Liriano Autograph Signing

Here are some pictures of my encounter with Francisco Liriano who was signing autographs at Fan HQ. Francisco signed a photo for me on which he added the inscription “No Hitter 5/3/11”, and he signed an Allen Ginter baseball card for me.

Francisco does not get out much to sign autographs, so it was great of Fan HQ to stage this signing. Thanks to Shaun and everyone at Fan HQ for doing this. If you ever need some sports memorabilia and apparel, and you live in the Twin Cities area, check out Fan HQ as they have a nice selection of items.

I also added this picture of me at the free Drew Butera autograph signing at Fan HQ a while back. As you can see Drew is attempting to hand me back my baseball card, but I am to busy posing for the camera.

I also notice I am wearing the same jacket and hat. I only have one Spring/Fall jacket so wearing it is understandable, but I have at least 5 Twins hats so we will have to work at getting a little variety my choices of head gear.

Liriano's No-Hitter

I have never seen a no-hitter from start to finish till I saw one last Tuesday (5-3-2011) thrown by Francisco Liriano against the White Sox. Liriano had never thrown a complete game less a shutout in his major and minor league career. Yet there he was pitching the first Twins no-hitter in roughly 13 years. Let’s hope this is the start of revitalization of Liriano the ace pitcher. The Twins certainly need him.

In my previous post I said the Twins have chance to contend because they have a franchise player in Joe Mauer. I also mentioned the only thing could prevent Mauer from keeping the Twins in contention was his health. Well guess who has played only 9 of his team’s first 31 games? Joe Mauer is on the disabled list, and may not be back till the end of May which might be too late to help the Twins this season.

Let hope it is not too late, and Mauer can come back and carry this team. Let’s hope Liriano becomes the staff ace. Let’s hope that several other Twins start playing better, and this team heads to the World Series. There is always hope. As Twins fans saw on that magically night in May, sometimes hope is realized.

On a side note, I will have in-person encounter with Francisco Liriano. He is scheduled to sign autographs at FanHQ which a sports memorabilia and apparel store in the Twin Cities suburb of Minnetonka. For $20 a pop you can get him to sign a card, photo, or ball. $10 for inscriptions including what I think will be the most popular inscription – “No-Hitter 5-3-11”.

Joe Mauer Gives the Twins a Good Chance to Reach the Playoffs

Elite position players determine whether your baseball team is a playoff contender. It is as that simple. Don’t believe me? Consider the following.

The Kansas City Royals made the playoffs 7 times during George Brett’s playing career. The Royals never made the playoffs before or after the time Brett played for them.

Since 1890 the Philadelphia Phillies have been to the playoffs 13 times with 10 of those times featuring teams lead by Mike Schmidt (6 times) or Ryan Howard (4 times).

Reggie Jackson lead the Oakland A’s to 5 straight playoff berths (1971-1975). When he left after the 1975 season the A’s did not make the playoff, but Jackson’s new team the New York Yankees did. By the way the Yankees went to the playoffs 4 of his 5 years Reggie Jackson played for them.

Joe Morgan arrived in Cincinnati in 1972 and the Reds went to playoffs 5 times in 8 years including winning their first World Series in 35 years. When Morgan left for Houston in 1980, Houston made the playoffs and Cincinnati did not.

Barry Bonds lead Pittsburgh to the playoffs three straight years (90-92). Bonds left Pittsburgh in 1992 and Pittsburgh has not made the playoffs since.

When Derek Jeter arrived, the Yankees returned to greatness. Players have come and gone in New York, but Derek Jeter has remained and the Yankees keep going to the playoffs.

I could go on, but you get the point. Not every championship team has an elite position player on it, but most do. If your team has a legitimate elite player on it then you have a good chance of making the playoffs.

That is why the Minnesota Twins have a good chance of making the playoffs again in 2011 as they have an elite position player in Joe Mauer.

Yes, the Twins’ bullpen has been rebuilt, the starting rotation may lack a true ace, Justin Morneau is coming off a major injury, the middle infield could have problems, some players are aging, but Joe Mauer remains.

Since Mauer has started playing full-time in 2005 the Twins have made the playoffs 3 times and lost a chance at a fourth berth by losing a 1 game playoff to determine the division championship. When they did not make the playoffs in 2007, Mauer missed 52 games due to various injuries while in 2005 (the other year they did not make it) he was coming back from a major knee injury.

Mauer is only 28, so the Twins still have a good 4 to 5 years left at the top unless Mauer is injured. So health to you Joe Mauer, we need you most in order to make another run at the playoffs.

(The above picture is Joe Mauer's 2006 Allen & Ginter Baseball Card. I think it is one of the best looking Joe Mauer baseball cards of all-time.)

