Andrew Bryz-Gornia

I’m going to get this out of the way immediately. I think Ryan Braun is still guilty. I also think that he was lucky, and he and his representatives brilliantly found a way to argue that the chain of custody was broken when it came to the handling of his sample. But most of all, I don’t even care. That’s right, I think Braun is guilty, but I also don’t even care. What I care about is the reactions to Braun’s appeal being upheld. There are many people out there that feel that Braun getting off this easily is a joke. There are also people that are upset that Manny Ramirez, twice found to have taken a banned substance, has a job while Johnny Damon is still looking for one (never mind that the two have completely different contract demands). There’s Jeff Bagwell, who has never been caught using steroids, but he’s suspected of using them and therefore cannot be a Hall of Famer. There’s Mark McGwire, who did admit to using steroids, but we’re still pissed at him. http://weareoffthemark.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif But have you heard of Josh Lueke? Unless you’re a hardcore fan that’s out to know every single player in the major leagues, you probably don’t. Well, our buddy Lueke allegedly raped and sodomized a woman back in 2008 while he was in the Texas Rangers minor league system. Lueke eventually pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of false imprisonment with violence and was sentenced to 40 days in jail. The Rangers did suspend Lueke but eventually reinstated him, and he was then traded to the Seattle Mariners. Upon learning of his past, the Mariners attempted to return him back to the Rangers, but the two teams could not agree on an alternate player so Lueke stuck in Seattle. He was then traded this offseason to Tampa Bay for catcher John Jaso and will compete for a spot in the Rays’ bullpen this season. This story is what I care about. Now, I’ll admit that Lueke is clearly a lesser-known player than Braun, and we’re pushing about 2 1/2 years since Lueke was first charged, but how is this fair? Both will live the rest of their careers with a cloud over their heads, but I’m willing to bet that Braun’s will be a bigger deal. I don’t know if it’s because TV shows have desensitized us to rape and assault, but this is wrong that Lueke broke a law and appears to have moved on, whereas it’s likely that Braun, should he ever be a possibility for the Hall of Fame, will have to fight this ruling for the rest of his life. Let’s bring this a little closer to home. The Minnesota Vikings had two players this past season that had some significant issues. With the brief NFL lockout, offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie failed to stay in shape and arrived to training camp approaching 400 lbs. During the season, cornerback Chris Cook was charged with felony domestic assault after attempting to strangle his girlfriend. McKinnie ended up getting cut from the team, while Cook was merely suspended for the season with pay. By the way, McKinnie ended up signing with the Baltimore Ravens, got in shape, and played in all 16 games for the Ravens last season, making it seem like the Vikings overreacted to his large waistline. Show up overweight, you’ve failed your coach and your teammates and you’re sent packing. Attack another person, and you keep your job. What I want is for sports to stop acting like using PEDs is the biggest crime you can possibly commit. When you do that, you’re really only harming yourself, and there’s not even substantial evidence that all steroids make you a better player. Yet if you have a DUI or are charged with a violent crime, you’re risking someone else’s life. That should be treated as being a much bigger deal, but it isn’t. Typically the sport lets the state judicial system handle the punishment, but they shouldn’t be afraid to step in themselves more often, even if the player’s union files a grievance. If a Twins player was caught driving drunk, I’d want him to be suspended to send a message to everyone else on the team, “This is not okay.” But that’s never going to happen, because that will never be as big of a travesty as doping, and that’s a damn shame. Break MLB’s laws, and you’ve cheated the game. Break the nation’s laws, and once you’ve served your time, all is well again. Damn, that makes a ton of sense.

