Keeping The Outfield Packed / No More Punto?

It was announced earlier today that the Twins have decided to exercise Jason Kubel’s $5.25 million option for 2011, while declining the $5 million option on Nick Punto for next season. In doing so, the Twins will pay Punto $5oo,000. For some reason, many people believe this is the end of Punto’s tenure with the Twins, but is this really true?

A Vote For Me Is A Vote For The Children

A couple weeks ago, I stumbled upon a link that took me to the College Scholarships website. This link sent me to an explanation of their Blogging Scholarship (yes, such a think exists!). I was a bit curious, but wasn’t fully sure about committing until I noticed a familiar name as a runner-up on their list of past winners: Dave Cameron, of U.S.S. Mariner and FanGraphs. Therefore, I chose to apply.

To my amazement, I am now one of the 10 finalists for this scholarship! This means that I am asking for your help to get me this scholarship. All you have to do is click on this link, and vote for me at the bottom of the page. You have until November 5th to vote. No personal information or registration is necessary from you, all you need to do is click the link and vote. Thanks for your support!

Making Our Ears Bleed

For as long as I can remember (which may not be as far back as I’m thinking), we’ve had the voices of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver call the World Series. Both are considered by FOX to be their best baseball announcing duo, so we see them for every playoff series aired by FOX, along with many of their Saturday Game of the Week broadcasts.

Despite being the #1 crew for baseball telecasts, it’s clear that a large number of people do not like Joe Buck, including myself. For me, it’s rather easy in explaining why I don’t like him.

Will This Really Fix Baseball?

Oh, goody. Just in time for the World Series, we have yet another “How To Fix Baseball” article. I’ve never heard of Business Insider, so I have no clue how seriously to take this article, but when I’m still hurting after watching the Twins get swept in the first round, I’ve still got a little venting to do. I’m going to put on my Fire Joe Morgan typing gloves (they prevent chafing) and attempt to rip this thing to shreds.

Getting Involved

…and not necessarily in a good way. In the past week or so, we’ve been “treated” to various interactions between fans and players. You’ll see in a moment that two of these involve the Yankees, and I’m not trying to target them deliberately (one of these fans actually could have hurt the Yankees, literally), and the third is our new most-famous Wild fan.

Notepad Scribbles, 10/18/10

This is what happens when I get bored.

I find pictures of all 30 MLB stadiums and then label them.

By the way, I encourage all of you to go visit this link and click on the Fan Moment award. In the lower left-hand corner, you’ll notice the Yankee fan chomping on Kim Jones’ pork chop,* and if you remember, I was standing right next to Kim Jones when her pork chop was eaten.* Therefore, since I am a part of this potential winning Fan Moment, I would fully appreciate it if you voted for that moment.

* This is not a euphemism for anything.

My Thoughts on the End of the Twins Season

And it’s quite alright
And goodbye for now
Just look up to the stars
And believe who you are
‘Cause it’s quite alright
And so long, goodbye

I’ve had quite a few days to mull over yet another 1st round exit from the Twins, and I think it’s allowed me to get my thoughts in order and avoid typing my gut instincts. Many other people can’t say the same thing, even though it’s now been 5 days since the Yankees defeated the Twins. I’m going to offer up my responses to some common opinions that have surfaced recently, and I’ll include some important things the Twins should consider during the offseason.

The Hater’s Guide To The 2010 New York Yankees

Note: This is a blatant knock-off of Deadspin’s “The Hater’s Guide to the _____” series. Their most recent post is located here.

It’s official, the Twins have been eliminated from the playoffs once again by the New York Yankees. I swear, just once it would be nice to play someone like the Los Angeles Angels or the Oakland Athletics or the Boston Red Sox, so instead of losing to Bryce Harper’s favorite baseball team (Warning! Harper will join Yankees within the next 3-7 years, just like every other uber-talent in the major leagues), the Twins could lose to a team that at least gives us false hope that we can win the series.

Now on to the hating!

Since I Haven’t Done a Poll in a While… or Talk About Something That’s Not Baseball…

I put this poll up on one of my fantasy football leagues, and I was so proud of it that I had to share it with all of you. If you hadn’t heard, the NFL got sick of hearing about Brett Favre all the time (maybe it’s about his behavior involving that former Jets girl?), so they encouraged the Vikings to trade for Randy Moss to take some attention off BRETTFAVREBRETTFAVREBRETTFAVRE.

My Two Cents

I have just one thing to say, and I’ll briefly expand my thoughts. Good pitching is beating good hitting in the ALDS, and facing CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte has exploited a weakness from some of the Twins hitters this season.

Joe Mauer

.272/.342/.369 vs. LHP

.365/.442/.536 vs. RHP

Jim Thome

.241/.298/.471 vs. LHP

.302/.455/.698 vs. RHP

Jason Kubel

.226/.313/.346 vs. LHP

.260/.328/.464 vs. RHP

J.J. Hardy

.210/.291/.324 vs. LHP

.294/.333/.426 vs. RHP

Just by facing a lefthanded pitcher, 4 spots in the lineup become league-average (Thome, though his high SLG against LHP is the primary factor) or worse (the other three) hitters. That is a huge culprit on why the Twins have scored only 4 runs this series. Against Phil Hughes on Saturday in Yankee Stadium, I’m willing to bet that the Twins will push across more runs. Whether or not they win will be a function of the pitching and defense as well, but I’m sure we’ll see an improvement in the hitting element shortly.