Minnesota Twins Talk

Thankfully we went before gates opened and were warned by a friendly security guy in advance that this year there are no bags of any kind except tiny purses. Tiny tiny purses. This in theory is to speed up lines and eliminate the need to look at bags. Anyway, even as a STH that gets all of the messaging, this came as news to us. So don't get burned having to make a trip back to your car if you go to a game.

Some highlights and other goodies from the Boston series for anybody who missed it or any brave souls interested in revisiting it.

Only the Nationals in either league have won less than 3 games and no one in AL has won more than 6 games in this very young season but I bet that it continues this way into August and September. Twins are good enough to stay around the .500 mark all year but they are definitely not a powerhouse this year. Without Buxton's start the offense is anemic. Sano should be on a very short leash and I predict that this season will be his last as a MLB regular starting player. He is simply way too undisciplined and unreliable. Twins will continue to struggle offensively as they did in the Grapefruit League and hopefully the starting pitching will keep them at the .500 mark,

MLB.com published their updated power rankings Sunday. The moved the Twins up from sixth to fourth. The Athletic (subscription required) boosted the Twins up from seventh to fifth in their rankings, which were updated Monday.

Buxton is listed only on the MLB HR leaders list. Not on OPS or AVG or SLG or OBP. He should be the leader in several of these. He has as many bats (19) as Naquin. Why isn't he listed?

So tickets for the first 17 home games apparently went on sale at 10 AM today (Thursday, March 25). Anybody here buy some? Or try to buy?

Per MLB trade rumors Brandon Waddell is replacing Brent Rooker and Colina is headed to the 60 disabled list. Congrats to Waddell.

Frustrating finish to this afternoon's game, but in the middle I had so much fun watching Caleb Thielbar work his magic for a couple innings against the Tigers. Here are some highlights from today's game, including every pitch of Thielbar's outing.

How to watch the Twins in 2021 (With vaccine and hot dog in hand!) This post is about streaming video (those without cable/satellite TV service, aka "cord-cutters"). This post and its discussion will be limited to legal methods. First and foremost, you should know if you are in the Twins TV market or not. This will determine MLB.TV blackout policy. Enter your zip code at this link to check: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/subscribe#blackout-restrictions The Twins local blackout areas are all of Minnesota, Iowa, and both Dakotas, plus parts of east-central Wisconsin. Outside the Twins TV market: Get MLB.TV! You'll only be blacked out of the national TV ga…

Anyone else worried about this lack of hits so far in spring? Dead last in team OPS. Spring is spring but .624 is putrid. Most starts have averages in the .100s In 2019 before the record season they had a .832 OPS. Everything about this offense went to the toilet after Rowson left. I can’t help but be really worried about the offense this year. Donaldson and Cruz will be fine, but guys like Kepler, Polanco, Garver, Sano, really worry me.

One thread to rule them all... Er. Sorry. Got a bit ahead of myself. (Power does tend to go to one's head.) Anyway, seein' as Spring Training Game discussion might not merit the attention to autoarchive threads, or assign new people to introduce every single one of 'em, i figured i'd try to mush it all into one oversized month long thread. Feel free to fix that if ya want. March Day... The 1st of March. We are playing at Tampa Bay, come noonish Minnesota time. And here be the Lineups i came across online. 2020 American League Champ Twins 0. Lewis Thorpe ( L) P 1. Luis Arraez ( L) 2B 2. Ryan Jeffers (R ) C 3. Jake Cave ( L) CF 4. Brent Rooker (R ) LF 5. Trevor …

MLB.TV is having a free preview the next 4 days (March 27-30), and no blackouts for spring training games this year. So you can create or sign in with a free MLB.com account and watch the Twins game starting now! https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games On Tuesday March 30, the "free MLB.TV through T-Mobile" sign-up begins too -- I'll post more info on that later.

Sad news. Way too young. RIP. The game tonight will still be played at the family’s request. https://www.startribune.com/twins-bench-coach-mike-bell-dies-of-cancer-at-age-46/600039090/

As we await an arbitrator's ruling on a fourth option year for Lewis Thorpe, it sounds like some similar decisions are coming down, not granting the fourth option. In case you missed it, Thorpe and a few other players would be eligible for a fourth option year in 2021 under a strict reading of the rule that a "full season" must be at least 90 days. Usually this rule only applies to rookie league seasons and seasons missed due to injury, but 2020's unusual schedule was technically shorter than 90 days too. So the players and teams have taken these cases to an arbitrator. MLBTR reports that the Nats lost their claim on a fourth option year in 2021 for Erick Fedde, altho…

Well, Lance McCullers just signed a long-term contract to stay in the Astros rotation through the 2026 season at cost of $85 million and a limited no-trade clause. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/03/astros-lance-mccullers-jr-agree-to-extension.html The Twins still can take a hard looksee at Berrios for the 2021 season and not have to make any drastic move until the off-season. Is this a contract those Jose would sign to remain a Twin? Can the Twins roll-the-ball and get him for less? Do we feel he is a long-term answer to be the anchor of the Twins starting rotation going forward as others join him in the future (Duran, Balazovic)?

In the beginning of spring training related to LF, Baldelli said he was going to bring the best w/ him to start the beginning of the 2021 season. He was talking about Kiriloff but the the truth should still pertain. Keon has proven that he is more than able to come up with team. All indications points to Cave as the starting LF and main replacement for Buxton but is he the best selection? Broxton has clearly shown he's by far better in each category than Cave. I get it that Broxton isn't on the 40 man roster and we'll use him as Buxton insurance. The 40 man is very tight and it'd be hard to justify bumping anyone out to find room for him, especially since Law is p…

Was just wondering if anyone has heard from or knows what's up with Derek Wetmore? He kind of disappeared after the Twins playoff games last year and has not been active on social media or his podcast since. He makes great content, but I am also wondering if he is ok in general. Just want to make sure he is alright. Thanks.

