August 11

Linds and I spent the day at school. She helped out at v-ball camp while I was getting more stuff ready in my room. In the afternoon, she helped me put stuff up on the walls and even made me a poster. I'll have to take some pictures and put them up as soon as I get the rest of the posters laminated and on the wall.

Some thoughts from the past few days...

• I really hope anyone who is reading this is finding time to watch the Olympics live rather than just seeing highlights here and there. Watching that 4X100 freestyle swim and come from behind to win was absolutely incredible. Even right now as I type I'm watching the men's team gymnastics finals. It really gives you a sense of national pride...

• Glad to see the Twins come back after dropping the final game of the Royals series to take Game 1 from the Yanks. I see Perkins had a little extra motivation after the birth of his baby girl this past weekend. Even Adam Everett, after a huge throwing error on Sunday, comes back with a 2-run bomb to start the scoring on Monday.

• The good news about Livan Hernandez' return to the NL with his start for the Rockies against San Diego on Sunday? His manager still believes in him...somehow. A quote by Rockies manager Clint Hurdle..."His command wasn't sharp...he wasn't able to throw quality strikes on either edge, and the balls were hit hard." He went on to say that his ineffectiveness was a result of not pitching for 12 days. Just profound, an absolutely out of this world description about the game's best batting practice hurler.

• Well, the Five-Tool Performer gave Wrigley17 a run for the money but came up just 1 point short of the league title. An RBI single by D-Lee in the Cubs/Cards game Sunday night put him over the top. I now move on to the underdog bracket, where ending up with one of the top two teams is practically impossible. A formidible start thus far on Monday, scoring 30 points with Rollins getting 2 more AB's before his game is over. I'll have to average around 40 points a day to even have a chance. I had two players (Kinsler & A. Ramirez) with the day off, which is why I'm not reaching my 40-point goal. (Or so I tell myself)

Well, its back to school tomorrow, putting lessons together, figuring out the workings of the 8th grade retreat, and making my room somewhat inviting...

Updates

Just wanted to give a few updates...

• We've moved into out new place, Linds has a link to pictures of our place on her blog, which I have a link to on the right-hand side of the page. It's a pretty nice place, although we haven't been out alot to really enjoy living in a city. We know its a city because there's a lock to get into the building, and two more to get into our condo. We see planes flying overhead, which isn't weird I guess, except now you can see which airline it is and even this picture I took the other day...

• My fantasy baseball team, Five Tool Performer, continues its bid for the $10k prize, although I don't have quite the confidence as I did last week. After winning my semifinal match 288-216 last week and moving on to take on the #1 seed in the league, I find myself trailing by 32 points with two days left to play. Last week I outscored my opponent by an average of 10 points a day, so I really need to pick it up or be forced to enter the loser's bracket. As I write this, Jimmy Rollins is 4-4 with two triples, so he's pulling his weight. I'll definitely be watching for the Rays to mop up on the Mariners tonight too...I would love to see a shutout by former Twin Matt Garza...

• If you didn't get to watch the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics on Friday night, you missed one amazing show. I can honestly say it was nothing like I've ever seen before. I wanted to try and describe it, but I seriously can't find the words...

• For anyone looking to add to their daily blogroll, I would recommend checking out Brian Duensing's blog. He's a AAA pitcher in the Twins organization who is playing for the U.S.A Olympic baseball team. I'm hoping that he continually updates, his first two entries have been pretty good.

• For any of you who know me fairly well, you know that my favorite ball player is Doug Mientkiewicz. There's a number of reasons why, but if you watch him play, its pretty much because he plays the game right in my eyes. Anyway, after seeing limited playing time since leaving the Twins in 2004, he's finally found a place in the lineup in Pittsburgh. And I put lineup because its been a somewhat role reversal for Doug this year. With Minnesota, he was a Gold-Glove firstbaseman, who was average at the plate. This year, while putting up typical Doug-like numbers offensively, hasn't been able to find a regular spot in the field. Here are his games by position and fielding % for each:

3B- 30 G, 5 errors in 77 chances (.935 %)
1B- 26 G, 0 errors in 215 chances (1.000 %)
RF- 9 G, 0 errors in 17 chances (1.000 %)

• I guess when you play for the Pirates and your batting average is 2nd on the team at .286 behind Ryan Doumit's .336, the manager finds a position for you.

Well...that's all for now...

July 30

I listened to the last inning and a half of the Twins game last night on the way home from our fastpitch game in Steen. I expected to hear news about what the Twins did with Adam Everett, but heard nothing. I read today that they first designated him for assignment, then changed their minds when Casilla went on the DL with a torn tendon in his finger. I've read that its the same injury that Matt Tolbert suffered in May, and he's still not back. Hopefully its not as bad.

