¡VIVA RIVAS!

Well, it's official: The Twins picked up Carlos Silva's $4.35 million option for next year. With Liriano's status in serious question for next year and Radke's retirement, it looks like the Twins figured $4M and change was a fair price to pay for rotation depth. Is it really depth, though, if the sinkerballer turned meatballer version shows up again in 2007? What do you guys think, smart move? Or were there better pitchers available for comparable money?

Well, just when you think you've seen it all, you receive Luis Rivas fan mail -- I knew I started this site for a reason. And to think, I received fan mail before I received Rivas hate mail. Rivas-haters, you should be ashamed of yourselves. A girl going by the pseudonym of 'Ringo' (Who is most likely a friend of mine -- 2 heart charms?? Pure genius!) has professed her love for Luis before a fellow Twins fan could demonized him. I now present to you a Luis Rivas fan mail, to be preserved for all of history:

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm e-mailing you. My name is Ringo and I'm a junior in high school I love Luis Rivas. I'm serious! He was the first player I ever liked so I just stuck with him. I cried so my mom would by me his jersey. I have 2 heart charms with the name Luis on it, one is for back up in case I lose one. I bought every card Collectors Collection in Duluth had an I have some from Ebay. I have a grand total of 40, and I know it's not much, but for a teenager it's a ton. When he was sent to the minors, I cried. When I was told the Twins would not keep him, I was devastated. Everyone tells me how bad he sucked, but I still loved him dearly. One time, my gym teacher gave me candy, simply because he felt sorry for me for liking Rivas. In school, they called me Rivas girl. Oh yeah, as little has he hit(sob), he hit every game I went too, and I've only been to about 4 when he was there. He broke is 32 game slump when I was there with an infield hit. Oh, and here's a good one, I told Dan Gladden at Twins Caravan how much I liked him. He gave me tickets to Twins Fest so I could meet him, but Louie wasn't there any of the days. I really wanted to let Luis know that I was such a fan, so I e-mailed Mark Sheldon. He told me that there was no way that he could tell Louie, but he gave me a Link to e-mail him. I have no clue if it ever got there. I called Terry Ryan one day on his radio show, and told him to tell Louie good luck. Terry just said that Louie didn't produce as much as he would have liked. I know this is getting long, but I just want to thank you. He's my all time fave player and it's good to find this site. Thank you for everything

Ringo

As you've probably all heard by now, tonight's Cardinals starter, Jeff Suppan, joined several athletes and actors in taping an ad opposing stem cell research. The group producing the ad even bought ad time during Suppan's scheduled start on Wednesday night.

This is the first time I can remember seeing so many athletes get behind a political issue at once. While we've grown used to seeing actors and musicians get behind political issues, from bashing Bush (Babs, Dixie Chicks) to saving poor African children (Madonna...ok, not really a political issue), it's still fairly unusual to see athletes jump into politics, at least while they're still playing. That's a good thing. Most fans (including Luis Rivas fans) want to get away from real-world issues like politics when they turn on the tube to watch their favorite team.

Sports serve as a great unifier, like when U2 fans who don't really care whether or not Bono is against free trade because he rocks so hard. Sporting events are a time when hardcore Democrats and Republicans can get behind their favorite team and cheer as one for once in their lives. Hell, they might even high five, or gulp, hug -- if the game is big enough. To have players take such public stands on controversial issues only takes away from these rare moments of unity. Thankfully, the Fox production crew didn't make a big deal of the issue. In fact (correct me if I'm wrong) I don't think it was even mentioned during tonight's broadcast.

The Suppan video:

In case you're curious, here's the Michael J Fox video from the same political race that prompted the previous ad and was the source of Rush Limbaugh's ridiculously ignorant remarks:

As reported by Charley Walters in the Pioneer Press last week:

Former Twins outfielder and rookie of the year Marty Cordova returned recently after a two-week goodwill tour for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Cordova is in the real estate business in Las Vegas.

Nice to see injury-prone Marty landed in a line of work that doesn't demand a lot of him physically. More importantly, though, he's a in a place that will give him a natural tan, which must have been an important consideration. If you recall from a September post:

"Here's what the Washington Post reported back in 2002 on the incident:

Left fielder Marty Cordova was out of today's lineup after burning his face when he fell asleep in a tanning booth Tuesday. Doctors advised him not to remain in the sunlight for too long, and Hargrove said he might use Cordova as the designated hitter on Thursday.

