Yeah, no kidding. If there's nothing good on the field, then it's going to be hard to draw fans. You'd need some really good side attractions to draw people otherwise. Maybe waterslides in the outfield, getting your car fixed during the game, having your house cleaned while you attend the game, or even a really good player on a team that has come to town.
there isn't such a thing as a "fair weather" brewers fan, just like there isn't a fair weather cubs fan. both teams have sucked since Jesus Christ was old enough to vote, and that's a fact.
The Twins had good coaches who liked to teach fundamentals.
reference rod carew, brewers' 2001 batting coach. oofah. they almost revoked his HOF membership.
The Twins got veterans to help fill in holes and mentor the younger players, all the while not being extravagently overspent for. Even better, the Twins traded some of these players for younger talent to build around.
ok, so you get your team to a point where they're ready to make a run ala the 2002 twins. how long do you realistically expect that club to hold its position up there. 1 year? 2 years? it certainly can't go beyond 2 if you're at all objective. you're either a "one and done" marlins or you're the yanks. until there's revenue sharing, that'll never change and there will no in between. then again, i kind of miss the dynasties in the nfl. these out-of-nowhere championship contenders aren't nearly as emotionally investing as the outward disgust and loathing i had for the steelers, cowboys, etc.
For the Brewers, they have some talent.
they always have, but the problem is that they always had just "some" talent. surhoff goes to the orioles and he's got a good gig rounding out a talented 1-9. when he was with the brewers, BJ had to carry the line-up.
it's fun to chuckle at how Bud is running MLB and seeing how his beloved Brewers are being run and performing.
bud's been good for the game, before he raised people's dander with the contraction issue. his daughter's supposedly running the brewers--that may be the club's biggest problem. i think she's a figurehead that's more at home at sak's in chicago than miller park in milwaukee.
O.K contraction aside do you really believe that ? What are some of the good things he's done for the game ?
As for the Twins having a few good years, You're probally right, they will lose talent after a few good years but hav been good at replacing it or at least with excellent scouting and coaching. We have a good system in place and I love seeing the little Twins being in first.
Yeah, the Twins may be up at the top for a few years. They have some hard decisions coming in a year or two. In that time, I think Mientkiewicz, Hunter, Ortiz and Jones have their contracts come up, and are eligible for arbitration. They have to decide if they can sign these players, and if they want to do so. What could keep the Twins successful though is their farm system. They've got real good talent in the wings at the Triple-A level. Look at how much the Twins have been hurt. They've brought up guys like Kielty, Lecroy, Kinney, Fiore. They haven't called up perhaps their best player there yet. Give these guys a bit more seasoning in the minors, and they should be ready to be solid contenders.
I knew you said you were going and I was wondering if you had stayed for the whole marathon. I stayed up to watch it and am paying the price today (yawn) Good ending though, gotta hand it too the lads !
Was that one of the worse ump jobs you've seen in a while ? His strikezone was either non-existant or 8 ft. in diameter. Make up your mind buddy. I didn't see what got Cox tossed but Jones probably deserved to get tossed for throwing the bat even though it was a horrid call.
15 innings,........You must of got hungry,,,,you did't have a hot dog did you Rick ;)
Cox got tossed on a call at first base, I think. There was a lot of baseball going on last night. I don't remember everything.
The home base umpire was having a bad night.
At the beginning of the game, they had legislators who worked to get the stadium bill passed standing out on the pitchers mound. The guy behind me strarts screaming at them, calling them bums! I hope he got free tickets. If he doesn't like baseball in Minnesota, I don't know why he would be there.
An understatement from what I saw on the tube, he was so inconsistent.
If he doesn't like baseball in Minnesota, I don't know why he would be there.
As for the guy screaming behind you at the legislators, that's pretty lame. But perhaps he's like many who support them and gladly pay their own money to do so but feel we have no place subsidizing them. I would agree although I sure as hell wouldn't be screaming in some guys ear at a ball game, c'mon pal relax. Call your legislator or write an editorial but take it easy huh.
But perhaps he's like many who support them and gladly pay their own money to do so...."
Which won't feed the bulldog, or else that's the way the deal would have went down.
