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About this blog

On-site Twins coverage from Brandon Warne, Zone Coverage Twins beat reporter

Entries in this blog

WARNE: The Twins Offense is too Good to Bunt -- Seriously.

Read this story in full on Zone Coverage here.   It’s a play as old as the game itself, and maybe that’s because the DH didn’t always exist. It’s the bunt, a time-honored tradition that is being phased out of the game more and more every year.   Fangraphs has sacrifice bunt totals dating back to 1895, and according to their database, the 925 sacrifice bunts laid down by teams in 2017 was the second-lowest figure in MLB history. Only the 1900 season (806 bunts) featured fewer, and there were only
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

13

WARNE: Twins Unequivocally Did the Right Thing at the Trade Deadline

It’s not often that I allow someone in my mentions to get me so wound up that I devote an entire, stand-alone article to a single person, but here we are.   The tweet in question — feel free to click and read the mind-bending thread in all its glory — appears as follows: http://zonecoverage.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Capture-1.jpg   NOTE: This person has since blocked me for reasons that don’t entirely make sense. He has also deleted the tweets, so I have saved this screenshot to remember hi
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

13

WARNE: Twins Should Mimic the Astros -- Sort Of

This is an excerpt from a post at Zone Coverage. It appears in full here.   It’s not terribly controversial to suggest that the Houston Astros just climbed the summit to reach heights that fans hope are possible in the near future for the Minnesota Twins.   Like, winning the World Series is the ultimate goal, and seeing a team that was -- at least for a stretch -- going through their rebuild concurrently with the Twins should give fans at least a semblance of hope for the future.   But what it s
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

1

WARNE: 2017 Twins Offseason Blueprint

This is an excerpt from a Zone Coverage article which appears in full here. Please click the link.   The Minnesota Twins exhibited significant growth in 2017, winning 85 games just one season after crumbling to the depths of 103-loss despair. A lot of it was done with in-house guys, as the only significant additions were a decent reliever (Matt Belisle) and a good catcher (Jason Castro).   The rest of the bump came from within. But if we saw anything in October, it was that, while the Twins were
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

3

2017 Minnesota Twins Report Card: Buddy Boshers

This is an excerpt of an article that appears in full on Zone Coverage here. Please click through.   This is a series of evaluations that will be done this offseason on every player that closed the season on the 40-man roster for the Minnesota Twins throughout the winter until each player has been evaluated. The plan is to start with Mr. Belisle and move all the way through the pitchers, then to the catchers, infielders, outfielders and finally those listed as designated hitters on the club’s of
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

2

9/15 PREGAME NOTES: Colon vs. Happ, Big Sexy Night, Sano Update

Greetings from Target Field, where it is sunny and warm as the Twins look to make it two in a row over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays. It’ll be righty Bartolo Colon (4.69 ERA, 4.94 FIP in 63.1 innings with the Twins) on the mound for the Twins and the second lefty in a row on the mound for Toronto in J.A. Happ (3.73 ERA, 4.00 FIP in 125.1 innings).   More on that in a bit.   It’s Big Sexy night at Target Field, and it’s not just because Colon is taking the mound. The Twins had a special ticket p
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

3

Looking Forward -- Who Should Start a Twins Wild Card Game?

Please click through to Zone Coverage here to read this article in its entirety.   A Minnesota Twins win coupled with a Los Angeles Angels loss on Wednesday flipped the script in the Wild Card chase yet again. The Twins halted a skid of losing three straight games and four of their last five, and jumped back ahead of the Angels by a half-game for the final Wild Card spot behind the New York Yankees.   That half-game difference will go away on Thursday, as the Twins head to Kansas City to take on
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

7

WARNE: When Everyone is Healthy, What's the Ideal Twins Lineup?