I’m going to get this out of the way immediately. I think Ryan Braun is still guilty. I also think that he was lucky, and he and his representatives brilliantly found a way to argue that the chain of custody was broken when it came to the handling of his sample. But most of all, I don’t even care. That’s right, I think Braun is guilty, but I also don’t even care. What I care about is the reactions to Braun’s appeal being upheld. There are many people out there that feel that Braun getting off this easily is a joke. There are also people that are upset that Manny Ramirez, twice found to have taken a banned substance, has a job while Johnny Damon is still looking for one (never mind that the two have completely different contract demands). There’s Jeff Bagwell, who has never been caught using steroids, but he’s suspected of using them and therefore cannot be a Hall of Famer. There’s Mark McGwire, who did admit to using steroids, but we’re still pissed at him. http://weareoffthemark.wordpress.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif But have you heard of Josh Lueke? Unless you’re a hardcore fan that’s out to know every single player in the major leagues, you probably don’t. Well, our buddy Lueke allegedly raped and sodomized a woman back in 2008 while he was in the Texas Rangers minor league system. Lueke eventually pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of false imprisonment with violence and was sentenced to 40 days in jail. The Rangers did suspend Lueke but eventually reinstated him, and he was then traded to the Seattle Mariners. Upon learning of his past, the Mariners attempted to return him back to the Rangers, but the two teams could not agree on an alternate player so Lueke stuck in Seattle. He was then traded this offseason to Tampa Bay for catcher John Jaso and will compete for a spot in the Rays’ bullpen this season. This story is what I care about. Now, I’ll admit that Lueke is clearly a lesser-known player than Braun, and we’re pushing about 2 1/2 years since Lueke was first charged, but how is this fair? Both will live the rest of their careers with a cloud over their heads, but I’m willing to bet that Braun’s will be a bigger deal. I don’t know if it’s because TV shows have desensitized us to rape and assault, but this is wrong that Lueke broke a law and appears to have moved on, whereas it’s likely that Braun, should he ever be a possibility for the Hall of Fame, will have to fight this ruling for the rest of his life. Let’s bring this a little closer to home. The Minnesota Vikings had two players this past season that had some significant issues. With the brief NFL lockout, offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie failed to stay in shape and arrived to training camp approaching 400 lbs. During the season, cornerback Chris Cook was charged with felony domestic assault after attempting to strangle his girlfriend. McKinnie ended up getting cut from the team, while Cook was merely suspended for the season with pay. By the way, McKinnie ended up signing with the Baltimore Ravens, got in shape, and played in all 16 games for the Ravens last season, making it seem like the Vikings overreacted to his large waistline. Show up overweight, you’ve failed your coach and your teammates and you’re sent packing. Attack another person, and you keep your job. What I want is for sports to stop acting like using PEDs is the biggest crime you can possibly commit. When you do that, you’re really only harming yourself, and there’s not even substantial evidence that all steroids make you a better player. Yet if you have a DUI or are charged with a violent crime, you’re risking someone else’s life. That should be treated as being a much bigger deal, but it isn’t. Typically the sport lets the state judicial system handle the punishment, but they shouldn’t be afraid to step in themselves more often, even if the player’s union files a grievance. If a Twins player was caught driving drunk, I’d want him to be suspended to send a message to everyone else on the team, “This is not okay.” But that’s never going to happen, because that will never be as big of a travesty as doping, and that’s a damn shame. Break MLB’s laws, and you’ve cheated the game. Break the nation’s laws, and once you’ve served your time, all is well again. Damn, that makes a ton of sense.

@ Denarded: I feel that the top 50 was determined by their ability to promote themselves. If you paid attention to Lindsay Guentzel, she was making the rounds on radio stations, promoting herself on her Twitter account, trying to get Twins players to vouch for her, etc. She mentioned several times that MLB was using a person's social media impact to determine if they deserved to be one of the top 50. I will admit that these videos could be better, though. If the video is the primary way that people can get to know you before they vote, you should be selling yourself as much as possible.

The Background I was perusing Twitter earlier today when I saw this tweet from our very own MLB Fan Cave finalist Lindsay Guentzel, complete with a video. I watched said video, even though I've become a bit tired of the "Sh*t (This group of people) Say" meme, and in between a couple of laughs, I noticed a few attractive women in the video (Lindsay in a bathrobe may or may not have been one of them). Thus, I went over to the MLB Fan Cave site to get to know these women a little better. Wow, that doesn't sound creepy at all! I happened to find Megan Washington, which the website tabbed as a supporter of the Tampa Bay Rays. I clicked on her video and enjoyed the eye candy I was watching until I heard a phrase that jolted me out of my fanboy daydream. Please click this link and then click the ensuing button on the website that appears to fully understand my disappointment. You see, there are two baseball teams that I absolutely hate. First is the sin that Megan has committed, and that's being a supporter of the Yankees. The second team is the White Sox, though that's probably just due to Hawk Harrelson and 2008's Game 163. I feel that if I was single and I was interested in a girl, it would be a deal-breaker if she told me that she was a fan of either of these two teams. Seriously though, it's rather humorous that I was so disappointed, due to a multitude of reasons: I already have a girlfriend and am more than happy with her, even though I sometimes ask for baseball relationship advice. I'm most likely never going to meet Megan Washington. Even if I was to meet her, there's no guarantee that she would be able to handle a person as suave, manly, irresistible, and humble as myself. The Question I tweeted my dismay over this fact, and I was pleased to see I wasn't as shallow as I believed as I was greeted with many tweets from people expressing their list of teams that would cause them to cut off a relationship. As a result (and also from some prodding by K-Bro) I decided to crowdsource this question: Which team(s) would a man/woman have to be a fan of for you to consider it a deal-breaker? Don't feel restricted by the sport of baseball. If you feel the need to share your distaste for the Packers, go right ahead. Note that Team Edward and Team Jacob are not viable options. Leave your choices in the comments below, and let's see which team is so hated that it would actually stop you from dating one of their fans.

