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Inside Top Jimmy’s World

SBG May 29, 2009, at 8:35 am 20 LTEs - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) , ,

Top Jimmy: Swarzak should replace Liriano in the rotation. Swarzak has pitched 13 innings in the major leagues. Well, okay, he's suggesting that if Swarzak continues to pitch like he has and if Liriano continues to pitch like he has, the kid should get the F-Bomb's spot.

Pitcher IP *PRC RA ERA FIP FIP - ERA xFIP LD% DER GB% IF/F K/G BB/G HR/G *HR/F P/PA LOB%
Slowey 61.3 28 4.26 4.11 4.07 -0.04 4.45 22.9% .655 31.0% 13.4% 6.5 0.7 1.33 11.3% 3.5 77.7%
Baker 47.0 14 6.32 6.32 5.72 -0.60 4.68 21.6% .730 30.1% 13.5% 6.9 2.0 2.35 19.7% 3.9 62.5%
Blackburn 63.3 27 4.26 3.55 3.91 0.36 4.85 17.5% .708 47.0% 3.9% 4.6 2.7 0.57 5.7% 3.6 69.7%
Liriano 54.7 16 6.59 6.42 4.97 -1.45 4.97 21.3% .679 36.1% 9.7% 7.5 4.0 1.27 13.0% 3.7 62.5%
Perkins 47.0 16 5.36 5.36 4.63 -0.73 5.13 13.9% .714 41.8% 8.6% 5.1 2.3 1.17 9.9% 3.5 64.1%
Swarzak 13.0 10 2.08 2.08 5.71 3.63 5.83 12.2% .795 41.5% 15.8% 4.4 4.4 1.47 13.2% 3.8 98.5%

There are the Twins starters (less R.A. Dickey!), sorted by xFIP. Liriano isn't doing all that great, but let's not start suggesting that Swarzak's been a whole lot better, good enough in two starts to take his spot in the rotation. I think in time we'll see Swazark's LOB% dip a little and the sheen will come off. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have him succeed and be a successful pitcher. I'm just pointing out the quality of the thinking behind that column. One more thing: how sad is it that Liriano is even close to being in the position where such a column might be written?

No, I’m Serious

SBG November 21, 2008, at 1:09 pm One LTE - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) ,

The author of this column was all for trading Kevin Garnett and practically threw a parade when he left town. No, I'm serious.

Paging Top Jimmy

SBG August 15, 2008, at 2:33 pm Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired ,

Minnesotan excels in bad writing contest.

Globally acclaimed bad writer Russ Winter of southern Minnesota says he keeps up on current events and just goes "in a strange direction ... jotting down and taking a look at it. Then, the more you look at it, the worse it gets."

With that recipe, Winter won for himself a nod from a prominent contest that annually recognizes the worst in fiction writing.

Winter, 47, of Janesville, was runner-up last week in the detective division of San Jose State University's 26th annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for writing an opening sentence to a nonexistent novel.

...

Winter's 23-year-old son, Eric, was a runner-up in the adventure category in 2005. He said Eric wrote something about "getting water for emus and regretting using poultry for transportation."

All the Negativity That’s In This Town Sucks

SBG August 10, 2008, at 10:15 pm 10 LTEs - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Here we go with another week gazing at the vast wasteland that is sports columnizing in this town.

Grandpa Sports
What a week for the old-timer. I'm saying it now. Stop with all the negativity, Sid! I can't take it. Why can't you be positive about the hometown clubs just once????

First, he tells us that Zygi Wilf is expecting a big season from the Vikings. Now that might sound a positive, sell-some-tickets statement but let's be clear. Sid is telling us that the owner has lost patience with his club, coaches, and probably the City of Minneapolis. Storm clouds are on the horizon. When the Vikings perform their ritual heart-ripping on their most rabid fans, I'll point you to this column.

Actually, this column is a double knife in the back. Later on, Sid reveals Twins General Manager Billy Smith to be a bold-faced liar.

Twins General Manager Bill Smith realizes there is a problem with a bullpen that has an ERA of 2.11 at home and 6.19 on the road (before Wednesday's 7-3 victory at Seattle). He says he is watching the waiver wire, ready to claim anybody who can help.

The steely Sid puts the rookie on the record and makes him look bad when Chad Bradford is claimed by the Rays (and thus, not by the Twins) about a day later. Watch out when you talk to El Sid, rook. He's going to make you look like a fool.

The vise grip is slowly tightening on this Vikings squad. The diabolical Hartman takes away any excuse about dissension in the lockerroom with this cutting entry about how the Vikings players all get along. Yep, there'll be no recourse to the old "lack of chemistry" excuse when the Vikings get to the point in the season when all appears lost (which happens every season). They won't be able to say, so-and-so farts in front of my locker all day, they'll just have to admit that they aren't as good as the other team.

And, oh, the shot he takes at the Gophers later on in the column (a different page, so worth another link)! My goodness! What skill with the verbal cutlery! The Gophers almost ran a deficit in their athletic budget, but barely squeaked by. Says battleworn AD Joel Maturi:

[W]e were wondering if we were going to operate in the black, and all of a sudden, because this happens or that happens and we didn't spend here or didn't have to spend there, we're OK. We feel good about what we accomplished in '07-08.

