Yanks Sox

[Weathered]

Yeah, there are some great views over there, but it does seem like as soon as you go more than a block from the river, it suddenly gets very ... downscale. Of course, my neighborhood was like than less than 10 years ago. Are there any signs of reinvigoration in the neighborhood?

There are - they have been pushing to make the whole area nicer. The Pheylan area has been bad for years, but I think that the one positive is that the amount of riff-raff isn't as bad as, say, Nordeast Minneapolis, because people take pride in the area for the most part.

If I was a gambling man, I'd buy the condo that I'm in (it's just a shade over $200K), wait for the area to improve, and sell it for $250K or so. It's a modern condo that was put into an old VFW and has exposed brick, wood floors, 10 ft ceilings, etc, but it's just in a bad area.

[la0tsu]

There are - they have been pushing to make the whole area nicer. The Pheylan area has been bad for years, but I think that the one positive is that the amount of riff-raff isn't as bad as, say, Nordeast Minneapolis, because people take pride in the area for the most part. If I was a gambling man, I'd buy the condo that I'm in (it's just a shade over $200K), wait for the area to improve, and sell it for $250K or so. It's a modern condo that was put into an old VFW and has exposed brick, wood floors, 10 ft ceilings, etc, but it's just in a bad area.

Sounds like a nice place.

This is the reason I rent. In order to buy, you have to make a trade off that I'm just not willing to make. It seems (unless you've got money coming out your wazoo, in which case I'd recommend a visit to the doctor) that you can have two of the following: a good house, a good location, or an affordable mortgage.

[Weathered]

Sounds like a nice place. This is the reason I rent. In order to buy, you have to make a trade off that I'm just not willing to make. It seems (unless you've got money coming out your wazoo, in which case I'd recommend a visit to the doctor) that you can have two of the following: a good house, a good location, or an affordable mortgage.

 

 

Yep. It is just made that much worse because my girlfriend has been pushing to buy something herself, and between her and I, we do OK, but not well enough to have a nice place in the cities, and working in Minneapolis, I'd rather not have a 45 minute trip to work every day.

[angus_old]

The truth is, for 5 years Cashman has {censored}ed up this team by not re-emphasizing scouting and making moves fro the good young pitchers in the game, but in the end, we're still afloat and contenders every year and as a sports fan there's not much more I can ask for.

 

 

CASHMAN didn't {censored} up the team, Tampa did. That's settled now.

[mysticaxe]

And Santana is only going to get better as he figures more hitters out. Plus he has said that he wants to retire in a Twins uniform. I'd say we're OK on the pitching front as long as he and Liriano can stay healthy. Two of the nastiest leftys in the AL on the same team.

Umm its hard to get any better than Santana has been. About the only time it has been done in recent history was Pedro's run in the late 90's/early 00's. I hope he does mean it that he wants to stay with the Twins - they convinced Radke to make a career out of it, as well as lots of other players over their history. I also hope (for the Twins sake) that Liriano can be 80% of what he was. Surgery on the arm is a lot better than it was 10 years ago, but that's still really tough! Just ask Prior/Wood...

[la0tsu]

Yep. It is just made that much worse because my girlfriend has been pushing to buy something herself, and between her and I, we do OK, but not well enough to have a nice place in the cities, and working in Minneapolis, I'd rather not have a 45 minute trip to work every day.

 

 

I know what you mean. I work in Bloomington, almost Eden Prairie. It's 20 minutes if traffic is flowing smoothly, but it can be much longer if it ain't, which is waaaay too frequent. My wife had been working in Shakopee, which was absolutely atrocious - there were days I'd drive 3 hours easy. Fortunately, she got a great job with Met Council, and works in downtown now. I just go maybe four blocks out of my way to drop her off.

 

Now if only I can get my company to relocate.

[Weathered]

Umm its hard to get any better than Santana has been. About the only time it has been done in recent history was Pedro's run in the late 90's/early 00's. I hope he does mean it that he wants to stay with the Twins - they convinced Radke to make a career out of it, as well as lots of other players over their history. I also hope (for the Twins sake) that Liriano can be 80% of what he was. Surgery on the arm is a lot better than it was 10 years ago, but that's still really tough! Just ask Prior/Wood...

 

 

I really hope that Liriano can figure out how to throw his slider without blowing up his elbow. That thing is nasty, and the kid is so young that if he can figure that out, hitters are really going to be stumped.

 

The Twins seem to be able to keep players that they want around - Radke, Hunter has been a Twin for a while, I have a feeling that Mauer will spend most (if not all) of his career here, being that he went to high school here.

 

I just hope that Pohlad will be willing to pony up the money when Morneau, Mauer, Santana, Nathan, etc, come asking for fair market value. Expecially with the new ballpark coming up, they have a chance to have some strong years in the future.

[mysticaxe]

I just hope that Pohlad will be willing to pony up the money when Morneau, Mauer, Santana, Nathan, etc, come asking for fair market value. Expecially with the new ballpark coming up, they have a chance to have some strong years in the future.