On many of the blogs I read, they have campaigns to "free" a player, or in other words, let them play in an everyday role. For example, Aaron Gleeman had a "Free Jason Kubel" campaign earlier this season (April 1). I've seen a couple others, but like an amateur writer/blogger, its not my job to remember everything, is it? Anyways, I am going to propose my own "Free" campaign..."Free Alejandro Machado!"

Machado was picked by the Twins in the 2006 Rule 5 draft, but tore his labrum during Spring Training in 2007, and was out for the entire season after surgery. Since coming back from the DL this season, he has hit .333 in 23 games with an OPS of .829. Although he hasn't showed it this season, he has averaged 22 SB's a season in his 9 minor league seasons.

I realize that the case study isn't that great, but using the Minor League Equivalency Factor, that gives him a line of .293/.301/.419. Now I'm no rocket scientist, but I know that those stats are far superior to Adam Everett's. I don't want to undermine the thinking of the one and only Bill Smith on this one...wait, yes I do...but Everett better be either picking up right where Casilla left off, hitting over .300 or be laying out for balls heading to Canada or he'll be calling Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens for job-searching info.

Another update on the Five-Tool Performer's bid for $10k... After two days of play in the league playoffs, FTP holds an astonishing 52 point advantage over WWC. Biggest reason: the pitching staffs. My Rays hold a 31-4 point advantage over his White Sox.

If you made it through all those numbers and all those terms...don't you just feel the least bit more intelligent, a smidge smarter, even a little enlightened??

Maybe you just can't believe that this guy's going to be teaching a fantasy sports class to 8th graders this fall...

If I were GM...

I see a note on ESPN that Buster Olney thinks that Adam Everett would be a good fit for the Dodgers at SS, now that Nomar is out for a bit. LA has a great bullpen...maybe we could get one of their five relievers with a sub 3.00 ERA? I'm thinking maybe Cory Wade is a possibility?

Another note worth watching...LaTroy Hawkins was released by the Yankees. The Twins need bullpen help...would he be a help?

Notes: July 28

-The Iowa High School Baseball Tourney wrapped up last weekend. The only reason I bring this up is to mention the play of B.J. Hermsen, the 6th round pick of the Twins in this year's draft. Here's his line for West Delaware's 3A 13-0 win over Cedar Rapids Xavier:

CG 5 IP 3 H 0 ER 0 BB 12 K

also...

3-4 R 5 RBI including a 3-run HR

He came in relief against Centerville in the semifinal round, throwing 1 1/3 IP, striking out 3, but West Delaware's season ended in a 2-0 loss.

-Shooter Hunt was promoted to Class A Beloit and started on the 26th against Wisconsin:
5 IP 3 H 1 ER 2 BB 9 K
He ended up on the short end of a 1-0 game, however, picking up his first minor league decision.

-I may need to apologize to Denard Span for reaching my earlier conclusion that he was the odd man out in the OF battle. He has now emerged to be more of an asset than Gomez, given Carlos' recent slump. Since June 30 when Span was called up, Gomez has hit .184 with a .282 on-base %. The speedy CF has also shown no signs of the early speed, having only gone 1-2 in SB attempts in that same time frame.

-Many people (hopefully more than just me) have had questions about why can't the Twins send down Boof to AAA and bring up Liriano, or why is Liriano's agent having a fit because Francisco is still in the minors. Well, I found this website that explains things pretty good, and its to the point as well. If anything doesn't make sense, feel free to ask me, not that I know the answers, but I'll definitely enjoy figuring it out.

-I found a page on the Rule 5 draft that takes place during the winter meetings. I thought it was interesting to see how some rules are put in place to maintain balance in the league. Basically the Rule 5 draft is in place to keep teams from hoarding minor league talent. In many cases, one team may have a stockpile of players that aren't quite as good as the guys ahead of them in the organization, but are good enough to play for another team. Take Johan Santana for example...he was a member of the Astros organization and was left off the 40-man roster at the end of the 1999 season, which opened the door for the Marlins to pick him in the '99 Rule 5 draft. They then traded him to the Twins, who, by law had to keep him on the 25-man roster (big-league team) all of 2000 in order to keep him. Although his stats that season were less than impressive (2-3, 6.49 ERA, 64/54 K/BB), by having him up all year gave the Twins complete rights to him, so they sent him to the minors for more seasoning. He was a huge contributer to the Twins 2003 success, going 12-3 with a 3.07 ERA and 169 K's in 158 1/3 IP.

