Minnesota Twins Talk

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Here are the members of the Minnesota Twins' Hall of Fame: Harmon Killebrew Rod Carew Tony Oliva Kent Hrbek Kirby Puckett Calvin Griffith Herb Carneal Jim Kaat Bert Blyleven Tom Kelly Bob Allison Bob Casey Earl Battey Frank Viola Carl Pohlad Zoilo Versalles Gary Gaetti Jim Rantz Rick Aguilera Brad Radke George Brophy Jim Perry Greg Gagne Camilo Pascual Here is the challenge: Find the one who is different than the others. That's the game. I'll let it run until I return from Fort Myers early April. The first person who will guess who is different that the othersand why, will win a game used bat of a Twins' first round pick. And you have t…

I came across an interesting rule that I was not aware of. Players can only be outrighted to the minors once in there career without their consent. Burroughs was outrighted last year by Arizona, and if he cleared waivers he could have forced the Twins to release him rather than accept a minor league assignment. I can see the argument made that they didn't want to actually lose anyone, and IF Hughes cleared waivers, they could keep him and bring him up later if needed, whereas it's not unlikely that Burroughs would have refused the assignment and sought out another club. As far as why they kept Plouffe over Hughes, my only guess is that they hope he'll eventual…

Kris Attebury is currently on and they're trying to get Cory and Terry. Be sure to tune in to 1500espn.com to listen.

Jamey Carroll, http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/4/13/29...-twins-history. This story was brought up by a buddy who was watching the Twins game on ESPN vs NY, instantly texted me on why Jamey Carroll was batting 2nd in our lineup. His quote " Too many managers look at the second spot as a bunting/throw away spot. Kills so many rallies putting a ****ty hitter in the middle of your best hitters.: Now Jamey Carroll is a lifetime .277 hitter with no power. This is a common thing I guess with putting maybe a 2nd best batting avg/obp guy in the 2nd spot, what if we had Joe Mauer in that spot? I think Jamey Carroll was a good pickup for the Twins, but why wouldn't we have Joe M…

When the Twins signed Carroll, Ryan made a point of saying that Carroll can play third base. As I watched Valencia pop out on a first pitch that looked high and outside, I thought to myself "I wonder if the Twins would think about calling up Dozier to play shortstop and move Carroll to third base?" Just had a thought I'd run past people. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

Started this in the game thread, but it's probably it's own topic... Iif we're looking for a reason to get worked up about Gardy's lineup, forget this 3rd catcher crap - Clete is the topic we should be focusing on. Thomas has STARTED in right field six of the seven games he's been with the Twins. What the hell? I can understand it a couple of times. For instance, his first game, he gets a pass. His second game he gets a pass because he had the big first game. And I can understand the two starts when the lefties were on the mound and Gardy was protecting/resting Morneau. But that still doesn't explain Game 3 in NYY and tonight. Parmelee is getting screwed here…

The Twinkies are doing good at hitting. The have 130 hits, which puts them at #4 in MLB. It sure makes the games more exciting....

With the news that the Twins DFAd Luke Hughes today to make room for Jason Marquis on the 25 man roster, there is plenty of surprise. Sure, no one is completely surprised, but it's not like DFAing Hughes was the move that anyone anticipated in the "Corresponding Marquis Move" forum. I would be shocked if Hughes is not claimed simply because of his ability to hit and hit for power against left-handed pitching. So, with that, Hughes had several good moments with that Wins... what was your favorite? Mine? His first major league at bat, the opposite field home run in Detroit off of Max Scherzer.

