No Hitter Chance Wrongly Taken From Twins Pitcher Kevin Slowey

Kevin Slowey was pulled from last Sunday’s game against the Oakland A’s after pitching 7 innings of no-hit baseball. I know all the excuses for why he was pulled – he missed his last start due to elbow soreness; he was at 106 pitches at a time when 100 pitches is considered the limit for today’s pitchers; the Twins are in a pennant race and need him healthy. I also know he should never have been pulled.

Kevin Slowey had a chance at greatness snatched away from him. Slowey is a marginal, fly ball, pitcher who has been lucky enough to pitch in pitcher friendly home ballparks. Slowey has never made it through a whole season unjured. Slowey will not be a in the Twins post-season rotation. Had Slowey been hurt, Nick Blackburn would easily have replaced him. Soon prospects Kyle Gibosn and Dave Bromberg will be ready to replace Slowey permanently.

The last pitcher to be pulled after 7 innings of no-hit pitching was Atlanta Brave Damian Moss in 2002. His manager, Bobby Cox, said that he pulled Moss because Moss was over 100 pitches and he, Cox wanted to protect Moss’ arm. Cox said roughly the same thing Ron Gardenhire said about Slowey – “this young man has a bright future ahead of him, I won’t ruin it by letting him go 120-130 pitches.” Cox like Gardenhire was wrong. Moss had no bright future and after 2004, Moss was out of the majors having accomplished little or nothing.

Most major pitchers don’t last long in the big leagues. For every Greg Maddux who lasts 15-20 years there are hundreds of Damian Moss’s who seem to have bright futures only to disappear quickly and not be remembered.

Maybe Kevin Slowey gives up a hit in the eight or ninth inning, maybe he does not. Kevin Slowey deserved the right to try. Years from now Kevin Slowey will look back at August 15, 2010 and realize he had a chance at being immortalized. Instead he will be nothing more than a minor footnote rarely if ever mentioned.

I cannot tell you the number of times I have been in alumni autograph line at Twinsfest or the Twins Autograph party and some younger individual (and more people are getting younger than me all the time) asks me who the alumni player is. Most the time all I can answer was that the individual was a former Twin who played between such and such a year. The person almost always asks if that player ever doing anything great. My answer is usually no because most players were just average players, not Hall of Famers, MVP’s, CY Young winners, or people who achieved great feats.

On September 1999 another pitcher with a bright future threw 125 pitches in 9 inning game. His manager Tom Kelly did not pull him when he hit 100 pitches. Eric Milton’s career never panned out the way it was suppose to, but he did pitch a no-hitter for the Twins that day. Whenever he goes now Eric Milton can say when asked about his career – “I pitched a no-hitter in 1999” and people will likely respond – “Wow! That’s amazing! What was it like to be able to do something remembered for all-time?”

Kevin Slowey will never be able to answer that question. He had the chance to do something that will be remembered for all-time. It was snatched away from him in the name of protecting a bright future he likely does not have.

The Twins Future is Now

It is indeed rare that a baseball team has 1 let alone 2 or 3 franchise players on their roster at the same time. When they do they need to take advantage of these players presence and bid for title.

 Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew was the Twins first franchise player. He was at this peak from 1961-1971. In 1964 another franchise type player Tony Olivia arrived and played at an All-Star from 64-71.

In 1965 shortstop Zolio Versalles had a MVP year and along with Killebrew, Olivia, and All-Star performers Jim “Mudcat” Grant, and Earl Battey the Twins went to the World Series. They lost.

In 1967 the Twins third franchise player Rod Carew joined Killebrew and Olivia and the Twins came within a game of going back to the World Series. In 1969 & 70 Killebrew, Carew, and Olivia lead the Twins to division titles. Pitcher Jim Perry won 20 games both seasons winning the CY Young in 1970. The Twins lost both American League Championship series 3 games to none.

After 71 Killebrew and Olivia career went downhill and the window of opportunity for a championship was gone.

In 1984 the Twins fourth franchise player Kirby Puckett arrived. Along with All-Star level players Kent Hrbek, Frank Viola, Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky, and soon to be Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, Puckett seemed poised to lead the Twins into a window of opportunity to bid for that elusive World Series title.

However then Twins General Manager Andy MacPhail knew the Twins needed a strong bullpen closer if they were to compete for a title. He acquired Jeff Reardon who then went on to help Puckett and the Twins win the 1987 World Series.

In 1991 with Puckett still at the top of his game, MacPhail was able to sign free agents Jack Morris and Chili Davis to be the Twins #1 starting pitcher and DH. Again the Twins were able to win the World Series.

But the 1993 season started a string of 8 consecutive losing seasons, and Kirby Puckett’s time as a franchise player came to an unexpected end in 1995 due to injury.

