How Baseball Has Changed

Chris Carter had 41 homeruns last year for the Milwaukee Brewers. He tied for the league lead.

The Brewers CUT him yesterday to make way for Eric Thames, an American who played in Korea the last three years because he wasn't good enough to play in the majors.

Why do you simply cut the league leader in home runs? That's a good question, but it shows how  much baseball has changed in the last decade. Carter led the league with 206 strikeouts, too. And that wasn't even his worse year. He whiffed 212 times in 2013.

His batting average was .222 last season, which was a career best. He's a .218 career hitter. He literally is an all or nothing type of hitter. And His fielding? Let's just say he reminds people a lot of Arcia with a little bit of Sano thrown in.

His overall WAR rating shows he's one of the worst players in baseball despite his 41 home runs.  Saber mathematics  is changing the way the front office looks at players. And you now know that even 41 home runs won't save you if that's all you have to offer.

That's something Twins fans should think about when it's time to re-sign Sano. I'm not saying Sano is as bad as Carter, I'm saying he should be on the watch list. He's still young, but there's more to baseball than potential power. Arcia found that out the hard way. And so did Carter.

Twins Sign Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer, and LaTroy Hawkins!

They'll all be in uniform this spring.

As special assistants.

Green Bay

Well, it looks like the Pack is back. The Packers were so much better than the Eagles last night that it wasn't even close. Rodgers is starting to look scary good again. If the Vikes can't win this thing, I'd still rather it be the Packers than the Lions.

And there is still plenty of time left for them to win the division. Their funk may be over. Without an O-Line, the Vikings' is going to last a while longer.

Football

I didn't watch much yesterday. New England wasn't available in our area, and with the Vikings losing Thursday, I just couldn't get interested in the other games. The Vikings play again THIS Thursday against Dallas, so I'm thinking I'll be in another football funk for at least the next two weeks. NO ONE, and I mean no one believes the Vikings have a chance in that game.

I'm still trying to figure out how the Vikings could have went through so many injured offensive linemen this season. Most teams might have an injured lineman or two, who might miss a few games throughout the season, but many don't have any real offensive lineman injuries the whole season.

Take Dallas for example. Their O Line is one of the best in football this season. None of them have been hurt. It's one of the reasons they have had such success with a rookie quarterback and rookie running back. Offensive linemen have the longest careers in pro football. Some go entire careers without missing any games.

But not the Vikings. For whatever reason, we're playing third and fourth string lineman against every one else's first string defenses. The results have not been pretty. The Vikings will continue their death spiral into obscurity until we get good, healthy offensive linemen again. That Bradford hasn't been hurt severely yet is telling us how good the offensive coordinator is at creative game plans. The whole scheme is for Bradford to throw quickly with short passes. Anything else, and we'd really be in trouble. I don't blame anyone. For me that's unusual.

But I don't expect us to be any good either.

For me, that's par for the course.

Ohio State and Alabama Win

Much as I predicted, the Ohio State/Michigan game went down to the wire and needed two OT periods to decide a winner. Michigan outplayed Ohio State much of the game, but the Buckeyes did just enough at the end to win. Jim Harbough, coach of the Wolverines, blamed the officiating. In a game this close, it often comes down to the guys in the striped shirts.

Harbough knows that even though they were ranked number three going in, and that they just barely lost, and the refs might have determined the winner more than the players, they are no longer going to be ranked among the top four teams in the country. Their chance at a national championship just went down the drain.

In other news, Penn State, number 8 in the country did win yesterday, so they are now the clear favorites to win the Big Ten championship game. As I said yesterday, Ohio State could win the national title, and not even be the best team in the Big Ten. Ohio State's only loss this season was to Penn State.

Guess which team feels they now deserve to be in the top 4 and the playoff?

Guess which team is not likely to be there?

THAT is your college playoff system in action.

