I really hope he doesn't take up a roster spot, but everyone seems to like to a veteran bat off the bench.

Why don't we just use Rod Carew?

Interesting that the Twins also signed Tim Raines, Jr., to a minor league deal -- baby Rock!

Some over-40 Haiku:

Relax young Jedi.
They are not chanting your name
They are saying "Ruuuuuuuuu"

Apparently, we're trying to corner the market on low BA guys. If he's a late-inning PH option, I'll take it. Much like Batista - late-inning, highly leveraged ABs makes sense, lots of regular game appearances don't.

However, with Gardy's prediliction for "veteran savvy" I can only see increased roles for these guys at the expense of younger, more talented players.

Jose Offerman's roster spot is hereby filled.
TR

R: "Hey, uh, Boo?"

B: "Yeah, Ru?"

R: "Um, did you know I was even still alive?"

B: "No, Ru. No I didn't."

R: "Yeah. Me neither."

AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!

Well at least he apologized =)

And Boo - it was nice to see you on Saturday - and yay - I got a picture and his autograph -

love and peace
Wonder Woman

Farwell Mr. Tiffee.

Your roster spot has been filled.

I think this is management saying, "You think Batista is a bad player? You ain't seen nothin' yet."

For someone who was in the building that fateful afternoon when the ball kept going and going and going, this does not seem like such a bad thing...

hey.. he'll have to compete for a spot which is only right and as for his former employers, I think we should call the signing of Sierra a "redemption of a talent led astray".

*wink*

I'm not sure if I'm terminally afflicted with the "home grown is best" disease that seems to be part and parcel of being a Twins fan, but I really hate this signing-the-washed-up-veteran approach that has characterized the offseason. I honestly don't see how bringing a guy like Sierra in helps the team in the long run, but maybe management feels they have a relatively small window of opportunity with this incredible pitching staff and they want to load up on as many possible big bats as they can (within their $37,432 budget, of course). To me, the move reeks of desperation - it could have been worse, though. We could have signed Frank Thomas.

I wonder if we'll make a move for Lou Gehrig?

I hate to see Sierra go.

Reserve judgment on Sierra -- he may surprise you. For those of you who complained about having a big bat to put in the lineup, one thing Sierra does is protect. Whomever he bats behind inevitably sees more fastballs, because pitchers fear giving up a two run bomb to Sierra...

Fare thee well, dear friend.
You are named after a tasty sandwich, and will not be forgotten.

YF

* insert theme from "Jaws" here *

i knew it, i knew it, i knew it. thanks for confirming, BG. i was drunk as hell when it happened, but i still remember that sierra-boo showdown.

nobody wants to be in my pants right now.

YF that crack about a tasty sandwich cracked me up.

Sierra's a lot better than his stats. I watched him all the time on the Yankees and he always came through for Joe Torre. He was his go-to guy off the bench. I'm actually really excited for this move, I think its a good one. He's good in exactly what we had problems with last year. I agree with Yankee Fan.

Thank goodness for that, Sasha. 'Cuz his stats really stink. To quote from his Stats Inc. scouting report, "Sierra has never shown an aptitude to get on base. The free swinger never has seen a fastball he didn't like. He tries to pull everything, making himself vulnerable to any change-of-pace pitch. On occasion he will run into a fastball, but Yankee fans are more accustomed to an exposed front-side flail."

All in all, I'd rather have Terry Tiffee.

I still remember exactly where I was...

Working in my yard laying some late season sod to replace a rock bed that had gone bad. Don't ask me how a rock bed could go bad. Just the thought brings on the PTSD...

Speaking of PTSD, I was listening to my beloved Twins actually take one from the empire, through some radio headphones. When Sierra's shot took off, I grabbed at the headphones, feel to my knees, and grimaced mightily (try it sometime).

My wife, looking at me through the living room window, thought it was either a heart attack or an aneurysm. We do not speak of the event since that time, as neither of us can yet look on this with either nostalgia or amusement.

In other words, I'm not a fan of this move.

I'm a little surprised we didn't bring him back this year, but I think that HR in the ALDS is one of his better moments as a Yankee. He sure did crush that ball.

Something similar happened with Kevin Millar and Curt Schilling after Curt joined Boston. The lesson: do NOT taunt Curt Schilling!

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2004/03/03/schilling_creates_buzz_with_pitch_to_millar/

PEM Restraining urge to punch computer screen. I'm going to have to do a run down of our possible 25 man roster I'm wondering who we will be able to fit.

Dear Paul

My comment was not a taunt, just the reflections of a Yankee fan. I will most remember him for that at bat.

p.e.m.