And there's the problem, it's so screwed up it can't support itself. I don't think we should do anything but since we have the plan at least is probably the easiest to swallow and I'm glad they will be staying. Also I can't wait to see that park go up in St.Paul
BTW how many were left at the end of lastnights game ? it's hard to tell from TV
There are guys who hope their whole life for such good fortune.
If they see that as good fortune they must really be screwed up. It wouldn't be bad until she opened her mouth. Oh well I'm sure her and Ted were happy before the divorce, they probably spent too much time down at the VFW having a big welcome and drinking screwdrivers.
Back to the Twins....Ouch, I watched part of the game, why didn't Gardy, pull Loshe after the first few doubles ? Oh well it's highindsight and I guess it wouldn't have mattered since we were shut out anyway, 1 run would have been enough to win. Well every team has bad games once and a while. Hopefully they can recover tonight. It would be nice to see them take the series. Then this weekend................On To Milwaukee to go visit Uncle Bud. I hope we kick the crap out of them in a bad and embarrasing manner. If I didn't have so much going on a buddy of mine and I were going to head down to see the new semi-retractable Miller park and try to order some Budwiesers to see what happened. But too busy so I'll route for em' on the tube.
just got a ben sheets jersey for my first father's day. now i'm looking for a win, as in one. is that asking too much? what would the response be in the cities if the crew wins this series (pinch me)?
Mighty big of you to give us a tip o' the hat Machias. much appreciated.
Should have been a sweep. We'll never know if they would have pulled the first game out, probably not, who knows. But if Mienciewicz went around or broke the plain I am the Arch Duke of Morocco. Oh well water under the bridge now, I'll take 2 of 3 anytime.
I wanted to see royster bench geoff a while ago. he's great out in the field, but his batting do sucketh. i get my change in the line up, now it's time to see if the pen can get some run support.
I watched the last couple of innings last night. Pretty good game. I was glad the Twins won because my sister and her family from TN were at the game. They used to live in MO and every time they went to a game the Twins lost.
13 game lead ! WooooHoooo. The lads are doing pretty darn good. ( Are the White Sox still trash talking?) I was glad to see Mays come back and do well. I hope they don't rush Radke coming back. I don't think they need too. One benefit I haven't heard talked about is that Mays and Radke will have a lot less mileage on their arms and should be pretty fresh the rest of the season. I just hope that we are done with injuries and we can go into post season hitting on all cylinders. We did great even with all the injuries. That's what has really impressed me this year is the never quit attitude. I have seen them come back from so many games this year it's amazing.
My one fear is that we get too complacent with this lead. I don't see it happening since they saw what can happen ie: last year. Plus I think Gardenhire keeps them focused. But I just hope they keep doing what they have been. I like Gardenhire's attitude and If he doesn't win A.L manager of the year it will be a crime. Post season play is really amazing when you consider what they have gone through and thier small payroll. I won't count my chickens yet but things are definately looking good for a post season appearance for the Twins. Either way it's been a great season and who knows what can happen and how far they can go, I wouldn't under estimate them.
I think we'll be heading to the Toronto game this weekend.
I have friends and people I work with in Toronto. I think they deserve to be ribbed after this weekend.
Sounds like a fun way to spend the weekend.
Looks like the lads will be back up to a 14 game lead. They are up 8-1 in the 8th. The White Sox are probably still trash talking.
What's you opinion on who they'll send down when Radke comes back ? Loshe pitched a good game so far and seems pretty soild and Santana has done a nice job too. It's a tough call. What's your take ? Personally I don't think they ought to be hurrying Radke. They could probably wait until Mid to late August, I don't know maybe they want to get the bugs worked out before post-season.
They should send Santana down. I think he'll be a good pitcher one day, but he needs the work in a starting rotation, and it should be another year in the minors.
Lohse has enough momentum to win 15 games this year. That's damn good for a fifth starter.
The Sox are in bad shape. They actually could have a worse record at the end of the year than the Cubs.That's a harsh reality.
The Sox haven't been in the World Series for 43 years. The Cubs haven't made it in 57 years. God bless Chicago baseball fans, for they are loyal, long-suffering people,
Lohse has enough momentum to win 15 games this year. That's damn good for a fifth starter.
Agreed and a pleasant surprise as the whole pitching staff has been. It's a nice problem to have to decide between two good pitchers. Loshe probably is the better of the two but Santana impressed me too and I think will be an excellent pitcher.