Michigan and Ohio State

I feel sorry for both. They are the number 3 and number 2 teams in the country, but by one of them losing today, they will drop out of the top 4 playoff system.

Which really makes no sense when you think about it. If it's a close game won by one point with a 53-yard field goal at the end by Ohio State as time expires, it would PROVE that these teams ARE number 2 and 3 in the country and so their rank should not change.

But teams 5-8 are just waiting to move up when one of them loses. Even if they tied, they'd probably both leave the top 4. The system is now rigged.

Which shows this new way of doing it is far WORSE than the old way.

I'll be watching though.

What's funny about all of this is there is a scenario where Ohio State could win this game AND the National Championship game and not even win the Big Ten Conference.

College football used to do it right.

sigh

Vikes Fail Late Again

My biggest consolation this season is that Dallas and Seattle are so much better than the Vikings that winning or losing at this point doesn't matter. Our offensive line has had 7 major injuries this year and there really is no way to get better from here.

Sport Stuff

The Warriors are fast becoming the team that the NBA feared they would become. They lost a couple of games early this season, but have since rattled off 9 straight wins, last night beating the Lakers149-109. The Lakers were the last team to beat them a couple of weeks ago.

Former T-Wolve, Kevin Love had 34 points in the first quarter last night. Yes, that's an NBA record. He's getting his three-point touch back. Last year, Klay Thompson, of Golden State, had 37 points in a quarter, but it wasn't the first quarter. In case you're wondering, Love only scored 6 more the rest of the night in the Cavs win.

The Vikes play today, I'll be watching the game at my Aunt Maybelle's during the Thanksgiving  meal. Diggs (knee) is not expected to play for the Vikings. My hopes for the game are not high. But its Thanksgiving. Family and food take center stage. The game is just the background today.

Skol Vikes! Go Thanksgiving!

Jason Castro and other Twins News From the Last Week Or So

The Twins have a new catcher. He can't hit, but he was an all-star with Houston back in 2013. Kurt Suzuki is a free agent that the Twins elected not to re-sign.

They elected not to sign Trevor Plouffe as well. Look for Sano to be making errors at third this season.

Oh, and Gardy has a new job. He's the bench coach in Arizona.

One last note: Who was the worst pinch hitter in baseball last season? That would be former Twin, Oswaldo Arcia. The Baseball Handbook said he was 0-13 last year as a pinch hitter with 5 strikeouts.

Why Are Kickers Missing So Many Extra-Points?

That was the question put to me yesterday.

Experts, including the kickers themselves, have been asked that question a lot lately.  The answers are varied but it boils down to this. Short kicks are a lot harder to make than people think, because of the angle most are kicked from.

Those hashmark angles are killer.

AND, there are no athletes in sports who are bigger head-cases than place kickers. Their sole job is to kick it as hard as they can, STRAIGHT. And their very existence depends on them doing that every single time they come on the field. ANYTHING that disrupts that makes them bigger head-cases, and they start over-thinking every single aspect of what they do.

Kevin Seifert proposed a new idea for extra-points at ESPN yesterday, and I really like it. Primarily because it's the same exact thing I proposed when they came up with the stupid idea of those longer extra-points in the first place.

IF they want to keep messing with a place-kickers heads by forcing them to kick longer extra points, give the head coach a real alternative for the two-point conversion. Instead of placing the ball at the TWO yard line, place it at the ONE.

Coaches are just like fans. They know the two yard line on third and goal makes everyone nervous. Those two yards, that deep in enemy territory, make for difficult sledding. Very rarely does any offense score a touchdown consistently from that distance. Defenses have gotten real good at stopping the score from there.

But from the one yard line?  THAT is a totally different story. That one extra yard gives offenses way more confidence. It also gives them way more options. Most quarterbacks can run a sneak from there.

IF you gave head coaches a two-point conversion option from the one, you would see more coaches going for two points on a consistent basis. Especially with the rash of blocked or outright missed kicks we are now seeing. (18 in the last 2 weeks. Two seasons ago, before the rule change, there were only FOUR missed extra-points the entire season).

