That was easy

Well ladies and gentleman, we’re in!

These left for dead Minnesota Vikings now have a full game lead on the 6th and final playoff spot. Last week it wasn’t really worth getting into because of the crazy tiebreakers with the teams that were tied. Not anymore all-stars! With Detroit and Arizona losing today, we are securely in the playoffs with three measly games left.

I was pretty confident going into the game that we would win but the word “trap game” started creeping into my head as the week went on. A three-win team playing “loosey goosey” at home started worrying me. The last thing we needed as rejuvenated fans was a bad loss to a bad team. That would have put a damper in this newfound success. But that didn’t happen. We won pretty easily and out of our seven wins this felt like the most business like. It’s like we have this new winners mentality where we can just show up, play a little and leave with a W. It’s great!


The whole trap game thing was erased immediately on the first actual play when Trent Dilfer rifled his first pass into Kevin Williams and he took it to the house. Ten seconds in and it’s 7-0. That’s when we all knew it was over. The rest of the game wasn’t that entertaining because San Francisco is an extremely bad team and it’s not fun watching shitty teams play football. It’s like watching a really bad movie in the movie theater. All you want to do is walk out of the thing and be done with it.

The Vikings even weren’t that great. The soon to be rookie of the year Adrian Peterson had 14 carries for three yards! I never thought he get stuffed like this. Our offense only had 280 total yards and was shut-down completely in the second half. The two offensive highlights were Chester’s 84-yard touchdown run and the steady play again of Tarvaris Jackson. It’s no surprise that our four game winning streak is tied to T-Jacks minimal turnover-smart decision play. He wasn’t spectacular but he didn’t f-up. The 180 he’s made is one of the main stories of this season. I don’t think 95% of people saw this coming.


That’s about it for this game. Like I said, it was like watching a bad movie. It was nice being in control and winning, but the second half was painful. Either way it was nice keeping the streak alive and solidifying ourselves as a good NFC team. The next two weeks are at home and we should win both. You don’t want to look forward but I do. It’s only natural. That puts us at 9-6 heading into a road game at Denver. I don’t know how many wins is going to get us in, but nine wins puts us at a great chance to get in. You know it’s a good sign when my roommates and I are talking about which team we’d rather play in the first round rather than discussing which draft pick we should take in April. Things have changed around here and I couldn’t be happier.

Out,
Fuzz

Read More......

#100

Yes, this is a cheap way to get to 100 but screw it. This is our 100th post. Cheers to that! Thank all of you for reading. We've noticed more hits the last 2-3 weeks so keep the word of mouth going. Tell all of your friends! We're all enjoying this fun little hobby.

Next week should be another full week for us. I'll be coming at you with the Vikings game recap and a college basketball article. Dogg will be coming out with his TV review. He's the ultimate TV junkie so you'll find something you watch on his list. Q will be coming out with something. He hasn't decided what yet but he says he's going to take every single weekend minute to figure it out. Kidding, we're not that big of losers. We'll also have our NFL Under Review and I think another "Voices from a Stranger" piece. So that's six for next week! Buckle up and put on your helmets ladies. Have a drunken but safe weekend....

Read More......

TKOT Roundtable

All that hype and what? Nothing. I'm of course talking about the baseball winter meetings this week. My refresh button almost got worn out of all the times I clicked that dirty bastard waiting to see where Johan Santana was going. What a waste of time. After three million different rumors he's still a Minnesota Twin. That didn't stop us from getting together in a smoky damp basement with giant cubans and hashing on what happened in Nashville and more importantly what didn't happen. Your favorite Q couldn't make it down to the roundtable so we went to our bullpen. We called in the big league chewing with a nasty deuce--Schmick Schmarx. So it's starters Fuzz and Dogg with Schmick Schmarx filling in the third spot in our rotation.

Fuzz: I'm really ok with having Johan on the Twins after the winter meetings. We have 16 weeks until the start of spring training so hopefully from now until then, the Twins gain some more leverage. It didn't think it was good when only the Red Sox were talking to us. GM's will go back and evaluate their teams and hopefully come back at us with a better deal. I'm loving Bill Smith's patience.

