The Music Ramble is the weekly sports blog of Erik Ritland. The St. Paul, Minnesota journalist and musician is the founder of Rambling On. Learn more about us on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or our website.
If they can do it...
Last week the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Dickey Trade...uh, I mean Mets, in confident fashion. I call them the Dickey Trade because their youthful core was acquired when they traded Cy Young winner (and badass knuckleballer) R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays. I feel bad, because my boy hasn't exactly been Cy Young material during his time in Canada while the Mets are set for years.
A majority of this Royals team came from within the system, through smart drafting and selling at the trade deadline during losing seasons. The Twins have done this and are also starting something good, however Kansas City did two things the Twins organization has never done: spent decent money in free agency and traded valuable pieces for temporary help when pushing for the pennant. Hopefully the folks at 1 Twins Way will take note. What they've done so far is good but it can only take you so far.
Tough call, tough result
Interim Gopher football coach Tracy Claeys was faced with a tough decision in his first game after taking over for Jerry Kill. Down by three with only a few seconds left, he chose to go for it at the one yard line instead of attempting a game tying field goal.
They were stopped and ended up losing the game but he still made the right decision. In sports being confident and aggressive is almost always smarter and usually pays off. Kicking the field goal would have been a (temporary) easy way out, but it's no safer, as punching it in from one yard is a far surer bet than the wonkery that is college football overtime.
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He was also Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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