6/30/2005 11:00:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Whew! This new Online Magazine is hard work! Back when SBG was just a blog, posting was easy. Any old tripe would do. Now that we've upgraded to SBG, The Online Magazine (SBG, TOM), the work is tremendous. Writing articles, submitting them to an exacting editor, rewrites, deadlines, pressure... it's all so much work! But, our commitment to you is this. We here at SBG, TOM are dedicated to bringing you the best online magazine coverage of the Twins in the world! We hope you appreciate the fine attention to detail and the massive focus on all things important. And remember, subscriptions are free! In our last online poll, we asked you, the SBG reader, to give us input on what you think of the Twins' broadcasting crew. Thanks for the response! Here are the poll numbers:

What Do You Think of the Twins' TV Announcers	Votes	Percent
Top Shelf -- Dick and Bert are the Best	4	14%
Not Too Bad -- but not exactly Bob Costas	11	38%
I like Dick, but Bert needs to circle less	2	7%
I like Bert, but Dick how about pretending to be objective	6	21%
Turning the sound off sounds like a good option	6	21%
Total Votes	29

Back in 1991, the Twins broadcast team was Ted Robinson and Jim Kaat. Wow, what a team that was. Robinson called a great game, and did a great job interacting with Mr. Kaat. And Jim didn't need much help -- he's a premium baseball announcer, now working for the Yankees. Friends, Ted and Jim were a formidable broadcasting team, one worthy of a World Championship baseball team. The current team of Dick Bremer and Bert Blyleven are more suited to the team the Twins have now. Bremer's got a very good presence at the mike. He knows timing, he does a very good job of moving the game along. He's personable, fluid, and really seems quite likeable. Blyleven has good knowledge, he can clearly articulate his points, and has a very nice sense of humor. But, there's something missing in my opinion. We wish that Bremer and Blyleven would be a little more objective. Or the course of the last several years, there's been a lot to be excited about as Twins fans. They've had four consecutive winning seasons and are working on a fifth -- unprecedented in franchise history. They've won three straight divisional titles -- also unprecedented -- and have a chance for a fourth straight playoff appearance. Even still, there are some things about this team that should be criticized. Don't believe it? Check out what the bloggers -- and those of us here at SBG, TOM -- are saying. And yet, Dick & Bert never seem to be able to say (at least in our opinion) a discouraging word. As some have pointed out, they are playing to their audience, most of whom are either casual fans that the team needs to attract or fans who just don't want to hear anything negative about the team. Believe it when we say that there are a lot of people who don't like to engage in debate about the relative merits of players and managers if that debate turns negative even in the slightest. In that sense, Dick and Bert are probably doing what they should -- call a decent game, stay positive and sell the team. We don't care for it, but they are a whole lot better than the windbags calling the White Sox games on WGN. The discussion here brings us to comment on an article over at the Twins Territory site. A while back, the Twins Geek had some things to say about the coverage of the Twins at the Star Tribune. He was generally complimentary of the writers at the Star Tribune, but he said some things that have stuck in our collective craws for a while. Again, the point of the Geek's article was to compliment the Strib, but he prefaced his compliments with this statement.

People ask me how Twins Geek started, and I have to admit, it was mostly driven out of disdain for local baseball coverage in late 2001 and early 2002. Since then, the Twins have become a bigger story, Jim Souhan has moved from baseball coverage to columnist, and the Twins beat coverage has received welcome reinforcements from some new voices, like Joe Christensen and occasionally Michael Rand. Also, to be honest, I think the free internet coverage has caused a number of them to step up their game. There isn't a lot to incentive for any kind of journalist to take risks or make an extra effort. The union protects a wage level that they can't get anywhere else, and taking any kind of risk can only put that in danger. And it's not like the corporation is going to reward quality work - they want the content and to not be sued. And not in that order. So these writers are left with what internal drive they bring to their job, in the same way that the quality of our teachers are driven by their internal drive. That internal drive is caused by all kinds of things, but one of them is pride. You can't convince me that when they read Bat Girl or Aaron Gleeman or Brad Zellar and know that these writers are cranking out great stuff for free - stuff that they aren't sure they can write themselves anymore - that it doesn't push them a little bit.

We here at SBG, TOM read this with just a little bit of disbelief. The first paragraph is all right. Back in the beginning of the Twins Geek, the coverage was not all that great. The team was struggling and it had been struggling for a long time. Interest was at an all-time low. Attendance was deplorable. The team sucked. Team coverage in the paper wasn't that great, likely because no one really cared (except for the die hards like, for example, SBG and TG). When we first started reading the Twins Geek, we were amazed at his page. It was fresh, it was different, it was, well, great. We were reading the Geek when he had 50 readers or a 100 readers, or whatever. His page was new. Now, there are about 25 Twins pages (and an Online Magazine), and some of them are extremely good. We admit that we prefer some of the new pages to the Geek, even as we say very strongly that we love his page and recognize that he was the pioneer. That second paragraph, though. Hoo boy. Geek implies that these guys are fat and lazy and have reached the end of the road. It is only the union that is keeping them from a substantial loss in salary. Come on, Geek. You know better than that. For example, Dan Barreiro, a long time columnist at the Strib (and a columnist back when the Geek started his page) left the Strib for his own radio show. It's fairly well known that Mr. Barreiro is making as much at the radio station now as he did when he was writing his column and doing radio. So, Mr. Barreiro is an exception to this statement. Further, we submit that the Minneapolis-St. Paul media market is a springboard for bigger things. Thus, there is plenty of incentive for writers to perform well -- the promise of a bigger market and better paydays are out there. Don't believe us? Jim Caple of ESPN.COM once covered the Twins for the Pioneer Press. Scott Miller, who we soundly criticized earlier this week, too, was a beat writer here in the Twin Cities (at the PP). There's three examples of writers in this town, at both papers, who got jobs that paid as well or better than what they had. The young guys writing in this town have exactly the same incentive, if they choose to follow it. Perhaps the Geek was referring to Reusse and Sid. Well, for one, Sid is independently wealthy and he's also 100 years old. So, maybe the criticism is levelled at Reusse. Okay, we believe that Reusse is not the sportswriter that he once was. We also submit that he's not reading Bat-Girl and Aaron Gleeman. As for taking chances, well, what does that mean? Writing things that the editors don't like? I think we know that Dan Barreiro clashed with the powers that be there. We also think that a guy like Jim Souhan is getting his sea legs as a columnist over there. It takes a while. We know how that is. Further, very few, if any, of the blogs that are written about the Twins are publishable in the paper. Yes, the Geek himself had an online column at the Strib. That's a long way from making it into print. Why do we say that very few are publishable? For the same reasons that we believe that ultimately Dick and Bert probably have the right tone -- the paper has to give the people what they want. We doubt, as much as we absolutely love Aaron Gleeman, that his Twins writing would fly in the paper. Aaron's writing is full of numbers, is pretty critical of the team at times, and focuses on certain topics over and over. We love it. We are in the minority of the general public. (We also think that Aaron could tailor his writing to fit the confines of a daily newspaper, if he were given that opportunity.) It is certainly possible that Aaron's insightful, personal, and at times, downright funny writing does influence writers a little. Likewise, when Jim Souhan described Dodger Stadium as "sundappled," one could not help but think it was a nod to frightwig. And when Patrick Reusse called himself a "stick and ball guy" we knew he was talking about us. (Wait a second... we lifted that name from his column. Never mind.) But, there's a big difference between getting ideas from other writers and wondering if they can match the writing of amateurs. The only professional writer that we know of among the Twins Bloggers is Bat-Girl. Her style of writing, while fun and all just isn't a good model for game recaps in the newspaper. (SBG, brace yourself for the onslaught of negative letters to the editor.) Oh, and Zellar is a professional, too. His stuff is funny and irreverent. Great stuff for a magazine. We'd love to have the seats in the press box, too. [Update: Thanks, Aaron, for the link. We are apparently missing some professional writers. Aaron, of course, is a journalism student at the University of Minnesota and a paid writer for Rotoworld, among others. The guys at MPR are professionals, too. SBG is definitely an amateur. Our apologies to anyone who we've not identified as professionals. It does say "that we -- we being SBG, who has decided to write in the first personal plural for the time being -- know of."] Further, we are pretty sure that the management of the paper, from the editor-in-chief down to the sports editor have a lot of say as to what is put in the paper. We also doubt that the Strib "only cares about content" in the sense of quantity of content and worries more about "getting sued" than quality writing. If the paper prints the truth, that is an absolute defense against any suit for defamation. No lawyer in his right mind is going to bring a defamation lawsuit against a newspaper for printing the truth. We are not First Amendment experts, but that sounds like a frivilous lawsuit, and the lawyers would be subject to sanctions for filing it. (Yes, readers, there are already measures in place to deal with frivilous lawsuits, despite what you may have been lead to believe.) Further, it's quite unlikely that the Twins will ever sue the paper for defamation. Fact is, the Twins need the Strib. Their coverage provides free advertisement for the team, even if it is negative. And if the New York teams haven't sued the local tabloids for their sometimes incendiary coverage of the local teams, it's hard to fathom that the Twins would ever in a million years drag the Strib into court for defamation. Finally, the newspaper cares about the quality of its content. We can't possibly believe that it doesn't. The newspaper business has been squeezed like it has never been before. Subscriptions are down. The paper needs a strong sports page, one that appeals to as large a population as possible, to maintain readership. The paper wants writers to write that which the public will accept. Ultimately, we believe that it is the public that determines the kind of quality that is in the sports page. Having said all this, there's no question that the free Internet coverage of the Twins has turned some heads in the mainstream media. Bloggers and online magazines can take some chances. They can do the unconventional. If we at SBG, TOM try something that flops, who really cares. In the grand scheme of things, nobody's reading (except for the billions of people who stop in here). If we try something that's wildly successful, you can be sure the paper will pick it up (if its content is not offensive), just not for the reasons stated by the Geek. Rather, they will do it because they do want content that the public will pay for, even if they aren't sure what that is. If the bloggers show the way, we think the papers will follow and co-opt. Furthermore, the mainstream sportswriters in this market (for the most part) have a tremendous incentive to do well so that they can cash in later. We have been critical of Mr. Souhan at this page and we will continue to do so as is warranted. But, we don't believe that he or most of his colleagues are without incentive for the reasons discussed above. Further, our criticisms have been about his perspective, not his effort or depth of writing. We don't believe that the paper doesn't care about quality content. It might be misguided as to what constitutes quality and valuable content, or slow to adapt to changing public tastes, but we don't believe it doesn't care. Furthermore, we don't pretend to be better writers than the guys at the paper. Really, look at these articles. The need for a good editor is obvious. As Aaron said, we think the Strib's coverage is pretty good, in fact, better than average. We don't think that the Strib should engage in flamethrowing. Rather, it should be measured (think New York Times as opposed to the New York Post). Perhaps, it should do a little more, especially at its website, with respect to the types of things the Geek has done. We'd like to see a salary chart at their site -- kind of like what the Geek has. But, we understand why that isn't in the newspaper. Most people just don't care. We, the Geeks who read these blogs are the ones who care. And the bloggers have done a great job of informing the Twins Geekdom about these issues. The blogs are a fine supplement to what we think is good newspaper coverage of the Twins. Finally, let me reiterate that we love the Geek. We love his writing. We loved his column at the Strib. We love his page, his willingness to provide a forum for open debate and discussion. We also love that he is unafraid to take chances and write things that are controversial. It is because of his willingness to take positions that the debate has been moved forward. We applaud you, Geek. It's just that this time, we don't completely agree. And now for your Holiday poll Have a safe and sane Holiday Weekend, everyone. Update: Okay, let me clarify again. I think it's important to understand my purpose here. I don't mean to be incindiary, especially towards my fellow bloggers. I am not saying that bloggers aren't good enough to write in the paper. That's not my point. What I am saying is that the nature of the medium allows people like me to write things that just wouldn't fly past the editors. In other words, I can take chances and do really stupid things. I have nothing at stake. The Geek's page has been absolutely incredible. I love the damn thing and have since the very first time I read it. He's accessible, he's smart, he's funny. And, he does take chances by saying things that just really can't be said in the newspaper. The purpose of my "Online Magazine" (and there's an inside joke there, friends that is unrelated to any other Twins blogger) is to do what TG has done much more successfully than I. And that is to generate discussion. He's taken a position, I've taken an opposite position or a somewhat opposite position. What I should have said last week, and what I say this week is I have a lot of respect for both B-G and T-G. And Aaron, Seth, fw, Shane, COD, and pretty much everyone else who devotes a lot of time for free to write their pages and share a little bit of their lives and thoughts with the rest of us. Hopefully, my article today will get people to think about what the impact of bloggers are on the mainstream media coverage of the Twins... including the Strib and the television coverage. Am I right to say that most people don't really want the kind of stuff that we provide? Or am I wrong? Do you think that the paper doesn't really care about its content, or do you believe that it may not be able to react to changing tastes like a blogger can? Again, I do not want this article to be characterized as a put down of TG. It is intended to encourage discussion. Peace.|W|P|112019734077573463|W|P|The Impact of Bloggers on Twins Media Coverage|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com7/01/2005 09:35:00 AM|W|P|

Brian|W|P|I'd like to see a similar poll on the current radio personalities. Danny "Dirt Ball" Gladden butchers the language worse than Genghis Khan. John Gordon is just plain annoying to listen to. I mean, I always turn off the radio prior to the seventh so that I don't have to hear, "Time for baseball's national anthem TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME" rant. Blah!

Herb Carneal is a joy and also won't make another season. The radio booth needs a complete rehaul. SBG for play-by-play and some sultry-voiced chick for the filler.7/01/2005 09:47:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Yeah, I didn't touch that radio thing.7/01/2005 10:54:00 AM|W|P|

Brian|W|P|The main stream is watching us. I can see hits to both my blog and my wife's blog from inside the STrib and other media. May be they are just keeping a finger on the pulse. The STrib now has its own bloggers (see Greengirl) and XML links. That's all in response to the blogging phenom but they are watching us home-towners.

Whether we have any influence on their actual content, who knows? But I predict that within 1-2 years you will see the local media start to quote blogs.

I look at it this way. Look at the Vikes messages boards yesterday after I posted the erroneous Brooks story. ALL, and I mean ALL, were quoting me and linking to me. I even got hits from the New Orleans Saints main website.

I think the reason people like us more is we can have more "bite" to our stories. More personality. More chocolate topping on vanilla ice-cream.

Bloggers will soon own the civilized world.7/01/2005 11:14:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|That's exactly right COD. We can have more bite.

The papers provide coverage that most of us cannot provide (except guys like you that have access). They have access to players and management that we just cannot enjoy. Or maybe we can... I suppose I could call the Twins and ask for a media pass.

I see the blogging activity as a niche. We can fill in gaps with numbers and speculation and gripes that newspapers really can't do. They have the resources and relationships with teams to do things that we just can't.

And some might say that blogger will soon own the un-civilized world.7/01/2005 12:20:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|You lost me at "Blyleven has good knowledge" ...7/01/2005 12:43:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Not only does Gladden butcher the language, he doesn't use voice inflection. He announces a groundout to second base the same as he does a bases-clearing triple. At least with Gordon, you know if something exciting is happening, even if he is a tease.

As for Herb Carneal, he's great, but he just can't keep up anymore. He's been stumbling over his words for the past couple of years, and you often hear the fans screaming seconds before he gets out the result of the play. Listening to the twins on radio has become unbearable, so half the time I just have it on Gameday.7/01/2005 12:57:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|As for the radio, I used to really like John Gordon. I know I'm in the minority there. But, I think he's grown stale. I believe he's also had some health problems.

Danny. Man, it's Luis Rivas, not Lewis. He's no Vin Scully, now, is he. Despite his shortcomings, I still like him. Kind of like when he was a player. Look back at his numbers. He sucked. A career .270/.324/.382/.706 hitter. In 1987 it was .249/.312/.361/.673 from a corner outfielder! In 1991 it was .247/.306/.356/.661. That's Rivasland! That's worse than Rivas. The Twins won two World Series with this guy batting leadoff. But I sure liked him a lot. Why? Because Danny is cool. That's all I got.

Herb. When you've been doing it for 44 years with the same team, I guess you get some latitude. I can't get myself to criticize. He's a legend. I'll just turn away and pretend that these last couple of years haven't happened.7/01/2005 01:15:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Very thought provoking, SBG. I don't know if this comment will be in the spirit of the kind of discussion you hoped to generate, but what I like about the Strib and PiPress as opposed to bloggers is that the papers have accessibility to the teams and the players themselves. The papers talk to the players, the managers, and they report the "news." Bloggers just cannot compete with that. Sure we can watch the same game and report on it, but not with the same access that the Twins beat writers and columnists have.

What blogs do well is react to that news, point out the inconsistencies, and provide commentary. Another thing blogs do well is write about the statistics of the game, but that is because it is really the only thing we can do that is unique.

As a result, I think the papers will always be more popular than blogs and more well read than blogs. Most people don't give a rip about statistics (not to the extent we do) and we don't really report anything that is newsworthy.

Do the beat writers use blogs to get ideas? Sure, just like we steal from them, they steal from us. But I guess I am saying the newspapers and mainstream media usually don't have to steal/borrow anything from us. They can go right to the horse's mouth.

In summary, I love both blogs and the mainstream media because with both you get the whole picture. But I will always start with the mainstream media.

Have a great weekend!7/01/2005 01:27:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Well put, Shane.7/01/2005 07:58:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Don't believe Aaron is a student any longer but is now a full-time freelance writer.......7/04/2005 02:31:00 AM|W|P|

Richard Gadsden|W|P|Bloggers should phone up and ask for a media pass. Seriously - you're writing for a wide readership, covering every or nearly every game, or writing a column at least once a week if not more often. I'm not suggesting that you should all get free tickets and sit in the press box, but access to players and management would make the blogs better and that benefits the team in PR terms.

