Joe Mauer retirement press conference today. Let us all gather and be sad and watch career highlights and such.
53 thoughts on “November 12, 2018: The End”
How long until he gets a gate number?
Over Poultry Man’s & Reusse’s dead bodies.
Don't make it so tempting.
Reusse’s been a fan. He’s a true ball guy. You’re thinking of Barrerio.
My mistake! Yes, the other longtime STrib crank.
FanGraphs releases its team farm rankings. The Twins finish seventh, though not much difference from sixth through eighth. Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff make it a bit heavy at the top, but the Twins rank second for number of players that finish off the top-100.
Press conference now on the Twins site on MLB.com.
also on FSN
Man, I'm going to miss his softspoken charm.
So much this. Contrast his "I was always aware people were watching and I needed to be a role model" with... soooo many other athletes (and other public persons).
This.
Nice. I really wish they'd get their mic levels up more though.
The sun is shining today. Huge improvement in air quality over the last 24 hours or so. When we pulled into the valley saturday afternoon, it looked like Mordor.
“In some cases,” he added, “the fire burned so intensely that it burned everything to the ground, and in some cases it melted the metal. In those cases, it is possible the temperatures were high enough to completely consume the body.”
Didn't realize my brother went back to visit friends at his alma mater on Thursday. Probably for the best that I didn't learn until yesterday that he was in Thousand Oaks.
Seeing a lot of "Mauer should be a lock" articles lately. Makes me feel good about his chances -- as at least one article has mentioned, this is exactly what the five year waiting period is for.
Yup. I've seen some people say that in five years, people will forget Mauer's catching as it will have been over 10 years since they saw it. But I think it'll be the opposite. It'll be five years of people reminiscing about his great catching years and focusing less on him being an average first baseman. He's 7th in catcher JAWS. Jay Jaffe will be a voter as will be many more of his ilk by 2023. I'm pretty confident he'll get in. Maybe not first ballot, but he'll get there.
I'm calling it now -- WGOM caucus gathering at 2024 HOF Induction Ceremony.
It will also help that there will be 3 Hall of Famers from St. Paul wanting to make it a fourth since they all get to vote. That would be amazing though having 4 from St. Paul in the Hall. That would also give the Twins 2 Hall of Famers that spent their entire careers with the team and Killebrew only had that 1 year in KC at the end of his career. I believe Carew and Blyleven would make it 5 in the Hall that wear Twins caps.
Doesn't Steve Carleton wear a Twins Cap too?
"Carlton", and yes Thome also dons the TC
JI
JIM THOME HAS A BIG CEE ON HIS CAP BUT NO TEE
I assumed there was a joke in there somewhere, because Lefty has a "P" on his HOF cap.
Eh?
That's not "lefty"
What did the "Thome also dons the TC" mean, Rhu_Ru?
Do we have to add *joke* to all our comments?
Sorry, I just didn't get it. Maybe because I didn't care enough to work out the Carl[e]ton joke.
But it worked regardless until bS started to pick at it.
Hey, now. I enjoyed the J-JIM response.
Yes, my Carlton (Lefty) quip was meant as a joke.
[Not Here]
So, I have had multiple conversations with guests who I swear were always calling Mauer overrated, and are now telling me he belongs in the HOF. You can't drink the Barrerio Kool Aid for years and now change make nice.
I don't know. This about face gives me hope for society.
Eh, this about face makes me think that the average person still really just sides with the owners on the whole "the players are overpaid" argument.
Though I like that it seems to mean that Joe has a legit shot at the HoF.
I've decided the key to happiness is to assume that everyone's intentions are good. I want to "be like Buck."
Do you always stop and talk to a woman in a red dress?
Assuming everyone's intentions are fulfilling needs they have in that moment is one of the tenants of my profession. It is a lot less stressful when you believe in people.
Heh, there are a lot of thoughts that come attached to this sentiment. Suffice to say that I believe that very few people tend to be actively malevolent.
I also tend to believe that it's even less stressful to not invest a lot of personal concern over whether or not the average crank appreciates Joe Mauer. I know what he was, if they didn't see it, it's their loss and doesn't diminish my experience at all.
Buck wasn't perfect.
This makes me think of this:
I often remind myself "Conan said don't be cynical."
The top three NCAA hockey teams this week are all from Minnesota - UMD, SCSU, and Minnesota State.
As God intended
Amen.
Hey, now. The Pride of Spamtown, Bob Motzko, will get the Gophers back to the mountain top.
I really like Motzko, which makes it just a bit more difficult to hate on Gopher hockey. That, and my son goes to the U and works at half full Mariucci on game days. Looks like the Huskies got a decent coach of their own though.
I like it when there are lots of Minnesota teams at the top of the rankings, so it's disappointing to see the Gophers floundering already.
I am still bitter about the Big 10 hockey thing. I also have too many memories of our first 10 years of DI hockey in which Gopher fans flooded our stands and the "Jan Brady" deal. Well guess what Gopher fans? Jan apparently grew up to be so much cooler and more successful than Marsha! So there.
I just want the Huskies to win a national championship. They do that, they're bona fide legit. I thought last year was going to be it, but they fell down a few steps from the finish line.
I'm not a hockey guy but seeing Gopher hockey draw worse than a 2nd rate soccer team is shocking.
This guy is my brother-in-law. We're proud of him.
Ohtani and Acuña win RoY. Neither particularly close.
and they were darned sure to list all the Yankees runners-up
Lots of Mauer highlights shown after Thibodeau's postgame presser. I was working too long to see most of the Mauer stuff live, so I got a little misty just now.
(Wolves note: what a pleasant event to see the game with the pall of Butler no longer hanging above. Bummer Covington and Saric weren't playing; I'm legit excited that this team could be good.)
