Home Run Derby

I love Wii Baseball.
Now if only I had a Wii.

But I’ll tell you who has a Wii. The Family of Minnesota Twins legend Tony Oliva.

Let’s watch as Tony O (the 1964 AL Rookie of the Year) plays his grandson in a game of baseball on the Wii.

Place your bets …

I was kinda expecting Tony O to launch the controller into the TV set like this kid did last Christmas.

You can just tell that kid was talking smack to his gramps before they started that game … how he was gonna open a can of whoopass on Grandpa and his Eight Consecutive All-Star appearances … and then grandpa unloaded on him with a Double and a Home Run, much to the delight of everyone else in the room.

I love the look on the grandson’s face after Tony O hit the bomb and started laughing it up. He knew he just got pwn3d in Wii by a 70 year old man.

Which is inexcusable even if your gramps is a is a borderline Hall of Famer.

Good to see that a 70 year old can still kick some ass.

The Chicago White Sox just won the 2008 AL Central Division crown by defeating the Minnesota Twins in a tiebreaking play-in game. 

The game was a thrilling 1-0 pitchers’ duel at US Cellular Field in Chicago, as White Sox pitcher John Danks gave up one less 460-foot longball than Minnesota’s Nick Blackburn did.

Allow me to introduce you to the MVP of the 2008 Chicago White Sox … you might think it’s Carlos Quentin, Alexei Ramirez, AJ Pierzynski, or Jim Thome (who homered tonight for the game’s only run) - but it’s not.

It’s the metal slug of currency that was used in the coin flip on September 12th to determine who would host a tiebreaking play-in game between the Twins and White Sox.

That thing should be attached to whatever banner the White Sox unfurl next year.  Because it’s what got them into the posteseason.

Since the White Sox won the coin flip … they got to host the 163rd game of the season.  And between these two otherwise equally matched teams this season … that pretty much meant the ballgame and the AL Central title. 

This season, the Twins and Sox both had equal records at home (good - .654) and on the road (bad - 432).  That disparity played out between the two clubs - neither could win at the other’s ballpark …

• The White Sox were 1-8 in Minnesota
• The Twins were 2-7 in Chicago

Make that 2-8.  Some things working against the Twins: 

• The 56 degree game temperature might have made a difference for the Twins, who play half their games in the always 72 degree climes of the indoor Metrodome. 
• The Twins speed on the basepaths might have been muddled a bit by the soft ground at US Cellular, where it rained for 3+ hours only 30 hours prior to tonight’s game. 
• Ground balls hit by the Twins wouldn’t ricochet off the US Cellular grass like they did off the concrete - I mean FieldTurf - at the Metrodome.

Because of this, you’re going to hear some people (Minnesotans) say that Home Field Advantage (HFA) for a 163rd game shouldn’t be decided by a 50/50 draw like the flip of a coin.  And they might be right - HFA could easily be determined by a number of more relevant tiebreakers, like Head-to-Head record (Minn wins 10-8) or Division record (tied 43-29).  But that’s not baseball’s way.

Now the White Sox move on to play the Tampa Bay Rays … who play in a Dome.  The White Sox crapped the bed this season in Domes … here’s some scary 2008 Dome stats for the ChiSox

• 5-17 Record
• .233 AVG, .295 OBA, .369 SLG
• 3.97 ERA

The White Sox party might be short lived.  Then again … they’ve got a lucky coin.

Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make.  But don’t tell that to the New York Yankees.

Back in December, the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox were each trying to negotiate a trade with the Minnesota Twins for pitcher Johan Santana.  At the time, Minnesota wanted two of the top three young players from either the Sox or Yanks.

For the Yankees, that basically meant CF Melky Cabrera and young pitchers Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy.  The Yanks seemed satisfied with their offer of Cabrera/Hughes and when the Tiwns wanted more …  the Yanks wouldn’t add Kennedy to the mix.  

Santana ended up being traded to the crosstown New York Mets.  

For the Mets, Santana is 11-7 with 20 Quality Starts in 26 games with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP for the NL East-leading Mets.  He should be 17-7, but the Mets’ bullpen has blown six saves for Santana (five coming in the ninth inning).

Considering that the Yankees haven’t tasted World Series Champagne since 2000 … they wouldn’t have gotten unfavorable results by not pulling the trigger … would they?  The Yankees must be getting good results from the trio of players they refused to deal to the Twins for a two-time AL Cy Young Award winner, right?  

Not as such …
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I know the Twins are a good team, but anyone who thinks they have a shot at the AL Central is insane, and it has nothing to do with four of their starting pitchers never pitching 200 innings in a season (Blackburn, Baker, Perkins, Slowey - Hell, Baker is the only one with 100 IP in the Bigs prior to this season). 

Nope, like most things in this country, you can blame the Republicans.

Check out the Twins’ Schedule from August 21st - September 21st.  It is a nut buster. 

Starting August 21st, they go on the road for 15 straight in 16 days (LA, Oak, Sea, Tor) because of the GOP convention (Sept 1-4), then get to come home for 6 games (Det, KC) before heading out for another 10 games on the road in 10 days (Bal, Cle, TB).  That is 25 road games in a span of 33 days with only two days off with six days at home.

