Twins 2-2

It's difficult to find box scores of these games, yet.

Twins 1-2 in Grapefruit League So Far

Spring training games mean very little, but the Twins played three this weekend.

Baseball is back.

Wolves Score A Lot, Lose

You know, an NBA game.

Wolves Win!

Even though the Wolves are only 23-35 this season, they are still only 2 1/2 games away from the eighth and final western conference playoff slot. And Wiggins scored 27, that's 16 straight games with at least least 20, a franchise record. Rubio looked good with 14 assists. Towns had another monstrous night.

I'm not convinced they are worth watching yet, but this is as close to a playoff spot that they've been in awhile.

Go Wolves!

Blizzard!

A couple of days ago, weather forecasters started getting serious about a huge winter storm coming our way. They had been tracking it for almost a week and were finally releasing specific details.

Predictions ranged from 10-18 inches of heavy, wet, snow for our area, and then finally we became part of blizzard warning with 24 hours to go.

As the day went on yesterday, they started to adjust total expected snow amounts. The majority was to fall late yesterday and through the night. We'd pick up additional snow throughout the early morning. Lingering snow would hit us throughout the day today ending later this afternoon, but blizzard conditions, because of high winds, would carry on through most of Saturday.

It was predicted to be one of the biggest storms in years.

As I type this, about 5:30 a.m. on Friday morning, all I can say is that nothing has fallen yet.

Nothing occurred at all.

I don't hear any high winds either.


My wife said this would happen. She gets it right far more often than the meteorologists.

Speeding Up the Game

My brother commented about yesterday's post, and I agree with his take completely. Yes, some players have the uncanny ability to foul off pitch after pitch after pitch until they finally get one they like.

It's also the most sickening thing you can watch as a fan. Even as a long-time fan, I never liked watching the other team do that.

Softball already does something similar. The principle has been set. IF you need more than seven pitches on an at-bat, you're out.

That's it.

You can give them a couple extra pitches after a 3-2 count, a couple of foul balls, but if you can't get a hit or walk after that, you have a strikeout.

Period.

Quit rewarding a guy for standing there all day.

And the TIME they take between those pitches on those "epic" pitcher/hitter duels is ridiculous. That is one change I can fully endorse.

Intentional Walks Change

Even though an intentional walk only takes a minute, and even though there is just one every 2.6 games, MLB announced that everyone has agree to get rid of the pitching aspect of them and save everyone an average of 24 seconds a game.

The game should fly now.

Welcome to the future.

Twins Starters

Two NHL games last night. Basketball is still on their all star-break. Literally nothing going on in sports, so it forces me to look at the Twins upcoming season.

The Twins have four veteran starters with big salaries this season: Ervin Santana, Phil Hughes, Kyle Gibson, and the newcomer Hector Santiago. IF they are healthy, their salaries dictate they get 80% of the starts this year. That really is our starting rotation.

Of course there will be a fifth starter, but there is no definite lock for that roll. Tyler Duffy had 26 starts last year, but that came with an ERA of 6.43. Jose Berrios had 14 starts but an ERA of 8.02. As hopeful as the Twins are (were?) about their futures, they don't appear to fit the real needs of the present.

So, who else is available?

Trevor May is still around, but all he had last year was a long string of back issues. The popular theory there is that he was used too much as a relief guy and that he would be best used as a starter.

The Twins also have rookie Aldeberto Mejia. He's the big lefty we got from the Giants when we traded one of our best infielders (Edward Nunez) for him. We got Justin Haley from Boston as a rule 5 pick. IF he doesn't make the team out of camp, he goes back to Boston as part of the Rule 5 guidelines.

The Twins also have 39-year old Ryan Vogelsong hanging around, He is a one time All-Star, and has been in two different World Series rotations. They also have 27 year-old Nick Tepesch who has never really done anything. Both are non-roster invitees to camp.

For those wondering, the Twins do have four starters from the minors in camp. None at this point, are given any hope of making the roster. Fernando Romero, Stephen Gonsalvies, Felix Jose, and Aaron Sledgers.

