I knew it was coming, but I’m still upset: the Minnesota Twins appear on the verge of trading first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. According to the Star Tribune, Your Olympic Hero (so called because he was a star of the 2000 US Olympic baseball team) has been told he will soon be dealt, most likely either to the Pirates or Red Sox, so that the Twins can make slugging rookie Justin “Nosferatu” Mourneau their starting first baseman for the next decade or so.
It’s quite a sad day- Mientkiewicz has been my favorite Twin ever since the start of their renaissance four years ago, and I’m enough of a fan that I both know how to spell and pronounce his name, and own a Doug Mientkiewicz jersey. There are only two silver linings I can see here- Morneau may turn out to be the second-best first baseman in Twins history, and if Doug goes to the Pirates “Minny” will likely get top pitcher Kris Benson in return. Mientkiewicz is generally conceded to have the best-looking wife of any Twin, but then Benson is married to this woman.
For more on Doug’s last night in town, check out the holy trinity of Twins bloggers: Aaron Gleeman, Bat Girl, and TwinsGeek.
(UPDATE: The original report was 24 hours ago, and still no trade. Hmm.)
Posted by Stephen Silver at July 26, 2004 09:05 PM