Minnesota Twins Talk

Where does he fit in in your opinion. Stunned when I listen to pregame show & hear Roy Smalley (today), Tim Laudener (past) & 2 Twins analysts (Blyleven/Gladden) say he is absolutely better in the rotation & deserves a shot. Huh??? Ive always had the attitude that just because you're an ex-player, it doesnt mean you have a better opinion/understanding of what is goin on. Im actually a big Duensing fan & think he was incredibly underrated in the division winning seasons in 09/10 as a starter. However, these past 2 years as a starter have been horrific on a staff that has been one of the worst in baseball. His bullpen work has been outstanding, highlighted…

Its long been said that the FSL is a notorious pitchers league (not evident by 2012 pitchers but...) and even the Twins have said that certain hitter numbers need to be looked upon differently when in Ft Myers. Several Twins have greatly improved their numbers/not dropped off when they get out of Florida, despite playing vs higher quality of players/older competition .........(Eastern Lg also not known for bein a hitters Lg either). Think most of these numbers are pretty intersting myself Recent players promoted Arcia 114 A+gms 420ABs .286/.338/.488.......69 AA gms 262ABs .328/.398/.557 Hicks 122 gms 443Bs .242/.354/.368...........129gms 472ABs .286/.384/.460 Pint…

You know the drill. Quote image, add caption.

So I was listening to the song "100 years" from Five for fighting and I connected it to the Twins season and thought it pretty much summed it up. So, if you don't know that song this won't make any sense and even if you do know it it may not make much sense. But, hey it's a free forum - so here is my take off on 100 Years. The Twins version - 100 games to Lose.... 100 Games to Lose We’re at 15 (losses) for a moment. Caught in between 10 and 20. And I'm just dreaming Counting the ways the Twins make the playoffs We’re at 22 for a moment. And the Twins look better and we’ve got Plouffe. With Diamond we're on fire Making our way back to .500 . 15 there's still time …

Guess its the battle for the starting SS spot next year. Think many people would be surprised to find out that Florimon is actually 6months older than Dozier....which has been one of Brian's main detractions from fans/media. Twins would lead you to believe that Florimon is a slick fielding/smooth MLB style SS but his defense has statistically been far worse in his 24gms than Dozier was in his 83gms @ SS. Pedro 24gms 5 errors (3 fielding) .954 Fld Pct....-2.2UZR -21.4UZR/150gms 15 OOZ plays(out of zone) Dozier 83gms 15errors (6 fielding) .964Fld Pct...-0.8UZR -1.5UZR/150gms 39OOZ plays Dozier .234/.271/.332 33runs 6HR 33RBI 9/11sb 17.1K% 4.7bb% Pedro .253/.314/.367 1…

So, with De Vries season over, the natural question is should a spot in the 2013 rotation be set aside for him? Or should he be competing for a spot in spring training if there is one available? Handing one to him might allow Twins to spend more on one of their other spots. But there's a lot of free agent tslent, too. His stats are much better than I thought they'd be: 17G (1/2 a season), 4.11 ERA, 87.2 IP, 6 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, 1.6 HR/9 (easily his biggest problem) & 9 H/9. (Anyone know his FIP?) What do you think?

Do you know why the Twins should both hang onto and trade Morneau and find a spot for Chris Parmelee? It's because they are both two of the hottest hitters in baseball, Parmelee since his callup (no surprise there with the way he was raking in AAA) and Morneau since the All-Star Break (very pleasant surprise). Here are some current rankings and stats for the two players, with all info coming from Major League Baseball, under the sub-categories of 1B from all teams, not just those who are qualified to have enough AB's, and on Post-All Star Break settings. I also don't think that these stats include the game on 9/12/2012. Morneau: Since the All-Star break, in 53 games, …

The Twins play the most hated, vile, poop stained team in the league in late Septmember: The Damn Yankees. Even though we have been out of it since May, and our attendance is dropping, I urge you to get out to the park. I know the park will be packed in two weeks for this series, but can we pack it full of Twins fans? The Twins have an actual chance to hurt the Yankees this September. They are tied with the Orioles and have the Rays only 3 games back. This series could come down to be the most important of the wretched Yanks season. Go Orioles!! The purpose of this post is to stir up the hatred we have for the Yankees. I hate the Yankees more than I like the Twi…

Robby Incmikoski asked Gardy about Hendriks streak of bad bounces that happened last night. I have thought the same thing about several of Hendriks starts, going back to previous callups. Gardy was a little sympathetic, but gave some straight talk on what he things Hendriks needs to do. Personally, I agree. Hendriks has had a lot of bad luck, and the strike zone was crummy last night, but I couldn't believe how many times Hendriks was 3-2 in those first couple of innings. Of course, that's also when he wasn't giving up runs, but I can't figure out why the hell he's nibbling so much. Is that really his game?

Hmmm... Does this sound familiar? I'm glad he's Chicago's problem now... http://www.twincities.com/twins/ci_21511467/white-sox-move-former-twins-pitcher-francisco-liriano?source=most_viewed

Alright guys, here is the question. What player in the Twins organization would bring back the biggest haul? Im curious to see some of the answers here because I am stuck. There seems to be an obvious answer but now I am not sure. If you just want to put a name of Twins player that is cool, or even what you might think they could bring back. Lets hear it..

1500ESPN's Phil Mackey presented a compelling case for why the Twins will look to trade center fielder Denard Span this offseason. In addition to the current playing situation with the emergence of Ben Revere and the need for starting pitching, I'm told that the relationship between the outfielder and the manager is not all duckies and bunnies. It will be interesting to see how this plays out this winter.

