Jim Crikket

This post appeared originally at http://www.knuckleballsblog.com Right up front, I LIKE the expanded playoffs adopted officially by MLB today. I went on record supporting this concept a couple of years ago and I stand by that support. Beginning this fall, there will be TWO Wild Card spots in both the AL and NL, instead of one in each. In a perfect world, I’d have no Wild Cards at all, but that realistically is never going to happen. This is the next best thing. I know that scheduling issues meant that, for 2012 only, the LDS will have a goofy format where the first two games are played in the lower seeded team's stadium and the following three in the higher seeded team's place. That's not ideal, but they'll go back to a 2-2-1 format next season, so whatever. The primary reason I like this concept is that it returns emphasis where I believe it belongs… on winning your Division title. Players and managers (and thus most fans) have become conditioned, since 1995, to establishing their team’s season-long goal as being to “make the playoffs.” This is the way it is in the NFL, NHL and NBA, and while MLB has had fewer playoff spots than other major sports leagues, that same mentality has established itself in baseball since the Wild Card was implemented starting with the 1995 season. Since that time, it has no longer mattered if you win your Division or not, as long as you managed to win enough games to beat out all of the other Division “runners up.” Several times over this period, teams that have locked up the Wild Card spot have stopped bothering to even compete for their Division championship, preferring instead to rest players and set their rotation for the playoffs. In at least one case, a team very clearly tried NOT to win their Division, in an effort to get the first round match-up they felt most comfortable with. That cannot be allowed to happen. It won’t happen again. There are only two real objections raised to the new plan. One is that it results in the likely outcome that a strong second place team in one Division is placed at too great a disadvantage to Division winning teams of lesser talent and abilities. We’ll call this "the Yankee objection" and it goes something like this: “The Yankees are always the best team in the American League, even when they let another AL East team win the Division and this format will mean that when the Yankees do allow someone else to win the AL East, they won’t get in to the playoffs on equal footing with the AL Central and AL West Division champions who are never ever as good as the Yankees. Therefore, the Yankees will gain their rightful place in the World Series less often than they deserve.” To this I say, “If you’re so much better than everyone else, win your f’ing Division or shut up.” The other objection, raised by a lot of players and managers, is that it just isn’t fair to make a team go through a 162 game season and then have their playoff hopes hinge on a single game. Everyone is conditioned to believe that you’re supposed to get a series of some sort in the postseason to establish your right to move on or go home. And I agree… for Division champions. But we’re not talking about Division champions here. We’re talking about two teams that didn’t win a damn thing over the course of that 162 game season. By all rights, they shouldn’t get to play ANY more baseball. They finished no better than 2nd place in their Divisions. But we need an even number of teams in the “real” playoffs for each League, so one of those losers has to be let in to the postseason party. That’s fine, I guess, but this business of letting that also-ran team enter the playoffs on equal footing with the teams that DID win their Division needed to end. So, once again, my answer to the whiners who think their 2nd place finish should entitle them to getting to play more than a single play-in game is pretty similar to my response to the first objection… “If you don’t want your playoff hopes determined by a single Wild Card game, win more games.” In the end, Major League Baseball is saying that they want Division Championships to matter more than they have since 1995 and this change absolutely guarantees that teams will go flat out to win their Division, rather than settle for a Wild Card spot. There are other benefits of this change, of course, but they are not so much real reasons to make the change as they are pleasant byproducts. More teams will be in contention for one of those Wild Card spots late in the season. This is important, not only to fans in the markets directly affected by their team continuing to have a shot, but across the entire fan base, because it will mean more fans continuing to pay attention to more games at a time of year when baseball loses a number of eyeballs to football games. The playoffs and even World Series have become less watched in part because, by the time the playoffs roll around, fans in most markets have lost interest in baseball and have been watching football for over a month. I also really like knowing there will always be two “win or go home” games every season. The down side of having playoff “series” is that there are years when not a single postseason game has the drama of both teams needing a win to avoid elimination, because there are years when no playoff series goes the full five or seven games. That will never happen again. The handful of “game 163” contests in recent years have been instant classics. Now there will be at least two of those games every season (though not many of them are likely to have the drama of the Rockies, White Sox and Twins wins this decade). And it won’t come at the cost of other potential game 163s because there will still be potential tie-breaker games. I understand that there are plenty of people who don’t like this change. That’s fine. As always, I acknowledge that everyone is entitled to their opinion… even if it’s wrong. - JC

I think this is exactly why so many players and managers are quoted as not liking the one-game WC play-in format. They (and fans, too) have been conditioned since 1995 to believe that "making the playoffs" is the season's goal. That's the way it is in the NFL, NBA and NFL, but I personally don't like the fact that it has become the "goal" of teams in MLB, too. I want to get back to the mentality where the goal is win "the pennant," not just "make the playoffs." Under the new format, winning your Division is MUCH more important than it has been previously, and that's as it should be. The WC is relegated to the status of, "one final chance to salvage your season even though you didn't win anything, but don't expect to have an equal shot at the World Series with those teams who DID win something." I like that. If players/managers don't like it, there's a way to avoid the problem... win more games.

I had completely forgotten that I'd been to Skydome... that's how unimpressed I was with it. I still love Camden Yards, but the one thing they didn't think to do "right" there was that they put the concession stands/concourses behind the seats, rather than "inside" with a view of the field. I guess that's an improvement that came with newer "retro" ballpark designs. Still, other than that, Camden Yards has held up really well in my book.

Sounds like a great trip... I'm not sure exactly what dates you'll be making the trip from Cincinnati to Des Moines, but I thought I would mention that the Snappers are in Cedar Rapids that weekend of the 22-24, so if you're zipping across Iowa in I-80, a short 20 minute detour would allow you to catch another Beloit game!

When it comes to sports betting, I have found it best to avoid betting for or against any team I have a rooting interest in. No matter how much you try not to, your emotions (whether positive or negative) toward "your team" cloud your judgment. But a friendly wager of a dinner? Absolutely. Both teams are going to need a lot of things to break right for them to contend this season because things sure didn't go well last year. But while the Twins can arguably improve simply by having good players come back from injury-plagued seasons, the Sox need players who simply underperformed to perform better. In addition, both teams lost (via FA or trade) good ballplayers, but I feel pretty confident that the Twins did a better job of replacing their losses. It's a biased view, I know, but I do like the Twins' chances over the White Sox'.

