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Knuckleballs - JC

A blog by Jim Crikket in Twins Daily

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Entries in this blog

Just Because It’s a Cliché Doesn’t Mean It’s Not True

This was originally posed at Knuckleballsblog.com.   I’m not sure any sport has spawned more clichés than baseball. Right now, though, even clichés that are applicable to multiple sports seem to make me think of the Twins.   http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/cliche.jpg   As I’ve been following the the team lately, I keep hearing various clichés in my mind (“look the ball in to your glove, Nishi.” “Make sure of one, Nishi.”). A lot of them come to mind, however, as I r

Minor Leagues: Affiliation Questions and Answers

This was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com.   Over the past month or more, I’ve alluded a few times to the fact that the Twins’ Player Development Contracts (PDC) with a number of their minor league affiliates were set to expire after the current season. In fact, all four of their PDCs with their “full-season” affiliates (A, Advanced A, AA and AAA) were expiring.   Nobody really expects their Advanced A team, the Ft. Myers Miracle, to shop around for a new affiliation, given that the tea

A Road Trip to Beloit

Originally published at Knuckleballsblog.com I drove up to Beloit over the weekend to catch a couple of baseball games between the Twins' Class A affiliate, the Snappers, and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The Rattlers and Snappers finished first and second, respectively, in the first-half standings of the Midwest League's Western Division, so I anticipated that they would play some decent baseball. They did.   If you want to read a lot about the games themselves, I'm going to refer you to the d

A New Old Reason For Disappointment

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com   I’m not one to usually say, “I told you so,” but… yeah… I did tell you so. I told you to prepare to be disappointed at the trade deadline so it comes as no surprise to me that most Twins fans seemed to come away from the July 31 non-waiver deadline disappointed in the lack of moves by the Twins.   Many of us do understand why the roster remained intact, except for the trade of Francisco Liriano. The new CBA dampened enthusiasm fo

Minor Leagues: Let the Affiliation Dance Begin

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com   Some who follow the Twins minor league affiliates were at least somewhat surprised this past week when the Twins announced they had renewed their Player Development Contract (PDC) with AA affiliate New Britain CT. The Rock Cats will remain the home of the Twins' AA players for at least the next two years. PDCs are entered in to for an even number of years, so two years is the shortest contract the two organizations could have agreed u

Trading Season Opens: Prepare For Disappointment

Oriiginally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com   It seems ridiculous at this point to suggest Twins fans need to be prepared for disappointment. We’ve been getting slapped in the face by disappointment for going on two years, after all, and we’re pretty much resigned to this team continuing to disappoint us at least through the rest of this season. A lot of fans are already accepting disappointment as a near-certainty in 2013.   How much more prepared for disappointment do we need to be?   A bi

Twins All Stars - Today's and Tomorrow's

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. Apparently, when Twins catcher Joe Mauer’s name was announced as the team’s representative to the All Star game, the Twinsville Twitterverse lit up with tweets condemning his selection. I didn’t notice this so much, myself, which is perhaps a testament to the intelligence of both those who follow me on Twitter and those I personally follow.   http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/MauerST11k-834x1024-244x300.jpg Jo

WWTD? (What Will Terry Do?)

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com.   Six weeks ago, I put up a post here arguing that it was much too soon to “pull the plug” on the Twins’ 2012 season. I argued that, despite an admittedly dismal start, the Twins were performing fairly well on most fronts, with the glaring exception of their starting pitching, and that they were just about to begin playing their own Division rivals on a regular basis. Feel free to go back and read the whole article, but here was my

Snappers Wrap Up

This article was originally posted on Knuckleballsblog.com.   I had to leave Sunday’s Snappers game with the Cedar Rapids Kernels a couple innings early in order to get ready to catch a flight, but the Kernels had the game pretty well in hand by the time I walked out the gate.   The Snappers scored one run in the top of the first inning, but probably should have had more. Nate Roberts and JD Williams each singled to start the game and Miguel Sano sent a towering fly ball to right field, wh

Another Snappers Shutout

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. I have no idea exactly why Twins GM Terry Ryan is in Cedar Rapids watching his organization’s Class A affiliate this weekend, but if he’s here to evaluate the Beloit Snappers’ pitching, he has to like what he’s seen in the first two games!     http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/ShibuyaSanoJune2012a.jpg Pitcher Tim Shibuya and 3B Miguel Sano   The Snappers’ hitters provided plenty of support in Friday n

A Snappers Pitching Gem

The following article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com   While the Twins were winning the opening game of their series with the Reds Friday night, I was spending just about a perfect night watching minor league baseball. The Beloit Snappers (the Twins’ Midwest League affiliate) opened the second half of their season here in Cedar Rapids against the Kernels.     http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/CapitalBabs/Baseball/Steve/ScoutsJune2012b.jpg   Close to 20 scouts were easy to sp

Will Past be Prologue?