Viva Rivas is in the process of a makeover. Feedback is welcome and encouraged -- tell me what you think! I haven't gotten around to customizing the sidebar, so no graphics or polls yet.

However, the VivaRivas Citizenry has spoken on the topic of "Which gorgeous Twin do you most desire to see naked?" and you overwhelmingly chose Boof Bonser, who received 48 percent of the vote. The next closest was Mike Redmond, with 27 percent. So, without further ado, here is Boof Bonser in the buff. No, wait! Please don't close your browser; parents, you can uncover your children's eyes: Boof is a Never Nude.

Well, it's finally here. A debate about LF. To recap: Wakky and the esteemed V. Rivas will debate each position in flux this offseason. We're assuming a $70 million salary cap. I said they'd be short posts, but I lied. We're all about flexibility here, so no worries. Plus, we know Luis Rivas would approve, and that's all that matters.

Summary: Wakky pushes for Carlos Lee, since the big bat will push the Twins lineup into championship status. Ever the realist, V. Rivas argues for a Kubel-White platoon at LF-DH. We both agree that Kubel will most likely open the season as the starter, putting a $500,000 dent in the team salary. Not too shabby.

[18:28] wakky: so, LF
[18:28] V. Rivas: what?
[18:29] V. Rivas: i thought we were doing 3B?
[18:29] wakkyjw: oh boy
[18:29] V. Rivas: haha
[18:29] V. Rivas: no no
[18:29] V. Rivas: we can do LF
[18:29] V. Rivas: i already know that one
[18:29] V. Rivas: i did some research on 3B though, terry ryan needs to put me on his speed dial cause i'm an idea man
[18:30] wakky: ha
[18:30] wakky: sweet
[18:30] V. Rivas: anyway
[18:30] V. Rivas: so LF
[18:30] wakky: in a dream world, I think we should sign carlos lee
[18:30] wakky: he didn't reup right?
[18:31] V. Rivas: mmm
[18:31] V. Rivas: no
[18:31] V. Rivas: he didn't
[18:31] V. Rivas: doesn't he cost as much as carl pohlad's left arm
[18:31] wakky: like soriano would
[18:31] V. Rivas: he's the 'premiere ' free agent
[18:31] wakky: I have modest dreams
[18:31] V. Rivas: so do you honestly think we have a chance at him?
[18:32] wakky: I have no idea where our payroll will be at
[18:32] wakky: but yeah

[18:32] wakky: we have a good team
[18:32] wakky: depends on if carlos wants $$ or wants to win
[18:32] wakky: at least try
[18:32] V. Rivas: we are talking about baseball players, so i'm going to go with money
[18:32] wakky: he would put us over the top
[18:32] V. Rivas: true
[18:32] V. Rivas: trying never hurt anyone
[18:33] V. Rivas: you wonder if terry ever puts in the cursory phone call
[18:33] V. Rivas: or if he just emails the agent and says, 'do we have any chance?'
[18:33] V. Rivas: and leaves it at that
[18:33] wakky: castillo-mauer-lee-morneau-troii-kubel-cuddyer-punto-bartlett
[18:33] wakky: drool...
[18:33] V. Rivas: i see no a-rod...
[18:33] wakky: save that for 3B
[18:33] wakky: heh
[18:34] V. Rivas: okay, so barring a miraculous opening of smilin' carl's wallet
[18:34] wakky: kubel
[18:34] wakky: if he can run
[18:34] V. Rivas: i agree there. you need to give him a chance...finally
[18:34] V. Rivas: that will be the key – running. i heard he was going to play winter ball
[18:34] V. Rivas: so i guess we'll find out soon enough if he's a gimp
[18:35] wakky: he also needs to refind his stroke

[18:35] V. Rivas: i'm not too concerned about that. i think if he plays everyday, he'll hit
[18:35] wakky: I thought he was hesitant at winter ball

Editor’s note: He indeed is hesitant to play, but hasn’t ruled it out. Sid reported on Sunday that the Twins still hope he’ll play.

