I'm not very good at linking to other bloggers, but my buddy Seth over at Seth Speaks does a great job. I always enjoy reading his stuff. Today he has a Q&A with Twins Scouting Director Mike Radcliff. Go on over and read Seth every day but especially today.
Who you got in the Big Game? I'm thinking the Colts will git er dun, but then again I was 0-2 last weekend.
The declining Kevin Garnett scored 44 points and the Wolves stop the Suns 17 game winning streak.
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 30th highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins, Scott Erickson.
Scott Erickson was a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins from 1990-95. If you are old enough to remember the 1991 season, it is really hard to believe that Scott Erickson [...]
The other day I was perusing the Baseball Prospectus PECOTA cards and I happened across Torii Hunter's card. The PECOTA cards have a statistic called MORP, which is Marginal Value Above Replacement Player. As first introduced here with an hilarious mea culpa on the Cristian Guzman signing by the Nats, MORP is [...]
Barry Bonds is in SF to sign his contract. The final assault on Hank Aaron's homerun record is about to begin.
Unless you are living under a rock, you know that Bonds's pursuit of the record is fraught with controversy. Forget for a moment that Bonds is a dink and that he (probably) took some sort [...]
Monday morning and I got nuthin. What's on your mind?
BBC Symphony Orchestra at The Barbicon, London.
Something you want to see? Call the request line. Did you miss a video or want to watch one again from a while back? Click here for the SBG Music Archive.
I was reading an article on SI.COM on the Dwane Casey firing. I should stop right there and say that SI used to be the preeminent sports magazine in the country. I suppose that is still a true statement. But, it's clear that SI is not even close to the preeminent source for sports information [...]
I'm not much of a programmer, in fact I'm not a programmer at all.
I used to be able to do some programming back in the day, and I can tinker with code on this site a little bit, but I'm not about to become an expert in web site programming -- that's not happening. I [...]
Weekend coffee is-a brewing.
If you're like me, you're always trying to find reliable park factors listed somewhere. Though I've only recently discovered them, they've had them at Baseball Reference, for a while now I think. Just go to the team index, click through to the team you want to view, and then go to attendance, stadiums [...]
Congrats to Scot at Coffeeville Whirlwind on the arrival of his new son. With B-G's early arrival and Scot's new baby, only Lucy is "currently constructing" the next generation of Twins bloggers (that I know of).
Dan Fox of Baseball Prospectus has been writing the last couple of weeks about the ever increasing level of play in major league baseball. He has another effort this week, linking the decline in triples to an increasing level of play.
More good work by BP. Every time you hear about Babe Ruth outhomering [...]
Outside of the SBG, AG, BG, et al. in the Twins blogosphere, what do you read? Give me a list of your favorite blogs.
Poor Lucy. She is really uncomfortable these days. And almost three months to go.
Top Jimmy:
In fact, [Kevin McHale]'s no longer even first in line for taking blame. That honor now belongs to Taylor, the genial but obtuse owner.
Taylor has allowed McHale, perhaps one of the three worst sports executives in the nation, to fire two coaches in three seasons. McHale has done so during seasons hamstrung by players [...]
As if I didn't know it already, I'm reminded again today that not everyone goes through life in the way that I do.
I'm standing in line for a sandwich at Subway. The woman (who is about 35-40 years old) behind me clearly does not understand that she gets to choose the toppings on her [...]
I've been pretty active lately. I haven't been getting out or anything, but I'm not just laying around. I'm kickin'!
Mom has been feeling an intensely sharp pain in her side. Hee hee! Dad made her go to the doctor and get checked out. It weren't nothin', just little old me. [...]
Wolves lose in Portland 101-98. Oops, I guess Wittman wasn't the answer.
Chris Sheridan on the Dwane Casey firing (subscription required):
Casey had to know that he was failing to meet the owner's expectations after (Timberwolves owner Glen) Taylor told him and his staff that he felt the team was strong enough to reach the Western Conference finals.
Sure, Kevin McHale is ridiculously incompetent. But, the true problem [...]
I am on call for Jury Duty at the US District Court in Minneapolis for the months of March and April -- right when BabySBG is due to be born. Good grief.
