Minnesota Twins Talk

I see Larnach homered again today. Again, he was the DH (actually pinch hit for the starting DH). Does he have an injury that is preventing him from playing in the field? I haven't seen anything written that explains this, but it would seem to be the most likely explanation. If Larnach has an injury, is it something that might be chronic or is this just a short time issue?

With Game Thread season right around the corner, I’m looking for someone who can help me photoshop funny pics with Twins players. For example, Rocco Baldelli dressed as Britney Spears, because he’s Rocco B b****! Barks Lounge was my guy but I haven’t seen him around these parts for a long time... If you’re interested in partnering with me, shoot me a PM.

I'm not sure if the team previews are behind the paywall or not Written by Twins Daily contributor Matthew Trueblood: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/57555/playing-the-percentiles-minnesota-twins-2020-season-preview/

Hoping for some help & guidance... Family is headed to Fort Myers in late February for a week vacation, and we plan to take in a Twins spring training game & such. Can anyone provide insight, tips, information, etc. into the best way to experience ST, things to do in Fort Myers, places to eat, etc.? Thank you! Also - if anyone can provide how to fish and golf down there, that would be awesome information too.

For those radio listeners in the Twin Cities, Twins games will be on both their flagship WCCO AM 830 and FM 102.9 "The Wolf" this season: https://twitter.com/Twins/status/1234855885765300225?s=20

Trying to find any news on Gordon that explains his complete absence from any grapefruit action to this point. The obvious suspicion is that there's an injury...but can't for the life of me find anything of that sort that's been reported. What did I miss?

I don't see them on the schedule.

I wonder if this is what we can expect the regular lineup to look like (save for Arraez & Buxton)? 1. Kepler - RF 2. Polanco - SS 3. Cruz - DH 4. Donaldson - 3B 5. Rosario - LF 6. Garver - C 7. Sano - 1B 8. M.Gonzalez - 2B 9. Cave - CF SP - Dobnak

"To who this may concern! I’ve left camp for a week or 2 for personal matters. I’m healthy and excited for this year. I’ll be back shortly. Love you all #MNTwins" I hope all is well with the lefty and his family. EDIT: Adding MLBTR link, since Twitter link looks like it gets blocked in some cases https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/02/pitcher-notes-twins-wacha-mariners-as.html

Long time consumer of Twins Daily looking at a trip with my 12yo stathead to a few games in Fort Myers over spring break. I've been before and know about some of the good generic resources but curious about Twins Daily favorites. I'm not able to find much in the archives, am I just missing something?

Neither of these two looked real good today against Tampa Bay. Grateral impressed the Dodgers yesterday. Maeda looked better than Chacin, but it just didn't look like he had much and he threw quite a few pitches in two innings. I know it's early and I hope he gets more dynamic. But just didn't look that good so far. Well Chacin snapped out of it a little.

https://www.skornorth.com/twins-2/2020/02/force-plates-making-hitters-better-minnesota-twins-experimenting-with-new-tech-in-spring-training/?fbclid=IwAR3k3xHGRPOLXJimF77kU1VhvbmIXFl5ZNkPTzpabDu1TUb2F9eAD4S1ngU Force Plates? Apparently they are this year's new technological tool being used by the Twins to provide their players with ways to learn more about themselves and how they can improve. The team has two units. One is near a pitcher's mound. The other is in a batting cage as this technology can be used by hitters and pitchers. This is a recurring theme we have heard over and over from people around the Twins in recent years. The communication has improved bet…

As a post note on the Hardy article, Do-Hyoung Park mentions that Fernando Romero is not in camp. "He is stuck in the Dominican Republic as he sorts out visa/immigration issues." https://www.mlb.com/twins/news/blaine-hardy-returns-from-injury-to-fight-for-roster-spot What gives? Should this not have been taken care of weeks ago? It is not like Romero didn't know that he had to be in the U.S. at this time... Not a good start in his attempt to make the 26 man roster.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/zack-littell-on-his-two-sliders/ Interesting piece over at FanGraphs where Zack Littell discusses the two different sliders he used in 2019 and the possibility of adding a third(!) in 2020.

Disappointing news today via LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune: The Twins are anticipating that Fernando Romero will miss most or all of spring training as his visa issues persist. "Romero has to resubmit documents to obtain a work visa to enter the country, a process that's expected to take weeks," Neal writes. "Therefore, the club is preparing for the possibility that Romero will not be part of the major league camp." This is a huge setback for the 25-year-old Romero, who could've easily won a spot in the bullpen with a strong spring. He's all but certain to open in Triple-A now. He's facing a critical opportunity with the Twins searching for bullpen firepowe…

Great article in the Athletic: https://theathletic.com/1600725/2020/02/19/a-beer-nerds-guide-to-baseball-ranking-every-stadium-by-craft-beer-offerings/ Even at #7, we're only 4th in our division. Tigers are #11. The "Brewers" are only #10. The bottom three are interesting: Dodgers, Yankees and Blue Jays. Only one I've been to is Dodger Stadium, and I have to agree with the panel of 100 beer drinkers. The only park I really know well is Coors, and it's a very disappointing place for beer, considering what is on offer generally in Denver. Sounds like we'd be ranked higher based on quality of beer, but the accessibility of the best beer in the park isn't as good a…

ANNND Welcome! To the forum you never knew you needed... Until now! This is your only place on the internet to find a collection of Twins’ players arriving to spring training in the best shape of their LIFE! Featuring the writers who bring it to our attention, of course...