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. I’m kinda confused.   I am getting the overwhelming sense that far too many so-called Twins “fans” are actually rooting against the team right now. Why? Because they’re apparently afraid that if the Twins continue to win games at their recent rate, they’ll pull themselves up out of the AL Central Division cellar and perhaps even within shouting distance of whatever sorry excuse for a Division Leader happens to be sitting atop the Divisi

Stop With the Premature Trade Talk Already

This article originally was posted on May 30 at Knuckleballsblog.com. I know Twins fans aren’t quite accustomed to dealing with having their team be uncompetitive right out of the gate, but that’s no excuse for being rediculously stupid.   It seems like some folks just don’t know how to enjoy the rare good performance when they see one. No, it has to be immediately followed by, “Let’s trade him!”   http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/MorneauST11h-221x300.jpg Justin Morne

Weird Ideas: The Designated Starter

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. With the dismissal of Jason Marquis and subsequent promotion of Cole DeVries, the Twins’ rotation is down to one member of the original group projected to come out of Spring Training. Only Carl Pavano remains (and his balky shoulder makes you wonder how much longer he’ll last). And we haven’t reached Memorial Day yet.   So, with the rotation situation as it is, I’m going to put myself in Ron Gardenhire’s and Rick Anderson’s shoes for a

"Purpose" Pitches

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. Baseball is a great game. Almost every game has some sort of unique situation arise, allowing fans to try to get in to the minds of the players and managers. Is the starting pitcher beginning to lose his stuff or can he go another inning? Is the centerfielder cheating a bit by playing shallow to keep a runner from advancing or to cut off a short line drive and will the hitter be able to get something past him in to the gap?   Yes, almo

Snappers Series Finale Ends With a Bang

This article was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com.   After a rather ugly game Wednesday night and Thursday’s suspended game, the Snappers and Kernels put on a good show on Friday in Cedar Rapids.   In the completion of Thursday’s suspended game, the Snappers got a home run from newcomer Drew Leachman and Miguel Sano hit his 7th home run of the season immediately after an AJ Petterson double in the 8th inning, but it wasn’t enough for the win. The Kernels topped Beloit 9-6.     htt

Snappers Series Finale Ends With a Bang

After a rather ugly game Wednesday night and Thursday’s suspended game, the Snappers and Kernels put on a good show on Friday in Cedar Rapids.   In the completion of Thursday’s suspended game, the Snappers got a home run from newcomer Drew Leachman and Miguel Sano hit his 7th home run of the season immediately after an AJ Petterson double in the 8th inning, but it wasn’t enough for the win. The Kernels topped Beloit 9-6.     http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SanoH

First Look at the 2012 Snappers

This article originally was posted at Knuckleballsblog.com If you follow me on Twitter (@JimCrikket), you know that the Twins’ low-A affiliate, the Beloit Snappers, are making their first trip to Cedar Rapids this week and that I’ve spent the past couple of evenings at the ballpark watching them take on the Kernels (the Angels’ Midwest League affiliate). They’ve played 1+ games in the series so far (Thursday’s game was suspended by thunderstorms in the 3rd inning and will be resumed at 5:00 tod

Hendriks vs Trout... I've Seen This Before

Barring something unforeseen happening, when Twins starting pitcher Liam Hendriks toes the rubber Wednesday night, he’ll be staring down Angels’ top prospect Mike Trout, who’s been hitting in the leadoff spot for the Halos since being promoted a few days ago.   Talk about déjà vu flashbacks.   http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Hendriks.jpgLiam Hendriks Just over two years ago, the Beloit Snappers opened their season against the Angels’ Midwest League affiliate, the Ceda

Two Weeks In: Who Is This Team?

This post was originally published at knuckleballsblog.com.   I swear if there’s one thing I’ve grown more tired of than people using small sample sizes to “prove” how good or bad a player is, at this still-early point in the season, it’s people who do so while even admitting that they’re using small sample sizes. Let’s be brutally honest here, statheads, stats over a single two week period, even if it’s the first two weeks of the season, are almost completely worthless.     That’s one r

St. Patty's Day is Separation Day

This was originally posted at Knuckleballs. This blog has been promoted to an article.   St. Patrck’s Day means different things to different people. But if you’re a baseball player trying to make a Big League ballclub, you should have a pretty good idea of where you stand with your manager and General Manager by the time you lift your first green beer of the evening on March 17.   At this point, there are just over two weeks left of Spring Training, so if you have any hope of heading north wi

Looking for Breakout Seasons

This was originally posted at Knuckleballs   By this point, everyone knows the variables that will determine whether the Twins will have a successful 2012 season, right? Mauer, Morneau, Baker and Span have to stay healthy and the bullpen needs to be vastly improved over last year. We know all of that because every beat writer, columnist and blogger has pointed at those issues over and over again since October.   Sure, if the established veterans all return to the level of productivity we’ve come

Expanded Playoffs Adopted... and I Like It!

This post appeared originally at http://www.knuckleballsblog.com   Right up front, I LIKE the expanded playoffs adopted officially by MLB today. I went on record supporting this concept a couple of years ago and I stand by that support.   Beginning this fall, there will be TWO Wild Card spots in both the AL and NL, instead of one in each. In a perfect world, I’d have no Wild Cards at all, but that realistically is never going to happen. This is the next best thing.   I know that scheduling issu

The Braun Legacy (in theatres soon)

The following was originally posted at http://www.knuckleballsblog.com   I realize I’m several days late to the party in terms of discussing the arbitrator’s ruling in favor of Brewers’ star Ryan Braun, but it took me a while to come to grips with exactly how I feel about it. I’ve now done that and I’ve concluded one thing for certain… I want the movie rights. Before you scoff, remember that Hollywood made a successful movie last year about Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane. Sure, it helpe

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