Not Quite Spring Opener
At any other time it would seem apropos to compare the rejuvenation of springtime with all of our novice Twins players; however, I’m not going to lie. My mind is far from springtime while I stare out my window and view the accumulating 6-10 inches of snow. Yes, March has gone out like a lion. Hopefully, the Twins can come in tonight like one.
Phil Miller’s article in today’s issue of the Pioneer Press presents the conditions in which The Twins Could Shock Baseball If… Well, Morneau hasn’t gotten off to a good start the in pre-season, but I have no doubt he can pull it together. While not a total shocker, Cuddyer has had an amazing showing this spring Fort Meyer. I have feeling it will be a long time before Minnesotans stop talking about the Santana trade. Heck, I was talking about the prospect of it since October, but Young is off to a good start. Whatever his attitude was prior to coming to Minnesota, it seems like he’s checked it at the door. Maybe it’s the display of Minnesota nice for him. We’ll see how Gomez will be. He is a speedy thing, although I trusted Span’s bat more.
“T-Shirts reading ‘Go Slow’ become the hot item in the Metrodome”. Excuse me, but I’ve already been using that slogan for over a year. I even had that sign pinned up in my cubicle throughout the off-season. Why? ‘Cause I already know Slowey is kick-a**. Also, there may be a possibility that I am a marketing genius. Or I may have too much free time to think of cutesy little catchphrases. It’s probably more to do with the latter, but a girl can dream can’t she?
“Fans worry that Joe Nathan is overworked, not overpaid”. I don’t think anyone will wonder if Nathan is truly worth $47 million. He is one of the most consistent closers in all of baseball. In his history with the Twins, he has always been in the top ten for number of saves in the regular season. Only one other pitcher, Trevor Hoffman, can say that he too for the past 4 years has always placed in the top ten. Nathan had a Twins freshman year peak in 2004 with 44 saves. In 2005, he came in a three-way tie for fourth most saves in the regular season. This is in all of baseball!! The guy is worth his weight in gold which, according to www.kitco.com, currently goes for $915.70 an ounce. So that’s a 225 lb. Nathan times 16 ounces per a pound times $915.70 per ounce equals $3,296,520.00. Hmm, still not enough. All right then, I’ll apply the same formula with information from www.kitco.com for the current price of platinum, which is $2,006.00 per ounce. That comes to a grand total of $7,221,600.00. Okay, so I’ve learned that Nathan is actually worth six times his weight in platinum. I’ve also learned that sixth grade math is not totally useless. Just think, Mrs. Nathan could have a life-size statue of her hubby in platinum. Of course, that would be useless.
How can I even think about the opener without mentioning the return of Torii Hunter? Heavy sigh. I do wish him nothing but the best, but could he not bring his best to the Dome? I’d hope not, but then again, he wouldn’t be worth $90 million if he didn’t bring his best regardless that Twins fans will always love Torii.
You Can't Spell "Twins" Without "Wins" 