Sherry Cerny

Afternoon Fam!!!! I am really excited about Gio and also Arraez getting a lead off! Hoping Sonny Gray can have a successfull game, however he measures that.

The brutality of the Dodger series certainly will outweigh the few shining bright spots, but I managed to find a few, but kept it real as we lick our wounds and move forward to Boston. Kepler Got His Groove Back? Max Kepler had a rough season after contracting the Covid-19 virus in early 2021. Not only was his physical appearance worn and thin, but his defense and at-bats were also not what they used to be. Over the past two series, Kepler has increased his plate discipline. Savant showed his zone contact is 90.9% which helped him at least in this series, garnering him both a home run and a double. He may be batting .188 right now, but the average doesn't say it all. He is on track for a good season and getting better the more plate appearances he has, and he's undoubtedly rounding out his efforts by adding in good defensive play. Kepler has been making impressive defensive plays in the right field in a Buxton-like fashion. He is not Buxton, but his commitment to the hustle and making key plays like the out in the bottom of the fifth getting Chris Taylor out was beautiful. Admittedly I thought trading Kepler would have been a good idea at the beginning of the season, but he continues to show the staff and the fans that he is not done yet and won't go down without a fight, or up his trade value. Situational Hitting Gets an "F" The Dodgers pitching lineup was too much for the Twins bats. Over the two-game series, the Twins' offense could only get six hits. I'd rather get a root canal than sit through another series like that again. The Dodgers' pitching is one of the best in the league, but there is no reason the Twins bats couldn't make contact more than they did, at a minimum in game one. Byron Buxton and Gio Urshella went 0-for-4, and Luis Arraez, who has been a bright spot, went a dismal 0-for-3. Thank God at least Kepler and Nick Gordon were able to get runs, or this would have been a shutout series, and that's not a good look. Clayton Kershaw, who had never pitched before at Target Field, got comfortable really quick and was off to a combined perfect game, but thankfully Gary Sanchez came into the batter's box in the eighth inning and broke it up with a single to right field. That's probably the best news of the series, considering no one else could get anything going, and the frustration mounted to a peak when Miguel Sano busted his bat after going 0-for-3 and striking out twice. We are all Miguel Sano right now. I like Josh Winder, but... It was not a shock to me when Josh Winder made the 28-man roster out of spring training. During the shortened spring training, Winder showed confidence and capability to be a part of the rotation. Coming into his first MLB appearance facing one of the best lineups in MLB was not an easy task. He pitched to Cody Bellinger, Mookie Betts, Chris Taylor, and his first MLB strikeout went to Will Smith in his debut. Of all the hitters he had to debut with, he kept his head together, not getting phased and letting the defense do their part. Even if a sacrifice fly earned one run, that's all the rookie allowed in his first appearance. Winder's fastball averaged 94.5 MPH, which is excellent, but he needs to keep it in the zone. As he continues to have more mound appearances, there is room for control growth. As he can get control of his fastball, he will be a great mid-reliever. The rest of the pitching was sad. Chris Archer held his own after a jittery first inning, but Chris Paddack had one of the worst first innings I have seen in a while. While he was able to calm himself down and get out of the innings and continue on, both days the bullpen allowed multiple runs. Dereck Rodriguez looked like he was going to be able to keep it together and then gave up three home runs in a row in his fourth inning of the day. The bullpen definitely needs to see more batters to improve thanks to a lockout and short spring training but hopefully not at the cost of losing multiple series. I couldn't imagine that there would be a worse series for the Twins the rest of the season, but I have been wrong before. What's next? Hopefully, a series win in Boston instead of a repeat of last season where Boston won four of the series' five games. What were your lasting impressions from the Dodgers series? Leave a comment below. View full article

