Even though I saw him whiff a lot, I was dreading this day, and was always hoping there was something the Twins could do. Batgirl, as always, has said it best. I will just add that Jacque was my wife's favorite player, for lots of really good reasons that included, but are not limited to: hitting lots of home runs, hitting game winning home runs, hitting home runs against the Damn Yankees after he had lost his dad... we both choked up at that one.

Best of luck Jacque. We're excited for you.

I'm going to miss him. A lot. :(

Looking back on the season, it seems like Jacque was the hero last year. I'll really miss him!

I feel like being a Twins fan prepares you for heartbreak well, both in sports and in life. This is sad, but not unexpected.

Plus, TR was quoted as saying he was going to wait on pursuing free agents until he heard from JJ about the arbitration. Sooooo, let's get out there!

I guess being a Twins fan also forces you to have an infinite reserve of baseless optimism.

Yay!

Best luck wherever you end up, JJ. I'll miss you.

After all these years of expecting Jacque to be traded, it comes down to this.
I wasn't a big fan of his at first, but he has grown on me over the years.

Farewell Mr. Jones.

I hope you get everything you're hoping for and more. ;-)

Even though I didn't see the Garcia v. Santana game at the Dome in person, it was my favorite game from 2005.

JJ you will always be my NSMC wherever you are. I will wear my shirt as a proclamation proudly.

In a few months time, when I am ready, I may need some pointers from Jeb on how to love again.

"I guess being a Twins fan also forces you to have an infinite reserve of baseless optimism."

Yep. And being a Twins AND a Mets fan kinda makes you, well, deny reality....

Lets just hope JJ goes to a good home. I heard the Cubbies are interested....

Oh, JJ. I may have made a dork out of myself in meeting you at TwinsFest, but I treasure it all the same. I love you so very much and I'll miss you just as much. Your smile. Your home runs. Your clutchness, on occasion. It will definitely be missed. I wish you luck wherever you may go and I hope that when you come back here for games, we cheer you and let you know just how much we really love you.

This is hard. I mean, we've all been preparing for this for how long now? But it's still hard. Goodbye, JJ. May you prosper elsewhere.

Au revior, Jacque. Bonne chance.

Dear Jacque:

I will miss your smile. Lucky will be the team who signs you. Best of luck.

k-bro

I always liked Jacque-even with the wild swings at balls in the dirt or over his head. I guess I kind of wonder why the Twins didn't try to get some return on a guy a number of teams want. If you know he needs a long term deal and you know you aren't going to give it to him what should you do? Couldn't we have dealt him last year for something? Anything? Instead he walks.

Hindsight is 20/20, Bill. Last year, the Twins thought they could still be in the playoff hunt until well after the no-trade deadline. Besides, at that point, the outfield consisted of Little Lew, Struggling Stew, and Jacque. At the time, he was all the outfield hope we had. By the time we were out of the race, 'twas too late to trade.

RD fell asleep last night with his XM radio on and awoke in the middle of the night to these words: "JC Romero, a very fine reliever, is coming into the game to replace the injured Santana..."

It was a replay of Game 1 of the '03 division series between the Twins and Yanquis, the afternoon game in which El Presidente left after 4 innings with the mysterious arm cramp. (RD was able to figure out what was going on because it was the Yanquis network feed of the game.)

Well, miracle of miracles, JC got through the 5th inning, Torii Hunter's misjudged fly-ball triple scored 2 runs in the sixth and RD rolled over and went back to sleep content in the knowledge that the Twins were going to win that one.

It wasn't quite like a maiden's dream of Mr. Darcy after watching Pride and Prejudice. But it wasn't bad for a December night midway between the end of one season and the beginning of the next.

The guy had a good attitude and played hard. He was a typical Twin in that regard, hustling and laughing and -- until this last season -- getting into the playoffs. He was as well typical in other ways that were less flattering; No. 1 on that list being his absolute refusal to progress as a hitter during that window of seasons when promising sluggers usually improve. Similar to Torii Hunter, a hot streak did nothing as much as it secured a concomitant period of two, three or even four weeks where his ability to contribute offensively seemed to be an absolute impossibility.

