Minnesota Twins Talk

Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | Target Field Mascots: There's only one winner - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia Nick Punto: 2 years 10 mil Kevin Correia: 2 years 10 mil Trading Ramos All pale in comparison to whatever the hell this video is.

He came out of the game after being hit by the line drive. They said on the radio that they were looking at his right hand at first, but the line drive may have been deflected off of his body. Let's hope he's alright. Updates to come.

Over at SB Nation's Baseball Nation blog, Rob Neyer asks the question today, who is the player you associate with each franchise? For the Twins, he says... Now, clearly you can't go horribly wrong with Killebrew. He had probably the greatest individual career in franchise history and set the power standard that all other Twins' hitters have and continue to chase. He also stayed involved with the team as an ambassador and was absolutely recognizable to fans like me who were born too late to watch him play. The only other option, in my opinion, would be Kirby Puckett, of course. Winning two world series, the second in epic fashion, he was the face of the Twins basic…

by Forbes (as well as their perception of the franchise value). Details here. 20/30 Franchise value (whatever) Revenue 2012: $214M Operating Income 2012: $10.8 M (not sure if that already subtracts MLB and MiLB FO & operations costs or not. If it does it is equivalent to "profit".) Pretty impressive numbers for an "off" year methinks.

The Yankees released infield prospect David Adams to clear roster space for Vernon Wells. He has a pretty nice batting line in the minors with an .835 OPS at AA last year. What is wrong with him, and why shouldn't the Twins acquire him? David Adams - m.bbref.com

Ricky Romero has been optioned to AAA by the Toronto Blue Jays. It makes one wonder if he may be falling out of favor in Toronto and needs a change of scenery. In the last half week I put out a thread asking whether the Twins should sign Jon Garland after his release from the Mariners - that was more or less meant as a conversational piece and for "bleeps" and giggles. Ricky Romero is actually intriguing. 12 or 13 years ago the Twins fell out of love with a talented, former top prospect, Todd Walker, sent him to AAA, and quickly traded him to the Rockies. Walker didn't have the most most stellar career, but had some fairly good offensive seasons after that trade. Th…

So of course my mom turned me onto this. Glen Perkins home was recently featured in MSP's Home magazine. Gotta say, lotta cool stuff in here. Someone in that family has some creativity (or a hell of designer). Shop + Style Features | The Best of the Twin Cities | Mpls.St..Paul Magazine

Terry Ryan takes offense to the notion that he would keep a player off the 25 man roster to delay service time. Minnesota Twins GM: Forget arbitration clock, Aaron Hicks belongs - TwinCities.com

Buxton is the starting CF and leadoff hitter for the Twins today on their trip to play the Pirates. Buck started the game by hitting a single up the middle off of A.J. Burnett. He then stole 2nd base and advanced to 3rd on a bad throw from Russel Martin. So far, he's 1 for 1, 1sb and 1 run scored.

As the Opening Day roster nears completion (just a bullpen battle now, right?), there is still a pretty pressing issue that needs to be addressed: The Twins, with a full 40-man roster, need to add Wilkin Ramirez. Unless you're in the minority, you really don't care about this move because, for most, it's a guy you've maybe never heard of replacing a different guy you've probably never heard of. I applaud you people; I wish I cared less. Whether you care or don't, I'll offer my two cents about what happens next... The easiest move is to take an injured player and simply transfer him to the 60-day DL. The 60-day DL is essentially a 40-man exemption. It frees a …

LaVelle E. Neal says Alex Burnett has been optioned to AAA Rochester. Burnett's inclusion on the roster the past few years has been baffling to me especially when it seemed there were always better options. It almost seemed the job was just being handed to him. Glad to see the Twins looked at some ugly spring outings and made the right call.

Demotion motivates Dozier into new position | StarTribune.com From the story: "He’s (Dozier) headed north as the starting second baseman after a strong spring during which he established himself as the clear choice." Is there a genius out there who can explain to me how he is the clear choice over Eduardo Escobar when Escobar is batting .346 this spring to Dozier's .276? And Escobar, unlike Dozier, is not learning how to play 2B but has actually been doing it for years and has already established himself as capable at playing the infield in the majors?

On Patrick Reusse's blog (heh, sorry, those 3 words together always make me smile, heh), Reusse speculates that including Wilkin Ramirez could be taking away at-bats from Chris Parmelee: I think Reusse is getting a little carried away there, but it is a little interesting that the last guy on the Twins roster happens to be a right-handed corner outfielder. I would never expect a straigh platoon, but I could expect Parmelee to be "protected" against some lefties. I wondered the same thing in yesterday's GATG episode. Ramirez looks like surprise addition to Twins | StarTribune.com

I don't know if this has already been posted but I found it to be a solid read. Link below: Minnesota Twins may lose 90-plus games again this year ... but should keep lame-duck manager Ron Gardenhire anyway - MLB News | FOX Sports on MSN

ESPN started posting their top 500 players for 2013 today, starting with 401-500. MLB -- BBTN 500: Ranking the top 500 Major League Baseball players of 2013 (Nos. 401-500) - ESPN Plouffe is 429 and Diamond is 434. The question is, how many other Twins make the list? My guess is 4.

