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Blogs

mikelink45's Blog

Trade and Tax - the new baseball problem

Decades ago I worked as a tax accountant for Honeywell and National Car Rental Corporation. Taxes are complicated and state and federal laws impacted the businesses and decisions.   Baseball is an interstate commerce and has had many laws passed to protect the teams. Now the new tax law creates another obstacle with unexpected consequences that could play into the teams ability to trade and move players. As we look at the Twins and their prospects we often think of assets that can be acquire
Off The Baggy

The Twins Next Important Coach

A season ago, the Minnesota Twins brought in James Rowson as their hitting coach. Following the dismissal of Tom Brunansky, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine handpicked a candidate of a lesser known name. WIth what he had done with some of the hitter in the Yankees organization however, there was excitement regarding potential results. Fast forward a year, and the growth with some young Twins hitters was incredible. In 2018, Minnesota will be looking for more of the same from their new pitching coach
SD Buhr/Jim Crikket

Will Congress Screw Minor League Players Today?

If you believe that maintaining the status quo in minor league baseball is important, you aren't going to like this article.   http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/baseballMoney900-1-600x401.jpg   However, if you believe that some things - like simple human decency in the area of fair pay - are more important than whether or not the current minor league model is continued, I suspect you'll be joining me in raising your voice in objection to what Major League Baseball (alon
mikelink45's Blog

Minnesota Twins Number 51

I have read and thoroughly enjoyed Aaron Gleeman’s Minnesota Twins the Big 50 and thoroughly enjoyed the nostalgia and stories. It is an excellent book and I am sure that Aaron dislikes the one big editing error that has the big page for Jim Kaat as Jim Katt. Otherwise Aaron should be very proud of the book and the quality he maintained. There are players for every era and some choices that surprised me, but nothing that I completely disagree with.   I was surprised that it was not 50 players
Curveball Blog

Can Ryan Pressly put it all Together?

*Note: This article has been updated. The previous image of Kershaw's release point was horizontal instead of vertical. This error has since been amended.   2018 is a pivotal year for Ryan Pressly. The Twins originally acquired Pressly from Boston in the 2012 Rule 5 draft. In five season in Minnesota, Pressly has oscillated between very good (2016 version), and so-so, (2017 version). With the front office adding significant major league talent this off-season, and a chunk of organizational relie
Travis M's Blog

Fort Myers Miracle 2018 Florida State League Champions?

As a avid follower of the Fort Myers Miracle since 2014, there have been many ups and downs from the championship win that year, to have not gone to the playoffs in 4 years. But this year, things will change. The Fort Myers Miracle have a loaded lineup that is ready to win the Florida State League Championship.   My Prediction of the 2018 Roster Coaches- Ramon Borrego, Steve Singleton, Henry Bollina Pitchers- Vadim Balan, Carlie Barnes, Nick Brown, Christian Broussard, Edwar Colina, Randy Dobnak
Get to know 'em

Updating Baseball’s Dictionary

Did you know that marine scientists are making an effort to replace the name starfish with sea star? Neither did I, but these are the kinds of things you learn when you have a toddler (who decided it’s so important to know all the animals and what sounds they make?) Anyway, maybe it’s also time for us baseballogists to review the game’s nomenclature.   The purpose behind renaming the starfish is due to the fact that it’s not, in fact, a fish at all. Per National Geographic, sea stars are more cl
mikelink45's Blog

Dummy Hoy

In the midst of all the talk about Sano and his weight, I got to thinking about the judgments that people make about other people – baseball players and their size – think Altuve or Randy Johnson, their weight, their various physical attributes – like my essay on Pete Gray who over came the fact that he lacked an arm or Jim Abbot and others judged to be handicapped. Perhaps it is the fact that my daughter is deaf that made me think about Dummy Hoy. “Dummy” Hoy – William Ellsworth Hoy – was know
Critical Thinking

How long will Sano be suspended?

Miguel Sano is currently under investigation for violating the league's domestic violence policy. At last report, he had been interviewed by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred which is typically indicative that the investigation is nearing completion. Any announcement of a suspension should be coming soon. Is there any way to forecast the length of Sano's suspension? I will outline the prior cases and compare them to Sano's to see if there's any reasonable prediction.   Before we get too far, I want t
Off The Baggy

On Buxton, Defense, and the Competition

In 2017, Byron Buxton won what should be the first of many Gold Gloves. He also won a Platinum Glove (fan voted), and the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award. In short, his efforts for the Twins in centerfield have quickly become noticed by a national audience. The speed, ball tacking, and spectacular plays are all just a bit more routing for the Georgia native. What's worth wondering is whether or not he's already the greatest defensive centerfielder of all time.   Rather than dive into a
Off The Baggy

Polanco, Shortstops, and Stability

Over the past 13 seasons, dating back to 2005, the Minnesota Twins have started 11 different players at shortstop on Opening Day. Through those years, only Pedro Florimon has been given the nod in back-to-back seasons (13-14), and Jason Bartlett is the only other player to appear twice (05 & 07). To put it simply, consistency at the shortstop position isn't something that the Minnesota Twins have had in over a decade. With Jorge Polanco settling in to change that notion, it might be time to
Rounding Third

What Needs to Happen for Joe Mauer to Be A Twin in 2019?