Dogg: You got to think highly of Bill Smith thus far. Patience is a virtue in life and he displayed that to its max this week. You know Epstein was throwing back Scotch and Waters with Smitty this week and Smitty still didn’t give in. I’m glad to see patience with the best pitcher in the league but on the other hand I still want to move him. There’s no chance at winning with the bats we have right now and at least get some return for him because he’ll be gone for a cheap price in my mind if we wait even until trade deadline. Teams will know we’re desperate to get something for him when we are 20 games back at the break so move him ASAP. One more Scotch Smitty and make the move.


Fuzz: I agree. They need to trade. Personally, I wish they could sign him. I love Jo'Hizzy. It's nice having the best pitcher in the game. But I also know this organization. They can't afford to sign him AND sign other players to fill our other holes (center, 3B, & DH.) That's not in the cards and it sucks. So, if a guy gets really good like Johan did, no way we can pay him and stay competitive. Our only chance at a World Series title is to get a bunch of young promising prospects and hope they develop quickly before they reach Johan's status. Our next title (if we have one) will be a young ball club that figured it out and got hot. I don't see us ever winning with a bunch of expensive veterans.

Dogg: I think things might change a little bit in 2010 when we open the new stadium. There might be some heat on the front office if this team doesn’t compete again in the next couple years. Fans were used to seeing this team in the postseason and the last thing fans want to see is another run of mediocrity. If they want to win a title, the front office will have to nut up and sign a name that requires a larger sum of money. Yeah Florida won with a lot of young players but a lot of those guys had career years in their early 20’s. That entire pitching staff with the exception of Beckett has flopped so unless we catch a bunch of young players playing like veterans it will be very tough to win a playoff series let alone a WS. We will spend more when Old Man River (Pohlad) takes a backseat, which might not be until he passes away.

Fuzz: Pohlad's close to kicking up daisies. You seen that guy lately? He takes a breath about every 20 seconds. Unfortunately, his sons are just as cheap I've heard.


Dogg: Honestly, why would they be cheap? How much f’n money does one family need? Are they trying to tell me it wouldn’t be fun to win consistently while laying back, drinking top shelf booze similar to Theo Epstein? Have these tools given up anything in their lives? Granted I know these players are asking for way too much money but the Pohlad’s have a dollar or two laying around that they can spare. Give the fans what they want since they are the ones putting money in your pocket. Go ahead and charge me $25 for a hot dog and beer because I’ll enjoy it if we are consistently making runs at the postseason.

Fuzz: It goes back to Pohlad being so f-ing cheap. He's a very smart businessman. He's not like the Mark Cuban type that is more about the game. He's all about the bottom line. A very informed financial friend of mine told me that Pohlad built and sold off major banking operations twice. The point being is that he always looking for the best deal. Here's my informed friends rant coming from the finance side:

I think the biggest issue is that he's running the Twins as a smart business man and not as a fan. I can't say I entirely blame him. If the economics of the current Twins situation aren't favorable, I can't say I’d expect anybody to support the team at a loss every year. I haven't seen the p&l statements (profit and loss) for the Twins but I’d imagine he's keeping the finances in the black. Hopefully, with the improved economics of the new stadium, he'll be reinvest some of that back into the franchise. Personally, I think he'll sell. Hot Carl wasn't exactly saying no to the idea of contracting the Twins if my memory serves me correctly.

Thanks financial professional friend. We should move on. Marx you have to have something on your mind.

Schmick Schmarx: I do. In light of the recent trade (Detroit-Florida) and our overall standing last year with this club, I think we only have two options:

1. Trade Johan, Joe Nathan, and Mike Cuddyer. Use the money to sign Morneau and Neshek. Develop our team while hovering around .500 and keeping ours eyes on all other trade options that are out there until 2010, when we move into the new stadium. This will also require us to hire a smoking hot public relations lady to put a good spin on the situation and try to avoid the PR disaster.


2. Keep Johan, trade for someone in the Garrett Atkins, Adam Dunn, Jason Bay, Miguel Tejada mold(or even two of these guys), mortgage the future and go for it in the next 2 seasons.

Its painfully obvious that the thing we can't do is nothing, which, unfortunately, is the direction we have taken in the past and seem to be heading down this year. Would anyone here have a problem with absolutely selling out and going for it? Even if we didn't win the World Series one of these 2 years, at least we took our best shot and would be fun to watch

Dogg: I agree with you 100% Schmick. Go one of two ways rather than looming in the middle all the time. Lets sign an average guy or two and hope for the best is our mentality where it should be go for the gold or sellout now. I’m sick of being 10 games over .500 and missing the playoffs by 8 games. We did win some division titles but I think that had more to do with our weak division at the time rather than our team being that good. Now that our division is the best in baseball we need to head north or south starting this year. I just heard that we are in talks with Luis Gonzalez. Really?

