Free Agent Fan Savage Resigns with Twins!!

In a shocking development, the Minnesota Twins have resigned All Star Fan free agent Tyler Savage. Experts had said that Savage would leave the Twins at the end of this season. All indications pointed to Savage leaving for either the Dodgers or the Royals, Savage had been researching both teams extensively this off season. Savage also was overheard singing California Dreaming much of this winter, and refused to watch The 50 greatest Twins documentary earlier this month.

Here are the details on the new contract; the contract is a five year extension.

· Savage has to acknowledge that Target Field is now the home of the Twins

· All Twins home runs will receive a standing ovation

· Games will now be played with the mute button on

· Food eaten at games will be 1 hot dog and an ice cream helmet

· Savage may not have the following signs: "hey bert, what are you going to whine about now?" and "This place is a dump"

· An ongoing search for "the seats" will begin starting this year

· The Metrodome will not be insulted in Savage's presence

· Savage will no longer laugh at Thome shirts

· The only player designated to receive unconditional respect will be Rodger Dorn (Cuddyer)

· The following additional signs are allowed: "I will have my vengeance" and "Remember Denny Hocking?"

· The memory of Tony Batista will be erased from everyone's minds slowly

· "Why do we still cheer Torii Hunter Day" and "I still love Johann Day" will be pronounced by Savage at a latter unknown time

· Yelling "Free Beer!" will not be rewarded

· "Can I just have the hot dog?" will not be rewarded

· "TWINS WIN!" Will be rewarded

· "You Bum!" will now be the lowest insult at a game

· "No Really…FREE BEER!" will not be rewarded

· "That Ice Cream looks good, can I try some?" will not warrant ice cream

· This column is the official last pot shot at Target Field by Savage, my voice has been heard

The 2002 Contraction Concern

(20 columns remembering the last decade of Twins' Baseball)
By Tyler Savage

In the winter of 2002, Bud Selig reported that baseball was no longer profitable for small markets. His solution was that two teams would have to go--contraction was officially on the table. In a stunning move, Selig also came to the conclusion that the Montreal Expos and the Minnesota Twins were the two teams that would have to go. The announcement was a shock to the Midwest, just the year before the Twins finished in 2nd place in the AL Central, after being in the cellar for much of the late 90's. That summer Twins' fans came back to the Dome to fight for their beloved team. Surprisingly, they found out that the Twins were actually a pretty darn good team. In the summer of 2002, a young bunch of scrappy players were not only playing for a division title, they were winning back forgotten fans, and saving a franchise.

In the late 90's and early 2000's, the formula for a winning Major League Baseball team was a team built on proven free agents in the twilight of their careers who shockingly became stronger, bigger, and statistically better with age. The 2002 Twins were the polar opposite for what was supposed to work in baseball. The oldest player in the everyday lineup, was Corey Koskie at the old age of 29. The team was home grown and built withing its own farm system, many of the players came up through the system together. The Twins were the anti-longball team, they focused on fielding and pitching, and struggled for every run they got. Just one year removed from Bary Bond's hitting 73 home runs in a season, the 2002 Twins' everyday players hit a staggering combined 132 home runs. The Twins became pioneers for the smallball revival.

The new Twins smallball formula produced winning results, and reliable pitching. Rick Reed won 15 games, and Kyle Lohse and Eric Milton each won 13 games. Injured veterans Brad Radke and Joe Mays each had their moments towards the end of the year. And some rookie named Johan Santana had a 2.99 ERA and won 8 games. Arguably the best pitching came from a written off, overweight veteran named Eddie Guardado. Everyday Eddie had 45 saves, with a 2.93 ERA in the 2002 season.

On the offensive side, Torii Hunter began to make a name for himself as the face of the Twins' franchise. He belted out 29 home runs, with a 2.89 batting average. Jacque Jones and A.J. Pierzynski both batted for .300 that year, and shortstop Cristian Guzman hit for a respectable .273. Who knows where the team would have gone if David Ortiz and Corry Koskie had lived up to their power potentials.

The advertising slogan for the Twins that year was: The Minnesota Twins-Get to Know 'Em. In the summer of 2002, just under 2 million fans came back to the Dome and met the 'new' Twins. The team finished 94-67, and won the American League Central Division. More importantly though, the 2002 Twins saved a franchise, and the formula for winning baseball in the Major Leagues.

