These are very impressive numbers overall. The Twins may be playing the best baseball in the American League right now, considering their schedule. Yes, there are question marks. I don't know how long the Twins can keep up this pace with three question marks in the starting rotation, a shaky closer, and no offense from the catcher, second base and shortstop positions. But right now it's all sunshine and roses. What would Mike Tice say? Enjoy the season! :) Incidentally, if you are familiar with the Pythagorean Winning Percentage, the Twins should have won 58.7% of the games listed above. Instead, they won 64.0 percent. Some day I'll do some research and comment on the value of the Pythagorean Winning Percentage (hint: I don't think too much of it). Tonight's Game. The Rangers have made a change and the Twins will now face one Chan Ho Park. Mr. Park is 5-5 with a 5.80 ERA. This is his first appearance since May 19, when he went on the disabled list with a bad back. Most people know about the ridiculous contract that the Rangers handed Alex Rodriguez (10 years, $252 million). As bad as that contract was, at least A-Rod can play the game, and play it quite well. The contract that the Rangers handed Park was truly gruesome. In December 2001, the Rangers gave Park a 5-year, $65 million contract. This year, Park is being paid $13,879,164. So far he has pitched in 8 games. The Rangers probably wish that he didn't pitch at all. Three years into this train wreck, Park has pitched in 40 games, and 225 innings. He has allowed 243 hits and 156 runs, 150 of which were earned. He has walked 121 batters and struck out 173. He has a 12-15 record with a 6.00 ERA. His WHIP is 1.62 and his K/BB ratio is 1.42:1. He's been a complete disaster. And now, coming off three months of activity, he is facing a Twins team that has been starting to hit the ball. The Twins are sending out Terry Mulholland, who is 4-6 with a 4.50 ERA. As a starter, the 41 year old (the only player on the team older than me) has been brilliant. In eight starts he has pitched 48 innings, giving up 54 hits and 22 runs, 19 earned. He was walked 10 and struck out 21. His record is 3-2 with a 3.56 ERA. His WHIP is 1.33 and his K/BB ratio is 2.1:1. His last two starts were very good, both against Cleveland. It's hard to tell how long Mulholland will keep this up, but make no mistake, he's been incredibly important to the Twins' success this year. Having said that, I think Mulholland will have trouble tonight. I saw him pitch against Anaheim, a team that hits the ball well and Mulholland got pounded. I kind of expect that he will get hit tonight, as well. I expect a high scoring game, and I think the bullpens will be in play. Will Mr. Nathan get another shot tonight? Will Chan Ho Park frustrate Twins fans by twirling a gem in the face of all reason? Here it says that the Twins will win a high scoring battle. Tune in tonight. On Adrian Beltre. Yesterday, I wrote about Beltre and the MVP. My point wasn't to bad mouth Mr. Beltre, as he is having a fine season, comparable with the three mashers in St. Louis. Indeed, he is probably having an even better season, considering he isn't surrounded by guys like Rolen, Pujols, and Edmonds and he is playing in a notorious pitcher's park. The point is, and will continue to be, that there should be no conversation about the NL MVP, except to say, "If Barry Bonds weren't playing anymore, who would be the best player in the league." As Larry Bird once said at an NBA three-point contest at the all-star game, "Which one of you is going to get second?" Oh, and ESPN seems to get it right today. Enjoy it fans. He's the greatest of his generation.

8/25/2004 02:19:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|

Today, ESPN has been touting Adrian Beltre for MVP of the National League. Beltre hit his 40th home run last night, tops in the NL. The Dodgers are in first place in the NL West and seem likely to be headed to the playoffs. Sounds good! Adrian Beltre for MVP! Forty home runs on a playoff team is one criteron for consideration. Let's look at some other numbers.

Player	AB	HR	AB/HR	RBI	RBI/AB	AVE.	OBP	SLG.
Bonds	287	35	8.2	79	3.63	.369	.612	.819
Rolen	436	31	14.1	110	3.96	.326	.413	.617
Pujols	468	38	12.3	96	4.88	.323	.407	.643
Edmonds	400	32	12.5	86	4.65	.303	.419	.633
Beltre	461	40	11.5	94	4.90	.334	.380	.646

Now, let's project Bonds at 400 ABs, the least number of any other player on this list.

Player	AB	HR	AB/HR	RBI	RBI/AB	AVE.	OBP	SLG.
Bonds	400	49	8.2	110	3.63	.369	.612	.819
Rolen	436	31	14.1	110	3.96	.326	.413	.617
Pujols	468	38	12.3	96	4.88	.323	.407	.643
Edmonds	400	32	12.5	86	4.65	.303	.419	.633
Beltre	461	40	11.5	94	4.90	.334	.380	.646

Look! Barry Bonds would be winning a triple crown! The fact is that Barry Bonds has almost .200 higher OBP than any other player on this list. Subtract .193 from Jim Edmonds' OBP and you have .226, lower than every other qualifier in the NL by at least 41 points. The closest to Bonds on this list in Slugging Percentage is Beltre (who is in fact, 2nd in the NL). Subtract .173 from Beltre's slugging and you have Brian Giles, who is not a bad player at all. He's just 35th in the NL in slugging. Consider the following when thinking about RBIs.

Player	RBI	AB w/ Runners On	AB w/ Runners in Scoring Position
Bonds	79	119	57
Rolen	110	225	131
Pujols	96	207	107
Edmonds	86	195	120
Beltre	94	208	122

I�m gonna call a situation when there are runners on base as a good RBI chance and a situation when there are runners in scoring position a really good RBI change. I realize that the second is a subset of the first. Let�s look at a ratio of RBIs to good and really good chances. Let's see how this stacks up.

Player	RBI	RBI/Good Chance	RBI/Really Good Chance
Bonds	79	.664	1.386
Rolen	110	.489	.840
Pujols	96	.463	.897
Edmonds	86	.441	.716
Beltre	94	.452	.770

What does this all say? Well, it appears that Rolen, Pujols, Edmonds, and Beltre are all about the same when it comes to capitalizing on scoring opportunities. And Bonds is way out in front of all of them.

So, go ahead and tout Adrian Beltre for MVP. Just don't look too closely at the numbers, or you might change your mind.