Once you've got the pass, the next thing to try is the BBWAA membership.7/04/2005 10:44:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Stick to pictures of your cats.1/02/2006 10:54:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Impressesed.6/30/2005 10:43:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Here at SBG, the Online Magazine, we strive to bring you the best coverage of a few topics of interest to our editors, whether or not you are actually interested. One of our faithful readers from New York sent us this tasty tidbit, and because we are committed to giving you the best news and commentary, we are forced to report on this story at this time. Thanks to M.A. for the heads up! Source: Radaronline.com It seems that the Face of Baseball is having a little problem with his teammate A-Rod. Reportedly, the boys can't play nice.

On June 20, after a throwing error from Jeter to Rodriguez handed the Yankees a 5-4 loss to the last-place Tampa Bay Devil Rays, a TV producer says the sluggers came to blows in the clubhouse. �I was doing an interview in the locker room and saw them go at it,� says the source. �A-Rod walked past Jeter�s locker and mumbled something about his throw, then Jeter told him to go [f***] himself and all hell broke lose...."

Oh, to be a fly in the corner. But wait, it gets better.

Tensions between the two have been brewing since Rodriguez dissed Jeter in a 2001 Esquire interview. As a result, we hear, Jeter, the Gold Glove-winning team captain, never wanted his ex-pal on the team in the first place�but Yankees boss George Steinbrenner didn�t listen.

Okay, that's a little gossipy. But, consider it if true. The Face of Baseball would rather not have the best player in the AL on his team, because he said a couple of semi-harsh things in a magazine a few years back. FOB, is your image more important than winning???? Say it isn't so!!!! Remember, SBG fans, he's one of the Good Guys. We think he's still pissed that A-Rod didn't kiss his ring. Here's our favorite line.

Yankees spokesman Rick Cerrone called the fight an �absolute fantasy,� and denied any rift between the players, claiming �there are no lines drawn in the clubhouse.� Well, not since Darryl Strawberry anyway.

Emphasis added. We told you that billions of people are reading this site. We make a reference to Mr. Strawberry and Boom! the next day everyone is using it. We'd sue for Copyright infringement, but it's probably "fair use." :)|W|P|112014702893794851|W|P|This Just In...|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/30/2005 11:34:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|One might say, SBG, the Online Magazine, why are you reporting on such gossip when you clearly state in your previous article that sports reporters should stick to analysis of the game?

The answer? Because we believe that the Jeter/A-Rod controversy is High Comedy. We also feel that it points out the idea that Good vs. Bad is a bad way to draw lines. A little more nuanced picture of how life is always in order. Plus, we couldn't resist that Strawberry dig.6/30/2005 09:20:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Hey SBG,

Speaking of drama with that team in New York (and I don't mean the Mets...), have you kept up on what Sheffield (aka Mr. Yuck!) has been up to?

That group of individuals are more entertaining than most shows on Tv (even HBO!) simply because of all those egos involved...

Peace, dude.

Wyl6/29/2005 09:54:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Almost twenty years ago, when I cared about such things, there was a high school basketball player in North Dakota who made quite a splash. He lived in a little town in North Dakota, and he was a little guy himself. Listed at 6'0", but barely above 5'10", this kid was fast, a gunner who shot a ton and for a high percentage, a lightening quick defender... and he routinely dunked in games. He averaged 36 points a game as a senior, shooting over 50% from the field, and he lead his team to a third place finish in the state tournament. He was clearly the best basketball player in the state. It just so happened that he was also a little prickly. He was cocky, he was brash, and the local media trashed him for it. I knew the kid a little, mainly because I'd seen him play and I'd played against his hometown when I was high school. He was portrayed as the villain. I really had no beef with him -- off the court he was a very quiet kid, and he was a little uneasy, really shy in public. When it came time to award Mr. Basketball, the local media decided that they didn't want to give the award to the best player in the state, so they decided to change the criteria for the award in the middle of the season. Now, the award, for the first time, had a "character" element. In other words, if the media didn't like the best player in the state, they could give the award to someone else, with the justification that the best player wasn't a good enough person. And that's what they did. Despite the fact that the best player in the state had never been in any sort of trouble, there was no evidence that he was a bad student or anything like that, the media, in their wisdom, gave the award to a much lesser player. During the summer, the Lions club or Shriners or someone hosted an all-star game for charity. The best player in the state played in the game. Did Mr. Basketball? No. Why? Because he'd gotten caught drinking and was disqualified from playing in the game. So much for that character requirement. When I read stories in the media about this guy being a good guy or that guy being a bad guy, I usually think, hey, stick to analysis of the game. I was a subscriber to Sports Illustrated for almost 15 years-- but I let the subscription run out when I read the pompous Rick Reilly's article about Kobe Bryant. Reilly, fool that he is, told anyone who would read his column that Kobe Bryant was a better basketball player than Michael Jordan. That was ridiculous on its face. But, what was especially delicious was his proclamation of Kobe as a Good Guy. One thing about Kobe, said Reilly, is that you'll never see him in the back seat of a squad car. Nope. Two months later, Mr. Bryant turned himself in, rather than riding in the squad car. What's the point? Well, I was over reading Scott Miller at cbs.sportsline.com. Miller said that Bonds should retire because he doesn't deserve to surpass Hank Aaron's (or Babe Ruth's for that matter) total for career homeruns. Give me a break. Yes, Miller brings up the steroid issue, but remember, even if Bonds KNOWINGLY took steroids, he didn't break any established major league rules. Ahhhh, you say. But, steroids are ILLEGAL. True enough. So are amphetamines. Since amphetamines have been widespread in baseball forever (read Ball Four), there's no proof that Aaron didn't use amphetamines, an illegal performance enhancing substance. But, beyond the steroid issue, Miller argues that Bonds is just a bad guy. He is mean to reporters. He has ached and moaned and played the sympathy card. He's been prickly towards his teammates. Whatever. Darryl Strawberry can snort cocaine till the cows come home and he's a sympathetic figure. Cal Ripken, who admittedly was a great ambassador for the game, reportedly stayed in a hotel separate from all his teammates and called pitches from his shortstop position on the field. Further, he put his managers in a difficult position by all but demanding that he play every day. This is not to denigrate Ripken in any way. He was one of the all-time greats at shortstop and I've always liked him. But, I'm not so naive to believe that he wasn't anything but the best guy ever. But, for the media, or at least parts of the media, the best story is a black and white story. Separate the good guys from the bad guys. No gray allowed. The good guys deserve good things to happen to them and the bad guys deserve nothing but misfortune and scorn. The good guys are the "face of baseball," and damn the truth, we'll make up stories to tell you how good they are. And if the bad guys should accomplish great things, their accomplishments are minimized because they are deemed to be unworthy. Just like the fools back in North Dakota who changed the rules to give Mr. Basketball 1987 to an unworthy "good guy." Santana Poll The results are in.

What kind of second half will Johan Santana have?	Votes	Percentage
Lights out -- he's on his way to another Cy Young Award	7	15%
Much better than the first half, but not what we saw last year	32	67%
About the same as the first half. The league has figured him out a little	9	19%
Blow up. He's gonna really struggle	0	0%
The injury bug is gonna bite him	0	0%

You are pretty optimistic. At least 15% of you think he's gonna capture lightning in a bottle again. Another 2/3 of you think the second half will be better. I tend to think that he'll be about the same in the second half as he has been in the first half. His months have been pretty consistent this month, indicating that his numbers are not so much the product of a few bad outings lately, but rather, the result of a fairly consistent performance. On the other hand, Santana has been pretty unlucky. With 131 strikeouts in 112 innings along with just 21 walks and 13 homeruns, Santana has a FIP (field independent pitching) number of 1.95. If he pitches like that in the second half, he likely will have a lower ERA and more wins. Tonight's Poll (closed, results below)

What Do You Think of the Twins' TV Announcers	Votes	Percent
Top Shelf -- Dick and Bert are the Best	4	14%
Not Too Bad -- but not exactly Bob Costas	11	38%
I like Dick, but Bert needs to circle less	2	7%
I like Bert, but Dick how about pretending to be objective	6	21%
Turning the sound off sounds like a good option	6	21%
Total Votes	29

|W|P|112010539350203355|W|P|Who Deserves What|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/30/2005 04:13:00 AM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|I think Scott Miller should retire because a hack like him doesn't deserve the professional legacy handed down by J.G. Taylor Spink, Ring Lardner, Grantland Rice, Shirley Povich, Roger Angell, Roger Kahn, and Peter Gammons, much less his press passes and paycheck. If there were a Hacking Mass award for sportswriters, Scott Miller would be a finalist for it every year.

The real bombshell of your story, though, is this news that Strawberry has been reduced to snorting cocaine in cow pastures?? That is just sad.6/30/2005 06:44:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Sportsline.com has comments on their articles. No doubt Bonds is a controversial figure. But, one of the commenters actually used the "N-word" to describe him. Others said they'd rather watch Richie Sexson play baseball than Barry Bonds. That is positively ridiculous. I've seen hundreds of major league games. And Bonds stands out as one of the very few players who stunned me with his play.

I've only seen Bonds play baseball in person once, well actually twice, in two consecutive games in Wrigley Field back when he played for the Pirates about 13 or 14 years ago. He was a phenomenal player back then. The booing he took was pretty incredible. He made a couple great plays out in the field, once sliding into the brick wall in foul territory (Bartman territory) to make an incredible catch. And he was hitting the ball; I couldn't stop looking at him. In the second game, he went back to the fence for a ball. Some idiot poured a pretty full beer right on his head. Bonds made the catch, threw the ball into the infield, and went back to his position as if nothing happened. Didn't even acknowledge the beer throwing idiot. I was a fan right there.

I was so looking forward to seeing him in Minneapolis this summer. The fact that he wasn't in town took all the luster off of the Giants' visit. Miller's article was unnecessary, irrelevant, stupid, and just plain wrong. Bonds may not be Albert Schweitzer, but as a baseball player, he's quite simply, ALL THAT.6/30/2005 09:03:00 AM|W|P|

Andrew|W|P|Dick and Bert may not be the best announcers around, but they are definately top half. Just think how fortunate we are to not have those guys from the White Sox.

As for Barry Bonds, I have something to say. Personally, I think the man is a jerk. I wouldn't spend 10 minutes with him if I didn't have to. Would I watch a game with him playing, especially in his 30/30 days? You bet. Barry may not be a friendly character but he just may be the best player of my lifetime thus far, and you have to respect that fact regardless of his personality.

I actually have seen Barry play before. It was an interleague game in KC back in the summer after HS graduation. I suppose that's summer '03. As I remember the Royals won in the bottom of the 9th. Barry hit a home run in that game somewhere around the 4th, I think.6/30/2005 10:37:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|You are right on it, Andrew. He's got all the talent in the world, and he's not wasted his potential, he's realized it.

A lot of truly brilliant people in many different fields are "difficult." That's part of the human condition. Ted Williams flipped off his own fans and refused to tip his cap at the end of his career. Through the lens of history, his exploits on the field (and in service to his country) are honored. The human foibles seem less important.

Appreciate the brilliance for it's own sake. Listen to Wagner's music for its greatness. Watch Brando's work as an actor. Read the brilliant simplicity of Hemmingway. Appreciate their gifts even as you recognize their human foibles. Or be an ass like Scott Miller.6/30/2005 11:13:00 AM|W|P|

amr|W|P|I put Dick and Bert as tops just because I hate Bob Costas irrationally. (Unlike my rational hatred of Buck and McCarver).6/30/2005 11:20:00 AM|W|P|

Comedy Club|W|P|I think both Bert and Dick are excellent announcers, especially better than Costas, but Bert definitley needs to circle less. Or not at all. It might stop morons from bringing cheaply made signs with horrible jokes that block your view of the infield.6/30/2005 11:38:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|AMR -- I love Costas, but I also know that others don't. Matter of taste.

McCarver is a confused old fool. I think that Bob Gibson should knock some sense into his head.

Buck's overeaction to the Moss mooning incident was ridiculous. Hey Joe, I hear "Leon" wants to grant you another interview.6/30/2005 07:45:00 PM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|Costas is a great interviewer and very good at play-by-play, but in recent years it seems like he feels the need to interject his Deep Thoughts into the game more often than I remember him doing on the old Game of the Week. Maybe he's the same, but I've changed.

Dick and Bert are better than average, but this year Dick's the one who is getting on my nerves. He has a good broadcasting voice, does a fine play-by-play, and knows how to feed questions to Bert that can bring out his color man's knowledge of the game. Dick's really good with guests in the booth, too. But I don't consider him to be especially insightful about the games in his own right, and this year it seems he's constantly imposing his opinions onto the games or acting as a Twins apologist on some issue--and he does it with a defensive, whiney tone that reminds me of a kid who's trying to rationalize the secret stash his Mom just found in his sock drawer.

I just want to hear him describe the damn game, feed straight lines and questions to Bert, fill me in when he has some news to share, and sound like he's enjoying himself. Leave the soapboxes and defensive speeches at home. Is it too much to ask?6/28/2005 10:29:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|I watched part of the game tonight and even though the Twins won the game, it certainly wasn't pretty. It's a good thing that Kansas City is in town. The Twins need to right themselves. They can work on some things -- get things straightened out, if you will, and not have to worry too much if they'll win. With Tampa Bay coming up, too, perhaps the Twins can (a) pick up some wins and (b) start playing better. Tonight, they accomplished (a), but I don't really think they accomplished (b). Over at the Rake, Mr. Zellar pooh-poohs those (like your bestest buddy SBG) who would point out that if the ChiSox even play .500 ball the rest of the way, the Twins have to play really well to catch them. Then, he says, the Twins need to trim half the lead by the All-Star break, which was just 12 games away. Let's see. If the ChiSox win half (six) of their games between now and the break, the Twins will have to win eleven games to shave 5 games off the lead. Because each team won tonight, the numbers are essentially the same. (Just yanking your chain a little, Mr. Zellar, please no comments from your fans!!!!) Seriously, I think Mr. Zellar is right. The Twins need to clobber the Royals and the Devil Rays, because the schedule gets tougher after the break. These are not games that they can blow. They just can't. So are they must win games in June? Maybe. Two games down. Taking care of business tonight, even though it was a little ugly. Torii Trade TalkThanks to all of you who partook in the Torii poll. Here are the results.

Should the Twins Consider Trading Torii Hunter?	Votes	Percentage
No Way. He's the Heart and Soul of this Team	10	19%
Not unless he forces a trade	2	4%
I'd sure hate to see him go, but for the right deal, maybe.	29	55%
If it gives the Twins a better chance to win this year, make the deal.	10	21%
Never liked the guy. Dump him.	1	2%
Total Votes	53

About a quarter of the respondents don't want a trade of Torii at all. Over half are conflicted about a trade, and the rest have no problem with trading Torii. I think that if the Twins right the ship now and can make a run, I wouldn't trade him. If they do fall out of the race, I'd certainly be willing to dump Hunter. Let's be clear -- it's not because I don't like Hunter's game. There's a lot to like about Torii. He plays hard, there's never a question that he's not going all out. Of the everyday players on the roster, he's the best trade asset that they have (Mauer and Morneau are, in my opinion, untouchable, at least in part because of their low salaries.) If Hunter could fetch a couple of good assets, I'd shake hands and say best of luck and thanks for the memories. The Twins have made two huge trades of their "best player" over the last 15 or so years. Way back when they traded my guy, Frankie Viola. I was absolutely livid. The trade netted the Twins Rick Aguilera and Kevin Tapani, two huge cogs in the 1991 World Championship team. Turned out to be a great trade. I still have a soft spot for Frankie V., but I certainly enjoyed that World Series Championship. The second trade was the Knoblauch deal. That netted us Guzman and Milton, two of the important parts of the resurgance, plus Buck Buchanan, who was converted into Jason Bartlett. In addition, Milton was converted into Carlos Silva and Nick Punto. That trade, too, worked out great. At $10 million next year, Torii would be a nice piece to trade for payroll relief and acquiring some infield talent. And if the Yanks dangled Robinson Cano and someone else, I'd be awfully tempted to pull the trigger this year, especially if the Twins could make another trade for a fourth outfielder. Tonight's question. Johan Santana has been struggling a little lately and is currently at 7-4 with a 3.78 ERA. At this time last year, Santana was 6-4 with a 4.38 ERA. We all know what happened next. My question tonight is about what you will think will happen in the second half. Poll closed, results below

What kind of second half will Johan Santana have?	Votes	Percentage
Lights out -- he's on his way to another Cy Young Award	7	15%
Much better than the first half, but not what we saw last year	32	67%
About the same as the first half. The league has figured him out a little	9	19%
Blow up. He's gonna really struggle	0	0%
The injury bug is gonna bite him	0	0%

Thanks for stopping by. Have a good day! (And check out the T-Wolves column below. I could use a little reassuring there.)|W|P|112001823216896642|W|P|Twins Win|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/29/2005 11:12:00 AM|W|P|

Comedy Club|W|P|I just can't see them trading Cano or any minor league prospects. However, that might not be all bad. The Yanks are desperate for a Center Fielder and we might get a proven veteran and probably a hunk of cash.6/29/2005 08:52:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|I really like the new polls. You are my new source of twins opinions, especially since the twins chatter kid threw his support to you when he dropped out of the race. SBG in '05!!!!6/29/2005 09:53:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Thanks Austen!6/28/2005 10:00:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|If you know me, you know that I have almost zero (0) interest in college basketball. Used to be a big, huge, enormous fan. It just doesn't do it for me anymore. Sorry. Anyway, I bring this up not to knock college basketball or anything, rather just to say that I have never seen Rashad McCants play. I see that the T-Wolves made McCants their number 1 pick. I went to CBS Sportsline.Com to read their evaluation and here's what Tony Mejia had to say:

You lose Latrell Sprewell and add Rashad McCants. Consider the Wolves' first lottery pick since 1996 wasted. Harsh? Just wait until things go wrong and he starts pouting, or Kevin Garnett gets on him about his lack of defense. This is a combustible situation and a large error on Minnesota's part considering the abundance of talent remaining.

