I guess this should be noted...

No Comment.

Twinsfest 2009

I swear, every time I go to Twinsfest, it happens to be the most brutal day of the year to attempt a short trek from a parking ramp to the Dome. This year, my blog photographer and I arrived a little early to ensure that I'd get my Killebrew card autographed (it's for charity, so there's nothing wrong with me). I could not believe the line out there in that weather. Small children literally screamed and ran in circles as their parents convinced them it was going to be fun to stand in a new, warm line for two hours just as soon as they were done waiting out here so they could stand next to a guy they've never heard of for three seconds.

According to The Man, 31,000+ attended this, and if that is true, most of them waited in the Ben Revere line after they were done with the M&M signatures. If Revere puts on another Loftonesque display in the minors this year, the Gomez bandwagon could break down and Ben could achieve backup-QB-like saviour status around town.

I'd anticipated this, beaten the rush to Ben, and my plan to be early to the Mudcat Grant line was going great, and it's not like he wouldn't be there or anything, seeing as how he was hanging with Fergie Jenkins (see above) selling signed baseballs for charity in the late morning. Well, official word soon came that he was "on a plane" even though he was also scheduled to appear the next day....anybody know the story?? The mainstream media is afraid to report the facts! As usual, baseless conjecture by bloggers must carry the day!

Item: World's Biggest Procrastinator Attempts Blog

Responding to an open invitation by the creator and commissioner-for-life of Benchwarmer Baseball, I decided that posting my deep thoughts on BWB, fantasy baseball, baseball, and other lesser elements of life might possibly be a way to slow my accelerating brain decay and short attention span caused by being born into Generation X.

Anyway....Anyone reading this for at least the next year knows what Benchwarmer Baseball is, but for future generations scrolling all the way to the bottom, BWB is basically an updated, web version of a 150 game season of Strat-O-Matic baseball, without the cool collectible cards, but the outcomes are determined by actual game results rather than dice, and you as the owner/GM/manager get the additional fun responsibilities associated with franchise-building, except nobody gets the extra revenue of the Yankees.  Players' salaries are based on performance (take that, Carl Pavano!), contracts are available for the long term planner, and you can experiment with how best to allocate your finite resources. With twelve minor league roster sports, you also get to experience the joy of watching a guy you draft never actually contribute anything at all.

I personally have two BWB teams as of now,  the 2002 champion Nordeast Knotholes, of the original Hall of Fame League, and the recently dethroned but perennial divisional powerhouse Nokomis Choo Choo Trains in the Longball League.  I resist the temptation to add more each year, as I already participate in two "real life" head-to-head leagues and one old-style NL-only rotisserie league.  As the winter crawls by though, and I spend idle minutes at work refreshing ballbug (I love this site!), it is BWB that comes to the rescue by beginning the building of 2009 rosters in December and January.  Apart from getting your own rosters set, it is interesting to scan through all the redistribution league drafts, see which prospects everyone is going for, and try to investigate a few new names your own personal favorite sites didn't mention.

With all the information out there, I am not exactly sure what I will be able to add; perhaps I will chronicle my teams' seasons, or the Twinkies' last year in the hallowed Metrodome, or I'll get laid off and spend ten hours a day on a fabulous new Manifesto.....most likely the former I suppose.  Through pure chance, the Knotholes have always been hitting-centric, with A-Rod on board since day one, and peaking when he was joined by Bonds and Giambi in their juiced prime. The Choo Choo Trains continue to win divisions with starting pitching, the staff currently anchored by Santana and Peavy.  Also right now the Knotholes are swimming in money (though not quite as much, due to a trade for Brian McCann this week), and poor planning left the Choo Choo Trains with, ahem, nine (thought it was a misprint!) dollars as of now.  Any big spenders out there want to give me a pile of money for Rick Porcello?