From my perspective, those missed kicks don't make for a more exciting game. They just make the game more frustrating to watch. And frustration leads to fans turning the game off. Viewership is down across the board the last two seasons. I think the extra-point fiasco contributes to those missing viewers. I know I turn the TV off every time we miss an extra-point. I just don't want to see that kind of incompetence.

More two-point attempts would get me more interested.  Isn't that the whole point? I can forgive a failed two-point attempt. But I can't stomach a missed extra-point.

Wolves Look Great For Three Quarters

And get outscored 31-12 in fourth quarter.

Does any of this seem vaguely familiar?

sigh

New Kicker Misses Extra Point, Vikes Win On Big Plays Anyway

A win is a win. Lions won. Green Bay lost.

This is not how I expected the season to go, but the Vikings have been in first place the entire season so far, so I can't really complain.

Go Vikes!

12 missed extra points yesterday. It looks like this is becoming a trend.

Football

I did catch the end of the Ohio State game yesterday. I wasn't planning on watching, but a big upset was potentially brewing, so I decided to watch most of the fourth quarter. Ohio State's number two in the country. Michigan State is having a miserable year, yet here we are with Michigan State within a touchdown and having a great day running the ball. Later, all they needed was an extra-point to send the game to OT. BUT, they went for the 2-point conversion and the win, failed miserably, and lost.

Ohio State certainly didn't look like the second best team in the country yesterday, and the Spartans slipped to 3-8 on the season.

Did I mention the T-Wolves lost last night?

Vikings today. Not looking forward to it. Will still watch. For a while at least.

Sports?

I didn't watch any sports last night, and as far as I can tell there aren't any BIG college football games today, so I don't think I'll watch anything today either.

A new Doctor Who series premieres tonight on BBC America. I believe it's animated. I just found out about it yesterday. I think I'll give it a try.

With the Vikings looking hopeless once more, it's hard to get excited about sports.

Timberwolves Win

I noticed the Wolves were leading last night in the fourth quarter against the consensus worst team in the NBA right now, the Sixers.  The Wolves SHOULD win this game.

And they did.

What's intersting is that they had THREE of their players score double doubles. Wiggins: 35, 10. Towns: 25, 10. and Dieng 12, 10.  That's a pretty rare feat for any team.

They are still just 4-7 on the season, or about the same winning percentage that the Twins had this past year.

Wiggins currently leads the league in 3-point shooting percentage at 55%.

Vikings

We have a new place kicker. He'll last as long as he makes his extra points. At this point, they are all inter-changable.  Really, in a league where most games between good teams are settled by 6 points or less, kickers are THE deciding factor. If they make their 52 yard field goal and we miss ours. And we miss an extra point, too, we'll lose by seven points. The great kickers don't miss that often. Most kickers, like ours, miss just often enough for their team to lose.

The Vikings are predicted to lose this weekend against Arizona, and then they face the Lions, at Detroit, on Thanksgiving Day for the early game. There's a very good chance they'll be below .500 with six straight losses shortly after we finish our big Thursday meal. You west coast fans? The game starts at 9:30 a.m. Set your alarms.

Walsh Gets the Boot

I'll miss him.

Wide right.

Football

The Monday Night Matchup was pretty good last night. The wrong team won, but that's what Cincinnati does in primetime. They lose.

With the Vikings losing yet another offensive lineman for the season, I think we can probably stop watching the Vikings this year. They have the worst rushing game in  the league and it's only going to get worse. I find it hilarious that pundits are criticizing Sam Bradford for not connecting on long throws down the field. He barely has time to pass at all and he was still 31-40 this week throwing. Stephen Diggs has caught at least 13 passes two weeks in a row. No receiver has done that in NFL history before. Bradford is fine. It's the line that's in shambles.

