Picks To Click 2008. The Polls Are Open
Posted on March 26th, 2008 – 9:48 AMBy La Velle
O.K. let’s try this again….
The first Picks to Click vote wound up being a curse, as Jason Kubel and Matt Garza were voted as the Twins player and pitcher to light it up this season.
Kubel was unable to get the pilot light going, batting .273 with 13 homers and 65 RBI. Garza didn’t even make the team out of spring training, complained about how he was being treated in the minors and, once called up, finished 5-7 with a 3.69 ERA.
That’s not exactly clicking.
What’s great about a new season is that you get another chance to get it right.
I’m asking you to pick one position player and one pitcher you think will have a big year. We all may have different opinions of what, `big,’ is, but let’s be sure that if you select Justin Morneau, he’s got to push 40 homers and 135 RBI because he’s done the 30-100 thing a couple times. For someone like Delmon Young, 25 bombs and 115 RBI is a, `click,’ year.
Twins starters have to win at least 13 games, preferably 15. The expectations are lower for these youngsters.
The polls are open until Sunday evening and the results posted by mid-week. Have fun….
313 Responses to "Picks To Click 2008. The Polls Are Open"
First!!!!!!!!!
Delmon and Slowey
I didn’t vote last year, so I feel confident picking Kubel this year . . . assuming he gets the playing time, which is a big assumption considering his coach.
As for pitchers, I think Blackburn will have a good year, but only half of it will probably be in the majors, I’m going to go with Scott Baker. If he can get decent run support (doesn’t have to be outstanding, just not Radke-esque), I think he could win 15-18 games this year.
Mike Lamb and Kevin Slowey
Delmon Young - Boof Bonser
Lamb and Baker
Boof Bonser should improve this season
and
Carlos Gomez, does batting .255 with 5 hrs and 50 sbs count?
Monroe & Bonser.
Go-Go and Boof
Scott Baker-15wins sub 4.00 ERA
Mike Lamb-17HR 75RBI
Kubel and Bonser.
IMO Scott Baker will 15 or more games this year and as for the offense I think Mike Lamb is gonna have a big season. IMO Morneau i don’t think will even get to 25 homers this year I think the pitchers have figured him out and now its time for him to adjust again and that takes awhile!!
So I am picking
Baker-Lamb
Bonser and Cuddyer
Gomez and Slowey
LaValle, my picks are: Scott Baker (15 wins) and Carlos Gomez w/70 stolen bases.
Punto and Reyes
For position player, got to got with that lead off cat Gomez. Bit of power, ton of speed, though a bit lacking on the on base percentage side, but that will self correct. But when he is on base, wow…. what a threat he will be!
So, along with Gomez, and I’m so taking a chance on this one, but I want to jump on the Franchise Express on this one. I know, probably a year early on this one, but with him probably going to do a minor league stint, get some confidence and reps in down there, he will be mentally ready and a bit stretched out when he gets to the dome (they will not let him toss his first game back in the bigs eleswhere).
So, Gomez and the Franchise.
Batter: Lamb
Pitcher: Slowey
Livan & Craig Monroe.
Honorable mention to Scotty Baker and Carlos Gomez.
Slowey 15-8 , Mauer .330 16 Homers,92RBI’s
Jason Kubel. Because he really needs a breakout year. I mean REALLY needs it. Besides, Delmon is too easy a pick.
Phil Humber. I don’t know why I’m picking him. Probably because I had too much coffee this morning and I’m a little loopy.
Kubel (finally with a healthy knee) .300-15-80 with 40 doubles. OBP of .370
Bonser: 14 W, high 3’s ERA, 180 K
Mauer and…ah…. Pete Redfern?
Kubel & Baker
Delmon Young at the plate
Scott Baker on the mound
Craig Monroe will be our everyday DH by the end of the year. He owes it to us after mashing our pitching for so long.
Baker, for the win.
Livan and Monroe
Boof “Slim” Boonser will win 15 games and Carlos Gomez will bat .265 7HR and 43SB. Not sure if it’s a click or not. I’ll chose Nick Punto .290 and 60RBI’s ok just kidding on that one. Delmon Young 20 hr and 105RBI’s
boooooooof! and craig monroe.
Cuddyer, with 25 bombs and 100 RBI
Slowey, with 175 innings, 14 wins and a sub-4.50 ERA.
Mauer & Liriano
Delmon and Boof
Young will hit 25 plus homers and be close to 100 RBIs
Baker will win 15 games.
My runners up for a position player is Monroe who wil do way better than expected, or go-go who will steal 40+ bases.
Scott Baker & GoGo Gomez
I think Mauer’s going to have a huge year after a rough 2007. He has a lot to prove after being criticized by many for being “soft.” I expect him to return to his 2006 form, and also hit for some more power (15 HRs, 80 RBI).
Among pitchers, I think Boof will rebound and pitch well after losing a lot of weight during the offseason. If his stamina improves, he can be a 15-game winner. His agressiveness and tenacity on the mound remind me a lot of Jack Morris.
Cuddyer to rebound and thrive in the 3spot, and Baker.
baker/gomez
Mauer and Slowey
Boof and Delmon
Dito,, tomk I,d say more but, he said what I was going to say,,
boof and lamb
Liriano/Gomez
Mauer stays healthy,returns to form and pushes for MVP w/both O AND D.
.340/20 HR/100 RBI
Slowey makes a bid for 2009 Ace.
15/16 wins 3.00 ERA
What do I WIN? Where do I pick up my Prize?
santana and hunter
I’m going to say Gomez. He’ll be rough at first, but he’ll figure things out and have a strong first season with the team.