I write this because in 2010 the Twins have 2 franchise players on their roster in Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Morneau is signed through 2013 which by then he will 32 and Mauer 30. The opportunity for the title is now. The next couple of years will see Mauer and Morneau at the top of their games. The Twins do not seem to have another Mauer or Morneau in waiting in the minors.

However, franchise players need help to win. That’s why baseball is called a “team” game. Like 1987 & 1991 the Twins have made moves that signal this organization thinks the future is now. Now is their chance to win it all. Trading for J.J. Hardy, signing free agents Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson, and retaining Carl Pavano were all signs the Twins thought 2010 could be their year.

Another sign is the Twins trading highly rated catching prospect Wilson Ramos to Washington for reliever Matt Capps last week. The move was not a usual Twins move. They don’t trade highly regarded prospects away. They believe in preparing for the future.

Of course the future for Ramos was not so certain. He is a catcher in an organization which employs the best catcher in baseball in Joe Mauer. Ramos has had a history of injury. He has also had a history of showing great defense and tremendous power. Ramos looks like he could be a star. He could also be a dud.

Capps has already shown who he is -a reliever with a 92-94 mph fastball and a good curve ball who’s closed games effectively for 2 of the worst teams (Pittsburgh & Washington) in baseball. One of the things that separate Ron Davis one of the worse closer in Twins history from Jeff Reardon one of the best closers in Twins history was not their pitching ability, it was ability to maintain their composure and confidence after a bad outings. Good closers need a good makeup to thrive. Reports say Capps has a good makeup. We shall see.

The Twins need Matt Capps to thrive. Their bullpen has been shaky of late. Jon Rauch has been an effective closer, but is needed in a setup role. Capps give the Twins bullpen depth not only for this year, but for next year when Rauch, Matt Guerrier, and Jesse Crain might leave because they are free agent after this season and Joe Nathan’s return from injury is questionable. Matt Capps will contribute, but will it be enough to help win the World Series?

Harmon Killebrew, and Tony Olivia never won a World Series. Rod Carew never got to one. Kirby Puckett has won 2 World Series and his legacy is enhanced because of it. What will Mauer & Morneau’s legacy be? The Twins look like they are trying to be make sure it a legacy of a World Series Championship team.

Maybe the Twins Do Not Want 2 Starters in the All-Star Game After All

Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau were elected starters for the 2010 MLB All-Star Game. Mauer was the top vote getter amassing the 3rd highest vote total ever. Only Ken Griffey Jr. in 1994 and Albert Pujols in 2009 have received more votes. Rod Carew is the only other Twin to ever lead the overall voting doing so in 1975, 1977 & 1978.

It is the first time since 1968 that 2 Minnesota Twins were voted All-Star starters. 1968 ironically was not a good year for the Twins. The 68 Twins had high expectations having come within a game of going to the World Series the previous year. Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew were voted in as All-Star game starters. Killebrew, playing 1st base, promptly injured himself during the game stretching for a throw. He was lost for the season and the Twins promptly tanked.

Well guess what? Morneau received a concussion when he took a knee to the head while sliding into second bas against the Toronto Blue Jays the series before the All-Star break. He missed the All-Star game and could be headed to the disabled list. Let’s us hope the Twins promptly don’t tank like they did in 68.

Things are not looking good right now. Mauer is having one of those years superstars have where they are still better than most players, but are not living up to their own usual high standards. Denard Span, Jason Kubel, Michael Cuddyer, and J.J. Hardy are having sub-par years so far. Pitcher Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, and Kevin Slowey are being too erratic. The bullpen is showing wear.

Justin Morneau is playing well. Delmon Young has finally emerged as the player the Twins were hoping for. Jim Thome has been a positive addition. Brian Duensing has been very effective out of the bullpen. Francisco Liriano has finally recovered from Tommy John surgery and is pitching for the most part very well. Carl Pavano has been excellent this year

The emergence of Liriano, Young, and Duensing is very encouraging. The nucleus of Mauer, Morneau, Kubel, and Span will be around for awhile and with the addition of these 3 new rising stars, the Twins have 5 everyday players who have All-Star potential, a strong #1 starter and a pitcher capable of starting or relieving with equal effectiveness.

The key for this year is getting Baker, Blackburn, and Slowey back on track. If they don’t get back on track, the Twins are in major trouble. If they do get back on track, we have a chance unlike 1968 the last time 2 Twins were suppose to start an All-Star game.

