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In this week's episode, John and Aaron sip some Nordeast and talk about Nishi's demotion, Baker's injury, some surprising Twins performances, and what it all means for the Twins Opening Day roster. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes (where you can also subscribe and leave reviews).
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- This is the latest update of the Twins' Bench Battle and the Bullpen Battle Dashboards, to track player performance to date this spring. Performances include those in the last game vs the Red Sox earlier this afternoon. You can read the basic premise behind the Bench Battle Dashboard here and behind the Bullpen Battle Dashboard here. I will be updating them daily and post daily updates. Players who were assigned to the minor league ca
[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
My trip last week to Arizona allowed me to get a first hand view of the Cactus League for the first time. I have made a couple of trips to Florida to watch the Twins play in the Grapefruit League so it was nice to see how some of the other teams spend their time during spring training. I went into my trip to the Valley of the Sun with the mindset that the Cactus League and Grapefruit League would be very similar but that opinion would change during my week in the Phoenix area. I thought it wou
After a 99-loss season, it's nearly impossible to be a fanatic of the Twins organization and not look at the minor league system, and think "they have help on the way, right? ... Right?!" Don't worry; they do. And the ultimate road warrior's guide to Twins baseball on the road, Territory Train, is going to get a great sample of the future of the franchise this summer. So what is Territory Train? For those familiar with the TwinsTrain operation over the last couple of years, Territory Train
After a 99-loss season, it's nearly impossible to be a fanatic of the Twins organization and not look at the minor league system, and think "they have help on the way, right? ... Right?!" Don't worry; they do. And the ultimate road warrior's guide to Twins baseball on the road, Territory Train, is going to get a great sample of the future of the franchise this summer. So what is Territory Train? For those familiar with the TwinsTrain operation over the last couple of years, Territory Train
The news that Scott Baker is injured…. Geek Chorus: Hold it – NEWS? Is that really news? At this point, wouldn’t it be news if Baker got out of spring training completely healthy? Isn’t “Scott Baker is injured in spring training” the status quo? Nobody says it’s news when it’s 70 & sunny in San Diego. It’s only news here because it’s March and Minnesota. Touché. Anyway, with Baker taking those first critical steps to yet another underachieving and frustrating season, I wondered a
Well, as Week One winds down and games have now started, Spring Training is in full swing. From the fans that gather around the complex, to the roster moves, it is clear that Opening Day is now right around the corner. These next three weeks are going to be critical for a couple reasons, first and foremost, to make a team. With competition this high and talent levels up and down the system higher than ever, just getting a uniform to wear is a privilege. Next is to use these weeks to get dialed i
Originally posted at The Tenth Inning Stretch -- This is the latest update of the Twins' Bench Battle and the Bullpen Battle Dashboards, to track player performance to date this spring. Performances include those in the last two games vs the Marlins yesterday and vs the Pirates earlier this afternoon. You can read the basic premise behind the Bench Battle Dashboard here and behind the Bullpen Battle Dashboard here. I will be updating them daily and post daily updates. Players who were assi
I love this site. Thanks guys! I enjoy reading the thoughts and projections for the opening roster. However, I cringe every time I see anyone use spring data in support of a player making a roster. All winter long, I listened to Gleeman and the Geek remind me that Parmelee's 86 plate appeaeances last fall were not predictive of the future. They are essentially correct. There have been some significant studies about sample size and at that size we might start learning something about contact ra
This was originally posted at Knuckleballs. This blog has been promoted to an article. St. Patrck’s Day means different things to different people. But if you’re a baseball player trying to make a Big League ballclub, you should have a pretty good idea of where you stand with your manager and General Manager by the time you lift your first green beer of the evening on March 17. At this point, there are just over two weeks left of Spring Training, so if you have any hope of heading north wi
Originally posted at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- This is the latest update of the Twins' Bench Battle and the Bullpen Battle Dashboards, to track player performance to date this spring. Performances include those in the split squat games vs the Orioles this afternoon and vs the Red Sox tonight. You can read the basic premise behind the Bench Battle Dashboard here and behind the Bullpen Battle Dashboard here. I will be updating them daily and post daily updates. Players who were assigned to
This morning, I sat down with my granola and Diet Mountain Dew, ready to begin my day. As my hindquarters hit the couch, and before my hand could reach the remote, I noticed a strange presence sitting in a chair in my living room. I was surprised, but somehow I recognized this intruder. "Jason Tyner?" I asked. Tyner nodded. "How did you get in my living room?" "You're imagining me here," he said. His mouth did not move. "You've been avoiding me inside your own brain, and I had to appea
I made it home after some rest and relaxation in the Arizona sun. It was a great time in the Valley of the Sun but it does feel nice to get back into a normal routine. Plus the weather here in the Upper Midwest is about as hot as it was down there. It has been a strange winter for weather and it makes me want the start of the baseball season to come that much faster. Since I was gone for most of the week, it was fun to put together this week's version of Friday Links-N-Thinks. It allowed me to
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- This is the latest update of the Twins' Bench Battle and the Bullpen Battle Dashboards, to track player performance to date this spring. Performances include those in the game vs the Pirates earlier this afternoon. You can read the basic premise behind the Bench Battle Dashboard here and behind the Bullpen Battle Dashboard here. I will be updating them daily and post daily updates. Players who were assigned to the minor league camp are
In just 134 innings in 2011, we witnessed how good Scott Baker can be as a starter. Of course, we also witnessed what has become the inevitable season-ending injury for the second-straight year. After having a procedure to remove bone chips from his elbow in 2010, Baker experienced discomfort in the pitching side elbow once again in 2011 and was sidelined, making just four appearances post-August. The hope coming into camp was that Baker would be fully healed for what is a pivotal year for th
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?