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About this blog

Catch up on all things Minnesota Twins from an insider's perspective without the added slant.

Entries in this blog

Everyday Joe Hurts Mauer Most

When you look back at a team that has started the Major League Baseball season 10-29 through their first 39 games, there's going to be very few positives. Through the first month for the Twins, one of the brightest spots was the resurgence of Joe Mauer. What is becoming a bit more clear to me though is that it wasn't a resurgence at all, but rather a player being allowed to thrive.   Stick with me here, and let's take a look back at Joe Mauer over the past two seasons.   To start the 2016 campai
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

3

Minnesota Needs To Stop Compounding Mistakes

he slog through the 2016 Major League Baseball season has continued for the Minnesota Twins. After yet another loss, the club sits at 10-27, while being more than 13 games back in the AL Central division. Paul Molitor's club looks as lost as he does at times, and there's plenty of blame to go around. At this point, what the Twins need to do is stop compounding their own mistakes.   Recently hired by Baseball Prospectus, Aaron Gleeman penned a piece that I have to imagine has been a long time com
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

4

A Fix Behind The Dish

The Minnesota Twins have had a multitude of issues to start the 2016 Major League Baseball season, and it really shouldn't be lost on anyone that the catcher position is one of them. Between Kurt Suzuki and John Ryan Murphy, neither has done anything to clarify things for Minnesota moving forward. If the club is going to be competitive in 2017, allowing the role to be a black hole can't continue to happen.   Despite the unlikely emergence of Juan Centeno in his brief stint with the big league cl
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

1

How Do You Fix The Twins?

With the Twins having 33 games under their belt, the club has won just eight contests. They've been swept in a series seven times thus far, and the reality of the situation has gone from dire to laughable. While I don't contend that either Paul Molitor or Terry Ryan are the best for the organization going forward, a change there doesn't handle the issues at present. So, how do you fix the Twins?   In an attempt to salvage the most out of the 2016 season, and put a best foot forward for 2017, her
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

5

Twins Missed Window On Minnesota Man

As the Twins continue their 2016 tailspin, things have gotten to ridiculous measures. Not only are the Twins now officially the worst team in baseball thanks to their 8-25 record, but they don't appear to have any immediate fixes. While the club as as a whole has struggled, one of the lone bright spots has been Minnesota staple Joe Mauer. Considering he's often the unfair punchline, it's worth considering that it's the Minnesota native the Twins might have failed most.   Whether you follow local
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

2

Twins A Byproduct Of Mismanagement, Nothing Else

With a very much needed, but not incredibly well deserved off day, the Minnesota Twins are guaranteed not to sink further into the loss column today. Fresh off another series loss, this one ending with a 16-4 drubbing by the Houston Astros, things have completely fallen apart for Paul Molitor's squad. The problem isn't what's on his roster though, but rather what has taken place since Opening Day.   Coming into the season, the Minnesota Twins had heightened expectations after an out-of-nowhere s
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

5

Twins Making A Habit Of Bad Roster Moves

Following his first and only start in a Major League Baseball uniform, the Twins couldn't even wait through the night to option prospect Alex Meyer back to Triple-A Rochester. Getting a chance with Ervin Santana and Kyle Gibson on the shelf, the Twins had deemed they had seen enough after just 2.2 innings pitched from Meyer. Really though, it seems there's a much large issue at play here.   This morning on Twitter I was thinking back to the guys I can remember the Twins using in an extremely poo
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

6

Is Molitor The Man For The Twins?

