[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] The Twins certainly don't have a surplus of major league ready talent at most positions, such as catcher, third base, middle infield, starting pitching, and the bullpen. -- just to name a few areas of concern. But if there is one position where there is a good amount of talent, both on the major league club and in the minor league system, it probably is centerfield. [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PkYv_D0CQJc
[Originally posted at Twins Fan From Afar] Most of us remember Kent Hrbek for his lumbering physique, affable nature, power swing, underrated defense and, of course, his roles on the 1987 and 1991 World Series teams. Do you remember how his career came to an end? I bet some of you do, but others might have been too young (gasp!) to recall. Hrbek was 34 years old for most of the 1994 baseball season. Though he had been healthy and productive most of his career, injuries and age (code for "weigh
[Originally posted at Twins Fan From Afar] Much has been made over the past year or so of the physical injuries suffered by the Twins, especially injuries to Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Denard Span and, to a lesser extent Francisco Liriano. All of these players had a tough time staying in the lineup last season, and we are hoping for better health this year. But that might only be half the battle. In yesterday's Spring Training game, for example, Liriano was perfect for two innings (strikin
[Originally posted at Twins Fan From Afar] The Twins had some encouraging Spring Training results over the weekend. I realize that Spring Training games don't count for anything -- they are, in fact, for "training." That's why you see guys taking a lot of pitches, just trying to get their timing down, or you might see a pitcher throw a curveball five times in a row. These guys are trying to get ready for the season, not trying to set Grapefruit League records. But still, tangible results are a
[Originally posted at Twins Fan From Afar] The Twins' offense hasn't really showed up this far in Spring Training, but yesterday, Francisco Liriano had a great 3-inning start against Tampa Bay, striking out five and, most importantly, walking none. Additionally, the three innings took only 34 pitches to get through. Sure, many in Tampa Bay's lineup weren't major league hitters, but it's still encouraging and hopefully is a sign of things to come. The big Twins news yesterday, of course, w
[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] All the reports have been great. He woke up early for the first day of training camp, lost a little weight, has participated in all drills, and stands ready, today, to play in back-to-back games. From the little that I have watched, he appears healthy (if a little thin) and alert, and his swing looks as good as it did at any point last year (maybe that's not saying a lot, but you have to take the positives where they come). In short, if you didn't
[Originally posted at Twins Fan From Afar] I try to be a (mostly) practical Twins fan. I knew the Twins would never go after Albert Pujols. Last year, I wrote that I thought that Jose Reyes would be a good fit at shortstop, but realistically knew that the pieces would never fall into place for him to come to Minnesota. And, now I'm optimistic about Brian Dozier. Sure, I guess it's fun to dream (and even write) about those big free agent signings every now and then, but that doesn't seem, for a
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-spxEoWvSljE/T1dnwKsK0qI/AAAAAAAAAMA/Si870g9dhMM/s320/Jersey.bmp[Originally posted at Twins Fan From Afar] I've written before, as have others, that Joe Mauer isn't only valuable to the Twins for his contributions as the star catcher and third batter in the lineup. Make no mistake, that's how he earns his paycheck, but it's also evident that, over the last few years, he has become his own brand. Even where I live, far removed from Twins Territory, I have noticed more T
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
Thanks to NESN, I'll be watching at least the first few innings today. Hopefully Liriano can show control and command. I'll update anything that seems worth mentioning.
