Tolleson - as good as he looks on paper?

A year ago I did not even know there was such a thing as Winter Leagues, now I am busy looking at the stats, trying to gleam an idea of who will be hot who won't be. But if you are a reader, you know I don't believe that stats are everything. Stats can't catch the little webgems that we get out of Punto or Casilla. But given no other info, I am using them.

I am truly excited to see one player in action, Steven Tolleson. Again, going on stats only, his OPS looks impressive at .991. His OBP is .449. He is pretty even on right and and left and has a 1.121 OPS with runners on. Alone the numbers mean little, but he is playing comparable to Casilla at this point. He is on the 40 man, but as a short stop I doubt there will be a place for him on the 25, but you never know what will happen. Have to see how well he does in Spring Training.

Ok, so we aren't a successful team at bringing in or keeping big names, but here is another example of young talent that I cannot wait to see in action.

Punto signed

Miss me??? I have missed being here. Life gets busy and of course, there hasn't been much going on. I was hoping for tons of news coming from the Winter Meetings this week in Las Vegas. Lots of rumors, but unfortunately, not a lot of dealing.

Well, there was movement in the front office today, albeit not the kind that I hoped for.

Punto had been talking to several other teams including the Yankees, Mets and Diamondbacks, and chose to sign with the Twins. His deal includes $4 mil for two years, a $5 mil club option for 2011, and a $500,000 buyout. Gardy has said that Punto will start the year as shortstop.

As you know, I think Punto is a mixed bag. Sometimes making plays that are incredible and then following it up with a misstep that makes you wonder how he ever made it to the majors, he is someone you can't decide whether to love or to hate. Is he worth the $4 mil a year? Dunno, but I hope that the decision frees them up to seriously start looking for a good trade for a 3rd baseman. Love him or hate him, he does some solid things. I love my puppies, but we need to invest a little cash to improve the team. Think of the team we could have with a majority of the players we had last year, but adding some strength on that side of the field. Keep the youth to keep the excitement and drive, and add some talent and experience to complement it.

But I am so excited to get back into reading about and talking about the team. I hope you are too!

Okay - so I will try not to be down on Punto this year when others bad mouth him, and try to stay supportive during his blunders. Of course, I plan to lose 10 pounds in the next few days, too! hee hee

And the award goes to...

...taps mic, clears throat and prepares to present a monumental acceptance speech that will be repeated over and over again because of its warmth and hilarity...

Thank you to my good friend, and coincidentally enough a Twins fan, Kat for giving me this award on her site Oranges and Peaches. I like to think of her site as a brain dump of fascinating facts. As a librarian she chronicles what she learns through various research requests. While I am horrible at describing it, it is a fascinating blog that will often have you saying, how did I not know that, and send you running to google to learn more.

Now for the dilemma - My job as an award winner is to share with you my favorite blogs. This site is about the Twins, so should I share only my favorite Twins blogs, or open myself up and share more of my extremely eclectic interests? I decided to do a little of both. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Cake Wrecks - A double dose for me. I have always wanted to learn how to decorate cakes and love Ace of Cakes on the food network. I also love to laugh. My first thought was how long could something about cakes gone bad last? I hope a long, long time. When I need a good laugh, this site is sure to provide. Even if you have no interest in cakes, check this one out at least once. I guarantee you will be hooked!

365 to 42 - An amazingly beautiful site of photography throughout the photographer's 41st year. I am often moved by his photos. His posts vary from how and why he took the photo to poetry that fits the photo. A must see.

Twins Geek - One of my favorite Twins info sites. He covers anything and everything. And the best part - he didn't stop writing back in August when several other blogs I followed did. Ah... a true fan!

Popbang - Specializing in power pop that just doesn't suck on his internet radio station, this is the place to go if you want to know what is up and coming in the pop world. He highlights what is good in the new music coming out from both new and existing musicians.

Clever Girl Goes Blog - Like sarcastic humor? This is the site for you then. I like to go here whenever I need a little giggle.

Okay - I have bared my soul. Hope you enjoy these!

Here are the rules for the award winners:

• Place the Logo on your blog
• Link to the person who awarded you
• You can nominate up to 5 blogs
• Add their links to your blog
• Leave a message in the comment section of their blog to notify the winners.

Counting the days till Spring Training!!!

Chris

What a season

Well Twins fans, so ends a fun drama-filled season! Considering what the Twins were supposed to accomplish this year, we had a fantastic run!

I have had the best time starting up this blog and learning what I could along the way this season. They have made it hard for me to tear myself away from the tv night after night after night.

