I don't normally have special contacts of any kind, but today an inside source sent me some pictures of a Lake Minnetonka property that recently went on the market. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to post these pictures here, but I will give out as much information as I can.
This house is alleged to [...]
Rockies up 1-0 on the D-Backs, and Brewers up 10-4 on the Padres.
Matt Garza vs. Julian Tavarez
Game results I would like to see today:
- Twins win
- Rockies win
- Mets win
- Phillies win
- Padres lose
Of course, whenever these four-way tie situations present themselves, it never works out, because getting four games to go a particular way is generally tough to do, but it'd be kind of fun nonetheless.
Ex-Blur guitarist rips it up on the Jools Holland programme. This might be how Twins fans are reacting with the season over...
Carlos Silva vs. Tim Wakefield
This is kind of an interesting pitching matchup. I think of each pitchers as kind of a trick pitcher. Wakefield with his knuckleball and Silva with his two-seamer. Of course, Silva has seemingly been less of a one-pitch pitcher these days, but that's still how I think of [...]
The Timberwolves have traded Trenton Hassell to the Dallas Mavericks straight up for Greg Buckner. Buckner makes about a million less than Hassell, but at 31 is three years older and his contract runs through 2011, one year longer than Hassell's.
This is a head scratcher for sure, and the explanation offered by Kevin McHale [...]
Mercifully, the season is over. So is the string of winning seasons -- and almost certainly, the Torii Hunter era.
A live performance of one of their lesser-known tracks.
and here they are covering "War Pigs" live, 2006. The camera work is a bit shaky, so take your epilepsy medication first.
Here's a link to Black Sabbath playing same, 1978. It probably deserves its own post, but I went with the Tesla footage instead for its rawness and 'cuz Tesla is a Sacratomato band currently selling a pretty good album of covers.
Kevin Slowey vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka
I've been swamped at work lately, and I don't have a whole lot to say about the Twins. I'm going to try to watch at least one of the two games this weekend, because the off-season is always too long, but for tonight I'm getting dragged to the Mariners game. [...]
I stumbled across this gem from the corrections page at ESPN.COM:
Joe Morgan's major league debut
July 19, 2007 12:54 PM
During the eighth inning of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball game between the Cardinals and Phillies on July 15, commentator Joe Morgan said he was called up by Houston in 1964, had his first hit in his first [...]
Bonds to the Twins? A girl can dream.
Boof Bonser vs. Josh Beckett
If I had to rank the four AL teams according to how much I don't like them, for whatever reason, I would rank them this way:
1. Red Sox
2. Angels
3. Yankees
4. Indians
I just can't stand the Red Sox anymore, and it would be great if the Twins could sweep the Red Sox [...]
I don't want to step on Will's BKAC feature, but this article by Joe Christenson says a whole lot.
Name: Will Young (pronounced "Will Young")
Hometown: Richfield, MN
Town I Currently Live In: Saint Paul, MN
Profession: Making Events Occur Smoothly
Bats: Both (more power as a righty, better bat control as a lefty)
Throws: Left
Positions: Pitcher and First Base through Little League, Left-Center in Softball
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: I threw 3 perfect innings in the Little [...]
It's almost over.
Anka sings the new American Songbook.
Here's another version of the song
Johan Santana vs. Jair Jurrjens
Johan's last start left kind of a bad taste in my mouth. Hopefully some fall weather, Comerica's spacious dimensions, and Johan's pitching will conspire to keep the ball in the yard and runs off the board.
There will be no Cy for Santana this year, but I'm still hopeful for [...]
Just thought I'd take the T-Wolves temperature out there. Yeah, the season doesn't start for over a month and it doesn't start in earnest for about three months. And yeah, there's not much chance of a playoff run (okay, there's zero chance of a playoff run). I was thinking, though, that I [...]
It's gonna be a long cold winter, I believe, after a not exactly hot summer.
For most shutouts in a season. The club record is 14, and that's happened five times now.
If the 2007 squad wants the record outright, they'll have to get shutout one more time with just five games left. The probable pitchers appear to be Jair Jurrjens, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, and a [...]
Matt Garza vs. Yorman Bazardo
Name: Sheenie
Hometown: New Orleans "The Big Easy", LA
Town I Currently Live In: Just up river... St. Paul, MN ... I actually only moved 1 block closer to The River
Profession: I work at a law firm
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Positions: 2nd base and outfield and catching, basically whatever position is needed on a rec. softball team
Greatest [...]
Friends, it's time for this season to be over.
When looking at the free agent marketplace, the easy part is figuring out who the free agents are--at the end of every season they have to declare free agency. The part that involves guesswork is the demand side: which teams are going to be interested in free agents? Center field is obviously a [...]
