Super Bowl Week Random Thoughts:

Is it just me or does it seem like the more ESPN and NFL Network talk about the impending Super Bowl, the more it sounds like the Giants are the favorite? Could they be trying any more blatantly to sell the game? Hey, we’re going to watch, you don’t need to spend hours building up the Giants out of fear that people won’t want to watch a blow out. People would watch even if it weren’t:

1. A rematch of a 3 point game from a little over a month ago.
2. Boston versus New York.
3. Brady versus Manning, albeit, the lesser Manning. This brings me to another point though; Eli needs a nickname. Peyton, like Michael, Tiger, Bird, Magic, Pele and (ugh) Barry only needs one name. Eli isn’t that guy, so he’s going to need a nickname. I’m thinking either “Manning Minor” or “The Little Dipper.” The obvious reference to the fact that although Eli looks like Peyton, he’ll never be as big and his star shines no where near as bright.
4. The first ever 18-0 team is going for the first 19-0 season and the first undefeated season in 35 years.
5. Spygate versus one of the 31 teams in the NFL who don’t cheat…riiiight…
6. Evil versus…well Tom Coughlin.
7. The 6^th round draft pick turned Cinderella story versus the #1 overall pick whose entire family whined and cried til he got traded out of San Diego. Again allow me to digress, who in their right mind complains about having to live in San Diego? Has he been to San Diego? Everything about it is beautiful; the weather, the people, the ocean, the Tomlinson, what’s not to like?
8. Tom Brady weren’t injured (is he? Is this Belichick’s way of screwing with Coughlin’s head while diverting attention from Moss’ domestic dispute?). The Injury Report has finally been released and as you heard here last week, Brady is listed as Probable (R Shoulder).
9. Brady weren’t dating a supermodel and receiving marriage proposals from women in wedding dresses at Media Day.
10. Plax Burress hadn’t said that the Giants were going to hold the Patriots’ greatest offense ever assembled to 17 points (that hasn’t happened all season) and in perfect weather no less

I’m sure I could think up more, hell I didn’t even mention the commercials which have really dropped off in the last 5 or 10 years, or Tom Petty’s halftime show despite the fact that his career really dropped off a couple decades ago.

So Johan Santana finally got traded to New York… the Mets that is, and it looks like the Twins got… uh… well, not much. They didn’t get the Mets top prospect. Allow me to be perfectly clear, The Twins were so over confident and waited so long to pull the trigger on this deal that they ended up settling for the fourth best deal on the table. Jacoby Ellsbury (1.162 OPS at AA-Portland and .903 OPS in 33 games in Boston) at 24 years old is much better than 22 year old Carlos Gomez who managed a pitiful .777 OPS at AAA-New Orleans. Throw in 23 year old Jed Lowrie (.911 OPS at AA, second only to Ellsbury) who would start at second base or short stop on Opening Day 2008 for the Twins and 22 year old Justin Masterson (4-3, 4.34 ERA, 1.16 WHIP at AA), Boston’s 2006 second round pick, who would certainly start as either Minnesota’s fifth starter or long reliever, and the Twins are immediately improved. If the Twins had taken the Yankees offer, headlined by Phil Hughes (5-3, 4.46, 1.28 in the Bronx) a 21 year old who would probably have been Minnesota’s number three starter as of Opening Day 2008 and 23 year old Melky Cabrera (.728 career OPS in the Bronx) would be the starting centerfielder and two or three prospects with time to develop in the minors. Finally, in the Sox other offer, 24 year old lefty Jon Lester (11-2, 4.68, 1.57 and 1 World Series Clinching victory in his short career in Boston) would be the Twins’ number two or three starter Opening Day 2008. We’ve talked about Lowrie and Masterson. Coco Crisp is a gold glove caliber center fielder with above average speed and who can hit at the top of the lineup in a pinch and there was the possible inclusion of 21 year old Michael Bowden (8-6, 4.28, 1.43 at AA) who is a very highly regarded pitcher who spent last year at AA Portland and happens to be the guy the Sox took third out of five guys you may have heard of in 2005’s first round: after Clay Bucholz (no-hitter in second MLB start) and Craig Hansen (parts of the last three seasons in Boston’s bullpen), and just ahead of Lowrie and Ellsbury. Instead of one of those packages, the Twins will get Gomez, and three pitchers: 25 year old Phil Humber (11-9, 4.27, 1.24 at AAA), 22 year old Kevin Mulvey (11-10, 3.32, 1.24 at AA-Binghamton) and the “gem” of the group, 18 year old Deolis Guerra (2-6, 4.01, 1.17 at A-St. Lucie). Way to underachieve Minnesota. Maybe Kevin McHale isn’t the worst GM in the state. Of course it could just be that the Governor stepped in and nixed any more trades to Boston. I mean after David Ortiz, Randy Moss and Kevin Garnett, hasn’t Minnesota suffered enough?