A has been who is well past his prime isn’t going to help this squad. Please do not sign him Smitty. Andrew Jones signed with the LA Dodgers, which might open up room for them to deal Matt Kemp to the Twins in a Johan deal. I believe that he would be the best hitter we can get in return for Johan with all the deals mentioned. I got him going 25+ 100+ next year. He’s legit.

Fuzz: The Twins went down to the meetings as the hot topic but Detroit ending up stealing the actual headlines. Are they the favorite now? That lineup is absurd. They had the best offense in the league last year I believe and they still didn't make the playoffs. That lineup might get them to the postseason, but it's up to that staff to get them to the promise land. Verlander, Bonderman & Willis are going to be the key for them. You have to like that they're going for it though...

Schmick Schmarx: Detroit's team on paper is outstanding. The problem is their pitching, namely their bullpen, isn't as strong. Joel Zumaya is out for at least half of next season, Fernando Rodney was hurt last year, they lost Jamie Walker before last season and he was a big part of their bullpen, and Todd Jones is always an adventure in the ninth. Nobody knows what 57 year old Kenny Rogers is going to give them, or if Dontrelle Willis can bounce back from his poor '06 season against American League lineups. They are going to be able to hit, though, and I'm really looking nit picking their pitching faults.


Dogg: Detroit is the favorite to win our division I believe but not to represent the AL in the WS. You still have Boston and NY who are loaded with big time names every year as well so nothing will be handed to them by any means. Yes they did lead the league in runs scored last year and look where that got them…nowhere. Jim Leyland is one of the best managers this game has ever seen so I do trust him to take all this talent and somehow get them to play as a team unlike other organizations I know (Yankees and Dodgers). They should be for real but “will be” for real is yet to be determined.

Fuzz: Everyone keeps forgetting Cleveland in this whole deal. They were a game away from going to the WS last year yet everyone is anointing Detroit the division in December. This division is really, really good. The Twins and White Sox are after thoughts right now and both teams have had good success the last 3-4 years. Kansas City is adding guys too. Anyways, back to Andruw Jones. Did you see Andruw Jones got 18.1 a year from the Dodgers? He'll hit .210 with 35 bombs this year for them. Whatever.


Schmick Schmarx: I don't mind the Andruw Jones deal. $18 million per year is a lot, but its only a 2 year deal. They are getting a guy who is 30 years old and has been a very good player every year except for last year. Jones should be motivated to rebound from his poor season last year. He also fills a gaping hole in center for them and allows them to demote Juan Pierre to fourth outfielder status.

Dogg: I don’t think anybody is forgetting about Cleveland but the teams who make big time moves always get talked about in the off season. Everybody knows who Cleveland has and if you don’t think they’re going to be good again you probably should think again. The majority of their starters are reaching the prime of their careers and that lineup will always produce runs. Jones will not hit .210. I’ll take the over on .240 and the over on 30 HR’s this year. Also, I would take Juan Pierre to be our starting CF in a second but not for the money he makes.

Fuzz: Maybe it's not to bad but it's a guy like Jones that we could never get. That's what's frustrating. The Twins will never take on a contract like this with a guy that isn't a sure thing. We can't make any mistakes with our money. Until this changes we might be stuck in middle ground.


Dogg: Of course we will be stuck in middle ground. We find young talent better than most teams in this league but 99% of the time you can’t win with just young talent. This isn’t college basketball. We are talking about a veteran’s sport where savvy can take you a long way. You think Nick Punto has more talent than every minor leaguer? No, not even close but he works his tail off and has grit like no other player in this league. I’m not saying 9 Nick Punto’s is going to win you a championship but they will do everything in their power to contribute and that’s what baseball is about.

Out,
TKOT

Read More......

Under Review: Week 13

Five NFL Questions.

Tarvaris Jackson—is he the starting quarterback for the Vikings next year? What do you like in his maturation process? Concerns?