Casey out, Wittman in. I'm sure things will be dramatically improved. Heh.
Well, Ol' Patrick missed it by 10 games. The Wolves have fired Dwane Casey after 40 games. Randy Wittman takes over as interim coach.
I find this to be a distasteful situation. I've documented many times and everybody knows that it is Kevin McHale (or, more accurately, Glen Taylor) who is to blame [...]
Fallout from the NFL playoffs, Top40 VORP, the Ortiz signing and whatever else is on your mind.
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 31st highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins, Joe Mays.
Joe Mays was a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins from 1999-2003 and 2005. Mr. Mays had one glorious season in 2001 under the dull Minnesota Teflon sky. That season [...]
Sid:
This is a tough blow for Childress, who thought so much of Tomlin that he gave him complete control of the defense. The players had so much respect for Tomlin because he was so smart and so knowledgeable and was super at handling people.
But I have complete confidence that Childress will find a good replacement [...]
Hey people, Geoff here. SBG gave me writer access when we met up last fall and I've yet to take advantage.
First off, unless the game goes into quadruple overtime (actually it may take 5 OT) don't look for the Jazz to put up 130+.
Minnesota is a tough matchup for the Jazz. IMHO one [...]
It's clear that someone is having fun at my expense. I have made some more changes to try to combat this. My message to the hacker who is playing with me is that my readers and I have fun with this site. It's hard for me to believe that hacking this site [...]
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 32rd highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins (to date), Joe Mauer.
Joe Mauer, in case you are living under a rock, is the current catcher for the Minnesota Twins. He’s been in the majors since 2004. Despite playing [...]
Preface: I like Bill Simmons, humorist. His columns generally make me laugh, and that's why I've more or less read every one of them since I knew about Bill Simmons.
In his most recent column, though, Simmons misses the mark badly. He thinks that we, as non-Bostonians, see the Patriots as the NFL's version [...]
KFAN is reporting that Mike Tomlin will be the next head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tomlin is denying reports.
If Tomlin gets this job, it will be a fantastic situtation for him. The Steelers are a quality organization and are the definition of stable. Since 1969, they've had two head football coaches. [...]
The Wolves lost at home in double overtime to the Pistons on Friday night. It was a game that they should never have lost.
KG had another poor shooting night and scored just 14 points before he was ejected with just over five minutes remaining in the game. The Big Ticket had 19 rebounds, [...]
Grab a cup of coffee and talk it up this weekend. NFL Conference championships. I think it's gonna be the Pats and Saints.
BP is reporting that one player has the following ugly PECOTA projection:
PA R 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS BA OBP SLG VORP
137 14 5 0 5 18 [...]
Strib:
The Twins will sign righthander Ramon Ortiz to a one-year deal worth around $3.1 million. The deal is contingent on Ortiz passing his physical.
Ortiz, 33, was 11-16 with a 5.57 ERA last season with Washington.
His 2006 VORP was -2.3 in 190 innings. Replacement level.
Actually, I'd rather have signed this joker for $3.1 million than [...]
TGIF. So, get on the record. How do you think that Tim Brewster will do as Gopher football coach?
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 33rd highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins, Dave Boswell.
Dave Boswell pitched in the major leagues as a teenager and had a promising career, but he was out of the majors before the age of 27.
What I'd like to see is Flip Saunders coaching at the U. For this to happen, he needs to get fired in Detroit. And soon. How to get this done?
Number 1: Bring in a washed up formerly great player to suck up minutes and provide no value. Check.
David Thorpe from [...]
Mr. Brewster said what he had to say yesterday, namely that the goal for the Goofs is the Rose Bowl. Minnesota last played in the Rose Bowl in 1962. (My mother, now two months away from collecting Social Security, was a junior in high school back then.) Since the Gophers last played [...]
Hmmm. Bad loss there to the Hawks. That and other post SBG birthday thoughts at the WGOM.
Bill Simmons:
The last great basketball teams were the Lakers and Celtics from the mid-'80s. Both were blessed with selfless superduperstars (Bird and Magic), genuine Hall of Famers (McHale and Parish for Boston; Worthy and Kareem for the Lakers) and valuable role players (DJ, Ainge and Walton for Boston; Cooper, Scott and Green for the Lakers). [...]