2010 Minnesota Twins Autograph Party

On Saturday, June 12 I attended the Minnesota Twins autograph party. Unlike past years, the Twins did not release a player signing schedule before the day of the event. I think the Twins reasoning was that they tired of people showing up the night before and camping out in the Joe Mauer or Justin Morneau lines. It did not help though as many people did camp out in what they thought was the Joe Mauer line. Of course at 9:00 am when the signing schedule was release, I heard all these people found out they were in the wrong spot and they ran like a spooked herd of cattle to the right line.

I, on the other hand, showed up at 9:30 am and got in the Orlando Hudson line which had all of 10 people in it. I needed Hudson, Jose Mijares, Matt Tolbert, Ron Mahay, Danny Valencia, Steve Liddle, and Trevor Plouffe to complete my collection of signed baseball cards of current Twins players and coaches. Hudson was signing with Jose Mijares so I figured I could kill 2 birds with one stone.

About the time the Twins started signing it started to rain hard. The rain cause numerous problems including slowing down lines, destroying items people wanted signed, and smearing autographs. The ball I had signed by Francisco Liriano had the autograph smeared, but it was still legible. Numerous other folks were not so lucky.

Despite the rain, things went well for me. I got 16 different players including everyone I wanted except Plouffe.

One thing that surprised me was future Hall of Famer and Twins broadcast analyst Bert Blyleven was personalizing all photos. The Twins have always said no personalization at the events. You get in trouble if you even ask for one. However, the rule must not apply to Bert. I think he knows he is about to be elected to the Hall of Fame, and he thinks people will get stuff signed by him and will sell it on the Web. He is probably right; there are some of those folks around. I also noticed Bert was not signing baseballs on the sweet-spot (the prefer spot for collectors) either.

I have no problem with Bert personalizing my photo. I think it is great he gets to know who I am. Also I do not sell my stuff.

Below are my signing successes all of which were baseball cards unless otherwise noted:

Orlando Hudson, Jose Mijares, Clay Condrey, Steve Liddle, Danny Valencia, Francisco Liriano (ball), Matt Tolbert, Joe Nathan, Rick Stelmansyk, Ron Mahay, Drew Butera, Ron Gardenhire (banner), Bert Blyleven (photo), Ron Coomer, Al Newman, Greg Olson (the ex-Atlanta Brave and Minnesota native signed a post of the game winning hit of 1991 World Series – he wanted to draw a sad face on it, but I thought that was not a good idea).

I had a good time and look forward to next year – without the rain.

My Nephew Marries

                            

My Nephew and God son William was married on Saturday, May 22nd in Austin, Texas to a wonderful young woman named Brittany. Due to multiple circumstances I had to fly into Austin with my folks on Friday morning and leave on Sunday afternoon. Not much time to spend with my family, but it was event filled.       

Brittany’s father is originally from Minnesota as are both of William’s parents (in fact all 3 graduated from St. Cloud State University – small world indeed). This meant numerous relatives had to jet or drive in from other states (mostly Minnesota). Therefore my brother decided to invite everyone who was already in Austin on Friday to the Groom’s Dinner that was held after the wedding practice.

The Grooms Dinner was held at a restaurant on the shore of Lake Travis called Oasis on Lake Travis. Popular place; how popular? Despite there being nothing else around but parking area for the restaurant, people end up having to park a mile or two away. Guys in golf carts come pick you up drive you up to the restaurant. I am serious, there like 5 of these golf charts ferrying people back and forth.

The restaurant itself was quite large and impressive. Good food; and a great view of Lake Travis. In fact they had a numerous large patio areas for people to sit and dine. With all the people at the groom dinner it felt like I was already at the wedding reception even though the couple had not yet married.

Due to circumstances beyond his control, the groom was forced share my hotel room with me the night before the wedding. Lucky the room had 2 beds. Luckier still he slept just fine – I thought William would be nervous, but he handled everything great except he forget some of his cloths in the hotel closet.

The wedding was held at 6:30 p.m. With time to spare I enjoyed a home cooked breakfast (we were staying at the Candlewood Suites which has a kitchen in each room) from my Mom, and lunch at Chick-fil-A. For the record my parents and I have never eaten at Chick-fil-A. The only one up here in Minnesota is at the University of Minnesota’s Coffman Union food court and it is only open certain hours.

Chick-fil-A has great chicken and my folks and I really enjoyed the food and having some time to spend with my brother who came along for the meal.

90 degree heat, and I am wearing a suit and tie, and the wedding is outside. Amazingly I was not hot at all. I enjoyed the wedding. I had a great seat, second row, aisle seat. The ceremony was short, but effective. The pastor focused the most important thing God, God’s love for us, and how God gives us people to love and be loved by.

This was the only wedding party I have seen made up of only siblings. My niece was the maid of honor, the brides 2 brothers made up the best men (William wanted them both in as best men). Good to see family meant so much to the couple and that they wanted it to be exclusively family in the wedding party. For the record my brother and his wife and my folks had family and friends in the wedding party.

