The Last-Ever (Regular-Season) Twins Game in the Dome

Why, yes ...


... that is an authentic All-Star American League Justin Morneau jersey, a replica of the one he wore when he won the 2008 Home Run Derby -- thanks for asking! :)

Welcome Back, Joe

For the first time this season, Joe Mauer is back behind the plate at the Dome. It's currently the bottom of the third, and although the Twins are lagging, Joe homered on his first at-bat.

It's spring and life is good.

Spring Training Begins

Bart Giamatti (1938 – 1989), academic and MLB commissioner, on baseball:

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.

Besmirchment

I’m new to Joe Posnanski’s blog -- he writes a lot about sports and a little about pop culture -- but I’m getting to like it. Today, he had me swooning with this paragraph, tucked into a thoughtful piece on the ubiquitous A-Rod sitch:

I will say: I’ve never been entirely sure when the Yankees became the bastion of purity. That seemed to be at least one of the themes of the early A-Rod coverage -- that somehow he had besmirched the impeccable history of the New York Yankees. As far as I can tell, the Yankees tradition began with Babe Ruth, who would get chased on trains by naked women wielding knives. Mickey Mantle was an alcoholic; Whitey Ford was his carousing partner. George Steinbrenner pled guilty to obstruction of justice and later paid a gambler for dirt on Dave Winfield. Billy Martin was a five-tool rogue. Even just talking steroids: Brian McNamee was the Yankees strength coach, Roger Clemens was a Yankees pitcher, and we know at least one of them is lying. And so on. Not a knock -- every team has its past. Just saying I’m not sure that A-Rod betrayed some sort of saintly Yankees code.

Hear, hear!

Joe also recently did a nice little post after watching George Carlin’s brilliant take on the language of football versus the language of baseball. Joe’s post ain’t Carlin, but some of it is lovely (like how the language of the game “sounds like something a small child came up with long ago”) and it’s always cool to see what happens at the intersection of “baseball” and “words.”

Semi-relatedly: If you haven’t yet seen the PBS broadcast of the Mark Twain Prize being awarded (posthumously) to Mr. Carlin, it’s definitely worthy. And yes, the football-versus-baseball bit -- part of Carlin’s opening monologue in the first-ever episode of “SNL” -- is included.

Proof That the Yankees Stink

Literally.

According to the NYT, some MLB players are perfectly happy to say goodbye to Yankee Stadium, which is expected to be demolished at the ripe old age of 85 years when the team’s new stadium opens next year.

Times reporter Alan Schwartz points out some of the hassles associated with other stadiums (rats at the Astrodome? ewwwwww) and then shares some of what players won’t miss about the House that Ruth Built. Top beef? The smell.

“Especially when it rains, the smell that comes up through the drainage system is not pretty,” said Jason Varitek of the Boston Red Sox. “It affects your sinuses, I’ll tell you that much.”

[Michael] Young [of the Texas Rangers] added: “It depends on the day. The last time we were there, which was a couple of weeks ago, a pipe burst. I was going back up the tunnel, and there was a flood — a sewer line broke or something like that. So I still have that kind of in my nose right now.”

Twins closer extraordinaire Joe Nathan preferred to focus on the exorcism factor:

“The ghosts,” he said. “There’s a reason these guys have won so much. Good to get a fresh start in the new place.”

But along with crappy accommodations for visiting teams (Joe Crede of the White Sox referenced hitting his head on the low ceiling of the dugout), Schwartz writes, “Olfactory issues led the voting.” Check out the full article here.

One Classy Canuck

Justin Morneau, that big Canadian lug, not only won the All- Star home run derby but displayed a heckuva lot of class doing it, best evidenced by his reactions to second-place finisher Josh Hamilton.

Hamilton (a Ranger no less -- ugh), set a record for the number of homers in the first round of the derby and ended up hitting more over all than Morneau did, but Morneau took two of the three individual rounds, winning the derby itself and becoming the first Twin to do so.