Please click through to Zone Coverage here to read this article in full.   Robbie Grossman came off the disabled list on Tuesday morning and is in the lineup against the Rays, batting ninth and DH’ing against righty Jake Odorizzi. With that move, the Twins offense is almost completely healthy.   That’s not to say that Miguel Sano is not a significant loss — he is — but rather from a health standpoint, the Twins only have one player on the shelf offensively — as opposed to, say, a handful of pitc
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

10

WARNE: All Twins “Fingerprints” Team

Please click through to Zone Coverage here to read this article in full.   A lot of fans lament about how players get better after they leave the Twins, and sometimes it’s fun to draw up a 25-man roster of former players to see just how true that is.   We’ve changed that up a little bit with this exercise, however. Here, we’re looking for players who have Twins fingerprints on them. Did a player get picked in the Rule 5 draft and get sent back? They would count. Did the Twins draft them but not
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

6

WARNE: Forming a Way Too Early Twins Offseason Blueprint

The Minnesota Twins are certainly still in the thick of things in the Wild Card race, but it’s never too early to look to the offseason to get a feel for what the team might do to improve. In fact, there could be a lot of moves as the team looks to reframe itself in the images of Derek Falvey and Thad Levine, as we’ve already seen a personnel purge in the scouting and analytics departments with more to come.     That could even include at the top, with manager Paul Molitor working on the la
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

24

WARNE: Possible September Call-Ups for the Minnesota Twins

On Sept. 1 in MLB, rosters expand. For the entire month, teams can bring up and use any player on the 40-man roster. The usage of this is varied, as some teams will empty out their minors and stock their clubhouse and dugout. Others will simply bring up some pinch-runner types and an extra bullpen arm or two.   It all depends on the team’s goals for the season and the construction of their rosters -- both 25- and 40-man. Some teams have more MLB-ready players on their 40’s than others, while oth
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

10

REPORTS: Twins to Promote Reliever John Curtiss

Following Tuesday night’s 4-1 win over the Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins designated right-handed pitcher Tim Melville for assignment. That opened up a spot on the 40-man roster, and it sure sounds like right-handed reliever John Curtiss will be getting the call, as MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger first reported which was shortly followed by a report from Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.       The Twins have yet to confirm the move, though Curtiss is expected to join the
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

3

8/18 PREGAME NOTES: Godley vs. Santana, Enns Injury Update, Gardy Back

It’s warm and overcast as the Minnesota Twins prepare to open a three-game interleague series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’ll be righty Zack Godley (2.95 ERA, 3.17 FIP in 106.2 innings) going for the Diamondbacks, with Ervin Santana (3.28 ERA, 4.71 FIP in 156.1 innings) taking the ball for the Twins.   More on that in a bit.   This will be the first regular-season meeting between the Twins and Diamondbacks since Sept. 22-24, 2014 — also at Target Field. The Twins the last two games of th
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

1

Garver's College Coach Says He's Been Called Up

It looks as though Twins fans may finally get their wish, as Mitch Garver is headed to the big leagues according to Ray Birmingham.   https://twitter.com/BirminghamRay/status/898395795552063488   Birmingham is the head coach of the University of New Mexico Lobos baseball team, where Garver played from 2010-13 before the Minnesota Twins took him in the ninth round of the 2013 draft.   UPDATE: Garver's mother has also retweeted the original tweet. UPDATE II: Gail also tweeted that they'll be in Mi
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

3

WARNE: August Waiver Trade Candidates for the Minnesota Twins

We’ve established the rules for post-July 31 trades. Now we should take a look at who the Twins might target, right?   It’s pretty easy to isolate three areas where the Twins can use some help: Starting pitching Relief pitching Batters who can hit left-handed pitching   The pitching woes are hard to miss. Only the Rangers (6.4) have gotten fewer strikeouts per nine innings from starting pitchers than the Twins (6.9), and just four teams have posted higher ERA from their rotations than the T
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

4

WARNE: Power Ranking the Twins 25-Man Roster — 2.o

One exercise that is fun, and in the interest of full disclosure gets a lot of people reading and talking, is ranking things in order as a “power ranking.” No seriously, if you call something a “power ranking” you’re guaranteed to see traffic go through the roof. I’m thinking of calling my podcast “power ranking.”   OK, I’m kidding.   But it’s a fun exercise to apply to a team’s 25-man roster. My general theory — and this can be altered if viewers think there is a better way — is to base a playe
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

6

My Nickname Jerseys for the Twins

In late August, teams around MLB will wear uniforms with nicknames on the back as the first-ever “Players Weekend.” It’ll be spanning Aug. 25-27, and the jerseys will have unusual designs to inject some more personality in the game.   You can find the full actual list of nicknames the Twins will wear here:     But if we were in charge, what would we put on the jerseys? Here’s our list -- and it’s all in good fun: Jason Castro - Michaels Chris Gimenez - The Janitor Joe Mauer - Joseph Patr
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

