Minnesota Twins Acquire J.J. Hardy from Brewers for Carlos Gomez

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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That didn’t take long at all.

Just days after missing out on a potential deal for infielder Akinori Iwamura, the Twins made a huge splash by acquiring All-Star shortstop J.J. Hardy from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for outfielder Carlos Gomez.

Hardy, 27, will immediately take over as Minnesota’s starting shortstop and figures to improve the infield defense exponentially and add some right-handed pop to the lineup.

Twins fans—myself included—have been clamoring for the club to make a deal for Hardy since midseason when Hardy lost playing time, and was eventually demoted to Triple-A, in favor of top-prospect Alcides Escobar.

Today, we all got our wish.

Hardy, a second-round draft pick in 2001, is one of the game’s best defenders at shortstop and has proven capable of putting up solid power numbers in the past.

Hardy hit an impressive .277 with 26 homers and 80 RBI in 2007 and .283 with 24 homers and 74 RBI in 2008, respectively.

That success didn’t carry over, however, as he slumped badly in 2009 hitting a career-low .229 with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs.

His season-long slump eventually got him demoted in August.

Milwaukee’s decision to demote Hardy when they did was a big suspect as it left Hardy exactly one day short of the service time requirement to qualify for a full season in the Majors.

As a result his free agency was pushed back by a full season. Despite the questionable tactic, no grievance was ever filed by Hardy or his agent.

As such, Minnesota will own the rights to Hardy through the end of the 2011 season. One would expect the club to try and lock him up to a long-term deal before then to buy out his arbitration years and perhaps a year or two of free agency.

Most expected the Brewers to seek pitching in return for Hardy, as the Brewers’ most glaring need this offseason is bolstering a rotation that proved thin beyond young ace Yovani Gallardo.

Acquiring Gomez, however, allows Milwaukee to let incumbent centerfielder, Mike Cameron leave as a free agent. The club can then use the money freed up by Cameron to add a starter via free agency.

Gomez, 23, was a major component of the Johan Santana trade two winters ago and now finds himself with his third big league club. He won’t bring much offense with him to Milwaukee, but his ability to flash the leather is unquestioned.

He is eligible for arbitration this winter as a Super Two player, but will still come cheaper than keeping Hardy or Cameron on the roster. Additionally, Gomez remain under club control through 2013.

Posted in AL Central, Baseball, Carlos Gomez, Cheap Seat Chronicles, J.J. Hardy, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, MLB, MLB Trades | 9 Comments

William Regal: WWE’s Most Misused and Underappreciated Heel

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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William Regal deserves better.

That phrase may be a tough pill to swallow when you consider he has held more than 60 championships worldwide. An impressive 19 of those title wins took place in either WCW or WWE.

Additionally, the brawling Brit is one of a select few to win the coveted King of the Ring tournament, generally an honor only given to up-and-coming superstars that the WWE has handpicked for greatness.

Despite all that, William Regal deserves better.

You may be asking why he deserves better, and the answer is a simple one: Regal is currently plying his trade in the depths of ECW.

In ECW—a veritable dead-end in the WWE—Regal is surrounded by a cast of wet-behind-the-ears rookies, going-nowhere veterans, and—well—Christian.

Plenty of talented superstars have gotten their start in the WWE’s reincarnation of ECW. Names like John Morrison, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, and Jack Swagger come to mind.

The difference is that all of these superstars were young and still in the infant stages of their careers when they toiled on the C-show.

William Regal, at 41 years old, is entering the twilight of his career.

Regal has been wrestling since he was 15 and made his professional debut 26 years ago. In that time, he’s battled many of the biggest names in the business and put on stellar match after stellar match all around the world.

Despite all that, he is still forced to reside in ECW, where he is currently the top heel on the show and the unequivocal leader the best stable most fans have never heard of, the “Ruthless Roundtable.”

Throughout his entire career, Regal has managed to be one of the most despised men in the business simply by opening his mouth or—at the drop of a hat—he could flip the script and be part of the funniest segments on the show as a fan favorite.

He is money on the microphone and golden in the ring with his unique chain wrestling style. In the past few months, he has stepped up his game for a main event-caliber feud with current ECW Champion, Christian.

In that time we’ve seen Regal play all of the typical heel roles. He’s been the cowardly heel, he’s been the conniving, cheating heel, and he’s played the intense, violent heel who will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants.

It is the latter that has me thinking Regal deserves better.

After years in the WWE—and the business as a whole—Regal shouldn’t be in the midst of a main-event feud on the C-show. Regal has the chops to be in a major angle on either RAW or Smackdown, and he’s proven this fact time and time again, only to get pushed down every time.

After being used to rebuild the luster behind the Intercontinental Title a year ago, Regal picked up the ball and ran with it. He won match after match and put up great promos with his new sidekick, the lovely Layla.

In that time Regal brought prestige and respect back to a title that had otherwise become a joke thanks—in large part—to Santino Marella’s ridiculous title run. He made the title matter again and made it seem like a real honor to wear the gold.

When it was all said and done, how did the WWE repay him?

They had him drop the title to CM Punk on RAW—despite the potential for a big match at Royal Rumble—then let him flounder before sending him packing to ECW, sans his lovely valet.

For a man who has been hired and fired several times by major organizations, suffered through drug addiction and rehab, watched many close friends in the industry die around him, and battled numerous health conditions, you simply have to wonder why the WWE is wasting his time in ECW when he clearly has limited time left as an in-ring competitor.

Sure, it appears as though Regal may finally be in line to win a “World Title” next week, as he is going one-on-one with Christian for the ECW gold in his native England.

All of the signs point toward Regal getting the win, as he’s got both the home-field advantage and the numbers advantage in his favor.

Even if Regal does win the ECW Championship next week, it still isn’t the same as holding the WWE Title or the World Heavyweight Championship—no matter how hard the WWE announcers try to claim otherwise.

The ECW Championship is largely on par with the Intercontinental and United States Championships, and everyone, including those who have held the title, are well-aware of that stigma.

Regal has been there and done that a dozen times before.

He’s held his share of mid-card titles and has more than proven that he is a great heel who deserves a legitimate shot at one of the big gold belts, not the awkward silver one.

Without a doubt, William Regal deserves better.

Posted in ECW, Professional Wrestling, William Regal, WWE | 1 Comment

Minnesota and Tampa Bay Working on Iwamura Swap?

