Al Newman leaves for Diamondbacks:

Third base coach Al Newman will leave the Twins to become an advance scout with the Arizona Diamondbacks, ending a four-year stint that included some communication problems with other members of the coaching staff.

The move took place a week after Newman met with General Manager Terry Ryan, during which Ryan brought up some concerns.

"I chose to go somewhere because it was apparent that there were difficulties here," Newman said. "If there were some difficulties here, I wished they would have addressed them before it came to this."

This is just...terrible. I spit at this news. Seeing guys round third base is never going to be the same. Who is going to slap players' buttocks with such enthusiasm? BG quite simply loves Al Newman, and she's going to miss him like crazy.

Now, can we win next year so everything isn't so bleepin' blargin' awful?