He was one of the group of Twins who played a huge part in getting people back to the ballpark and talking about baseball after so many years in a row of absolute crap. Twins fans are in his debt for his contributions as a player and a personality during the resurgence. If he ever would have come close to figuring out how to hit, he'd still be here -- or be signing with someone else for three times as much as he's going to get now.

We're here for you, Soccerfan.

The thing is, I really just don't want to know. I don't want to hear the speculation or the rumors, I don't want to imagine the scenarios.

I'm going to keep my fingers in my ears and say "laller,laller,laller" for the next two months and five days, so that when I open my eyes again, it will be spring training and THEN I'll suffer the hearbreak of who is and who isn't in the lineup.

One day of torment. And then there will be baseball. It's a perfect plan, I think.

Have to say, score another one for Terry Ryan.

I have to think he offered arbitration and the potential at a one-year deal knowing that Jones would reject it, thereby bringing a prospect in return for the departing Jones.

Jones would have made more than the $5 Mil he made in 2005 if he had accepted arbitration... not the smartest money the Twins could spend.

Credit your GM again...

In awe,
YankeeFan

In other news Dougie's been getting interest from KC. It'd be fun to see him at the dome again, even if it's in an opposing pixie vest.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2257884

I completely agree with the YankeeFan. Look, I have tons of fond memories of the original Soul Patrol, and the League of Nations too for that matter. The only thing that gets in the way of my memories is that... they weren't all that good. I didn't agree with trading Lawton for Reed, but we got by just fine with Dusty Kielmohr. And this year, since paying $5+ mil for one year of Jones is a bad idea, we'll have to make do with Lewson Kubord. But there are much worse things than that.

As a franchise, we kind of rise and fall based on the current crop of kids. The group that saved Minnesota baseball is all grown up now. Their time is pretty much over. Sure, they don't call as much as they should, but we still care about them. I loved watching Ortiz and Dougie winning their rings, and it made me sad to see Hawk and Guzman getting thrown under the bus. All we can do is wait and see where Mauer-Morneau-Bartlett-Kubel-Ford-Liriano-Baker-Crain can take us.

I have to admit, I've never stopped being sore at Jones since he threw to Matthew LeCroy at first instead of trying for GD Derrick Jeter at home during extra innings in Game 2 of the '04 playoffs. That was such a suicidal bonehead play. We could have gone back to the Dome 2-0. Instead we lost 3 in a row. I really feel that play killed the best chance we had of beating a relatively mediocre Yankees team. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16345-2004Oct7.html. That after I spent the year trying to defend his free-swinging and quick ABs. (Gotta swing at strikes.)

Still, best wishes to him. I'm pretty sure it won't be long before I miss the man. You only have to go back to 2000 to find a year where no Twin hit 20 homers. Jacques was tops that year with 19. He never had an arm, but he could cover ground in the outfield as well as anyone I've seen play for the Twins. And he did, as you mention, come through in the clutch many times.

Sign of the apocolypse:
"I completely agree with the YankeeFan"

Though I will say MyGrover's speech vaguely reminds of that speech Mikey gave in the Goonies -- "Up there, it's their time. It's their time up there. Down here, it's our time. It's our time down here. That's all over the minute we ride up Troy's bucket."

YF

It's been good, Jacque!

Every year during Gardy's tenure the team has suffered an extended, sucking swoon. (No, really.) And every year the one player who plays the calm, patient soothsayer during this time seems to be Jones, talking about how long the season is, or how he's not worried the team is 5+ games back because "we haven't played our best ball yet, and when we do it won't be nice." I see him as a bit of an ironic figure, because he then goes out on the field and plays with such a hurried, unpatient, all-or-nothing style that it's striking this is the same guy. Nothing about Jacque's game is subtle. He's either striking out, grounding into double plays, or breaking up no-hit bids with homeruns (I don't think Dick Bremer's ever been so excited).