There is no question that Joe Mauer is one of the greatest Minnesota Twins to ever put on the uniform, and that he will one day see his number retired along with former Twins greats like Kirby Puckett and Rod Carew. Despite this, Mauer’s future as a player with the Twins after 2018 seems to be in question.   Entering 2019, Mauer will be going into his age 36 season with what will at best be a slightly above average bat and good defense. The problem is he is limited to playing first base, and the
Minnesota Foul Play-by-play

Twins are better off without Yu Darvish

The Minnesota Twins reportedly offered Yu Darvish $100 million over four years to be the ace of their starting pitching staff. Instead, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine invested almost the same amount of money in three players who make them better than Darvish could have.   This was originally published at FoulPlaybyPlay.com.   Darvish signed with the Cubs for five years and $126 million guaranteed and for good reason. He’s projected to be worth 2.8 W
Jason Kubel is America

Weird Twins Franchise Records to Watch for This Year

Everybody loves a good record chase. Whether it's Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's asterisk-fueled home run battle of 1998 or the very non-asterisk-fueled Kansas City Royals challenging the record for most consecutive innings without scoring a run last season—a record chase is compelling.   There's a fine line, though, between fun facts and records. Fun facts get mocked (rightfully) for having more qualifiers than valuable information. “He has the most infield singles on Tuesday night home games be
BW on the Beat

WARNE: In an Offseason Game of Poker, Falvey and Levine Make out Like Bandits

Impatience is a natural tendency. That’s especially true for fans of a team that, despite making the postseason last year, had obvious flaws.   So in a sense, it was understandable when Minnesota Twins fans were annoyed that the team came home from the winter meetings just before Christmas with a 40-year-old closer and a broken down starter who gives up too many homers.   Little did they know what would lie ahead for the winter. In fact, it was another month before the Twins did anything substan
Lee-The-Twins-Fan's Blog

Have Romero be the opening day starter

Manager Paul Molitor has not yet named his opening day starter. I have an out-of-the-box suggestion: Fernando Romero.   Romero has not yet allowed a run - or a hit - in spring training. He's been nearly perfect.   Yes, I know, he's not expected to make the opening day roster. Here's my thinking:   • Clearly Ervin Santana cannot be the opening day starter – he's recovering from finger surgery.   • Jose Berrios would be the next logical choice, but Molitor wants him to pitch in Puerto Rico, his na
Off The Baggy

Who Goes North 2.0

Back on February 27 I took a first look at what the Minnesota Twins 25 man roster may look like on Opening Day. Now roughly halfway through spring training, and with some roster changes to boot, it's time to take another stab at what Paul Molitor will have at his disposal in Baltimore. You can read the original projection here, but changes will also be reflected below.   Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have definitely outdone Minnesota offseasons of recent memory, and coming off a Postseason berth,
The Circleback Blog

Twins spend 4th most in Free Agency (sort of...)

Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained?? After years of luke-warm stove off seasons the new front office has made their mark on the roster by signing five players to the big league roster who are ready and able to contribute on opening day. Add to that the trade for Jake Odorizzi and you’re talking nearly 25% of the 25 man roster acquired this off season from outside the team.   What is particularly stunning about these additions is the money which was spent on acquiring the players. W
Off The Baggy

Rotation Overhaul In Overdrive

With the news of the Minnesota Twins signing Lance Lynn to a one-year, $12 million deal today, the overhaul of the starting rotation going into 2018 is complete. Despite the big fish of the offseason being Yu Darvish, it's hard not to see the avenue that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine took as equally impressive. Coming off a Wild Card appearance, Paul Molitor's club has something it hasn't in years: a rotation worthy of praise.   Going into the winter, Minnesota's front office new that the area of
Musings from Twins Territory

Season Preview: Felix Jorge

Through the 2018 Adopt-A-Prospect draft I drafted Felix Jorge with the 27th overall pick as my guy for the upcoming season. It will my objective to give you bi-weekly(ish) updates on the Twins prospect this season, but I wanted to start by providing some background information and project what we might see from him in the 2018 season.   Profile Felix De Jesus Jorge is a 24 year old right handed pitcher who will be entering his 8th season in the Twins organization after being signed as an interna
Blog jorgenswest

Don McCormack, Tino Martinez, Lance Lynn and the 75th Pick

Note: Thanks to spycake, I know now that we will forfeit pick 95. Even better. Only 2 players of 53 with significant careers. Amos Otis and Dave Cash. Addison Reed and his 6.8 WAR checks in as the third most successful pick 95.   What is the 75th pick in the draft worth? If the Twins sign Alex Cobb or Lance Lynn they would forfeit this pick. How much should this loss factor into the decision?   With the help of baseball reference, I took a look at all of the pick 75s since 1965. The very first p
Baseball Good

Why Do We Care About Launch Angle?

By now, you are probably sick of hearing the words “launch angle”. I assure you, you are not alone.   On a recent spring training broadcast, Twins radio announcer Dan Gladden noted that more teams are “teaching launch angles” but the practice has been out for several years. However, you know if Gladden is talking about it then the concept has certainly gone mainstream.   This is how baseball works: Several teams find an advantage in something different – be it infield shifts, outfield shifts, ca

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