Oof. Just punch me in the gut with that. So I go over to ESPN.COM and this is what they have to say:

Everyone loves North Carolina, I guess. Four lottery picks on the same team! McCants is one of the most talented players in the draft. He has great athleticism, is an unbelievable shooter and plays bigger than his size. But questions about his stomach problems, his attitude and defense caused his stock to drop a bit. This is a great pick for Minnesota if McCants keeps his head on straight. He could really help Kevin Garnett and Co. get back into the playoffs.

Talk about damning with faint praise. This is a great pick for Minnesota if McCants keeps his head on straight. Good God, are we getting another J.R. Rider or Christian Laettner? From SI:

Four lottery picks out of UNC? No wonder the Tar Heels won the national title. McCants is considered something of a head case, but he can shoot the ball. GM Kevin McHale no doubt also liked McCants' championship pedigree.

From Fox Sports:

McCants decided to leave North Carolina on a high note, coming off a national championship; however it may have been his least productive season of his three in Chapel Hill. He burst onto the scene as a freshman, averaging 17 points per game, a freshman school-record. After averaging 20 points per game as a sophomore, many thought McCants would leave for the NBA. He stayed and had a mildly disappointing junior campaign, averaging a career-low 16 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.McCants is one of the best pure scorers in the college game, finding many different ways to get the ball in the basket. He can take it to the bucket with his quickness and athleticism. He also has the touch of a pure shooter whether it is from mid-range or downtown, he can light it up. He is dangerous from three (42.3-percent in 2004-05) and will have no problem shooting from the NBA line. At 6-foot-4, McCants is also solid on the glass, again using his hops to get rebounds and start the break the other way.There are questions surrounding McCants' defense, where he will be guarding "two's" that have two-three inches on him. He was never considered a solid defensive player in college, and at barely 6-foot-4, he will have trouble handling shooting guards who decide to take him into the post. His attitude will have to change as well, often seen pouting when not getting the ball or shots. There is always room for players that can put the ball in the basket in a variety of ways, which McCants can certainly do. Oftentimes, those very same players are malcontents; McCants again fills the bill there. As a sophomore, he might have been a lottery selection, as of now, he will probably be drafted in the late teens or early twenties on draft night.

God, another guard who shoots a lot and doesn't play defense. Excuse me while I start crying. If anyone has some positive things to say, please leave a comment.|W|P|112001578314786766|W|P|Timberwolves Draft|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/29/2005 02:46:00 PM|W|P|

Brian|W|P|From FOXSports

Minnesota Timberwolves
Picks: 1) Rashad McCants, 6-4, 205, SG, North Carolina; 2) Bracey Wright, 6-3, 210, SG, Indiana.

Needs: Power players and a point guard.

Summary: With the hiring of Dwane Casey as coach, it will be interesting to see if the defensive tone changes around Kevin Garnett. McCants is a gamble and Wright is small for a shooting guard. They should have done better.

Grade: D+6/27/2005 08:38:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Hello, SBG fans and welcome to another entry from the leader of the free world.* *The author of this site is prone to fits of delusion. I conducted a poll here yesterday, asking where people thought the Twins would end up at the end of the regular season. It would take a major, major collapse by the Twins to fall to fifth place (it ain't happening). However, I don't think it's impossible that the Twins could finish fourth (for the record, I doubt that'll happen, either). Amazingly to me, 60% of those who responded felt (25 out of 42 as of this writing) that the Twins would win the Central Division or qualify for the wild card. I didn't vote, but I wish I could share that optimism. Perhaps it's the memory of that disastrous Timberwolves season that just ended, but I'm a little less optimistic. As I wrote before, the Sox have a pretty big lead at this point (9 games). If they play .500 ball the rest of the way, the Twins will have to play .602 ball to tie the Sox. This is doable: .602 is a 97 win pace over the course of an entire season. Remember, though, that the Twins have not won as many as 97 games in a season since 1970. The Twins don't have to win 97 games, they just have to play a whole lot better than they have. Even if the White Sox go 10 games under the rest of the way, they'll win 89 games -- and the Twins will have to play .545 ball, about what they've played to date to tie them. The Wild Card certainly is an option. The Twins are currently in a virtual tie with the Baltimore Orioles, with five other teams within four games of the Wild Card lead. As frightwig points out, the Twins can contend with all of these teams -- but, because the ChiSox have run away and hid for the time being, they have to beat all of them. That includes the Yankees and their miniscule $200 million payroll and the likelihood that they'll bring in reinforcements. You might be saying, it's not really a seven-team race. I mean really, the Tigers? Sure they're four back, but come on. Okay, well the Twins are nine back. There are two more teams closer to the Twins in the Wild Card hunt than the Twins are to Chicago. I'm just saying. Consider this, too. In the three previous seasons, the Twins have never had a better record than the Wild Card winner. In fact, they have finished a combined 16 games behind the 2004, 2003 and 2002 Wild Card winners. All it takes is for one of those six other teams to get hot and watch out, the Twins will not be going to the playoffs. Plus, there is the matter of the Cleveland Indians. After starting 9-15, they have gone 31-19 and now sit 1 game behind the Twins. I think it's quite possible that the Cleveland Indians will finish ahead of the Twins this year as well. Their pitching staff is much improved and they have some punch in the lineup. In fact, I'm thinking that the Twins will finish third in the division this year. I'm hoping otherwise, but at this point, count me a doubter. Feel free to come back and remind me of this prediction later on in the season. If the Twins fall out of the race (or even if they don't), they may want to consider making a trade or two. I, for one, would consider moving Torii Hunter. What??? Isn't Torii the heart and soul of this team? Well, maybe. But, he's due to make a lot of money next year. He's a valuable commodity, which could retool the infield. Moving his salary would allow the Twins to retain Jones and a decent infielder, or acquire a couple decent infielders in the off-season. I don't think that Torii is the future of this club. That mantle belongs to Mauer and Morneau. As these guys mature, they will assume the load offensively for this team. Plus, the Twins have three serviceable outfielders. Moving Hunter might make some sense even if the Twins are still in the race, especially if they can get a third baseman. Plus, I'm sick of hearing Hunter complain about the make up of the roster. Play ball, Torii and shut up. Yes, you've been hitting the ball this month. But you did nothing in April and May, when the Twins were actually winning games. So, here is tonight's poll question. (Poll is Closed, Results Shown)

Should the Twins Consider Trading Torii Hunter?	Votes	Percentage
No Way. He's the Heart and Soul of this Team	10	19%
Not unless he forces a trade	2	4%
I'd sure hate to see him go, but for the right deal, maybe.	29	55%
If it gives the Twins a better chance to win this year, make the deal.	10	21%
Never liked the guy. Dump him.	1	2%

|W|P|111992356583168244|W|P|Optimism|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/28/2005 05:50:00 PM|W|P|

Daniel|W|P|To trade Hunter, I think the Twins would need a stud infielder with enough offense to replace Hunter's overall offensive and defensive contribution -- perhaps a 3rd baseman or SS?

And then there's the question of replacing Hunter in CF -- do the Twins slide over Jacque Jones or Shannon Stewart?

I don't know the Twins farm system well enough, but it seems that the Twins, with any trade of Hunter, need to fill at least one of those two infield positions, and then have something in mind for the outfield, unless they figure they'll be fine playing Ford, Jones, and Stewart out there most days.6/28/2005 07:52:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Trading Hunter has to bring good return. They can't just give him away. If they would trade him during the season, they'd have to get a stud infielder, no doubt. Defensively, they could put Jones or Ford in CF. They both have very good range. Stewart's a defensive liability. The real problem is that they should not have signed Jones and should have gone after an infielder instead and had Ford play right.

If the Twins right the ship here, I wouldn't trade Hunter during the season. He's the kind of guy that can carry a team when he's hot. He's a very valuable commodity, no doubt.6/28/2005 10:01:00 PM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|Trading Torii in midseason would cause too much turmoil and uproar. TR can't do that unless he's ready to let everyone know that he's just given up on the season and is beginning the next phase of his rebuilding project.

He might make a deal next winter, if the Twins can get good return for Torii, but even then I think he'd almost have to get back a name player who would impress even Reusse and the casual fans. Someone who would make everyone go, "OK. We'll miss you, Torii. But getting that guy will immediately help the team."6/27/2005 01:03:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|My favorite big man, Shaq-Fu recently got his MBA from the University of Phoenix (a private, for profit school). I think that's pretty cool that he wants to do things with his life other than dominate the NBA. But, of course, the Shaq quotes are always the best. Says the Daddy:

"It's just something to have on my resume [for] when I go back into reality," the 7-foot-1 Miami Heat center said before picking up his master's in business administration. "Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."

Yep, Shaq as a 9-to-5er. You bet. On his classmates:

They would all say, 'You're not like we thought you would be. You're not as smart as we thought that you would be.'

That's good stuff. Honestly, how can you not like this guy? Finally, this:

O'Neal, who left the Lakers following a well-publicized feud with Kobe Bryant, said his job experience came in handy in the classroom. "I used my basketball experience working with different egos, to get everybody to work together."

Congratulations, Shaq. You are all right in my book.|W|P|111989571596547292|W|P|Will the Hilarity Ever End?|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/28/2005 10:26:00 AM|W|P|

Unknown|W|P|Moss heard on KFAN that Shamu wants to do UNDERCOVER law-enforcement work.

Now THAT is funny!!6/28/2005 11:05:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Hee hee!

Maybe he could hook up with Chuck Barris.6/28/2005 05:53:00 PM|W|P|

Daniel|W|P|What's wrong with Shaq doing undercover work?

I mean, it wouldn't take much to change his...uh, or alter his...er, perhaps he could...

Oh, nevermind.6/28/2005 09:56:00 PM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|"Undercover" like his rapping and acting careers?6/28/2005 11:22:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|All kidding aside, you have to wonder whether his undercover wishes stem from an subconscious discomfort of being pretty much a freak of nature. Or maybe he's just hamming it up. Whatever the reason, he's the one of the most interesting guys (to me, at least) in sports.

As far as his rapping career, can it be any worse than Troy Hudson's? I mean really. Isn't Hudson the worst of all NBA rappers?6/28/2005 11:34:00 PM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|Can't say I ever heard Hudson rap. I'll have to admit, my collection of rap CDs by NBA players is a little thin.6/29/2005 10:33:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|I haven't heard Hudson rap, either. I just wanted to slam him. :)6/27/2005 06:16:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|No time to post deep thoughts here today. I was reminded this weekend of a story from when I was a kid. I don't know if it is this little cat who keeps growling at her brothers or what. I was about seven and the next door neighbor, Curt (real name there -- all you who know me) who was at least ten years older than me was standing in the living room of his house, looking out the picture window. I was riding my bike on the sidewalk in front of his house, like a seven year old does, and I looked at him and he was flipping me off. Now, I was seven years old and I didn't know what that meant, but, I did exactly what I should. I stopped my bike, looked right at him, and flipped him off, too. Even though he was, what, a senior in high school? he walked away. I got back on my bike and kept riding, kind of oblivious to what had just happened. I had got the better of him, and I didn't even know it. Anyway, as we near the midpoint of the ~~Timberwolves~~ Twins season, I was wondering what you thought. Comments below.|W|P|111987217320253035|W|P|So, What are you Thinking?|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/27/2005 09:55:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|What the f&*$ do you care what Batgirl does on her site? Get a life. Maybe you should get a readship, too.6/27/2005 10:04:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Thanks, Jim. I see you have swear words down. For the larger words, I can help. It's "readership."6/27/2005 10:46:00 AM|W|P|

Cheesehead Craig|W|P|I think the Twins window is closing. They are starting to turn into the White Sox from the last couple of years and there just simply does not seem to be much direction or leadership on this club right now. I would not be shocked if they imploded and ended up in 3rd or 4th in the division with close to a .500 record.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the Brewers won 2 of 3 over the weekend. I don't get to brag much about the Crew, so have to jump on the opportunity when it comes up.6/27/2005 10:56:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Duly noted, CC. Shows how bad the tailspin really is these days.6/26/2005 03:07:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Poor Jags. He's had a hard day. Elly has been hissing and growling at him all the time. He's just too good natured. I kind of wish he'd just growl back. But, he won't. Now, he's very upset. I'm trying to get some work done and he needs a little attention, so he just jumped up on my desk and sat right on my file. He's quite the little guy. So full of emotions.|W|P|111981686245667213|W|P|Poor Jags|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/25/2005 11:18:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Lucy and I have a new cat, Eleanor Rigby. We just brought Elly home from Last Hope adoption. She is four months old and is meeting her new brothers, Jags and Theo. Lucy and I were afraid that Jags and Theo would be hissing and growling, but it's the opposite -- Elly is hissing and growling at her big brothers! For those keeping score at home: Jags, found by the road by one of Lucy's co-workers when he was just four weeks old. He's SBG's biggest fan:

Theo, adopted from a litter of cats from someone Lucy knew and as aloof as can be, but also possessing the sweetest temperament:

Elly, adopted from Last Hope and showing early feistiness:

|W|P|111971640657215054|W|P|Eleanor Rigby Part II|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/25/2005 12:17:00 PM|W|P|

Cheesehead Craig|W|P|Now I definately cannot hang out with you. You and Lucy are turning into collectors. We're gonna see the 2 of you on the news within the next year or so aren't we?6/25/2005 12:52:00 PM|W|P|

oldwhitelady|W|P|HA HA HA - Cheesehead Craig's comment is too funny! Eleanor (Felinor?) Rigby is awfully cute. That stripe down her forehead is so pretty. After awhile, she will get used to Jags and Theo. It is just a matter of time.6/25/2005 12:55:00 PM|W|P|

oldwhitelady|W|P|Congrats on getting married, too. I remember seeing the wonderful photos you posted. Those were beautiful!6/25/2005 01:05:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Only 497 to go, CC.6/25/2005 01:26:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Elly has four white paws (like Jags) and the same striping on her face. Elly's got short hair, unlike Jags and has a white-tipped tail. She is such a cute little cat. Her brothers are quite curious.6/25/2005 01:38:00 PM|W|P|

kc|W|P|What beauties.6/25/2005 07:45:00 PM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|Four weeks, or four months? She looks much older than 4 weeks. Pretty cat and sweet name, though.6/25/2005 08:42:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Four months... I'll correct that.6/26/2005 11:14:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|I tell you what, FW, she's pretty small for four months, even though that's what the records say. Very small and skinny. She makes Theo look like an absolute monster. And of course, Theo makes Jags look like an absolute monster, which he is.6/25/2005 09:52:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Ah, look at all the lonely people Ah, look at all the lonely people Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been Lives in a dream Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door Who is it for? All the lonely people Where do they all come from? All the lonely people Where do they all belong? Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear No one comes near. Look at him working. Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there What does he care? All the lonely people Where do they all come from? All the lonely people Where do they all belong? Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name Nobody came Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave No one was saved All the lonely people Where do they all come from? All the lonely people Where do they all belong?|W|P|111971131487442902|W|P|Eleanor Rigby|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/25/2005 10:18:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|So let me guess, you're Father McKenzie.6/25/2005 11:20:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|This post was a teaser. Read above.6/26/2005 10:22:00 PM|W|P|

Unknown|W|P|Moss' favorite Beatles song...6/24/2005 10:04:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Lucy and I went out for dinner tonight to one of our very favorite places, i nonni. I just love that place. The atmosphere is wonderful. It's small, very nicely decorated and perfectly lighted. The food was absolutely fantastic. We each had a Romaine salad with an anchovy vinagrette (trust me, it's great). Then we split a light pasta dish. Usually, I like fish for dinner, but I decided to have a New York Strip encrusted in pepper with fresh asparagus. It was absolutely perfect. My bride had a nice piece of chicken with some new potatoes and peppers. Very good as well. We had a very nice Chianti with the meal and a cup of coffee for dessert. I highly recommend this place. It is on Highway 13 in Lilydale, just off of 35E. Oh yeah. The waitress was fantastic. And she didn't ask how everything was TASTING!|W|P|111966894238061559|W|P|Food Blogging|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/25/2005 09:51:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|It is a little expensive, but well worth it. We just love it!6/24/2005 06:24:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Well, now. I think in the interest of closing some loose ends here, I am obliged to post once again. First of all, as I stated in the comments to the previous post, I can understand why the game threads went away at B-G. I was amazed at the number of posts that these threads generated, but when I looked at them, I could see what they had turned into -- a chat room. I would tend to agree, that detracts from the site and probably cost B-G some money. The other, more salient point is in regards to what sass is acceptable, and what isn't. Before I continue, I want to clarify some things. Obviously, B-G isn't my site, I am merely expressing my opinion, and I am not commanding anyone to do anything. I haven't been much of a regular reader the B-G site, I check it about once a week. I didn't read the game threads that caused the big problems, they were gone before I checked the site. What I commented on was what I saw. I don't condone ad hominem attacks, profanity or obscenity. Having said all that, I stand by my basic point. The B-G site has pretty much stuck it in the face of White Sox fans for the last year or so. At this site, I stated that I thought the Twins would reel in the Sox by Memorial Day. I was absolutely wrong. I now think that the "bad guys" are going to win the division. In that light, I think it's probably only fair to let them have a little fun, like I pointed out with my Packer friend example. I handed him some classic ammunition -- the Vikings are going to run the schedule and they lost the first game of the season. Further, the Packers only won four games that year -- two of them against the Vikings. I took my ribbing for years (and I gave as good as I got, believe me). My advice was take some ribbing -- it's really good sportsmanship to take your lumps, when appropriate. Again, there are lines that shouldn't be crossed. It's also interesting that you can criticize certain players (Kyle Lohse!) and not others. I suppose that's part of the comedy. I guess I don't get the joke -- it's probably outside of my sense of humor, which is actually considerable. I do, however, get the message, I think. For example, I thought my Rincon post was food for thought. I would also consider discussion of the manager's strategy part of any discussion of a baseball team. The message I have received here, however, is that challenging the manager or certain players is outside the acceptable topics of conversation. Honestly, I find that a foreign concept. Nevertheless, to each their own. Come back here for more tales of water and cats and the other idiosyncracies of this particular site. I consider this matter to be closed. Unless, of course, you have comments.|W|P|111965783128245548|W|P|The Tempest Revisited|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/24/2005 09:52:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|bubblemint --

Shoeless Joe was one of the writers who was censored. He seemed to be getting angry, saying that he had posted quite a bit at B-G.6/24/2005 10:02:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Karno -- There's a lot of truth in the statement that the Internet provides a lot of courage for people who would be timid in person.

