Twins

Willians Astudillo has been a brilliant ray of sunshine. In what was expected to be a gloomy final two months of baseball for the Twins, he’s not only provided plenty of light-hearted moments, but he’s also been a pretty damn good player, too.

La Tortuga was at it again tonight, going 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs. He's now hitting .357 with an .896 OPS.

Will the Twins trade Eduardo Escobar? Does Eddie Rosario have a legitimate shot at center field? Would sending Alex Meyer down to Rochester to start the season be the smart decision?

On this week's No Juice Podcast -- recorded at JL Beers in Northeast Minneapolis -- Dan Anderson and Parker Hageman discuss these topics and more. Listen up and win $10 in Burger Bucks from JL Beers.

Will Ron Gardenhire ever manage again? Not this season it appears, that is, unless one of his employed colleagues finds themselves on the wrong end of a midseason pink slip.

After taking a year off, the former Twins manager was passed over by several clubs this offseason, including the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres. The latter was particularly a surprise considering that it was widely assumed by insiders that Gardenhire’s major league managing experience made him the frontrunner for the Padres opening. "We're betting on a person, we're betting on a guy we feel like can be a leader," Padres GM AJ Preller told the San Diego Union-Tribune before finalizing their decision, "someone who can bring more on the relationship and culture side, more on the day-to-day leadership. The clubhouse, the communication, I think that's going to be the biggest thing."

Nevertheless, when the Padres front office made their decision, it was Andy Green, someone with no major league managing experience, over Gardenhire and his track record of 13 seasons including a Manager of the Year award and a five-time runner-up.

Will Phil Hughes be able to quit giving up home runs? Did that ball that Miguel Cabrera hit off Brian Duensing ever land? Can Ricky Nolasco continue to spin all that filth flarn filth? Find out answers to these Twins questions and more.

Why the Twins' relief ace's famous new pitch was a natural addition for him, and why he's likely both to stay great for a while—but not to get better.

Why in the world would we launch a soccer website, especially before a basketball web site? There are three good reasons. The first is that soccer coverage in Minnesota has been mostly ignored by corporate media. (If there is one thing that gets a bunch of bloggers blood boiling, it’s seeing corporate media ignore something worthy.)

The second is that the local soccer team, Minnesota United, has possibly the most fun and creative fan group the Twin Cities has ever seen. Just stroll through this gallery of pictures by photographer Jeremy Olson (who is providing many of the pictures for the site) and tell me you don't want to be a part of this.

Who would like to be the General Manager of their own major league franchise? Trick question, I know it’s all of you. You, in the corner, the one who was screaming about calling Buxton up last year and is screaming to send him down this year; don’t give me that innocent look! I know you all have opinions and for those looking to scratch that itch, I encourage you to take a look at Out of the Park Baseball.

Who won the most recent game? Those of us with a healthy recency bias are pretty high on the Twins right now. Everyone else? Not so much.

Logan Darnell...sort of

Congratulations to Darnell for making his first MLB start on Saturday. Darnell, Yohan Pino and Kris Johnson have all deserved their starts. That said, can we please have Trevor May and Alex Meyer now?

Who will be the Twins' fifth starter? What about center field? What will the clubhouse be like with Paul Molitor in charge? Where should I get a beer in Fort Myers?

On this week's No Juice Podcast -- recorded at JL Beers in Northeast Minneapolis -- Dan Anderson and Parker Hageman are joined by MLB.com's Twins beat writer, Rhett Bollinger, to answer these questions and more.

Click to listen.

Who was Jack the Ripper? Where is Jimmy Hoffa? What became of the Ark of the Covenant?

On Wednesday night, a new mystery entered the annals of great unknowns: Why did the Twins front office non-tender Matt Wisler, one of their most resounding success stories?

Ever the intrepid gumshoe, I set out to investigate.

Who stays? Who goes? The Twins have eight (or maybe nine) players from the 2020 team set to hit free agency this offseason, and most of them were major contributors.

On Thursday night, I was joined by Matthew Taylor and David Youngs on Offseason Live as we break down each of these players, and how likely they are to return. Watch the show below!

Who is Minnesota's heir apparent at first base? The answer is unclear at this moment, but should come into focus by summer's end.

As Joe Mauer approaches the finish line of an historic contract and faces an uncertain future, the question is indeed a pertinent one.