[18:35] wakky: I know the front office really wants him to play winter ball
[18:35] wakky: but I think he's having a kid/or getting married or something
[18:35] V. Rivas: pffft, what about ME as a Twins fan
[18:36] V. Rivas: sounds like we've got another justin morneau on our hands
[18:36] V. Rivas: gardy will have to sit him down and give him the 'Son, you're better than this. Now quit playing Madden with Luis Castillo and rededicate yourself'
[18:37] V. Rivas: do we need a backup for kubel if we decide to go with him?
[18:37] V. Rivas: Cause I'm thinking a Rondell White-Kubel platoon in LF and DH
[18:37] wakky: tyner should do
[18:37] wakky: I like rondell
[18:37] wakky: but it hurts to see him throw
[18:37] wakky: plus he obviously can't DH
[18:38] V. Rivas: True, but it seemed like he could DH occasionally
[18:39] V. Rivas: I think if we split the time 50-50 between Rondell and Kubel in LF, we can ease Kubel's knee back into a full season of baseball, and keep Rondell's bat sharp
[18:39] V. Rivas: And we solve the DH problem for a mere $4 M (Rondell's salary)
[18:39] wakky: how much do you think rondell would want?
[18:39] V. Rivas: He has a a team option

Editor's Note: I was wrong. He's a free agent.

[18:40] wakky: I think that price was too high for him
[18:41] V. Rivas: I liked what I saw from his bat, though. $4M is scraping the bottom of the barrell for a quality veteran bat, so in my mind it's a good value
[18:42] wakky: I don't see him hitting the other way for power
[18:42] wakky: I don't know why pitchers even went inside with him

[18:43] V. Rivas: What if Kubel's knees are iffy next year. Are you prepared to see Tyner at LF for another year?
[18:44] wakky: guess not
[18:45] V. Rivas: OK, so just to keep track. You're going with Kubel in LF for what, something like $500,000?
[18:46] wakky: sure
[18:47] V. Rivas: how much do you think lee will cost as a FA?
[18:48] wakky: he made 8.5 mil this year
[18:49] wakky: ok, maybe 9-11
[18:49] V. Rivas: Yeah, I think he's out of our range. But if he can be signed to say a 2-year $16 million contract, I'd spring for that
[18:50] V. Rivas: But I bet he'll be looking for 4 years, $50-55 million
[18:50] wakky: most likely
[18:50] wakky: unless his agent is boras
[18:51] wakky: then 10-years, 110 mil
[18:51] V. Rivas: and he'll be compared to an early 90s Barry Bonds
[18:51] V. Rivas: I was looking through his player profile on ESPN, and it he briefly hired Scott Boras as his agent
[18:51] V. Rivas: then switched back to his old agent 2 days later
[18:53] wakky: ha
[18:53] wakky: he was prolly demanding 15% commission

Wakky and V. Rivas discuss Vernoica Mars:

Veronica Mars, loved as much for her sass as her cute button nose

[20:13] V. Rivas: i've got a huge crush on vernoica mars
[20:14] V. Rivas: is that wrong?
[20:14] wakky: no, the chick is hot
[20:14] wakky: just remember she doesn't really solve crimes
[20:15] wakky: and she reads a script
[20:15] V. Rivas: fine..
[20:15] V. Rivas: but you're forgetting
[20:15] V. Rivas: the most important part
[20:16] V. Rivas: H-O-T
[20:16] wakky: yes

UPDATE (10/16) -- Yeah, I know I promised an analysis of LF yesterday, but events conspired against me. We've had the debate, it's just a matter of getting it into cyberspace. It'll be up by the end of the day tmrw.

Just as I sat down to type, the Oh-ee-oh Magglio pounded out another homerun in the bottom of the ninth for the win and sweep of the A's. It's nice to see the Tigers win since they've been bad for so long, and back-to-back champions from the AL Central will be a nice feather in our division's cap. Back to my original topic...

Over the next couple weeks, a buddy of mine(alias: "Wakky" -- no real funny story behind that, sorry) and I will break down our recommendations for what the Twins should do and what we think they will do, position-by-position. They will hopefully be relatively short, easily digestible posts, culminating in a summary of what the roster will look like. Not an original idea, I know, but what else can you do without exclusive access to Johan and his family for a kick-Rivas feature?

We'll start out with the most unsettled positions, like 3B and LF, and move from there. We'll be operating from the (some say optimistic) assumption that the Twins will boost their salary to $70 million. Our rationale: The Twins boosted payroll by $7 million last year, and it seems reasonable to assume, given the Twins good attendance this year and their 2007 World Series aspirations, that they'll do so again this offseason. (We're still crossing our Homer Hankies, just in case) So tomorrow we'll cover LF, and a few days after that, 3B.