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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The Minnesota Twins may be on the verge of completing a major deal to improve the infield for 2010 and beyond.

Mark Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times is reporting that the Rays are close to dealing second baseman Akinori Iwamura to an undisclosed team.

Recent speculation has the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers as the two front-runners to acquire Iwamura’s services, but Topkin’s source has stated that it is a different, more “unexpected team” that has emerged for the services of Iwamura.

It is quite possible that the Twins are that “unexpected team” that has entered the market for Iwamura’s services.

Earlier this offseason I pegged Iwamura, 30, as a potential candidate to help plug holes for the Twins at either second or third base in 2010 as Tampa Bay holds a $4.25 million option (or $250,000 buyout) on Iwamura for next season.

With the emergence of Ben Zobrist and the recent acquisition of top prospect Sean Rodriguez, Iwamura—and his hefty salary—are no longer needed in Tampa Bay.

A torn ACL in his left knee cost Iwamura three months in 2009. It was initially believed that the injury was season-ending, but a speedy recovery allowed him to come back and join the Rays for the final month.

Many question how the injury will affect Iwamura’s game as much of his game is based on speed. His defensive range will come into question, but beyond that twelve percent of his career hits have been of the infield variety.

Knee injury or not, Iwamura still has a keen eye at the plate as evidenced by his career .281/.354/.393 slash line. His plate discipline and modest power would mesh well with Minnesota’s current lineup and he could serve as either a solid number two hitter or a bonus at the bottom of the order.

In addition to his offensive prowess, Iwamura is also noted for his solid defense at both second and third base, two positions that the Twins figure to address this offseason.

Trading for Iwamura would allow the Twins to give prospects Danny Valencia and Luke Hughes more time to develop while he starts at third base and he could then shift to second base later in the season if/when one of the two is ready to take the reins at the hot-corner.

Tampa Bay has until one day after the World Series to make a decision on Iwamura’s option, so a trade could happen quickly.

Adding to speculation that the Twins may be the “unexpected team” in the mix is news that third baseman Brian Buscher was outrighted to Triple-A Rochester today. The move allows Buscher, 28, to become a Minor League free agent after the World Series.

Posted in Akinori Iwamura, AL Central, AL East, American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Minnesota Twins, MLB, Tampa Bay Rays, Trade Rumors | 2 Comments

Sheamus the Destroyer: Right Idea, Wrong Execution for WWE

Posted on November 2, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

sheamus003Sheamus is supposed to be a monster heel.

I get it. We all get it.

I’m just not buying it…yet.

There’s no denying that “The Celtic Warrior” has a very unique look and a powerful arsenal of moves.

Additionally, he’s the newest member of the RAW roster and has made quite the impression during his first two weeks on the program.

In his short time on the flagship program, we’ve gotten a couple of good promos out of the Irish brawler and two violent squash matches over Jamie Noble.

What I haven’t seen is anything that really makes me care and that applies to his time in ECW as well.

In ECW, Sheamus feuded with Goldust and Shelton Benjamin.

The feuds weren’t bad, but given that the casual wrestling fan—or anyone without expensive cable—doesn’t watch SyFy every Tuesday night, his short time on the c-show did nothing to build up an established reputation.

As such, most casual fans had never even heard of Sheamus prior to his debut last Monday night. Rather than build him up with vignettes, the WWE just threw him onto RAW as a “free agent acquisition” and had him destroy Noble.

In his debut, he simply overpowered Noble for the win. In the follow-up this week, he absolutely dismantled Noble. After hitting all of his signature spots, he refused to pin Noble and continued beating on him until the ref stopped the match.

Sheamus followed that up by hitting a bicycle kick to knock Noble off the top-rope to the floor and then planted the former Cruiserweight Champion with a monstrous powerbomb on the floor.

Noble ended up leaving on a stretcher and Sheamus did the whole maniacal heel laughing at someone else’s misery thing on the ramp.

All the parts are there, but something just didn’t click for me and I don’t think the fault lies with Sheamus. Rather, the fault is—once again—in the hands of the writing team.

Jamie Noble is not a fan-favorite. Jamie Noble—prior to the first of his two squash matches—hadn’t been seen on RAW for anything notable in months. Jamie Noble getting obliterated is not going to get me pining for vengeance and that is the biggest issue.

On Smackdown, the WWE turned Batista into a monster heel in about two minutes at Bragging Rights by having him annihilate Rey Mysterio. It worked so well because Mysterio is one of the most popular faces in the entire company.

It is in that regard that the WWE has missed the mark with Sheamus. Rather than have him attack someone of Mysterio’s caliber—or at least an upper-midcard face—they had him demolish a glorified jobber whose appearances are sporadic at best.

Part of the problem is that RAW has a serious dearth of midcard faces on the roster. Kofi Kingston, MVP, Mark Henry, and Evan Bourne are pretty much the only options.

Kingston is involved with Orton and, after tonight, it would see that MVP and Henry are involved with Legacy as they build for a Survivor Series matchup.

Bourne appears to be serving as the face in a potential three-way feud over the United States Championship between himself, Miz, and Jack Swagger.

Sheamus could have been called-up to join Smackdown where guys like Matt Hardy, John Morrison, and perhaps even R-Truth would have elicited more of a response if they were to fall victim to such a violent onslaught.

Smackdown, however, is already very heel-heavy and Sheamus would most-likely have gotten lost in the mix.

As such, the logical solution would have been to leave him in ECW for a few more months. He could have feuded with the likes of Tommy Dreamer, Yoshi Tatsu, and eventually Christian before moving onto one of the other brands.

On RAW, they can have him plow through Primo or Hornswoggle or Santino before moving him onto a legitimate feud, but until he gets in the ring with a worthwhile opponent, I’m just not buying it.

Posted in Professional Wrestling, Sheamus, WWE, WWE RAW | 2 Comments

Call Me Crazy, but Leo Mazzone Should Be the Twins’ Top Free Agent Target

Posted on November 2, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

The Minnesota Twins figure to be quite busy in the coming months.

The primary focus of this offseason will be inking the club’s franchise player—and future American League MVP—Joe Mauer to a long-term deal.

Additionally, the front office will be looking to improve the infield and bolster the rotation for the inaugural season at Target Field.