I believe my favorite JJ moment occured in 2004 at US Celluar Field. Jones was up and hit a pop foul down the third baseline. Jose Valentine, playing shortstop, rushed over to make the play (which would have been the final out, iirc), and missed it. E-6. At that moment I knew, just knew, that given this second chance Jones would drive in the run. And, of course, he did, singling to the opposite field.

I'm ready to see them give someone else a try, but that said, I'll miss JJ. One of the few guys on the team that could look dangerous at the plate (OK, silly sometimes too). Great bat flip after a jack. Got to love that.

My only hope is that when he returns to the Dome next year (assuming he does), that the fans will show more class than they do when other guys we've no longer wanted return (specifically AJ). Cheer for JJ, just as they should have when AJ made his first return. Booing them, as though they've somehow done us wrong, is ridiculous.

Mr. Jones and me tell each other fairytales
And we stare at the beautiful women
"She's looking at you, nananana, she's looking at me"
Standing in this bright light coming through his stereo
When everybody loves you
You should never be lonely

Speedy - Amen. Just like when Koskie showed up, JJ deserves a nice round of applause. He's given us a bunch of happy memories and deserves to be remembered fondly by Twins fans.

Vive Le Jacques!

Jacque Jones Walks.
Oh the irony.

JJ was a team player in the way that so many guys these days aren't. (I'm looking at you, Soriano.) He moved from CF to LF since Hunter was a marginally better fielder. He played leadoff. Middle-of-the-order. Bottom-of-the-order. Wherever Gardy put him, that's where he played and I never heard him complain in the media.

He even got bumped from LF to RF in favor of a vastly inferior fielder, in a park in which LF is by far the more important defensive position, and he just took it in stride.

Great guy; good player. I hope he finds success on an NL team. Preferably one that knows how to platoon players.

I'm going to miss Jacque a lot. Sure, watching him could sometimes be frustrating, but at other times-- well, he was pretty great.

I agree about Jacque being a team player in the best ways. He seemed to always have a positive attitude. Man, I'm gonna miss that wonderful smile. I remember getting a kick out of seeing him sitting on the left field wall before a Sunday (kid's day) game where he was signing autographs for the kids. Oh heck, I have lots of good Jacque memories.

I loved seeing him lead the team in walks last year and he did show signs of (finally) maturing at the plate. He had some great at-bats last year, he really did.

Let us not forget his ties to Tony Gwynn-- he helped get us our in with the mighty Gwynn.

I'm gonna miss the cheer my now-husband and I would always do at the Dome. It's one of those "hand clap" things they play that ends with two claps-- we always said "jacque jones" on those claps and when he'd bat, we'd clap and say that cheer.

I wish Jacque well wherever he goes and hope he has a long career.

Dear Mr. soccerfan,

Truly.

Sincerely,
BG

I'll miss JJ and wish him all the best. I won't miss his swinging at first pitches.

I was all set to agree with YF, having read his first post. Then I read his SECOND post, and I agree much, much more than I even had before.

And to Neut I can only nod my head and say, "Word, neut. Word."

One of my very favorite memories of Jacque was that game against the Royals with the crazy play where they called the infield fly rule and Mike Sweeney got drilled in the back with the ball and JJ, who was apparently the only person on the field who knew exactly what was going on, runs in from right field to make the put-out at first. Now, that's heads-up baseball!

That, and the smile. Oh, the smile. We will SO miss that.

Neut summed it up so well, I feel there are no words to add. I was thinking about it today, on the bus. I can remember every other player making unpleasant comments, but all I can remember of Jacque is optimism and his smile.

I was preparing myself since 2004 for Jacque to be gone, so I consider 2005 to be a lucky bonus--one extra, unexpected year.

Best wishes, Jacque. We'll miss your smile.

(And YankeeFan--I agree on the arbitration/draft pick thing. Batgirl-I'll look into the numbers on Jacque clutch hits for you. In the meantime, let's look for another light-hitting infielder.)

Word Smith, I couldn't agree more whole-heartedly. Jacque's smile was absolutely beautiful.

JJ, I love you and I'll miss you so much.

Good Luck!

Is is sad to see Jacque walk. But for some reason it is nice to see one of our key guys leave on his own terms. I wish him well and hope he can a place where he can escape those nasty trade rumors.

