Originally posted at kbro's baseball blog I read LaVelle's piece about whether the Twins should carry three catchers on the roster. It's a good question -- should they keep three just so they have adequate fill ins in case one of them gets hurt, or should they free up that roster spot for, say, another utility guy or pitcher (how many pitchers they should have on the roster is another rant entirely)? So here's the design the Twins will use if they go with three: the regular catcher
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Yeah, this series could've been uglier, but it wasn't pretty. Friday's game was nice and smooth on all levels -- Matt Capps even delivered an uninteresting save for smiles all around. Saturday's game was a fun pitchers' duel -- until a really ugly sixth inning. And the Rays had smiles all around. Sunday...ugh. Just...ugh! Notes from the series: I think the brief love affair with Clete Thomas may be cooling off. Turn out he strikes o
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog We all know how crazy the Twins starting rotation has been this season. The club keeps moving guys around hoping to replace those who are hurt or ineffective. And it keeps happening because guys who are given a chance aren't always making the best of it. All these moves remind me of a metaphor that TwinsGeek John Bonnes likes to use: moving deck chairs on the Titanic. It's an intriguing phrase that perfectly describes the frustrating situation
Originally posted at kbro's baseball blog We all had a good chuckle (and by "chuckle," I mean "eye-roll") when we heard that Anthony Swarzak cracked a couple ribs when he and a teammate engaged in what the team officially calls "horseplay." Now, we're hearing that Scott Diamond's bone chips -- you know, the ones that required surgery in December -- occurred because he was jumping rope. It makes one wonder whether players participating in common children's activities is perhaps unlucky.
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Oy. That was a punch in the gut. Followed closely by a knockout punch to the jaw. There's no need to go into detail about how awful that was. Not only has the starting pitching failed to improve to a satisfactory level, but now the offense has taken a break from acceptability. Let's hope that a day off in beautiful Seattle helps matters. Although we all said that for the last off day... Just keep fighting. A few notes: I don't thin
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog In less than a week, the Twins will officially open Spring Training camp. As of now, 66 players are expected to be there: 34 pitchers, 9 catchers (a lot of catchers needed for a lot of pitchers), 13 infielders, and 10 outfielders. There are a lot of bodies (I imagine the locker room might be a tad crowded), but there are also a lot of holes from 2012 to be filled. By the end of it, there will be 25 men ready to head north and face the Tigers on April
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog A SWEEP! A real, honest to goodness, three-game sweep! A fun come-from-behind win! An even funner walk-off win! And a strong-pitching-performance win! Yay, winning! http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/images/history/y2010/120x120_logo_1987_m.jpg And all these wins came with the classic "M" caps. So you know that we'll be seeing more of them. I like the "M" logo and all (even though I still prefer the "TC" logo), but I do worry about unilateral
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog I have some little opinions on some news items, so I thought I'd share some of them. ~~~ Scott Diamond received a 6-game suspension for throwing toward Josh Hamilton's head on Friday. He plans to appeal the suspension. I'm glad he's appealing because I thought the whole situation was handled poorly. Roy Oswalt inexplicably beaned Joe Mauer in the back of the neck, I'm assuming because he was pissy that Pedro Florimon scored on a pla
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog The Twins have completed two series now, and after completely embarrassing themselves from the gate, they've rallied to make their record somewhat more respectable. I'm going to ignore the Orioles series because, frankly, I was unable to pay a lot of attention to it. I had to watch the three games in bits-and-pieces. Apparently, I didn't miss much. I was lucky enough to attend the Twins home opener. I was happy to be back at Target Field
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog A bunch of random thoughts that individually aren't enough for a blog post, but collectively are, well, something. Or not. Buh-bye Danny In a sudden, but not necessarily surprising move, the Twins traded Danny Valencia to the Red Sox for rookie-ball outfielder Jeremias Pineda. Danny seemed to be pretty popular with his teammates, but his relationship between with the organization was becoming strained. Obviously, we can't know for sure wh
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog You may have heard that MLB has changed the playoff scheme starting with this season by adding an additional Wild Card team to each league. Some people like it; some people hate it. I really don't have an opinion of it yet, because, honestly, I don't really understand it. I've read a lot of stuff about it, and it all makes my head hurt. I figured I'd map it out on some spreadsheets to see if that helps. Yes, I know, I'm supposed to be afraid
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the purpose of this rule. When it seems apparent that a batted ball will be an Infield Fly, the umpi
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Another series win! We all could get used this, right? There's nothing like winning to make everyone all confident and happy. A couple of notes: I think that my buddy Brian Dozier needs a day or two off to clear his head a little. It seems like he's scuffling a bit, especially with his glove. I think he'll be fine, though. Did you see that sick Ben Revere catch on Saturday? That perfect somersault in the outfield with a catch in the middle
