FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Klopenhiemer]

TC, Cobbernation, Fins, Kilted Rat et al.....

During the twists and turns of the Santana trade my opinion is that one big piece of the puzzle has been talked about very little. That piece of the puzzle is the change in Terry Ryan vs. Bill (Billy) Smith. There have been times over the years where Twins fans have celebrated the genius of or loathed Terry Ryan for the trades he didn't make.

Will this trade be the signature of one Bill (Billy) Smith as either a genius move to get all the available leverage remaining in Santana with the clock ticking or will this be a sign of things to come where the Twins get fleeced time and time again?

The point has been mentioned in the media today, the Mets will get a proven super star and the Twins get the chance to polish several diamonds in the rough. The question is, in 3 years which will shine brighter an aging super star or the combined contributions of 4 prospects?

I was pondering that myself tonight after I left the Twins Caravan event tonight. As much as the Twins, from the suits on down, put on a happy face, I sensed recently that it wasn't such a group of happy campers. Taking that a bit further, you might say that Santana had as much to do with Ryan's departure as Ryan had to do with Santana's departure. Johan's fit last summer after Ryan added no help by the trading deadline, then dumping Castillo in August, Hunter leaving, there was no way Johan was staying here beyond this year no matter what. The Twins made him a pretty good offer-4 yrs/$80 mil- and there are rumors that they would've gone 5 yrs/$100 mil- which is decent dough, especially for the Twins. But Johan wanted the bright lights, huge Hispanic exposure and lucrative endor$ement opportunitie$.
There was a cadre of players (including Santana) that threw the "baseball is a business" business right back in Ryan's, and now Smith's, face.
None of this makes the deal any better. A trade was inevitable, but Smith clearly over-played his hand, from a hindsight perspective.
But all of this is what makes baseball such a great sport, and on the brink of spring training it is fun to anticipate what might develop over the course of a season. They have to sign Nathan, though.

Nice post fins.  I still hope there are players out there that feel that baseball is more than just a business.  I mean sales, marketing, law, and finance are all businesses.  Baseball is a game, and these men have talent that most of us wish we had.  Or they put together their talents in a way that all of us wish we could have.  If anyone on the board played MLB at any level, I retract my last sentence. 

[BDB]

 

A man and a woman who had never met before, and were both married to other people, found themselves assigned to the same sleeping room on a Trans-continental train.



Though initially embarrassed and uneasy over sharing a room, they were both very tired and fell asleep quickly..... He in the upper bunk and she in the lower.



At 1:00 AM, the man leaned down and gently woke the woman saying, "Ma'am, I'm sorry to bother you, but would you be willing to reach into the closet to get me a second blanket? I'm awfully cold."



"I have a better idea," she replied . "Just for tonight, let's pretend that we're married."



"Wow! That's a great idea!" he exclaimed.



"Good," she replied. "Get your own f%#*ing blanket."



After a moment of silence, he farted.



The End

[57Johnnie]

A man and a woman who had never met before, and were both married to other people, found themselves assigned to the same sleeping room on a Trans-continental train.



Though initially embarrassed and uneasy over sharing a room, they were both very tired and fell asleep quickly..... He in the upper bunk and she in the lower.



At 1:00 AM, the man leaned down and gently woke the woman saying, "Ma'am, I'm sorry to bother you, but would you be willing to reach into the closet to get me a second blanket? I'm awfully cold."



"I have a better idea," she replied . "Just for tonight, let's pretend that we're married."



"Wow! That's a great idea!" he exclaimed.



"Good," she replied. "Get your own f%#*ing blanket."



After a moment of silence, he farted.



The End

Big +k for that 

[tmerton]

Okay, I'm turning things around here; we'll have the moral first, then the story.

Moral: Watch what you say around your elders.

Story: An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%

The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, "Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again."

The gentleman replied, "Oh, I haven't told my family yet.

"I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will three times!"

[retagent]

Maybe I'm a little naive about these things, but once your making multiple millions, does money really govern your decisions - or should it? Some of the players most people have a high regard for are those who were making plenty, but seemed to take their "quality of life" as the governing force. As examples we have Kirby, Cal and Tony Gwynn. Class guys (well, Kirby may have tarnished that image quite a bit), but many have taken the big bucks and have not found contentment in the big apple. Maybe they're too young to realize that some things are more important than money and a high profile.

[tmerton]

Maybe I'm a little naive about these things, but once your making multiple millions, does money really govern your decisions - or should it?

I'm not sure who among us is qualified to answer this question ... maybe BDB or TDT. 

[57Johnnie]

On ESPN2 this morning, one of the Mikes said that the Vegas odds on the Mets went from not making the playoffs to becoming favorite to be NL champions by aquiring Santana.
But what do they know.  8)

BTW: I don't qualify either but Yogi says 'They pay you in cash which is just as good as money.' 

[bennie]

TDT has been awfully quite here lately. Apparently he has been busy taking dates to hockey games. Isn't that him at the begining of this clip?

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3223341&categoryId=2459791

[DutchFan2004]

TDT has been awfully quite here lately. Apparently he has been busy taking dates to hockey games. Isn't that him at the begining of this clip?

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3223341&categoryId=2459791

I don't think so.  The girl looked way to hot and fast for TDT

[finsleft]

TDT has been awfully quite here lately. Apparently he has been busy taking dates to hockey games. Isn't that him at the begining of this clip?

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3223341&categoryId=2459791

Funny clip, Bennie.  Did you see Giggy have a hissy-fit last night after getting yanked vs. the Wild?

