[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9Gwwatdhue4/T7vj1DJeuJI/AAAAAAAAAWk/ZpJDPZbxZRo/s1600/Twins.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]I'm partial, of course, but am hoping to still see this logo in New Britain next season [/TD] [/TABLE] Last week, I wrote about an interesting promotion whereby Rock Cats fans could meet New York Mets prospects prior to a game held at New Britain Stadium in an event arranged by the Rock Cats organiza
[Originally published with pictures at Twins Fan From Afar] [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--C01zN7arH4/T4Opb68Od8I/AAAAAAAAAQo/EnySf2wI57c/s320/4.jpg [TD=class: tr-caption]Though he got into a jam in the fifth inning, Alex Wimmers definitely looked capable of facing AA competition [/TD] [/TABLE] Last week, I was fortunate enough to have dinner with and talk to Twins 2010 first round draft pick Alex Wimmers. He sounded pretty geared up for his first start,
[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] [TD=align: center]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2VOxLNM-otc/Ug2WpSSKA3I/AAAAAAAAAps/zGUWT-GFVWQ/s400/May1.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]It's been a consistently inconsistent season for Trevor May [/TD] [/TABLE] Tonight's game was a laugher. No real offense to speak of for New Britain until the game was well out of hand. In fact, it's not even worth discussing Sano or Rosario (on offense, at least, where they were non-factors). Let's get right
[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VfULudsD8f4/T8jMCnbiG7I/AAAAAAAAAYA/OPJFAJIBus4/s320/NB.bmp Since March, I have been providing Rock Cats content on this blog, whether it's game reports from contests I have attended, player stats, the latest on the potential change in affiliation, or recounts of events I have attended, like the pre-season welcome home dinner. I'm no expert on baseball -- or the Twins minor league system -- but my geographic proximity, M
[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] This isn't a blog post about March Madness, Tim Tebow (**shudder**), Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods or whether the Yankees or Red Sox won or lost last night. In my mind, those come in a far distant second to what happened on Saturday down in Florida. Of course I'm talking about Justin Morneau's 2-for-2 game with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs. Every report had indicated that, although Morneau was still batting around .100, his timing was closer. La Valle E. N
[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container, align: center] http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/Sports/AP_MLB/201302191444530758115-p2.jpg [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Contrary to what is implied here, I can report that Josmil Pinto DOES indeed know how to wear his tools of ignorance [/TD] [/TABLE] Twins catchers. There's Joe Mauer. Then a big, big gap. Sure, Ryan Doumit can technically sit there and intercept a pitch before it hits the umpire. But to call him a full-time catcher -- or even an adept
[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fGCqeY66wtA/T-HIKm94DOI/AAAAAAAAAbc/Zv3vq0Uwlcs/s400/Rocky.jpg [TD=class: tr-caption]Rocky the Rock Cat: Proud to be an American [/TD] [/TABLE] The New Britain Rock Cats find themselves in the middle of a tough stretch of baseball. They lost last night, 8-1, to the Altoona Curve, and only tallied 6 hits all evening -- 3 from Evan Bigley, which is good for him -- but that leaves
[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] [TD=align: center]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NI0Dw6sl4l8/T4jKo5yLyoI/AAAAAAAAARY/-ijibrI5F04/s320/download+(4).jpg [/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]My stock minor league picture until I make it to another Rock Cats game next week [/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] Just a quick note tonight. The Rock Cats continued their good play, beating the New Hampshire Fisher Cats 6-1 in convincing fashion. Importantly, they p
[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y562M0aeUhc/T89RfBj5vVI/AAAAAAAAAYk/rkxx75xItIQ/s320/Beresford.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Quietly, and with many, many singles, Rock Cats infielder James Beresford is leading the team in batting average [/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] Last night, the Rock Cats lost to the Akron Aeros 6-2. Starter B.J. Hermsen took a tough loss, giving up 3 runs (only 1 earned) in 5 innings, but he wasn't aided mu
[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] Chris Parmelee should be fine. He looked great last September in a Twins uniform, and was a bright spot during an otherwise dismal time. Of the three prospects called up -- Parmelee, Joe Benson and Liam Hendriks -- Parmelee looked the most ready for the show. After watching several Rock Cats games last year in person, I was a little surprised that Parmelee, and not Benson, looked better in his time as a Twin, but that is why I don't get paid to do
[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LNxZoVqMnpg/T8uwq_-e_SI/AAAAAAAAAYM/dlqtJMBfYWk/s400/Herrmann.jpg [TD=class: tr-caption]Chris Herrmann (courtesy of Tia Ann Chapman, Hartford Courant) [/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] The Minnesota Twins used their sixth round selection in 2009 to draft Chris Herrmann, a native of Tomball, Texas. Herrmann transferred from Alvin Community College to the University of Miami. He had been drafted i
