Yankees dominate Twins again, but Joe Girardi's son is bored by the whole thing

Last night's game didn't have a lot of suspense -- Phil Hughes looked flat-out dominant right from the beginning, and the Yankees' scoring five runs off Brian Duensing by the fourth inning didn't exactly leave a lot of doubt as to whether the Yankees would sweep the Twins.

It's easy to be all blase about the Yanks "only" winning the ALDS so far, especially after winning the 2009 World Series. However, I haven't forgotten how much trouble the Yanks had getting through that series in 2005 through 2007, even when they had inferior competition. Come to think of it, the Bombers haven't won an ALDS that didn't have the Twins as their opponent since 2001!

Two things I noticed last night after the game:

* The on-field celebration was extremely subdued. You might expect that if they clinched in Minnesota, but for a home field clinching, I've seen bigger excitement after a regular-season win against the Red Sox! Heck, I was there last year when they clinched the AL East, and the Yanks showed more emotion then. I wondered on Facebook if the quiet on-field celebration had something to do with Kendry Morales breaking his leg in a walkoff celebration, and Chris Coghlan tearing his ACL throwing a pie! Yeah, I get that winning the ALDS is just the first step for the Yankees, but it still seemed very quiet.

* Why the heck did Joe Girardi bring his obviously disinterested son, Dante, with him to the post-game presser? I haven't a kid be so openly bored and annoyed at being on camera since Rudy Giuliani's son acted up at his first inaugural! It was just painful to watch. It was impossible to pay attention to what Joe was saying, when his son was making a complete spectacle of himself. One Facebook friend noted,"I guess it doesn't matter what your parents do for a living, a kid is always going to think its boring." Heh!


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Twin killing: Yankees go up 2-0 against Minnesota

I'm very happy the Yankees have won the first two games of the ALDS, and I'm particularly happy that Curtis Granderson and Lance Berkman were the big hitting heroes last night. (Not to mention that Andy Pettitte stepped up bigtime!) I heard that John Sterling said "Sir Lancelot Does It Again" about Berkman's homer!

But I did feel a little sorry for the Minnesota Twins yesterday, especially after hearing about all the steps they took to exorcise the demons after Game 1: Ron Gardenhire burned his uniform, Orlando Hudson's family did a prayer group, the players didn't eat that their usual waffle house, team leader (yes!) Carl Pavano suggested that they switch up the uniforms, etc., etc.

And while their fans did those idiotic "Yankees suck" chants, at least they are loyal, knowledgeable fans who show up to support their team, unlike what Tampa Bay has.

Yet the results were the same for the Twins, despite them yet again taking the lead first. Hopefully, the Yankees will put the nail in the Twins' coffin tomorrow (after 2004, I never stop worrying until the series is over, even if it's against Minnesota!) Never say never. Who would have thought that the Texas Rangers, who had won exactly one playoff game in three tries, would be up 2-0 against the Rays? Even DJ Kitty couldn't get the job done for Tampa so far!

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Carl Pavano: Minnesota's own Che Guevara?

When I was in college at the University of Texas at Austin, the cool t-shirt to wear among a certain segment of the population was this Che Guevara one, where the revolutionary looks all iconic.

Nowadays in Minnesota, the hepcats are running around with this Carl Pavano shirt, an homage to the famous Che one, even though Carl can't help but look like the knucklehead that he is.

Instead of "Viva La Stache," the shirt should say: "Wanted for stealing $40 million from the Yankees." Not that I'm bitter or anything.

You know, maybe the two have something in common, after all, aside from famous mustaches:

* Guevara traveled to Bolivia, while Pavano spent tons of time in oblivion on the Yankee payroll.

* Che had "The Motorcycle Diaries." Carl could write the "Garbage Truck Diaries," the story about how he crashed his Porsche into a garbage truck, broke a few ribs, then lied to the Yankees about the whole thing.

At any rate, if Pavano manages to best the Yankees tonight (something I'm actually afraid of happening!), he really will be a cult icon!


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Are the 2010 Yankees the new 2006 Tigers?