All of those arms fighting for the one rotation shot open. That's what spring training is for.

192-182

That's what happens in an All-Star NBA game when no one cares to play defense.

Or, in other words, an NBA game.

No Help From the Minors

Baseball America's Project Handbook top 100 prospects in baseball was released this week. There Are TWO Twins on the list: Shortstop Nick Gordon is number 60 on the list, and left-handed pitcher Stephen Gonsalves came in at number 99.

That's it. The Twins didn't sign any major free agents this off season, and they didn't trade for any big names either. That means, those we have on our current roster are expected to do the job this season.

Admittedly, guys like Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, Tyler Duffy, and Jose Berrios were all high on the list the last couple of seasons, and they have since been elevated to the major league roster. IF those prospects don't perform well this year, the gas tank is empty. No help is coming from the farm system in the immediate future.

George "The Animal" Steel Dead at 79

It's not often I get to have two WWE related blog posts in one day, but George Steel was one of the most entertaining sports entertainers of all-time. His feud with the Macho Man over Miss Elizabeth's affections was one of the greatest storylines WWE ever did.

He retired from wrestling in the late '80's because of severe case of Crohn's disease, but he went on to coach 25 years of high school football after that.

I had just finished this portrait of him last week as part of a set of WWE wrestler digital paintings I'm working on. Click to enlarge.

Babtunde Aiyegbusi

Two years ago I wrote a blog about an immense (6-foot-9, 350 pound) Polish native who was given a try-out by the Vikings as an offensive lineman. He didn't make the team.

Two years later, he gave his first WWE/NXT interview. The WWE wants to make him the next Hulk Hogan.

Pro wrestling is not easy. Lots of big guys never make it, but the guy does have athleticism and a personality as big as he is.

The Vikings loss may turn out to be the WWE's gain.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred

Manfred is making proposals to team owners that will "help" speed up the game again.

The main one? Start calling balls lower than the knees "balls" again. He said the rule never changed, but over time it's been established by umps and players that lower pitches are now considered strikes, and that they shouldn't be. He says a higher strike zone would add more offense and excitement to the game.

IF the low balls are called strikes, and they shouldn't be, AND more offense results, wouldn't that make the games longer?

I'm not opposed to calling pitches like the rules define. In fact I kind of agree with him. BUT the games would get even longer. Perhaps much longer.

His other rules changes? No more pitching the ball on intentional walks. I can't think this would do much at all, for one thing, intentional walks have become very rare. AND nothing adds excitement to a game like the pitcher accidentally throwing one of those pitches away.

The dumbest? Starting with a runner on second base when extra innings begin. Just plop him out there. Wouldn't ties make more sense than that? You have 162 game schedule, what's wrong with a few ties? Eliminating extra inning games would bring down average game time considerably, and would be less taxing on bullpens and players alike.

Baseball is played without a time clock. That's the main reason games last so long. Fixing the game artificially isn't going to help anything. All those throws over to first base drive me crazy, too. But that's the game. A good, speedy base stealer versus a pitcher with a good pick-off  move is one of the finer points of the game. Nobody is suggesting they fix that.

Yet.

Wild Win

The last eight times that the Wild have lost a game, they came back and won the next game.  Avoiding even two game losing streaks goes a long way in establishing yourself as a great team.

I even watched a bit last night.

Go Wild!

Perkins Pitched

15 pitches. 75% effort. No problems.

Only 308 more tests to go, before he's in game shape and okayed.

Wolves and Wild Lose

And the Twins pitchers and catcher reported to spring training yesterday.

They start actually doing stuff today officially. Though unofficial workouts have already begun as demonstrated by this picture and Tweet:

Conformity

I came across this ad this morning while checking out various sports news websites: (click to see better)

It got me thinking about inflate gate all over again, but in a way that I think offers more perspective. If a particular golf ball can cause you to hit farther and straighter, and certain clubs can do the same thing, shouldn't these particular items be illegal? Shouldn't using them be considered cheating? Why should golfers who use them have that kind of advantage over those who don't? Why should golfers always be looking for better clubs and better balls to improve their game. Shouldn't the emphasis be on improving THEIR game, not their equipment. What I'm asking is shouldn't every club and every ball have a closer standard of conformity?

