Scraping Together Some Thoughts

After a week of scraping ice off my windshield, sidewalk, and face, I'll scrape together a couple of random thoughts about baseball to help warm me up.

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Well, Bert and Jack didn't get into the Hall of Fame. That's too bad. Bert's votes went up a smidge from last year, but, alas, not enough. Honestly, I don't understand the Hall of Fame voting. Well, I understand that the members of the BBWA vote for the inductees, but I don't understand what goes through some of their minds.

First of all, how can Bert go so long without getting in. His numbers are good enough compared with other inductees, and the stats don't change as time goes by, but he still can't catch a break. And he's understandably frustrated.

Secondly, how do 5% of the voters decide not to vote for Rickey Henderson. I've heard the excuse that since Babe Ruth didn't get 100% of the vote, no one else should either. That's stupid. If you think that someone belongs in the Hall, then vote for him. Period. Besides, the ones who didn't vote for Babe Ruth must have been morons.

And, though I've mentioned it before, it's still stuck in my craw that broadcasters don't get a vote. You can't tell me that great announcers like Vin Scully and Harry Kalas aren't knowledgeable enough to make an intelligent vote. I'm sure they would've voted for Bert, Rickey, and Babe.

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So, there's been some talk that the Twins really need to re-sign Joe Mauer this year, before teams start thinking they have a shot at offering him bagillions of dollars. I couldn't agree more. In fact, I was listening to the MLB talk radio on XM the other day, and a Red Sox fan called in to talk about their needs at catcher, and he said something like they only needed to worry about the next two years and then they can sign Joe Mauer. Umm, excuse me? Mitts off my catcher, bub!

Dear Mr. Smith,
You want to make a bunch of fans in Minnesota after Torii and Johan left on your watch? Sign Joey to a 10-year deal. NOW!
Love,
k-bro

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I'm colossally irritated that single-game tickets aren't going on sale until March 7. Usually they start selling them at Twins Fest. I really, really, really want to go to the final game of the season -- final game in the Metrodome. Actually, I'm one of the few fans I know who doesn't actually mind the Dome. In fact, I see some charm in it -- and there are some great Twins memories there. Oh well, I'll clear my calendar for that morning and expect to spent a bunch of time hitting refresh on the ticket-selling browser page or redial on my phone.