My All-Metrodome Team

Here is why and how I filled out my All-Metrodome team ballot:

First Base: Justin Morneau

This is the hardest position to choose. It is known and widely assumed that Morneau will put up better career numbers than Kent Hrbek, but that is not what this is about. I think Hrbek will win the position because he is a Minnesotan who was on the 2 World Series teams and somehow has his jersey retired despite no possibility of going to the Hall of the Fame. I chose Morneau because while Hrbek was a key component on his teams, Morneau is a better hitter and fielder and has 1 MVP and could have easily won a 2nd. Runners-up: Kent Hrbek and Gene Larkin

Second Base: Chuck Knoblauch

Became a joke at the end of his career but he was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1991 and was a multiple All-Star as a Twin. He also lacks any real competition at the position with utility player Runners-up: Al Newman and Steve Lombardozzi.

Shortstop: Greg Gagne

This is a no-brainer decision. Was on both World Series teams. While he lacks outstanding statistics as a .254 career hitter with little power he win based on longevity and lack of competition. Runners-up: Cristian Guzman and Pat Mears.

Third Base: Gary Gaetti

Won 4 Gold Gloves as a Twin and hit over 30 home runs in '86 and '87. Was a crucial player in the 1987 World Series team. Runners-up: Scott Leius and Corey Koskie

Catcher: Joe Mauer

The Golden Boy should easily win this position. Already at such a young age has two batting titles and one Gold Glove. He will also benefit that neither World Series team had an outstanding catcher and Pierzynski is currently hated by Twins fans. Runners-up: Tim Laudner and A.J Pierzynski.

Outfielders: Kirby Puckett, Torii Hunter, and Tom Brunansky

It is kind of surprising on how easy it is to pick the outfield. Puckett and Hunter are locks for their defense and being the face of the team for many years. The only debate is Gladden or Tom Burnansky. Burnansky had the much better career but Gladden might get some votes just on the memory of him scoring the winning run in the '91 Series and his role as the team's radio announcer. Runners-up: Dan Gladden, Shane Mack and Matt Lawton

Designated Hitter: Chili Davis

This position is kind of a joke and it should really be filled by the loser of the Hrbek - Morneau race. I don't think Davis will win the position with home-town players Molitor and Winfield on the list but this isn't who is the best player but who was the best as a Twin and Molitor and Winfield were in the twilight of their careers on terrible teams. David Ortiz also turned into a good player but that was in Boston not here. Davis was only on the team for 2 years but played a very vital role on the '91 team hitting .277-29-93. Runners-up: Paul Molitor and David Ortiz

Starters: Frank Viola, Johan Santana, and Bert Blyleven

This is a very hard position to only choose 3 players. Viola and Santana are locks with 3 Cy Youngs between them. Then it gets hard to pick one out of Blyleven, Brad Radke, Kevin Tapani and Jack Morris. Morris was only here one year but it was one hell of a year, Radke was the face of many terrible Twins teams and also some of the early success in the 2000's, Kevin Tapani was the best pitcher in '91. I went with Blyleven despite that his best years with the Twins were at the Met the first time around. He helped win the '87 title and he is the best pitcher overall (it is a travesty he is not in the Hall of Fame) and I really enjoy him as the Twins Color Commentator. Runners-up: Brad Radke and Kevin Tapani

Relievers: Rick Aguilera and Joe Nathan

Rick Aguilera is a lock as the stud closer from 1989 to 1999 with 3 All-Star appearances and twice had over 40 saves. Joe Nathan is more debatable. Jeff Reardon was a great closer for the '87 team but was only here for 3 seasons. Guardado was a good closer on the early 2000 teams but was never overwhelming. Joe Nathan gets the nod because he is one of the most dominating closers in the game today. In 6 years he has made 3 All-Star appearances and 203 saves. Runners-up: Jeff Reardon and Eddie Guardado.

Manager: Tom Kelly

If anyone does not vote for Tom Kelly they should have the rest of their ballot voided. He won 2 World Series and led the team for 16 of the 27 seasons at the Metrodome. Runner-up: Ron Gardenhire.

Weekend Recap

This week we saw a lot from the Gophers Basketball team. At Iowa, we saw what it looks like when they win ugly, and against Penn State we saw what it looks like when they win pretty with everything clicking. They shot almost doubled their shooting percentage from the Iowa game with 34% to 62.5% against Penn State. Devron Bostick was easily the star of the game with 19 points. Paul Carter also busted out the offense with 14 points. They both had made noticeable improvements in the games leading up to this getting more minutes and looking more comfortable, but no one would have predicted this type of breakout. I agree with the statement made by Myron Medcalf that the development of the two JUCO players is the difference between the Gophers making the tournament and making some noise in the tournament. The lastest AP Poll has the Gophers ranked 18th one spot ahead of Purdue. They have a big test heading to the Kohl Center to take on the Badgers.

I would like to know what Paul Carter's actual height is. He is listed at 6-8 and there is no way that is true. He is defintely smaller than DJ Swat. I think he is likely more around 6-5 than 6-8. Just like it was discovered that Colton Iverson is taller than 6-10 and at least 6-11 maybe 7-0.

If anyone wondered the affect Don Lucia has on the Gophers hockey team those questions were answered this weekend. That was one of the worst weekends of Gophers hockey ever as they were lambasted by North Dakota 6-3 and 6-1. They dropped to #8 in the USA Today Hockey Poll. They looked flat and seemed to have no interest in even competing or playing hockey this weekend. This team still has the talent and time to do some big things this year but they need to discover the fire and drive again and soon. One big problem is when the top line of Schroeder-Stoa-Barriball is in tact the rest of the team takes the game off. Schroeder or Stoa was involved in all four Gopher goals this weekend. Players like Carman, Hoeffel and White are going to need to start pulling their offensive weight if the Gophers are going to be a contender. On a positive note Lucia will be on the ice at practice today and plans to be their all week.

Bert Blyleven missed out on a trip to Cooperstown once again today. He finished fourth with 62.7% of the votes slightly up from 61.9% the previous year. The inductees are Ricky Henderson and Jim Rice. It is only a matter of time before he gets in but it might end up coming down to the Veterans Committee. Twinkie Town makes a good point in that the focus this year was on Ricky Henderson, and that next year with no stellar additions it might be a year they really push for Bert and get him elected to the Hall of Fame. He absoultely deserves to be in the Hall and it is a shame that he is not their already. Anyone who has ever watched a Twins game knows how much it would mean to him to be elected.

Stats of the Day

• 11-15: Devron Bostick shooting in the last three games. That is 73.3%.
• 9.0: Average steals per game for the Gophers. Purdue is second in conference with 7.8.
• 0: The highest +/- for a Gopher forward who has not played on the first line. It belongs to Mike Carman. Stoa is +12, Schroeder is +9 and Barriball is +3.