Random Thoughts on Country Music

Here are some of my random thoughts regarding events in the country music world so far this year.

New Music

The only new country music I have gotten into lately is from artists on the far fringe of the country genre. The Civil Wars is a duo that makes acoustic orientated music that might qualify as country. Whatever it is I have to say it is reverting to listen to even if the subjects and lyrics are depressing.

Crystal Bowersox is a former American Idol contestant who is not exactly country, but is pushing her new single “Farmer’s Daughter” to country radio. The song is about her troubled relationship with her mother. The song is sung with great passion and some anger which sets it aside from the bland, generic music I heard every time I turn on and then quickly turn off my country radio station.

Alan Jackson Down Under

My favorite country singer Alan Jackson is touring Australia for the first time in his 22 year career. I have read and heard he is a big star there, and his all shows are sold-out. While I think it is great he finally got over there, I have wonder what took him so long. 22 years and he never got there? I wonder if it was just too easy and too lucrative for him to keep touring in the United States every year, though we can never know for sure because we are not inside Alan Jackson’s head. Hopefully he won’t wait 22 more years to go back again.

Lady A Grammy Wins

I cannot get pumped up about Lady Antebellum’s big Grammy wins for their massive hit “Need You Know”. I think it is their best song, but for the most part I am not into their music. I know numerous other folks are into them, and I think that is great. We all should be allowed to listen to what we want, not what other people think we should.

Reba McEntire Finally Gets Into the Country Music Hall of Fame

After Alabama and George Strait were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005 & 2006 respectively, I was certain 2007 would bring the election of Reba McEntire. Alabama, Strait, and McEntire debuted at roughly the same time rose to super-stardom in the 80’s with Strait and McEntire carrying on their super-stardom into the 90’s.

Instead Vince Gill was elected in 2007, and McEntire had to wait 4 more years till she was finally elected this year. I think it was it wrong to elect Gill ahead of McEntire. McEntire has achieved far more than Gill, and has been around longer. She certainly deserved entry into the Hall of Fame before him. He would likely agree.

Unfortunately like all voting, voting for the Country Music Hall of Fame is not a non-bias activity. Gill is a popular guy amongst the voters, and they rewarded him. Other folks like Kenny Rogers and Garth Brooks are not so popular with voters, and they will have to wait for induction.

That is not fair, but it is the way the system works. Nonetheless it is great to see Reba McEntire get her just due. Hopefully Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, the Judds, Dwight Yoakam, and Randy Travis will be amongst those who join her in the next few years.

Twinsfest 2011

This winter it has either been me driving in miserable snow and ice conditions or me being sick. It sounds like it has been a rough winter for many people, so here’s hoping spring will be here soon.

Twinsfest, the annual gathering of Twins fans during the dreary winter months, was held on January 28-30. If you are into the Twins and especially if you are into collecting autographs of Twins players this is the place to me.

Normally Twinsfest is held at the Metrodome, but when the Metrodome roof collapsed this winter they had to move the event to the National Sports Center in Blaine, MN.

The NSC bills itself the largest amateur sport complex in America. Whether it is or not, it is closer to my home than the Metrodome and it has free parking.

I went on Friday the 28th and found the line for Joe Mauer autographs shorter than usual. I assume I would get his autograph, but fate worked against me. It seems they were holding the event in two different buildings on the NSC campus, and the one Mauer was signing in had a strict limit for how many people could be in it at one time. Well, guess who was right at the cut-off line.

At least I was not stuck outside waiting in the cold, wondering why the line was not moving like some folks were. It seems a lot people had assume the Mauer line was also the line to get into the other building, so they stood out there and waited even though they did not want Mauer’s autograph.

I quickly found where the other building was and promptly got the autographs of 20 different current and former Twins.

Delmon Young, Anothony Swarzek, Dusty Hughes, Nick Blackburn, Jason Repko, Jason Kubel, Eric Hacker, Pat Neshek, Alex Burnett, Brian Dunesing, Scott Diamond, Jeff Manship, Antony Slama, Denard Span, Glen Perkins, Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Michael Cuddyer, Juan Berenguer and Brian Raabe, may not be as sexy of names as Joe Mauer and Jim Thome, but I collect autographs of all current and former Twins, not just he big stars.

Current players Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, Matt Capps, Justin Morneau, Alexi Casilla, Jose Mijares, and Tsuyoshi Nishioka choose not to attend Twinsfest this year. Morneau was ordered to stay home and continue recovering from his concussion. Nishioka choose to remain in Japan and celebrate his former team’s Japanesse World Series win.

I was disappointed that Capps, Pavano, and Liriano were not in attendance. I would think those three should have made the effort to get up here and show the fans some love. Matt Capps especially should have made an effort as he not been with the team long, and has made no effort to appear at any public event in his time with the Twins.