Q: I told you weeks ago that he was going to be our QB in 08, for better or worse. Well, after the last three games, it's starting to look like it'll be for the better. T Jack's QB rating has been over 100 in the last three games, all Purple victories. He's even got some analysts discussing his play, and not because he's the 35th best QB in a 32 team league. The guy is finally maturing in his decision-making and has made some very good throws over the last few games. This was the kind of progress that everyone was hoping for at the beginning of the year. I guess now that he's finally healthy, he's starting to prove Childress right in picking him as our QB (for now). I'm cautiously optimistic that he can lead this team to the playoffs...knock on wood.

Dogg: Well, I didn’t think I would ever say this but YES! The guy isn’t pretty at doing anything as a QB but you know what counts in this league and that’s winning football games. His stats might not be outstanding, in fact they look horrendous but what QB in this league would have good stats throwing the ball to the WR core we have? Not many and also our style of offense doesn’t help the cause (dive right, dive left, pitch right, pitch left). His turnovers are being held to a minimum which I think Chilly is looking for so I think he’s doing his job and that’s all we can ask for out of a guy starting his first full season. He isn’t no Lance Harbor or Johnnie Moxon but instead Trent Dilfer like. We all know that he has a SB ring.


Fuzz: How quickly things change! A month ago in this segment all of us were calling for his head and listing off potential college football BMOC’s that we would like. Now I’m convinced with of course a few bumps in the road that he’s going to be just fine in the long run. So yes, he’s the Vikings starting quarterback next year. Another point to bring up is the success of the Vikings is helping his case also. This is a heavy QB draft class but our draft pick keeps sliding with every win. A BMOC might not be around when we draft in the late 20’s next year.

I’m really enjoying the running part of T-Jack’s game in this maturation process. He used to throw it up and hope. Now, he’s tucking and gaining crucial first downs with his legs that are keeping possessions alive, which is so big in NFL. My concerns are that this was his 11th game only. He’s not going to look that good every time from now on, he’s still going to have those inexperienced bumps.

Q: I’m not 100% sold on his running “ability” just yet. Yes, it’s been better lately, but back when we got him, everyone was expecting him to run more and, well, faster. He seems really slow when he actually does run. He also could use a class in how to slide and avoid a big hit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not that upset about it, I just don’t think it’s a very big part of his game right now.

Are Sean Payton and Joe Gibbs jobs in jeopardy after the bonehead calls they made? If not, would less proven coaches making the same decisions be more under fire?


Dogg: Gibbs should’ve never been hired again in the first place. He’s older than dust and believe he coached a game against Lombardi in his prime. If he doesn’t get canned he should retire on his own. He admitted to have made a blunder and said there was no excuse for it. That’s what happens when you turn 108. You forget things like the rules of the game. Payton will be and should be fine. Nobody expected this New Orleans team to be anything last year and just because of one very good year doesn’t mean expectations should always be high. He also lost Joe Horn to free agency and Deuce McAllister to injury so I don’t see him being on the hot seat at all. To me NFL coaches make dumb decisions almost every week so the one-week blunders shouldn’t cost you the job. For Gibbs it might’ve been the turning point but there was no reason for him to be a head coach in this league from the start.

Fuzz: No. Both are un-excusable decisions but both will be fine. Payton is considered one of the bright young coaches and Gibbs is a legend. Gibbs was Daniel Snyder the owner of the Skins idol back in the day. No way he fires him. I assume Gibbs will resign at the end of the year and go back to that sport with the mullets and cut-off flannel shirts.


Q: Payton is in absolutely no jeopardy. He's still considered a savior after what he accomplished last year. I know Gibbs is an HOF'er and basically a god in Hog Land, but it might be time for him to go. It's not just the double timeout that likely cost them the game yesterday either. His teams have been floundering for the last couple years and it's time for a change. And I hope for the people of Washington's sake that they go to a young, up and coming coach. They've had nothing but AARP members running that Redskin ballclub for too many years now.

Make a call right now. Give me the two wildcard teams from the AFC and why?

Fuzz: Those two goons are going to say Jacksonville and Cleveland. That’s too easy. Jacksonville has more wins than any other wildcard team so they look in. I am picking Jacksonville also. But, they are both on the Cleveland bandwagon. You can’t fault them because first, they aren’t that smart, but second is that they are a nice little sleeper story this year. No one in a non-sober/stoned state thought they had a prayer this year in the AFC. I guarantee one of our college readers was blazing one night and called the Cleveland Browns making the playoffs. He’s telling his buddies right now about it but is forgetting that they were with him that hazy night laughing at the back of a Cheerio’s box.