Today, my plan was to write about Eddie Rosario and why it's incredibly odd how the Twins continue to use him. I decided to scrap that piece as thinking about Paul Molitor ended up tying in with it anyways. The Twins manager had one of the best seasons in recent memory a year ago, but since, things have gone horribly wrong. I'm not necessarily sure Molitor is completely to blame, but he's definitely part of the problem.   Looking back to Rosario, Molitor's lineup construction has continued to be
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

5

Numbers Say Don't Panic On Dozier

After the first month or so of the 2016 Major League Baseball season, one of the most disappointing Minnesota Twins has been starting second basemen Brian Dozier. He was a 2014 Home Run Derby participant, and was a 2015 All Star. In both seasons, he faded heavily down the stretch. In 2016 however, it's been out of the gate that Dozier has failed to get it going.   Through the Twins first 26 games, Dozier owns just a .204/.287/.350 slash line. Of his 21 hits, nine have been for extra bases, but h
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

3

New Country, Same Old Tricks For Park

Welcome to May, the second month of the Major League Baseball season. The Minnesota Twins have started out in just about the least desirable way possible, but there's been a few bright spots. Joe Mauer has looked other-worldly at the plate, and the youth has begun to rise. An exciting development however has been the emergence of for Korean Baseball Organization superstar Byung Ho Park.   The Twins won the rights to sign the Nexen star, and inked the 29 year-old rookie to a four-year, $12 millio
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

0

The Next Hurlers For The Twins

Coming into the 2016 Major League Baseball season, the Twins roster was expected to be about youth and inexperience. Having welcomed Korean slugger Byung Ho Park into the fold, Minnesota then was expected to turn their attention to internal youth. With top prospects littering the ladnscape for quick call ups, it was the expected narrative to begin the year.   Now through the first month of the season, Paul Molitor has utilized Taylor Rogers, Max Kepler, Byron Buxton, Jorge Polanco, Jose Berrios,
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

2

Kevin Jepsen Off The Rails

The Twins bullpen has been a problem area in the early going this season, and despite being left largely unaddressed this offseason, I expected the minor moves to make some difference. In short, some aspects have played out as expected. Fernando Abad has been about as good as I assumed, and Casey Fien has struggled along the lines I pictured. A guy I worried about though, was Kevin Jepsen, and that's been a bigger issue.   Jepsen appeared a very large regression candidate coming into the 2016 se
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

6

Jose Berrios, and How It All Came Together

I'm not a journalist, or a beat writer; in fact, my employer has nothing to do with the Minnesota Twins. What I am is a 25 year-old IT Recruiter who loves baseball. I am married to a wife that is my best friend (seriously, she's incredible and puts up with significantly too much Twitter). I have created an outlet for sharing my thoughts as they relate to the Twins and baseball as a whole. What happened on April 26, 2016 was a handful of world's colliding however.   While it no doubt may seem an
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

0

Terry's Time Looming For Twins

Recently I wrote that the Twins have an absolute slew of problems. They are doing quite a few things poorly, and everything is going negatively all at just about the same time. If we're going to try and attribute things to one place, we're probably running a fool's errand. What is true however, is that Terry Ryan's ineptitude has become more of a focus than ever. Having taken over for his appointed heir, Bill Smith, Ryan has guided the Twins through some substantial rebuilding. The club had four
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

13

Twins Problems Are All Of Them

Here we sit, right around the end of the first month of the 2016 Major League Baseball season, and the Minnesota Twins find themselves as cellar dwellers. Not only are they dead last in the AL Central, but they've found themselves there on account of everything going wrong, at almost always the right moments.   Coming off a season in which they weren't technically eliminated from playoff contention until the final week of the season, the Twins had high hopes for the year ahead. Instead of capita
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

1

Options Emerging For Twins

Going into the 2016 Major League Baseball season, the Minnesota Twins seemingly had one lone spot open in their starting rotation. Tommy Milone was out of options, and was seemingly guaranteed to be included. That left Ricky Nolasco as the veteran fighting to remain in the group. Now a few weeks into the year, there's a couple more added wrinkles to the mix.   First and foremost, it's worth noting how the Twins fourth and fifth starters have performed. Milone owns a 5.87 ERA having given up 10 e
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

