I don't know about you, but the sportsfan area of my brain is already moving on to football. I usually can't make that switch until closer to November, but this year is a bit, uh, different. Not that baseball as a whole isn't still holding my interest - it is - but with the Twins totally out of it, not just statistically, but physically and mentally... well, whatever. Bring on the tight ends.
Looks like Cuddy agrees. Check out his fantasy picks, along with Mark Buehrle's, Cole Hamel's, and more.
Round 1
#1 Cole Hamels: Peterson, Adrian RB MIN
#2 Eric Hinske: Rodgers, Aaron QB GB
#3 Mark Reynolds: Foster, Arian RB HOU
#4 Michael Cuddyer: Johnson, Chris RB TEN
#5 Brad Lidge: Rice, Ray RB BAL
#6 Adam Dunn: Charles, Jamaal RB KC
#7 David Wright: McCoy, LeSean RB PHI
#8 Mark Buehrle: Jones-Drew, Maurice RB JAC
#9 Phil Hughes: Vick, Michael QB PHI
#10 Travis Hafner: McFadden, Darren RB OAK
#11 Aaron Rowand: Brees, Drew QB NO
#12 Ben Sheets: Jackson, Steven RB STL
Round 2
#1 Ben Sheets: Gore, Frank RB SF
#2 Aaron Rowand: Forte, Matt RB CHI
#3 Travis Hafner: Mendenhall, Rashard RB PIT
#4 Phil Hughes: Turner, Michael RB ATL
#5 Mark Buehrle: Hillis, Peyton RB CLE
#6 David Wright: Johnson, Andre WR HOU
#7 Adam Dunn: Rivers, Philip QB SD
#8 Brad Lidge: Johnson, Calvin WR DET
#9 Michael Cuddyer: Blount, LeGarrette RB TB
#10 Mark Reynolds: Brady, Tom QB NE
#11 Eric Hinske: White, Roddy WR ATL
#12 Cole Hamels: Fitzgerald, Larry WR ARI
> the full picks
I'm off to my own FF draft-- maybe I'll just copy Adam Dunn's picks. He seems like a smart guy. : )
Ciao, buddies.
-christine
p.s., wish me luck!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Everything That's Great About Baseball: Jim Thome, Everybody.
 |
| "You just love to see good things happen to good people" - Justin Morneau |
Ciao, buddies.
-christine
Thursday, August 11, 2011
So It Goes Baseball Mom Finally Makes Her Debut (and it's a good one).
(turn up the volume)
Ciao, buddies.
-christine
Ciao, buddies.
-christine
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
LOST and weird and frustrating and sad...
Remember 2004? It was a big year.
LOST premiered, Friends ended.
Britney Spears got married, got divorced, and then got married again.
The Red Sox won the World Series after 86 years ofwhining waiting.
And, of course, Fox hunting was finally outlawed in the UK.
2004 was also the last time the White Sox swept the Twins. Until Sunday. The losses on their own were ugly -- and at home, ouch -- but it was more than that... a bigger loss than just a series sweep. The nail in the 2011 season, I suspect.
All of that momentum from June seems a thing of the past and the things that were going so well, most notably the back to back to back dominance from the starting five-- well, no longer going so well, at all. Blackburn is doing that thing again when he looks like he's simply forgotten that he is a major league baseball player -- like really he's an art history from Fresno named Stephen with a ph who Quantum Leaped into Blackburn's body in the third inning and has no idea that there is a difference between a sinker and a slider.
It's not just Blackburn, they are all sucking in their own special ways, but he just has nothing. He looks lost and it's weird and frustrating and sad. I think someone really should check to see if there is an art history teacher in Fresno who suddenly has no idea that there is a difference between Edward and Dennis Hopper. Maybe we can still fix this.
Ciao, buddies.
-christine
Britney Spears got married, got divorced, and then got married again.