Link:
Right-hander Kyle Lohse, who moved into the Cincinnati Reds' starting rotation down the stretch last season, agreed Tuesday to a one-year contract.
I thought he was supposed to go to arbitration. And win.
In other, less snark worthy news, the Twins arbitration numbers are in.
Player
Club
Club Proposal
Player Proposal
Michael Cuddyer
MIN
$3M
$4.25M
Lew [...]
Happy birthday to me! And to Shane from the Greet Machine!
PiP:
[Flip] Saunders sees [Chris] Webber as a player who will fit in well with the Pistons, similar to Kevin Garnett's role with the Wolves. Webber is a forward who can pass well, shoot jumpers and grab rebounds, though he clearly isn't as athletic as Garnett.
Saunders said Webber has a high basketball IQ.
"He's a lot like [...]
The Wolves keep on winning and whatever else is on your mind.
Strib:
The Wolves have been talking with the Detroit Pistons about a deal that could send Jaric to Motown, with one of several big men -- Nazr Mohammed, Antonio McDyess or Dale Davis -- heading to Minnesota.
Do we have to send a #1, too?
Think of it. Sam Cassell and a #1 for a backup big [...]
Indianapolis v. New England? Whatever will be the storyline? Monday morning cup of coffee.
When I analyze pitchers, I often mention their ground ball percentage. This is something that hasn't typically been tracked through the history of baseball, but turns out to be helpful in evaluating pitchers anyway. I feel like I have a fairly good idea of what constitutes a "ground ball pitcher" and what constitutes [...]
Kevin Garnett got his 10,000th rebound on Saturday night as the Wolves won for the ninth time in 12 games, 109-98 over New Jersey. The Wolves outscored the Nets 37-21 in the fourth quarter. KG had 12 of those points.
KG tallied 32 points and 14 rebounds on the night to go along with [...]
What's a weekend without a cup of coffee? Lucy and I are heading down to Winona to celebrate my mother in law's 70th birthday.
The latest news in the Barry Bonds saga is explosive. Barry Bonds has reportedly failed a drug test for amphetamines. I am outraged.
I am outraged in part because this has been reported.
Hall of Fame, Top 40 VORP, and Soccer talk. It's a big Friday here at the WGOM.
The TOP 40 VORP here at SBG continues with the 34th highest VORP total for a Twins player, Steve Braun.
Steve Braun played for the Twins for six seasons, from 1971 to 1976. He accumulated a total of 107.3 VORP with the Twins. He was Michael Cuddyer before Michael Cuddyer.
Top 40 VORP in Twins History:
Number
Player
VORP
40
Rich Rollins
95.0
39
Matt Lawton
96.3
38
Geoff Zahn
97.1
37
Jimmie Hall
100.5
36
Mike Trombley
101.3
35
Jerry Koosman
102.2
This has been discussed in the comments already, but apparently since this is some sort of international crisis, and I don't think SBG has much interest in writing about it, so I thought I'd chime in on the issue.
Perhaps you've heard already, but in case you haven't seen in printed in every media outet yet, [...]
The original baseball Hall of Fame class was Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, and Honus Wagner.
Player
WARP3
Ruth
234.2
Johnson
200.9
Wagner
194.6
Cobb
189.8
Mathewson
131.3
Christy Mathewson may have been the first mistake ever, as Cy Young had a 178.3 WARP3 and a peak comparable to that of Mathewson's.
If you were starting a Hall of Fame right now, who would be in [...]
It's Thursday and I got nuthin'.
Link:
McGwire, he of the 583 career home runs, was named on 25.3 percent of ballots cast in this year's election.
That isn't a rebuke or a reprimand, a warning or a suspension.
That -- 25.3 percent of the votes for the seventh-most prolific home-run hitter in baseball history -- is a conviction to a life sentence, without [...]
It's no ordinary hump day... well hell, maybe it is.
What you rather have, a World Series ring or a Hall of Fame plaque? Fifty-seven percent of respondents in the ESPN.COM poll said the ring.
I say the plaque.
