twins/mlb
Jim Souhan analyzes the local sports scene and advises you to never take his betting advice. He likes old guitars and old music, never eats press box hot dogs, and can be heard on 1500ESPN at 2:05 p.m. weekdays, and Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon.
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Posts about Chris Kluwe
Blair Walsh nicknames
Posted by: Jim Souhan Updated: December 30, 2012 - 2:17 PM
Wrote a column recently pointing out that Blair Walsh's nickname, The Blair Walsh Project, is kinda lame. Chris Kluwe rightly called it ``Low-hanging fruit.''
Kluwe suggested Leg-olas, as a nod to Lord of the Rings. I like it.
A bunch of readers sent in other suggestions. Among them:
-BW3.
-Walshing Machine
-Missile Toe (to be used during the holidays)
-Broadway Blair (for kicking it down Broadway)
-Walmatic
-MegaLeg
-Legalopolis
-LegUp
-Legalot
-Herculeg
-Das Boot
My favorites: BW3 and, for Decembers, Missile Toe.
Thanks for playing.
I'm prepping for Vikes-Packers and will tweet during the game at @Souhanstrib, internet willing.
I'll also be on 1500espn at 2:05 Monday to break it down with Reusse and Mackey.
I always miss the big news
Posted by: Jim Souhan Updated: October 7, 2011 - 5:04 PMSo the Vikings sign Cullen Loeffler to a three-year deal?
I could joke about the team's priorities, but the guy is good at his job. When I spoke with kicker Ryan Longwell about his decision to return to the Vikings, he said one of the tie-breakers was his ability to work with Loeffler and holder Chris Kluwe.
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I’m at Philips Arena today, prepping for the WNBA Finals Game 3 tonight. I’m told it’s a sellout, although there are curtains blocking some of the upper-level seats.
Spoke to a few Lynx players at shootaround. Center Taj McWilliams-Franklin seemed to be walking well on her injured right knee, but isn’t saying if she’ll be able to play tonight.
For those who haven’t been following closely, the Lynx lead 2-0 in a best-of-five series. If they lose tonight, they’ll play on Sunday at Philips. If they lost that game, Game 5 would be Tuesday at Target Center.
``Atlanta played great the last two games,’’ said Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen. ``We played well enough to win. We don’t want to give them any hope here. We know it’s going to be crazy in here, but you have to do anything you can to win tonight.’’
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Why do the Twins seem to helpless against the Yankees in the postseason, while other teams seem to handle them so easily?
Two reasons: Arms and attitude. The teams that beat the Yankees in the postseason tend to have power arms capable of missing bats. Twins pitchers pitch to contact, and when you pitch to contact to good, veteran hitters, eventually they’ll make very good contact.
Also: While they were pretty competitive in 2003 and 2004, the Twins have been complete wimps against the Yankees ever since, in the regular season and the postseason.
What you'll notice about the teams that have beaten the Yankees in the postseason is that they, and their managers, have been pretty cocky. The 2002 Angels, the 2003 Marlins, the 2004 Red Sox...up through this year's Tigers all had loose or fiery managers and stars who embraced the big stage of Yankee Stadium.
The likes of Josh Beckett and Justin Verlander qualify on both fronts - power arms with no fear of the Yankee lineup.
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There was a quick and predictable reaction to Delmon Young's productive postseason: Twins fans are acting as if they don't know him well enough to expect this.
Young has spent five full seasons in the big leagues. He is a horrid fielder and baserunner. Thus, his value must lie in his offensive production.
In his five full seasons in the big leagues, Young has had an OPS of higher than .741 only once - during his big 2010 season. He has a career OPS (on-base plus slugging percentages) of .749. Jason Kubel's is .794.
Young has two things going for him: He's got great hands, and he's still young enough, at 26, that if he started taking defense or his plate approach more seriously, he could improve.
But to get agitated after watching him hit a few bad pitches in the postseason is silly. You know Young well enough to know that this is an aberration.And if he wakes up and plays well for another team, that doesn't necessarily mean he was going to do it in Minnesota.
The Twins needed him desperately this season, and he did nothing. That's a better idication of his value than what he's done in October.
Upcoming: I'll be in Atlanta for Sunday Morning Sports Talk. Tom Pelissero will be in Minneapolis. The show is 10-noon. My Twitter handle is @Souhanstrib.
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