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For the most part, the Twins spring training rosters are pretty well set. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is another reliever brought in, and there could be some more minor league signings. I thought it would be late enough in the offseason to start taking a look at the Twins organizational depth. So, over the next two weeks, I’ll go position by position and name the players throughout the farm system with a few thoughts. In doing so, I’ll be trying to figure out what the Twins minor league ros
About a month from today, Jamey Carroll will turn 38 years old. That will make the veteran infielder, signed by the Twins earlier this offseason to man shortstop over the next couple seasons, the same age as former Minnesota third baseman Corey Koskie. Of course, while Carroll is enjoying the best years of his pro baseball career, Koskie has been out of the game since 2006, when a concussion sustained in Milwaukee ended his days as a major-leaguer. An athletic baseball player with a tremendo
Major League players with less than six years of service time and more than three years of service time are eligible for salary arbitration. As we all know, there are a bunch of Super-2 arbitration-eligible players as well each year. On Tuesday, arbitration numbers will be exchanged. The teams will say how much they are offering to the player, and the player and his agent will submit the value that they think they should receive. Of course, in most cases, the team and the player come up with a v
According to a tweet by Jason Beck of MLB.com, the Twins have reached an agreement with RHP Joel Zumaya on a minor league contract that will reportedly pay him between $800,000 and 1.7 million. Obviously, especially in this case, the Twins are wise to not report it themselves until Zumaya passes a physical. A caution to Twins fans expecting to see the Zumaya of 2006 that threw 100-101 mph with a sharp slider and little control. Reports of his tryout several weeks ago were that he is touching
I’m known on Twitter for doing a lot of tweeting and retweeting. For those who are not on Twitter, it simply means that I tweet something that someone else already tweeted. I retweet Twins related articles and blogs or general comments that I tend to agree with. If you’re interested in following me on Twitter, you can click the “Follow” button here, or you can simply bookmark my twitter page and check it from time to time. Today, I wanted to go back to Saturday and blog many of my retweets from
Geoff Baker, a scribe for The Seattle Times, penned a lengthy but very interesting column earlier this week about spending in baseball. I recommend taking the time to read it, as the themes are very applicable for Twins fans, but the gist of his argument is that ultra-rich baseball owners are gaming the system by soaking up public money and spending far less on payroll than they can afford to. Meanwhile, the baseball community overlooks this injustice and credits general managers (such as Bill
One couldn't be blamed for writing off Nick Blackburn as an afterthought in the Twins' 2012 starting pitching equation. After all, he's been pretty bad over the past two seasons. In fact, "pretty bad" might be an understatement – he's been one of baseball's most hittable pitchers, prone to stretches of mind-numbingly horrible performance. His once-premier walk rate has deteriorated into mediocrity, leaving him with little in the way of strengths to fall back on. So it's easy to forget the fa
Good morning! I just wanted to post a few quick notes on an early Friday morning. I fell asleep early last night (not a bad thing!) and got up early this morning, so here are a few notes. ◦First of all, congratulations to Brian Duensing and his wife on the birth of their first child yesterday, a daughter. [*]◦I was quite surprised last night to read that the Twins decided to release minor leaguers RHP Cesar Ciurcina, RHP Todd Van Steensel, and RHP Pedro Guerra. [*]•Ciurcina was a guy who wa
Good morning! I just wanted to post a few quick notes on an early Friday morning. I fell asleep early last night (not a bad thing!) and got up early this morning, so here are a few notes. ◦First of all, co ngratulations to Brian Duensing and his wife on the birth of their first child yesterday, a daughter. ◦I was quite surprised last night to read that the Twins decided to release minor leaguers RHP Cesar Ciurcina, RHP Todd Van Steensel, and RHP Pedro Guerra. •Ciurcina was a guy who was te
That my choice for Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year, Andrew Albers, paid his own way to Ft. Myers for a tryout with the Twins. He was later reimbursed, but he went to Ft. Myers knowing that if the Twins didn't sign him, he was ready to drive back home to Canada and begin life after baseball. Instead, the Twins signed the 25 year old left-hander. After spending a couple of weeks at Extended Spring Training, he was promoted 'across the parking lot' to the Ft. Myers Miracle. He pitc
He’s Kind Of A Catcher As a 23-year-old, after a couple of years in the Marlins organization, Willingham began playing catcher. Over the next few years he spent most of his time in the minors behind the plate, playing 60 of 66 games there in AAA. In fact, his first promotion to the majors happened because an ex-Twins catcher was experiencing back stiffness. It was Mike Redmond. But catching didn’t last. The plan going into 2006 was for Willingham to get extensive catcher-specific coac
The Twins' minor league prospects had a terrific game in the AFL final. Winners by a 14-7 score, 3 Twins had key roles. Taylor Rogers pitched 2 innings, only giving up a solo HR. Max Kepler was held hitless, but drove in the go ahead run with a bases loaded walk against a tough lefty. The real star, though, was Eddie Rosario, who went 4-5 with a homer and double. His only out was a shot to right in his last AB. What a great platform for these future stars!
The Twins' minor league prospects had a terrific game in the AFL final. Winners by a 14-7 score, 3 Twins had key roles. Taylor Rogers pitched 2 innings, only giving up a solo HR. Max Kepler was held hitless, but drove in the go ahead run with a bases loaded walk against a tough lefty. The real star, though, was Eddie Rosario, who went 4-5 with a homer and double. His only out was a shot to right in his last AB. What a great platform for these future stars!
Jose Rodriguez was the Twins Daily short-season minor-league hitter of the year. He is at the Dominican facilities for spring training now but will likely join Extended Spring Training in Fort Myers.
I really hold back what I would like to say about then payroll arguments here. The fact that people don't accept the amount taken in dictates the amount going out requires one of two things. Extreme financial ignorance or fanatical bias that prevents the acceptance of something some basic. I did not change the argument. It's the same idiocy over and over. Do you really want to be on the side that suggests revenues does not determine spending capacity?