Game 3 Tomorrow...I promise.

The Game 3 post will come tomorrow. That is what happens when you schedule a really big blog post at the end of a college semester. I won't do that again.

In better news, the Twins have been silently active in the post season (in)activity. According to insider reports on ESPN.COM, the Joe Mauer contract talks are heating up and heading in the right direction (YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS). Of course, that is a good thing, but as the aforementioned ESPN article reminded me, there is (as always), a little catch. As Buster Olney writes:

"Through the process, the central part of the Twins' evaluation must be in addressing the question of whether it's smart business to devote such an inordinate portion of their payroll to one player."

Throughout the frustration of being a Twins fan and seeing the team pass on big market deals for past stars such as Torii Hunter and Johan Santana while seeing the same team sign the likes of Tony Batista and Mike Lamb to 1-yr. deals, we can't be too pissed off at Olney's logic there. Simply signing Mauer to a "freaking monster" of a contract alone will not send this team to the World Series.

However with that being said, a separate report from the same ESPN.COM (is there any other?) details the Twins are heavily in favor of bringing back postseason Game 3 ace Carl Pavano (I will detail more on that tomorrow) as well as adding free agent pitchers Jarrod Washburn AND Rich Harden. Holy crap! I feel (and sound like) a 13-yr. old boy typing that.

New Unis!...and Game 3.

So here we are: my 2009 ALDS Game 3 post. This game was played roughly (a bit of an estimate) a month ago. The Twins lost. Every Twins fan since then has done what they can to completely forget this close, heartbreaking, and depressing series. I did not wear an item of Twins clothing from the Monday after the game until yesterday (Joe Mauer jersey - 2009 Central Division Champ. shirt). Whenever I watched the ALCS/World Series, I would immediately get in a bad mood. I couldn't play MLB 2K9 or watch Sportscenter for a solid week after the Yankees won. For 4 weeks, baseball just sucked. I went into a corner, cried for a bit, and quit shaving for awhile.

Then last week, the clouds lifted. Sitting on my couch nursing a massive hangover (not Twins related) I came across some news on the Internet that brings a smile to 97% of sports fans (minus Yankee and University of Oregon football fans):

NEW UNIFORMS!

I became ecstatic. When new uniforms for your favorite team come about (and they turn out favorable) you get a solid week or two of enjoyable discussions, picture surfing, and unwise fan gear purchasing. It's like when you first start drinking in high school, and the first shaming occurs in your group of friends. Everyone loses it (even the shamed upon can't be pissed, and if he is, lose this guy now before it is too late).

Back to the uniforms. There are technically 3 new uniforms: a minor change to the home set, a 1961 home throwback, and a completely new away set with a new away cap. Here they are:



New Road Set:

Love it. Absolutely love it. Huge fan of the solid grey road set, and I love the cursive script. The incorporation of the solid navy colors instead of the red. With this set and some stirrups on Denard Span, I could once again put way too much into this upcoming season. 176 stars out of 10.

New Home Alt. Set:

Once again, love it. My favorite of the old uniforms, I've always held out hope to see these once again. It goes with the traditional "TC" cap, and paired with an outdoor stadium this combination will be hard to put into words. Like last year, it will be worn on Opening Day along with Saturday home games. 900 stars out of 10.

New Home Primary and Vest Set:

For the casual fan, it is hard to notice the difference in the new home primary and vest set. Other than the inaugural season patch, the only change in the uniforms is the "Twins" script. Here it is:








The outer lines on the word have been "updated" if you can say that. The script is now streamlined, and even though it is a small change, I both notice and like it. 8 stars out of 10.

New Road Cap:

Not a huge fan of this. I loved the old road cap (don't worry fans of the M-with-line cap, it survived the revamping. It will be used solely with the navy "Twins" home/road alternate) and all of the memories behind it. For those of you that have already noticed, this is the same layout of the batting practice cap. I think the hat will work, but it just seems like a half-hearted effort. 4 stars out of 10.