The Red Sox won the World Series after 86 years of
And, of course, Fox hunting was finally outlawed in the UK.
2004 was also the last time the White Sox swept the Twins. Until Sunday. The losses on their own were ugly -- and at home, ouch -- but it was more than that... a bigger loss than just a series sweep. The nail in the 2011 season, I suspect.
All of that momentum from June seems a thing of the past and the things that were going so well, most notably the back to back to back dominance from the starting five-- well, no longer going so well, at all. Blackburn is doing that thing again when he looks like he's simply forgotten that he is a major league baseball player -- like really he's an art history from Fresno named Stephen with a ph who Quantum Leaped into Blackburn's body in the third inning and has no idea that there is a difference between a sinker and a slider.
It's not just Blackburn, they are all sucking in their own special ways, but he just has nothing. He looks lost and it's weird and frustrating and sad. I think someone really should check to see if there is an art history teacher in Fresno who suddenly has no idea that there is a difference between Edward and Dennis Hopper. Maybe we can still fix this.
Ciao, buddies.
-christine
Sunday, July 10, 2011
The Good, the Getting Better but Not Quite There Yet, and the Ugly
I know it's been a while, again-- sorry. So here's a big fat post to make up for it. It's officially All-Star Break and the mid-way point, and a good time for some stock-taking. So, here ya go.
The Good
The Longview
Remember that on June 1, we were 16 1/2 games back and hovering around .325. A month and a half later, we are 6 1/2 games out and closing in on .500. We've won 9 of the last 12 series, which is key. 6 1/2 games out at the All-Star Break feel pretty typical for us, actually. So, yeah, it was an inexplicably terrible start, but now it's the AS break, the halfway point and a restart of sorts, and we've gotten ourselves to a point from which we know we can realistically do this. Perspective. And, yes, by, this, I do mean win the division.
The Rotation
The starting five are really looking good. Of course any one of them will have an off day, but quality starts, wins, deep starts and even some complete games, have been pretty consistent from all five of them, This is good news, Twins fans. There's not much more key than a solid starting rotation; you cannot be a winning team without one, no matter what else you have going for you.
Glen Perkins
What? I know, I'm just as surprised as you are. Glen Perkins is killing it. A local blogger (so sorry, I can't remember who) compared Perkins to "the wolf" in Pulp Fiction. The clean up guy who comes in and, eerily calmly, efficiently, cleans up the shit show* that came before him. This is kind of a new thing for the Twins and I just love it. With these deeper starts from the aforementioned rotation and solid innings from Nathan + Capps, and Perkins' new found dominance, the 8-9 innings are feeling pretty good. I'll even go so far as to say if Perkins keeps this business up, he should maybe start thinking about his closer song. Hungry Like a Wolf, perhaps?
The Getting Better but Not Quite There Yet
Joe Mauer
My main man, my favorite muffinbutted catcher, sometimes DH, even first-baseman; Joe Mauer is looking good. He's clearly not 100% and I can't quite wrap my head around what went down the first half of the season, but I'm not worried about the second. I don't feel like looking up any stats on his climbing BA and OBP, but I know that he was on base a lot the last couple of series, he's getting some sweet hits or otherwise hitting the ball on the screws. To me, he's really starting to look Mauer.
The Bleeping Sardines
Casilla, Revere, Hughes, Nishi, Tosoni, oh my. These guys have been key to this comeback in a few ways, the energy being the number one factor. There's not necessarily a standout all-around, Casilla maybe, but as a sum of their parts, these boys have put together some impressive, and totally clutch, moments both offensively and defensively that have played a huge role in this June and July comeback. The reason that sardines are not in the "good" category is too many problems of inconsistency and youthful, stupid mistakes. Not going deep enough into at-bats, way too many first pitch outs, and poor base running, in particular.
Base running mistakes are sad, unnecessary rally killers -- and one of my biggest pet peeves, so maybe I'm being harsh. (Biggest pet peeves post still to come.)
