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
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog We're fully aware, now that the All-Star break is over, that the non-waiver trade deadline is looming (I hate the "looming" cliche -- it makes me think of a big shadow of a ghost looming with the players rumored to be traded cowering against the wall a la Scooby Doo). Last season, the Twins did very little at the trade deadline. This year should be different; the Twins will most likely move a guy or two before the end of the month. What's dif
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ceNibDT2jXU/UASyUE-2juI/AAAAAAAACAQ/wzgG81RJeLE/s200/waterballoons.PNG I was listening to the news Sunday night as I was getting ready for bed, and between brushing my teeth and putting moisturizer around my eyes, I heard the sports guy talking about how glum the Twins clubhouse is lately. He said something about the mood there being the worse its ever been and that everyone is just demoralized. It's hard to blame
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 k-bro's baseball blog http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TxaYgroHa88/T_Dv3YH237I/AAAAAAAAB8c/-UCGY6CQlR0/s200/photo%2812%29.JPG The family and I took a nice little vacation to Beloit, WI, to catch some minor-league ball and get a glimpse of some future Twins. We attended games on two steamy evenings, Friday and Saturday. The Snappers, the Twins Class A affiliate, are a pretty typical minor-league team. There are several features of the experience that are common througho
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 Hi. It's been a while. Nothing like a busy-at-work-busy-at-home lifestyle to put a dent in one's blogging ambitions. But anyhoo... I have a few thoughts. My thoughts on Ben Revere How much fun has Benny been to watch lately? The plays in the outfield, the improved hitting, the smiling, the adorableness, the little chicken wing thing he does in the batting box, the plays in the outfield ... I was excited about him last year, but this
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 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 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 On Friday when the Twins were beating up on the Brewers, for as much as I was enjoying the production, I was thinking to myself that they should save some of their hits for another day when they needed them. It's a cliched joke, I know, but considering how shaky this season has been, I worry about such things. But I'm reasonably pleased that the Twins still took the series, and things have been looking less glum. And, yeah, Sunday was pretty u
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ena_kXOS54A/SNxatC0DMxI/AAAAAAAAAfs/ch91nmL3DHw/s200/broom.JPGI know it was another short series, and I know the wins weren't pretty, but it still counts as a series sweep, so I'm breaking out the broom, mostly because there's a real chance that I won't be able to break it out any more the rest of the season. Some notes from the series: Hits. Hits. Hits. Taking advantage of errors. Who's this Trevor Plouffe? I
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 After a truly awful, embarrassing effort by the Twins on Thursday, they got it together and acted like a big league team the rest of the series. A split of a four-game series against a pretty good team isn't bad, and Saturday's loss was at least somewhat respectable (if there is such a thing as a "respectable loss"). A few notes: Brian Dozier keeps flirting with me. I was happy for him for his first big league homer, and his defense makes m
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Turns out the only guy who can breathe some life into the Twins' anemic rotation is a rookie. In fact, Scott Diamond is so magical, he even breathed some life into the Twins' hitters too. Alas, his magic only lasted one night. Some notes on the series: I'm so happy that the Twins are done with the Angels, and more specifically Albert Pujols. I love Albert, I really do, and I'm happy that I can start rooting for him again, but, lord, I'm t
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 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 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 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 Did you know that it was possible for the Twins to win multiple games at Yankee Stadium? During the same year? The same series? I bet you thought that only happened in video games. But it really happened. Really. Not only did the Twins exceed expectations with this series, they also made it fun to watch. All the hitting is great. I like a lot of Twins hitting. Keep hitting, Twins. And if you want me to pick which kind of hitting I want, I'
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog So much for the Texas Rangers not being able to win in Target Field. Prior to Friday, the Rangers were 1 - 9 in Target Field. Looks like they got over whatever was bothering them. The Rangers didn't really blow the Twins away; the Twins failed to capitalize. Key Notes from the Series: That relay play on Sunday by Thomas to Casilla to Mauer to mow down Adrian Beltre at the plate was a thing of beauty. I love things of beauty created by
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 http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WuqEJmvcnRs/T4Td2E-4CiI/AAAAAAAAB04/GZ7P4vkCcJQ/s320/keepcalm.PNG So, the Twins have had a bit of a tough go of the start of the 2012 season, huh? And, apparently, there's nothing like going winless for the first four games to divide the fans. The optimists insist that four games is too small a sample size to get too worked up about yet, and the pessimists see that all the flaws aren't being fixed. And each side
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
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog The Twins 25-man roster has been set, and I'm pretty excited about it. However, there are some surprises (at least for me) on it. Namely: There are only two catchers on the roster and neither of them are named Drew Butera. We all know that Gardy loves having three catchers on hand in the miniscule chance that one of them gets hurt while the other one is the DH, or something like that. But no more of that. Joe Mauer needs to stay healthy and R
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
