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Originally posted on The Terrific (Minnesota) Twins blog http://terrificmntwins.blogspot.com/ For most Major League baseball teams the way to evaluate which positions need an upgrade would probably be to look at the nine positions individually, but with the Minnesota Twins grouping a couple positions together will be necessary, due to the versatility of Ryan Doumit, the need to give Justin Morneau and Josh Willingham rest at DH, Joe Mauer's inability to be a full time catcher, and middle inf
Greetings from the East Bay. I realized the night before last that this game was being played in San Francisco (for some reason I thought it was at the dome, probably because they play in the regular season there), so I scrambled to find some tickets online and made the game. Granted it's the first preseason game so you can't gauge much, but dammit I'll try. Before I get to the game, I have to describe this weather. As a Minnesotan by birth, it is in my DNA to discuss weather in depth at any p
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
Trevor Plouffe is going on a rehab assignment and will be back with the Twins on Monday if all goes well. He was quoted today saying only direct pressure applied to the nerve bothers him, and they have figured out a way to avoid this happening. On one hand, I'm worried for the people along the 1st base line in Rochester tomorrow, and on the other I will be smashing F5 to see if he hits a HR. It has almost been an entire month since he has been out of the line-up, so I want to retouch his break-o
I pull into the parking lot of the motel just north of Baltimore and get a room for the night. I lay back on the bed for a minute and I realize one thing – I am tired! So tired that I decide to throw dietary cautions to the wind and call the local Pizza Hut for a delivery. As I knew it would be, it has been a long haul these past couple of days, heading out from Fort Myers on Thursday morning, stopping for the night in Somewhere, South Carolina, and then continuing on today through North Carolin
Originally posted on The Terrific (Minnesota) Twins blog, http://terrificmntwins.blogspot.com/ The Twins have used eleven starting pitchers this year. The starting pitching has been the downfall for this team. Here is a look at how the Twins got each of their starters, why they are starting, and why they are no longer starting if they are not anymore. Nick Blackburn(17 games started) Nick Blackburn was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 2001 and signed with the team in 2002. He w
Marney Gellner and Tom Kelly both appeared at my old Chaska High School for the American Legion Baseball Championship Opening Ceremony August 3rd My uncle randomly called and let me know that there was a dinner for 35 dollars, sponsored by the American Legion which followed an award ceremony. So I grabbed some dinner beforehand and showed up on a whim. (Tuition is expensive) For those that do not know, the American Legion sponsors an annual baseball league for teenage baseball players. Basica
So who is going to be in the starting rotation for 2013? Seems like this question has been beat to death, but I honestlly haven't read many concrete suggestions. What I see after Diamond is a pile of hot Chicago garbage. DeVries has been a revelation and if he continues to pitch well he should get a shot next year, but I still don't trust him with his high home run rate. Blackburn should be cut, Deduno is not a long term starter, but has been fun to watch at times. Duensing belongs in the
The Twins seem to have found a nice little grove over the course of the last week. In their six games since last weekend's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks," the Twins have posted a respectable 4-2 record with plenty of offense along the way. Jamey Carroll, Justin Morneau, and Ryan Doumit all hit over .400 in the last week and Morneau, Doumit, and Josh Willingham each had multiple home runs during that span. Ben Revere saw his hitting streak reach 21-games before he was held hitless against Cle
I arrive this evening curious to see just how exactly they are going to turn bacon into a promotion. I end up being underwhelmed – all it means is that you can purchase a small paper basket of bacon strips for $1 when you buy any other concession stand item. I choose not to indulge, and judging by how many people I saw carrying those small paper baskets around, not many others do either. They also wrapped the ball for the ceremonial pitch in bacon too (I’m not sure why), but it doesn’t seem to h
Pitching: Carl Pavano (expect) As consistent as you sometimes were, Carl, this most recent injury-plagued season has probably cost you a position with the Twins, and, most likely, in the Bigs. While you may have been a nice guy and class act personality who worked well with Drew Butera, the Twins, and every other team, should look to go younger at than a 36-ish somewhat injury-plagued pitcher. Matt Capps (expect) Well, it has been an interesting run while you were with us, Cappie. You have mad
JW looked overmatched against Cleveland on Wednesday, took 3 called strikes, wow The problem is just fatigue, hitting takes so much concentration, the hitter gets mentally fatiqued, give JW two days off, thats right two and he will be fine
Morneau gets traded during the offseason for a starting pitching prospect knocking on the major league door. if Parmelee can continue his success in AAA throughout the rest of season. but not if that success doesn't translate into a strong September call-up. Willingham shifts his bat to the DH role more often following the All-Star break. if Arcia/Hicks advance to AAA and still produce at the same level and deserve a call-up. but also assuming a shift to primarily first base for Mauer. The
Before I go into detail on these two players, I want you to look at their A-AAA stats, as well as parts of two MLB seasons. Player A [TABLE=class: grid, width: 500] League G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS MLB 84 299 265 25 58 12 1 10 32 3 3 28 65 .219 .304 .385 .689 AAA 163 697 613 112 206 52 3 49 163 9 8 66 141 .336 .405 .670 1.075 AA 107 467 414 66 109 30 0 20 80 7 1 45 100 .263 .334 .481 .815 A+ 84 364 317 49 88 28 0 8 44 5 0 41 71 .278 .357 .442 .799 A 85
Today's Twins game was disappointing on several fronts. The Twins lost a chance for a sweep, Ben Revere failed to extend his impressive hit streak, and Tsuyoshi Nishioka continued to look ... confused at second base. Oh well. Let's take a look at the action down on the farm. ROCHESTER 3, SCRANTON/WB 7 Shairon Martis turned in a quality start, tossing 7 innings and giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. He struck out 4 and walked 2, but did allow 2 home runs. Deolis Guerra had a tough outing. In 1 inning
Jose Rodriguez was the Twins Daily short-season minor-league hitter of the year. He is at the Dominican facilities for spring training now but will likely join Extended Spring Training in Fort Myers.
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?