Entries by Bob Marshall

Vikings Implode

As bad as Josh Freeman was in the Monday night debacle in New York, the bigger problem, in my view, was the Minnesota offensive line. Not only did Adrian Peterson not see a hole all night, Freeman almost never ended a play in the standing position. When you watch Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, you […]

Liking the Cards

I have rarely been a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. First, they win too much, like a Midwestern version of the Yankees. Second, they come across as organizationally boring, more corporate than colorful. Third, they compete with the Pittsburgh Pirates, to whom I will always feel an allegiance. Fourth, Tony LaRussa, the Tiger Woods […]

Twins Spin (Wheels)

As we watch Postseason 2013 we are reminded not only of how bad the Twins were this year, but how little there is to look forward to. When the season started, I could identify only two players – Joe Mauer and Glenn Perkins – who would be welcome on any team, and the same was […]

Twins Win!

Thanks to my daughter’s Christmas gift, I turned on MLB.com to watch my first Twins game of the season. It was the 7th inning and they were down, 2-0, to the Tigers. With a man on first – Plouffe had walked – Parmelee and Dozier both struck out looking on fastballs down the middle. After […]

Tigers Sweep Yanks

Every Yankee-hater’s heart is swelling glad tonight after the Detroit Tigers’ four-game sweep in the ALCS. It wasn’t just the Tigers’ domination – they were never behind in any game – it was how bad the Yankees looked. They got two (two!) runs off Detroit starting pitching in four games, and both were scored by […]

Instant Replay, Baseball Edition

The horrible call in last night’s Yankees-Tigers game that resulted in two very unearned runs for the Tigers could easily be avoided by a system that Major League Baseball does not appear to be considering, perhaps because it is the exact same system that the NFL currently uses: give each manager two challenges a game. […]

Morneau Must Go

At the end of last season, I warned the Twins that I wouldn’t take them seriously this year if they brought back Tsuyoshi Nishioka, which they didn’t. As the 2012 season winds down, I must tell them I feel the same way about Justin Morneau. As valuable as Morneau was in the past – and […]

Twins in Misery

Today (May 27) the Tigers finished sweeping the Twins, and the three losses each highlighted one of the Twins’ deficiencies: Friday, in a game we attended, their starting pitchers – Swarzak and Liriano – were terrible; Saturday, in a game I skipped, their hitters struck out 16 times; and today, in a game I watched […]

First Impression – ugh!

It’s hard to look worse in your first four games than have the Twins, and although the first week of a baseball season is an unreliable indicator I fear the prospects for Minnesota this year are pretty clear, and pretty grim. I have only witnessed one game myself – yesterday’s home opener against the Angels […]

March Be Gone

What a dismal month for sports was March! The number one story on Sports Center was, where will Peyton Manning play next year? If you aren’t already sick of Peyton Manning from the way he calls the game at the line of scrimmage, let alone his commercials, the O.J.-like coverage of his every plane trip […]