[Originally posted at Twins Fan From Afar] Whether the 2012 Twins can even be a .500 team largely rests on the ample shoulders of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Let yourself think -- just for a second -- about how fun things could be if our 3-4 hitters were healthy and productive all season long. Thus far -- yes, I know players just showed up a week or so ago -- the early reports are positive. Justin Morneau took Francisco Liriano deep in batting practice, and hasn't had to sit out of any pract
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xAQtqLanLE/T04jPTt5KqI/AAAAAAAAALY/QFZxCYIYvL4/s320/Mauer.bmp [Originally posted at my blog, Twins Fan From Afar] It's often said that balance is necessary in order to understand the universe. How can you define "hot" without understanding "cold," contemplate "good" without a concept of "evil," or truly appreciate a nice Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon without having a few boxes of Franzia wine in your past? Joe Mauer has spoiled the Twins and their fans for much
[Originally posted at Twins Fan From Afar] The Twins are in a sort of interesting position when it comes to Joel Zumaya. Somewhat unsurprisingly, the firethrowing righty didn't make it past one of his first batting practice sessions last week, and now needs decide whether, at age 27, to retire and become a professional fisherman (apparently he is enough of a realist to understand that becoming a professional on Guitar Hero was not going to happen), or to opt for Tommy John surgery and attempt
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v0fuwzoau8g/T00s3AYerOI/AAAAAAAAALQ/VyO94XGtCr0/s1600/Rock+Cats.bmp [Originally posted at my blog, http://twinsfanfromafar.blogspot.com] There is breaking Twins-related minor league news this afternoon in Central Connecticut, where it has been announced that the New Britain Rock Cats, which had done very well in the community and in terms of attendance, under owners Bill Dowling (former attorney for George Steinbrenner) and Coleman Levy (local attorney), is being sol
[Originally posted at my blog, http://twinsfanfromafar.blogspot.com] I have to admit that I was quite surprised this past week to read that Seth Stohs, Parker Hagerman, John Bonnes and Nick Nelson -- the premier Twins bloggers that provide great Twinscentric content for the Star Tribune, among other publications -- had decided to give up their individual blogs and join forces. As I write that sentence, it almost sounds like something out of a comic book written for Twins geeks! They are now prov
This is also posted at my blog, http://twinsfanfromafar.blogspot.com [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container, align: center] http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zY5iHzx2Hj4/T0TsmozFw8I/AAAAAAAAALA/I5bVCCs5kto/s1600/Dozier.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Brian Dozier, Twins' shortstop of the future? [/TD] [/TABLE] I have advocated in the past my belief that the best place for Tsuyoshi Nishioka to start 2012 would be AA New Britain or AAA Rochester. Unlike the front office, I'm not willing to give him a com
The way it seems right now, even with the optimism that accompanies Spring Training, it's tough to imagine the Twins hoisting the 2012 World Series trophy. In fact, I can't reasonably imagine the Twins having the AL Cy Young award winner on their pitching staff, or the AL MVP in their batting order. But there is one award that this team was built for: The Comeback Player of the Year. According to the criteria, the award is given to a player judged to have "re-emerged on the baseball field du
When Target Field opened, I was living in Connecticut (as I do now), but harbored a dream of moving back to Minnesota. I was naive. I thought -- even though I was an attorney licensed to practice in Connecticut only, even though I owned a home in Connecticut, and even though many of my professional ties to Minnesota had dwindled -- that I could somehow easily move across the country and re-establish things back home. For many, many reasons (the prolonged economic crisis being one of them), that
Yes, I am aware that there are a couple weeks left in the season. But the Twins are dead. Dead as a door-nail. And they've been that way for months (years?). Shortly after this season comes to its pitiful end, the Twins' brass and field personnel will assemble, as they do every year, in Ft. Myers, for the organizational meetings. Among other topics, they will dissect the 2013 season, and what exactly caused this year's ineptitude. [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] [TD=align: center]http://1.b
My article last week suggesting that the Twins trade Glen Perkins (for the right offer) is one of the most read things I've written. Although there were only a handful of comments at Twins Fan From Afar, over here at TwinsDaily there are nearly 200 comments (most of them well thought out). MLBTradeRumors also linked to the article, and it ran in the Star Tribune. In other words, more than the usual 5 found this article. I don't have anything to compare with for this week, so I'm going to beat
[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
[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] [TD=align: center]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G5voEsiX99s/UhVn3sCEbuI/AAAAAAAAAqA/GZC6T-TeUwk/s320/Smiddy.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Rock Cats' Manager Jeff Smith. Courtesy of Richard Messina, Hartford Courant [/TD] [/TABLE] I've been spoiled. This summer, I've been able to watch Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario, from right over the home dugout, for $15 a ticket. You might think that having Sano and Rosario on the same minor league team, at
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