The reception had good food pick out by the groom himself. I meet numerous interesting people included my brother old boss who had once taken me to an Astros game on my first visit to Texas back in 1986.

The cake was great. The bride and groom left by walking through a line of sparklers held by the guests while the music of Frank Sintra played on.

I’d post more pictures but they are not developed yet. Thanks to my brother and his wife for arranging our hotel and driving us around; thanks to the bride’s family for treating us well; thanks to the new couple for inviting us. It was worth the trip.

May Brittany and William have a long, happy and healthy marriage!

Target Field Firsts

I have been part of 2 firsts for the Twins at Target Field. On 4/16/10 I attend the first night game at Target Field. On 5/7/10 I was part of the first rainout in Target Field history. That game was re-scheduled the next day and I was in attendance.

Overall I like Target Field. I sat in the lower level both games and had a good view of the action. The food there is way overrated, but the watching the game was enjoyable.

I found getting to Target Field was fairly easy. Lots of folks are riding the light rail and the North Star commuter trains to the games. There is a North Star station near where I live, so perhaps one day I will take the train to the game.

It also helps the atmosphere that the Twins are winning. I saw victories in both of the games I attended.

My first official signed baseball card return from Target Field was backup catcher Drew Butera. I did not have a card for Mr. Butera, so I created the one using a picture of him sitting on the bench while he was at the Twins farm team in New Britain. I told him in my letter there are worse things in the world then sitting on a major league bench watching Joe Mauer play.

In fact Drew’s dad Sal (who has also signed for me) was a backup catcher on the 1987 Twins. Sal did not get to play much either, but he did get a World Championship ring when the 87 Twins won the World Series.

As fate would have it, Drew Butera was starting at catcher the second game I went to, and got his 2nd hit of the year with bases loaded to drive in his first 2 runs of his career. What made it even more dramatic was that Joe Mauer had pinched hit for Alex Casilla right before hand and stuck out. Go Drew! For perhaps the only night of his career Drew Butera outshined Joe Mauer.

A New Era in Country Music

Country artists from different eras come together to honor Alan Jackson at the CMT Giants event in 2008. Pictured are George Jones, Taylor Swift, George Strait, Denise & Alan Jackson, Hank Williams Jr. Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, and Brad Paisley.

Carrie Underwood’s back to back ACM Entertainer of the Year wins and Taylor Swift’s 2009 CMA Entertainer of the Year win confirmed what I had been thinking for the past few months, that there is new era in country music lead by co-mega stars Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift. This new era likely started its genesis some time in late 2008, but now has come into full bloom in 2010.

Below I have provided a handy guide to each country era of the last 25 odd years, and highlight some of the super-stars of those eras.

The New Traditionalist era (1984-1989)

Traditional country music made a comeback in this era, but album sales were still stagnate. Many people romanticize about this era as being the last great era of country music, but that is simply not the case. In fact during this era country music was still considered an ugly step child mocked by mainstream music media and critics. It was only after the Class of 89 pushed country music to a new level of acceptance that mainstream media and critics began to romanticize about this era’s greatness as a way to “put down” the Class of 89. It seems with the mainstream media and critics the past is always better than the present.

George Strait – Strait transcends all country music eras, but this was the era that launched him. He is the only artist in music to chart a top 10 single for 30 years straight.

Reba McEntire - She was big in the 80’s then became huge in the early 90’s. Today she looks like an aging mother, or dare we say grandmother compared to Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift, yet somehow she keeps rolling on though not a consistently as George Strait has.

Randy Travis – In 1986 he took country music by storm and may well have been this era’s biggest star, but by 1990 he already was on the fade. It was roughly a three album reign as a superstar.

The Judds – Mother Namoni and daughter Wynonna formed the hippest act of this era. People forget that the Judds were once so cool that even many non-country fans were into them. The Judds music has worn well, but the ladies themselves have spent to much time living out their personal dramas in public.

Hank Williams Jr. – Son of the greatest country singer of all-time, Hank Jr. carved out of very success solo career that spanned the 80’s. Commercial success disappeared in the 90’s, but he remains an icon.

Alabama – They were the superstars of the era before this one, but their success carried over. Others artists get more shout outs than Alabama when it comes time to talk about the legends of country music who have made an impact in the 80’s, but Alabama is more deserving than people think.

Class of 89 era (1989-1996)

The Class of 89 not only saved country music, but made it a major player in the greater entertainment world. While some believe this era’s artists (mainly Garth) started the ruin of country music, the truth is this group carried on the traditional country mantel, and never really courted pop radio. The goal of these artists was not to go and cater to pop music fans, but to lure pop music fans to country music and country music radio. In my opinion (and growing number of others) this is the greatest of the eras covered in this piece of writing.

