Tice was better

That much is obvious. He went 9-7 last year.
Since that time, the Vikings added Chester Taylor, Matt Birk (he was hurt), Steve Hutchinson, Cedric Griffin, Dwight Smith, Ryan Longwell, Ben Leber and D.C. Mike Tomlin - and yet they will likely finish 6-10 in the first year of Brad Childress' tenure.

Is it fair to call for Childress to be fired after just one year?

Maybe.

After all, this has been far worse than anyone could've expected. Let's be real. Three of this teams' wins have come against Detroit and Arizona. Another came against a Seattle team that played without Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander (which is kind of like beating the Red Sox without David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez). The other two wins came against underachieving Carolina and Washington, who probably only lost because they were unprepared for how terrible the Vikings would actually be.
Bad teams like San Francisco, Green Bay, Miami and Buffalo beat the Vikes with relative ease.
With this schedule, and the off-season additions to the roster, 10 wins was not too much to expect. I believe Tice would've delivered that.

And now this.

Thursday night against Green Bay, the Vikings recorded one, two, three first downs.

3.

First, Childress made the mistake of giving in to public pressure and starting Tarvaris Jackson. I didn't disagree with the decision, except for the fact that Childress didn't make the move to give Jackson experience (which is why I would've). He did it ostensibly to win the game, which is laughable, considering the guy is one year removed from playing I-AA ball.
If Childress thought that game needed to be won (which it didn't), Brad Johnson should've started, and the Vikings probably would've won.
Second, Childress started Jackson but kept the boring Brad Johnson plays. The fact that Jackson has a stronger arm and more mobility became a moot point. I don't believe I've ever watched a worse NFL game.

What also bothers me is how Childress has not shied away from placing blame for his putrid offense on Johnson all year, which continues to hint towards a prickly insecurity that lies beneath Hamster Face's supposed tough-guy demeanor.
I don't believe he's as confident in himself and his coaching as he pretends to be. All you have to do is look at his face during games. He looks clueless, almost scared. He knows he's being outcoached as it's happening.

Maybe we should've seen this coming. I'd be lying if I said this is what I thought would happen, but deep down I did fear that it was a possibility. After all, what had Hamster Face ever done before?
OC in Philly? Please. Philly's offense has usually been the achilles heel of their team. And Childress didn't call the plays anyway.

Disciplinarian? The Vikings lead the NFL in penalties, and the off-field incidents that Zygi Wilf's handlers have convinced him are more important than winning games, have not lessened.

Speaking of Boner-Nose, he's part of the problem. When he hired Childress, he introduced him as a 'proven winner'. In what universe, Zygi? The guy had never been a HC before.
Wilf had no idea who to hire, and since Hamster Face's name kept popping up in Peter King's weekly column, that was apparently enough to convince him that he should be the guy.

Will Childress be back? Almost certainly.

Being that Zygi is as unstable and clueless as he is, I guess it's possible that he'll push the panic button and fire Childress. I would neither cheer nor oppose that move. Hamster Face has been the most disappointing coach in the NFL, and he has certainly raised plenty of doubt as to whether he's capable of leading an NFL team. He's been nothing short of a colossal, bombastic failure.

But firing a guy after one year, especially with the enourmous amount of staff that he brought in, could drive the team further into chaos and disarray.

Plus, I think Boner-Nose has too much ego to admit he struck out on his first hire after just one year. My guess is there will be a compromise of sorts.
Originally, the plan was surely for Childress to get at least three years, and if by the third year the team was at least starting to win, he'd get to stay longer.
But now, with this season having gone as badly as it has, my guess is he'll be on the hot seat in '07.
If they go finish below .500 again, or continue to be boring and pitiful on offense, he should be fired. If he can coax 8 or 9 wins out of them, or at least start showing some semblence of a clue offensively, give him another year.

Honestly, I pity Childress. I don't think he expected any of this. I honestly think he thought he was some kind of fucking genius, and now he's having trouble with the humbling realization that he may be pro football's worst coach. The media and fans have already turned against him, savagely in some cases, and that just exacerbates things. He doesn't have many allies at this point.
He isn't an idiot, however. If he admits to himself that he's got a lot more learning to do than he thought, he might have a chance to get this team on track next year.

I'm trying to be optimistic, but it's tough.

* The Wolves failure to land Allen Iverson is inexcusable if, as has been reported, they were unwilling to give them what they wanted. The Wolves are the most irrelevant team in pro sports - they have almost no fans - so they should've given the 76ers literally anyone on the entire roster besides Kevin Garnett.

This was the one chance for this team to get back on the map, both competitively and from a ticket-selling standpoint, and they blew it.

* The Twins officiallly signed Rondell White to an incentive laden 1-yr deal. He'll start in LF, with Jason Kubel penciled in at DH (with Jeff Cirillo and others at the ready). I doubt White will stay healthy playing the field, but I'm convinced that he's more likely to repeat his second half performance of last year than his first.

And considering the ridiculous contracts being given to mediocre players, the Twins didn't have much choice. It was either White or Josh Raabe.

Two new bats (and one old shitty one)