[bennie]

TDT has been awfully quite here lately. Apparently he has been busy taking dates to hockey games. Isn't that him at the begining of this clip?

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3223341&categoryId=2459791

Funny clip, Bennie.  Did you see Giggy have a hissy-fit last night after getting yanked vs. the Wild?

Poor Giggy... I watched that game and then the Avs/Hawk game and giggled like a junior high girl everytime the announcers mentioned Martin St.Pierre. This summer Martin got in a little trouble for filming his own solo "action" film and e-mailing it to someone. Suprise, suprise, it ended up on the net. Within a day, his name was removed from the Hawks website! I guess they are hoping everyone has forgotten about it. 8)

[57Johnnie]

TDT has been awfully quite here lately. Apparently he has been busy taking dates to hockey games. Isn't that him at the begining of this clip?

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3223341&categoryId=2459791

I think you caught him 

[cobbernation]

TC, Cobbernation, Fins, Kilted Rat et al.....

During the twists and turns of the Santana trade my opinion is that one big piece of the puzzle has been talked about very little. That piece of the puzzle is the change in Terry Ryan vs. Bill (Billy) Smith. There have been times over the years where Twins fans have celebrated the genius of or loathed Terry Ryan for the trades he didn't make.

Will this trade be the signature of one Bill (Billy) Smith as either a genius move to get all the available leverage remaining in Santana with the clock ticking or will this be a sign of things to come where the Twins get fleeced time and time again?

The point has been mentioned in the media today, the Mets will get a proven super star and the Twins get the chance to polish several diamonds in the rough. The question is, in 3 years which will shine brighter an aging super star or the combined contributions of 4 prospects?

I was pondering that myself tonight after I left the Twins Caravan event tonight. As much as the Twins, from the suits on down, put on a happy face, I sensed recently that it wasn't such a group of happy campers. Taking that a bit further, you might say that Santana had as much to do with Ryan's departure as Ryan had to do with Santana's departure. Johan's fit last summer after Ryan added no help by the trading deadline, then dumping Castillo in August, Hunter leaving, there was no way Johan was staying here beyond this year no matter what. The Twins made him a pretty good offer-4 yrs/$80 mil- and there are rumors that they would've gone 5 yrs/$100 mil- which is decent dough, especially for the Twins. But Johan wanted the bright lights, huge Hispanic exposure and lucrative endor$ement opportunitie$.
There was a cadre of players (including Santana) that threw the "baseball is a business" business right back in Ryan's, and now Smith's, face.
None of this makes the deal any better. A trade was inevitable, but Smith clearly over-played his hand, from a hindsight perspective.
But all of this is what makes baseball such a great sport, and on the brink of spring training it is fun to anticipate what might develop over the course of a season. They have to sign Nathan, though.

Fins,

I believe that signing Nathan to at least 6 year deal.  Plus yesterday in the Strib he told reporters that he wants to stay in MN and play for the twins.  However, he did also mention that he thinks the Twins will be contenders this year for the AL playof race.  Do the twins stand a chance in the already dominant AL central this season or the next?   Are the twins building for a dominant team for the 2010 season when the begin the outdoor stadium tenure?  If so, then prospects were the best addition.  But I don't know what the Twins exec's have for plans.

[finsleft]

Fins,

I believe that signing Nathan to at least 6 year deal.  Plus yesterday in the Strib he told reporters that he wants to stay in MN and play for the twins.  However, he did also mention that he thinks the Twins will be contenders this year for the AL playof race.  Do the twins stand a chance in the already dominant AL central this season or the next?   Are the twins building for a dominant team for the 2010 season when the begin the outdoor stadium tenure?  If so, then prospects were the best addition.  But I don't know what the Twins exec's have for plans.

Yeah, Nathan is one of those guys who would probably take less than he could get elsewhere to stay here. But he still can command fair value, as he's been a bargain for the Twins the last few years. I think losing him would set the Twins back farther, as it's hard to rebuild if you are blowing leads and losing games every night. But they have some good players right now. If they can win with this pitching though, Anderson deserves a Coach of the Decade award. Mike Max said last night that the Santana trade gives KC their best chance of not finishing last in the division this year.
I still wouldn't mind them signing a veteran outfielder who can hit (Lofton?) and let Mr. Gomez learn the ropes at AA or AAA for a year.

[tmerton]

On their wedding night, the young bride approached her new husband and asked for $20.00 for their first lovemaking encounter. In his highly aroused state, her husband readily agreed.

This scenario was repeated each time they made love for more than 30 years, with him thinking that it was a cute way for her to afford new clothes and other incidentals that she needed.

Arriving home around noon one day, she was surprised to find her husband in a very drunken state. During the next few minutes, he explained that his employer was going through a process of corporate downsizing, and he had been let go. It was unlikely that, at the age of 59, he'd be able to find another position that paid anywhere near what he'd been earning, and therefore, they were financially ruined.

Calmly, his wife handed him a bank book which showed more than thirty years of steady deposits and interest totaling nearly $1 million. Then she showed him certificates of deposits issued by the bank which were worth over $2 million, and informed him that they were one of the largest depositors in the bank.

She explained that for the more than three decades she had "charged" him for sex, these holdings had multiplied and these were the results of her savings and investments.

Faced with evidence of cash and investments worth over $3 million, her husband was so astounded he could barely speak, but finally he found his voice and blurted out, "If I'd had any idea what you were doing, I would have given you all my business!"