We feel good about what we accomplished in '07-08. The football team was 1-11 and one field goal away from a winless season. The hockey team sa-hucked and had a controversial mid-season defection, which included an NHL coach questioning the quality of coaching in Minneapolis, the basketball team was the bright spot, and it was so-so. Sid knows we know all this, see, and he's got Maturi looking like a total idiot with that quote. Sid also knows that "because this happens" means that the Gophers made a lot of money off of NDSU grads who filled the dome to watch the NDSU Bison kick the shit out of the Gophers. But, Glen's in his happy place. Wow, Sid. Why'd you have to kick a man when he's down?

Even Purple Jesus isn't immune from the cutting. "This is what a column would look like," says O.J. Simpson, "If I Did It". All Adrian "All Day" Peterson did was set the world on fire last season, but that's not enough for the rhetorical killer, Sid Hartman. No sir. He has to be much, much better. It seems that Mr. Peterson is doing all he can to improve, but something tells me that it won't please the Dean of Minneapolis sportswriters.

Finally, Sid takes apart the Vikings for not getting Brett Favre into a purple uniform. The Vikings played their first preseason game and Hartman tells us that the scribes are unimpressed with Tarvaris Jackson ("many in the media still question Jackson's ability to lead the Vikings offense"). He even gets Jackson to admit that he sucks. Says Jackson, "If [Favre] would have came in, they would have brought him in for a reason and I understand that." That reason, of course, is that Jackson sucks and is going to bring this team down. Sid knows it, Jackson knows it, we all know it, and Sid has him admitting it. It's gonna get ugly.

As if that's not enough, Sid explores the dark recesses of Tim Brewster's mind. "Gophers football coach Tim Brewster sat in his office Saturday afternoon watching film of the same day's morning scrimmage, and he was all smiles as he pointed out one outstanding defensive play after another." Oh, come on, Sid, that's just hurtful.

All the negativity that's in this town sucks.

Top Jimmy
It's bad enough that Sid's out there cutting everyone off at the knees, but what really sucks is that the RSS feed from Top Jimmy and Reusse isn't working, meaning that I'm really going to have to work to finish this rant. Of course, they don't have RSS feeds over at the PiP. Cost cutting measure, apparently.

Souhan is in China following the Olympics. He writes about a Minnesotan who coaches the U.S. Table Tennis team, which includes a bunch of Chinese players. Nothing gets your nationalistic spirit up like a bunch of immigrants playing a sport that we don't care about.

This just in! Beijing is polluted, the Chinese eat foods that seem weird to us, and the government is oppressive! No signs of any poultry references (other than the name of the Olympic stadium, The Bird's Nest), but bad jokes abound. "And if China was serious about its medal count, it would have found a way to make spitting an Olympic sport. These people are good. For them, expectorating is a performance art." Or how about this one: "Everywhere there are grim-looking soldiers, thin as Corey Brewer, only better shooters." Good grief. I know Souhan is better than this. I read him for years before he was a columnist and he's pretty good on television. But, his radio show and columns like this are just terrible.

The week ended with a devastating tragedy for a Minnesota family. A random act of violence ends the life of a Minnesota man and leaves his wife fighting for her life. Souhan writes a great piece detailing the crushed spirit of the Olympic volleyball team, playing on after the news that a member of the family was murdered.

Patrick Reusse
On Monday, Reusse wrote about Francisco Liriano's first start since April and suggests that the path to a Central Division title is a lot easier this year now that Liriano is back, especially as compared to the path that they took in 2006. No veteran leadership, which seemed so important last week. Just capable arms. What will we do?

While Top Jimmy vacillates between the sublime and the ridiculous in Beijing, Reusse's off to Oakland, MI to watch the PGA golf tournament. Reusse writes a whole bunch of golf columns, (seriously, several golf columns) but guess what? Golf without Tiger Woods is boring.

Shooter
Baseless speculation gets the week off. Shooter's gone fishin'.

Tom Powers
Tom says Tavaris Jackson was pretty good in the first preseason game. Tom takes in the UFC at Target Center this weekend and is a little less than impressed. Actually, I think he's more like appalled. But, there's a key piece of information in there: the Chinese probably won't like it. There's no spitting allowed.

Bob Sansevere
Man, Sansevere was working hard this week. Ten columns! Ten! Man, he must have been working late at night to generate all of those items! Let's take a look. Oh, well. Maybe not. Bob talks to a few guys and gets a quote or two. For instance, Ryan Longwell answers one question. Robert Ferguson answers one question. Chad Greenway answers three questions. Cullen Loeffler answers two questions. Tavaris Jackson answers one question. He also talks to Adam Weber, Gophers quarterback, with plenty of that huckster Tim Brewster thrown in. The article reads like Weber talking and Brewster interrupting. Weber says he wants to be known as a guy that took his team from 1-11 to 11-1 or an undefeated season. Well, he's got the first part down. Antoine Winfield gives Bob a handful of cliches. Darren Sharper answers a bunch of questions about Brett Favre. Bob also tells us that the Favre controversy was good for the Vikings. That was written before the Favre trade. After the Favre trade, Bob tells us that if Tavaris Jackson is good, that would be good for the Vikings.

