|
| It's time for Delmon Young and Jason Kubel to play every day, and let Span, Gomez, and Cuddyer battle for playing time. Do you think I'm crazy? Just a minute.
The bottom line is that the Twins are on the bubble as a playoff team. If they are going to win more than 85 games, they will have to do it by their best young players having very good years. Kubel and Young are in that category. There isn't much hope for Gomez to do very well this year; he is too young and hasn't showed signs of being close to very good. Span is also too young, but has shown much progress; still, his potential this year is not as good as Young and Kubel this year. Cuddyer is a veteran and can contribute but also could use the rest five games per month.
Take a look at their stats:
PA OPS
2nd half 2008 Kubel 212 .824
April 2009 Kubel 67 .999
2nd half 2008 Young 259 .777
April 2009 Young 50 .640
They both had great second halves last year in less-than-full-time duty. Kubel has been really hot all month; Young was in a slump through the first 15 games but has really turned it on in the last week. If they can together average 800 OPS with 600 more PAs each, the team will win the division. Furthermore, they have a chance of taking a big step forward; what if they together average an .850 OPS? Somewhat unlikely, but far more likely than Gomez even reaching a .700 OPS. If they only get 400 more PAs each and we have an extra 300 PAs of Span and Gomez, we are unlikely to get to the playoffs. On the other hand, if they underperform, no amount of Gomez and Span is going to save us, nor is an overused Cuddyer.
The Twins' only chance is to live or die with this potentially fearsome lineup, with Kubel, Young, and Morneau as heavy hitters; Crede close behind them; Span, Mauer, and Cuddyer as solid batsmen; and Casilla and Punto using their speed to the fullest. Any other regular lineup--even if it is less risky--can't make it.
| | |
| I've enrolled in SuperAmerica's "Speedy Rewards" program. I was curious to see what the best deal was in using my points, so I ran a quick Excel formula, plugging the value of each freebie item to me (your values may vary). I was generous with the values--of course I'd rather have $10 cash than a $10 Speedy card, but I gave that a $10 anyway because I know I will use it.
The verdict: The best deal is to save up for the biggest prize, the $100 Speedy Card. There, my points are worth about $0.15 per 100. If you can't make it that far, the $25 and $50 Speedy Cards are still the best deal. Unless you buy 25 gallons at once, avoid the discounted gas--you're much better off saving for a Speedy Card. If you'll never reach the 8500 points for a Speedy Card, the Food and Drink rewards are all good, if you would be buying those items anyway. I sometimes buy fountain pops or hot chocolate there.
Also, these are subject to change. Who knows, maybe they'll add in something better!
Incidentally, the general rule is they give out 10 points for every dollar spent. If we assume each point is worth a generous $0.0015, that amounts to a 1.5% reward on every dollar. The actual number may be more than that due to "double rewards", or other point-giving promotions, or less than that if they get you to buy from SA stuff you otherwise wouldn't (strongly resist this urge)!
| Food
& Drink Rewards |
Points Needed |
value |
value per 100 |
| Jumbo
Specialty Dog |
750 |
$
0.89 |
$
0.1187 |
| 32oz
Fountain or Frozen Drink |
750 |
$
0.89 |
$
0.1187 |
| 20oz
Coffee or Cappuccino |
750 |
$
0.89 |
$
0.1187 |
| 20oz
Enon Springs Water |
750 |
$
0.89 |
$
0.1187 |
| Hershey's
Take 5, King-Size |
750 |
$
0.50 |
$
0.0667 |
| Extra
Polar Ice Plen-T-Pak |
750 |
$
1.00 |
$
0.1333 |
| 2-Liter
7UP |
1,250 |
$
1.00 |
$
0.0800 |
| PowerBar
Triple Threat Bar |
1,250 |
$
1.00 |
$
0.0800 |
| POWERADE
32oz Bottle |
1,500 |
$
1.50 |
$
0.1000 |
| 20oz
Coffee Travel Mug with Fill |
1,750 |
$
2.00 |
$
0.1143 |
|
|
|
|
| Merchandise
Rewards |
Points Needed |
|
|
| Classic
Bic Lighter |
750 |
$
0.35 |
$
0.0467 |
| Gallon
of Windshield Washer Fluid |
1,750 |
$
1.00 |
$
0.0571 |
| Speedy
Wash "The Works" Car Wash |
4,500 |
$
3.00 |
$
0.0667 |
| 45 Min.
AT&T PrePaid Phone Card |
4,500 |
$
2.25 |
$
0.0500 |
| 300
Min. AT&T PrePaid Phone Card |
15,000 |
$
15.00 |
$
0.1000 |
| Nokia
TracFone (where available) |
30,000 |
$
20.00 |
$
0.0667 |
| STi
Mobile Cell Phone (where available) |
30,000 |
$
20.00 |
$
0.0667 |
|
|
|
|
| Fuel
Discount Rewards* |
Points Needed |
|
|
| 10¢ Per
Gallon Discount |
1,750 |
$
1.70 |
$
0.0971 |
| 25¢ Per
Gallon Discount |
4,375 |
$
4.25 |
$
0.0971 |
| 50¢ Per
Gallon Discount |
8,750 |
$
8.50 |
$
0.0971 |
|
|
|
|
| Gift
Card Rewards |
Points Needed |
|
|
| $10
BLOCKBUSTER Gift Card |
8,500 |
$
10.00 |
$
0.1176 |
| $25
Speedy Cash Gift Card |
17,500 |
$
25.00 |
$
0.1429 |
| $25
Foot Locker Gift Card |
19,000 |
$
15.00 |
$
0.0789 |
| $25
JCPenney Gift Card |
19,000 |
$
25.00 |
$
0.1316 |
| $25
Circuit City Gift Card |
19,000 |
$
25.00 |
$
0.1316 |
| $40
Applebee's® Gift Card** |
30,000 |
$
40.00 |
$
0.1333 |
| $50
Speedy Cash Gift Card |
34,000 |
$
50.00 |
$
0.1471 |
| $100
Speedy Cash Gift Card |
66,000 |
$ 100.00 |
$
0.1515 |
| | |
| Hi, I've turned most of my attention to my new site, ShareYourFaith.org. Head on over there if you want to read my thoughts on evangelism and the Bible.
No more posts should be expected here on my Xanga site.
| | |
|