The Wayback machine crashes and sends Sherman and Peabody to present day Florida to learn about the beginnings of the Twin Cities Baseball Empire. We knew the Y2k bug would catch them eventually. Twins: 0. Randy Dobnak (R ) P 1. Jake Cave ( L) RF 2. Trevor Larnach ( L) DH 3. W. Astudillo (R ) C 4. Brent Rooker (R ) LF 5. Royce Lewis (R ) SS 6. T. Blankenhorn ( L) 2B 7. Zander Wiel (R ) 1B 8. Gilberto Celestino (R ) CF 9. J. Reinheimer (R ) 3B Blue Jays: 0. Trent Thornton (R ) P 1. Bo Bichette (R ) SS 2. Cavan Biggio ( L) 2B 3. L. Gurriel Jr. (R ) DH 4. V. Guerrero (R ) 3B 5. Travis Shaw ( L) 1B 6. Randal Grichuk (R ) CF 7. Billy McKinney ( L) LF 8. T. Hernandez (R ) R…

When Statcast came out with infield defensive ratings at the end of 2019, Jorge Polanco appeared at the bottom of the SS list. Using actual game data, Statcast found Polanco was -16 OAA (outs above average). Compare that to Javier Baez of the Cubs at +19 OAA, and you have a 2+ win spread over a season of play. What makes their outcomes so different? Russell Easom at batflipsandnerds.com takes a deeper dive into the reasons why top defensive SS are superior to those at the bottom. Turns out the key is making all the easy plays. Later in the article, Easom includes video and a discussion of Polanco's problems. He's a near-average defender on tough plays but can't throw a …

It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times. And TD had yet to jinx the Twins... Oh right. I need to find a line up...

1. M. Garver - C 2. W. Astudillo - 3B 3. M. Sano - 1B 4. T. Larnach - DH 5. L. Wade Jr. - LF 6. G. Celestino - CF 7. B. Rooker - RF 8. T. Blankenhorn - 2B 9. J. Reinheimer - SS J.Chacin - SP

Another fun matchup today. Maeda starts, Rosario, Cruz, and Arraez play, and we get to see Royce Lewis and Gilberto Celestino!

Great day for a game! Talk it up if you’re watching/listening!

I know, it's a day early... and maybe someone else is already assigned to the game thread... But Do Hyoung Park just posted the lineup for the Twins vs Gophers exhibition game. I got a little excited. I wish this game was on TV because I want to watch this lineup so much!!

https://www.kare11.com/video/sports/twins-andrea-hayden-breaks-barriers-as-first-female-mlb-strength-and-conditioning-coach/89-dbc7cacb-f2fa-4dea-ac93-ff73491ad7e6 Andrea Hayden was hired this year as the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Twins. She becomes the first strength and conditioning coach in MLB history. See more in the above video.

I ran across this nice article in the English-language Slovak Spectator about former-Twin Tom Johnson (pitcher from the late 1970s), who is now teaching baseball to kids in Bratislava. https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22326085/american-baseball-homebase-bratislava.html I must admit that in 6 months living in and exploring Bratislava, I never happened on a baseball field! They are huge into hockey, with soccer and individual sports such as cycling and skiing also popular.

https://www.mlb.com/twins/news/blaine-hardy-returns-from-injury-to-fight-for-roster-spot LHP Blaine Hardy is a non-roster invite to spring training with the Twins this spring after spending parts of the last 6 seasons in a Tigers uniform. On Monday, he threw some live batting practice to Nelson Cruz, Josh Donaldson and Mitch Garver and felt good. He should be given an opportunity to work out of the Twins bullpen at some point this season, maybe even by Opening Day.

Couple links about this story this AM. Phil Miller of the Strib says: "The Twins’ piece of the blockbuster Mookie Betts trade has reportedly stalled the rest of the deal, plunging Minnesota’s acquisition of Dodgers righthander Kenta Maeda into doubt on Wednesday, a major league source confirmed. Talks are continuing, the source said, and the deal could still be salvaged. But a review of Brusdar Graterol’s medical records by the Red Sox has raised issues that the teams are working to resolve." More below: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28644920/prospect-health-holds-3-team-trade-involving-mookie-betts http://www.startribune.com/trade-of-brusdar-graterol-call…

MLB Trade Rumors this morning reporting we're still in on him. Sounds like he wants a guarantee but looks promising. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/02/twins-rumors-taijuan-walker-interest.html Depending on the amount, I'd be all over this (even on a guarantee). Ice the offseason cake Falvine!

https://www.fox9.com/video/655633?fbclid=IwAR2gOnysf6ElL98kIr_Ac3g7B-fgOqnlIX5LbwImW7bff7KmB0wC7co-Q8k Jim Rich of KMSP got an 'uber' ride from Randy Dobnak and they talked about his remarkable 2019 season and story and more... Worth watching the 2-3 minute video. Fun.