I tend to agree with Kirsten about Kansas City and San Francisco being near the top of the list. I've liked KC since it was built, but the remodeling just made it better. I also think they did a good job with the remodel in Anaheim. Arlington, San Francisco and St Louis are all great ballparks and I still really enjoy games at Camden Yards. Dodger Stadium was a great place to visit, but it really could use updating. I wish I could say I really like Fenway and Wrigley, but I honestly think they're both just old (though I admit I haven't been to Fenway since their most recent facelift). Don't much care for US Cellular or Oakland at all and the Trop in St Pete isn't good for much more than a nostalgia fix for Metrodome fans.

When I noticed the topic, I thought this was going to be easy. "Bang the Drum Slowly" stands out in my mind as one of the few movies I've ever paid to see in a theatre that I absolutely hated (usually, there's something about the movie that I expect to like if I'm going to pay to see it). The baseball scenes were flat awful, even by that era's low standards. But after reading all of the prior comments, I find myself saying, "Oh yeah, that one was bad," an awful lot. I'm not as big a fan of The Natural as a lot of people, but I don't hate it. I excused the baseball in "League of Their Own" because, well, it was girls playing baseball, after all (excuse me while I duck). Most of the sequels were just bad, but that's expected of sequels, so when I have low expectations, I don't deduct points for those expectations being met. Low budget comedies with a baseball theme or backdrop are in the same vein. It's like a baseball episode of a TV sitcom, you know they aren't going to worry about realism or "getting the baseball right," so when they don't, I don't really care.

A) The fact that you suggest I look at numbers before calling you "an idiot" speaks to your propensity for overstatement, because in fact I never "called" you that or anything else. You admit that you're using a single five year period to argue the case for Santana over every other pitcher. I'll take Kaat's and Blyleven's TEN year performances over Santana's FIVE year performance any day. C) Has it not struck you as peculiar yet that you are continuing to argue that the Twins have had TWO "once in a century" players? Even if you were right about those players' talents (which I clearly and strongly disagree with), the fact that you're trying to say the Twins have had TWO of what you're considering players that only come around ONCE every 100 years is... well... I'm not even sure what the word is. BY DEFINITION, you would only see ONE "once in a century" player during whatever 100 year period you want to choose for your century! D) While I consider your opinion of Hunter to he highly overstated, even if I agreed with you 100%, your own statement that Kirby Puckett was better than Hunter would prove your claim wrong since I'm pretty sure Puckett's time with the Twins took place within the past century. I suppose if you consider the century to only include those years since 2000 to be "this century", the case for Santana and Hunter to be among the best holds more water. Then again, let's compare Hunter's numbers with another pretty good player, Joe Mauer. You cherry-picked Hunter's best years by talking about 2001-2007 (leaving out 1999 when he had a .689 OPS and 200 when he finally inched it up to .726, so I guess it's OK to leave out Mauer's 2011, too, right? Hunter 2001-2007 (7 years): .272/.326/.484/.810, 192 HRs, 709 RBIs, won 7 GG, 2 All Star games, 0 Silver Sluggers, 0 MVP, 1 other MVP top 10 finish. Now compare that with Joe Mauer from 2005-2010: Mauer 2005-2010 (6 years): .328/.409/.478/.886, 75 HRs, 455 RBI, 3 GG, 4 All Star Games, 4 Silver Sluggers, 1 MVP, and 3 other MVP to 10 finishes. So comparing their BEST years in Minnesota, Hunter had a 6 point advantage over Mauer in Slugging Pct, and has the edge in HRs and RBI and Gold Gloves. Oh... and of course that whole "clubhouse presence" thing. In the mean time, Mauer had a 56 point advantage in BA, 83 point advantage in OBP, and a 76 point advantage in OPS. Not to mention finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting FOUR times (winning it once), while Hunter managed one top 10 finish. A few more HRs and RBI simply isn't nearly enough of a difference maker to qualify him as a "once in a DECADE" player, over Mauer, much less a "once in a century" player. I guess Hunter did throw a punch in the clubhouse once, so he has that going for him.

I'm becoming kind of annoyed by something and before I let it turn me completely off from continuing to post in the forum, I thought I'd check to see if it's something I'm doing wrong or if it really is in the system. I seem to have to continuously log in over and over again every time I want to post something in the forum. I get that requiring a log in to participate in the discussions is probably a good idea, if not a necessity, in something like this. But do I really have to log in over and over again every time I post a comment in a new thread or under a different topic... all within the same session? Is there a "time out" setting that's set at about five minutes or something? I really like the forum feature, but I can't tell you how many times I've typed up a response only to get the "you must log in again... again... " message and decided "screw it." Anyway... thanks for letting me vent and please let me know if there's something I'm doing wrong that's causing this. Now pardon me while I copy this text and go log in again so I can paste it back in to a new window and post it.

I like it. I don't like it as much as I'd like going back to two divisions in each league and just letting the division winners play to get to the WS (a la the 1987 Twins), but since we all know that nobody is going REDUCE the playoffs, I like the one game play-in. I don't even consider it a real expansion of the playoffs, any more than I considered adding a couple of play-in games to have expanded the NCAA hoops tourney. Rather, I consider it a legitimate way to impose an obstacle for whoever the wild card team is that makes it in to the playoffs. It keeps the eventual WC playoff team from starting the playoffs on equal footing with Division winners and I believe that's how it should be. Yes, it means the Yankees will be in the playoffs even more often (if that's possible), but it also means that they have to win their division to have an equal shot at the WS with everyone else. Not only would settling for a WC mean risking losing one game and being done, it also means that they're likely to start their LDS at a disadvantage. In other words... no more throwing games because you view the match up you get as a WC team to be preferable to what you'd get as a Division winner. All of that said, I guarantee that there will be hell to pay the first time a 90+ win Yankee team either loses the WC play-in game to an "inferior" team (and really, to Yankee fans and the media, aren't ALL teams inferior to the Yankees?) or they fail to get to the LCS or WS because they were viewed to have been disadvantaged by having had to play that WC elimination game. But this means more teams will stay in contention longer, maintaining fan interest and attendance longer in to September in those markets, and make for more story lines down the stretch. It will also result in at least two "win or die" games every season. I don't know about anyone else, but those will be must see TV for me, regardless of who's playing.

