Maybe something could still happen

With the Twins infield.
The Toronto Blue Jays continued their off season spending spree when they traded for 3B Troy Glaus.
THe Blue Jays now have 44 third basemen on their roster.
Actually, that's only a slight exaggeration.
The Jays have Glaus, Corey Koskie, Shea Hillenbrand, Eric Hinske and Aaron HIll all on their roster.
They're all third basemen and they're all better than Tony Batista.
The Jays know they have to trade at least one of them, figuring HIll can play short and two of the others can fill the 1B and DH roles.
But knowing that they HAVE to make a trade, they cant be too picky.
Kyle Lohse for Shea Hillenbrand anyone?
I know I said the Twins were done, and they still likely are, but I'd be shocked if T-Ry didn't at least inquire about one of these guys.
Any of them would be an upgrade, and then Batista could move to the bench, where his power would have value as a RH-PH.

MNF - ESPN will probably screw it up

I'll admit that I'm a sucker for nostalgia, but even so, the end of Monday Night Football on ABC is, to me, a big deal.
I've never been big on watching football games that don't involve the Vikings, but MNF has always been an exception. I've watched at least 10 Monday night games a year every year since probly 1987, and as the Jets-Pats game wound down - I realized how many amazing moments I've witnessed on Monday nights over the years.
My first memory of MNF goes back to a 49ers-Bears game from '86 or '87.
I had jumped on the Super Bowl Shufflin Bears bandwagon as a 5-year old, and although it had mostly worn off by then, I still had a small affinity for them.
I really liked receiver Willie Gault, and of course, Jim McMahon, Walter Payton and Fridge Perry.
Anyway, I remember my dad saying to me that the 49ers would beat the Bears "something like 41-0"
I thought he was crazy.
Final score that night?
49ers 41, Bears 0.
But there were so many other moments.
Bo Jackson burning past the Seahawks defense, down the sideline until he dissapeared into the tunnel.
Randall Cunningham amazingly shaking off Carl Banks to throw the winning touchdown.
Jim McMahon to Eric Gulliford to beat the Packers.
An ancient Joe Montana leading another improbable comeback, this time as a Chief, to beat Elway and the Broncos.
Brett Favre's 99 yard TD pass to Robert Brooks.
Frank Gifford pronouncing 'Monday' 'Mondee'
Dennis Miller.
Randy Moss's coming-out party to end the Packers home winning streak.
Deion Sanders finding a way to make a game-changing play every time he was on MNF.
Painfully watching Eric Dickerson's sideline reports.
The guy who jumped out of the stands to catch a field goal kick, and falling God knows how far to the ground - with the ball in tow.
The Jets huge comback from down 30-8 against the Dolphins.
Jerry Rice staging his own personal track meet against the Vikings - more than once.
Vikings-Packers - Antonio Freeman, Chris Dishman - you know the play.
Hank Williams, Jr.
Raider RB Napolean McCallum's knee bending the WRONG way in one of the most gruesome injuries ever.
The T.O. - Desperate Housewives thing.
Every former Buckeye saying they played at THE Ohio State University.
Dan Deardorf overstating the talent of everyone in the NFL.
Dan Deardorf saying 'Lord take me now, I've seen it all.' What a retard. (THough I should point out I never hated him as much as most people did)
Truthfully, any NFC Central or NFC North game that was ever played on Monday Night. I'll admit I'm biased, but I think every NFL fan outside this division is being cheated. There is simply nothing like football in the NFC North. It's what the NFL is all about.
While the Bo Jackson run and the Joe Montana pass to (I think it was Willie Davis) to beat Denver are the individual plays that stand out the most to me, the personal performance I'll never forget is without a doubt Brett Favre's superhuman effort against the Raiders two days after the death of his father. He had something like 400 yards and 5 touchdowns, and the Packers ripped the Raiders. It was unbelieveable, and like almost everything on this list, I'll never forget it.
MNF will continue on ESPN, and in most ways, it will be relatively the same.
But it still won't be.
Little kids won't be able to watch in secret on tiny black and white antenna Tv's, praying their parents don't hear it, like I did growing up. Or in the garage, or the kitchen, or anywhere else there's no cable.
The game will no longer be followed by your local news, it will be followed by Sportscenter, and that will be annoying, as will the ESPN commercials.
To me, what sums up just how special MNF was, is the spooky way it's death mirrored its birth.
The score of the first MNF game ever, in 1969, was 31-21. The losing team was the Jets.
Tonights score? 31-21. Losing team? J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets.

It's Over (Plus more '06 lineup)

I'm surprised at how hard I took the Vikings loss to the Ravens tonight.
The Vikings have fallen to a very distant second behind the Twins when it comes to my favorite sports teams, but for some reason, I liked this team.
Maybe because they finally had a reasonable defense, maybe because of their improbable rise from the dead to contention, maybe because I pull for Mike Tice.
Or maybe because they simply should've won this won. And then they should've beat the Bears to make the playoffs. I was sure it would happen. How could they lose to the Ravens?
30-23? (don't you WISH you bet the over).
Ironic, too, that that was the score when most people (myself included) figured it would take probably 17 points to win. I figured for a low-scoring game, and if an offense like the Vikings' (it's worse than you think it is) can score 23 points against the Raven's D - that should be a win every time.
And if Kyle Boller can have that kind of night, maybe the Vikes D still needs some work.
I'm not sure if Tice should be back - that probably depends on what the alternatives are.
But the defense, while far from fixed, is finally showing signs, so in that vein, now might not be a good time to blow the thing up and start over.
I'm just dissapointed, because I don't know what I'm going to watch now.
The Wolves are tough to get a read on, and I don't get that excited about them, anyway. (Although Wally sure is having a helluva year)
The Wild are an average team, and I don't know if I'm enough of a hockey fan to watch an average team.
Gophers? Well, okay they beat South Dakota State (I thought they'd lose) but I'm not impressed with them either.
Go Augie, I guess.
* I thought a little more about the Twins lineup next year, and cameup with a couple that I like (though I stress these are my ideas, not something I actually expec to see)

