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Play Mad
Most Twins fans are sitting at work, school, or home today wondering what the hell just happened. Irritated seeing a team of surfer boys still wondering who has the Cheetos and who's turn is it in the "rotation" come into our house where we don't lose in the playoffs and beat us at our game. Solid pitching, solid defense and timely hitting. I'm not going to harp on Torii and his play. The man has won 5 Gold Gloves, changes games and momentum with those catches and was a big reason that the Twins won the Central. That doesn't leave him unaccountable for the play, but if Torii believes he can get a ball then he should have the right to go get it. Wish he would have picked a different time in the game though.
Were the Twins looking past the A's? Possibly. Did the little ole A's come into Dome and rock the Twins/fans right in the gut? You damn right. So how do we remedy this? Easy, do what Boof does and play mad.
Forget about the Yankees. Forget the Gammons picked you to win the Series two straight years. Forget that you were the best team since June 1. Look at the A's and say "kiss my ass". Remember that you have the highest batting average in the AL and remember the A's love to choke 2-0 leads away. Forget that the number of runners in scoring positon left on equals approximately China's national census. Start smelling those RBI's, bunting guys over, stealing bases and annoying the other teams managing staff. Punch them back damn it.
10 comments:
People still eat Cheetos? Are those organic? Do people in California eat things if they don't have soy protein and wheat grass in them?
I love the post, Smitty...I kept waiting for you to tell the team to "turn that sombitch sideways...".
I would fall in love with this team for a record third time this year if they came out and punched Oakland in the mouth on Friday. The most painful part of the last two games has been the lack of attitude, hustle, etc...
I do need to play Def Jam some more and get the frustrations out. Cage ant doin it.
If Torii wants to get the fire back, he needs to run over Jason Kendall at the plate for no reason.
The lack of attitude, hustle, etc. was definitely noted at the dome on Wednesday. The most excited I saw the crowd get (aside from the two homeruns...immediately following one of which I was apparently on national TV) was when a wasted kid got his ass tossed in the 8th inning.
I actually felt bad for him as I saw him handcuffed, outside of a police car, and crying in his Punto t-shirt at the end of the game. Sure I laughed, but I still felt bad.
While I would have liked to have seen the Twins punch the A's in the mouth (especially the chaw chewin sombitch named Swisher), it was all for not. The A's finally got that "can't close a series out even if Billy Beane's life depended on it" monkey off their back.
And I hate to say it, Smitty you hit the nail on the head: the Twins got beat at their own game. The mental mistakes blew my mind. That is why they beat teams, and that is why they win. While Mauer is only, what, 22 or 23, he needs to get his sack back before strapping it on next year. The guy can hit, but come on, do we need another A-Rod? I am a huge fan of Joltin Joe, but how many guys did he leave in scoring position? He's young, though. Hopefully he really doesn't get that mental block like A-Rod.
Speaking of the guy I love to bash right now---how about that performance against the Tigers? While a bunch of their guys sucked, A-Rod sucked the most, even getting moved to 8th in the order for the last game. The guy just can't get it done. In my book, if he really wants to be called a great player, he is now going to have to perform in the playoffs and really lead this team. While it will always be Jeter's team (and rightfully so), Gay-ROD is going to have to step it up. I don't think it will happen. He is a mental case who has a Zoolander side (do they hate me because I am really good looking) that kills me. I know he still thinks he is better than Jeter, but the truth is out there now: Jeter stays out all night, screws 5 whores, and then plays his butt off the next day. All while little A-Rod is ironing his skirt and making sure his hair is good to go to the ball park the next day.
Coop, how do you really feel? Wow.
Can I ask two semi serious questions of the Tuesdays With Torii staff?
First, what is the most learned opinion of this web site on the Twins deciding, or not deciding to pick up Torii's option?
Second,
Will this blog be a year round blog, or should I not worry about checking back until next spring.
-Loyal reader
I gotta say...the Twins would be downright stupid to not pick up Torii's option. You build your team around 3 positions (not including pitcher): catcher, shortstop, and centerfielder; right up the gut. In Hunter, you have arguably the best in the business (sorry Andruw Jones). I actually think that you don't pick up his option, but rather sign him to a 3 or 4 year deal. He is in his prime and will be for a while longer. Yes, he does go all out which means he will get hurt. But I think the pros outweigh the cons in this one. Sign him. If they don't, they will regret this one more than when they let Ortiz get away. And with Joltin Joe II, you have 2 of the 3 necessary positions. Don't think Barlett is the next Jeter, but you never know
Let's see:
1. I think this will be year round blog. It might be lighter, maybe only a few posts per week. Not sure, thoughts from the others?
2. One could argue either way for Torii. Tough thing is we Twins fans have become use to is cost cutting, frugal spending and thus are arguments are based on keeping expenses down. With that said, can we replace that tangible & intangible pro's with another player in the system or FA without taking too many cons'. I'm in the camp that says no.
My boy Coop knows the in's and out's of baseball better then anyone I know. Most baseball fans understand that the "up the middle" philosophy is one seems to hold true (think 90's Yankees, end of 80's A's, even our beloved 87 squad). I would like to see them pick-up and restructure the deal. Sign him for four years maybe at $7 mill a year. I think he's worth that.
Torii has developed good leadership skills, definately the most out-going face on the squad. You're going to get 25HR, 90 RBI, 85 Runs, 20SB and .270 AVe from this guy plus some swagger and a whole lot of gold glove defense. We won't replace that with current roster players, I don't want to see Kenny Lofton here, Brian Anderson, or Steve Finley.
If it takes picking up the option, do it.
Looks like you got your wish, they announced today that there are in fact picking up the option.
I am in basic agreement with your argument. There seems to be so few viable options out there, I really think they were hoping that Denard Span was going to make a big leap this year and maybe be ready for next year. That didn't happen and Torii had a damn fine year.
I just hate that number, 12 million bucks is a lot for Torii for any team, especially for the Twins.
But this is what it means to be a contender. You have to take your shots when you have them and it seems clear that Terry Ryan is taking a shot next year. Let's go get us a 200 inning starting pitcher and see what happens.
Also, I for one would like to see the TTWT blog continue strong through out the winter.
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