I've been asked a lot over the past few weeks about who I wanted the Yankees to face in the playoffs -- the Texas Rangers or the Minnesota Twins. My standard answer was that I stopped making such wishes after I wanted the Yanks to face the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 playoffs, and the Bombers got humiliated by the team, especially the hated Kenny Rogers. The series culminated, if you can call it that, with Joe Torre batting A-Rod eighth in Game 4, and Jaret Wright starting, and failing, for the Yanks.

Anyhow, it occurred to me this morning, though, that this year's Yankee team could be the next 2006 Tigers. And that might not be such a terrible thing, given the postseason. Look at the stats:

* Both finished 95-67.
* Both were in first place for much of the year, including until the Saturday before the end of the season
* Both should have won the division, but stumbled down the stretch. Both the 2006 Tigers and 2010 Yankees went 12-15 in September. In October, the Tigers went 0-1, while the Yankees went 1-2.
* In the first half of the season, the 2006 Tigers went 59-29, while the Yanks went 56-32. In the second half, the Tigers went 36-38, while the Yankees went 39-35.
 * Curtis Granderson is on both teams.

Yet despite their awful finish, the Tigers still managed to make it to the World Series.The Minnesota Twins, the team that beat out the Tigers for the AL Central title that year, got swept by the Oakland Athletics. And the Tigers, after beating the Yanks, ended up beating Oakland in the ALCS. Granted, the Tigers did lose the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that should never have been there in the first place, but beat the Mets in 7 games in the NLCS. (Incidentally, I'm still bitter about Mets players chanting that whole "party in Queens, entierro in the Bronx" thing in 2006, after the Yankees lost. The shoe's on the the other foot this year, guys!)

Anyhow, after this disappointing finish, let's hope that the Yankees treat the 2010 Twins like the 2006 Tigers mauled the Yankees back then.



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Oh no, Mariano! What a way to end the weekend!

As good as Saturday's game was - Andy Pettitte looking very sharp, Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada hitting homers, and the whole team looking sharp - Sunday's game was pretty bad.

I was running around doing errands, and just around the time Mariano Rivera came into the game for a four-out save, I had to leave my car for a few minutes to pick up some food. A few minutes later, I get a call from my brother, asking "Do you know what happened in the game?" He was watching it on the TBS national broadcast, so he told me about the bases-loaded walk, and the grand slam. I felt like I got punched in the stomach. Yikes!

Then I called Squawker Jon to tell him what happened, and his voice perked up. I haven't heard him so happy since, um, the last gut-wrenching Yankee loss! Sheesh. Of course, he needed something to cheer him up after the latest Met debacle. I did make sure to bring up how John Maine threw12 balls in a row the night before to start the game.

My Facebook friend Joe - a Red Sox fan - blames me (!) for Mariano and "Joba the Mutt," as he calls him, spitting the bit today. He thinks I brought "negative karma" to the Yankees by my rooting for the Philadelphia Flyers over the Boston Bruins this weekend. Joe says:

"The sports gods don't like transferring loyalties strictly to hate...they penalize you somewhere else. It's OK to hate on the nemesis, but you can't become a "fan". You goofed by becoming a Flyer "fan" instead of just a Bruins "hater"... by the way - how's the Magic loyalty going for you so far?

Ouch!

Speaking of Joes, I forgot to mention that Joe Mauer is dead to me, after he failed to sell his soul become a free agent. What the heck is wrong with that guy, re-signing with the Twins and staying with his home state? He'll never get to host "Saturday Night Live" now!

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Look who's giving the Minnesota Twins a pep talk!

Uh-oh. The Minnesota Twins may have a secret weapon this time around. Somebody who will be giving them the confidence to beat the Yankees in the Bronx this weekend. Check out these quotes from somebody connected with the team who had success against the Yankees in New York in the past:

"We were confident, we believed in ourselves, we didn't try to up our game because the other team had more hype. Baseball doesn't change anywhere you go. The bases are the same distance, the mound is the same distance. If you feel you have to do more than you're capable of doing, more times than not you're not going to be very successful."....

"Teams come in gunning for the Yankees. Some people take to the elements in New York, and some people don't. It's definitely a different animal."

Give up? It's Carl Pavano!

Incidentally, the American Idle hasn't had to spend any time in the Carl Pavano Memorial MRI Tube most recently used by Nick Johnson. Pavano's made seven (!) starts this year. His record is 4-3, with a 3.30 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Seems like those injury-ridden years are a thing of the past. Lovely.