New Logos:

This area got a major overhaul. In addition to the inaugural season logo and patch, there is a 50th anniversary logo/patch, and a new primary logo. Here they are:



Thumbs up on both of these. The 50th anniversary patch will be worn on the 61' throwbacks, as well as the road set. It is classy, quick to the point, and the incorporation of the gold is great. Plus, you can double the 2 stars on the mid-circle point can double as the World Series representations. 50 stars out of 10. The new primary logo will be solely used on the road set, as well as countless promotional deals, and I love this one as well too. Incorporating the "baseball club" script is another throwback concept and it works perfectly. 25 stars out of 10.

Tune in tomorrow for the actual Game 3 posting.

Finally, the Off-Season.

Normally fans are sad when their respective sport's season ends.

I was happy. I was happy, excited, enthused, thrilled, elated...

You get the point.

To put it in a better way, I was exhausted. The way the Twins' season ended put a bad taste in my mouth (as well as my wallet, which I will describe tomorrow) and it was annoying/depressing seeing Yankees win it all. From the first pitch of that World Series, the season was dead to me. Investing so much into that last month of the season set my friends and myself up for a gigantic fall, and we fell hard. It was like taking a charge from new Timberwolves center Nathan Jawai in a pickup game, then having Vikings offensive tackle Phil Loadholt fall on you inadvertently fall in the lane on top of you in said pickup game. We took a beating.

But now that is all over. The Yankees won, the Phillies are still...good?...and the Metrodome is closed. Bring on Target Field, the opening series vs. Boston, and a Joe Mauer contract extension. None of those things have happened yet, but here are a couple of things that have:

1. The Carlos Gomez Trade

Did I see this coming? To be honest, no. When was the last time we made a 2-man trade this early in the month of November? Were talking history here. It was nice to see a bit of Twins news interjected for a split second during the Yankees talk; that is the main thing I am taking from this trade. A dude with possibly gone potential for a guy with possibly gone potential. At least J.J. Hardy has (had) power. He might need it. This does help clear out the outfield though, Young, Span, and Cuddyer from left to right all year next year would be fantastic.

2. The Free Agents

Orlando Cabrera, Carl Pavano, Ron Mahay, Joe Crede, and Mike Redmond have all filed for free agency. With the Hardy trade, it is fairly obvious that Cabrera won't be back for next season. What he gave us at the end of the year (.289, 5 HR, 36 RBI) was nice, but would he be able to do it again next year at his age? Bringing in Hardy gives us a young, athletic option (the thinking behind Gomez in 07) and hopefully we will be able to catch magic in a bottle with him...much like we did with Cabrera.

In my opinion, Pavano is the one man on this list we should try and bring back (minus Redmond, give him a lawn chair in the bullpen all year long). Much like Cabrera he was huge during the stretch run (5-4, 4.64 ERA, 1.371 WHIP, 0.9 HR/9) and what he did in Game 3 at the Dome, although accentuated by many beers, was beautiful (7 IP, 2 ER, 9 K, 0 BB). I was there (again, as you will learn tomorrow) and it was too bad he got the short end. We need him next year.

As for the final 3, we should see them in another uniform, or in the free agent pool for some time to come. Mahay is easy to replace, Crede is just too big of a risk with the back, and with Danny Valencia and Brian Buscher in the minors his playing time would have been further decreased. As with Redmond, it will most likely be a tear filled farewell. I love this guy. What else do you want in a baseball player? Facial hair - check. World Series - check. 3 career triples - check. .270+ career BA - check. I would love to see this guy back, but he is simply a victim of age. With many options in the minors, and Jose Morales already showing his worth this past season, it looks like Ol' RedDog is on his way out. I will miss you.

3. The 40-Man Roster

Currently, the roster stands at 36 players. Kevin Slowey, Boof Bonser, and Pat Neshek were all added within the past week, and if we can get a full season out of ALL of these guys...well that's better than bringing back Ron Mahay. In all seriousness though, having this trio for all of 2010 would be a very nice addition. Slowey was 10-3 (I have no idea) before his season ended right around the All-Star break, and we haven't seen the human forms of Bonser and Neshek in close to 2 years. If we can get these guys back to 2006 form (Neshek: 4-2, 2.19 ERA, 53 SO Bonser: 7-6, 4.22 ERA, 1.276 WHIP) here is what we could be looking at: Blackburn, Baker, 2006-ish Bonser (yes it is a stretch), Pavano, and Slowey. Throw in a Liriano with some confidence under his belt, and a bullpen with 2006-ish Neshek (a smaller stretch than Bonser), Rauch, Guerrier, Duensing, Keppel (the getting out of the Detroit jam Keppel, not the getting into the jam fashion), Swarzak, Nathan...okay you get my point. This could look good.