On a completely unrelated note, watch Veronica Mars. Yes, it's on the new CW, yes it's about a high school girl detective, and no, I'm not a teenage girl. Believe me, I thought the same thing about the show at first, so hear me out. The only reason I even gave it a chance is because a friend of mine who shares a passion for all things good: Twins baseball, Star Wars, Transformers and Quentin Tarantino movies, recommended it. So I said, my eyebrow arched, "Okay, I trust your judgement...maybe," and ordered the first three discs of the first season. And voila, on my day off yesterday, I watched ALL THREE DISCS of the show. Admittedly, I was feeling extremely lazy and had nothing else going on (such as Twins playoff baseball), but still, I wouldn't subject myself to the equivalent of a full workday of any old show, like my girlfriend's fave, "Gilmore Girls." While Veronica is not at the same level as a "24" or "Arrested Development," it's still damn good entertainment, especially if you like the snappy writing a la Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Firely/Serenity").

As you've all heard by now, the Twins picked up Hunter's $12 million option for next year.
As TwinsGeek reports, there are no clear-cut free agents options that would be a significant upgrade over Hunter. Ink him to an extension now, or risk adding yet another slap-hitter to the lineup!

"I'm a $12 million hombre?? WHOA! Joey Lawrence-style. "

The Twins were so bad and repeated the same mistakes so many times, V. Rivas could barely stand to watch the game as:

1) The A's scored first...again.
2) The Twins made an error and the A's scored...again
3) The Twins catch a bad break...again...this time it was Torii's 'out' at home plate.

But today they switched it up -- they added a little something extra to the mix: A devastating inning late in the game that all but sealed the game for the A's.

The Twins played so miserably it's easy to forget they triumphantly won the division less than a week ago. Yes, they can still hold their head high and unfurl a banner on opening day next year that reads: 2006 AL Central Champions. Four of those in five years ain't bad at all.

It's amazing that a team with the AL Batting Champ, an MVP Candidate, the likely Cy Young award winner, a top-flight closer and the best bullpen in the league couldn't advance past the first round. So much talent.

That's what happens when the pirahnas -- which make up just under 50 percent of the lineup -- can't ever get on base. Solo home runs are nice, but they're so White Sox 2000-04-style. The A's deserved to win this series, and congrats to them. But V. Rivas will officially being throwing his support behind the Tigers for the rest of the post-season. See, if they win it all, it'll mean the Twins are due in 2007, followed by the Indians in '08.

(Yeah, what about the Royals?)

Seeing that V. Rivas was raised right by Momma Rivas, he has a few thanks to dole out:

-Gracias to Brad Radke for the courage only previously seen in movie scripts

-Gracias to the pirahnas for inspiring cool t-shirts and posters. Oh, and the whole winning thing was pretty sweet, too.

-Gracias to Castro and Batista for playing a part in putting the team in such a deep hole early in the season, without which the magical comeback would never have occured.

-Gracias to Mike Redmond for walking around naked and giving us the phrase 'smell 'em'

-Gracias to the J & J boys, who exceeded all expectations. AL Batting Champ and MVP candidate -- the future is bright!

-Gracias to Michael Cuddyer, for those giant holes in your cheeks that pass for dimples and your 100 RBIs and 100 R. Truly a breakout season.

-Gracias to Torii Hunter for a torrid September, and for playing through multiple leg injuries in leading the team to victory. You $12 million stud, you.

-Gracias to Johan. You won the Cy Young in the hearts and mind of Twins fans last year, so it's nice to see you'll be recognized for your efforts this year.

-Gracias to the amazing rookie pitchers: Liriano, Boof, Neshek, Garza and Perkins. Hope springs eternal when young, talented players grow on trees.

-Muchas Gracias Twins for mercilessly beating the White Sox out of playoff contention.

33 for MVP!

"Big Fella" is back. Maybe that's been the missing ingredient these last two games. Gotta feel good about our chances now!

Gotta love it anytime a player's wife is the lead quote in a sports article:

"The big games always fall on Brad, " (Heather Radke) told the Ryans.

It seems everyone's expecting another clutch performance from Radke -- including his wife. And who am I to disagree with the woman who knows Brad best? The Twins have been so resilient all year, I fully expect the Twins to be around on Saturday, when the team apparently will take its chances with Silva because they doubt Santana will be ready to go.

