The end of one era in Minnesota, and the beginning of another

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

So I was sitting in my office doing some paperwork when Jeff Francouer, his agent Lonnie Cooper, and my Brad burst into my office....

************************************************************************

JM: Whoa, whats going on here?

JF: I recently reached 3 years of major league experience.

JM: And?

LC: We want to negotiate a deal to take Jeff through arbitration.

JM: Ok, Brad, what do you think?

BR: Hes the backbone of the lineup, I think we should.

JM: Alright, lets talk. What were you thinking?

LC: We want a 3 year extension to get us through arbitration.

JM: Ok, what kind of money were you thinking.

JF: I want eight million a year.

JM: Jeff, we really want to lock you up, but we can't afford that, we're a small market team. What about 6 million a year, I know its a big difference but its the best we can do for now.

JF: Lonnie, what do you think?

LC: I want you to have the longterm security, we'll take it.

************************************************************************

I negotiated as a 4 year deal in the game because of the way BBM's resigning system works and I used OFG's FA'cy rules to negotiate it.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

I was walking around the field in Kansas City before the start of the game, when our local reporter, Charley Walters, approached me and asked if he could do a Q&A for the Pioneer Press with me, "Sure." I responded. Heres how it went.

********************************************************************

CW: Be honest, were you expecting this much success when you broke camp in late March, early April?

JM: I certainly wasn't expecting us to have the second best record in baseball. But to be honest, no, I wasn't expecting this success. I was completely geared up for a rebuilding year and nearly traded Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau a few times early in the season.

CW: You made a couple deals to get the team where it is, namely acquiring Jeff Francoeur and Chone Figgins, what motivated those deals and are you happy with the way they turned out?

JM: Let me address the Francoeur one first. We were mostly just shopping Cuddyer around with the two Kevin's in order to shed his salary, I was very surprised when the Braves made that offer. Francoeur is an extremely talented young player and even with the extension we recently gave him hes still cheaper than Cuddyer, I don't know where we'd be without Francoeur this season, it certainly wouldn't be first in the division though. As for Figgins, the primary motivation behind that was acquiring a third basemen to compliment Lamb from the right side, and the fact that we believed Neshek needed a change of scenery. We really loved the idea of putting Figgins at the top of the lineup with Gomez, thats as deadly a 1-2 punch as there is. Needless to say we're happy with the deals we made. Francoeur has become another building block for this team and Figgins has really ignited our offense.

CW: On the note of Figgins, does he want to stay with the Twins and are you interested in keeping him?

JM: The indications that we've got from him are that he likes it in Minnesota and would like to stay. We'd love to keep him, but hes having a fantastic season so hes going to ask for a big contract and I'm not confident that we'll be able to keep him past this season. We'll see what happens though.

CW: What are your thoughts on how Liriano has rebounded from TJ surgery?

JM: This is better than anything I could've ever hoped for. I was not expecting him to return to such a dominant status so quickly but I'm very happy that he has. Not only has he been pitching great and winning games, but hes been pitching some of his best games against teams we need to beat, like the Indians and Tigers. Liriano for Cy Young '08!

CW: Haha, moving on. We've just entered July, the month of the trade deadline, do you plan on making any deadline deals?

JM: As of now, nothing really cooking. If a deal comes along that we think would be beneficial to the team and help us this season or in the longterm, we will likely make it. I do expect us to get plenty of calls this month though due to our wealth of starting pitching depth, with Humber coming off the DL, Duensing, Blackburn, Bonser, Hernandez, and Guerrier. If we do go out and look for a deal it would likely to be to bolster our short and/or middle relief however.

CW: The All-Star Game is just a week away, who do you expect to represent Minnesota at the game?

JM: I believe we have a wealth of players who are worthy of representing us at the All-Star Game. Liriano seems like a lock to at least make the team, and perhaps start the game for the AL as well, Delmon Young is leading the majors in RBI's so hes gotta be a candidate, Francouer should probably be a candidate, Figgins is 3rd in batting average and 2nd in steals in the AL so hes probably going, Joe Nathan is leading the AL in saves so hes a candidate as well. Additionally, I think Dennys Reyes and Mike Lamb could also be candidates.

CW: Deolis Guerra recently made his first career start, a complete game shutout, how bright do you think his future is?

JM: I think his future is very bright. Hes still only 19 years old and hes already thrown a complete game shutout in the major leagues and at the time of his callup he was dominating AAA. He was obviously one of the keypieces in shipping Johan off to Queens and he and Gomez are making us look very smart right now. He needs to work on his control and movement a bit, but expect to see him again as a September call-up and perhaps make the team out of spring training as a 4 or 5 starter next season if he keeps developing as he is.