I think people tend to use Kaat's longevity against him. When you look at all of his many years together, you include several seasons beyond his peak years with the Twins (of course to a lesser degree, people do the same with Blyleven). Everyone thinks Santana was the great god of pitching because in the 5-ish years that he was a starter for the Twins, he did very well. But Kaat was very good for the Twins for twice as many years (and had more "good" years after leaving the Twins than Santana has, so far). The case between Blyleven and Kaat, as Twins, is much closer. Honestly, probably a coin flip in my opinion. Blyleven's return engagement and the WS title he played a key role in achieving might tilt things in his favor. He also struck out more people (Kaat was never a strike out machine). But people also gloss over Kaat's defense (Gold Gloves are a bit of a joke today, but that wasn't always the case and Kaat won a GG pretty much every season he was a regular rotation member for the Twins. He was widely recognized as the best pitcher in baseball at fielding his position), not to mention the fact that he didn't embarass himself with the bat in his hands, either. On balance, I agree with Seth... I'd take Kaat over Blyleven... but I can see validity in opinions that lean the other way. But there's absolutely no question in my mind that both were superior to Santana. Santana struck a lot of guys out and that's what people remember.

I think that when someone claims two players were "Once a Century" players, it tells you all you need to know about the propensity for overstatement. It sure does suck that the Twins used up the next two century's worth of "once a century" players in the first five years of this century, doesn't it? Thrylos' question is intriguing, too, and perhaps deserves a thread of its own. Gunnarthor adds some interesting names, based on WAR. I'd probably prefer to limit my consideration to those who actually wore Twins uniforms because I just don't think of the players that only wore Senators uniforms, without ever wearing "Twins" on their chests, to be part of the "Twins franchise history." Just a personal thing with me and I understand others' feeling differently. But having seen each of these guys pitch for the Twins, I'd have a tough time believing Johan Santana was a "once in a century" Twin pitcher if it means Camilo Pascual, Jim Kaat, and Jim Perry were somehow less impressive. Santana gave us three very good seasons, but it's not like his career since leaving is HoF worthy. If a guy only needs a couple of seasons where he should be in the CY discussion, Mudcat Grant, Dave Goltz, Frank Viola and others I'm probably forgetting should be in the same discussion. Don't get me wrong, I loved Santana when he was a Twin. But let's not let the circumstances behind his leaving result in elevating him higher on the list than he deserves. And as for Torii Hunter being a "once in a century" Twin, that's downright laughable. If he's "once a century", then what the hell are Killebrew, Oliva, Carew, and Puck? Again, Torii did a good job, but come on. I wouldn't rank him above Allison and probably not Tovar. Those two guys were not even frigging close to being "once a century" players. MAYBE once a decade... for the Twins. Even then, you certainly have to consider Mauer and Morneau's contributions in the 00's as being every bit as important as Hunter's. There's your "reality."

It takes an amazing amount of arrogance to assume you can tell all Twins fans what our "responsibilities" are. I'll decide for myself when and in what way I express my beliefs about the Twins, thank you very much. If you don't think I'm meeting my "responsibility" unless I bitch, bitch and bitch some more... well... OK.

When you use the trade of Luis Castillo as your prime example in support of your argument, your credibility is kind of strained.

This is spot on. Optimism and Reality are not polar opposites. And it communicates a level of arrogance that I find offensive, to be honest. It says, "My opinion is reality and if you don't agree with me, you are wrong." It's the epitome of arrogance! Your pessimism is no more "reality" than someone else's optimism is because there is no "reality" until games start counting. It's fine to be of the opinion that the Twins haven't done things you think they should have. Hell, I'd bet virtually all of us would have preferred Terry Ryan do SOMETHING differently than what he did. I know I feel that way, too. But you come off as just arrogant when you treat anyone who doesn't choose to constantly bitch and moan about what morons the Twins are every day and every night as though they are obviously inferior to you. I don't feel my choice to enjoy spring training and look forward to seeing what's possible constitutes being unrealistic and I'm a bit tired of people ragging on me and anyone who doesn't think everything and everyone in the Twins organization sucks.

Maybe it's just a bit premature to draw conclusions? If hitters hadn't made solid contact, would we be concluding that "the Franchise is back!" I don't think so. I'm not a big fan of Liriano, by any means, but while it's called "live batting practice," because pitchers aren't just lobbing the ball over the plate, it's still batting practice.

