October 2006

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Comment thread on the Glen Taylor interview

Filed under: Timberwolves

We hope to get comment threads embedded in our stories sometime soon, but for the time being, here's the spot to offer your reactions to Britt Robson's interview with Wolves owner Glen Taylor (short version; long version).

Posted by Steve Perry at October 31, 2006 4:33 PM | Comments (16)

 

Silva's coming back

Filed under: Twins

Okay, Hunter I understand. But Silva? I don't care how thin the free agent market is, or how young the other Twins starters are; paying the dude $4.3 million to serve up batting practice just doesn't seem like sound payroll management. Hey, I like the guy as much as anyone else. But he's a sinkerball pitcher who lost his sinker. He had all season to find it, and in the end he put up, what, two decent games?

Nobody's going to love this move, which is why the Twins are already doing damage control by claiming it was the only one they had. Do you believe them? Are you happy to see Silva return?

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 31, 2006 2:46 PM | Comments (6)

 

This week in City Pages: Wolves owner Glen Taylor speaks out

Filed under: Timberwolves

On Wednesday--that's tomorrow night for online readers--the CP cover story will be Britt Robson's pre-season interview with the remarkably candid Glen Taylor. Here's a short excerpt, on the subject of last year's trade of Wally Szczerbiak to Boston.

City Pages: What about the deal with Boston? Because I heard different things. I heard Banks was the key to it. Some people were saying the key was Ricky Davis because of his quickness and his ability to play defense and get up and down the floor on offense. But the one that really got to me is that you were trading a center who had an expiring contract, Michael Olowakandi, for a center who has a lot of money owed him for a lot of years down the road, Mark Blount. And Blount's skill set is such that it seems you are going to be asking Kevin Garnett to do a lot of the dirty work of rebounding and interior defense.

Glen Taylor: Yeah, I would say that the trade with Boston was pretty complicated. Even the reasons for doing it.

CP: You mean the friction between Garnett and Szczerbiak?

Taylor: I'm just saying there was probably more to it that had to do with Wally that we have chosen not to talk about--that Kevin has never said and we have never said. I am just going to say that no matter what I say, people are going to deny it. But I would say some things came to a head that forced us to get into something we didn't necessarily want to do. I think it would have been pretty dangerous for Kevin McHale not to do the trade. That kind of thing. And that's all I'll say about that.

You also had Michael [Olowakandi], and the Michael thing was festering on the team. It wasn't that Michael went up and down [in his on-court performance]. It was that Michael... Very seldom do you see someone with such poor relationships with the other players, and I am saying all of them. It was just that they could not feel he was a team player.

What we were dealing with, with a new coach, was probably some potential problems in the locker room. And I think we were forced to go out and get the deal we got. It is a little bit like, after you got that deal, you have to go out and manufacture the positives of the deal. So that's why you heard a number of things.

CP: So the deal was more about erasing negatives that creating positives?

Taylor: When we started out. Okay. Ricky [Davis] is a person McHale has always liked. This is not the first time he has tried to get Ricky. He's different from Wally, but I don't know that we dropped down there. We got a lower contract and Wally's contract was going to create a big problem for us later on. And the relationship in the locker room was way better. So we had the [approval] of our players and all that. If we could have done [Szczerbiak-for-Davis] straight up, that would have been a deal. But to get rid of Michael, we had to take Mark. It isn't that we didn't like Mark and didn't want Mark. He's a good player and not a bad guy. But the pay isn't right.

Posted by Steve Perry at October 30, 2006 3:54 PM | Comments (2)

 

T-Wolves Open Thread

Filed under: Timberwolves

The season starts in less than a week. The general consensus is that if things don't click this season, the team's in for a major overhaul. Meanwhile, Britt's still rousing from his off-season slumber. So what do you think? Is there room for optimism? Does Garnett have a strong enough supporting cast to get his team to the post-season? Will KG ever see the post-season as a Timberwolf again? Let the predictions fly.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 27, 2006 2:47 PM | Comments (16)

 

Hunter's still a Twin

Filed under: Twins

Twins General Manager Terry Ryan announced today that the team has picked up the $12 million option on Torii Hunter's contract. That means the would-be free-agent center fielder, whose name has been thrown around in trade rumors all year long, will remain a Twin for at least one more season. Negotiations to continue into the off-season re: a long-term contract.