It is the final objective, improving the rotation, which could prove to be the most daunting.

This year’s crop of free agent pitchers offers only a handful of difference-makers, most of whom will draw interest—and large paydays—from big-market clubs with deep pockets.

There is, however, one free agent who could improve Minnesota’s rotation immediately.

Here’s the kicker: He’s not a pitcher. Oh yeah, and he’s 61 years old.

mazzone001I’m talking about Leo Mazzone. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.

Mazzone was the architect of the dominant Braves pitching staffs of the 1990s and early 2000s.

It was under Mazzone’s tutelage that future Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz blossomed into the core of one of the best rotations in the history of the game.

It would be easy to question how successful Mazzone really was, given the enviable stable of gifted arms he had to work with, but history also shows that his success wasn’t limited to pitchers with out-of-this-world talent.

Mazzone—much like his contemporary, Dave Duncan of the St. Louis Cardinals—is renowned for getting big years out of journeymen. Such reclamation projects have included Paul Byrd, Mike Hampton, Denny Neagle, John Burkett, and Jaret Wright.

The last anyone saw of Mazzone in the big leagues was his unsuccessful two-year stint as the pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles.

Nowadays Mazzone co-hosts a morning sports talk radio show in Atlanta and serves as an occasional color commentator for FOX.

In a recent interview, however, Mazzone made a not-so-subtle statement implying that he was ready to return to the game.

“Let it be known—I’m willing to get back in,” Mazzone said. “Salary would not be an issue.”

Call me crazy, but this sounds like the perfect situation for the Minnesota Twins.

Leo Mazzone, a Hall of Fame-caliber pitching coach, is practically begging for an organization to give him another shot, and the Twins fit the bill perfectly.

The Twins have a veritable stockpile of young, talented pitchers on the roster, and every one of them—especially Francisco Liriano—could benefit greatly from a man with the experience and knowledge of Mazzone.

Where I come from, if you’ve got a chance to bring in a guy who has a history of churning out Cy Young winners, you go out and get him.

A lot of people might be hesitant to bring in Mazzone as the Twins already have a pretty successful pitching coach in Rick Anderson. Luckily, Mazzone isn’t necessarily looking to take anyone’s job.

“I would love to be a pitching coach, adviser, consultant,” Mazzone said, implying that he’s open to taking any sort of position that gets him back in the game.

At this stage in his career, Mazzone’s biggest interest appears to be in exchanging ideas with organizations about how to improve their pitching.

“I feel like I would be a huge asset in developing continuity between the major league clubs and the farm system,” he said. “Let them give me their ideas and combine it with mine.”

Mazzone knows the game, and most specifically, he knows pitching.

mazzone003He has an incredible track record and could allow the Twins to improve their rotation without overpaying for a mediocre, middle-of-the-pack starter—the type the market figures to be flooded with—this offseason.

By no means is this a call for Anderson’s head. On the contrary, I think he has done a wonderful job in his time at the helm.

That doesn’t change the fact that the Twins’ rotation and bullpen struggled with inconsistency nearly all season long in 2009. Perhaps bringing in Mazzone as a tag-team partner of sorts for Anderson could be the missing link.

There is also the possibility that Mazzone could be a bust. His forgettable stint in Baltimore could be attributed to the lack of talent he had to work with, or it could have been a sign that the game had passed him by.

Either way, it is worth it for the Twins to at least “kick the tires” and invite Mazzone to Fort Myers in February to offer some advice to a cast of pitchers who are all ready and waiting to take the next step in their development.

“Spring trainings really are pretty much a downer,” Mazzone said. “I miss the game terribly.”

Call me crazy, but I think he’d gladly accept the invitation.

Posted in AL Central, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Free Agency, Leo Mazzone, Minnesota Twins, MLB | 1 Comment

Great Scot: Roddy Piper to Host RAW

Posted on November 2, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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Rumors are circulating that “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has been asked to host an upcoming episode of RAW.

The rumors—largely spurred by a recent interview with Piper—state that he is in consideration to host the November 16 episode emanating from Madison Square Garden.

It is believed that Piper is currently the first runner-up for hosting duties that night, but many other internet dirt sheets are stating that recent TNA-signee, Hulk Hogan was the only person standing in his way.

Now that Hogan has signed with TNA he won’t be hosting RAW any time soon, so hopefully that completely clears the way for Piper to return to WWE television.

The last time we saw Piper was during the three-on-one legends match at WrestleMania 25. Piper himself has gone on record stating that he wants another chance to leave a lasting-impression with the WWE Universe.

“I wasn’t wild about WrestleMania 25 to put it mildly,” Piper said during an August interview on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show. “There’s not a chance in hell that that’s the last way you’re gonna see me.”

One can’t blame Piper for being upset with his underwhelming performance at WM25.

Piper—who is in notoriously bad shape—probably shouldn’t have been wrestling at the event at all, let alone on a lackluster team with “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat.

The three legends lost to Chris Jericho and saw their manager, Ric Flair, also get destroyed by a vicious Codebreaker before Hollywood star Mickey Rourke intervened and popped Jericho in the face with a flurry of fists.

The entire angle and subsequent match at WrestleMania came about after Jericho had preached that Mickey Rourke’s Oscar -nominated role as Randy “The Ram” Robinson in The Wrestler supplied WWE’s Hall of Famers & Legends with false hope.

Jericho claimed that the movie gave older wrestlers an illusion of grandeur, encouraging these “pathetic has-beens”—as Jericho was fond of referring to them—to continue to stepping into the ring, long past their primes.

The plan was to setup an eventual Jericho versus Rourke matchup at ‘Mania. Unfortunately, Rourke backed out—logically assuming it would ruin his chances of winning an Academy Award—and the WWE writer’s had to draw up a new game plan with just weeks before WM25.

It was then that Piper, Snuka, Steamboat, and Flair were inserted into the feud. Each week one of the Hall of Famers came out to confront Jericho and—after claiming to be good friends with Rouke—took offense to the claim, stating that they were the ones who had opened the door for Superstars like Jericho.

Each segment ended with Jericho berating the legends, both physically and verbally. With just two weeks before WM25, the official three-on-one match with Flair serving as a manager-of-sorts was announced.

Piper and Snuka both looked awful in the ring as they clearly hadn’t been given sufficient time to prepare and get in shape for such a high-profile matchup. Steamboat looked good—by comparison—and was even given a one-on-one match with Jericho at a subsequent pay-per-view.