Castillo
Mauer
Stewart
White
Morneau
Hunter
Cuddyer
Batista
Bartlett
I like this one, because while Stewart's OBP and steals have been in decline, his skill with runners in scoring position isn't. As bad a year as he had last year, he was still the one guy who appeared to have a clue about how to get a hit in a tough spot. Putting him in the 3-hole not only lessens the effect of his faults, it magnifies his strenghts. Castillo and Mauer are both OBP machines. Having them 1-2 seems almost like a no-brainer.
Or...
Castillo
Mauer
White
Morneau
Hunter
Cuddyer
Stewart
Batista
Bartlett
White is capable of hitting 3-hole, especially if Morneau emerges. And if Morneau does indeed step up, he has to be hitting 4th in my opinion.
Stewart would go from an average to below average leadoff man to an above average 7-hitter.

2006 - The Lineup

The Twins added Rondell White, and I'm pretty pumped. He might not be as big a name as Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza or Jim THome, but he's probably a better signing.
His only downside has been injuries, and the Twins plan to buffer that by making him a full-time DH. His contract is also heavily incentive laden, which protects them from having to pay him $8 million for 150 at-bats.
If he plays 140 games, White will likely hit in the .280-.300 range, with 25 homers and 100 RBIs.
Make no mistake, though, this is it. The Twins are done adding players. With the addition of Denny Reyes to fill the lefty role previously occupied by JC Romero, the Twins roster is pretty much set.
Assuming Batista doesn't totally bomb in spring training, I'm guessing the lineup will look something like this.
LF - Shannon Stewart
2B - Luis Castillo
C - Joe Mauer
DH - Rondell White
CF - Torii Hunter
1B - Justin Morneau
3B - Tony Batista
RF - Michael Cuddyer/Jason Kubel/Lew Ford
SS - Jason Bartlett
* A few comments: I'd put a microscope on Shannon Stewart. I think there's a 30% chance that he's DONE. He could bounce back, and if he does the Twins lineup can be very dangerous. But if he's hitting .270 on June 1st, I'd replace him with Kubel and let Cuddy stay in right (unless of course, Cuddyer is sucking, too.) Remember, Stewart no longer steals any bases, and is one of the 5 worst defensive OF's in the big leagues. He has to hit .300 (with about a .375 OBP) to be worth an everday spot.
And speaking of the OF, I don't care if Lew Ford bats .700 in spring training, I wouldn't let him start in RF. He's a perfect fourth outfielder - that's where he should stay.
I'd bat White 4th, but I'd have Morneau right behind him. Gardy will surely bat him behind Hunter, and maybe even behind Batista, because he doesn't know how to make a lineup. If Morneau finally comes around though, it'll be a moot point.
Speaking of Batista, he should be batting 8th, because no matter how many HR's he hits, he'll make a ton of outs. Even if Cuddyer struggles again, he'll still get on base much more, so he should be 7th.
Alot of people are ripping on Batista, most of it deserved, but if he hits 30 homers in the 8-hole, it won't matter to me that his OBP is only .280.
*Joe Mays signed with KC. I wouldn't expect him to have a big year, but I wouldn't be one bit surprised if he shut out the Twins three times next year.

Tony Batista

Is not a guy I'm too excited about.
Will he hit homeruns?
Yes.
Will he make so many outs in his other plate appearances to render most of those homeruns useless?
Very possibly.
The guy with the stupid batting stance hit 32 homers in 2004 with the Orioles, yet couldn't find a job in 2005.
He played in Japan.
Where he posted a very poor .293 OBP.
Defensively (he's a third basemen) he is average at best, harmful to a team's defense at worst.
I realize that when they lost out on Bill Mueller they didn't have a lot of options, but geez, they'd be better off going with Cuddyer again.
One Twins blogger called this the worst transaction in Twins history - I wont go that far. He also called Batista one of the five worst hitters in the league (his 32 homers notwithstanding). Again, I think too harsh.
I'm willing to give the guy a chance.
One thing I will say is that while adding a slap hitter like Tony Graffanino was probably, deep down, a wiser move, I still prefer this. Batista has and will hit homeruns. He at least makes pitchers pay for mistakes, and keeps them honest.
Graffanino and the like are fine players, but they still kind of seem like utility infielders. Even if they are good ones, I'm tired of utility infielders.
This guy has power. Alot will probably depend on where he bats in the order and if the Twins add Piazza (or bring back Jacque Jones again, for that matter).
If he can keep his glove on, hit 30 homers and by the grace of God get on base 30% of the time - well, it still wouldn't be that great of a move.
Let's just hope that we don't pair this guy with Rob Deer at DH.