This is the first move of an off-season that's bound to be a major headache for Ryan, who has eight players up for salary arbitration, three of whom (Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Michael Cuddyer) make up the heart of the Twins' lineup and are coming off the kinds of career years that make for very lucrative salary raises. Which means that the Hunter re-signing isn't necessarily a bad idea (he, too, had an outstanding year, especially the second half), but if it's going to make long-term contracts for Mauer and Morneau more difficult to negotiate, it marks the first misstep of a dishearteningly early off-season. That said, the Twins are going to rock next year. That much we do know.

What do you think? Hunter used to be the face of the organization, and he's undoubtedly a fan favorite, but he's lost his defensive brilliance and will now make as much money as Johan Santana. Was bringing him back the right move?

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 10, 2006 4:03 PM | Comments (17)

 

Tribute to Negro League legend Buck O'Neil

Filed under: MLB

Star first baseman and manager in the Negro leagues, Buck O'Neil, died last Friday of congestive heart failure in Kansas City, Missouri. John Jordan O'Neil Jr., the grandson of a slave, was born in 1911 in Carrabelle, Florida, and was playing semipro baseball by age 12. In 1938, following semi-professional "barnstorming" experiences with the Miami Giants, New York Tigers, Shreveport Acme Giants, and Zulu Cannibal Giants, O'Neil joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League. Read the rest of the story at Corpus Obscura.

Posted by Corey Anderson at October 9, 2006 3:23 PM | Comments (0)

 

ALDS Series: A's 2, Twins 0

Filed under: Twins

Subject: Are they saying "Boo" or "Boof"?

From: G.R. Anderson Jr.
To: Britt Robson; Chuck Terhark

I honestly have never seen a team come out in a playoff series flatter at the plate than this one. It's reminiscent of the final 2004 game against the Yankees, except this has gone on for two games. The number of first pitches taken has to be obscene; conversely nearly every Twins hitter looks impatient swinging at bad pitches because he is constantly behind in the counts. How many hits combined for Mauer, Cuddyer, Morneau, Hunter thus far?

Everyone is going to blame Torii for losing that game--and from where I sat, just to first base side of home plate, I'll be charitable and say that ball was tailing away from him rather quickly--but the fact of the matter is you can't leave that many runners in scoring position over two games and expect to win. (By the way, in his subsequent effort to make up for the missed play with a pitiful strikeout, Hunter was actually booed at the Dome for the first time I can ever recall.)

What is it with Gardy's teams in the playoffs? They consistently churn out paralytic performances at the plate.

I will say that the A's advance scouting has been phenomenal--their players are in the exact right spot in the field for every batter, and they have been diligent about putting shifts on people like Cuddyer. It's not just luck and coincidence that has the Twins hitting so many line-drive outs when they do make contact.

And that's because they aren't seasoned enough, apparently, to make crucial adjustments at the plate. The sad reality is that Santana pitched good enough to win yesterday, they got more out of Boof than they should have with no run production--do they really expect seven scoreless innings from their starters?--and the lingering memory at the Dome of Torii Hunter's fine career as a Twin will be a misplayed liner that put a rather sour end on a terrific season.

From: Britt Robson
To: G.R. Anderson Jr.; Chuck Terhark

I was actually pleased to see all the first-pitch takes for strikes, in marked contrast to the early flailing that characterized Game One. The television announcers revealed that Twins hitting coach Joe Vavra had instructed his players not to swing early unless the ball was headed for the heart of the plate; the reason being that Loaiza's pitches tend to have a lot of movement, especially his sinker. This was a smart strategy that had Loaiza over 90 pitches after five innings despite twirling a shutout at that point. A's manager Ken Macha knew he was wearing out and had Kiki Calero up and throwing even before the back-to-back jobs by Cuddyer and Morneau that accounted for Minnesota's only runs.

Here's what I think the deal is: The Twins are young, the Twins are tight, and despite all their hardy bravado, the Twins are as surprised as the rest of us that they won 96 games this season. That is undeniably 20-20 hindsight on my part--I called for the Twins to take it in 5--but watching Jason Bartlett run the bases yesterday or seeing Nick Punto at the plate this entire series, what other explanation makes sense? Barry Zito is the type of pitcher who can shut you down. Esteban Loaiza circa 2006 is not.

