TTM Successes for the Last Few Months

I have had only a moderate amount of success lately in getting players to sign cards for me in the mail. However, the successes I have had have been very pleasing to me.

I received, for free, a signed Allen & Ginter card from Baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Banks. Wow! I had seen from time to time that Mr. Banks signed for people, but my previous attempt last year went unanswered. However, this time I was successful.

I received a signed card from Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Hull. Hockey HOFers are usually better at signing cards for free, though big stars like Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, and Mario Lemieux charge. I was surprised that Mr. Hull did not charge. Great success!

I got returns over the last few months from newer Twins Drew Butera, Alex Burnett, Jason Repko, Anthony Slama, Randy Flores, and Ben Revere. Thanks to each of these gentlemen.

I made custom cards of Twins radio voice John Gordon, and Twins TV voice Dick Bremer. Both men graciously signed for me with Mr. Gordon including his home call “Touch em all” on the card, and Mr. Bremer included an extra signed card and short note of thanks. Thank you to Mr. Gordon and Mr. Bremer.

Joey Votto, soon to be named NL MVP, was gracious enough to sign a custom card I made of him. Mr. Votto is a decent signer, but I had not seen many returns from him this year, so it appears I got lucky.

Former Twin Hal Naragon not only signed my custom card I had made of him; he was kind enough to include an extra signed card of his own. Another former Twin Chris Heintz did not sign my custom card, but did included 2 signed cards of his own for me. Thank you Mr. Naragon and Mr. Heintz for your generosity!

I was surprised to get returns from Football Hall of Famers Bruce Smith and Rickey Jackson (thank you gentlemen). I was not surprised, but still very grateful that former Minnesota Viking quarterback Joe Kapp signed a card I had made of him.

I sent $10 to the Detroit Tigers Foundation “Autographs for Cause” program and in return superstar Miguel Cabrera signed an Allen & Ginter card for me. I also got a letter of authenticity that said Mr. Cabrera was matching all donations made, and contributing the money to Haitian Hurricane Relief. Very decent of him to do so.

I also spent $$$ to buy a 2009 Upper Deck Signature Stars Gold Signature card autographed by one Joe Mauer. The card is #12 of 35 which means there were only 35 of these cards in existence. That means they are more valuable because there are fewer of them. It is a nice looking card.

Getting Joe Mauer to sign anything is getting to be near impossible. He only signs at Twinsfest and the Twins Autograph Party, and needless to say the lines are real long, and most people end up not getting his autograph even if they wait for hours. I decided this was an easy way to add to my Mauer autograph collection.

Finally current All-Star and future superstar Elvis Andrus signed for me. Last year Mr. Andrus always seemed to be signing for everyone else, but me. Well, he finally came through for me. Sometimes good things do come to those who wait.

For Postseason Success the Twins Need Better Starting Pitching

Frank Viola has shown firsthand what 

what great starting pitching can for a

team's post season run.

(By the way this is best Frank Viola card of

all-time. I own multiple copies of it, one

of which was autographed by the man himself.)

Tom Kelly managed the Twins to a 16-8 post season record. The Twins won World Championships in 1987 and 1991 under his command winning all four post season series they played in. Rod Gardenhire has managed the Twins to a post season record of 6-21. His teams are 1-6 in post season series. Both men have managed roughly the same amount post season games yet the have almost totally opposite win-lost records. Why?

It comes down to elite starting pitching. In his 24 post season games Tom Kelly had a starting pitcher who pitched seven or more innings in a game 9 times. The Twins won all nine of those games. In his 27 post season games Ron Gardenhire has a starting pitcher who pitched seven or more innings in game 5 times. The Twins won only 3 of those games.

What if Gardenhire’s Twins could have got just 4 more starts of 7 innings or more? It might have turned a couple of those lost series (four of which were best of 5 ALDS’s) into series wins. Then again Gardenhire’s teams did a poor job of winning the 7 + inning outings they did get. Still it likely would have lead to at least a couple more wins and a series or two going the Twins way.

What Kelly had that it seems Gardenhire does not is elite pitchers to toss those 7 + inning games. Below is the list of all the pitchers to pitch 7 + innings in a postseason game:

Tom Kelly’s Twins:

Frank Voila (87 ALCS Game 1, 87 WS Game1, 87 WS Game 7)

Bert Blyleven (87 ALCS Game 2, 87 WS Game 2)

Jack Morris (91 ALCS Game 4, 91 WS Game 1, 91 WS Game 7)

Kevin Tapani (91 WS Game 2)

Ron Gardenhire’s Twins:

Eric Milton (2002 ALDS Game 4)

Joe Mays (2002 ALCS Game 1)

Johan Santana (2004 ALDS Game 1, 2006 ALDS Game 1 which was a loss)

Carl Pavano (2009 ALDS Game 3 which was a loss)

Three pitchers (Viola, Blyleven, and Morris) accounted for 8 of Kelly's Twins 9 7+ plus inning games. It was by no accident that they did. Bert Blyleven is likely going to be a Hall of Famer. Jack Morris might make the Hall of Fame as well, and he has a history of pitching well in big games. Frank Voila was regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball during his time with the Twins, and rightfully won the Cy Young Award in 1988. Viola and Morris were the World Series MVP in 87 and 91 respectfully.

You can rightly point out that the Twins again exited the playoffs again in 2010 because they did not hit, but they lead Game 1 3-0 at one point. A strong pitching performance would have made that lead hold up against any lineup. The Twins failed to get that pitching performance and they are out of the playoffs again because of it.

The Twins pitching rotation for 2011 likely looks to be Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, Brian Duensing, Nick Blackburn & Kevin Slowey. Liriano has the potential to be a Viola, Blyleven, and Morris, but the Twins need more. Baker has always had the talent, but has not delivered the results. Herald prospect Kyle Gibson is showing promise, but has yet to see action in the big leagues.

The Twins need some starting pitchers to step up. If not, the Twins are likely to be swept out of the first round of the playoffs again in 2011 if they make the playoffs at all.