Very good points above - I believe we all miss seeing Johann the Barbarian go...but is there not more that surrounds that trade than just the trade itself? Does the restricted free agent status of Johann come into play as well as the recent contract of Morneau and upcoming contract of Mauer play into account? I feel like so many people have looked at the Johann trade with a short-term vantage point - whereas, I believe the trade was about taking more of a long term approach with many talented young players with the goal of winning lots of ball games for a long time to come...
Also, history shows us that having a good pitcher in the moment is truly a blessing, and signing a good pitcher to a long contract is a curse...

I think Judd's right on about several points above; "It's no mystery that Minnesotan sports fans are the strong possessors of the strange and unique tenet known kindly as Nostalgia...Again, it's in the blood. There's something specific within the grains of our Bread Basket DNA that just won't allow us to forget, won’t let us let go."

One thing is clear...we have to quit living in the past. He's gone. We're not getting him back. Let's move on to our current team and give them our support.

I like your verbal better than your math. How did you come up with that equation?

Oh, and most people would recognize Annabella Sciorra for her recent role on the Sopranos.

Mr. Malone- It's becoming readily (and perhaps painfully) apparent, that the Twins are playing, in a sense, for 2010- when our shiny new stadium arrives. I personally felt that the long-awaited announcement of a new stadium may incite the powers that be to gear up prior to the move- as a way to assuage (and perhaps thank)fans for dedication and perseverence. Now, it looks like we're going more of a youth route (although I do imagine we'll sign Joe Nathan long-term); but hell- we still may a great core of proven talent.

Andrew- I told you I sucked with the abacus. If you have a better equation, please advise. Really.

And as per Sciorra: She was more Crazy than Hot in Soprano's. I've got enough of the former in reality, so I pretty much skipped those episodes in which she appeared.

Lets just hope our hits multiply, double plays triple,triple plays double, subtract alot or errors, K's add up. I knew all of those math classes would pay off one day!!! Oh, and unfortunately the "Hand that Rocks the Cradle" won't be Santana's.

As i post this comment i am in NY and i can tell you directly, Mets fans are very excited for this upcoming season because of their new addition in the pitching line-up.
Judd is on to something about our "Bread Basket DNA" following and unwilling to forget these players we let go. but lets face it, Minnesota folk are a people of community, family oriented and providers for each other and our neighbors. just like the farmers down in lakeville, farmington, owatona and beyond start their seeds of soy and maiz and care and cultivate over the months and sell the mature product at its best, the very same we do with our sports players. to mention a few, Kevin Garnett, David Ortiz,and Randy Moss. Judd could provide us with many other names of course, our scouts saw value, we planted, cultivated, harvested and traded the best for yet another group of value.
it's our DNA. we may have a hard time letting go because we grew these guys and we may not see post seasons or championships as regular as the Yankees (over-valued), Patriots, Spurs etc... but we're still good, valuable and competing well against all.

Electro- Wow. Beautifully written comment. Really. I truly appreciate your parallel between what we Grow and what we Know. I may have to rip off that idea at some point in the future. And hell: It goes without saying that Loyalty in Sport has become nearly as worthless at Nick Punto's batting gloves. I'll never tire of reading about, say, how Brooklyn embraced their Dodgers- communal team's of that ilk. I'm all for a style of Sporting contract- and not just for baseball- that offers minimum 3-year contracts as a means of keeping players in cities for longer periods. I'll likely post to that point as the season moves along.

Typical Twins front office...get rid of the big payroll and pick up top prospects with meager contracts. We should get used to it; it will happen again in a couple of years when Humber and Gomez become studs. Give them credit for getting some top quality young talent, but when will Pohlad open up the checkbook and get us another penant?

I thought that Jo Jo played for the Celtics about 40 years ago. wasn't he the White from Kansas in 1964 when Kentucky lost to the all black team from Texas known than a West Texas State. How did he ever get into a baseball formula?

Duke- Think the little plastic thing on a string that goes up-and-down . . ..

Judd, are you calling duke a tampon?

I agree that we all need to move on and look forward to the future regarding the Twins. All looking back does (in this case) is bring heartache and pain b/c Santana is still in his prime, and because we saw him develop as a ML pitcher from a raw, wild 21 year old, to the most polished pitcher in the game. Still, I have a need to thank Johan for his productivity and for being a class act in his 8 years in MN. Maybe they can retire his number someday, even if he goes into the HOF as a Met.

With that said, many believe that even with all things being equal (a dream that will never be reality in baseball) that Johan wanted to leave the Twins. It seems as if he burned out on us in MN, just as much as he wanted to play in a big market, get paid, and play for a team that could win every year. So what did we do to do deserve Johan just dumping us like an old sack of potatoes? It seems to me like somewhat of a re-run about Marbury wanting to leave the Wolves because he didn't like living in MN, among other things. Did we, as people, do something that pissed Johan off about us? I know not everyone feels the same way as a Hunter does about the organization, but I just to know what we could have done differently to make Johan want to stay here and become as legendary here as Puckett, Carew, and Killebrew are. Because I don't want to go thru this again with Liriano in a few years.

Anon.- Thanks for the in-depth response. I guess Johan had about 137.5 million reasons to go to the Coast- tough to fault a guy for that. Whereas a sucker like Stephon surely left us for more selfish reason, I think Santana was a good soldier, a good guy, a great talent- Hopefully NYC- and its infamous press- will see him the same way in about six months.