7

Vargas Down, Enns Up as Twins Continue Roster Churn

Kennys Vargas spent one day with the Minnesota Twins in his latest stint, as the club announced Thursday morning that the first baseman/designated hitter has been sent back to Triple-A Rochester following the previous night’s game.   Vargas appeared in Wednesday night’s game to pinch-hit for starter Bartolo Colon, popping out in foul territory in the eighth inning. Vargas, who was granted a fourth-year option by MLB, has been promoted by the Twins four times this season, but has failed to capita
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

1

WARNE: What on Earth has Gotten into Eddie Rosario?

You may have noticed that Eddie Rosario has been hitting higher in the order of late. Part of it has been that the Twins have faced a number of lefties lately, and he’s one of the few batters on the team holding their own against them. Part it is also that Miguel Sano has been sidelined for the past few days after getting hit on the hand with a pitch against the Texas Rangers.   But perhaps a large part of it stems from the fact that Rosario is having a nice offensive season, too. For the season
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

6

WARNE: August Trades and You -- A Primer

The July 31 non-waiver trade deadline is pretty straightforward -- you’re either traded, or you aren’t. It’s after that where it gets a bit....complicated. In fact, players can technically be traded up until the end of the regular season, but they must be in an organization and on the 40-man roster on Aug. 31 to be eligible for postseason play.   In short, that’s why you might see some trades that happen between Aug. 1 and the end of the month.   The Twins have been no stranger to these types of
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

4

Twins Complete Trade for Braves LHP Jaime Garcia

The upshot is this: this trade shows that Thad Levine and Derek Falvey have a pretty good idea of what’s going on with this Twins teamThe long-rumored, yet once-thought-perhaps-dead trade for Jaime Garcia has come to fruition, as the Atlanta Braves announced on Twitter Monday afternoon that the team had moved the left-handed starter, along with catcher Anthony Recker and cash for minor-league pitcher Huascar Ynoa     According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Twins are taking on the rema
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

1

WARNE: Four Trades the Minnesota Twins Should Consider Making

We’re now past the All-Star Game and headed full steam toward the trade deadline on July 31. For the Minnesota Twins, a lot of things can happen between now and then, with games against Houston, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers coming up which may help tip the scales one way or the other toward whether the team will buy, sell or do something in the middle.   Part of the fun of this time of year is reading columns from Jon Heyman or Jim Bowden about which trades make sense. So I’v
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

11

Twins Hitting Coach James Rowson Clarifies Hitting Plan for Byron Buxton

Some comments made by Twins center fielder Byron Buxton during the road trip to Fenway Park last week sent the blogosphere/Twittersphere into a tizzy. Buxton, who has hit just .209/.283/.303 this season coming into Thursday night’s game against the Orioles, told Jake Depue of 1500ESPN that he had scorned the leg kick he used to start the season in order to put the ball in play more — including more balls hit on the ground.   “[The goal is] putting the ball in play more,” Buxton told Depue. “Putt
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

10

WARNE: Pre All-Star Weekend Mailbag

Hey guys. I’m writing you all from vacation in beautiful Rapid City, S.D. We’re on our way to see Mount Rushmore in the morning, but before that, here’s the mailbag column I promised you all almost a week ago. The homestand got kind of busy, and I ended up writing a James Rowson/Byron Buxton column I wasn’t previously planning on.   Also, my baby turns eight weeks old this Tuesday, and so we’re spending my paternity leave and some of my wife’s maternity leave on the road because we never take va
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

2

7/6 PREGAME NOTES: Berrios vs. Bundy, Breslow Bullpen and Being Better

It’s steamy and for the most part sunny as the Minnesota Twins prepare to open a four-game series — their final one of the first half — against the visiting Baltimore Orioles. A pair of good righties will tangle in this one, as Jose Berrios takes the ball for the Twins and Dylan Bundy counters for the Orioles.   Felix Jorge was in the clubhouse chatting with teammates and learning about his new home stadium — since his MLB debut was in Kansas City — and manager Paul Molitor confirmed that he wou
Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

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