Pitcher? I like Slowey. He’s been up and down, but I’ve heard good things and he’s sorta the “Placeholder” in the rotation (at least seems to be looked at that way)
Tolbert (will be starting at 2nd base by All Star Break) and Boof
Boof- only Twin to start 30 games, that will be a “click”, nobody is going to win 15.
Mauer-a “click” for Mauer to me is .360+/.440+/.550+
Mauer - 20+ homers,48 doubles
and Boof
Boof and Cuddyer.
Although I might pick Punto because “clicking” for him might mean .240/2/30… Nah, Cuddyer.
Mauer .990 OPS is an MVP
gotta be Baker and Young.
Liriano and Harris
Matt Tolbert and Nick Blackburn
Blackburn will win a spot in the rotation with Baker still recovering and will hang onto it all year
Monroe and Blackburn
Kubel and Baker (though I think Garza will be better than any Twins pitcher this year).
I’ll say DYoung and Baker…
slowey/young
Mauer and slowey
Baker and Young
Monroe and Baker
I’m jumping on the Cuddyer bandwagon. I’m looking for a big year from him in the 3 spot with Doc and Young hitting behind him and Gomez probably standing on 3B much of the time by the time Cuddyer gets to the plate.
As for pitchers, might as well just pull a name out of a hat. All question marks with considerable potential but I’m going to predict that by the end of the season, Liriano has made us forget all about his TJ surgery and the lack of “trust” issue with the coaches.
Cuddyer and Liriano will click.
Monroe & Baker
Baker and Young,
Liriano and Cuddyer.
I think liriano will eventually get himself up to about 75% of what he was as the season progresses, barring any setbacks or injuries, I think that equates to about a 14-16 wins and 7-10 losses, which would be big for this team.
Come on people, you’re leaving out the most obvious picks!
Punto and Rincon
HA! I am hilarious!!!!!!!
Young & Slowey
Mauer and Baker.
i think punto will have a breakout year and bat .350 and 20 homers
now im hoping that rincon passes his stuff to punto so he gets that extra boost
(this is all joking getting a laugh)
lol
Cuddy/Baker
i think liriano in 2010 goes 21-23 wins 2.25 era
not kidding ..
he had like a 2.15 era in his rookie year so… i think thats possible..
santana 2010: out for season injured money gland
Joe Mauer and Boof Bonser.
Kubel/Liriano
Baker 16-7, 3.48
Gomez .286 102 runs
I think Mauer wins another batting title and leads the league in doubles. Liriano will win 20 games.
my votes are for young and neshek.
seriously, i don’t think ANY of the starters are going to touch 15 wins. if 13 wins is the standard, i feel we have sunk too low. i do believe, however, that the pen is going to play a very important role in supporting the young/developing starters, so i give my “click” nod to the pen guy that i think is going to form the identity of the pitching staff.
I’m thinking Cuddyer will ignite the offense batting Number 3, and Baker will be the pitcher to reckon with, once the flu and everything has finally run its course.
Mauer .330/.400/.500 15 HR 85 RBI.
For Baker to “click”, he’s gotta’ win at least 16 games and be under 3.5. For Boof to “click”, he’s gotta’ go 14-9, 3.8 or lower….I go with Boof lite.
Batter: Mauer. Pitcher: Boof.
Go-Go and Boof
Boof and “Young Mr. Young”
by the way, I personally think Liriano is too big a question mark for two reasons:
1) no one has any idea how he’ll be coming off TJ surgery
2) given point 1, how can you possibly project a reasonable expectation?
Reading these posts has been a lot of fun. Maybe I’m a dreamer, but I can see that with all the potential upside on this team, if things go about 70% as well this year as in 2006, this team will be truly dominant. But a LOT of things need to fall in place.
My picks:
Kubel (Because this year is a turning point for him. Could be do or die.)
Baker (He’s ready.)
My picks are Monroe and Bonser.
Monroe was horrible last year and figures to rebound with a change of scenery and a renewed focus. So far he’s looked good in spring training. Whenever Kubel struggles Monroe will take at bats from him at DH. Plus it seems that he will get at bats backing up Gomez in CF.
Bonser was pretty bad last year. He seems to be determined to improve this year, as is shown by the weight loss. He’s primed to put together a full season of numbers similar to his 2006 finish. If Liriano and Baker don’t put it together this year, Bonser figures to be our best starter.
I really want to pick Gomez. With his speed he’ll get on base enough to be an impact player. Remember, people used to say Jose Reyes couldn’t hit and he turned out all right. Granted he was in the Show for a couple of years before he started hitting consistently, but I think Gomez could bat around .270 and pick up 60-70 steals.
All that being said, I pick Mauer. If he stays healthy, I think he’s going to have a monster year. I think his power will finally start to show and he’ll hit 15-20 HR with 85+ RBI’s.
I’m going to pick Slowey for my pitcher. He’s going to win 13 games with a sub-3.70 ERA.
Hitter: Mauer
Pitcher: Slowey
I agree that it will be tough for any of the twins starters to approach 15 wins, Baker and Liriano are capable I think, but both have questions.
Liriano will be fine this year as long as he doesn’t reinjure himself. His fastball is already very close to being back to 2006 form, 92-94 mph as opposed to 94-96, all indications I’ve read say his changeup is still devastating, he throws in a sinker every once in awhile, and he just needs to start trusting his arm to let loose with his sliders. I’d much rather see him limit the use of his slider to 2 strike counts or dangerous hitters anyway, just to limit the stress on his elbow, but I was very encouraged by his 4 innings of no-hit ball and 5 K’s against the orioles, even if it wasn’t against an ‘A’ lineup. He wasn’t facing an ‘A’ lineup in any of his other starts either and he was giving up runs, so I take it as a large step forward…all good signs to me.