In Which SBG Suffers Greatly

SBG August 3, 2008, at 8:03 pm 17 LTEs - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My teeth are gritted and I'm strapped into my chair. Time to read a week's worth of columns from the six columnists in town and summarize them for you. I do it because I love you and believe me, it hurts me more than it hurts you.

Grandpa Sports
• On the day of the trading deadline, Sid provides cover for the Twins not making a move, quoting Joe Nathan:

We don't feel like we need help. Everyone is talking about how they've got to make a move, they're going to make a move -- but we're sitting here [1 1/2 games out in the AL Central] right now with the guys we've got. So no one sees the flip side, when you make a move somebody is going to not be able to play.

Of course, that's a company line. The Twins had just lost Alexi Casilla for what looked like the season and they have been scraping it together in the bullpen with Pat Neshek out and Juan Rincon pitching so bad that they released him. Perhaps Joe Nathan likes seeing Brian Bass out there coughing up games. The Twins, at the right price, of course, could easily have been made better. But, Joe's not gonna rock the boat. Says Sid, in his normal quid pro quo, "Well-spoken words by the best closer in the game." Of course, the Twins pretty much immediately dumped Craig Monroe and replaced him with a 30 year old rookie after the deadline, putting the lie to what Nathan was saying

• On Friday, Sid tells us that scouts are really impressed with Justin Morneau. Yep, Justin's pretty good. How good? According to Sid:

Visit with scouts from other teams who watch the Twins, and many believe Justin Morneau has the potential to be one of the great players to ever play in the major leagues.

Jeebus, not even Justin's mother believes that.

• On Saturday, Sid sings the praises of Nick Punto. Yep, Punto is far from the suckitude that he was last year. And yes, he's versatile and does a pretty good job in the field. Sid: "And Punto is having that great year with the bat." For the season, Punto is hitting .285/.335/.396 for an OPS+ of 99. Compared to last year, that's great, but compared to the league as a whole, he's slightly below average. But, hey, compared to that Justin's-got-the-potential-to-be-one-of-the-greatest-ever, this is Punto is great is practically an understatement.

Sid's an amazing guy. He's still plugging out sports columns three or four times a week at the age of 89. That's saying something. But, for goodness sake, the quality of these columns is not much better than the semi-illiterate ramblings of the tortured souls that provide the Strib comments. No self-respecting blogger writes crap like this. Is anyone in charge over at the Strib?

Pat Reusse

• Timing, as they say, is everything. Kevin Slowey pitched a shutout on Monday against the Chicago White Sox and Reusse wrote a column on Tuesday about how Veteran LeaderTM Livan Hernandez gave Slowey some inspiration.

Last time he faced Chicago, Slowey was sitting glumly in front of his cubicle.

Livan Hernandez, the Twins' lone veteran starter, walked over and said: "You know, there are going to be more of these.''

Message: Get over it.

"If you ask me, this little run of good pitching started with what Livan did on Friday night in Cleveland,'' Slowey said. "He got knocked around in the first inning, but when he came in the dugout, you couldn't tell if he had given up four runs or none.

"And then he went back out and threw eight innings. It wasn't a win, but when you watched him react like that ... it was a great lesson for the young starters on this team.''

You know, I get plenty tired of drivel like this. The kid threw a shutout and somehow credit is flung towards the craptastic veteran. Is Slowey so Berting fragile that he's going to fall apart without someone like Livan around? Apparently, the Twins didn't think so -- Hernandez got handed his walking papers this week. They didn't even bother putting him in the bullpen. Apparently, Brian Bass is more valuable in their eyes. Maybe Bass gives a hell of a pep talk.

• What a difference two days makes. On Tuesday, we hear about what a great presence Hernandez is, but on Wednesday, he goes out and stinks it up, handing the White Sox their only win in the four game series. Now, all that veteran leadership is worth a pile of beans.

The distressing part of this clunker from Hernandez was that it came in the Dome, where he had been effective enough to make up for complete futility on the road.

Carlos Quentin whacked him for a home run in the first, another run scored in the third, and then Quentin emptied the bases with a double in the fourth.

Add it up, and Livan went four innings, gave up five runs and 12 baserunners. He has yielded an astounding 199 hits in 139 2/3 innings.

Ten victories in four months made Livan worth the one-year contract, but his looping fastball and soaring curve clearly are fooling fewer and fewer hitters.

The Twins would have to be as stubborn as Tim Pawlenty calling a tax a fee if they were to continue to refuse to supplant Hernandez in the rotation with Francisco Liriano.

It's not ideal to have a rotation with five mostly inexperienced starters, but Livan can't lead the young-uns other than to mediocrity with pitching like this.

Yep, those ten victories were really worth it. Reusse apparently doesn't understand the concept of run support. But, on Thursday, he understands that Livan Hernandez can't pitch effectively at the major league level. I guess the "young-uns" will have to rely on, I don't know, the fucking coaching staff for guidance.

• On Saturday, Reusse looks at the Favre situation. He thinks that Favre would do basically nothing for the Vikings. I don't care about the Vikings and Favre is not the Favre of old, but I do think the Vikings would be better with Brett at the helm.