I'm not sure about advance scouting, but I do think, as always, team defense is woefully underrated, and Oakland plays hellacious D. The key play of the day for me was Eric Chavez spearing Mauer's grounder with two out and two men on. How many times has Mauer shot that gap in the regular season? This time, a reigning five-time Gold Glover cheating toward that hole took at least one ribbie--and a boatload of momentum--away from him and the Twins.

And now I am going to pile on Torii Hunter. The missed catch on Kotsay's "homer" wasn't even close for taking that kind of risk, but that was an aberration. Far more typical was Hunter seeing Cuddyer and Morneau jack the ball over the fence and attacking the first pitch from reliever Calero as if it were a home run derby. The guy let the spirit of the moment get inside his head, and it wasn't the first time, especially at the plate. Torii Hunter has deserved all those Gold Gloves (although not the one he'll get this year) and he was the Twins best and most productive hitter during the last seven weeks of the season--Minnesota would be playing the Yankees or watching the games at home without his contribution from August 1 on. But he has choked the past two games, by which I mean that the intensity of the situation has affected his play in a negative way. I'm sad to see it.

From: Chuck Terhark
To: Britt Robson; G.R. Anderson Jr.

Blame the Twins' youth all you want, but you can say the same thing about the A's. I say it's these noon games (who's awake enough to cheer, much less play, at that time of day?) coupled with Hunter's misguided belief that he needs to become an October hero (call it the Jeter-complex) that's sinking these piranhas. Whatever. All I know is I'm going to spend the off day tomorrow removing all of the sharp objects from my house. Go Twins...and here's hoping that's not the last time I say that this season.

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 4, 2006 5:47 PM | Comments (8)

 

ALDS Series: A's 1, Twins 0

Filed under: Twins

Subject: Ouch. Actually, double ouch.

From: Chuck Terhark
To: Britt Robson

Wow, two homers by Frank Thomas and suddenly the Twins are underdogs.

The knee-jerk reaction here--and believe me, I heard plenty of it out in the right-field stands this afternoon--goes something like, "Nice time to lose your first home game in over a year, Johan," or "Why the hell did Gardy put Crain in there?" or, immediately afterward, "Why the hell didn't Crain pitch around Thomas?" Those are all understandable points, especially that last one (the Big Hurt was so keyed up, his only strikes were 400-foot foul balls), but the bottom line is you just can't blame the pitching for this one.

Everyone knew this series was going to come down to starting pitching, and Twins fans were counting on Santana making a strong start. Turns out Santana made a dominating one--eight innings, eight Ks, five hits. But Zito's was stronger; that, or the Twins just have a knack for making pitchers like Zito (and, sadly, Loaiza, Harden, and Haren) look like freaking Cy Young. I'm afraid it's the latter.

You're going to hear a lot in the next 24 hours about how Boof has to step it up tomorrow, but it's the heart of the order--Mauer, Morneu, Cuddyer, and Hunter--who really need to find their post-season groove. And fast. That means learning how to tune out the din of 55,000 screaming fans, settling down, and getting hits when they need 'em. If that doesn't happen by noon tomorrow, this magical season is all but over.

From: Britt Robson
To: Chuck Terhark

I had to be content with talking to myself in front of the television set, and what I was muttering, especially in that critical second inning, was why didn't Santana heed the advice of Strib writer Joe Christensen and former World Series hero Jack Morris and rely more on his fastball rather than off-speed pitches? Christenson said flat-out that a tendency to lean on the changeup and slider was Santana's biggest potential vulnerability, and Morris said hitters often sit on changeups in the postseason. I don't begrudge the high 3-1 changeup Santana threw Frank Thomas, who's been murdering all sorts of pitches since the All-Star break. But the high 1-0 changeup to Marco Scutaro is the run-producer that really irked me.

But as you pointed out, it's hard to blame pitching in a 3-2 game, especially when most people would agree the Twins have the stronger lineup of the two teams. The hitters have been aggressive all year and sometimes, when a pitcher recognizes it and hits his spots, mixes his speeds, they pay for that aggression, as 14 shut-outs during the regular season attest.

The biggest stat of the game is the Twins going 0-10 (it might have been 0-9 or 0-11, but you get the picture) with runners in scoring position. And it wasn't as if the big knockers weren't at the plate when this happened.