Punching big chunks of cheddar? Ewwwwwwwwwww LOL

The following was originally posted at http://www.knuckleballsblog.com I realize I’m several days late to the party in terms of discussing the arbitrator’s ruling in favor of Brewers’ star Ryan Braun, but it took me a while to come to grips with exactly how I feel about it. I’ve now done that and I’ve concluded one thing for certain… I want the movie rights. Before you scoff, remember that Hollywood made a successful movie last year about Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane. Sure, it helped that Brad Pitt starred in the movie, but if Aaron Sorkin can put a winning script together centered on the value of on-base percentage, imagine what he could do with the mystery surrounding Braun’s urine sample! Most accounts of the Braun issue begin with that sample he provided last fall. But to set the stage, we need to go back much further. Let’s run the opening credits for our film over scenes of Congressional Hearing Chambers and various players, MLB executives and Players Union representatives being challenged by our duly elected representatives, intent on ridding baseball of performance enhancing drugs. Then we’ll kick off the first scene of our movie in a conference room where MLB's Commissioner and The Executive Director of the Players Union ponder what can be done to get Congress off their collective backs. The Commissioner is desperate to impose a drug enforcement program with teeth, but the Union insists that any program must include pesky safeguards to assure any tests performed are accurate and that players are afforded due process. There’s particular sensitivity to confidentiality issues, in light of the fact that the last time the Players Union agreed to “confidential” testing by baseball, MLB’s mishandling of the testing data resulted in test results being widely publicized. In the end, the two sides come to an agreement. The testing program includes protocols assuring that samples will be secured from the time they’re given by the athlete up through and including the time tests are performed in the lab. Players will have the right to have an arbitration panel (consisting of one MLB representative, one Union representative and one “independent” arbitrator) hear appeals, and all of this will be confidential until the process is completed and any penalties enforced. The scene ends with everyone slapping one another on the back and telling one another how smart they all are. Now, we fast forward a couple of years and introduce our Midwestern hero… a talented ballplayer with a sterling reputation who has just helped his team (and coincidentally, the very same team that the MLB Commissioner used to own) to a playoff run and has been voted the National League’s Most Valuable Player in the process. There’s only one problem… it seems Mr. Clean was so stupid that he had no idea he might be tested for PEDs during the playoffs and filled himself with so much juice that he tested positive for unprecedented testosterone levels right in the middle of that playoff run. How do fans find out about this? Is it announced by MLB, along with the requisite 50-game suspension, once the appeal process had been completed? No… America finds out from a National Sports Network (we’ll use a “fictionalized” name to protect ourselves from being sued by the real network, but everyone will know exactly who we’re talking about), thanks to an anonymous source who leaks news of the positive test before the star player can have any appeal heard. Ah… intrigue! Our hero subsequently (and loudly) proclaims his innocence. But then, don’t they all? The repercussions are swift and loud, especially from those appearing on the aforementioned National Sports Network that broke the story. How can we take back his MVP award? We can’t? Why not? Heisman Trophy winners have had their awards repossessed and the NFL has had a re-vote when a “cheater” won a similar postseason award. The good of the game requires correction of this travesty! Though the appeal process moves forward, the assumption is that this is just a formality. After all, no player’s appeal has ever been successful… has it? Well, not that anyone knows of. But then again, if the confidentiality of the process is maintained, how would anyone know if prior appeals were successful? The player certainly won’t say anything and undermine his own reputation and MLB would have no interest in admitting a failure of the testing program they tout as being the best in professional sports. But those are just dry details, so we’ll leave them out… after all, the National Sports Network says no appeal has ever been successful, so it must be so! Taking dramatic license, our appeal hearing takes place in a hall much like what we’d expect to see at the U.S. Supreme Court, rather than some bland conference room. In a scene reminiscent of something from “My Cousin Vinny,” the player’s counsel gets the part-timer that MLB entrusted to promptly FedEx the urine sample to the lab to admit that, instead, he took the sample home with him because FedEx isn’t open on Saturday. But did he not store the sample in a secure, cool place, as called for by the league’s protocol? Well, not exactly. He left it on his desk in a Tupperware container for the weekend. The camera focuses on the Commissioner, sitting at the table with the league’s lawyer, as he nods and whispers, “That seems reasonable to me.” Of course, the predictable plot twist unfolds as our hero is acquitted… I mean he wins his appeal... and the half of the courtroom donning Brewers jerseys stands and cheers, while the suits on the other half loudly voice their displeasure using multi-syllabic words nobody understands. Now, the hero stands at the courthouse steps, smiling to the cameras as he reminds everyone, “I told you I was innocent!” His supporters, across the country, rejoice and call for apologies to be made (mostly via Twitter). The Commissioner, however, rails at the injustice. He blames the “independent” arbitrator (apparently not having expected him to behave as though he actually were independent) and loudly declares that the evil ballplayer escaped justice on a technicality. Of course, the media falls in line behind the revered Commissioner and echoes the “escaped on a technicality” refrain. This is especially true of virtually every celebrity talking head employed by the National Sports Network. A significant number of ballplayers rise up in vocal support of the hero (again, mostly via Twitter), but they are roundly criticized by the media for daring to support a cheater who’s "beaten the system." Soon, even a number of players are voicing their displeasure at the “verdict.” Maybe I’ll make viewers leave the theatre without being told the end of the story, leaving them with as many questions as answers. None of those questions will be bigger than, “what happened to that sample?” Or maybe I’ll take the “Oceans 11” approach and run quickly through a montage showing how the guy who collected the urine was actually a Cubs fan and how he and a steroid gulping bodybuilder friend of his substituted a testosterone-juiced sample for the player's in the hope of seeing the rival star suspended. Better yet, do you remember “Clue”? Maybe I could create an alternate montage that some movie-goers would see… where the hero turns out to be dirty as hell and promised the urine collector 100 grand if he found a way to make the sample unreliable. The options are endless. I can make up any story line I want because nobody knows what really happened. Face it, this kind of thing is an Oliver Stone wet dream. I’ll make millions! But seriously, folks… Whatever happened, aren’t those strict protocols in place for a reason? And isn’t that reason to assure that tampering cannot happen? Given the stigma that goes with even being suspected of using PEDs, don’t we want to be absolutely positive no tampering took place before we brand any player a cheater? Isn’t that also why they’re supposed to protect the confidentiality of the player until the process is complete? This case never should have come to public light, but once the circumstances did come out, Bud Selig should have stood up and said, “We established protocols for drug testing that are intended to assure that tests are accurate and that samples are secure from possible tampering. In this case, Ryan Braun’s urine sample was not secured appropriately and thus may or may not have been tampered with. In such a circumstance, we must assume he is not guilty of using PEDs.” If Selig felt compelled to rant, he could rant about whoever leaked the results to the media. That would have been the right thing to do. But, of course, he didn’t do that. Our film project may leave the audience wondering what happened, but unfortunately, I think most of us know what the future holds for Ryan Braun’s reputation. Bud Selig didn’t do the right thing in this situation, but he isn’t the real villain. That dishonor goes to whoever leaked the test results and to those in the media who innitially ran the story on the basis of that anonymous source. Think about that the next time you read someone from the “real” media pontificating about the lack of journalistic ethics and integrity of bloggers. I know I will… and, for me, that will be the Braun Legacy. - JC