Darren Wolfson reports that Josh Willingham, who is signed through 2014, is opened to a one-year contract extension to give him a little more long-term security - he's even willing to accept below market value for that additional year. He's 33 and coming off a career year that is seemingly hard to repeat. His home run-to-fly ball rate is a career-best 22% and compared to his career norm of 16%, it is likely some of those fly balls won't be reaching the seats next season. Then again, he is one of those few hitters who has had sustained success at Target Field. Your thoughts?

In 2011, the Twins ranked 39th out of all major sports teams in ESPN's Ultimate Standings. After a terrible 2011 and another bad year in 2012, the Twins have dropped to 83rd overall. Twins players ranked 26th overall in MLB Dropped 30 or more spots in six of the eight categories Their lowest ranking (106th) was in "Bang For Your Buck" since their ticket price is 20% than the MLB average Stadium Experience was best category (13th) The complete rankings can be found here.

Ah yes, September. The time of the year when it starts getting cooler, school begins again for all the kiddies, and, for the second year in a row, the Twins are so far out of contention that it's not even worth mentioning anymore. My question for you is, at what point do you stop caring if the Twins win or not? Obviously in a non-contending year like this one, it may have been easy to check out on the season mid-June, but I still cared whether they won or lost, on the off chance that they would reach a respectable record. Now, if I watch a game at all, I'm more than likely just closely watching a few Parmelee ABs, certain starting pitchers, or focusing on who's playing …

When Molitor was finishing up his career with the Twins, he set the record for most hits by a player 38 or older. He had 225 hits in 1996 at age 39. Derek Jeter is 34 hits away from breaking that mark so he would need to get hot over the course of the rest of the season. Check out the story here and discuss below.

I'm planning on heading out to target field on Thursday night since stubhub tickets are so cheap. Roof deck tickets are going for 15 and legends club tickets are going for 20 bucks. Which one should I go with? I haven't sat in either location.

This Detroit Free Press piece by John Lowe published the day after the attacks documents what the 2001 Twins team (as well as the Tigers) did when the towers were struck: Of course, nothing will top the story of then-minor leaguer Michael Cuddyer whose game-winning home run in the Eastern League Championship series saved teammate Brad Thomas and his wife from boarding the fateful Boston-to-LA flight which ultimately crashed into the World Trade Center. As Kirby Puckett said, "Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us."

I thought this was interesting. Toby qualifies for the the team because Ron was born in Germany while his father was stationed there. I wonder if Toby has ever even been to Germany or speaks the language. http://www.leadertelegram.com/sports/article_404fb5ae-fbc8-11e1-b3ab-0019bb2963f4.html

Just saying....we're not the only ones with this very sane approach to fixing Liriano. By whatever catch phrase you want to call it....

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/9/10/3305489/prospect-retrospective-career-profile-brad-radke-minnesota-twins

This post is # 1,000 for me. I'm happy that I got here before USAChief. I want this special post to be important and worthy of 4 digits. So here goes. I think the FoxSports North Girls are alright! They are better segues than Ron Coomer. Thats all... My 1,000th post...

I think there is a majority opinion that we have to find AB's for Parmelee. We have a boatload of good outfielders, we are really short of talent at every position in the infield, except first base. Can Chris Parmelee play any worse at third than Plouffe? Other than the 6 week run where Plouffe hit every thing that was thrown near the plate, I would have to give him a failing grade in 2012. He has continued his inconsistent play in the field and his hot streak didn't last that long. I think we are now seeing the real Plouffe. If we stick with him at third we will see inconsistent play in the field at best and flashes at the plate but more than likely a .245, 12 HR,…

Maybe he is a little borderline, but I think he's more qualified than many others currently inducted.

Ok Twins fans, football season has started and our Twinks are about as out of it as a team possibly could be. Next year looks like it could be tough as well. This summer is crucial for the future of the Twins Organization. Terry Ryan had some great signings last summer spending a small amount of cash. What will he do this summer? More importantly, what SHOULD he do? What would you do?

It's become obvious that the Twins' most significant need this off season will be pitching. They might be able to sign a free agent or two, but their best bet in obtaining a quality starter might be through a trade. The way it appears right now, with Revere solidifying his ability to be a starting centerfielder, and with Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia waiting in the wings, the Twins' most valuable trade chip this off-season will be Denard Span. Many teams are in need of a quality centerfielder/lead-off hitter and Span has put up consistently good numbers in his time with the Twins. His contract is also attractive to other teams that may be looking to acquire him. The one d…

Who else feels the same way? Revere has basically reached his ceiling as a 3 tool player. He isn't as valuable to the Twins as Span is, but could probably fetch something in a trade.

Chris Perez went off on Cleveland's ownership and management. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8343937/cleveland-indians-closer-chris-perez-critical-team-management And part of his tirade was this: "Josh Willingham would look great in this lineup. They didn't want to [pay] for that last year. ... That's the decision they make, and this is the bed we're laying in." I know Perez is a bit of a loose cannon, but it's bizarre to see a player cite the Twins as an example of a team willing to spend money to get good players. A decade ago when the Twins were known for being able to compete on a shoestring payroll, I wouldn't have believed I'd be reading quotes like this…

The always provocative, always amusing, always lady-slaying Michael Rand from the Star Tribune followed up on the Mauer versus Puckett career comparisons started by Patrick Reusse. Here is Rand's take on his Star Tribune blog.