Much has been made of the way the "new media" (blogs, internet sites, etc.) is covering sports.  In a somewhat ironic turn, new media mavens often argue that they are doing a better job of covering teams because they LACK access; arguing that the old media (newspapers, broadcasters, cable outlets) was so close to teams and leagues that their journalism was compromised.

Continue reading this post »

Thanks be to God for the decline of the newspaper industry and the rise of the blogosphere.  As the guy who plays Mose Schrute said on the recent Costas Now, our democracy is much better off with many voices contributing.  And Balls Deep is right; access is so overrated when we now have the internet.  After all, it usually just corrupts the journalist.

I appreciate the fact that I have learned so much more about the war in Iraq with AaronGleeman.com’s embedded reporting from the Green Zone.  And it is admirable that Deadspin too time out from gossiping about journalists and athletes to allocate resources to reporting on Tibet and the Beijing Olympics. 

Even the Huffington Post interrupted its fact-checking to send a reporter to an otherwise mundane zoning meeting to break the news that agri-business received clearance to install more Concentrated Animal Feedlot Operations close to groundwater, rivers and lakes in rural Minnesota.  

Newspapers are a thing of the past.  Access is important, but only when it is taking cell-phone pictures of Matt Leinart chugging beers with co-eds.  Other than that I want my journalists to be regular guys like me: sitting on the couch eating nachos and making snarky comments.  Our democracy depends on this “gut feeling” rather than expertise (or travel budgets).  Look at our current commander-in-chief.  There’s a guy who goes with his gut.         

Yesterday I made the annual trip to Peoria to catch the "prospects" for our Beloit Snappers, low-A team for the Minnesota Twins.

Continue reading this post »

Did TR wake up on the wrong side of the bed?

Continue reading this post »

This may not be the appropriate forum for this, but I need some advice from TwinsNation.  I will be in NYC on June 8 and I was hoping to take in the Yankee/Pirates game that evening.  Much to my chagrin, the tickets are already sold out.  What should my next move be?  Try to buy them on the street that evening?  Go through ticket brokers?  Ebay?

Help a brother out.  Anybody have any experience with this type situation?  I am looking for two moderately priced tickets in a section that allows for the consumption of beer.

If nothing else, this gets your mind off the punchless wonders for a minute or two.

Maybe I'm late to the party and everyone has already seen this, but if not this website has some interesting takes on the state of the game.

http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=534&Itemid=41

Continue reading this post »

This article in the NY Times on the amenities at Turner Field was an interesting inside look at the business of stadium revenue.  It might be a good preview of what is to come at the Twins new venue (Best Buy Stadium?).  Here's hoping that the Twins remember that baseball is still one of the last big-time sports events that a working-class family can afford.  Even at a new stadium there still should be a good amount of seats that are around $10, especially since it is a taxpayer-financed public works project.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/business/yourmoney/22stadium.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=al l

Terry Ryan was on the Chad Hartman Show on KFAN yesterday.  Ryan was blunt about things as usual.  These are my impressions from the segment, although if you think you have a different take feel free to add.  

1.  TR gave the distinct impression that he was going to spend ZERO dollars on offense this winter on the free agent market.  He said he was happy with the offense this year and sounded a bit gun-shy over the Batista experiment and not landing Frank Thomas, which he characterized as "my fault."  He said something to the effect of "we finally got to 800 runs and that's where we need to be."
2.  When Hartman pressed him on this, saying that he thought that the Twins still needed to add a #3 hitter, Ryan reminded him that Mauer is only 23 and is expected to grow into that role.  Interesting that Mauer won a batting title this year and both Ryan and Hartman sounded somewhat disappointed in his production.  The impression that I got is that Ryan expects Mauer to be the "big bat" that many are looking for.
3. It sounded like Ryan would bring back Silva, saying that Carlos is "someone that Rick Anderson can work with."
4.  Ryan said all loose change would be spent on starting pitching.  He did not sound very confident in the young starters being ready, and stressed that the Twins identity is pitching and defense.  He also stated that many of his moves will hinge on whether Liriano shows progress this fall.
5.  He was unsure on bringing back Rondell White.

I get a lot wrong.  Or, at least, when I am wrong, I am way wrong.  In two instances, my friends have not allowed me to forget how wrong I was.  Remember in 1997, when President Clinton launched an attack on suspected terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan?  He said that his information  indicated Osama bin Laden and his top associates were meeting at a training camp when the U.S. fired their missles.  But the attacks came on the same day that Miss Monica Lewinsky wrapped up her testimony before a grand jury investigating whether Clinton lied under oath about their, um, meetings.  I was sure this was a "wag the dog" scenario, and announced that "we have nothing to fear from Osama bin Laden."  

My second worst prediction came in 1998, when I argued that Ryan Leaf would be a "much better" NFL quarterback than Peyton Manning.  How was I supposed to know that Leaf had a five-cent head to go with that $11.25 million signing-bonus arm?

Just this year, in regards to the Twins, I posted in a diary that Justin Morneau might not ever live up to his potential, right before he got hotter than Hades.  I also advocated that Twins start dumping players and give up on 2006, right before they went on a 51-20 tear and are now in the lead for the wild card.  And just recently I passionately advocated the Kyle Lohse trade, right before the Twins rotation collapsed leaving them to rely on Garza, Bonser, Silva and "Bailing Twine" Brad Radke.  

One thing that bothers me about many Twins blogs is that they always remind readers about what they were right about, but almost never mention where they were wrong.  Sometimes I think we forget that when we are wrong, nobody cares, but when somebody like Terry Ryan is wrong, it is a very public mistake.

That felt good in a sensitive, modern-man sort of way.  Now you'll have to excuse me, I have to go take a duke.

Javy Lopez was traded from the Baltimore Orioles to Boston today for for a player to be named and a cash gift from Petey Angelos.  This allows the Red Sox to replace injured catcher Jason Varitek with a former All-Star.  The question is, why didn't the Twins or another team in playoff contention block this move since it came after the trade deadline?  

The way I understand trades after the deadline is that the player to be traded has to clear waivers, and each team is given a chance to claim players from the bottom up. Since the Twins have a lower winning percentage than the Sox, shouldn't they have claimed Lopez to block him from improving the Red Sox?  

On the other hand, is it possible that if the Twins would have claimed Lopez the Orioles could have said, "Fine, take him," and saddled the Twins with the rest of his $9 million contract?  Or can the Twins say "just kidding, we really didn't want him, we just wanted to make sure he didn't go to the Red Sox" and then he goes back to the Orioles or becomes a free agent?

Or, is it possible that Ryan thinks that at 35, Lopez is nowhere near the player that put up a .328 ba with 43 home runs and 109 RBIs in his best year in Atlanta, and will not improve any team, no matter where he ends up, so there is no need to block him?

Lopez is currently hitting .265 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs in 279 at-bats and has only caught in only 21 of the Orioles' 109 games.  His OBP is .314, slugging .412.  Obviously the Red Sox think he will help them, so shouldn't Terry Ryan think the same?

Educate me, please.