• On Sunday, Reusse profiled Tom Lehman, who almost won the 1996 U.S. Open, which was played at Oakland Hills, MI, the site of this week's PGA.

Top Jimmy
• On Wednesday, Top Jimmy writes about an exciting, come from behind win against the White Sox. That was a pretty fun win and it drew the Twins to within one-half game. This is a pretty innocuous column, but it does include this puzzler:

Denard Span, the only Twin who can compare to Joe Mauer in quality of at-bats, draws a walk.

It seems to me that Justin Morneau has had some quality at bats, too.

• On Friday, Top Jimmy writes the kind of column that makes me want to wring his pencil neck. He suggests that the Twins should have traded Liriano for Adrian Beltre. I happen to disagree with this idea, and the WGOM Poll earlier this week had no takers for Liriano for Beltre. But, here's the thing. I conducted that poll before the deadline. Top Jimmy wrote his column after the deadline. This kind of column needs to be written before the deadline, or not at all. Leading up to the deadline, Top Jimmy made absolutely no indication that he had any opinion about what the Twins should do. Then, after the deadline, he writes that the Twins should trade the F-Bomb, and he references a two year old DUI as support for his ridiculous idea. Souhan, you are a hack.

• On Saturday, Top Jimmy writes about the Olympic Basketball Team. I don't give a frog's fat ass about Olympic Basketball.

Shooter
• Charley quotes Rich Gannon, who talks about Brett Favre. The whole column is one long quote. Gannon thinks the Vikings would be better off with Tavaris Jackson for a the first half of the season because Favre needs to learn the offense, but then he says, "And in his heart of hearts he knows he's still probably one of the top five quarterbacks in the league. So why wouldn't you come back?" I'm thinking that T-Jack is NOT one of the top five QBs in the league. But, the Vikes are better off with him, anyway. For a while at least.

• Charley tells us that Jerry Bell went to New York to see the two new ballparks being built. Of course, ours is better.

Bell said the Twins' ballpark will have features better than those of Yankee Stadium.

"Our architecture is more unique, more fitting of Minnesota," he said. "The Mets' stadium is more brick and steel, East Coast, which is fine. I don't think that would be right for us, though. We're putting stone on ours now. I like it a lot. It's gorgeous, just gorgeous."

• Charley tells us that the guy who used to be Ken Griffey, Jr. loves to hit against the Twins. I don't know if he knows it, but Griffey's been in the National League for about eight years, where he got old. He does have this little tidbit: "White Sox broadcaster Ken "Hawk" Harrelson said the two "prettiest" baseball swings he has seen in 45 years of organized baseball belong to Griffey and the Twins' Joe Mauer." One wonders if Sid's scouts were talking about Mauer instead of Morneau when they were talking about a potential all-time great.

Tom Powers
I think he's lost at sea. No new columns for almost two weeks.

Bob Sansevere
Jeebus, was it vacation week at the PiP? Sansevere with one offering, an interview with Gary Zimmerman. Zimmerman speaks the truth:

Being elected to the Hall of Fame was actually a surprise. It really shocked me. I figured (former Vikings teammate and guard) Randall (McDaniel) would go because I didn't think they'd take two linemen at the same time. I thought that'd be awesome if we went the same time. It's hard for me to look at myself and say that I had a great career. It's easy for me to say that about Randall. He was the most amazing athlete I saw on the line. I thought for sure he'd be a first-time ballot guy. Maybe it's because he doesn't have a Super Bowl ring. He's got everything but a Super Bowl.

God, what a week. I've been beaten into submission.

2008 Twins Game 111: Cleveland at Minnesota

SBG August 3, 2008, at 12:00 pm 201 LTEs - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) , , , ,

Game 111: Cleveland at Minnesota
Game Time: 1:10 PM CDT
Scheduled Starters: Matt Ginter (4th start, 15 IP, 4.03 xFIP) v. Francisco Liriano (4th Start, 10.3 IP, 7.12 xFIP). What is xFIP?

Happy F-Bomb Day!

The USS Mariner, one of the most analytical and popular blogs out there devoted to one team often announces in its game logs that their star young pitcher is throwing by wishing their readers Happy Felix Day! The implication, of course, is that fans of the Mariners should enjoy those times when Hernandez is pitching. Given the way the Mariners are going, and considering the likely near-term future of that club, enjoying Felix is just about all they've got, so it is probably doubly advisable to enjoy Felix Day for all it's worth.

One hopes that F-Bomb Day will be similar to the F-Bomb days of 2006 again, although that seems unlikely. In the wake of Top Jimmy's ridiculous column written after the trading deadline advocating a trade of Liriano, it should be instructive to look at what was. The Twins promoted Liriano into the starting rotation on May 19th, 2006 and over the course of the next fourteen starts, he pitched 92 2/3 innings, allowing 51 hits (seven were homeruns) and 28 walks while striking out 105. That's a FIP of 2.82. His ERA was 1.65 over that period. It was phenomenal. There's probably no way we'll see that, but I do have hope that he'll round back into form as an effective pitcher.

