Thursday, May 11, 2006

Minnesota Twins win some lose some

Hi Readers, I have been very busy at work and I have been away from my Blog. The Minnesota Twins have won two series in a row and now the Chicago Whitesox come into town for four games.

Well I have to salute hitters Michael Cuddyer and Torri Hunter for having big hits in this crappy lineup. I don't know what to say Hunter has his off days and on days and he is a very streaky hitter. Cuddyer on the other hand must love the outfield because he looks like a professional hitter at the plate. Johan Santana is finally waking up from his WBC preseason, and has made hitters look very confused.

With all the good here comes the bad. Radke, Silva, and Loshe are on the edge of getting better or falling out of the rotation. Rondell White, Justin Morneau, Tony Batista, and Juan Castro have looked bad at the plate. Rondell White and Justin Morneau need to get there swing back and make pitchers pay for pitches pay for pitches in the zone. Tony Batista needs to hit his pitch lately he has been missing it and his homerun totals are way down, but his walks are way up. Juan Castro needs to be on the bench and they need to Free Jason Bartlett from AAA.

So where do the Twins go from here hopefully up and not down. They have three big series coming up: Chicago at home, the Tigers and Brewers away. The need to win all three series to keep this show moving. They need to have a big month to make up for a subpar April.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Minnesota Twins need to rebuild

Hi Readers, Happy Friday morning and TGIF. Well the Minnesota Twins my favorite Minnesota sports franchise lost last night 1-0 to the Kansas City Royals. This teams needs to rebuild and this is how I would do it.

Carlos Silva or Kyle Loshe needs to be traded to a contender if the team seems to be falling. We could get a minor league prospect for them and I would be looking for pitching and outfielders. Teams that might be looking for pitching the Reds, Mets, Rangers, Angels and Dodgers.

Shannon Stewart needs to be traded to a contender if the teams seems to be falling. We need minor league prospect for Stewart, players in return should be shortstops, second-basemen and pitching. Teams that would like Stewart include the Dodgers, Astros, and Angels.

Players that go without a new stadium: Rondell White, and Torri Hunter for multi talent. Younger talent needs to be signed in the long-term like Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. So lets look at next 3- year lineups without free agents.

2007 lineup

Denard Span OF
Luis Castillo 2B
Joe Mauer C
Justin Morneau 1B
Michael Cuddyer 3B
Jason Kubel OF
Lew Ford OF
Garrett Jones DH
Jason Bartlett SS

Reserves:
Luis Rodrigez IF
Luis Maza IF
Terry Tiffee 3B
Doug Deeds OF
Nick Punto IF

Pitching

Johan Santana SP
Scott Baker SP
Fransico Lirano SP
Boof Bonser SP
Matt Guerrier SP

Joe Nathan RP
Pat Neshek RP
Jesse Crain RP
Juan Rincon RP
Ricky Bartlett RP
Jason Miller RP

2008 lineup

Denard Span OF
Luis Rodrigez 2B
Joe Mauer C
Justin Morneau 1B
Matt Moses 3B
Jason Kubel OF
Lew Ford OF
Garrett Jones DH
Jason Bartlett SS

Reserves:

Luis Maza IF

Doug Deeds OF
Danny Matienzo 1B

Pitching

Johan Santana SP
Scott Baker SP
Fransico Lirano SP
Boof Bonser SP
Glen Perkins SP

Adam Harben RP
Pat Neshek RP
Jesse Crain RP
Juan Rincon RP
Ricky Bartlett RP
Jason Miller RP

It's going to be a couple of bad years but a stadium would help alot or be ready to see the Las Vegas Twins.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Minnesota Vikings draft thoughts

Hi Readers, well the draft came and went and over the weekend I came and went to move out of my apartment. I have been catching up with work and have been staying away from my blog.

The Vikings drafted a wide spread of players and now I am going to do a evalution of what I think of them:

Chad Greenway OLB Iowa: He is the complete package fast, smart, knows when to attack and stay back. He is a character guy who wants to play for the Vikings and is from South Dakota. Personally I love this pick and on many of my early draft boards I had the Vikings picking him. His numbers in college included Senior totals included 156/10/1 with one interception and eight defenses. Junior numbers included 113/8/3, when he also intercepted three passes.

Cedric Griffin CB Texas: A younger taller version of Brian Williams he is 6-0 and knows how to hit people hard. He is not the fastest cornerback in the draft but works well in a cover 2 system. His numbers in college included Four-year starter used at both corner and safety. All-Conference selection as a senior after 86 tackles and 15 pass defenses. Junior numbers included 68/2/6. Outstanding special-teams player throughout college.

Ryan Cook C/OG/OT New Mexico: This is a puzzling pick I had Cook as the fifth best center in the draft. I had him going in the late third early second round of the draft. I think the Vikings picked him because they knew they were going to give up the two third round drafts for Jackson. Former walk-on awarded All-Conference honors every season since moving into the starting lineup as a sophomore. A solid-sized lineman with growth potential, Cook has made definite strides the past three seasons.


Tarvaris Jackson QB Alabama State: The mystery player of the draft I had him going in the fifth round and actually thought he might not be drafted. Vikings wanted Jackson so bad that they gave up there two-third round draft picks to get him. He has a giant arm he college coaches say he has the strongest arm that they have ever seen. A two or three year project but has all the skills to be a top quarterback. Second-team All-Conference selection who totaled 60.9%/2,941/29/5 as a senior.


Ray Edwards DE Purdue: Here is a guy who had character issues but the Vikings took him in the fourth round of the draft. I had Ray Edwards going in the third round. He is a monster on the field, Flashes quickness off the snap, plays with good pad level and makes plays laterally. Fast off the edge, has a closing burst and redirects to ball handlers. Tough to handle once he gets the first step on opponents. He was a top number one draftee in 2004, but fell off the wagon. I love this pick lots of potential.

Greg Blue S Georgia: This is a special teams selection and with the Vikings only having Darren Sharper, Tank Williams, Willie Offord, and Dustin Fox on the roster and all four have injury problems this was a safe pick. Explosive run-defending safety who is best between the hashes. Breaks down well, is fast in all directions and flashes on the scene. Strong at the point, goes for the knockout blow and wraps up tackling. Fine athlete who makes a lot of difficult plays. Two-year starter awarded All-Conference and All-American honors last season after career-best numbers of 88/2/5. Posted 80 tackles as a junior. I like this pick but one of these safeties isn't going to make this team or switched to a corner or linebacker.