-Today, the Twins need to decide what to do with Adam Everett, who's rehab assignment is done. They either need to re-evaluate him back to the DL, bring him up (releasing someone), or release him. Personally, I choose the latter of the three.

-Finally, a update on the Fantasy Season for Five-Tool Performer, my 2008 MLB.com Open team. A heartbreaking loss last week...didn't see it coming. I had a 20-point lead going into the last day. I check it this morning and I lost by 10. Somehow I was outscored by 30 points on the last day. As humiliating as it was, it didn't hurt my playoff chances. I made the postseason tournament as the wild-card team. If I put up the same stats as I did last week in my loss, I should be alright though. He's got Jose Reyes and Justin Morneau as his studs that I need to look out for, along with the ChiSox pitching staff. I'm countering with Ian Kinsler, Grady Sizemore and the Rays pitching staff. I like my chances. (Plus he won't get any points for having Matsui still on his lineup, as he's on the DL...shhhh!)

BRING ON YOUR BEST "WEWE'S CABBAGE"!!!

So long for now...

Tidbits

I'm not sure what it is about Fantasy Baseball that gets me excited. I assume is somewhat similar to people who bet on games, races, or anything else under the sun. I think it makes it more exciting to watch, knowing that you have a (somewhat) personal connection to something you wouldn't normally have. For what other purpose would I daily watch the box scores of Yadier Molina and Ramon Hernandez, trying to squeeze every point I can from my catcher position? And why else would I be worried about having two pitching staffs from the same division (Blue Jays and Rays) because they'll both have to face the Yankees and Red Sox lineups down the stretch?

Only in Fantasy Baseball.

Normally I just compete in the Yahoo Sports leagues, but this year I decided to make an MLB.com Fantasy Open team. After not paying too much attention for the first half of the season, I've gotten into it a little more over the last month, especially when I realized that the grand prize is $10,000, and someone has to win it. Even the final 32 teams in the tournament get $100 to the MLB.com store, which I decided would go a long way in decorating the future Twins room in the house.

I'll probably keep updating my chances of coming out on top, but here's where I stand right now:

I'm 11-5 in my division, 1 game behind the 1st place team who I just beat last week, and tied with another team, who is my opponent this week. I have more points overall than any of the top three teams, so in the case of a tiebreaker, I win. This is the last week of competition, and I need to win and have the leader lose to gain a postseason playoff berth. If I don't get in that way, I still make it to the postseason because I already have the 2800 points needed to automatically qualify (I'm at 3417).

Not that most people care...I'm just a little excited.


Twins notes:

We went to the game on Saturday vs. the Rangers where the Twins dominated 14-2. I can't wait for the day when I go to a game and nothing goes wrong. The backup of traffic on 35 started earlier than I expected and we were in stop and go with 30 miles to the Dome. Thanks to some quick navigational skills, we made a slight detour only to find more construction. We made it to the HHH at the same time the downpour did, which thankfully scared off enough fans for us to still get our Delmon Young bobbleheads. After driving around through Minnesota's 10,001st lake, and our 3rd parking spot in the same lot, we swam through the newly formed sea 4 blocks back to the gate.

And what do you know...the game was right on time, even with all the rain. Who would've thought that a roof on a baseball stadium in Minnesota would be such a good idea?

For those of you who don't faithfully check the Twins minor league stats, I'll give you a bit of an update on some of this year's draft picks. Here are the stats of the players for Rounds 1-10:

Aaron Hicks: .317 AVG 1 HR 15 RBI .406 OBP

Carlos Gutierrez: 0-0 6.00 ERA 3 IP 2 K 1 BB

Shooter Hunt: 0-0 0.47 ERA 19 IP 34 K 6 BB

Tyler Ladendorf: .222 AVG 0 HR 7 RBI 5 SB

Bobby Lanigan: 2-2 3.00 ERA 27 IP 29 K 6 BB

Daniel Ortiz: .222 AVG 0 HR 15 RBI .602 OPS

Nicholas Romero: .241 AVG 4 HR 14 RBI .758 OPS

DJ Hermsen: Still playing HS ball in Iowa for #1 ranked West Delaware. He's currently 9-0 with a 0.70 ERA with 114 K and 9 BB in 63.1 IP. He's also hit for a .425 AVG with 23 HR and 71 RBI. Interesting note: He doesn't even have the most wins, best ERA, or most K's on his own TEAM! That would be fellow senior and teammate Garrett Linderwell, who's name wasn't called on draft day.