I was going to go Saturday, but the crowds were incredible, and there was no one signing that day that I really wanted to get, so I arrived bright and early on Sunday morning instead.

With no “big” stars signing on Sunday, the crowds were lighter and I was able get Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and former manager Tom Kelly.

I also got former Jim “Mudcat” Grant was singing on behalf of the Fergie Jenkins foundation.

There seems to be a growing trend at Twinsfest of outside groups bringing in former players to sign for money. The Fergie Jenkins Foundation brought in Hall of Famers Fergie Jenkins, Phil Niekro, and Rollie Fingers along with former Twin Jim Mudcat Grant. Meanwhile the Bob Feller Museum brought in Hall of Famer Robin Yount, former Dodger great Steve Garvey, and former Twins Jim Kaat and Jeff Reardon. Former Twins icon Frank Viola was also suppose to be there, but became ill.

I expect these outside groups to continue to bring in outside players as the Twins basically bring back only former players who live in the area. Several former Twins have not been back in years. I also think a lot of Twinsfest attendees are into getting good players from other teams

Also on Sunday I visited the Twins minor league autograph corner. The major advantage of this group is the autographs are free! The lines are also shorter, though I noticed the lines for #1 prospect Aaron Hicks and #2 prospect Kyle Gibson were longer than the others. I guess other people were thinking like me – get these guy’s autograph now before they gets up to the big club because then the lines for them will be really long, and it will cost money.

I found out the second time through the line that you could get 2 items signed from each player (normally it is only 1 autograph per player). I wish known this the first time through the line as Hicks was signing, and I would have gotten him on ball as well as a card. As it was I got signed items by Hicks, David Bromberg, Rene Tonsi, Chris Parmelee, Kyle Gibson (card & ball), Kyle Waldrop, Joe Benson, and last year 1st round draft choice Alex Wimmers.

Hopefully some if not all those guys will work their way up to the big leagues. If not, their autograph did not cost me a thing.

Finally, I bought an autographed Kirby Puckett ball. Granted it was signed on the sign panel, not the favored sweet spot, but it was much cheaper then other Puckett signed balls I have seen. I don’t have a ball signed by Puckett, but always wanted one. Since Puckett’s death has created more demand all Puckett signed items are getting more and more expensive, so I think this was a good buy.

Upon getting home on Sunday, I got a bad sore throat which turned into a bad cold from which I am still recovering. Nonetheless I had a real good time, and got to meet several interesting fellow Twins fans. I look forward to next year’s Twinsfest whatever it is held.

Meeting Gary Gaetti

Gary Gaetti is my favorite Minnesota Twin of all-time. Gary was a 2 time All-Star, 4 time Gold Glove winner who was also the MVP of American League Championship series. He was the heart and soul of the 1987 Twins’ World Championship team.

Gary is one of only 3 Twins (Harmon Killebrew and Justin Morneau are the others) who have hit 30 home runs and drove in 100 rbi’s in back to back seasons (Gary did it in 87 & 88).

Gary is the only Twin ever to hit a home run in his first regular season at bat and his first post season at bat.

I meet Gary Gaetti for the first time in person in 1983 at a baseball card show. He signed a Minnesota Twins schedule that day for young teenager (me) who was in awe of actually seeing a real baseball player up close and in person.

When I started collecting autographed baseball cards through the mail, Gary Gaetti was the first player I sent to. 9 days after I sent to him, Gary sent a signed card back to me signed in red sharpie. Yes, red sharpie. No other player has ever signed a card in red for me, so it is a card that stands out in my collection.

I have sent more cards, a photo, and baseball, and he has almost always signed for me and signed for free. In fact, when my first signed photo was damaged, I wrote him again and he immediately signed another photo for me, even personalized it.

My most treasured signed baseball card is an 88 Topps card which Gary signed in blue sharpie “Gary Gaetti 87 ALCS MVP”.

27 years after first meeting him, I had the chance to meet Gary Gaetti again. He was signing autographs at a card show not far from my house.

I have met a Hall of Famers Harmon Killebrew, Paul Molitor, and Rod Carew. I have met current superstars like Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Johan Santana. I have never been nervous in their presence. I was nervous meeting Gary Gaetti.

He was very gracious in listening to me tell him who I was and how much I loved to watch him play. He signed a baseball bat “Gary Gaetti 87 ALCS MVP” for me. I don’t know if I will ever me Gary Gaetti again in person, but I will always remember my 2 meeting with him fondly.

Thanks Gary for signing my stuff and for being a good guy!

(Below is a picture of my signed bat. I took the picture with my cell phone camera, so the quality of the picture isn't the greatest, but the signed bat itself looks great.)

