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THROWING YOU A CURVE
WHAT DOES THE ALL-STAR BREAK MEAN? For a baseball player, the All-Star break can mean many different things. First of all, it’s a break for all players to just get away from the game for a few days. For a selected few, it’s playing in the All-Star Game, like the Twins Joe Nathan. Joe is the only Twins representative going to Houston for Tuesday night’s game. Congratulations to Joe for his successful start as the new Twins closer. I know he is very excited and really looking forward to his first all-star appearance. He also knows he is representing the Twins bullpen. Without the set-up pitchers like Juan Rincon (who I feel should also be an all-star), J.C. Romero, Aaron Fultz, Grant Balfour, Terry Mulholland and Joe Roa, Nathan knows he might not have been able to be selected. Baseball is a team game and Nathan's fellow bullpen friends helped him get to Houston. For the players that weren’t picked, it's three days off to just get away. Many fly home to spend a couple of nights in their own bed. Others will stay around the Twins Cities area and just relax. Golf, fishing, and just spending time with their families is high on their list. The break is also a time for some players to just heal and others to think about the second half of the season. Doug Mientkiewicz, for example, can rest his sore left wrist. Corey Koskie can rest his nagging back and leg injuries. Matthew LeCroy can fly home and spend some nights with their new baby girl. Baseball is a very physical and mental game. The break can work wonders sometimes when maybe you didn’t feel you had a successful first half. It’s a way to start over. Throughout baseball history there has always been players that have turned their season around at the All-Star break for the good and the bad. Just look at the Twins' Radke, Santana and Lohse last season. After the All-Star break last season they were a combined 25-5 and helped the Twins win their second consecutive division title. Shannon Stewart and Michael Ryan hope that after the break they can again help the Twins win some games. Both are currently starting their rehab assignments with the Triple-A Rochester ball club. Maybe Stewart will be healthy and do to the offense what he did last season when he was traded over from Toronto after the break! For me the All-Star break is about going home and spending some time with my wife and boys. I am also taking some games off from the television side and will be able to spend over a week at home. I may miss some games but I will be watching! I hope you are able to take a break from time to time in your daily life. We all need the time to just relax and get away. Getting away means something different to all of us, so whatever getting away means to you, have fun. Thanks for reading my columns and let’s hope the Twins can continue their success in the second half of the 2004 baseball season.
Your baseball friend,
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