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Remember back in late April when the Twins faced the Red Sox and Royals and lost like 6-7 and I said "if you score six runs, you ought to win the ballgame" (well, I didn't actually say it so you could hear it, but my husband heard it, so just work with me here)? I miss those days. The Twins have officially become "that" team. You know, the team that all other teams, even if they're bad teams, look forward to facing because they know they'll
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Dirk Hayhurst. Out of My League: A Rookie's Survival in the Bigs. New York, NY: Kensington Publishing Corp., 2012. ISBN 978-0-8065-3553-1 I loved The Bullpen Gospels, Dirk Hayhurst's first book, so much that I went out of my way to recommend it to anyone who would listen. Unfortunately, I can't muster that much enthusiasm for his follow-up book Out of My League. In fact, I hesitate to recommend it at all. While Gospels is primarily a humor b
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog So, I didn't really get a chance to pay much attention to this series. I was kind of busy with the "having a life" thing -- watching my kid play baseball, improving my golf game (this is a hilarious statement if you've ever seen me golf), etc. But I was able to check in from time to time, so I'm not completely lost Some notes: Seems to me that the best starting pitching performance of the series (Liriano's) was the one that resulted in a l
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog The family and I went on yet another baseball-themed long-weekend trip, this time to beautiful Kansas City. And like every family trip we've ever been on, the weather was really hot. The Weather: Yeah, it's summer, and I'm fully aware that Kansas City knows how to do hot, but man, that heat was something else. Additionally, the whole area is suffering a devastating drought. So even though the lack of humidity makes for a dry heat, it also al
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-azn05pwnFLQ/TZUrW2YE9RI/AAAAAAAABe0/D-P1hu1nyvk/s320/welcomeback.JPG Do you know what today is? Do you know what's going on today? Of course you do. Today is the day when boys, and men with boys' hearts, gather by the hundreds in places like Clearwater, and Mesa, and Surprise, and Fort Myers, to participate in baseball activities. They're perfecting their changeups, and bunts, and double-plays. They're practicing covering first, and running down flies, and knock
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Short series; short recap; short paragraphs. Men left on base. Leaving pitches up. Shin-Soo Choo. Homerun. Homerun. Homerun. Grounding into double play. Grounding into double play. Grounding into double play. Grounding into double play. Groan. ~~~ Injury update After Tuesday's game, Justin Morneau was activated off the DL. He's been swinging in batting practice for the last couple of days. The Twins o
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog The days are beginning to get noticeably longer. Football teams are being eliminated from the playoffs one-by-one. The Twins Caravan is in full swing. So it must be almost time for TwinsFest. I know many fans enjoy going to TwinsFest yearly. Those folks already already know what they want to do. But, if you haven't been in a while, allow me to point out some of my TwinsFest traditions. Make a plan: Be sure to visit the TwinsFest website to view
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog. I didn't intend to start up the paper doll machine until the season started. After all, the point of it is to show who's been put on the Disabled List, and they don't really do that during Spring Training. But this one is a special case because ... well, I just feel so darned bad for him. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-apx70TKPH68/T0rm0Zrp9yI/AAAAAAAABvk/Uwl6BRMBAkY/s400/zumayaucl.PNG Joel Zumaya tore his right ulnar collateral ligament of th
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog The Admitting of Errors and Omissions: The Twins haven't really erred or omitted -- as far as I can tell -- but I have. Specifically, I've omitted (although there's a better than even chance that I've erred as well, but I'm not aware of what it is yet). Last time, I totally forgot to mention that Alexi Casilla was claimed off waivers by the Orioles. I not only forgot this event happened, but I also forgot Alexi Casilla existed. Not to be mean or any
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VhO3HOnh3Ek/T-kRGZaRzsI/AAAAAAAAB7s/1X1Bs0Em1Y4/s400/cappsshoulder.PNG The Twins have placed RHP Matt Capps on the 15-day DL with right shoulder inflammation. He had a MRI on Monday, which indicated that there is no damage, just inflammation, and it sounds like he's going to have a cortisone shot this week. Left-handed pitcher Tyler Robertson was recalled to take Capps' roster spot. Gardy said that he will use LHP
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Sometimes a baseball team loses games, and sometimes it refuses to win. And this series showed us perfect examples of both. Tuesday's game was a genuine clunker by the Twins. It happens. No biggie. Monday's and Wednesday's games, however, were totally winnable. And the Twins...didn't. As much as leaving men on base drives me nuts, that's not the Twins' biggest problem. Obviously, the starting pitching is in a shambles. We all knew th
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EdUmS4y5E6M/T35GUj_6A_I/AAAAAAAAB0M/6aPUzXGiHmQ/s200/happy.PNG Happy New Years' Eve, Twins Fans! Tomorrow at 2pm Twins Territory time, Denard Span will dig in the batters' box at Orioles Park at Camden Yard against RHP Jake Arrietta and begin the 2012 Twins season. And it's been a looong time coming. We all endured a long, cold off-season trying to remove the stench of the 2011 season from our collective memories
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 🙂
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?· 0 replies
