Hunter as an A--

An Angel, of course.

A scene we're sure to see more of in coming days...former Twins acting the fool for their new fans.

Hmm...I hate that monkey.

Freaking morons

Speculation has been growing each day on the fate of Santana as a Twins' pitcher. Now word is out that the Twins and Yankees are talking about Santana's future...as a Yankee.

Damn.

It was bad enough to hear on THANKSGIVING that Hunter was no longer a Twin, but this...announced on the Twins official site...

To be an honest with you, even though I am a dedicated Twins fan, such a trade would have me seriously considering my allegiance...not to the players, certainly not to the game, but to the Twins management and owners.

I ask the owners/management:

ARE YOU FREAKING MORONS?

I guess the players had it figured out before this past season was over...that when Castillo was traded and the Twins didn't go out and get the hitting power they needed to be contenders it wasn't just that the management had given up on the 2007 Twins...they had given up on the Twins. Period. Exclamation point!

Ryan bailed because he was tired of being the bad guy, of being unable to sign the talent needed (or keep the talent we already had)--because Pohlad wouldn't free up the money needed. Ryan knew it was only going to get worse.

There was no real effort to keep Hunter. And now the Twins seem poised to get rid of the biggest talent in the league.

Morons. Freaking morons! (and feel free to substitute a different f-word for "freaking")

The fans are being duped. The fans got behind the new stadium because they wanted to watch great baseball outdoors. The Twins dangled in front of the fans the promise of being able to watch their favorite players when the new stadium open in 2010.

That supposedly included Hunter and Santana, two of the more popular players to grace the Twins' playing field.

Now I am no baseball naivete that expects my baseball team to remain constant. I get that players changing teams is part of the deal. It happens every year and sometimes it happens to your favorite players. It changes the nature of a team...and yet somehow a new team emerges, often better than the team that was previously in place. I have watched in awe year after year as the Twins put together contending teams, generally relying heavily on their farm system. It's part of what I love about the Twins management.

But this wholesale hemorrhage of Twin veteran players and fan favorites is asinine. Given past behavior, I have no reason to believe that the Twins would let Hunter go and then trade Santana with the plan to spend the bucks to bring in comparable talent. What history would show us is this is just another lame attempt to keep the payroll budget low.

It's all about Pohlad keeping a few more bucks in his back pocket. The new stadium is being built so who needs those star players?

We do. The fans. Yes, we want a new outdoor stadium, but we also want to watch a quality baseball team. No, we don't expect to win the division every year, but it would be nice to be in the running.

And in case you haven't figured it out Mr. Pohlad, winning baseball teams sell tickets...and that formula is needed new stadium or not.

I am thankful for...

I am thankful for the joy that baseball brings me. And family and friends too, of course! May the holidays find everyone enjoying peaceful, happy time with family and friends...and a quick and productive (for Twins fans) end to off-season wheeling and dealing.

Crossing to the other side

The news is increasingly pointing to the likelihood of Hunter becoming a White Sox outfielder.

Fine. But that move will have me hating the Sox even more (and my love for Hunter waning!). I say bring it on...the Twins will be out to conquer the Sox in 2008.

White Sox, you'll be at the bottom of the division next year...which is appropriate since you're bottom feeders.

Hunter's interview

Torii Hunter recently had an interview with a Chicago radio station (check out the story). Reportedly, Hunter is meeting with the White Sox GM on Sunday. Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean anything, but I hate the thought of Hunter playing for the White Sox. I can understand thinking about the Rangers--they're close to his home--or maybe some contending team. But NOT the Yankees or some other Central Division team--especially the White Sox.

Say it ain't so.

Hunter's fate

2000 Hunter card

1993 Hunter card

2004 Hunter card

First off, I pulled these cards from Curveball's Twins baseball card collection, which you can all take a gander at if you click on the top favorite baseball link to the right (Twins cards--Curveball's collection...). It's really an amazing site that has not only Curveball's massive collection available for your perusal, but another collection as well. It's also quite impressive what you can do there...search for a particular player, build a dream team, look up player stats...C'mon it's the offseason...what else do you got to do? And since it's the offseason, I have the time to feature some of these cards here on this blog...along with my baseball ramblings.

My lack of writing here does not truly indicate a lack of interest or focus on the baseball world. Yes, there are no current games to be watched (thank you Lipgloss for tipping me off to the fact that FSN North is now carrying classic games from 2007), much is still happening in the baseball world. It's that quiet, somewhat behind the scenes stuff that makes me nervous.

Like, what will be Hunter's 2008 fate be? Will he be in a Twins uniform? Lord, I hate thinking about it. Hunter, along with Silva, filed for free agency as soon as that was an option. No big surprise there. And it will probably be no big surprise when it is announced that he will be playing for some other team. I don't like it, but I fear it will be so. I don't like it and I think it's bad for the Twins. Hunter is still in his prime (he won his 7th consecutive gold glove this week). He's a fan favorite and a leader in the clubhouse. Hey, whatever happened to the Twins organization promotion for the new stadium that claimed all our favorite players--Hunter, Mauer, Morneau, and Santana to name a few--will be there in 2010 when the new stadium opens? I don't think so. And I think the Twins organization is taking the Twins fan support for granted. This "build a stadium and they (fans) will come" mentality is outrageous. Yes, I'm a loyal fan and I will be there, win or lose...but I would rather be winning...and I betcha there are whole lot of fans who feel likewise. And when my favorite players are traded off with seemingly no concern for winning a title, but saving a few bucks, then I'm a little pissed.

You don't even want to get me going on all the talk about Santana being on the trading block (really, my blood pressure rises more than a few points).

So I am watching and waiting to hear, with a fearful heart, what will be happening with the free agent market this offseason. I am sure there will be twists and turns.

I'm hoping to see a 2008 Hunter Twins baseball card.