The WGOM

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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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.