Monday, January 24, 2011

Comment of the Day

Today's Star Tribune comment of the day comes from martyu:

Start printing the Minnesota Twins 2011 World Champion T-Shirts...it's gonna be an awesome summer!!!

He's half right. When hasn't it been an awesome summer for the Twins? It's those pesky other seasons like fall that get them into trouble.

Friday, January 21, 2011

St. Louis

Should I preemptively pick the Cardinals for when they trade Delmon Young for Nick Punto? Actually, that won't happen unless Gardy incapacitates Bill Smith and convinces the powers-that-be to name him interim general manager. But if that happens for even five minutes that trade happens.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Yankees

Perhaps I need to reconsider the Yankees as a contender. A team with a billionaire owner and brand-new stadium essentially outbid them for a solid pitcher. Keep in mind that they buy their division series victories. Honestly, if they had let Jeter walk they'd be a strong contender. Actually, I'm not sure there's anything any team could do to trump giving him the finger and tell him not to let the door hit him.

On another note, I saw that Gil Meche retired. He's still under contract, so naturally the Royals are going to pocket his $12 million salary.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Football

I have been intrigued by fans reactions to the Twins off-season moves. To me, it seems Billy Smith is doing a pretty good job to Gardy-proof the roster. Everybody is up-in-arms at the departures of Hardy, Guerrier, Rauch, and Crain. My addition by subtraction theory is well-documented. Theoretically, of course, Punto is gone. Harris was traded, but as I mentioned earlier, I forgot he was still in the system. Of those six, the Twins would be lucky if one of them managed to not do more harm than good. Meanwhile, everybody is infuriated that they signed Capps. I didn't see him pitch much, but with relievers I will always take the fresh face. Everybody wonders how they could let Hardy go. Punto is to blame for the irrational love of Hardy. Who else could make an injury-prone shortstop with a mediocre bat look irreplaceable? Who here has heard of Starlin Castro or Ronny Cedeno? I readily admit I had not until tonight. Castro hit about .300 with 3 HR and 41 in 125 games playing shortstop for the Cubs last year. Cedeno hit .256 with 8 HR and 41 RBI in about 140 games for the Pirates last year.

What does this have to do with football? Why am I analyzing the Twins off-season when I claim to be switching teams? I would wager that typical baseball fans- myself included- hardly ever watch a contest that does not include their team. Whereas, with football, there are two games Sunday afternoon, one in the evening, and a game on Monday night. I think it would be fair to assume that the typical football fan watches his team's game and at least on other on average. Over the course of the season, at least half and up to three fourths of his time watching football are a team other than his favorite. Certainly this tunnel-vision in baseball affects a fan's perception of a team. Baseball fan's are like prisoners in a cave watching the shadows on the wall. This is why I am "trying" a different team next year. I want the contrast.