Greet Machine - Regular programming?

August 26, 2004

Regular programming?

I love Sid Hartman. I don't love him for his articles on the Star Tribune, or his knowledge of Minnesota sports. Sometimes I think his articles are pure nonsense, and usually he is the crabbiest person in Minnesota on his radio show. One thing I will give him credit for, though, is that he keeps us informed concerning stadiums in Minnesota. He may be even more pro-stadium than me if that can be believed.

Anyway, in case you missed it, Sid wrote another article on the Vikings stadium mess today. In it he makes various points:

Red McCombs will not spend a dime on stadium lobbying this year.
Red, Pawlenty, and Tagliabue all feel that a new owner would have a better chance of getting a new Vikings stadium in Minnesota.
A unnamed NFL owner has told Sid that the Vikings will not be able to compete in the NFL in three to four years without a new stadium.
Reggie Fowler does not have enough money to buy 51% of the Vikings. Principal owners of NFL franchises must own 51% of the team.
Glen Taylor is the only "logical" owner for the Vikings.
Denny Hecker is also rumored to be interested in buying the team.
$600 million is asking too much for the Vikings, especially without a stadium.

That is what I took away from the article. My summary: Red will not own the Vikings past this year. A local owner, or group of owners, will step forward. We may not hear much about a Vikings stadium at the legislature this year, but I think Pawlenty favors passing a bill that solves this stadium problem once and for all, for the Twins and the Vikings. Oh yes, it should be an interesting session this year. Will something finally be passed? He he, this is still Minnesota ... I put the chances at 10%.

Looks like Rob Neyer of ESPN is picking Santana to win the AL Cy Young:

Look, wins are important. But this season there have been two starting pitchers who have simply been better than all the rest. One is Jason Schmidt, and the other is Santana. At this moment, Santana and Mulder are separated by three wins. I don't mean to belittle the importance of three wins, but consider ... On July 10, Mulder got hit hard in Cleveland: six and two-thirds innings, nine hits, three walks, six runs. The Athletics scored 16 runs, though, and Mulder got his 12th win (and please, no e-mail about Mulder "pitching to the score"; after five innings the A's trailed 5-3). The very next day, Santana pitched eight innings against the Tigers and allowed two hits, two walks, and two runs. He lost, 2-0.

Reverse those two results, and only one win separates Mulder and Santana, and your Cy Young choice is easy because of course Santana's pitched better. Yes, I know we can play that reverse-the-results game all day long ... but that's sort of the point. The difference between 17 wins and 14 wins is, in many cases, the result of luck. Just ask Tim Hudson. And if you ask me, Johan Santana is the best pitcher in the American League.

What is the Twins three man rotation for the playoffs? Radke, Santana, and Silva? After Lohse's performance last night I think Silva is more of a certainty, but I also think Gardy doesn't like Silva much. Remember when Silva tossed the ball into the Metrodome stands after his shutout a few weeks ago? Gardy was steamed. Now just two days ago Silva pictches with a pain in his neck, doesn't tell Gardy, and Gardy is again ticked. I don't know, but maybe he doesn't trust Silva. The only other option is Mulholland. Let's see how Terry does tonight.

Posted by snackeru at August 26, 2004 12:41 PM | Sports | Stadiums

Comments

Why has no one else made the connection yet? Carlos Silva strained a neck muscle with that long toss into the second deck.

Posted by: oldstuffer at August 31, 2004 5:42 AM