The Obvious Choice

First things first: "Congratulations, Joe."

After a couple years I can admit that perhaps Morneau's MVP case wasn't so clear-cut. In fact, he probably wasn't the MVP that year. But I can honestly say without a doubt that Mauer's honor is one of the most clear-cut, water-tight cases in history. There just isn't any debating.

In fact, I was surprised there wasn't more outcry from the Yankee fans I'm surrounded by. I wore a Twins t-shirt Monday in support of Joe and the decision that I knew was coming. Conveniently, two of the more avid Yankee fans at my office were both out, but the others that I did see didn't say a word. The TV in our office kitchen plays Sports Center on a loop practically all day, and even after the announcement came and everyone assuredly saw it, nobody said anything.

It was somewhat of a let-down. I was hoping for more vitriol to combat. Perhaps everyone is simply laying in wait to see if we can sign him to that long-term contract before they really speak up about the situation. Even my own enjoyment of Mauer's recognition is being tempered by the fact that I know we're only guaranteed one more year of him on our club.

(Is building a statue of him downtown next to Kirby Puckett and Harmon Killebrew not enough to convince him that he's a necessity?)

Anyway, I had another post in mind for today, but that's only because I completely forgot that I'd need to write something up about Mauer's MVP win. So, that means I'm going to have to put my intended post on ice for another time.

Instead, take heart, because for most of us this is a short week! Thanksgiving celebrations are (hopefully) allowing most of us to be done on Wednesday. So because nobody will really be around the office at all on Friday to read my weekly offseason series, I'm going to just pretend that Wednesday is Friday. So check back tomorrow morning for my next installment of Twins Bloggers: Get to Know 'Em, where I'll be interviewing Erin of Plunking Gomez. The weekend's almost here!

Twins Bloggers, "Get to Know 'Em!" presents: K-Bro

I'd first like to start by apologizing for not being around here much! I promise, I haven't forgotten about this blog, I've just been inundated with work as it seems like we've hit a "Holiday Rush" of projects. I vow to have at least one insightful post next week before Thanksgiving. The good thing though is that there are some things that force me to pay attention to this blog! The first of which was Jack Steal's weekly podcast that I help co-host -- go check out the archive, we were joined by Seth Stohs of Seth Speaks, and Andrew Bryz-Gornia of We Are Off The Mark this week! And the second thing that forces me to pay attention to this blog is my Friday off-season series...

Today I'm continuing with my weekly offseason series: Twins Bloggers, "Get to Know 'Em!" I've been lucky to have many of my favorite bloggers help me out so far by answering some of my questions about their life and their fanhood, and I've got plenty more contributing over the rest of this offseason. Today, I'm thrilled to be able to present K-Bro of K-Bro's Baseball Blog. In addition to being a whiz with photoshop illustrations to accompany her often humorous (and always enjoyable) posts, K-Bro got plenty of recognition after being picked up by Howard Sinker's blog on the Star Tribune website which noticed her fun, charitable, Twins Pennant Race Food Drive. Without further ado:

Personal-

NAME: You can call me k-bro. But I'm not a "bro," I'm a chick (well, a female anyway; I'm kind of old to be a "chick"). It's the "J-Lo" version of Kirsten Brown.

WEBSITE: http://kbrobaseball.blogspot.com

BIRTHDAY: November 3rd

HOMETOWN: Pretty much all over the Twins Cities area

WHAT KEEPS YOU EMPLOYED OTHER THAN BLOGGING: Senior Technical Writer for a medical software company

FAVORITE COLOR: Red

FAVORITE FOOD: Seafood. And chocolate.

FAVORITE MOVIE: Bull Durham

FAVORITE BOOK: Things That Make Us [Sic] -- it's a grammar book ... yes, I'm a dork.

FAVORITE TYPE OF MUSIC: Classic Rock -- Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, etc.

FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH OTHER THAN BASEBALL: Football and golf

FAVORITE SPORT TO PLAY: I wish I could golf, but I tried and got mad that I'm horrible at it, so I quit. So, none.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE VIKINGS/TIMBERWOLVES/WILD: Love the Vikings. Like the Wild -- I think going to their games is a blast, but I can't watch hockey on TV. I really don't care for basketball.

General Baseball-

WHAT MAKES BASEBALL SO GREAT TO YOU: The pace of the game. There is no clock. There is no "hurry-up offense." It just takes as long as it takes, and they play until somebody wins. I love great pitching; a 1-0 game is a joy for me. I also love great defense; there's nothing sexier than a turn of a good double-play.

