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Tuesday Evening Baseball Dinner & Baseball

We haven't had one of these before. Also, there's some cool stuff happening around baseball. Let's talk about that.

By Jesse Lund
BRIAN MCCANN, FUN POLICE. MY CHOKING PERFORMANCE IN THE NLDS SHOULD NOT BE ENJOYED.
BRIAN MCCANN, FUN POLICE. MY CHOKING PERFORMANCE IN THE NLDS SHOULD NOT BE ENJOYED.
Stephen Dunn

There is playoff baseball on the television right now, so if you're not watching it: why? Once you've turned the channel over, because if you don't what's wrong with you, here are a few things I wanted to share with you tonight.

Dodgers Advance to NLCS

It's been a long time since the Dodgers have won it all. I know they're packed with star players and have a big, fat payroll, but they're still not the Yankees. Last night's games, especially this one and the Rays-Tigers tilt, were so much fun.

Remember when Juan Uribe was the pudgy infielder for the White Sox who had some pop in his bat? He's 34 now, in his 13th season, and last night he did this.

So much fun. And so much awesome.

BRIAN MCCANN, FUN POLICE

During the Braves-Dodgers games last night, Brian McCann struck out on a big old curveball early in the game. It was his first strikeout, and while I can see why he wasn't happy with the call it was the right one. That big ol' curve hit the bottom of the zone. But McCann complained, and it reminded me of how much of a dick he was after Jose Fernandez pimped his home run (fine with me) and then spit at the Braves third baseman (not fine).

Naturally I decided to take to the Twinkie Town twittter account and pretend to be Brian McCann in a character we all know and love as BRIAN MCCANN, FUN POLICE.

If you think that was overkill, by the way, that wasn't all of them. Those are just my favorites.

Twins Not Trying?

Over at ESPN1500, Patrick Reusse makes the claim that "The sporting public doesn't think [the Twins] are trying."

I don't agree that the Twins aren't trying - or to clear that up: I do think that the Twins are trying. But I can certainly understand his point. Three seasons of losing 90+ ballgames and watching a truly awful on-field product doesn't help public perception. Keeping the managerial staff in place, even though the manager's contract was up, doesn't help public perception. The General Manager's public statement that he didn't think free agency was an answer; the organization's history of not achieving what they needed to achieve in the off-season via free agency; the philosophy that shit piles up and rolls down hill has created something of a momentum of displeasure with the baseball team, particularly when Target Field opened so recently - none of those things help with public perception.

Public perception isn't everything. A lot of times, much like "mob mentality", public perception can be wrong. And when you run through each of those things in the last paragraph, you could choose caveats for each of those that are well-reasoned, logical arguments. That is the side I'm more likely to fall into, more often than not.

But sometimes, the team needs more than that. They need to show something. Reusse uses the Vikings, Wild and even the Timberwolves as examples or organizations that are showing that they're trying, and while rosters and the future are all built and handled and juggled in unique ways in each sport (see, caveats), he has a point.

This year, I agree. The Twins need to show something. Not just for the fans, but for their own players and for the organization's perception around the league. It's easier to be a good team when you're a team that other players would like to play for. I'm choosing to be optimistic again this year. I'm putting my faith in Terry Ryan and the front office to make strides towards turning this team's fortunes around. But something needs to be done. Caveats can only go so far before results need to be produced.

Rays Walk Off Red Sox

No comments. Just the video. I love playoff baseball. Okay, just that one comment.

Francisco Liriano: The Winning Lottery Ticket

Please.

Don't get me wrong, I'm rooting for the Pirates because I'm rooting for Francisco Liriano. And Justin Morneau. But let's not pretend like anyone has a magic toolkit that's going to correct all the things that are keeping Liriano from being an ace year in and year out.

As a Twins fan, we've seen it before. We've even seen it happen over an entire season - hey, we all loved Cisco in 2010. He was a bona fide Ace. But for as much as there is to fix and work out mechanically for Liriano, a big portion of his inconsistency stems from his confidence. When he's confident AND his mechanics are working, he's outstanding. But we've seen it all before.

So, sure. Maybe Liriano ends up being that winning lottery ticket for 2013. I can't argue with that. But if the Pirates or anyone else thinks that they've solved the enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a Doritos Taco Bell taco shell (which I still haven't tried and refuse to believe should even be a thing because, really??), there's going to be a shock to your system in a few months.

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