The Ones That Got Away

What up world,

Even after the pep talk, the Twins continued their road suck-fest on Saturday, losing to the Rays 5-3. By the time Sunday rolled around, I was convinced that we were going to be swept, leading to a serious case of the Mondays on their day off.

Much to my surprise, Rob Nick Blackburn turned in a gem, and the team won 3-2. In addition to the pitching of R.N., the Twins received some power from Brendan Harris and some timely hitting from Go Go. The Delmonic even had a hit! Yay! He also turned in two strikeouts and left a couple of base, but at least it's something.

What makes the win even sweeter was that it was against the spitting machine known as Matt Garza. He and Jason Bartlett were sent to Tampa in exchange for Young and Harris last offseason. It was a move that was hailed by many fans. The Delmonic and his tremendous potential were headed to the great white north to provide some much needed pop to our lineup. He would patrol the left field, send homers in every direction, and steal more bases than Dane Cook steals jokes.

After a season and a half, I can say with confidence that I regret this particular transaction. The Delmonic looks lost at the plate. His upper and lower body look as if they came from two different people. I'm convinced that he had his legs amputated and replaced at some point in his life. I would much rather have an outfield of Span, Go Go, and Cuddles on a night to night basis, with More Ku-bell as the DH.

Meanwhile, Garza and Bartlett have been tearing up the AL East. Garza was the AL Championship Series MVP. Bartlett was voted team MVP for his defense and was hitting .373 with 7 home runs before he was recently put on the DL.

Now, I will admit that I was excited for the trade when it happened. I had gone through some rocky patches with Garza and his poor attitude, and was ready to move onto something fresh and new. I was getting those new relationship butterflies once again. First dates and some evidence of power from Young made me quickly forgot how much joy I had experienced with the Garza/Bartlett tandem. Instead of putting work into what I had, I was moving onto something flashy.

Today, when I see how well my boys are doing on the Rays, it hurts. You never want to see someone move onto something better. You want a Ricky Davis or Dante Culpepper situation. Not what I have now. Currently, I have Garza, Bartlett, KG, Santana, Kyle Lohse, and Randy Moss excelling on new teams. Past relationships that continue to haunt me throughout sports page headlines and sportcenter highlights.

I will move on, eventually. Someone else will tug at my heartstrings. Purple Jesus has already has my full attention. Jo Jo Ma and Justin Morneau as well. Percy Harvin is starting to whisper sweet nothings into my ear. The Delmonic may figure something out eventually, and we might be able to rekindle the fire that was once there.

Only time, and buckets of break up ice cream, will tell.

-Sota