5

The Un(expected) Twins Asset

Just a handful of games into the season long journey, the Minnesota twins no doubt got off to a rocky start. Losing their first nine games, and being swept in three consecutive series, the hometown nine had very little to hang their hats on early. What's worth noting though is that the Twins problems have been relatively one-sided, and a past problem area has actually been a place of strength. Going into this season, I suggested that the Minnesota pitching staff would be better than you think. O
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

0

Sano Is Fooling Someone

Prior to the 2016 Major League Baseball season, the Minnesota Twins made the commitment to Miguel Sano in right field. In keeping Trevor Plouffe, the club kept together what projected to be a strong offense, and forced Sano to learn a new position. There's been some hiccups in the process (as expected), but what's interesting is the belief that this wasn't a possible scenario all along.   Just a handful of games into the season, the Twins tender of the hot corner, Trevor Plouffe, hit the disable
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

7

Mauer Wreaking Havoc At The Plate

With the Twins getting a big sweep over the Angels, they seem to have righted the ship to a certain extent. At the center of the good fortune (and sorry to Oswaldo Arcia who has contributed two game winners), is poster child Joe Mauer. The St. Paul native seems to be the story to write this week (pieces at Twins Daily and MLB Daily Dish), and for good reason.   Over the course of the spring, Twins beat writer Mike Berardino often noted when Mauer was and wasn't wearing sunglasses. Now further re
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

1

Molitor Should Be Making It Work In Minnesota

Just a handful of games into the 2016 Major League Baseball season, and things were trending downwards big time for the Minnesota Twins. Starting 0-9, there was plenty of reason to panic, 162 games aside. While Twins players seemed to stay the course, Terry Ryan and the organization made somewhat of an odd decision a week ago.   With Miguel Sano starting in right field and still getting used to his role, Byron Buxton scuffling at the plate, and Eddie Rosario being lackluster across multiple face
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

0

The Twins Looking For A Fix

It began as a sweep, then turned into a franchise record, and has now reached less than unfortunate territory. The Twins opening up the season with a handful of losses as they have has been anything but expected. This was a team looking to take the next step forward, and while that could still end up being the case, they've dug themselves a massive hole. I've taken it upon myself to figure out how to fix it thought.   Short of cloning eight more Joe Mauer's, the Twins need to shake things up a b
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

2

Perkins Continues To Bind Twins

This afternoon, things got worse for the 0-7 Twins as closer Glen Perkins was put on the disabled list due to shoulder issues. With an already questionable bullpen coming into the season, and one that has struggled during it, Perkins removal doesn't help the situation. The bigger problem is that the player continues to be more of a concern than just in regards to injury issues.   On the season, which to be fair is just two appearances, Perkins owns a 9.00 ERA through 2.0 IP. He's given up five h
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

4

Shuffling Twins For Success

To say the 2016 Major League Baseball season has gotten off to less than an ideal start for the Minnesota Twins is a understatement. Despite the possibility for a handful of losses to be overstated, there's no doubt that the Twins futility isn't a good thing. With an offense that has perfected striking out, and a bullpen that has scuffled early, Paul Molitor may not be too far off from making some changes.   One of the most obvious changes could be in relation to uber prospect Byron Buxton. Havi
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

0

A Proper Voicing Of Twins Frustration

The Minnesota Twins started their 2016 season out on the road. They were tasked with bearing the Baltimore Orioles, and the defending World Series Champion Kansas City Royals. In a season destined for heightened expectations, they returned home for their opener winless, an 0-6 start. The home cooking didn't change the tide either, on to 0-7. Then it happened, the boos came.   Here's the deal, this isn't intended to be a romp through the Twins misery, and conversely, it's not intended to provide
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

1

Tracking The New Twins Way

Earlier I wrote about the Minnesota Twins new shift in thinking. After watching the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros throw strikeout cares to the wind, it appears that's what Paul Molitor and Terry Ryan are deciding to give a go. Utilizing a lineup built with swing and miss hitters, it's going to be boom or bust many nights this season. What we have seen thus far, is way too much of the latter.   Rather than break down everything into much more minute detail, I'd urge you to peruse the linked art
Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

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