Also, a tip of the hat to announcer Joe Morgan, who is not usually right, but nailed the observation that the Twins let Barry Zito off the hook in the first inning. First Zito walks Castillo. Then Nick Punto swings at a 2-1 pitch around his eyes. Two pitches later, Castillo, who's bum knee turned a potential double into a single on his hit later in the game, tries to steal second on a high fastball (ball four if Punto had laid off the second strike) and is thrown out. Instead of first and second with nobody out and the crowd going crazy, Punto flies to right for the second out and the Twins don't score until they're down by two with two outs in the 7th inning.

From: Chuck Terhark
To: Britt Robson

I don't know, Santana's off-speed stuff looked pretty nasty from where I was sitting. Plenty of those Oakland dudes looked downright silly. I'm not convinced hitters sit back on change-ups more in the playoffs either--I suspect Thomas, being a veteran, doesn't really change his approach in October. Then again, it's only his third post-season appearance, so maybe's he's as jittery as the M&M boys. Somehow I doubt it.

As for Zito, I would argue that the Twins let him off the hook all day. Sure, Rondell White homered (he has a history of doing damage against Zito, so that wasn't too surprising) and Castillo, failed steal notwithstanding, demonstrated why he's an elite leadoff man by drawing two leaf-off walks. But everyone else failed to work the count, allowing Zito to glide through eight innings and not getting so much as a whiff of the A's bullpen.

Also, speaking of Punto: What did the replay show of his headfirst dive into first? He looked safe to me, but I was 500 feet away, so what do I know. Also, how about that foul ball catch at the railing? (I'm grasping for a silver lining here.)

From: Britt Robson
To: Chuck Terhark

Well, I'm certainly not going to argue that Santana's stuff doesn't make hitters look silly, today or most any other time he has taken the hill in the past three years. But I guess the Strib/Morris stuff resonates with me for precisely that reason: When the pitcher is as overpowering as Santana, instead of trying to guess with him on his myriad options, or simply reacting to his overpowering stuff, why not sit on a certain type of pitch? And, given his fairly notorious love of the changeup, why not sit on that rather than the nasty slider or the hopped-up fastball?

You're totally right about the Twins not working the count. Even though Zito had more balls than strikes through his first 40 pitches, the Twins still bailed him out on numerous occasions when 1-0 could have been 2-0, 2-1 could have been 3-1, and so forth. Hunter and Morneau in particular seemed anxious to jump on the first decent pitch they saw. Second, much as I loved his feel-good quote about having more fun in three weeks with the Twins than he had previously in his entire 12-year career, Phil Nevin is an all-or-nothing hitter who has given them very little since he came aboard. I'd rather have Mike Redmond DH-ing or catching (with Mauer DH-ing) against lefties.

Don't talk to me about Punto sliding into first for the umpteenth time this season. First of all, as Morgan and his broadcast partner pointed out, it slows down the runner. How many times have we seen Punto called out in a cloud of dust, and how many times has he beaten the throw this way? And who doesn't realize it's an invitation to dislocated fingers or a jammed shoulder? Stupid, stupid, stupid, and one of those times when the baseball "purists" have it right. That said, it was pretty damn close.

Another missed opportunity: Castillo not getting down a bunt after Bartlett's leadoff double, followed by Punto and Cuddyer grounding out on either side of a Mauer walk.

As silver linings go, Punto's beer-spilling, spikes-caught-in-the-fence grab along the third base line certainly qualifies. So does Neshek getting his feet wet in the post-season with a nifty four-pitch strikeout; Castillo's lightning quick rely on a DP in the 6th, and White's six total bases, which included going to right for a double on a hanging changeup for the Twins' first hit as well as that quick-wrist pull over the wall in left on a high fastball.

Last questions for you: Will the Twins lay off Loaiza's sinker or continue to take stupid at-bats? (I say, depends on the hitter, but mostly stupid at-bats.) What's the over-under on runs scored in Game Two? (I say 10.) How many semi-intentional walks will Thomas receive? (I say one.) And will the Twins even up the series? (Yup.)

Posted by Chuck Terhark at October 3, 2006 5:39 PM | Comments (2)

 

Twins/A's preview: Hey, those aren't the Yankees!

Filed under: Twins

Subject: If you're only going to spend one day in first place, always pick the last day of the season

From: Steve Perry
To: Britt Robson

I can't imagine we'll ever see another finish like that one. On top of the Twins' miracle second half, we got to see an almost-as-historic collapse by Detroit in the last week. I tuned in the Twins game around 1:30 today, but I actually spent most of the afternoon watching the Tigers and Royals on Extra Innings--a much more remarkable game, as it turned out. The Tigers scored five in the third to take a 6-0 lead into the fourth inning, but the Royals came right back in the top of the fourth to score three, and from that moment on, you could feel the doom wafting off the field and through the television. And sure enough, the Tigers found a way to lose: After they loaded the bases with 1 out in the bottom of the 11th, Brandon Inge and Curtis Granderson struck out, and the Royals scored twice in the 12th to finish a three-game sweep.