Great baseball moment happened last night at the game between the Twins and Jays.
After hitting his second home run, Jacque Jones was walking out to left field to start the top of the 8th. The crowd in the left field just erupted in long, sustained cheers. Jones just couldn't quit smiling. I could see him from the upper stands on the third base side.
After Toronto batters hit home runs, the ball was thrown back on the field.
There were 25,000 in the stands last night. Maybe support is starting as it looks like the playoff are in reach.
I haven't even been able to watch a game this week, it's been too nerve wracking . Last game I saw was the night we went to the Twins -- Red Sox game with Pedro Martinez pitching.
Good news indeed. I think the owners and players knew that the fans or many would have turned away in droves. I think they knew this was pivitol. I really never thought they would be dumb enough to strike but we are talking about Selig as well so I thought their was a chance that they were that screwed up. Glad to seee they pulled their head out of their collective butts.
Except there's no legislature in session. I doubt the governor would call a special session to get a bill through while emotional intensity is at it's highest.
But we're also talking about Jesse Ventura, so things that aren't normally possible, become possible.
good article from Souch' regarding the idiotic editorial in the St.Paul Press.
Locker room champagne for spraying, not drinking JOE SOUCHERAY Pioneer Press Columnist
It was entirely too predictable the other day that a newspaper would editorialize against the Minnesota Twins spraying one another with cheap champagne after winning the division title in Cleveland. I just didn't think it would be my newspaper. This had "Enemy Newspaper" written all over it, a precious ivory tower diatribe against the fellows setting a bad example for children by using alcohol to celebrate.
Unfortunately, we beat them to the punch and thus exposed ourselves to the legitimate charge of being about a mile off base. These boys are not exactly sybarites. They drank about as much of the stuff as a football coach might drink of the ice water that gets dumped on him after a playoff victory. These locker room hijinks are a long way from the days when Babe Ruth drank the real stuff all season long and would have wept at the championship spillage.
Now, I admit, it has been quite a few years since I was in a winning clubhouse, but I do know what the editorialists do not. The champagne bath is the ancient and expected ritual that exists today only within a framework of memory, kind of like the way the Vulcans go through the motions of charging Boreas and dethroning him. They still do it, but the gusto is wanting, not to mention the gun shots.
If you watched the celebration in Cleveland you would have noted that the stuff was used mainly for spraying, and gleefully so, considering that the team was so unwanted and unloved in the spring. Well, you can image the outcry if the fellows had used squirt guns to accomplish the same ceremonial purpose.
And you can imagine the outcry had the fellows been seen lighting up a cigarette or chomping down on a big cheeseburger or flipping through brochures for the new SUVs they might buy with their championship purse. We have editorialists on alert to fight Big Tobacco, Big Fat and Big Gasoline, too.
Every once in a while, what sounds like a fire alarm goes off in this building, and staff members flee to the street. No need. It is just the signal that editorial departments use when they discover that somebody, somewhere, is enjoying life outside the boundaries of editorially approved behavior.
Years ago, when I was among the unwashed and covered baseball on a daily basis, the clubhouse was a sanctuary much more guarded than it is today. By guarded I mean it is unlikely that such unrestricted access might have been granted to the heathens from television. It was not so guarded that you couldn't roam around in them freely, but if the boys really wanted to drink a ton of champagne and not have you see it, they would have not let you see it. Today, of course, in a disturbing blurring of distinction, some of the TV people even got into the act and did the spraying, and it won't be long now before the news anchors come on at 10 wearing Twins caps.
Gone from today's clubhouse is the buffet table heaving under the weight of cheese and meat and other forbidden horrors. The gang is still provided food, but the menu is probably established by the team dietician. Why, it was nothing for a player of the 1970s to come in after a ballgame and make himself a Dagwood, wash it down with a couple of Budweisers and then relax in front of his locker with a Winston. As recently as the Kent Hrbek-Gary Gaetti era, Hrbek and Gaetti might even ... oh, never mind. It would lead to another editorial.
The players are fit, trim and health-conscious, if that will mollify the temperance crowd. Probably the only guy in the clubhouse who misses the old days is the manager. Those food tables, theatrically overturned, made quite a statement after a tough loss.