The obvious picks i think are Slowey and Young
But my darkhorse picks are Blackburn and Tolbert. I think that Tolbert might win the starting shortstop position before the end of the year and they’ll cut Everett obviously.
Kubel. He has always hits a ton of line drives and he consistently improved his walk and strikeout rates throughout last season.
Baker. He can get a fair number of strikeouts and has very good control. I think he now has the confidence to put those things together at the ML level.
Harris- He will be a huge upgrade in power from the 2B position.
Humber- I just hope he gets a chance.
Young as the position player. But given that expectations and where they are starting the season come into play, Go-Go will give him a run. For the pitcher its got to be Boof. After dropping all that weight in the offseason he should go deeper into games and do much better than last season.
Hitter: Young - .300, 25 HRs, 100+ RBIs
Pitcher: Baker - 15+ wins
Boof Bonser — He will be Twins most consistent starter
Joe Mauer — Look for a big jump in run production
This seems easy… Delmon Young.
Pitcher?? Scott Baker if he is healthy
Scott Baker. I’m going big–16 wins, 12 losses.
Lamb. 15-20 jacks, 75+ RBI.
I was deciding between Mauer and Cuddyer for a big step up in production, but I’ll have to go with Cuddyer, mostly because he never batted .350, so it wouldn’t be as tough for him to reach “click” status. Oh and I’ll go with Slowey as the pitcher.
Liriano will win 20 games.
Now that’s gutsy. I hope he does to, becaues that would mean a lot for this team.
Now do I think it’ll happen? Not this year. But soon.
Yeah…
My picks:
Boof: 15-9, ERA in the 3.80-4.00 range, 180 - 200 K’s
GoGo: BA around .250-.260, OBP just a touch over .300 (unfortunately), 50-60 steals and 15-17 outfield Assists. Don’t discount that arm!
Blackburn is a strong “wildcard.” I think he’ll win 12-14 games this season and place himself strongly as the #3 pitcher in the rotation for 2009.
My picks to click:
Delmon Young: .306/.348/.520 22 HRs 112 RBI
Philip Humber: 12-5 160 IP 150 K 25 BB 15 HR 3.95 ERA
Delmon and Baker
Brendan Harris
Phil Humber
Young 27 hrs., 115 rib’s
Baker 17 wins
Once Harris gets relaxed look for 17 hrs.
willis and cabrera
Kubel will have a click-ish year but CUDDYER is THE pick to click — it’s all about the batting order. Batting 3rd between Mauer & Morneau will put him at .300 BA, 120 RBI, and 30 HR. Sounds crazy but bank it.
It could be any pitcher but let’s say BOOF. He had the worst ERA out of Baker-Boof-Slowey but best SOs and lost the weight.
Gogo and Baker. But I’ll be happy if they do well and don’t win, if that means someone else does better.
I’m going to be difficult because it’s what I do, lol.
Assuming health is not a factor
Gomez .255 30/5/9 with 53 steals
Mauer .319 22/3/19 61 rbi
Young .301 29/1/22 91 rbi
Morneau .303 28/0/38 129 rbi
Cuddyer .278 31/1/21 102 rbi
Kubel .270 21/0/12 48 rbi
Monroe .245 12/2/12 39 rbi
Lamb .271 28/0/20 71 rbi
Harris .268 25/0/9 43 rbi
Everett .253 12/1/4/ 31 rbi
Baker 12-14 4.12
Bonser 12-15 4.33 (top 10 in Ks)
Hernandez 9-12 4.78
Slowey 10-10 4.53
Liriano 8-6 3.81
Bass 5-7 4.56
I’m a little surprised by how many people have picked GoGo. We all know about his talent and potential, but he’s super raw and nowhere near ready to “click” over an entire ML season. Maybe in 2009…
My picks:
Delmon will mash this year. I see a stat line of .308/.350/.525 with 24 HR and 118 RBI.
Baker will pitch 198 innings and finish 15-11 with a 3.83 ERA and 160 Ks.
jama’s picks were HOTT.
Delmon Young : will be what Mauer was to the team in 2006.
Brian Bass : will become a rescuer of the middle innings.
Lamb and Baker
Hitter: Delmon Young 23 HR/53 doubles/119 RBIs
Hurler: Scott Baker 16-11/4.18 ERA
Everett: 265/320/410, makes an extra 25 plays in the field
Nathan: 53 saves, gets lots of work closing out 5-3 games.
Delmon Young and Kevin Slowey
monroe and slowey…..and lets hope like hell that gomez is ok….
Fred says:
March 26th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Kubel (finally with a healthy knee) .300-15-80 with 40 doubles. OBP of .370
Bonser: 14 W, high 3’s ERA, 180 K
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHA
Hitter: Cuddyer .290 28 HR 110 RBI
Pitcher: Baker 18-9 3.90 ERA
did i mention ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Cuddyer and Neshek, Cuddyer because he’ll be hitting between the M&M boys, Neshek because he learned from last years meltdown and will be ready to shine the whole year. Mauer would also be a good choice, I think if hes healthy like hes says, he’ll be an all-star again.
it will be the sh..s to start with baker, liriano and gomez on dl if that comes about, which looks very possible
If I go with Punto does he only have to bat .240 with 1hr and 20 rbi?
But seriously, Mauer & Liriano
Young and Boof.
Delmon will have a lot of RBI’s and runs scored but will not hit for a ton of power.
Boof will be consistent and have 14 wins with an era around 4.
dont have your hopes up for gomez just got injured in 5th inning left leg.. dunno how bad it is.. i really hope hes ok..
(running for a ball in left center.. fell sat where he was after the play and started holding his leg)
Liriano and Monroe
I think Lirano is going to rebound faster than others expect, based on his last start.
