Exhale

The freaking out about the Johan Santana trade continues. I heard people on the radio, in print and online swear they will never watch the Twins again. People have said that construction on the new stadium should be halted. Carl Pohlad is the devil. And so on and so on.

It is time to exhale, everyone. Chill out. It's going to be OK.

I have heard some consternation from unexpected sources. And then I've heard some consternation from expected sources, namely Nick Coleman of the StarTribune.

As I have written many times, no other writer has the ability to raise my blood pressure quicker than Mr. Coleman. I actually give him credit for that. His hatred for Twins owner Carl Pohlad borders on an obsession. Pohlad doesn't give me the "warm and fuzzies" either, but c'mon. Now, I can understand how people are bummed about Santana being traded. I can totally understand the feeling that the Twins may not have received an adequate amount of talent in return. Nick Coleman, however, squarly blames Carl Pohlad for not signing Santana becasue Pohlad is RICH. Here is what he has to say:

"The Twins' best pitcher -- and one of the best in baseball -- was traded to the New York Mets for four stiffs no fifth-grader heard of before. The loss of Johan Santana, coming so soon after the loss of star center fielder Torii Hunter, is the kind of thing that breaks kids' hearts and gets them ready for all the callous, cruel and venal decisions life will bring them later."

OK, Nick. Step away from the ledge. Here's more:

"...when you're a kid, your town's team manipulates your immature emotions in order to get you to tug on daddy's sleeve and beg him to buy a pair of $50 tickets and a souvenir jersey so Dad can go to his grave knowing that his boy will remember him through misty eyes and support the next billion-dollar stadium proposal when the stadium opening in 2010 needs to be replaced a few years later. ... And forget the $50 tickets. Baseball is a con. The Twins just showed your kid that he and his doofus Dad have been played like cheap fiddles."

Ok, here we go. Here is where Nick laments the price of today's tickets. Hey, I wish they were lower-priced too. But the more pitchers we sign for $150 million over 6 years, the more tickets will cost - right? Here's more yet:

"From what I've been reading, it seems our crafty Twins are just doing what's good for business. Anyone who thinks differently is a kid or a dork. So. A team owned by a triple-billionaire who is getting a new stadium from John Q. Public (Johnny Jr. will pay taxes for this thing for 30 years) refuses to pay its biggest star the going rate for a top left-hander. And we are supposed to shrug and pass the tax collection plate."

So there you have it. Because the Twins did not give a 32-year-old outfielder $18 million a year for 6 years and a (admittedly wonderful) pitcher $150 million over six years, they are not worthy of a new stadium. Never mind that they have locked up Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddeyer for the next half-decade. That was not mentioned in the article. Never mind that the Twins will have plenty of money to spend on younger free-agents in 2009 and 2010 because of these deals. By the way, I will be the first to admit that if they do not spend this extra money on additional players, this trade looks worse. Here's the Pohlad part (you knew it was coming):

"They were "our" Twins all the while the team was begging for a public handout. But now that the new ballpark is underway, suddenly, they are not "our" Twins anymore.

They are back to being Carl's Twins. And we are supposed to applaud because he recently agreed to cover a $20 million overrun for the new park.

Oh, really? Hey, take away most of the zeros and I will offer the same deal to anyone in town: Give me $500, and I will give you $20. Without selling your kid's favorite ballplayer.
If they are "our" Twins, then "we" were robbed. Because "we" will miss No. 57, big time.
But all I've been hearing is that Pohlad is a saint on Earth, just waiting for his wings. It's only when you get away from Twinsville that he begins to look less like Mother Teresa."

And then, to end up, Coleman takes a swipe at the new Wild owner:

"Our" hockey team, by the way, was sold to a guy who married into the Johnson Wax company, whose products sum up the attitude of most sports czars toward the chumps who buy the tickets: Raid, Vanish and Drano."

Geez, sorry the Wild owner married into Johnson Wax. But, remember, Nick hates rich guys. Roger at work actually helped me figure this out. He told me that Nick Coleman lives in the 1950's. Back when owners built their own stadiums and players stayed with their hometown teams for life. Tickets were $3.25. Dad was in the Union down at The Plant. That all sounds wonderful, but it is not reality. Nick Coleman blames Carl Pohlad and the Twins for not living up to these 1950's standards. If you want to blame someone, blame the Mets, Yankees and Red Sox. They are the ones giving pitchers $150 million for 6 years.

It's happening again. Blood pressure. I've got to exhale. Chill out.

Jeff