During that run, I was thinking about Scott Erickson's run in 1991. Over a 13 game starting streak, he was 12-0 with a 1.24 ERA. After that run, he had elbow problems and was nothing like that, ever again. His peripherals were a little different: 102 1/3 IP, 28 BB, 64K, 73H, 4 HR. The big difference, of course, was the relatively low strikeout total. His FIP was 3.28, which is pretty darned good, but not great. We all tend to agree around here that strikeouts are one of the leading indicators of long term success -- and Erickson's pedestrian strikeout numbers, in retrospect, did not predict sustainable greatness. Erickson did have some decent years after 1991, but he was never that guy again.

Let's hope that Liriano's path is a little different. It could be, as he did have the huge strikeout numbers. Of course, he threw that slider so much that he ended up with TJ surgery, so maybe he can't be that guy without risking reinjury. The chances for a complete recovery from Tommy John surgery are about 85 to 90 percent, so there's a very good chance that physically, he'll be back. But, in terms of approach, Liriano may not be able to throw slider after slider ever again, but if he learns to pitch effectively without over-relying on that nasty pitch, perhaps he'll be an extremely good or even great pitcher. And that's the hope.

So, Happy F-Bomb Day, everyone. And many happy returns.

Polling SBG Nation

SBG August 2, 2008, at 8:41 am One LTE - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) , , , , , ,

A while back, I started running polls here at The WGOM and I thought I'd do a little updating to let you know how the polling went this week. Of course, this polling is not exactly scientific, but intended only to be fun for the Nation (so vote, dammit!). Here goes.

The first poll of the week centered on Francisco Liriano situation.

What's Your Opinion on the Fransisco Liriano Situation?

  • The Twins have handled it well, but they should call him up now. -- 66%
  • The Twins have handled it well and he can stay in the minors for awhile yet. -- 17%
  • The Twins have generally handled it well, but they should have called him up a while ago. -- 15%
  • The Twins have handled it poorly -- I think his agent has a case. -- 2%

Total Voters: 53

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The Twins get pretty high marks from the Nation for their handling of the situation, even as the national press ripped the Twins. Of course, he's up now and Livan has been sent to a happy place, where he's no doubt eating doughnuts with Tony Batista, instead of all those innings he was famous for eating.

Next, I wanted to know exactly what part of the baseball season appeals to the Nation the most.

What's Your Favorite Part of the Baseball Season?

  • Spring Training -- 6%
  • Opening Day -- 9%
  • Some Random Day at the Ballpark -- 24%
  • Stretch Drive -- 52%
  • Postseason -- 9%

Total Voters: 33

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There may be only one October, but the Nation prefers the stretch drive. I would imagine if the Twins got to the World Series more often that might change, but I'd have to agree that the stretch drive is just about the best time of the year (if it's close, otherwise, just a random day at the park is pretty hard to beat).

After winning the first game of the White Sox series, I wanted to see how confident people were.

The Twins Got the First Game Against the White Sox. How Many Wins will the Twins Get in this Series?

  • Four -- 10%
  • Three -- 80%
  • Two -- 7%
  • One -- 3%

Total Voters: 30

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Pretty confident it turns out and that confidence was rewarded. If not for the doughnut eater, we could have had a sweep. I wonder if the White Sox enjoyed that series. I'm thinking not.

With the ChiSox in town, I wanted to find out how much hatred there was in the Nation for the Whities.

Which of the following teams do you dislike the MOST?

  • New York Yankees -- 59%
  • Boston Red Sox -- 15%
  • Chicago White Sox -- 26%

Total Voters: 39

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It turns out there's some, but not as much as there is for the Evil Empire. This poll sparked an interesting conversation starting right here in the Cup of Coffee that day about the ChiSox club.

With the trade deadline near, I wanted to know if you were interested in dealing a pitcher for Adrian Beltre.

Which One of These Guys Would You Give for a Year Plus Two Months of Adrian Beltre (plus the two picks he'd bring at the end)?

  • Nick Blackburn -- 15%
  • Kevin Slowey -- 0%
  • Glen Perkins -- 47%
  • Scott Baker -- 0%
  • Francisco Liriano -- 0%
  • None of the Above, They Take Livan and They Like It. -- 38%

Total Voters: 59

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If someone was going to go, it was going to be Glen Perkins, but NO ONE wanted to see Francisco Liriano dealt. It should be noted that this poll was taken before the deadline came. That's the way we do things around here. Get on the record now. Hindsight is for pussies. Of course, the Twins did nothing.

Finally, I wanted to see what you thought about the Twins' chances on August 1. Optimism is up over the last time I asked.

It's August 1st, time for a temperature check. How do you see the Twins finishing this year?

  • Champions of the AL Central -- 69%
  • 2nd in the AL Central, Wild Card -- 4%
  • 2nd in the AL Central, No Wild Card -- 25%
  • 3rd in the AL Central -- 2%
  • 4th in the AL Central -- 0%
  • Dead Last, Buckeroos -- 0%

Total Voters: 48

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Here's where we were on July 9.

When the Regular Season Ends, where will the Twins be?