How long until he gets a gate number?
Over Poultry Man’s & Reusse’s dead bodies.
Don't make it so tempting.
Reusse’s been a fan. He’s a true ball guy. You’re thinking of Barrerio.
My mistake! Yes, the other longtime STrib crank.
FanGraphs releases its team farm rankings. The Twins finish seventh, though not much difference from sixth through eighth. Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff make it a bit heavy at the top, but the Twins rank second for number of players that finish off the top-100.
Press conference now on the Twins site on MLB.com.
also on FSN
Man, I'm going to miss his softspoken charm.
So much this. Contrast his "I was always aware people were watching and I needed to be a role model" with... soooo many other athletes (and other public persons).
This.
Nice. I really wish they'd get their mic levels up more though.
The sun is shining today. Huge improvement in air quality over the last 24 hours or so. When we pulled into the valley saturday afternoon, it looked like Mordor.
so far, death toll in the 30s, more than 200 still missing. Bodies burned beyond recognition, per the county sheriff/coroner:
Didn't realize my brother went back to visit friends at his alma mater on Thursday. Probably for the best that I didn't learn until yesterday that he was in Thousand Oaks.
From FanGraphs Retiring Mauer and Utley Both Worthy of Cooperstown
Seeing a lot of "Mauer should be a lock" articles lately. Makes me feel good about his chances -- as at least one article has mentioned, this is exactly what the five year waiting period is for.
Yup. I've seen some people say that in five years, people will forget Mauer's catching as it will have been over 10 years since they saw it. But I think it'll be the opposite. It'll be five years of people reminiscing about his great catching years and focusing less on him being an average first baseman. He's 7th in catcher JAWS. Jay Jaffe will be a voter as will be many more of his ilk by 2023. I'm pretty confident he'll get in. Maybe not first ballot, but he'll get there.
I'm calling it now -- WGOM caucus gathering at 2024 HOF Induction Ceremony.
It will also help that there will be 3 Hall of Famers from St. Paul wanting to make it a fourth since they all get to vote. That would be amazing though having 4 from St. Paul in the Hall. That would also give the Twins 2 Hall of Famers that spent their entire careers with the team and Killebrew only had that 1 year in KC at the end of his career. I believe Carew and Blyleven would make it 5 in the Hall that wear Twins caps.
Doesn't Steve Carleton wear a Twins Cap too?
"Carlton", and yes Thome also dons the TC
JI
JIM THOME HAS A BIG CEE ON HIS CAP BUT NO TEE
I assumed there was a joke in there somewhere, because Lefty has a "P" on his HOF cap.
Eh?
That's not "lefty"
What did the "Thome also dons the TC" mean, Rhu_Ru?
Do we have to add *joke* to all our comments?
Sorry, I just didn't get it. Maybe because I didn't care enough to work out the Carl[e]ton joke.
But it worked regardless until bS started to pick at it.
Hey, now. I enjoyed the J-JIM response.
Yes, my Carlton (Lefty) quip was meant as a joke.
[Not Here]
So, I have had multiple conversations with guests who I swear were always calling Mauer overrated, and are now telling me he belongs in the HOF. You can't drink the Barrerio Kool Aid for years and now change make nice.
I don't know. This about face gives me hope for society.
Eh, this about face makes me think that the average person still really just sides with the owners on the whole "the players are overpaid" argument.
Though I like that it seems to mean that Joe has a legit shot at the HoF.
I've decided the key to happiness is to assume that everyone's intentions are good. I want to "be like Buck."
http://joeposnanski.com/the-soul-of-buck-oneil/
Do you always stop and talk to a woman in a red dress?
Assuming everyone's intentions are fulfilling needs they have in that moment is one of the tenants of my profession. It is a lot less stressful when you believe in people.
Heh, there are a lot of thoughts that come attached to this sentiment. Suffice to say that I believe that very few people tend to be actively malevolent.
I also tend to believe that it's even less stressful to not invest a lot of personal concern over whether or not the average crank appreciates Joe Mauer. I know what he was, if they didn't see it, it's their loss and doesn't diminish my experience at all.
Buck wasn't perfect.
This makes me think of this:
I often remind myself "Conan said don't be cynical."
The top three NCAA hockey teams this week are all from Minnesota - UMD, SCSU, and Minnesota State.
As God intended
Amen.
Hey, now. The Pride of Spamtown, Bob Motzko, will get the Gophers back to the mountain top.
I really like Motzko, which makes it just a bit more difficult to hate on Gopher hockey. That, and my son goes to the U and works at half full Mariucci on game days. Looks like the Huskies got a decent coach of their own though.
I like it when there are lots of Minnesota teams at the top of the rankings, so it's disappointing to see the Gophers floundering already.
I am still bitter about the Big 10 hockey thing. I also have too many memories of our first 10 years of DI hockey in which Gopher fans flooded our stands and the "Jan Brady" deal. Well guess what Gopher fans? Jan apparently grew up to be so much cooler and more successful than Marsha! So there.
I just want the Huskies to win a national championship. They do that, they're bona fide legit. I thought last year was going to be it, but they fell down a few steps from the finish line.
I'm not a hockey guy but seeing Gopher hockey draw worse than a 2nd rate soccer team is shocking.
This guy is my brother-in-law. We're proud of him.
Ohtani and Acuña win RoY. Neither particularly close.
and they were darned sure to list all the Yankees runners-up
Lots of Mauer highlights shown after Thibodeau's postgame presser. I was working too long to see most of the Mauer stuff live, so I got a little misty just now.
(Wolves note: what a pleasant event to see the game with the pall of Butler no longer hanging above. Bummer Covington and Saric weren't playing; I'm legit excited that this team could be good.)