And he faced more than just the challenge of swinging for swat. The Doctor was actually booed by the fans at Yankee Stadium (could this be because he who beat Derek Jeter to win AL MVP in 2006?). On the flip side, Josh – who returned to basball last year after recovering froma drug addiction, and who once said it was a dream to participate in the derby – clearly had the hearts of crowd, which at one point chanted “Ham-il-ton! Ham-il-ton!”

Heck, when he received the trophy, Morneau was referred to as “Jason.”* Sheesh.

And yet, check out his comments, as reported by the Strib:

I was kind of cheering for [Hamilton] because, you know, the whole crowd's behind him. You want to see that story end in a good way.

He's the one that put on the show tonight. I think everyone will remember Josh Hamilton's 28 home runs, more than they'll remember that I won the thing. But I'm just glad I was a part of it.

When it's on ESPN Classic, I'll say, "Hey I was in that, too."

He was even humble about his invitation to the event: "They ran out of all the good players, and then they asked me," Morneau said.

That’s one classy Canuck.

* P.S. My friend Wade points out that, "It wasn't a State Farm yutz (redundant?) that called him Jason Morneau; it was Rob Manfred, executive VP of Major League Baseball." Can we say, double sheesh?

Anniversary

Because M is an incredibly good sport, we spent last night -- our fourth anniversary -- at a Twins game. The tickets came courtesy of Tom, one of the outside counsels used by M's company and an all-around mensch who helps M keep his sanity at work. Turned out to be good seats, too!

The cute couple next to us, who took the picture above, have been married thirty years.

The All-Star ballot. Had to vote for some current Twins and my former boyfriend.

Home-town Joe.

Shortstop Brendan Harris. Pros: He wears the short pants, which we likey (the long pants look more like pajamas than baseball). Cons: His performance at bat.

The Good Doctor, Justin Morneau (the best thing to come out of Canada since the round meat on eggs benedict), just before he homered up to the second deck. Boom!

Ladies and gentlemen, closer extraordinaire Joe Nathan.

And on the walk home from the train, we saw two bunnies and six kitties. It was a good night!

P.S. We were especially tickled to be sharing June 17 as a wedding date with some very happy couples in California.

Work-Day Twins Outing

Whatever Aeric's selling, L1 isn't buying it.


We didn't plan to order this much tequila, but it was two-for-one with a game ticket!

Gone, Daddy, Gone

At least it's the Mets (so he can hang out with former Twin Luis Castillo) and not the Yankees, and of course, we knew it was coming, but I'm still feeling pretty sad about this one.

From this morning's Strib:

Second Twins pillar departs

By LA VELLE E. NEAL III, Star Tribune

January 29, 2008

Faced with a Tuesday deadline invoked by Johan Santana, the Twins ended months of speculation by agreeing to deal the two-time Cy Young award winner to the New York Mets for four prospects, according to persons with knowledge of the discussions.

Santana is expected to receive a six-year deal that would pay him about $130 million, sources said. The trade hinges on a 72-hour window that closes on Friday afternoon for the Mets and Santana to negotiate a deal that would entice Santana to waive the no-trade clause in his current contract.

The Twins have traded top players for prospects before -- Frank Viola in 1989 and Chuck Knoblauch in 1998 -- and each time the deal was followed by at least one losing season before a run of success.

The Twins this offseason have lost Torii Hunter to free agency and likely Santana to the Mets. But even amid that gloom, Twins fans are not without hope. The team is building a new stadium set to open in 2010 and last week signed regulars Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer to long-term contracts.

Former Twins first baseman Kent Hrbek, who watched teammate Viola leave in 1989 and played in the 1991 World Series with players brought in by that trade, shared that cautious optimism.

"It all depends on what happens with the pitching staff they have and how well they will perform,'' said former Twins star Kent Hrbek. "If they pitch their butts off and do well, everyone will be like: 'Who?'"

The Twins are a microcosm of the entire Minnesota sports scene. In recent years, the Wolves' Kevin Garnett and Vikings standouts Randy Moss and Daunte Culpepper have all exited. The Mets have agreed to send to the Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez, 22, and righthanded pitchers Philip Humber, 25, Kevin Mulvey, 22, and Deolis Guerra, 18. Gomez played 58 games for the Mets last year, and could contend for the starting center field job that opened when Hunter signed with the Los Angeles Angels.

