Notes: Oct. 31, 2010

Just a few quick notes for the week:

Happy Halloween! Here's is my jack-o'-lantern for this year:

Pretty cool, huh? The stencil is available on the Twins website.

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Earlier in the week, the Twins made two of the many decisions they face this off-season. They picked up the 2011 option for Jason Kubel, and he'll make $5.5 million. They also declined the 2011 option for Nick Punto, allowing him to become a free agent.

I'm not surprised by either of these moves. Jason Kubel is still relatively cheap for his production, and he could possibly be used as trade bait -- or not. Punto, on the other hand was set to make $5 million next year -- a lot of dough for a bench utility player.

Because Nicky is a free agent, there's still a chance the Twins could sign him to a new contract, but it would have to be for like $1 million or so. He's still one of my favorite infielders, so I kind of hope he comes back, but I won't be surprised if he doesn't.

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Oh, I forgot to tell you, this blog is the proud sponsor of the Joe Nathan page on Baseball-Reference.com. When I need baseball stats, BR is my go-to place. They rely on sponsorships or advertising to keep doing what they do, and they do excellent work. When I saw that Joe's page was available for a reasonable price, I pounced.

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Here is another video of CJ Wilson. He drives sweet cars. Is there any doubt why I love him? He might have to be my favorite non-Twin. Better still, the Twins should try to get him. (Now waking up from dreamland.)

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So far, this World Series has surprised me. I expected the pitching to be better. I expected the Rangers to be better. If this is going to seven games, things have to improve for the Texas nine.