1. Twins Trade Gomez to Milwaukee for J.J. Hardy. You know, I always liked Carlos Gomez. There is no question that he drove me absolutely insane, but he seemed like a good, enthusiastic kid. He is a great defensive outfielder with a flair for the dramatic and has great speed once he gets on base. Therein lies the problem, however. He really never gets on base. He may be the worst fundamental hitter that I have ever seen at the Major League Level. Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press summed up Carlos Gomez perfectly with the following statement:
"The Twins have traded a toolbox without a key for a mystery. Carlos Gomez has talent, the greatest of which is raw speed. He also has the baseball instincts of an Icelandic grade-schooler. "
Perfect. The guy constantly threw to the wrong base. Missed the cutoff man. Got picked off base. He smelled his bat. The coaches couldn't get to him. I never thought I'd see a bigger space cadet on the Twins in my lifetime than Lew Ford. But along came Carlos Gomez just a few short years after Ford. Amazing. In return for Go-Go, the Twins receive shortstop J.J. Hardy who is two years removed from appearing in the All-Star game. Hardy has the ability to hit some home runs and is a pretty good shortstop. Plus. I don't think he's goofy. There is the matter of Hardy being demoted to the minors last year after a major slump at the plate. I'm hoping that he is one of those guys that simply needs a change of scenery. Gomez, on the other hand, might be in the wrong hemisphere.
2. Target Field 360-Interactive View. Speaking of the Twins, check out this interactive view of Target Field:
http://www.twincities.com/ci_13730070
3. Gopher Football. The Golden Gopher football team is on my mind these days with the hated South Dakota State Jack Rabbits coming to town. I will admit that I may have been wrong about Glen Mason when I called for his firing. I challenged him to schedule Cretin-Derham High School and called him the Single Biggest Fraud in Minnesota coaching history. Well, I hereby apologize to Glen Mason, because he may have been Vince Lombardi compared to Coach Tim Brewster. At least there were a few Alamo Bowls in the mix when Mason was around. Not anymore. Here is a question for Gopher fans out there: When is the last time a Gopher football team actually got better as the year progressed? Can't think of it? That is because it was probably during the Johnson administration.
Now, I'm really not an advocate of changing coaching staffs every year because it screws up the kids on the team (see: Adam Weber). But I just don't see how things are going to improve with Coach Brew at the helm. As I have stated before, the guy can talk a good game. Whether or not he can coach has not yet been determined. On the bright side, at least they are now losing in a beautiful stadium.
4. Timberwolves season is underway. Rumor has it that tickets are still available for most home games. Seriously, what do you think the attendance will be at some of the Wolves home games this year? How about the Wednesday, February 10th tilt against the Charlotte (Hornets?) Bobcats? Maybe 4,000? Even the free beer promotion didn't work.
5. Wild season is underway. I still love hockey but it's no shock to me that the Wild are struggling this year with a new GM, coaching staff, offensive system and many new players. They look a little lost on the ice. Marian Gaborik, of course, has been the second coming of Wayne Gretzky after leaving the team and signing with the New York Rangers. What did ex-GM Doug Risebrough get in return for Gaborik? Nothing. What organization does Risebrough work for now? The Rangers. Funny how these things work out. Unfortunately, many of the trades that Risebrough made over the years has left the Wild depleted of draft picks and young players at the minor league level. I hate to say it, but perhaps the best thing that could happen to the Wild is to miss the playoffs for a few years and draft some talented young players. Time to rebuild, I think.
That's all for now.
3 comments:
Just because Brewster is a lousy coach doesn't mean you were wrong about Glen Mason. He was lazy, content with 7 wins, 3 of those were usually against bad teams and he didn't want to work to recruit top notch players. Good riddance, too bad Brewster stinks too.
A good thing about lousy T-wolves is that you can get great tickets. Shane, Craig and I got 3 tickets 6 rows behind Twolves bench for $20! I have a feeling similar deals will soon be available for the Wolves.
Free - regarding the Wolves, I have a feeling that later this year, you might be able to sit on the bench for $5.
Regarding Mason, my "mental image" of him will forever be that puzzled (yet smug) look on the sidelines that said "what the hell just happened?"
puzzled (yet smug) look on the sidelines that said "what the hell just happened?
That is a perfect description.
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