[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sg_feS-kpfs/T-xptL6XNAI/AAAAAAAAAcA/NgxsZPNVd20/s1600/Liriano.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]After losing 2 lefties in 1 day, the Yankees would seem to be a logical desitnation for Francisco Liriano [/TD] [/TABLE] After I not-so-closely followed yesterday's Twins debacle on my computer, I realized that this game was the turning point for me. There's no sense trying to compete for the next 3 months to win what's shaping up to be a
[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EANbn5dkhPo/T6PQ2x-FxrI/AAAAAAAAAUM/Zzb2q6T9Bn0/s1600/Safeco.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]The Twins have not realized much success in Seattle lately [/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] There are some teams that, for no reason in particular, the Twins seem to struggle against on the road. No, I'm not talking about the Yankees or the Rangers here; I can list some solid explanations for the Twins' lackluster
The minor league season is about to wrap up. A couple teams -- E-Town and Beloit -- are headed to the playoffs, which is great for fans of the minor league system. Let's take a look at the action down on the farm. ROCHESTER -- OFF NEW BRITAIN 3, TRENTON 1 It still has been a solid season for the Rock Cats, but their performance in August has been dreadful. Unfortunately, they're fighting a very uphill battle for the final playoff spot. They did, however, turn in a good performance tonight. L
[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p8uJ6DYO5p4/T6poCGsTiaI/AAAAAAAAAU4/qnONL6iZ2LU/s1600/Span.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]In exchange for Denard Span, should the Twins be targeting MLB-ready talent, or guys set to contribute in 2014 and beyond? [/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] There has been a lot of fun and interesting talk lately about the Twins potentially trading away some veterans, such as Denard Span and Carl Pavano, to a co
[Originally published with pictures at Twins Fan From Afar] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BQnbI0K-uYA/T30KG1tXEAI/AAAAAAAAAOA/ejWVyL4Ga0w/s320/Dinner+1.jpg As much as I love going to Twins games, there's something special about minor league baseball. It's intimate and personal. It's real and unadulterated -- both the good and the bad. Every year, the New Britain Rock Cats host a "welcome home" dinner for the team, the front office and the fans. This year, it was held at the New Britain Elks Lodg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qyh6vOiA6zE/T1S8a9F6iVI/AAAAAAAAALw/lCp-aYdUVdA/s1600/Liriano.bmp [Originally posted at Twins Fan From Afar] In the end, Francisco Liriano's pitching line yesterday looked fine on paper. He gave up no runs, walked one, and struck out two, in two innings. Still, though, even though this was his first start of the spring, I was left wanting a little bit more. The frustrating aspect of Liriano's outing, for me, was that 12 of his 25 pitches were balls. In the first inni
[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eTwQ7QLpoSY/T-B116r2DCI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/fIvgv6MFR3M/s400/Ben.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]If Ben Revere's legacy with the Twins is as a speedy outfielder who was a placeholder until better players developed, that's just fine [/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] If you read this blog with any regularity, it's no secret that I'm a Ben Revere supporter. Despite his shortcomings (bad arm and no power to speak
[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VpyaVwgwQR4/T9nYAsHhVWI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/dhKcCUah9V0/s320/Hammer.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Josh Willingham: Trade Bait? [/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] Over the past few weeks, I have enjoyed reading various posts from other bloggers concerning the Twins' potential trade chips. Names like Denard Span, Matt Capps and Francisco Liriano keep coming up. If nothing else, the speculation is interesting,
[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BEbMinyrRqc/T7uFJT7gXsI/AAAAAAAAAWY/bqFIJta9emo/s1600/Herrmann.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Rock Cats catcher Chris Herrmann [/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] The New Britain Rock Cats won what ended up being a fairly close game last night, 10-7, over the Binghamton Mets. It was 10-2 going into the 9th inning, but Daniel Turpen let the game get a little too close for comfort. A win is a win, though! The
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mjq1LN6XLSo/T35ZvfUlEVI/AAAAAAAAAOg/Q9_T15HS2S4/s320/download.jpg [Originally published with pictures at Twins Fan From Afar] Opening Day is special for fans and players alike -- especially for players in the minor leagues who are working their way up the system and hoping to latch on with a new, better team each season. After spending some time with Alex Wimmers and the other Rock Cats players the other night, I have a newfound respect for what these guys are going
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 🙂