After the WM25 matchup, the legends—except for Steamboat—were written off and forgotten. Understandably that left a bad taste in Piper’s mouth.

“Hot Rod” is a WWE legend and definitely doesn’t want or deserve the image of him out of shape and looking overwhelmed to be the last memory WWE fans are left with.

“In my mind, I want to put a cap on it as you say, with one more match, an extraordinary performance,” Piper told iconvsicon.com in an interview. “Ya know the clock is tickin’, let’s be honest, so sooner rather than later.”

With that in mind, it leads me—among others I’m sure—to be quite excited about a possible Piper stint as the guest host of RAW.

Piper would serve as a huge breath of fresh air from all of the quasi-celebrity hosts we’ve been inundated with in recent weeks. No more cheap plugs for awful movies or book tours or NASCAR races, just a wrestler who knows how to work a crowd and is a legitimate legend.

The WWE has missed the mark too many times with the guest host fiasco. We’ve seen Batista, Ted DiBiase, Dusty Rhodes, Trish Stratus and Sgt. Slaughter all serve as guest host and—in terms of people who know the business—that’s about it.

A few hosts have had some special moments, but for the most part they’ve all been lackluster in the role.

Piper is someone who can work up a crowd and handle himself on the microphone with the best in the business, this proposed hosting gig should not only be one of the better we’ve seen, but also could lead to an amazing WWE sendoff for Piper.

“I think if you saw me in Raw that it would be leading into that match,” Piper said, and although he didn’t lay out anything specific, he did plant a seed for what could be a classic matchup. “I say this…why don’t you just put Roddy Piper and Vince McMahon in the ring.”

Whether there are any legs to that idea or not is irrelevant, what is important is that even before appearing on television, Piper is doing what he’s notorious for doing his entire career, stirring the pot.

Piper has me ready and interested not only to see the “Rowdy Scot” hosting RAW, but hopefully getting the sendoff he rightfully deserves.

Posted in Professional Wrestling, Rowdy Piper, WWE, WWE RAW | Leave a comment

Does Boof Bonser Have a Future with the Minnesota Twins?

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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Boof Bonser is out of options, both literally and figuratively.

Just two years removed from serving as the number two starter in Minnesota’s rotation, Bonser, 28, is in the uncomfortable position of not knowing what his future with the organization may hold or if he even has a future with the organization.

The Twins currently have half a dozen pitchers under contract for 2010 that started twelve games or more last season.

Bonser, who spent 2009 rehabbing from surgery to repair tears in his labrum and rotator cuff, didn’t throw a competitive pitch until a rehab assignment in September.

Additionally, Brian Duensing and Jeff Manship also figure to make bids for spots in next year’s rotation and the team has made mention that they’ll be on the lookout to add a veteran arm or two this offseason.

So where does that leave Bonser?

The Twins could conceivably non-tender him this December, thus making him a free agent.

Given Bonser’s considerable upside and reasonable salary, it wouldn’t make much sense for the Twins—a team that used eleven different starters in 2009—to just let him walk away.

If I were a betting man—and I am—I’d put good money on the Twins giving Bonser a one-year contract and an invite to Spring Training with a very clear message that if he doesn’t pitch his way into the rotation, or a long-relief role in the bullpen, he’ll be plying his trade elsewhere.

Bonser’s descent from first-round pick and elite prospect to potential non-tender candidate has been a rapid one.

Bonser, a high school standout, was drafted with the 21st overall pick of the 2000 amateur draft by the San Francisco Giants. He was assigned immediately to the short-season league and suffered the usual up and downs high school pitchers do at that level.

The next year, however, Bonser had a breakout season pitching for the Hagerstown Suns of the South Atlantic League.

Bonser went 16-4 with a 2.49 ERA and 178 strikeouts in 134 innings pitched. In doing so, Bonser—who was just 19-years old at the time—won the South Atlantic League Most Valuable Pitcher award and earned postseason all-star honors as well.

Although he didn’t match that success in any subsequent seasons, he still rose steadily through the Giants’ farm system and was pitching in Triple-A by the end of the 2003 season.

That winter Bonser was the key-component in the now-infamous A.J. Pierzynski trade that sent Bonser, Joe Nathan, and Francisco Liriano to the Minnesota Twins.

Since then both Liriano and Nathan have surpassed Bonser, both in terms of overall production and value within the organization.

Nathan was immediately given the closer role and has proved to be one of baseball’s best in that role.

Liriano showed glimpses of brilliance and dominance before succumbing to Tommy John surgery which has since rendered him maddeningly inconsistent.

Bonser spent two seasons in the Twins’ farm system before getting called up in 2006. He spent most of the year bouncing back and forth between Rochester and Minneapolis, all the while going 7-6 with a 4.22 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 100.1 innings pitched at the major league level.

In 2007, Bonser began the year as the number two starter behind Johan Santana. Inconsistency was the name of the game as Bonser would alternate awful starts with brilliant starts. When it was all said and done he had another unimpressive line of 8-12 with a 5.10 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 173 innings pitched.

Following that mediocre season, Bonser—at the request of the front-office—made an effort to drop some weight so that he could pitch deeper into ballgames. Bonser showed great dedication and dropped 35 pounds over the winter.

The only problem was that a slimmer, sleeker Bonser still couldn’t get anyone out.

boof002Despite being the only experienced starter in the 2008 rotation, Bonser was demoted to the bullpen by the end of May after going 2-6 with a 5.97 ERA to start the year.

Unfortunately, the results out of the bullpen weren’t much better.

Bonser pitched 52 innings out of the bullpen and tallied 5.88 ERA. He was used mostly in mop-up situations, but appeared to be re-finding his form near the end of the season. He was averaging better than a strikeout per inning and seemed to be getting back on track.

As such, Bonser spent the 2008-2009 offseason preparing both physically and mentally for a bullpen role. He was rumored to be in the mix for a long-relief spot or perhaps a setup role in front of closer Joe Nathan.

Unfortunately, Bonser’s 2009 ended before it had ever really begun. He was diagnosed with tears in both his labrum and rotator cuff and ruled out of the 2009 season early in Spring Training.

Bonser’s loss was a major reason for the early-to-mid-season struggles of the Twins’ bullpen as the team was forced to bring in castoffs like Luis Ayala to fill roles that they had no business filling.