I think that it's this simple. Whose career would you rather have: Ted Williams's or Al Newman's? Ernie Banks's or Steve Lombardozzi's? Barry Bonds's [...]
Results:
545 ballots cast, 75% required for induction.
Player
Votes
Percent
Cal Ripken Jr.
537
98.5
Tony Gwynn
532
97.6
Rich Gossage
388
71.2
Jim Rice
346
63.5
Andre Dawson
309
56.7
Bert Blyleven
260
47.7
Lee Smith
217
39.8
Jack Morris
202
37.1
Mark McGwire
128
23.5
Tommy John
125
22.9
Steve Garvey
115
21.1
Bert was over 50% last year. That Gossage has to wait at least two more years after Sutter got in [...]
Later today, the 2007 Class of Baseball's Hall of Fame will be announced. Sadly, the class of 2007 will not be as full as it should be because of the steroid issue. I think the right vote is for McGwire, but that's not what I want to talk about today.
I can say with [...]
BCS Blowout and other topics are on tap for Tuesday.
It's Monday morning, and you need a cup.
A while back, I posted a story on Sidney Ponson and it didn't show up on the main page. I couldn't figure out why at first, but now I know. This new template has a feature called "Aside" in which I can set one category as an aside and posts to an "aside". [...]
Grab a cup, it's freshly brewed.
Kevin Garnett hit a shot at the buzzer in overtime to lead the Wolves to a 104-102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. After starting slow (no points in the first quarter), the Big Ticket warmed up and produced the typical line: 25 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists.
If you have been watching, KG looks [...]
Bob Klapisch, who writes all Yankees all the time for ESPN, muses about the direction of the Yankees after the Randy Johnson trade:
Of course, it's possible the Yankees' sudden accumulation of young, cheap talent that would be acquired in both the Johnson and Gary Sheffield deals is leading to a mega-swap with the Twins, who've [...]
Chris Sheridan of ESPN speculates that Dwane Casey is the fourth most likely coach to get axed next.
The current four-game homestand is crucial to Casey's future, and the Wolves' OT victory over San Antonio on Wednesday night was huge. But any kind of a sustained slide back below .500 lowers Casey's odds.
Maybe a better coach [...]
The Vikings situation is so bad right now, that Top Jimmy writes a column suggesting that the Gophers have a chance to overtake the Vikings as the most popular football team in town. You know the Gophers -- that team that just fired its coach after the biggest collapse in a bowl game ever.
I [...]
A while back, Reusse wrote a column making fun of the other newspaper in town for their speculation that the Wolves might trade for Allen Iverson.
One minor ingredient was missing from this dramatic presentation.
Reporting.
Reading in between the lines, I've decided old Glen (and it's one "N", I've been spelling it wrong) is a dink.
Yeah, he comes off as a dink, but sometimes a person's public persona isn't actually the way they really are. Grandpa is telling me that he really is a dink, though.
He writes a column [...]
This post is being added to determine whether it will show up on the front page.
Last night I posted on Sidney Ponson and the post went into the ether. I couldn't figure out why it did that. I have now since figured it out, and have "fixed" the problem. This is an [...]
Strib:
Ponson, 30, will make $1 million if he makes the team and could earn another $2 million in incentives. He was 17-12 with a 3.75 ERA in 2004, parlaying that into a three-year, $22.5 million deal with Baltimore. But he was charged with assaulting a judge in his home country of Aruba in 2004, then [...]
How does the new template look? I'm wondering about problems... I know that the comment paragraph break stinks and when I can figure that out, I'll fix it. Are there any other problems?
What else is on your mind?
Lucy just called me and she's got a flat tire. I'm on my way to investigate. Wow, are we having bad luck with vehicles lately.
Update: Lucy's right rear tire was blown out with about a two foot hole in the sidewall. Good gravy.
Update: The guys at Goodyear informed me that the rear [...]
"Take a Knee" Denny fired by the Arizona Cardinals. Personally, I always liked Denny when he was in Minnesota, mainly because his teams were entertaining.
Lucy and I went out last night about 7:00 PM and met another couple for dinner. We went out right at the height of the snow event and skidded our way halfway across the city. We were safely home by 11:30. Shortly after midnight, I went to bed. I'm old, I [...]