Not sure what he's got left in his bat, but if he smiles at you he'll melt your heart. I was sad when he left Seattle.

In all likelihood, Sierra's looking to take a shot at the Bench Lefty role. That means Terry Tiffee, Garrett Jones, Jason Pridie, and Alex Romero are the names Ruben might bump off the 25-man.

I've only been to one game at Yankee Stadium. Sierra hit a two-out ninth inning pinch-hit solo homer to break the scorless tie. That was something!

In a parking lot after the game, some Yankee fans in a celebratory mood shared their cold beer. Nice.

Oh, and Glenn Williams. Sierra might bump him off the roster, too.

And, because I forgot one more: Jason Tyner.

Sorry to depart from Ruben talk, but I have another query of you, BG.

To expound on the jersey talk, is a Twins jersey an appropriate Valentine's Day gift for the significant other? Background being that the significant other is not yet a Twins fan, but will be soon if I have any say in it...

Dear Eric

A pink Twins pixie vest jersey of your honey's favorite player would be a fantastic gift for V-Day

Helpfully
p.e.m.

NOOOOOOO!!!!!! It's enough that I have to worry about LOHSE's satatus with the team, now I have to worry about other HOTTIES!!!

I don't know how I feel about this Ruben thing. I don't like sauerkraut. or rye bread. or corned beef. but I do like Swiss cheese...

Dear PEM I know it just bring back bad memories for me. Also That is the monment i most remember him for also.

Was Pete Incaviglia unavailable?

kaf,

I am always up for discussing baseball or food... or both. It would seem, given your likes and dislikes, that you and the Reuben would not be compatible. You're probably better off with some version of a vegeterian White Bread Sloppy Joe, which the Twins had but let go. (Ha -- in retrospect, Sloppy Joe might not have been a bad nickname, funnier if you hold the Mays-o -- ok, that's not funny at all). Although you still retain the Veep, who could be a sloppy Joe in a different way.

I will now wait for the females to regain consciousness.

...

...

Oh who has the time.

YF

Seriously, I ask just one question: It's the 8th or 9th inning and the Twinks trail by 2 runs. A couple of your boyfriends scratch out hits and runners are now at the corners. It's time for a pinch hitter and you are managing the team. You can send up Rueben Sierra or Terry Tiffee. Who ya gonna call?

So confused.

Dear Mr. Sierra,

Please hit monster boom booms for us too.

I dont think signing a 41 year old DH type solves anything. Wonder if TRyan is doing this just to push folks who didnt hit last year (Cuddles, Lew, Tiffee, etc.) along with Batista.

Roster analysis--Twins will keep 11 pitchers--that means 14 hitters. Stewie, Castillo, Mauer, Rondell, the Doctor, Torii, Cuddles, Kubel (if healthy), NBP (backup catcher), Bartlett and LNP are givens. So is Batista if he wins job. Thats 12. GTX is probably also given for 3B defense. If you keep Ruben that means all the rest are gone--Tyner, Lew, Glenn Williams, Tiffee, Little Rod. That makes me think that this is a push to motivate the others.

What aBout castro also is Redmond on there?

If Ruben Sierra is the answer, I don't want to know the question.

Wow. Ruben Sierra. I'll more than likely be cursing his name most of the time - but odds are he will come through in the clutch at least once - right? Right? Ugh.

In a much earlier comment in this thread, I recalled Sierra's ninth-inning two-out homer that broke a scoreless tie and lead pretty diectly to some free beer for me. I said it was a pinch-hit homer, but I was wrong. Sierra actually started the game in right field and was two for four (including that monster home run).

Welcome to Minnesota, Ruben. Don't count on any starts in the outfield, though.

Nobody wants to be in my pants right now.

So torn!

Sure, I'm angry at him for that home run. Poor Boo and his pants. And it was a pretty bad day for me in other ways too, so I remember it in stark detail.

But then again, what if he redeems himself, and Boo's pants, with an equally impressive shot while in a Twins uniform?

But then again, what if he does smell like sauerkraut? I can't stand the smell of sauerkraut. You couldn't get me within ten feet of the sandwich.

*sigh* Good thing spring training's on its way...

Ruben is old, but he's still hot!

As a champion of obscure statistical causes, I feel I must point out that Ruben Sierra is 10 Sacrifice flies away from breaking Eddie Murray's all time Sacrifice Fly record of 128. I'm sure the front office is planning a celebration around this, and are fully prepared to extend his contract for as many years as it takes to break this historic mark (which probably hasn't been tracked for very long anyway).