|W|P|109346273829686316|W|P|Beltre for MVP|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/25/2004 11:38:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|No doubt that last night's 5-4 loss yielded some lemons. Joe Nathan, previously untouchable, now has allowed six earnies in his last 2 1/3 innings pitched. He's blown his last two save opportunities, both of them coming after the Twins had just taken the lead. These two losses were tough for the Twins - and I'm sure especially Mr. Nathan - to stomach. However, I don't think last night is all that bad. The Twins still have an 8-game lead and I think Nathan will be all right. Some positives did occur. Let me elaborate. 1. Carlos Silva shut down a potent Texas lineup for six innings. True, he struck out just one, but he induced 11 ground balls and walked just one. He seemed to tire in the seventh and allowed two runs, but if Silva can give them six good innings, that is cause for celebration. He pitched a decent game and deserved a better fate. 2. The Twins continued to hit the ball over the fence. Both Corey Koskie and Torii Hunter went deep. The Twins now have hit 145 home runs in 125 games, good for seventh in the AL. I mean, stop the presses. They are on pace for 188 home runs. Last year, they hit just 155 and in 2002, they hit 167. 188 home runs would be the most since the Twins hit 196 in both 1986 and 1987 and sixth best in the franchise's Minnesota (and probably overall) history. With Morneau in the lineup, they could maybe reach that 196 total and trail only the mashing teams of 1962-64, when the Twins hit over 200 HRs every year. 3. Justin Morneau delivered a pinch hit, RBI double in the ninth. This is really good news for two reasons. First, the kid is apparently okay after being hit on the hand by C.C. Sabathia on Sunday. Second, Justin Morneau came up and delivered in a clutch situation. I know that it's gonna be fun watching this guy for years to come. Yes, last night was a disappointment. The Twins should have gotten to the starting pitcher more often (just seven hits last night). Yes, Nathan's recent outings might be a cause for concern. But, there are some good things to take away from this game. For the month of August, the Twins are now 12-10. They are scoring 5.0 runs/game, good for sixth in the AL. Their OPS is .788, also good for sixth. They have hit 32 home runs, good for third in the AL, three behind the Yankees. Their ERA for the month is 3.60, second to Oakland's 3.58. Considering that the Twins are playing their toughest schedule so far this year, I'd say they are having an excellent month. |W|P|109345412346169252|W|P|Lemonade, Anyone?|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/24/2004 01:21:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|The Twins won last night 7-4 against Texas, the first game of a four game series. This is the fifth time this year that the Twins have played a four game series. In the previous four, they have lost 3 of 4 each time. If they hold form, the Twins will lose each of the next three nights. I am optimistic, however, that this will not happen. The Twins' starters for the next three games are Carlos Silva, Kyle Lohse, and Terry Mulholland. It is not inconceivable that these three guys could all come up small, but I think the Twins can get one or maybe two of these games. Carlos Silva has been dreadful in August. In four starts, he has pitched 23 innings, allowed 34 hits and 5 walks (1.69 WHIP). He's also allowed 16 earned runs, a nifty 6.26 ERA. Included in that total is the "nifty" 11-hit shutout he threw against Anaheim, a game in which the Twins turned a mind boggling six double plays. Thus, in his last three starts he has given up 16 earnies in just 14 innings. Yuk. However, the Texas Rangers are running out Chris Young, who is making his major league debut. Young is the first player from Princeton to start a major league game since Dave Sisler of the Washington Senators in 1961. He's a 25 year old 6-10 right hander. Oh yeah, did I say he's making his major league debut? Lohse, likewise has been pretty much putrid in August. He's 2-2 with a 5.33 ERA in August. Actually, Lohse's numbers in August pretty much reflect his entire season. For the season he is a hugely disappointing 6-10 5.23. Lohse has had two quality starts in August, including last time, when he allowed 1 run over seven innings in the first game of last weekend's Cleveland series. Lohse is facing Ryan Drese, who is having an outstanding year. Unless Lohse is having a great game, the Twins are likely in trouble here. Mulholland, the ageless wonder, is facing someone named Mickey Calloway. "The Mick" is 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA in 11.1 innings. Mickey has a WHIP of 2.21. Mulholland struggled at the beginning of August, but has had two nice performances in a row after an excellent July. I like our chances here.

Santana and Twins Roll

Last night was, delightfully, more of the same. With the Twins winning and the Indians and White Sox losing, the inevitability of a third straight division championship is ever more apparent. Santana was routinely brilliant, allowing only one run on four hits in eight innings. The Twins also got a nice offensive effort, with seven runs, including two home runs. Shannon Stewart lead off the game with a home run, the second consecutive time he's done that while Santana was pitching. Henry Blanco impersonated a major league hitter with a home run and an RBI double to raise his average to .203. Cristian Guzman even took a walk! For the month, the Twins are 12-9, and they are averaging 5.05 runs per game.

