and fire Joe Torre. I actually like Torre (which is ironic because I hate pretty much everything associated with the Yankees, except for him) and it's a shame he's taking the blame for the NYY situation, but in the end... it THRILLS me to watch the Yankees get worse thanks to a stupid owner.

Don't Let Hunter Off

SDTwinsFan — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 21:46:30 -0000

I am so sick of hearing... "Well, Torii's a gold glover. He was just out trying make a great play." Pardon my language, but thats Bull Shit. Since when does being a gold glover become a legitimate excuse to make STUPID decisions. That was not a physical error. That was Torii Hunter playing with his head up his ass. Seriously... for 10 million dollars, you'd think the guy could know the situation.

Now I'm not saying I don't appreciate his typically stellar defense, but the play he made today is inexcusable. You have to know there's two outs and the game is on the line. Keep that ball in front of you and live to play another day. Mistakes happen, and I think I'm even more frustrated by the fact that the post-game crew is giving him a pass, and pretending it didn't kill the Twins today. Just because he makes a lot of great plays doesn't entitle him to make one that basically cost the Twins the game.

And then to top it all off, he follows the mistake with maybe the worst at-bat I've seen all year. He swung at exactly ZERO strikes in what I believe was a three pitch strikeout. After flailing helplessly at a pitch a foot outside, he got just what he deserved for today's game... a resounding boo from the crowd.

I know this post has been exceptionally negative, but I am sooo frustrated right now. The Twins bats have disappeared entirely, the managing has been poor, and what the hell happened to Castillo? 3 K's looking today, a foolish caught stealing yesterday, a failure to move the runner over... what's next. This team has entirely gotten away from the game that got them this far (except for the digging themselves a massive hole part). Are we dead??? I wish with all my heart I could give a convincing "NO", but to tell the truth, I just flat out can't. We CAN still win this thing, and believe me, nobody wants to see the Twins win more than me, but unless the offense comes around fast (remember Haren's last start against the Twins) we are dead in the water. However, should the bats start getting hot... I actually like our chances, because the pitching (bullpen aside) has been great, and if we can get to game four, the chances of coming home for a game five have to look good w/ Santana throwing. But first... game three. GO RADKE!!!

Twins Acquire Phil Nevin

SDTwinsFan — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 02:44:08 -0000

The Twins received Phil Nevin from the Cubs today in exchange for a player to be named later. Phil Nevin, while far from a dominant force, has played well in his 180 at-bats for the Cubs, hitting .274 with 12 homers. Personally, I have mixed emotions regarding the trade, mainly because the words "player to be named later" scare the shit out of me. I don't know what kind of contract he carries, but I'm assuming the Twins aren't planning on Nevin stickin around to be a part of the Twins offense for years to come. Regardless of where he's at next year, Nevin (if healthy) should add a little offensive firepower that has been painfully absent from the DH position, while leaving the Twins with a capable back-up first basemen. It will be interesting to see who the Twins had to give up in exchange for him. In a best case scenario, Phil Nevin, all pumped up to be in a legitimate pennant race, comes in and solidifies the Twins at the DH position and propels the lackluster offense into the playoffs. Worst case scenario... the Twins traded away a future/current solid big-leaguer for the second coming of Rondell White/ Tony Batista. All in all... assuming the Twins didn't give up anyone too critical to the future... this may be another good deal by Terry Ryan. The way I see it, any offense that scored a total of 6 runs in a three game series against the Royals pitching staff, wasnt gonna go anywhere in the playoffs anyways. Only time will tell... until then, I'm hoping Nevin is the key to the Nevin/Durbin/LRod for Roy Holladay trade taking place later tonite ;)

Smell 'Em Shirts

SDTwinsFan — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 03:44:26 -0000

I know this is not what the site was intended for but, damnit, I wanna know where I can get a Smell 'Em T-Shirt. Normally I wouldnt do this, but I know there are a lot of fans out there looking for them and if anyone knows, why not help a fellow Twins fan make a few bucks. GO TWINS!!!!!!!!!! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX(MEETING THE MINIMUM CHARACTERS)XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX

Morneau Deserves MVP Votes

SDTwinsFan — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 03:12:42 -0000

Now I'm not dumb enough to say that Justin Morneau should win the AL MVP, simply because David Ortiz is unbelievable, but he certainly deserves consideration. There was an espn poll today that listed candidates for League MVP among those listed: Jeter, Young, Ortiz, Dye, Thome and Mauer. How can people work for ESPN and not include Morneau on that list??? It's an absolute joke that he was left off. Aside from Ortiz, none of those players put up the overall numbers that Morneau has? Lets take a look:

(Parentheses (sp?) represent league rank)

Jeter: Avg = .341(2) HR = 10(71) RBI = 72(22)
Young: Avg = .312(15) HR = 12(52) RBI = 80(15)
Ortiz: Avg = .283(42) HR = 43(1) RBI = 113(1)
Dye: Avg = .324(6) HR = 32(6) RBI = 89(9)
Thome: Avg = .295(28) HR = 36(2) RBI = 90(8)
Mauer: Avg = .359(1) HR = 10(71) RBI = 68(28)

