Recent transactions involving former Minnesota Twins players:
Arizona agrees to terms with Kevin Mulvey on a one-year contract.
Baltimore assigns Armando Gabino to minor league camp.
Cincinnati assigns Alexander Smit to minor league camp.
Houston gives Alex Romero his unconditional release.
Dodgers assign Michael Restovich to minor league camp.
Mets assign R. A. Dickey to minor league camp.
Toronto outrights Sean Henn to AAA Las Vegas.
Washington releases Eddie Guardado (as first reported here by freealonzo).
Please place any additions or corrections in the comments.
Perhaps it's the complete lay down by the Wolves that has me in a pissy mood today, but I want to explore the unthinkable with you. Let's suppose that the Twins put out a great offer for Joe Mauer on top of everything that they've done to improve the club: 8 years $180 million. Let's say that they even give him an opt out after four years. But, Joe says, no thank you, I want to be a Yankee. The Yanks stars are getting old and I can be the biggest name in New York. Sorry folks. Remember to buy your cars at Mauer Chevrolet. Then, he goes to New York and signs the exact same deal.
It's 2011 and the Yanks are in town and you are at the game. They've even pulled down #7 for Joe to wear (the Yankees flipped $10 million to the Mantle family to keep them happy, as part of the deal to get Joe). Before the game, there's Jeter and Joe, talking and smiling and Jeter throws his arm around Joe. Unlike A-Rod, Jeter really seems to like Joe and he's said publicly that Joe is a true Yankee and the cornerstone of the future. Joe, for his part, hasn't said much, but he did say that it has always been a dream of his to play for the Yankees.
In the top of the first, Mauer comes up to face the Twins for the first time. Do you boo him?
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Nixey Callahan (1874)
Johnny Cooney (1901)
Al Benton (1911)
Elbie Fletcher (1916)
Hi Bithorn (1916)
Eddie Lake (1916)
Hal White (1919)
George Plimpton (1927)
Charley Pride (1938)
Pat Jarvis (1941)
Dwayne Murphy (1955)
Geronimo Berroa (1965)
Tomo Ohka (1976)
Scott Podsednik (1976)
Corky Miller (1976)
Fernando Rodney (1977)
Click here to continue reading Happy Birthday–March 18...
Fred Pfeffer (1860)
Oscar Stanage (1883)
Charlie Root (1899)
Hank Sauer (1917)
Pete Reiser (1919)
Cito Gaston (1944)
Tim Lollar (1956)
Danny Ainge (1959)
John Smiley (1965)
Dan Masteller (1968)
Bill Mueller (1971)
Raul Chavez (1973)
Robb Quinlan (1977)
Click here to continue reading Happy Birthday–March 17...
I have a 19" HDTV in my bedroom, but until this weekend, that was the extent of my HDTVness. I bought a 36" TV back in 1998 ($1200!) and I've been living with that for the last 12 years. Truth be told, it was a heckuva TV when I bought it, but good gravy is that thing like IBM-XT these days. About a week or so ago, the picture tube went out and I finally broke down and got myself a 42" LCD TV. Um, it's a little different. I like it.
Anyhow, I actually watched a couple of movies this week. On Saturday night, I viewed Synedoche, New York. You know, I have really enjoyed Charlie Kaufmann movies, but this one, I don't know. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is great, but this thing is over the top. The reviews on this thing are all over the place -- some think it was the best movie of the year, some think it was the worst movie of the year. I'll admit that my viewing of this thing was disjointed and I was somewhat distracted. Maybe I should watch it again. But, I don't know. Any thoughts?
I saw Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on Wednesday night. Marilyn Monroe is terrific and this is the movie where she sings Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend. Jane Russell is pretty good and she's really the star of this show. But, you will not see a leading actress play a sexy role with a body like hers these days. I mean, she's pretty big. But, if you like 1950s comedies, this was a pretty good one. The wife said, "You don't like Marilyn Monroe, do you?" I said, yes, I do.
