Go ahead and get your stretches in, do a little running in the outfield. Get an inning or two of work in and hit the showers. It's spring training game one and the SBG Nation needs to work out the kinks.
With the first spring training game just a few short hours away (should I open up a game log?) I got an early start by having lunch today with Uber-blogger Seth Stohs. We grabbed a bite, chatted about blogging, the Twins, the dreadful Wolves loss last night, ScruFi, Terry Ryan, etc. A good [...]
Your articles for today:
CarterHayes writes: This morning I came across a pretty interesting essay on the position of skyscrapers in the post-9/11 world, and particularly the boom of construction in the Middle East and China. And interesting read for anyone with an interest in architecture. The mile-tall Frank Lloyd Wright building mentioned [...]
A little birdie told me that they're gonna play baseball tonight in Florida.
In today's New York Times, Murray Chass has decided to write about topics that should be off-limits this season. I can get behind some of them: no more talk about Clemens' "retirement" situation, no more talk about who is going to be a free agent at the end of the seasons, no more talk [...]
Happy birthday to my little brother the Mayor. He's 31 today and the mayor of SBGville. He's the only person in the world whose diaper I've changed. That's about to change, of course, and I'm pretty sure he's sick of me tell people about that.
What to do? I'm caught in the horns of a dilemma.
I've got one article, but it's Moss referring to me being referred to in a story by Joe Christenson in his blog. If I link to it, this comment will appear at the blog. So, sorry, no link. But, I will [...]
I just got home a few minutes ago and I went onto the deck, grabbed a bottle of beer, popped it into my bottle couzie and sat down at the computer. So, yes, I’ll admit that I was having a brewski while writing this post. However, since I started writing this before I [...]
It's been a tough day or so here at the headquarters of the WGOM. I woke up on Sunday morning, filled with a strange yearning to write a post on Rick Aguilera for our TOP40 VORP series that was only tangentially related to Aggie. Check it out. I'm pretty sure you won't [...]
I did something yesterday that was unintended and I'm a little embarrassed.
In the "What Are You Hearing", I linked to some blog articles at the Strib written by Joe Christensen, LENIII, and Howard Sinker. I also provided some of my usual half-baked crap... chiding LENIII for using "pick to click" and pointing out that [...]
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 20th highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins, Rick Aguilera. (Note: After the 2007 season, Aguilera's VORP total is now 21st All-Time.) Aguilera is the ninth pitcher and third reliever covered in this series. He has the [...]
The Stones at Altamont, December 6, 1969, performing "Sympathy for the Devil" in front of 500,000 people. If you've never seen this footage, you should watch it. Look at that little stage with almost a half million people there. It's an eerie, frightful, awful scene. The Stones on their 1969 Tour [...]
My Dad, Butch, has had impaired hearing from working in a factory for several decades. He finally broke down and got hearing aids and now we all have to stop talking about him while he's standing right there.
Welcome to the weekend edition of What are You Hearing? Following my lead, twayn picks up a nice little tidbit from a White Sox blog. Hopefully, as we get closer to the start of the season, you can pick a "favorite" team, blog, or news source and watch them for the SBG Nation. [...]
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 21st highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins, Eric Milton.
Eric Milton was a left handed starting pitcher with the Minnesota Twins from 1998-2003. The major prize of the Chuck Knoblauch trade, Milton was thrust into the starting rotation as [...]
Have you seen that judge handling the Anna Nicole Smith case? Holy cow.
Welcome to another edition of What are You Hearing? May I suggest that as the season news, a couple of you bird dog MLB.COM or local newspapers for the news from other teams in the AL Central.
brianS writes: What every mother probably should pay attention to.
Women who take a daily multivitamin before and [...]
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 22nd highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins, Brian Harper.
Brian Harper was a catcher with the Minnesota Twins from 1988-93. Harper was an unlikely member of this list. He kicked around with five different teams before he hooked [...]
Welcome to another edition of What are You Hearing? where the readers of SBG Nation set the agenda.
