Organ Donor? It's a Possbility

I don't use my blog to spout about my personal life - in fact, whether it be here or on Twitter, outside of talking occasionally about my wife and kids, I don't post much about my personal/private life. I'm under the general impression that no one would care about my life beyond social media, therefore I keep it to myself.

This time though, I'm going to share something that's quite serious, and rather life-changing.

My mother has informed me that she's on the wrong end of kidney failure. She'll need a transplant, and she'll need one soon.

That's where I (and possibly my brother) come in: time to see if I can be a viable donor.

Admittedly, I don't have the strongest relationship with my mother. She raised me strict, over-bearing, over-protective, etc. Looking back now, I can see why: she just wanted the best out of me, and wanted me to make proper decisions. I didn't do my best after I left home, and I may have made a number of wrong decisions, but as we stand, life is what it is. Two great kids, a wife and best friend who loves me and our lives as we have them now. And it can all change just like that with a major decision that I've been faced with.

In all reality, it's should be the easiest major decision ever. Can't let a family member pass because you don't want to help. Not so sure I could live with myself knowing I could help my mother and decided not to.

So I've filled out a questionnaire sent from the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, where the donation will happen. Soon enough, I'll receive a kit to take to my primary care doctor so that we can do simple tests and blood work to send back to Rush. If all goes well with that, I'll make an appearance at the clinic for another pre-donation test. If I am to donate, then I'll be spending a couple of days there for the operation. My mom gets a kidney, and she can go on living for a few more years. At 62, she's probably not ready to go just yet.

The scary thing for me is going to be the recovery. I'm a blue-collar worker, so I'm likely going to miss around a month or so while I get better. That's not what's scary: it's the lack of short-term disability from my employer. My life will likely get rather difficult if it becomes that much harder for me to bring in my end of the mortgage payments, food for my growing children, etc. My life as a beer snob will likely take a big hit, too. My desire to attend more and more baseball games could be in jeopardy as well.

But if I let those obstacles get in the way of granting my own mother a chance for a few more years, then I can just brand the word "selfish" on my big forehead.

I'm hoping one of my kidneys is healthy enough to donate. Because my mother has put up with a lot of my crap for this long, why not donate and help make that time even longer.

How the Twins Lost This Season Ticket Holder

Even as Detroit Tigers fans, we're very much aware of one of their AL Central foes, the Minnesota Twins - a ball club that has seen itself move from a decrepit facility in the Metrodome to the more lavish surroundings of Target Field; a ball club who's seen their fortunes dip quite a bit since moving to said facility.

Naturally, new ballparks are a great way to generate new or more revenue. Aside from actually paying for the new park, the extra people through the gates (especially in the first couple of years) should help boost the coffers of any ball club, regardless of how well they play.

The Twins first season in Target Field was a success. A 94-68 record, good for a first place finish in the Central. Their attendance during the inaugural season was at 3,223,640.

However, seasons two and three at the new yard weren't very successful. For the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the Twins would finish in last place in the division, with 99 losses in '11 and 96 last season. Attendance for the 99-loss season? Not much worse than the 94-win season, at 3,168,107.

But last season's attendance showed a drop to 2,776,354. With the novelty of a new ballpark wearing off, the patience of Twins fans is wearing rather thin - it's hard to imagine that last year's attendance will be less than this season's attendance. Certainly, the crop of talent that the Twins will display on their roster to start the season will do nothing to entice more fans to spend on this ball club.

Here's an example of that - a co-worker of mine decided that he wasn't interested in renewing his season ticket package. Here's his reason, and the reply that he got from Dan Strong, a Twins season ticket and sales executive (the second paragraph of Mr. Strong's reply is one that had me laughing for 27 consecutive minutes):

I'm sorry, but the Twins haven't done much since then to change my mind about renewing my season tickets.  I did like the trades made to acquire some promising young pitchers (Worley, Meyer, and May), but this was quickly undone by (what I view as foolish moves and a waste of time and money) the free agent pick-ups of Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, and the very oft-injured Rich Harden (the Joel Zumaya of 2013?).  I don't think that this group of mediocre (in fact borderline major league talent) will do much to change the Twins' fortunes this year - it's just the same old group of retread pitchers with a different name on the back of their uniform.

I respectively disagree with your assessment that the Twins "provide a baseball experience second to none."  I would argue that winning is the most vital part in providing an excellent baseball experience.  The Twins have not won a World Series since 1991 and have only won one play-off series since then (and that was way back in 2004).  I do appreciate the good (not great) teams that the Twins have fielded over the years, but recently, this organization has definately taken a step back.  I am glad that you (and I assume the Twins office in general) are confident about the 2013 Twins - however, I do not share this confidence at all and expect the Twins to finsh last in the AL Central yet again.  It is likely that only the Astros will prevent the Twins from having the worst record in the AL this year.  I hope that I am wrong.  Yes, Target Field is a great ballpark to watch a game, but when the team is dreadful, and nearly unwatchable at times, the baseball experience is bad regardless of what kind of palace they're playing in.

