So why do I feel even worse today, after the Twins were swept by the Yankees for the second ALDS in a row, than I ever did after a Cubs’ losing season?  I’m afraid some deeply held beliefs that “true Minnesotans” hold, but that my New Jersey-born/Chicago-raised soul just can’t accept or comprehend, may have infected Twins Territory and are contributing to their inability to win in the postseason.  (Perhaps it is also time for me to move, but I’ll save that for another post.)

In his post-game press conference last night, Ron Gardenhire said “I’m very proud of this baseball team.” Yes, he was basing this assessment on winning the division. Well, that’s a goal they’ve accomplished six of the past 10 years.  And all but once they have lost in the first postseason series, by either three games to none, or three games to one.  SO what exactly makes him so proud?  I certainly don’t feel proud of the way the team has played over the past several weeks.

I can only conclude that his pride in his team (and the resignation that many Twins fans express about the Twins’ inability to win in the postseason) stems from one or more of the following common Minnesota Codes of Belief and Conduct:

• Minnesota Nice (my def.:  overt polite friendliness and courtesy which is designed to avoid all confrontation and which seeks to conceal a basic passive aggressiveness and resistance to change)
  For the Twins this seems to take the form of rarely sweeping a series (it wouldn’t be nice to show up the other team) and easing up in a game once they get ahead by a few runs (ditto).  Dear Twins, you are being paid lots of money to win ballgames.  Please don’t feel bad for the other guys (who are also being paid lots of money).  Sports involves confrontation.  If you feel bad about that and bad about winning you are in the wrong business. And Gardy & Andy . . . I don’t care if the pitcher says he’s “fine” . . . it’s your job to pull him BEFORE the other team gets ahead by six runs, even if it hurts his feelings!
• “All our children are above average” an extension of Minnesota Nice which declares it “unseemly” to point out that some people are better at some tasks than others and rewards “trying hard” equally with actually accomplishing a task.  (One Minnesota College which shall remain nameless refuses to be part of Phi Beta Kappa because it requires identifying the “best” students and setting them apart with an honor!)  Gardy’s most frequent excuses for losses take the form of “we didn’t get it done”  (GEE, REALLY?  I didn’t know that from the zeros on the board!) I can’t be certain from this sort of response whether the manager and coaches really don’t KNOW what fundamentals are missing from their ball players’ repertoire or whether they just don’t communicate well enough to point out to the players exactly what needs work.  I’m afraid that perhaps “just try harder next time” is the extent of the constructive criticism provided.  I WAS encouraged to read that Gardy recognizes some of the reasons why the Yankees are so successful: “They’re always looking in. They pay attention to everything. It’s not like they’re robots out there. They pay attention to the game. . . . They do a very good job of getting those guys ready over there.” There is NO reason why Twins can’t achieve the same level of preparation.
• Upon pain of death, shunning, or firing, do not express emotion of any kind. Frankly, baseball can be a rather boring game.  For most of three hours, very little happens.  One way players can help alleviate potential fan boredom is by acting like they actually enjoy what they are being paid substantial sums of money to do.  Say what you will about the faults of Sammy Sosa, but when he entered the playing field (by RUNNING out to RF and acknowledging the fans) everyone knew his attitude was “GAME ON.”  Twins fans like to say that the (cheer)leading happens in the dugout and we don’t necessarily get to see it.  I WANT TO SEE IT!!! Show me that you care about the game and the fans.  Be FIERCE.  Not mean, not nasty, but definitely emotionally engaged in the game.  (One thing I definitely did NOT miss while Justin Morneau was out with his concussion was that stoic blank stare he usually wears throughout a ball game.) Yes, Gardy occasionally gets tossed  for arguing with an umpire, but those rare expressions of emotion are not enough to provide energy throughout a 162-game season.

All of which leaves me with the not-so-long-anymore offseason to contemplate whether to return to Twins Territory next year, or go back to my “loveable loser” Cubbies, who even when they are losing seem to be able to show me that they enjoy this game I love AND that they really WANT to win.  Tune back in April to learn my answer.

The Cubs, looking for sponsorship opportunities, are working on an agreement with Toyota in which a giant logo for the Japanese carmaker would be erected behind the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field.

Yes, you read that correctly.  And no, today is March 17, not April 1st.  I’m guessing nows a good time to try to make deals with Toyota ;-D

For me, this may be the last straw.  Now that I can only follow games on the radio, I’ll be catching very few Cubs games, but lots of Twins games.  Part of me will always be a Cubs fan, but it may be time for a few years off (like until Lou and Soriano are both gone).  I guess this means I’ll have to start working on a new set of header photos for this blog.  Not sure whether to do a “Logorama”-style version of Wrigley, or just defect to the Twins (though I’m sure there are plenty of Target bullseyes in the new stadium). (BTW, if you haven’t seen the Oscar-winning Logorama, do check it out.  You can see it here.  Not the best of the Animated Shorts (IMHO), but still worth seeing. )

Let’s hope they rest up tomorrow and then do better against the Cleveland Indians.

Not sure what to say about the Cabrera trade . . . he’s never impressed me much . . . . If only Nick Punto could make his bat match his defense, the Twins wouldn’t need to make moves like this. Interesting how in the past couple of weeks the guys at the bottom of the lineup have been making things happen. Still, I understand the need for more power from the center infielders . . . If anyone gets demoted, I hope it’s Casillla . . . Nothing about that guy has impressed me at all.

All of us can use the time off between now and Friday’s games . . . let’s hope that everyone brings their A-game on Friday.

