Twins

It was the Southern Illinois Cardinals and then the Illinois Cubs and now the Illinois White Sox.

After the White Sox we will be taking on the Fighting Illini.

Illinois has been invading Minnesota in waves.

Build a bunker... Man your position and let's get back to winning ways.

Let's start tonight!!!

Here are some things to think about:

The champagne is on ice and it's almost time for the ball to drop in Times Square. 2015 will move over to make way for 2016 and it will be time for resolutions and the hope of a new year.

The Twins offered plenty of hope to their fan base in 2015. After four straight seasons with at least 92 losses, many major media sources expected the Twins to again finish near the bottom of the AL Central. Thankfully, they were wrong and the Twins surprised many by staying in the playoff hunt until the final week of the season.

The Twins started the season with seven straight losses (and this article was sent to publish before Wednesday night’s game concluded), does anyone want to read about where the trend lines are pointing? I’d conclude the answer is no. But the worse the major league team performs the more people start to think about that fun little weekend in June. The draft!

Aaron and John feast at Iron Door Pub's 1st Anniversary Party and talk about Phil Hughes surgery to relieve thoracic outlet syndrome, Dozier's hot streak and late All-Star game bid, the simplicity for Harry's razors, and answer listener's mailbag questions. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below.

Through their first 41 games, Miguel Sano has been nothing short of a monster for the Minnesota Twins. He's been every bit the offensive stalwart he was expected to be, and he's taken it to a whole new level. He's been the most impressive player on the club, and in terms of WAR, Fangraphs quantifies him as the best player in baseball not named Mike Trout. The question is, how much of it is a mirage?

Allow me to set the stage.

The year is 2011, and a young left-hander by the name of Jaime Garcia is establishing himself as a frontline stud in the St. Louis Cardinals rotation. Fresh off a stellar campaign in 2010 that placed him third in Rookie of the Year balloting, behind Buster Posey and Jason Heyward, the 24-year-old Garcia made 32 starts, posting a 3.56 ERA and recording 13 wins for a second straight year.

The 2017 Minnesota Twins season came to an end last night in The Bronx with yet another loss to the New York Yankees in the playoffs. Following the game, Aaron Gleeman went into the KFAN studio and took phone calls from Twins fans for well over an hour with Eric Nordquist.

The Twins Geek called in from Yankees Stadium after the game to discuss the game and the atmosphere, as well.

You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.

Aaron and John talk about Ervin Santana's finger surgery, Trevor May, Tyler Duffey, and the Twins' other in-house options for replacing Santana in the rotation, the price tag to acquire Chris Archer, how to look good, PECOTA comps for Miguel Sano and other prominent Twins, drinking beer at Modist Brewing, how to make Valentine's Day plans, the Twin Cities' best restaurants, and mailbag questions from listeners. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.

There’s no need to remind you of what Kyle Gibson was, we’re all aware. Early on in the 2017 season, the former first round pick looked like a good bet to be non-tendered this past winter; General Manager Thad Levine admitted as much. The turnaround made by the former Missouri Tiger has been noted plenty, but are we really aware of just how drastic it’s been?

Each passing day that goes by gives us another opportunity to see that the Minnesota Twins bullpen could use some help. Trevor May picked up his first save of the season last night as Taylor Rogers was on the shelf. Needing the back-end guys to get a break, acquiring a quality upgrade is a must for the front office. Today’s target is Nationals closer Sean Doolittle.