Daniel Osterbrock: 2-2 3.78 ERA 33.1 IP 40 K 3 BB

Jeff Lanning: .227 AVG 2 HR 4 RBI .775 OPS

Michael Gonzales: .393 AVG 2 HR 9 RBI 1.025 OPS

Evan Bigley: .286 AVG 4 HR 13 RBI .858 OPS


Now obviously no one's making predictions on how the rest of their professional careers will turn out, but it is interesting to see how HS and college stars make the transition to pro ball. In looking at these stats, Shooter Hunt obviously stands out above the rest of the pitchers, as does Michael Gonzales among the hitters.


NAIA news:

A couple of recent NAIA stars updates:

1st round (13th overall) draft pick in 2007 for the Indians, Beau Mills from Lewis & Clark State is at high A ball hitting .279 with 15 HR and 64 RBI...

13th round pick in 2006 Ben Jukich from Dakota Wesleyan was recently promoted to AAA in the Reds organization. He was 8-4 with a 3.57 ERA at AA...after one start at Louisville is 0-0 with a 8.31 ERA...

My buddy Mihai Burlea signed a contract with RCH MediaMonks of the Dutch Major League. He went 3-3 with a 1.99 ERA while striking out 53 in 45.1 innings. Too bad his team is 5-25 on the year and has a team batting average of .233...He left the team for a bit to pitch for Romania in the European championships. While there he went 1-1 with 2 CG. He left with an ERA of 1.42, striking out 22 and walking 5 in 19 innings. His highlight came when he faced heavily favored Ukraine and beat them 1-0 with a linescore of 10 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 13 K.

That's all for now...

Kelly Thesier

Now, I'm not completely sure why, but when Kelly Thesier took over the job at the Twins beat writer for MLB.com, I find it really hard to enjoy reading articles on the Twins website. Maybe its the way everything is sugar-coated, no matter how bad the situation is. The Twins could be in the middle of a 3-33 slump, and the headline would read "Twins Persevering Through Troubled Times". Which I guess is true, they are still alive, they get their paycheck...but yeah, beyond that its the Great Depression out there. OK, so maybe its not that bad, and I realize you can't write negatively about the team on its own website, and I'm not asking her to write negatively or to criticize...just don't write straight up lies.

In her latest article on the Twins midterm report, I literally laughed out loud. Let's take a look...

1) Club MVP Joe Mauer...no argument here, best player on the team has been nothing short of dependable and durable the entire season.

2) Call him "Ace" Livan Hernandez (insert my laughing out loud). She notes that the Twins were looking for an innings-eater and a veteran to stabilize the rotation. Oh, but he has done more than that..."proving himself to be a mentor to the starting staff" (isn't that how to stabilize the starting rotation?) "and delivering better numbers on the mound than expected" (true, I honestly thought he would have an ERA in the mid-upper fives, a whip of 1.70, and a BAA of over.320...

...oh wait, he does...

I guess the number I didn't expect was the Twins scoring almost 6 1/2 runs/game when Livan starts.

3) Greatest strength..speed. Kelly, you should've stopped right there. She goes on to discuss the bullpen, which although good, I don't consider a strength to the team. Between losing Neshek and having Bonser and Bass piling up runs, you're down to less than a handful of guys you feel comfortable pitching with a lead.

4) Problem...injuries. Honestly, I dont' know if this is such a big one...Adam Everett going down is probably the only reason he's still on the team. Losing Neshek hurt badly, but the play of Castilla, Buscher, Macri, and Span is more than what was expected of the guys they replaced.

5) Suprise...Castilla. I will agree to some point on this one, but to me, the biggest has been the younger starting pitching (Perkins, Baker, Blackburn, and Slowey) They have a combined 25-15 record with a 3.90 ERA and a 4.7/1 K/BB ratio. What more could you have asked for without Santana, Silva, Liriano, and Bonser in the rotation?

6) Team needs...power hitter. Who doesn't need a power hitter at the deadline, honestly? I am worried about the condition of the pitchers arms though. The bullpen has thrown the 5th most innings in the AL, and may increase as the 2nd half of the season takes a toll on the arms of the younger starters who are typically not ready to throw 175-200 innings a season. Many people make the case for Liriano to come back in the 2nd half, but he has already logged 110+ innings this season, a year removed from Tommy John surgery. If he does come up soon after the break, don't expect the Twins to use him for more than 5 or 6 starts. In my opinion, the team could try and deal one of their excess OF's for either starting pitching or bullpen help to get them through a tough 2nd half schedule.

But that's just my fantasy two cents...