Twins officials declined to discuss the deal until Santana completes an agreement with the Mets. "We hope to have some resolution to the whole thing soon, but we don't have anything else to say today,'' Twins GM Bill Smith said Tuesday night.

The Twins offered Santana a four-year deal worth $80 million, but it became evident to team officials that he wanted to pitch on a bigger stage, such as New York or Boston. Team officials had become resigned in recent weeks to losing Santana.

"That's all we heard about all winter is [Santana] was going to be gone and traded,'' said Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson. "At first you think about it all the time. You expect it's going to happen, and when it finally does, it's like it really hasn't hit you yet.''

The deadline

According to a person familiar with negotiations, Santana and his agent, Peter Greenberg, gave the Twins until the end of the day on Tuesday to get a deal done or Santana would invoke his no-trade clause and remain with the Twins through the 2008 season. If that had happened, he would have left the team as a free agent at the end of the season, and the Twins would have received only two draft picks as compensation. Greenberg did not return interview requests.

Faced with that ultimatum, the Twins late last week asked each of the three main suitors for Santana -- the Mets, Yankees, and Red Sox -- for its best offer.

The Mets offer included players deemed to have the greatest potential. The tradeoff: The two best prospects, Gomez and Guerra, might not be ready to help for a year or two.

Gomez has blinding speed and is excellent defensively, but the jury is still out on his bat. If he hits, he could become a star. He will be given a chance to win the center field job in spring training.

Guerra, who stands 6-foot-5, has huge potential and pitched in high Class A ball last season at age 18, which doesn't happen often.

Mulvey is considered a middle-of-the-rotation prospect with Humber more of a No. 4 or 5 starter.

"It's four prospects for sure,'' Cuddyer said. "None of them has really proven themselves, but then again they're all young, and they'll have a chance to prove themselves. Gomez will have a chance to prove himself in center field this year.''

With Santana's $13.25 million salary moving off the books, the Twins' 2008 payroll could hover around $50 million for the first time since 2003, when it was $55.6 million. Morneau, who agreed to a six-year, $80 million contract last week, would be the highest-paid Twin at $7.4 million. Team officials have not ruled out adding a veteran pitcher via free agency.

The proposed trade to the Mets ends a seven-year run in the Twin Cities for Santana, who went an astounding 93-44 with a 3.22 ERA, won AL Cy Young awards in 2004 and 2006 and had a huge hand in making the Twins a consistent
winner.

Departure foreshadowed

The warning signs that Santana's days as a Twin were coming to an end began a year ago when he warned that the club should sign him to an extension then or the cost of keeping him was going to increase.

He made national news after the July 31 trade deadline when he criticized the front office for not doing more to keep the club competitive. At the end of the season, he announced that he was willing to waive his no-trade clause for the right deal.

Indications during the offseason were that Santana, who will make $13.25 million this season, wanted a record-breaking deal and that he wanted to pitch on the big stage.

He's close to getting what he wanted.

As for the Twins, team officials can only hope the deal works out as well as the two most recent cases where the club dispatched an All-Star for prospects.

Viola, a Cy Young award winner, was dealt to the Mets in 1989 for five young pitchers. Two of them -- Rick Aguilera and Kevin Tapani -- became key members of the 1991 World Series championship team.

In 1998, the Twins traded second baseman Knoblauch to the Yankees for four prospects. Cristian Guzman and Eric Milton became All-Stars, helping the Twins end a streak of eight straight losing seasons and win the AL Central Division three straight seasons from 2002 through 2004.

For Twins fans, that past invites a reason for optimism.

"I'm extremely sorry to see Johan go,'' said Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, a self-professed die-hard fan. "But I believe this is exactly what this incredible franchise needs to do to sign the players who are key to our future, like [Joe] Mauer and Morneau and Cuddyer, and build the pitching staff that has tremendous promise. I'm sad, but I think it's the right move considering the way baseball works."

Staff writers M.L. Smith and Joe Christensen contributed to this report.

© 2008 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

Not Jo, too!

“Johan, don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” read the opening sentence of a brief editorial in today’s Strib. “And the same holds true for Joe Nathan and anyone else the Twins can deal.”

