No Grudges
I am in BG's camp on Ken Griffey Jr. He tops my list of guys I like who never played for the Twins. Seriously though, does he have to have such continued success against the Twins?
Santana pitches tonight against the Braves and will be on TBS. I don't normally watch the Braves but may tune in for an inning or two. I hold no grudge against Santana and if any of you feel the same I am just giving a heads up.
9 Comments:
Agreed on all counts, RTS. Jr.'s always been one of my favorite players. He only looks better these days as he hasn't been tainted (although who knows anything anymore?). Had he avoided all those injuries for about a 5 year span toward the end of his prime, he'd be at 700 homers and 2,000 RBI right now. But he's hit 26 homers in the Dome now. That's second-most to you know who among Twins opponents. With 8 years in the National League, too. Ouch. He's gotta be up there in the all-time homers against the Twins list, too, despite only 12 or 13 seasons in the AL.
As for Johan, as I noted in a post last week, I not only don't hold any grudges against him, I still mancrush on the guy. He's awesome, and I want him to go down as the best pitcher of his generation. His general success reflects well on the Twins, somehow. I hope he's only with the Mets for about 5 years, though, and then gets his last 3 or 4 seasons at a discount with the Twins so he can go in the Hall with a "TC" on his statue.
Speaking of not holding grudges, we should make a list of our favorite ex-Minnesota sports players. Santana and KG have to be toward the top of the list. Torii's standing has dropped a bit in my book, although I certainly don't wish him ill. I kind of want to see Garza do well just to be proven right, but I don't like him all that much.
Who else? I'm having trouble thinking of ex-Vikings I followed after they left.
Jim Eisenreich.
May 11, 2009 at 3:23 PM
Griffey is awesome...and assuming he's never been on juice, he should go down as the best player of the era.
This ex-MN athlete game could be really fun and an awesome exercise.
I actually put Randy Moss in there. Even though he doesn't always represent the best example for America's youth, you've got to love the highlight reel plays.
Others: I have to admit, I'm struggling, because we've had so few big-name stars over the years. If Ortiz didn't play for Boston, I'd have him high on the list (and if he'd played a couple more years for us).
Torii, Santana, KG definitely top the class. What about Daunte? Or has he just been too crappy recently?
May 11, 2009 at 11:43 PM
P.S. no, my wife hasn't suddenly become a MN sports buff. I didn't realize she was signed in to Gmail, hence the moniker.
May 11, 2009 at 11:45 PM
Update - my gawd, the rest of the Mets suck when Santana pitches. How can you have two losses with an ERA under 1.00? Talk about not deserving the "L" last night. Unearned run in the first, then shuts them down, leaves with a man on first and one out in the seventh. Reliever immediately gives up a single, gets an out and then his shortstop boots the inning ending grounder. Run scores, then the flood gates open. Santana takes the loss.
Orel Hershiser and Steve Phillips were tearing that team a new one on ESPN last night at the end of the game.
I still rooted for Koskie when he was with Toronto (and his attempted comeback with the Cubs this Spring).
I don't dislike Papi, but he did bash the franchise a good bit when he first left. I'm not sure I really liked Daunte all that much even when he was with the Vikes, so it's hard to really root for him now. Moss is a good call - easier to follow from afar.
May 12, 2009 at 9:41 AM
I can not be on board with Ortiz. He was so painful as a Twin. For me it would be like Cuddy finding success elsewhere.
I think most of the Twins are easy to like because they are salary cap casualties guys like Torri, Johan , Koskie and Jaque Jones. I liked Lawton after traded to bloster the the team down the stretch, no harm there. I do remember people booing him in his return. Back in the day I would throw in Brunansky and Viola who both had there best days behind them.
I think the one Viking that everyone would agree on is Brad Johnson. He definitely got the shaft in what looked like a good move at the time. I would also throw Rich Gannon in there, While I never really liked him, I was surprised at his success and was never bitter.
How about favorite North Star? I am going with Willie Plett. The guy did not wear a helmet and was an enforcer when I did not think that sort of stuff ruined the game. He now owns a landscaping business here in Atlanta.
May 12, 2009 at 10:01 AM
I know my grammer and spelling and flat out word omission was worse than normal, I wrote that inbetween orders.
May 12, 2009 at 10:03 AM
nice... I agree with a lot of what's been said, though I've never rooted for Moss once he left... and my love for KG has diminished some with some of his antics as a Celtic, including that hard-to-watch post-title interview he gave last year.
One name I throw in as ex-wof his Chauncy Billups... I know that hew wasn't in MN very long, but that is where he essentially resurrected his career (good article on espn about him yesterday)... that should be included in the myriad of stupid decisions the front-office of the wolves needs to held accountable for- definitely a top 5 (maybe higher, but there is just so much competition for dumb decisions it is harder to put it any higher).
May 12, 2009 at 12:33 PM
The list idea is a good one, question is it 'favorite ex-Minny players who you root for and still like' or 'favorite ex-Minny players that you may not root for any more but are some of your all time favorites?' I don't root for Ortiz. I don't root for KG (see LH's comments) but loved him when he was here (root against him now.) Root against Moss now but loved him when he was here. Root for Torii except when playing us. Root for Santana. Guess I am kind of a dick but we all knew that.
Quick note: today I am getting a tour of the new Gopher football stadium with my wife's godfather and some alumni group, bringing the camera, should be cool.
May 12, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Jan- would love to see pictures of the tour, so post if you can...
May 12, 2009 at 3:26 PM
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