I also need to compliment RD for his poise. If I awoke in the middle of the night to those words, there would mass panic. Once I realized what was going on, the rest of the night would certainly be plagued by awful nightmares. For we our nothing without our beloved ElPresidente.

I count four times Jacque has homered to save the day--sometimes to win games, and sometimes to tie games that we went on to win. Here are all his "Save the Twins" hits--tying, go-ahead runs, or winning runs.

April 12 - 5-4 (Jacque tied the game when he grounded out)
April 21 10-9 in 10 innings (Jacque doubled in the bottom of the ninth, tying the game)
May 10 6-4 in 10 innings (Jacque hit the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth)
June 2 4-3 in 13 innings (Jacque singles, scoring the winning run)
June 7 9-8 (Jacque singles in the winning run in the top of the ninth)
July 1 7-4 (Jacque tripled in the last three runs in the bottom of the eighth)
July 19 4-3 (Jacque singles in game-winning run)
July 20 3-2 (Jacque hits walk-off solo HOMER in the bottom of the ninth)
August 23 1-0 (Jacque made Freddy Garcia a losing pitcher with a one-hitter with a HOMER)
August 27 7-2 in 11 innings (Jacque led off the five-run 11th with a two-run HOMER)
September 22 4-1 in 11 innings (Jacque HOMER tied the game in the seventh, added two insurance runs with a double in the top of the 11th)
September 28 6-3 (tripled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth)

It was fun reliving the games through the game logs! (I only had to look at the games we won, so it worked out beautifully!)

neutrino boi pretty much summed up how I feel about Jacque. He was always overshadowed as a Twin, always bumped around the outfield and in the lineup, but he was always my favorite.

Good luck, JJ!

I don't get to go to too many games, but here's a fun stat: of the last 6 games at the dome I went to (spread over 3 seasons), 2 featured JJ walk off homers! (that's a walk of homer average of .333!)

Also, JJ seems immune to the injury curse that I sadly seem to bring upon the twins.

JJ brought some really solid traits to the club; his smile, his disposition, being a team player, some clutch hits, good RF range, et al. These traits are great for fans and the clubhouse. However, considering the make-up of this team, we need something different from a guy who should get a $5M+, 3-year deal. Other than the obvious skills of bow hunting, nunchuck, and computer hacking, a solid OPB, whiffing less than 100 times, and an extra $4.5M in the bank would be better for the team. Lew Fordwalker can, and will, put up slightly better numbers than JJ for a fraction of the price. Sure, I'll miss Mr. Jones for all the reasons that make him a fan favortie. But, for the betterment of the team it was time to move on.

p.s. I'll give kudos to TR for throwing out a junk arbitration offer so we could get the glorious compensation pick. Yet, I sit here still waiting for a 3B...

The best thing; Jacque will be cheered the first time he comes back to the dome.

Gotta love the fans!

Dear Mr. Besan,

Also, cake-building.

Love,
Batgirl

How we greet our returning ex-Twins:

Jacque and Cordel: prolonged and sincere applause

AJ: good-natured booing

Bret Boooooooone: not-so-good-natured booing, those who are intoxicated may fall out of their chairs

JC: relief and anticipation of a rally

DougieDefence: tossing souvenir reproduction final-out baseballs from the '04 world series

Not to change the subject, but the Bitches continue to play: "Who can sign the most former Yankees"

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5163266

damn it, Bitch Sox... now their rotation will look like this???? here's to the wild card hunt next season... cheers

1. Mark Buehrle
2. Freddy Garcia
3. Jose Contrares
4. Javier Vazquez
5. Jon Garland
(6.) Brandon McCarthy

Just saw that KW continues to wheel and deal with the whole Javier trade. I'm happy for El Duque who gets to be a starter, but, as a Sox fan, this constant tinkering worries me (as in I'm not jumping up and down on the couch just yet). In case you guys haven't noticed, KW trades are somewhere between 30 and 50 % successful for the Sox so I wouldn't go out and write off the 2006 Twins just yet. Plus, the Sox gave up a well-hyped prospect in Chris Young for Vazquez and two left handers for Thome. This could be a disaster in years to come (anyone remember the George Bell for Sammy Sosa trade?). That said, at least he's doing something so I can waste my time in front of a computer and procrastinate.
SWEEET! GO SOX!