Monroe has the potential to regain his ‘06 form.
Really, both had great ‘06 years, and I’m hoping to see them rebound with the Twins.
Mauer- .350/15hr/90rbi
Liriano- 15W/175ip/200k/3.3era
Joe update: left hammy cramp
Punto Tovar goes into centerfield.
boof and cuddy
gomez and slowey, hoping kubel (again)
BC I would have to agree
Baker 12-14 4.12
Bonser 2-15 4.33 (top 10 in Ks)
Hernandez 9-12 4.78
Slowey 10-10 4.53
Liriano 8-6 3.81
Bass 5-7 4.56
Slowey and Lamb
young and slowey
incredibly punto will find his way into the regular lineup by mid june and and give rebirth to the lone pirahna left.batting about ,275 and being a top run scorer on the team
i gotta believe baker will have a very good year but i have doubts about him i pick slowey also
I’m surprised by the Slowey picks. I think he’ll be the first to be bounced back to AAA.
Delmon Young will have a great year with the pitches he will see in between Mauer, Morneau, and/or Cuddyer (if Gardenhire doesn’t screw it up).
I guess I’ll have to go with Baker, only be default. I don’t see a lot from this pitching staff this year.
Liriano and Lamb
BC, you realize you’re only having the Twins score like 650 runs this year then? Their offense will be much better than that, I would say more in the 800-850 run range.
Very tough. I like Lamb but what is his benchmark? Plus he won’t be well protected like my real pick, Cuddy. Between M&M’s, coming off down year, plus little Jesus’ click #’s likely too high.
arm??? i don’t see anyone surpassing expectations, slowey prone to big inning, boof…maybe, liriano???. I’ll take the long shot and go Livan. consistent, good run support, 16 game winner. I’ll take it.
Cuddy and Livan.
Blackburn and Young, if he bats 3rd, which he should from day one. Forget him protecting Morneau, shouldn’t a free-swinger like Delmon be protected BY Morneau in order to learn some plate discipline? It won’t really help the other way around. Cuddyer’s good enough to bat after Morneausie.
Scott Baker
Delmon Young
Boof (after loss of baby fat)
Go-Go
Scott Baker
Mike Lamb
monroe and blackburn
tolbert and slowey
boof and kubel
just kidding lol
Baker: 16 wins
Kubel: .300+ 20+
Kubel .310 20 hr 90 rbi
Slowey 15 wins 3.90 era 160 k’s will make us forget about losing Garza
gomez
livan
Heard over KSTP that Gomez was taken off the field, clutching the back of his knee. So my picks are Monroe (bouncing back - always hit well in the dome) and Humber (if the Twins give him a chance).
The disappointments - Punto (no bat - it’s over) and Neshek (ran out of gas last year, and this year, he’s a VEGAN to impress his girlfriend - both will sap his strength).
Boof and Kubel
Cuddy and Baker
Boof and Young
Consolation:
Liriano and Cuddy
Think it has to be D-Young for the hitter and S-Baker for the pitcher. I think most of us agree that Mauer is due for a great year and I look for good things from Slowey.
Morneau (.310, 40HR 125RBI)
Slowey (17-8, 220IP, 20BB, 1.12 WHIP, 3.55ERA)
Baker & Young. I don’t think Kubel will get enough at bats or he’d be my guy.
Pitcher: Liriano
Player: DH position comprised of kubel and monroe. .300+ BA/22HR/80 RBI
Everett - .275, 12HR, 35RBI
(i’m not even kidding)
Bonser - 14-12, 3.80 ERA
Kubel .280 22 and 85
Baker 15 wins and 3.95 ERA
Bonser/Young
Boof and Delmon
Morneau 50 HR and 154 RBI
Liriano 2008 Cy Young 21 Wins 275 strikeouts.
Delmon and Baker
Delmon Young and Scott Baker
Liriano/Morneau
I think Cuddy will have an outstanding year. He’s looked good in ST and being sandwiched between M/M will be good, plus Gomez will be in scoring position frequently for him.
I wanted to go with Slowey, but I think he’s a year away from being ready to show up consistently, so I’ll default to Mr. Baker, who is probably going to be the most consistent starter for us.
Cuddyer .295 avg 27 hr 118 rbi
Baker 15-12 3.80 era 150 k’s
Or, Garza/Bartlett
Delmon Young: .295/.315/.490; 25 HR, 90 RBI
Kevin Slowey: 16-10, 3.50 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 160+ K
Scott, are you related to Sid, or did you forget Baker’s first name???
Enough of the “Mr” garbage, people. Nothing like a little “Mr” to up the idolatry factor, huh?
Momma gave you a first name for a reason. Get it?
Scott Baker and Joe Mauer
I am going with Baker, he looked good early, then that muscle pull and illness set him back. Overall I feel Baker is mentally ready to step up this season.
Cuddyer is my position choice. I think he will have a good year at the plate, and of course he is an excellent right fielder
Last year I went with Boof and Kubel, both of which have a shot for good seasons this year. After they let me down once I just couldn’t select them again, LOL.
Another plug for Morneau (for luck- the Twins NEED him to do well)-
and Liriano (ditto).
Baker & Monroe
I wouldn’t pick Mauer unless he is going to have a big power year because he already won a batting title. To improve this click he would have to hit like.400
Mauer-knocks in gogo 50 times for 95 RBI
oh and Slowey…oops
Boof and Cuddy.