Here's a song that celebrates SBG's favorite band. 1976
and here's a link that won't be for everyone, but has it's attractions (it's Jeff-safe, but is built around imagery that wont' amuse everyone)
Carlos Silva vs. Nate Robertson
To make the playoffs, Detroit has to essentially win every remaining game while the Yankees lose every remaining game. Not gonna happen.
Silva and Robertson are both pretty bland innings guys at this point.
As far as the lineup today goes, I have two comments:
1) Watching Matthew LeCroy catch could prove to [...]
At least Minnesota fans have the Vikings to look forward to.
From the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1976. Her explanation of the rush she feels in front of a live audience is rather sweet.
The Inaugural SBG Convention was a smashing success. SBG already wrote his review, so I won't repeat everything he said. I'll simply add the pictures I took. All the pictures can be clicked on for larger views. They're after the jump.
Twins' VORP through September 22nd, 2007:
40.5 -- Hunter
30.2 -- Morneau
28.4 -- Mauer
15.7 -- Cuddyer
14.4 -- Bartlett
10.6 -- Kubel
Hunter's probably somewhere between +0 and +10 on defense, which safely makes him the Twins' most valuable position player this year.
Gavin Floyd vs. Kevin Slowey
Last home game of the season for the Twins, who are 40-40 at home.
The Sox have done a pretty good job with Floyd. PECOTA projected Floyd to have a 6.09 ERA, with about a 5 K/9 and 4 BB/9, and based on his track record, that seems pretty reasonable to [...]
Live at Newcastle. Stop yer whining, Rhu_Ru. We played one!
The confetti has been swept up and the first SBG Nation Convention is history. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet all of you that showed up... I had just enough tickets for everyone that showed up. The only thing that was a disappointment was that a family emergency kept our good buddy [...]
From LEN3:
Pat Neshek will be shut down for the rest of the season because of weakness in his shoulder that has led to an inflamed ligament near his elbow.
This season just keeps getting better and better.
Javier Vazquez vs. Scott Baker
It's Convention Time!! Hopefully the lads (and lasses?) have a good time at the game.
If you're like me, and rely on mlb.tv (or extra innings) to watch the games, it looks like we'll be blacked out. Usually I blame this on FOX, but I'll blame this blackout on FOX's [...]
Confetti, slogans, signs. There's a convention going on around here.
Politically correct? Uh, no. Sorry. Awesome song? Hell, yeah. The band is tighter than the crease in the Godfather's slacks.
for Sox Machine.
Mark Buehrle vs. Johan Santana
Kubel's been hot and Buehrle's a lefty--will he make the lineup?
Other things that you might want to cheer for tonight:
- Beckett vs. Kazmir turns out to be a slugfest that TB ultimately wins even though Kazmir can't get out of the first and can't strike anyone out
- Fausto Carmona gets [...]
Tomorrow, 9:30 AM at Hubert's. I have a couple extra tickets if you are interested in joining the fun. If so, email me at sbg at stickandballguy dot com.
Nation, I'm putting you on notice. From what I can devine from the schedule, Johan Santana has two starts left this season--today, and Wednesday, Sept. 26th at Detroit. After the 26th, you won't get to see Santana work his magic in a meaningful game for another six (dismal) months. Yes, the outcome [...]
Wave goodbye to summer. The funny and talented Ms. Spektor at Barfly in NYC, 2004. Rated PG-13(ish) for language.
Name: Seth Stohs
Hometown: Perham, MN
Town I Currently Live In: Warroad until Sept. 18th, then Bloomington
Profession: Product Planner
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Positions: when I was young, I played Shortstop. In high school, played 3B, SS and pitched some. In college, I was a really good scorebook keeper and occasional pinch hitter!
Greatest Career Achievement in [...]
The one and only doing a real tearjerker from the Small Change LP. Old Grey Whistle Test, '77. Man, he looks young.
Bonus clip from Fernwood Tonight, '77. The Piano Has Been Drinking. The interview segment that follows is a stitch. Fred Willard honing his schtick as "Jerry Gimble".
Vicente Padilla vs. Matt Garza
I'm kind of annoyed that Padilla is going to be pitching today. He threw at Nick Swisher so blatantly in the last start that he has been given a seven-day suspension (pending appeal, of course), and his manager asked him to apologize to the team for forcing the bullpen [...]
Congratulations to my buddy Moss on the birth of his daughter yesterday.
For some cheap thrills, I took a look at the players with the 20 worst Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) from 2006 (list here, and how they did in 2007.
- For starters, four of them have zero plate appearances in 2007: Antonio Perez, Vinny Castilla, Tomas Perez, and Travis Lee.
- In 2006, the group collectively [...]