 

 

I don't see that happening. You are talking about 4 guys who are in the top 1-2 of their positions. I don't think anyone can afford those guys all at once, except the biggest of the big - Yanks, Boston, Mets, Dodgers (but they would have managed to screw it up and traded those guys before they were good).

[HKSblade1]

being from C town, I like my Tribe! in the 90's Ramirez Thome and Bell in the lineup was nasty. I think TF for Boston has helped Manny be patient. Ramirez is as confident a hitter there has ever been. Seems anymore it doesn't matter what you throw to him, he'll hit it with authority! He still has the lazy outs which always bothered me and is always thrown out on a grounder, even when an error is made.

I can't say much for the Tribe's blunders to A-Rod. I'd have taken chances with Giambi since a grand slam would hurt no less than a 3run walk off! I still like the strategy and fundamentals of National League, but the power in the lineups for the AM League teams can change a game really quick.

I've also noticed the unfair advantages sluggers are given on pitches, especially inside. Umps seem to give the hitter the advantage on B's and S's. But the guy in the last 3 of the lineup gets a neck high ball called a strike

Yankees have lost their fight since the Paul O'neal Days. He had the ability to fire up the team when they sucked bad. Jeter needs to be more expressive as Paul was and throw hats on every out, sling bats, and cuss out other players! As much as I didn't like P.O, I liked his spunk on the field.

[Weathered]

I don't see that happening. You are talking about 4 guys who are in the top 1-2 of their positions. I don't think anyone can afford those guys all at once, except the biggest of the big - Yanks, Boston, Mets, Dodgers (but they would have managed to screw it up and traded those guys before they were good).

 

 

I'm not looking forward to that day. Pohlad is notoriously cheap, and even though we've got a beautiful outdoor stadium coming up in a few years, we're going to lose a few of these guys. But I think that this is the best Twins lineup that I can remember seeing. Hunter has been a monster this year, Mauer is pushing .400 again, Santana has been Santana, Cuddyer (a notorious slow starter) is leading the team in RBI's, Morneau has been solid (but has yet to really take off).

 

It'll be a sad day when one of these fellas leaves the team, and I fear that it'll happen sooner rather than later.

[mysticaxe]

being from C town, I like my Tribe! in the 90's Ramirez Thome and Bell in the lineup was nasty. Yankees have lost their fight since the Paul O'neal Days. He had the ability to fire up the team when they sucked bad. Jeter needs to be more expressive as Paul was and throw hats on every out, sling bats, and cuss out other players! As much as I didn't like P.O, I liked his spunk on the field.

 

 

That was a broooootal Indians lineup. The problem was that the pitching was the "equal and opposite" side for those teams.

 

I would agree that O'Neill was a driving force for those teams. Don't forget, he won his first world series on the Reds in '90 - I loved that team!

[danyeo]

I'm not looking forward to that day. Pohlad is notoriously cheap, and even though we've got a beautiful outdoor stadium coming up in a few years, we're going to lose a few of these guys. But I think that this is the best Twins lineup that I can remember seeing. Hunter has been a monster this year, Mauer is pushing .400 again, Santana has been Santana, Cuddyer (a notorious slow starter) is leading the team in RBI's, Morneau has been solid (but has yet to really take off). It'll be a sad day when one of these fellas leaves the team, and I fear that it'll happen sooner rather than later.

 

 

I can't believe they're not getting a retractable dome up there. I hope they don't get that many games scheduled in April up there. Just think if it was an open stadium this this year, half the games would have been snowed out.

 

But at least you're getting out of that dome. Dome's are the worst thing for a baseball game. Baseball was meant to be played outside.

[Weathered]

I can't believe they're not getting a retractable dome up there. I hope they don't get that many games scheduled in April up there. Just think if it was an open stadium this this year, half the games would have been snowed out. But at least you're getting out of that dome. Dome's are the worst thing for a baseball game. Baseball was meant to be played outside.

 

 

That's all that anyone has talked about up here - but in order to get the stadium bill passed, they had to budget without a roof. This year has (hopefully) been an anomoly. It is usually mid 50's in April, which is OK baseball weather.

 

And yes, the Giant Hefty Bag sucks for baseball. I didn't realize what I was missing until I went to games in Pittsburgh and Boston when I was on tour. PNC Park is beautiful - too bad the Pirates have had so many bad years.

[Blues In Me]

Umm its hard to get any better than Santana has been. About the only time it has been done in recent history was Pedro's run in the late 90's/early 00's. I hope he does mean it that he wants to stay with the Twins - they convinced Radke to make a career out of it, as well as lots of other players over their history. I also hope (for the Twins sake) that Liriano can be 80% of what he was. Surgery on the arm is a lot better than it was 10 years ago, but that's still really tough! Just ask Prior/Wood...

 

 

 

I heard this guy, Dr. Mike Marshall , on XM's MLB station yesterday. He made a lot of very good points on how today's pitchers hold the ball in a way that leads to all these injuries. He even stated that he could fix Prior and Wood's arm problems if given the chance. I was looking around his site and there is some great info there.