Boof goes 15-9, ERA under 4 and Cuddyer hits 26 bombs and 103 RBI.
for my hitter Delmon Young 25 HR .300 avg around 110- 120 RBI
my pitcher is Kevin Slowey 14 wins
I don’t see why Boof couldn’t win 13 games, and I don’t see why Delmon Young couldn’t slug .500 with 100 RBI’s
Since the starting rotation will be like shuffle board for the first month it will be hard for any starter to put up decent total year numbers.I’m picking Blackburn just as a dark horse.
Hitting wise Cuddy seems to have a very envious spot in the batting order between Sideburns and The former MVP,but I’ll take LEN3 up on the Morneau Numbers and say .308 41 130.I like the fact that he seems very happy to be here long term and seems intent to earning his keep.
Gomez .270 AVg and around 65SB and Slowey 14 wins 3.40 Era
For my batter I will take Craig
Pitcher I will take BC
oh wait!!!
Baker & Delmon Young
Boof and Mauer
This is getting old how about the best 2 mascots in sports?
The thing from phillies and then the phoenix sun gorilla
or how bout the san diego chicken
santana and hunter!……oh wait
Cuddy/ Bake
LaVelle,
Love the ‘pick to click’. It stolen from the White Sox but what’s more fun then stealing from the White Sox?
This will be a year that is either going to look like 2000 or 1995. Lets hope for the former. That 2000 team had some great character guys - Ones that comes to the top of the list were Koskie and Mientkiewicz. I see Morneau almost being Morneau this year(.285 32 hr 115 rbi) but if Mike Lamb can just deal with playing 150+ games, he is the ‘pick to click’ - solidifying the back end of the lineup, hitting .292, 21 hrs and 89 rbi. He has to be or this team is a 68 win team - a healthy/ productive Mike Lamb makes us .500. He is that pivotal! Good luck Twins!
Kubel finally gets his breakout year.
Bonser comes back to form.
Delmon and Gomez
List of Major League Baseball mascots
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The Phillie Phanatic, one of the most recognizable mascots in Major League Baseball.The following is a list of mascots of Major League Baseball teams:
[edit] National League
Arizona Diamondbacks:
D. Baxter the Bobcat — a gray bobcat-like figure
Atlanta Braves:
Chief Noc-A-Homa (1960s-1983)
Homer the Brave — a humanoid with a baseball head
Rally — a red fuzzy monster with blue hair
Chicago Cubs:
None.
Colorado Rockies:
Dinger — a purple triceratops-like figure (dinosaur bones were found at the Coors Field construction site)
Cincinnati Reds:
Mr. Red
Mr. Redlegs, an turn-of-the-century syled mascot who replaced Mr. Red in 2007.
Gapper — a red fuzzy monster with a backwards cap
Florida Marlins:
Billy The Marlin — a marlin-like figure with legs
Houston Astros:
Junction Jack — a brown rabbit-like figure, 7-foot tall, dressed as a railroad worker
Junction Jesse
Junction Jilie
General Admission– human non-costumed mascot in uniform, retired when the Astros moved to Minute Maid Park in 2000.
Orbit, an outer space creature when the team played in the Astrodome until 1999, when it was retired.
The Conductor– human non-costumed mascot in uniform. Mans the train located in Minute Maid Park.
Los Angeles Dodgers:
Emmett Kelly’s famous “Weary Willie” character (used only in 1957, the team’s final season in Brooklyn).
Milwaukee Brewers:
Beer Barrel Man — an anthropomorphic beer keg, first used by a minor league Milwaukee Brewers in the 1940s
Bernie Brewer — a blond, white male with a moustache and green eyes
Bonnie Brewer — female companion of Bernie, young blonde woman in lederhosen (1973-1979)
Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals):
Youppi! — (1979-2004), an orange giant with big head and legs. Youppi! is now the NHL Montreal Canadiens mascot.
New York Mets:
Mr. Met — a baseball-headed humanoid; Elected into the Mascot Hall of Fame; The first Mascot used in Major League Baseball
Lady Met — female counterpart of Mr. Met in the 1960s and 1970s
Philadelphia Phillies:
Phillie Phanatic — a green fuzzy bird-like monster with a spout-shaped mouth
Phil and Phillis — a boy and girl dressed in Revolutionary War uniforms, debuted with Veterans Stadium in 1971 and retired after the 1979 season, when the old Home Run Spectacular was retired.
Screech, the Washington Nationals mascotPittsburgh Pirates:
Pirate Parrot — a green parrot-like figure, wearing a pirate’s hat featuring a skull and crossbones
Captain Jolly Roger– The Pirates unveiled a new mascot on May 27, 2006, and a fan poll among kids gave him his name, based on the Jolly Roger flag. The new mascot is dressed as a pirate with a beard and pirate clothes.
San Diego Padres:
The Famous Chicken of San Diego
Swinging Friar — a person dressed as a friar, swinging a baseball bat
San Francisco Giants:
Crazy Crab — the legendary “anti-mascot” intended as satire (1984 only)
Lou Seal — a gray seal-like figure
St. Louis Cardinals:
Fredbird — a red bird-like figure
Washington Nationals:
Screech — a six-foot, two inch tall eagle with a Washington Nationals jersey and cap.
[edit] American League
Baltimore Orioles:
The Bird — a black and orange-colored bird-like figure that resembles the oriole in the team’s logo from 1967 to 2002.
Boston Red Sox:
Wally the Green Monster — a green fuzzy monster named after the famous left field wall at Fenway Park, the home of the Red Sox.
Lefty and Righty - A pair of anamorhized red socks that appears at Sunday home games.