Bonderman, Tigers Roll

Jeremy Bonderman, who lost 19 games last year, threw a seven hit shutout last night, walking just one and striking out 14. The Tigers have now won 59 games this year, already 16 more than last year. They are now just two games behind the Chicago White Sox. Oh yeah, Bonderman and the Tigers beat the White Sox 7-0 last night. I just love that. On July 24th, the White Sox moved into first place in the AL Central. Since then, they have gone 8-20. Any day now, I expect someone from the White Sox to announce that they are still a better team than the Twins. I know that the White Sox have lost Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez to injury. However, the Twins played without Shannon Stewart for most of the first half and without Joe Mauer for virtually all of the season. The White Sox have also gotten a nice bounce back year from Paul Konerko (.276/.361/.537 with 31 HRs) and have outscored their opponents 645-606. Yet, they are two games under .500. The only way to explain the White Sox is that they are chronic underachievers. |W|P|109337464684243459|W|P|Three Game Losing Streak Ahead?|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/23/2004 06:16:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|I have decided that this site should just be about sports. I'd like to generate a readership and I think that mixing sports and politics will not be the best way to do this. Therefore, I'm gonna take my political commentary elsewhere. That "elsewhere" is my new politics website, Founded on Dissent. Right now, it is under construction, but check it out periodically. I hope to develop that website along with Stick and Ball Guy. |W|P|109330318070290591|W|P|Just Sports|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/26/2004 08:44:00 PM|W|P| Butch|W|P|Good idea! Sport is for fun, and it should be kept light. Politics is not fun and shouldn't be taken lightly. Your insite on both subjects is very interesting and shows a lot of thought. Keep up the good work! (Lot better than studing all night, right? ha ha)8/23/2004 02:30:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|I was on vacation during the last week and unable to access the internet. What a week the Twins have had! First, they take two of three from the Yanks (and damn, it should have been a sweep). I was at the game on Wednesday night. It was great to see Johan Santana shut down the vaunted Yankee attack, including seeing the "great one" Derek Jeter go 0-5. Then, they crush the Indians three straight times. After losing the first two games of last weekend's series, they now have beaten the Tribe four straight times. That's called going for the jugular. Third, the White Sox got swept this weekend and are now eight games back. A while back, I stated that if the Twins go .500 in August, they will win the AL Central. Right now, they are 11-9, with eight games to play in the month. I didn't anticipate that .500 in August meant that they'd run away with the division -- but apparently, that will be the case. On August 2, I gave 6 reasons why I thought the Twins would win the division. Let's review those reasons and how they look today. 1. The Twins' lead is not insubstantial. Back then, I said that a 5 game lead with 58 to play was a healthy lead. Well, we saw how fast that can change, and change again. Now, the Twins have a 7 game lead with 39 games to play. If the Twins play .500 baseball the rest of the way, the Indians would have to play .703 ball to catch the Twins and the White Sox would have to play .707 ball to catch them. To say the least, this is a tall order. Cleveland plays the White Sox four times and has 19 games left against teams over .500. Chicago has 20 games left against teams over .500. The Twins have 20 games left against teams with a .500 record. It doesn't appear that any one team has a scheduling advantage. Note: The Twins have seven left with Cleveland and six left with the White Sox. This does provide an opportunity for each team to make a run if they can beat the Twins head to head. 2. The Twins' August schedule is tough, but not that tough. The Twins are in the middle of a brutal stretch of 35 games (10 left) and so far they have acquitted themselves nicely. After the next ten games, all against teams with over .500 records, the Twins schedule gets much easier. If the Twins have another nice week, things look clear to the title. If this next week goes badly, it could possibly be a race. 3. The White Sox have folded before. Like clockwork, the Pale Hose have come through. They are 8-12 in August and 8-19 over their last 27 games. Nice. 4. The Twins have straightened out the Mientkiewicz situation. Dougie hit his first homerun for the Red Sox yesterday. In that time, Justin Morneau has hit seven homeruns. Dougie has a .545 OPS for Boston. Morneau has a .875 OPS during August. 'Nuff said. 5. The Twins have enough pitching. In August, the Twins have a 3.58 ERA. For the season, they have a 4.01 ERA, good for the best ERA in the American League. They also have the best OPS against, strikeout to walk ratio, and the second best Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched (WHIP) ratio in the American League. Critics might point out that the Twins could possibly use another starter. The Twins failed to acquire Kris Benson from Pittsburgh - he went to the Mets. In three starts, he has a mediocre 4.50 ERA for the Mets in the National League. The Twins Other Three Starters (Lohse, Silva, and Mulholland) have been uneven, but Benson would have not been a dramatic improvement. Rumors have the Twins being interested in Shawn Estes from Colorado, a cheap ($600,000), middling starter who could give Lohse a run for the third spot in the post season rotation. However, having Santana and Radke means that only one of the other three has to have a good outing every time through the rotation for the Twins to be successful. 6. The offense has shown signs of life. In August, the Twins have scored 99 runs in 20 games, or 4.95 runs per game. This is slightly better than the 4.75 runs per game that they have averaged for the season (4.71 runs per game outside of August). Their OPS is .788 for August, compared to .755 for the season. All of the differential comes from an increased slugging percentage -- their on base percentage for August is the same (.328) as their season OBP. Yeah, Dougie, we don't miss your weak bat. At .788, the Twins would be seventh in the AL in OPS, instead of 10th (which is where they are at .755). So, the offense is showing some life, but it is not exactly great. That's okay. This team has won with its pitching. They don't have to be an offensive juggernaut to win, and that's good, because even though they've been better, they are far from great. While Corey Koskie (1.078 OPS) and Shannon Stewart (1.003) have had great months, and Jacque Jones (.917), Justin Morneau (.874), Lew Ford (.865) and Torii Hunter (.847) have had good months, Cristian Guzman (.569), Luis Rivas (.556), Henry Blanco (.453), Matthew LeCroy (.347) have been putrid. Guzman (.273 OBP in August), Rivas (.211), and Blanco (.173!!!), who play virtually every day, are almost automatic outs. Overall, these six reasons still look to be solid. The question is whether this team has enough to get past a first round post season opponent is an open one, but certainly a nice question to consider for Twins fans. Observations Corey Koskie has had a great week. Over the last seven days, he is hitting .429 with a .458 OBP and a 1.048 SLG. Wonderful! Oh yeah, Number 25 had a pretty good week, too. He hit .600, with a .714 OBP and a 1.450 SLG. His OPS for August? 1.727. His OPS for 2004? 1.434. Consider this. Koskie is having a great month of August, with an OPS of 1.078. In Bonds' worst month of the 2004 season his OPS was 1.074. That should put Koskie's hot streak in perspective. Torii Hunter's baserunning has improved dramatically. Last year, Hunter stole 6 bases and was caught seven times. This year, he has stolen 19 and been caught only four times. Many of these have been stolen directly off of the pitcher. Yesterday, Hunter tagged from first on a long fly by Justin Morneau and scored on a two out single when the game was still close. Torii is who he is at the plate - a free swinger with great potential but little discipline - but his baserunning improvement this year has been a nice addition to his game. ESPN.COM's MLB page said today that Derek Jeter was "born to lead" and that his "stature in pinstripes exists with Mantle and DiMaggio." Jeter's leadership in the clubhouse must be spectacular, because he hasn't exactly lead on the field. He is currently 61st in the American League in OPS (.754) right between Bobby Higginson and Larry Bigbie. He's also last on the Yankees among those who qualify for the batting title. By comparison, Mantle's worst OPS was .783, his last season, when he was a shadow of his former self. A hobbled Joe DiMaggio had an OPS of .787 his last season, his worst. He retired because he no longer wanted to embarass himself. Derek Jeter is a good player, and he'd look great in a Twins uniform. But, he's vastly overpaid at $18,600,000 (more than Barry Bonds!) and to suggest that he is anywhere near the player of "Joltin' Joe" or "The Mick" is patently ridiculous. Mickey Mantle lead the American League in OPS six times and was second four more times. DiMaggio was second in the American League OPS six times (there was some guy in Boston named Ted Williams playing then). Both Mantle and DiMaggio won three AL MVPs. Derek Jeter has lead his own team in OPS once and has never been in the top ten in the American League in OPS. He has no MVPs. He is one of the worst fielding shortstops in the league, having been dead last in Range Factor for AL shortstops in each of the last three seasons (2001-03). Oh, and Joe had nine rings, and Mick, seven. |W|P|109329591193246835|W|P|What a Week|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/17/2004 11:25:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Excuse me while I laugh out loud for a while.

Los Angeles Lakers 2003-2004 TEAM ROSTER
NO. PLAYER          POS.  HT.  WT. BORN          COLLEGE
 7  Chucky Atkins    PG   5-11 160 Aug. 14, 1974 South Florida
 0  Tony Bobbitt     G    6-4  190 Oct. 22, 1979 Cincinnati
 8  Kobe Bryant      SG   6-6  220 Aug. 23, 1978 
 4  Caron Butler     SF   6-7  220 Mar. 13, 1980 Connecticut
 7  Brian Cook       PF   6-9  234 Dec.  4, 1980 Illinois
21  Vlade Divac      C    7-1  260 Feb.  3, 1968 
 0  Marcus Douthit   FC   6-11 233 Apr. 14, 1980 Providence
 3  Devean George    SF   6-8  240 Aug. 29, 1977 Augsburg
44  Brian Grant      C    6-9  254 Mar.  5, 1972 Xavier
20  Jumaine Jones    SF   6-8  218 Feb. 10, 1979 Georgia
14  Slava Medvedenko FC   6-10 250 Apr.  3, 1979
 4  Chris Mihm       FC   7-0  265 Jul. 16, 1979 Texas
 7  Lamar Odom       F    6-10 232 Nov.  6, 1979 Rhode Island
21  Kareem Rush      SG   6-6  215 Oct. 30, 1980 Missouri
 0  Sasha Vujacic    G    6-7  193 Mar.  8, 1984 
 4  Luke Walton      SF   6-8  235 Mar. 28, 1980 Arizona

|W|P|109276032900094040|W|P|Prediction: Kobe Leads League in Scoring|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/17/2004 09:39:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Dear Stick and Ball guy,

What makes you such an authority on stuff? You are just a prairie snake from the river valley. But seriously your site is pretty cool.

Your brother.8/23/2004 01:47:00 PM|W|P| SBG|W|P|The opinions expressed in this column ARE those of the Stick and Ball Guy. :)8/16/2004 03:06:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|From Sid Hartman's column today:

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire on why he is not playing second baseman Luis Rivas on a regular basis: "The thing that is a little disappointing is that the guys go down and do their early work every day [in the batting cage] and Luis has been up in the clubhouse playing cards and all those things, and when you're not swinging good you should get down in the cages and do your work with [hitting coach] Scotty [Ullger]. We're getting a little frustrated. We talk to him about it, and he'll go down there for a day, and then miss two or three days. You earn your at-bats around here and that's what we're trying to talk this kid into."