The Twins signed former Nebraska Cornhuskers and Kansas City Royals 1B/DH Ken Harvey (right) earlier this week, and are expected to finalize a deal for former Brewers, Mariners, Padres and Rockies 3b/1b Jeff Cirllo (left) later this week.
Harvey was actually an AL AllStar in 2003 when he got off to a hot start, but immediatley came plummeting back to Earth, with injuries limiting him to only a handful of games the last few years. He's no guarantee to make the team, and is completely useless in the field. However, he could be a decent option off the bench and as a DH vs. lefty pitching.
Cirillo, meanwhile, qualifies as a major addition, at least in Twins terms.
The 37-year old has a career .298 average and .368 OBP. He has 1,550 career hits.
Last year in 263 at-bats he hit .319 with 3 homers and 23 RBI.
From '96 to '01 he consistently contended for the NL batting title, posting seasons of .321, .325, .326 and .326 during that period. His OBP routinely hovered around .400, and while his 2000 numbers are surely skewed by playing at Coors Field, they're still impressive: .326, 11 homers, 115 RBI, 111 runs, 53 doubles, 195 hits.
He went to Seattle and tanked, apparently ending his career. From 2002 to 2004 he batted .249, .205 and .213. A return to Milwaukee apparently rejuvenated him however, as he hit .281 in '05, and .319 last year. In those two years, he batted .408 against lefties.
The Twins have always lacked for RH bats, so both of these additions make sense.
I'm not so high on Harvey, who I would say is a longshot to make the team (especially since the Twins intend on keeping Lew Ford - that's the shitty bat I was talking about in the headline).
But Cirillo makes sense on several levels. He's righthanded, kills lefty pitching, and can play third, first and second. The Twins didn't really have a backup for Morneau at first, and now they do, and they didn't have an insurance policy in case Nick Punto gets hurt sliding into first base or goes back to being Nick Punto. Now they do.
If nothing else, adding these two the expected re-signing of Rondell White gives the Twins some sudden depth, creating a nice competition for roster spots and at-bats in spring training.

Make It Happen

At different times in my life, the Minnesota Timberwolves and University of Minnesota Golden Gophers have been a very big deal. There were winters where those two teams took up way too much of my time.
This is not one of those winters.
The Gophers have become a Big 10 doormat. The Wolves are by no means terrible (impossible with Kevin Garnett on your roster), but they've become increasingly irrelevant as they find themselves stuck in neutral.
I'm exactly the fan both programs are trying to win back, and I have "the answer" (get it?) to how they can do so.
Kevin McHale, go get Alan Iverson. Now.
You may have heard that Iverson asked for a trade this week and the Sixers aim to accomodate him.
He reportedly is interested in playing with KG. Iverson's exactly the kind of player that can make KG better. He's averaging 30 a game. He's the only player in the NBA with a work ethic that rivals KG.
Do the Wolves have enough to land him? Maybe.
Randy Foye, Craig Smith, Ricky Davis, Mike James, Troy Hudson? They can have all of 'em.
With KG and AI on the same team, they'd win 55 games if the rest of the roster was CBA guys (oh, wait, it kind of is already).
There are few things can put the Wolves back on the map right now. This is one of them.
Joel Maturi, same deal.
Go get Bob Knight. Don't tell me he doesn't miss the Big 10. Or that he wouldn't fill Williams Arena. Or make the team winners without cheating. I don't think this is as unrealistic as some are making it out to be.
Do it.

Rippin' Rondell

Appears to now be a virtual lock to return to the Twins next year. Considering he'll come relatively cheap, had a good second half, and everyone else is way, way overpaying for everything, it's not such a bad thing.
It appears White (doing what I have dubbed 'the gay gallop' with Luis Castillo in the photo) will play LF, while Jason Kubel will be the DH. It's interesting that last year the Twins went into the season all excited about how Rondell would DH so he can stay healthy, and now theyre trying to say how excited they are to have him in LF, where he hit over .300 last year (compared to .194 as a DH).
Rondell isn't a terrible LF, but he does have a terrible arm. He's basically going to be a carbon copy of Shannon Stewart.
*The whole Jason Jennings thing has cooled off, though the Twins are still interested. It could be awhile before Jennings is moved.
The Twins have also expressed interest in Sidney Ponson and Bruce Chen.
*Infielder Jeff Cirillo could sign this week. As a RH bat who's hit over .300 much of his career, Cirillo would be a nice addition. He can play 1b/3b and of course could DH. He'd open the season as a bench player, but it seems pretty obvious that he would also be insurance in case Nick Punto is unable to repeat his 2006 performance next year.
*The Royals gave a 5 year, $55 million deal to Gil Meche. I don't see how that's a good move for a rebuilding team that loses 100 games every year.
*The Indians signed a couple decent relievers (Joe Borowski, Aaron Fultz). Smart moves, but nothing to get too worried about if youre the rest of the division.
*The White Sox traded Freddy Garcia to the Phils for Gavin Floyd, a former No. 1 draft pick yet to pan out. The larger accomplishment of the trade was clearing a rotation spot for Brandon McCarthy. Still, I'm glad to see Garcia go. He was real good, and pitched some gems against the Twins.

In the Market

The Winter meetings are often full of big happenings on the trade and free-agency front...unless you're the Minnesota Twins.
Usually Terry Ryan doesn't do much more than grant interviews in which he talks about all the moves he won't be making.
It does appear that the Twins are the leaders in the hunt for Jason Jennings, the 2004 NL ROY for Colorado. Jennings went just 9-12 last year, but with a 3.78 ERA.
To post a 3.78 ERA while making half your starts at Coors Field is very impressive. Look for the Twins to send Jesse Crain or Juan Rincon (hopefully Crain) and probably Scott Baker, to the Rockies.
Jennings would then likely be the Twins No. 2 starter, allowing Boof and Silva to compete for the No. 3 spot, with Matt Garza likely taking the 5th turn.
*The odds of Rondell White returning to the Twins are improving. White made it clear he wants to be back, and his popularity with teammates and coaches certainly works in his favor.
What really works in his favor, though, is the fact that he hit .321 with 7 homers after the All-Star break. With Jason Kubel's knees a major question mark, the Twins could use the added depth at LF/DH. Mike Piazza's name has surfaced again, but he may not want to DH, and the Twins don't need another catcher.
*The Twins left Terry Tiffee unprotected, and he signed with Baltimore.
If you think this is in any way a negative development for the Twins, you are a moron.
Tiffee sucked, and there were grumblings that he was an asshole as well (he got into an on-field fight with Mike Redmond, one of the team's most popular and likeable players, in spring training). All his departure really means is that if Justin Morneau ever needs a day off, Michael Cuddyer or Luis Rodriguez would have to play 1st base for a day. If Morneau had to go on the DL, Triple-A slugger Garrett Jones could fill in just as well as Tiffee did.
Of course, that would change if the Twins brought back Phil Nevin, a move I am highly in favor of if affordable, but it probably won't be.
*The Vikings still blow.