Chicago White Sox:
Andy the Clown (1960-1990) — a fan who performed unofficially
Ribbie and Roobarb (1981-1988)
Southpaw — a black, silver, green and yellow fuzzy monster (a southpaw is the baseball term for a left-handed pitcher)
Cleveland Indians:
The Baseball Bug– An insect-like figure from 1980-1981
Chief Wahoo — Native American caricature
Slider — a light purple fuzzy monster with yellow spots and eyebrows (probably named after the slider, a baseball pitch)
Detroit Tigers:
Paws — a tiger-like figure.
Kansas City Royals:
Sluggerrrr — a lion-like figure, wearing a crown (the word slugger also refers to a powerful batter with a high percentage of extra base hits)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:
Rally Monkey — a real monkey named Katie that has also appeared in TV shows such as Friends. Unlike most mascots, she never appears live; instead, she appears on video, typically when the Angels are tied or trailing while batting in the 7th inning or later, with a runner on base.
Minnesota Twins:
TC (or TC Bear) — a bear figure supposedly descended from the Hamm’s Beer Bear.
The letters ‘TC’, which were once featured on the team’s logo and are still on one version of the players’ caps (alternating with the cap bearing an ‘M’), stand for Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul)
Twinkie a bird sometime before 1981 [1]
Hamm’s Beer Bear — A bear used in Twins’ sponsor Hamm’s Beer ads during Twins games. (1960s)
New York Yankees:
The Squirrel — a squirrel that appeared on the right field foul pole at Yankee Stadium and became beloved by fans. Many have named him “Scooter the Squirrel”, after Phil “Scooter” Rizzuto who died soon before the squirrel appeared. He has appeared on the diamondvision screen at the stadium with the words “Rally Squirrel” under it, emulating the Angels’ Rally Monkey. The squirrel has also been referred to as Poley Walnuts by some Yankees’ players.
Dandy — a large pinstriped bird, named for the song “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” portrayed by a high school student in 1980 but was beaten up by fans who didn’t want a mascot, and quit, leading to the elimination of the character
Oakland Athletics:
Charlie O. — a mule (1963-1976, dating back to the team’s days in Kansas City, in the tradition of the Missouri mule, named for team owner Charles O. Finley)
Stomper — an elephant, as featured on the team’s logo (a revival of the logo the team used in Philadelphia)
Seattle Mariners:
Mariner Moose — a large anthropomorphic moose wearing a team uniform
Tampa Bay Rays:
Raymond — a blue fuzzy monster, sometimes described as a very fuzzy manatee
Texas Rangers:
Rootin’ Tootin’ Ranger — similar to Yosemite Sam, briefly used in the late 1970’s.
Rangers Captain — a palomino-style horse, dressed as a Texas Ranger in red, white and blue, wears the uniform number “72″ in honor of 1972, the year the Rangers relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
Toronto Blue Jays:
Ace — A blue jay-like figure.
BJ Birdie — A blue bird-like figure. Mascot from 1979 to December 1999, his retirement was never officially announced.
Diamond — a female blue jay-like figure that retired after the 2004 season
Why would you guys keep picking part time players like Kubel and Monroe? Daring yes, but not likely. I like Cuddy all the way. He always had a confidence issue and tried too hard. Now he has the confidence from the past two years and the comfortable contract. He has nothing to worry about except just playing the game. And for pitching I’m going with a new and improved Boof. That extra inning of pitched ball will get him more decisions. “I’m in the best shape of my life. Thanks Minnesota Twins!”
Cuddy: .290 26 HR, 110 RBI
Bonser: 30 starts, 17 wins
Hey Jimmy Bee, if you want us to read your posts I suggest signing in under a different name.
kubel and boof
oh how bout this
kubel and boof
jk i won’t do that again I promise
HOW DARE YOU SIR!!!
There is an imposter amongst us!!
I am Connor Macleod from the Clan Macleod. I was born over 400 years ago.
There Can Be Only One!!
My picks to click are:
Josh Fields and John Danks
Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life boy.
jimmy bee is here can I help look into this horrible display of impersonation King Mcleod of the clan Mcleod
By the end of the season, this will be the best battery in the bigs:
Mauer / Liriano
Sensei I agree with this pick
Can anyone tell me what the heck the Philladelphia phanatic is supposed to be
Delmon and Baker
Macleod have a great evening and chat soon
Delmon Young and Scott Baker
Harris and Slowey
monroe and slowey
“Baby Face” Baker and Mike Lamb (my new favorite Twin)
Baker & Young
I don’t see Young hitting better than 20 HR/85 RBI. While great for this team, not really a “click” season. I like Go-Go: probably in the .260-.275 range with a .330-.350 OBP and 40+ steals should see around 125+ runs scored. 7-10 HR/50 RBI is icing on the cake for the Twins.
As for pitcher, I really want to see Baker get over his problems and come out strong. I don’t think 15-17 wins is out of the question for him. But I predict most of the attention this year is going to be on Boof because of a drastic turn around: 15-9/3.65/215 K.
I’ve got: Go-Go/Boof
Carlos “Go Go” Gomez and Boof “where is the beef” Bonser
Kubel and either Slowey or Bass
Kevin Slowey and Adam Everett.
Slowey: 17 wins, 3.90 era
Everett: .275 average, 15 homers, gold glove at SS
Glen Perkins and Carlos Gomez
On another note: the Nashville Sounds (Brewers AAA affiliate) is struggling to fund a new ballpark. I am officially calling for the Twins to move their AAA affiliation from Rochester to Nashville and have our cheap owner Pohlad help fund a new park for the great talent in our system
Kubel and Baker. .285/22/85 with lots of walks and doubles for Kubel, 15 wins, 4.0 ERA for Baker.
mauer and humber
.352 17/90 rbi humber 14 wins 3.61 era
Mauer and Slowey
Joe Mauer’s 2008:
.350, 25 HR, 115-125 RBI
Boof Bonser’s 2008:
17-7 with a 3.25 ERA
Kubel (MVP) and Lamb !!