Way back in our NFL preview this year, I picked Tennessee. They are right in the thick of things so I’m sticking with Madden Curse Vince Young and company. You know that’s the reason he sucks balls this year right? It’s not just an injury thing with that damn cover. Anytime you grace that cover something immediately horrible happens to you that year. Saying that, Mr. Adrian Peterson please don’t accept the cover next year. I’m begging you. It will be easy for them to ask you since you’ll be the MVP this year, but for us, please decline. Thanks.


Q: Hold up, hold up, hold up. Did you really just say that we “aren’t that smart” for being on the Browns bandwagon? This coming from “Derek Anderson is my boyfriend” Fuzz? You can’t be serious. For two months now, not a Sunday has gone by where you haven’t pimped Anderson and his receiving duo of Edwards & Winslow. Get over yourself. That said, I’ll take Jacksonville and Cleveland. Neither will win their division because of Indy and Pittsburgh respectively. They have the best two records. Jax can play D with the best of them and Garrard has proven to be more than capable of moving the team up and down the field with surprising efficiency. The Browns are an offensive juggernaut with Anderson, Edwards, and Winslow leading the way. They may not stop anyone on D, but they'll outscore enough teams to make it in as the 6th seed.

Dogg: I am going with Jacksonville and Cleveland. I like the Jags because they have a solid running attack and a QB that does his job and then some in David Garrard. I believe he’s been their answer for years and now have finally put the pill in his hands and he’s delivering. Any Jack Del Rio team will have a solid defense as well so I like their balance a lot. Cleveland because that’s what I hope. I can’t remember the last time a Browns team was even respectable so it would be great to see a whole new franchise in the postseason. I’m loving Derek Anderson and pimp Braylon Edwards because I got the guy for $3 in my fantasy football draft. Can you say SOD? Last but not least, they have a soldier on their team and how can you not cheer for guys who have served in the military during times of war.

San Diego = Superbowl contender. No? Yes? Reasons please...


Fuzz: I wish! However, the Superbowl champion is between Pats, Indy, Dallas and Green Bay. That’s it. I amazed on how much better those four teams are than the rest of the league. With all due respect to the Steelers, Jags, Bucs and Vikings, those are the only four teams that will win it. Those four teams are like that awkwardly tall girl in 5th grade that is two feet taller than everyone else, including the boys. She’s just waiting for the rest of them to catch up.

Dogg: They have LT and Gates on offense and Shawn Merriman on defense so the answer is yes. They might be the three most dominant players at their position so there’s a chance for sure. NE is dominant and Indy is very good but both can be beaten in a one game series like I mention every week. I hope it happens.

Q: Um, I'll go with no. Their D has been lacking consistency all year, Phil Rivers is an average quarterback at best, and their coach is an idiot. They might still win the West just because it's a terrible division, but they'll be one and done in the playoffs going up against either of the aforementioned AFC wild cards (Jacksonville or Cleveland).

What do you think of the NFL Network games? Good idea?

Dogg: The NFL network can kiss my ass.


Q: I get why they do it (they're greedy SOB's), and it does generate a lot of buzz about their league, but it just doesn't make sense to have a game that 90% of the population can't watch. You're bringing the wrong kind of attention to your sport. That said, it does cause people to actually leave their couches and fraternize with other human beings and brings in a bunch of money to sports bars, so it will be around for a lot longer that people think (or want).

Fuzz: I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world. Like Q said, it gets you out of the house if you absolutely needed to watch the game. That being said, I’m not married with four kids. It’s easy for me to get out of the house. Still though, it’s only a handful of games a year and it is their network. Why not put your games on YOUR television station? The ratings aren’t probably great but they are getting every single profit from it and it’s all about the money friends. Sing it with me... Cause I’m gonna tell you like you told me, cash rules everything around me...dollar-dollar bills ya’ll...

Read More......

Voices from a Stranger...

Here is the second installment of our Voices from a Stranger feature. I promised before that we would try to get one out every week. Unfortunately I had the first one wrapped up without having people lined up after that. However, now we got some things going from other loyal readers. Hopefully we can have some consistency with this feature.

