Like the Rebels preparing for the Imperial invasion on Hoth, it’s time to dust off this hunk of junk. She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts. Was that enough Star Wars references in one sentence? Probably not. I’ll see what else I can do for you.

We took a bit of a break during the offseason. It wasn’t our plan, we just don’t follow the minor/fall/winter leagues like a lot of others. Instead of struggling to compete with the more knowledgeable writers, and re-hash the same story another time, we decided to sit back and enjoy the information like everyone else.

With that being said, the Minnesota Twins have been busy this off-season. They fired long time manager Ron Gardenhire, and his pitching coach Rick Anderson left the team on his own. Paul Molitor was named the new-look Twins manager, the Twins unveiled new uniforms (All Kasota gold err’thang!), and the Twins added a few players to the major league and minor league rosters.

Paul Molitor was announced as the new manager for the Twins, after beating out another former Twin (Doug Mientkiewicz), and Torey Lovullo. Molitor will get new jerseys, some new players, and lean on the wealth of talent in the minor leagues to make the Twins relevant once again. Dougie Baseball will get a promotion from the Fort Myers Miracle, to the new AA team; the Chattanooga Lookouts. He’ll get even more time to coach the rising stars, like Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, and J.O. Berrios. The Twins major and minor league teams look to be in good hands, which is always reassuring as a fan.

Torii Hunter returned to the Twins after spending time with the Angels and Tigers. Hunter, who’s now 38 years young, will hope to mentor the younger players, and be the clubhouse leader Joe Mauer hasn’t been (according to most rubes who’ve never actually been in the clubhouse). He’ll bring his career .279 BA in a move to help an already productive Twins line-up. While his defense may be suspect, one should look back and remember some of the other outfielders the Twins have had the last few years… Actually, don’t. It’s bad. I’m looking at you, Delmon Young.

The Twins also signed one of their long-standing free agent targets, the pitcher formerly known as “Johan” Ervin Santana. The 32 year old will try to do something for the Twins that the first Johan hasn’t in quite some time; pitch a whole season for an MLB club. Santana has a career ERA of 4.17, along with an average of 215 IP. With so many younger players looking to crack the roster this year, the Twins signed Santana to a 4 year deal, worth $55 million. Ricky Nolasco and Mike Pelfrey were not what the Twins bargained for, and this move was made to bolster a sub-par starting rotation. With Tommy Milone, Kyle Gibson, Trevor May, and Alex Meyer in the mix, the Twins have a log jam at SP for the first time in awhile. My hope is that the Twins will put the talent on the 25-man roster, and worry about the money secondly.

TwinsFest was this weekend, with a myriad of former, current, and future Twins set to attend. It was the first sight of baseball after a long, cold, winter filled with speculation, angst, and a sliver of hope. Most of us (who are old enough) have had enough beer, whiskey, and whatever else makes us forget about the past season. And if you haven’t, the TwinsDaily Winter Meltdown was be another great opportunity to purge your memory of 2011-2014.

Hopefully you all had fun at TwinsFest, and the Winter Meltdown! May the OPS+ be with us all!

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