I wonder if Santana is pitching the Mets game at noon tomorrow on ESPN.
Mike Lamb and Phil Humber
“Batting 3rd between Mauer & Morneau will put him at .300 BA, 120 RBI, and 30 HR. Sounds crazy but bank it.”
It didn’t work last year when he was between the M&M boys. Why would it change this year?
I like Delmon & Baker once he gets his health and strength back.
Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey
And the winners are …….
Harris and Humber, making us all forget Garza and Santana!
Delmon Young - .287, 28 HR, 95 RBI.
Kevin Slowey - 15-10, 3.80.
Baker and Gomez
It will be Mauer and Baker.
Mauer is still young and hasn’t even reached his prime. I see him batting around .320 with double figures in homers and around 90 RBI. Baker will grow into the quality #2 pitcher with 15 wins.
I’m worried about being a jinx so I pick … uh … Punto and Rincon.
I guess if I had to pick two guys to click on this team… Guerrier and Gomez.
Guerrier will get 10 wins and 100 innings out of the pen
Gomez will hit .255 30/5/9 with 53 steals
Cuddyer has the purest swing I have ever seen, so he’ll thrive whether he is hitting 3 or 5. Does leading the league in outfield assists carry any merit?
Cuddyer and guerrier(we may be using a lot of long relief).
To the person who told me the twins would score 800-850 runs this year.
It think the 10 main players will drive in about 680 runs, and that the bench will drive in about 45. They have potential to do more, but you have to realize with our pitchers probably giving up a lot of runs and this team is going to be prone to droughts with such a young team, and the threat of Nick Punto getting more than 100 atbats this season… I figure about every 5 atbats beyond 100 atbats for Punto will equal one loss.
I am hoping for 750-800 runs, but I am expecting about 680. Sorry.
Mauer & Liriano
Mauer & Liriano
though you could also make very strong cases for ALL of Kubel/Young/Gomez/Slowey/Baker/Boof
All of those guys should perform well this year. Going to be a fun season.
Kubel and Baker
Kubel finished last year with a .785 OPS. Compare that to Mauer’s .808 and Young’s .724.
Kubel’s second-half OPS was .891, the highest on the Twins - Cuddy was second with an OPS of .784
The kid is finally going to make good on his talent.
punto —-bats .202 1 hr 20 rbi 6 failed bunts 186 popouts
nathan —–4-0, 10/11 saves
Hosken Powell and Bombo Rivera
Oh, 2008
Slowey and Liriano
La Velle,
You never use first annual… second annual or third etc.. You should know that with your experience
D Young and Boof Lite
And Twins surprise, still alive for wild card come Sept. 1 and finish very respectable 3rd in division. Look out ‘09 and ‘10.
Young and Boof!
Mauer and Neshek
Mauer and Boof to repeat their great 2006 performances.
Gomez and Blackburn
Liriano & Gomez
pitcher: Baker
Batter: Monroe
Go-Go and Franchise
I agree with Ryan - Cisco & Go-Go.
Cisco because we’ll be thrilled if he pitches the whole season without missing significant time & his arm doesn’t fall off. I think he’ll do it & be pretty good as well.
Go-go because the hole in CF is huge & he has an opportunity to do a lot more than just fill it.
Boof Lite and - my keyboard to God’s ears, please - Delmon.
(And a side vote to whomever coined the nickname Go-Go. Let’s hope it’s true-true.)
Harris and Lamb
Go-Gomez & Franchise! The kids rule!
Mauer and Liriano
Delmon Young and Nick Blackburn
Cuddyer & Slowey
F-bomb/Lamb.
I also like Busher, but I have a feeling he will have a hard time battling hid way past Punto and his side kick Tolbert.
Kubel and Baker
Gomez/Bonser
Mauer has a big bounce-back year and starts to show his pwer potential to the tune of .335/18/90.
Perkins ends up in the bullpen (after Reyes falters) and becomes a huge factor as our lefty set-up guy.
young and baker
young will put up 30+ homers i have a feeling in a new environment and much more lethal lineup if everyone produces in that middle.
baker has great potential to reach 18 wins and help us for get some guy named santana. if he pitches like he did at the end of the year i have high standards for him
Bonser/Mauer (the run production spikes this year)
Young & Baker
The fact that about a third of the team has been mentioned is a good sign. This will be a fun year as so many players are at a point where they could really take a step up, which to me is much more interesting than a herd of old guys drifting into 81 wins.
Cuddyer and Baker.
Punto and Livan
That was just for haters
adam everett will go 7,66,.291/.345/.407 which would be huge for him
Boof = 15-11, 3.84 and 174K, 66 bb
Liriano and Mauer.
Woulda been Baker, but he’s getting his slow start.
.336/14/94 for Mauer.
P.S. Doesn’t look like Santana is pitching tomorrow. But who knows. Sorry for the distraction.
@tgd - that was Gardenhire.
BTW, not counting the pitching side of course, but this is all about offensive production.
Is this really the Twins way, La Velle?
Only one guy mentioned anything about defense, Septurn at 12:18 p.m.
Lamb could be a great DH someday. And he’ll be Clicking from the plate often. But he and Harris are gonna help lose a lot of games this year with their defense.
And I might as well get it off my chest….let’s see how much range is still in that healed broken leg of Everett’s on artificial turf.
I wish Everett could play 2B and they’d bring up Casilla.
Infield defense is gonna be the achilles heal this year.
Gomez and Slowy
Everett (finally learns to hit) and Lariano (rebounds right back to the same place).
