Jim Thome Waivers

I know I'm selfish when I say I don't want Jim Thome to be scooped up by a playoff contender and that I want him to stay in Minnesota for the rest of his career (however long that may be). I know I'm being selfish, I get it. I realize he deserves the chance to get his ever-elusive World Series ring; he deserves it, he does. Thome has earned a place in the baseball world and that place should be higher than a team that is 55-73 and almost bottoming out the division.

I still want him.

Now, I just have to decide if my selfishness can be out-weighed by my respect for Thome.

There are rumors circulating about interests in Thome from the Phillies, Indians, White Sox and Yankees. Because teams out of contention in the American League have little freason to put in a claim, it seems likely if Thome leaves, one of the aforementioned teams will be the lucky team to pick up a great guy and player.

The Phillies? To be honest, I'm a little tired of hearing about the Phillies, but they would give Thome a good shot at the World Series. If Thome continues to play, it would be nice to have his damage-inducing bat out of the American league, but at the same time, Twins fans would see less of Thome.

Seeing as the Phillies have the best record in baseball, they would have the last shot at picking up the Big Guy anyway, but the Indians? That could happen. Travis Hafner, the DH for the Indians went on the disabled list earlier this week, opening up a spot in the Tribe's lineup. Honestly, that would be a well-versed story with a sweet ending. Thome played most of his years in Cleveland and will most likely go in to the HOF as an Indian, so I guess if he should have a shot at contention it should be with Cleveland. Not to mention, perhaps with some Thome-power, the Indians could hold off the White Sox. If the Twins can't win the AL Central, the White Sox can't either... which essentially is saying the White Sox should never win the division.

Speaking of the White Sox, their only redeeming factor is Ozzie Guillen (and the fact I happen to like their team colors). Guillen has apparently expressed interest in Thome, "I have said day in and day out that Jimmy is one of my guys in baseball." I would hate to see Thome in a White Sox uniform again (especially since I plan on wearing my 'White Sox Suck' tee to the game on September 6th, in which case if the Sox lineup has Thome in it, I'll have to tape 'Except Thome' on the back or something crafty like that). Adam Dunn has provided less-than thrilling numbers for the Sox, who are in a virtual tie with the Indians, both trailing the Tigers, and Thome could fill that position for them. Besides, I don't see the White Sox making the playoffs anyway. I would hate to see Thome in a White Sox uniform, but I can't decide if I would hate that more or less than a Yankee uni... 

With the whole Jorge Posada / Derek Jeter drama that has surged around the Yankees this year, they could be interested in upgrading at the DH spot. Thome boasts an .868 OPS with 12 home runs this season in only 230 plate appearances. Those numbers would be an upgrade at the DH position for the Bronx Bombers. While Thome's personality would fit in with the classy guys like Jeter and CC Sabathia, I don't like the idea of Thome going to New York only to be overshadowed by a fellow 600-clubber, Alex Rodriguez, and I definitely think that would happen.

I respect Jim Thome enough to let him go, but it appears that in my mind, no one is good enough to pick him up.

No Kidding, A-Rod Participates in Illegal Activites? Shocker.

Apparently the MLB is taking some allegations against the Yankee Alex Rodriguez very seriously. ARod has been accused of taking part in illegal, underground poker games of which some allegedly turned violent. Luckily, steroids have never been linked to hormonal outbursts known as roid rage. Wait, no... What?

Even more outrageous is the concern by the MLB that ARod's name might sneak in on the current ongoing investigation of Dr. Anthony Galea. Galea has been charged with smuggling human growth hormone and other illegal substances in to this great country of ours from the less-great country of Canada. Galea has treated ARod and Tiger Woods, who might I say is another very classy and respectable gentleman.

Looks like Mr. Rodriguez has gotten himself in to a bit of trouble. Not only are the Yankees trailing their rivals of Boston, but ARod is out recovering on a knee surgery and participating in shady activities. And then there are the illegal substances connections.

To me, this adds up like Enron's financial statements.

ESPN's David Shoenfield is Wrong.

There was recently a post on ESPN titled, "Sticking with the White Sox to win AL Central". Now you can imagine why this caught my eye as a long time believer that the only thing worse than a Yankee fan is a White Sox fan. I read the post. NOTHING fancy.

Not only does the post boast more points as to why the White Sox won't win the division than actually propositioning reasons supporting the original assertion ("They have the best rotation in the division. The Twins actually have a slightly better rotation ERA...") , but the entire passage basically makes a laughing stock of the AL Central and hints at the division as being less-than-competitive. Apparently David Shoenfield, the writer of the article, has forgotten that the rest of baseball's finest are pointing a finger out west at the LA Dodgers because they are the ones REALLY struggling. Get off our AL Central backs, Shoenfield. I've had enough out of you.

After reading the post with a cynical eye with the Twins-Indians game playing in the background, I proceeded to the comments:

Crusader721 said: "White Sox fans keep saying "oh Adam Dunn is going to start hitting" and "oh this person is going to start doing well "but at the end of every night we look at the stat sheet and nothing has changed... Go Tigers... please don't collapse this year..."

-- I like what you have to say here, Crusader. It's like the old saying goes, "Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today." Sorry, Adam Dunn. May I suggest a music career with your, more likely than not, distant cousin Ronnie Dunn?

-- You have a strong argument here... especially relating to the part about the Tigers collapsing. The Tigers have always collapsed around this time of year.

Benkatie4 said: "Once again, just like every year, the Twins get NO RESPECT, they OWN the White Sox and will win the Central Division again. With Mauer back and on fire hitting and Nathan strong again as their closer, The Twins will win it once again. You are in major DENIAL!

-- I'm going to go out on a limb and say Benkatie4 is slightly irked. As I write this, Mauer just drove in a run against the Indians making it 2-0 Twins. Good call, BenKatie4.

ChicagoEnoughSaid said: "I been saying it all year... To me it will come down to who is playing the best baseball in September. I believe out of Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit, or Cleveland whomever gets hot will win..."

-- ChicagoEnoughSaid is either Captain Obvious or a politician. Whoever gets hot will win? Whomever is playing the best baseball in September will win? This guy should play the stock market because he has obviously cornered something here that no one else has thought of.

-- P.S. while you were being so political, you forgot Kansas City.

rylesg74 said: "The White Sox!?!? HAHAHAHHA good one. The Twins will take the division, again."

-- Marry me?

The comments keep on filtering in, people are clearly heated. I see some petty fights breaking out between, who I assume to be, adults and it only makes me love baseball more. I get it though. Even between friends and teams, I find myself more likely to side with my team - its reasonable to assume the team will be around longer... Unless you are a Dodgers fan.

I would like to thank all the Twins fans out there that went berserk reading David Shoenfield's post - I've never been more proud. I would also like to thank the Detroit and Chicago fans who, without hesitation, threw their teams under the bus.

The Story of David and Goliath

The story of David and Goliath is one historic age featuring the Philistine army and their war against Israel. More specifically, a Philistine giant measuring over nine feet tall named Goliath and David a young teenager. Clearly the battle between these two fighters had odds stacked heavily in Goliath's favor. This guy was huge.

The two waited forty days to begin their epic battle and when Goliath moved in for the kill, David found a weak point in Goliath's armor to which he shot a stone at, killing the giant.

The Twins have waited since 2005 to battle the San Francisco Giants. That is over 2,000 days. The Twins, who have been plagued in the post season year after year after year is the young teenager in this modern MLB story. Goliath, then are the Giants of San Francisco.

The last time these two teams met, the Giants took two of three from the Twins. In 2003, tables were turned and the Twins took two of three from the giants. Heading in to this series at AT&T Park, the Twins have barely climbed out of last place in the AL Central, but they will be feeling much better than the recently beaten-up Giants. The Giants have recently matched a season-worst by losing its last four games.

The Twins have begun to overcome a dismal start by winning 14 of 16, including their last seven in a row. The team is finally having fun, laughing and winning. It feels good to be a Twin. Right now, its feeling good to be David.

In order to win, the Giants need to convert runners in scoring position. During their skid, the Giants have gone 0 for 26 with runners in scoring position. Their goal doesn't appear as if it will be an easy one to achieve. Minnesota's pitchers 2.01 ERA in June is the best in the majors by a wide margin. Guess we've found that weakness in the armor, eh boys?

Pavano, who is set to open the series, has thrown two complete games this month, going 2-0 with a 1.44 ERA in three starts. He could easily go the distance after only using 96 pitches to beat the White Sox 4-1.

I look for the Twins to take the series. David will rise up once again and dominate Goliath. Everybody loves the underdog anyway. Go Twins!

MLB and DUIs

Six active players have been cited, just this year, for driving under the influence. I have already addressed one of these players, the notable Miguel Crabrera (Detroit Tigers), but among him are: Derek Lowe (Atlanta), Shin-Soo Choo (Cleveland), Austin Kearns (Cleveland), Coco Crisp (Oakland) and Adam Kennedy (Seattle).

Wow, Cleveland seems fun.

With all these party animals within the league, as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, the MLB is seeking the ability for the commissioner to discipline players who are involved in such alcohol-related incidents. Somebody is jealous - if Bud Selig can't party nobody can. (With a name like Bud, you'd think he would punish those who DON'T have a beer in the center counsel)

None of the aforementioned players have been suspended by their respective teams and the current CBA does not grant the power for Bud Selig to suspend players for partying behind the wheel.

Timeline:

Kennedy was charged in January
Cabrera was arrested in February
Kearns was arrested in February
Crisp was arrested in March
Lowe was arrested in April
Choo was arrested in May

Looks like we've got this year covered so far, boys. Somebody is going to have to step up for the remainder of the year... if not, I'm sure Cabrera will do the honors. Again.

I can't quite put a finger on why two guys from Cleveland have gotten busted boozing behind the wheel, but one could venture they are already celebrating their successful season. Or, perhaps they are trying to numb their impending demise to the Minnesota Twins.

This is Twins Territory, baby. Stay sober guys.

Ozzie Guillen is at it Again

Probably my favorite MLB Manager, secondary to Gardenhire of course, is Ozzie Guillen. I don't love him for his genius baseball strategy, but his outrageous behavior and lack of fluent English.

His most recent public outburst happened in the cyber-world following his on-field outburst. Haha.. this guy. A mere minute after being tossed from a game where the White Sox were playing the New York Yankees, Ozzie Guillen took to Twitter.

Paul Konerko was called out on strikes, on a pitch that was below Konerko's knees, and clearly the level-headed Guillen found this distressing. During this Konerko at-bat, Guillen barked at the plate umpire Todd Tichenor (who also has a Twitter account, but has yet to tweet).

When Konerko was struck out on the less-than-a-quality-strike pitch, Guillen was perched on the top step of the dugout and, after being warned by Tichenor to not take one step on the field, Guillen disobediently did not comply and ventured out.

Guillen name dropped a couple of other umpires of whom he claims to have a personal connection with, Steve Palermo and Richie Garcia, and continued that he didn't care who Tichenor was. I can't say why, but that seems slightly irrelevant to me.

Guillen was quoted on ESPN saying, "I ask if that pitch was a strike. I think he got angry very quick. He couldn't hear what I say and that's all. When he kick me out, he has the right 100 percent."

Interpret that accordingly.

Before the next play had even resumed, @OzzieGuillen became active with angry posts. Guillen commented that the ejection was going to cost him a lot of money and that it was "patetic". And continued in another tweet that, "Today a tough guy show up at yankee stadium," referring, what can only be assumed, Tichenor. My theory is he was referring to himself.

When asked about his Twitter outburst, Guillen has yet another outburst saying, "I no worry about that. Let's talk about [expletive] baseball. [Expletive] tweeting."

I would like to point out, while Guillen seems to have a hot head, he clearly kept a calm sense about him when, after being ejected, he kept his composure and remembered to freak out online as well. Now that is what I call calm and collected.

Ozzie Guillen has overreaction down to a science and who doesn't appreciate that?