And Blair Walsh has got be fearful for his job. Enough is enough. 4 missed extra points already this year PLUS the chip-shot field goal miss that cost us a playoff win last season is just not acceptable and Zimmer knows it.

Who do you sign to replace him though?

Football

The Vike's defense is starting to look suspect. The Packers looked awful, and even the Patriots lost last night to Seattle.

That Pittsburgh/Dallas game was spectacular, though.

College Football

Number two Clemson got beat last night (by Pitt). Number three Michigan and number four Washington got beat as well.

That leaves just Alabama as the last major college (top 10) left undefeated. It seems weird that I can watch these games without knowing any of the top stars and enjoy them just KNOWING they are the best. Rooting for upsets like this is what makes the close games so exciting. The four game playoff at the end has removed some of the luster, but at least the top dog in the fight has been established.

Unless somebody knocks them off in the near future.

The Gophers were having a really good season until they got knocked off by number 19 Nebraska last night. I  stopped watching them early last night so that I could watch the GOOD games.

As disappointing as the Vikings have been the last three weeks, they are still leading the division. So I'll be watching this afternoon for at least awhile.

Football! Football! Football!

Bruno and Butch Get the Ax

Twins hitting coach, Tom Brunansky, and first base coach, Butch Davis, were given the heave ho late Thursday by the Twins. Far more was wrong with the Twins last season, but you can't argue with the decision. Bruno never was a good hitting instructor at any level. And Butch was also responsible for  the outfielders' defense.  Two problem areas that needed ( and still need) to be addressed.

I Really Can't Believe How Incredibly Awful Some People Are

This is something I've copied directly from ESPN:

"Florida International senior tight end Jonnu Smith will miss the remainder of the season after his girlfriend poured boiling water on him, causing burns to multiple parts of his body.

According to the arrest affidavit, Smith, an NFL draft prospect, suffered severe burns on his head, neck, back, a shoulder and an arm.

Mary Gaspar has been charged with felony aggravated battery. She is five months pregnant with their child.

According to the arrest affidavit, Gaspar gave this account at Florida International University police headquarters: 

• 
  
  Gaspar and Smith argued through the day on Oct. 31 about how much attention Smith was paying her and their relationship. While in Smith's dorm room and "feeling extremely emotional and stressed," Gaspar told police, she boiled a pot of water. Then she walked over to Smith and poured it on him.
• When Smith didn't react strongly enough for her, she started hitting him with her open hands, she told police.

Gaspar was arrested two days later."

My Take: Extreme Feminists will take this story and somehow twist it in such a way as to make it all seem justified. Men, you see, are the true perpetrators are violence. Even after being burned, he didn't raise a finger to hurt her, so she started beating on him.

A Rule Change Proposal

This one really bugs me. It always has. The Vikings have the ball third and goal from the 2 yard line. The defense is nailed for a penalty, too many men on the field. The penalty? The ball moves 1 yard closer to the end zone. Still third down. ANY other place on the field the ball would be moved 5 yards more down field and it would be a first down.

Now, of course the refs aren't going to give the team an automatic touchdown, but shouldn't it be FIRST down on the one yard line. You treat it AS IF you moved the ball 5 yards. Otherwise it's not really penalizing the defensive team.

They do it for pass interference and holding. They should do it for procedure calls, too.

Trump 278 Clinton 218

And some of the votes aren't in yet.

In Minnesota, with 2.8 million votes counted, Donald is trailing Hilary by just 25,000 votes.

Minnesota ALWAY votes Democrat in presidential elections. That, to me, is as shocking as any score I have ever posted here.

No comments on this one.

In other news? The Wolves lost.  Again. Not as shocking.

Curry Hits 13 of 17 Threes, Breaks His Own NBA Record

Stephen Curry may have missed all 10 of his three-point attempts last game, but he came out hot and firing last night. I guess his slump is over.