Garth Brooks – He dominated this era. His greatest achievement was getting droves of non-country music fans to take notice of the genre. He boosted every country act’s sales by his ability to promote not only Garth, but country music as a whole.

Alan Jackson - An amazing artist whose commercial and artistic success is unparalleled. He will be the artist most remembered from this era because his body of musical work is unmatched.

Vince Gill – A gifted singer, songwriter, and guitarist who won 18 CMA Awards. Amazingly he won only 4 ACM Awards. That disparity is the largest among any artists. Why did it happen? Who knows, but what is known is Gill’s commercial success had faded by the late 90’s.

Clint Black – His first album “Killin’ Time” was great. His subsequent albums were not so great. He spent too much time wanting to record only songs he had written, and fighting with his ex-manager Bill Ham.

Travis Tritt – Another artist who started strong then faded. He should never have gotten into that feud with Billy Ray Cyrus. He also never had the songs to make good use of his great voice.

Mary Chapin Carpenter - In reality she had one truly successful album – “Come On Come On”. This album produced 4 of her 9 top ten hits and sold 4 million copies which is almost half of her total sales.

Brooks & Dunn – Ronnie Dunn has one of the greatest voices in country music history. Kix Brooks had great stage presence and energy. Both were gifted writers. 20 years of successes will come in an end in 2010 as the duo is retiring as an act.

Wynonna Judd – After her success with the Judds and her wildly successful debut album, Wynonna seemed set for a ten year run as superstar. It never happened.

Billy Ray Cyrus – One monstrous (“Achy Breaky Heart”) hit propelled him to superstardom. It also doomed his career. Luckily he had a daughter (teen pop sensation Miley Cyrus) who was able to get a job to pay the bills.

John Michael Montgomery - He was one of the least acknowledged country superstars ever. He had three straight multiplatinum selling albums and a string of hit songs, and yet no one seems to mention him among successful artists of this era. Personally I was not a big fan of his music. In fact I think it’s downright bad.

The Women Rule era (1996-2002)

This is the era when country music became country pop. Shania Twain was the first to cross over to pop music by making pop version of her country songs, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, and others followed. While creating pop versions of country songs was not invented in this era, it became an epidemic. Instead of bringing pop fans to country music, the country artists morphed into pop stars and went to the pop fans on the pop fans’ terms.

Country radio however wanted to have captive audience; an audience that would listen only to country radio because that was the only place you could heard a particular artist. Once country radio realized they no longer had this with most the female superstars (Shania, Faith, LeAnn, and others) of this era, country radio shifted to artists less likely to be heard on pop radio which brought forth the Return of the Men Era.

This era marks the beginning of the end of the country music industry as a homogonous entity. No longer were country artists promoting themselves and country music as a whole, but the artists were now just promoting themselves.

Shania Twain - Twain was the master of living in both the country and pop world. Twain mixed country instruments with pop music arrangements and came away with big success. She made lots of fans and lots of enemies in the process. Twain has not released a studio album in 8 years, so it will be interesting to see what happens if or when she releases a new studio album.

Dixie Chicks - This traditional leaning trio was much loved for their music, but their outspokenness ended their hold on country music. Now considered more a pop group, the question remains where will go with their next album? The political foils (President Bush, Toby Keith, country radio) are either gone (Bush), fading (Keith), or on to other things (country radio is living large with Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift). Now 11 years after their debut, the Chicks may not find the commercial success they once had. Do they care? Who knows, but it will be interesting to see what happens.

Faith Hill – At first she seemed to be a refreshing good old gal from Mississippi, but then Hill made herself into the blonde Shania. It worked for a while then things started going wrong. In a way the country music industry seem to feel worse about Hill going pop than Twain as Twain was never seen as a part of the country music family while Hill was.

Tim McGraw - He is not a great singer, but for the most part he has mastered the art of song selection. With some exceptions McGraw has recorded and released good songs which touch people one way or another. He may never be Strait, Jackson, Brooks or Gill, but he is a cut above most male country artists

Martina McBride – She tried to remain more country than Twain and Hill, and it helped with awards and country radio play. However, it seems that her time is up. Her latest album “Shine” is tanking. McBride never sang true traditional country, and her penchant for singing “preaching” songs grew old.

LeAnn Rimes - Many expected more from Rimes. She has such a great voice, but instead of a superstar career in country music, she became a so-so country artist and a mediocre pop star.

Deana Carter - A true one album wonder. Who would have thought her career would have ended so quickly. She seemed to have it all voice, songwriting talent, and good looks.