If you don't remember this feature is a guest writer's opinion on whatever they like. If you feel you’d like to do this just email the tkontoast@gmail.com address and let us know. You can email that address to see if we already have one in line for that week or email your post for us to review. Also, if it’s not good it’s not going up. We are honest SOB’s that will say...hell no!

Without further ado, this week's entry comes from a college football fan. Thank God because we don't talk about it enough. He goes by Finn-to-Win. A little background is that he has an improving golf swing and can drain the three in your grill. His topic is the BCS system. Enjoy...

BCS-


The reason for NOT having a playoff - exams, travel, too many games, wrong time of year, etc...

Division 2 has a 24-team playoff.
Division 3 has a 32-team playoff.
That’s 5 extra games!!!!!

Also, these are the small schools, small budgets, no scholarships (D3?), kids who actually (in theory) care about their education and their playoff system. So, there really aren't any reasons not to have a D1 playoff - other than the schools/NCAA not wanting it.

So, here is the playoff solution...

12 teams-
The most a team could play is four extra games six conference winners from
-ACC
-Big East
-Big Ten
-Big 12
-Pac 10
-SEC

Six at large teams - at least one must come from outside of the big six conferences. No more than three from one conference. Four first round byes to top ranked conference winners.
Assuming that the top ranked teams win their conference/playoff this year, you would have...

Virginia Tech - ACC
West Virginia - Big East
Ohio State - Big 10
Oklahoma - Big 12
Arizona State - Pac 10
LSU - SEC


At Large...
Kansas - Big 12
Missouri - Big 12
Oregon - Pac 10
USC - Pac 10
Georgia - SEC
Hawaii - WAC


This also let's the major conference spoiler come into play - just like basketball - when there is an upset in a conference championship, you still take the best team as an at large and now another team gets bumped. This could come into play in the Big 10, Big East, Big 12 & SEC. Example - Michigan beats Ohio State and USC would probably get bumped. This would work and would be a GREAT playoff system.

Where do you play?

Rotate the championship - like they do now. Have the semi-finals at two of the other big ones. Trying to match up traditional games at those sites when setting up the bracket. Other bowls can still exist - just like the NIT in basketball. I think they would still make good money - maybe even better. No one is saying you have to cut out the other 74 different bowl games that they have. The Basketball tournament is huge - "Sweet 16", "Final Four", National Championship!

Why wouldn't a 12-team playoff be as popular?

Would mid-level schools be any less excited over the Taco Bell/Red Bull/Outback Steakhouse Bowl? No. You basically have a run up to the final games - which may even increase the popularity of the 6-5 vs. 7-4 bowl games.

Here you go...

Round 1 - Saturday, December 15 - 4 games - right now, this is an open weekend - games at (EST) 12, 3, 6, 9.

Round 2 - Saturday, December 22 - 4 games at (EST) 12, 3, 6, 9 - move the current games to the 21st/23rd and have double headers on both of those days.

Round 3 - Tuesday, January 1st!!!! - 2 games replacing the 2 prime time games (this year Rose & Sugar) - you have your day packed full of football like always - capped off by two semi-final games! Are you kidding me that this wouldn't be HUGE? (Translation - MONEY$)

Round 4 - Monday, January 7th - Championship - right where the championship is. So, you added a round of football on an empty weekend (although this is exam time - but only 8 schools are affected.

You added playoff games right before Christmas instead of Podunk bowls. You cap your New Year's Day games with semi-final games. You have a true national championship. You have a bracket, so now people can start having their football pools!!!!!

Out,
Finn-to-Win

Read More......

Feeling Minnesota

We made the playoffs three years ago and I don’t think we’ve been in a playoff slot this late in a season since then. With the parity in the NFL these days, three years has seemed like an eternity. With our third convincing win in a row and beating the current #6 seed Detroit Lions, these plucky Vikings are tied for the last wild card spot in the NFC.

Holy Shit.

I’m jacked. I had to get that out of the way. They say journalists are supposed to keep an even keel and not let emotion into their stories. Well I’m a volunteer blogger that has no journalism skills. So, I’m can say that I’m real frickin excited. We haven’t sniffed the playoffs in so long and it was looking real bleak at 3-6 after that devastating loss against Green Bay that this recent run is thrilling. Playing meaningful games in December. Who knew?