As far as the Twins season ticket plans, I was very disappointed with how the whole seat selection process was conducted when Target Field first opened.  I realize that there are logistical issues involved, but the fact that my 10 years as a season ticket holder had virtually no impact on the quality of seats that I could purchase really made me angry.  Every Johnny-come-lately with deep enough pockets to afford a full or 40-game package immediately stepped to the front of the line.  Compounding this was the fact that 20-game buyers were limited to the fringe areas of the ballpark.  One equitable solution in my mind would have been to break every established season ticket holder into equivalent "full seasons".  Thus an account that had 8-20 game seasons in their history would be the equivalent of 2 full seasons, while one with 8-40 game seasons would have the equivalent of 4 full seasons.  This would've been fair, but the Twins organization decided to take the short view and simply reward those who had spent the most money most recently (disregarding the total amount of money that we loyal partial game holders had poured into the Twins coffers over the years).  I do appreciate the Twins' decision to start giving a 10% discount on concessions to season ticket holders - that is a smart move.

As I said below, I'm sure that tickets for the upcoming All-Star game will be handled in a similar fashion.  Small potatoes like me would get the chance to buy tickets to the dumb events like the homerun derby, but would likely just be thrown into a "lottery" to have the chance to buy 2 nose-bleed tickets to the actual game.

Anyway, I still remain a Twins fan - just not one who will blindly spend my money to watch vastly inferior baseball.  I continue to believe that the best way for me to make my displeasure felt is to not renew my tickets.  I've had to sit through far too many horrible games started by Nick Blackburn, Francisco Liriano, Sam Deduno, et al in the past two seasons - I won't make it a third with Correia, Pelfry, etc.  I am not concerned at all about losing my position as a long-standing season ticket holder.  From a practical point of view, it didn't do me any good anyway.

And the reply:

While we are sorry that you did not renew your season tickets for the 2013 season, it is my hope that we did everything we could have to keep you as a Twins Season Ticket Holder.

Over the years, the Twins organization has earned a reputation for building quality teams and providing a baseball experience that is second to none.  And as we look to the upcoming season, we are committed to restoring the Twins winning tradition and have confidence that the 2013 Minnesota Twins will be a team you will once again be proud of.

As you know, a Twins season ticket delivers more than just a guaranteed seat.  The 10% concession and merchandise discount and the opportunity to purchase 2014 All-Star Game tickets are just a fraction of the benefits and opportunities being offered to Season Ticket Holders this season.  And if you return as a Season Ticket Holder before Opening Day – you will retain your priority date with us, meaning your tenure with the Twins will remain uninterrupted. 

Thank you for your past support of the ball club.  If I can answer any questions, please contact me at the phone number or email address below.  I’m happy to assist any way I can.


Dan Strong 

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I know, I know... that second paragraph from Dan Strong, right?

Though he might be right - the Twins baseball experience may indeed be "second to none." I just wonder if they're expecting that experience for their fans to be *that different.*

 

Fun With Pre-Preseason Predictions

Each year before Spring Training officially kicks off, I pick the little corner of my brain and spill out how I think the baseball standings will look at the end of the season. I'm usually way off when it comes to making such predictions.

Last year was no different.

But alas, this is typically for entertainment purposes only. There's not a whole lot of thought process here, just some fun and games before the real fun and games get started.

Here goes nothing (which is what this is really worth):

American League

EAST

1. Rays
2. Blue Jays
3. Yankees
4. Orioles
5. Red Sox

CENTRAL

1. Tigers
2. Royals
3. White Sox
4. Indians
5. Twins

WEST

1. Rangers
2. Angels
3. Athletics
4. Mariners
5. Astros

Wait... the Astros? Oh yeah. They moved, thus creating many more meaningless interleague games! Hooray for Bud Selig!

National League

EAST

1. Nationals
2. Braves
3. Phillies
4. Mets
5. Marlins

CENTRAL

1. Reds
2. Cardinals
3. Pirates
4. Brewers
5. Cubs

WEST

1. Giants
2. Dodgers
3. Diamondbacks
4. Padres
5. Rockies

Not exactly thinking outside the box on the NL standings here, as they're damn near the same as how they finished last year. Prove me wrong, Rockies, Cubs and Marlins!

 My Wild Cards: Blue Jays and Angels in the AL, Braves and Dodgers in the NL.