Since then the club has acquired Jon Rauch as a top setup man and saw relievers Matt Guerrier, Jose Mijares, and Jesse Crain take big steps forward to solidify their roles in the bullpen.

With the aforementioned overabundance of potential starters, the Twins have plenty of in-house candidates for additional bullpen roles and not nearly enough roster space for all of them.

And that bring us back to the big question: where does that leave Boof Bonser?

As I stated earlier, Bonser is probably too intriguing of an option for the Twins to outright release him, but will he be ready to outpitch the competition this spring?

For his part, Bonser has already shown a lot of dedication and desire to make it back with the Twins.

He worked very hard in his rehabilitation to make it back ahead of schedule and pitch in meaningful games in September.

It was reported that he was showing good velocity and improved command of his pitches during his rehab assignment.

Is it a sign that Bonser has finally found the right mix of desperation and motivation to become the great pitcher he appeared to be in the minors or was this just another sign that Bonser is a great minor league pitcher who can’t make the right adjustments at the highest level?

Hopefully 2010 will be the season that question is finally answered, and when that answer comes, here’s to hoping that Boof is still wearing Minnesota pinstripes.

Posted in AL Central, American League, Baseball, Boof Bonser, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Injuries, Minnesota Twins, MLB | Leave a comment

Despite Best Efforts, WWE’s Tag Division Remains on Life Support

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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Earlier this week, I discussed my displeasure with the WWE’s ill-advised decision to book Big Show against the Undertaker at Survivor Series.

According to spoiler reports this week on Smackdown, Chris Jericho will be inserted into the World Heavyweight Championship match.

I’ve got no problem with the decision to add Jericho to any main event, especially one that projected to be as boring as Undertaker versus Big Show. This does, however, continue to push the Unified Tag Team Titles to the backburner.

This will be the second pay-per-view in a row where the titles go undefended. Prior to that, Jericho and Big Show’s feuds over the gold had taken a backseat to the tag team wars of Degeneration-X and Legacy.

Additionally, the champs and the only team that could be conceived as the number one contenders, Degeneration-X, are both involved in triple threats that were booked to create controversial angles involving team unity.

We’ve all seen the whole “every man for himself” angle played out a dozen times and doing it twice in the same pay-per-view just reeks of lazy booking.

At this point, I wouldn’t be shocked to see an ECW Title triple threat featuring Christian versus the Bushwackers inserted onto the Survivor Series card just to round things out.

Lazy booking notwithstanding, my biggest gripe is about the damage being done to the tag team division.

The tag division has been rebuilding slowly, but surely, since the gold was put on Jericho and Edge this summer. The substitution of Big Show as Jericho’s partner made plenty of sense and has worked to create a dominant heel tag team.

Everyone knows that storylines are better with a face—or in this case a team of faces—chasing the heels for the gold. So it only makes sense that you’d work to rebuild the tag team division with a dominant heel team. Jericho and Big Show fit the bill perfectly.

Jericho—no matter what any Orton fan will tell you—is still getting the best heel heat of any wrestler on any brand in any company, period.

On top of that, he’s still one of the top workers in the business and can seemingly pull a good match out of anyone on the roster, as evidenced by his ability to make the “Legends” match at WrestleMania 25 watchable.

Big Show, at this stage of his career, is no longer considered a real threat to singles titles, but makes the perfect “bully” tag partner. He’s big. He’s mean. He’s perfect for the enforcer role in a tag team.

So the WWE has half of the equation right. They’ve built the perfect heel tag team to carry the gold and re-establish the division.

Unfortunately, the bigger issue is that the writers have yet to put together a worthwhile challenger to create the intrigue and really get the fans begging for one team to take the gold off of Jericho and Big Show.

In recent months we’ve either seen, or been teased with, the following feuds for the Unified Tag Titles:

Cryme Tyme

I think not. The WWE buries these two talented workers as a stale, if not mildly racist, comedy routine for most of the year and then expects fans to buy them as legitimate contenders for the tag titles by giving them a one-month push, before sending them right back into obscurity. Yeah, call me crazy, but I’ll pass.

Batista and Rey Mysterio

This tandem was thrown together roughly a week before the pay-per-view and inserted as a filler match more than anything else. Matches with little build-up tend to be disappointing and this was just that. Batista went head-to-head with Jericho and Big Show in his return to Smackdown and that warrants him and the returning Mysterio a title shot. Yeah, not so much.

MVP and Mark Henry

Please. MVP should be in the midst of a singles push, not slumming it with the WWE’s most overrated big man. MVP seemed in line for a big push when he moved to RAW and—despite the fact that it completely defies logic—so was Henry. Instead, WWE turned them into a tag team with matching spandex. Cute, real cute.

Legacy

Sure, this one I’d accept, unfortunately, they’ve garnered a grand total of like three wins as a tag team in the last six months and done nothing but serve as Orton’s lackeys and DX’s whipping boys. Additionally, they’re also heels and we all know that heel versus heel feuds tend to be a little stale for the average viewer.

Degeneration-X

Again, this one I’d accept and this seemed to be the logical course to take things, but apparently the writing crew saw differently. After booking DX as the best tag team in the company for the past three months, they decided to pretty much blow this feud off altogether.

There you have it folks. We’ve seen three mediocre feuds. And we’ve seen just one established tag team go against the champs. Call me crazy, but that’s not how you rebuild a floundering division.

The WWE made the short-sighted decision to break up the Colons, neither of whom serves much purpose as a solo act, and they have yet to really get behind a push for the Hart Dynasty.

William Regal’s Ruthless Roundtable is still wasting away in obscurity in ECW until we have another “free-agent steal” that lands them on RAW or Smackdown to get jobbed into eternity.

Beyond that the division is still very, very thin.

The rumored Edge and Christian reunion would be a nice shot in the arm, but it would also only serve as a short-term solution because both men are much too talented individually to return to the tag ranks on a full-time basis.

Plus, at the rate we’re currently going the Unified Tag Titles will have gone the way of the Cruiserweight (which should come back just for Evan Bourne), European, and Hardcore Titles by the time Edge is heeled and ready to return.

Here’s hoping that after Survivor Series the WWE can right the ship and continue the hard work of re-establishing the tag team division to its former glory.