So I hate to be this guy every year, but once again the MLB makes it a huge pain to watch the Twins if you're in a blackout market. In 2019 I was able to watch the Twins on FSN on YoutubeTV, then FSN got dropped from youtube TV. In 2020 I switched to Hulu, but now Hulu/Sinclair has dropped FSN. So going into the 2021 season with FSN being renamed Bally Sports North, does anyone know of a service where I can stream this channel? Or has anyone heard any updates about a streaming giant picking it up now that they're partnered with Bally? I feel like my only option at this point is MLB.tv and a VPN which also means that I'll have to connect to my TV via airplay. Anyo…

I figured they would start sending players down but haven't seen much yet.

These injuries are getting absurd.

Would be an optimistic swing for a Sotastick t-shirt or North American Sports Leader 18 and Counting.... Both would be iconic, only in the knowTwins Fan wink wink nudge nudge say no more. Not trying to be defeatist, ironic, or whatever. Just thought it was an interesting, fun spin. There's only a couple of handfuls of teams that are the leader in X of all 4 major North American sports. You're welcome Sotastick

This is a really nice article about Brian Dozier learning Spanish in order to communicate better with his teammates. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/03/05/brian-dozier-spanish-baseball/ A couple of select quotes: “I think we, as Americans, need to take it upon ourselves to say, ‘Hey, these guys are going to be playing for a championship just like us, and you need real camaraderie to make that happen, and in order to have that, we need to take it upon ourselves to learn Spanish,’ ” Dozier said.During one of his offseasons in the minors, he played winter ball in Venezuela. Around that same time, he met Eduardo Escobar, who was new to the Twins organization. T…

Since the beginning there was a lot of FA talk surrounding Jake & that there was a lot of interest from various teams. Thought he'd be gone by now but so far nothing. Is he waiting for a bigger haul? Now there are a lot of trade rumors for starters w/ already some deals. Where does that leave our friend Odo? The way things are going, it doesn't look good for him. Will he have to settle for less than what he deserves? Does the Twins have a shot at him? Please share your thoughts.

Some reports that the Twins are interested in Danny Santana! As a utility guy if he can still play SS and CF I can see how he would fit but hasn’t played much there in recent years. His bat has been good or really terrible so which one are you getting? I like bringing guys in like this in minor league deals and see what you have but if he can play SS or CF anymore I don’t see how he fits.

The world of sports has changed over the years. As a result, leagues have adapted roster sizes to allow for more active players, reserve players, taxi squads, etc. Baseball, always slow to adapt, finally increased roster size to 26 in 2020. A small change a small improvement, but a smart and necessary one. With covid, the plan originally for a 30 man roster, followed by a downgrade to 28 before finally settling to the proposed 26 man limit. For once, MLB was out front with adaptation and realized the 28 man roster made sense for the compact season. So now, with an expected full schedule for 2021, the 26 man roster is in play. But is that a mistake of short-sightedness? …

Per multiple sources, new Minnesota Twins shortstop Andrelton Simmons has been delayed to the team's camp by visa issues. The exact details are unclear at the moment, though manager Rocco Baldelli described it as "travel-related"- saying that it could take a few days to resolve. Sounds too much like what was said of Fernando Romero's absence last spring when it was reported that "He is still in the Dominican Republic as he sorts out visa/immigration issues." Boy do I hope I'm overreacting...

I thought that Patrick Reusse wrote an interesting article, something I know I have been thinking for the last few years. https://www.startribune.com/why-modern-baseball-is-unkind-to-thirty-somethings-like-brian-dozier-trevor-plouffe/600024936/ It used to be the players were given contracts based one what they have done. Now, it's all about projection. In the older days, Dozier would have been given a nice extension, but with the new front office and their analytical staff, they projected what was to come. Trevor Plouffe explains it as well in the story.

With the exception of left field, there are no real contests for starting positions for the 2021 Twins. If he doesn't start as the most frequent left fielder, Luis Arraez will get frequent starts in the infield. The major competition for roster positions will come down to backup outfielders, another utility infielder (particularly if Arraez gets a lot of starts in left) and perhaps a third catcher. I've seen posts suggesting that three rookies, outside of Alex Kirilloff, should get consideration for backup outfielder and utility infielder. That would be Travis Blankenhorn, Nick Gordon and Brent Rooker. The three have a combined total of 25 plate appearances in eight ma…

Claim victory in your heart, and the universe will follow. Yeay! We Won! (But what did we win? Discuss) Lineups Redsox: 0. Nathan Eovaldi (R ) P 1. Enrique Hernandez (R ) SS 2. Jarren Duran ( L) CF 3. Hunter Renfroe (R ) RF 4. Rafael Devers ( L) 3B 5. Christian Vazquez (R ) C 6. Bobby Dalbec (R ) 1B 7. Christian Arroyo (R ) 2B 8. Michael Chavis (R ) DH 9. Michael Gettys (R ) LF Twins: 0. Devin Smeltzer ( L) P 1. Max Kepler ( L) RF 2. Mitch Garver (R ) C 3. Jorge Polanco ( S ) 2B 4. Miguel Sano (R ) 1B 5. Byron Buxton (R ) CF 6. Alex Kirilloff ( L) LF 7. Willians Astudillo (R ) 3B 8. JT Riddle ( L) SS 9. Caleb Hamilton (R ) DH Play ball!

The linked post from MLB Trade Rumors suggests that Kirilloff will play RF come opening day. I assumed he would be in LF, since Kepler is so well regarded defensively in RF. What are the odds Max slides to the other side of the pasture? link: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/02/outfielder-notes-kirilloff-kiermaier-robles.html