The Background I was perusing Twitter earlier today when I saw this tweet from our very own MLB Fan Cave finalist Lindsay Guentzel, complete with a video. I watched said video, even though I've become a bit tired of the "Sh*t (This group of people) Say" meme, and in between a couple of laughs, I noticed a few attractive women in the video (Lindsay in a bathrobe may or may not have been one of them). Thus, I went over to the MLB Fan Cave site to get to know these women a little better. Wow, that doesn't sound creepy at all! I happened to find Megan Washington, which the website tabbed as a supporter of the Tampa Bay Rays. I clicked on her video and enjoyed the eye candy I was watching until I heard a phrase that jolted me out of my fanboy daydream. Please click this link and then click the ensuing button on the website that appears to fully understand my disappointment. You see, there are two baseball teams that I absolutely hate. First is the sin that Megan has committed, and that's being a supporter of the Yankees. The second team is the White Sox, though that's probably just due to Hawk Harrelson and 2008's Game 163. I feel that if I was single and I was interested in a girl, it would be a deal-breaker if she told me that she was a fan of either of these two teams. Seriously though, it's rather humorous that I was so disappointed, due to a multitude of reasons: I already have a girlfriend and am more than happy with her, even though I sometimes ask for baseball relationship advice. I'm most likely never going to meet Megan Washington. Even if I was to meet her, there's no guarantee that she would be able to handle a person as suave, manly, irresistible, and humble as myself. The Question I tweeted my dismay over this fact, and I was pleased to see I wasn't as shallow as I believed as I was greeted with many tweets from people expressing their list of teams that would cause them to cut off a relationship. As a result (and also from some prodding by K-Bro) I decided to crowdsource this question: Which team(s) would a man/woman have to be a fan of for you to consider it a deal-breaker? Don't feel restricted by the sport of baseball. If you feel the need to share your distaste for the Packers, go right ahead. Note that Team Edward and Team Jacob are not viable options. Leave your choices in the comments below, and let's see which team is so hated that it would actually stop you from dating one of their fans.

Since the first season at Target Field in 2010, there’s been a common complaint among hitters: the fences are too far away. We’ve seen and heard of players attempting to pull the ball down the lines because that’s the best way to get the ball out of the park. These pictures of home runs at Target Field confirms this belief (from Hit Tracker Online). http://weareoffthemark.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/target-field-2011.jpg?w=450&h=441 Target Field Home Runs 2011 http://weareoffthemark.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/target-field-2010.jpg?w=450&h=441 Target Field Home Runs 2010 You may have some questions about these pictures. Why is there a percentage in the upper right corner of each picture? Why are those lines there? Why are the areas not even? Look at the TF 2011 picture. You’ll notice that most home runs are contained within the right and left field portions of the field. I will admit that these lines are completely drawn arbitrarily, and it certainly is odd that I made one side bigger than the other. For that, I’ll point towards the fences at Target Field. You know that the right field fence is taller than the left field fence, and that (along with wind currents, or Baseball Gods, or something) have managed to cause fewer balls to go out in the RF alley compared to the LF alley. Anyway, despite the unevenness, a nice coincidence is that this area sums to an angle of 45%, or half of a baseball field. Now, another complaint you may have is that obviously it will be easier to hit the ball out down the lines than to straightaway center field. This is why I’ve included the percentages in the upper right. These represent the percentage of home runs that were hit into the outer two areas last season. As you can see, both are 77% (2011 should actually be 78%, and 2010′s rounded up to 77%, so it was not actually equal each season). For comparison, I’ve included a more homer-friendly park in Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field, and also the Metrodome in 2009. http://weareoffthemark.