Posted in Big Show, Chris Jericho, Professional Wrestling, The Undertaker, WWE, WWE RAW, WWE Smackdown | Leave a comment

Delmon Young: Hit the Ball or Hit the Road

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

young006Delmon Young is at a crossroads.

It may seem strange to read that line about Young, as usually you read about aging veterans reaching a crossroads, not 24-year olds who seemingly have their entire career in front of them.

Young is at a crossroads, because at just 24-years old he is on his last legs with his second big league organization. A far cry from the future Young had no doubt envisioned when he was taken first-overall in the 2003 draft by Tampa Bay.

Since that day Young has been called many things.

He’s been called “talented,” “amazing,” “a natural,” and was once even hailed as the “next big thing.”

He’s also been called “lazy,” “arrogant,” “entitled,” and “selfish.”

Which words truly define Delmon Young are not for us to decide, Young will decide that for himself in the next twelve months.

Because his trade value is so low, Young will undoubtedly survive the offseason as a member of the Twins outfield and should be given a bulk of the at-bats in left field both in Spring Training and during the 2010 season.

In that time Young’s performance on and off the field will determine where he goes next.

He has put up serviceable, yet unspectacular, numbers in his three seasons in the show.

He’s hit for averages of .288, .290, and .284. Good numbers, yes, but not what one expects from a former number one pick.

Unfortunately, those solid averages have been accompanied by literally no power. In those same three seasons he’s combined for 35 home runs and 222 RBI.

Those numbers would be acceptable if he were a light-hitting centerfielder or middle infielder, but he’s playing a corner position in the majors and last time I checked, that was a power position.

Power isn’t the only thing missing from Young’s game; however, as his once-vaunted speed has all but disappeared.

In three minor league seasons Young swiped 75 bases. Throughout his entire Major League career, he’s accumulated just 28 stolen bases. In 2009, Young managed merely two thefts in a meager seven tries.

In addition to the uninspiring power numbers and complete lack of speed, he’s also displayed little defensive prowess in his time in the show. He’s looked lost and overwhelmed far too often and, as a result, hasn’t made of use of his oft-praised cannon to throw runners out.

Now here’s the interesting part—despite what the previous 350 words may indicate—I still think there’s hope for Delmon Young.

He has been through a lot in his young career and is still maturing both on and off the field.

He was given free-reign in the Tampa Bay organization to act as he pleased until the infamous bat throwing incident that cost him 50 games in the minors and pushed back his impending call up in 2006.

80322376JM025_Minnesota_TwiAfter that moment he was stuck in a box by the media and no matter how good of a citizen he’s been on or off the field, he’s been unable to escape that box.

After an impressive rookie campaign in 2007, he was swapped to the Twins because the Rays wanted to clean house and didn’t feel they could win with him on board.

He struggled in 2008 to get off to a good start and the struggles lasted much of the season. In 2009, it was more of the same, only he had more off the field issues to deal with when his mother succumbed to cancer early in the season.

Young eventually caught fire down the stretch and played a big part in helping the Twins win the American League Central.

And that leads us to where we are now.

We’ve all seen what Young can do.

Twins fans have been privy to a patient hitter who can attack the ball with a powerful line drive stroke that scouts once compared to the likes of Albert Belle.

Twins fans have also watched as a young, inexperienced hitter flailed at first pitch after first pitch and made mistake after mistake in the outfield.

In all likelihood 2010 will be Young’s last chance to prove he belongs—not only with the Twins—but as an everyday outfielder in the Major Leagues.

As a Twins fan, and a fan of Young, I hope he makes the most of it.

All personal feelings aside, baseball is a business and Delmon Young needs to hit the ball or hit the road.

Period.

Posted in AL Central, American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Delmon Young, Minnesota Twins, MLB | 4 Comments

Big Show: The WWE’s Go-To Stepping Stone

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

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It was announced on last night’s RAW that Big Show is the new number one contender for the Undertaker’s World Heavyweight Championship.

According to Show, he struck a deal with Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long prior to Sunday night’s Bragging Rights pay-per-view.

The deal was simple enough: if Big Show turned on the RAW squad and helped Smackdown win the inaugural Bragging Rights match, Long would name him the number one contender.

Big Show did his part and chokeslammed Kofi Kingston off of the top rope, leading to a win for the blue brand, and Long upheld his end of the bargain as well.

At the opening of RAW, Big Show let the world know exactly why he’d turned on RAW—as if any of us are supposed to believe that brand loyalty exists anyway—and proclaimed himself to be the next in line to attempt to dethrone the Undertaker.

With that announcement the world let out a collective groan.

You see we’ve seen Big Show versus Undertaker about a million and a half times.

In fact, for those who don’t remember, Big Show and Undertaker squared off last year at Survivor Series in a very forgettable Casket Match.

Prior to that they’d had a confrontation at Unforgiven, a match at No Mercy, a Last Man Standing Match at Cyber Sunday, and following the aforementioned Casket Match they concluded the feud with a Steel Cage match on Smackdown.

The oversaturation of the Big Show/Taker feud isn’t what bothers me. It’s annoying and only further proves that the booking team is struggling to keep things fresh, but it’s a forgivable offense.

I mean seriously, after sitting through some combination of Cena/Orton/Triple H in the main event on RAW for the better part of—well—forever, I can handle a stale, rehashed feud on the blue brand every now and then.

What really bothers me about this is that no one in their right mind believes Big Show is going to win this match.

In the past year the WWE has shown us that it has no problem playing hot potato with the two marquee championships. Since last year’s Survivor Series the WWE Championship has changed hands ten times and the World Heavyweight Championship nine times.

Despite those gaudy numbers, does anyone think Big Show has a chance of walking away from Survivor Series with a third gold belt slung over his beefy shoulder? I didn’t think so.

For all the WWE’s work to build Big Show as an indestructible monster—generally a biannual event—they seem to put just as much work into turning him back into a joke.

He spent the early part of his year destroying Cena and Edge and knocking out wrestlers left and right only to be the guy on his back at the end of every feud.

This is no new thing either; it’s been that way throughout his entire career.

The WWE brought Big Show in to plenty of hype and hysteria and played him up as an unstoppable force. Seven feet tall. Five hundred pounds. Blah Blah Blah.

In the end, he was just another bad-guy for Stone Cold and The Rock to topple on their way to the top.

