Ladies and Gentlemen… they’ve arrived!

It’s official, my opening day tickets have arrived, and I feel like I would be content with camping out on Target Plaza from now until April 12^th. I am literally as excited as I could expect to possibly be about the upcoming Twins season, and at the same time as disgusted as I could possibly be with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Due to the circumstances of having opening day tickets to the opening of a brand new stadium, a once in a lifetime type of opportunity, and the fact that the NBA season is almost over, I am a bit less frustrated with the Wolves than I could be.

The Timberwolves have absolutely quit on this season with 14 games remaining, counting their matchup tonight with Utah. They were absolutely obliterated by the Phoenix Suns last night in Arizona, surrendering 152 points… in a single game... The 152 points scored by the Suns were the most given up by the Timberwolves in franchise history, and the 78 points given up in the first-half were also the most given up during a single half in franchise history.

The more I think about it, the more it boggles my mind that a professional basketball team can give up that amount of points in only 48 minutes. You almost have to put forth a significant effort toward not playing defense in order to allow an opponent to annihilate you in the manner that Phoenix did the Timberwolves. However, as I mentioned initially, I am so “twitterpated” with the thought of what I will experience on April 12^th, that I don’t even care that much about the fact that the Timberwolves would probably lose to the Laporte Wildcats girls basketball team right now.

On a separate note, I can’t even begin to describe how glad I am that the Twins didn’t shell out $10MM for Ben Sheets this season. Sheets gave up 10 runs to the Reds on Monday… WITHOUT RECORDING AN OUT! I don’t care how optimistic I am, if he were playing for the Twins, I would have a hard time justifying that outing by saying something like he was just “shaking off the rust.” I am having a hard enough time convincing myself that Francisco Liriano is ready to return to at least something resembling his 2006 form, especially when he says things like “my mechanics just broke down” in reference to the 2^nd and 3^rd innings of his most recent spring training appearance when he gave up 3 runs, including a 2 run homerun on a changeup he left up in the zone.

No matter how many people think it is a good idea, I am 100% against having Francisco Liriano as our closer in 2010. I feel this way for a number of reasons. First of all, Liriano walks way too many batters, which is the exact opposite of what you want in a closer. If people want to be sweating bullets every time a save situation presents itself, then it would be a great idea, because I can assure you that there would be plenty of runners in scoring position during his various appearances. I am not saying he is not a good pitcher, and does not have the chance to become a very good pitcher, I just think he is much more suited for a starting role.

The second reason I feel that Liriano should not be our closer in 2010 is that he must be given every possible opportunity to be successful as a starting pitcher, and a role as a closer or a reliever should be a last resort. When Liriano was good, a la 2006, he was absolutely filthy, he was better than Johan Santana during most of that season. He finished that season with an ERA of 2.16 and 144 strikeouts in 121 innings pitched, all while maintaining of WHIP of 1.00. What I am trying to say is that if he can return to anything even close to that, he could be a legitimate #1 starter for the Twins, not only this year, but for years to come. Pair that logic with the fact that he absolutely dominated the Dominican Winter League during this past offseason, and the conclusion can be made that he must be given every possible opportunity to succeed as a starter. All of this reinforces my point that Liriano as a closer/reliever should be a last resort rather than a hasty decision out of need.

Twins fans need to relax a bit about the closer situation. Yes, the loss of Joe Nathan is bad, and I am clearly upset by it (see “The 5 Stages of Grief, Joe Nathan Edition) but it is not nearly as devastating as most fans are making it sound. Many people forget that Joe Nathan came into the league as a shortstop, then converted to a pitcher, and when he was traded to Minnesota in 2003 he was not a closer at the time, but rather converted to a closer by the Twins. The Twins have a deep bullpen, and they have guys capable of closing games. Obviously the numbers that Joe Nathan has put up over the past 6 years are not replaceable, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t come up with a serviceable replacement.

In the short term, meaning this season, there will be an attempt to solve the problem in-house, either through a closer by committee solution, or by handing the job to somebody like Jon Rauch, Matt Guerrier, or maybe even Pat Neshek if he is healthy. If that isn’t working as well as the Twins had hoped, there is always the option to sign somebody during the season, or to make a trade prior to the July 31^st deadline. I believe that the dark horse in this closer situation may be John Smoltz who is still an unsigned free agent, and was rumored to have been approached by the Twins recently and turned them down, stating that he would probably like to wait until after the season begins. I think that Smoltz improved near the end of last season with the Cardinals, he can still throw hard enough to get people out, and his sinker was looking great in the last month of the season. He is 42 years old, but for a team that’s built to win right now, a guy with all the playoff experience Smoltz has may be just what this team needs coming out of the bullpen in the 9^th inning.

This is a situation to keep an eye on as the season continues to approach, because I fully expect Joe Nathan to test out his arm on Saturday, and then shortly thereafter announce that he will undergo Tommy John Surgery because it just doesn’t feel right. I still think that the Twins should be the favorites to win the Central, and I believe if they can figure out a solution for the closer spot, they can make a deep postseason run. The beauty of all this is that we will all be able to see first hand how this plays out, beginning on April 5^th, and I absolutely cannot wait.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… and no, I don’t mean Christmas

Twice a year, non-sports fans and true sports fans come together as a result of 2 specific events in sports. These two events are the Super Bowl and the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament. Today is the day when the buzz of one of these two events begins…. Selection Sunday!