Opening Day lineups are fun. But the real definition of a team is the composite lineup throughout the season. Were the 2006 Twins defined more by opening day starter Tony Batista or the meteoric rise and fall of young Francisco Liriano? IN 1984, the year Kirby Puckett established himself in centerfield for the Twins, the opening day center fielder was Jim Eisenreich. The real test is to guess the season-long lineup. Baseball-Reference does a great job of keeping track of the primaries at each position, as well as the key bench players. What will Baseball-Reference's 2013 Twins page look like at season end? Here is what it looked like after 2012. Over at VeryWellT…

I am not terribly optimistic about the Twins' chances. Here are five predictions for 2013. Discuss. 1) The Twins will use more than 10 starting pitchers. 2) Aaron Hicks will be optioned to Rochester at some point this year. 3) At least two players that go north will be traded by the July 31 trade deadline. 4) Pedro Florimon will not start 100 games at SS for the 2013 Twins. 5) Brian Dozier will establish himself as a major league regular at second base.

The club has not looked very encouraging in spring training. Specifically, the starting rotation has been poor and the last spots in the bullpen look like they will be won by default. I am not optimistic about a contender coming out of what the Twins have, at least not in 2013. Let's remember a few things: 1) It is spring training. Guys with their spots assured are not so concerned about results as they may be about working on a third pitch, or hitting the ball the other way etc. 2) The Twins are starting the season with five guys who haven't been big league starters for a full year. This year is about three or four or all five establishing themselves as major l…

Ken Rosenthall tweets that the Twins were one of several teams scouting Chris Young's last start as a National yesterday. Here was our writeup on him in the Offseason Handbook: FWIW, he wasn't anything special in spring training, striking out 9 and walking 7 in 16IP. Odds are, he's going to be better than someone in the Twins rotation, I just don't know who yet.

I see that Jon Garland has been released from the Seattle Mariners. Does anyone think the Twins should sign him to a minor league deal and see how it plays out? Maybe this year we have some starting pitching depth, but that definitely only plays in the quantity department, certainly not quality. Even though he has had a bum shoulder the last two years, he has had a good spring training stat wise. Some say that spring training pitching stats don't matter much, but his line trumps most or all of our starting pitchers this spring. My vote would be yes, and although he is pretty much the same as rest of the lot, he would have a 1st class ticket on The Boat heading to t…

I seem to be one of the few who is not enthusiastic about Morneau remaining a Minnesota Twin. If he is good or great, he isn't going to want to sign a new contract, if he is less than that, the Twins won't offer one. After having his series of injuries, I think the Twins would be justified to be very reluctant to sign him to a long-term deal and I doubt Morneau will accept less than three more years from this organization. Add to this that the calendar is not his friend. He will be wearing his age on his back in the first year of a new contract which, I think, further diminishes his value. Morneau has looked good this spring, but the injuries and the age tell me that…

So is this kid the real deal? Is he the next Greg Gagne? What kind of time frame are we looking at for his major league debut? 2015 at the earliest? I have high hopes for the kid. I've heard nothing but positives.

Article states he has tightness in the groin. Gardenhire has several possibilities to bat second | twinsbaseball.com: News

Interesting article Kyle Lohse still being unsigned. Scott Boros also provides some entertaining quotes: Nightengale: Kyle Lohse in 'awkward' spot as Boras fumes

I am curious to know what kind of line would constitute a successful season for Chris Parmelee this season from the TD Participant's point of view. My successful expectation is the following BA - .270 HR - 16 RBI - 70 OPS: .785 Defense (RF): Positively execute the Routine plays

Why I Chose My Agency: Jamey Carroll: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com Very interesting look at part of the business side of the game that is not generally thought of.

1500ESPN.com's Darren Wolfson tweeted this morning a few minor revelations. According to Wolfson, the representatives from the recently released utility man Yuniesky Betancourt (Phillies) and pitcher Freddy Garcia (Padres) have contacted the Minnesota Twins but the organization informed the agencies that the team was not interested in either veteran.

I realize I am only adding to the likely irrelevant discussion about who is on the opening day roster. A roster that will likely be different by two weeks into the season. I start with these assumptions. - All teams will carry at least 11 pitchers. - All teams will carry a starter at every position as well as a backup catcher, middle infielder and outfielder. That is 11 position players. 22 players and the following options for the three spots. - 12th pitcher - 13th pitcher - third catcher - sixth infielder - fifth outfielder - bench bat only The Twins poor starters will drive the need for the 12 pitcher. Conceding the 12th pitcher, that leaves Wilkin Ramirez…

I advocated for the Twins to pick up his option during the offseason. I strongly felt he was a much better option that committing 10 million to Correia. Clearly, I was wrong about Baker. Good decision Twins.