MVP - Justin Morneau

Even though I stated earlier this week that I would vote for Derek Jeter for MVP, I was pretty pumped to hear today that Justin Morneau took home the trophy.
This is a guy who last year batted .239 with a .304 OBP, 22 homers, 79 RBIs and was nearly sent to the minors.
Even this year, while his power numbers were steady all season long, he was still hitting in the .220's in late May, and while the Twins weren't seriously considering sending him to the minors, there was building concern that Morneau would perhaps never become the all-around five-star hitter they had hoped.
Then, from June 8 on, he batted .362 with 92 RBIs, and helped carry the Twins to the AL Central title.
Good as Joe Mauer was, if there was a big spot, there was nobody you wanted at the plate more than Morneau.
His final numbers, .321, 34 homers, 130 RBIs, are very Kirby-like.
Another reason I felt like Morneau was more deserving than Mauer was the big seasons had by Cuddyer, Hunter and even Mauer himself.
Morneau's presence in the lineup as a bona fide power threat changed the entire Twins lineup, and changed the way pitchers pitched to their hitters. If Morneau had batted .235 all year, there's no way those other guys put up the numbers they did.
A big bopper makes everything better, and for years that's all we wanted in Minnesota. Now we got one, and he's the MVP.
I think it's especially cool because the MVP award has always seemed to exist outside of the Twins as an organization. No matter how good Kirby Puckett was, he never won the award, and in past years, the Twins haven't ever really had anyone who warranted serious consideration. Even when the Twins started winning this decade, they were doing it largely with secondary stars. The MVP award was reserved for the Big Guys - the A-Rod's, Giambi's, Bonds' and Guerrero's.
Maybe Morneau didn't deserve the MVP - I don't care. For the first time in my life the AL MVP is on my team (along with the Cy Young winner and the batting champ), and that's pretty cool.

Ugly Athlete No. 7 - Charlie Villanueva

Have you ever been sitting at your desk at work, blankly staring into the computer screen, and wondered - "Whatever happened to the guy that played Sloth in the Goonies?"
Turns out dude is playing power forward for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Seriously this guy is fuckin weird looking.
Where are his eyebrows? Does he even have to shave his head? I'm guessing no, it looks like the guy has never had a hair on his entire body in his life.
He's actually a pretty good player, and supposedly he's a terrific guy. The NBA is full of thugs, and this dude dedicates signifcant time to the 'Charlie Villanueva Foundation'.
That's great, and it makes me feel a little bit bad about making fun of him for being so ugly, but hey, it's the offseason, and I need material.
I'm sure you're a great guy Charlie, but you're also really goddam ugly.
Charlie Villanueva
Pro Basketball Player
2005- present
Ugliness: 9
Creepiness: 9
Identifying Characteristic: Cassell-like skull structure and facial composition, appears to be completely lacking in hair (does he have cancer? if he does I'll take this down...maybe)
Looks like: Sloth from Goonies, also like Baraka from Mortal Kombat (the dude with swords for arms)

AL MVP...and the rest of the awards

I've often felt that Derek Jeter is one of baseball's most overrated players.
Not that he isn't, or hasn't been, a great player, I just never felt he was deserving of the G0d-like status he has been given from the media. He's an average defensive shortstop, and he isn't even really as 'clutch' as ESPN and FOX would have you believe.
After all, the guy has had damn near a thousand post-season at-bats, so of course he's gonna get a few big hits in the playoffs with that many chances.
Having said that, I must admit that, even in a year when my lifelong favorite team, the Twins, has at least three solid candidates for AL MVP, that the award must go to the Yankee shortstop.
The guy had a flat out tremendous year.
Here's how I would vote, if the Baseball Writers Associatoin would get off their asses and let me in on the thing.
1. Jeter
2. Justin Morneau
3. Johan Santana
4. Joe Mauer
5. Jermaine Dye
6. Carlos Guillen
7. Joe Nathan
8. Travis Hafner
9. David Ortiz
10. Frank Thomas
Why Jeter?
He batted .343 with a .417 OBP, totalling 214 hits, 69 walks and 14 homers. He stole 34 bases in 39 attemtps. He had 97 RBI, scored 118 runs. The Yankee lineup had a lot of injuries this year, and Jeter's career year helped them shrug it off and easily win the AL East.
I don't feel the least bit like a homer in putting Twins in four of the next six slots.
Morneau's total package hitting turned the Twins into a bona-fide elite team, while Mauer provided big-time offense from the most difficult defensive position on the field.
Santana gave the Twins a virtual automatic win every fifth day. He was far, far, far and away the best starting pitcher in baseball this year (once Liriano went down).
Dye had a huge year for the Sox, keeping them in the race almost by himself as the rest of his team turned to shit in the late summer months.
Carlos Guillen is the Tigers best player, and maybe the most underrated player ever. Every year he's awesome, and half of the baseball world still has never heard of him.
Nathan might seem like an odd choice, but don't be fooled by his low save totals. Saves are a meaningless stat, anyway. The guy was the most dominant reliever in baseball.
He blew only two saves, and the Twins won both of those games. He averaged about 13 k's per 9. He was automatic, unhittable.
Thomas, Hafner and Ortiz were all studs, but all DH's.
As for the rest of the awards.
AL CY
Santana. No brainer
NL CY
Brandon Webb. He had a Scott Erickson 1991 type year, throwing his sinker 100 times a game, with pretty good results.
AL ROY
Jonathan Papelbon. Verlander (who actually won it) was good, but Papelbon and Liriano were great. If Liriano had made maybe 4 or 5 more starts, he'd get my vote.
NL MVP
Albert Pujols
The Ted Williams of his generation, he edges out Carlos Beltran and Ryan Howard.
AL MGR
Jim Leyland
Gardy deserves a lot of credit for the Twins second half turnaround, but Jimmy's Tigers weren't even part of the discussion in April.
NL MGR
Willie Randolph
If his entire rotation hadn't got hurt right before playoffs, his team goes to the Series, maybe even wins it.