I sure didn’t. Many will talk about AP’s return to the ring as the story for this game, but the real story I believe was the play of Tarvaris Jackson. I didn’t see us grabbing a playoff spot all year with T-Jack at the helm. I thought he was overmatched and confused. And he was. But, he looked great today. Yes, great. Not Peyton Manning great, fantasy stat great or even Shane Falco great. I’m talking about second year finally getting things great. His final line was 18/24, 204 yards, two TD’s and one INT. It was T-Jack’s eleventh career start and he looked great.


The first eight starts he was horrible to average. The next two he started showing you something. And then today he finally showed everyone that he has a chance to be a quarterback in this league. He played with confidence, ran for first downs and had complete control of the offense. I’m not saying this will be the norm, but for one day he gets a great call from me.

Now about that Adrian Peterson fella. You really didn’t think I was not going to talk about him did you? It’s like ignoring the elephant in the room. With a huge clunky brace and a step slower it still didn’t matter with Mr. All Day. 15 carries, 116 yards and two TD’s. He’s so good.


He still didn’t look the same though. He looked tentative and a little bit slower. But his slower is still a couple steps above the rest of the players and in the end it didn’t matter. I especially liked the second touchdown where he did a double body juke that left the defender tackling air. The defender just guessed as he dove into an empty area while Peterson walked into the end zone. Anyways, he ran at a 7.7 average, a ridiculous stat for a running back. You rarely see such a high number like that but AP seems to do it weekly. It’s good to see our Superman back.

I would like to point out that Childress deserves some credit here. Fans were easy to point the finger at him when we were 3-6 so now those same fans need to give him some props for our resurgence. You can’t say that the players are just playing better now because I wasn’t hearing much player blame back a month ago. It was send Childress packing talk. Look, I’m a Childress supporter and I have given him my fair share of criticism. Especially his decision to roll with an unproven QB and a worse back-up plan. Well, right now he’s looking pretty good. It doesn’t excuse everything because we are still only 6-6, but give the ole ball coach his due for bringing us back in this race.


With the Giants winning today, pulling away with the 5th playoff spot, realistically there is only spot left. We have four games left against opponents with a combined record of 18-30 and not one with a winning record. This is doable. I listened to some post-game interviews and four different players gave the same clichéd sports answer:

“We’re just taking this one game at a time.”

Alright, I’ll bite. It’s only been said 15 billion times before but I’ll believe you guys. Bring on San Fran…

Out,
Fuzz

Read More......

Heating Up...

For the hardcore baseball fan there are three events during the year that make us giddy. The first is seeing the following line in the newspaper in mid-February: “Pitcher and Catchers Report Today”. The second is the beginning of the postseason (remember, “There is Only One October!”). It is the third event that might be the most exciting and talked about of all though…the winter meetings.

For those who don’t know, the winter meetings are a four day event (Dec. 3-7 this year) where all of the general managers in baseball get together to discuss potential rule changes and other issues regarding the state of baseball. It is also the time when most big time trades and signings go down since everyone can sit down face to face and hash out deals. Because of this, it is also the time when baseball’s rumor mill starts spinning out of control. It’s the time when everyone “knows a guy” who works for a team and has given them insider information as to whom their favorite team is going to sign and/or trade for. If you believe everything you read during this time of year, 90% of the biggest stars in the game are on the verge of being traded. For fans, there is nothing more fun than speculating who’s going where. Unfortunately, in years past, this would be the week when the Twins sign Rick Reed or Tony Batista.


(Beckett has this valued at $0.12--if it's in mint condition)

But not in Year 1 of the Smith Era. Oh no, here in the Year of Our Lord 2007, the Minnesota Twins are the busiest and most talked about team heading into the winter meetings; not the Yankees, not the Red Sox, not the Mets, not the Dodgers. We could be at the center of one of the biggest trades in the history of the game. In fact, there is a better than good chance that our roster will be completely shaken up by the time this week is over. So without further ado, I present to you the five most important points of interest for this year’s meetings.