Baseball players do the same thing. They have a particular bat made a particular way, weighing what they choose, and even made out of different kinds of trees, but they get called out when the bats are corked or have pine tar too high up on the handle.

Why shouldn't they be able to have bats that they can use that allow them to be as good as they can be? Should there be less conformity or more?

You might say it wouldn't be fair for a 150 pound second baseman and a 250 pound first baseman or DH to have the same bat. And I think you would be correct, unless they both had a bat small enough to handle. You wouldn't require the second baseman to use a bat he couldn't lift and handle properly, but the bigger guys COULD use a smaller bat. They could get used to it.  And you would have conformity. But you see the problem don't you?

Which brings us back to football inflation. IF a quarterback and team would prefer a ball a certain way, why not allow them to use it? We're talking about the same balls right? Balls which are the same size and same weight. Only the amount of air in them would vary. And each quarterback would have it inflated HIS way. If every quarterback would do that, no quarterback would have an advantage, because they would all have the ball the way they wanted. And you wouldn't have to have the refs check them.

Kicking balls would have to conform, because extra air would give them extra distance, but throwing balls would not. Kicking balls would be a different color to make sure there is no hanky-panky.

It sure would make more sense than using advantage balls or clubs in golf. I know the PGA does restrict their equipment more than casual golfers. But the equipment they use is in not identical.

Perhaps football could learn from them.

I know I like using my lighter tennis racquet.  I'm much better with it.

Wild and Wolves Win!

This headline is becoming less and less of an event. Both teams are definitely on the upswing.

The Twins? First official spring training workout is scheduled for Wednesday. Many are in Florida already. I'm glad baseball is back. I just wish our prospects for a good season were a lot better.

Go Wild! Go Wolves! Go Twins!

Canyon Barry

Canyon Barry set a new Florida (college) record Saturday by shooting his 39th consecutive free throw. He shot them all underhanded.

Canyon's dad, Rick, was especially proud of his son's achievement.

His dad set the standard for underhanded free throws years ago in the the NBA.

It's a Barry tradition.

The Magnificent Seven

Apple iTunes had a sale on the classic western a few weeks ago, and then followed it up with a sale on the remake a couple of weeks later. My wife and I had a mini-marathon of the two movies yesterday.

My initial thoughts? The classic was great and the remake was nearly unwatchable, consisting of over an hour of nothing more than the world's longest, loudest gunfight.

The BEST version? Pixar's A Bug's Life, which I didn't even know was based on the Magnificent Seven (The Seven Samurai- the original Japanese version)  until yesterday.

Now THAT remake was a good one.

Byung Ho Park

The Twins put him on waivers this week and nobody took him. Since the Twins are still paying his rather large salary, they sent him to Rochester and said he would be given an opportunity to make the roster again this spring. His wrist injury from last season is apparently healed.

Wolves Have Good Second Half, Win

And the Wild lost in OT to the Blackhawks.

And I still can't find anything interesting about the Twins to report this off-season.

I really miss football.

No Football: Day Two

This is rougher than I thought it would be. At least Monday everyone was still talking about how great the game was. But yesterday the realization hit. Football is over for several months, and in Minnesota there is nothing to replace it with.

Hockey doesn't count.

It never does. Though it is nice to know that they have the second best record in the league right now and are still second in the ESPN rankings.

Shaky The Cameraman

About 20 years ago, Hollywood became enamored with the idea that the camera used in a movie or TV show no longer had to be held steady. They believed it created a more realistic feel to the film, adding tension as a result.

It started out with one or two TV cop shows and gradually spread out to sitcoms like Arrested Development and then eventually to the big screen. My wife and I hated it. Since that time, thankfully, the effect has become less and less used, but every once in awhile we'll watch an old movie and re-discover just how bad that effect was.