I bet Doug Tice wrote that editorial about the Twins' celebration. He's the PP's scold of the editorial page. I know in one celebration, I think the Yankees carried champagne out on the field. The whole thing got out of hand.
The Twins walked off the field like professionals in Cleveland. They celebrated in the locker room. Then they get criticized for that.
I'm probably not going to get to another game this year. I travel for the next two weeks. And in the second week I'm in a place where there ain't no baseball in sight for several thousand miles.. I'll need to hit the MLB web site while I'm on the move.
I know you're traveling so I thought I'd take your spot as the number 1 Twins fan on the forum. Nobody on this board holds a candle to your loyalty. Whereever you are I know you are excited and apprehensive. Well at least I am. Perhaps you're down at Madam Changs bar drinking some exotic drink trying to catch a glimpse of what's going on. Wherever you are I hope your travels are going well.
The A's are a solid squad that will give the Twins all they can handle. This team doesn't give up easily, they faced contraction, injuries and a strike to end their great season. They also had to deal with dinks like Selig basically pissing on their parade instead of complimenting them. (his team finished dead last) Through it all they overcame it and had a great season. They came back an astounding 30 plus times in games. These guys do not quit, so no matter what they are going to be a handfull.
They face a tough opponent that plays them well. I would rather play the Yanks than these guys but we have a chance and could go all the way, I would never doubt these guys again or underestimate them. Either way win or lose they gave us a season of great baseball that not many expcted or predicted. They made it fun to be a fan this year. Thanks guys.
Yeah, no kidding. If there's nothing good on the field, then it's going to be hard to draw fans. You'd need some really good side attractions to draw people otherwise. Maybe waterslides in the outfield, getting your car fixed during the game, having your house cleaned while you attend the game, or even a really good player on a team that has come to town.
Is John Shurholz now GM at Milwaukee?
the fair weather Brewers fans
The Twins had good coaches who liked to teach fundamentals.
The Twins got veterans to help fill in holes and mentor the younger players, all the while not being extravagently overspent for. Even better, the Twins traded some of these players for younger talent to build around.
For the Brewers, they have some talent.
it's fun to chuckle at how Bud is running MLB and seeing how his beloved Brewers are being run and performing.
Machias,
O.K contraction aside do you really believe that ? What are some of the good things he's done for the game ?
As for the Twins having a few good years, You're probally right, they will lose talent after a few good years but hav been good at replacing it or at least with excellent scouting and coaching. We have a good system in place and I love seeing the little Twins being in first.
Yeah, the Twins may be up at the top for a few years. They have some hard decisions coming in a year or two. In that time, I think Mientkiewicz, Hunter, Ortiz and Jones have their contracts come up, and are eligible for arbitration. They have to decide if they can sign these players, and if they want to do so. What could keep the Twins successful though is their farm system. They've got real good talent in the wings at the Triple-A level. Look at how much the Twins have been hurt. They've brought up guys like Kielty, Lecroy, Kinney, Fiore. They haven't called up perhaps their best player there yet. Give these guys a bit more seasoning in the minors, and they should be ready to be solid contenders.
Originally wanted to go to two games with the Braves this week. But it looks like it will be closer to three.
Stayed last night to the end, 15 innings and walked out in the pouring rain. I don't mind watching baseball in the Dome.
Rick,
I knew you said you were going and I was wondering if you had stayed for the whole marathon. I stayed up to watch it and am paying the price today (yawn) Good ending though, gotta hand it too the lads !
Was that one of the worse ump jobs you've seen in a while ? His strikezone was either non-existant or 8 ft. in diameter. Make up your mind buddy. I didn't see what got Cox tossed but Jones probably deserved to get tossed for throwing the bat even though it was a horrid call.
15 innings,........You must of got hungry,,,,you did't have a hot dog did you Rick ;)
Like I said, I can't eat them any more.
Cox got tossed on a call at first base, I think. There was a lot of baseball going on last night. I don't remember everything.
The home base umpire was having a bad night.
At the beginning of the game, they had legislators who worked to get the stadium bill passed standing out on the pitchers mound.
The guy behind me strarts screaming at them, calling them bums! I hope he got free tickets. If he doesn't like baseball in Minnesota, I don't know why he would be there.
An understatement from what I saw on the tube, he was so inconsistent.