CW: Ok, last question. What do you expect from the team going forward the rest of the season?

JM: I think we have as good a chance of anyone in our division of winning the division, and have as good a chance of anyone of winning the Wild Card. I don't expect the team to keep playing .600 baseball, that would be unrealistic, but I do expect us to battle it all the way out and hopefully win our division and make the playoffs.

CW: Ok, thanks for your time.

JM: No problem, any time Charley.

********************************************************************

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Guys, I came up with something I'd like to implement into this but I'd need your involvement with it. I'd like to do a mailbag/Press Conference type of thing where you guys would ask the questions and what not. Even as a Press Conference thing I'd probably just have you guys PM me with your questions and then post them as if I were the GM answering questions at a press conference. I'd probably want to do 5-10 questions per post of this kind and you would be allowed to ask multiple questions of me. So if there are enough people reading me out there so that I could make this a feature please let me know, because I know a lot of people prefer not to post in the dynasties and just read them. If you'd like for me to do something like this post here or just start PM'ing me your questions. They should be about the team, how its doing, what I expect, about moves I've made, and so on. Thanks.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

July 1, 2008 until the ASB


July 1, 2008
Minnesota Twins (50-33) @ Kansas City Royals (32-50)
Royals 5 over Twins 3
WP: Zack Greinke - 7IP 6H 0BB 2ER K (6-5)
LP: Nick Blackburn - 8IP 10H BB 5ER 3K (2-4)
SV: Joakim Soria (14)

Blackburn pitched well through the 5th inning, but when he came out for the 6th he allowed 3 runs and then two more in the 7th. Kubel went 1-4 with a double and an RBI, Young went 1-4 with an RBI, and Figgins stole a base.


July 2, 2008
Minnesota Twins (50-34) @ Kansas City Royals (33-50)
Twins 14 over Royals 4
WP: Matt Guerrier - 5IP 8H 2BB 4ER 5K (1-2)
LP: Jon Bale - 2 2/3IP 8H 2BB 2ER K (1-7)

Bale really got let down by his defense, as two errors led to 5 unearned runs. The offense had a great day despite though. Chone Figgins went an astounding 5-6 with 3 RBI's, and Gomez went 3-6 with an RBI and a steal. Young went 3-6 with two RBI's and Francoeur went 2-4 with two walks, two homers, and 5 RBI's.


July 3, 2008
Minnesota Twins (51-34) @ Kansas City Royals (33-51)
Royals 9 over Twins 7
WP: Gil Meche - 5IP 9H BB 5ER 3K (9-5)
LP: Scott Baker - 4IP 9H 2BB 7ER 2K (11-5)
SV: Joakim Soria (15)

Gomez and Figgins were great at the top of the order today, combining to for 5-9 with a walk, 5 runs, an RBI, and three steals, but it wasn't good enough. Delmon Young went 2-4 with a homer and two RBI's.


July 4, 2008
Texas Rangers (43-42) @ Minnesota Twins (51-34)
Twins 6 over Rangers 5
WP: Dennys Reyes - 2/3IP K (4-1)
LP: Frank Francisco - 2/3IP 2H BB 4ER 2K (3-3)
SV: Joe Nathan (28)

Kubel picked a great time for his first homer after coming off the DL, a grand slam in the 7th when we were down by 3, in addition to going 3-4. Young and Lamb had the other two RBI's.



July 5, 2008
Texas Rangers (43-43) @ Minnesota Twins (52-34)
Rangers 6 over Twins 2
WP: Kevin Millwood - 8IP 5H 0BB ER 8K (9-6)
LP: Francisco Liriano - 6 2/3IP 4H 4BB 3ER 12K (13-3)
SV: C.J. Wilson (17)

Liriano pitched a great game but still got smacked with a loss due to the offense not getting runners in and deficiency in the bullpen. We collected 8 hits but managed to plate only two runs. Figgins and Delmon each stole a base and Morneau and Mike Redmond got the RBI's.


July 6, 2008
Texas Rangers (44-43) @ Minnesota Twins (52-35)
Rangers 4 over Twins 3
WP: Claudio Vargas - 8IP 6H BB 2ER 6K (7-3)
LP: Livan Hernandez - 7IP 4H 2BB 3ER 7K (7-6)
SV: C.J. Wilson (18)

Another good start wasted, the team is really struggling right now, hopefully the All-Star Break will do some good. Redmond went 3-4 and Francoeur had a two run homer and Morneau had a solo shot, but it was all for naught.