4. The Joe Mauer

Other than winning a Gold Glove the other day, patiently waiting for his MVP award, and staring in a new Target Field commercial, nothing has happened in the Mauer corner. Do I expect a new contract this winter? I'll put the odds at around 75%. Not sure if we will see it in 09' but when the new year rolls around, definitely expect to see things heating up. We gotta keep this guy. He can't leave. Seriously. Everyone knows the stakes here; lets hope the Twins do not drop the ball on this (I don't expect them to).

So that is about it. The 2009 MLB season is over, and I am spent. From the Opening Day Liriano disaster to the final nail in the Dome's coffin, it was a trip. One that took me from the bottom of a bottle, back to a full one, then another bottom with plenty of peanuts and Dome Dogs along the way. Tomorrow you will learn of my final 24 hours of the Twins 2009 season, one that I already have forgotten.

It Still Stings.

Watching the Yankees-Angels ALCS, I still have a bad taste in my mouth. It has been a week and 1 day since the Twins were swept out of the ALDS, closing out the Metrodome in a melancholy fashion and it still gets to me. I haven't been able to wear my Twins hat, or any of my Twins shirts (especially the well timed arrival of my Central Division champions roster shirt that came last Wednesday). Right now, Baseball just sucks.

I don't know if it is just the sport itself, or the way we lost all 3 games, but the Twins collapse has just been hard to get over. For instance, I am a Cleveland Browns fan. Right now, they are 1-5 with perhaps the most inept offense in the NFL. They are really bad. But as I have watched them for almost half a season now, it doesn't bug me. When Derek Anderson complete 2 of 17 passes, I'm not mad. When I see Eric Mangini's puzzled/confused/completely lost look that he displays at least 8-10 times a game, I don't grind my teeth. I don't know if it is because I expected the Browns to be bad, or that I am just use to the Browns being the Browns; their 1-5 record just doesn't bug me.

Going back to the Twins however, it is just pain. Whenever I see their logo or hear them mentioned in any sense, I instantly get in a bad mood. I don't know if it is because I completely bought into them this past month and watched when they broke my heart...(I think that's it).

I am the one to blame though. While being caught up in their memorable run, I failed to check the blind spots that come with being a Minnesota sports fan. I failed to relive the numerous strikeouts of Jason Kubel, the mental mistakes of Carlos Gomez, and the dead arm of Francisco Liriano. I forgot that Joe Nathan always likes to make his saves interesting, that after a record high batting average with RISP the Twins had fallen back to earth. That maybe after a 17-4 mark in the final 21 games and once again needing a Game 163 to decide things, there was simply nothing left in the tank. The Yankees came into town smoking a couple of Marlboro Lights, leaning on a lamp post, nodding their heads. They knew what to do.

In the end though, I was there. I was there for the closing (of the baseball aspect) of the Metrodome was finally shut down. I could go on for about 50 more sentences on this subject, but I am going to save that for another post. It is an epic tale.

Game 164.

About a month and a half later: I AM BACK.

Yep, I was gone. I did not write about one of the most exciting months of baseball a team has ever lived through. That was an oversight on my part, but here we go:

It took 17 wins in 21 games. It took 5 straight wins to end the season. It took an extra regular season game. It took extra innings in the extra game. It took cases and cases of beer between my friends and I to simply watch this season. And it all came down to...

...Alexi Casilla. Yes, Alexi Casilla. The man who I have not exactly been the nicest to this year, the man who finished the season batting .202, the man who's OPS dropped nearly 130 points from last season. Simply, he was the man who was having a really, really bad season.

But not anymore. That is all gone. Everything that Casilla did (or didn't do) is completely forgiven for in my book. You almost made me cry last night Alexi. And in a good way. Thank you.

