Posts Tagged ‘baseball’
First of all, let me state that I do not condone what A-Roid did. It tarnishes my view of him in the context of the great players, which is a shame because the guy was a total natural without all of that and before all of that. However, I’m already tired of what is being done to the man. The Cliff Notes (in my words) of the interview with Peter Gammons, and the natural breaking point is as follows:
Gammons: So, A-Roid, you are accused of using PHDs. What do you have to say about that.
A-Roid: Yes, Peter, I took PHDs. I signed a big deal with Texas and I felt the pressure to live up to that contract and I took a banned substance. I should not have done it and am sorry for doing so.
THE END
But, no, the interview can’t be over just like that. Gammons has a marquee player sitting in the same room with him. So the interview goes on….and on….and on. Soon A-Roid, simply with nothing else to say, starts to make excusey-sounding statements and pretty soon the public perception of the interview is that A-Roid isn’t sorry for what he did but instead making excuses for it. The thing is, if the interview ends where I wish it would, A-Roid probably has said his genuine part and the diarrhea of the mouth has not yet begun.
Again, I’m not defending A-Roid, but there is nothing else he could have said beyond my natural ending. There is nothing he can say that will make people feel better about this than “I’m sorry for taking the PHDs.” As Kenny once sang, “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em.” Gammons didn’t allow A-Roid to quit while he was “ahead.”
As for A-Roid’s legacy, this is a killer. He was such a natural, coming up at 18 or 19 years old and tearing it up in the majors, on a team with Griffey, Unit, Edgar and Tino, and more. I think he could have done a lot this on his own. How much? We’ll never know. That is the crushing reality.
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In the coming days you’ll be sure to hear a lot of bloviating about how the Twins season was a success. You’ll hear about the foundation they have built for years to come and how they will be a force to be reckoned with come next October. First of all, don’t buy it. Second of all, don’t take solace in it. This season was an epic failure.
Sure, we saw some very nice performances from our starting pitching. Span, Casilla, and Gomez showed they are very capable and even dynamic major league baseball players. Our closer, when he actually got a chance to pitch, was as good as any in the game. That’s what makes this season such a disaster. For starters, did you happen to notice the horrible, rotten team representing the AL Central in the post-season? They’ll be lucky to win a game against Tampa Bay.
Mostly, though, there is no tougher post-season to reach than the MLB post-season. Sure, before the season the Twins were picked to finish near the middle to bottom of the division. But it wasn’t because our team went on a gigantic roll to get to the point where they got (ala 2006). We didn’t even hit 90 wins, and yet we had the division title in sight. When September rolled around, the best teams in the division were the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians (even without CC). Detroit was a miserable club that is only a good start away from being unstoppable next year. There is a very good chance that, come this time next year, we’ll be longing for these meaningful September games, duking out a meaningless 13-10 game with another non-contender, the ancient Chicago White Sox.
No, this is a complete failure. A year of what-ifs:
- What if Neshek hadn’t gotten hurt
- What if we would have replaced Neshek when he did get hurt
- What if we had called up Mijares a month earlier (perhaps as a replacement for Neshek)
- What if Nathan were called upon to throw 2 innings in a few of those games we blew 2-3 run leads in the 8th inning
- What if Morneau didn’t go in the tanks for the last 3 weeks of the season
- What if Mauer had anything to say at the plate in the last couple weeks
- What if Mauer, in the midst of a game where we could muster no offense, had thought better of trying to bunt for a base-hit
- What if we wouldn’t have wasted so much time on Craig Monroe, Mike Lamb, Adam Everett, and Livan Hernandez
- What if Liriano had been called up before he won like 20 games in the minors
- What if we had traded for a relief pitcher before the deadline
- What if we had traded for a solid hitter off the bench at the deadline
- What if we could play two catchers in the same game, allowing us to get two of our better hitters in the same lineup
- What if our defense, usually solid in Twins baseball land, hadn’t gone south in August and September
- What if Delmon really was a game-changer at the plate
- What if we would have just kept Garza and Bartlett and Morlan
- What if
- What if
- What if
Another long off-season for the Twins, with no overwhelming hope that we will be this close next year. I know that if we are it’s going to take at least 90 wins.
Mark my words: next season we might actually be paying attention to Wild pre-season hockey.
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Filed under Commentary, Sports
Tags:baseball, Central Division, Indians, Liriano, Mauer, MLB, Morneau, playoffs, Royals, Tiger, Twins, White Sox
It’s funny: if someone would have asked me what the chances were of the Twins winning tomorrow now, I’d say 2 in 5. Where is the Tradesports market at right now? Current bid, as I write, for White Sox to win the division stands at 57/100. Current bid for the Twins to win the division: 41.5. I guess my gut is right about where the market is.
I hope I’m wrong. I think this would a incredibly huge loss in terms of opportunity for the Twins. It’s a year when no one seems invincible, and a year in which no one in the division played particularly well. Still, we are where we are and it’s probably only fitting that we should have to go to Chicago and beat them to prove our post-season worth.
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For all of the goofy, sometimes bizarre things that happen as a result of having Carlos Gomez in the lineup, you can’t help but love such a special talent on your ballclub.
Awesome stuff. The ChiSox have bad pitching matchups vs. the hot Cleveland Indians. Right now, advantage Twins.
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