CarterHayes writes: Just pre-ordered my copy of these puppies last night (they're due out 26 March). Wanted to pass the good word on to the anyone in SBG Nation who hasn't heard about them yet.
Andrew [...]
Hope you survived the fastivities of Ash Wednesday.
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 23rd highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins, Torii Hunter.
Torii Hunter is the current center fielder for the Minnesota Twins. Hunter is known for his engaging personality, his fielding prowess, and his spotty, yet occasionally spectacular output. Hunter [...]
I could use a cup. It's Ash Wednesday here at the WGOM.
Welcome to another edition of What are You Hearing?, your chance to set the conversation by sending in stories to the WGOM.
brianS writes: uh oh.
I'm all in favor of Congress being able to alter the courts' statutory jurisdictions. They are statutory, after all. but screwing with habeas corpus rights is a different issue entirely. [...]
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 24th highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins, Earl Battey.
Earl was the first Twins catcher, having come West with the Senators in 1961. He had five very good seasons to start his Twins career, but quickly faded and was [...]
Happy Fat Tuesday, everyone!
Welcome to another edition of What are You Hearing?
brianS writes:
Satellite radio rivals XM and Sirius agree to merge. Yeah, but how is it gonna affect access to MLB broadcasts?
brianS writes:
Here's some interesting stuff from the Right side of the fence.
The first is a graph of Gini coefficients for income inequality in the U.S. over [...]
This weekend, Lucy had a baby shower that was hosted by my two sisters-in-law for my side of the family. One of my aunts couldn't make it, but she sent a scrapbook full of pictures from way back. It was a fantastic family history, including my great-grandparent's wedding picture, several shots of my [...]
All right, okay, listen up. Time for the first annual SBG Nation HACKING MASS team. Baseball Prospectus has an annual contest called HACKING MASS. According to BP:
HACKING MASS is a contest to try and predict the worst/most offensive players in the upcoming season. HACKING MASS stands for Huckabay's Annual Call to Keep [...]
Welcome to a Monday edition of What are You Hearing?
ubelmann writes:
This is a pretty good run-down of the rule changes [in baseball]. It's basically all minor stuff, but it seems that on many days about half the discussion surrounding any given game revolves around minor rules and their interpretations. Knowing is half the [...]
It's President's Day. Time to celebrate the leaders of our country by going shopping.
This thing is kind of fun. I enjoy seeing what you guys dig up. As spring training gets fired up, I'm positive that there'll be a lot of sources for good baseball knowledge, but of course, pretty much any topic is fair game.
algonad writes:
Good article on an economist that does statistical analysis on [...]
You've got the floor for the weekend. What's brewing?
Link (sub. req.)
The fact he was left off the rookie team so they could add Adam Morrison -- perhaps the single most ineffective rookie in the league so far -- speaks volumes about the pharmaceutical consumption habits of the voters. Or at the very least, it speaks to the power of the almighty points-per-game stat.
Per-minute, [...]
Kerry Wood admits to getting hurt falling in his hot tub.
Some more strong offerings from the Nation.
CarterHayes writes:
Excellent post by Chad Finn over at Baseball Analysts on Strat-O-Matic, one that is a good trip down memory lane for any Strat addict. One thing that hit a chord with me was Finn mentioning why he drifted away from the game:
Dad and I retired unceremoniously from [...]
Get on the record. How many wins for the 2007 Twins? I say 92.
I haven't really written much lately about life with a pregnant wife. I'm really waiting until next week to start talking about the 2007 Twins in earnest, so I thought I'd talk about life tonight.
Lucy is about two months away from the due date. In fact, Saturday will be exactly two months from [...]
SBG, the WGOM just passed 200,000 visitors. That count isn't quite accurate as the counter has been down a few times, but still it's a milestone. A "visitor" is different from a "page view". Someone who comes and looks at a couple of pages is one "visitor". As of right now, [...]
Today's the day. Will the Twins get a deal done? The Strib is reporting that it's unlikely.