Case in point: A lot of people criticize Aaron Gleeman (read his unedited comments -- he gets ripped a LOT) but won't do it to his face. In fact, one of his biggest critics sat right by him at the Twins Blogger night and was perfectly civil. The Internet is not as PERSONAL as being face to face with someone. That's part of the reason why one needs to blow it off when people criticize.6/25/2005 12:12:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Regarding Shoeless Joe, he's certainly made some productive posts at BG. I think that at least some of the censoring (though I'm not certain) may have come while BG and the normal team that maintains and moderates the site were out of the country. While those who filled in did so admirably, such an arrangement is quite likely to lead to inconsistencies in applying the rules and other misunderstandings. Again, I may be wrong here, but I just wanted to point out that possibility.6/25/2005 02:09:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Anonymous was right, but only half right. SJ was censored by one of the (helpful and generous) fill-ins while BG was out of town, and the "rules" were certainly inconsistent. The inconsistency was both in acting (deleting too hastily) and in not acting (letting trolls go a bit too far before noticing and/or deleting), and I wonder if the "not acting" may have had the worse effect, allowing people to go too far. I followed that thread, but missed the post before it was deleted, but others who read it commented on how it was not only offensive but directed at a particular member of the BG site community. It's unfortunate, and even though I'm a relative newcomer, I think it's a great loss.6/25/2005 09:20:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Dear Mr. SBG,

I found both your and Aaron Gleeman's comments - both showing a kind of barely restrained glee - about Bat-Girl's site interesting.

I did have one of my posts edited for "offending" kafumbly, one of the pinch-hitting moderators. After posting my thoughts about the silly Everett article (gays, dinosaurs, etc.) and why everyone should ignore Carl Everett (please do), kafumbly made the snarky comment:

"I'm glad we have you to set us straight, SJ" (or something of that nature)

My response - which was deleted - was nothing more than:

"Who went to Eastern Europe and left you moderator?
Oh."

Which was no more than my way of both acknowledging kafumbly's authority and making a bit of a funny (tautologies and Master-of-the-Obvious comments are always funny to Shoeless Joe). Skorch took it the wrong way - as an assault on kafumbly (as if I were calling her a two-bit daughter of a goat-herding Sith lord) - and deleted the comment. He is certainly entitled to do that as a moderator, but even if my comment was read as mean-spirited, it was no more so than kafumbly's snippy little jibe at me. Skorch then claimed my "agent provocateur" schtick was wearing thin (actually, my schtick is more Faulty Towers than agent provocateur, but I digress), and thus ended it. I certainly wasn't "angry" as one commenter suggested. Heck, at 50-22, t'ain't much to be angry about.

I chalk all of this up to the popularity of Bat-Girl as a phenomenon. It's become a very popular site as baseball blogs go (I mean, she's no Aaron Gleeman, but who is?), and I think, like any organization, the people that were there earliest or participate the most take it much more seriously than it is...which I think is inconsistent with the ethos (or is it pathos? I get my Greek thingies confused) of the site. As a result, the guest-moderators took themselves a bit TOO seriously and started editing posts over-aggressively.

Any popular site is likely to attract morons of every flavor. The White Sox fans who come over and post "Twinkies f***ing s*** green alien *****" are really no different than the inarticulate fans that say "Cuddyer f***ing s*** yellow alien *****, we should trade him!" But, since it's a Twinkie site, I can see deleting the former without deleting the latter. And the White Sox fans who go to Bat-Girl to troll are pretty lame in themselves. Get a life. (This counts equally for the Twins fans who troll at White Sox sites). And it is reasonable for the moderators to keep unknowns on a very short leash (quite frankly, I thought I'd earned enough credit in a year of posting).

The reason I go there and the reason I post is that Anne is a very clever writer - both her blog and her fiction - who is entertaining. Not only that, cleverness is REWARDED among those who comment. Thus, someone like me who has his own, more statistically oriented Sox blog, can let his preverbial hair down, take up a persona (Shoeless Joe), and try to post clever things.

Unfortunately, some people - including the guest moderators - see it as a pure "Twins site" and miss the point of Bat-Girl as an "enjoy baseball" site with a Twins theme.

-SJ6/25/2005 09:43:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|The matter is closed? Why stop now, you're on a roll! You should consider making more helpful observations about sites you rarely visit, it seems to be doing wonders for your site traffic, judging by the number of comments. (At least, more wonders than your dime-a-dozen observations about the local ballteam generally do.)

When you have some experience running a popular website, wading through hundreds of comments per day on your own time and dime, and having to delegate duty when you go on vacation, I'll listen to what you have to say on this topic. As Shoeless Joe alluded to, this has nothing to do with "sass," it was a matter of some overeager puffed-up rent-a-cops taking too much power into their own hands these past two weeks, people who have as much general understanding of BG-style "sass" as you do. Now take your blog oblivion like a good Stick and Ball Guy, and STFU.6/25/2005 11:20:00 AM|W|P|

Cheesehead Craig|W|P|I don't know if I can hang out with you anymore SBG, this BG mob seems ready to string you up for voicing your opinion.

Odd though that BG has not made a comment at all, it's just her minions doing so telling you as 8791 so articulately put it to STFU.

You better watch out SBG, you may be at Chipotle some day and you may get a drive-by put down by some BG fanatics telling you to put the burrito somewhere else. (Although it wouldn't be nearly as tasty)6/25/2005 11:55:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|CC:

I stand by what I said, with the modifications made in this entry. Those who agreed mostly sent me e-mails (although some did post). Those who disagreed posted at my site, which is fine. If you post inflammatory entries, you should expect some vitriol. That was the entire point of my post.

B-G did comment and I could respond to it, but I won't. I was the one who talked about her site, not the other way around. So, I'll leave her with the last word.

Now is the time on Sprockets when we talk about cats.6/25/2005 12:21:00 PM|W|P|

Cheesehead Craig|W|P|Not cats! Dear heavens, this blog has gone all to hell now! That's it, Grog is coming to your place to "visit" your cats. He he he6/25/2005 12:24:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Dude, you are really missing the point here. I'll try to break it down for you:

There are several issues at play here. The trolling,mindless chatter, and the negative and personal attacks on the Twins on the game threads. (Then there are the non-game-thread daily posts, which also degenerate into mindless chatter because between posts, people still wanna talk about the Twins.)

The trolling: Every time a Sox fans shows up to taunt, or a Yankee fan inexplicably pops up to announce that A-Rod has hit another homer and the Yankees have 26 rings, the game thread immediately turns into feeding time at the troll zoo. Everyone starts arguing with the troll and the game itself is ignored. This drives people away. God knows it's driven me away more than once. Opposing fans, who often post under several names, show up with the purpose of starting fights all the time, and after a while, even regulars decide it's not worth showing up to read through all that crap. Why should Batgirl allow this if she doesn't want it there?

The mindless chatter: Everyone wants to talk about the Twins, but we all end up chatting about everything else under the sun, all day and night. This turns BG.com into a chat room, which isn't its purpose. I totally admit to guilt here.

The negativity and personal attacks: The constant "we suck" and "trade that loser" every time someone has a bad week, or even a bad game, is a downer. If you want to profess your vitriol for the Twins, yeah, you should go elsewhere. Disappointment is one thing. Outward contempt is quite another. Likewise the personal attacks on players' weight, looks, age etc. that too often veer wildly out of control. There's a big difference between referring to someone as "Big Whoever" and spending the entire thread trading fat jokes. That's just not cool.

As for censorship, she should not even have to justify what is and isn't acceptable on her own friggin' blog. Bat-girl.com is not a democracy, and free speech laws do not apply. It's her house, and she has every right to decide how her houseguests behave. Nastiness, whining, personal insults, vicious arguing are simply not welcome in her home. A blog is like any other place... if you can't be civil and respect the house rules, you're not welcome to stay. Why is that such a problem?

Batgirl went out of her way to create a fun place where Twins fans could hang out, enjoy themselves and escape from the drudgery of stats and standings (not that we don't care about those things--we do--but there are other sites for that part of our fandom). Unfortunately, everyone got a little too comfortable and she finally had to exercise a little control. What is the big f'ing deal?

Peace,
Laurie6/26/2005 12:06:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Perhaps I should "edit my comments for precision." That might help clear things up. You are the best, B-G!6/26/2005 01:50:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Honestly, SBG. What exactly is the point of all this? To get more traffic on your site? To win the imaginary blogger war you seem to have created in your mind? Seriously! You have your site, she has hers. Why do they have to be identical? Why do you have to start a freaking war over it? For God's sake! We're all Twins fans and some of us enjoy ALL aspects of that... both the serious AND the silly. Why can't you just let people do what they want, without being such a G-D-M-Fing CURMUDGEON about it?! I have visited your site more in the last couple of days than I ever have. And I'm beginning to wonder if that was the aim of all this. As a Twins fan who is enjoying the whole blog thing less and less since you started this petty argument/vendetta, I'm asking you to stop. Please. You're getting traffic for all the wrong reasons, dude. LET IT GO.

Thanks,
Laurie6/26/2005 02:32:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Laurie -- I have moved on. Check up the page for what I wrote about yesterday. Cats. I could not care any less about my traffic. I've made that pretty clear all along.

I'm pretty happy with the traffic level I have. This website is a tiny little bit of my life. If you think I haven't let it drop, you are wrong. Do you think I sat around all day yesterday, plotting about B-G? Yesterday, my wife and I went and got our new cat, worked around our place, went to Ikea and picked up some stuff and I put together furniture until 1 in the morning. I came here to post about our new cat and check to see if anyone had written about the cat. You will note that a full day elapsed between my posts on this topic.

I am newly married, have a job that I have to do every day, I just moved last weekend and have a ton of work to do around the place.

I've been seriously considering quitting the whole damned thing for a while now. It's simply not worth it to me.

Part of my page has to do with being a media watchdog. I uncovered a major factual error in a Tim Kurkjian column and spearheaded an unsuccessful effort to get it rescinded. I regularly comment on the local coverage of the Twins, from the over the air broadcasts to the Strib coverage, to bloggers, including yes, B-G. I have made $0 on this site. My wife wishes I would dump it. I have given away tickets to Twins games and currently have a contest to give away two more. I also had a pretty clever April Fool's Joke on this page, which I set up on this site for days.

I worked on developing a loyal following earlier this year by doing the following things: I posted every day. I started features like Wednesday Media Watch and Pepper! I started cat blogging here. I ran contests. I started a weekly Shout Out! feature. I wrote about T-Wolves, Twins, media, my wedding, my honeymoon, my dad and his retirement, and my brother the Mayor. I think my site is unique in that no one else could write it. It is about me and how I feel about things. Between 100 and 200 people a day are interested enough to stop by. Occasionally, I write something that gets picked up by larger bloggers, like the Kurkjian article and I get increased readership. But, after that goes away, the readership is back to 150 to 200 people a day. Short term readership spikes do not translate into long term readership. And ultimately, I don't care anyway. I have an unwritten policy, if you will, of keeping my site low profile. Hell, I didn't even respond to the Gameday request for an interview -- I didn't want the publicity.

In the end, I suppose, I'll be remembered for criticizing B-G, when my site has been about including and supporting others (almost every other Twins blogger has written on this site in my Pepper! game, and B-G has been invited to do so, as well).

If that's how this site is remembered, well, I'll be most unhappy, indeed. Well actually, not most unhappy, because I have a beautiful wife and a good life. I'd probably be happier, in fact, if I just quit writing this page.6/26/2005 05:16:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|That's cool. I also dig the cats, and I love hearing guys refer to their "beautiful wife." Very nice. And I also hope you don't want to be remembered for this sordid episode. I guess I was just puzzled as to what you had to gain by pitting us all against each other like this. You've got Twins fans choosing sides against each other now. BG has a great site that we all enjoy. You have a great site that we all enjoy. Why did you devote so much time and effort to tearing hers down? There's room for everyone out here in the blogosphere. And there's no need to make a fellow Twins blogger out to be the enemy, which is what you've done, whether you realize it or not. And unlike calling the White Sox the B***h Sox, this whole incident was NOT all in fun. Just apologize, man. For everyone's sake. We all go overboard sometimes and things get out of hand. This really did.

Love and peace,
Laurie6/26/2005 05:42:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Laurie, if you will email me, we can talk offline.6/26/2005 08:24:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|SBG,

I'm just now coming late one the scene of all this drama. I used to read the various Twins sites a lot more than I do now (these days I pretty much concentrate on the DTFC Twins board and TT.com), but I still do make my rounds on a somewhat-more than weekly basis.

I'm not going to get in the middle of the issue, I wasn't there, and I really don't care much. What I would like to say, is that I hope all the negativity that's been directed your way doesn't prevent you from keeping up with your own writing on the Twins. It would be a shame if you quit. I've been a particular fan of Pepper! and have found some good insight in a lot of other stuff you've written. No two people will agree 100% of the time, but it's always a pleasure to find out what others are thinking. If anything else, it's an opportunity to respond to something on your own terms.

So, here's my hope that you stay the course!

Wyl (sometimes known as CarterHayes)6/26/2005 09:56:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Thanks, CH. I won't quit because of this. If I quit it will be because of other life pressures. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue for a long time.

SBG6/26/2005 10:01:00 PM|W|P|

Cheesehead Craig|W|P|Again, if we were all Brewers fans, this would never have happened. Long live the Crew! (Who by the way took 2 out of 3 this weekend in case anyone was paying attention to the games instead of SBG)6/28/2005 06:08:00 PM|W|P|

Daniel|W|P|Incident or no, your site, your voice, along with BG's, don't have to be mutually exclusive. You've said yourself (and I'm sure she realizes) that you both occupy different niches and thus don't really have much basis to come into contact with each except for the Twins -- which is what it should be all about for both of you and all of your readers anyway.

That's the real tragedy of the incident, regardless of where any blame or "blame" lies. It's that the focus of the sites and their authors has come off of the team and their season, even if only for a few days.

(using..."effeminate" voice)

-Okay, everyone, like, FOCUSS! We need ssome sseriouss attention on what matterss, people! Everyone'ss jusst being a ssilly goosse!-

Gosh, I don't believe I wrote that...and left it. I got isssssues.6/23/2005 08:59:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|I went over to Bat-Girl today just to see how the crew over there were holding up under the stress of an extended slump by the Hometown Nine. And wow, was I surprised. B-G has instituted a new policy -- no more game threads and a stricter enforced comments policy. It seems that it's gotten a little hot in the game threads. I was curious to see what has been going on, but the last couple of game threads were deleted. I'm quite curious as to what exactly has been going on. Having looked at the site tonight, I think I know. Here's B-G's explanation.

Batgirl is also going to enforce a more vigorous comment policy, and delete/edit comments that are off-topic or generally do not embrace the spirit of Batgirlness (Read: the site is designed for Twins-related fun. Teeth-gnashing, recriminations, and anything which takes the game too seriously are better done on the many excellent Twins-related blogs and message boards that have a more serious mission. Batgirl would like very much to keep offering comments on this site.)

Let's see. If you want to be involved in teeth-gnashing and recriminations, go to another Twins site. Gee, thanks. All of you who want to complain, go to sites like, umm, THIS ONE. So, is it Twins fans who are upsetting the Queen of Twins Bloggers? Perhaps, but I think it is probably someone else, too. I watched one of the posts and I saw a comment that said something like this (not an actual quote).

Do you suppose that part of the comments problem is that you have named your nemesis Bitch Sox? I suppose you'll delete this comment, too.

I should have copied the quote because I knew that wouldn't stay there long. And sure enough. A couple of minutes later it was gone. So there you have it. "Sass" is only acceptable in one direction. There's a saying for this. You can dish it out, but you can't take it. Let's put it this way. Suppose the tables were reversed. Suppose, the White Sox had done to the Twins what the Twins had done to the White Sox for the last three seasons. Suppose a popular Chisox website had relentlessly called the Twins "Bitches". Now, suppose that this year it was the Twins who were kicking the Chisox' asses. Wouldn't you be tempted to go to that site and tell them exactly what you think? And if they edited your comments, wouldn't you think, "wow, they can dish it out, but they can't take it." Now, those who run that site can do what they want. But, the censorship thing just isn't cool, at least in my opinion. If you don't agree, say so. I won't edit your comments. Incidentally, this isn't the first time that comments have been edited at B-G. A while ago, there was a thread talking about how Juan Rincon was innocent. I posted a comment at B-G. I posted it under a pseudonym because I've jabbed B-G a few times and I didn't want my reputation to obscure my point. Here's what I posted.

