Links of the Day 4/19/06

by Intern Jimmy

Because It Was That Good: Wisdom preaches not to dwell on the past, but I'm still having trouble wiping the smile from my face in the aftermath of Saturday's magical triumph. The Dome was transformed into an April playoff atmosphere, putting its inherent home field advantage to good use. Young bucks Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau stepped into the spotlight to deliver crucial hits, a developing situation that foretells better things to come. First ballot HOFer Mariano Rivera was thwarted at what he does best. And did I mention these good times all came at the expense of the dastardly Yankees? Umm, can I have sprinkles, whipped cream and a cherry with that victory order? That’s not too much? Twinsriffic!

The M&M Mashers (Or Is It The J&J Jackers?): Speaking of those twenty-something stars in the making, the secret is out about Morneau’s recent success at the plate. Turns out the heavy lumber the Canadian was swinging was better suited for Paul Bunyan. Since switching to Mauer’s lighter bat, Morneau has been on a tear, both with hits and broken bats.

"[Mauer] hasn't broken a bat yet this year, and I've broken six of them," Morneau said. "But he said as long as I keep getting hits with them, I can keep using 'em."

This leads to the logical question- why doesn’t Rondell test Mauer’s magical bats? It’s not like he could do worse, as Brad Zellar articulates.

Headline of the Year Entry: I know the season is still very wet behind the ears, but the New York Times took the prize this weekend for the unintentionally funniest headline with "Yanks Stop Road Woes With Homers and Wang." Since the NYTimes requires a login (it’s still free), I'll include this gem from the story.

"Calmly and with barely a moment of thought, Yankees Manager Joe Torre considered the question as he sat in the visitors' dugout early Sunday afternoon: Had he ever been as agitated about a loss in April as he was about Saturday night's 6-5 defeat? Torre said he could not remember, and even if he could, what difference would it make? The Yankees had more pressing things to deal with Sunday, like trying to win a game on the road, an elusive notion during the first two weeks of the season."

Even though BRadke released the Darth Vader choke hold applied to the Bronx Bombers, it's still nice to see the Evil Empire squirming in their stripes.

Catching Up With…J.C. Romero: This week’s heavenly matchup with the Halos marks the first trip back to the Twin Cities for once reliable set-up ace J.C. Romero. The lefty’s departure for sunnier siestas was ushered in due to frequent quibbles with Gardenhire about his usage, or lack thereof. Gardy can hardly be faulted since Romero’s numbers were slowly eroding ever since his breakout 2002 season. Last year, Romero posted his lowest K production since 2001. He also inexplicably forgot how to pitch to lefties, surrendering an outrageous .261 BAA for left-handed batters. Now he shores up the Angels bullpen as the lone lefty slinger. So far, so good on the season. As of Tuesday, he has pitched 4.2 scoreless innings with 1 win, 5 K’s and 2 hits. I’d say it’s time to welcome him back with a reminder of why he left.

Fun With Video Games: Don’t ask how long it took to painstakingly create or how many times reset was punched. Just jump in Mr. Peabody’s Wayback Machine and listen to baseball history as it unfolds before your eyes in RBI Baseball fashion. Fascinating stuff. This throws the door wide open for people with too much time on their hands. Will this spill over into other classic games? When will the Ten Yard Fight and Blades of Steel re-enactments pop up? Most importantly, who do we contact about recreating Game 6, 1991 WS?