The Return of the Men era (2002-2007)

Women 25-55 have always been a key demographic in country music radio’s listening audience. It is in this era that female 25-55 demographic became literally all encompassing. The wishes of this soccer mom audience became the command of country record labels and country radio. The soccer moms wanted good looking guys singing songs of love. An occasional funny ditty was welcomed as well.

Knowing that male artists had a harder time getting played on pop radio thereby making country radio the only place male artists could be heard, and knowing that playing male artists would keep the 25-55 female audience tuned in, country radio went male artist heavy.

George Strait, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw, and Garth Brooks were allowed to continue on, but female artists were thrown aside. This era had some good music, but the complaints of water down country music began to rise exponentially during this era. Kenny Chesney and Rascal Flatts especially came under attack.

Also this era begins to see albums sales decline. Fans of pop music began getting their music via the Internet not on cd. Country fans lagged behind on this trend, but the trend started to take hold during this period.

Kenny Chesney - It took years for Chesney to finally hit the big time (his big break came off publicity generated from his stealing and riding a police horse at the George Strait Music Festival in the late 90’s), and it was a great run. However, trends seem to show the days of his tropical island flavored countrys seem to be coming to an end.

Toby Keith - His macho country help make him a super-star, but he spent to much time on it instead of the great ballads he use to sing.

Keith Urban - He can play guitar, sing, write, and has huge stage presence. The fact he is married to movie star Nicole Kidman only adds to his hipness, and yes likely his happiness.

Brad Paisley - He was more traditional country when he started, but Paisley seems to be in the zone right now. Like Urban he can sing, write and play guitar.

Rascal Flatts - Loved by many hated by many, RF continues to charts hits, sell records, and draw big crowds on the road. They will never garner many industry awards or respect though

Gretchen Wilson and the Muzik Manfia - The only female artist to rise during this period, Wilson redneck pride image eventually worked against her with the arrival of the more beautiful and youthful Carrie and Taylor. However, for a brief moment Wilson seemed to be the queen of country music.

The Raise of the Young Women of Country era (2008-

The soccer moms are now discovering that they have company - their daughters and sons. While other eras of country music most notably the Class of 89 era bought in the youth audience, this era seems to have made major inroads to the youth market. Give credit to Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and Taylor Swift for this change in country music’s audience demographics.

Teenage girls see Carrie, Miranda, and Taylor as friends and role models. Teenage boys see Carrie, Miranda, and Taylor as someone they want to date and possibly marry.

Taylor Swift has shown the country music industry the new way to reach young fans is via Internet social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Now a presence on social media sites is a requirement for all country artists.

Surprisingly no solo male superstars have emerged since the arrival of Brad Paisley, Keith Urban back around 2000. Country audiences continue to migrate toward getting their music from the Internet, but many fans still cling to their cds.

Carrie Underwood – Winner of the wildly popular televised pop music competition “American Idol”, Underwood stormed into Nashville already a star. Her rise to mega-stardom has been marked by a surprise clinging to country music tradition. She has joined the Grand Ole Opry and espoused the music of Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, and other country legends. While many see her only as country pop singer, she seems to be lending more towards mixing traditional country with her country pop. Without a doubt Underwood is one of the most gifted singers to appear in country music in decades.

Taylor Swift – Swift is a talented singer-songwriting teenager whose writing ability is far superior to her actual singing. Her gifts don’t stop at songwriting. Her ability to understand that her fan base now communicates with each other in new way (via social media on the Internet) put her on the cutting edge of a new music marketing era.

Sugarland – This once time group is now a duo that consists of gifted lead vocals Jennifer Nettles and her male music partner Kristen Bush. Sugarland is the country version of the Eurhythmics where the lead singing female vocals comes to dominate the group. Sugarland members do not have much in the way of country music backgrounds, and their sound are definitely country-pop, but the music and personalities have engaged a country music audience.

Miranda Lambert – Her kick ass traditional country music may not get played as much as some on country radio, but it sure sells cds. She beloved by music critics and music industry professionals, and her new album Revolution was the best album released in 2009.

Lady Antebellum – Hilary Scott, Charles Kelly, and Dave Haywood form an interesting trio. Scott (daughter of country artist Linda Davis) and Kelly share lead vocals. In a way they are the country Fleetwood Mac.

A New Baseball Season for the Twins

A new baseball season has arrived. I think the Minnesota Twins will have a good season. The everyday lineup of Denard Span, Orlando Hudson, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, J.J. Hardy, Delmon Young, and either Nick Punto or Brendan Harris will be formidable. Mauer is the best player in baseball. Morneau, Span, Kubel, and Cuddyer are All-Star level players. Hudson and Hardy were once All-Stars and have the ability to be so again.

