Juan Uribe

After watching the other playoff matchups, I'm convinced anybody who defends Nick Punto has never watched any other team. Uribe actually plays good defense. He's a better hitter, too. Yet, the Giants only paid him $3 million a year.

The Yankees

The Twins are playing the Yankees in the playoffs. There is plenty of talk about the Twins recent history against the Yankees in the postseason. Some are glad to play the Yankees because they want to get the proverbial monkey off the back. Some think the Twins will lose because they always lose. I hope nobody wanted the matchup with Tampa instead. On one hand, that's like bunting to setup Kubel. On the other, the Rays are just as dangerous. In the playoffs- much like the regular season- the team the matters most is not the opponent. Either way, the Twins are playing their side of the game. The team that wins the World Series is the team that does that for three consecutive series.

The Twins struggles against the Yankees in the playoffs are largely coincidental, anyway. Remember that series with Oakland? The Twins could have lost that series to anybody- including Toronto, Kansas City, or Detroit.

Highlights

My brother shared this YouTube video with me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95RzmDD2MGU

He think they should make one for the Twins. I'd be content with a montage of Punto throwing the ball into the outfield in a desperate attempt to turn two with two outs and nobody on base. To be complete, we'd need Mauer GIDP'ing, Span getting picked off, Ullger sending the runner, SlowBakeBurn melting down, Perkins in a Red Wings jersey, Morneau endorsing fast food eateries and water softeners, Andy trotting out to the mound, and Joe Vavra smugly watching Young and Thome hit bombs as though he taught them how to do it.