To this day he’s been given two runs with the WWE Championship; both times he was a transitional champion. Neither of his reigns amounted to anything memorable. He was given a shot with the US Title and the first big run with the ECW Title after the reboot. He’s held tag titles numerous times and that’s about it. Nothing overly impressive in the grand scheme of things.

That’s who Big Show is. He’s a second-tier giant.

The WWE will build him up a couple times a year—after misusing and/or burying him the rest of the time—and stick him in a main event with the hopes that the WWE Universe will jump to their phones to order the next pay-per-view because Big Show could win the big one.

The problem is that Big Show is never going to win the big one.

Sticking him into a feud with the Undertaker for Survivor Series won’t sell any more tickets or garner any more PPV buys. If anything, it’s a lackluster main event that could turn away fans, especially when coupled with a potentially-great, yet equally played-out main event on the RAW side of things.

Big Show may be a main event wrestler in both status and stature, but when it comes to the opinion of the fans, he’s just an unthreatening stepping stone.

A big stepping stone, but a stepping stone nonetheless.

Posted in Big Show, Professional Wrestling, The Undertaker, WWE, WWE RAW, WWE Smackdown | Leave a comment

WWE Gets It Right: Kofi Kingston’s Time to Shine Is Now

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

kofi001Mark your calendars, ladies and gentlemen.

Oct. 26, 2009 is a day that will live in infamy.

Today is the day the WWE built a superstar in one night.

Tonight on RAW, the WWE gave Kofi Kingston the ball and he damn sure looks ready to run with it.

Since his debut, Kingston has been saddled with a horrible Jamaican gimmick that no one was really sold on, but people were willing to overlook it because of his in-ring ability.

Unfortunately—as we’ve seen with many talented superstars in the past—great in-ring skills and a dead-in-the-water gimmick don’t generally combine to make main event talent.

Kingston has been stuck as a one-dimensional caricature since his debut.

He’s been involved in stellar match after stellar match, but all we’ve gotten from him outside of the ring is a horrendous Ja-fake-an accent and—well—that’s about it.

He’s played the nice guy who is seemingly friends with all the faces and he’s been given a few modest—if unspectacular—mid-card title reigns and short tag title run with CM Punk.

In recent weeks, the announcers have quit claiming that Kingston hails from the all-too generic “Jamaica” and have since been stating his actual (yet equally-generic) homeland: Ghana, West Africa.

Kingston was given a spot in the overbooked, underwhelming 7-on-7 Bragging Rights match at the pay-per-view of the same name and suffered the loss.

That loss, however, meant nothing as Kingston made his mark on the night by intervening in the Ironman Match between then-WWE Champion Randy Orton and John Cena.

Kingston came down to the ring and ran off Legacy with a chair, a seemingly innocuous action in the grand scheme, but the next night on RAW we learned that Orton felt otherwise.

Following an impressive win over Chris Jericho, a beaten and battered Orton emerged from the back and assaulted Kingston following his match and threw him from the entrance ramp to the concrete floor below.

Orton went on to give an interview claiming that he blamed Kingston for costing him the WWE Championship the night before. He also went on to say that he was far from finished making Kingston pay.

Soon thereafter we witnessed an awkward scene where Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes presented Orton with a NASCAR car with his likeness plastered all over it. Orton gazed—perhaps a little too longingly—at the car and the scene faded.

Later in the evening, following a Legacy loss to Mark Henry and MVP, Orton came out and began on one of his patented “I should be the champion” rants when Kingston appeared on the Titantron.

kofi-kingstonIt was then that the WWE officially made a star out of Kingston.

Kingston—now without his awful Jamaican accent—went on to tell Orton off and get the “Legend Killer” irate. He then destroyed Orton’s brand-new car, all the while talking smack to Orton and coming off like a legit main eventer.

Although it was the first-time Kingston has ever been given any “real” segment time, he made the most of it. He came off as a tough, competent and completely legitimate foe for Randy Orton going forward.

It is great to see Kingston finally getting some room to grow as a character and with that opportunity the WWE is giving him the top heel in the company to feud with.

Call me crazy, but it doesn’t get any better than that.

Personally, I cannot wait to see where they take this going forward. After his promo tonight, Kingston looks like a star and showed a mean streak that we haven’t seen from his previously one-dimensional character.

Additionally, I’m very intrigued to see how the styles of Orton and Kingston mesh in the ring. With Orton’s smash mouth aggressive approach and Kingston’s high-flying, controlled chaos they could either go together like oil and water or they could put on five-star match after five-star match, only time will tell.

All I know is that tonight, the much-maligned RAW writing staff made a superstar out of Kofi Kingston. Here’s hoping they don’t screw this up.

Posted in Cheap Seat Chronicles, Kofi Kingston, Professional Wrestling, Randy Orton, WWE, WWE RAW | 1 Comment

Trading Joe Nathan, the Mistake the Twins Can’t Afford to Make

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

joenathan002

The Twins cannot afford to trade Joe Nathan.

Period.

Not now. Not later this offseason. Not at any point before next year’s trade deadline, if at all.

Despite the battalion of pitch-fork wielding commentators storming Bill Smith’s gate (read: email account) with calls for Nathan to be jettisoned, it just can’t happen and here’s why:

First and foremost, he’s the only closer we’ve got.

If the Twins let Nathan go elsewhere, who finishes out the games?

Jon Rauch has experience, but fares much better in a setup role.

Francisco Liriano has the stuff for the job, but until he proves he can survive an inning unscathed, he belongs nowhere near the closer’s role.

Pat Neshek is a hot-option around most internet forums, but he has missed the better part of two seasons and is returning from two surgeries, not exactly the best time to put him in high-pressure situations.

Jesse Crain? Matt Guerrier? Jose Mijares? Yeah, I think I’ll pass.

Joe Nathan is the top option in the Twins’ bullpen and despite what one bad outing—against one of the top players in the game—may have people thinking, the Twins can’t afford to give up on a guy who has been neck and neck with Mariano Rivera since taking over as the stopper in Minnesota back in 2004.

Secondly, Nathan’s trade value—despite another typically stellar season—is at a low right now.

This isn’t to say anything about his actual skill or value, but let’s be honest here folks, if the Twins trade Nathan now it will be viewed as a desperation move.