The lovely singer-songwriter in Belgium, 1997. Patsy Cline meetsZiggy Stardust. Beautifully shot, IMO. From her overlooked gem, Life is Sweet.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.
Kevin Millwood vs. Carlos Silva
Just in case this makes anyone feel better, the Twins have had the fewest strikeouts in major league baseball so far. Of course, it hasn't really helped them to score many runs, but who needs those anyway?
Something tells me Silva wouldn't be making this start if he wasn't a [...]
Name: Whiffers
Hometown: Indianapolis, IN
Town I Currently Live In: Plymouth, MN
Profession: Sales Analyst-type employee
Bats: R
Throws: R
Positions: 3B, 2B
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: A Willis Reed moment in Babe Ruth baseball against my team's biggest rival—playing on a sprained ankle, I had a couple hits, stole a base, and a Punto-style [...]
Are you ready for the Convention?
.308/.391/.478 -- 247 AB in AA, 2007
.311/.374/.523 -- 132 AB in AAA, 2007
.273/.359/.382 -- 55 AB in MLB, 2007
.287/.377/.471 -- PrOPS in MLB, 2007
For a larger sample size:
.276/.343/.393 -- 1810 AB in the minors
It's kind of interesting that his actual performance so far with the Twins falls mostly in line with his overall minor league [...]
American music at it's finest. 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.
Warning: this AB is for entertainment purposes only; do not attempt this at home.
Edinson Volquez vs. Kevin Slowey
Slowey's 28% GB% so far is mind-bottling. His strikeout and walk rates are pretty acceptable right now, but that GB% is crazy. He's gotten a lot of pop-ups, but still...
Volquez is regarded as a good prospect in some corners. Control looks to be his Achilles' heel, though he's [...]
Detroit owned Minnesota yesterday.
Live in Philadelphia, 2005. For Rifding Hokme.
From today's Twins notes:
Justin Morneau at least partly blames his participation in the Home Run Derby for his second half offensive slump, and his manager does not disagree.
Morneau is batting just .254 in the second half, compared to .295 in the first half. He's only hit six home runs post-All Star break, whereas he had [...]
Jair Jurgens vs. Scott Baker
Based on his PECOTA card, Jurrjens was a ground-ball heavy pitcher in the minors that doesn't get many strikeouts, but should be better than Bazardo. He's recently had trouble with his shoulder, but apparently felt fine against the Rangers last time out.
I think Baltimore was the last time the offense [...]
Well, almost. They lost 42-39. But still, a hell of an effort against a perennial powerhouse. The faithful have to be proud.
What's that? It seems I've made a mistake. The Gophers lost to who? Florida Atlantic?
The Gophers entered the game 10-0 lifetime against teams from the Sun Belt Conference, [...]
Former Be Good Tanya tackles the traditional tune.
Bedlam boys are bonnie
Yorman Bazardo vs. Johan Santana
Now that Morneau has 30 HR, I would love to see Santana lead the league in SO, ERA, and pick up another three wins. And now that I've jinxed him, I'd like to say that he's had a great season either way. As we know, he's been a [...]
Have you ever wanted to e-mail an SBG Nation Citizen just to chat about something, but didn't know their e-mail address? Well, I haven't because I have a list of email addresses that each of you gave to me when you registered to the site. But, I am loathe to hand those addresses [...]
The weekend brew always tastes the best.
Nate Robertson vs. Matt Garza
Taking a look at the roster, these Bill Smith Twins seem to be a lot like the Terry Ryan Twins. It always amuses me that some day, when someone takes over for Bill Smith, they will mention the team's record while he was in control, and this game will count [...]
Bill Smith, grab a cup and get going, it's going to be a long day.
Terry Ryan has stepped down as general manager of the Minnesota Twins.
In some ways, this was the quintessential Terry Ryan move. Like so many of his trades in recent years, it came as a surprise. Like some of his other moves, a veteran is moving so that someone within the organization can be [...]
thanks to algonad for the link.
The Twins, according to KFAN, have announced that they will be holding a press conference at 2:00 PM to announce a "major organizational" decision.
Update by SBG: LENIII is reporting that Terry Ryan is stepping down as GM, but apparently will remain with the organization.
Name: Andrew
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
Town I Currently Live In: Des Moines, Iowa
Profession: None, currently, but I've got interviews at a few companies Downtown coming up.
Bats: S. I really only hit lefty to pull something down the line or thrown down a drag bunt.
Throws: R
Positions: 1B, OF
Greatest Career Achievement in Baseball/Softball/T-ball: Hit [...]
The coffee is brewed a little earlier this morning.
Fenway, 2004. Well, the video, not the audio. Anyway, cool stuff. Thanks to twayn for the link.