*Official* Game Thread - Sox vs. Twins - September 17, 2003

[RKMeibalane]

"Urbinedum eep gerzoid."

[Jurr]

Torii Hunter....asked if they can put away the White Sox...."It starts tonight"...."we're hungry...we should've come out and won the World Series, and we want a shot at getting back."




He made a point I totally agree with. Shannon Stewart should be the AL MVP. He made the biggest difference down the stretch on any team. I watched the Twins almost every game the second half ( as I watched Sox games) and he came up huge all the time.

[Soxfan7070]

Game on TV on ESPN2 and FSN tonight...
Decisions...Decisions...

[mack10zie]

Wow, I haven't been this nervous for a Sox game in a LOOOONG time.....

But yeah, Shannon Stewart seriously deserves MVP consideration IMO. Numbers aren't gaudy or anything, but he turned the Twins season around.

[JRIG]

Originally posted by Jurr
Torii Hunter....asked if they can put away the White Sox...."It starts tonight"...."we're hungry...we should've come out and won the World Series, and we want a shot at getting back."




He made a point I totally agree with. Shannon Stewart should be the AL MVP. He made the biggest difference down the stretch on any team. I watched the Twins almost every game the second half ( as I watched Sox games) and he came up huge all the time.

For a wonderful explanation (from a Twins fan, no less) of why Shannon Stewart should not even be considered for MVP, please go to www.aarongleeman.com and check out Tuesday's entry. A sampling...

Shannon Stewart has been a very good hitter since joining the Twins and he was a good hitter for the Blue Jays this year too. Overall, here are his numbers:
AVG OBP SLG RBI RUN
.312 .367 .468 69 83

Those numbers are right around his career-totals of .304/.369/.449. Is .312/.367/.468 solid production from a corner outfielder? Absolutely. Is it anywhere close to an MVP season? No freaking way.

Stewart ranks 22nd in the American League in on-base percentage, 29th in slugging percentage and 29th in OPS (on-base % + slugging %). He's also 23rd in runs scored and 47th in RBIs. For those of you into "Win Shares," Stewart currently ranks 45th in the American League.

[Jurr]

You write JUST WIN at the bottom of your post. When a player produces in big situations and his team turns around its entire season, the man deserves a look. Isn't that what it's all about?

[mack10zie]

Just a question, don't know if you can get these stats, but I was wondering how his "win shares" compared to the rest of the league SINCE he was traded to Minnesota.

[Jurr]

All right, I did my job. I started betting on a website last week, and I'm already up $300 dollars. I'm on fire. I have kept to the mantra of not betting on your team due to emotional attachment. (Even though I did put 50 on the Bills to beat Jacksonville last week...a 3 point spread????)

But, ladies and gents, I'm putting my money and my hot streak on the line to give a kharma boost to the Sox. I bet 20 dollars straight up in honor of the man who needs to come up big tonight.

This is all we need. The game's outcome was in the balance until now. It's over...we already won. I hope.

[MRKARNO]

Alomar
Lee
Thomas
Maggs
Everett
Konerko
Crede
Valentin
Alomar


I think it may be helpful that Crede and Konerko are back to back in the lineup instead of sticking jose in between there.

Hopefully it will lead to 20 more runs than last night

[JRIG]

Originally posted by Jurr
You write JUST WIN at the bottom of your post. When a player produces in big situations and his team turns around its entire season, the man deserves a look. Isn't that what it's all about?

The "Just Win" is more in reference to Sox fans worrying about Minnesota's schedule, but I digress...

In addition to all the points Aaron makes in his blog, I think it would be foolish to give an MVP award to a player for his effort in about half the season's games. One of the few instructions for MVP voters is to consider "number of games played." Stewart's first 90 games in Toronto are nowhere near MVP-worthy -- a sub .800 OPS.

[bc2k]

Doug Mientkiwicz was just on Baseball Tonight and said the Twins need to win of these next two games vs. the White Sox. His interview was pretty vanilla, didn't disrespect the Sox.

[mike squires]

Alomar may be a deciding factor tonight. He has alot of RBI's off of Rogers. I hope they don't steal alot though cause it's not like he has a cannon. Look for the Twins to be aggressive on the paths.

[MRKARNO]

The guy in the blog said that it's over and the twins will win, so you know they wont.

[oheeoh...magglio]

Season's on the line tonight boys, LET'S DO THIS!!

[JRIG]

Originally posted by mike squires
Alomar may be a deciding factor tonight. He has alot of RBI's off of Rogers. I hope they don't steal alot though cause it's not like he has a cannon. Look for the Twins to be aggressive on the paths.

If you're looking for Alomar to get RBIs, then the deciding factors would be Crede and Valentin getting on base tonight. Tough to drive in runs with no one on base, even if you do have a good history against a pitcher.