With Jim Thome, Jose Morales (once he is off the disabled list), either Harris or Punto, and Alexi Casilla on the bench, the best manager in baseball will have more weapons to call on the he ever has.

I can easily see this team leading the league in runs scored. It is also a strong defensive team. In fact this is the best everyday roster the Twins have ever had outside of 1991 when the Twins won the World Series.

A minor leaguer to watch to watch is catcher Wilson Ramos who almost made the team this year. Ramos won’t be able to catch everyday in the majors because of some guy named Joe Mauer. However, Mauer and Ramos could combine to share the catcher and dh roles next year making the Twins offense even stronger.

Pitching of course is the key to all winning. The Twins starting staff of Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Carl Pavano, Kevin Slowey, and Francisco Liriano looks strong. Baker and Blackburn have had back to back good years while Pavano looks to have regained his his 2004 form. Slowey looks good, but needs to prove he can stay healthy all year. Liriano has to prove he is back to being a good pitcher again.

Keep an eye on Kyle Gibson the Twins #1 draft pick last year. It sounds like he could make a quick trip through the minor league system and could be ready for action in the majors next year.

One area of concern this year is who will close. The Twins bullpen is deep and talented. Jose Mijares, Matt Guerrier, Jon Rauch, Jesse Crain, Pat Neshek, Clay Condrey, and Brian Dunesing have all proved themselves affective relievers at the major league level. However, none of them is Joe Nathan. With Nathan lost for the season, the Twins need to manage their bullpen well as not to let things unravel.

I think the closer role is overrated. If you can get people out in the 7th or 8th innings, why not the 9th – the pressure assigned to the 9th inning is artificial. Ron Gardenhire says he will use Rauch as closer and leave the 7th and 8th innings to Guerrier and Mijares. Hopefully the starters will regularly pitch 7 innings, so the bullpen will only have to handle a couple of innings each games. That is why good starting pitching is so important.

I look forward to the new baseball season, and the Twins new ballpark Target Field. I will be going to a game in May. I heard mostly nice things about Target Field. I heard there are a couple of spots that have obstructed views plus the seats in the outfield are mostly benches. I prefer an actual seat, and will buy my tickets accordingly.

I look forward to an exciting and successful season for the Twins who incidentally will be celebrating 50 Years in Minnesota.

On a side note I have recently received signed baseball cards from 3 former Twins I have been trying to get a response from for some time.

Dan Ford who played for the Twins in the 70s had a great nickname (Disco Dan) and a home run trot to be remembered (just before reaching home plate he would turn around and walk backwards across the plate). Mr. Ford has eluded me for some time, but not only did he sign a card for me (which was a card of him as an Angel), but sent a signed card of his own with him as a Twin. Thank you Mr. Ford!

Shane Mack played for the Twins in the 90’s and was a key member of the 1991 World Championship team. He too has eluded me for years. He seems to keep moving which caused me to get a lot of “return to sender – unable to forward” messages on my returned letters. Well after over a 300 day wait Mr. Mack finally signed a card for me. It goes to show perseverance pays off. Thanks for signing Mr. Mack!

Doug Mientkiewicz was a key member of the 2001 – 2003 teams that won 2 divisions and revived baseball in Minnesota. I started collecting signed cards through the mail after Doug had left the Twins. I have tried sending to him for the last 3 years and never got a response. Well this year he signed 1 of 2 cards for me. Thanks Doug!

Joe Mauer's Contract is Worth the Risk

In 1989 the Minnesota Twins fans feared the lost of the team’s best and most loved player; the man who had helped the Twins win their only World Series title. Fans were convinced the Twins would not be able to win another title without him. The Twins signed superstar Kirby Puckett to contract that made him the highest paid player in baseball at 3 million dollars per year. Fans rejoiced, and Kirby Puckett did indeed lead the Twins to another World Series title in 1991.

Puckett’s contract was again up after the 1992 season. Now even more loved than before, Puckett was seen as the player that could not leave. He almost did, but after some wrangling a 5 year 30 million dollar contract was signed. Fans rejoiced again. Kirby Puckett would be a Twin for life and more winning was ahead.

That was not how things turned out. Kirby Puckett was hit in the eye with a pitch at the end of the 1995 season and never played again. The Twins did not have a winning season again till 2001.

The example of Kirby Puckett shows the promise and the peril of signing even the best and most popular players to big money long term contracts. Puckett was a great player who was universally love and highly durable. He had never been on the disable list till 1995 when his career came to a stretching halt.