It’s not like every other General Manager in the game quit watching baseball once their teams were eliminated. Everyone saw him implode in the ALDS.

As such, everyone will know that the Twins are trying to unload him in panic move, especially given his unexpected post-season surgery to have bone chips removed from his pitching elbow.

Good luck finding a team willing to ship over top prospects to take on $22+ million in salary for a closer whose previous employer is leery to keep around, despite coming off a season in which he co-won the award for the top closer in the game.

My third and final reason why the Twins cannot trade Joe Nathan is a simple one, the team is better with him onboard.

Since coming over to the Twins in the infamous fleecing of the San Francisco Giants, Nathan has done nothing but produce.

In six seasons with the Twins, Nathan has saved 246 games, made four All-Star teams, become a huge fan-favorite, and has established himself as the heir apparent to the aforementioned Rivera as the best closer in the game.

Sure he blew the game against the Yankees.

So what?!

Closers blow games, it comes with the territory.

Jason Kubel looked clueless and out of his league in the ALDS, would anyone like to ship him out of town as well?

My point is that we all need to just stop, take a deep breath, and avoid overreacting.

If someone had mentioned trading Joe Nathan while he was racking up save after save down the stretch and helping propel the Twins into the playoffs, you’d have laughed in their face.

Wait a few months, let the sting of another first-round exit subside, and then we’ll see how everyone in Twins Territory feels about trading away one of the best closers in the game.

I gotta think that come Spring Training you’ll be ready to go back in time and laugh in your own face for overreacting.

Posted in AL Central, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Injuries, Joe Nathan, Minnesota Twins, MLB, Trade Rumors | 1 Comment

Heaven Knows: Can the Angels Comeback in the ALCS?

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

angels002

Despite what the media would have you believe, the New York Yankees haven’t won their 40th pennant yet.

In fact, after Thursday night’s amazing comeback victory, the Los Angeles Angels are very much alive and kicking in the American League Championship Series.

The Yankees may still be the favorite—especially as the series shifts back to Gotham—but the Angels aren’t done yet. They do, however, have an uphill battle in front of them.

Since the introduction of the seven-game format for League Championship play in 1985 a total of 30 teams—including the 2009 Yankees and Phillies—have jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the series.

Excluding this Yankees team, 23 of the other 29 clubs parlayed their 3-1 lead into a World Series berth.

As one can see, it’s not impossible that the Angels could still pull off a stunning comeback, but history isn’t exactly in their favor.

Here’s a look at the six teams that have rallied back from the daunting 3-1 deficit…

Read the rest of the article at BleacherReport.com.

Posted in American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Los Angeles Angels, MLB, New York Yankees, Playoffs | Leave a comment

Tough Break: Tigers’ Prospect Sizemore Fractures Ankle

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

scottsizemore002

Scott Sizemore, a top prospect for the Detroit Tigers and heir apparent at second base, fractured a bone in his left ankle during Thursday’s game in the Arizona Fall League.

As a result, Sizemore will miss the rest of the AFL season, but should be fully recovered by spring training.

The fracture took place when a baserunner took a hard slide into Sizemore’s left leg while his foot was planted to turn a double-play.

The silver lining is that the injury is a “nondisplaced” fracture, meaning that the bone has cracked but remains in alignment. It is believed that his recovery time should be six to eight weeks.

Sizemore, 24, was on a tear in the AFL, hitting .368 with three home runs and nine RBI in his first five games.

General manager Dave Dombrowski, who has already publicly stated that he expects Sizemore to be his club’s starting second baseman next season, was disappointed by the injury, but understood that it is just the nature of the game.

“He was playing very well, offensively and defensively, and feeling really good,” Dombrowski said. “But these things happen.”

Sizemore, the Tigers’ fifth-round selection in the 2006 draft, hit an impressive .308/.389/.500 with 17 homers, 66 RBI, and 21 stolen bases between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo in 2009.

Those numbers impressed Dombrowski enough to warrant anointing Sizemore as the second baseman of the future if Placido Polanco, an impending free agent, signs with another club as it is largely believed he will.

Dombrowski also went on to say that Sizemore’s injury would have no impact on potential contract negotiations with Polanco as the club believes Sizemore will be ready to take the reins at the keystone corner in 2010.

“You wish it wouldn’t have happened. You’d rather have another month [in Arizona] under his belt,” Dombrowski said. “But he’ll be fine.”

Posted in AL Central, American League, Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Detroit Tigers, Injuries, Scott Sizemore | Leave a comment

Good Cuts: Twins’ Morneau and Nathan Go Under the Knife

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Jeremiah Graves

nathan001The Minnesota Twins offseason got off to a dubious start this week as two of the team’s perennial All-Stars, Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan both underwent “cleanup” surgeries.

Luckily both Nathan and Morneau are expected to be ready and healthy for the start of Spring Training after undergoing their respective procedures to remove bone chips.

Morneau had been hampered by an ailing right wrist prior to the end of his abbreviated season due to a stress fracture in his lower back. It was later revealed to be a bone chip and was removed Tuesday by Twins hand specialist Dr. Tom Verecka.

Despite the surgery, Morneau’s offseason game plan remains intact. Rest, rest and more rest. When Morneau was diagnosed with the stress fracture in his back he was told by doctors to rest for three months to allow the injury to heal.

It is believed that both injuries will have fully-healed and allowed Morneau to begin rehabilitation by Spring Training.

Nathan’s procedure comes as more of a surprise to most Twins fans, as few people knew he was having any issues. Nathan, however, knew otherwise.

“It’s a case where I knew that [my elbow] was not 100 percent, but it wasn’t really a problem until we really got in there and really took a look at it and got a chance to see that these bone chips can do some real damage if they aren’t taken care of,” Nathan said.

Nathan saw renowned specialist Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., who performed the surgery Tuesday morning and removed two bone chips from the closer’s right elbow.

It is expected to take six to eight weeks before Nathan can begin a throwing program and up to three months before he’ll be cleared to pitch off of a mound.

Nathan figures that the surgery won’t put him too far off of his usual offseason throwing routine and could actually prove to have a positive impact.

“I think this could end up being a blessing in disguise,” Nathan said. “It will give me a good opportunity to kind of get that time off that I need and give my body the rest that it probably needs right now.”

Posted in Baseball, Cheap Seat Chronicles, Joe Nathan, Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins, MLB | 2 Comments