I moaned. More “we’re better off without ‘em” crap, like we saw with Torii?

But no. The piece continued:

Don’t get me wrong – these guys are class acts. But the greatest pitcher of his generation and one of the best relievers in the game deserve big money and, more importantly, a shot at a World Series ring. With the Twins, they’ll get neither. Not with this owner [Carl Pohlad, aka (in my house) "Mr. WhytheHellIsn’tHeDeadYet!"].

The conclusion: “And please, don’t trade Santana to the Yankees. I want to be able to root for him.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Say It Ain't So, To

Oh, Laura sad.

But Laura's also quite mad about this whole thing. Why?

For one thing, the "fans" are simply tearing Torii apart for this, calling him "greedy" and "disloyal." WTF?!? Yes, baseball players do get paid obscene amounts, but that's griping about the game, not this player. And as anyone who's ever had a well-paying but hellacious job can tell you, money is rarely reason enough to take or keep a gig. Far more important are feeling valued and having a solid future. The Twins have clearly demonstrated that they're not prepared to give Torii either of those things.

But the Angels are. They've signed Sweetcheeks for five years (while the Twins were only willing to go to three), but even more important, they're committed to building a team that has a real shot. The Twins don't seem to be interested in that route, preferring instead to save money and skip the quest for glory.

Now, if you wanted nothing in life more than to be a Broadway actor, would you take a job in Albuquerque? Hell, no! You'd go to NYC. So if Torii wants to chase a championship, why Earth would he stay here when he can work for someone who'll put his money where his mouth is?


On that note, compare the net worths of Angels owner Art Moreno ($1.2 billion) and Twins owner Carl Pohlad ($2.6 billion). Granted, it's always easier to spend someone else's money, but Carl's got plenty of it and if he's not willing to invest in the Twins, then maybe he shouldn't own them. Maybe he should leave baseball altogether and go back to (as one of his former part-time employees explains it) making inappropriate comments to his female staffers instead.

Oh, Torii, you'll always be my first baseball boyfriend. We'll miss you.

Baby Jake Hosts a Twins Outing

This is Baby Jake.
In a roundabout way, Jake got me my current consulting gig. His mom, Laura N. (aka "L1" because we have quite a few Lauras in the office -- I'm L2), is a dear friend I've known from work for years. She works for the business line I'm now contracting for (let's call it "BCS") and hired me back in January to cover for her maternity leave. We shared her office for about two weeks right before Jake was born to get me up to speed on projects for her BCS clients , so I feel like I've known him for a while. :)

Flashforward a couple of months: L1's getting ready to come back to work, and my now-boss (best boss ever!) gives me a call to ask whether I was interested in renewing my contract in a different capacity: BCS communications, training and support stuff related to our upcoming merger with another division of our parent company. I was reluctant at first (I really am trying to move away from doing Corp Comm stuff), but I wanted another gig and loved the BCS folks that I got to know while covering for L1. Ultimately, I decided that sometimes what you do at work is sometimes less important that who you're working with, so I accepted and have been really happy that I did. (Granted, it's been a bit of a bumpy ride, but that's what happens pre-merger, right?)

Flashforward a few more months: L1 was the recipient of the veryveryvery good BCS Twins tickets (second row behind the dugout!) for a Labor Day weekend game and invited M and I to join her, her husband and Baby Jake. It was Jake's first time to the Dome and he did great.

In contrast to the Twins' recent lackluster performances, it was a great game. Honestly, though, from these seats, a monster truck rally would probably be interesting. :) Here's Mr. Silva, who did not disgrace himself on the mound that day.
Ladies and gentlemen: my boyfriend!

DJ Cuddles steps up to the plate. I'm wishing I had a photo of the diving catch (he truly went ass over teakettle and came up with the ball) from later in the game -- it was great!

Final score: 6-4 Twins!

Sweetcheeks shares a laugh with manager Gardy. (Can you tell how awesome these seats were? Hint: There's no zoom on that photo.)

Immediately following the game, the grounds crew started the tear-down in advance of a Gopher (that's the U of M, for all y'all non-MNers) football game that night. It was kind of strange to watch them rip up the mound dirt, given that it's piled on top of astroturf.

