Glen Perkins

Jacque Jones is back! I’m a little excited about it, mostly because I know there’s very little chance of seeing him in a Twins uniform, at least before September. In fact, I think that would be the best possible scenario: for him to be a September call-up, so he could end his playing career where it started, sorta. (It’s still hard for me to grasp that I won’t be sitting the Metrodome anymore…) I’m a bit sad at the passing (passing through the system, not through life) of Jason Pridie. He wasn’t a great player by any stretch of the imagination, but the few reports of him I read seemed to imply that he was a good guy.

On the other hand, that would mean my mom would own the t-shirt of an active Twins player, which would be all wrong. See, my mom’s favorite players tend to be traded within a year of her picking them (she’s settled on Derek Jeter now, knowing that he won’t ever be a Twin to get traded and break her heart). So immediately usually after a player gets traded, we buy her a t-shirt in memory. She owns a Jason Bartlett and Jacque Jones t-shirt (we didn’t find any Garza or Tiffee shirts; although she has a Bat-girl “Terry Tiffee is my boyfriend” shirt.

I don’t know how to feel about Glen Perkins, a Twins pitcher. He had a great start with the Twins, then was injured and out for most of 2008. In 2009, he pitched mediocre, at best, and after a couple of bad starts, started complaining about an injury. He ended up the year getting into a dispute that brought in the Players Assocation and filing a grievance.

On one hand, he’s a frustrating player and seems a little moody. On the other hand, he’s a Minnesota kid playing for his hometown team and excited about that. A couple of weeks ago, he spoke to the Minneapolis Star and Tribune about the problems.

For the first time, I felt sorry for him. He was a young kid when drafted (in his early 20’s), and getting to the major leagues quickly: “I guess I really found out the hard way that it’s a business,” Perkins said. “I spent my life cheering for that team. I got drafted by them [in 2004] and got to the majors quick [in 2006], and two weeks later we’re in the playoffs. I had a really good year in ’08, and everything was rosy. You find out the hard way that it doesn’t really matter.” I get it. He was a kid with a dream, and a plan on how life was going to work out and everything seemed to be going his way. He was playing for his favorite team and felt sentimentally attached for that reason. He found out that the team wasn’t as sentimentally attached to him as he was to it. It’s hard when dreams are crushed. I know that. He didn’t plan his injury that would wreck his ability to continually pitch well. He didn’t plan to end up back in the minors after he made it to the majors. It was no longer roses and sunshine. I felt sorry for him.

And then…he ruined it again. After he healed from his injuries, the Twins placed him back on the minor league team, so he wasn’t with the Twins. The minor league season ends at the beginning of September, so he was home again in September when the Twins were making their run for the play-offs. The Twins were also making their last appearances in the Metrodome. Glen Perkins was off bow hunting in northern Minnesota. I’m fine with that. He couldn’t be with the team, and sitting in the stands would’ve been hard, I’m sure. However, when the Twins invited him back for the celebration for the last scheduled regular season game in the Dome, Perkins declined. “I felt like I should be on that field,” he said. “That got taken away from me, so I just wasn’t going to do that.”

That’s where he lost me. He became a petulant little kid again, rather than a grown adult with a family (Perkins is married and has two daughters). He didn’t get to do it his way, so he didn’t want to do it at all. I know the lad is still young, but he’s not that young (he’ll turn 27 during spring training–so a few months older than Joe Mauer). I know it must be frustrating to deal with injuries and not be able to play. (I recall former Minnesota Wild Marian Gaborik saying that he didn’t even watch the team when he was injured–it was too painful, because he wanted to playing so badly he couldn’t stand seeing them play without him.) But when a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes along, you should take it. Perkins mentioned growing up watching the Twins and cheering for them. The Twins have played in the Dome his entire life. He couldn’t go to say good-bye to his first stadium—as a fan, rather than a player? If he ever gets over the hurt, he may regret this some day.

As far as I’m concerned, the Dome was my stadium, too. While it didn’t open until I was six years old, I never attended a game in Metropolitan Stadium, I never watched a televised game at Metropolitan Stadium to my knowledge, and I wouldn’t have known where the Twins were if I listed to radio broadcasts of games from Metropolitan Stadium.

So, while I want to cheer for him because he’s a Minnesota boy, and is living his dream, I find it hard. (I also find it hard, because I’m a huge Scott Baker fan, and Perkins threatened Baker’s position for a while. But so did Slowey (and still does), and I still love him.) Some people thrive in the pressure of playing for their hometown team, some people struggle under the pressure, and some become too complacent of things going so well. I have a feeling Perkins might fall under the “complacent” category. I’d like for him to play for his hometown team, but he may be right. It may be time for him to move on. I really hope they can work things out, from a sentimental point.

Timberwolves update: They have a 2-1 record since I last reported (and they won a game against the Boston Celtics; I know because I was visiting some friends in Fargo, and one informed me when I got there of the Timberwolves win). They’re now at 13-39, or a 25.0% winning percentage. The have the worst record in the West (although Golden State—worst sports name ever—is threatening with a 13-26 record), but New Jersey has the worst record in the NBA, 4-47.

Wild Update: The Wild have a 29-26-4 record, for a 49.2% winning percentage. They have their main goalie—Niklas Backstrom—back from illness/medical issue. “Baby Goalie” Anton Khudobin is still with the team, pending the status of back-up goalie Josh Harding’s status with a hip injury.