These are some pretty choice words for the underachieving second baseman. Expect Luis Rivas to be wearing a different uniform next year. Expect Aaron Gleeman (and me, incidentally) to be rejoicing when that occurs.|W|P|109268993565279584|W|P|Gardenhire Calls Out Rivas|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/16/2004 02:14:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|How about Ron Reagan? Here's his take on W. in the September 2004 issue of Esquire Magazine. Obviously, the young Reagan is well off of the Republican reservation. But, just read what he says and see if you don't agree. |W|P|109268379375404613|W|P|Don't Take My Word for It|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/16/2004 01:07:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|I just found out today that Anthony Peeler signed with the Washington Wizards. I guess he won't be taking any more cheap shots at Kevin Garnett in the playoffs again, or for that matter playing in the playoffs. Hey Anthony, you really shook up KG with your thuggery in game six of the Western Conference semifinals. So much so that you sat out of game 7 and KG went for 32 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 5 blocks. The Washington Wizards have made the playoffs once in the last sixteen seasons and have won one playoff series in the last 25 seasons. Hope you have fun, "AP". |W|P|10926804159510768|W|P|A Perfect Match|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/16/2004 11:17:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|According to the Associated Press, the Vatican has offered to mediate the situation in Najaf. I wonder if the United States, oops, I mean Iraq, will accept this offer. The Catholic Church stands for a lot of things. It speaks out against Abortion. It speaks out against violence. It speaks out against the Death Penalty. It speaks out against senseless wars. It speaks out in defense of the poor and underprivileged. It speaks out in favor of the dignity of workers. As we know, the Bush administration has worked hard to get the Catholic vote by taking an anti-Abortion stance. But, I ask you, fellow Catholics, on which of these other issues does the president side with the Catholic Church? The Republicans control the United States Congress and the White House. Where is the Constitutional Amendment to outlaw abortion? How come this hasn't even been introduced? How come the president hasn't stood up and called for it? I ask you, what has George W. Bush done to stem the tide of abortions in this country? Other than Abortion where is GWB actually showing governance according to Christian principles? He started a war in Iraq that the Vatican vehemently opposed. As Governor of Texas he executed more people than any Governor in the history of this country, in opposition of Catholic beliefs. Under GWB, poverty has risen while the dignity of the American worker has been compromised. I think that Catholics should ask themselves this question when they walk into the voter's booth on November 2nd. What exactly has George Bush done to further the ideals of the Catholic faith? Oh, and don't hold your breath on any acceptance of the Vatican's mediation offer. The Bush Administration is not interested in using Catholic principals. It is only interested in using Catholic votes. Here's one Catholic whom he will not use. |W|P|109267908825909717|W|P|Vatican Offers to Mediate in Najaf|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/21/2004 08:27:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|You the man...F@#$ GWB
I agree with you 100%

Sup?10/06/2004 12:43:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|What has Bush done? Here's a few things:

1. Born Alive Infants Protection Act
2. Unborn Victims of Violence Act, or Conner and Lacy's Law
3. Partial-Birth Abortion Ban
4. Mexico City Policy (international anti-abortion policy.)
5. No Money for the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund)
6. No Funding for Embryonic Experimentation
7. Appointment of dozens of constitutionally minded pro life judges.
8. Euthanasia (heard of Terry Shivago?)
9. Marriage between one man and one woman

Where�s Kerry�s list?8/16/2004 10:35:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Staring at a sweep at the hands of their closest rivals, the Twins turned to their 41 year old fifth starter on Sunday, Terry Mulholland. Mulholland is 3-6 with a 4.73 ERA. He couldn't break a plane of glass with his fastball. And he just might be the most important pitcher on the staff right now. Oh sure, Brad Radke and Johan Santana have been excellent and brilliant, respectively. And Joe Nathan has been absolutely lights out. (Seriously, how good are you when your ERA is lower than your WHIP? Has that ever happened?) But, where would the Twins be right now if old Terry hadn't been picking up the ball every five days or so and eaten up some innings? Yesterday, the Twins had to have a victory. As I said on Sunday morning, another loss could have been very psychologically damaging. And, boy did old Terry deliver. Against the highest scoring team in all of baseball, Mulholland pitched 8 innings, allowing six hits, one walk, and just one earned run. This, after the Indians had absolutely pounded the Twins pitching on Friday and Saturday. Of course, the Twins apparently were swinging cooked spaghetti at the plate again, mustering just two runs in the first nine innings. I say apparently, because I was almost completely disconnected from the game yesterday. I was back in the homeland, attending birthday parties. Two of my nephews turned one (see picture from a few days ago) and my uncle turned 65. Cake and ice cream all weekend. (My nephews are not brothers, but cousins, born 10 hours apart. Cool.) As I drove to my uncle's party, I turned on the radio and heard the bottom of the ninth. After an apparently Denkinger-like call allowing Ben Broussard to reach to open the inning, the Indians sacrificed him to second, but only after J.C. Romero struggled to throw strikes to a willing bunter, Coco Crisp. I enjoyed the commentary at this point. "The Dazzle Man" Danny Gladden was practically pleading with Romero to throw a strike. As Danny said, they were giving you an out, take it. I love Dan Gladden. I really do. I know he's not gonna make you forget Vin Scully or anything, but damn it, Danny's having a good time. He is enthusiastic. And I like it. As the ninth unfolded, I thought of that fateful game I attended in 1992 (damn that Eric Fox). Would this be the game that psychologically eliminated the Twins in 2004? No. After a ground out and and an intentional walk, the Vulture, Juan Rincon, came in and got a single out. Then in the tenth, Corey Koskie drilled a two-run dinger, Nathan mopped up and the Twins had a two game lead. Oh, and the box score says that Rincon was the winning pitcher. Yeah, but old Terry was the stopper. |W|P|109267271768114955|W|P|The Stopper|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/15/2004 07:04:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|On two consecutive nights, the Indians have pounded the Twins and have done so by scoring at least four runs in the first inning. They have beaten the Twins by a combined score of 15-3. That Cleveland has scored 15 runs is not all that surprising -- they are leading the majors in runs scored. That the Twins have scored just three runs is absolutely disheartening, but also not totally unexpected. This Twins team is not a good offensive team. About a week or so ago, I wrote that I thought that the Twins had started to turn an offensive corner. Regrettably, this pronouncement was made based on a twelve game stretch. In hindsight, it sounds like a GWB pronouncement that the economy has "turned the corner." Watching the Twins get absolutely pasted by the Indians after making such a pronouncement is how Bush should feel after that July jobs report. The fact that I am taking jabs at Bush in the middle of a Twins post should give you some idea how crappy I feel about the Twins' chances right now. I woke up this morning thinking about a baseball game I attended in 1992 with my brother. The Twins were defending world champions, they were in first place and that very day I had bought my "1991 World Champions" coffee mug. Anyway, the Twins were playing Oakland and I believe that they had lost the first two games of the series. That night the Twins took a lead into the ninth. They brought in their closer, Rick Aguilera. The A's put on a couple of runners and up stepped Eric Fox. Eric Fox was a 28-year old rookie who would hit five homeruns in his career. I think that it is safe to say that none of them were bigger than the 3-run blast he hit off of Aggie that night. I told my brother that we needed to leave (and I never leave early). I knew right there that the Twins had lost the division. The next morning, the newspaper said that the Twins were still in first place. But, I knew better. Oakland went on to win the West by six games. Now, this series isn't that crucial. After all, after Sunday, the Twins play Cleveland ten more times. But, given the schedule that the Twins have to play outside of Cleveland, they had better win today to stem the psychological tide that seems to be building. |W|P|109257265683919650|W|P|Cleveland Rocks (the Twins World)|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/12/2004 04:43:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|The Twins lost 4-3 last night to the Seattle Mariners. With another Cleveland win, the Twins' lead has now been halved and is just 3 games over the Indians. After today's matinee in Seattle, the Twins play 3 games at Cleveland (no Radke or Santana), three at home against the Yankees (who have killed the Twins over the last two years) and three more at home against the Indians. If the Twins go 5-5 over their next ten games (including today's) I'll be pretty happy. They are off to a nice start today, leading 4-1 through fourth (even though Santana has struggled a little). Justin Morneau hit a homerun today, his ninth of the season in 130 ABs. Doug Mientkiewicz has 5 homeruns this year in 316 ABs, and his OPS is down to .698. I gotta believe that he's not gonna like Boston when they figure out that he can't hit. Wow. I just checked and Morneau has hit his second two-run homerun of the day. I think that Morneau has a chance to lead this team in homeruns this year. Jacque Jones lead the team with 18, and Morneau is fifth with 10. Update -- Twins hang on and win 6-3. Santana is 12-6, Nathan mows down the Mariners by striking out the side in the ninth. :)|W|P|109234821521413636|W|P|Winless in Seattle|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com12/11/2005 01:08:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Wishing you all the best!8/12/2004 02:57:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|