IF YOU HAD TO FOLLOW ANOTHER TEAM, WHICH AND WHY: I like watching good young pitchers develop into great pitchers, so I would follow the Royals or the Mariners, because it would be fun to follow Grienke and King Felix.

BEST EXPERIENCE AT A BALLPARK OTHER THAN THE DOME: Once, on a business trip to San Francisco, I took in a Giants game at AT&T Park. It was very chilly, but I didn't care, however it did amuse me that hot chocolate vendors out-numbered beer vendors 4 to 1 (hello Target Field?). It must've been weird for the fans there to see a woman sitting by herself keeping score, because so many people asked me where I was from. But the fans were super nice and were fun to talk baseball with. Oh, and I got to see Tim Lincecum pitch.

OPINION ON INTERLEAGUE PLAY: Love it.

OPINION ON THE UNBALANCED SCHEDULE: I don't mind it, but maybe they could dial back a bit.

FAVORITE NON-TWINS PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY: Ozzie Smith. Oh, and here's an obscure one for you, Al Hrabosky (a very bizarre closer for the Royals who would "talk" to the ball)

MOST HATED NON-TWINS PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY: Manny Ramirez, eew.

DID YOU EVER PLAY BASEBALL/SOFTBALL, WHAT POSITION: No, but I have coached youth baseball some. Well, I've been a bench coach, which amounts to keeping the score book and hollering out the batting order all the time.

Twins Generic-

WHEN DID YOU BECOME A TWINS FAN AND WHY: When I was little. My dad was a big Twins fan. I'm an only child of divorced parents, and I grew up with my dad. Before the days of cable TV, the only way to keep up with the Twins was to listen to them on the radio. The only reliable AM radio my dad had was in his truck, so about three times a week, he would take me to DQ so we could sit in the truck and listen to the games while eating our ice cream.

BEST EXPERIENCE AT THE DOME: The final game of 2006 when the fans were watching the Royals/Tigers game on the Jumbotrons and cheering for KC to win so that the Twins would win the division.

EVER BEEN TO TWINS FEST? HOW WAS IT: I go to Twins Fest every couple years or so. It's always the same, but I like it. It gets me excited for the coming season.

EVER BEEN TO SPRING TRAINING? HOW WAS IT: Yes. It's amazing! Fort Myers is my favorite place on the planet, even though I've only been there once. I'd go again in a heartbeat if someone would be willing to pay for my kids' college.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CIRCLED BY BERT: No

HAVE YOU EVER CAUGHT A FOUL BALL OR HOME RUN AT THE DOME: No, but Justin Morneau tossed a ball to my kid as he went back to the dugout.

Twins Player Specific-

FAVORITE TWINS PLAYER IN HISTORY: Brad Radke

FAVORITE CURRENT TWINS PLAYER: Michael Cuddyer

FAVORITE OBSCURE TWINS PLAYER: Butch Wynegar

ARE THERE (WERE THERE) ANY TWINS PLAYERS YOU DISLIKE: Yes. And we'll leave it at that.

FAVORITE EXPERIENCE MEETING A PLAYER, PLEASE DESCRIBE: I've never actually met any players, but at autograph signings Bert Blyleven, Joe Nathan, and Johan Santana were really friendly and joked around with my kids, which was kind of fun.

CURRENT PLAYER YOU'D MOST LIKE TO WATCH A GAME WITH: Gardy. I would love to know what goes on in his head during a game.

LIKE TO GO TO A BAR WITH: Mike Redmond. I bet he tells great stories. And I bet his stories get better with every beer.

LIKE TO BE STRANDED ON AN ISLAND WITH: We'll just keep that within the boundaries of my imagination, 'k?

LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH: Michael Cuddyer. He seems like a good conversationalist. But I would have to respectfully request that he refrain from the magic tricks; sleight of hand creeps me out.

WANT TO BE THE FRONT MAN OF YOUR NEW BAND: Jon Rauch. He seems like he'd be a good musician -- I don't know why.

THINK SHOULD BE A MOVIE STAR: Nick Blackburn.

YOU'D ASK FOR HELP ON A SCIENCE LAB: If I wanted to get an A, probably Joe Mauer, because he seems smart -- although it would be too bad that Craig Breslow's still not around. If I just wanted to blow stuff up, probably Red.

LIKE TO START A BUSINESS WITH: Joe Nathan, because you know he'd worry about everything.

EXPECTATIONS OF TARGET FIELD: I think it'll be great, and I'm looking forward to checking it out.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE TEAM NEXT YEAR: World Series Champions, baby!