I'm back bitches

Where to start?
Torii Hunter winning a Gold Glove?
Carlos Silva coming back?
Liriano done for '07?
How about we start with the worst and most boring team in the NFL - the Minnesota Vikings.
Seriously, fuck these guys. I got better things to do than watch them on Sunday.
As much as Brad Childress seems like a decent guy I can't fucking stand him. This is not high school football jackass. Running extra wind sprints and going off-tackle 40 times a game doesn't win in this league.
It's kind of embarassing really.
I know there are people out there who think it was important for the Vikings to clean up their image and instill more discipline after last year, but count me among those who don't give a shit what the players do in their spare time.
Want to drive drunk? Bang hookers in stairways? Smoke weed, pay for hummers on a cruise-ship? Guess what, if you're good at playing football - GO RIGHT AHEAD. I DONT CARE.
Vikings tickets are ridiculously overpriced. If I'm gonna pay $75 to $100 to watch a football game, I'd prefer to watch talented athletes than a bunch of mediocre boy-scouts.
Of course, the Vikings actually do still have some talent on their roster, they just have a dumbass coach who either doesn't know how or doesn't want to win with it.
Childress didn't take over a 3-13 team. If he did, none of this would bother me.
He inherited a 9-7 team with plenty of talent. But it's apparent that he isn't interested in winning for another couple of years. Fuck him. I'm not watching this team anymore.
*The Gold Glove is officially the stupidest award in baseball. Torii Hunter was above average at best this year (those were even his own words in describing his play) and detrimental to the team's pitching and defense at worst. Yet he won another Gold Glove.
Hopefully Hunter will be closer to 100% next year, but even if he is, the guy's on the wrong side of 30. The Spider-Man days are probably over.
*It might seem ridiculous to pay Carlos Silva $4.25 million, but with Liriano gone, the Twins need a veteran arm in their rotation, and they decided to stick with what they know. Going out and getting a free-agent like Steve Trachsel or Jeff Suppan would've cost at least as much. Silva will probably never be as good as he was in 2005, but hopefully he won't be as bad as he was in 2006. If he can eat 200 innings with an ERA anywhere under 5, that'd be alright, I suppose.
*Liriano's surgery is good news. Because that means it's gonna get fixed.
I'm kind of pissed the Twins didn't decide on surgery right away, but I'd be even more upset if they went all the way to spring training thinking the ligament in his elbow was going to somehow magically regenerate all by itself. The Twins '07 chances obviously take a big hit without him, but he's the most precious arm in the bigs, and getting him fixed long term is more important.
*Anyone catch the Gopher mens basketball team getting beat by Winona State the other day? Nice. Might as well sign Monson to an extension, too.
It's been a long time since Gopher football and mens' bball have both been so bad at the same time.
* Not much better for the T-Wolves. After winning their first two, they've gone back to being a lifeless team with no direction, no identity. 2nd round draft pick Craig Smith has been a pleasant surprise, but new point guard Mike James hasn't done anything. Might want to go out and catch a game at Target Center this year, because it'll probably be your last chance to see Kevin Garnett in a Wolves uniform.
*Thank God for the Wild. They're 11-4, even with top scorer Marion Gaborik injured for much of the early going. The Wild look like a lock for the playoffs, and if they can get and stay healthy, could compete for a division title, which would guarantee them at least a 3-seed.
I never thought the Wild would become my second favorite team, but that's how bad the Vikings and Wolves have gotten.

Blow it out your Eckstein

Okay, I officially hate the baseball playoffs.
While it actually takes considerable skill, talent, consistency, intelligence, durability, and like a zillion other things to be one of the 8 best teams over a 162 game span, that all goes to shit in the playoffs, when any piece of shit team (Hello, St. Louis) or over, over, over, overrated lame-ass shortstop (Eckstein, David) can deliver a championship.
The St. Louis Cardinals went 83-79 this year. So they were something like the 14th best team in baseball.
And they are World Series champions.
I'm not saying it isn't fair - it's completely fair. The Yankees, Twins, Tigers, A's and Mets were all better teams, and they had every opportunity and blew it.
(And just for the record, the White Sox, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Angels are probably better than St. Louis, too. And maybe Seattle, Texas, Baltimore and Cleveland. Perhaps Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Montreal)
This is just hard to take. A .500 team won the World Series, and Doogie Howser won the MVP.
Brilliant.

Busy, Tired

I'd like to have written more in this space lately, but I am, well...see above.
One thing I know is that weeknights suck without a Twins game to watch.
I'm barely paying attention to the World Series.
A couple random thoughts:
*Kenny Rogers was cheating, but it was still not that big a deal. A little pine tar on the hand? BFD. There's a saying in baseball - if you aint' cheatin you ain't tryin.
*Vikings better, still unimpressive.
*The Wild are 8-1. They look like one of the best teams in the NHL. Too bad I am one of four people in South Dakota that care.
*Francisco Liriano - in case you hadn't heard, had another setback. Here's an early prediction for 2007. Liriano doesn't pitch an inning. He'll end up having Tommy John surgery, which I thought he should've had the minute he walked off the mound in his last start.

