November 29, 2007
Nov 29 00:39 Twins Get Slugger, Shortstop Nov 29 04:17 Hillary the Manipulator Nov 29 14:27 Romney Rising? Nov 29 20:43 Johan Boston Bound?
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Prior Years: 2006
Twins Get Slugger, Shortstop
Bill Smith learned under Terry Ryan but that isn't to say that he's TR's duplicate. Proof of that came this evening when Smith completed his first major trade . Here's the details of the trade:
The Twins sent top pitching prospect Matt Garza, shortstop Jason Bartlett and relief prospect Eduardo Morlan to the Rays for Young, infielder Brendan Harris and minor league outfielder Jason Pridie.Let's first state this: Matt Garza is an outstanding pitching prospect who will likely turn into a top-of-the-order pitcher sometime soon. Jason Bartlett is a top shortstop talent.
Now let's look at this from the Twins' perspective. Delmon Young is 22, has a cannon for an arm & he hits for power and average (.288 BA, 13 HRs, 91 RBIs in 2007). Brendan Harris is a capable offensive player. According to his ESPN statline , Harris hit .286 with 12 HRs & 59 RBIs. He's definitely got some pop in his bat, as evidenced by his hitting 12 HRs with 35 doubles.
In addition to this trade, it's confirmed that the Twins have contacted Aaron Rowand's agent . That they're even inquiring into his availability is a major departure from TR's strategy.
Still, the centerpiece of the rest of this offseason is Johan Santana. Here's the latest Santana-to-Boston rumor I've seen :
Got further confirmation today that the Twins want Clay Buchholz, Jacoby Ellsbury and prospects for Johan Santana, but Boston is reluctant to give them up.I'd be perfectly fine trading Santana for Crisp & Youkilis because it'd fill their biggest remaining gaps: third & CF. That said, I'd rather hold out for Ellsbury & either Lester or Buchholz.
We've also heard that several names have been kicked around during talks, including lefthander Jon Lester, shortstop Jed Lowrie, outfielder Brandon Moss and major leaguers Coco Crisp and Kevin Youkilis (note: got the impression that Youkilis' name was barely kicked around).
Hypothetically speaking, if Santana is traded for Crisp & Youkilis, the Twins batting order would likely look like this:
CF- Crisp; 3B-Youkilis; C-Joe Mauer; LF-Delmon Young; 1B-Justin Morneau; RF-Michael Cuddyer; DH-Jason Kubel; SS-Brendan Harris; 2B-Nick Punto.
While that isn't as imposing a lineup as the Red Sox or Yanks, it's pretty solid. It's a definite upgrade over last year's lineup.
Alot can & likely will happen before players report for spring training. Thus far, though, I like how GM Bill Smith has hit the ground running.
Posted Thursday, November 29, 2007 12:39 AM
Comment 1 by Nick at 29-Nov-07 08:24 AM
No way trade Santana for Crisp and Youkilis. Take out two seasons and Crisp is about a .250 hitter, that leaves Punto, .230, Crisp .250 and Harris .260. I do not like that. We need to get young prospects, or at least one. Buckholtz, Lester, or Ellsbury have to be in the deal.
Hillary the Manipulator
Just when you thought that Hillary Clinton couldn't be more manipulative, we find more proof that she's the most manipulative presidential candidate in recent history. Here's what happened to cement that belief:
It turns out that Keith Kerr , retired Colonel., U.S. Army; retired Brigadier General, California National Reserve, who submitted a YouTube question about gays in the military, is actually a member of Hillary Clinton's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual Americans For Hillary Steering Committee . He's also part of a film production crew trying overturn the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.Please explain why Hillary pulls stunts like this. That's such a punk move. It proves once again that the Clintons are shameless, disgusting human beings. The good news is that Hillary's getting taken to task on it :
Keith Kerr a retired Colonel., U.S. Army; retired Brigadier General, California National Reserve pushed forward his issue of allowing gay Americans to serve openly in the US Military. While that is certainly a fair issue and open for debate, once again CNN looks to be in the hip pocket of the Clinton campaign.I don't know how this will play with Democrats, though it's possible it'll help there. What I'm certain of is that (a) independents will be turned off by it and (b) it'll get conservatives fired up about beating her and (c) she'll get pounded in the press for it.
It would have slipped by except CNN commentator Bill Bennett actually let the cat out of the bag and told CNN host Anderson Cooper that the former soldier apparently works for Clinton in the post debate analysis. Cooper played dumb at the time, but it did not last long as moments after the debate a bit of investigation showed that he is indeed a member of Hillary Clinton's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual Americans For Hillary Steering Committee.
Here's how the Washington Times is reporting this stunt :
Gen. Kerr was in the live audience, and moderator Anderson Cooper invited him to give what turned out to be a two-minute speech on the issue that drew audience boos. The general identified himself in his question as "an openly gay man" but remained in the closet about his ties to the Clinton campaign.Here's how FNC is reporting the incident :
Here are the key paragraphs from Politico's article on Kerr :Keith Kerr of Santa Rosa, Calif., who revealed himself as gay, challenged the eight candidates via video message and on stage at the CNN/YouTube debate in Florida on the right of gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military.