Although Ryan gave no specifics, the Twins have made long-term proposals to Cuddyer. There were lengthy talks Tuesday, but with no agreement in sight, Ryan headed to Phoenix. If the sides still can't agree on a one-year [...]
It's been pretty damned cold, but it's almost spring training. Spring is coming!
Link:
"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known," Hardaway said Wednesday, according to a transcript on the Miami Herald Web site. "I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the [...]
Welcome to another edition of What are You Hearing? We've got several articles to look at today.
amr writes:
Today's dugout features the two Twins with the big postseason awards.
ubelmann writes:
I found this through a link on Christina Kahrl's latest Transactions Analysis. It's probably the most value I've gotten from her column in [...]
[SBG Note: CarterHayes provides us with a discussion on Twins baseball cards. Thanks, CH!]
[SBG Note: I bumped this forward so that it gets a little more attention. I wrote some half-baked crap that buried it.]
I want to talk to you about baseball cards. Like (I suspect) many of you, my [...]
On Sunday, TJ was talking about access to athletes and I missed it. Link:
Long after he spoke on the field and said nothing and spoke in a news conference and said nothing, Peyton Manning stood in front of his locker, well after the Super Bowl ended, and held court, and suddenly he was likeable.
He [...]
Somebody's getting in shape:
I feel stronger. I'm not as fat as I was; I can actually see my abs a little bit, which is pretty rare for me.
Guess who?
Hint: He's on the Twins' 40 man roster.
We have an early leader in the clubhouse for best contributions. Come on, people! You can't let brianS just run away and hide with the "Best Contributor" honor?
brianS writes:
Scientists show the way to easing McHale into retirement.
Smoked Cannabis Reduces Foot Pain
Okay, so the full title has to do with HIV research. But maybe [...]
Yesterday, Lucy wanted something and she said this can be my Valentine's Day present. I said okay, but you aren't getting anything else. She said, that's fine, thank you honey! I thought, I'm off the hook.
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 25th highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins, Eddie Guardado.
Eddie was a failed starter who, as a reliever, became a key part of the resurgent Twins of the first part of this decade. Eddie was a colorful character who [...]
We're still crawling along here, and I'm sure as the season gets nearer, the links will come flowing in!
Citizen brianS writes:
Via the Freakonomics blog: Lenny Dykstra
is now an investment advisor.
I bet Nails is bullish on Home Depot.
I was painting BabySBG's room last night, so I've got nuthin.
Randy Foye was arrested early Monday morning for disorderly conduct after being involved in a fight outside a gas station.
Apparently, Foye was in a fight with three other people, whom he knew. A late night drunken brawl among friends? Perhaps. Mr. Foye has now found out that those kinds of incidents wind [...]
Like Honest Abe, I cannot tell a lie. There were no news links provided by the news hounds over the weekend. (Holy mixed presidential metaphors, Batman SBG.)
The Twins have signed Joe Mauer to a four year, $33 million deal.
That didn't mean Mauer gave Minnesota a hometown discount, however.
He gets $3.75 million this year, $6.25 million in 2008, $10.5 million in 2009 and $12.5 million in 2010. Mauer has additional award bonuses and gets the right to designate three teams each [...]
SBG looks at the player with the 26th highest VORP total in Twins History, Gary Gaetti.
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 27th highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins, Larry Hisle.
Larry Hisle was a power hitting outfielder for the Minnesota Twins during the mid 1970s. Hisle was somewhat of a surprise success story for the Twins, considering his career before [...]
We are still working on this feature. Let me make some suggestions for you as the readers. This project will work best if you as a reader follow a particular outlet and contribute to that. For example, Baseball Prospectus has a new blog called Unfiltered. It's not part of their premium [...]
After a long, hard grind during the week, shift to a different blend on the weekend.
Go on over to SBG Citizen Cheesehead Craig's Oracle of Cheese for his take on the Moss to Packers rumors. I love that picture, CC!