* * *

Yesterday's game was dull and depressing. CC Sabathia looked terrible, as did the Yankee bats. But at least the Bombers are finally playing some home games again - they've had 22 games on the road so far this year, and only 12 at home.

In other news, the next six weeks or so are going to be filled with all the "Where's LeBron James going to end up?" talk; something only slightly less annoying as the "Is Brett Favre retiring" talk!

And I don't care if it ticks off Squawker Jon. Go Flyers!

So why hasn't Joe Mauer signed that big deal with the Twins yet?

I make no secret of the fact that I openly covet Joe Mauer, and want him to be a Yankee next year. In fact, I fully expect that he will be wearing the pinstripes next year - I wrote several columns about this last winter.

Anyhow, I got all sorts of grief from readers - and Twins bloggers - telling me about Joe's a small-town guy, he wants to stay in Minnesota, and he will stay in his home state, blah blah blah. And there was all sorts of talk this winter about how the Twins would lock him up with a long-term deal.

Yet here it is, mid-March, and Mauer still hasn't agreed to that big contract with the Twins. So Minnesota Star-Tribune columnist Jim Souhan (hat tip to Sliding Into Home) is now wondering if "Mauer's hesitancy to accept a record-setting contract offer from his hometown team has made his signing less than a sure thing and raised this previously unthinkable question: 'Won't the Twins have to trade him if he refuses their best offer?'"

Souhan also writes:

If he's spurning amounts the Twins feel are exorbitant, the team could discern that Mauer is intent on playing in New York or Boston. Those might be the only two baseball cities where a team other than the Twins would be willing to pay more than $20 million a year for a catcher with a history of leg and back injuries.

 Ahem. As I wrote last winter:

Besides, the thing is about being a Yankee is that it puts you in a whole other level of superstardom. Joe Mauer has arguably been the best all-around player in the league for years, but he will only get the attention he deserves if he puts on the pinstripes. Will Mauer get the ads Derek Jeter does if he stays in Minnesota? No. Will Mauer host SNL or get to introduce artists at the American Music Awards as a Twin? Doubtful.

One of our readers suggested that Mauer would stay in Minnesota, because he spent time this winter in his deer stand. Myjah wrote:

Yeah--up in his DEER STAND, probably by his log cabin in the middle of nowhere where he does things like mow his own lawn.

Do you really think Joe is aching to live/play in New York City so he can make even more millions of dollars?

Well, Mauer still hasn't signed that big deal everybody (except me!) expected him to, before the season started.(And none of this has anything to do with Joe Nathan potentially needing Tommy John surgery; the Twins had all winter to get this Mauer deal executed.)

So I'm sticking with my prediction of Mauer "catching CC Sabathia's first pitch in 2011." Forget about Jorge Posada - he'll be 40 next year, in the last year of his contract, and he will be the Yankees DH. Forget Jesus Montero and Austin Romine, the catching prospects of the future. (Austin Jackson was supposed to be the Yankees center fielder of the future, and Ian Kennedy was supposed to be the Yankee rotation fixture of the future. How did that work out?)

Of course, I could be wrong, and Mauer could indeed sign that big deal Minnesotaland is hoping for. But you have to wonder what's going on. Souhan writes:

At some point, the Twins' attitude will change from eagerness to sign Mauer, to indignation that he won't accept a franchise-record offer.

If Mauer doesn't have that big deal from the Twins by Opening Day, start spreading the news. He will be a Yankee in 2011!

What do you think? Tell us about it!

How I ticked off an entire state with my craven desire for Joe Mauer

Minnesota Twins fans aren't taking too kindly to my column yesterday about how I think Joe Mauer will be a Yankee in 2011. In fact, they're up in arms over my shameless coveting of their team's best player. Imagine that.

Here's the story. In "AL MVP Joe Mauer - A Future Yankee," I wrote, "Why wouldn't he want to be a Yankee? Playing for the Bombers is the stuff dreams are made of!"

