The WGOM

Last week, you made predictions about how many games the Twins will win in 2010. Just for the heck of it, let's check that out again.

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And since we're all in a good mood, how about this one?

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Update: Top Jimmy writes today that the Twins might have to trade Mauer. Included in this article is this gem:

If the Twins signed Mauer to a deal worth $25 million a year -- which might be what it takes -- what might they have to pay to keep Morneau, who was considered the more valuable player until last season?

Oh Jimmy, you are so much fun.

I've been threatening (at least in my own mind) to write more often around here. Here are a few thoughts this morning.

• Wolves lose to Denver last night and now stand at 51 losses, good for tenth worst in franchise history. Hollinger projects them to lose 64, which would leave only the Jimmy Rodgers year with more losses than this club. The future may or may not be better, but at least that Rodgers club was only the third Timberwolves campaign. From where I'm sitting this is just about as grim as it has ever been. Just about the only thing that could be worse is if the Wolves were sitting in salary cap Hell, to boot.
• Hey, does anyone think that Ben Roethlisberger is a good guy?
• Perhaps the biggest criticism leveled Michael Jordan in is playing days is that he never used his position to speak out about social issues. But, what if Jordan had opened his mouth and sounded like Torii Hunter? Hunter may be a great baseball player and all, but he's also someone with a high school education who appears to be profoundly ignorant. I wonder if he'll be asked by media types to talk about race again anytime soon. Next stop: the annual #42 day, when players honor Jackie Robinson. My take is every single player should be encouraged to wear #42 to honor Mr. Robinson's contributions to society. We all know that Torii thinks only Black players should be allowed to wear the number -- and that apparently means Black Americans, not the descendants of slaves from other countries. Interestingly, the Hunter story shows up in a wire story at the Strib, but the editing is such that Hunter's comments seem much less inflammatory. What I really want to know is who exactly comes up to Torii and asks him what color Vladimir Guerrero is.
• The Celtics lost again last night, this time at home to the Grizzlies. KG had 6 points. One good thing about the KG trade is that we don't have to watch his getting-uglier-every-day decline.
• This story is one that bears watching. Koua Fong Lee of St. Paul was convicted of criminal vehicular homicide when the car he was driving careened into cars on June 6, 2006 on an off ramp on I-94.
  

  Lee was driving his family home from their Minneapolis church that afternoon in June. According to testimony, he was traveling about 55 mph as he took the Snelling Avenue exit ramp off eastbound Interstate 94 in St. Paul. But instead of slowing down, the car sped up.

  Lee sideswiped several cars before crashing into an Oldsmobile Ciera driven by Javis Adams Sr., 33. Adams and his 10-year-old son, Javis Jr. (J.J.), were killed. His niece, Devyn Bolton, was left a quadriplegic and died at age 7 in October 2007. Adams' father, Quincy Adams, and Javis Jr.'s sister, Jasmine, were injured.

  Driving home from church, and Lee was going 75 to 90 on an off ramp, after driving (according to his testimony) 55 on the freeway? Mr. Lee has spent the past 2 1/2 years of an 8 eight year sentence in prison, all the while insisting that he was trying to stop the car, but that it wouldn't stop.

  The case, of course, is getting another look-see because Mr. Lee was driving a Toyota. Typically, in cases like these, the family of the victims aren't all that interested in helping a convicted felon get another shot at freedom. But, as you might expect, this is a little different.

  Attorney Michael Padden is representing the victims' family as they explore a lawsuit against Toyota. He said the family supports digging for more evidence.

  "The family's impetus is discovering the truth," he said.

  It's hard to feel anything but compassion for these people -- three family members dead, including two children. But, of course, the best outcome for them is that the car is found to have been defective. Mr. Lee might have some damages here, too. Like spending 2 1/2 years in prison and being blamed for the deaths of three people.

The Twins play their first spring training game tonight, so what better time to start predicting how the club will do in 2010? I'm pretty optimistic about this season -- I think the Twins have done a lot since the All-Star break last year to shore up some weak spots and get ready to open Target Field with a good, competitive club.

So, what do you think?

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So, you run into a benefactor. He's going to give you a choice: two really good Twins season tickets, right behind the plate. Cool! But, he give you another option. Ten days for two in Hawaii in the middle of the winter. Flying first class, staying in luxury hotels, fine dining, etc. The kind of trip you would never get to take otherwise. The Twins games are on TV, right? The value of each package is about the same.

Which one would you take?

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As I backed out of the driveway this morning and headed down the snowy tunnel that is the street by which my house is located (I don't live ON the street, but rather by it), I couldn't help but think one thing. Baseball is just around the corner.

So, let's start talking about the 2010 Twins. The Twins have really got some pop in their line up. It's not at all inconceivable that five or even six Twins get to 20 HRs this year (J.J. Hardy having a shot at being number six). I'd like nothing more than to see Dino walk, Hardy single him to third and Number Seven stick the ball over the left field wall about 25 times this year.

If healthy, I think Morneau leads the club in dingers. Thome will hit some, depending on his playing time. But, the key to the Twins power this year will be what Kubel, Cuddyer, and Mauer do. All are coming off of career highs in HRs. Who will continue to knock 'em over the wall?

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We're gonna have a two-part You Choose today.