As far as the AL Central goes, naturally, the easy choice here is to pick the Tigers. The rest of the division, well, not so much. The division is by far the worst in baseball, as we may see 3, if not 4 teams finish below .500. Then again, last year I picked the White Sox to finish dead last in the division, and look what happened... they were playing meaningful baseball through most of September until the Tigers ultimately held them off. This season, I think the Royals will still be that pesky team that will still hit well, and maybe... just maybe pitch a bit better, too.

Happy Spring Training Eve, folks... it's time to get our baseball on.

(For entertainment purposes only. Please, no more bets...)

The Tigers Should Probably Hurry Up and Win The World Series

There's a lot of money being thrown around the baseball world, and the latest number has one Felix Hernandez landing himself a real nice contract extension that will ultimately make him the richest pitcher in baseball.

I can't blame the guy for agreeing to a deal that will pay him more than $27MM per season when the extension kicks in... any one of us would say yes to that.

So with that, Tigers fans like myself are waiting for the same kind of extension: only it would likely be in the neighborhood of 5 years, $200MM for one Justin Verlander, rather than 7 years, $175MM that is being reported (but not final just yet) for Felix.

Hit this, fools... (Photo: Leon Halip/Getty Images)

Some lack of objectivity might fall out of my train of thought here, but it's my humble opinion that Verlander is in fact, the best pitcher in baseball. Outside of a rather forgettable 2008 season, JV has been amongst the league leaders in wins, strikeouts, and ERA... leading the American League in all 3 categories in his Cy Young and MVP award winning season of 2011. That, along with his 2 career no-hitters, it's hard to argue that he's not the best. And realistically, he should be paid as such.

That's where this gets iffy. The Tigers payroll for 2013 - so far - is already over $145MM. $43.475MM of that is tied up with the current projected starting pitching, assuming that Rick Porcello wins the job of the 5th starter. Max Scherzer and Doug Fister both got raises - and deservedly so - and with strong seasons, hopefully injury free, both figure to get more substantial raises in their next go-round with arbitration (Max has 1 year of arbitration left, Doug has 2). While Sanchez is locked up longer term, Verlander has this and next season left on his current deal, a deal that pays him over $20MM per season now.

Naturally, the difference in Hernandez's contract and Verlander's contract is rather glaring. And I'm sure JV knows that.

Justin has said that he would love to spend his entire career with the Tigers. Noble, plus I don't really believe that an owner such as Mike Ilitch would be willing to let the best pitcher he's ever had under his control just walk away during the 2014-2015 offseason. So the matter becomes how much will he make, and when will the deal get done. The bigger problem becomes the rest of the rotation. It's rather hard to fathom that the Tigers could manage a reasonably lower payroll while keeping this rather nice core of starters. And it's not just the pitchers: Miguel Cabrera sees his contract expire after the 2015 season, and I'm going to assume that the majority of Tigers fans would rather see him finish his career with the club, as he could easily fit himself into a more probable DH role, especially after Victor Martinez's contract runs dry. But ultimately, in a realistic world, there's going to be no way to keep the current batch of pitchers while keeping payroll from reaching $200MM.

So, essentially, it just comes down to... win the World Series with what you have now. And do it fast.

The progression seems simple: lost the pennant in 2011, lost the World Series in 2012. That means the Tigers win it all in 2013, right?

We're going to have to hope so. While it's not my money that's being thrown around here, it's a bit worrisome that so many players are getting enormous contracts, and long-term ones, with no guarantees that success will be had. Case in point: Alex Rodriguez. Sure, he's a poor example because of his link to performance enhancing drugs, but his giant contracts over the course of his career are laughable since they are of little worth if he's not producing because he is hurt or unproductive. Albert Pujols' salary starting in 2014 will be $23MM and increase by $1MM each season thereafter, for a guy who's numbers are decreasing as each year passes (though for the next 2 seasons, he'll make less than Vernon Wells, another example of a bad yet hilarious contract).

Zack Greinke will average $25.5MM per season starting in 2014. We're all pretty sure that Verlander is a better pitcher. He'll probably get paid accordingly. For me, the numbers are scary. Pretty sure though, that Ilitch is going to do what he does, spend what he spends. And we as fans will still watch. No matter what the price tag is.

Gimmie Back My Pennant!

With today's news that a Miami anti-aging clinic has linked several MLB players with using HGH or other performance enhancing drugs, I find myself asking:

Can we have a re-do of the 2011 American League Championship Series?

Okay, I don't really want a re-do, but since Nelson Cruz is among those on the list of players newly accused, it stands to reason that he might have been a little sauced during the Rangers 4-2 series win vs the Detroit Tigers.