Looking back, looking ahead, Pt. 2

This week, the pitchers.
Johan Santana (19-6, 2.77, 245 K's)
If there weren't such a large percentage of Cy Young voters who are stupid enough to base their vote simply on wins (the one stat pitchers have the least control over) Santana would be about to win his 3rd straight Cy Young award. As it is, he'll settle for 2 out of 3.
He's a dependable workhorse, the very definition of an ace.
Brad Radke (12-9, 4.32)
After a horrible start, Radke was outstanding from June through August, then battled through semi-serious injuries to contribute in September. He has indicated that he will retire, though no announcement has been made. I still have a hunch that Radke hasn't pitched his last game, but with the injuries he had to pitch through this year, he'd probably have to take 2007 off even if he wants to come back.
Don't expect to see Radke in '07, but don't be surprised if he resurfaces in 2008, either with the Twins or perhaps the Devil Rays.
Carlos Silva (11-15, 5.94)
It's tough to lose 15 games on a team that only lost 66 all year, but Silva stunk. A few times he appeared to have things under control, then he'd go right back to stinking.
The Twins have until the end of the World Series to decide if they want to pick up his $4 million option. I don't think I'd do it. And if I did, I'd look to trade him.
He's still got some value, as he's young, has a strong arm, can eat up innings, and before 2006 he was coming off a couple of excellent seasons.
Boof Bonser (7-6, 4.22)
After a couple of call-ups with mixed results, Boof was an ace in his third (and permanent) stint with the Twins.
He also pitched six strong innings in Game 2 of the ALDS, further evidence that he's ready to be a key cog in the rotation.
He doesn't have particularly overwhelming stuff - a low 90's fastball and a decent curve, but he really seemed to learn how to pitch, attacking hitters and throwing strikes.
I don't think Boof will ever be a true No. 1, but a Kevin Tapani-type career looks like a possibility.
Still, don't be surprised if he has some sophomore struggles next year. Pitchers always do.
Francisco Liriano (12-3, 2.16)
The biggest question mark in the organization. The Twins seem determined to avoid surgery, but I have my doubts about whether he can make a 100% recovery without it.
If he's healthy, though, he's the most unhittable pitcher alive.
Scott Baker (5-8, 6.37)
As bad in '06 as he was excellent in '05.
But he has good stuff, and still showed some flashes of what he's capable of, especially in a couple starts against the Yankees.
I think he can be a solid No. 3, maybe even one day a No. 2. But he won't have a spot handed to him in '07.
Matt Garza (3-6, 5.76)
Touted as a future No. 1, but his stuff is nowhere near as good as Liriano or Santana's.
Still, the minor league numbers are hard to ignore, and Garza held his own pretty well for a guy who started the year in A-ball.
Will likely begin next year in the rotation.
Glen Perkins (0-0, 1.59)
Looked great in a brief call-up, earning a spot on the postseason roster. He has a great shot to make the club next year, either as a starter or reliever.
Mike Smith (0-0, 12.00)
Never should've been called up, even for one start. Decent minor league filler, I suppose.
Dave Gassner (DNP)
Also minor league filler, might be able to fill a bullpen spot one day. Removed from 40-man roster, so someone else could pick him up.
JD Durbin (DNP)
Had a fine season in Triple-A, vaulting himself back onto the team's radar. Will be given a look next spring.
Beau Kemp (DNP)
Also made a nice minor league comeback, also will get a look.
Errol Simonitsch (DNP)
A big lefty who had a decent year in the minors. Will compete in spring training, but likely begin season at Triple-A.
Kevin Slowey (DNP)
The next big prospect after Liriano and Garza. Had a huge year in the minors.
Will likely begin '07 in Triple-A.
Matt Guerrier (1-0, 3.36) An excellent long-relief/mop-up guy, who can also spot start. Guerrier is not an elite level reliever despite his excellent statistics. He thrives because he is used properly. As long as he's cheap, the Twins will keep him around.
Willie Eyre (1-0, 5.31) Had his moments, but ultimately was unimpressive in his rookie season. Ironically, he only pitched in one meaningful situation all year long - the extra inning game at Chicago - and he picked up the win with two shutout (and very gutty) innings. At best, he'll be back in the same role next year. At worst, they'll find someone else and he'll be back in Triple-A.
Juan Rincon (3-1, 2.91) Struggled late, but wasn't at 100% health. I still think he's the best set-up guy in baseball when healthy. Could start if he had to. However, I wouldn't be shocked to see him in trade talks.
Jesse Crain (4-5, 3.52) Crain isn't as bad as Twins fans paint him to be, he just seems bad in comparison to the rest of the outstanding bullpen. He's a good second-tier setup guy, and could probably be a decent second-tier closer somewhere, which is why he also could be part of trade talks.
Pat Neshek (4-2, 2.19) Sidearm guys are an enigma. Neshek was unhittable for a long stretch after his call-up, but was only average down the stretch. Still, he's locked into the pen for next year, and will most likely have another solid season.
Denny Reyes (5-0, 0.89) Where the hell did this come from? I would argue that Reyes' 2006 season was the most unlikely performance in the entire major leagues. A 0.89 ERA? Are you kidding me? Reyes gave up a homer in Seattle (I can't remember who hit it) way back on June 8, the day the Twins famously dropped to 25-33. The next day they began their 71-33 run that took them to the division title, and Reyes' emergence seemed to coincide.
Let's get one thing straight. There is absolutely no way Reyes will repeat this performance next year. It's almost impossible.
But he's still better than JC Romero.
Joe Nathan (7-0, 1.58) The best closer in baseball. Period.
He blew two saves, and the Twins won both of those games. Some have suggested trading Nathan, arguing that closers are essentially a dime a dozen. In some cases that's true, because a lot of slightly-above average pitchers (Huston Street, Todd Jones, Eddie Guardado, Bob Wickman) become pretty good closers. But Nathan is elite. He shouldn't be traded unless someone like Miguel Cabrera or Alex Rodriguez becomes part of the discussion.