3B Bill Mueller will sign with Dodgers, according to ESPN radio.

Piazza is looking better and better . . .

WS gave up:
Hernandez
Vizcaino and
prospect Young

seems like alot to give up for Vazquez.

I think the WS might have gotten fooled by the hype.

After sloggin thru all these comments--noticed only 1 or 2--remembered the bat flip---sheesh I always thought JJ's bat flip was the coolest thing--especially after one of his numerous clutch HRs. Thats what is hardest to take about losing JJ--he was the best clutch hitter on the team the last few years. Somebody is going to have to do that--I dont know if Piazza can do it--I know Nomar never hit in the clutch for the BoSox.

Regarding comments on the ChiSox trading for Vazquez--the Bitch Sox dont worry me next year--the Tribe does--they were the best team in baseball after June 1.

Craig,

I've been wondering a bit about the White Sox' off-season reconfiguration. It reminds me of the Brunansky-for-Tommy Herr trade the Twins made after winning the '87 World Series. That was the beginning of a steep slide for the Twins, which accelerated when Herr was successful in getting several of his previously less-churched teammates to start speaking in tongues, which coincided with a decline in clutch hitting.

Your pal, RD

MLB.com reports Bill Mueller is gonna sign a two year deal w/ the Dodgers. One less option at third base - Ryan better get somethin done in a hurry. The rangers signed Padilla the other day... fills part of their need for pitching, now its gonna take a lot more than Kyle Lohse + prospect or two to get Blalock.

I don't think TR will get anything done for 3rd.
I still have hope for DH.

I'm not thrilled at this but I can see Tiffee at 3rd, Cuddyer in RF and Kubel as a DH

Rotation
Radke, Santana, Silva, Lohse, Baker with Liriano starting at Rochester and maybe we can make a move during the season.

Like I've said in the past I'm grateful for the Twins being competitive but after 3 straight division titles I want to get back to the post season and get another title. 1 in the 80's 1 in the 90's and let's get one before the end of the 1st decade of 2000.

my last Twins game at the Dome featured a lead-off JJ homer. remember all of 'em he hit prior to Stewie's arrival? wasn't it 11 one year?

I'll miss JJ, but patience is a virtue, and JJ was virtue-less...

When people start bringing up Tommy Herr it's time for a new topic.

Sad day. Jacque was one of the first Twins I ever liked when I started watching baseball.

MyGrover - "Dusty Kielmohr"

LOL!

With all due respect to Terry Tiffee, I will cry like a little girl if he's the Twins' opening day third baseman.

RD, caluo, et al -

1) Never doubt the magic of Don Cooper. Anything being said about Vazquez was said with 2-3x the validity about Jose Contreras, Esteban Loaiza, or even Jon Garland. As recently as 18 months ago, Javy was considered a near-elite starter, Coop can get that back out of him.

2) The Vazquez trade needs to be viewed as part of a set. Acquiring Javier+cash (making him anywhere from a $7-9m/yr pitcher) enables Kenny to trade Garland, who's likely to make similar money in arbitration and command substantially more on the free agent market. So in effect, the trade of Chris Young and expensive spare parts will net the savings from Garland's contract to Vazquez (which can be used to re-up with Mark Buehrle) and whoever they get for Jon in trade.

3) The pie-in-the-sky rumor floating around is a package centered on Garland, Juan Uribe, and prospects for Miguel Tejada. Unlikely that he gets dealt, but if he does insist on leaving, that's as good a deal as is currently out there for Miggy. But regardless, Garland will bring plenty in trade as a young SP with dominant postseason experience coming off of his breakout year.

As for Cleveland, they need pitching badly. If their main move was to replace Kevin Millwood with Paul Byrd, that's a regression and a battle for 2d place with the Twins & maybe Tiggers.