The following was originally posted at http://www.knuckleballsblog.com I realize I’m several days late to the party in terms of discussing the arbitrator’s ruling in favor of Brewers’ star Ryan Braun, but it took me a while to come to grips with exactly how I feel about it. I’ve now done that and I’ve concluded one thing for certain… I want the movie rights. Before you scoff, remember that Hollywood made a successful movie last year about Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane. Sure, it helped that Brad Pitt starred in the movie, but if Aaron Sorkin can put a winning script together centered on the value of on-base percentage, imagine what he could do with the mystery surrounding Braun’s urine sample! Most accounts of the Braun issue begin with that sample he provided last fall. But to set the stage, we need to go back much further. Let’s run the opening credits for our film over scenes of Congressional Hearing Chambers and various players, MLB executives and Players Union representatives being challenged by our duly elected representatives, intent on ridding baseball of performance enhancing drugs. Then we’ll kick off the first scene of our movie in a conference room where MLB's Commissioner and The Executive Director of the Players Union ponder what can be done to get Congress off their collective backs. The Commissioner is desperate to impose a drug enforcement program with teeth, but the Union insists that any program must include pesky safeguards to assure any tests performed are accurate and that players are afforded due process. There’s particular sensitivity to confidentiality issues, in light of the fact that the last time the Players Union agreed to “confidential” testing by baseball, MLB’s mishandling of the testing data resulted in test results being widely publicized. In the end, the two sides come to an agreement. The testing program includes protocols assuring that samples will be secured from the time they’re given by the athlete up through and including the time tests are performed in the lab. Players will have the right to have an arbitration panel (consisting of one MLB representative, one Union representative and one “independent” arbitrator) hear appeals, and all of this will be confidential until the process is completed and any penalties enforced. The scene ends with everyone slapping one another on the back and telling one another how smart they all are. Now, we fast forward a couple of years and introduce our Midwestern hero… a talented ballplayer with a sterling reputation who has just helped his team (and coincidentally, the very same team that the MLB Commissioner used to own) to a playoff run and has been voted the National League’s Most Valuable Player in the process. There’s only one problem… it seems Mr. Clean was so stupid that he had no idea he might be tested for PEDs during the playoffs and filled himself with so much juice that he tested positive for unprecedented testosterone levels right in the middle of that playoff run. How do fans find out about this? Is it announced by MLB, along with the requisite 50-game suspension, once the appeal process had been completed? No… America finds out from a National Sports Network (we’ll use a “fictionalized” name to protect ourselves from being sued by the real network, but everyone will know exactly who we’re talking about), thanks to an anonymous source who leaks news of the positive test before the star player can have any appeal heard. Ah… intrigue! Our hero subsequently (and loudly) proclaims his innocence. But then, don’t they all? The repercussions are swift and loud, especially from those appearing on the aforementioned National Sports Network that broke the story. How can we take back his MVP award? We can’t? Why not? Heisman Trophy winners have had their awards repossessed and the NFL has had a re-vote when a “cheater” won a similar postseason award. The good of the game requires correction of this travesty! Though the appeal process moves forward, the assumption is that this is just a formality. After all, no player’s appeal has ever been successful… has it? Well, not that anyone knows of. But then again, if the confidentiality of the process is maintained, how would anyone know if prior appeals were successful? The player certainly won’t say anything and undermine his own reputation and MLB would have no interest in admitting a failure of the testing program they tout as being the best in professional sports. But those are just dry details, so we’ll leave them out… after all, the National Sports Network says no appeal has ever been successful, so it must be so! Taking dramatic license, our appeal hearing takes place in a hall much like what we’d expect to see at the U.S. Supreme Court, rather than some bland conference room. In a scene reminiscent of something from “My Cousin Vinny,” the player’s counsel gets the part-timer that MLB entrusted to promptly FedEx the urine sample to the lab to admit that, instead, he took the sample home with him because FedEx isn’t open on Saturday. But did he not store the sample in a secure, cool place, as called for by the league’s protocol? Well, not exactly. He left it on his desk in a Tupperware container for the weekend. The camera focuses on the Commissioner, sitting at the table with the league’s lawyer, as he nods and whispers, “That seems reasonable to me.” Of course, the predictable plot twist unfolds as our hero is acquitted… I mean he wins his appeal... and the half of the courtroom donning Brewers jerseys stands and cheers, while the suits on the other half loudly voice their displeasure using multi-syllabic words nobody understands. Now, the hero stands at the courthouse steps, smiling to the cameras as he reminds everyone, “I told you I was innocent!” His supporters, across the country, rejoice and call for apologies to be made (mostly via Twitter). The Commissioner, however, rails at the injustice. He blames the “independent” arbitrator (apparently not having expected him to behave as though he actually were independent) and loudly declares that the evil ballplayer escaped justice on a technicality. Of course, the media falls in line behind the revered Commissioner and echoes the “escaped on a technicality” refrain. This is especially true of virtually every celebrity talking head employed by the National Sports Network. A significant number of ballplayers rise up in vocal support of the hero (again, mostly via Twitter), but they are roundly criticized by the media for daring to support a cheater who’s "beaten the system." Soon, even a number of players are voicing their displeasure at the “verdict.” Maybe I’ll make viewers leave the theatre without being told the end of the story, leaving them with as many questions as answers. None of those questions will be bigger than, “what happened to that sample?” Or maybe I’ll take the “Oceans 11” approach and run quickly through a montage showing how the guy who collected the urine was actually a Cubs fan and how he and a steroid gulping bodybuilder friend of his substituted a testosterone-juiced sample for the player's in the hope of seeing the rival star suspended. Better yet, do you remember “Clue”? Maybe I could create an alternate montage that some movie-goers would see… where the hero turns out to be dirty as hell and promised the urine collector 100 grand if he found a way to make the sample unreliable. The options are endless. I can make up any story line I want because nobody knows what really happened. Face it, this kind of thing is an Oliver Stone wet dream. I’ll make millions! But seriously, folks… Whatever happened, aren’t those strict protocols in place for a reason? And isn’t that reason to assure that tampering cannot happen? Given the stigma that goes with even being suspected of using PEDs, don’t we want to be absolutely positive no tampering took place before we brand any player a cheater? Isn’t that also why they’re supposed to protect the confidentiality of the player until the process is complete? This case never should have come to public light, but once the circumstances did come out, Bud Selig should have stood up and said, “We established protocols for drug testing that are intended to assure that tests are accurate and that samples are secure from possible tampering. In this case, Ryan Braun’s urine sample was not secured appropriately and thus may or may not have been tampered with. In such a circumstance, we must assume he is not guilty of using PEDs.” If Selig felt compelled to rant, he could rant about whoever leaked the results to the media. That would have been the right thing to do. But, of course, he didn’t do that. Our film project may leave the audience wondering what happened, but unfortunately, I think most of us know what the future holds for Ryan Braun’s reputation. Bud Selig didn’t do the right thing in this situation, but he isn’t the real villain. That dishonor goes to whoever leaked the test results and to those in the media who innitially ran the story on the basis of that anonymous source. Think about that the next time you read someone from the “real” media pontificating about the lack of journalistic ethics and integrity of bloggers. I know I will… and, for me, that will be the Braun Legacy. - JC

While I wouldn't be surprised if the Twins pulled out of Beloit after this year, I can't seem much reason why they would want to move to the Sally, unless there's some desire to group their high A and low A teams closer geographically. I have heard that Cedar Rapids may be ending their 20 year relationship with the Angels after this season and are looking in to affiliating with either the Cubs (their first choice, should the Cubs want out of Peoria) or the Twins. CR is currently the closest MWL city to the Twin Cities and for that reason, it's not at all unusual to see Twins execs in the stands when the Snappers play in CR.

