TwinsFan268

Yes, I think it should. Even though when you look back at all the World Series champions in a few years, 2020 will have an asterisk next to it, the champion should get regular credit. (Especially if it's the Twins!*) *Just kidding

Another one that I would enjoy watching would probably be one about the 2019 squad and how they broke so many records in such an unexpected season.

Do you know how many homers your Twins have as a team? And do you know how many they had at the same time last year?

I think you did a pretty good job. Maybe next time you should do the top 15 worst teams in baseball. (I mean, I know they're just going to be the ones not on this list but still.) Minor correction: The Twins hit 307 home runs. The Yankees were the ones with 306. We hit more, and I love to let Yankee fans hear about it. (Ha.)

I think that I won't care if we have a neutral site World Series and an expanded postseason (the DH thing doesn't really apply to us). All I need is baseball, and if baseball comes with no fans and other challenges such as that, so be it. For me to be happy, all that needs to happen is baseball.

Nononononononononononono! Just because a player is having a slump doesn't mean you should bench them. Maybe take some playing time away, just to see if they improve with less time. Maybe if it was a player who was recently called up to the majors, but not an established veteran like Cruz.

Rosario was never my favorite player, never really even close but I think that it would be sad to see him on any other team. Some players you just can't imagine anywhere else, and Rosario is one of those players.

And who is that?

Veerryyyyy interesting... I don't 100% agree on all of these. I mean, pretty much everyone is in the WRONG PLACE. (Except maybe Kepler.) So, um, interesting job. Maybe try again some other time?

Adrianza was really just backup in 2019 so we don't really need to keep him. Yes, he did contribute 13 homers and a good defensive arm in the infield, but he's not an everyday player and they don't NEED him. Same goes for May. There are tons of good bullpen arms in Minnesota and he can be replaced internally. Odorizzi is a different story. He's a great pitcher and he actually did better than anyone else in the playoffs last year. They really should give him an extension, especially if he has a good year next year.

The Yankees are already being fatigued by injuries and the Astros are being criticized over and over for their sign stealing. (Both kinds, stealing the signs from the players and stealing the signs in the 2017 WS.) I think it's going to be an easier road this year.

The Bomba Squad was great and Twins fans throughout Twins Territory were highly satisfied from March to September. And September 25th, the Twins clinched the AL Central for the first time since 2010. This was all great. Then October came and we had to play our playoff foes, the New York Yankees. And we didn't win. We lost. We were swept. We brought our playoff losing streak up to 16. So, I bet you're wondering why I'm reminding you of all this sad stuff you already knew. That's because, it's spring training, baseball is back, and the Twins have the bar set pretty high for themselves this year. That's because, they have their sights set on the ultimate prize: the World Series. We all know that the Twins haven't been in a World Series since the greatest World Series ever in '91. But it's been going from player to player this spring training, and all the Twins want to get there. Eddie Rosario said "Everybody comes here to win the World Series. That's the real focus right now, this year." Miguel Sano also said "We've got a great lineup but we're not looking for the Bomba Squad this year. We got our [home run] record and I don't think they can break it too quickly. This year, we've got something better. We've got a World Series. We're playing for a World Series." I don't 100% agree with Sano's quote, because OF COURSE we're looking for the Bomba Squad. Can't we win a World Series AND break our own home run record? But, obviously, the sights are more set on the World Series this year. So, what do you think? Can we get there. I honestly think that we can't completely avoid the Yankees in the playoffs. A lot of the AL is not good. But I think that this year, we have enough pitching and more than enough bats to get around that obstacle.

Yesterday, MLB released their projected standings on Twitter, and while the American League looked very close to last year, the National League was a little different. Since the playoffs are going to be the same next year, I'm going to take a look at what this means for us. Now, MLB placed the Twins atop the AL Central, 7 games ahead of last year's competition, the Cleveland Indians. Of course I love having distance between us and Cleveland, but I was kind of hoping that we had more projected wins. Here's what the standings for the Central looked like: Twins: 93-69 Indians: 86-76 White Sox: 83-79 Tigers: 69-93 Royals: 68-94 Obviously, the only change here is the Tigers go to fourth and the Royals go to fifth, but they're only one game apart. The Twins and Indians get worse, while the White Sox, Tigers, and Royals improve. The Tigers have vastly improved over their 47-114 season last year. Now, I know that you're wondering where we place with the other American League teams. So, let's chat the American League East, the division of our biggest postseason rivals, the New York Yankees. Here's what their projected standings look like. Yankees: 99-63 Rays: 87-75 Red Sox: 85-77 Blue Jays: 77-85 Orioles: 63-99 These are literally the exact same standings as last year, just with different numbers. The Yankees have as many wins as the Orioles have losses. Same goes with the Red Sox and Blue Jays. The Red Sox have as many wins as the Blue Jays have losses. Now, I know that you're getting impatient because you want to know who we would play in the playoffs, who's the Wild Card team, all that! But, first let's go over to the AL West. Astros: 98-64 Angels: 87-75 Athletics: 85-77 Rangers: 73-89 Mariners: 66-96 This is a very close division! The Angels are taking the jump up from 4th and moving into the 2nd place spot. The Astros and Mariners have their same places as 2019, but the middle teams have shifted around. Now, time to talk about the playoffs. From these standings, the Angels and Rays would face each other in the Wild Card team. The Yankees face whoever wins. The Twins and Astros are the 2nd and 3rd place teams, so they face each other in the ALDS. Yes, you heard me right! No Yankees! As long as the Astros don't have trash cans and TVs, I say we have more of a chance. And I am 100% sure that they learned their lesson from that one. Let's go over to the National League and just talk about them, not quite in as much detail as we talked about the American League. We'll start with the Central, our division in a different league. Reds: 86-76 Cubs: 85-77 Cardinals: 80-82 Brewers: 79-83 Pirates: 70-92 This division is going to have to battle it out, as all the teams are so close to each other. This will be a fun one to watch! All right, next let's chat about the NL East. Mets: 88-74 Nationals: 87-75 Braves: 83-79 Phillies: 77-85 Marlins: 71-91 Again, close close close. Nobody historically terrible like the Marlins were last year. Just a lot of average teams. The last division is the NL West. Dodgers: 103-59 Padres: 79-83 Diamondbacks: 79-83 Rockies: 77-85 Giants: 68-94 Oh, a tie for second! Those are cool. These standings look basically the same as last year except for the Padres improve a bit. Playoffs. Cubs vs. Nationals for the Wild Card game. Dodgers face whoever wins. Mets vs. Reds in the NLDS as 2nd and 3rd place teams. What do you think of the projected standings? How do you think it'll turn out? Will teams be better or worse than MLB projected them to be? Please give opinions in the comments!