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A big thanks to K-Bro for all her help! I've always loved reading her blog since way before I started writing mine, so it's great to have her lend a hand! If you haven't checked out her site before, make sure to add it to your list of visits!

FYI, next week I believe Friday is not the day to publish a blog article. Most people have Thursday and Friday off from work. So instead, I'm going to treat Wednesday as the normal "Friday", and I'll be publishing my new "Get to Know 'Em", this time from Erin at Plunking Gomez, so be sure to stop by!

Podcast Tonight

Hey! I've been joining Jack Steal on his weekly Twins Talk podcast every Wednesday. Check out our show tonight 9PM CST/10PM EST. We're joined by special guests Andrew Bryz-Gornia of Off the Mark, and Seth Stohs of Seth Speaks tonight!

Twins Bloggers, "Get to Know 'Em!" presents: The Tenth Inning Stretch

First off, I'd like to give a big thanks to Jack Steal for having me back on his podcast last night! We had a great conversation and were even joined by The Twins Geek who called in, and Seth Stohs dropped by the chatroom! If you weren't able to listen in, you can check out the podcast on archive by clicking here.

It's Friday. Thankfully. And with Friday brings another edition of my offseason special -- Twins Bloggers: Get to Know 'Em!

Today, I have the pleasure of presenting Thrylos from The Tenth Inning Stretch. I first noticed Thrylos from some of the many insightful comments he'd leave on some of the other blogs I was reading, and after clicking on his URL I was amazed to find out that not only did he have great things to say in the comments I was seeing but he had amazing posts that really delve into some intricate aspects of the game. I've come to regard him as one of the premier must-reads in regards to all issues centered around pitching and pitching mechanics. There's no one else I'd rather consult than him. But without further ado -- let's hear from Thrylos!

Personal-

NAME: Thrylos is good enough :)

WEBSITE: http://tenthinningstretch.blogspot.com

BIRTHDAY: 11/8

HOMETOWN: Aberdeen (Scotland, not SD), then Minneapolis, then after many stops Lehigh Valley, PA

WHAT KEEPS YOU EMPLOYED OTHER THAN BLOGGING: I own and operate my own business; health sciences and computer-related.

FAVORITE COLOR: Black

FAVORITE FOOD: Sushi

FAVORITE MOVIE: The Sweet Movie or The Unbearable Lightness of Being (love long, twisted European movies)

FAVORITE BOOK: Too many to mention. Probably The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

FAVORITE TYPE OF MUSIC: I listen to all (mostly). Alternative rock and New Wave top my charts. Funk (Prince and the Time) are close too.

FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH OTHER THAN BASEBALL: Football.

FAVORITE SPORT TO PLAY: Does triathlon count as a sport? Baseball also (softball not that much). Never say no to a good game of tackle football, especially in the winter time when I have no races.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE VIKINGS/TIMBERWOLVES/WILD: I am the hugest Vikings fan in PA. World Champions this season. I do not bother with Basketball or Hockey.

General Baseball-

WHAT MAKES BASEBALL SO GREAT TO YOU: Baseball is the only sport that about 20 people at the field, on the mound, behind the plate, at the batter's box, on the bases, in the coaching boxes, and in the dugout have to think before every single pitch and make some decisions. Of course, they will be second-guessed later. It is a mental game that requires a lot of skill as well. Very rare combination in team sports.

IF YOU HAD TO FOLLOW ANOTHER TEAM, WHICH AND WHY: I always followed the Mets in the NL. Really liked their mid 80s teams. These days I would not mind following the Phillies (they are my local team).

BEST EXPERIENCE AT A BALLPARK OTHER THAN THE DOME: 1991. Fenway. Got obstructed seat walk up tickets ($10 each) on the 1st base line and watched the Twins beat up the Red Sox.

OPINION ON INTERLEAGUE PLAY: It's ok, but since the teams in the same division often face different teams and the same teams in different parks is not always fair. NL teams are in severe disadvantage because they have to use utility players as the DH or a regular as the DH and a utility guy on the field.

OPINION ON THE UNBALANCED SCHEDULE: It's good. A lot like football. You grind it with your division to win it. As in football, weaker divisions are in a disadvantage for WCs but not a big deal. Help sell tickets as well. I suspect that the Twins draw more people playing the White Sox than the Orioles.

FAVORITE NON-TWINS PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY: From the ones whom I have seen playing: Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, Bo Jackson.

MOST HATED NON-TWINS PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY: Jose Canseco. Before the current rivalry with the White Sox, the Twins had a huge rivalry with the steroid-pumped A's.