Saw the movie Mystic River on DVD last weekend. The fiancee fell asleep and missed most of it. It was long, over 2 hours, and I found it to be very good, even if a little disappointing.

To be sure, the acting in the movie was tremendous, especially Tim Robbins. He won an Academy Award for his role and he certainly deserved it. The guy is a great, great actor. I loved him in Bull Durham (although he couldn't really convince me that he actually knew how to throw a ball) and he was fabulous in Shawshank Redemption as the unflappable Andy Dufresne. His movie Dead Man Walking, which he wrote and directed, was flat out fabulous. Here, his portrayal of a man troubled by his abusive past is understated, nuanced and chilling. His character isn't really living, he's only existing.

Sean Penn won an Academy Award for best actor in this movie. Penn is always a tour de force. As Roger Ebert says, Sean Penn "is the most powerful actor of his generation." However, this role isn't his best. I thought Penn played it well, but the role lacked the texture of Matthew Poncelet in Dead Man Walking. I also preferred Penn's role in Bad Boys, an early 1980s movie about a hood in prison. Here Penn is the vengeful father of a murdered teenager. He's good in the role - and his childhood relationship with Robbins' character complicates the plotline - but I felt that he was playing this character at only one emotional level. Penn was bound and determined to kill his daughter's killer and he is single minded - he doesn't seem to weigh the consequences of his actions. I suppose that's the point - he's a thug, he's gonna make someone pay, and he accomplishes his goal. Penn does a nice job, but he's playing second fiddle in this movie to Tim Robbins.

Kevin Bacon in his 1000th movie (or so it seems) is very good as well.

The acting is well above average, however, the story is somewhat disappointing. It seems foreordained that everything is going to turn out badly in this movie for all of the characters. That is, in fact, what happens (almost). Ironically, I usually don't like movies that turn out all happy -- and yet, I was disappointed when this one doesn't. I just felt that it was predictable. I knew that it would turn out the way that it did (to be fair, I didn't see every plot twist, just the major ones). And that's what was disappointing. Overall, however, it was a very good movie.

|W|P|109234402506501803|W|P|Mystic River|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/12/2004 02:02:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|

I originally intended, a long time ago, (Feb. 2003) to start a blog about baseball. I have always loved baseball, and I liked what I saw from various baseball blogs, especially Aaron Gleeman's. I thought I would try my hand at a baseball blog. Unfortunately, I was also in law school and working, so I didn't have time to write the blog and I let it die. However, at that time, I was also deeply troubled by Bush's seemingly inevitable decision to invade Iraq. Prior to this invasion, I was mildly upset with Bush's performance as president. Since the invasion, however, I have become outraged.

I still love baseball... and I think that I have a lot to say about the Twins, especially, and the game in general. I love to talk about it, discuss it with my friends. It is a lot of fun. However, I cannot be silent on this election.

President Bush has failed this country. He should have gone after bin Laden and found him. He did not do that. He had an opportunity to decimate al Qaeda. Reports are that al Qaeda is thriving. FAILURE.

Bush argued that we need to invade Iraq because they had WMD and were an imminent threat, and that they were linked to al Qaeda and the events of 9/11. We have since found out that none of these assertions were true. We were told that Saddam Hussein was a bad guy and that the Iraqis would welcome us as liberators. The only true thing is that Saddam Hussein was a bad guy. The fact is that he was not an imminent threat to the security of the United States of America. The policies of containment were working.

By invading Iraq, the president carved out a new foreign policy for the United States - preemption. On its face, it is at least arguably reasonable. If attack is imminent, then we should move first. However, if attack is not imminent, preemption is a fool's game. If the United States attacked every nation in the world that was ruled by an evil despot, we would be at war constantly on multiple fronts. In fact, we would do very little besides wage war. This alone is not enough justification.

The fact is, the United States has limited resources. We cannot spend hundreds of billions of dollars in wars all over the world. Even though we have the largest economy in the world, we cannot sustain that type of costs. In addition, we should not put our young men and women at risk unless they are defending our country or our security interests. Our military forces should be used only as a last resort. It is painfully clear that war in Iraq was not our last resort. FAILURE.

We should never have gone to war in the first place and the administration apparently had no plan in place for the war's aftermath. Our standing in the world has been greatly reduced by this foolish policy. If this was Bush's only mistake, it is enough to fire him. We need someone else to fix this mess.

|W|P|109233962734344656|W|P|Why I am Writing about Politics|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/19/2004 06:27:00 PM|W|P| Butch|W|P|Your insight makes me happy. Now try and convince your mother!8/12/2004 01:41:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|I came across this story today about John Kerry originally published in the Las Vegas Sun.

Former U.S. Sen. Chic Hecht of Nevada is a staunch Republican, but he thanks his lucky stars for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. On July 12, 1988, Hecht was attending a weekly Republican luncheon when a piece of apple lodged firmly in his throat. Hecht stumbled out of the room, thinking he might vomit but not wanting to do it in front of his colleagues. Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., thumped his back, but Hecht quickly passed out in the hallway. Just then, Kerry stepped off an elevator, rushed to Hecht's side and gave him the Heimlich maneuver -- four times. The lifesaving incident made international news, and Dr. Henry Heimlich, who invented the maneuver in 1974, called Hecht to say that had Kerry intervened just 30 seconds later Hecht might have been in a vegetative state for life. "This man gave me my life," the 75-year-old Hecht said Thursday. Hecht said he was amazed that Kerry acted so quickly -- some people were assuming that he was having a heart attack. "He knew exactly what to do," he said. "But a lot of people know what to do. They just don't size up the situation immediately."