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/us-cellular-2011.png?w=450&h=442U.S. Cellular Field 2011 http://weareoffthemark.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/metrodome-2009.jpg?w=450&h=442Metrodome 2009 I’ll admit that 73% doesn’t seem all that different from 77%, but maybe the players are able to take more notice than we can. However, there’s no denying the difference between the Dome and Target Field. Not only were there more homers hit in 2009, but they were also sent out more frequently to center field and the alleys, as only 66% of all home runs were hit into the left field and right field areas. Players started getting it into their minds that they had to pull the ball to get it out of the park (except Jim Thome), and it started affecting their hitting. With this in the back of my head, I’m wondering if the Twins haven’t adopted a new philosophy when it comes to hitting. You may be familiar with “Whitey-ball,” dubbed for Whitey Herzog, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1980s. His team relied on speed, defense, and hitting line drives to take advantage of the AstroTurf in Busch Memorial Stadium, and Whitey-ball was credited with helping the team win the 1982 World Series. Starting with last season, it appears as though the Twins have adopted a similar mindset. This started with the trade of J.J. Hardy prior to last season, where the Twins cited a need to add speed to the lineup. From last season and this offseason, they lost Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Jim Thome, three big home run hitters, and really only have Josh Willingham has a viable power replacement. It’s Whitey-ball, or perhaps more appropriately the return of Gardy-ball. Back in the Dome days, Gardy-ball was essentially the mirror image of Whitey-ball. But now, it’s being done for a whole different reason. Over the past two seasons, hitters have been altering their swings to hit the ball out. With this current lineup, it’s as if the Twins have assembled a group of slap hitters and are going to tell them, “Don’t even attempt to beat the system.” The Twins are likely going to be having these guys hitting in order next season: Alexi Casilla (8th), Ben Revere (9th), Denard Span (1st), Jamey Carroll (2nd). Those guys certainly are not going to get many people excited, as evidenced by Patrick Reusse and my response to him over a week ago. It is indeed like a relay team of leadoff hitters, none of which are going to challenge 10 homers this season, so maybe it’s not necessarily “Don’t even attempt to beat the system,” but rather “Don’t even attempt to beat the system (it’s not like you have a chance in the first place).” In fact, that’s almost exactly what Twins hitting coach Joe Vavra said in an interview with the Pioneer Press: “We have to stop thinking we can beat that ballpark.” It sounds like Vavra wants to get the hitters back into spraying the ball around the field instead of trying to yank everything over the pull-side fence. If the hitters listen, this could be a chance to get the Twins to return to the middle of the pack when it comes to scoring runs, instead of being stuck at the bottom like they were last year. However, I must agree with Parker Hageman here in that the Twins shouldn’t mess with Josh Willingham. Parker has shown us that Willingham is already a pull hitter that appears to have a good chance of succeeding in Target Field, and if the Twins try to get him to chance his approach, we could have a repeat of David Ortiz on our hands. Basically, what I’m trying to say is that it looks like the Twins are going to try to pound it into the hitters’ heads that they shouldn’t treat home runs as their only positive result. If the pitch is inside, then feel free to yank it down the line. But if it’s on the outside, remember that hitting it up the middle or to the opposite field is going to be more likely to yield a better result than trying to yank that pitch as well. You know how Joe Mauer grounds out to second base so often? It can usually be attributed to him attempting to pull a pitch that was on the outer half of the plate. The Twins don’t project to compete for a playoff spot this season, but working on improving the offense simply by attacking the ballpark in a different way should help the team score more runs this season.