Olivier Richerts

This guy is one of the world's biggest bodybuilders at 7'2" 330 pounds. In the first couple of pictures he's standing with the actor who plays The Mountain on Game of Thrones. In the second series, he's standing with a more normal-sized bodybuilder.

Vikes

The Vikings did everything they could to lose yesterday.

And they did it!

Detroit

Two weeks ago, Vikings fans weren't afraid of anyone, now they're afraid they'll lose every game.

The offensive line is still devastated by injury and we're playing 3rd and 4th string linemen HOPING something good will happen.

It won't.

Detroit by 12. At least. And this is when a line that bad will start to allow other injuries to occur.

Did I mention the Wolves got clobbered again last night?

sigh

Lakers Club Warriors 117-97

Stephen Curry missed all ten of his three-point play attempts. That ends a streak of 157 straight games with a three.

Wow. The Warriors with Durant seem to be far worse than they were without him. And with the T-Wolves disappointing just about everyone, I think I'll just stick to college football and the NFL for the next few months.

Theo Epstein

I've been talking about metrics in baseball since I was aware of them. That's been several years now. I've mentioned in the past that Moneyball is my favorite baseball movie because of its portrayal of saber-mathmatics and the way you can and should position your team and its players by those general rules. Billy Bean does it in Oakland, but it was Theo Epstein who implemented it at Boston based on the work of Bill James.

Theo Epstein has now ended an 84 year drought in Boston AND a 107 year-old "curse" in Chicago by using math tendencies for position players and pitchers.

Of course, everyone can't win using these statistical models, but those that use them best will have an advantage other teams simply don't have. Paul Molitor tries to use them on the field but they need to be used to BUILD your team, to find the right players in drafts and through trades that will give you a better base to start with.

That means no more Nolascos and Pelfreys and their big money contracts just because scouts think they have potential. Base it on the math boys, not the gut.

Theo Epstein took a Cubs team with 101 losses in 2012 and turned them into World Series champs with 103 wins in 2016. He now has a statistical base from which to measure his success. Three championships are now under his belt. He's going to be in the Hall of Fame someday. You can do the math.

Norv Turner Resigns

Something had to give. It was Norv.

Cubs Win!

The curse of the goat is finally put to rest.

I admit I missed the ending. I was going to stay up and watch until the end but when Cleveland tied it 6-6 in the eighth, I decided sleep was the better part of valor.

What a game. What a great ending. Baseball is still amazing, even if the Twins aren't.

Great Night of Sports and Sports Entertainment

Cubs Win!

That was a fantastic game. The Cubs scored 3 in the first, and a grand slam  a couple of innings later basically guaranteed a game seven. With just one game to go, this SEEMS like the World Series now.

Go Cubs!!


Wolves Win!

Wow. I don't say that often in reference to the Wolves, but they started with a big lead and then they just piled on and coasted in the fourth quarter. Yes, the Grizzlies were short handed but we were missing Rubio. I actually found myself watching far more of this game than I intended because of the Cubs huge blowout. Fun. A real team effort. 116-80 was the final score.

Go Wolves!

Sports Entertainment

Smackdown was fun to watch again last night. They've elevated a skinny independent wrestler to the main event spotlight, not because he's good but because he's hilarious to watch. You don't just watch wrestling to see who wins. It's scripted after all. You watch it to see characters and stories, just like other television shows. If the wrestling action is good, that's just a bonus.

Go Fake Sports!

Vikes

My comments haven't changed from last week. Injuries have made this O-line as bad as any we have ever had. Unless that changes dramatically, the season will get much, much worse. I only watched about 10 minutes of last night's game. I fully expected this after last week's performance, though was cautiously hoping for a coaching miracle. There was none. There won't be one.

Another disappointing Minnesota team.

At least my Patriots won.

Did I mention that the Wolves are 0-2 and that Rubio will be out indefinitely with a bad elbow.

Minnesota, where dreams are crushed.

Daily.