From the Star Tribune: Rincon got the bad news 22 days after taking the test. His agent, Ed Setlik, began working on an appeal, which is why the Twins weren't immediately notified. In late April, Rincon had an appeals hearing with Manfred, Gene Orza of the players' union and two independent doctors. The hearing was done by teleconference, and Rincon outlined the reasons why he was stunned by the positive test. Had Manfred, Orza or one of the two doctors agreed with Rincon, his suspension could have been postponed for further review.

Then, I added my perspective: I said in effect that I think Rincon was probably guilty because he had a chance for further review before the suspension and even his union representative didn't back him. However, that part of the comment was deleted and replaced with this:

[ed. by Jeb: comments policy: "a place for twins fans to feel at home," sbg]

Now, tell me. What was wrong with this comment? I stated a reported fact in the local newspaper and drew a logical conclusion. It's pretty damning that Rincon's own Union Representative wouldn't back him! But, I said something "negative" that wouldn't make a "twins fan" "feel at home." Further, I posted it under a pseudonym, but they identified the author as me, ostensibly because of the server from which I posted the comment. Wow. I have posted on Rincon's situation and on the steroid policy in general. Too many people have believed that it's guys like Bonds and Giambi who took steroids. As I explained at this site, a guy like Rincon, who is battling to make it from a tough background, and who is a reliever expected to throw hard every other day, is a prime candidate to use steroids for their ability to allow him to recover. It seems to me that people would be better off trying to understand what did or didn't happen and why rather than to dismiss any possibility that he was guilty. Think about this. If Rincon is innocent, isn't it quite a story that his union representative didn't back him? But, I guess we shouldn't talk about that. As for criticizing the Twins, hey, there's a lot to criticize, especially right now. They decided to sign Rivas and Jones for $6.5 million instead of going out and getting one or two legitimate infielders. They signed Castro to a two-year deal, when it is apparent now that he's gonna hit like he's done in the past, which is to say, not at all. And the manager calls out his best two young players in the paper and then backs Luis "Zero XB Hits" Rivas to the hilt. He puts Mulholland into tie games in the bottom of the ninth. There's a lot to criticize. Come here and do it. As for abuse from White Sox fans, let me tell you a story. Back in the eighties I told a friend of mine that I had seen the schedule and I didn't think the Vikings were going to lose a game all season. Unbeknownst to me, he was a Packer fan. Of course, the Vikings lost the very first game. I only heard about that comment for 15 years. I was spouting off, "sassing" if you will, and I had to take a little, ummm, shit. Make that a lot of shit. Look, it's a private site. They can do what they want over there. And, I admit that I don't know everything that was posted. I do know what I have seen. Here's my advice. Laugh it off. Admit that the bad guys are just playing better and our guys have not done it this year. Accept a little sass back. That's what good sports do. They take it when the other guy is dishing. At some point, maybe even later this year, the shoe will be on the other foot. And it will be time for a little "Sass" for the South Siders.|W|P|111958285729494643|W|P|It's Hot in the Kitchen|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/24/2005 07:37:00 AM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|Maybe she and JEB have been touchy about comments on certain issues; and your censored remarks about Rincon look like a good case in point. Maybe she stirred up some of the 'teeth-gnashing and recriminations' herself with her own occasional rants about the "ass bats" and the "Bitch Sox" or the way that Kyle/Lyle sort of turned into an officially sanctioned lightning rod & whipping boy of Team Batgirl. That seems fair to say. But I also know that trying to actively moderate a community bulletin board can be awfully hard.

I've been doing it on the Scout boards for a few years, and I still struggle to maintain some kind of consistent code of standards--even when I've been given guidelines by the site administrators. Every few days I have some dilemma about whether a poster has crossed the hypothetical line, or not. Whether a post is too personal, too inflammatory, or has hijacked the thread, or not. I still sometimes have to consciously restrain myself from deleting something just because I dislike what the person has written.

I'm not judging one way or the other, but I'll claim some empathy for her in the difficulty of what she's trying to do. In a case where she's trying to be both irreverent/sassy and at the same time promote an atmosphere of positive support and lighthearted fun, maybe she's given herself an impossible balancing act. Maybe she could make it easier on herself by taking your advice to let the venting and blowback slide, so long as people aren't taking personal shots at each other. I guess we'll see where she goes from here.

I have no idea what might have gone on lately in her comment threads--and that's because they had become so impossibly long, labyrinthine, and often cluttered with remarks weren't at all interesting to me, that I'd lost interest in reading the comments, much less participating in the conversation anymore.

I think AMR said he started his blog partly because he felt kind of like that, too. So if two of us old regulars were feeling crowded out of the community, maybe there were more as well, and maybe she noticed and felt something should be done to curb the chatroom atmosphere that was taking over her site. I don't know. These are just my rambling impressions from where I stand on the outside.6/24/2005 08:14:00 AM|W|P|

Brian|W|P|I use to run message boards and chat rooms as well in the "former" VU. But when the site got too large for it's britches it was too hard to handle. My beef was that people under the age of 12 were seeing adults act like, well, kids and I wanted to have a more family-friendly site. So I started deleting comments and threads that I thought were not appropriate for my site.

I was then accused of not respecting the freedom of speech and called Hitler and such.

So, message boards themselves were abolished because a few bad apples made very bad decisions.

On the new VU I'll delete comments from those sex ads that somehow find their way into my blog. Other than that, I let most comments ride unless it is blatant obscene. I had to delete several Philly Eagles comments during the playoff week last season.

I would agree with your assessment SBG that if BG uses questionable language and rips the organization within her own ramblings but does not tolerate it from someone else does smack of being two-faced. Maybe some caustic comments about "cats" would bring a similar deletion from Lucy here? ;)6/24/2005 08:31:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Good points, gentlemen.

I can see how a big site like that can be unwieldy. I can see how she would want to get rid of the game threads, that's a big pain and potentially costly, if she has to buy equipment to support that. To what end?

But, it's the policy of no negative comments about the Twins at all that bugged me. As is laid out in the comments section of one of the posts: no criticizing Gardy, no talk of trading Hunter. And if you disagree that Rincon was completely innocent without question, well, don't comment about that, either. Again, we are all entitled to our opinions and none of us, including me, has to allow comments. And, as administrator of this site, I am free to delete any comments I want. I won't do it unless sex ads (had that problem once) or patently obscene. That's my choice as it is everyone's choice.

Furthermore, if I should want to limit debate or delete comments, that's NOT a violation of the First Amendment. The First Amendment only protects individuals from the Government and not from private citizens, such as myself. I know that you know that, COD, it's just that others don't always know it.

As for cats, they are controversial! ;)6/24/2005 09:02:00 AM|W|P|

Brian|W|P|I'm with ya SBG as far as "don't criticize the team"!

Any readers of my site know that I openly encouraged ripping Hovan last year. And that I love to rip Tice.

I know in the past people have ripped Culpepper after bad games which I also just leave up unless they start using the "N-Word" or using race as an excuse. Immediate deletion then although I usually talk about it then in a following blog entry and then let people openly debate why race should not be a discussion in sports. Al Campanis cooked that can of worms pretty good.

Anyway, enjoyed this topic very much.6/24/2005 09:02:00 AM|W|P|

Brian|W|P|This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.6/24/2005 09:02:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|In all fairness, I think Batgirl is simply trying to keep flamewars from happening. We've seen a few flare-ups in the past, but as the site gets more popular, and more people find it, it becomes harder and harder to control the emotions. She has no interest in wars. She wants to laugh.

Batgirl also has no desire to completely ban non-Twins fans, as there are some fans of other teams that have posted with the proper spirit of the community (i.e., they respect the Twins).

You obviously enjoy friendly discussion of opposing views. Some people would find your words as "fightin' words." To prevent fights, any "fightin' words" need to be removed.

My two cents, anyway.6/24/2005 09:02:00 AM|W|P|

Brian|W|P|This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.6/24/2005 09:07:00 AM|W|P|

Cheesehead Craig|W|P|And here I was all set to come in and comment on her site when the Brewers make the Twins their bitches this weekend.

I agree with you SBG, this does reek of "you can dish it out, but you can't take it". She prides her site on sass, but wants none of it if it doesn't agree with her. Her directing that traffic to other sites is just a joke. If she cannot handle the site, maybe it should go away.6/24/2005 09:32:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Just Beth --

That's true, I do enjoy friendly exchange of opposing views. That's exactly what this site is about. I don't tell anyone what to think, I merely express my opinion and hopefully generate some discussion.

And, I don't just pick on B-G. If you were here a week or so ago, you would be aware that I had an extended exchange on stadium issues with frightwig, which I thought really brought out a lot of good points on both sides. I have nothing but the deepest respect for FW's writing. He's great, and he's great to talk with.

I've openly disagreed with Twins Geek a couple of times. He's pretty much why I have a site. I think he's fabulous, but I don't always agree. I've got an article in the can ready to discuss both his and Aaron Gleeman's take on an issue.

Oh, and ask Aaron... he's gotten a few e-mails from me when he's written things that I didn't agree with. And, I look forward to every time I get a chance to talk with him. My comments about Rincon were not inflammatory, and they were anonymous. But, they did differ with the author's opinions and thus they were deleted. In my mind, that squelched the debate.

And, it's not like her site is completely respectful of all Twnis. Kyle Lohse has taken a ton of abuse there, but that's all right, because like FW has said, it's sanctioned.

Thanks for your comments, and I appreciate your readership.6/24/2005 09:37:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Funny you should post this now. I haven't been visiting B-G anymore either, but had recently thought of checking it out again through this latest swoon.

It would seem difficult to eliminate critisism of others when one writes "letters" and such to the team imploring them to quit sucking.

Carlsonp6/24/2005 12:06:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Good points, SBG. It's logical and well structured with supporting facts. Unfortunately, that doesn't help convince some people of whether you're right or wrong. I think you are right, censorship = bad. Then again, not everyone is as thick skinned as you, myself, TG, Aaron, or the rest of the blogosphere. I wonder if any of this has to do with me... I haven't gotten an email. But basically in one of the last game threads I said that Luis Rivas was not a handsome man (and that our lineup couldn't score in a brothel). This, of course, was met with distaste from a couple people.

That's sassy, but in the wrong direction, as you point out. In the end, it's just baseball. It's there for our enjoyment as fans, so let's loosen up a bit. When you're hanging out with your buddies... you bust on each other right? It's fun. Just like it's fun to bust on the Twins, we don't mean it, it's just sass. For BG specifically, it's her site and I hope she's doing what she thinks is best for her site. The Game Threads were very popular and I wonder why someone would basically close that down. As for myself, I'll still be tuning in, but I supposed I'll be more reserved with comments... that is if I post anymore of them.

BTW, for Game Threads, everyone should head over to the DTFC Fan Forum, we have plenty of room for game threads as well as other topics.

-Andy Wink
MVN - Twins Killings6/24/2005 01:27:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|SBG,

Why do you care how Batgirl runs her site? It's her blog and she can do whatever she wants.

For the record, BG has been having to ask multiple people to help moderate the site due to the massive influx of comments needing editing. I seem to remember one charming ad for breast implants that was posted. While she was gone, personal attacks were made on several of the moderators. These were not "Bitch Sox" or Twins hating related comments.

In addition to that the game threads were constantly crashing her server. Batgirl, being jetlagged and not wanting to deal with it anymore, simply said enough. I don't blame her.

Now won't you please go back to discussing the Twins and stop worrying about how other bloggers run their sites?6/24/2005 01:30:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Andy --

I agree with B-G on the game threads. They are out of hand in the sense that people were using the game threads as a chat forum and it was chewing up her bandwidth. I absolutely can see why she'd get tired of that.6/24/2005 02:10:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Hmmmm. Jealous much?

And I find it interesting to see that you have deleted several posts from the comments section. Et tu, Brute? (I suppose this post won't last long either.)

Batgirl is a fun place. Not a place for flamewars. And its a target for them because of all the publicity it gets.

Shame you're blogging in such obscurity.6/24/2005 02:11:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|dude, you've got a lot of hate, don't you? personally, I think Batgirl is a little TOO relaxed on editing comments. why do people feel the need to troll other fan sites? why should Batgirl have to read a bunch of Bitch Sox or Yankee love comments on her site? why should Batgirl have to sift through the taunting to find actual comments worth reading? maybe you should just get a life and quit worrying about other people are doing.

and I noticed a few comments here that have been edited... pot calling the kettle black, perhaps?6/24/2005 02:14:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|All I want to say is that many of the comments that happened whil BG was gone were directed at specific people. BG was gone for two weeks and chaos ensued.

The other portion, as I understand it, is that she was frustrated with the amount of off-topicness that has been going on in her comments. This I thought was the #1 reason for a stricter comment policy. As the off-topicness has driven people away from reading the comments she is trying to reel it back in.

And as for censorship, I'm tired of hearing people say a comment is censored if it is deleted. A personal blog is not subject to the laws of censorship. If you want to post something on your own site go ahead. But if you post something on someone elses site and they don't like it they can delete it. This is not censorship. This is similar to asking someone to take off their shoes in your home because thats your rule. Her comment policy is her own business and she can enforce it as she likes it is NOT censorship. If a person came onto your blog and tried to change things you had written that would be censorship.6/24/2005 02:14:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|I didn't delete any comments. They were deleted by the author, who double posted. Thanks for your feedback.6/24/2005 02:15:00 PM|W|P|

dawnmarie|W|P|that was me above, not sure why it went annonymous.6/24/2005 02:23:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Everyone is entitled to their opinion. The stuff here on this page signed by me is my opinion. Nothing more. If you disagree, that's fine. You are welcome to disagree here. I tend to write columns from time to time that are controversial. That's me, that's what I want to do.

I expressed that I tried to discuss the Rincon thing at B-G's site and was censored. And yes, that is censorship. And yes, because it isn't a government site, it's okay. So, I posted here on this site my opinion on the matter.

I have challenged other bloggers, too. If you don't believe it, check out the archives.6/24/2005 02:33:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|and why do you feel the need to challenge other bloggers? is this a Twins site or an "I'm going to trash the competition" site?

get a life.6/24/2005 03:39:00 PM|W|P|

amr|W|P|Trying to save one's server is fine. Trying to dissuade trolls and flame wars is fine. It's her site, she can do what she wants, although I'd be a little more relaxed on what fans can say. The place has become a bit of a love-fest.* I noticed that last year's feature, the loss-equivalent of Boyfriend of the Day, "Goat of the Day," was missing from the start of the season. (Maybe I should pick up that feature.) Was it too negative?

* (Though I haven't read the comments for couple of weeks, maybe there lies a hate-fest.)

It's probably above the technology of her site, but requiring registry for comments would make sense. (Heck, blogger comments work OK.) Then she could just ban the bad actors but allow decent discussion to continue from trusted individuals (like SBG on Rincon). But I really don't care too much, I left it because it got too big. (No one goes there anymore, it's too crowded.) I still like her writing.

(Edited from a post on my site.)6/24/2005 04:47:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|This is about Game Threads and I really hope people will listen, because I think it will be fun.

As someone pointed out, the game threads basically became a chat room, but they were hard to keep up with on the 'message board' or 'comments' style format. That's what people do during a game though. They chat. Baseball has umpteen pauses and breaks and it's nice to chat a little between rooting on your team. So I propose...

On the DTFC there is a chat room, that is never used, but is just a click away and is very simple in nature. I believe you have to sign up for a DTFC account, but that is very easy to do. If people like the game threads, they can stay there in the DTFC message board, but if they'd rather chat during the game... then they can go there.

Thoughts?

-Andy W.6/24/2005 04:51:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|I'll write about DFTC in the near future.

SBG6/24/2005 05:00:00 PM|W|P|

Daniel|W|P|Well, it's apparent you can't write anything negative about other bloggers, even if it is logical and constructive. I've been to BG's site several times, and while it's two parts charming and hilarious, the comments section is a cluster---- that I can't see myself even trying to decipher.

So I understand her need to moderate, but I don't understand the method and criteria she is using to moderate.

I've only gotten a few negative comments, mostly because of a general lack of controversial comments. The mistake you've apparently made (if it can be called that at all) is that you've disagreed more publicly be using your site to state your disagreement.

It's...a question of degree. To disagree on her site is one thing, but to post your differing opinion on your own, popular site seems tantamount to a declaration of war to some people (not including me).

Unfortunately, there simply is no way around this, as those who love BG and hold you in no special affection simply won't be convinced you're just being earnest, as opposed to making a personal attack.

Reaching for a parallel, but the situation with Bonds comes to mind - those who already don't like him are convinced of his guilt. Similar for you, I think, and the BG situation only gives them an excuse.

Take care.6/24/2005 05:08:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Thanks, Daniel.6/24/2005 05:24:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|I'm relatively comfortable in speaking not only for myself, but for many of Batgirl's readers when I say that people visit her site for different reasons than they would visit yours or another Twins blog. As her page clearly states, we're not too interested in stats, etc (I am, but for that I go elsewhere). We joke about the Twins' personalities and their appeal to us as fans. We obviously support the team, but when they lose, I want to go to Batgirl and see what she found funny in the loss.

I also sometimes want to discuss trades or the best lineup, but just because that is done best in other forums doesn't mean that it's "too hot" for her to handle. I understand your points about places where the Twins as an organization have made mistakes, and understanding/dealing with the Rincon suspension. Those are all interesting and necessary discussions to be held by Twins fans. Not at Batgirl, and not because she/we can't "handle it." The reason is simply because that was never the mission of her blog. Surely you aren't advocating that all Twins blogs should be the same, and hold the same discussions.

Referring back to your theoretical "tables turned" situation: No, I would not feel tempted to go to a ChiSox site. Ever. Not "what if," the Twins HAVE been "kicking the ChiSox' asses" for the past few years, and I have never directly taunted a Chicago fan, either in BatGirl's site, or in a White Sox site. And I don't care what they say about our team, or us as fans, in their own personal team blogs.

