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TwinsGeek.com

A blog by John Bonnes in Twins Daily

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Entries in this blog

Gleeman & the Geek Ep 50: Waving the White Flag

Aaron and John talk about once again rooting for the worst team in the league, why Francisco Liriano is like religion, what defines an "A" or "B" prospect in trade talks, how passing on Mark Appel makes even more sense now, celebrating our 50th episode, Matt Capps' return, Carl Pavano's non-return, Aaron's refined drinking habits, and a whole bunch of mailbag questions from listeners via Twitter. Here are:       the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes

Trade Target Team Profile: The Pittsburgh Pirates

The Big Picture The Pirates are in first place at the All-Star Break. Oops - hold on. I didn’t say that with the right emphasis. Let me try again. The PIRATES are in FIRST F*$%ING PLACE at the ALL-STAR BREAK.   Wha? How? That’s a fair question, considering their offense has scored 345 runs this year, 21st in the majors. The answer is that their pitching and defense has been outstanding, resulting in the 5th best team ERA in the league.   Why They Will Trade With The Twins For starters, they’re “

Gleeman & the Geek Ep 49: Overs, Unders, and Mailbag

Aaron and John talk about the endless game of musical pitchers, revisit their preseason over/under predictions, answer Twitter questions from listeners, try to decide who comes off worse owning the same shirt, wonder if Nick Blackburn is worth having in the 2013 plans, review Samuel Deduno's first start, and try to keep Aaron from coughing up a lung. Here are:     the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes.

What Would A Francisco Liriano Contract Extension Look Like?

If the Twins want to sign Francisco Liriano to an extension, it will need to be in the parameters of what Liriano will make on the free agent market this winter. But its hard to know even roughly how much he’ll command. Partly that’s because of his mercurial performance. But that problem is compounded by a free agent class that is unprecedented in pitching depth.   It starts with two 28-year-olds, right-hander Zach Greinke and left-hander Cole Hamels that are both better than anyone in last year

Trade Target Team Profile: Atlanta Braves

The Big Picture In the hyper-competitive NL East, the Braves are 4.5 games back of the division leading Nationals. But they’re also just one game back of the second wild-card spot, which happens to be shared by division rival New York Mets. Atlanta is reportedly searching for a top starting pitcher. That’s unusual ground for them – just last year they ranked 4th in MLB in ERA – but some injuries and regression by youngsters have them looking for rotation help.   Why They Will Trade With The Twin

Gleeman & the Geek Ep 48: SABR, Snubs and Selling

Aaron and John talk about Joe Mauer making the All-Star team while Josh Willingham got snubbed, Aaron's vodka-filled experience at the SABR convention in Minneapolis, Ryan Doumit's contract extension, John returning from his East Coast ballpark tour, Trevor Plouffe staying hot, whether the Twins should be in full-on sell mode, the Francisco Liriano dilemma, and why Pizza Luce at 3:00 am is a bad life decision. Here are:   the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast

Trade Target Team Profile: Philadelphia Phillies

The Big Picture Stop me if this sounds familiar. A team with championship aspirations faces a slew of injuries to their best players. They find themselves last in their division but hope that the players return will boost them back into contention. At the trade deadline they must make a tough decision: stick to the plan or write off a season in a championship era whose window could be closing.   Yep - the Phillies are having the year the Twins had last year. But instead of a fan base of Minnesot

Gleeman & the Geek Ep 47: Full Nelson

Aaron and special guest co-hosts Joe Nelson and Nick Nelson talk about Matt Capps' injury and the closer replacements, Trevor Plouffe's case for the All-Star game, what to do with Francisco Liriano, the buyer versus seller debate, Brian Duensing's move back into the rotation, more Josh Willingham heroics, Byron Buxton's pro debut, and why John Bonnes shouldn't even bother coming back from vacation.

Traveling With The Twins: PNC Park

I could be a Pirates fan.   Believe me, I know all that implies. As a middle-aged Twins fan, I've felt Pirates fans' pain, albeit in lesser doses. I can sympathize with the hopelessness and even apathy that sets in after years of mismanagement.     Watching the supposedly competitive Bucs yesterday didn't inspire me to join them anytime soon. If you're wondering what the "traditional" Twins philosophy - pitching, defense and maybe a little hitting - looks like in the NL, look at the Pirates. I'm

Twins Must Decide When, Not If, Glen Perkins & Jared Burton Are Available

Some spring training moves are bearing fruit. The question is when they will be most ripe?     Glen Perkins hasn't been especially effective this year, but he still profiles as possible closer long term, with well over a strikeout per inning. Even better, this spring he signed a deal that keeps his salary team-controlled through 2016 at a level considerably below that of a closer.     So how should the Twins play that? On the one hand, they could trade him now to a team that finds a left-handed

Jim Thome Moments

It was the end of the 2002 season. Jim Thome was finally a free agent after years of torturing the Twins. (And particularly, torturing Rick Reed. Good lord, did Big Jim take it to Reed. Thome hit more home runs (9) off of Reed than any other pitcher, even though he only had 27 at-bats against him. Think about that. He hit .333 JUST IN HOME RUNS against Rick Reed. Lordy.)   Anyway, Thome was a free agent. As a blogger who is asked these sort of things all the time, I must have received the questi