Case in point: The Bourne Supremacy. Yesterday, we re-watched it for the first time in about 10 years. The camera never stopped shaking, panning and zooming. And to make it worse, nearly everything was filmed as a close-up. Even worse? Nearly every sequence was a chase or a fight scene.

I don't want to get anyone seasick, but if you want to see Shaky the Cameraman in all his glory, that is the one movie you simply must see. I just caution you to take breaks every 20 minutes or so. It's like a never ending home movie before cameras had image stabilizers.

The plot? I don't know, I was too dizzy to pay attention to the story.

Greatest. Game. Ever.

No one really thought Tom Brady and the Patriots would come back and win after being down 28-3 late in the third quarter.

I almost went home at halftime, but my sports savvy wife convinced me to stick around.

What can you say about all of this?

Nothing compares to football for all out sports enjoyment, and NO ONE compares to Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback of all-time.

Not even the commissioner could hold him down. Brady always maintained he never cared how the ball were inflated, that's why he couldn't believe anyone would accuse him of making the balls "soft".

His record since Inflate Gate is unmatched, including two more Super Bowl wins.

It's time for the haters to give it a rest.

It's too bad haters never do.

Go Patriots!

Zach LaVine

The Wolves really can't catch a break. LaVine is out with an ACL tear for the rest of the season.

I look forward to the Super Bowl every single year. It's kind of like Christmas or Thanksgiving except all the major eating occurs after 5 p.m.

Of course I want Brady to get ring number 5, but I don't dislike the Falcons. The only thing that will be hard to watch will be a Falcon's blowout.

Food, friends, and football. Today is as it should be.

Wolves Lose

That's two losses in a row, and it was to a team below .500.

It looks like they are back to normal.

Sports Free Daze

Super Bowl hype, NBA games, and the NHL.

Nothing to really watch sports-wise. Time to go shopping instead.

Baseball VS Football

This is usually the time of year where I start getting excited about the upcoming baseball season.

I don't feel it this year.

And I'm not alone. As a kid, I expected the Twins to win every game and storm into the playoffs every year. And I was spoiled because they always did.. The first year I was got interested in, and started paying attention to baseball was 1969. That was the first year that baseball had divisions, before that it was just one big league and the team with the best record went to the World Series.

Before 1969, there were no playoffs. I didn't even realize that until years later. 1969 was the magic year for me. The Twins were great. They won their division. They lost to Baltimore of course, but there was always next year. And the Twins were good enough to always contend for the division title even when they didn't win it. I was a big Twins fan all the way through college, even though  the Twins had lost much of their earlier magic.

As I said, I was spoiled.  1987 and 1991 were amazing, but the bad years were so bad that I stopped paying attention all the time.

After that, it took a good contending team to keep my interest.  I guess that happens to most adults.

But football is different. I can enjoy it even when the Vikings aren't playing well. MOST good to great teams have MOST of their games on television every week, so you can follow them and get to know them. You don't live or die with their losses like you do with the Vikings so they are actually at times more pleasurable to watch.

AND...since there is only one game a week per team, you can follow a lot more teams. Better yet, if you give the top college football games a try on Saturdays, you can enjoy even more great football action. And great football has an attraction that baseball can't match. You can enjoy the entire football season even when the Vikings are playing horribly.

You can't do that with baseball.

I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl this Sunday. Two great teams and a rooting interest is all I need. And I really won't mind if either team wins. Football is great that way.

Enjoying baseball depends on the Twins being a winner. Football is great even when the Vikings aren't.

Glen Perkins

Even though I have no expectations for this season's Twins, I have been keeping track of Glen Perkins.

He is supposedly recovering well from his torn labrum surgery (he's playing catch at 125 feet at about 75% effort) but he may start the season on the DL. NO ONE expects him to be the same pitcher as he was. It's possible, over time to get most of his speed back, but torn labrums  are far trickier than Tommy John surgery. Most never recover fully.

It's not like the Twins need a major closer right now anyway so he should have time to heal as much as he needs.