The following post is also available at www.knuckleballsblog.com. I'm not an idiot (most of the time). I know the Detroit Tigers are consensus favorites to win the AL Central Division title again... probably by double digit games again. I know the Twins are not widely viewed as the most likely team to challenge the Tigers if such a challenger does emerge. But as I mentioned a few days ago, Spring Training is my Mardi Gras! I'll deal with reality on Opening Day. For now, I'm going to enjoy the simple fact that baseball is being played a few miles south of where I live (OK, a few hundred miles, but who's counting?). I'm not going to get dragged in to the negativism that others seem hell-bent on maintaining. I'm not judging them... I'll even appear on their podcasts occasionally... it's just not what I want to be feeling this time of year. I want to find reasons for hope and if some so-called "serious fans" think that's a bad thing, for whatever reason, I can live with that. With that in mind, I went looking for reasons for hope this week and I found a few. No, they aren't reasons to be confident (if you find some of those, send them my way please!), but I don't need confidence right now... a little hope, however realistic or unrealistic it may be, is all I need. I found some hope, too. In fact, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated (si.com, to be precise) gave me a handful of things to grasp on to. Some of them even reinforced opinions I already held, which is always convenient. Here are a few things Verducci brought up (click here for the link) that a Twins fan can grasp on to if she/he feels so inclined: In 16 of the past 17 seasons (and for 6 straight seasons running), at least one team has made the postseason after having a losing record the year before. In fact, both the D'Backs and Brewers did so last season, making for 33 teams in those 17 years that have accomplished the "losers to postseason" turnaround. Having an All-Star rotation is not what gets you to the playoffs. Having a HEALTHY rotation is what gets you to the playoffs. Forget about whether Mauer, Morneau and Span are healthy (good luck ignoring that), it's all about having at least four of the Twins starters (Pavano, Liriano, Baker, Marquis and Blackburn) getting 30 starts. In the past four years, 11 teams have had four starters get 30 starts and 10 of those teams made the playoffs. Six of them ended up in the World Series. I've believed for a long time that the rotation is as important as (if not more important than) pretty much any other factor in getting things turned around. I just didn't know how right I was. Here's a big one to remember... especially for those of us who are disappointed in the roster, as built by Terry Ryan during the offseason... contenders CAN be built during the season. The guys making up the 25 man roster at the beginning of the season matter less than the guys who END the season on the roster. Of the 24 players who saw action for the Cardinals in the World Series last year, five of them were not members of their organization on Opening Day. See? Verducci came through for me! I'm not sure I really need more, but I have more anyway. We've already discussed Jim Leyland's intention to hand other AL Central managers a gift by having Miguel Cabrera play 3B regularly, but now he also likes the idea of Brandon Inge playing 2B. Despite feeling like Inge has destroyed the Twins all by himself at times over the years, I like that idea, too. Though I suspect I like it for much different reasons than Leyland. There were a few people who lamented the fact that the Indians were able to sign Jon Garland for next to nothing, supposedly further entrenching themselves as the second-favorite AL Central team among the "experts." Well, forget that. Garland's deal was canceled this week when he admitted he was not healthy enough to pitch. I'm still waiting to read all the stories about how it turned out to be OK that Terry Ryan didn't go out and sign Garland. I suspect the wait will be a long one. But enough about other teams. Here's something tangible for a Twins fan like me to grasp on to concerning the Twins themselves: As position players begin their workouts, the entire "injury list" consists of Luke Hughes and his strained shoulder and Brian Dozier with a cut on his finger. Yes, I know we'll all hold our breath a bit until Justin Morneau demonstrates all is well with his head (and all those other body parts he had rebuilt over the past several months). But Gardy had so many guys sitting out practices and games all through Spring Training last year that I felt inclined to take my glove with me to the Ft. Myers complex while I was down there... you know, just in case the Twins manager needed an extra body. The point is... as much as people like to say Spring Training isn't really important for most players, it really is. Players ideally show up in much better shape than they did in the old days, but there's "in shape" and then there's "in game shape." They are not necessarily the same thing. And from all appearances, the Twins are reporting much better prepared to get down to the serious business of preparing for the season this spring. I still have to endure over four more weeks of Iowa winter before I get to head to Ft. Myers, but I'm determined to just enjoy following Spring Training through the eyes and ears of the writers and bloggers who are down there in the mean time. If that's not the kind of thing you're wanting to read about, I'm sorry for disappointing you... but not very. - JC