Now this is a Kansas City team that came to town already having lost 100 games, with a team ERA over 6.00 and exactly one legitimate major league hitter--David DeJesus--in a lineup larded with September callups. And the Tigers, needing to win only one game against this blighted crew, couldn't pull it off. I've never particularly believed in "clutch performers," but I certainly believe in chokers, and the Tigers are turning blue at this point. I can't remember ever seeing any team limp into the playoffs as snake-bitten as Detroit is now. (St. Louis stumbled badly down the stretch as well, but it's harder to call that a choke--the Cardinals pretty much suck this year, and they'd be nowhere near the playoffs if they weren't in the weakest division in baseball.) I'll be surprised if the Tigers win more than one game against the Yankees.

And though it's a moot point now, I'm one of those people who thought the Twins would have been better off facing the Yankees in the best-of-five Wild Card round. Simple reason: The Yankees are the only team in either league that's better than the Twins. If you put the two head-to-head for 162 games, there isn't much doubt who'd come out on top. The shorter the series, the better, because it improves the chances that a few lucky bounces and one or two dominant performances could skew results the Twins' way.

But for that matter, I think the Twins are capable of winning a seven-game series against the Yankees. (Not favorites, mind you--but I'd give 'em a 35-40 percent chance.) And they certainly ought to beat Oakland. Yeah, the A's have the best starting pitching in the playoffs--but they've also got a shit lineup featuring only two hitters who were productive in the second half, Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley, and Bradley's a risk to trip and break something every time he crosses a chalk line. The A's would need strong series from a couple of other hitters--Eric Chavez and Nick Swisher are the guys to watch--to hang in with the Twins, and I just don't see it.

So I say we'll get our Twins/Yankees matchup in the end. This round goes 3-1 to the Twins. Their main worry should be the one Dan Cole was fretting about on KFAN the other day--what happens if Radke's arm flies off in the middle of his start, and the fan or player who catches it doesn't want to give it back?

From: Britt Robson
To: Steve Perry

I agree with you that the Tigers are now toast against the Yankees unless Verlander and Bonderman are lights out on the hill against that superhuman NYY lineup. Kenny Rogers is, shall we say, suspect. Those who don't remember that Rogers was one of the original poster boys for not being able to handle the Big Apple pressure cooker during his stint as a Yank a decade ago will still probably recall him going ballastic on a camera guy more recently. And who was it who choked in extra innings against KC today? Rogers, the guy who is supposed to anchor their staff.

I'd love to argue with you about the Twins versus Oakland, but the best I can do is say that I give the hometown boys only a slight edge here. Actually the teams are very similar, relying on defense and pitching, in that order. If you want to know how the Twins managed to keep winning with a collection of peachfuzz and mediocrities filling out their rotation for most of the year, consider that the left side of their infield was better than in the days of Gagne and Gaetti after Punto and Bartlett settled in. In Oakland, third baseman Eric Chavez has deservedly won four or five Gold Gloves in a row (and will add to that this year, Joe Crede be damned), and second baseman Mark Ellis has committed five errors all season. And the bullpens of both teams are deep and talented. Twins fans know and love their crazy crew, but let's not forget that Kiko Calero, Justin Duchscherer, Brad Halsey, and Scott Sauerbeck combined for 13 2/3 innings without yielding an earned run versus the Twins this year. And then there's closer Huston Street, who picked up a pair of saves in three appearances, allowing just two baserunners and no runs in four innings. Whichever team is ahead by the fifth or sixth inning holds a huge advantage.

That's why I've got to go with the Twins. On paper, Santana against Zito is a classic matchup, and Zito's postseason numbers are pretty good: 3-2 with a 2.76 ERA. But the A's have taken the gas pipe in all four series that he's pitched, and that's back when Hudson and Mulder were beside him in the rotation. Zito is a fine pitcher, but he's also thrown more pitches than anyone in the American League this season, and has allowed a whopping 310 baserunners (not counting errors) which is probably at or near the top of the league as well. Meanwhile, he'll be going agains the best pitcher in baseball over the past three years. You've got to like the Twins in Game One. The key contest is Game Two and this is where all the blab about the A's and Beane and Moneyball come up short. It's the key to their season and who do they throw out there? An unreliable journeyman for whom they overpaid on the free agent market, Esteban Loaiza. The Twins counter with Boof Bonser. This will be the highest scoring game of the series, and I'll call it for the Twins.