OUCHY-WOUCHY

There was a quote in Souhan's article from Rick Anderson -- who's always seemed like he'd be a super cool dad -- that must be considered an all-time great:

"He's still a little ouchy" -- Anderson on how Santana's feeling after his playoff start.

I can just see the scene playing out in the Twins' clubhouse:

Johan eases his body into an ice cold tub the morning after his start, leans his head back and forces his muscles to relax. Closing his eyes, he exhales deeply. His muscles ache with every move.

Just then, Papa Rick walks by and stops at Johan's tub. He crouches down on his haunches, musses up Johan's hair and asks,

"How you doin', slugger? Still feeling a little ouchy?"

Santana nods.

"Yeah, my legs huht weel bad. It's hawd wuhk sitting the bitchohs down," he responds, his big dark eyes staring up at Papa Rick.

A confused look crosses his face as he realizes he's inexplicably talking like a toddler...sans the Spanish accent, no less.

Moments later, Mike Redmond walks by naked.

THE END.

It takes a real man to talk like that in a clubhouse and still have the respect of the team. Major kudos to Rick. I already admired him for coaching a consistently good pitching staff, but the respect has soared to a whole new level. If Morneau tried something like that, Torii would probably pound him into the ground for turning soft the day before the Twins' biggest game of the season.

Baby talk on the eve of a playoff elimination game: Rick, you're one cool customer. Go Twins!

No matter what happens today, it's been one of the all-time great seasons for the Twins. Here's an FSN Twins 2006 Highlight Reel that ran last week. Disfrute.

While The Dive wasn't the only reason the Twins lost, Torii's smart enough to know it was the play that changed the game. (After the game he said, "All I've got to say is I have to take the blame for this.") The Twins were fresh off a big inning that saw Cuddyer and Morneau go deep back-to-back, and that play reversed any momentum the team might have gained.

Waiting for Cuddyer to reach that ball may have been the most agonizing -- and longest -- few seconds the Metrodome has seen since Hunter allowed an inside-the-park homerun exactly four years ago to the Athletics' Ray Durham in game 3 of the 2002 ALDS.

"THE DIVE"

What a coinkidinky! Ray Durham slides in on his inside-the-park HR exactly 4 years ago today.

But to place all the blame on Torii would ignore the Twins' lack of run production and a suddenly shaky bullpen.

The bullpen has been solid all year and is probably the least of the team's worries at this point. The offense, however, has slipped back into its early-September slump.(Mike Redmond and Joe Mauer at the catcher-DH platoon anyone?) Yet there's reason for hope because these are the 2006 Twins. In the regular season the Twins bounced back from two-game losing streaks with 4-5 game win streaks as recently as September, so the Twins are certainly capable of stringing together wins.

Of course, this is the post-season, so August and September don't matter much right now. As Baseball Tonight mentioned, 19 of the 20 teams that have gone up 2-0 on the road in a five-game series have advanced. The good news is the only team to lose was the 2001 A's. The bad news? It doesn't really matter that it was the A's because nearly the entire team's roster has turned over since then.

If the Twins win on Friday, you have to believe the Twins are going to come back with Johan and Boof on three-days rest, even if they're on a lower pitch count. I just don't see the Twins throwing Silva in an elimination game unless Johan is physically unable to pitch on three-days rest.

NOTES

Jim Caple writes an entire column about Hunter's ill-fated dive.

Oakland 2B Mark Ellis broke his hand in the 9th inning and may be done for the year. His replacement, D'Angelo Jimenez, is a definite "upgrade" for the Twins. Now about sneaking Carlos Silva into an A's uniform for game 3...

I like the new look, Carlos. Green and yellow really brings out your dark Latino eyes.

UPDATE:
Sometimes awarding Rivas of the Day seems like rubbing salt in the wound. Yesterday was one of those days. But after some prodding, it has been decided: If the sharp sting of failure is what it takes to wake up those bats, then by Rivas, I'll do it!

Rivas of the Day: It was a team effort this time -- Twins 25-man roster. You know who you are.

V. Rivas, the self-appointed public defender of Gard-Dawg, is here to tell Gardy-haters...

"COME ON!"

Hating Gardy? GOB is here to tell you, "COME ON!"

An irrational Gardy-loathing festers just beneath the surface of some Twins fans, and it rears its ugly head whenever things don't go Minnesota's way. COME ON! There's no room for dissention among the ranks at this late a date. The time to speak was when the Twins were charging back to win the division. Didn't feel like complaining at the time? It's probably because Gardy was doing a good job.