We have made it through the first series of the season after a longer than typical off-season and shortened spring training, but the Minnesota Twins are putting the pedal to the metal and giving the season some serious gas. Sa-No Go? At the end of the 2021 season, Miguel Sano seemed to have found a rhythm and confidence in his swing. He finished the season with 30 home runs and 75 RBIs. Spring training fans seemed to get their hopes up as Sano seemed to be in the same form that he was in last season and hitting home runs like it was nothing. In the season-opening series, Sano struggled at the plate. In the four-game series with the Mariners, Sano had 16 plate appearances and went 0-for-13 with three walks and six strikeouts. . While we consider a truncated spring training, hitting off Double-A and Triple-A pitchers, other players in the line-up were getting multiple hits by the third regular-season game. Sano is 0-for-13 and Alex Kiriloff is just 1-for-15 so far. While it's still early in the season and only 16 plate appearances, fans are unsure that Sano has what it takes to be a productive part of this team in the lineup offensively. Yes, he gets on base, but is that enough? In an interview with Phil Miller from the Star Tribune, Rocco Baldelli explained that he feels differently. He feels there are too few at-bats to go off of and that Sano has been working hard at laying off bad pitches. That is true, and he does seem to have more plate discipline; maybe he's just getting another slow start. His defense has been outstanding to start, so maybe we just need to trust Rocco on this one. We have pitching For the first time in four baseball seasons, I feel good about the pitching. The pitching has been impressive thus far, and rookie Joe Ryan did not disappoint in his first Opening Day start. He seemed to settle down after getting over his first-inning jitters and giving up two runs. He had four strikeouts. In Game 2, Sonny Gray had his Twins debut and matched Joe Ryan with four strikeouts and two runs. Sonny, like Ryan, was pulled early, leaving fans frustrated again with another managerial decision by Rocco. Both pitchers are solid starters and have strong fastballs that make hitters chase. They both have a strong command of the mound and control of the strike zone. When looking back at the games, compared to Bailey Ober, both pitchers held the Mariners to two runs in five innings, which isn't too bad for a new guy and a rookie. Even if some are frustrated with Rocco pulling the starters early, the Twins have a strong bullpen. The bullpen has players from trades, rookies, and everything in between: like Jorge Alcala, Caleb Thielbar, and Jharel Cotton. They all gave fans impressive performances and a lot of confidence in our bullpen and, oddly, our front office. New reliever Jhoan Duran (affectionately known as "Durantula" or "Hurricane") has become a fan favorite with his nasty pitches. In the three innings pitched in the series, Duran's velocity was over 101 MPH. With Taylor Rogers going to the Padres and Tyler Duffey struggling in game two, Duran is a very welcome addition to the bullpen and could be a solid contender for a closer. The front office continues to surprise us with their trades and acquisitions to bolster the pitching staff. The Twins may not have the ace we are looking for in our starters, but we certainly have the depth and ability to move players around to keep us in contention until we do. These bats are on fire Not only was the weather for opening day chilly, but so were the bats. As the weather warmed up, so did the bats. By game three of the series against Seattle, the players were making contact. The first person to bring life to a game was Gio Urshela. Urshela seemed a little unsure in spring training, but it didn't take him long to find his stride in Minnesota, leading with the first Minnesota Twins home run of the season in game one. Over the next three games, other hitters quickly followed suit: Luis Arraez, Max Kepler, Carlos Correa, and Byron Buxton, who hit his second-fastest home run at 112.3 MPH. Gary Sanchez, who came over with Gio Urshela in the Yankee trade, left many Twins fans with negative feelings and doubted his position on this team. Sanchez wasted no time getting to work to show us that he indeed is an asset and has a lot to offer this lineup as the designated hitter. In-game one, Sanchez swung often and swung hard. With the crowd cheering his name in the bottom of the ninth, Sanchez fell short in the last hit of the game, thinking he hit a home run, accompanied by a bat-flip. Unfortunately, because of the cold weather, the ball did not carry as far as not only Gary thought but the entire stadium and both teams. In the third game, Sanchez didn't come up short of a home run when he hit a grand slam to give the Twins a five-run lead over the Mariners, with a very well-earned bat flip. It seems that the Bomba Squad may be back in action! Come back for more Top Three Takes after each series! View full article