  • Champions of the AL Central, AGAIN -- 9%
  • Second place, but they snare the wild card -- 2%
  • Second place, but no playoffs -- 51%
  • Third place -- 36%
  • Fourth place -- 0%
  • Hide your eyes, they're gonna collapse to the basement -- 2%

Total Voters: 45

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I guess we have forgotten about that debacle in New York.

For the week, we had six polls and a total of 262 votes. I'm thinking we can do better than that. Vote and make your voice heard!

The Weak in Local Sportswriting

SBG July 27, 2008, at 6:33 am 3 LTEs - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) , , , , , , , , , ,

It's a new week, and what better way to start a week than to go back and look at what our local sports columnists wrote about last week. Actually, I can think of a lot better things to do to start a week. In fact, this is way down the list. Really, it's not on the list at all. Nevertheless, I've decided to subject you to the frivolity.

Let's start with Top Jimmy. In his first column of the week, TJ advocated for the removal of Carlos Gomez from the top of the Twins batting order. TJ was telling us earlier this season that Gomez wins the Twins a game a week -- that might be true, but lately, he's been doing his best to lose the other six games a week. TJ accurately points out that Gomez is an exciting player, but he sucks at getting on base. And, considering that leadoff hitters bat more than anyone else on the club, a crappy OBP is not what you need there. The Twins quickly took TJ's advice. This column is pretty much a no-brainer, but TJ has missed no-brainers before, so kudos. Another whipping boy for TJ has been Vikings coach Brad Childress, but the Vikings have the look of a serious contender... okay, I'm not REALLY believing that, but anyway, TJ writes a hey, this Vikings operation looks like it's kind of competent column. Witness:

Now, though, [Childress has] constructed an intimidating running game and added quality receivers to the passing game. He and his quarterback, Tarvaris Jackson, still have miles to go, but Jackson is set up to have at least a solid year as a starter in '08, which would make this (can't ... say ... it ... must ... resist ... optimism) something like a KAO.

In case you are wondering, KAO = kick ass offense. Ouch. First, a my boy Gomez needs to be moved down in the lineup or possibly shipped to Rochester and now a Chili seems to know what he's doing column? Tough week for Top Jimmy. I don't see any poultry references, other than that eating crow that he's doing. What's next, writing a column about a Vikings defensive end and his security blanket? Oh, no he di'nt!

I'm not sure that Patrick Reusse showed up at a game this week wearing the same dress at Tom Powers, but they both wrote the same column last week about some washed up golfer, so that was bad. What can Reusse do to make amends? He starts the week off by scoffing at the Vikings $853 million plan to "reconstruct" the Metrodome. Such a plan would call for $600 million from the taxpayers. I'm pretty happy with the Vikings playing in the Metrodome and, if necessary, somewhere else entirely starting in 2012. 81 dates in a Twins stadium? Yes. 8 regular season Vikings games in an almost billion dollar building? No thanks. The NFL is for TV anyway. Reusse follows that up with a story about a Gopher football player getting his degree 40 years after playing for the U. How is that news? I thought all those guys were on the 40 year plan. Then, Reusse profiles the fourth guy on the Vikings defensive line, at least for now, Jayme Mitchell. It's hard to take that the NFL is coming soon. Reusse ends the week with a tribute to the newly deceased Chicago sportswriter, Jerome Holtzman. In it, he wrote about how much fun it is to hang out in the press box and make fun of ball players -- and that Holtzman was a lot of fun. He kind of sucked as a writer, though.

Holtzman's game stories on the Cubs or the White Sox didn't exactly cause goose bumps on a reader's arms. He embraced clichés as the next generation tried mightily to avoid them.

So, hang out, have fun, mock world class athletes, write crappy stories, and, presumably, hit the bars. Good old boys. One can see why Mr. Reusse has such disdain for bloggers. They are so unprofessional.

Grandpa Sports delivers the usual. Twins happy with Liriano, despite grievance. Tony Dungy thinks the Vikings are going to be good. Seriously, Sid, where do you come up with these questions? You asked somebody who was in town about the Vikings? Brilliant! The Vikings brain trust has been together for a couple of years now, so they are getting their shit together. Think the Brett Favre controversy is something? Well, the Vikings have had their fair share of QB controversies. That last one is a little out of the mold, but never fear, in the same column Sid tells us that the Twins have been a pleasant surprise.

Shooter tears a page out of Grandpa's playbook, writing a non-story about Carl Pohlad. But hey, his first column of the week included this gem:

Golf's "King," Arnold Palmer, was to fly from the Twin Cities to Rochester on Monday in his private jet for his annual physical at the Mayo Clinic.

Well, excuse me for making a crack about a non-story. Shooter follows that stupendous effort up with this one: "Twins reluctant to make a trade that would hurt team's chemistry". Word has it, though, that they aren't worried about fucking up their biology or physics. But, of course, the Shooter column is always about the juicy tidbits. Like this one: "Look for the grass for the Twins' new ballpark opening in 2010 in downtown Minneapolis to be grown on a Colorado sod farm." Whew! That's about as exciting as, well, watching grass grow. Shooter ends a fine week by telling us that Tim Brewster is still promoting the Gopher football program. And there's this note: "The Gophers are still intent on getting the University of Texas on their 2016 football schedule." So, Brewster's gonna make sure that they don't play the Longhorns until after he's fired. Good.