Looking back, looking ahead

There was kind of a feeling all season that anything the Twins did in 2006 was a bonus.
They started so slowly, and didn't figure out who they were until June, which led most fans, including myself, to start drooling at the thought of what next year could be like with a fresh start.
With most of the Twins core set to return, here's a look at each player - what they did in '06 and their prospects for '07.
Position players first, pitchers later.
Catchers
Joe Mauer (.347-13-84)
The best catcher in the game. Won the batting title, posted a .429 on-base percentage and was excellent behind the plate. He slumped a little in the second half, and seemed to come up empty in key spots regularly down the stretch. He hit into 24 double plays, third most in the AL.
I still think he'll hit more homers, but in the meantime he might be better suited batting second.
Mike Redmond (.341-0-23)
The best backup catcher in the game. He hit .341 while usually (and ridiculously) batting 3rd in the order. Not as good as Mauer defensivley but still solidly above average. Has been a valuable clubhouse presence as well.
Chris Heintz (0-for 1 at-bat)
A pretty good minor league catcher, he's in the wrong organization if he wants to play in the big leagues.
Infield
Justin Morneau (.321-34-130)
Unless this year was a fluke, and I don't believe it was, Morneau appears to be the best all-around Twins hitter since Kirby Puckett. He has few weaknesses, can hit for power and average, uses the whole field, and never tries to do too much. How many times did he come up to bat in a situation where everyone was waiting for him to go deep, only to see him lace a single to left-field? That's the sign of a great hitter. Hopefully he gets locked up for a long time.
Nick Punto (.290-1-45)
The surprise of the team, Punto posted a .352 on-base percentage and was as good in the field as any Twins 3B since Gary Gaetti.
Having said that, I have doubts about whether he can do it again. He slumped considerably down the stretch and looked exposed in the playoffs. Gardy has already said he wants Punto to be the everday 3B next year, but I'd rather see him take on a utility role, where he can get plenty of starts at both 2B and SS to give Luis Castillo and Jason Bartlett a rest.
Jason Bartlett (.309-2-32)
Bartlett showed signs of being a future All-Star, finally earning Gardy's trust. He was excellent in the field and shows lots of good habits at the plate. He started 99 straight games after getting called up, and I think giving Punto 15 starts at short next year would help keep Bartlett fresh.
Fatigue may have been a factor in Bartlett's embarrassing performance in the ALDS.
Luis Castillo (.296-3-49)
Castillo gave the Twins perhaps a little less than what they hoped for, but he was still quite good. He has good at-bats and despite looking like a tin-man at times, actually has great range at 2B.
He has one year left on his contract, and his tenure as a Twin will be over after that. I wouldn't mind seeing the Twins trade him and move Punto to second, because I just don't trust Castillo's knees. I wouldn't be shocked if he missed 50 games due to injuries next year. Much like Shannon Stewart of the last couple years, he doesn't appear to have much left physically.
Luis Rodriguez (.235-2-6)
The guy spent the entire season on the active roster and had six RBI. He played in 59 games and had 115 at-bats. Granted the Twins were in must-win mode for pretty much the last 100 games of the season, but I still think he should've played a little more. He's a pretty decent utility IF, but he can't be the only utility guy, because he's not much of a SS.
Alexi Casilla (.250-0-0)
He got a brief taste of the bigs in a September call-up, and will likely open next season as the starting 2B at Rochester, with the idea of taking over for Castillo in 2008. He looks like he has some promise.
Terry Tiffee (.244-2-6)
A perfect example of first-impressions going a long way. In his ML debut in 2004 Tiffee had two hits, including a game-winning double, and two days later hit a walk-off game winning homer off (guess who) Dennys Reyes. Fans have vastly overrated him ever since. The reality is he sucks, and the Twins removed him from their 40-man roster this week. If someone claims him off waivers they'll get him, otherwise he'll probably spend all of next year in Rochester.
Phil Nevin (.190-1-4)
He didn't do much after the Twins acquired him, though he did hit a total of 23 homers on the year. I wouldn't mind having him as a veteran pinch-hitter and emergency 1B/C/3B, but he probably wants to move on, and the Twins will surely accomodate him.
Outfielders
Torii Hunter (.278-31-98)
Back for another year, and if he stays healthy expect another season hitting around .270 with 25-30 homers. The question is his defense, which ranged from poor to average most of last season. Torii's on the wrong side of 30, and when Kirby Puckett hit that age he moved to RF. Something to think about.
Michael Cuddyer (.284-24-109)
Exactly what you want in a corner outfielder. Good bat with power, strong arm, dependable glove. Hopefully the Twins lock him up.
Rondell White (.246-7-38)
Probably not worth the risk. He was great once he got healthy, but he'd be almost certain to get hurt again next year. Plus he's a poor defensive outfielder, and Gardy refuses to DH him.
Jason Kubel (.241-8-26)
He can flat out hit, evidenced by a white-hot streak in June where he appeared poised to really break out. But his knees started bothering him again and he tapered off badly.
There are questions about his commitment, due largely to the fact that he's in terrible shape. He'll never be an OF, but if he can get into better shape he'd be a great DH.
Shannon Stewart (.293-2-21)
The same smooth and efficient lead-off man he ever was, but it's clear that he'll never be healthy. The Twins won't even consider bringing him back, and it's possible he'll retire.
Lew Ford (.226-4-18)
No amount of Lewwwwww chants can hide the fact that Ford's career has, for the last two seasons, plummeted like an elevator with a broken suspension cord. He went from .299-15-72 to .264-7-52 to .226-4-18. Though he's still an excellent defensive OF, there is little reason to consider bringing him back.
Jason Tyner (.312-0-18)
A major part of the '06 team's success, but not a good candidate to play every day next year. The .312 average is deceptive - he rarely walks and almost all of his hits are singles - but he's still a better option off the bench than Ford.
Josh Rabe (.286-3-7)
If the Twins want to keep 5 outfielders, not counting Kubel, Rabe probably makes the team. Otherwise he's a career minor leaguer. Not good enough defensively to be a valuable bench player.

Another year of this guy

And that's a good thing.
The Twins picked up Hunter's 2007 option, which means they will pay him $12 million for one season.
I don't think bringing Hunter back for $12 million is exactly a great move, but I like it better than the alternatives. This team will have a great shot at a World Series next year, and Hunter could be a big part of it.
Hunter's glove declined considerably this year, and his ill-fated dive in Game 2 of the ALDS effectively ended the team's season.
But had the Twins let him walk (which still would've cost them $2.5 million) they'd be left with either a Lew Ford/Jason Tyner platoon in center, or they'd be sifting through a free-agent market of second-tier CF's.
Hunter earned this contract with his September hitting (.314, 9 HR), and with Mauer, Morneau and Cuddyer in front of him he's a better hitter.
He's also a great clubhouse guy, and one of my (and many Twins fans) personal favorites.
He wants a long-term deal, and whether or not the Twins offer him one will likely depend on how healthy he is next year. If he's a below average defensive CF again, it will likely be his last year with the team.