Of course, it helps that Gardy didn't actually do anything cringe-worthy today. Would you rather have seen Jason Tyner at DH over Phil Nevin? That's debatable -- Tyner doesn't hit lefties particularily well...and he's Jason Tyner...at DH. Rather have seen Nathan instead of Crain in the 9th? Crain has been hot (and Rincon has beeen bad), and Gardy doesn't bring his closer in early unless he's the only fresh arm. It's worked all season, and remember when he went Joe Torre on Nathan and had him pitch a multi-inning outing against the Yanks in 2004? Didn't end too well then, either. Remember, managing the bullpen is one of Gardy's strengths: Players know their roles, and they don't get overused. Would you rather have him run players into the ground, a la Felipe Alou or Dusty Baker? There was no reason to think Crain had any less of a chance than Rincon, Reyes or Neshek in that situation.

It just comes down to this: The Twins players got beat. A couple notable mistakes:

--Crain failed to pitch Thomas carefully enough, and the Big Hurt feasted on his second spicy meatball of the game. No postgame spread for him.
--Castillo failed to advance Bartlett to third in the 8th. All he had to do was hit the ball somewhere to the right of the pitcher, and he choppped it to 3B.
--The Twins hitters' #1 enemy, their grim reaper -- overanxiousness -- invaded their bats again. So Zito cruised through the game on a low pitch count despite not having Santana stuff. Don't believe the hype: 1 K and 3 BB in 8 IP is definitely good, but it's not dominating.

So the Twins lost a winnable game. Yes, it hurts, and, yes, you keep replaying all the failed opportunities in your head.

May V. Rivas and GOB offer a few more constructive outlets for your frustrations:

Repeat after me:

BOOF!

or, if you prefer the god's will/destiny stuff:

RAGNAROK!

or if you just want to smile after all the tears:

Watch Boof (there it is)'s music video.

NOTES:
As John Donovan notes for SI.com, Johan sounded a little pissed off that the Twins couldn't score more than one run while he was pitching. Overall, nice article...especially the part about not counting the Twins out despite the heartbreaking loss. Just one thing: Matt Garza isn't scheduled to pitch game 4 cuz he's not on the playoff roster.

After reading through all the massive pacakges put together by the local papers and all the analysis done by Twins bloggers(yes, Batgirl, I had the cojones -- or indecency -- to call them 'massive pacakges'!) the folks here at V. Rivas are suffering from information overload, and don't feel we have anything left to contribute. Sure, we're anxious to see who makes the playoff roster, but after that, what is there left to do but to just play ball!!! That being said, I will contradict myself and offer a couple of links off the beaten path that you may not have read yet.

The Oregonian offers a quick playoff overview that is preluded by a love note to post-season baseball.

A NY Times columnist uses the Detroit-Twins battle to illustrate how the Wild Card has degraded the 'sanctity' of the division championship race. He argues that if this had been 1993, the Twins and the Dodgers would have thrown their aces on Sunday. While that is true, I think anyone would be hard-pressed to argue that Sunday's games were any less exciting because of the Wild Card or because Johan wasn't on the mound.

In case you missed it, here's another great article from the NYT, this time about the Twins and the A's.

Here's a position-by-position analysis of the Twins-A's matchup from MLB.com. Gracias Brian Sabean also did a nice analysis along these lines.

V. Rivas has been tracking the Twins from a far off land near the Canadian-Minnesota border this weekend, so apologies all around for missing the biggest weekend of the year in the blogosphere. That's okay, though, because .... I still got to watch the Twins win the division?!? What? How? HUH?!?! COMO??? More later, but it's fitting that Silva would come through in the clutch in this, the most twisted, upside-down Twins season in my memory. V. Rivas takes back all the questions he posed about Silva's abilities this year. Gracias, Carlos! (AND you may have helped me win my fantasy league. That's right, I flew in the face of all reason and started you, Carlos...actions speak louder than words! I **heart** you) And thank you, Twins. See you on Tuesday! (And thank you, Royals. See you next year) I'm so happy I'm thanking everyone. I'm so polite. Thanks mom and dad for giving me life so I could be a Twins fan at this very moment in history. Really should stop now, this is getting absurd. GO TWINS!

Yes, Torii, this September you were truly a Superhombre. Soak it in. You deserve it.