As for the guy screaming behind you at the legislators, that's pretty lame. But perhaps he's like many who support them and gladly pay their own money to do so but feel we have no place subsidizing them. I would agree although I sure as hell wouldn't be screaming in some guys ear at a ball game, c'mon pal relax. Call your legislator or write an editorial but take it easy huh.
"But perhaps he's like many who support them and gladly pay their own money to do so...."
Which won't feed the bulldog, or else that's the way the deal would have went down.
But perhaps he's like many who support them and gladly pay their own money to do so...."
And there's the problem, it's so screwed up it can't support itself. I don't think we should do anything but since we have the plan at least is probably the easiest to swallow and I'm glad they will be staying. Also I can't wait to see that park go up in St.Paul
BTW how many were left at the end of lastnights game ? it's hard to tell from TV
I bet most stayed around. A few more would leave after every half inning. What surprised me was the amount of Braves fans there were.
America's Team, I guess.
My brother-in-law talked to a very drunk Ted Turner in the men's room at Fulton Country Stadium during one Braves game.
"You're Ted Turner," he said to Turner when he recognized him.
"What's left of him," said Turner.
"What's left of him," said Turner.
Don't know.
But I'll say something that makes the Right just cringe.
He attracted Jane Fonda
There are guys who hope their whole life for such good fortune.
If they see that as good fortune they must really be screwed up. It wouldn't be bad until she opened her mouth. Oh well I'm sure her and Ted were happy before the divorce, they probably spent too much time down at the VFW having a big welcome and drinking screwdrivers.
Back to the Twins....Ouch, I watched part of the game, why didn't Gardy, pull Loshe after the first few doubles ? Oh well it's highindsight and I guess it wouldn't have mattered since we were shut out anyway, 1 run would have been enough to win. Well every team has bad games once and a while. Hopefully they can recover tonight. It would be nice to see them take the series. Then this weekend................On To Milwaukee to go visit Uncle Bud. I hope we kick the crap out of them in a bad and embarrasing manner. If I didn't have so much going on a buddy of mine and I were going to head down to see the new semi-retractable Miller park and try to order some Budwiesers to see what happened. But too busy so I'll route for em' on the tube.
But I'll say something that makes the Right just cringe.
He attracted Jane Fonda
thought ya'll might enjoy a story from behind enemy lines...
Twins to say "contract that" at Miller Park
just got a ben sheets jersey for my first father's day. now i'm looking for a win, as in one. is that asking too much?
what would the response be in the cities if the crew wins this series (pinch me)?
Mighty big of you to give us a tip o' the hat Machias. much appreciated.
Should have been a sweep. We'll never know if they would have pulled the first game out, probably not, who knows. But if Mienciewicz went around or broke the plain I am the Arch Duke of Morocco. Oh well water under the bridge now, I'll take 2 of 3 anytime.
I'll take 2 of 3 anytime
I watched the last couple of innings last night. Pretty good game. I was glad the Twins won because my sister and her family from TN were at the game. They used to live in MO and every time they went to a game the Twins lost.
All of the negative baseball news of late aside.
13 game lead ! WooooHoooo. The lads are doing pretty darn good. ( Are the White Sox still trash talking?) I was glad to see Mays come back and do well. I hope they don't rush Radke coming back. I don't think they need too. One benefit I haven't heard talked about is that Mays and Radke will have a lot less mileage on their arms and should be pretty fresh the rest of the season. I just hope that we are done with injuries and we can go into post season hitting on all cylinders. We did great even with all the injuries. That's what has really impressed me this year is the never quit attitude. I have seen them come back from so many games this year it's amazing.
My one fear is that we get too complacent with this lead. I don't see it happening since they saw what can happen ie: last year. Plus I think Gardenhire keeps them focused. But I just hope they keep doing what they have been. I like Gardenhire's attitude and If he doesn't win A.L manager of the year it will be a crime. Post season play is really amazing when you consider what they have gone through and thier small payroll. I won't count my chickens yet but things are definately looking good for a post season appearance for the Twins. Either way it's been a great season and who knows what can happen and how far they can go, I wouldn't under estimate them.
I think we'll be heading to the Toronto game this weekend.
I have friends and people I work with in Toronto. I think they deserve to be ribbed after this weekend.
Rick,
Sounds like a fun way to spend the weekend.