What I have done at Batgirl is expressed frustration with Twins' players performances or with a team loss. I've also joked about their shortcomings and strengths. In no way do I feel that it is hypocritical to allow satire while banning direct and hurtful negativity. You mention respectful disagreements with several bloggers without the necessity of editing. Kudos, but if all posters could hold as respectful of discussions as frightwig and many other bloggers, there would never be a need to edit.

I don't want Batgirl's site to become a serious forum. If she changed the policy per your pointed suggestions, I'd discontinue reading the message boards. Just because a site chooses to be optimistic to the point of silliness doesn't mean we can't express or read serious thoughts elsewhere, or that it is immature.

Criticize all you want in your personal forum. It's yours, so I won't tell you what to do. In fact, with your own site, why do you find it necessary to have your two cents pop up on Batgirl's? To anyone who has a problem with her site, it seems common sense to realize that if she doesn't entertain you [hard to believe], then you wouldn't read the site. It's not like someone's waving it in front of your face, shoving hilarious, rose-colored glasses onto your nose.

Many blogs have clear functions, and I applaud Batgirl for using hers to share her sharp wit and writing talents, a quite unique niche for a sports blog. I think that it would be best to not attempt to change that by shoving her into your niche, as the current state is in no way threatening to your blog or to other forums of open and serious discussion.
Thanks for your time in reading my long post.6/24/2005 06:05:00 PM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|It occurred to me that I should invite the Batlings to do their game threads at the Twins board on Scout.com, since the forum could benefit from the exposure of added traffic. On the other hand, then it would be MY JOB to moderate a 500-comment thread every night... and maybe I'd rather not. :)

Honestly, I hope her game threads don't take over the DTFC, either. The DTFC already has an active community and daily game threads with their own unique flavor. Somehow the DTFC game threads often manage to include even some intelligent, thoughtful debate about tactics and the state of the team. I'd hate to see all that swamped by a larger group of interlopers. But maybe jan and Dr. Jane feel differently.

AMR, I noticed that Goober's Goat of the Day recently made a comeback when Goober took a dig at Radke for his troubles in the 1st inning. I'm not sure if he plans to keep the feature going. It would seem to create another paradox, however, if one of the site authors can single out a scapegoat for the team's loss on a given day--but at the same time there's a policy against negativity in the comments section.

Of course, Batgirl can run her site any way she wants. I have nothing but admiration for her site, which I still read every day. She created something brilliant and unique in the blogosphere, and I appreciate that to sustain it nearly every weekday must be incredibly hard. She's also been nothing but a great help to me, personally. I'll support her in whatever she wants to do; and towards that end, I also hope that some constructive criticism may be received in the good spirit with which its intended, if she happens to read these comments.

I welcome her efforts to rein in the chatroom atmosphere and stamp out flamewars. But rooting out some forms of sass while encouraging other varieties to grow, and fairly decided which to water and which to weed, seems like a Herculean gardening task to me.6/24/2005 06:24:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|This whole conversation merits another post. If you came to this site via a link to this particular entry, go to the main page and I'll have a post on this shortly, if it isn't there already.6/24/2005 06:25:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Frightwig-

That's why I'm advocating the CHAT ROOM for these posters. It works better for them and let's the people who like the message board keep it that way.

-Andy Wink6/24/2005 09:03:00 PM|W|P|

Peder|W|P|It's funny to hear anyone complain about trolls not 'respecting the Twins' when the author of the site refers to her teams rivals with childish insults. I can't agree more that this is an example of dish it out but can't take it.
As for positive talk about the Twins, if part of that positivness is gained by insulting other teams, you're going to have a tough time.
(Having said that, agreed that bandwidth and similar technical reasons are quite valid.6/24/2005 09:21:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Er, Peder, it's all in fun. If a White Sox fan started a Batgirl-like blog, folks who post at Batgirl wouldn't go over there and troll, even if the Twins were to come back and the Sox falter.6/24/2005 10:12:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|I find it curious that you're paying any attention to www.bat-girl.com at all when you don't even have the courtesy to link to her site yourself. I seem to remember you throwing a public fit in the off-season in her comments section about her not linking to you. (1/22/05, "Where Are All the Comments?") I notice she relented and did it.6/24/2005 10:28:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Took the link off when my comment on Rincon was censored.6/24/2005 10:45:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|I see. So you're not grinding an axe at all. You're just genuinely concerned for the welfare of her site. That's big of you.6/25/2005 11:24:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|I love Bat Girl, and while I don't enjoy the sass as much as the stats, at least from the Twins online community, I do think Bat-Girl.com might be the most widely known, unique, and funny baseball blog on the planet right now. Being a webmaster and having to moderate a large bulletin board for a pretty long time, I'll tell you deciding what to censor and what not to censor is a tough decision. I understand its hard to pick and choose but at times you have to make that tough decision, and generaly, I think Bat Girl will do a good job.

The sponsered bashing of Lohse is kind of hard to overlook, though, and I doubt Bat Girl will censor 100 posts about Lyle or something related to general Lohse "suckiness." If you're going to hold a policy about general Twins' griping at least make it universal. Even through Lohse's "magical" May, people making comments at Bat-Girl would say "Is it Kyle or Lyle tonight." I also noticed BG didn't allow comments about her change in the comments policy, so her fans or generally curious readers have no idea what changes are in store.

Peder's right, at least partly. Last year, Twins fans trolled a couple White Sox message boards pretty regularily, and some even linked to BG.com, so I'd expect at least a little trolling back by "Bitch" Sox fans this season. It kind of comes with the territory. The anonymous guy is wrong, Twins fans will be back trolling the moment the Twins catch the White Sox.

Oh, and the line:
[ed. by Jeb: comments policy: "a place for twins fans to feel at home," sbg]
"reeks of snottiness" and is just Jeb's way of firing back at SBG. That particular comment is probably not a barometer of the comments policy, but rather a shot at SBG.6/25/2005 03:44:00 PM|W|P|

Cheesehead Craig|W|P|You know, none of this would have happened if you all were Brewers fans.6/27/2005 09:25:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|I don't get it. Why the criticism and the controversy? I've tried to run an online forum before, and if you give the assholes an inch, they'll walk all over you every time. Bad behavior needs to be quelled immediately, and everyone must know who's in charge. If they don't like it, they're free to go to any of the other 1.5 billion other Web sites out there, or better yet, create their own. Batgirl was always special because it was a place where you'd get the kind of commentary, satire and humor that you'd never see anywhere else, and it was always intelligent. Even most of the comments. When trolls, angry types (for lack of a better phrase) start to take over, you have to act fast and decisively before it devolves into just another online bitch session. And please, spare me the whining about "censorship." Batgirl is not a government agent quelling free speech by locking people up or threatening to shut down newspapers. Somebody who runs a Web site has the right to control its content without having to listen to righteous-sounding complaints about censorship.7/02/2005 10:43:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|I get it! Since no one reads your pontifications, you'll just bitch about better writers like Geek and especially Batgirl to get readership. I see that no one comments except when you offer holier-than-though crap. Dude, no one will remember this blog except for your attacking of superior writers.7/02/2005 02:21:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|St05

Your comments make perfect sense, except for one thing. If this blog dries up and blows away, my wife, family, friends, and I won't care one single bit. I appreciate readership, but don't care how many people read. Period.6/22/2005 09:46:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|The stink coming from the Twins play lately is pungent enough to adversely affect the air quality in Minneapolis. Once again, the Twins went down tonight, 8-1 to the Detroit Tigers. The Twins pitching staff allowed a season high nine walks. The Twins have gone seven consecutrive games without a quality start and have just two quality starts in the last twelve games. The Twins had just 5 hits, two of them infield hits by Luis Rivas. Before tonight, here are monthly stats for the Twins pitching staff. Tonight's performance didn't help much.

Month	G	IP	W	L	WHIP	K/BB	K/9	BAA	OPS	ERA
April	23	205	15	8	1.14	4.56	6.41	0.261	0.709	3.69
May	27	248.2	14	13	1.17	3	5.32	0.254	0.693	3.22
June	18	168	9	9	1.28	2.78	6.16	0.269	0.744	4.29

As for the offense, look at these numbers:

Month	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	TB	RBI	BA	OBP	SLG	OBP
April	23	784	113	215	39	4	20	322	109	.274	.351	.411	.762
May	27	949	112	247	43	3	25	371	105	.260	.319	.391	.710
June	18	629	88	168	34	4	22	276	87	.267	.319	.439	.758

The Twins are actually (for the month) having about their best month overall offensively. However, they are now just 10th in the AL in runs scored. This team lives and dies with its pitching staff. More accurately, if the pitching staff isn't great, they won't win. Clearly, the Twins have too many holes in their offensive lineup. Man, it would have been nice if they'd have taken my (and a lot of other people's) suggestion and not resign Jones and Rivas and go out and get some real infielders. This was the biggest blunder of the year for the Twins. The Twins now sit 10 full games behind the White Sox. There's still time, but it's going to take a lot now to catch the White Sox. If the White Sox play .500 ball the rest of the season, the Twins will have to go 57-35 to catch them. If the White Sox play .550 ball, the Twins will have to go 61-32. In other words, the Twins need the White Sox to collapse. Sigh. In other news, the projected contest results have changed dramatically over the last couple of days. We have a new leader. From out of nowhere, BIJ is now leading with 56 points. PEC is second with 41.5 points and AAC is third with 38 points. Yours truly has fallen dramatically and now has just 8.33 points, good for 23rd place. SHN, you now have 17.5 points. That's all for tonight. It's not looking good right now. The Twins are flailing. They seem dead in the water right now. Hopefully, they can get going in a positive direction soon.|W|P|111949917376129543|W|P|Good Thing that "Stadium" Has a Roof|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/23/2005 10:46:00 AM|W|P|

Comedy Club|W|P|And TWJ is stuck in the dark depths of near-last place6/23/2005 10:54:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Unfortunately, TWJ, there is nothing "near" about it.6/22/2005 05:49:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|SBG fans, I am back and living large with my cable modem hooked back up. Good God, I can research for my columns, I can type with all ten fingers instead of just with my thumbs (actually nine fingers, the left thumb gets no work, but you know what I mean). What can I say? It's like being let out of prison. I think I can smell the bytes screaming through my modem and out the cable (maybe that's Jags). I think I should comment more on the Admission Possible event. It was good to see young kids who have been given the chance to get an education that they might not otherwise have gotten. I consider my post secondary education to be one of my very most precious "possessions." I come from a family of modest means. Without an education, I really had no chance to raise my lot in life. But, because I was able to go to college and get my bachelor's degree, I've been able to carve out a pretty good life. Yes, I have pursued and obtained a couple of post graduate degrees, and each of them have furthered my lot in life, but that first degree was the most important. These kids have a chance to make things happen in life. Nothing in life is more valuable than opportunity. I hope that the Twins Geek gets behind this event again next year (if there is such an event). TG, if you do, let us know a month in advance, if possible. SBG, the Website will support this event and will hold a contest to reimburse at least one ticket buyer the price of their ticket. I enjoyed talking with Twins bloggers. FW and I had a cursory discussion about stadia, but more importantly, we got a chance just to get to know each other a little bit. It was fun to talk to the Twins Junkie and hear about his ideas for his site. He's definitely done a nice job with his page, especially with his interviews. I'm sure that the blogging experience will come in handy later in life. It was fun to talk to SS, the winner of my contest. He came from extreme Northern Minnesota to come to this game. Twins Territory, indeed. I forgot to mention the guy with MPR's baseball site. I need to update my links to reflect all of the sites. And AMR, I like the site. You are off to a good start. Skorch, we should have talked a little more. I had some stuff to tell you. Oh well, maybe next time. ReadershipToday, this site passed 30,000 visitors. I made my first post on this site on July 17th, 2004, but I did not actually look for publicity until the end of August, 2004. I have had about 24,000 visitors so far in 2005, meaning that I should get about 50,000 visitors in 2005 total. Truly, this is a modest site. I appreciate those of you who come around and read my offerings. Keep on coming back, and I'll keeping writing. Gotta run. Lucy will be home soon and I'm gonna have to do some work getting this place in shape!|W|P|111948304910593817|W|P|Feel the Power.|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/22/2005 09:21:00 PM|W|P|

Comedy Club|W|P|That's quite a milestone!6/21/2005 10:26:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Hello SBG fans. I am driving home from the Twins blogger night. Actually, the big story was the Admission Possible benefit. Approximately 100 people bought tickets to support this worthy cause. My hat goes off to Jon Bonnes, the Twins Geek, for getting the blogging community involved in this event. Hopefully, this will be annual event and next year more people will be involved. Congratulations to SS, who won my contest and received half of his ticket courtesy of the management of SBG, the Website. I issue this challenge to other bloggers. If this event occurs again next year, I will again have a contest to reimburse at least part of someone's ticket. How about it, bloggers? Will you join me? You've got some time to think about it. It was fun to meet some of my fellow bloggers. Twins Junkie, I'm looking forward to your next interview. AMR, nice to meet you. Skorch, nice to meet you. TGeek, good to see you again. I spent most of the game chatting with Frightwig. Moss and I enjoyed it. Hope to talk some more. I'll make sure Lucy gets more cat blogging going. Rode home on the train with the king. Aaron, it was good to see you again. And it was good to hear you were sitting next to Luis Rivas' biggest fan. As for the Twins, well they rained on our parade. Stunk out the joint. Yuck.|W|P|111941224416527224|W|P|Blogger Night|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/22/2005 11:20:00 AM|W|P|

amr|W|P|Nice to meet you last night, SBG.6/21/2005 07:02:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Hello, SBG fans, and welcome to anothwr edition of phone/train blogging. Last night I was plunking away furiously on the cell phone, writing about the Strib's coverage of the Twins in response to comments made by Twins Geek and Aaron Gleeman. I got about halfway through the article when I found out that my phone has a character limit for text entry. Who knew? Anyway, that scintillating piece will have to wait. I've had a lot to write about lately, but no time to write. As I mentioned earlier, we moved last weekend, Preparing for life events such as that can cut seriously into blogging time. I've had a few people take me up on the contest. I am going to use a random number generator to help choose the winner. If you've entered, make sure you stop by and say hi. Twins Geek, Aaron Gleeman, and a couple of other bloggers know who I am. Plus, I'm about 6'4 and am wearing dark slacks and a blue checked shirt. Oh, and if you read this site regularly, you've seen a few pictures. I hope you can make it. I'll determine a winner from all entries by 4 PM. Let's hope that tonight is the night that the Twins break out their hitting shoes. I am excited. Oh, and Twins Junkie, stop by and say hi!|W|P|111935641606268443|W|P|More Phone Blogging|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/21/2005 09:57:00 AM|W|P|

Comedy Club|W|P|You know it. Look for the kid in the TwinsJunkie.com shirt, Twins hat, and Twins shorts (yes, Twins shorts).

I'll probably do a little phone blogging there myself.6/20/2005 06:39:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Sometime early this afternoon, a storm rolled into Downtown Minneapolis that was hard to believe. To say that the skies were dark is quite the understatement. It was pitch black, like the middle of the night, only darker, if that's possible. I work in a high-rise and the building was creaking rather loudly. I haven't heard any of the details of the storm -- rain amounts, damage, etc. But, the storm was awesome, in the original sense of the world. The storm wasn't particularly long lasting, but the skies had an eerie glow for the rest of the day -- they never recovered. Clearly, the Twins are weathering their own storms as of late. While things aren't quite as black as the midday skies, it isn't exactly sunny in Twinsville. Of course, the Twins could get well this week and if they do right the ship, all will be forgotten. I'm not sure that they will get right if getting right means catching the Chisux. The pitching has been a little less steady lately, but the real story is the offense. The M&M boys are struggling. The entire infield, in fact, is struggling offensively. Young guys will struggle, there's no doubt about that. Plus. there seems to be a festering problem within the clubhouse. Morneau & Mauer have been called out. Hunter's done his clubhouse lawyer bit. I don't put a whole lot a stock in clubhouse unity, but if I were in Mauer's or Morneau's shoes, I'd be tiring of being called out. Hopefully, the Twins will get things going. But, I see some storm clouds brewing.|W|P|111931226242099073|W|P|Day Is Night|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/20/2005 10:32:00 PM|W|P|

Comedy Club|W|P|Is that from your phone?6/20/2005 10:44:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Yes sir. For the next couple of days, I'l be phone blogging.l6/20/2005 08:10:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Lucy and I moved this weekend and we are without Internet access for a few days so it's phone blogging time! I didn't get a chance to see any baseball this weekend other than the scores. I'm not sure, but I think we're closer to fourth than first. With Cleveland jumping back into the race and Chicago a good ways ahead of the Twins, it's time to think about where this team iss headed. Yes, there are a lot of games left. But, yours truly is getting just a little nervous. What do you think? Will the Twins win the division? If not, will they get the wild card? Add your thoughts below. Regardless of whether you are optimistic about the Twins chances, I hope you come out and support Admission Possible at the game Tuesday night. I'll be there, so come on out and say hi.|W|P|111927378172540393|W|P|Moving|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/20/2005 08:28:00 AM|W|P|

Cheesehead Craig|W|P|The team is floundering right now and has internal issues (the Mauer/Morneau vs Gardy/Hunter feud) and are turning into the White Sox of the last 4 years. Too early to tell now for the wild card or division win. Right now, I'd say they will still make it, but wouldn't be surprised if they pull a T-Wolve type ending to the season.6/20/2005 09:16:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Unburdened of expectations to be Superman, Luis Rivas was 2-9 (including a bunt) this weekend and now has 3 RBI, 1 stolen base, and no XBase Hits in 83 plate appearances.6/20/2005 12:06:00 PM|W|P|

Comedy Club|W|P|Yea, at least that weight was lifted off his shoulders. I spit out my Powerade (grape) when I heard Bert say he was still looking for his first extra base hit of the season.6/20/2005 03:36:00 PM|W|P|

Brian|W|P|I could see this Twins swoon coming a mile away. I even addressed it today in my blog. Gardy has 1) lost control of the players and 2) shown his players that it is "OK" to use the media to bitch about one another.6/20/2005 10:11:00 PM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|Every year since Gardy took over, there's a point in the season when people say "he's lost control of the players." He's always run a loose ship and has tended to defer to certain players. But there's something about the way he's handled Mauer and Morneau this year that really bothers me. I guess it's not unlike the way he used to treat Santana, and that always bugged me, too.6/18/2005 07:24:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|ESPN: Do you ever see the day where it would be possible for you to sit down, have a talk with Kobe Bryant? Shaq: Who? ESPN: Kobe Bryant. Shaq: You know what I am not familiar with that name, I know a lot of names and I have a lot of names in my head, but I am not familiar with that name. Especially if there is nothing to talk about, I'm sorry I can't recall that name.|W|P|111909752456039051|W|P|The Daddy has a Recall Problem|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/19/2005 04:41:00 AM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|Maybe that's why Jackson is going back to the Lakers. He can't recall working with Kobe before, either.6/19/2005 05:39:00 PM|W|P|

oldwhitelady|W|P|SBG - I'm sorry this is off topic, but has Lucy posted lately? I miss her and the kitties.6/19/2005 11:13:00 PM|W|P|

Cheesehead Craig|W|P|Bitter, table for one... Bitter, table for one...6/20/2005 08:29:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|OWL - Life's been hectic, but I promise to get Lucy motivated to post some pictures. There's a lot for her to talk about on that front.6/17/2005 09:54:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Guess who our esteemed manager was talking about when he said this:

Maybe I should just let him play and not try to expect him to be Superman.

