So Long It's Been Good To Know You

I was watching the Twins' game while surfing the web when I learned some information about my favorite "planet" from Yahoo!. Apparently, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has decided on the term "plutoid" as a name for dwarf planets like Pluto. As most of you know, Pluto was demoted to dwarf status in August 2004. This infuriated me because the elitists at the IAU had the nerve to cast aside a planet that had worked so hard to become the nine pizzas that my very educated mother just served us. Plus, in fourth grade my group was assigned to build a model of Pluto and write a report for a class project about the solar stem. I have built quite an affinity for the tiny, wayward planet and am distraught about its path into irrelevance.

Of course, this got me thinking about the Twins. I started to wonder which current member of the Twins is destined to experience the same fate as Pluto. The criteria was simple. The player once had to actually be good and now suck to the point of demotion (the suck part is easier because just about every Twin does right now). I scoured their roster and one named just jumped out at me; Juan Rincon. This man is Pluto. He was once a key member of the bullpen but is now reduced to the dwarf planet status that comes with being the 13th member of a 13 man pitching staff. Recently, Ron Gardenhire has pledged that once interleague play begins the Twins will go back to a 12 man staff. This, more than likely, means Rincon will be cast aside with the rest of the plutoids, a.k.a the Rochester Red Wings.

That was kind of fun. I wonder who the Brewers' plutoids are. Billy Hall comes to mind. Derek Turnbow, too. Any thoughts?

Update: Rincon has moved one step closer to becoming a plutoid.