Good Grief, Do We Need Some Actual Baseball Games to be Played
March 4th, 2008 by SBG
I read Reusse this morning talking about Justin Morneau's weightlifting routine. Apparently, he got a tip from Torii Hunter at some point after the start of last season -- keep lifting hard through spring training and don't go into maintenance until the season starts. I read that and wondered, "You mean to tell me that the Twins strength and conditioning people don't control the types of workouts that these guys are doing?" If I was paying players that much money, I'd be making sure some guy who knew what he was talking about was dispensing the advice.
Does working hard through spring training make a difference? Could it actually hurt? Does it actually help? I don't know. Man, the season can't start fast enough.
This entry was posted by SBG on Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 at 10:07 am and is filed under Local Media, Minnesota Twins. It is one of 2465 entries by the author. We are no longer accepting Letters to the Editor on this post.
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zooomx replied on March 4, 2008 at 10:21:17 am
I liked the one word response to this article in comments section below Reusse's article..."Fluff"
I do cannot wait to be done hearing about Denard Span's claiming of the CF spot he will not get. Or which position player will be our emergency catcher. Or how much weight Boof lost. Or which of our borderline major league ready prospects will be the first called up if/when one of our not so borderline major league ready starters toss minor league ready ball.
ubelmann replied on March 4, 2008 at 12:47:12 pm
Span wants to be the starting CF? Boof lost weight? Man, I wish they'd tell us more about important details like that.
twayn replied on March 4, 2008 at 10:41:44 am
This is the problem I have with spring training: We set it out there as a milestone, we tell ourselves all winter as we shiver and curse through the long dark cold that once spring training arrives everything will be right with the world again. And then spring training arrives and it's great for a few days to see the 30 seconds of video on the ten o'clock news every night, but it's not the panacea we hoped for, and winter drags on with temperatures still hovering between freezing and zero. Then the games begin, but they mostly aren't on TV, and they're mostly all day games, and the regulars are mostly playing just a few innings before the farm hands take over, and the games have no meaning. So after all that anticipation, spring training becomes something of a letdown, and you set Opening Day as your new milestone, and spend a few weeks watching college hoops and kicking yourself in the butt for not picking the first round upsets that will win you the tournament pool. And it doesn't help to keep your hopes alive when all you see, hear, and read pretty much supports the notion that our team just isn't going to be that competitive this year. But other than that, it's all good. Especially if I can find a way to work from home tomorrow because the game vs. the Yanks will be on ESPN.
Rhubarb_Runner replied on March 4, 2008 at 11:18:44 am
Spring Training is NOT a let down. The games are on during the day, so I can stream them while I work. I get to hear Gordo and Dazzle banter again. Everything isn't right in the world again, but it's a little more entertaining now.
It's an expectations thing. My expectations are that I get to hear Twins players playing ball. My hope it that they play better.
twayn replied on March 4, 2008 at 11:47:14 am
Yes, it is all about expectations, and I have a bad habit of building some things up in my head so that the reality seldom lives up to the expectation I create. That's the case here as well. I have to remind myself that the purpose of spring training is, well, training. Once starting pitchers get stretched out and start throwing 4+ innings, and the regulars are getting 3-4 ABs per game, I'm sure I'll start to feel better about things. But for now I just want winter to end and meaningful games to begin.
Rhubarb_Runner replied on March 4, 2008 at 12:53:34 pm
With this team, I'm not sure I'm ready for the meaningful games.
ubelmann replied on March 4, 2008 at 2:40:34 pm
So you don't believe that life is about suffering?
ubelmann replied on March 4, 2008 at 12:45:59 pm
I share much the same view as you, twayn. I would say that spring training is like Advent, and pitchers and catchers reporting is like the day after Thanksgiving. It's all about Christmas, but we'll take what we can get in the meantime. It's better than the freaking NFL combine anyway.
One of my problems with spring training is that it's ultimately overhyped by the reporters who get to travel to these fantastic travel spots. Put me in Florida or Arizona in mid-February and I'd probably wax poetic about how green the grass is, too.
Especially if I can find a way to work from home tomorrow because the game vs. the Yanks will be on ESPN.
I think I'm probably going to tape it and watch it when I get home. Normally I don't like to do that, but I can't staff the study center from home.
twayn replied on March 4, 2008 at 1:00:11 pm
*sigh* I just had to book a trade pub interview and product demo for tomorrow afternoon. Looks like I'll be taping the game, too.
ubelmann replied on March 4, 2008 at 2:38:58 pm
It's unfortunate when life gets in the way of baseball, isn't it?
twayn replied on March 4, 2008 at 4:21:36 pm
'Tis.
Rhubarb_Runner replied on March 4, 2008 at 1:00:38 pm
Advent / Christmas is a workable analogy - I like that.
So, who are the Yankees playing against on ESPN? Will they even say?
ubelmann replied on March 4, 2008 at 2:38:37 pm
I bet that they talk about Santana and Hunter more than they talk about any of the players on the roster now.
Rhubarb_Runner replied on March 4, 2008 at 3:36:12 pm
I won't take that bet.
Banjo replied on March 4, 2008 at 5:22:02 pm
Why did it take so long for it to come out the Morneau and Hunter were confidantes? It would seem the the official beat writer of the Internets might have wanted to ferret out that nugget. Perhaps the "Oscar Madison" of beat writers is too busy eating and drinking his was through Fort Meyers to generate anything worth reading. And, how many stories is this that rehashed the big 'clubhouse fight'?
SBG replied on March 4, 2008 at 5:35:21 pm
Reusse took a serious shot at the LENIII blog on Sunday morning, comparing it to the Vikings blogs and not favorably.
Banjo replied on March 4, 2008 at 5:55:37 pm
I heard the whole Felix/Oscar comparison to Christiansen/Neal III but I missed the slam. I dunno - perhaps I'm missing something, but for the life of me, I cannot think of one thing (story) that either of these guys have written that has stuck with me as "super insightful, or even memorable for that matter.
ubelmann replied on March 4, 2008 at 6:11:22 pm
You seem to be setting the bar higher than most folks. Personally, I find myself mentally congratulating a reporter anytime they write something remotely objective. Of course, I'm probably setting the bar too low.
SBG replied on March 4, 2008 at 9:16:20 pm
I'm in agreement. There's not much there there.
ubelmann replied on March 4, 2008 at 5:40:11 pm
Why did it take so long for it to come out the Morneau and Hunter were confidantes?
Confidante:
Perhaps their relationship was one of those secrets that they kept between themselves.
And upon reflection, Hunter was about the only person supplying quotes to the media last summer, so perhaps he was a character in a drama serving as a device for revealing the inner thoughts or intentions of the main characters.
(Full disclosure, the Merriam-Webster definition is less insistent about the gender of the confidante. But that's not as much fun.)
And, how many stories is this that rehashed the big 'clubhouse fight'?
And yet the fight still doesn't have a name. What a sham.
twayn replied on March 4, 2008 at 6:01:59 pm
Perhaps their relationship was one of those secrets that they kept between themselves.
What happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse.