Ron Gardenhire is Upset With the Twins... So is Everyone Else that Matters

Ah... it feels good to wake up and know the Twins are 13 games back.

The wrong side of the bed is appearing more and more to be the right side of the bed and I do not like it... especially since I sleep in the middle. I'm sure Joe Mauer, right-fielder, feels the same.

I know Ron Gardenhire does. He spoke with reporters during the Twins pregame talk on Saturday and expressed his frustration with what he describes as a general misunderstanding of baseball fundamentals. We know what he's talking about. Ben Revere swinging at a 2-0 pitch when the Twins are down 6-1, Danny Valencia not charging bunts hit by faster players, Trevor Plouffe sailing throw after throw over the 1st-baseman-of-the-day's head. Seriously. It has been very tough to watch, especially for someone so emotionally invested in the Twins.

Perhaps this season wouldn't have been so bad if we had older, more experienced players frequent the dugout more, but no. Instead, we were blessed with a DL list as long as Marino Rivera's career. We have all these young guys that made it to the majors and want to stay there. Understandable. However, fundamentals are key. That's why they are called fundamentals. Any athlete worth his jersey knows you won't improve, you won't win if you can't get the basics right. That's what the Twins are learning now.

Gardenhire called it perfectly, "mistakes happen every once in awhile, but they shouldn't happen all the time."

Twins Win!

Thatta baby, Twins!

I was listening to Twins Radio last night on the way home after a long day of work, some shopping and minor car repairs (that I watched someone else do). The back and forth turbulence of the game that classified last night is really my favorite type of game, whether I'm listening to the radio, watching TV or watching live.

Basically I love Twins baseball, but the excitement of games like the last game of the Twins-Tigers series really just caps it off. For those of you native to St. Paul, its like the Izzy on top.

Now tonight the Twins take on the Yankees at home and, before the game, the Twins organization will be honoring Jim Thome's achievement of 600 home runs. Tomorrow night, the Twins will be honoring Joe Nathan on topping the Twins' all-time save list. It's a big weekend for Twins baseball.

Not only are the celebrations important, but arguably more important are the games we play this weekend. Tonight we open a four-game series against the Bronx Bombers, who have won 5 out of the last 6 at Target Field. We need to split if not win the series. Something about the Yankees has always spooked the Twins, but like Gardy said last night, when you start talking about how perfect a player or an organization is, that is when they faulter; it's the curse of the 'no-hitter'.

I think there is something to that. Gardy's thinking kind of goes along with the Law of Averages or Murphy's Law. The Law of Averages tells us that the outcomes of random events will even out within a sample, while Murphy's Law leads us to believe that anything that can go wrong generally will go wrong. I think Gardy said it better, but you get the point. I would be willing to bet that the Laws are in our favor this series. Go get 'em!

I won't be at the game tonight, though after I found out about the Thome ceremony and proceeded to find NO ONE that would go to the game with me, I thought about attending solo. However, I will be at the Twins game tomorrow night, sporting with pride my 'Even Jesus Hates the Yankees' shirt and drinking a beer. My guess is that Yankee fans order things like Champagne and such. Get a life.

Anyway, see you tomorrow at Target Field! Good luck boys.

Jim Thome 600 Home Runs!

Jim Thome. Congratulations on becoming the eighth member of the 600 home run club!

Here comes the truth. I didn't know about Jim Thome before he came to Minnesota. I had never heard his name, or if I had, it didn't register. I know, I know... and I call myself a baseball fan. Jim Thome deserves better.

I was watching on Monday night when the Twins caged the Tigers and Thome hit his 599th and 600th. It was great, so awesome to watch. I got to thinking about Thome and the legacy he is living and the era during which he is living it. Last year Rodriguez hit his 600th home run while Jeter hit his 3,000th hit this year. From the media craze, you would think neither one of those great accomplishments (yes, they are great) had ever happened before. The attention granted to these two players was overwhelming and held spots on ESPN for days if not weeks.

I had heard of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez and not because of their accomplishments alone, but because of the media. From what I understand, Jeter is a great guy both on and off the field; I am not trying to take away from that. No, I am attempting to draw, what should be a parallel between all great players.

What Thome does, he does so well and because of that, deserves more of a 'congratualtions'; Thome deserves the respect of baseball fans across the nation. As a baseball fan myself, I will try to do the same for the greats of other teams. After all... that's what Jim Thome would do.

Please, celebrate Derek Jeter, but don't forget to celebrate the accomplishments of Thome and players like Thome. Jeter said this of Thome and his 600th, "I was happy for him. That's quite an accomplishment; 600 home runs. Jim is one of the nicest guys you'll meet in baseball. I've played against him for what seems like forever. It's something he should be extremely proud of. You can't say enough good things about his as a person. He's a great player and a good guy." Though Jeter himself sent 'congratulations' Thome's way,  it appears that too often the boy next door is overshadowed. This is a clear indication of that.

Every interview conducted and every article written about Thome and his 600th home run talks of his outstanding demeanor, his overall kindness and competitiveness. Thome is the all-around package and deserves every bit of fame and support for the rest of his career and beyond.

ARod also sent a 'congratulations' to Thome, but that mostly just makes me mad so I'll only mention it.

The only disappointing aspect of this story is that you can now place Thome in the same breath as Bonds, Rodriguez and Sosa. Despite everything, Thome is seen as guilty by association because the aforementioned three had to go and blow it for the rest of the MLB's greatest home run hitters.

Despite that association, I believe Thome will go down as one of the greatest players both on and off the field that has played the game of baseball.

Hey Rodriguez, you wanna bet on it?

Let's continue the discussion of media bias later. Right now, let's just wish Thome the best while making it clear that no other player deserves the attention more than Jim Thome of the Minnesota Twins. Congratulations, Thome.

Well Played Bachmann, Well Played

In the words of Michele Bachmann, "I will not vote yes"... to Michele Bachmann. Yes, I am from Minnesota and would like to see the midwest better represented in the White House, but not this way. NOT THIS WAY.

Bachmann, who only days ago was dubbed "the Queen of Rage" by some magazine or another (I think Newsweek?) is now trying to show the American public the softer side of Michele. Mary Canfield, a centenarian (a person who is 100 years or older) was in the presence of Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann at the Black hawk County Republicans Lincold Day Dinner on Sunday.

Bachmann gave Canfield two things to show the greatest respect to Canfield: one, the title of "oldest Republican mother" and, two, "the biggest, fattest, deepest" apple pie money could buy.

What... generous gifts.

That is just what I want when I am 100 years old. A title pointing out that, not only am I 100 years old, but I am the oldest around implying I'll probably drop dead soon. Heck, give me a sash too and let's make it really obvious. Love it. Additionally, you better buy me a pie. Nothing says "I appreciate your vote" like a good old fashioned store bought pie. You know what they say... its the thought that counts. Quick thinking, Bachmann, on stopping at Cub Foods. Its thinking like that that'll land you square in the oval office you critical thinker, you.

I guess I can understand. The older generation hates sitting down and actually having a conversation. Trust me, my Grandpa hates when I come home just to see him and just to talk to him about my life and watch the Twins game. He would much more prefer I walked in the door with a pie or a playstation or something. Its always better to buy relationships with gifts than to construct them.

Oh you politicians. No wonder we have the debt that we have. Instead of sitting down and actually LISTENING to people, we are off scooping up the best that money can buy and hoping we can purchase our way out of this thing and in to office. Yes, let us continue down the path of buying off Americans so we keep our mouths shut... never mind it being bribery.

Be ashamed of yourselves. I know I am.

Just a group of friends that have known each other for years...

Mara, Jim, Carl, Me, Scott

May I Speak to Jim Thome, Please?

A big shout out to Jim Thome:

My best friend Mara and I will be attending Friday's game against the New York Yankees. I know you dislike them as much as I do, though you are a better person and don't blog about it. Because of this common bond we share, I figure I am within reason when I ask you to please hit your 600th home run while we are in attendance on Friday. I wouldn't mind if it was a grand slam, but I realize that is not exactly within your control. If you should happen to hit your milestone home run to me, I promise to give it back - you deserve it. Again, I hope I'm not crossing any lines here. I'm a big fan and continually write about your talents and the resulting respect you've earned. Good luck this week and I'll see you Friday Big Guy.

Twins Mathematically Still in the Running, Offseason Moves Needed

We may be 11.5 games back, but at least we aren't mathematically eliminated.

You all know how emotionally invested I am in the Twins. If they lose, I generally am in a bad mood until they win again - imagine what my summer has been like. Like I said though, at least the Twins have yet to be mathematically eliminated.

I'm still surprised the Twins made no moves regarding the trade deadline (on a side note, I am also surprised Tim Pawlenty withdrew from the Presidential race after losing to a native Iowegian - what did he expect?), but the lack of moves made by the Twins are referred to, in finance terms, as sunk costs. We have to look from this point forward and see how the Twins can construct a better squad.

We have four outfielders. Denard Span, Delmon Young, Ben Revere and Jason Kubel/Michael Cuddyer (those two count as one since they never outfield together). Trade one. Maybe we should be using the money from a Delmon Young trade to boost sub-par areas of our pitching staff. Young's name has been tossed around a lot after picking up some clutch hits. He is a great outfielder and the Twins should get some money out of him before he is Demlon Old.

Either dump Nishioka or work him HARD in the off season. Nishioka seems like a nice guy and has some similarities to Ichiro, but is barely batting out of the double digits from the right-side and botches almost every other fielding play (both of those were exaggerations, but you get my point.). After the first loss to Cleveland in the most recent Twins-Indians series, I thought the Twins may not have to worry about Nishi's offseason; I thought Carl Pavano was going to go Godzilla on Nishioka and end his season right then and there. Instead he spiked the baseball while walking off the mound and proceeded to throw a water cooler across the dugout. Might I add, rightfully so? If we don't get out of the $6 million deal with Nishioka, we need to get him in to a little league program and work him hard enough so he can handle the MLB.

Another rumor spiraling around is the dealing of Michael Cuddyer. I myself have said it might be financially smart to get money for him while he is playing so hot and coming off an All-Star season. At this point, it might be just as smart to keep him, despite the likeliness of being a hot commodity this offseason. Sure, Cuddy will need a bigger contract, but he has been one of the most consistent players for the Twins in the last five seasons. Not to mention, he can play ANYWHERE... even pitcher. The Twins really need to consider resigning Cuddyer.

Tonight I will be monitoring the Twins-Tigers game from my phone as I have agreed to help a friend move. I really hope the Twins can get it together. I don't want to write the post 'Twins post-season mathematically out of reach'. I really don't.

WOW: As of 2:01, the Twins traded OF Delmon Young to the Detroit Tigers for a minor league pitcher and a player TBA.