Now that that is out of the way, WHAT A FREAKING GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean seriously, where do you start? The Kubel home run? How about the Cabrera catch and throwout double play? Ron Mahay throwing to one batter? Joe Nathan...looking scary? Back to Cabrera with his short lived go-ahead home run? Bobby Keppel somehow, and I mean somehow, getting out of whatever he got into last night? Don Kelly almost registering the game-winning run against us? DON KELLY?!? I am almost reaching cloud nine once again just writing this.

But in the end, it comes back to Casilla. After a horrible season (putting it lightly), a general shunning after the Cabrera trade, going back and forth between the majors and minors, and almost ending his 2009 season (and possibly his Twins career) by being thrown out at home on a potential game-winning Nick Punto sac. fly, he drove in the winning hit in the 12th to send us to the playoffs. There is only one team that could happen to, and that is the Minnesota Twins.

***By the way, doesn't anyone think it is a little ironic that Carlos Gomez scored the now infamous winning run? Two of the season's biggest disappointments are now in the center of the Minnesota sporting world next to Mr. Favre. Again, only the Twins.

SO...now we get to play the Yankees. Lets do this thing.

Everyone do a little "hip bumping" tonight.

Please Don't Leave Joe!

Another week, another Twins saga. It seems this season has been all over the place huh? We win games, lose games, lose 3 games, lose...you get the picture. It isn't just in terms of games though, the roster this year has been overhauled numerous times as well. The most recent addition was pitcher Jon Rauch, claimed off of waivers from Arizona this past weekend. The 6'11' hurler (tallest in the majors) took the win last night, hopefully there is more of that to come.

Also in the news was injured 3rd baseman Joe Crede. Everybody knows Crede's back trouble, and now it has landed him on the disabled list. A recent article in the Chicago Tribune (odd timing) detailed Crede's possible plans for retirement, but Crede was quick to refute the claims:

"I read that article the other day. I don't know where they based that off of," Crede said about the original speculation reported Sunday in the Chicago Tribune. "I know I have more years in me left. I still love the game. I still love coming to the ballpark every day. I have no plans of retiring. I thought it was kind of funny when I read it, actually."

Stay with us Joe! The batting average in the .230's hurts, but I will take the home runs and overall coolness.

As for today, the Chicago White Sox are in town. Everybody knows what that means.

Top of the 3rd:
Twins 0 - Sox 0

Scott Baker Everybody: Twins 2 - Orioles 1

Beautiful game last night. It reminded me of 2002, or 2003, 0r 2004, or 2006, or even last year. Just for the fact that the Twins have won 6 out of 7, and done it the Twins way. Or in Kenny Powers talk, "The Powers Way."

The Twins defeated the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 last night behind Scott Baker's gem of a game. Baker went 7 innings, giving up 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 5. There wasn't much offensive support, but what else would you expect? Jason Kubel had a sac. fly, that is ALL you really need isn't it?

As always, defense and "nimbleness" on the base paths proved to be the winning factor. Denard Span made a wonderful catch in left field that left him sitting on the bullpen bench (only in the Dome) and Orlando Cabrera had his 12th stolen base of the year.

All in all, it was a Jason Bartlett-esque (I miss that guy) for the Twins:
1. Span's catch was not only impressive, clutch, and uplifting, it was pretty funny too.
2. Baker was on top of his game. He is 10-1 since June. What?
3. Alexi Casilla went 2-3 with a run scored. He is now batting .202. Celebrate!
4. Matt Weiters, Melvin Mora, and Caesar Izturis all left runners in scoring position with 2-outs for Baltimore. Thank you.

So a win to start the series, can we continue this "streak" we are on? As of today, we are only a game behind Chicago for 2nd place, and just 4.5 behind Detroit for 1st. Didn't it seem we were about 10,000 games out a week and a half ago? To me it did. As for tonight, there is an added layer of intrigue. The Twins have called up Armando Gambino to start tonight's game. He went 5-3 with 2.83 ERA in 36 appearances (5 starts) with AAA-Rochester. Hell, why not give the kid a chance? He will replace Anthony Swarzak for the time being, and well wear #63. Again, I am all for this. The nice appeal Swarzak had after his first start has completely worn off. You can see that I emphasized that.