Welcome to the newly reformulated feature here at SBG, What are You Hearing? This new feature allows you the reader to set the agenda at the WGOM. It's pretty simple. If you read an article that you think is interesting, send me a link to sbgnews@hotmail.com. Include a little text and [...]
Thank God It's Friday.
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 28th highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins, the 1965 AL MVP, Zoilo Versalles.
Zoilo Versalles was a shortstop for the Minnesota Twins during the 1960s. Versalles as I mentioned above, won the 1965 AL MVP for the AL Champion [...]
Jayson Stark isn't so sure.
We're hereby banning anyone from saying that Bonds needs "just" 22 homers to break Aaron's home run record. Why? Because in the history of the sport, only two players of Bonds' approximate age (43) ever hit 22 more home runs for the rest of their careers.
Those two were Carlton Fisk (22 [...]
I'm going to start this out today with the first link that I have received. I'll check again at lunchtime to see if there are any links added.
If you are not sure what I'm doing here, scroll down to read my "What are you Hearing" post from last night. My goal, briefly, is [...]
Any SBG News Hounds out there? We are waiting for your links to start the What are You Hearing Feature.
The Top 40 VORP list continues with the player that accumulated the 29th highest VORP total as a member of the Minnesota Twins, César “Pepito” Tovar.
César Tovar was, for lack of a more precise term, a player for the Minnesota Twins from 1965-72. Tovar famously played all nine positions in one game for the [...]
I'm going to try something new. Well, it's not actually new, but I'm going to use a new format.
A while back, I had a "What are you Hearing" post on the top of the page. I invited people to add stories to it, but it suffered a couple of problems. One, I [...]
Top Jimmy:
McHale's willingness to fire coaches when players mutiny and Garnett's unwillingness to publicly reprimand recalcitrant teammates leave Wittman on globally warmed ice.
This article is about Mr. Ricky Davis, the under-achieving headache that is just one of a myriad of problems at 600 First Avenue North. Davis has been a problem everywhere he's been. [...]
The Green Bay Packers are reportedly "very interested" in Randy Moss. I'd get some perverse glee watching Packer fans cheer for Moss.
Less than two weeks until pitchers and catchers report. Hallelujah!
Rachel Blount of the Strib:
When it was revealed that baseball planned to make its Extra Innings pay-TV package available only through DirecTV, Sen. John Kerry took it up with the Federal Communications Commission in the name of public service. When the NFL's lawyers shut down the big-screen church parties to protect their Nielsen ratings -- [...]
Watching the post game interview last night left me to wonder if Randy Wittman is thinking that this new job is a good career move. Watching the game last night left me wondering whether Glen Taylor thinks Dwane Casey was the problem.
The Twins and Joe Mauer are talking about a four year, $33 million contract. That's about what Torii Hunter signed for. Considering that Hunter has never had a season like Mauer had in 2006, this would be a heckuva good deal. No work on whether Mauer was willing to sign that.
I don't think Prince was lip-synching.
I'm pretty sure that God doesn't care that the Colts won the Super Bowl, the comments of Tony Dungy and Robert Irsay notwithstanding.
Regardless, Manning has been the best player in the league for last five years. Tonight, there are no criticisms that can be levied about his play with a straight face.
Get on the record as to how it turns out.
Update: Bah! My neat new ajax polling isn't working! Just put your predictions in a LTE.
In case it slipped under your radar, Tony Batista was a hero yesterday in the Dominican Republic's 18-inning 4-3 victory over Venezuela.
And on a night of many heroes, it is veteran Tony Batista who will be remembered the most. The third baseman hit a sacrifice fly to center field with the bases loaded to score [...]
I added a comment avatar feature. You can add an avatar to your comments if you want. When you log in, go to site admin, to your user tab and upload an avatar in the "Your Avatar" tag. The avatar is 100X100, but other sizes work. The closer to square it [...]
I am currently available for a live chat. This is a test for future live chats.
Go here and start typing. The form isn't perfect, but you'll that the response is pretty fast (at least, I think it will be).
Update: Chat is closed. Thanks to those who stopped by.