Pitcher: Scott Baker
(Ace of the staff by the ASB, unless Liriano of ‘06 returns, then No. 2)
Hitter: Carlos Gomez.
(58 SB, .283 avg., 12 HR’s, and 65 RBI’s)
Had to add that Young will be big this year also- but Gomez is my pick.
Delmon Young & Fransisco Liriano
The bar may be high on these guys for a click but I say they exceed all expectations.
mauer will have a huge year in ba and 2b but will hit fewer than 20 hr. if he’s batting second behind any combination of gomez/span/everett/pridie/punto/harris in the 9 and 1 spots he’ll be lucky to get 60 rbi unless he hits 40 hr.
boof is the livan hernandez of a few years ago- never looks dominant against any single batter but at the end of the year pitches 220+ innings with an ERA below 4.
anyway, those are my picks.
Kubel and Bonser.
I’m pretty sure Jason will have very good year. hopefully he’ll play regularly but have a feeling Gardy will be playing Monroe a lot at DH. Delmon would be my second choice.
my predictions for Boof, Baker and Slowey are that there won’t be huge difference btw 3 of them but if i had to pick one of them to have a breakout year i’m leaning towards Boof.
Craig Monroe and Boof. Mark it!
Mauer - .330 Avg 40 2b 15+ Hr
Neshek - sub 1.50 ERA
LaVelle, Keep up the good work, I love it. I’ll take Go Go & Boof
Hunter and Santana - OOPS
Mauer and Slowey………I wonder how far ahead of Mauer Gomez will be when Gomez is on first…Mauer hits a gapper…….I bet Gomez scores before Mauer slides into second for a near toss out…….Its going to be exciting
Mauer has a .340 avg…..Slowey gets 13 wins…..Gomez leads the Twins in runs scored……
Young and Baker
Mauer Slowey
[…] That’s all for now. Don’t forget to get your vote in for Picks to Click, 2008. […]
I’ll stick with Kubel and Garza
Monroe and Boof
DY and Slowey
Delmon Young and Philip Humber.
Adam Everett Denard Span.
Gomez will get hurt early in the season and Span will get his chance and be an outstanding leadoff hitter.
Adam Everett
Brian Bass
Delmon Young and Nick Blackburn
Gomez and Slowey
Slowey and Cuddy.
Joe Mauer - on the order of .350 and 15 homers…does that count? I think so.
I guess I have to go with Bonser. But I’m not excited about the pick. I just it’s more likely for him to click than others.
Mauer and Boof.
Mike Lamb .286 20 hr 75 rbi
Livan Hernandez 3.96 era 16w 211 ip
Cuddy,D.Young,& Baby Jesus will have all have great years. Starting pitching will come around in May. Punto couldn’t hit in Sega.
Twins win 95!
Kevin Slowey; 14W, 3.85 ERA
Jason Kubel; .290/.355/.490 50 doubles
Delmon Young & Boof Bonser
Delmon Young and Philip Humber
Adam Everett and Phil Humber
Scotty Baker (14W, 3.50 ERA) and Delmon Young (.303, 20 HR, 85 RBI)
Monroe (25 HR, 85 RBI’s)
Boof (14W, 3.95 ERA)
and TN Twins Fan. Not even the Pirates wanted to stay in Nashville. Twins like Rochester and we love the Twins. Another 40 year affiliation in Rochester. Move to Upstate if you want to see the talent.
Baker and Lamb
I think that Delmon Young should hit .310 and drive in 110 runs.
I would have picked Kubel based on his second half last year, but he won last year, so I DQed him.
On the pitching side, I can envision Kevin Slowey as a surprise 15 game winner with at least 140 K’s.
Gardy will have a breakout year. That means Punto starts less than 40 games.
Santana and Hunter–WHOOPS!! Thanks Pohlad family
Man I hope someone is clever enough to say Santana and Hunter again.
Man I hope someone is clever enough to comment on somone commenting on Santana and Hunter again.
Santana and Hunter– WHOOPS!
I’m gay
Mauer and Bonser
Mauer batter–402 average
Bonster–4.35 ERA and leads the team with 12 wins
I could see Cuddy going 304/25/115
and Slowey going 15 wins and 3.85 ERA
Delmon: .320 110 RBI, 90 R, 32 HR
Slowey: 3.45 ERA, 165 K, 15 W, 202 IP
Delmon is my “Pick to Click”.
.305 Average
8 HR
90 Runs Scored
85 RBI
I love Delmon. Love his swing. Still, I would send Delmon, Harris, and Pridie back to the Rays for Bartlett and Garza, in a heartbeat. Rays firmly believe they stole Garza. I agree.
I honestly hadn’t read Tim’s post until now, but it’s interesting we have the same run productivity predicted for Young.
RBI + Runs - HR = Runs Produced
Tim’s:
110 + 90 - 32 = 168
Craig’s:
85 + 90 - 8 = 167
As we all know, in baseball a home run counts as an RBI and a Run, but produces only one run.
sometimes 2,3, and 4
Mauer and Boof
Mike Lamb and Boof Bonser.
Kevin Slowey. I think Slowey’s long term viability will supersede that of Scott Baker or Boof Bonser; falling second only to Francisco Liriano.
Slowey is the next Brad Radke.
I vote for Craig Monroe to have a big year at the plate. He seems to be ready this spring and I think a change of scenery will help him. Hopefully, he and Kubel will be a big improvement over last year’s DH group (can’t be any worse, can they?!).
I think Nick Blackburn will have a big year pitching for the Twins. he had a good season in the AFL last year and seems to be ready.
Joe Mauer - 580 PA’s .320/.420/.540 26-HR’s
Phil Humber - AAA 16-GS 2.75 ERA
Twins 15-G 8-GS 3.00 ERA