The following post is also available at www.knuckleballsblog.com. I'm not an idiot (most of the time). I know the Detroit Tigers are consensus favorites to win the AL Central Division title again... probably by double digit games again. I know the Twins are not widely viewed as the most likely team to challenge the Tigers if such a challenger does emerge. But as I mentioned a few days ago, Spring Training is my Mardi Gras! I'll deal with reality on Opening Day. For now, I'm going to enjoy the simple fact that baseball is being played a few miles south of where I live (OK, a few hundred miles, but who's counting?). I'm not going to get dragged in to the negativism that others seem hell-bent on maintaining. I'm not judging them... I'll even appear on their podcasts occasionally... it's just not what I want to be feeling this time of year. I want to find reasons for hope and if some so-called "serious fans" think that's a bad thing, for whatever reason, I can live with that. With that in mind, I went looking for reasons for hope this week and I found a few. No, they aren't reasons to be confident (if you find some of those, send them my way please!), but I don't need confidence right now... a little hope, however realistic or unrealistic it may be, is all I need. I found some hope, too. In fact, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated (si.com, to be precise) gave me a handful of things to grasp on to. Some of them even reinforced opinions I already held, which is always convenient. Here are a few things Verducci brought up (click here for the link) that a Twins fan can grasp on to if she/he feels so inclined: In 16 of the past 17 seasons (and for 6 straight seasons running), at least one team has made the postseason after having a losing record the year before. In fact, both the D'Backs and Brewers did so last season, making for 33 teams in those 17 years that have accomplished the "losers to postseason" turnaround. Having an All-Star rotation is not what gets you to the playoffs. Having a HEALTHY rotation is what gets you to the playoffs. Forget about whether Mauer, Morneau and Span are healthy (good luck ignoring that), it's all about having at least four of the Twins starters (Pavano, Liriano, Baker, Marquis and Blackburn) getting 30 starts. In the past four years, 11 teams have had four starters get 30 starts and 10 of those teams made the playoffs. Six of them ended up in the World Series. I've believed for a long time that the rotation is as important as (if not more important than) pretty much any other factor in getting things turned around. I just didn't know how right I was. Here's a big one to remember... especially for those of us who are disappointed in the roster, as built by Terry Ryan during the offseason... contenders CAN be built during the season. The guys making up the 25 man roster at the beginning of the season matter less than the guys who END the season on the roster. Of the 24 players who saw action for the Cardinals in the World Series last year, five of them were not members of their organization on Opening Day. See? Verducci came through for me! I'm not sure I really need more, but I have more anyway. We've already discussed Jim Leyland's intention to hand other AL Central managers a gift by having Miguel Cabrera play 3B regularly, but now he also likes the idea of Brandon Inge playing 2B. Despite feeling like Inge has destroyed the Twins all by himself at times over the years, I like that idea, too. Though I suspect I like it for much different reasons than Leyland. There were a few people who lamented the fact that the Indians were able to sign Jon Garland for next to nothing, supposedly further entrenching themselves as the second-favorite AL Central team among the "experts." Well, forget that. Garland's deal was canceled this week when he admitted he was not healthy enough to pitch. I'm still waiting to read all the stories about how it turned out to be OK that Terry Ryan didn't go out and sign Garland. I suspect the wait will be a long one. But enough about other teams. Here's something tangible for a Twins fan like me to grasp on to concerning the Twins themselves: As position players begin their workouts, the entire "injury list" consists of Luke Hughes and his strained shoulder and Brian Dozier with a cut on his finger. Yes, I know we'll all hold our breath a bit until Justin Morneau demonstrates all is well with his head (and all those other body parts he had rebuilt over the past several months). But Gardy had so many guys sitting out practices and games all through Spring Training last year that I felt inclined to take my glove with me to the Ft. Myers complex while I was down there... you know, just in case the Twins manager needed an extra body. The point is... as much as people like to say Spring Training isn't really important for most players, it really is. Players ideally show up in much better shape than they did in the old days, but there's "in shape" and then there's "in game shape." They are not necessarily the same thing. And from all appearances, the Twins are reporting much better prepared to get down to the serious business of preparing for the season this spring. I still have to endure over four more weeks of Iowa winter before I get to head to Ft. Myers, but I'm determined to just enjoy following Spring Training through the eyes and ears of the writers and bloggers who are down there in the mean time. If that's not the kind of thing you're wanting to read about, I'm sorry for disappointing you... but not very. - JC

The following post is also available at www.knuckleballsblog.com. I'm not an idiot (most of the time). I know the Detroit Tigers are consensus favorites to win the AL Central Division title again... probably by double digit games again. I know the Twins are not widely viewed as the most likely team to challenge the Tigers if such a challenger does emerge. But as I mentioned a few days ago, Spring Training is my Mardi Gras! I'll deal with reality on Opening Day. For now, I'm going to enjoy the simple fact that baseball is being played a few miles south of where I live (OK, a few hundred miles, but who's counting?). I'm not going to get dragged in to the negativism that others seem hell-bent on maintaining. I'm not judging them... I'll even appear on their podcasts occasionally... it's just not what I want to be feeling this time of year. I want to find reasons for hope and if some so-called "serious fans" think that's a bad thing, for whatever reason, I can live with that. With that in mind, I went looking for reasons for hope this week and I found a few. No, they aren't reasons to be confident (if you find some of those, send them my way please!), but I don't need confidence right now... a little hope, however realistic or unrealistic it may be, is all I need. I found some hope, too. In fact, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated (si.com, to be precise) gave me a handful of things to grasp on to. Some of them even reinforced opinions I already held, which is always convenient. Here are a few things Verducci brought up (click here for the link) that a Twins fan can grasp on to if she/he feels so inclined: In 16 of the past 17 seasons (and for 6 straight seasons running), at least one team has made the postseason after having a losing record the year before. In fact, both the D'Backs and Brewers did so last season, making for 33 teams in those 17 years that have accomplished the "losers to postseason" turnaround. Having an All-Star rotation is not what gets you to the playoffs. Having a HEALTHY rotation is what gets you to the playoffs. Forget about whether Mauer, Morneau and Span are healthy (good luck ignoring that), it's all about having at least four of the Twins starters (Pavano, Liriano, Baker, Marquis and Blackburn) getting 30 starts. In the past four years, 11 teams have had four starters get 30 starts and 10 of those teams made the playoffs. Six of them ended up in the World Series. I've believed for a long time that the rotation is as important as (if not more important than) pretty much any other factor in getting things turned around. I just didn't know how right I was. Here's a big one to remember... especially for those of us who are disappointed in the roster, as built by Terry Ryan during the offseason... contenders CAN be built during the season. The guys making up the 25 man roster at the beginning of the season matter less than the guys who END the season on the roster. Of the 24 players who saw action for the Cardinals in the World Series last year, five of them were not members of their organization on Opening Day. See? Verducci came through for me! I'm not sure I really need more, but I have more anyway. We've already discussed Jim Leyland's intention to hand other AL Central managers a gift by having Miguel Cabrera play 3B regularly, but now he also likes the idea of Brandon Inge playing 2B. Despite feeling like Inge has destroyed the Twins all by himself at times over the years, I like that idea, too. Though I suspect I like it for much different reasons than Leyland. There were a few people who lamented the fact that the Indians were able to sign Jon Garland for next to nothing, supposedly further entrenching themselves as the second-favorite AL Central team among the "experts." Well, forget that. Garland's deal was canceled this week when he admitted he was not healthy enough to pitch. I'm still waiting to read all the stories about how it turned out to be OK that Terry Ryan didn't go out and sign Garland. I suspect the wait will be a long one. But enough about other teams. Here's something tangible for a Twins fan like me to grasp on to concerning the Twins themselves: As position players begin their workouts, the entire "injury list" consists of Luke Hughes and his strained shoulder and Brian Dozier with a cut on his finger. Yes, I know we'll all hold our breath a bit until Justin Morneau demonstrates all is well with his head (and all those other body parts he had rebuilt over the past several months). But Gardy had so many guys sitting out practices and games all through Spring Training last year that I felt inclined to take my glove with me to the Ft. Myers complex while I was down there... you know, just in case the Twins manager needed an extra body. The point is... as much as people like to say Spring Training isn't really important for most players, it really is. Players ideally show up in much better shape than they did in the old days, but there's "in shape" and then there's "in game shape." They are not necessarily the same thing. And from all appearances, the Twins are reporting much better prepared to get down to the serious business of preparing for the season this spring. I still have to endure over four more weeks of Iowa winter before I get to head to Ft. Myers, but I'm determined to just enjoy following Spring Training through the eyes and ears of the writers and bloggers who are down there in the mean time. If that's not the kind of thing you're wanting to read about, I'm sorry for disappointing you... but not very. - JC