Young and Kubel
Both are coming back soon. This is good news. I think. Definitely good news regarding Kubes, but... honestly I don't have a clue how it'll all shake out. We kind of have a lot of outfielders already, and designated hitters. Where o where will they go?
For the first two months, everything was going wrong. Everything. So, to make an ugly list would have been pretty pointless, like making a list of islands in Hawaii that are pretty. Now I think things are shaking out enough to where the consistencies of suck are, such as:
* The Bullpen
Glen Perkins, Joe Nathan, and Matt Capps notwithstanding, the bullpen is the major malfunction. I just cringe when I see Burnett, Mijares, and company warming in the pen, especially Mijares. And Burnett. The only thing either of them do consistently well is sweat, give away the lead, and melt down. "Melt Down Mijares," I like it. This is where I hope to see some movement before the trade deadline.
Injuries
It's really been frustrating, hasn't it? I've said before, and not just on this blog, that the Twins seem to be more injury prone than other teams. (Note: I have no clue if this is true or not statistically, but it sure seems that way.) Do they not train hard enough? Not lift enough weights? Are they just babies? Don't do enough core workouts? Don't do enough steroids? Hopefully the worst of it is over because I don't know how how long our sardines could keep it up if any more of the big fishes go down, again.
So, what do ya think- will the Twins make any moves before the July 31 deadline? Should they? (Can you tell I'm trying to get you guys to chat it up a little? I know you're out there.)
Thanks, buddies.
-christine
p.s., If you are curious where I come down on All-Star Game, Love It or Hate It? I love it.
The Good
The Longview Remember that on June 1, we were 16 1/2 games back and hovering around .325. A month and a half later, we are 6 1/2 games out and closing in on .500. We've won 9 of the last 12 series, which is key. 6 1/2 games out at the All-Star Break feel pretty typical for us, actually. So, yeah, it was an inexplicably terrible start, but now it's the AS break, the halfway point and a restart of sorts, and we've gotten ourselves to a point from which we know we can realistically do this. Perspective. And, yes, by, this, I do mean win the division.
The Rotation
The starting five are really looking good. Of course any one of them will have an off day, but quality starts, wins, deep starts and even some complete games, have been pretty consistent from all five of them, This is good news, Twins fans. There's not much more key than a solid starting rotation; you cannot be a winning team without one, no matter what else you have going for you.
Glen PerkinsWhat? I know, I'm just as surprised as you are. Glen Perkins is killing it. A local blogger (so sorry, I can't remember who) compared Perkins to "the wolf" in Pulp Fiction. The clean up guy who comes in and, eerily calmly, efficiently, cleans up the shit show* that came before him. This is kind of a new thing for the Twins and I just love it. With these deeper starts from the aforementioned rotation and solid innings from Nathan + Capps, and Perkins' new found dominance, the 8-9 innings are feeling pretty good. I'll even go so far as to say if Perkins keeps this business up, he should maybe start thinking about his closer song. Hungry Like a Wolf, perhaps?
The Getting Better but Not Quite There Yet
Joe Mauer
My main man, my favorite muffinbutted catcher, sometimes DH, even first-baseman; Joe Mauer is looking good. He's clearly not 100% and I can't quite wrap my head around what went down the first half of the season, but I'm not worried about the second. I don't feel like looking up any stats on his climbing BA and OBP, but I know that he was on base a lot the last couple of series, he's getting some sweet hits or otherwise hitting the ball on the screws. To me, he's really starting to look Mauer.
The Bleeping Sardines
 |
| Dingo. Fosters. Shrimp on the barbie and stuff. |
Base running mistakes are sad, unnecessary rally killers -- and one of my biggest pet peeves, so maybe I'm being harsh. (Biggest pet peeves post still to come.)