For some strange reason, Twins fans weren't exactly pleased over this post. Twin Cities fan Two Seam Fastblog was not amused, writing this in our comments section:

This needs to stop. Because you know what, Yankee fans, Mauer's not coming to you. You can't have him, because the Twins can afford him, and since they CAN afford him, they will retain him. Check back in 7 years, then maybe you can try a 33 year old Mauer. That seems fair. But if the Twins can offer 120M to Santana, they can offer 140M to Mauer. We have a new stadium. We have payroll room. We're not THAT small market, despite what a lot of Twins fans will lead you to believe.

Speaking of that new stadium, what's the over/under for snowouts? Ten?

TwoSeam continues:

Do you realize that every move the Twins' front office makes has to be passively approved by Mauer? He wanted the team to do something in terms of trades this past season. I give you, Carl Pavano, Orlando Cabrera, Jon Rauch, Ron Mahay, JJ Hardy. We locked up his best friend, Justin Morneau. He was asked for input on our new uniforms, for gods sake.

I'm snickering over how much former Yankee Carl Pavano has turned his career around in that he was actually a hot property for a playoff race this year. And yes, he did bring his A-game to the postseason. Too bad A-Rod beat him with his own A-game!

Yeah, you joyless bastards can dream, but I suppose you'll just have to rely on one of the most catching rich farm systems in baseball for 7 more years. Or for Brian McCann. Whatever. I'm just sick of you trivializing breaking the collective hearts of an entire region of the country. Because that's what losing Mauer would do to us. He isn't important to just Minnesota, but parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, the Dakotas. We kept Kirby Puckett on one of the biggest contracts in history (WOW SAME AGENT AS MAUER), and we'll keep Joe. Screw you guys.

So if Mauer becomes a Yankee, we'll have broken the hearts of not just a state, but a whole region of the U.S.? Cool!

C'mon, TwoSeam. Do you think this shameless play to my emotions will sway me? Remember, I'm a Yankee fan. I have no heart!

The commenter continued this argument at the blog Two Seam Fastblog.  Go there to read more of the case against this Squawker, in a post entitled "Thy Heartless New Yorkers shalt no longer Covet our Dear Mauer." I love it!


The Over The Baggy Twins fan site linked to my column as well; they were also not thrilled with Yankee fans drooling over Mauer.

And other Minnesota fans wrote into Subway Squawkers to give me grief. Myjah said:

Mauer isn't going to become a Yankee. Want to know why?

"I've had a chance to go up in the deer stand a few times, and everyone here knows that when you're up in the deer stand you think about a lot of different things," Mauer quipped. "Just about the type of year we had as a team, the run that we had. I think coming into the season, my goal personally was just to stay on the field. To be here sitting today and being the MVP is more than I could have ever imagined."

Yeah--up in his DEER STAND, probably by his log cabin in the middle of nowhere where he does things like mow his own lawn.

Do you really think Joe is aching to live/play in New York City so he can make even more millions of dollars?

The Twins will offer him the biggest contract in Twins history. With their new stadium, they can afford Joe. He'll stay in Minnesota by his grandparents (who come to every Twins game) and his deer stand. That's just the type of guy he is.

I used to live in Texas, where the opening day of deer season is as highly anticipated an event among hunters as the opening of the new "Twilight" movie is among teenagers. And this deer-hunting event happens everywhere in November. So Mauer could be a Yankee, and still come home to Minnesota and shoot to his heart's content in the offseason. Come to think of it, we have deer-hunting in the tri-state area as well. And with all the money Mauer could make as a Yankee, he could build the most souped-up deer stand ever, and wear an NY camouflage hat to boot!


John from Minneapolis did not think the possibility of endorsement money would not be what might sway Mauer to become a Yankee. He suggested a different reason:

I think that the lure of the pinstripes, in the sense of being part of a historic, championship organization, will be more of an enticement for Mauer than money. I think he really does want to play on a World Series team, and that will decide whether he stays in Minny or not.

I'm just waiting for when Mauer claims he grew up idolizing Don Mattingly, the way Mark Teixeira claimed in his first Yankee press conference.

By the way, Minnesota fans, I despise Brett Favre. My hatred for the Minnesota Vikings quarterback is long-standing and deep. I look forward to when he turns into a pumpkin again, the way Roger Clemens did in the 2007 ALDS. So there!


Photo by Keith Allison

What do you think? Vote in our Joe Mauer poll at the top of the page, and leave us a comment!

