(No, it’s not quite what you’re thinking.)

It’s May, so I’ve bothered to look at the American League standings. I’m intrigued by what I see. Let me explain. I skew towards the AL Central, where the Twins are on top, but the Tigers are playing some decent ball. The other three teams in the Central, and the entirety of the AL West look average at best. Out East, the Yankees and Red Sox have solid teams, and the Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in the League.

Now follow along. If the Twins and Tigers can beat up on the rest of their division and the West, and the three teams in the East knock each other around some, we could see the Rays as Division Champs, and the Tigers as the Wild Card.

A post-season without the Yanks and the Sawks. That’s good for everyone but FOX, which of course means it’s good for everyone.

Dear Mr. Harwell,

I am reluctant to admit that I have spent most of my life being barely aware of your existence. I remember there being a bit of a ruckus when you got fired by a college football coach, and that everyone was happy when the guy from Little Caesar’s hired you back the next year. But that was about it; beyond that, you were a trivia fact that rattled around my brain like so many others do. The second video ever played on MTV was Pat Benetar’s “You Better Run.” Minnesota became a state in 1858. And Ernie Harwell was the voice of the Detroit Tigers.

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Interesting article from Will Leitch¹ today on how the Yankees’ habit of luring superstars has actually turned into an advantage for the Yankees, because now other teams are being forced to pay NY prices for their top talent, when really only the Bronx Nine can afford to do so.

I think, in the main, he’s absolutely correct. The Yankees have the most revenue in Major League Baseball by a large margin, and can afford to hand out the kinds of contracts that other teams really shouldn’t. And I think he’s right about how that applies to Joe Mauer in the sense that, if something happens to Joe, the Twins are indeed toast.

However, I think he’s wrong about how much the Yankees would have paid if Mauer had been on the open market. Given the gap between Baby J and the rest of the talent pool, I think the Yankees would have opened up the wallet to make sure he ended up in pinstripes. Obviously we’ll never know, but that’s my two bits.

Regardless, yet again another competitive advantage goes the Yankees’ way. We can only hope they’ll compensate with more bad ideas like the ‘Joba Rules’.

I was lucky enough to attend the very first regular season game at Target Field, as well as two other games during the week. I sat in 3 very different parts of the stadium and spent a lot of time walking around. While there have been a ton of posts on the internet regarding Target Field, I still have the audacity to think that my thoughts are valuable.
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In case you haven’t heard, Joe Mauer has signed an 8 year $184 million contract extension. This keeps Joe Mauer a Twin until 2018 (barring any opt-out clauses).
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