DID YOU EVER PLAY BASEBALL/SOFTBALL, WHAT POSITION: I pitched. Still pitch as a matter of fact, just not that effectively.

Twins Generic-

WHEN DID YOU BECOME A TWINS FAN AND WHY: Mid 80's. Hometown team.

BEST EXPERIENCE AT THE DOME: Hands down, the night after the Twins returned from beating the Tigers in 1987. The dome was in football configuration and me and 65000 others filled the place up. That was a hair-raising zen kind of fanhood experience.

EVER BEEN TO TWINS FEST? HOW WAS IT: Never had it, never will

EVER BEEN TO SPRING TRAINING? HOW WAS IT: Several times. Being on the East Coast I follow and watch several of the Twins' minor league teams so I have seen several of these players. And few places can beat Florida in March.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CIRCLED BY BERT?: No

HAVE YOU EVER CAUGHT A FOUL BALL OR HOME RUN BALL AT THE DOME?: 1991 a Chili Davis drive at right center.

Twins Player Specific-

FAVORITE TWINS PLAYER IN HISTORY: Kirby Puckett

FAVORITE CURRENT TWINS PLAYER: Kevin Slowey (Carlos Gomez was a close second)

FAVORITE OBSCURE TWINS PLAYER: Is Randy Bush obscure?

ARE THERE (WERE THERE) ANY TWINS PLAYERS YOU DISLIKE: I do not dislike anyone... Back in the day Rick Aguilera even though great at the field was not extremely approachable by the fans... Also I do not appreciate players who tried to handcuff the team for personal gain, like Chuck Knoblauch or who chose to go to other places like Torii Hunter. Also I think that some players help the team less than the press coverage about them suggests, which is a fact I dislike.

FAVORITE EXPERIENCE MEETING A PLAYER: A couple, and they are a bit different than a player/fan meeting (and I will leave out player names to protect the innocent): a. I had a working relationship with one Twins player when he was in college. I was his supervisor at his place of work. It was really surprising to find out that he was to play for the Twins a few years ago, b. Last summer, when my wife and I were vacationing in Florida, we were chatting for half an hour with an elderly couple. The man ended up being a (non-Twins) hall of famer and there was an incredible experience discussing baseball with someone like that and an extremely humbling experience to see how low key he was/in comparison to some of today's players.

CURRENT PLAYER YOU'D LIKE TO WATCH A GAME WITH: Kevin Slowey. I think that he looks like a guy who has a tremendous insight for the game.

MOST LIKE TO GO TO A BAR WITH: Jose Mijares. Looks like he can hold his alcohol and take care of the appetizers so I won't be tempted by them

MOST LIKE TO BE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH: (Not Mike Redmond, for obvious reasons.) Carlos Gomez. I might get a mile time down a few notches if I run with him. Plus, I could be throwing him 1000 sliders outside the zone daily so he learns how not to swing at them. Plus I can work on my Spanish.

MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH: Pat Neshek. We both don't eat meat or chicken, so it would be an easy restaurant choice, plus I bet he is a great conversationalist

WANT TO BE THE FRONT MAN OF YOUR NEW BAND: Joe Nathan. Band is called "Twitched Sisters"

THINK SHOULD BE A MOVIE STAR: Joe Mauer. The Natural. But I can see Brian Buscher starring as "The Butcher" in a B horror flick.

YOU'D ASK FOR HELP ON A SCIENCE LAB: Brendan Harris.

YOU'D START A BUSINESS WITH: Mike Cuddyer; he'd make a good clown for kid's parties (and can do magic tricks)

EXPECTATIONS OF TARGET FIELD: The first Twins' World Championship in 19 years. A very interesting place to see a home game.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE TEAM NEXT YEAR: World Series or Bust.

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A huge thanks for Thrylos for his answers. If you haven't yet checked out The Tenth Inning Stretch, add it to your "favorites" because his insight is unmatched. And make sure to stop by next Friday, when K-Bro of K-Bro's Baseball Blog takes the hotseat!

Podcast Tonight

I'm joining Jack Steal on his weekly podcast tonight at 10PM EST/ 9PM CST! Make sure to check it out!

We Can Still Trade Delmon!

I must say, I'm extremely happy that JJ Hardy is officially a Twin. It hasn't really set in yet that Carlos Gomez and all his exuberance and funny antics will no longer be a part of our team, but it's nice to look at that shortstop position on our roster and know that we have a quality major league player locking it down.

You, sir, are a shortstop. And a good one.

It seems that everyone's biggest criticism of this move is that our outfield defense has been set with Cuddyer occupying right field, Span in center, and Young in left. While that certainly looks to be the case, remember that the offseason has just begun.