Morneau: Avg = .316(11) HR = 31(7) RBI = 104(3)

While it might not be the most accurate way to assess a players value compared to the rest of the league (due to the failure to include intangibles that play such a huge part in baseball), I have taken an average of the league ranks of each player in the triple crown categories. When the ranks are averaged the top three look like this:

Name: LRAVG:
Morneau 7.00
Dye 7.00
Ortiz 14.67

Now obviously this method is flawed as Ortiz's average kills him in the rankings, but you readers should get the point. It is interesting to note that another notable player left out is "Pronk" in Cleveland:

AVG = .302(22) HR = 35(3) RBI = 105(2)

When the award is handed out at the end of the season, David Ortiz will win it with the vast majority of the vote, but it would sure be nice to see Morneau get some votes, especially if the Twins make the playoffs.

A few questions for some friendly group discussion to close with:

If the Red Sox don't make the playoffs, does it hurt Ortiz's candidacy? (Santana for Cy Young in 05)

Who wins the Twins MVP award this year?

Who wins in the NL MVP?

Liriano for Cabrera

SDTwinsFan — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 14:44:11 -0000

Just for fun, how badly do you want to see Miguel Cabrera in a Twins Uni? Both players have enormous upside, and should the Twins deal Liriano, they have the benefit of knowing that they've filled their major hole for years to come and still have a wealth of pitchers coming up. I would think that Liriano alone would be enough to make the Marlins consider the deal, after all, Liriano alone was enough to get Soriano last fall and that was before he was 7-1 and embarrassing hitters at the major league level. Either way, the Twins are virtually guaranteed a superstar for years to come(barring injury) but IMO its a lot easier for the Twins to fill spots in the rotation using the minors than it is to fill the hot corner. This is just for fun, but let's see what you all think

Poll

Would You Trade Liriano for Cabrera? (Disregard all salary issues, this is just for fun)

Yes

17 votes

No

99 votes

116 votes | Poll has closed

Venting... Need for Changes

SDTwinsFan — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 02:14:02 -0000

It's amazing how the Twins manage to just always catch a pitcher when they are "on their game" or "pitching a hell of a game". Watch the post game show tonite... I'll bet you regardless of who the interview is with, you'll hear "Nate Robertson was just great tonite" or something along those lines. Forget that... if the Twins weren't completely inept, Robertson wouldnt look like a freakin all-star. I'm sick of hearing how good the opposing pitcher is. It's not the opposing pitchers, its Torii Hunter hitting at right at the Mendoza Line, or maybe R. White doing nothing but striking out or hitting into double plays. Time and time again, hitters 4-9 are making opposing pitchers look like vintage Santana. And how hard is it for Brad Radke to not serve up two gopher balls a game... seriously, he's terrible. The Twins need to do SOMETHING.

Heres a list of possibilities:

Tonite was the perfect opportunity to stretch out Liriano. Reyes is ready, he's dominating at AAA and from what everyone's saying, his move has improved as well. Why not bring Liriano in and make the move tomorrow. It makes sense, get Liriano some innings at the bigs and catch Reyes between starts and bring him up. The Twins are wasting one of if not the best young arm in the league. It'd be different if they were using him out of the pen in long relief, but every time he throws an inning or less, the length of time its gonna take to stretch him out increases. When he's ready, its time to make a move with somebody. I hate to say it, but if Radke doesnt get his stuff together, the Twins should consider moving him to the bullpen or entertaining trade options to a contender (I dont know if he has a clause, or if anyone would take him, but if they can dump 10 mil in salary, and get some young talent (at 3rd) then why not). Radkes been a hell of a Twin and earned a chance to improve, but even he shouldnt be allowed to be this bad and stay in the rotation for long.

Trade Torii Hunter!!! This guy is hands down the most overrated player on the Twins team if not in the league. He can't hit with runners in scoring position (hell, he usually can't even put the ball in play). 12 million dollars... thats what the Twins get for a guy hitting .200, that hasnt even come close to 30 HR or 100 RBI in the last five years. His value is still good, especially for teams desperate for a center fielder (see LA Dodgers) and the Twins arent gonna bring him back next year, not unless he has what would be a career year. And don't even start with how much his defense means to this team, no amount of defense can justify a guy hitting like he is.

Finally, I'm not suggesting anything by this, just curious, but how long do the Twins let this go before they start looking at areas other than players. I think there's a pretty clear consensus that there have been some strange decisions made by the coaching staff this year.

Perhaps I'm being too critical (I am writing this while enraged at the Twins for tonites game) but the Twins need to make a decision... play for this season, or start playing for next. IT IS starting to reach that point. The White Sox and Indians aren't going to magically collapse, there just too good, and if the Twins wanna compete this year or next, there gonna have to shake things up.