I have zero proof of this, of course, and the article linked above merely mentions his involvement in performance enhancing in 2012. But it's fun to speculate: During the 6 games vs Detroit, he hit a robust .364, hit 6 HRs and drove in 13. His OPS was an incredible 1.713. Tigers fans will recall that this offensive demonstration was rather offensive. He was a key cog (along with anyone who pitched to him) in the Rangers success in the ALCS.

(If you ignore the rest of his postseason offensive numbers, he was really killer in 2011!)

Naturally, if the rumors are true, who know how far the (alleged PED) goes for Cruz, or anyone for that matter.

Though to be sure, if Cruz doesn't have that performance vs the Tigers, we wouldn't have been treated to this wonderful display of defense:

 

Almost!

In all seriousness, we should stop pretending that we'll ever get past the steroid era, because it seems that players will always look for that way to get an edge. Players are still doing it because they want the prestige that comes with their big offensive numbers, and of course - they want to get paid. Back to Cruz for the money: in 2010 he was drawing a $440K salary. In 2011, it bumped up to $3.65MM, based on his solid numbers for the '10 season, batting .318, with 22 HRs and 78 RBIs in 108 games. Cruz saw a drop-off in batting average the following season, but saw his power numbers stay relatively level while still earning him a raise that saw him get paid $5MM last season.

Again, nothing has been proven - yet, that is - but this nonsense of players trying to dodge the system will continue to be irritating for those who love the game. I know that the numbers posted by those who have used PEDs won't get erased, much like I know I can't talk MLB into giving the Tigers another shot at the 2011 Pennant. But where does it end? Will the players ever respect the game, or will they continue to try and juice it up?

In reality, I have as much faith in the players to stop trying to cheat as I have for Bud Selig to come forward and apologize for this mess. After all, he let it happen for so many years, and it'll take 2 or 3 times as long to clean it up. If that ever happens.

Delmon To The Phillies Funny, But A Bargain

Picture, if you will, Delmon Young playing left field. It probably looks a little like this:

Guh!

Yep, it's all fun and games until the ball comes your way.

However, it's not nearly as bad as it seems for the Philadelphia Phillies, who signed the "left fielder" today.

Delmon's contract with the Phillies is for only 1 year, at a base salary of $750,000. A giant pay cut for a guy hauling in a base salary of $6.75MM last season. Not to mention, for much of the prior season, Young had his glove taken away from him (largely after his arrest in New York) and was limited to DH duties outside of National League ballparks. Quite a contrast in salary coming off a season that included being the MVP of the American League Championship Series.

But that off-the-field trouble he had last season, coupled with his seemingly wasted talent has cost him perhaps a more lucrative contract during the offseason. Aside from being a bad person,* Delmon's modest .267 batting average, his .296 on base percentage (only 20 walks last season, though that's 15 more than he had in 2011) probably prevented him from fielding more offers, maybe even from the Tigers. But this deal for the Phillies could actually work heavily in their favor.

At this rather minimal salary, Philly could hit the proverbial jackpot should he have an even miniscule improvement from the numbers he posted with the Tigers last season. If Young can keep his head in the game, post some better numbers, and even play some marginal defense, this will become the steal of the offseason for the Phillies. Sure, the "if" factor comes in here, but this is clearly a low risk/high reward signing for the team. Let's face it: if DY doesn't work out for whatever reason, it would be 100 times easier to release him at his new current salary vs the Tigers cutting him loose at his old salary. In baseball terms, $750,000 is chump change. This will be a good deal for Philly no matter what kind of year (on or off the field) Delmon has.

(*I don't REALLY know if Delmon Young is a bad person, I just go ahead and assume as much.)

Blog Resurrected

I had to dig out this blog and wipe the layers of dust off of it, but for the time being... it's back.

About a year and a half ago, I started blogging in full force for Motor City Bengals. It was today that I decided to step away from the Fansided site to refocus on my blog here... more importantly, refocus on my life; in the sense that I could program my own musings at my own leisure. Lately, my own leisure and free time has been either limited by work, family, stress, and the off-chance I get my Friday afternoons to spend blowing off steam at my local watering hole.

Ultimately though, I still love writing and talking baseball, and my Detroit Tigers are still my number one vice outside of said work, family, and stress. I will still write about the Tigers, but maybe not as often as I even want to. I'm thankful that John Parent saw enough in my previous writings to consider me for even writing for MCB, and it's helped me launch new connections via the blogs and Twitter that I still enjoy to this day.

I still look forward to some easy blogging, some baseball conversing, and the occasional wise-assing (I'm pretty sure that's not a word, but for now, that'll do). Also still looking forward to what should be an exciting 2013 Detroit Tigers season, and looking forward to all of you being excited (or miserable) with me.