Like most cantankerous sportswriters, I've flipped on Brad Radke. Remembering the days when he had it written into his contract that the team had to be competitive and then watching him serve even more than his customarily plentiful quotient of gopher balls for most of the spring, I was ready to see the squad unload his ass for whatever choice bit part the team's crackerjack scouting staff had discovered in the Double-A realm of an unsuspecting Radke-liker. Then the guy is revealed to have a broken shoulder in addition to usual arm woes, and keeps pitching. His arm falls off. He waits a month and then tosses that five-inning gem the other night.

Who doesn't love Brad Radke now? Me, in Game Three. The A's have their own sore-armed marvel who's younger and more talented, in Rich Harden. He got hammered in the season finale today, but he'll be ready to stave off elimination for the A's, no matter how well Radke pitches (and I suspect it will be pretty well). That leaves a decent Dan Haren up against whatever name stops on Gardy's intuitive roulette wheel. I wouldn't mind if the Glen Perkins rumors were true, and I'd take Silva over Garza. But I'd give the edge to the A's in Game Four anyway.

Which brings us to the clincher. See my Game One comments and hand the ALDS MVP trophy to Johan Santana.

From: Steve Perry
To: Britt Robson

Baseball Prospectus (paid-sub site) pointed out earlier this season that both Radke and Silva have pitched better in the last couple of years when they were pitching hurt. If you squint, it sort of makes sense to suppose a sinkerball pitcher might be better off when his arm was less than 100 percent or his delivery was hampered by a leg injury; they always say that a sinkerball guy is most vulnerable in the early innings, before his arm has tired enough to get the sinker working. I'll go with that theory for this playoff--I'm not scared to see Radke go out there, but here's hoping Silva stays far from the action. I've just seen him get derailed in too many second-half starts.

Not a lot was made of it when Francisco Liriano left his September 13 comeback start with a re-injury, because the team just went on winning. But you can see now how huge it was. If the Twins were entering the playoffs with a 1-2 of Santana and Liriano, they would be the rightful favorite in a short series against anybody--even the Yankees. As it stands, I think either the Yankees or the Twins will win the World Series. (I'm guessing you still think the Mets are better than the Twins, but I don't. They won 97 games to the Twins' 96, and they did it in a National League that has never been this weak vis a vis the American League in your lifetime or mine.)

From: Britt Robson
To: Steve Perry

Maybe we're destined to agree for two whole exchanges--there's got to be some sort of congeniality award in it for one of us (like me). All I can do is insert caveats. Silva is totally unreliable, but I think Matt Garza is reliably apt to give up more than a run per inning if they start him in the postseason. And as you pointed out before, the A's are hardly a murderer's row. If Gardy goes with Silva, just walk the Big Hurt every time up (he can't run the bases anyway), and nibble the corners with Chavez, who's nursing all sorts of injuries. But again, it wouldn't bother me at all to continue this improbably marvelous Twins season by tossing Perkins into the fray in Game Four and seeing if he can clinch.

Of course if it's an elimination game for the Twins, you've got to think about Santana on short rest in Game Four.

And yes, Liriano is a huge loss. I watched him absolutely smoke the Brewers for eight shutout innings at the Dome this year and then chat easily with reporters, Mr. Charisma. If he ever regains his health, he'll top Hunter on the endorsement market. And he'll be dearly missed, not against Oakland but against those big bad Yanks and then, if they get to the Fall Classic, the big bad Mets.

On that subject, I was a big Mets booster when they had Pedro throwing alongside Glavine. Now it's Glavine and Trachsel and who, John Maine? I haven't checked. But I do know that lineup is second only to their cross-city rivals in all of baseball. Reyes-LoDuca-Beltran-Delgado-Wright is an even better top five than the Yankees throw at you.

But determining a Twins-Mets winner is a debate long in the future. Let's hope we get a chance to have it.

Posted by Steve Perry at October 1, 2006 9:31 PM | Comments (1)

 

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