July 7, 2008
Texas Rangers (45-43) @ Minnesota Twins (52-36)
Twins 5 over Rangers 2
WP: Phil Humber - 8IP 4H 4BB 2ER 8K (2-2)
LP: John Patterson - 2IP 6H 2BB 5ER K (0-4)
SV: Joe Nathan (29)

Humber's first start since coming off the DL was a phenomenal one, and more importantly kept us from losing the series to the Rangers. Gomez and Figgins continue to be a force at the top of the lineup, each collected two hits and an RBI. Young Went 2-5 with a solo homer and Lamb and Kubel each collected RBI's as well.


After the home run debry and All Star Game at the end of the week we start interleague play, with the Twins playing the Braves at home for 3 and then heading to San Diego for 3.

The team is struggling pretty badly as a whole right now, which is why I'm not doing my usual offensive-pitching mini-breakdowns. When we pitch well, we don't hit, when we hit well, we don't pitch. I'm hoping the All-Star Break will let the players get rested and help right the ship.

Next I'm gonna do some little All-Star Game writeup and some mid-season League and Team awards.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Check the first post and look under add-ons for some more league structural things I'm probably doing.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Night before the All-Star game and the All-Star festivities have begun with the Home Run Derby!

In the first round Ryan Braun and Adam Dunn crushed the competition, Braun going out on 11 and Dunn on 9, and cruised to the second round.

FIRST ROUND (10 Outs)

PLAYER                          HOMERS
Ryan Braun (MIL)                    11
Adam Dunn (CIN)                      9
Alex Rodriguez (NYY)                 7
Matt Stairs (TOR)                    6
Evan Longoria (TBR)                  5
Albert Pujols (STL)                  5
David Ortiz (BOS)                    4
Nick Swisher (CHW)                   4
Andruw Jones (LAD)                   2
Wily Mo Pena (WSN)                   2

The top two homer hitters from the first round both advanced to the third and final round, while A-Rod kind of got cheated and Stairs embarrassed himself.

SECOND ROUND (5 Outs)

PLAYER                          HOMERS
Ryan Braun (MIL)                     5
Adam Dunn (CIN)                      5
Alex Rodriguez (NYY)                 4
Matt Stairs (TOR)                    1

Braun was the top homer hitter in the first round, but he ran out of gas in the final round and Dunn ended up the winner.

FINAL ROUND (5 Outs)

PLAYER                          HOMERS
ADAM DUNN (CIN)                      3
Ryan Braun (MIL)                     1

     WINNER: Adam Dunn

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

A few hours before the All-Star Game and I was wandering around on the field. Y'know, talking to some players, talking to some fans, talking to the other GM's that were there.

Then I received a text message from my owner Carl Pohlad, "I want to speak with you after the game.", it read. Oh boy, "What could he want", I said to myself. The team has done great so he couldn't be unhappy with the team's performance, could he? Maybe he wants to give me a raise, I thought trying to reassure myself, even though I knew it was unlikely at best. I guess I'll just have to see what he wants when I go to see him tonight, hopefully its nothing bad though.

2008 All-Star Game
The Best of the AL vs. The Best of the NL
The Final Season at Yankee Stadium


American League All-Stars

Starters:

C Victor Martinez (CLE), 3rd All-Star Game
1B David Ortiz (BOS), 5th All-Star Game
2B Aaron Hill (TOR), 1st All-Star Game
3B Alex Rodriguez (NYY), 12th All-Star Game
SS Tony Pena (KCR), 1st All-Star Game
LF Manny Ramirez (BOS), 12th All-Star Game
CF Nick Swisher (CWS), 1st All-Star Game
RF Vladimir Guerrero (LAA), 9th All-Star Game
DH Delmon Young (MIN), 1st All-Star Game
SP Rich Harden (OAK), 1st All-Star Game

Reserves:

RF Nick Markakis (BAL), 1st All-Star Game
3B Miguel Cabrera (DET), 5th All-Star Game
CF B.J. Upton (TBR), 1st All-Star Game
CF Josh Hamilton (TEX), 1st All-Star Game
C Jarrod Saltalamacchia (TEX), 1st All-Star Game
RF Jeff Francoeur (MIN), 1st All-Star Game
LF Matt Stairs (TOR), 1st All-Star Game
RF Magglio Ordonez (DET), 7th All-Star Game
3B Evan Longoria (TBR), 1st All-Star Game
3B Mike Lowell (BOS), 5th All-Star Game
SP Felix Hernandez (SEA), 1st All-Star Game
SP Francisco Liriano (MIN), 2nd All-Star Game
SP Daisuke Matsuzaka (BOS), 1st All-Star Game
SP Dontrelle Willis (DET), 3rd All-Star Game
SP Clay Buchholz (BOS), 1st All-Star Game
SP Fausto Carmona (CLE), 1st All-Star Game
RP Joe Nathan (MIN), 3rd All-Star Game
RP J.J. Putz (SEA), 2nd All-Star Game
RP Troy Percival (TBR), 5th All-Star Game
RP Bobby Jenks (CWS), 3rd All-Star Game

National League All-Stars

Starters:

C Russell Martin (LAD), 2nd All-Star Game
1B Albert Pujols (STL), 7th All-Star Game
2B Kelly Johnson (ATL), 1st All-Star Game
3B Mark Reynolds (ARI), 1st All-Star Game
SS Jose Reyes (NYM), 3rd All-Star Game
LF Ryan Braun (MIL), 1st All-Star Game
CF Carlos Beltran (NYM), 5th All-Star Game
RF Adam Dunn (CIN), 2nd All-Star Game
DH Mark Teixeira (ATL), 2nd All-Star Game
SP Jose Valverde (HOU), 2nd All-Star Game

Reserves:

LF Alfonso Soriano (CHC), 7th All-Star Game
1B Todd Helton (COL), 6th All-Star Game
RF Jeremy Hermida (FLA), 1st All-Star Game
1B Adam Laroche (PIT), 1st All-Star Game
C Bengie Molina (SFG), 1st All-Star Game
LF Wily Mo Pena (WAS), 1st All-Star Game
1B Conor Jackson (ARI), 1st All-Star Game
RF Corey Hart (MIL), 1st All-Star Game
3B Chipper Jones (ATL), 6th All-Star Game
CF Andruw Jones (LAD), 6th All-Star Game
RP Brad Lidge (PHI), 2nd All-Star Game
SP Greg Maddux (SDP), 9th All-Star Game
SP John Smoltz (ATL), 9th All-Star Game
SP John Maine (NYM), 1st All-Star Game
SP Ben Sheets (MIL), 4th All-Star Game
SP Randy Wolf (SDP), 2nd All-Star Game
RP Trevor Hoffman (SDP), 7th All-Star Game
RP Billy Wagner (NYM), 6th All-Star Game
RP Kerry Wood (CHC), 2nd All-Star Game
RP Jason Isringhausen (STL), 3rd All-Star Game

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

2008 All-Star Game
The Best of the AL vs. The Best of the NL
The Final Season at Yankee Stadium

 National League at  American League
July 10, 2008

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
National League (NL) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1    2  4  0
American League (AL) 0 0 2 4 1 0 2 0 x    9 11  0

                     ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
J. Reyes (SS)         2  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .282
 J. Maine (P)         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 B. Lidge (P)         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 A. Soriano (P)       2  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .299
 J. Smoltz (P)        0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
C. Beltran (CF)       3  0  1  0  0  0  2  0    .303
R. Braun (LF)         4  2  0  1  1  1  1  0    .342
A. Pujols (1B)        3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .331
A. Dunn (RF)          3  0  1  0  0  0  1  0    .302
M. Teixeira (DH)      4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .306
M. Reynolds (3B)      3  0  0  1  0  0  1  0    .319
K. Johnson (2B)       2  1  1  0  0  0  0  0    .318
R. Martin (C)         1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .294
 J. Hermida (P)       1  1  0  0  0  1  0  0    .303
 B. Molina (P)        1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .295
TOTALS               29  4  4  2  1  2  7  0

   HR:  R. Braun
   GIDP:  A. Pujols, M. Teixeira

                   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
     J. Valverde  2.0  1  0  0  0  0  3  32   0.58
        J. Maine  1.1  5  3  1  6  6  1  51   2.99
        B. Lidge  1.2  1  0  1  1  1  0  34   0.28
       J. Smoltz  3.0  4  0  1  2  2  3  50   3.20
          TOTALS  8.0 11  3  3  9  9  7 167