Here are my notes from this morning's Ron Gardenhire Show on 1500ESPN. Listening on www.1500espn.com: Like the they're getting runners in scoring position, James Shields is good, but would like to get the runs in. Like our offense.If Twins win today, would be a 4-3 road trip between NYY and TB!Morneau is swinging good. DH today. At home, you'll see him playing some 1B. He's anxious to get out there. Had a great series in NY. Gardy and Morneau talk before and after every game.Mauer-Willingham-Morneau - Why? - Willingham is swinging well. Lefties are swinging and missing more. Perfect situtation to split them up. Makes decision for other manager tougher.Carroll down in ord…

The other day, there was a forum thread where many believed that the Twins should make a claim on reliever Rich Thompson who was DFAd by the Angels last week. Yesterday, the Twins claimed Clete Thomas to be a backup outfielder. This morning, the Boston Red Sox DFAd reliever Michael Bowden. I have liked Bowden since the Red Sox used a supplemental 1st round pick in 2005. He's had a lot of minor league success as a starter, but in the big leagues, he has been pushed to the bullpen. He has been up with the Red Sox for parts of each season since 2008, so he must be out of options. With this, in all reality, being a rebuilding year for the Twins, I think it would be…

Baseball Reference features a chart of each game that tracks the probability of either team winning based on the outcomes of specific at-bats compared to historic averages of outcomes observed for the same game situations. For example, the 4-6-3 double play turned behind Jason Marquis last night in the bottom of the 1st inning with the Twins leading 4-3 shifted the Twins probability of winning from 45% when the play started to 60% when the play ended - a 15% shift. This was the highest probability-affecting play last night. (Morneau's two homeruns were 2nd and 3rd, each about 11%.) I looked at the top five plays for each game the Twins have played so far and have assig…

Joe Sheehan wrote an article in SI, and this is something I have thought about for a long time and I totally agree. He talks about how the "save" has changed the way that managers use there bullpen. If I have my best K/BB ratio guy in my bullpen, I am facing the middle of my lineup up 1 with 1 out guys on 2nd and 3rd in the 7th inning, why am I not putting the best bullpen guy in there? I know why, because of the Save stat. This stat really messes with the best way a manager can use his bullpen. I know I can put my best guy out there in the 7th, and in the 9th if I wanted to I could go lefty righty lefty if I need 3 outs if I want to, why not? I think this is one of the b…

Capps seems to be mixing in the new splitter effectively and more breaking pitches. His pitches were down and mixed well last night. I'm encouraged.

Gardy is already making a public case from bringing back a third catcher. The article is basically pleading the case for bringing Butera back to the 25-man roster. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120419&content_id=29130424&notebook_id=29130428&vkey=notebook_min&c_id=min&partnerId=rss_min Full disclosure: Gardy never said Butera's name, he just said "the third catcher situation."

Twins are now 5-9 with the remaining games left before they get to some serious division contenders on 5/13. 2 @ Rays 3 vs. Red Sox 3 vs. Royals 6 @/vs Angels 3 @ Mariners 3 vs Blue Jays They'll have played 34 games by then. Two questions: 1. What do we think their record will be? 2. What record would make you happy? I'll go with 1. 15-19 : split with Rays, 1 of 3 vs Red Sox, 2 of 3 vs. Royals, split with Angels, 2 of 3 vs. Mariners and 1 of 3 vs Blue Jays. 2. I'd be happy enough with 15-19. Anything over that and I'll be quite happy.

This is certainly interesting, a new Twins Anthem by the Minnesota Culture Club. [video=youtube;te4ZoqdLtio]

We blogged about this extensively at BorderRivals (see here: http://wp.me/p29VCs-7x) but, how sad has it been to watch Frankie K these last few years?? Sure, he gave us a bit of hope in 2010 when he looked to be fully recovered from his date with Tommy John, but, it has really been all downhill from there. Not only was 2011 a bust (even the no-hitter was a bit of production - 6 walks), but, 2012 seems to be starting off on the all-together wrong feet. It would be really nice to see him bounce back and grab the tag of ACE that has long been waiting for him. At this point though, it might not ever happen.

Since that dud first series in Baltimore, the Twins are now 4-5. They won a series against a pretty good Angels team, got swept by the Rangers who have basically been unstoppable, and are now guaranteed at least a split against the Yankees in New York. Considering how bad they've looked at times, that's pretty good. Offense is looking legit. Really wish they had more pitching.