Momentum, schmomentum - Don't think the Twins will win because they had a sizzling September

I knew it. As soon as I saw the Twins beat the Tigers, in one of the most epic one-game playoff matchups ever, I was sure people would start talking about that discredited canard, about how the hottest team, not the best team, wins in the playoffs. (Didn't they read my Faster Times piece breaking down the numbers? Sheesh.)

Momentum, schomentum, I say. The Yankees are going to win the series. I'm not going to claim a sweep or decimation or anything like that - as Squawker reader Bob from Kiev pointed out; Orlando Cabrera and Joe Mauer are both Yankee killers. Come to think of it, so is Carl Pavano. But the Yankees are still going to win.

Yankees in four, I say. That's my prediction, and I'm sticking to it!


Yesterday's game was pretty phenomenal, though - it was the best one-game playoff I can remember in ages. Fun to watch, even if I had no rooting interest. But TBS is terrible. What's more annoying - Craig Sager's fashions, or Chip Caray's awful calls? (I wrote a piece breaking down how bad Caray was.)

I will probably be squawking on Twitter and Facebook during tonight'ts game , if you'd like to follow me.

One other note - the Poughkeepsie Journal had a good video breaking down the Yanks-Twins series. Check it out.

What are your own predictions for the series? Tell us about it!

Chin up, Mets fans! You have a lot to be excited about!

Squawker Jon, I'm sorry to see you so blue. You're bummed that your Mets are nowheresville. And to add insult to injury, you're stuck seeing the Phillies and the Yankees in the playoffs.

So, since I feel your pain, I want to remind you of a few things you have to be thankful for:

* Johan Santana may not have sniffed the playoffs in the two years since he became a Met, but former Met prospect Carlos Gomez, who was part of the deal, scored the game-winning run in yesterday's epic Twins-Tigers game. And here, people say that the Mets' farm system is a mess. They're wrong. Gomez knew how to touch third base and everything yesterday!

* Jerry Manuel is coming back! And so is Razor Shines! Whoo-hoo!

* Your team is finally honoring its history with memorabilia. Last week they gave Mariano Rivera the pitching rubber that he got his 500th save from, with a touching note attached from Jeff Wilpon and Omar Minaya.  Not only was that game against the Mets, but that's also the same rubber that Francisco Rodriguez used to walk in Mariano with the bases loaded. See, your team is noticing important milestones in its history!

Any other reasons that Met fans should be thankful? Tell us about them!

Who I'm rooting for in the Twins-Tigers game

I'm settling in to watch today's one-game playoff between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins. So who am I rooting for? Neither - I have no preference as to which team I want the Yankees to see in the playoffs. Ever since 2006, when I wanted to see the Yankees face the Tigers after the team staggered into the postseason, and Detroit killed the Yanks, I have been reluctant to say which team I want to see in October, for fear it will blow up in my face, and end up killing the Yankees.

What I will say is this - I am completely unsurprised that Minnesota is playing today.I wrote an article on them this Friday for The Faster Times, saying:

...the two teams tying - and playing a one-game playoff for the title - is a real possibility, especially given the buzz that will already be in the air at the Metrodome this weekend as the park hosts its last ever - for now, at least, Twins series.

There isn't much buzz for Detroit, unless it's Miguel Cabrera's incredible .26 blood alcohol level. Good grief.

So much for Peter Gammons' wanting another playoff round  because there was no drama this October.

No matter what happens today,  Joe Mauer deserves the AL MVP, as I lobbied for last month. The only real argument - that his Twins weren't in the playoff hunt - has been decimated by the way they stepped up this October.

While I'm not rooting for the Twins (or the Tigers), my guess is that Minnesota will be the team headed  to New York after the game. And the Tigers will make history by being the first team to cough up a lead they held since early May.

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

Why Jerry Manuel needs to go, and the Twins are must-see TV

I wrote a few pieces for the Faster Times today on non-Yankee stuff. First up - why I think Jerry Manuel needs to get the old heave-ho from the Mets. I also slam a certain untouchable Met third baseman in the article.

Second thing I wrote is about how the small-market Twins have had some big-time drama as of late. I also slam a certain oft-injured Yankee pitcher in the article.


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