To commemorate the Twins vs. Yankees playoff series, WCBS sports
blogger Jeff Capellini and WCCO Web Producer Karna Bergstrom decided to
battle it out online. Jeff Capellini is a full-time sports producer for
the New York CBS station and Karna Bergstrom is a devoted Twins fan,
who is taking time to share her thoughts about her beloved team.
Read The Second Battle Read The First Battle
Posted by: Karna Bergstrom
Now we've got a battle ... thank you for actually talking about a Twins player.
For the record, I did not delve into any excuses as to why the Twins
lost Wednesday or will not for Friday. So no need to get sick ...
except for eating the Lutefisk, of course.
But if I hear the New York homer announcers on TBS scream loudly for a
Yankee run and not for a Twins score one more time ... or if those of
you who live there don't believe there is such a thing as East Coast
bias ... I'm going to be sick.
Maybe that's why -- and not just in Minnesota, but all over the country
-- the Yankees are so hated. Why, unless the person is wearing an NY
hat, do people simply say to each other, "I just can't stand those
Yanks?" And if it's not the East Coast bias, it's the money, for sure.
As for your Pavano claims, do you really think the loud crowd is going
to unnerve Pavano? Unlike Yankee fans, Twins fans forgive. Yankees fans
won't forgive him for the broken rib from a traffic accident. Because
he was speeding. I'd like to meet a New York fan that has never once
sped in their life. (Oh, and for those New Yorkers who are driven
everywhere ... I'd like to meet the driver who has never once sped in
his or her life.)
So here in Minnesota, with Pavano on the mound, he is forgiven. We've
gotten exactly what we wanted from him -- a solid starter. He's
delivered and Twins fans will be cheering their loudest for him today
-- unlike Yankee fans who have been known to boo their own players.
Yes, we got Pavano from Cleveland in the middle of the year -- and
since then, he's lowered his ERA. He must like it here. Either way, you
should probably quit whining about how your team didn't look past his
18-8 year with the Marlins to his prior history before signing him for
all that money. Did they not see the year he went 1-6 with the Expos?
At least we're realistic about what we expect from the guy.
(Which is, for the record, a big giant W tonight. Maybe he wants REVENGE.)
But even if that doesn't happen, and the Yankees win the series, know
that Twins players and fans will keep their heads high -- we played
clean, good ball and we're not hunched over from all the money we're
carrying. We're a wholesome bunch -- cheering on our team that did us
so proud in 1987 and 1991. We haven't bought any championships -- we've
earned them.
If the Twins don't make it, then go Angels. (Oh, and we still love Torii Hunter. We miss him, but we still love the guy.)
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Posted by: Jeff Capellini
So I've been accused of complaining about this and that and not giving
true analysis of this series due diligence because of my apparent New
York arrogance.
I've heard about "Minnesota Nice" and steroids and actresses and
payroll and how the wholesome Twins do cover shoots with their mothers.
None of that translate into wins and losses, which as of the last time I looked, the Yankees have two and the Twins have none.
So my question is: What "series," exactly, do you want me to analyze? Which foot should I take out of my mouth again?
I'll gladly try lutefisk, but on my own terms thank you very much.
Serious discussions of postseason series don't begin until both teams
have a win, so forgive me for biding my time through the first two
games. The Twins may be the scrappiest team on Earth, but without a win
to hang their hats on neither they nor their fans have a leg to stand
on when it comes to their criticisms of me, the Yankees or anything
else they'd care to mention.
But yet, in the true spirit of trying to make this so-called "blog war"
interesting, due to all the incessant whining I've been hearing on the
radio and reading on the Internet, I feel compelled to actually analyze
what's transpired so far and what will likely happen on Sunday.
I don't want to hear about how the Twins got the short end of the stick
on Friday night. Umpire Phil Cuzzi's call was horrendous. We all saw
it, we all know it. Minnesota probably would have led heading into the
bottom of the 11th had Joe Mauer's leadoff double actually counted.
But if you are still crying about that bad call, take a step back and
get some perspective. I have heard some people say the Twins deserved a
better fate.
Please.
The Twins still loaded the bases with nobody out in that inning and did
not score. They still left 17 men on base in the game and blew a
two-run lead in the ninth. They still have a 5.00 ERA in this series
and have scored all of five runs in 20 innings.
So, if I have to hear about how "tired" the poor Twins were on
Wednesday and how the umpires were out to get them Friday one more time
I'm going to be sick.
The bottom line is they got their sleep and Ron Gardenhire rightfully
did not work them out on Thursday. They looked like the better team in
Game 2 for much of the first six innings. But postseason baseball games
are not won in six innings. Games are won with timely hitting and
lockdown pitching over the entire duration of any one game.
The Twins have not done nearly enough of either to beat any team, let
alone the Yankees. I mean A.J. Burnett walked the house and hit two
batters on Friday and the Twins still didn't make him pay.
Have the Yankees been world beaters? Not even close. But they have been
the same opportunistic, clutch-hitting, big-game pitching team they
were during their entire 103-win regular season.
And so far that's been more than enough.
Now comes Game 3 and the Twins are hinging their season's hopes on a
guy who totally flies in the face of the Twins' ideal. Carl Pavano's
got a ticker problem, not to mention an ERA that doesn't quite instill
a heck of a lot of confidence.
Pavano has been accused of having no heart, and if you think for two
seconds that the Yankees aren't chomping at the bit to beat the living
hell out of a guy who took $40 million to go 9-8 with a 5.00 ERA in
just 26 starts during his four-year tenure in the Bronx, you are sorely
mistaken. This past offseason he signed with Cleveland and was so good
he was let go.
Pavano was a guy who everyone wanted after his impressive run in
Florida that resulted in the Marlins' World Series championship in 2003
and the big right-hander's 18-6 mark in 2004. The Red Sox couldn't wait
to get the guy from New Britain, Conn., but sometime after signing with
the Yankees he was even quoted as saying to Mike Mussina he didn't like
the pressure, didn't like to be under the microscope.
Now that same fragile guy is being asked to save the Twins from yet
another early exit from meaningful October baseball, against a team
that does nothing but apply pressure, in a scenario where the entire
baseball world will be watching him.
Good luck with that.
The loud crowd at the Metrodome is much more likely to unnerve him than the Yankees.