West Coast games always kill me.  Sometimes I try to watch or listen as I’m falling asleep, but last night I was totally exhausted and turned off the game when the Twins were up 12-2.  Morneau, Cuddy, and Kubel  had all gotten homers.  Things seemed to be well in hand.

So imagine my surprise when I woke this morning to the news that the Twins had LOST the game . . . ee-gadhs!

Apparently there was a bad call at the plate near the end, but one bad call does not account for giving up a TEN-RUN-LEAD!!

and Mauer’s slump continues (last night he got a rest, coming in to PH in the eighth and getting a hit) . . . started during the series against the White Sox during which he kept swinging at the first pitch and in the final game STRUCK OUT FOUR TIMES!  Come back to us old Joe . . .

This weekend my two favorite teams, the Chicago Cubs and the Minnesota Twins, play three games of interleague baseball. The first game went, deservedly, to the Twins, who played good, clean, fundamental baseball. Kevin Slowey was impressive on the mound for the Twins, with 10 strikeouts in six innings. Mauer and Kubel hit homers and the rest of the Twins played like the professionals they are.

Then there was Milton Bradley (currently hitting .224 , when he’s not on the DL . . . so much for the big bucks we spent on him). The article linked above says it all: “There are bloopers, and then there was Milton Bradley’s day. . . . Bradley hit a two-run double in the sixth, but also made a baserunning gaffe that inning, lost a ball in the sun in the seventh and was charged with an error in the eighth when he caught a ball for the second out and threw it to a fan in the bleachers. Someone got a souvenir, and the Minnesota Twins handed the Cubs a 7-4 Interleague loss.”

There are just no excuses for anyone making that much money to play the way he (and several other Cubs) have been playing. In one of the long games in Houston recently, Soriano seemed to just lose interest in the later innings. These guys make more in one day than I’ve ever made in an entire year. The least they can do is pay attention for the three hours (or even a bit more) that it takes to play a baseball game.

The Twins organization doesn’t put up with that kind of “lolly-gagging around” the infield and outfield and basepaths . . . and it shows. Though to be fair to my beloved Cubbies, it must be difficult to come to work everyday and have to face Lou, who doesn’t seem to spread much joy or inspiration in the dugout . . .

Two more day games in this series. (The way God meant for baseball to be played.)

On the Twins front bad news about Boof Bonser–out for the season with shoulder surgery . . . but the team beat the Red Sox . . . Yeah!

Of course none of this means anything, but it’s always good to start off on a positive note.

Now just remember to PACE YOURSELVES BOYS!

My initial thoughts as the players begin to report for Spring Training?

• Milton Bradley is not Cubbie material. When will they get back to putting together a TEAM instead of a bunch of numbers?
• Joe Crede as a Twin is a great idea. Hope it happens.
• Today’s headline “Cubs manager Piniella has been mulling a change to lineup” Gee, wasn’t that his plan for every game last year? Guess he didn’t learn anything from all those coaching books he said he was reading in the off-season

Well that’s enough warmup swings for the first workout of the season.

This past weekend was a busy one. Nephew Sean was in town on Wheaton Academy’s “Instrumental Tour 2008: Phil. 2:3-4″. Went to hear them play at Bethel University on Friday and at the Salvation Army on Saturday morning. The highlight was the Percussion Ensemble, especially their “Jam” with the clients at the Salvation Army. WOW–very powerful and moving.

On Sunday poet Mary Oliver read at the State Theater. Lovely. And I got to see three of my favorite writers on the same stage (thought not at the same time): Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew had the honor of introducing Mary, and Mary Rose O’Reilley moderated the question and answer period.

To top off the weekend, Monday brought the Home Opener for both the Chicago Cubs and the Minnesota Twins. At 10 am the Cubs held a ceremony to unveil the new statue of Ernie Banks. Even the rain and a cold couldn’t keep Ernie under the weather. Unfortunately, the rain did delay the game by about an hour, but just before 2 pm, Wayne Messmer sang The National Anthem and things got underway. A pitchers’ duel through 8 innings, the game broke open in the ninth with each team scoring three runs. Our new outfielder Hosuke Fukudome was the star of the day. Unfortunately, the Brewer’s came back in the 10th and the game ended with the Cubs losing 4-3. But “it’s a long season and you gotta trust it” as they say in the movies.

Due to a mid-Cubs-game rain delay, there was just enough time to change channels and catch the start of the Twins Home Opener at 6 pm.

Heavy wet snow had been falling all day, so the question of the day was “Can anybody say ‘Retractable Roof’?” If this were 2010, the game would have been scheduled in the new outdoor ballpark (sans roof). The Twins organization, cheapskates that they are, and MLB, get all the revenue from the stadium, but it is being paid for primarily by the taxpayers of Hennepin County. When it was clear that the voters had no interest in paying for a new stadium, the County just decided to go around the law and not put it to a vote. But they knew there would be an absolute revolt if the price included the extra $150 million for a retractable roof, so they went ahead and (stupidly) started building without one. They’ve promised not to come asking for more money for a roof later, but I’m not putting any money on that promise. [Am I bitter? YES!]

Okay, back to the game. Another good start for a new outfielder: Carlos Gomez (who Burt Blyleven renamed Gonzales
Thanks to him, the Twins won over the Angels 3-2.

Unfortunately, last night’s Twins game was too painful to watch. The Angels won 9-1, hammering Boof Bonser pretty hard.

On the food front, more recipes soon; I was on a rice kick for a while and have several of my favorites to add. Of course, Opening Day is all hot dogs and brats and root/beer.

Enough for now. Enjoy the season.