                     ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
T. Pena (SS)          5  2  0  0  0  2  1  0    .315
 D. Matsuzaka (P)     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 J. Putz (P)          0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
D. Young (DH)         5  1  0  0  0  1  0  1    .302
V. Guerrero (RF)      4  1  0  1  0  0  0  0    .349
A. Rodriguez (3B)     4  0  0  0  0  0  3  0    .298
D. Ortiz (1B)         3  2  1  2  1  1  1  0    .307
M. Ramirez (LF)       4  2  0  2  1  2  1  0    .317
N. Swisher (CF)       4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .338
V. Martinez (C)       3  2  1  2  0  0  0  0    .317
A. Hill (2B)          3  1  1  2  1  3  1  0    .277
TOTALS               35 11  3  9  3  9  7  1

   2B:  V. Martinez 2, T. Pena
   HR:  D. Ortiz, A. Hill, M. Ramirez

                   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
       R. Harden  5.0  2  3  0  1  1  5 100   2.68
    D. Matsuzaka  3.0  2  1  1  1  1  2  54   3.38
         J. Putz  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  0  14   1.45
          TOTALS  9.0  4  4  1  2  2  7 168

     WP: R. Harden
     LP: J. Maine

     Temperature: 76F
     Wind: 5 MPH (in from center)
     Attendance: 47,116
     Time: 3:11

 National League at  American League
July 10, 2008

TOP OF THE FIRST
Rich Harden takes the mound for the American League.
Jose Reyes grounded to second. <--->
Carlos Beltran struck out. <--->
Ryan Braun singled through the left side. <--1>
Albert Pujols struck out. <--1>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the first, the game is tied at 0.

BOTTOM OF THE FIRST
Jose Valverde takes the mound for the National League.
Tony Pena struck out. <--->
Delmon Young popped up to first. <--->
Vladimir Guerrero flied out to center. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the first, the game is tied at 0.

TOP OF THE SECOND
Adam Dunn struck out. <--->
Mark Teixeira grounded back to the pitcher. <--->
Mark Reynolds grounded to second. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the second, the game is tied at 0.

BOTTOM OF THE SECOND
Alex Rodriguez struck out. <--->
David Ortiz singled to left. <--1>
Manny Ramirez struck out. <--1>
Nick Swisher grounded to second. <--1>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the second, the game is tied at 0.

TOP OF THE THIRD
Kelly Johnson grounded to the shortstop. <--->
Russell Martin struck out. <--->
Jose Reyes flied out to center. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the third, the game is tied at 0.

BOTTOM OF THE THIRD
John Maine came in to pitch for the National League. <--->
Victor Martinez doubled in the left field gap. <-2->
Aaron Hill homered over the center field fence for two RBIs. <--->
Tony Pena grounded to the second baseman. <--->
Delmon Young singled up the middle. <--1>
Vladimir Guerrero lined out to third. <--1>
Delmon Young stole second. <-2->
Alex Rodriguez struck out. <-2->
2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the third,  leads 2 to 0.

TOP OF THE FOURTH
Carlos Beltran walked. <--1>
Ryan Braun struck out. <--1>
Albert Pujols grounded to short for a double play (6-4-3). <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the fourth,  trails 2 to 0.

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH
David Ortiz walked. <--1>
Manny Ramirez singled up the middle. <-21>
Nick Swisher flied out to center. <-21>
Victor Martinez walked. <321>
Aaron Hill walked, scoring a run. <321>
Tony Pena singled to left field for two RBIs. <3-1>
Brad Lidge came in to pitch for the National League. <3-1>
Delmon Young grounded to second, scoring a run. <--1>
Vladimir Guerrero grounded to short. <--1>
4 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the fourth,  leads 6 to 0.

TOP OF THE FIFTH
Adam Dunn walked. <--1>
Mark Teixeira lined out to left field. <--1>
Mark Reynolds grounded to the pitcher, forcing the runner at second. <--1>
Kelly Johnson walked. <-21>
Jeremy Hermida pinch hit for Russell Martin. <-21>
Jeremy Hermida singled to left, scoring a run. <3-1>
Alfonso Soriano pinch hit for Jose Reyes. <3-1>
Alfonso Soriano grounded to second. <3-1>
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
In the middle of the fifth,  trails 6 to 1.

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
Bengie Molina came in to play Catcher. <--->
Alex Rodriguez lined out to center. <--->
David Ortiz homered over the center field fence. <--->
Manny Ramirez dribbled weakly to the catcher. <--->
Nick Swisher popped up foul down the third base line. <--->
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the fifth,  leads 7 to 1.