Hunter? Morneau? Mauer? Santana? Nathan? Radke? Jones? Nope. Luis Rivas.|W|P|111902019297756198|W|P|Guess Who|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/17/2005 10:12:00 AM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|At this point, I don't even expect Superdog.6/17/2005 10:26:00 AM|W|P|

Third Base Line|W|P|If Luis Rivas doesn't have to be Superman, why does Bartlett?!?!6/17/2005 10:28:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|I'm continually amazed at what comes out of his mouth.

Rivas is a career .260/.305/.381/.686 hitter. This year, he's at .203/.253/.203(!)/.456. In 69 at bats this year, he has zero, count 'em!, zero extra base hits. The same number that I have.6/17/2005 07:04:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|We can always count on Gardy to defy convention, logic, and sanity, on almost a weekly basis. As I've said before so many times... thank god this team has good pitching or we would in so much trouble.

Andy Wink
Twins Killings6/17/2005 11:02:00 PM|W|P|

Cheesehead Craig|W|P|Ahhh, I love Luis "0 for Three-Vas"6/16/2005 10:59:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|So, the Twins bullpen performed poorly for the second consecutive game, and the Twins got blown out 14-7. Lucy and I are moving this weekend, and we are preparing for the move. I believe that the game wasn't on TV (or was it?), and I only listened to snippets of it. Sometimes you lose games big. It happens. It is a little concerning that Joe Nathan isn't pitching particularly well right now, but hey he went through a rough stretch last year, too. What this game points out is that you are gonna lose some games no matter what. The shame is losing games like the Twins lost in Los Angeles last week. Losing close games because the manager doesn't pinch hit for the pitcher or because he has the Old Man pitching in the ninth inning of a tie game, now those losses hurt. Blogger's Night I hope you are considering going to the Blogger's night at the Twins game on June 21. It's a chance to enjoy a game, support a good cause, and hang out with such esteemed bloggers as John "Twins Geek" Bonnes, Aaron "I need a nickname" Gleeman, Frightwig, and OF COURSE, SBG! Reread my post on this topic yesterday for a special offer. Then order your tickets. Be there. ALOHA. Water Last week, I talked about water back in my hometown, SBGville, North Dakota and how the city is gettng a new water supply. Well, I need to talk about water again. I was talking with Butch this morning about the huge rainstorm that they got back home last weekend. Wow, what a storm. Last Saturday, SBGville got seven inches of rain (unoffically) in two hours. It rained until Monday night -- the total rainfall was over 10 inches. During the deluge on Saturday, a tree branch landed on a power wire knocking out power to the entire city. Unfortunately, my brother the Mayor was out of town. Unfortunate for him, because he had 5 inches of rain in his fully finished basement, which ruined all his furniture down there as well as the carpeting and the sheetrock. Butch was home -- which was a good thing, because he had water coming in the basement, too. He was able to keep things from getting out of control. He did drive to the closest big town and bought the last wet vac in the store to vacuum up water that was coming in. He told me that two miles out of town, they only got 2 inches of rain all weekend. A few miles further they got none. When the power went out, someone on the volunteer fire department was thinking. They realized that the lift station was in danger, so they got the fire trucks out and pumped water over the highway so that the water could evacuate the city (SBGville is extremely flat and water tends to pool instead of running off. Firetrucks from two other towns came in to help pump water. The truck from Little Bohemia, just South of SBGville, had its engine blow up from running at top speed while pumping all day. Butch told me that one of the trucks from SBGville had a problem, too, but I didn't get the total story there. It was only through the fast thinking of the volunteer Fire Department and help from the neighboring communities that saved the lift station. In addition, the residents of SBGville had to sandbag around the Water Treatment plant. The plant was within inches of having the water supply contaminated. All in all it was quite a weekend for the locals. I own a small house in SBGville, which I rent out. I called my renter on Saturday afternoon to make sure he had his sump pump plugged in (he didn't, the fool). I called him at work and he said everything was okay, he was down the basement the night before and it was dry. Hey, you fool, you got seven inches of rain this afternoon! He did have water in the basement, but after his butt chewing, he went home and sure enough, he had water in his basement. My question. What good is a sump pump if you don't plug the damned thing in??? All of this was going on while I was at the track with COD and Shane from Greet Machine. We all rode to the track together, and on the way back, I was talking on my cell phone. Guys, it's not that I'm rude, it's that we had an emergency going on. Well, that's it for tonight. I'm going to be moving this weekend, so I doubt that Lucy will have pictures of the cat. I've got to get her going on this cat blogging again. We have some good pictures to share, but the wife has got to show some blogging discipline! One last thing. Thanks to Studes from the Hardball Times for linking to my story about Derek Jeter's phantom hustle play. Thanks for reading my column, Studes. His link caused Thursday to be the heaviest traffic this site has ever seen in one day. I'd like nothing more to see the article changed. I wrote to Jim Caple to make him aware of the article and he did respond. Thanks, Jim, if you are reading.|W|P|111898385862274397|W|P|Water|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/17/2005 12:47:00 AM|W|P|

Comedy Club|W|P|"and hang out with such esteemed bloggers as John "Twins Geek" Bonnes, Aaron "I need a nickname" Gleeman, Frightwig, and OF COURSE SBG. Reread my post on this topic yesterday for a special offer. Then order your tickets. Be there. ALOHA."

Nice use of Aloha as goodbye. Oh yeah, some guy name TwinsJunkie is going to be there too, as if you care...6/17/2005 07:17:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|I wrote this before seeing that you will be there, TJ. I will DEFINITELY want to hang out with the coolest high school kid in the state. Looking forward to seeing you there.

SBG6/15/2005 10:21:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|I mentioned the Twins blogger night early this morning. I was unable to spend enough time to give you the details, but here they are. This is a Twins Blogger night at the Dome on June 21. It�s a chance to meet and chat with those of us crazy enough (about the Twins, that is) to write about the team. Of course, the Twins Geek will be there, as will Aaron Gleeman, Frightwig, the Twins Junkie, among others will be there. That alone should be enough to get you to come on out. But wait there�s more. The Twins are playing the Tigers, and it�s for a good cause. Here�s what the Twins Geek has to say about it.

A friend of mine, Jim McCorkell, started a non-profit group called Admission Possible (website) five years ago. Its goal was to help promising low-income students earn admission to college. Their mission is to identify low-income young people with the potential and the motivation for college and then provide them with four critical services: (1) SAT and ACT test preparation; (2) intensive assistance in preparing college applications (3) help in obtaining financial aid and (4) guidance in transition to college. It's been wildly successful, as the Strib noted in their editorial a couple of years ago: - 97% of the students they assisted have been admitted to college. This year, 100% of their 246 senior students have been admitted to college. 95% of their seniors this year have been admitted to a four-year college. - 91% of their students who enrolled in college are still enrolled and working toward their college degree (their oldest students are now college juniors, so they don't yet have graduation data). Nationally, only about 50% of all students who enroll in college graduate within six years. - Students in their program have shown an average ACT score improvement of 16%! Leading for-profit companies like Kaplan, by comparison, advertise average increases of 12-14%. This year the average score of their students moved from about 15.5 to about 18. - A recently completed analysis shows that an investment of $3,000 for one Admission Possible student (programming costs for the 2 years of our program) will yield a 500% return to society over the course of the student's lifetime. Admission Possible is mostly funded by private donations. Now here comes the fun part: They've received a gift from the Pohlad family for a Twins event on Tuesday, June 21st. The Twins host the Tigers, and Admission Possible gets a picnic, the owner's suite, and just about as many tickets as they want. They can do whatever they want with it and EVERY PENNY goes to Admission Possible. For $25 (and just $5 per child), each person gets a ticket to the game, admission to the pregame tent (from 5-7 with hot dogs, chips, soda), and a raffle ticket to sit in the owner's box � with Tony Oliva. Tony'll also be stopping by the picnic. It's perfect - a great event, with fellow Twins fan(atics), food, a jazz band, a chance to sit in Carl's suite, and every penny goes to a worthy cause.

That�s a pretty good deal. A little food, a little fun, and a donation to a good cause. But wait... it gets better. Continues The Geek:

Not only is every penny of your $25 going to Admission Possible, but the Pohlad family is matching every dollar.

That�s right, your $25 gift is matched by Carl Pohlad himself. Come on folks, this is a good cause. Order your Tickets Here. Of course, SBG himself will up the ante. Every person who buys a ticket and sends me an email from THIS LINK with their name and mentions this post will be entered into a contest. The winner will get half their ticket (that�s $12.50) paid for by yours truly. Yes, you must be present to win. Look me up at the pre-game and we�ll chat. So, what the heck. Come on out and enjoy the night. It�s for a good cause, after all.|W|P|111889278309234643|W|P|Twins Blogger Night|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/15/2005 07:02:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|If you are a Viking fan, head on over to Cheer or Die's site today. He has plenty of great pictures and a good rundown of what happened with his Vikings Developmental Camp report. Great work, COD!|W|P|111883712672351284|W|P|Oh Yeah|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/15/2005 08:28:00 AM|W|P|

Brian|W|P|And not a single cat (or rabbit) to be found in any of the pictures!

It was hard to recognize all the Twinkie's without their ball caps on. Who knew LeCroy was so grey?6/15/2005 06:57:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Sorry, SBG fans, Blogger was giving me fits last night so I couldn't post. I will be going to the Blogger night at the Twins. I encourage you to attend as well. Imagine this scenario. 1. You are going to a Twins game. 2. It's Costing Carl Pohlad money. 3. You get a chance to sit with Tony O. 4. You can absolutely meet and greet your favorite or least favorite Twins blogger. 5. It's only $25 (and just $5 for kids!) Tuesday night, June 21. Be there. Aloha. (I'll post more details later, I'm in a hurry this morning.)|W|P|111883688612421551|W|P|I'm In|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/14/2005 07:06:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|I've posted a couple of times already below, but I thought of something that I wanted to add and forgot. Yesterday, Cheer or Die had a rant that I found to be rather amusing. He started with the St. Louis Park boys being late to our meeting at Chipotle and carried on to a great discussion on mowing the lawn and how his neighbor does not measure up. It reminded me of one of my pet peeves. Lucy and I like to go out to eat. We like to sit down, have a nice meal, maybe a glass of beer or wine, depending on the mood and relax. Sometimes, we'll go to a nice upscale restaurant. Sometimes we'll go to a local joint or Chipotle. We have a wide variety of tastes, and like to try out different places. I've noticed, however, that over the last five or ten years a high percentage of the wait staff at restaurants have started to ask a question that drives me absolutely nuts. Well, not totally nuts, maybe not even a little (more) nuts. Both it surely does bother me. A short while after we start eating, the waiter or waitress will come sauntering over to our table and ask, "How is everything tasting?" In years gone past, and in some better restaurants today, the inquiry is not limited to how the food tastes. At some point, however, the inquiry has been limited to just that. The wait staff, and presumably the restaurant owners themselves only care that the food tastes good. If the waiter should ask a question like "Is everything to your liking?" or more basically, "How is everything?" they would be allowing me to respond to a much more open ended question. I might answer, "The food is wonderful, but I'm sorry I accidentally dropped my fork. Could you get me a new one?" Or, I might answer, "My steak is a little rare, could you cook it another minute or two?" Or, "I believe my order included a side of spinach." Or, "Bring me another martini. And hold the olive." Or. "Pardon me, but my wife is a little chilly. And I'm getting snowed on. Could you close the door? It is January 15th, after all." Or, "This steak is delicious, but I ordered the salmon." But, no. They aren't concerned about any of that. All they care is whether the food tastes good. I wonder if management trains wait staff to ask the dreaded question or if it's something that has just worked its way into the lexicon, as unwanted as the pronunciation "Noo-cue-ler." Last Saturday night, Lucy and I went to a particularly dreadful place which shall go unnamed. The atmosphere was ridiculous, our table was hopelessly dark (could barely see the menu), and the wait staff sang "Happy Birthday" (in Italian) to patrons and collectively applauded a poor cook when he dropped and broke a plate. We both agreed that we would not be coming back. And then, as if on cue, the waitress came over and said, "How is everything TASTING?" I wanted to say that I hadn't tried the napkin yet, but instead I said, "Great." I turned to my bride and said, "I'd rather go to Chipotle. The food is better and is less than half the price." She agreed. At least there, no one will ask me how everything is tasting.|W|P|111875273606031753|W|P|Old Guy Rant|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/14/2005 09:15:00 AM|W|P|

Cheesehead Craig|W|P|The family and I went to Applebee's the other night and the waitress asked us the same question. It is an odd question, but I would let it slide if the server did other things right.6/14/2005 09:35:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|It is odd. That's what gets to me. It is odd. It's a dumb question. It's grammatically incorrect, I think. It bugs me.

It doesn't ruin my meal or anything, but on Saturday night, it was the topper. Rotten food, bad atmosphere, extremely loud, so dark you can't see, singing waiters, "How is everything tasting"... get me out of there.6/14/2005 10:12:00 AM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Nothing is worse than a singing staff.

Worse yet, at the risk of offending your sizable readership, SBG, what type of person, when asked where they'd like to be taken by friends/family for a birthday dinner, thinks 'Gee, how about XYZ restaurant - I think they sing for birthdays'?

carlsonp6/14/2005 11:35:00 AM|W|P|

Cheesehead Craig|W|P|My wife hates the singing thing for birthdays, thinks it's degrading and has told me that she will leave me and take the kids if I ever do that to her.6/14/2005 11:47:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|I joked with Lucy the other day that I should "propose" to her at a Twins game and have her turn me down.6/14/2005 12:31:00 PM|W|P|

Comedy Club|W|P|"I haven't tried the napkin." That would've been priceless.6/14/2005 03:24:00 PM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|The singing waitstaffs is one of my top restaurant peeves, as well. I hate it when they sing for other tables, and I'd be mortified if they ever sang a birthday song for me. Why can't the waiter just bring out a complimentary slice of cake or pie, smile, and politely wish a person a "Happy Birthday"? Who ever asked for an obnoxious presentation that would embarrass the guest and disrupt the whole restaurant?

I hadn't noticed the "How's it tasting?" question, but it must be one of the latest trendy corporate buzzphrases. Have you noticed whether it's more common at chain restaurants, or do they do it at local independents, too?6/14/2005 03:28:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Not completely sure. I think it seems to be a chain thing. I don't notice it as much at good local places (but I'll pay attention), which are ten or a hundred times better anyway.

No kidding, the Happy Birthday thing happened three times on Saturday night. That is the truth and not a lie.6/14/2005 04:25:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|Asking only about the food is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. Having formerly been a waitress, I know that there is SO much more to your overall attitude about a place than the food. For me personally, I will take mediocre food with GREAT service over great food and poor service any day of the week. And I'm not above telling someone what I think of their service.

SBG - one thing that's worked for me when they ask about the food, is I answer on the food and then say, but... or however..., I just won't put up with poor service or not having what I need. There are SO many places out there to eat. One thing that is SO important to me is to let the place I'm eating at know what I liked and disliked. Sometimes your experience can be improved with certain elements changed (a smile from a waitress, changing the question to "How is everything?", etc.), but often times management/owners don't realize what's taking place. I just don't believe in saying "I'll never go there again" without giving management or someone the opportunity to correct their mistakes. And no, I'm not just looking for a free meal.

Another thing that I like to do is if I go somplace and have TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE service I leave a large tip (I've left 50 - 60% before). My reasoning: maybe the waiter/waitress will cheer up after a big tip and give the next person great service. I know that if I don't leave a tip, they aren't going to be any better to the next person they wait on, so what's the point. However, to go along with the large tip, I try to leave a little note on a napkin or something. Nothing rude, just maybe "Have a great day" or "Smile" or something like that. Sometimes they might just be having a bad day (we all do)!