Tom Powers must still be exhausted from his Ron Streck column, so he brings just one column this week about, you guessed it, another old codger golfer that you've never heard of before. Looks like Tom was on vacation. Hope he did something other than hang out with old golfers.

If I keep up this column, Bob Sansevere is going to wear me out. The guy writes pretty much every day. True, he only writes about 200 words a day, but it's every day! Let's see what was on his mind this week. Arnold Palmer says he's had a good life. One would think that there was an old-timer's golf tournament in town with all the old golfers hitting the sports page this week. It's good, though, to see that Arnie has a firm grasp of the obvious. Bob also tells us he's not sold on Tavaris Jackson. But, he's running a KAO, Bob! Speaking of old codger golf, Bob says the course that they played on here in town was too damned easy. Boy, the St. Paul paper spent a lot of time on that tournament. Apparently, Grandpa didn't totally dominate Tony Dungy while he was in town this week. Sansevere talked to him, too. If you just read the headline, "On and On With Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy" you'd think that Sansevere had a wide ranging interview with the former Vikings assistant coach. You'd be wrong. He's got five questions including a one-word response to a question about Brett Favre. He also didn't ask Tony whether he thought the Vikings would be any good. But, then again, only Sid asks questions like that. Sansevere also talked with Gopher football recruit Sam Maresh, who had heart surgery last month. The kid is talking about playing -- I certainly wouldn't, not after heart surgery. For his final column of the week, Sansevere writes about the rumor that Brett Favre was calling the Vikings on a Packer cell phone. There's a caveat -- if the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (who reported the cellphone story) is dialed in -- but then Bob takes his rips at Favre. Both the Favre and Packers camps are denying this story, so it appears that the MJS was dialing a wrong number. I hope those guys in Milwaukee are fun to hang out with in the baseball press box, because then we can excuse their rumor mongering.

Local Scribes Write About What They Write About

SBG July 20, 2008, at 6:20 am 12 LTEs - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) , , , , , , , , , ,

I opened up my virtual Sunday morning newspapers, and this is what I saw.

Top Jimmy: Brett Favre is tarnishing his reputation because he still wants to play. Maybe so, but hasn't he been doing this for years? Favre is going to want to play right up until the day they order the artificial hips. By the way, I'm pretty sure Top Jimmy wrote this column without leaving the comfort of his mother's basement.

Patrick Reusse: Profiles Ron Streck, who's playing in the old codger's golf tournament in town this weekend. Turns out Streck was the first player to win on the PGA tour using a metal wood. Includes this quote from some golfer, when seeing the metal wood: "That looks like a practice club. I'll never use one of these." That golfer was Jack Nicklaus. Here's Reusse's genius. He writes a column about someone you've never heard of and it's interesting. Nice piece.

Sid Hartman: ZOMG! Both the pitcher (Glen Perkins) and the catcher (Joe Mauer) are from Minnesota! And they are teh awesum!


Charley Walters: The Vikings should trade for Brett Favre (really!) and the NFL might make it happen. I have to quote this so you don't think I'm making it up:

If Brett Favre wants to play for the Vikings, which he seems to want to do, and if the Vikings want Favre, which they seem to, there would seem to be a deal to be made, with the NFL steering it behind the scenes.

A deal for the future hall of fame quarterback could be good business for the league.

Well, if the Packers trade Brett Favre to the Minnesota Vikings, you heard it here first. Also, this should make you all cringe and rethink your vote on the Billy Smith poll from earlier this week.

Twins general manager Bill Smith, on Livan Hernandez, who improved to 10-6 with a 5.29 earned-run average with Saturday's victory over Texas: "I'll take the (10) wins. Who do you want, a guy who's 10-15 with a 2.80 ERA or a guy who's 16-8 with a 7.00 ERA? I'll take the 16-8."

Tom Powers: He profiles Tom Streck [actually, Tom wasn't speaking to the media, so he profiled Ron, just like Reusse], too! Suddenly, the Reusse column isn't looking so great. He even has the Nicklaus quote. Strike all that about Reusse's genius.

Bob Sansevere: Profiles some other codger golfer, Loren Roberts. Wow. I guess he was unable to make the Tom Ron Streck press conference.

I'd have to say that Shooter wins for best column. It's funny (although presumably unintentionally so) and he's got that Billy Smith quote.

Top Jimmy: Excuse Me, But These Twins Stories Are Pretty Good, Too

SBG July 18, 2008, at 9:32 am 10 LTEs - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) , , , , ,

TJ makes some sense, and says he'll take the Twins All-Stars over Josh Hamilton.

Redemption is a glamorous story-line, but isn't it better this way, following three model athletes with no need for it?

Yeah, I can get behind that.

Cup of Coffee: July 14, 2008

SBG July 14, 2008, at 6:00 am 70 LTEs - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) , ,

I happened to catch a couple of minutes of Reusse and Top Jimmy talking about Mauer and Morneau and their leadership (I thought they weren't the leader types -- oh, that was last year, heh). TJ addressed the issue of his dressing down Mauer last year, saying that he wrote about it only because "teammates" were telling TJ that Mauer should play more. (Of course, his trainer contacts didn't help him much, either.) If you are going to accept the word of your source(s) as gospel and it turns out your source(s) is full of shit, then maybe access isn't everything.