TOP OF THE SIXTH
Daisuke Matsuzaka came in to pitch for the American League. <--->
Carlos Beltran grounded to second. <--->
Ryan Braun grounded to second. <--->
Albert Pujols popped up to short. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the sixth,  trails 7 to 1.

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH
John Smoltz came in to pitch for the National League. <--->
Victor Martinez doubled down the third base line. <-2->
Aaron Hill grounded to the shortstop. <-2->
Tony Pena lined out to left field. <-2->
Delmon Young grounded to second. <-2->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the sixth,  leads 7 to 1.

TOP OF THE SEVENTH
Adam Dunn grounded to short. <--->
Mark Teixeira flied out to right field. <--->
Mark Reynolds struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the seventh,  trails 7 to 1.

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
Vladimir Guerrero singled up the middle. <--1>
Alex Rodriguez struck out. <--1>
David Ortiz struck out. <--1>
Manny Ramirez homered to right-center for two RBIs. <--->
Nick Swisher flied out to left. <--->
2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the seventh,  leads 9 to 1.

TOP OF THE EIGHTH
Kelly Johnson singled through the right side. <--1>
Bengie Molina flied out to center. <--1>
Alfonso Soriano grounded to first, forcing the runner at second. <--1>
Carlos Beltran struck out. <--1>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the eighth,  trails 9 to 1.

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH
Victor Martinez grounded to short. <--->
Aaron Hill struck out. <--->
Tony Pena doubled to right-center. <-2->
Delmon Young grounded to short. <-2->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the eighth,  leads 9 to 1.

TOP OF THE NINTH
Ryan Braun homered to left-center. <--->
Albert Pujols walked. <--1>
J.J. Putz came in to pitch for the American League. <--1>
Adam Dunn lined out to center. <--1>
Mark Teixeira grounded to the shortstop for a double play (6-4-3). <--->

AMERICAN LEAGUE WIN: 9-2

The AL continued its decade long dominance of the All-Star game, and earned its league home field advantage in the World Series, which makes me a very happy man. Aaron Hill was named the MVP with his 1-3, 3 run homer performance. Delmon Young was the only Twin to appear in the game, going 1-5 with an RBI.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

My Meeting with Mr. Pohlad, P. I

Carl wanted me to drive to his home in Queens after the game, so I departed for his house after the game and the other festivities were over.

On the drive over I couldn't help but wonder what was so urgent that he wanted me to drive out to Queens to meet with him on such short notice. Is he unhappy with the team's performance? That couldn't be it, I thought, the team has exceeded everyone's expectations. Maybe he wanted to talk about his expectations of the team and I over the last half of the season. On one hand it seemed seemed a pretty good possibility, and it certainly wouldn't be out of the ordinary for a team owner to talk to his GM about what he expected of the team for the rest of the season at the All-Star Break. But on the other hand it doesn't seem like something that would be urgent enough to have to meet with me on such short notice.

"I'll find out soon enough what he wants soon enough." I decided.

I got to his home and it was the type of big mansion you'd expect a billionaire and someone who has the money to own professional sports franchise to have. It was beautiful from the outside, it had big Victorian columns, constructed of some type of slate or marble, holding up an overhang in the front of the house and the entire home had the feel of a Greek temple. It looked like it had enough rooms to house a small army and had a big Minnesota Twins insignia carved and painted into the huge double doors at the front of the house.

"Nice touch." I thought to myself.

In any case, I walked up and knocked on the door. The door opened and I was greeted by one of his seemingly many housekeepers.

"Hello Mr. Monahan" she greeted me "We've been expecting you."

I thanked her and after our brief introduction she led me through a maze of corridors for what seemed like eternity. As she guided me through this maze of corridors my mind kept drifting towards what he could possibly want, as it had all day. We finally stopped at a set of large double doors with the initials "C.R.P." carved into the doors, the C on the left door, the R being split in half by the two doors, and the P on the right door.

"Here you are Mr. Monahan, just go right in, Mr. Pohlad is expecting you."

I thanked her and she headed off back through the maze she had led me through to get here.

I knocked on the door, just to be safe, and my knock was answered by Mr. Pohlad's voice.

"Yes, John, come right in, we need to talk...."

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

My Meeting with Mr. Pohlad, P. II

I entered the room. It was a large library combined with a den. There was a large desk near the back of the room with a computer on it and an assortment of other items, and the walls were lined with dark mahogany bookshelves that went all the way up to the ceiling that were lined with books from left to right and top to bottom. There was any book you could ever want, he had everything from cook books to Angels and Demons, and of course books such as 'Moneyball' and 'Juiced'.

