Give it time

In the aftermath of the Johan Santana trade, it seems as though the comment boards on articles and blogs have become a "bash Bill Smith" wall. Who are we to be so critical right off the bat? I know Johan is worth a lot, maybe and probably more than we got for him, but the Minnesota fans that are trying to analyze this trade and find the negatives need to lay off. As a Twins fan for life, I've seen them through the good and the (very) bad. But as a real Twins fan, I have as much faith in our scouting system as I do in anything. If you go back and look at previous trades, it just shows that Minnesota generally knows what they're doing. If you look at this trade realistically, Bill Smith would not just give away Johan for nothing. I've heard people say he was backed into a corner, or he waited too long or whatever, but I strongly believe Smith did the right thing. I follow Minor League Baseball, but I'm not going to pretend to know about these guys we got from the Mets. All I know about them is what I've read from reputable sources. Nobody really know whether these guys will pan out or not. What gives us the right to jump on Smiths back just because we don't know what will happen? If you are a true Twins fan, give it some time. Nobody thought the AJ Pierzynski for Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser trade would work out, and now look at us. Have faith in our scouts and our General Manager. This upcoming season very well might not turn out the way we were hoping as Twins fans, but if we finish third or fourth in the division, that's not disappointing, it's just frustrating. Every team eventually has to start fresh at new positions with young players. I've heard the term "rebuilding" thrown around when referring to the Twins, but I don't see how anybody could tag the Twins as rebuilding next year when we just signed Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer and recently acquired Delmon Young to complement Joe Mauer in the lineup. The season might not be the best; We may finish below .500, we may miss the playoffs, we may make the playoffs and win the World Series, but until that time comes when these prospects that we got from the Mets either flop or help us win, everybody should back off of Bill Smith and just give him a chance for him to show us what he's made of.

Prospects acquired for Johan Santana:

1. Carlos Gomez (Outfield): Height-6'4"

Weight-195

Throws/Bats-R/R

Upside-Great defensively, very fast with decent power.

2. Deolis Guerra (Pitcher): Height-6'5"

Weight-200

Throws-R

Upside-Young (18 years old), above-average changeup.

3. Philip Humber (Pitcher): Height-6'4"

Weight-210

Throws-R

Upside-Good control

4. Kevin Mulvey (Pitcher): Height-6'1"

Weight-170

Throws-R

Upside-Good command, mixes pitches well

My how the momentum has shifted...

It was a mere 4 weeks ago that the whole state of Minnesota was ragging on Brad Childress, praising Adrian Peterson, and thinking that the whole Minnesota Vikings season was going down the drain. That was following a 34-0 drubbing at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, and things were looking pretty bad. Since then, not only have the Vikings gone 4-0, they have beaten opponents by an average of more than 20 points per game. Now at this point the Vikings have their fans thinking playoffs, and if they keep playing the way they have been lately, they can definitely go pretty deep in the postseason.

The most recent game that the Vikings dominated was in San Francisco against the 49ers, where they easily handled the Alex Smith-less Niners 27-7. The Vikings defense was spectacular yet again with 2 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries (unfortunately their defense wasn't enough to get the win for me in fantasy this week). The positive sign for this weeks game was the fact that AP was held in check, carrying 14 times for only 3 yards, but the Vikings used the second head of their two-headed monster to carry the load. Chester Taylor carried the ball 8 times for 101 yards and a touchdown, and Tavaris Jackson looked solid for the fourth consecutive week in a row with short, effective passes that moved the chains down the field.

The Vikings set the tempo of the game early on when big Kevin Williams picked off Trent Dilfer and returned it 18 yards to the house just 14 seconds into the game. From there on, the Vikings were in total control. The Vikings now control their own road to the playoffs. If they can defeat the Chicago Bears next week, the Washington Redskins in two weeks, and the Denver Broncos in the final week of the season, the will secure a playoff spot. Like I mentioned before, when (yes when, not if) the Vikings make the playoffs, if they can keep the motivation they have right now, they will be one dangerous team to face.

While the Vikings are tearing up the field, Minnesota Twins GM Bill Smith is holding strong in his efforts to get the maximum value for his Ace Johan Santana. While a lot of fans are clamoring for Santana to be traded soon so that the drama will go away, I applaud Smith for keeping his cool and not settling for anything less than the best. Now I, as much as the next die-hard Twins fan, would love to have the Twins sign Santana long-term, but I have come to terms with the fact that Carl Pohlad will not shell out the $100+ million that Santana is asking to keep him, so I'm OK with Smith being patient with this whole ordeal. I am still personally getting over the Hot-Stove week with all the different scenarios and trade rumors (that whole week consisted of sitting at the computer and refreshing every baseball-related web page waiting for the trade to happen). The Twins are definitely going be a different team next year, but I really do feel that they are getting better and better with every trade or little roster move. Bill Smith has already proven he knows what he is doing, and as anxious as I am to get this trade over and done with, I am happy that Smith has shown that he is as stubborn with this trade as Jacques Lemaire is when it comes to giving Martin Skoula ice time.

The Minnesota Wild are going back and forth again in the win-loss column, so let's hope they can extend their current winning streak of one (1) with a win tomorrow night against the San Jose Sharks. The Wild are in the middle of a pretty brutal road trip (Detroit, Columbus, San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles), and if they were to get their season back on track, this would be a good trip to do so on. Mikko Koivu is still out with a broken bone in his leg stemming from the ridiculously illegal hit by Mattias Ohlund a few weeks ago. Until Koivu comes back, I fear the Wild may be hovering around mediocrity.