The following post is also available at www.knuckleballsblog.com. I'm not an idiot (most of the time). I know the Detroit Tigers are consensus favorites to win the AL Central Division title again... probably by double digit games again. I know the Twins are not widely viewed as the most likely team to challenge the Tigers if such a challenger does emerge. But as I mentioned a few days ago, Spring Training is my Mardi Gras! I'll deal with reality on Opening Day. For now, I'm going to enjoy the simple fact that baseball is being played a few miles south of where I live (OK, a few hundred miles, but who's counting?). I'm not going to get dragged in to the negativism that others seem hell-bent on maintaining. I'm not judging them... I'll even appear on their podcasts occasionally... it's just not what I want to be feeling this time of year. I want to find reasons for hope and if some so-called "serious fans" think that's a bad thing, for whatever reason, I can live with that. With that in mind, I went looking for reasons for hope this week and I found a few. No, they aren't reasons to be confident (if you find some of those, send them my way please!), but I don't need confidence right now... a little hope, however realistic or unrealistic it may be, is all I need. I found some hope, too. In fact, Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated (si.com, to be precise) gave me a handful of things to grasp on to. Some of them even reinforced opinions I already held, which is always convenient. Here are a few things Verducci brought up (click here for the link) that a Twins fan can grasp on to if she/he feels so inclined: In 16 of the past 17 seasons (and for 6 straight seasons running), at least one team has made the postseason after having a losing record the year before. In fact, both the D'Backs and Brewers did so last season, making for 33 teams in those 17 years that have accomplished the "losers to postseason" turnaround. Having an All-Star rotation is not what gets you to the playoffs. Having a HEALTHY rotation is what gets you to the playoffs. Forget about whether Mauer, Morneau and Span are healthy (good luck ignoring that), it's all about having at least four of the Twins starters (Pavano, Liriano, Baker, Marquis and Blackburn) getting 30 starts. In the past four years, 11 teams have had four starters get 30 starts and 10 of those teams made the playoffs. Six of them ended up in the World Series. I've believed for a long time that the rotation is as important as (if not more important than) pretty much any other factor in getting things turned around. I just didn't know how right I was. Here's a big one to remember... especially for those of us who are disappointed in the roster, as built by Terry Ryan during the offseason... contenders CAN be built during the season. The guys making up the 25 man roster at the beginning of the season matter less than the guys who END the season on the roster. Of the 24 players who saw action for the Cardinals in the World Series last year, five of them were not members of their organization on Opening Day. See? Verducci came through for me! I'm not sure I really need more, but I have more anyway. We've already discussed Jim Leyland's intention to hand other AL Central managers a gift by having Miguel Cabrera play 3B regularly, but now he also likes the idea of Brandon Inge playing 2B. Despite feeling like Inge has destroyed the Twins all by himself at times over the years, I like that idea, too. Though I suspect I like it for much different reasons than Leyland. There were a few people who lamented the fact that the Indians were able to sign Jon Garland for next to nothing, supposedly further entrenching themselves as the second-favorite AL Central team among the "experts." Well, forget that. Garland's deal was canceled this week when he admitted he was not healthy enough to pitch. I'm still waiting to read all the stories about how it turned out to be OK that Terry Ryan didn't go out and sign Garland. I suspect the wait will be a long one. But enough about other teams. Here's something tangible for a Twins fan like me to grasp on to concerning the Twins themselves: As position players begin their workouts, the entire "injury list" consists of Luke Hughes and his strained shoulder and Brian Dozier with a cut on his finger. Yes, I know we'll all hold our breath a bit until Justin Morneau demonstrates all is well with his head (and all those other body parts he had rebuilt over the past several months). But Gardy had so many guys sitting out practices and games all through Spring Training last year that I felt inclined to take my glove with me to the Ft. Myers complex while I was down there... you know, just in case the Twins manager needed an extra body. The point is... as much as people like to say Spring Training isn't really important for most players, it really is. Players ideally show up in much better shape than they did in the old days, but there's "in shape" and then there's "in game shape." They are not necessarily the same thing. And from all appearances, the Twins are reporting much better prepared to get down to the serious business of preparing for the season this spring. I still have to endure over four more weeks of Iowa winter before I get to head to Ft. Myers, but I'm determined to just enjoy following Spring Training through the eyes and ears of the writers and bloggers who are down there in the mean time. If that's not the kind of thing you're wanting to read about, I'm sorry for disappointing you... but not very. - JC

Totally agree with everything the others said. I'd just add that you shouldn't let the "away" game @ the Red Sox keep you from going, if you want to see a ST game. Their new ballpark is actually even closer than the old one was. Like Seth said, it was on the "other side" of Ft. Myers, but the new one is maybe 15 minutes up the road (Daniels Pkwy) just a ways on the other side of I-75, so it should be relatively easy to catch the morning workouts at the Twins complex before driving over to Fenway South for the game in the afternoon. The only downside to catching a game over there is that the prices are pretty high on the secondary market, probably because it's a new ballpark and any Twins/Red Sox ST game is in high demand with so many fans of those teams in the area.