Now - on another note - what is up with this Chipotle place I keep hearing about? Where's it at and what kind of food do they serve? I'm always looking for something new!!!6/14/2005 04:54:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Chipotle is a restaurant chain (now owned by McDonald's *sigh*) that makes fast food burritos, a Mexican Grill, if you will. For fast food they are pretty good, in my opinion, although not everyone shares that opinion.

The joke about Chipotle at this site is that in my game of Pepper! with Shane, COD, and Cheesehead Craig, one of the questions was whether Chipotle is "fine dining." Good stuff.6/14/2005 04:57:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Incidentally, there are Chipotle stores all over the Twin Cities, including downtown MPLS (2), one on Grand Ave. and one on Ford Parkway in St. Paul, Eagan, Burnsville, Hopkins, to name a few. I'm sure that there are several more.6/14/2005 11:20:00 PM|W|P|

Brian|W|P|Old Man CoD here. Why the hell do they ask you that question just as you've stuffed your mouth with food?

Try the Atlas in the Pillsbury building sometime. Just mention my name to the owner (Hadi) and cook (Abass) and you'll be waited on like a king (and queen).6/15/2005 04:56:00 PM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|Last weekend I was at Red Robin, just taking a bite of the teriyaki/pineapple burger as the waitress snuck up and asked how it was going; and when I turned my head to acknowledge her, of course half the pineapple comes out of the burger and is dangling out of my mouth....

Thinking of Red Robin also reminds me: when you're in a restaurant with just a few other groups, do they have to seat everybody right next to each other? I understand the convenience of having everybody in one section, but can't they space us out a little bit? Are they hoping we'll all meet and become fast friends?6/13/2005 08:39:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Every time I turn around, someone else is starting a new Twins blog and is writing something interesting about the team. I see that sometime commenter here at SBG, AMR has started a Twins blog. There's Nick and Nick's blog. Of course, there's Brad Zellar's new gig at the Rake. A lot of people are writing a lot of good stuff about the Twins, in addition to the two newspapers in town. Last night, wrote about Morneau's dad as hitting coach. Sure enough, the Third Base Line had the same take. And Frightwig picked up on his theme regarding the managerial staff, critiquing (positively) Souhan's column in which Mr. Souhan took a shot at both Gardy and Radke. It becomes very hard to write something these days that someone else hasn't. Of course, I've mentioned only the newer blogs. There are all the blogs out there who've been doing it for a while. On one hand, I find it a challenge. I'd like people to read this page, and in order to get people to do that, I got to have something here that no one else has. That gets tough. I find myself thinking about what I should write more and more. On the other hand, I have enjoyed interaction that I've had writing responses either in agreement or otherwise with other bloggers. So, I'll continue to read what others have to say and I will comment on other blogger's writings when I feel the spirit move me. For example, a while back, the Dean of Twins bloggers, the Twins Geek, wrote a column talking about the influence that bloggers have on Twins coverage at the the Strib. While the article was complimentary of the Strib's recent coverage, The Geek said some rather unkind things about the Strib and is pretty convinced that he, among others, have really made the Strib writers work harder. Said the Geek:

Also, to be honest, I think the free internet coverage has caused a number of them to step up their game. There isn't a lot to incentive for any kind of journalist to take risks or make an extra effort. The union protects a wage level that they can't get anywhere else, and taking any kind of risk can only put that in danger. And it's not like the corporation is going to reward quality work - they want the content and to not be sued. And not in that order. So these writers are left with what internal drive they bring to their job, in the same way that the quality of our teachers are driven by their internal drive. That internal drive is caused by all kinds of things, but one of them is pride. You can't convince me that when they read Bat Girl or Aaron Gleeman or Brad Zellar and know that these writers are cranking out great stuff for free - stuff that they aren't sure they can write themselves anymore - that it doesn't push them a little bit.

A couple of days later, Aaron Gleeman linked to this article saying,

I read the baseball coverage in every major newspaper in the country for my Rotoworld gig, and the Star Tribune's is well above average. I've enjoyed reading the new guy, Joe Christensen, and I obviously think highly of La Velle E. Neal (which is why he's the Official Twins Beat Writer of AG.com).

Okay, which is it? Is the Star Tribune full of lazy writers who need bloggers to prod them into better quality writing or do they do an above average job? Comment below. I know how I feel, but I'll let you have your say first.|W|P|111871681736837638|W|P|Twins Bloggers|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/13/2005 10:18:00 PM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|I'm usually unsatisfied with the quality of Twins coverage in the local papers, but I read them anyway to get the quotes, rumors, and news on the latest transactions. I haven't been a Souhan fan in the past, but his last two pieces have been just the sort of thing I'd like to see in the Strib more often. Whether he's been influenced by bloggers, or something else made him decide it's time to turn a more critical eye on Gardenhire, who knows--but I like the development in any case.6/14/2005 12:03:00 PM|W|P|

Heavy Critters|W|P|I'm with The Geek. The Strib is ok, but not as good as the writers he mentioned. I actually stopped writing The Baseball Boys because of the glut of Twins Blogs out there. And the writing was much better than what I was able to crank out in 45 minutes at work.

Keep it up, S&BG. You've got a great mix of personal and sports on this bad boy.

Eric
(Formerly of The Baseball Boys)6/14/2005 01:48:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Thanks, Eric. I miss the "Boys". I tried to find your BP page, but was unsuccessful. Send me a link if you are still writing it.6/13/2005 08:27:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|I wasn't planning on dignifying Mike Tyson's latest "fight" by mentioning it on my web site. However, I had a thought today about it. Back in the day, when Tyson was the most feared boxer on the planet, there was a video game called Mike Tyson's Punch Out. This was a fantastic video game where you fought a number of fighters before you got a shot at Mike Tyson. Of course, it was almost impossible to beat Tyson on the video game (although I know that one of my old friends "Ainge" did it). That video Tyson was just about as unbeatable at the Tyson of that day.

Now, when I think of Tyson, I think of another fighter from that game, Glass Joe.|W|P|111871271870177937|W|P|Punched Out|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/14/2005 03:27:00 PM|W|P|

frightwig|W|P|Uppercut! Uppercut! Mighty Blow! :)6/14/2005 04:59:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Ah yes. Glass Joe's record was 1-99. A palooka to be sure.

Any other Glass Joe fans out there???6/14/2005 11:17:00 PM|W|P|

Brian|W|P|Loved that old game. And, I defeated old Iron Mike plenty of times. Of course, that was before I got married.6/15/2005 09:20:00 AM|W|P|

Andrew|W|P|I loved that game. I keep wishing they'd make it with the Fight Night 2 system. Iron Mike in full PS2 glory. Can you imagine some of those blows?6/12/2005 09:39:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|On Saturday, I met some of my blogging buddies for a little fun. I drove over to Hopkins and met Shane from the Greet Machine, Cheesehead Craig, and Cheer or Die. If you remember, these three guys combined to write probably the best edition of Pepper! ever, the marital advice edition. Even though these guys are my blogging friends, I had never met them. So, we got together for a little fine dining (Chipotle, natch) and then COD, Shane, and I went down to Canterbury for a little horse racing. Unfortunately, CC could not join us, but I was glad to at least meet the most famous Packer fan in all of Minnesota Sports Blogging. I had never been to Canterbury, or any horse track for that matter, and I found it to be a lot of fun. I lost a couple of dollars racing (under $10), but I had a great time. It was fun to meet the guys, talk about blogging and just have a relaxing time. I hope we get a chance to get together again in the future. Gentlemen, I believe a Twins game should get in on the agenda. Probably the most surprising thing was that I found out that Shane is actually violently opposed to a stadium for the Twins! Absolutely, positively against it. Ha! Just kidding. It was fun to talk about what we think will happen on the stadium front. Those conversations will remain a secret, at least I won't reveal what we think. Also, we talked a little Twins, a little Vikings, and, while we ate lunch, a little Packers. COD had a very cool shirt on, which got a reaction from one of the patrons at the racetrack. Fun time! Contest Yes, fans, I have updated the contest. On Saturday morning, I painstakingly updated both the leaderboard above, but also posted the entire standings board below. Since then, two more games have been played and the standings have shifted some more. We have a new leader, DYB, who now has 48 points. AAC has dropped to second, even though he has improved to 44.5 points. PEC is third with 38 points. Your benevolent leader has tacked on four more points to stand at 23.33 points, good for ninth. SHN, the news is bad. 2.5 points. :( Hitting Coaches I was reading the Sunday Strib this morning when something interesting caught my eye. LaVelle E. Neal III wrote, in his recap of Saturday's game about Justin Morneau's father spotting a flaw in his swing. Writes Neal:

In addition to dealing with his elbow, Morneau also was struggling at the plate during a 1-for-22 skid that had dropped his average to .285 from .328 on May 24. That's where George Morneau comes in. ... Said George: "We've worked on that. I had him out in the yard [Tuesday]. He must have hit 300 whiffle balls. He had started to turn his front foot toward the pitcher. I said, 'When did you start doing that?' He said, 'I don't know.' "

I read that and I had one thought go through my mind. Hey, Mr. Ullger, how come you didn't notice that Morneau had developed a flaw in his swing? If I were the hitting coach and I had a guy is struggling like Morneau is (especially when he is super talented), I'd be looking at film to see if something had changed. I'd be watching every at-bat like a hawk. Instead, Morneau's dad finds the flaw!!!! This is flat out ridiculous! Now, I will say, in the hitting coach's defense that maybe other things were happening and perhaps the fact that Morneau started hitting right after he went out and swung with his dad was a coincidence. But, it should make a guy think. Here's something else to consider. A few weeks ago, it was in the paper that Torii Hunter was working with first base coach Jerry White on his hitting. Well, what do you know. Shortly after that, Hunter started hitting the proverbial cover off the ball. And hey, did you hear that Jason Bartlett is tearing it up at AAA? None of this proves anything. But, I will say it is a little interesting, to say the least. My buddy Moss has maintained that no one on the Twins team has improved their hitting at the major league level since Ullger became the hitting coach. I don't know if that's true or not, but I am willing to suggest that maybe the Twins ought to think about whether the hitting coach is pulling his weight. I've wondered a little more recently about what is going on with the braintrust over at 34 Kirby Puckett Place. Frightwig has raised the issue as well several times, most recently discussing the coordinated effort by Ron Gardenhire, Rick Stelmazick and Torii Hunter, among others, to question Joe Mauer's and Justin Morneau's toughness in the media. I found this to be very curious, and Frightwig's analysis is thought provoking. I heard something else today that should make Twins fans take note. Twins fans should be familiar with Gardy's reaction when he gets a warning when a pitcher throws too close to a hitter. Gardy invariably goes out and gets tossed. I'm pretty sure the entire league knows Gardy's position on this rule. Nevertheless, he continues to run out onto the field, engage in an extended argument, and get tossed. Someone called in today on WCCO and asked Jack Morris whether he would like it if his manager engaged in an extended argument on this point if he were on the mound. Jack's answer? No. He would not like it. Gardy, you've let the entire league know how you feel. I'm sure your pitchers would rather stay in rhythm rather than have you out there disrupting the flow of the game every single time this happens. It seems our buddy Jim Souhan has been reading Mr. Frightwig's column. Souhan described Dodger Stadium in his Monday column as a "sun-dappled joint." Hee hee! He also takes a couple of shots at Gardentool in his column, questioning Gardy's decision not to pinch hit for Radke in the sixth with two on and two out in a tie game. Radke made an out. Who was batting in the bottom of the sixth? Hee Seop Choi, who had already homered twice in the game. Out comes Radke to pitch the sixth. First pitch, Choi hits his third home run of the game. Twins lose. Writes Souhan:

Twins fans should have been angry that Gardenhire let Radke bat in the top of the sixth, with two on and two out. Gardenhire argued that Radke deserved a chance to get the victory, that he was pitching well, that it wasn't Radke's fault the hitters kept failing in the clutch. But with an off day coming up, Gardy had the full use of his bullpen, and, once the Twins failed in the sixth, they were stuck facing the Dodgers' daunting collection of arms.

Yeah, Jim, you sound a lot better when you write what you see. It seems that Gardy was more concerned about his pitcher getting the win than actually winning the game. Oh, by the way, had a pinch hitter come in and delivered, Radke would have been up for a win and he could have turned the game over to the best damned bullpen in the league. Had Souhan made this point, he would have really had a nice column. This Twins team has a chance to be special. They have a fabulous pitching staff. They have some talented everyday players (Jones, Hunter, Morneau, Mauer, Stewart), yet, the lineup has been only average offensively. The weak link, in this writers opinion, is in the dugout (with the exception of the pitching coach). If this team doesn't deliver this year, I think the blame can be placed at the feet of Number 35. That's about it for tonight. As an update, I haven't heard back from ESPN regarding the Tim Kurkjian column that I discussed last week. As of Sunday night, the column remains uncorrected. This shouldn't be a huge surprise -- ESPN has overhyped certain players in the past (cough Bret Favre cough) -- but nevertheless, it is disappointing that they wouldn't correct the article.|W|P|111863408493231701|W|P|On Horseracing, Contests, and Hitting Coaches|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com6/13/2005 09:16:00 AM|W|P|

Comedy Club|W|P|I don't buy the notion of Gardenhire being great becuase he's led three straight teams to the playoffs, because they should've got there in 01, but I hate to rush blame upon him when we have an over .600 winning pct, whether we win the world series or not6/13/2005 09:42:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|True enough, the winning percentage is quite good. But, when your starters are as lights out as the Twins' starters have been, they SHOULD be there. They have the best pitching staff in the AL by far.

The offense, however, has been rather anemic comparatively. I think they can do better. I think they have the talent to do better. That's my frustration.

Keep up the good work, TJ!!!!6/13/2005 09:59:00 AM|W|P|

Butch|W|P|Doesn't surprise me at all that the DAD spotted the flaw. The dads of the world never get any credit, they are the ones who put the bats in their hands for the first time! (Someimes it is the MOM) Oh well, so if goes! We just sit back and enjoy watching our kids do well. ha ha6/13/2005 10:09:00 AM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Just for the record, it was my dad, Butch, see above, who suggested that I should become a lawyer back in about 1983, when I was a senior in high school. Just 21 years later, I was admitted to the bar. He also exposed me to a little bit of legal work way back when. Father knows best!6/13/2005 11:09:00 AM|W|P|

Brian|W|P|And it was my Old Man who told me a wise career move was in 'drugs'. I have yet to make up my mind if it was wise to actually listen to him. Being a licensed drug dealer has been good in some regards and bad in others.

Me thinks he was just looking forward to the day when he would need drugs and needed a cheap source!6/13/2005 05:23:00 PM|W|P|

SBG|W|P|Geoff --

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by your number request, but I will say this. Your analysis of Radke is correct. The homeruns are a big problem. Defensive Independent Pitching Stats (DIPS)take into account three things: walks, strikeouts, and home runs. Radke's great WRT walks (best K/BB rate in the league), middling WRT to strikeouts (21st in AL for K/9), but he's leading the league in HRs allowed (but not HRs/9IP).

As a result, his DIPS ERA is 4.42, just 25th in the league. With a 14 team league, that makes him basically a below average 2nd starter. (Carlos Silva is 33rd -- a middle of the pack 3rd starter.) By contrast, a certain Venezuelan and reigning Cy Young Award winner has the best DIPS ERA in the league. That guy gives up a few home runs, too (10 so far), but he also strikes out a ton of batters (leads the league by a large margin).

To say that Johan Santana anchors the Twins' pitching staff is an understatement indeed.6/11/2005 02:47:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|Yes, SBG fans, Your Benevolent Ruler has finally updated the projected contest results. With about a month to go, our new leader is AAC, with 43.50 points. AAC has been right near the top almost since the beginning of the contest, but he's got some stiff competition. Your Benevolent Ruler, in an attempt to make almost everyone else feel comfortable, is currently in 15th place with 19.33 points. Here is a chart showing the results as of the end of play on June 10. The middle ten columns show how each player has scored points for each of the ten questions above.

Player	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
AAC	5	6	0	0	1	8.5	0	9	8	6	43.5
RED	9.5	7	10	0	0	2.5	0	0	6	3.5	38.5
DYB	5	0	6	0	4.5	10	1.5	0	4	5	36
PEC	0	0	1	5	4.5	8.5	0	7	5	2	33
BEM	0	0	7	10	0	5.5	8.5	0	0	0	31
LEK	2	8	4	0	0	0	0	8	8	0	30
FRW	0	5	0	7.5	9.5	2.5	4.5	1	0	0	30
SBM	8	0	4	0	9.5	0	4.5	0	0	0	26
SES	2	0	0	0	8	1	8.5	6	0	0	25.5
BIJ	0	4	0	7.5	0	5.5	4.5	0	2.5	0	24
ANM	0	10	0	0	4.5	0	0	0	8	0	22.5
STM	0	0	4	9	0	0	8.5	0	0	0	21.5
ROG	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	2.5	7	21.5
TEB	0	0	0	0	0	5.5	1.5	5	0	8.5	20.5
SBG	2	2	0	2	4.5	0	0	0	0.3	8.5	19.33
COD	0	0	0	1	4.5	0	0	10	0	3.5	19
GEB	0	9	0	0	0	0	8.5	1	0.3	0	18.83
ADR	0	0	9	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	15
TWJ	5	0	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13
BUW	9.5	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	12.5
CHC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	10	0	11
JUD	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	10
GRB	0	0	0	0	4.5	0	4.5	0	0.3	0	9.33
BRI	0	3	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	7
SHN	0	0	0	0	0	5.5	0	0	0	1	6.5
MAR	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	5

Enjoy.|W|P|111847698960499332|W|P|Look Friends, the Projected Contest Results are Updated!|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com

What do you look forward to most at the Fourth of July every year?
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	Bar-b-ques. Food and Drink and Friends
	Baseball (duh)
	Attending discussions on the list of grievances memorialized in the Declaration of Independence
	Reading the SBG archives

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