The non-waiver trade deadline is closing in quickly and it is still tough to know what the Twins will do in the coming hours. Is Justin Morneau's Twins career over? Will Glen Perkins still be the guy at the back end of the bullpen? Can the Twins afford to part with Kevin Correia or Mike Pelfrey? There could be a lot of deals in the next couple days or there could be nothing but the sounds of crickets. During the offseason, the Twins made a lot of noise by dealing two of their starting centerfi
For baseball fans across the Upper Midwest, Tony Oliva has become one of the most well known personalities. His infectious smile and broken English endeared him to any smiling face with a hand to shake and a baseball to sign. Tony O has become a legend but it's amazing to think of how close he was to never having a baseball career. These trials and tribulations form the backdrop of the recent book release, Tony Oliva: The Life and Times of a Minnesota Twins Legend by Thom Henninger. Oliva, a C
Hardball history on the Minnesota prairie started long before the Twins moved to the Upper Midwest. Baseball legends like Ted Williams and Willie Mays called Minnesota home before making their big league debuts. There was a lot that went into the Twins becoming the franchise they are today and the club's entire history is summarized in the new book Minnesota Twins Baseball: Hardball History on the Prairie. There are plenty of people who know a lot about Twins baseball but author Stew Thornley
Every team longs for a chance to add to the legacy of their franchise. How can they get another flag to fly over the stadium and become a part of baseball's legendary past? This is the premise behind the recent book release, In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball by Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt. These two authors take the reader on a journey through the annals of baseball history to find what made front offices successful throughout each era. Armour an
The 1991 World Series will always hold a special place in the heart of Twins fans. Kirby Puckett's heroics in Game 6 and the magnificent pitching performance of Jack Morris are legendary moments etched into the minds of a generation of baseball fans. Many consider this World Series as the best of all time and it all comes into focus in the newly released book "Down to the Last Pitch." To get a better understanding of this legendary World Series, author Tim Wendel breaks down every game by usin
The Minnesota Twins have made a habit of losing over the last three seasons. With back-to-back 90 loss seasons and the team on track to make it three in a row, there hasn't been a lot to be excited about at the major league level. Poor starting pitching and a lack-luster offense have created a "Debby Downer" attitude among the former Twins faithful. When Minnesota was in the midst of winning six division titles in nine years, a culture of winning was created even as there were changes to the p
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m96du2wPpag/T3PdczZud3I/AAAAAAAABJw/4_LJaqtc3E8/s320/AnthonySwarzak.jpg The Twins went into the start of this spring with a little different feel in regards to their starting rotation. Last season there was a battle between six or seven players to fill the five roles needed to complete the starting rotation at the beginning of the year. This year the Twins seemed set with five players penciled in to occupy the rotation when the team would break camp for the start of th
The biggest Twins story of the weekend was the call-up and debut on right-handed pitching prospect Trevor May. Fans have been clamoring for months to see May or his Rochester counterpart Alex Meyer. This new version of the M&M boys is supposed to provide some stability to a lack-lust Twins rotation but only time will tell. One of the stories lost in the hype of May's debut was the demotion of Chris Colabello. The 30-year old former independent league standout is heading back to Triple-A fo
Some of the buzz of the Twitter world yesterday was surrounding the Twins and who should be the lead-off hitter when the team heads north from spring training. Ron Gardenhire would like one of the center field candidates to run away with thelead-off job but he had a surprise name as a back-up plan. With the ways things are starting to take shape, the team might have to get crafty with men near the top of the order. Here is a look at some of the candidates for the lead-off spot. Some of the men
Next month's All-Star Game is fast approaching and Target Field will serve as the center of the baseball universe.The starting rosters for the National League and the American League will be announced during the weekend of July 5th-6th and it doesn't seem likely for the Twins to have a starter elected by the fans. This leaves some question as to who should represent the hometown team in Minnesota's first Mid-Summer Classic since 1985.Joe Mauer has been named MLB's All-Star Ambassador but that
Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SOYxL2_fvlE/T6pjD9ZULII/AAAAAAAABQk/n8Atpfe8iv4/s320/DozierFlip.jpg Dozier premiered for the Twins on Monday night and he seems to be making a mark on the line-up in this early part of his career. The debut of a player in the big leagues can be a moment full of anxiousness and hope. For most players, they have been working toward this moment since they were a child and the first steps on the field can be a magi
For the third year in a row, Seth Stohs of TwinsDaily.com asked Jeremy Nygaard and myself to help him put together the annual off-season handbook that looks deep into one of the best minor league systems in all of baseball. Several other high quality writers helped to write articles for the book and this only adds to the over 200 pages of content. It was our goal to get the paperback version out to the public before Christmas and we will meet our goal for the second year in a row. This also al
With Justin Morneau's exit from the club in the last week, the Twins are searching for someone to take over his leadership role in the clubhouse. This seems to be a reoccurring theme for the Twins in recent years as the club shifts away from veteran leadership to a more youthful roster. A couple of years ago Michael Cuddyer and Joe Nathan were considered among the team's strong voices and both players left in free agency. Morneau filled the void left by Cuddyer and it seemed like a smooth tran
Defense wins championships. In the baseball world, this cliche might not be completely true. Otherwise, there would be teams full of Andrelton Simmons-type players. There are a lot of other factors that go into the overall equation. Teams need offense, they need pitching, and sometimes a little luck goes a long way. Baseball line-ups aren't usually built with a defensive as the first priority. Rosters usually need to have the right combination of defense and offense. You can hide a Josh Will
Every offseason fans can sit back and reflect on the year that was for the Minnesota Twins. There are usually some high points and some low points for any team no matter what their place in the standings. Unfortunately for the Twins, there have been more low points than high points over the last three seasons. Last year's roster featured a few players in the midst of a breakout season. Brian Dozier set the franchise record for home runs by a second baseman and he backed that up with terrific u
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?
At this point in the pre-season, I’m just so happy to be seeing games again, I don’t care about the Twins record in 2023. I think they’ll win it all, unrealistically speaking 🙂