Thanks a bunch, Jake and L1! :)

The Bridge

Mom was pretty freaked out last night when she heard about the 35W bridge collapse, so I just wanted to let everyone know that we're fine. The bridge is really close to both our offices -- and to the Metrodome (Mom was particularly worried about that because it was announced that there was a Twins game last night and she thought I might be there) -- but although we do take that route to go visit friends in the Northern suburbs, it's not a road we use every day.

One of the strangest things to see has been the media coverage. As you may know, we have chosen not to have cable, so until Mom called, I didn't realize how much play this was getting nationwide. Around 10:00 p.m., M tuned into the BBC World News on public television and was amazed to see that this was the lead story -- it ran uninterrupted for ten minutes.

We've touched base with a number of folks, including a friend who called last night after seeing "someone who looks just like Mason" being pulled out of a car at the site. Another friend we talked to was in tears -- his wife uses that bridge every day and was on it earlier yesterday evening. One of the newer folks in my old department at work was on the bridge when it happened, but was almost all the way across it when the collapse began, so he was able to drive to safety. He was in before 7:00 a.m. today (myself, I think I'd take a mental health day).

It looks like anyone near a television set is going to be bombarded with this story for quite some time, so you probably don't need me to add anything more -- just wanted to let everyone know that we're okay.

The Trades

Everyone in town seems to be talking about KG heading to Boston this morning, and how much less familiar and popular the T-Wolves will be without him. Even Sweetcheeks has expressed his disappointment. But I'm far more bummed about the impending departure of Luis Castillo.

Castillo doesn't have Torii's charisma or Santana's raw talent or Mauer's local-cutie status, but I really like him. This is a guy that always looks like he's working really hard, particularly when making the dash to first. He's fun to watch at the plate, his stats are fully respectable and, as illustrated in today's local coverage, he's absolutely loved within the clubhouse.

In an article about the trade and a companion blog posting, Strib Twins reporter La Velle E. Neal II tells us that that "[Twins] players are upset to lose Castillo but measured their words carefully on the record" and that "Castillo's eyes watered up as he talked about not wanting to be traded." (Neal also questions the wisdom of trading Castillo for a catcher, given the number of catchers in the Twins system today). Joe Christensen describes how "Twins manager Ron Gardenhire spent several moments staring at his office ceiling, in obvious disappointment, while the Castillo trade was being finalized."

So while I certainly recognize that KG's move will have more impact on Minnesota sports, I'm sorry to see Mr. RunLikeHell go.

My Boyfriend's An All-Star!

That's right: Sweetcheeks -- along with El Presidente and the Good Doctor -- has been named to the AL All-Star team. Whoo hoo! :)

P.S. Help a Twin; pitch in for Pat!

Schruteball!

Okay, I'll admit, this isn't that funny. But when two of my favorite things collide unexpectedly like this, I gotta share it. :)

P.S. Thanks to ETC for the link!

True Believers? Nope

“If that’s true, then I like baseball even less than I thought I did.”

-- My husband

You’d think that I’d be mild to moderately dismayed to hear that particular comment from M, because I do like baseball and it’s just easier in our household when we like the same stuff. (I’m not talking about agreement to the extent that you lose independence or anything. But it’s truly more convenient when we both want to watch the same thing on TV, and that’s not necessarily the case when I want to watch baseball.)

But in this case, I completely agree with M. Why? Because we were talking about the Yankees -- specifically, the concept of a “True Yankee.”

As I often tell anyone who will listen, I hate the Yankees for the simple reason that they take a lot of fun out of the game. I understand that, generally speaking, capitalism is a good thing, and that if there’s demand for your product, you should be able to charge what the market will bear. A corollary: if supply and demand means you end up with more money than anyone else, that should be okay. But you know what? It’s not. At least, it’s not to me. (M and I spent a lot of time debating this when watching the "Commanding Heights" DVDs. I kept getting upset that market-based reform in South America left a lot of people in poverty, while M kept arguing that it’s still completely better than the central-planning alternative.)