Mr. Pohlad was sitting at the desk at the back of the room and I couldn't read, which concerned me. It looked like he had been waiting for me for a while.

"Hello, John." Mr. Pohlad greeted me, "Hello, sir." I returned.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I called you to my home on such short notice." he asked me. He couldn't have been any more right, I responded with a simple "Yes." though.

"Well, Commissioner Selig, the Owners, and representatives from the Players Association have decided to call an emergency meeting of all GM's to discuss some possible changes."

Puzzled, I asked "What kinds of changes?"

"I'm glad you asked, thats why I called you here. The league office and the owners want to create a more even playing field for every team, top to bottom, financially. So there will be consideration of taking out demographic differences of each region in order to equalize the markets so all the teams will have more even budget's and smaller market teams like us, as well as teams like the Marlins, Rays, Nationals, and so on will have more money to compete with large market teams like the Red Sox and Yankees."

"Ok," I responded "so whats the problem, this is good for us isn't it?"

"Yes, this is." he continued, "However, there are other changes they want to make that may not be so good for us. They think the amount of money being spent is a problem and they think that a few years down the road the league may have problems with concentration of talent, so in order to remedy this they want to figure out a way to recalculate all players contracts so they're making what they should be."

He paused as if waiting for a response, I simply nodded to give him what he wanted.

"Even though we will have a higher budget if cities are equalized, recalculating salaries could hurt us badly, its also going to anger some players badly. Players like Morneau and Mauer will likely see their salaries cut significantly, however, players like Francoeur, Liriano, Delmon, Baker, and Figgins will all likely experience exponential increase in salary. I'm not sure that we'll be able to handle the changes even with the increased budget."

"I understand, but if its better for the longterm health of the league we should endorse it."

"I agree, and I plan to. But its going to be up to you to keep the players in check and make sure we don't dip into the red, you'll also be representing us at these meetings so you needed to be briefed so you wouldn't be walking in blindfolded. You also must understand that these meetings and issues are going to be hotly contested, and that more issues that I do not yet know about may be discussed by the time this happens."

"Ok, I can handle that. Anything else, sir?"

"No, that is all. The meetings will take place after the trade deadline so make sure to do your homework now. You're excused."

"Thank you sir."

I walked out of the room and was greeted by the same housekeeper who escorted me to the room, "Follow me again" she said. That wasn't what I expected at all, I thought to myself as she led me back through the maze of hallways. I now understood the urgency of the meeting and realized that I had to begin preparing for this emergency meeting ASAP. She led me back to the front door and exchanged informal farewells, and as we did so I couldn't help but think what was to come from these meetings and from the rest of the season.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Mid-Season Awards - AL MVP

AL MVP

The Candidates:

3B Alex Rodriguez (NYY) - A perennial contender for this award. Hes tied for second in the AL in homers at 21 and 3rd in RBI's with 81. He also sits 4th in OPS (.959) and 4th in slugging percent at .559. However the team sits in 3rd place behind the Rays and Red Sox and his numbers aren't as good as other candidates on those teams.

DH David Ortiz (BOS) - Also a perennial contender, but usually gets knocked for the fact that he doesn't play the field. He leads the AL in homers with 24, has a .307 batting average. He also places 4th in the AL in RBI's (72), 1st in slugging percent (.590), 2nd in OPS (1.007), 2nd in on-base percent (.417). The Red Sox also boast the best record in baseball and hold a 10 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays.

RF Vladimir Guerrero (LAA) - Won the award in '04. Hes leading the AL in batting average (.349), sits 2nd in RBI's (82), and places in the top 10 in OBP, OPS, and hits. His team is also only 3 games out of the AL West lead.

LF Delmon Young (MIN) - Hes only his second season, but hes having a great one. He leads the AL in RBI's with 87 and hes batting a healthy .302. He sits 6th in the AL in hits with 112, leads the AL in total bases with 193, and in extra base hits with 49. The Twins are playing in possibly the toughest division in baseball and leading it in large part due to the contributions of Delmon.

RF Travis Buck (OAK) - Hes 7th in the AL in batting at .318. He also sits 9th in SLG% at .528 and 7th in OPS with .919. His A's are in last in the division but they're only 4 games out of first.