Thome

It was the end of the 2002 season. Jim Thome was a free agent after years of torturing the Twins. (And particularly, Rick Reed. Good lord, did Big Jim take it to Rick Reed. Did you know Reed still ranks as the guy that gave up the most home runs (9) to Thome, even though he only had 27 at-bats against him? Think about that. He hit .333 JUST IN HOME RUNS against Rick Reed. Lordy.) Anyway, Thome was a free agent and as a blogger who is asked these sort of things all the time, I must have rece

Gleeman & the Geek Ep 45: Youth and Youther

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' youth-led turnaround, Byron Buxton and the power arm-filled draft class, Trevor Plouffe's homer binge, Scott Diamond's ace impression, Chris Parmelee's return from Rochester, Ben Revere's long-term upside, Liam Hendriks' impending re-arrival, the wisdom of re-signing Ryan Doumit, Jason Marquis in pitcher heaven, Brian Dozier's struggles, and the exciting life on Aaron's balcony. Here are:   the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the po

Nationals Should Not Be Lone Suitor For Denard Span

Last year in Twins Territory, Denard Span was the hot topic as the trade deadline approached, much to Span’s dismay. This year, we’ve read that the Nationals are still interested in Span. They certainly should be, given their stop gap centerfield solution, Rick Ankiel, is hitting just .221.   But they likely aren’t going to be alone. Span plays a premier defensive position competently, but more importantly he gets on base as a leadoff hitter. One can bet a few of the below teams will at least be

Grading In A Void

Of the drafts the have had the last decade or so, I think it’s safe to say that the two first round picks for which the Twins took the most hear were 2001 and 2007. It might be worth noting just how ridiculous both of those look right now. In 2001, the Twins took Joe Mauer as the #1 pick and were lambasted for being too damn cheap and possibly blinded by a local kid. In 2007, the fiscal-based criticism was similar when they drafted Ben Revere and it was compounded by a perception that the Twins

Gleeman & the Geek Ep 44: Draft Talk and Scouting Sano

Aaron and John talk about Byron Buxton versus Mark Appel versus Carlos Correa, why Monday is the most important day of the Twins' season, first-hand scouting reports on Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, and the Beloit team from special guest Seth Stohs, how Carl Pavano is the new Shannon Stewart, what to make of Francisco Liriano's impressive start, their PickPointz MVP picks, Ben Revere's bunting, and how Aaron looks in a black evening gown. Here are:   the podcasts the rss feed if you want t

SI's "To Cheat Or Not To Cheat" story on Twins pitcher Dan Naulty

The June 4, 2012 edition of Sports Illustrated had a story by Tom Verducci where he attempts to document... well, he's a better writer than I'll ever be, so let's let him tell you...   “This is a story about the real cost of steroids in baseball -- not the broken records, not the litigation, not the talk-show drone about the elite players who juiced and how to weigh their Hall of Fame candidacy. This is a story about the hundreds, even thousands, of anonymous ballplayers whose careers and lives

Finding A Home For Justin Morneau

I don’t want to trade Justin Morneau. I don’t want to be rational about it. I want to clutch onto his comeback, keep it for my own, gaze at it among the dreck that this (and probably next) season has become. I’ve waited for this, I’ve craved it, and dammit, now I want it.   We’ll see if I feel the same way in a couple of months, because that’s when the decision will need to be made. For there to be a decision, Morneau needs stay healthy, and he needs show the same kind of production occasionally

Gleeman & the Geek Ep 43: Morneau, Moves and Mock Drafts

Aaron and John talk about Justin Morneau's resurgence, the Twins' options with the No. 2 pick, Jason Marquis' departure, Francisco Liriano's move back into the rotation, the best baseball movies of all time, first impressions of Cole De Vries, their PickPointz MVP picks, Johan Santana's return to greatness, and why Anthony Slama can't catch a break. Here are:   the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes

The Right Field Mess

It was a risk without an acceptable backup plan. The Twins knew that. And it failed. And they’re paying the price. And that price is a .192 batting average.   That’s the combined batting average of whoever the Twins have played in right field so far. It’s last in the majors. Their combined OPS is .594. That’s the career OPS of Juan Castro. And there isn’t anything close to a solution in sight unless the Twins want to mess with their best hitter.   Two weeks before the end of spring training, th

Gleeman & the Geek Ep 42: Marquis de Buzzkill

Aaron and John talk about Jason Marquis' implosion and the state of an increasingly ugly rotation, Drew Butera and Ben Revere turning into Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, how the Twins handled Chris Parmelee, the Van Halen concert-going experience, Nick Blackburn's return to the disabled list, their PickPointz MVP picks, and Lewwwwww! Here are:   the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes

Are We Ever Biased Towards Umpire Bias?

There is no question that umpires have biases. The question is whether we want them or not.     A couple of years ago I reported on a book that I was reading titled Scorecasting by Tobias J Moskowitz and L. Jon Weerthem. This writeup is going to copy a lot of that story. The book is similar to the book Freakonomics, except that it focuses exclusively on sports. If you have an iPad or iPhone, you can download the first chapter for free – and just that much changed forever how I watch baseball.  

Random Thoughts On A Random Loss

I don’t know if these are questions, or thoughts, of forum topics, but after a 13-hour day, I’m pretty much free associating. Let’s see what happens.   Because Fourth Place Is Just Five Games Away? Why is Carl Pavano pitching? The Twins long term strategy regarding Pavano needs to be to have him demonstrate enough success to get some value for him at the trade deadline, right? What is the purpose of trotting him out there at 80% to look below average? Get him healthy, let him string a strong mon

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