Blondie Purcell (1854)
Jerry Denny (1859)
Patsy Donovan (1865)
Jake Flowers (1902)
Buddy Myer (1904)
Lloyd Waner (1906)
Ken O'Dea (1913)
Tom Gorman (1919)
Clint Courtney (1927)
Hobie Landrith (1930)
Don Blasingame (1932)
Rick Reichardt (1943)
Rick Renick (1944)
Charles Hudson (1959)
Curtis Granderson (1981)
Click here to continue reading Happy Birthday–March 16...
Okay, there's a little snow left, but at 65 degree day in the Minneapolis area all but ended the snow cover around here. My daughter informed me on Saturday that she was watching the snow melt and I laughed and said, well, it is melting fast or slow. "Fast," she replied. Well, then, it should be gone by tomorrow, I told her.
She knew what she was talking about. By Sunday night, only the remnants of my snow removal activities (you now, where I piled it up) remained. The grass is brown and matted, but it's also uncovered. And a crazy thing -- there's no water standing in my backyard. In previous years, there's been water congregated in a low spot, but not this year. That ground is a little moist, but not like previous years.
All in all, it was a pretty amazing melt yesterday. Time for baseball!
Arlie "The Freshest Man on Earth" Latham (1860)
Doc Casey (1870)
Rosy Ryan (1898)
Bob Locker (1938)
Wayne Granger (1944)
Bobby Bonds (1946)
Jim Kern (1949)
Mickey Hatcher (1955)
Harold Baines (1959)
Mike Pagliarulo (1960)
Kim Batiste (1968)
Robert Fick (1974)
Dan Perkins (1975)
Vladimir Nunez (1975)
Kevin Youkilis (1979)
Click here to continue reading Happy Birthday–March 15...
Candy Nelson (1849)
Bill Holbert (1855)
Marty McManus (1900)
Jack Rothrock (1905)
Dave McKay (1950)
Butch Wynegar (1956)
Steve Lake (1957)
Jerry Willard (1960)
Kirby Puckett (1960)
Kevin Brown (1965)
Brent Gates (1970)
Click here to continue reading Happy Birthday–March 14...
Frank "Home Run" Baker (1886)
Patsy Gharrity (1892)
Doug Harvey (1930)
Bill Dailey (1935)
Steve Barber (1948)
Terry Leach (1954)
Randy Bass (1954)
Luis Aguayo (1959)
Mariano Duncan (1963)
Will Clark (1964)
Jorge Fabregas (1970)
Scott Sullivan (1971)
Johan Santana (1979)
Click here to continue reading Happy Birthday–March 13...
Does anyone buy stereo equipment anymore? Or is our music experience almost completely limited to the iPod experience? I have some old stereo equipment collecting dust, but I also don't use an MP3 player.
Drop your lists.
Denny Lyons (1866)
Vern Law (1930)
Johnny Callison (1939)
Jimmy Wynn (1942)
Bill Butler (1947)
Larry Rothschild (1954)
Ruppert Jones (1955)
Dale Murphy (1956)
Darryl Strawberry (1962)
Shawn Gilbert (1965)
Steve Finley (1965)
Raul Mondesi (1971)
Greg Hansell (1971)
Click here to continue reading Happy Birthday–March 12...
Two weeks, actually, since I was gone much of last week. Here are recent transactions involving former Minnesota Twins players.
Baltimore signs Armando Gabino.
Mets agreed to terms with Jason Pridie on a one-year contract.
Oakland agrees to terms with Steve Tolleson on a one-year contract.
Pittsburgh agrees to terms with Garrett Jones on a one-year contract.
San Diego signs Eric Munson.
San Francisco signs Matt Kinney.
Seattle agrees to terms with Ryan Rowland-Smith on a one-year contract.
Please place any additions or corrections in the comments.
Last week, you made predictions about how many games the Twins will win in 2010. Just for the heck of it, let's check that out again.
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And since we're all in a good mood, how about this one?
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Update: Top Jimmy writes today that the Twins might have to trade Mauer. Included in this article is this gem:
If the Twins signed Mauer to a deal worth $25 million a year -- which might be what it takes -- what might they have to pay to keep Morneau, who was considered the more valuable player until last season?