Since the first season at Target Field in 2010, there’s been a common complaint among hitters: the fences are too far away. We’ve seen and heard of players attempting to pull the ball down the lines because that’s the best way to get the ball out of the park. These pictures of home runs at Target Field confirms this belief (from Hit Tracker Online). http://weareoffthemark.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/target-field-2011.jpg?w=450&h=441 Target Field Home Runs 2011 http://weareoffthemark.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/target-field-2010.jpg?w=450&h=441 Target Field Home Runs 2010 You may have some questions about these pictures. Why is there a percentage in the upper right corner of each picture? Why are those lines there? Why are the areas not even? Look at the TF 2011 picture. You’ll notice that most home runs are contained within the right and left field portions of the field. I will admit that these lines are completely drawn arbitrarily, and it certainly is odd that I made one side bigger than the other. For that, I’ll point towards the fences at Target Field. You know that the right field fence is taller than the left field fence, and that (along with wind currents, or Baseball Gods, or something) have managed to cause fewer balls to go out in the RF alley compared to the LF alley. Anyway, despite the unevenness, a nice coincidence is that this area sums to an angle of 45%, or half of a baseball field. Now, another complaint you may have is that obviously it will be easier to hit the ball out down the lines than to straightaway center field. This is why I’ve included the percentages in the upper right. These represent the percentage of home runs that were hit into the outer two areas last season. As you can see, both are 77% (2011 should actually be 78%, and 2010′s rounded up to 77%, so it was not actually equal each season). For comparison, I’ve included a more homer-friendly park in Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field, and also the Metrodome in 2009. http://weareoffthemark.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/us-cellular-2011.png?w=450&h=442U.S. Cellular Field 2011 http://weareoffthemark.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/metrodome-2009.jpg?w=450&h=442Metrodome 2009 I’ll admit that 73% doesn’t seem all that different from 77%, but maybe the players are able to take more notice than we can. However, there’s no denying the difference between the Dome and Target Field. Not only were there more homers hit in 2009, but they were also sent out more frequently to center field and the alleys, as only 66% of all home runs were hit into the left field and right field areas. Players started getting it into their minds that they had to pull the ball to get it out of the park (except Jim Thome), and it started affecting their hitting. With this in the back of my head, I’m wondering if the Twins haven’t adopted a new philosophy when it comes to hitting. You may be familiar with “Whitey-ball,” dubbed for Whitey Herzog, manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1980s. His team relied on speed, defense, and hitting line drives to take advantage of the AstroTurf in Busch Memorial Stadium, and Whitey-ball was credited with helping the team win the 1982 World Series. Starting with last season, it appears as though the Twins have adopted a similar mindset. This started with the trade of J.J. Hardy prior to last season, where the Twins cited a need to add speed to the lineup. From last season and this offseason, they lost Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Jim Thome, three big home run hitters, and really only have Josh Willingham has a viable power replacement. It’s Whitey-ball, or perhaps more appropriately the return of Gardy-ball. Back in the Dome days, Gardy-ball was essentially the mirror image of Whitey-ball. But now, it’s being done for a whole different reason. Over the past two seasons, hitters have been altering their swings to hit the ball out. With this current lineup, it’s as if the Twins have assembled a group of slap hitters and are going to tell them, “Don’t even attempt to beat the system.” The Twins are likely going to be having these guys hitting in order next season: Alexi Casilla (8th), Ben Revere (9th), Denard Span (1st), Jamey Carroll (2nd). Those guys certainly are not going to get many people excited, as evidenced by Patrick Reusse and my response to him over a week ago. It is indeed like a relay team of leadoff hitters, none of which are going to challenge 10 homers this season, so maybe it’s not necessarily “Don’t even attempt to beat the system,” but rather “Don’t even attempt to beat the system (it’s not like you have a chance in the first place).” In fact, that’s almost exactly what Twins hitting coach Joe Vavra said in an interview with the Pioneer Press: “We have to stop thinking we can beat that ballpark.” It sounds like Vavra wants to get the hitters back into spraying the ball around the field instead of trying to yank everything over the pull-side fence. If the hitters listen, this could be a chance to get the Twins to return to the middle of the pack when it comes to scoring runs, instead of being stuck at the bottom like they were last year. However, I must agree with Parker Hageman here in that the Twins shouldn’t mess with Josh Willingham. Parker has shown us that Willingham is already a pull hitter that appears to have a good chance of succeeding in Target Field, and if the Twins try to get him to chance his approach, we could have a repeat of David Ortiz on our hands. Basically, what I’m trying to say is that it looks like the Twins are going to try to pound it into the hitters’ heads that they shouldn’t treat home runs as their only positive result. If the pitch is inside, then feel free to yank it down the line. But if it’s on the outside, remember that hitting it up the middle or to the opposite field is going to be more likely to yield a better result than trying to yank that pitch as well. You know how Joe Mauer grounds out to second base so often? It can usually be attributed to him attempting to pull a pitch that was on the outer half of the plate. The Twins don’t project to compete for a playoff spot this season, but working on improving the offense simply by attacking the ballpark in a different way should help the team score more runs this season.