Incidentally, this guy was a political enemy of John Kerry. Imagine what GWB would do if he saw Tom Daschle or Ted Kennedy choking. I can't say for sure what he'd do, but my guess is he'd send flowers to the funeral.

|W|P|109233671141334684|W|P|Somehow I Don't See W. Doing This|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/16/2004 06:50:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|You are right that "W" wouldn't have done anything to help out a person of the opposite party, (or anyone else for that matter!) But I will bet that the person he saved will fight him to the end! Shame on him! Thank God for people like John Kerry!8/16/2004 06:55:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|You are right that "W" wouldn't have done anything to help out a person of the opposite party, (or anyone else for that matter!) But I will bet that the person he saved will fight him to the end! Shame on him! Thank God for people like John Kerry! Dad8/11/2004 10:44:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|

The Twins have lost three in a row and have quelled my optimism that the offense was starting to come around. They have scored just 17 runs in their last five games (and one of those was an 18-inning affair). Last night they managed just four hits in a 4-3 loss to the lowly Seattle Mariners. Starting pitcher Terry Mulholland gave up four runs in the first inning, and then pitched six more scoreless frames. Although not a quality start, it wasn't a bad effort, and the Twins should have been able to muster more than they did against Gil Meche who came into the game with a 6.51 ERA. Aaron Gleeman writes about his frustration with the Twins for playing Jose Offerman at DH and leaving Lew Ford on the bench (Ford did pinch hit and hit a home run). On the whole, I agree that Offerman shouldn't be on this team. He's basically using up a roster spot that could be used to get some younger guys playing time. It's not like Offerman is going to be a difference maker on this team. He's old, can't play defense, and he is a marginal hitter. However, I don't think that it was a terrible idea to give Lew a night off. He's been struggling in the past week. Maybe a pinch homerun will bolster his confidence. But yeah, Offerman playing DH three out of four games -- no thanks. Meanwhile, here come the Indians. They beat the Blue Jays 2-0 last night, and they are now just four games out of first place. The Twins and Indians play six games against each other in August, three this weekend in Cleveland, and three more in Minnesota next weekend. The Tribe now has a chance to make some noise. Cleveland is a team that can give Minnesota problems. They are leading the AL in runs scored, their team OPS is .803 (compared to Minnesota's .747) and they have been playing well (17-10) since the break. It's true that they can't pitch (12th in the AL in ERA and WHIP, 13th in OPS against), but if they can get the Twins in a slugfest, they have a decent shot against the Twins. And if the likes of Gil Meche can hold the Twins down, well, the Indians pitching stands a chance, too. The White Sox are lurking five games back. Third place seems to be their destiny.

|W|P|109224083094163403|W|P|Here Come the Indians|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/10/2004 05:47:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|

During the 2003-04 season, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that Troy Hudson would no longer be with the Minnesota Timberwolves when they laced up their shoes for the '04-05 season. With Sam Cassell showing All-NBA form, Hudson appeared to be an expensive backup for the T-Wolves, and with luxury tax issues on the horizon, the T-Wolves seemingly could no longer afford T-Hud. And yet, they have signed Hudson to a multi-year deal. If he remains healthy, the T-Wolves have an embarassment of riches at guard with Cassell, Hudson, Latrell Sprewell, Wally Szczerbiak, Trenton Hassell, and Fred Hoiberg. The big question is whether Hudson and Cassell will be healthy for the season, and more importantly, for the playoffs.

Another question remains to be answered. What will the T-Wolves do to solve the problems that they have in the middle? They have the best player in the game at power forward in Kevin Garnett. However, they have no other inside players that can be counted on regularly. Ervin Johnson is a hard working warrior, but he has limited skills and he will be 37 next year. Likewise, Mark Madson is hard working and a great energy guy, but he is limited. Michael Olowokandi seems to be uninterested in playing hard. I believe that if the Timberwolves can make a deal for a productive inside player, they will be ready to challenge for the NBA title. I don't think that player has to be a center. With Shaq out of the Western Conference, a good power forward would be a difference maker. I believe that KG can play "center" as he played significant time on the low block last year.

A nice power forward with low post moves would add significantly to the team. As good as KG is, and as much as he has progressed, his one shortcoming seems to be that he cannot get to the basket as often as he should. A player with an ability to get to the basket and draw fouls will help this team tremendously. The rumor out there is that Shareef Abdur-Rahim is available and can be had for Szczerbiak and Olowokandi or Johnson. Abdur-Rahim is a scorer, he gets to the line more than KG and he makes his free throws. Reports are that he doesn't play defense, but the T-Wolves can live with that. The T-Wolves should make this deal. With Abdur-Rahim to complement KG down low, and with Spree, Sam-I-Am and T-Hud, the Timberwolves could have the most potent lineup in the league. Add in the defensive prowess of Hassell, the three point shooting of Hoiberg and the energy of Mark Madsen and you have the best team in the NBA. Make the deal!

|W|P|109218012406393766|W|P|Troy Hudson Signing|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/10/2004 03:13:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|

My nephew knows what's really important!

|W|P|109216891574314394|W|P|Now This is More Like It!!!|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/16/2004 07:17:00 PM|W|P| Butch|W|P|Now that is one CUTE boy! Bet his grandpa is proud of him! (ha ha, yes I am)8/10/2004 02:07:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P| You have to wonder what Bush has promised McCain. Perhaps Bush promised him the Secretary of Defense job. I like John McCain... I would have voted for him in 2000. To see him out in Florida campaigning for Bush, well, make it three things that have put me in a dour mood today.|W|P|109216530974208391|W|P|I Don't Need to See This|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/16/2004 07:15:00 PM|W|P| Butch|W|P|That is a SICK picture. That puts me in a dour mood today also!8/10/2004 01:13:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|I can't help it. I am feeling completely humorless these days when I think about "the big picture." I am completely aghast when I think of four more years of President George W. Bush. I realize that I personally will be okay, but I do not like the direction that Bush is taking us and I worry about the future for my as yet unborn children. This election to me is about more than my own personal well-being. It is, in my mind, about the future of the country. I can't wait until it is over. I am completely worn out by the whole thing already. I think two things put me in a dour mood this morning. I actually saw a Nader bumpersticker today. As I contemplated that, I thought about how a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush. At the same time, I heard about John Kerry's clarification on his war vote. I haven't heard what he said, but I have been told he said he would have voted for the war even if he had known that no WMDs existed. Good God! Why say something like that!?! Perhaps it is the right position for the election, I don't know. But, it seems to bail out the president on his ridiculous war. Bush is apparently pushing Kerry to take a position on whether he would have ousted Saddam Hussein. The right answer to this question is, "I would never gone after Saddam Hussein until I had captured or killed Osama bin Laden and decimated al Qaeda to the point that it was unable to mount any future attacks. At that point, I would have evaluated whether Hussein represented an imminent threat to the security of the United States. Only if it were apparent that we had to attack Iraq to prevent attacks on the United States would I have gone into Iraq. War is not the first option, it is the last option." I cannot believe that Kerry wouldn't say this. He could say "I voted for authorization to give the president a bargaining chip. I didn't think he would forego bargaining and invade. His actions were completely outside the traditions of United States foreign policy. His blunder was obviously costly anyway you want to look at it. Young men and women have been killed with regularity, we have blown $200 billion that could have been more effectively in countless ways, we have destroyed our standing in the world, and oh yeah, al Qaeda is still able to plot and carry out terrorist activities."