What I came away with from the season:

• A goose bump filled memory of game three of the home CWS series that I will never forget, and will make any future games I attend feel quiet and boring for maybe the rest of my life!
• A new, deeper knowledge of the game that made every play more exciting, and made me hungry to learn something more every chance I could, through reading, watching and talking.
• An idea of what direction I want to go with this next year, and a notebook stuffed full of ideas.
• A family that groans at the mere mention of the Twins! A few teen-ager words used to describe me and my blog include - geek, stupid, dumb, waste of time, and the ever popular eye roll and deep overly dramatic sigh (does that count as a foreign word?).
• Many new friends on both sides of the fence.
• A realization that mommy CAN take time for herself and a hobby that she loves without the family falling apart. (Of course, if you poll them, the results may vary a little!)
• And mostly, a much deeper love of something that started as an interest and became an overwhelming passion!

Here is to you Twins for giving us more than we dared to hope for and proving them wrong once again!

Can't wait for Spring Training to start!

See you in the spring!

Thanks Twins!!!

Game 163 for the Twins

The Chicago vs Detroit game just ended, and unfortunately it did not go our way. Ramirez crushed a glimmer of hope after the Tigers had pulled ahead in the top of the 6th, by getting a grand slam in the bottom of the same inning. In case you didn't hear, it was his fourth tying the rookie record.

So the Twins play Chicago at 6:30pm tomorrow.

We control our own destiny!

Go Twins!!!

And now we wait

The Twins are now 1/2 game ahead of the White Sox, forcing the rained out game to be played tomorrow afternoon in Chicago. I thought since the game was rained out in Detroit, that they would be heading to Detroit to play the game. I guess part of me hoped that they would have to travel a lot before Tuesday's game, if it were necessary. (There was an interesting discussion one day about the importance of gate fees, so my guess is that there was some compensation to the Tigers for the loss of the gate fees.)

So now all Twins fans have to hold their breath and wait until 4-5pm tomorrow to know our team's fate. As I detailed yesterday, if the CWS lose tomorrow we will win the division. The Twins are gathering at the dome to watch the game as a team, and will at least be able to celebrate together. If the CWS win, then we will be heading to Chicago to play the tie breaker. I cannot imagine sitting in the dome tomorrow watching a game that could mean either a champagne celebration, or a quick run to the airport to jump on an 8pm flight.

I will be watching the game tomorrow and hoping NOT to have to watch a game on Tuesday!

Go Twins!!! (and Go Tigers!!!)

American League Central showdown - Twins vs White Sox

So here is how it breaks down...

In the ultimate of end of season showdowns, the whole White Sox vs Twins saga will very likely come down to the Twins fans watching box scores very, very closely the next two days. I have been surprised at how many fans leaving comments on other sites are confused as to what happens next, so here is the way it all plays out.

The CWS missed a game due to rain and so their record compared to ours is off by one game. That game will be made up only if after tomorrow's games we are still within half a game either way. Why either way? Because their win or loss in that game could make it a tie between our two teams. So if they are up by half a game after tomorrow, they do NOT win the ALC. They instead play the rained out game Monday, since if they lose that game we would end up with tied records for the season and be forced to play a tie breaker game. And of course, it flip flops if we are up by half a game.

So if you look at the scenarios, they are as follows:

• Both teams win tomorrow - Twins will remain ahead by 1/2 game and the CWS will play on Monday.
• Both teams lose tomorrow - Twins will remain ahead by 1/2 game and the CWS will play on Monday.
• Twins win/CWS lose tomorrow - Twins will be ahead by 1-1/2 games and take the division!!! Yeah!!!!
• Twins lose/CWS win tomorrow - Twins will be behind CWS by 1/2 game and the CWS will play on Monday.

So in three of the four scenarios, we will not know the outcome until the CWS play their Monday game.

Now - fast forward to Chicago's Monday game.

• If we end up after tomorrow's games up 1/2 game ahead of the CWS and they play Monday and win, we will be tied with them and play a tie breaker on Tuesday at Chicago (we lost a coin toss a week ago). If they lose Monday's game, we will be ahead of them by 1 game and win the division!
• If we end up after tomorrow's games behind by 1/2 game and they play on Monday and win, we will be down a game to them and be done for the season. (And joyfully celebrate a fantastic season!) If they lose on Monday we will again be tied and play the tie breaker on Tuesday at Chicago.

The next few days look to cause real issues for my manicure! I will be at tomorrow's game cheering on my team with hopefully 45K of my best friends, so I am guessing the voice could be an issue as well!

Here's to an exciting day tomorrow!

Go Twins!!!