I thought about this when I heard the Twins signed Joe Mauer to an 8 year 184 million dollar contract extension. Joe Mauer is the best player in baseball. He will likely been seen as greater than Kirby Puckett. He is more popular. Joe Mauer is from Minnesota. He more than universally loved, he is ionic. The Twins had to sign him. He had to finish his career as a Twin and yet…

This years Twins team is the best on paper since 1991. Even with the lost of closer Joe Nathan many people think this team can win it all. The Twins are moving into their new, higher regarding home of Target Field. I like many fans cannot wait to see the Twins play there. To open Target Field without so be free agent Joe Mauer signed to a contract extension would have been problematic to say the least and yet…

Like Kirby Puckett in 89 and 92 Joe Mauer deserved the money he has received. He is that great. I believe Joe Mauer can lead the Twins to a World Series title. I believe he will be one of the greatest players to ever play the game. He will be the greatest Minnesota Twin of all-time. I also believe Joe Mauer can easily get hurt and stick the Twins with a huge contract and nothing to show for it.

So the question is would I have signed him if I were running the Twins? The answer is yes. Why? Because the rewards outweigh the risk; Joe Mauer is too good, too popular. If he were to left the Twins would not have the chance to win the World Series. Morneau, Span, Kubel, etc are good players, some great, but they are not at Joe Mauer’s level.

Yes, Joe Mauer could get injured, but he also could his .400 win multiple MVP awards and lead the Twins to multiple titles. Sports teams have to go for it when they can. Joe Mauer is a once in a lifetime talent.

Even with his $23 million a year salary the Twins probably have another $75 million to spend on rest of the team thanks to addition revenue from their new ballpark. That $75 million is what their payroll was last in year which was the highest it has even been.

The Twins have the chance to do something special like 1991 they must go for it.

Joe Nathan = Class Human Being

With the news Twins closer Joe Nathan has a ligament tear in his elbow that will him the 2010 season people are spending time speculating on his replacement or highlighting his past achievements. This is only normal since we tend to value athletes by what they have or have not done on the playing field. However, I wanted to talk about Joe Nathan the man.

I met Joe Nathan for the first time in 2007. He had been with the Twins 3 years, but I had never gotten around to getting his autograph. He was at Twinsfest signing with Ron Gardenhire on a Friday night. I saw Joe Nathan close up for the first time. He was tall with curly hair. He looked like a dude who should have been in a rock band. He signed my card with what I have come to find is one of the signatures in baseball. I soon found out he was into rock music and made weekly appearances on 93X the hard rock station here in the Twins Cities. I first impressions of him had proved correct.

I meet Joe Nathan again a year later. This time he was signing at a Cub Foods. This there was no one else but me and him around. I am not kidding. I showed up a half hour into his signing time and he was just sitting there with nothing to do. He graciously signed a ball and a card for me. He took the time to talk with me for 5 minutes. I sure he really would have preferred to be elsewhere. After all I spent a lot of time gushing how happy I was that he was on the team and how important he was to the team. Still he tolerated me. He just seemed like a great guy who was happy to be in the position he was in.

Over the years I have seen Joe Nathan make numerous appearances in public to sign autographs. He was never too big, too important to come out and meet the fans. Joe Nathan always seemed to be deeply involved in the team’s charity work. On his Website he would post pictures of these charity events. You could see Joe and his wife amongst the common people. They were not above being nice to whomever they met.

I have run into him a time or two again. He was always gracious. Joe Nathan has always kind enough to sign things I sent to him in the mail. Again he never was to “good” not to be kind to fans. That has been noticed by fans of other teams. On Web communities dedicated to collecting autographs through the mail, the name Joe Nathan is mention with reverence. He is much loved for taking the time sign for fans.

Depending on how he recovers from his surgery Joe Nathan may have made his last appearance for the Twins. If so he will the following moment to remember. The Twins had just lost to the Yankees in the 2009 ALDS. It was the last Twins game ever at the Metrodome. Nathan had blown a 2 run in lead back in Game 2 that if he had held the series might have been different. Now the Twins were done for the 2009 season, Twins baseball in the Metrodome would be no more. Fans were still lingering around when suddenly Joe Nathan, still in full uniform, jogged to the pitching mound. He wanted to gather up some dirt from the Metrodome pitching mound to take and spread on the new pitching mound at Target Field. Fans spotted him and cheered him loudly. Even though he had blown a critical game earlier in the series, fans knew what Joe Nathan meet to the Twins on and off the field. Nathan admitted afterwards he was stunned at the greeting. He should not have been, but often kind people are humble people.

I am glad Joe Nathan got those cheers. If his career with the Twins is over and he never appearances in a game again, he will have that moment where fans let him know how much he meant to them. Best of luck to you Joe Nathan, you are more than a great relief pitcher you are a class man.