I'm hoping Dobnak gets rotation spot #5, which I'm trying to make as clear as possible. Also, Smeltzer's a good pick for #5 or if some starter gets injured. He will put up solid numbers. (Let's just remember ALDS Game 2 when he finally ended the third inning and put out the Yankees' fire.) Chacin, Stashak, and Romero may also be good starters, but a rotation is 5 people, not 7, so let's pick one for the rotation and put the rest in the bullpen.

This is a great idea! People might hate this, but I'm kinda hopin' for a 2nd half rotation of Berrios/Odorizzi/Pineda/Maeda/Hill/Dobnak. No doubt, Dobnak will be my favorite player when Cruz &/or Odorizzi leave next season (they both stay best case scenario). Maybe I'll expand my favorite players to 4. If Homer Bailey is good and Dobnak is terrible through the first half then I will reconsider how I want a 6-man-rotation to look. Ironically, the Twins started with only 1 starter, and now they're trying to fit everyone into a rotation. Remember when it looked like Dobnak, Smeltzer, Graterol, and Thorpe were going to fill the rotation behind Berrios? Nope, the Hot Stove Season proved us wrong. Overall, I love this idea. I packed a lot of stuff into this comment that probably wasn't necessary. A 6-man-rotation is a great idea for this. (Anaheim has one, right? Wait, no they aren't Anaheim they're California. Or Los Angeles. Or Orange County? Or isn't it Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim? Geez people, pick a location. Point is, they have a 6-man-rotation.)

WS here we come!

When I can't sleep, I recite the Twins players numbers. Most people count sheep, I say Twins players numbers. At the beginning of the offseason, I wondered "What numbers will our new players get?" Now, if you're like me or you just want to know new players numbers, I've got you! Homer Bailey-#15 This number was last worn by Jason Castro, who went to the Angels through free agency this offseason. He wore this number in 2018/19, and now it gets a new player-a pitcher this time. Alex Avila-#16 Jonathan Schoop wore this number in 2019, and now it goes to Avila. Schoop went to the Tigers through free agency this offseason. Kenta Maeda-#18 This one is one that I have stuff to say about. This one is making me MAD. Mitch Garver is my favorite Twins player and now Maeda comes in and says that he wants to keep that number? What??!! Are you allowed to do that? I just recently got a Garver jersey that says #18, not Garver's new number #8!!!! Also, I gotta get my head around the fact that I don't like #18 anymore, but I like #8. Why must baseball do this to us??? Josh Donaldson-#24 #24 was last worn by C.J Cron, who went to the Tigers through free agency this season. He hit 25 home runs in 2019, which made his number easier to remember. Now though, it's going to be WAY EASIER to remember! Tyler Clippard-#36 Nobody wore this number in 2019, but in 2018 it was worn by Robbie Grossman who's on the Oakland A's now-I think. Matt Wisler-#37 37 hasn't been worn in 3 seasons. In 2016 it was worn by Juan Centeno. 37 is a very unpopular number in Minnesota. In fact, the only time it's been worn more than 3 seasons was in the '90s by Scott Stahoviak. Rich Hill-#44 The last person to wear #44 was Kyle Gibson. But after seven years in Minnesota, he went to Texas through free agency. But we're going to keep double-4 on the mound for at least another year. There probably won't be any more to discuss, but if there is, I will keep you posted, I promise!

I HOPE THE TWINS KEEP ODORIZZI & CRUZ BECAUSE THEY ARE 2 OF MY FAVORITE PLAYERS.

Of course I'll be rooting for Graterol on the Dodgers, he was a great pitcher! The only thing is, what if he becomes a big star and Maeda isn't good with us? It's a prospect with a bright future for a proven player, which could be good, could not be good.

I've heard of 1 of these pitchers-yeah, let's face it, the free agent market is pretty much down to nothing. If the Twins still want to acquire pitchers, they should do it through trade and not through free agency.

We're fine now!

WHO THE HECK COULD EVER CALL THIS OFFSEASON A FAILURE?!?

11. It will be those long summer days filled with Twins games and everything else that makes a summer day nice. 12. We have a few new players that will be fun to try out (Avila, Clippard, not quite as excited about Bailey, Hill)

Yes yes yes! This is the signing that we are looking for! A younger player who is great defensively. As an anti-Donaldson Twins fan, I know that this is what we have to do. Let's try it!

No, I don't like their choice to sign Homer Bailey. HOMER BAILEY? I was hoping for Wheeler or Ryu or Bumgarner. (And I was even hoping for Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg, but weren't we all?) No. Just no.