Talkin' WBC

By Tyler Savage

The World Baseball Classic is just around the corner. I'm not against this event, here are my ideas to spice up the event:

1. Two teams from the US: the pros, and a college all-star team. Let's face it...the college teams are more cut out for this type of tournament. The pros take until June to get warmed up, the college kids have been practicing for months now. Also, think of the possibilities, what if the pro team had to play the college kids--would there be anything more worth using a personal day for? I don't think you can get more personal than that.

2. Opening round games need to be played in "authentic" ball fields:
I'd love to see a game from the Dominicans where it is played on a ratty old field where fans are on old wooden bleachers or banana boxes. The infield looks like gravel, and the baseballs are a fine shade of brown. All the players need to hit with the same bat (which may be made from a tree branch) and the left fielder may not play with a glove.

3. No night games.

4. Who gets to bat first? Simple, the two team captains come out with one bat, the team that bats first is the team whose captain's hand is on top of the bat's handle after alternating their hands from the bottom of the bat to the top.

5. Home plate is an actual pudding jar (if you know this reference I will be shocked).

6. Mandatory chatter from all players (who are miked up and can be heard on TV). Who wouldn't love to hear Tommy Lasorda in a dug out screaming: "Let's hear some Chatter out there!!" The down side to this...no one would want to hear A-Rod chatter, that would sound stranger than Joe Mauer's milk ads from the '06 campaign.

7. Rule change: if an MLB player gets injured, their team gets to choose a player from the Country of Cuba's National Team. The injured player will then become property of the Country of Cuba.

8. No players can go out to play until all of their homework is complete, and they have finished their dinner.

9. If you hit a homerun, you get the homerun.

10. No umps, teams regulate themselves. Thus creating arguments, rule changing, and someone going home-crying before the game is over-while yelling that they are coming back with their older brothers to get even.

Podcast part II

part II of the first show is now posted at the link below.

http://twinsbeatwriters.mypodcast.com/index.html

PODCAST!!!

We now have a pod cast!
It had to be broken into parts:
here is the link to the first part:

http://twinsbeatwriters.mypodcast.com/index.html

Standing Still

David Jensen
We are now deep into the sports abyss. Pitchers and catchers report in less than 10 days, and the Twins have done next to nothing this offseason. They signed Punto, Kubel and Guerrier to contract extensions. There have been a lot of rumors floating around, but the only free-agent signed has been a groundskeeper. Unfortunatly it wasn't Kubel, who, for some reason, is the only DH on the 40-man roster. I can tell already that it's going to be a hell of a season.

Not Another Yankee Freak Out

By TS

My freshmen year of college at DSU, I had a speech class in the spring semester. During this class, one of the students gave a speech on why baseball needed a salary cap. This student was a die hard Oakland A's fan, and that week the Yankees had signed Jason Giambi, and many people felt that they Yankees were going to win many championships. Six years later, Giambi is finally off of the Yankees' pay role, and they did not win a championship.

The Yankees have gone crazy again this off season and GM's and speech classes around the country have been filled with cries for a salary cap. However, is this time around any different? Are the Yankees going to run the field and win the title for the rest of mankind? If the last six years were any example, the answer is no.

The Yankees will be a very good team. However, there are three big reasons why the Yankees will not be a dynasty team. Steroids, farm leagues, and chemistry are three things that the Yankees do not have.

The first reason the Yankees are not going to be a dynasty is because the game has changed. Good teams today are teams that have upcoming youth that can stay healthy. Getting a huge free agent won titles in the past. However, how many of these players were on the juice? There is a lot of risk playing with older players who have already gotten their big payday. Jetter and A-Rod are getting older, will they be able to keep production up into their late 30's? This question will determine if they Yankees are on a different level.

A lack of minor league development is the second reason why the Yankees may be outdated. The Yankees should have taken half of the money they spent this off season and plugged it into their farm and scout systems. If you think youth development doesn't matter at the big leagues, consider the following:

The Chicago Cubs were owned by the Wrigley company in the early 1900's (hence the stadium name). Wrigley, the owner, decided early into his tenure that he did not want to pay any players without major league experience; he completely destroyed his farm system. Before this time, the Cubs were a championship ball team. One-hundred years later, the Cubs have yet to recover from the break down of their minor league system (which only lasted a few years). Are the Yankees in this much trouble? Probably not.

Chemistry is the last thing the Yankees need. This team is too business minded, it's amazing that Giambi's mustache was allowed last season. Let's not all freak out...this has happened before, and it will happen again. In the last six years, the Yankees signed Giambi, Pavano, A-Rod, The Big Unit, Johnny Damon, and Abreau. This system has failed, and it will fail again.