You can argue all day about whether it’s “right” or “wrong,” I suppose, but in the case of baseball, the fact that the Yankees have goo-gobs more money than anyone else means a very uneven playing field. Even George Will -- generally a pro-market forces guy -- has a problem with that.

So I don't like the Yankees, and it turns my stomach a bit to hear people bandy about the concept of them getting Torii. At the same time, if the Yanks do want him and are willing to pay him what he deserves (something that the Twins don’t seem likely to do, despite his having a career year and repeatedly saying he’d like to stay here), then I certainly couldn’t blame him for going. Not just because of what it would mean to his career, but also because of the prestige of playing with the Yankees. Or so I tried to explain to M the other night.

He responds, “What does that mean? They’re a completely bought team, which is practically the same as cheating. What prestige is in that?” (Ah, so he has been listening to me rant!)

To answer his question, I try to explain a concept that I myself barely understand: what it means to be a “True Yankee.” I say that there seems to be this perception, not just in New York, that playing for the Yankees means attaining the pinnacle of baseball. It’s almost another form of getting “called up.” And then drilling down deeper, there’s yet another level of éclat: the “True Yankee.” What does that mean?

• Jay Mohr (he’s an expert on baseball now?) seems to think it's about a calling. He writes, “Some guys are meant to be Yankees and some are not.”
• FJM defines a “True Yankee” in their glossary as “A guy who’s full of intangible qualities that help him triumph -- with class.”
• (Of course -- and this is one reason I love FJM -- they also say: If you ever -- ever -- hear someone use the phrase "True Yankee," for any reason, I want you to find the nearest exit, form an orderly line, and leave the premises quickly and calmly. Seek shelter. Cover head. Report the incident to your nearest FJM representative immediately. You are in great danger, because the person you are talking to is an idiot.)

But the best “explanation” of the concept I’ve seen was in an E-Sports posting, wherein Billy Davis writes:

There's a distinction between wearing the pinstripes and being a New York Yankee. You're not a Yankee just because Bob Sheppard says so. Being a Yankee isn't about statistics or salary or track record. People who unbendingly argue that there is no such thing as a "True Yankee" wouldn't be able to see Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other ballplayers if they were in "Field of Dreams". They don't believe. And if you ask any diehard baseball fan, believing is what makes baseball so exceptional.

True Yankees are like your grandmother's signature chocolate chip cookies -- imperfectly perfect, special, and completely genuine. Other chocolate chip cookies are good. You accept them. You try them, yet all the while you know that your grandmother's cookies will always be True.

Let’s ignore the fact that Davis doesn’t know to put the period inside the quotation marks and move on to how much his comments nauseate me. They imply that Yankee fans -- and especially those who acknowledge this fallacious concept -- are purer. Chosen, in a way, because they are the real believers in the poetry part of baseball.

Bullsquat. Offensive, even. But as I said, it’s the existence of this very notion that makes me understand why Torii would go to New York in a heartbeat and with a spring in his step. Not just for the $60 million over four years, but because there’s this idea of maybe being a True Yankee, whether or not such a thing really exists, and what that would do for his -- for lack of a better word -- legacy. And that, I explained to M, is why if Steinbrenner comes calling, it’s all over for us.

At which point, my husband said, ““If that’s true, then I like baseball even less than I thought I did.”

And I totally get that.

Poor Pinata!

If you don't live in the Twin Cities -- and I realize most of y'all don't, as least ones I know about -- you've missed the opportunity to see a tremendously fun series of "Twins Territory" commercials this year. It's hard to set aside my personal bias (I'm a major Twins fan doing a lot of baseball learning this summer), but I think these are just so fun. This spring, we've seen:

• Johan "El Presidente" Santana carpooling with closer Joe Nathan and explaining the importance of his wicked change-up,
• Cuddy -- an amateur magician in real-life -- cutting Johan in half as new daddy Juan Rincon looks on (Bat-girl was right; he does look like BooBerry),
• And the "Little Piranhas" up close and personal at Underwater World.

But my favorite, which I hadn't seen this year until I bumped into it on YouTube, was one from 2006 starring my boyfriend. Ladies and gentleman, kids of all ages, Torii "Sweetcheeks" Hunter.