Let’s face it, people who don’t enjoy football still choose watch the Super Bowl for one of three reasons; the commercials, the halftime entertainment, or the social aspect of a particular party they are attending. Unlike the Super Bowl, which occurs on one particular Sunday in the beginning of February, the NCAA Tournament takes place over a 3 week period of time in March, hence the term “March Madness." Over this three week period of time, people who for 49 weeks out of the year couldn’t care less about sports, become emotionally invested in the game of college basketball, and the spectacle that is the NCAA tournament. Some do it for the bragging rights of an inter-office bracket pool, others do in hopes of this year’s “Cinderella” team making a run. One thing is for sure, March Madness is like a pandemic, one from which nobody is immune, and there is no vaccine.

March Madness began a bit earlier than expected for me this year, 3 days earlier to be exact, as the Minnesota Gophers found themselves on the bubble with only 18 wins going into the annual Big Ten Conference Tournament.

The Gophers handily defeated Penn State as was expected, and advanced to face Michigan State, a team who had defeated them twice this season, on Friday. This matchup turned out to be a real “barn burner” (no pun intended regarding Williams Arena). The Gophers prevailed in overtime thanks to Devoe Joseph catching fire, scoring 8 of his team high 17 in the extra period. The Gophers were then set to face Purdue on Saturday afternoon, another team who they had lost to twice this season.

Nobody could have predicted what happened next. The Gophers turned in by far their best defensive effort of the season, one in which they held the #5 nationally ranked Boilermakers to 11 first-half points. Had Jajuan Johnson’s buzzer beater at the end of the first-half not occurred, Purdue would have scored in the single digits! With the Gophers entering halftime leading 37-11, there was not much doubt that they would be facing Ohio State on Sunday afternoon for the Big Ten title.

The Gophers entered Sunday having played games each of the three previous days, and Ohio State having only played two. I was fairly confident regarding the tournament chances for Minnesota, having now defeated each of the regular season Big Ten champions, including an absolute man-handling of Purdue the day before. I think my exact quote Sunday morning went something like this, “as long as the Gophers don’t go out and lose by 30 today, we should be in the tournament.” Hmmmmmm…

The first-half was exciting, with the Gophers and Buckeyes exchanging baskets, entering halftime with the Buckeyes leading 33-30. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to witness in the second half of this basketball game. The Buckeyes opened up the second half on an 8-0 run that quickly stretched their lead to 11 points. The Gophers countered a bit and kept it within 6-8 points, but then… David Lighty… It was as if Lighty drank some of “Michael’s Secret Stuff” from the movie Space Jam (which as everybody knows, was a bottle of water Bugs Bunny disguised as some secret formula for playing like Michael Jordan, and was given to his cartoon teammates in order to give them the confidence needed to play well). All of the sudden he couldn’t miss, whether he was driving coast-to-coast through 3 to 4 defenders or hitting 22 footers, David Lighty absolutely took over the basketball game in the blink of an eye. He also apparently gave some of “Michael’s Secret Stuff” to some of his teammates, because at one point Ohio State made a field goal in 11 straight possessions.

Let’s also not forget about that other guy named Evan Turner, he had an OK day scoring 31 points, grabbing 11 boards, and dishing out 6 assists. Before I could even think about the irony of my morning statement, the final horn sounded and the Buckeyes had beaten the Gophers 90-61, claiming the Big Ten Tournament title. Following this game there were 3 things I felt pretty confident about:

1. I ABSOLUTELY would like the Timberwolves to receive the #2 overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft, rather than the #1 overall pick. That way we wouldn’t be forced to choose between John Wall and Evan Turner, we would just get whoever falls into our lap, and by that I mean one of two future superstars. Right now, Evan Turner looks eerily like Dwyane Wade circa 2003, when he led Marquette to the final four. I would have to say, I wouldn’t mind watching him play for the Timberwolves for the next 10+ years.

2. I would now be watching the selection show with a crappy feeling in my stomach, because as I said earlier that day, “as long as the Gophers don’t go out and lose by 30 today, we should be in the tournament.” Well, they didn’t lose by 30, but they sure tried hard to do so, in the end falling short and only losing by 29.

3. Even if the Gophers were to make it into the field of 64 (65 if you count the play-in game, but let’s face it, who actually pays attention to that), they would be seeded fairly low and have to face a pretty tough first round opponent.

Of the two things that were to be decided today, I was right on one and wrong on the other. I was wrong about the fact that I would be watching the selection show, as I decided to head to Golfsmith to get my clubs re-gripped, as I had to take my mind off of the abysmal performance the Gophers had just turned in. I was correct on the other, and the Gophers did make the field of 64 as an 11 seed. They are set to face a 6 seed, Xavier on Friday, and although I truly love March Madness and am glued to the TV every single year, the tournament is just a whole lot more exciting when the Gophers are in.