Twins Suck against Oakland

I was surprised to see the Twins lose 3 of 4 against the A's. Of course, they very well could have reversed that result. The Twins wasted another brilliant performance by Brad Radke on Friday night. Then, they lost an 18-inning affair on Sunday. Ouch! Yesterday was a lost effort. Now, it is on to Seattle (must win series) and then to the new contender, Cleveland. As the White Sox have begun their annual collapse, the reconstituted Indians now sit in second place. For my money, I'd love to see the ChiSox fall completely out of the race and let the Twins and Cleveland battle it out. These two teams meet 13 more times this season (including three times this weekend). I would love to see a good old fashioned race. It is easy to hate the Sox. They have been loud-mouthed underachievers for the last several years. It's much harder to hate these Indians. They are a team constructed of young, up-and-coming players, including a kid from my home state of North Dakota, Travis Hafner, who play hard. Hafner is having a breakout season, hitting .324/.413/.602. I look forward to the last couple of months of the season, especially if the Indians become the Twins' main competition. Perhaps it will sweeten my mood. |W|P|109216470341770286|W|P|Humorless|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/16/2004 07:09:00 PM|W|P| Anonymous|W|P|Talking about baseball players from your home state of North Dakota -- How about the "MAN" Set a record that lasted longer then the "Babes" You know, the kid who played hard every day and never did a thing that you couldn't tell your children about! God bless the man "Roger Mairs" I always loved that guy (even if he was a Yankee) He did the best he could even when everyone was against him. Everybody wanted the other "M" to get the record,but the best man came out on top. Dad8/06/2004 01:25:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Thank God it's Friday. I am looking forward to a relaxing time up in West Central Minnesota. My Uncle is having a family get together this weekend and my fiancee and I are going. My mother will be there (Dad is off riding his Harley this week) and I am sure that the Twins talk will be flying -- along with a little Bush bashing, I'm sure.

BUSH BASHING

I am greatly amused that some people think that it is "wrong" to vote for someone just because they may not like Bush. I laugh at that argument. First of all, a lot of these same people were determined to vote "against" Bill Clinton. Secondly, presidential politics are much different when there is an incumbent is involved. I will be voting in my sixth presidential election. This is the third time out of the six that there has been an incumbent president up for reelection. My experience has been that when there is an incumbent president up for reelection, you are essentially voting for or against the incumbent. In my first voting experience, I most definitely voted against Ronald Reagan. Reagan's first term featured a large tax cut, a recession, cuts to education spending (I was in college at the time), and an unwillingness to negotiate with the Soviet Union. I felt, and still do, that Reagan should not have been re-elected. I think his accomplishments have been way overblown, his "supply-side" economics have been completely discredited (witness his series of tax increases or as he preferred to call them "revenue enhancements"), and he has been given way too much credit for the fall of the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, I will say that he was a much better president than the current office holder. Reagan was, after all, willing to change positions on issues. And, he never did something so stupid as invade another country without a clearly discernable reason. The second time that I voted in a presidential election with an incumbent running was in 1996. In that election, I voted for President Clinton. I believed then, and now, that Mr. Clinton was an excellent president. He was supremely intelligent, he thought things through, and he was able to work with the other party to get things done. He reversed the debilitating effects of the Reagan tax cuts and balanced the budget. He also put cops on the streets and he recognized the threat of al Qaeda. During Clinton's presidency, crime sharply dropped, the economy soared, science and technology advanced, and America thrived like it had not in some time. I like Bob Dole. I respect Bob Dole. In other elections, I would have voted for Bob Dole. But, in 1996, the incumbent was working, it was not time to fire him. Had Bob Dole ran for president in 2000, he would probably had gotten my vote, and he most certainly would not have gotten us into the mess we are in now. In 2004, however, we see a starkly different picture. The economy has been languishing. The budget surplus is gone, replaced with a yawning deficit. The economy is not creating jobs. And there's the Iraq thing. It is impossible to characterize the decision to invade Iraq as a good thing for the United States. Virtually every reason given before the war to invade Iraq has been shown to be inadequate. There are no WMD, there was no collaboration between Iraq and al Qaeda on the 9/11 attacks, and oh yeah, the Iraqis did not welcome us with open arms. Strategically, we did a poor job of prosecuting the war. We did not secure the borders, we did not prevent looting of ancient museums with priceless artifacts of early civilizations, and we violated the Geneva convention. Americans have been dying over there almost every day since we invaded. Thousands of Iraqi innocents have died. Oh yeah, and we also alienated just about every other country in the world by our decision. So, long before the candidates were chosen, I resolved to vote against George W. Bush. He has done an inadequate job and needs to be fired. I am voting against him, and I am proud of that. I feel it is my duty as an American to do so. Don't get me wrong. I do like Senator Kerry, and I think he'll be a good president. I think he is intelligent, courageous, and dedicated. I think he will return America to the good times that we had in the 1990s. I think he'll repair our relationships with our old allies. I am going to be voting for him. But, make no mistake, I am also voting against President Bush.

IRAQ BODY COUNT

Lest we forget when we say that you shouldn't vote against President Bush, check out the Iraqi Body Count. It's easy to forget when the news of Iraq is pushed to the back pages, but the toll in American lives continues to rise. And August has not started out well at all.

TWINS CHATTER

I attended the Twins game yesterday afternoon, which they lost to Anaheim 8-3. Terry Mulholland pitched poorly, almost poorly enough to make me wish that I had eaten the words I wrote earlier this week where I said that the Twins didn't need anymore pitching. If look beyond Mulholland's outing, you will see however that the Twins pitching staff did a nice job yesterday. The bullpen pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up 6 hits, one walk, five strikeouts and no earned runs. Mulholland didn't help himself by walking David Eckstein when he was trying to bunt over two runners. Had Mulholland thrown a pitch over the plate and let Eckstein get himself out, the Twins could have avoided a run, and three errors resulted in three more runs. Take out those four runs, and it's a game. All-in-all, it wasn't as disastrous a pitching performance as it seemed. It still wasn't good. Jesse Crain made his major league debut yesterday. I thought he looked okay. He threw strikes (28 pitches, 20 strikes) and he didn't give up any booming hits. He got a couple of strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings. He was lighting up the radar gun, repeatedly hitting 94 and 95 miles an hour. I am not sure that he threw anything other than his fastball -- I was watching and I think every pitch that he threw was over 92 miles an hour. His velocity was impressive. I wasn't sitting in a good enough seat to see where he was locating his pitches. It was nice to see him go out there and throw hard. In time, of course, he'll have to introduce a breaking ball of some sort. One of the two hits that he gave up was a chopper that he fielded just to the left side of the mound, which he foolishly threw into right field for an error. Jason Bartlett played shortstop yesterday. From what I've seen so far, he does not appear to be ready for the major leagues. He made another error yesterday and looked clueless at the plate. He also took a cutoff throw and threw it to the plate with no hope of getting the runner. Luckily, no one advanced on the throw. Scarily enough, he made me think, "Wow. Guzman is a lot better than he is." |W|P|109181989284259583|W|P|TGIF|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/04/2004 11:21:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|

Twins Talk

I went to the Twins game last night with my Dad and the Twins won 10-0 behind Carlos Silva's 11-hit complete game shutout. Dad called it a "gem." Hee-hee. My Dad is pretty funny. Silva was in trouble all night. However, he kept inducing double plays, and the Angels never really hit a ball hard. On the other hand, the Twins offense continued to show that it is hitting its stride, bashing four homeruns and scoring runs in bunches. While not the 1927 Yankees, they now have scored an average of 6.25 runs in their last twelve games. With the shutout, the Twins now have the best team ERA (4.04) in the American League. Oh, and the bullpen has thrown a total of 3 1/3 innings in the last four days. That's good, because Kyle Lohse is pitching tonight. ChiSox won. The lead remains at 5 games. If the playoffs started today, the Twins would face the Oakland A's in the first round (and thereby avoid the New York Yankees).