The second game of the Twins season started out with a bang, the bats were swinging and Sonny Gray got his first start as a Minnesota Twin. In a repeat performance of the first game of the series, the Twins lost by one run. As much as a second loss hurts, there are positives to the game and a lot to look forward to! Box Score SP: Sonny Gray: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (76 pitches, 52 strikes (68.4%)) Home Runs: Luis Arraez (1), Byron Buxton (1) Bottom 3 WPA: Tyler Duffey (-.620), Miguel Sano (.098), Jorge Polanco (.080) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Sonny Gray, who started his very first regular-season game as a Minnesota Twin, completed 4 2/3 innings in his debut. Gray has a solid presence on the mound and control of his strike zone. Even when he isn’t throwing 94 mph, his command of the strike zone earned him four strikeouts and 52 strikes. Birthday boy, Luis Arraez, hit his first home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning and subsequently gave the Twins their very first lead of the season! Byron Buxton, who didn't get on base in the season opener or in his first three plate appearances on Saturday, brought the Twins' bench to life and fans to their feet in the bottom of the eighth inning when he hit his first home run of the season deep into left field. The offense had been remarkably quiet and Buxton turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. It was the second hardest-hit home run for Buxton at 112.3 MPH. Nick Gordon who had a huge run-in with Max Kepler on April 4 in the final game of spring training is feeling better and certainly showed that there are no lingering side effects from the collision. Gordon ripped the ball through the shift in the second inning, advancing Ryan Jeffers to third. Gordon had a tremendous plate appearance that ended in a walk to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning. For the second straight day, Carlos Correa made great defensive plays that really showed his dedication to this team and skill he brings to the game. I was talking to a few fans at yesterday’s game and some are still in disbelief that he is here, but he’s here and making a difference all over the field. The Twins defense is certainly better with him. In an opportunity to get to know our new pitcher, Chris Archer who just joined the Twins today in the clubhouse was on the headset during the third and fourth inning of the game today and talked about how much he’s excited to be here. Archer attributes a large amount of his move here to not only Rocco, but Jake Odorizzi. He called him to see what the organization and the city and the fans are like and "Odo" gave nothing but props to the city, fans, and organization. He loves the new defense and Ryan Jeffers as the catcher. He said that it came down to a few teams, but that he genuinely believes in this team and organization. We look forward to seeing him on the mound. Tyler Duffey came in the ninth inning, and according to Baldelli it was exactly as it was planned, except the pitching didn't go the way they wanted. Duffey continues to struggle with command of the strike zone and gave Julio Rodriguez his first MLB hit, With two outs, Adam Frazier doubled into left-center to score Rodriguez and tie the game. Ty France followed and drove Frazier home with the go-ahead run. Not the way the Twins or their fans wanted the game to end, and while some of the players struggled to make contact with the ball, we saw glimmers of what is yet to come with this team as the months and the bats get a chance to warm up. What’s Next? The Twins will finish their series at home with the Mariners tomorrow at 1:10 pm central time with Bailey Ober taking on left-hander Marco Gonzalez. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Duran 0 0 0 31 0 31 Coulombe 0 0 0 27 0 27 Cotton 0 0 0 0 20 20 Smith 0 0 0 0 20 20 Thielbar 0 0 0 0 18 18 Duffey 0 0 0 0 18 18 Alcalá 0 0 0 13 0 13 Ober 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pagán 0 0 0 0 0 0 Romero 0 0 0 0 0 0 Winder 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

hehehe

Sarcasm...font? is there such a thing?

him calling out the umpire was great lol

same. lord, same.

ummmm yes. because twitter lol. that's the answer for quite literally everything!!!!

dunno!!! I was curious about the same thing. Someone said "he hasn't had the AB's..." I totally agree with you! I just wanted to see what others thought!

QUESTION: some peope (twitter) are straight mad about Gordon being up...what are your thoughts? It doesn't bother me.

three actually...lol

nothing major, it was a graze at best, but HBP is HBP! he's totally fine!

BOOO. you ruined it! lol just kidding.

lol yay!

LOL, that game yesterday - there was lots of libations being drank. lol. It's okay it's slow. This is my home on saturday's for the season, so I am excited to be here so I can kinda ease in!!!

the catcher dropped the ball - he ran to first as the catcher threw it to first. The first baseman looked like he came down late, but he didn't. seattle challened, Kiriloff was out

what's up fam!? MNSota Sports gal checking in here!!!!