First, one last question about football. Suppose your favorite NFL team has a QB vacancy. Good news! Two QBs are available! One of them is Peyton Manning, four time league MVP. The other is Drew Brees, who has led the NFL in completions, yardage, and TD passes (tied with Peyton) since he became a Saint in 2006. Peyton's not a spring chicken, he's going to be 34 next year and he's played 192 games in the NFL (not including playoffs). Plus, he's got a reputation, fairly earned or not, of coming up a little less than huge in the biggest games. But, he's also won at least 12 games for seven consecutive seasons.

Brees is three years younger, he's just won the Super Bowl and he's had back to back tremendous seasons. He's a four time pro-bowler, but his record isn't quite as consistently great as Peyton's. Still though, he's been pretty durable (that shoulder injury was in the last game of the season and he was back for 16 games the next year and has played in all but one game for the Saints since he signed there) and he's a ridiculously accurate passer -- he completed over 70% of his passes this year.

So, you choose.

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The second part is a prediction. Will big old Jim Thome swat the ball over the fence? He hit 23 dingers last year, but who knows what his playing time will be? Meanwhile, our beloved leftfielder is a pretty sure bet for about 10-12 taters. Who will hit more?

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You Choose:

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We seem to be collecting superstars at the end of their careers around here.

I was all for the Brett Favre to the Vikings from the very first time I heard it. I mean I have pretty much ignored the Vikings for five years at this site, but bringing Brett to the Vikings was something I could not ignore. Even the excruciating loss at the end of the season didn't really dim my enthusiasm for his season with the Purple. I thoroughly enjoyed cheering for him and to all those who whine and whine about him being selfish et cetera and so forth I say this: everyone in the NFL is out for themselves. And if they aren't, they should be. NFL players have a short career (generally) and they put up with a lot of pain. They should be looking out for #1 at all times. It just so happens that one of the best ways to look out for #1 is to be a good soldier on the team for which you play. Make no mistake though. Teams will cut players without a second thought. There is no loyalty coming the other way. If Brett Favre wants to find a team such as the Vikings and try to take them to the Super Bowl for his own glory, well I say do it.

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Rick Reilly is a pompous ass. But this Greg Easterbrook character, wow. I appreciate that you have to be out there and take chances if you want people to read you. Well, I suppose that's the case if, unlike JoePos, you aren't really good at sportswriting. As a matter of principle, I don't read Reilly's columns anymore and I'm pretty close to there with Easterbrook.

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Never could hate Jim Thome. He's killed the Twins for years and years. He tore our hearts out in game 163 a couple of years ago. He's played for two of our biggest rivals. I couldn't be happier to have him suiting up for us, even if he's a shell of his former self. I'll be especially happy if this means that Delmon Young ends up on the bench against right handers with regularity.

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Maybe if the Wolves sign LeBron and DWade in the offseason, Shaq will follow. That would be cool. Admit it. That would be cool. And no more delusional than to think that the Wolves are anywhere near contending with this outfit.

There's a lot not to like about the NFL. I've spent several years pretty much ignoring the league. But, even I have to admit that they've done a great job marketing the league and every single one of its franchises. Unlike baseball, the NFL is not reliant on one or two or three teams to carry the league. There are a lot of reasons for this, I suppose, but regardless -- everyone watches the Super Bowl, no matter who is in it.

That's not to say that there aren't dream matchups. And there is one dream matchup out of the final four teams: Indianapolis and Minnesota. Manning v. Favre. It reminds me of the Favre/Elway matchup, which was a tremendously attractive matchup and the game itself was one for the ages. A Colts/Vikings Super Bowl would be terrific. Note that there is a team from New York left in the playoffs and they are the least attractive team left. Oh, how I wish that MLB would market all of their franchises instead of the two or three that they push above all others.

I have enjoyed #4 all season long. He's been absolutely terrific. I really don't know if this is the end or if there will be one more. What do you think?

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Okay, let's get a final read on the McGwire situation and then we'll drop it.

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Okay, for something unrelated to steroids (ha!). The Vikings are playing Dallas on my birthday this Sunday. I've documented that the Vikings have played on my birthday twice before, both soul crushing losses in the NFC Championship game, one to Washington (Darrin, you were interfered with!) and one, jeebus help us, to Atlanta.

So, what happens on Sunday?

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In case you haven't heard, there was an incident in the Washington Wizards' lockerroom awhile back that included Gilbert Arenas drawing a gun and pointing it at a teammate. The teammate then grabbed one of Arenas' guns and pointed it at him.

The NBA has suspended Arenas without pay indefinitely. He has an enormous contract and the Wizards are still on the hook for about $90 million. I'm sure they'd love to get out from under that contract. When Latrell Sprewell grabbed P.J. Carlesimo around the neck and squeezed, the NBA suspended him for the rest of the year (68 games) and the Warriors voided his contract. Sprewell's contract was reinstated after an arbitration hearing.

What about Arenas?

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With Festivus fast approaching, I wanted to find out who your favorite character from Seinfeld was (of the four main characters).

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Earlier this week, we had a good little discussion about Denard Span and how he projects in 2010. His projection indicates that he might not be as good as he was in 2009. Why? Well, his minor league track record isn't all that great. It's true that the universe of seasons that 2010 that might be Keiunta's include some pretty good years and some not so good years. I want you to choose what you think will happen. Another good year? Or a not so good year? I will tell you that I thought 2009 was going to be a not so good year after his decidedly uninspiring spring training, but he proved me wrong.

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