TJ Wants to Be Rick Reilly

SBG July 11, 2008, at 8:52 am 4 LTEs - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) , ,

You know, I just hate Rick Reilly. He's a pompous ass and he has a tendency to inject himself into his stories. That makes this article (complete with pictures) of Souhan working out with Matt Birk all the more cringe worthy. A middle aged sportswriter can't keep up with a Pro Bowl NFL lineman? The Hell!

Count Me Out

SBG March 24, 2006, at 8:49 am 29 LTEs - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) ,

Top Jimmy:

Tonight, four Eastern teams we don't know intimately or follow passionately will play here -- four teams who, if they were matched in January, would draw lower television ratings in Minnesota than a Jesse Ventura cable talk show -- and yet there is an air of anticipation surrounding these games that befits the greatest of sporting events.

Which is what the NCAA tournament has become.

This is the genius of March Madness: Captivating us with teams and players with whom we have no connection.

When underclassmen began leaving college to enter the NBA draft, or skipping college altogether, we heard that the popularity of the college game would go the way of Enron stock.

What would the game do without star matchups, without Magic vs. Bird? It turns out that's like asking what the NFL would do without Pete Rozelle and Vince Lombardi.

You don't have to tell me that I'm in the minority. I know it. But, in my book the NCAA tournament is not the greatest of sporting events precisely because of this fact: the best 20 year olds are in the NBA. How much more exciting would it be if LeBron James were playing against Carmelo Anthony in the Final Four? If they had both gone (or stayed) in college, that's what we could have seen. If name recognition is not important, then I guess you are rooting for a uniform.

Go Blue Shirts, Go!

Yes, the games can be competitive and some of them end in a thrilling manner. You can have them. College basketball isn't a players' game. It's a coaches' game. The NBA is a players' game and that's what I want to watch. The players. Don't believe me? What was better, MJ stifled by Dean Smith in college or MJ as the greatest ever in the NBA? For me, that's no contest. What's better, Dwyane Wade surrounded by inferior talent at Marquette or D-Wade in Miami, doing things that you haven't since since #23? What would you rather watch? The moribund Minnesota Gophers, lead by Dan Monson or the moribund T-Wolves, led by KG? Let me tell you this. Magic v. Larry in the NCAA was an event that dwarfs anything that's happening this year. But, their rivalry in the NBA was much better.

College basketball is about colleges and universities using young athletes to make millions of dollars and giving none of it to the players. It's about coaches making untold amounts by forcing the kids to wear a particular brand of shoes. It's about cheating the system and putting up a ridiculous facade that the players are getting an education (some do, most really don't). The best players have gotten smart. They've foregone that nonsense and have gone into the NBA and gotten paid for their brilliance. Sure, some of the players that have gone into the league straight from high school have been a bust (Ndudi Ebi, anyone?). Now, of course, those who are under 19 will have to go to college for at least a year. Not much will change. The best 20 year olds will be in the NBA next year, and for the foreseeable future. The next cut of players will make their coaches, their schools, and the NCAA rich. The quality of play has declined dramatically over the last 10 years. Dramatically. Why? Because all the best 20 year olds are starring in the NBA.

I'll be watching the NBA, thank you very much. Even if I'm watching alone.

Top Jimmy’s Advice to the Twins

SBG March 23, 2006, at 7:00 am 3 LTEs - (Sorry, but the time to add LTEs has expired) ,

Friend of SBG, the Online Mag, Banjo Brother, set up a discussion on Top Jimmy's latest column. Let me provide an excerpt here on the main page of the SBG Publishing Empire.

� Twins manager Ron Gardenhire's probable lineup is: Shannon Stewart, Luis Castillo, Joe Mauer, Rondell White, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau, Tony Batista, right fielder, shortstop.

There are a few problems with this plan. Castillo figures to be a better leadoff hitter than Stewart. His on-base percentage was .391 last year. Stewart's was a career-low .323. And Stewart has more RBI potential.

Gardenhire prefers Hunter hitting fifth behind White largely because Hunter likes hitting as close to the middle of the order as possible. Morneau, though, would be a better fit at No. 5, because he should produce higher slugging and on-base percentages than Hunter.

Also, if Castillo bats leadoff, Morneau moves to the No. 5 spot and Kubel bats seventh, you would have a lineup that goes: Switch-hitter, righthanded bat, lefthanded bat, right, left, right, left, right, right. And when Nick Punto plays shortstop instead of Jason Bartlett, you could add a switch-hitter in the No. 9 spot.

That wouldn't guarantee success, but it would prevent opposing managers from bringing in a lefthanded or righthanded relief specialist to dominate a stretch of batters.

� The Twins should name Bartlett the starting shortstop and allow him to work every day with Castillo. GM Terry Ryan views Bartlett as the future at the position, so he should be given every chance to succeed.

Don't look now, but maybe TJ is going to actually write some good stuff this year. Discuss here or at the BB under Banjo Brother's Post.