Baseball '09

[1or2]

Man, that was a hard game to watch. If I would have been at home I would have had to turn it off several times. I guess it was fitting for the Twins that Alexi Casilla, the absolute least likely player to produce a game winning hit, was the one who did so. They are 17-4 over their last 21 games, so they are hot at the right time. I doubt they'll have enough juice to get past the Wankees but they can certainly take some pride in the way they have played of late.

[randyfromredondo]

Man, what an exciting game to watch. Congrats, Jim, and any other Twins fans out there. Good luck going up against the Death Star.

[jdz]

What a game! What an amazing comeback month, and then to finish it with a win like that!

[1or2]

They are 17-4 over their last 21 games...

I should point out that this was 5-3 vs. the Tigers and 12-1 vs. the White Sox, the Royals and the Clevelands. The one loss was in KC to Cy Greinke. This is not the same thing as playing against the Yankees, Red Sox and Angels, but they beat the teams they should have beaten and had to beat.

[mervap]

Congrats to the Twins and all their fans!

[1or2]

Cripes, it is difficult to try to beat both the Yankees and Phil Cuzzi. (Google him and you'll find that this isn't the first colossal screw-up in his career.) However, when you leave 17 on base in 11 innings you lose the privilege of righteous indignation over an incompetent boob posing as an umpire.

[hollyh]

Thank you Dodgers.

[mwyatt]

I don't know how to post this, having the Red Sox go down in flames today and then the Patriots, but my son's Pop Warner team finally won their first game this season. I'm happy (even better in that we found out on Tuesday that one of his teammates was diagnosed with Lymphoma, and the chant going into overtime for the win was that kid's name, then they all gathered around to shoot a get well video while signing the game ball). Sometimes things are put into perspective.

[1or2]

...the Red Sox go down in flames today...

One evil empire down, one to go (but the Twins are in a poor position to do it).

And Mike, I hope your son's teammate fares well. Lymphoma is one of the most curable cancers.

[mwyatt]

Yep, childhood cancer sucks, but living in Boston w/ MGH, Dana Farber et al down the highway makes it far more of a good outcome.

Pulling for the Twins for sure (my bro, niece and nephew are there tonight at the Dome - BTW how can you get face tickets @ $17 for a playoff game????). but don't think the ultimate Evil Empire is entirely enthralled facing the Angels possibly in the next round.

[1or2]

Didn't get a chance to watch last night's game but any time the Yankees lose in the postseason I'm happy. There had to be some painful twinges for Cleveland fans seeing their two former pitching aces go against each other in a World Series opener.

[1or2]

Gotta acknowlege Joe Mauer getting the MVP. My 14-year-old son is a Twins fan first and a Cardinals fan second, and we have occasional discussions about who is the best player in baseball right now, Mauer or Pujols. My slightly biased opinion is Mauer, because as a catcher he does more for his team than Pujols does as a first baseman. When Mauer was drafted with the first pick in 2001 many media types in the Twin Cities chided the Twins for not picking Mark Prior because he was essentially ready for the majors and pitching is so important. Mauer was considered by those people to be mostly a public relations pick because he was the local high school sports hero, and the perception was that the Twins just wanted to avoid paying Prior the big bucks. The Twins insisted that Mauer was the best undrafted player in the country, and it appears now that the scouts must have known their stuff. And for any Yankee or Red Sox fans, don't get your hopes up about having him as your catcher. The Twins have no choice but to keep him no matter what the price turns out to be. Mangement knows it, Mauer knows it and his agent knows it. Fortunately he is represented by Ron Shapiro, not Scott Boras.

[mervap]

The Twins insisted that Mauer was the best undrafted player in the country, and it appears now that the scouts must have known their stuff.

The Twins don't seem to have trouble locating and drafting real gems like Mauer....their scouts do a great job. Holding on to them, that's different. Mauer seems to be a real classy guy in addition to his baseball skills, so maybe he will want to stick around.