So blame the Republicans, Twins fans. 

Unless you are up 5-6 games by August 21st, chances of holding the division will be poor.  This team (like most) is below .500 on the road.

So last year on July 8th 2007, the White Sox ponied up and did something they don’t usually do.  They signed a pitcher to a sizeable long-term contract. 

Their staff Ace, Mark Buehrle.  

Buehrle signed for Four years, $56 Million with a limited no-trade clause for 2008 and escalators if traded after that.  Plus, he got the White Sox to wear Camouflage jerseys for a game in 2008.

Buehrle deserved it.  He was HUGE in their World Series Championship run (2005) and an overwhelming fan favorite.  He was on the frickin Wheaties Box.  And even with all the contract speculation (read: distraction) in the first half of 2007, Buehrle was having a very good season for the White Sox.

Buehrle Pre-Contract 2007

Not to mention the No-Hitter he threw on April 18, 2007.  When you take into consideration the offensive woes and pitiful bullpen the White Sox had in 2007 … it’s even more impressive.

But since he signed the contract … like many players who get the big payday … Buehrle hasn’t been so great …

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There’s lots of reasons to go to a Major League Baseball game …

But sometimes, that’s just not enough to make you pay $40 for a ticket and drink a beer for $7, especially if the team sucks … and MLB Teams know it.  So they offer trinkets and bawbles to get your butt in a seat.  Yep, we’re talking promotions and giveaways.  And we usually fall for it.

The majority of these handouts are overdone retreads of stuff like t-shirts and floppy hats and plastic doodads like keychains and flashlights and bobbleheads.  Bobbleheads are great, but unless you’re the table in front of Mike and Mike or Mottram and Steinz, how many do you need?

But sometimes, the team’s marketing squad does something creative … here are the best ones you can try to grab in 2008.

Joe Mauer Fishing Lure - Minnesota Twins (May 2)

Now this is cool.  In a state with 10,000 lakes, you’re gonna need something to catch bass with when the Twins are on the road.   

Mind you, I’m not sure how many times an MLB team has given away anything with six sharpened barbs on it before.  This could be a one-and-done event, because you just know someone’s gonna lose an eye from this thing.  Given out to the first 5,000 fans over the age of 18.

No boys, this will not help you catch anything like Mauer’s ex-girlfriend, former Miss USA Chelsea Cooley.  No girls, this will not help you catch Joe Mauer.

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  Day 1 is in the books and the Royals are now in the rearview mirror.  On to Day 2 of our journey to preview 30 teams in 30 days.  Be sure to check out SkyKing’s preview too! Next team up is the Twinkies.  And boy how things have changed for the tenants of The Triple-H Metrodome.  And no, when I say Triple H, I don’t mean this guy…or anyone else in Degeneration X for that matter.

Anyway I digress.  This should be a year filled with uncertainity for the Twins.  Lots of new faces and quite a few question marks in the starting staff with the departure of Johan Santana, and to a lesser extent Carlos Silva, who will be replaced in the rotation with talented but unproved kids like Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker.  Not to mention the return of Francisco Liriano from major arm surgery. 

Francisco….Francisco.  That’s fun to say (anyone who knows what movie that quote is from please chime in in the comments section - it’s a pretty easy one. maybe Richie can offer a prize- do we have HRD t-shirts, yet?). 

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We’ve analyzed the Senior Circuit’s 2008 trip through the American League … let’s move on to the Junior Circuit’s 2008 Interleague opponents. 

Teams from the American League always have a bit of a dilemma for their road Interleague games, because there’s no DH in NL Parks.  On top of that, AL pitchers have to hit for themselves, which they don’t do in their other 144 games. 

Is it a disadvantage?  The AL leads the NL 1,250 to 1,202 in Interleague games over the past ten seasons … so not really.  Then again, maybe that Win-Loss Record would be even more in favor of the AL if DH’s could rake against NL Pitchers.

But it still doesn’t sit well with some AL Managers …

We hate it when our pitchers have to start hitting. We have to do a lot of extra work and take a lot of risks for not that many at-bats.
Ron Gardenhire, Manager, Minnesota Twins (2005)

Gardy’s gonna dislike it even more this season, without the NL-killing Johan Santana in his rotation anymore.

But when you’re 100-75 in ten years of Interleague Play, you don’t seem to mind …

If we played National League teams, the Central Division, we might win 150 games in that league.
Ozzie Guillen, White Sox Manager (2006)

Let’s take a look at the AL Central and see if there’s anyone with an early schedule advantage … on paper.  Matched up against the pitching-rich NL West … someone will surely have an advantage if they avoid two of the tops teams.

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So the Minnesota Twins didn’t keep Johan Santana.  Instead, they traded him to the Mets for prospects and thereby didn’t have to pay him anything near the $137.5 million that the Mets guaranteed Santana. 

So with all that money saved, what’s a Baseball Team to do? 

• Go get the next best available (but slightly cheaper) free agent pitcher?
• Get new, more comfortable uniforms?
• Lower ticket prices? 

Naaahhh.

If you’re the Minnesota Twins … you go and get a commercial during the Super Bowl … let’s watch …

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