[mysticaxe]

I heard this guy, Dr. Mike Marshall , on XM's MLB station yesterday. He made a lot of very good points on how today's pitchers hold the ball in a way that leads to all these injuries. He even stated that he could fix Prior and Wood's arm problems if given the chance. I was looking around his site and there is some great info there.

 

 

That's pretty dense (in the 5 minutes I looked over it). I have never pitched, so don't have the 1st hand experience. I know people have said for a long time that Prior was an arm injury waiting to happen. They said the same about Pedro too, and he made it well into his 30s before that happened.

[***1776***]

Pitching puts alot of stress on the arm, you just hate to see ANY picture get hurt/injured - but i also think that teams have become TO protective with pitch counts etc - guys from 20+ yrs ago pitched 250-300 innings yr in and yr out, today most guys dont do 200 innings and the injuries seem to have gone up! Makes u wonder


Steinbrenner? - I think hes earned alot more respect as time passes on, while he was a "meddling idiot" who was involved 2 much in his younger days (the Yankee farm system BLOSSOMED when he was suspended in early 1990's) but he has backed off recently and let the baseball people make the decisions. 1 last thing --- Steinbrenner wants to win you have to give him credit for that, there are MANY owners in other sports who rather just take the $$ and pocket it and run - he reinvests alot of his $$ on the product on the field. There are other owners in baseball and other sports who are wealthier/have more $$ than Steinbrenner but dont care about winning, at least George does..

[JBecker]

Pitching puts alot of stress on the arm, you just hate to see ANY picture get hurt/injured - but i also think that teams have become TO protective with pitch counts etc - guys from 20+ yrs ago pitched 250-300 innings yr in and yr out, today most guys dont do 200 innings and the injuries seem to have gone up! Makes u wonder Steinbrenner? - I think hes earned alot more respect as time passes on, while he was a "meddling idiot" who was involved 2 much in his younger days (the Yankee farm system BLOSSOMED when he was suspended in early 1990's) but he has backed off recently and let the baseball people make the decisions. 1 last thing --- Steinbrenner wants to win you have to give him credit for that, there are MANY owners in other sports who rather just take the $$ and pocket it and run - he reinvests alot of his $$ on the product on the field. There are other owners in baseball and other sports who are wealthier/have more $$ than Steinbrenner but dont care about winning, at least George does..

I'd rather have George than anyone else for that reason. Does he make money? Of course, but that guy is in it to win.

[LedZep77]

Well it looks like Konerko is finally coming around. Mark Buehrle has been solid lately as has Contreras. If the Sox can keep there pitching where it is right now, they should be fine. Their bats have been pretty good, too, so I don't think the Sox should be too worried about the Yanks:p

[Weathered]

Well it looks like Konerko is finally coming around. Mark Buehrle has been solid lately as has Contreras. If the Sox can keep there pitching where it is right now, they should be fine. Their bats have been pretty good, too, so I don't think the Sox should be too worried about the Yanks:p

Meh. You'll still be in 3rd place in the Central, behind the Twinkies and the Tigers.

[HKSblade1]

as many have told me

 

Good pitching beats good hitting. So many Am leaguers are fastball hitters and NL finesse pitchers can make them look stupid. But if they are sitting fastball it's going to travel a long way

 

too many pitchers today have a hard time throwing junk for strike. they get behind and then guys like Manny hurt them.

[exafro]

Well it looks like Konerko is finally coming around. Mark Buehrle has been solid lately as has Contreras. If the Sox can keep there pitching where it is right now, they should be fine. Their bats have been pretty good, too, so I don't think the Sox should be too worried about the Yanks:p

 

I think they should be. The Yanks have yet to really click this season and they still played some close games while decimated with injuries at Fenway versus a healthy Red Sox team. We still have until September so lets not make any irrational statements.

[LedZep77]

 

I think they should be. The Yanks have yet to really click this season and they still played some close games while decimated with injuries at Fenway versus a healthy Red Sox team. We still have until September so lets not make any irrational statements.

 

 

It was a joke:rolleyes:

[LedZep77]

Meh. You'll still be in 3rd place in the Central, behind the Twinkies and the Tigers.

As much as I would like to see them do better, I totally agree with you:cry:

[exafro]

It was a joke:rolleyes:

 

Don't mind me, just warming up for the inevitable late season discussions.

[Weathered]

as many have told me Good pitching beats good hitting. So many Am leaguers are fastball hitters and NL finesse pitchers can make them look stupid. But if they are sitting fastball it's going to travel a long way too many pitchers today have a hard time throwing junk for strike. they get behind and then guys like Manny hurt them.

I heard something funny the other day. Bert Blylevin does color commentary for the Twins, and he was talking about his coach years back talking about a hitter who was a "good fastball hitter" and one of the pitchers said "well, I guess I can throw him my fastball, because mine's no good."

But I agree - AL hitters can hit fastballs a long way.