Random Thought - 50 Years of Minnesota Viking Football

The Minnesota Vikings are celebrating their 50th anniversary this season. In 50 years the Vikings have been soundly beaten in 4 Super Bowls; lost 4 NFC Championship games of which 3 were last minute losses; and generally disappointed their fans on regular basis.

About 2 years ago I decided to collect autographed football cards of the Vikings players who played any of the 4 Super Bowls. I now have roughly 30 players including Fran Tarkenton, Alan Page, and Joe Kapp.

Next weekend (Dec 18 & 19) the Vikings are hosting a big 50th anniversary celebration. The 50 greatest Vikings will be revealed, and all 49 of still living members of that group will all be present.

Perhaps in honor of this coming moment, Bud Grant the coach of the Vikings’ 4 Super Bowl teams signed a football card, appropriately in purple sharpie, that I had sent him in the mail. Coach Grant normally does not do much signing through the mail, so thank you Coach Grant for signing the card, and I hope you have good time at the big Viking celebration!

While Coach Grant and others celebrate 50 years of Viking football, I will be attending a card show being put on by sportsnewsshow.com. Amongst others, they are having Minnesota North Star legend and new Hockey Hall of Fame member Dino Ciccarelli signing autographs. They are also having my favorite Minnesota Twin of all-time Gary Gaetti.
 Dino never signs through the mail, so I have to get him here. Gary on the other hand as been quite generous over the years in signing stuff for me for free, so I thought I would pay him back a bit. It will also be nice to see my favorite Minnesota Twin in person again.

CMA Awards 2010

On Wednesday night the country music industry decided to anoint Miranda Lambert as the next superstar of country music. Lambert won big at Wednesday night’s CMA Awards taking home awards for Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Music Video of the Year. Her song “The House That Built Me” won Song of the Year, while Lambert’s future husband Blake Shelton won Male Vocalist of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year.

Artist such as Vince Gill, the Dixie Chicks, and Keith Urban have received similar pushes from the country industry, and reaped great success because of it. Of course success is only fleeting, so Ms Lambert should enjoyed her time at the top while she can.

With Lambert’s accession country music is now dominated by 3 major female superstars (Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Lambert) and 2 groups (Lady Antebellum and Zac Brown Band). Solo male artists exist, but none is at the level of these five artists. There may not be a lot of female artists having success, but the ones that are, are at the very top.

Other CMA Award show thoughts:

Jason Aldean & Kelly Clarkson “Don’t You Wanna Stay?” was excellent, and I think the performance will help the song become a signature hit for Aldean. I don’t think Aldean is the greatest vocalist, but his CMA performance was one of his better ones, while Clarkson simply was the best vocalist of the night. I have always believed Kelly Clarkson is a country singer at heart, and given the right material could be one of the greatest country music singers ever.

Sugarland looked like fools while performing “Stuck Like Glue”. Some people like the song, some don’t, but those stupid customs (they look like something out of the Nutcracker), and Jennifer Nettles quirking vocal performance will come back to haunt them. That’s a shame because Nettles can be a gripping vocalist when she just stands there and sings.

Taylor Swift performance of “Back to December” was her best on live television in a long time. The song itself is good, and the fact it was a ballad in the midst of night that feature mostly rocking songs aided its appeal. People who dislike Swift will immediately attack anything she does, while those that love her will defend anything she does. This is the life of a superstar just ask Garth Brooks and Shania Twain.

I was also into Dierks Bentley’s “Up on the Ridge” and the Zac Brown Band/Alan Jackson “She’s Walking Away” because I like bluegrass and Alan Jackson.

I have never really been into Brad Paisley’s music or Brad Paisley the man, but his emotional acceptance of the Entertainer of the Year Award put him in a very good light. It showed him as a real human being whose drive to make music was fueled by motivations his fan can indentify with. This will likely be the peak of Brad Paisley career, and if it is he will be able to look back satisfied that he correctly acknowledged the role his family and fans played in getting him to that moment.

Finally since I have been watching the CMA’s forever here is a list of people who have won CMA Entertainer of the Year since 1990 – George Strait, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Shania Twain, Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, and Brad Paisley. Reba McEntire won back in 86 while Clint Black, Faith Hill, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, and Carrie Underwood have so far been denied.

The CMA deserves some credited for rightfully awarding its highest honor to almost all of the biggest stars in country music the last 20 years. You can argue so and so should have won more or won less, but you cannot say anyone one on that winners list does not deserve to have an Entertainer of the Year award in their trophy case.

Maybe one day soon Miranda Lambert will be clearing a space for her CMA award as after Wednesday night, it looks like the country music industry certainly likes her a lot.

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.