Looks like the lads will be back up to a 14 game lead. They are up 8-1 in the 8th. The White Sox are probably still trash talking.
What's you opinion on who they'll send down when Radke comes back ? Loshe pitched a good game so far and seems pretty soild and Santana has done a nice job too. It's a tough call. What's your take ? Personally I don't think they ought to be hurrying Radke. They could probably wait until Mid to late August, I don't know maybe they want to get the bugs worked out before post-season.
They should send Santana down. I think he'll be a good pitcher one day, but he needs the work in a starting rotation, and it should be another year in the minors.
Lohse has enough momentum to win 15 games this year. That's damn good for a fifth starter.
The Sox are in bad shape. They actually could have a worse record at the end of the year than the Cubs.That's a harsh reality.
The Sox haven't been in the World Series for 43 years. The Cubs haven't made it in 57 years. God bless Chicago baseball fans, for they are loyal, long-suffering people,
Agreed and a pleasant surprise as the whole pitching staff has been. It's a nice problem to have to decide between two good pitchers. Loshe probably is the better of the two but Santana impressed me too and I think will be an excellent pitcher.
Great baseball moment happened last night at the game between the Twins and Jays.
After hitting his second home run, Jacque Jones was walking out to left field to start the top of the 8th. The crowd in the left field just erupted in long, sustained cheers. Jones just couldn't quit smiling. I could see him from the upper stands on the third base side.
After Toronto batters hit home runs, the ball was thrown back on the field.
There were 25,000 in the stands last night. Maybe support is starting as it looks like the playoff are in reach.
These guys have gotta be stupid: http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/0729/1411432.html
The owners aren't rocket scientists, either.
How did they make all that money?
Where's doggbreath and his 83 games Max !
Haven't thought about him in a long time.
He ended up somewhere, no doubt.
I ended up at the Twins game yesterday. They really took a beating.
It was 12-4. But it wasn't as close as the score indicates.
Ouch, it was a bit of an ugly game but their bound to have a clinker now and then.
Baltimore sure has a nice looking yard.
Yeah, but you'd have to live in Baltimore, that cancells that right there :)
The end of baseball may be near: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,60561,00.html
Maybe fans should go on strike in the next two weeks and show them what will happen if they try to come back after a strike.
You mean the same fans that are willing to build stadiums for teams?
Poll: http://www2.foxnews.com/polls/poll_results/bg_results_youdecide.jpg__basic_217.htm
I don't know how many fans actually support taxpayer supported stadium's. I don't.
BEST NEWS OF THE WEEK!!!!
The Baseball Season is Saved!!!!
I haven't even been able to watch a game this week, it's been too nerve wracking . Last game I saw was the night we went to the Twins -- Red Sox game with Pedro Martinez pitching.
Good news indeed. I think the owners and players knew that the fans or many would have turned away in droves. I think they knew this was pivitol. I really never thought they would be dumb enough to strike but we are talking about Selig as well so I thought their was a chance that they were that screwed up. Glad to seee they pulled their head out of their collective butts.
I'm glad now too. I just don't want a repeat of this in 4 years.
The Twins will clinch the division in Cleveland this weekend. Would have been nice to see it happen at home.
In most years, they would have been mathmatically eliminated about a week ago.
That's the turnaround of this team.
Wooooo Hooooooo !
:)
Hope the Twins' bandwagon is in good shape.
Prepare for a couple hundred thousand jumpers.
They didn't know they were baseball fans until a couple days ago.
Maybe you can get them to pay for a stadium while they're on the bandwagon?
That would be the the most opportune time.
Except there's no legislature in session. I doubt the governor would call a special session to get a bill through while emotional intensity is at it's highest.
But we're also talking about Jesse Ventura, so things that aren't normally possible, become possible.
He allows you to think outside the box.
Didn't he just call a special session for something?
They could pull something together.
good article from Souch' regarding the idiotic editorial in the St.Paul Press.
Locker room champagne for spraying, not drinking
JOE SOUCHERAY
Pioneer Press Columnist
It was entirely too predictable the other day that a newspaper would editorialize against the Minnesota Twins spraying one another with cheap champagne after winning the division title in Cleveland. I just didn't think it would be my newspaper. This had "Enemy Newspaper" written all over it, a precious ivory tower diatribe against the fellows setting a bad example for children by using alcohol to celebrate.