Young and Kubel
Both are coming back soon. This is good news. I think. Definitely good news regarding Kubes, but... honestly I don't have a clue how it'll all shake out. We kind of have a lot of outfielders already, and designated hitters. Where o where will they go?
The Ugly
For the first two months, everything was going wrong. Everything. So, to make an ugly list would have been pretty pointless, like making a list of islands in Hawaii that are pretty. Now I think things are shaking out enough to where the consistencies of suck are, such as:
 |
| Hey, buddy. What ya thinking about? You wondering why you suck so much? |
* The Bullpen
Glen Perkins, Joe Nathan, and Matt Capps notwithstanding, the bullpen is the major malfunction. I just cringe when I see Burnett, Mijares, and company warming in the pen, especially Mijares. And Burnett. The only thing either of them do consistently well is sweat, give away the lead, and melt down. "Melt Down Mijares," I like it. This is where I hope to see some movement before the trade deadline.
Injuries
It's really been frustrating, hasn't it? I've said before, and not just on this blog, that the Twins seem to be more injury prone than other teams. (Note: I have no clue if this is true or not statistically, but it sure seems that way.) Do they not train hard enough? Not lift enough weights? Are they just babies? Don't do enough core workouts? Don't do enough steroids? Hopefully the worst of it is over because I don't know how how long our sardines could keep it up if any more of the big fishes go down, again.
So, what do ya think- will the Twins make any moves before the July 31 deadline? Should they? (Can you tell I'm trying to get you guys to chat it up a little? I know you're out there.)
Thanks, buddies.
-christine
p.s., If you are curious where I come down on All-Star Game, Love It or Hate It? I love it.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
St. Paul Pride. 4 Eva.
Yup, I'm already tired of the Mauer bashing and will not be doing it here. Plenty of others are (quite predictably and derivatively) all over the clearly the problem is Mauer bandwagon. So, if that's what you are looking for, feel free to disembark. You're on the wrong ride, folks.
I'll be honest: I am a fan. A big, fat Joe Mauer fan. You know how you have a very few certain players in your life as a sports fan, maybe just one ever, whom you choose to get behind and from whose allegiance you do not waiver?
Joe is that guy for me. Mauer means something to me; he stands for more than numbers, be it dollars in his contract or his batting average. I am willing to give Joe-- MVP, twice batting champ as a catcher-- the benefit of the doubt and trust him to work it out. I believe he has earned that.
And I don't think he's perfect-- of course not. I see the faults, especially related to the injuries and the recovery time (but this is a larger, Twins-wide problem, in my opinion-- it's like they just don't work out hard enough and have weak cores. And ankles. And wrists. And knees), but the idea that the Twins' major malfunction this season is Mauer is pretty ridiculous and not one I will entertaining here at So It Goes Baseball.
OK, I'm getting redundant, I know. But it's my blog, so there.
Ciao.
-christine
P.S., Readers, I'd love to hear about those players you love no matter, be it Twins or not. Please comment.
I'll be honest: I am a fan. A big, fat Joe Mauer fan. You know how you have a very few certain players in your life as a sports fan, maybe just one ever, whom you choose to get behind and from whose allegiance you do not waiver?Joe is that guy for me. Mauer means something to me; he stands for more than numbers, be it dollars in his contract or his batting average. I am willing to give Joe-- MVP, twice batting champ as a catcher-- the benefit of the doubt and trust him to work it out. I believe he has earned that.
And I don't think he's perfect-- of course not. I see the faults, especially related to the injuries and the recovery time (but this is a larger, Twins-wide problem, in my opinion-- it's like they just don't work out hard enough and have weak cores. And ankles. And wrists. And knees), but the idea that the Twins' major malfunction this season is Mauer is pretty ridiculous and not one I will entertaining here at So It Goes Baseball.
OK, I'm getting redundant, I know. But it's my blog, so there.
Ciao.
-christine
P.S., Readers, I'd love to hear about those players you love no matter, be it Twins or not. Please comment.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
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