I would still be perfectly happy packaging Delmon Young and shipping him off too. If the Twins are finally ready to concede how awful both the Santana and the Garza/Bartlett trades were, why not just scrap both of them and start anew? I still think we could pry something away for Delmon Young. He's not that far removed from his successful rookie year, and he's shown enough flashes of greatness down the stretch the past two years that someone should be willing to take a chance on him.

Most everyone will concede that Denard Span's defense isn't quite up to par in centerfield, but is exceptionally better in left or right. If I were Bill Smith, I'd start looking at free agent and trade candidate center fielders -- and there are several realistic options out there.

Of course we could always grab Mike Cameron and allow both he and JJ Hardy a mini Brewer's reunion party at Target Field. But even if the Twins didn't want to go after someone on the Cameron level of 7 or 8 million a year, they could easily take a flier on a couple other candidates:

Endy Chavez

Chavez has always been a great defensive outfielder, and adding him to our roster would easily upgrade our outfield defense. He should come relatively cheap too, at around 2 or 3 million for a year. Perhaps a 2-year deal to provide a stop-gap until someone like Ben Revere is ready to take over?

Coco Crisp

Crisp is coming off one of his worst seasons as a batter (.228/.336/.378), but his glove should still be sharp, and those numbers are a cry from his 8-year average of .277/.331/.407. The Royals weren't willing to pay him $8M next year, so they bought out his option. He is joining the wrong-side of 30 for a baseball player who relies on speed and defense, but he figures to have a few productive years ahead of him, and just like Chavez he could be a useful and inexpensive holdover until our better prospects are ready to come.

Of course those are just a couple of the potential free agent names that spring to mind. There are also a few trade candidates out there who shouldn't cost an arm and a leg to pry away from their teams. I bet we could pull a Matt Guerrier-for-Juan Pierre trade.

Pierre's a solid center fielder and a career .301 hitter who wouldn't be a bad fit in that second spot in our lineup for starters (although he does bat lefthanded and wouldn't break up the Span-Mauer-Morneau lefty combo). He comes at a steep salary, but the Twins could still handle it, especially for such a good player. The Dodgers definitely don't need him, with Kemp, Ethier, and Ramirez already locking down their outfield, so I'm sure they'd rather take a year of Guerrier than pay $10M for a bench player/pinch runner. The Twins could certainly use someone of his particular skill set.

I'd even take Felix Pie.

Mmmm, Pie.

Not the best hitter, but a decent glove, and the Orioles certainly make some weird trades, so, maybe we could trade them Rick Stelmascek?

Hey, don't be upset, you'd be helping us get a center-fielder.

If we got Pie from the Orioles and upgraded at either 2B or 3B, we'd still have a pretty solid lineup next year and keep our outfield defense intact.

Of course we have a stock of minor league center fielders coming through, so someone like Crisp, Chavez, or Pierre would perhaps make more sense than someone like Pie, as we'd only need them for one or two years until one of our better prospects is ready to take over.

Rene Tosoni profiles more as a corner outfielder although he's played center some in the minors. He's perhaps the most major-league ready, but right on his heels is Ben Revere, who is one of the best prospects in our system and has steadily moved up a level each year. He should be ready to debut in 2011 or 2012 at the latest if he keeps this pace.

Even further back are Joe Benson, Angel Morales and Aaron Hicks, who could be ready in 2012 or 2013, and many wouldn't be hesitant to label them All-Stars once they arrive.

Anyway, my point is simply that we shouldn't just think that we're stuck with Delmon in the lineup every day because we traded away Gomez. We shouldn't be hesitant to trade Young, as there are enough center fielders out there that we could afford to snag one of them for a year or two until some of our guys are ready to come up, and that way Span can still be an everyday starter in left, where he should be.

Just my thoughts.

Make sure to listen in as I rejoin Jack Steal this Wednesday for his podcast at 9PM CST/10PM EST!

Obviously you've all heard by now...

JJ Hardy will be suiting up for the Twins next year, and Carlos Gomez will be with our NL border-rival Brewers.

I'm definitely happy to see the proactivity on Bill Smith's part in addressing a position of need by dealing from a position of (relative) strengh -- the outfield. Especially because some of our highest prospects are outfielders.

I have some definite opinion on how this changes my approach to the offseason, and some of my thoughts could be a little off-the-wall, but I think they make perfect sense. I don't want to say it all now before I have time to do a more in-depth write-up, but suffice it to say that I still think we should be trading Delmon Young.

Expect a pretty article about this on Monday for everyone to read.