The broadcast, however, failed to mention that Kerr, who served as a brigadier general in the reserves, is a member of a gay and lesbian steering committee for Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The retired general who asked about gays and lesbians serving in the military at the CNN/YouTube Republican debate on Wednesday is a co-chair of Hillary Clinton's National Military Veterans group.Politico's article also points out the fact that Kerr isn't exactly truthful, which makes him a perfect plant for Hillary:
Retired Brig. Gen. Keith H. Kerr was named a co-chair of the group this month, according to a campaign press release.
David Bohrman, a CNN senior vice president and executive producer of the debate, later said: "We regret this, and apologize to the Republican candidates. We never would have used the general's question had we known that he was connected to any presidential candidate."
Kerr told CNN that he had not done work for the Clinton campaign, and CNN verified before the debate that he had not contributed money to any candidate, the broadcaster said in a blog post after the debate.Captain Ed's got it right: CNN takes two steps back . I'd add that Hillary should take 5 steps back.
Instapundit says CNN should discover Google , saying "It's not that hard."
Glenn, obviously it is for lazy MSM types.
Posted Thursday, November 29, 2007 4:18 AM
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Romney Rising?
Hugh Hewitt's post , titled Romney Rising, is proof that he's lost touch with the Republican base. One thing Hewitt has done is avoided talking about the real Romney record. I won't make that mistake. Here's some typical Hugh fluffery:
Patrick's enthusiasms for Governor Huckabee aside (what debate was he at?) the next 45 days are about whether Rudy or Mitt runs against Hillary.Hugh's smart enough not to mention that Romney is a liberal. His answer on whether he'd sign federal legislation banning abortion is a clear sign that we couldn't trust Romney on picking judges. Reagan conservatives are federalists. Conservatives have said for years that abortion would return to the states if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
In saying that he'd sign legislation banning abortion, Romney essentially said that he didn't care about states rights or the Tenth Amendment. Why should conservatives trust Romney to nominate strict constructionist judges if he's elected?
It's my opinion that Romney has an authenticity problem. He said last night that he'd made a mistake in being "clearly pro-choice" early in his political career but that he's changed since getting elected. This YouTube video tells you all you need to know about Romney, abortion and trustworthiness.
As I've said before, exactly when did his conversion happen?
It's also worth noting that, although he talks about the three legged stool that Reagan created, Romney hasn't talked about another main tenet of Reagan's: a strong libertarian streak.
The bottom line is that Romney is a liberal portraying himself, with massive amounts of help from Mr. Hewitt, as a conservative. I'm confident that I'm right, especially after Rush said that he only saw one conservative on stage and his name is Fred Thompson.
I couldn't agree more. Before anyone gets my vote, they'll have to convince me that they care about the Tenth Amendment, that they're authentic and that they aren't trying to sell us a bill of goods. Right now, I think Romney is willing to change himself whenever the situation calls for that.
The other thing that we need to consider is that Romney would be attacked for being a flip-flopper by Team Hillary from Day One of the general election campaign. He'd be on the defensive from the outset. Worse, he wouldn't have a united base to appeal to.
That sounds like a recipe for electoral disaster. Republicans should say no thanks to Mitt Romney because it'll prevent an electoral disaster caused by a shifty liberal.
Posted Thursday, November 29, 2007 2:28 PM
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Johan Boston Bound?
That's what this report seems to indicate. In my opinion, that'd make Boston the odds-on-favorite to repeat as World Series Champions. That's why I think the Yankees are rethinking their offer of Philip Hughes, Melky Cabrera & some minor league outfielders. Here are the particulars of the latest rumor:
ESPN.com reported on Thursday that the Red Sox and Twins have discussed a potential deal in which center fielder Coco Crisp, left-hander Jon Lester and promising Minor League shortstop Jed Lowrie would head to Minnesota along with one other prospect in exchange for Santana.Later in their article, that "one other prospect" is identified as right-handed pitching prospect Justin Masterson. This isn't the Twins' dream trade. That'd include Jacoby Ellsbury instead of Coco Crisp. Still, getting a major league ready shortstop prospect, the winning pitcher in this year's World Series game, along with Torii Hunter's replace & a solid pitching prospect will help the Twins restock for their next title run.
Combine that with their trade for Delmon Young, a legitimate 5-tool player who's only 22 years old & I'd say that Bill Smith will have accomplished alot in his first 2+ months as Twins' GM.
All that said, the Twins shouldn't rush into this trade. Perhaps it'll frighten the Yankees into sweetening their offer, which presumably included Philip Hughes, Melky Cabrera & a couple talented minor league outfielders. The Yankees have to know that the Red Sox getting Santana while keeping their starting lineup essentially intact will make the Red Sox the dominant team in baseball for the next 5+ years.
It's my opinion that this forces them to part with both Hughes & Joba Chamberlain in addition to Melky Cabrera. Failing to do that relegates the Yankees to playing second fiddle to the Red Sox. That isn't something that the Yankees will like.
Based on this report, I don't see how the Yankees won't sweeten their offer. They can add other players, including Dan Haren, but wouldn't they really be coming out of this offseason losing ground to the Red Sox?
Posted Thursday, November 29, 2007 8:45 PM
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