The Twins magic number is 54. They have 57 games left to play.

Blog of the Day

Check out Election Projection. The commentary is all wrong ;), but the analysis on the upcoming election is interesting. I check it out on a weekly basis to see what appears to be an unbiased look at how the upcoming election might turn out. Make no mistake - the author is a Bushie and thinks the pResident will win, but his analysis is showing a different picture.

|W|P|109163841969833893|W|P|Your Basic 11 Hit Shutout|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/03/2004 09:05:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|The recent raised terror alerts in New York and Washington were the result of information that was mostly gathered before 9/11/01. It is interesting to me that the Department of Homeland Security would wait until just after the Democratic National Convention to raise the terror alert when the information was almost three years old. At what point does Homeland Security give the "All Clear"? 2017? I'm confused. When will the government stop searching trucks in Manhattan for bombs? If this information is three years old, why did the government think that attacks were imminent? I am sure that none of this was politically motivated. I am sure that the government wasn't playing on the fears of people in cities that have seen the largest terror attacks in the history of the world just to gain a few votes. Because, if that were the case, it would be the lowest form of cynicism. I think that the Department of Homeland Security owes the people of the United States of America an explanation. I want to know why it decided to raise terror alerts specifically when it did.|W|P|109154241847740601|W|P|Recent Terror Alerts|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/02/2004 03:52:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|I took my then girlfriend (she's now my fiancee) to the GrandView theater on her birthday this year to see the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Her birthday was during the last month of my law school (and during the week), so I hadn't really thought a lot about what to do that night. I thought a dinner and a movie would be fine. Well, I had heard that this movie was good, but all I knew was that Jim Carrey was in it. I will say that I like Jim Carrey, even though I think he's made some stupid movies. He has some real talent, he just needs to be careful to make the right movies. Anyway, we went to the Grandview theater in St. Paul, which as it turns out was the same place we went for her birthday last year. The movie started out very slow. I was having a difficult time understanding what it was all about. Then, about twenty minutes into the movie, the opening credits began to roll. It was then that I found out that this was a Charlie Kaufman movie. I almost laughed out loud. It was one year ago to the day that I took my girlfriend, on her birthday, to the Grandview, to see Adaptation, one of the best movies I have ever seen. Mr. Kaufman does not disappoint in Eternal Sunshine, either. I do not mean to review the movie, as it has been four months since I have seen it. But, I remember that it is funny, original, poignant and brilliant. I am sick and tired of standard Hollywood fare. I don't need to see Will Smith or Sly Stallone or The Governator save the world. I wretch at the thought of another "romantic" movie starring Hugh Grant or Sandra Bullock (or both! egads!). I want something smart, creative, different, ballsy. Charlie Kaufman delivers that. He has done it with Eternal Sunshine and Adaptation. His Being John Malkovich was flat out brilliant. Charlie Kaufman, for my money, is the best screenwriter in Hollywood.|W|P|109148111120411670|W|P|Charlie Kaufman Rocks|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/02/2004 02:37:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|In the last week the Twins have taken control of the American League Central, running out to a five game lead over their nearest rival, the Chicago White Sox. Despite a brutal schedule in August, I feel confident that the Twins will be able to win their third consecutive divisional title. I feel this way for several reasons, which I will document below. 1. The Twins' lead is not insubstantial. With 58 games to play, the Twins have a 5 game lead. Of course, this is not an insurmountable lead (hello, 1964 Phillies), but if the Twins can play just .500 baseball the rest of the season, they will finish 88-74. By contrast, the White Sox will have to play .583 ball the rest of the way to get to 88 wins (35-25). After a hot April, the White Sox are just 40-41. The White Sox have not been playing particularly well lately, going 7-11 since the break. Again, the Twins' lead is not insurmountable, but, unless the Twins collapse, the White Sox will have to play very well for an extended period of time, which they have not done all year. 2. The Twins' August schedule is tough, but not that tough. In August, the Twins play Anaheim and Cleveland 6 times, Texas 5 times, Oakland 4 times, and the Yankees and Seattle 3 times, in addition to the one game that they played against Boston. That's a combined winning percentage of .531. Gulp. However, Texas has begun to slide, and the Twins have handled Oakland and Cleveland in the past. The Yankees, of course, have killed the Twins in recent years, but other than the hated Bronx Bombers, these are teams against whom the Twins can and have competed successfully. If the Twins are playing well, there is no reason why they can't win their fair share in August. Maybe I am an optimist, but I believe the Twins will play at least .500 in August. If they can do that, a soft September schedule will make it much easier for the Twins to win the Central. 3. The White Sox have folded before. When's the last time the White Sox won anything when it was close and it really counted? 4. The Twins have straightened out the Mientkiewicz situation. I loved watching Doug play first as much as the next guy, having been a first baseman myself when I was a kid. Having said that, I believe that his defensive value has been overblown. As everyone knows, it is hard to quantify a player's value defensively. There is no doubt, however, that Dougie Baseball's offense left much to be desired. Simply put, he is not a quality major league hitter. Every at bat that was taken from him and given to Justin Morneau gave the Twins a better chance to win. Now that Mientkiewicz is gone, Morneau and Lew Ford will get plenty of at bats. This bodes well for the Twins. 5. The Twins have enough pitching. More than 40% of the time, the Twins will trot out either Johan Santana or Brad Radke. Joe Nathan has been lights out. Juan Rincon has been excellent. J.C. Romero has been very good since his recall. Carlos Silva is a serviceable fourth starter. Terry Mulholland has been acceptable as a fifth starter, in fact he's been everything the Twins could have hoped for. The big disappointment has been Kyle Lohse. He seems to be clueless out there, and his struggles have created the perception that the Twins need more pitching. However, the Twins are second in the AL in ERA at 4.08, just .03 behind Oakland. Further, they are second in OPS against at .734, just .001 behind Boston. The Twins are first in the AL in strikeout/walks ratio, first in WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched), second in walks allowed, and third in strikeouts per nine innings. It would be nice to have one more starter, but the staff overall has been excellent, and the Twins have two pitchers who can comfortably wear the tag of "Ace." 6. The offense has shown signs of life. The Twins' biggest problems this year has been its anemic offense. Corey Koskie (.789 OPS), Jacque Jones (.744) and Dougie M. (.703) have had disappointing seasons. Luis Rivas (.680) and Cristian Guzman (.715) are who they are. Even with all that, there is optimism. Shannon Stewart (.803) is back, Morneau (.790) is going take his at bats, and hopefully (fingers crossed) Joe Mauer (.939) will be back soon. The Twins have scored 5.9 runs a game over their last 11. If Koskie and Jones can begin to hit like they can, the Twins can continue to score runs. |W|P|109147982832238304|W|P|Twins Take Control|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com8/01/2004 06:25:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|This map is a cumulative map, showing where visitors have come from to this site.
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