Oh Jimmy, you are so much fun.
I've been threatening (at least in my own mind) to write more often around here. Here are a few thoughts this morning.
- Wolves lose to Denver last night and now stand at 51 losses, good for tenth worst in franchise history. Hollinger projects them to lose 64, which would leave only the Jimmy Rodgers year with more losses than this club. The future may or may not be better, but at least that Rodgers club was only the third Timberwolves campaign. From where I'm sitting this is just about as grim as it has ever been. Just about the only thing that could be worse is if the Wolves were sitting in salary cap Hell, to boot.
- Hey, does anyone think that Ben Roethlisberger is a good guy?
- Perhaps the biggest criticism leveled Michael Jordan in is playing days is that he never used his position to speak out about social issues. But, what if Jordan had opened his mouth and sounded like Torii Hunter? Hunter may be a great baseball player and all, but he's also someone with a high school education who appears to be profoundly ignorant. I wonder if he'll be asked by media types to talk about race again anytime soon. Next stop: the annual #42 day, when players honor Jackie Robinson. My take is every single player should be encouraged to wear #42 to honor Mr. Robinson's contributions to society. We all know that Torii thinks only Black players should be allowed to wear the number -- and that apparently means Black Americans, not the descendants of slaves from other countries. Interestingly, the Hunter story shows up in a wire story at the Strib, but the editing is such that Hunter's comments seem much less inflammatory. What I really want to know is who exactly comes up to Torii and asks him what color Vladimir Guerrero is.
- The Celtics lost again last night, this time at home to the Grizzlies. KG had 6 points. One good thing about the KG trade is that we don't have to watch his getting-uglier-every-day decline.
- This story is one that bears watching. Koua Fong Lee of St. Paul was convicted of criminal vehicular homicide when the car he was driving careened into cars on June 6, 2006 on an off ramp on I-94.
Lee was driving his family home from their Minneapolis church that afternoon in June. According to testimony, he was traveling about 55 mph as he took the Snelling Avenue exit ramp off eastbound Interstate 94 in St. Paul. But instead of slowing down, the car sped up.
Lee sideswiped several cars before crashing into an Oldsmobile Ciera driven by Javis Adams Sr., 33. Adams and his 10-year-old son, Javis Jr. (J.J.), were killed. His niece, Devyn Bolton, was left a quadriplegic and died at age 7 in October 2007. Adams' father, Quincy Adams, and Javis Jr.'s sister, Jasmine, were injured.
Driving home from church, and Lee was going 75 to 90 on an off ramp, after driving (according to his testimony) 55 on the freeway? Mr. Lee has spent the past 2 1/2 years of an 8 eight year sentence in prison, all the while insisting that he was trying to stop the car, but that it wouldn't stop.
The case, of course, is getting another look-see because Mr. Lee was driving a Toyota. Typically, in cases like these, the family of the victims aren't all that interested in helping a convicted felon get another shot at freedom. But, as you might expect, this is a little different.
Attorney Michael Padden is representing the victims' family as they explore a lawsuit against Toyota. He said the family supports digging for more evidence.
"The family's impetus is discovering the truth," he said.
It's hard to feel anything but compassion for these people -- three family members dead, including two children. But, of course, the best outcome for them is that the car is found to have been defective. Mr. Lee might have some damages here, too. Like spending 2 1/2 years in prison and being blamed for the deaths of three people.
Bobby Winkles (1930)
Dock Ellis (1945)
Cesar Geronimo (1948)
Phil Bradley (1959)
Bryan Oelkers (1961)
Steve Reed (1965)
Salomon Torres (1972)
Click here to continue reading Happy Birthday–March 11...
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Cup of Coffee  37 LTEs
Wolves lose again by 22, Kevin Love down to 17 minutes. This is the worst possible situation for the Wolves. They are driving what is left of their fan base with a tremendous stretch of terrible basketball. Their best, or second-best, player has checked out and is getting buried on the bench. I doubt that Love is in their long term plans. How's that O.J. Mayo deal looking now?