'06 - Just the Beginning

That's the hope at least. That the Twins postseason failures can be shrugged off for the fact that almost the entire core of the team is still young, and the prospects for improvement, particularly with an entire season without Tony Batista and Juan Castro, are good.
Still, let's forget about that for a minute and appreciate something.
2006 was an amazing season.
It's certainly disappointing to have seen it end so soon, but the journey from 25-33 to division champs was an amazing one.
I predicted the Twins would win the division before the season, though I didn't quite envision it playing out the way it did.
(And just to brag a little, I also predicted that the Tigers would be the surprise team of the AL, that Cleveland would be a disappointment, and that Justin Morneau would hit 34 homeruns - you can look it up in the archives if you either dont believe me or are a total loser)

Youth is served
When the season began, many were basing their predictions on the Twins on their opinions of the additions of Rondell White, Tony Batista and Luis Castillo.
I was excited about the additions of White and Castillo, and though I didn't like the Batista signing, I held out hope that he might at least hit some homers.
But what people were missing was that the Twins fortunes had less to do with those three and more to do with the potential of Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and perhaps Michael Cuddyer, Jason Bartlett and Jason Kubel.
Mauer's season (.347, 13, 84) didn't surprise me. Neither did Morneau's 34 homers or Cuddyer's 24 homers.
What definitley surprised me was Morneau's .321 average, and Cuddyer's 109 RBIs. Not to mention Torii Hunter's 31 homers, Bartlett's emergence, and Nick Punto inexplicably turning himself into a useful player.
Failed experiments
For the first three months of the year, Rondell White wasn't good enough to play for the Canaries. And to be honest, Batista and Castro probably weren't either.
No one could've predicted Punto would become the player he did, but the whole Castro-Bartlett thing was shameful.
This team might've won 105 games if they hadn't wasted their time with these three. Though in the second half, White was pretty much the same guy he always has been in the past. His resurgence made the fade-off of Jason Kubel less harmful.
Bad pitching
For the first two months, the Twins strength, starting pitching, was bad.
Carlos Silva, Brad Radke, Kyle Lohse and Scott Baker were all terrible.
Radke got on track and pitched like a Cy Young candidate from June through August.
Lohse was traded for a prospect, Baker was mostly horrible with just a few good outings, and Silva was inconsistent but mostly bad.
This contributed to the team's rough start, though it should be pointed out that when Batista and Castro were replaced with Punto and Bartlett, the pitching got noticably better.
A magical run
In early June, they started winning every damn day. They made it look easy.
11 in a row, 20 out of 21. In the time it took them to lose their first 33 games, they won 25 times. In the time it took for their next 33 losses, they won 71 times. And amazingly caught the Tigers for their 4th division title in 5 years.
I pick on Ron Gardenhire a lot, and he deserves it a lot. But this season was a reminder that managers are not made by their strategizing; anyone can do that (except for maybe Gardy). What makes a manager is his ability to communicate, manage personalities, run a clubhouse, and instill a winning, confident, upbeat and positive attitude.
Gardy did that and then some. To will a team from 25-33 to 96-66 takes leadership of the highest level.
Still the best
As in Johan, Joe Nathan and Juan Rincon.
Johan will win his 2nd Cy Young award, as he won the pitching triple crown. I think my favorite stat in regards to the Twins is this: Johan led the team with 47 walks. I dont mean led the team as in that was the fewest walks - that was the most. 47 walks in 34 starts, and it was the most anyone on the team allowed. In 162 games, Twins pitchers walked 356 batters, while striking out 1,146. That's, umm....good.
Joe Nathan only had 36 saves because the Twins won so many games by more than three runs, but he had probably his best season.
In 68 innings he had 95 K's and went 7-0 with a 1.58 ERA. He blew only two saves, and the Twins came back to win both of those games anyway. When was the last time a closer went undefeated?
Surprise!
We already mentioned Punto. He had always, always sucked, and suddenly, he was good.
But he wasn't the only one.
Jason Tyner hitting .312?
Dennys Reyes - 0.89?
Boof Bonser becoming the No. 2 starter?
Pat Neshek? Without these guys playing seemingly over their heads, the Twins dont win the division.
And that kind of sums up the season. It didn't make sense. Didn't add up.
At times what was going on was literally unbelieveable.
But history will remember them as the 2006 American League Central Division Champions, and that's something that I didn't believe I'd see until the day I saw it become official with my own eyes.
Thanks Twins, for one hell of a year.

2006 Minnesota Twins Leaders
Batting
Games: Morneau 157
At-bats: Morneau 592
Avg: Mauer .347*
Runs: Cuddyer 102
Hits: Morneau 190
Doubles: Cuddyer 41
Triples: Punto 7
Homers: Morneau 34
RBI: Morneau 130
Steals: Castillo 25
Walks: Mauer 79
Strikeouts: Cuddyer 130
GIDP: Mauer 24
SLG: Morneau .559
OBP: Mauer .429
Hit Streak: Punto 19

Pitching:
Games: Rincon 75
Starts: Santana 34*
Innings: Santana 233.2*
Wins: Santana 19*
Losses: Silva 15
K's: Santana 245*
ERA: Reyes 0.89** (lowest in team history)
ERA (162 innings+): Santana 2.77*
Saves: Nathan 36
Hits/9 inn: Santana 7.16*
K's/9 inn: Santana 9.44*

*Led League
**Led all relievers with 50+ innings

Ain't That a Bitch

I suppose I should be happy that the Tigers beat the Yankees, but I'm not really.
I'm just jealous. And pissed. We could be playing Detroit for a World Series berth with home field advantage. But we played like ass for three straight games.
I thought Detroit would get run over in three straight after the way they finished the regular season.
As it turned out, that was probably the best thing that could've happened to them.
Judging by the way Verlander, Bonderman and the Gambler all pitched, the Tigers are my favorite to win the World Series.
I'll try to convince myself to pull for them, given that they came from the Twins division, a division we blabbed all year about being baseball's best.
But to see the World Series champ come out of our division two years in a row...that would hurt pretty bad, too.