Unfortunately, we beat them to the punch and thus exposed ourselves to the legitimate charge of being about a mile off base. These boys are not exactly sybarites. They drank about as much of the stuff as a football coach might drink of the ice water that gets dumped on him after a playoff victory. These locker room hijinks are a long way from the days when Babe Ruth drank the real stuff all season long and would have wept at the championship spillage.
Now, I admit, it has been quite a few years since I was in a winning clubhouse, but I do know what the editorialists do not. The champagne bath is the ancient and expected ritual that exists today only within a framework of memory, kind of like the way the Vulcans go through the motions of charging Boreas and dethroning him. They still do it, but the gusto is wanting, not to mention the gun shots.
If you watched the celebration in Cleveland you would have noted that the stuff was used mainly for spraying, and gleefully so, considering that the team was so unwanted and unloved in the spring. Well, you can image the outcry if the fellows had used squirt guns to accomplish the same ceremonial purpose.
And you can imagine the outcry had the fellows been seen lighting up a cigarette or chomping down on a big cheeseburger or flipping through brochures for the new SUVs they might buy with their championship purse. We have editorialists on alert to fight Big Tobacco, Big Fat and Big Gasoline, too.
Every once in a while, what sounds like a fire alarm goes off in this building, and staff members flee to the street. No need. It is just the signal that editorial departments use when they discover that somebody, somewhere, is enjoying life outside the boundaries of editorially approved behavior.
Years ago, when I was among the unwashed and covered baseball on a daily basis, the clubhouse was a sanctuary much more guarded than it is today. By guarded I mean it is unlikely that such unrestricted access might have been granted to the heathens from television. It was not so guarded that you couldn't roam around in them freely, but if the boys really wanted to drink a ton of champagne and not have you see it, they would have not let you see it. Today, of course, in a disturbing blurring of distinction, some of the TV people even got into the act and did the spraying, and it won't be long now before the news anchors come on at 10 wearing Twins caps.
Gone from today's clubhouse is the buffet table heaving under the weight of cheese and meat and other forbidden horrors. The gang is still provided food, but the menu is probably established by the team dietician. Why, it was nothing for a player of the 1970s to come in after a ballgame and make himself a Dagwood, wash it down with a couple of Budweisers and then relax in front of his locker with a Winston. As recently as the Kent Hrbek-Gary Gaetti era, Hrbek and Gaetti might even ... oh, never mind. It would lead to another editorial.
The players are fit, trim and health-conscious, if that will mollify the temperance crowd. Probably the only guy in the clubhouse who misses the old days is the manager. Those food tables, theatrically overturned, made quite a statement after a tough loss.
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/4109823.htm
I bet Doug Tice wrote that editorial about the Twins' celebration. He's the PP's scold of the editorial page. I know in one celebration, I think the Yankees carried champagne out on the field. The whole thing got out of hand.
The Twins walked off the field like professionals in Cleveland. They celebrated in the locker room. Then they get criticized for that.
I'm probably not going to get to another game this year. I travel for the next two weeks. And in the second week I'm in a place where there ain't no baseball in sight for several thousand miles.. I'll need to hit the MLB web site while I'm on the move.
Rick,
I know you're traveling so I thought I'd take your spot as the number 1 Twins fan on the forum. Nobody on this board holds a candle to your loyalty. Whereever you are I know you are excited and apprehensive. Well at least I am. Perhaps you're down at Madam Changs bar drinking some exotic drink trying to catch a glimpse of what's going on. Wherever you are I hope your travels are going well.
The A's are a solid squad that will give the Twins all they can handle. This team doesn't give up easily, they faced contraction, injuries and a strike to end their great season. They also had to deal with dinks like Selig basically pissing on their parade instead of complimenting them. (his team finished dead last) Through it all they overcame it and had a great season. They came back an astounding 30 plus times in games. These guys do not quit, so no matter what they are going to be a handfull.
They face a tough opponent that plays them well. I would rather play the Yanks than these guys but we have a chance and could go all the way, I would never doubt these guys again or underestimate them. Either way win or lose they gave us a season of great baseball that not many expcted or predicted. They made it fun to be a fan this year. Thanks guys.
and they have a one game advantage ! This was a helluva game.