Will this be the year that a 16 seed finally knocks of a 1 seed? Could we be saying in twenty years, “remember when Lehigh knocked off Kansas in 2010?” Who will be this year’s Cinderella? The Murray State Racers? The Siena Saints? Maybe the Minnesota Gophers?... Nobody knows, and quite frankly that is what makes this tournament so great. A father and his 4 year old daughter could both fill out brackets, with the father picking based on immense college basketball knowledge and his daughter picking based on which mascots she likes best or team colors, and she will most likely win. This is because any team can win on any given night, as Dick Vitale says, “it’s awesome baby!” So get out your brackets and pens and fill those bad boys out, because March Madness is upon us!

Optimism

I’m sitting here on my couch, watching the Minnesota Timberwolves give up 71 points to the Dallas Mavericks in a first half where Dirk Nowitzki played only 10 minutes. I know what you are all thinking, “why in the world are you wasting a perfectly good Monday night on the Timberwolves?” Although that is a completely valid question, I feel that I have a completely valid answer. I am eternally optimistic.

I continue to watch the Timberwolves again, and again, and again… I watch them because I am fully on the “long-term plan” bandwagon, even though I know the odds are against “The Meerkat” David Kahn. I know that the one aspect to every successful NBA team is the presence of at least one superstar, and the Wolves just don’t have one. And without any future luck with some ping-pong balls, they will continue to lack this critical piece to a successful NBA franchise.

This extreme optimism has always been a characteristic of mine, mainly in the case of Minnesota sports. To give you a taste of just how ridiculous my optimism can be at times, prior to this NBA season I was quoted in a conversation with my father as saying, “the Timberwolves will win 30-35 games this season.” What in the world was I smoking?

The fact is, I wasn’t smoking anything; rather I was high or buzzed on the excitement of a fresh start, a new season for a team that I love.

I am optimistic that the Gopher basketball team will play well in the upcoming Big Ten tournament and maybe sneak into the big dance, I am optimistic that Brett Favre will return next season and the Vikings will have a good chance to win the Super Bowl, but most of all I am optimistic about the upcoming Twins season.

Things that add to my excitement are pictures like the one below showing the tarp removed and green grass showing at Target Field, and the fact that I received my invitation to my season ticket holder open house later in March.

My optimism has been a bit dampened as of late due to the reports regarding Joe Nathan’s elbow tightness, soreness, discomfort, inflammation, etc. (depending on what you have read). However, just as with everything else, I will continue to believe that he is just fine and that it was “just the breaking up of scar tissue” causing the discomfort, and that it was to be expected during the recovery, until it is reported otherwise.

Regardless of my optimism regarding Joe Nathan, it will be what it will be. The loss of Nathan would be an enormous blow to the Twins and their pitching staff this season. Over the past six years Joe Nathan has been arguably the best closer in baseball. Just for fun, look at these numbers from the past 6 seasons and guess who player x and player y are:

Player X Player Y

Saves 246 243

Save % 90.8 93.1

ERA 1.87 1.90

K/9 11.1 8.7

Opp. BA .182 .206

WHIP .093 .094

Due to my obvious foreshadowing, it was easy to guess that Joe Nathan represents one of the players, and most baseball fans would be able to guess that Mariano Rivera would be the other. What may surprise you is the fact that player x is Joe Nathan, rather than the other way around. Nathan has been better in every category with the exception of save percentage. Obviously Nathan has had some late season struggles in his past 2 seasons, with last year’s postseason struggles being fresh in everybody’s minds. Regardless of what happened late last season, Joe Nathan still has a lot left in the tank and will extremely important to the Twins’ success this upcoming season.

Although the Nathan situation has dampened my optimism a bit, solid outings by Kevin Slowey and Nick Blackburn today have temporarily renewed my excitement. At least until the reports come out tomorrow regarding Joe Nathan’s status.

As spring training roles on, I will continue to read accounts of the games based on the opinions of sports writers, while supplementing their analysis with some box score analysis of my own. Until the regular season begins and I am able to watch the Twins on a daily basis, I will continue to be optimistic about the prospects of this “new and improved” lineup, and the hope that our pitching staff can stabilize and be solid this season.

Most people will laugh at my optimism, and some call me a “homer,” but the bottom line is that I am able to look at the Twins from a non-biased perspective and I choose not to. I choose to be optimistic about my hometown Minnesota Twins because it is just more fun this way, and quite frankly I am excited about the thought of outdoor baseball finally returning to Minnesota.

Am I optimistic that Joe Mauer will sign a contract extension with the Twins before the season starts? Yes. Do I believe that Justin Morneau and Pat Neshek will return from injuries and be productive this season? Yes. Am I confident that the Twins starting rotation will be better this year with the help of a "revitalized" Francisco Liriano? Sure. Do I think that Delmon Young can become the player everybody thought he would when he was selected #1 overall? Why not! The bottom line is that I am a Twins fan, which is short for fanatic. I get excited about them and I always will. The day that the Twins are simply another team and represent only statistics or analysis rather than a passion, would be a sad day in my life as a sports fan.