Didn't See This Coming

Who would've thought it would end this way?
This is what we saw this season:
*Justin Morneau - .321-34-130.
*Joe Mauer - .347 -1st AL catcher to ever win the batting title.
*Torii Hunter - 31 homers.
*Cuddyer - .284-24-109.
*Johan - 19-6, 2.77, 245 K's, the pitching triple crown.
*Liriano - 12-3, 2.16
*Joe Nathan - 1.58, 36/38.
*Bradke - the comeback.
*Nick Punto - actually became a good player.
*Jason Tyner - ditto.
*Jason Bartlett - the next Michael Young.
*Rondell White - the resurrection.
*Boof.
*One day in first place - the last day.
And after all that, the Twins season lasted a whole five days longer than the Kansas City Royals' did. A sweep. An ass-whupping. An embarrassing performance.
Everything went wrong.
The Twins were outhit, outpitched, outfielded, outbaserunned, outmanaged, outclassed.
It was ugly.
I think we learned that the Piranhas aren't actually that dangerous, and that Joe Mauer has to start hitting some more gappers to be a true No. 3 hitter. We learned that Torii Hunter has lost a step, maybe two, in centerfield, and we learned that the bullpen is human.
The Twins can tip their hat to the A's and say they simply got beat, and that is true. The A's played very well, and there is no shame in losing to them.
But that discounts the fact that the Twins didn't only lose because they couldn't hit in the clutch. They lost because they couldn't make plays in the field, they took poor at-bats, they failed to get down bunts and advance runners, and they made poor decisions on the bases and in the field. They simply weren't themselves when it mattered most.
It was a remarkable season, and 20 years from now, I'll remember that Sunday regular season finale a lot more vividly than I will the ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the A's.
I loved this team, and I am extremely confident that it will be one of the best teams in baseball again next year.
Only six more months to go.

We Need a Hero

Okay, yeah, I hate the Yankees and everything, but watching Game 1 of the Yanks-Tigers series, it became clear.
Derek Jeter is the MVP.
Not Johan Santana.
Not Justin Morneau.
And definitely not Joe Mauer.
Jeter went 5-for-5 in Game 1 of that series, with two singles, two doubles and a homerun.
Yes, Jeter's skills as a shortstop are overrated, and if Jeter made the catch Punto made in Game 1, it'd be on SportsCenter every five seconds for the next 25 years.
But for fucks sake the guy went 5-for-5!
That is what MVP's do in the playoffs. They don't go 1-for-3 with a two-out, bases empty single.
If the Twins are going to snap out of this postseason funk, whether it be in this series against Oakland, or in the future (I'm fairly confident they'll return to the postseason a few more times in the next decade), they need their marquee players to step up the way Jeter does for the Yankees.
Kirby Puckett did it. Jack Morris did it, too.
I am in no way suggesting it's Johan Santana's fault the Twins lost Game 1, but hey, the guy could've pitched a shutout. Barry Zito was better than him that day.
The scary thing about this generation of Twins is that we're getting used to them going in the tank when it matters most.
Who among us was surprised that Zito shut them down?
Who was surprised to see Torii Hunter make the most bone-headed play in the Metrodome since Lonnie Smith?
Who is surprised that Nick Punto, Jason Tyner, Jason Bartlett and Luis Castillo don't scare anyone in the playoffs?
If there is any good news, its that there is maybe one guy on the Twins roster with a bona fide history of sacking up, and that is the man taking the mound Friday night - Brad Radke.
If he was 100% healthy, I'd be completely confident he will win, and even with his shoulder issues, I still have a good feeling about Game 3. As unclutch as the Twins have been in this series, they are still a team with a lot of fight in them, and a team that overcame a lot to get here. They won't just roll over in Game 3.
And if they win Game 3, Santana would likely take the mound for Game 4. Could the A's beat him twice in one series?
And if not, can Boof beat Zito back at the Dome in Game 5?
For all that to fall into place for the Twins, someone, check that several guys, are going to have to man up.
I don't mean working the count for a walk, or singling to the opposite field with two outs and nobody on.
I mean going 3-for-4 or 4-for-5, I mean a two-out bases loaded double, I mean pitching a shutout.
That's what MVPs do.
Let's see if we have any.

Unforgiveable

I don't have the time or energy to go into much depth about Game 2.
I just left the Twins clubhouse and I think I'm more bummed than they are.
Let's just say that I still love Torii Hunter, but that was an absolutely unforgivable, horrendous decision he made in diving for that ball.
In a tight-game, a must win game, the team that makes a mistake loses. We made the mistake.
A big one.
A huge one.
Can they come back?
I doubt it.
And yeah, we've doubted them before, and yeah, they've come back a million times already, but the odds have never been stacked against them quite like this.

Down Again

Suprised?
I'm not.
Barry Zito is pretty good. So is Johan, but he was rusty early, and it cost them.
Through the first couple innings, there wasn't a major difference in velocity between the fastball and the changeup, and the fastball was barely reaching 90. That may have been how Frank Thomas was able to muscle a changeup over the fence even after being fooled, and how light-hitting Marco Scutaro was able to get Johan for a huge two out RBI double.
But Johan got hot, and the game briefly became very tense and exciting.
Rondell White hit a homer, and the Twins put together a couple of threats. Bartlett leads off the 8th with a double, but Luis Castillo failed to bunt him over, which was huge, as the Twins ended up failing to score.
Justin Morneau was crushing the ball all day and had no hits to show for it.
Zito was good, but he was also lucky.
I'm guessing you're probably as baffled as me as to why Gardy chose to bring in Jesse Crain in the ninth, over, say, Rincon, Reyes, Neshek, Nathan, Guerrier or Perkins (in other words, anybody).
Gardy's answer was that Crain has been the best of that group lately, and he wanted to go with the hot hand.
But I would argue that just because Jesse Crain had a lower ERA than Neshek or Rincon in September doesn't make him a better option.
Rincon, and to a lesser extent, Neshek, have been the money guys all year, wheras Crain has been solid, but by no means money.
But the loss really isn't Crain's fault.
From a caught-stealing, a failed bunt, to just bad situational hitting and even a couple errors, the Twins just didn't play very well.
The good news is they've been counted out a million times already this season, so being down again isn't the end of the world.
They just have to win 3 out of 4 now, two of them in Oakland.