The trade of the best pitcher on the planet—Johan Santana.
I know that I don’t need to say much about this because it has been big news around the country and the biggest news here in Minnesota. The best pitcher in baseball, still in the prime of his career, is about to be traded. That never happens, which is why this is such a huge story. While there are factors that make this trade a bit tricky (Santana’s no trade clause, his contract demands from whomever acquires him, the amount a team would have to give up to get him), the writing is on the wall and deal will likely get done during the meetings. For the time being, it would appear that the Red Sox and Yankees are the frontrunners for Johan. I know, weird. There are whispers of a team like Seattle or the Dodgers coming in at the last minute and blowing the Twins away with a huge offer, but that has been nothing more than hearsay thus far. This will be the biggest trade in Twins history and will shape this team for the foreseeable future. It is imperative that we get a quality package of players as we head towards 2010 (stadium opening) and beyond.



The trade of Florida third baseman Miguel Cabrera.
It would appear that it’s a one-horse race for the 24 year old power hitter. The Angels and Marlins have been in talks for at least a week now, and it looks like they are starting to shape out a deal. Rumors have Anaheim/Los Angeles building their package around second baseman Howie Kendrick and catcher Jeff Mathis, while also including at least one top tier prospect (likely a pitcher). But this is no where near a far gone conclusion. A report earlier this week said the talks between these two teams have stalled. By opening that window, there is an opportunity for some other team to get in Florida’s ear this week and pull off a mega-trade. Make no mistake about it; this could be a gigantic deal. It’s not every day that a 30/100 guy, entering his prime no less, is made available like this. What does this mean for the Twins? Nothing, but it does bring up that painful reminder that we were the organization that discovered Cabrera as a promising teenager and offered him a minor league contract. He turned it down and signed a $1 million deal with Florida a couple years later. Good times.



The potential use of instant replay for homeruns.
Lost amid all of the trade talks will be the likely rule change that allows umpires to use instant replay to make a ruling on borderline homeruns. This would be a monumental decision. Of all the sports, baseball has always been the one that has relied solely human sight to make calls. Most baseball purists (myself included) see this rule change as a Pandora’s Box. Once you allow any form of replay, there’s no telling how much it will infiltrate the game. What about close plays at the plate? Bang-bang plays at first? Diving catches in the outfield? Borderline strikes and balls? Baseball is game that uses four umpires per game. Between the four of them, they should be able to get most calls right. A blown call here or there is just part of the game. You want fewer bad or missed calls? Get better umpires, not cameras.



The courtship of A’s pitcher Dan Haren.
As mentioned, either the Red Sox or Yankees should win the Santana sweepstakes, which will leave the loser still looking for pitching help. Enter Dan Haren and the Oakland Athletics. A very talented pitcher that many casual fans don’t know, Haren won 15 games last year with an ERA just over 3. Those are very good numbers for a 27 year old pitching for a team that couldn’t score him any runs. I know that it’s probably not good to lose out on acquiring the best pitcher in the game, but the loser of the Johan derby might actually end up in better shape. You’re going to have to give up the house to get Santana, not to mention the piles of money you’ll have to pay him. On the other hand, Haren is only making about $2.5 million a year and you could get him without giving up your entire farm system. I think people will be shocked to see just how much attention and talks there are between the big market teams and Oakland this week. The effect on the Twins? It could mean fewer suitors for Johan and thus you can’t play offers against other teams to up the ante.



The overpaying of free agent centerfielders.
The 2007 free agent class, for the most part, is pretty weak. Consider that the two pitchers likely to receive the highest contracts should be Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse. Seriously. Other “big” names available via free agency include Brad Wilkerson, Tadahito Iguchi, David Eckstein, Milton Bradley, Shannon Stewart, Jose Guillen, and Eric Gagne. Um, yuck. Then there’s the position of centerfield, which boasts a very impressive list players, led by Aaron Rowand, Andruw Jones, and Mike Cameron. There seems to be quite a few teams that are in the market for this position as well. When you combine that need with Torii Hunter’s ridiculous 5 year, $90 million contract (which set the market way too high), you have the recipe for incredibly high deals. What does this mean for a team like the Twins (who definitely have a gaping hole in center)? It means you better get a CF in the Santana trade; otherwise it will be the Denard Span Experience all season long.



So buckle up for what is looking like the most important week in recent (and future) Twins history. When all is said and done, Johan will most likely be gone, Nathan could very easily be dealt too, there should be at least four new members of the organization, and there is an outside chance that we make a relatively big signing. It’s going to be a fun week.

Read More......