MLB and the Players Union announced recently that they would resume the 28-man roster rule they had at the start of the shortened-2020 season. This time the shortened spring training was due to the owners implementing a lockout, and by the time MLB and MLBPA reached an agreement, players only had three-and-a-half weeks of spring training. Let’s see which Twins players are vying for the two additional spots on the Opening Day roster. Expanded rosters will not be permanent. The 28-man roster will last through May 1st when rosters will go back to 26 players. It’s just enough time to allow players to have a little extra time to tune their bodies, specifically for pitchers to ready their arms. As we have seen in spring training games, this extra time will be a good thing. This additional time will also give players fighting for a spot on the roster a little more time to fight for a position. Player Injuries The most important part of spring training is getting the players ready for the regular season. Pitchers use this time to get back into a pitching schedule. Hitters need to get their timing back and get into game shape. If a player goes into a regular season with less than a whole month of training, injuries can happen more than they already do. In 2020, the players showed up to spring training in shape, but because they had less time to get back into game shape, be in live game situations and get their legs under them, injuries happened throughout the season. Spotrac recorded a 22% increase in injuries from previous years. The Twins already have Kenta Maeda out with Tommy John rehab, and Randy Dobnak is out with ongoing issues with his middle finger. Both are currently on the 60-Day Injured List. On March 24th, Brent Rooker is out with shoulder tenderness and will be kept out of the rotation until that improves. Keeping injuries at a minimum is not only important every year, but for the Twins, they have been plagued with key players being injured, so getting the extra time to loosen up with a few extra weeks will serve them well. For the players, doubleheaders (which will again consist of two nine-inning games) mean more wear and tear on their bodies. Doubleheaders are already scheduled during the season to make up for missing the first week of games, and there are sure to be other games that will be rescheduled due to rain delays. The Twins do have good depth on their roster. There will be room for moving players between the Twins and the Triple-A St. Paul Saints. However, another new rule is that players can only be optioned up to five times during a season, so they have to be careful in doing this too much. 2022 is the first season I have seen fans this excited for the new roster and the possibilities of what the players can accomplish. Defensive Battle Royce Lewis had a tough 2021 season. His pre-camp physical showed a torn ACL which was repaired by surgery on February 21st. Between the lost COVID season in 2020 and his injury, he has not had a chance to play baseball. Lewis was optioned down to St. Paul on Saturday, March 26th, but that is not going to stop him from trying to make the roster. Lewis believes he can make the 26-man roster sometime in 2022 and start his MLB career after a clean bill of health. Lewis has added some weight and some power to his swing. His offseason work has shown as he’s stepped up to the plate during spring training and will need more time in the minors to get back into full offensive and defensive mode. The extra roster spots may also give Nick Gordon more time to prove himself. Gordon has struggled a little bit in the field. Gordon has improved in the outfield, and even his bat has started to come alive, and we saw glimmers of the Gordon that we hoped to see. Both players, along with Austin Martin and Spencer Steer have learned from All-Star Carlos Correa, the newest acquisition by the Twins, during workouts and conversations before they were sent back down to minor-league camp. Correa, one of the best shortstops in baseball, has a lot to teach players, and being on the 28-man with him would be the best education either of those players could get. Martin and Lewis are ranked one and two in the organization's prospect rankings, respectively. The players fighting for the chance to stay up on the Opening Day roster are Kyle Garlick, Jake Cave, and Brent Rooker. All three outfielders have all the heart and drive in the world to make the roster, but when up against players like Byron Buxton, Trevor Larnach and Alex Kiriloff, their numbers just may not be enough. That doesn't mean that they won't see the 40-man or 26-man at all this season, it does mean however, that they are going to take the next week before the 28-man is solidified and give it everything they have got to try and edge out the other Triple-A guys. Cave, Rooker and Garlick have all struggled with injuries that have either ended their seasons or left them fighting to get back into the line-up in 2021, so not only have they not seen a lot of at-bats, but the lockout really affected them getting in the field time that they need to be a contender for the 26-man roster, but hopefully the two open spots through April give them more of the time needed to been seen as an asset to the club and stay in the Twins clubhouse. Competition in the Bullpen Clubs across MLB must carry 13 pitchers on their 26-man roster.. There is no ‘cap’ on pitchers in April, meaning the extra two spots could go to pitchers Pitching has often been a weak spot for the club, but this season there may be a glimmer of hope from what could be their Opening Day pitching staff. Pitchers such as Sonny Gray and older pitchers of the club like Chris Archer, Tyler Duffey, and Taylor Rogers have competition from the other pitchers who also want to start. Many other up-and-comers could quickly fill the extra two slots and give the Twins the pitching depth that the fans have been looking for from our club. We have seen pitchers like Joe Ryan, Devin Smeltzer, and Josh Winder out on the mound during spring training. We have seen solid performances from all three pitchers. These pitchers have a command of the mound by hitting their target based on where he and the catcher are set up constantly and impressive strikeouts. ] mlb.com Josh Winder has quickly become a fan favorite to be seen on the mound, but new acquisition Chris Archer rounds out what could be a very solid rotation, making Smeltzer and Winder work harder for those two spots. Archer has had his own struggles with the strike zone and while fans are not excited about him, there is hope that pitching coach Wes Johnson can improve the 33 year old RHP. Archer is not the ace that the Club is looking for, but he certainly is going to give the other pitchers the push they need to fight for those extra roster spots. They could all be in contention for filling the two new spots in April and potentially deeper into the season. Smeltzer has seen the most significant improvement; he looks strong, confident and has improved his strike-throwing (Smeltzer only pitched once last year and then was injured.). With only adding two players for April, there will not only be lots of competitive drive to make that 27th and 28th spot but ultimately to beat out a teammate to stay on the 26-man roster come May 1st. On paper, compared to other seasons, even the ones with the Bomba Squad, the 2022 Twins roster is one of the stronger rosters that the Twins have had in a few years. It’s exciting to think that there are players who can be in contention for an extra spot on the roster. Who do you think are some of the major contenders for a spot for not only the 28-man month-long roster but who do you think can make it to the 26-man for the remainder of the season? That said, the Twins will use a ton of guys during the remainder of the season, and probably in April too. View full article

Thank you so much! I have also been inundating myself with youtube and anything else I can find to learn. YOUR support and belief in my writing is what makes it all worth it.

I LOVE hearing this!