The Winner:

DH David Ortiz - Hes leading or placing in the top 10 in most major and minor offensive stat categories. The Red Sox also hold the best record in baseball, making him the AL MVP at the break.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Mid-Season Awards - AL Cy Young

The Candidates:

LHP Francisco Liriano (MIN) - Hes doing a helluva job of replacing Johan Santana this season. He leads the AL in Wins (13), K's (135), BAA (.212), IP (126 1/3), K/9 (9.62), and H/9 (7.05), and also ranks in the top 3 in DICE (3.05), ERA (2.85), OOBP (.292), OOPS (.600), OSLG% (.308), and runners per nine innings pitched (10.61). Throw in the fact that hes doing this just one season after having Tommy John surgery and that hes pitched well in big games and you've got perhaps the #1 Cy Young contender.

RHP Felix Hernandez (SEA) - Just about any stat that Liriano isn't leading in Felix is. The only stat where Felix holds a significant lead is ERA, Liriano sits at 2.85 compared to Felix's 2.01. Hes just as good a candidate as Liriano in just about every way.

The Winner:

LHP Francisco Liriano (MIN) - Sure, I'm a little biased here. However, Liriano and Felix are **** near equal in just about every stat, with the exception of ERA, which Felix holds a decent lead, and K's, which Liriano holds a decent lead. But Liriano does lead in wins and he has managed to help his team to a better record.


(I was gonna do 5 candidates for each award but no one really stacked up with Liriano and Felix for this one. There were a few other pitchers who had pretty good numbers but no one was in the same class as these two.)

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Mid-Season Awards - NL MVP

NL MVP

The Candidates:

LF Ryan Braun (MIL) - Hes leading the NL in batting average, second in homers, 7th in RBI's, first in slugging percent, second in OPS, and 7th in OBP. Hes a very, very bad defender in left, but his team is leading the NL Central by two games over the Pirates.

LF Adam Dunn (CIN) - He leads the NL in RBI's and homers, and he even has his batting average up to .302 from his career average of .253. He also ranks 3rd in the NL in OBP, slugging percent, OPS, 2nd in total bases, and 3rd in extra base hits. Hes a decent fielder and his team, the Reds, are only 4 games out of the NL Central lead.

1B Albert Pujols (STL) - Is it really any surprise to see him as a candidate? Hes 5th in the NL in batting average, 10th in RBI's, 8th in homers, 2nd in slugging percent, 1st in OPS, and 1st in OBP. He has a much weaker lineup around him and plays Gold Glove defense at a premium defensive position.


The Winner:

LF Adam Dunn (CIN) - Its a really tough call here, but I like Dunn. Dunn has good rate and accumulative stats and his team is staying right in there in the division race.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Mid-Season Awards - NL Cy Young

The Candidates:

RHP John Maine (NYM) - Maine is tied for the league lead in wins, sits 3rd in ERA at 2.99, 5th in K's, 2nd in BAA at .208, 7th in OOPS at .636, 2nd in H/9 at 6.86, and 6th in innings pitched with 123 1/3.

LHP Johan Santana (NYM) - His numbers and rankings are very comparable to those of John Maine. Johan's ERA is a hair lower at 2.98, despite that hes neck and neck with Maine in all major and minor statistical categories.

RHP Anthony Reyes (STL) - His ERA is right there with Johan and Maine's, at 3.00. However Reyes opposing rate stats are better, as he ranks 1st in BAA, 9th in OOBP, 3rd in OSLG%, and 4th in OOPS. All of which he ranks ahead of Maine and Johan in.

The Winner:

RHP Anthony Reyes (STL) - His ERA is right there with Johan and Maine's and the lead in rate stats gives him the edge.

[PotatoOfCouch13]

The Candidates:

LF Ryan Braun (MIL) - Hes leading the NL in batting average, second in homers, 7th in RBI's, first in slugging percent, second in OPS, and 7th in OBP. Hes a very, very bad defender in left, but his team is leading the NL Central by two games over the Pirates.

LF Adam Dunn (CIN) - He leads the NL in RBI's and homers, and he even has his batting average up to .302 from his career average of .253. He also ranks 3rd in the NL in OBP, slugging percent, OPS, 2nd in total bases, and 3rd in extra base hits. Hes a decent fielder and his team, the Reds, are only 4 games out of the NL Central lead.

1B Adam Dunn (STL) - Is it really any surprise to see him as a candidate? Hes 5th in the NL in batting average, 10th in RBI's, 8th in homers, 2nd in slugging percent, 1st in OPS, and 1st in OBP. He has a much weaker lineup around him and plays Gold Glove defense at a premium defensive position.

I think that Dunn should get it, solely based on the fact that he puts up monster numbers playing for 2 teams!

Halfway home! Time to bring it down the homestretch!