Reusse and Mackey were just discussing this topic on 1500espn... Which 'hitter' is called up to the Twins? The Twins 40 man roster is currently at 39, so they could look outside of the organization as well. Will they go with a 3rd catcher? (Very possible, in an attempt to be able to use Ryan Doumit more) Drew Butera's on the 40 man roster. Rene Rivera and JR Towles aren't. Will they add an infielder? Carroll and Casilla are both playing terrific right now, but both will need time off. Trevor Plouffe not an ideal backup SS. Tsuyoshi Nishioka in on the 40 man roster. Brian Dozier, Michael Hollimon, Ray Chang, Pedro Florimon are not. Could Ben Revere come …

The acquisition of Jamey Carroll keeps alive the long-standing Twins tradition of signing members of the last Expos team to take the field in 2004. An interesting book could probably be written about that team and season - as they were run by the league and split their home schedule between Montreal and Puerto Rico. For the record, here are players who donned the Twins pinstripes after playing for the 2004 Expos: Jamey Carroll Orlando Cabrera Tony Batista Brendan Harris Livan Hernandez Luis Ayala Jon Rauch

Had a chuckle reading Christina Kahrl's Roster Roundup on ESPN this morning: "Please think these things through: The Twins might be bad on offense, but Ron Gardenhire’s being a worrywart over having Joe Mauer and Ryan Doumit in the same lineup is a way to make a bad lineup worse." I couldn't agree more. I grow so tired of hearing about his worry about his catcher getting injured and not having a replacement. It's not like that's something that happens every day, and even if it does, having to use a pitcher to bat once or twice isn't any worse than having Drew Butera bat 3 or 4 times a game, and Gardy seemed to have no problem with that over the last few years. "Butera is …

looking for some help finding some good Twins/baseball podcasts to fill my ears. I'm already listening to Gleeman and the Geek (of course), Seth's podcasts on blogtalk radio, ESPN Baseball Today, and Getting Blanked. What are you guys out there in Twins land listening to? I live out of state so I don't get a lot of Twins talk, so anything you can send my way would be awesome. -Pirate

Courtesy The Birthday Boys: [video=youtube_share;rLeHgE4DI-Y]

12 game hitting streak, and leading the league in homers? Gotta be one of the highlights of the season so far. Plus, my 5 year old has taken to calling him "Mr. Hammer"

I know its early in regards to the Willingham signing, but currently this is looking like the best free agent signing the Twins have made in a very long time. Am I forgetting anyone? (Existing playes who resign don't count ie Puckett)

This team can score runs. Although not great in the field, there is a lot of flexibility in the lineup. Gardy should have a lot of options late in games to play pitching match-ups and still not leave a whole in the field for the later innings. Pitching is inconsistent at best. How many legitimate starters do we have that can be counted on, one, maybe two? Blackburn is the only starter that is under contract for next year and our current payroll sits below $95 million. What are the odds of Terry Ryan going shopping to try and find us some pitching during the season? As mentioned, we don't have to worry about having too many starters for 2013 and we don't have any g…

With Marquis being re-called to start tonight the Twins have to make a corresponding move to make room for him on the 25-man roster, what do you think they will/should do? 1. Option Liriano to Rochester (requires Liriano's permission since he has 5 years of service) 2. DL Blackburn or Perkins 3. Dump Burroughs 4. Option Burnett to Rochester 5. Other. If Liriano accepts I think the best option would be to send him to Rochester. That would at least give them a couple of more days before they have to make a decision on Blackburn. If Blackburn can't pitch Sunday you DL him and bring up Diamond or Manship for a spot start.

I think a lot of people expect that if Mourneau is able to play 1b regularly, they'll start DH'ing Doumit more and bring up a third catcher. The assumption would be that they send down Parmalee. I'm wondering if that's the best move right now. We haven't had a big sample size to look at, but Parmalee seems like he's been playing decent defense and hitting fairly well. I think he actually has spent more time in his career in RF than Plouffe, and Plouffe's performance at SS has driven down his value as a "super utility" player. In my mind, it makes more sense to keep Parm up here as a 1b backup and RF platoon with Clete Thomas, and send Plouffe down to develop hi…

Not sure if this has been asked in a serious way yet, but given the acquisition of Clete Thomas and the return of Morneau to at least playing first a bit, shouldn't Chris Parmelee go to Rochester? This would be much much better for Parmelee and much better for someone like Plouffe.