Citizens Online 33 Users Online
Users: Milt on Tilt, eschapp, freealonzo, nibbish, FirstTimeLongTime, Andrew, UncleWalt, Jeff A, SBG, DK, 21 Guests, 3 Bots
Retired WGOM Jokes
- "The Twins should have drafted Mark Prior."
Race to the Bottom: Highest Loss Totals in T-Wolves History 67: 1991-92
63: 1992-93
62: 1993-94
61: 1994-95
60: 1989-90, 2007-08
58: 2008-09
56: 1995-96
55: 2009-10
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Recent Letters to the Editor
In Response to Cup of Coffee: March 18, 2010,
Andrew wrote: She dated both Marion and Dom Barber in HS (I didn't really ask how you break up with a guy then date his brother later). She's had her time in the sun, and for…
SBG wrote: I got in! I selected the favorites in every single game! Just wanted to see how that "strategy" would work out. Go overdogs!!!!!
SBG wrote: Right. He's always one step ahead of the law. I happened to catch a few minutes of a Kentucky game (or was it highlights on ESPN?) and there was your dream girl.
nibbish wrote: Jeter leaving for the Royals would be the greatest thing in baseball history, especially if it started with a huge Brett Favre-style controversy.
SBG wrote: Dangerous territory you are treading in here. Do you think the odds of you scoring some ungettable babe are better than hers of getting with some star that comes through town? The karma…
nibbish wrote: **checks list** Yes. I am in agreement with this. This is a good plan.
SBG wrote: Time for a celebration! Might I suggest that she pony up a set of four Twins season tickets to be divided among the top 50 LTE writers at the WGOM?
Beau wrote: I had a girlfriend once where we had mutual exemptions. At the time, I think hers was for Siddig El Fadil, and mine was Moira Kelly.
Jeff A wrote: I was with you right until the end. You know Punto is still going to be in the Twins infield in 2012.
hungry joe wrote: let us know when she becomes your special lady friend.
In Response to Nightmares at WGOMville,
DK wrote: Whatever. Trading nothing for nothing isn't a victory, it's shuffling deck chairs. Pavano and Rauch (probably) were good trades, but they don't make Cabrera good by proxy.
Jeff A wrote: Mauer to the Yankees? Ridiculous. We know how this story turns out. Just read Luke 4.
Milt on Tilt wrote: And not that I'm a small sample guy, but there was …
Milt on Tilt wrote: Come to think of it, I don't think I did either. My buddies and I just kept reminding of him of his excellent play on Mark Kotsay's single …
SBG wrote: I didn't even boo Torii Hunter, despite his year long find a new team tour.
Milt on Tilt wrote: Well at face value, it doesn't appear that it would. But then when you consider the alternatives were Alexi Casilla (.260), Matt Tolbert (.278), and Brendan Harris (.295) it looks a little better. Unless…
DK wrote: I don't believe Cabrera's .310 wOBA and -15.3 UZR does much to get anybody in the playoffs.
nibbish wrote: If the Twins ever truly disgusted me to the point of no longer maintaining interest in them, I don't know if I could ever really get into another team. They'd eventually play the Twins, and…
Milt on Tilt wrote: It wasn't a barn burning move, but it wasn't bad either and it showed he wasn't willing to sit on his hands. And it did just enough to get into the playoffs, did it…
nibbish wrote: I'd boo Bueheurleigh until he cried.
In Response to Cup of Coffee: March 17, 2010,
Moss wrote: The old "you can't have your coke and snort it too" … can't get a conviction on a … test...and is possession of any amount of coke a felony??
hungry joe wrote: tell me about it...
brianS wrote: It is hard to consume if you do not possess.
Jeff A wrote: The people we tried to give a break to came forward and sought help, too--after they got caught. They also didn't try to deny or place blame somewhere else--that's partly why we were inclined…
SBG wrote: What are you talking about? You can't get pregnant the first …