South Dakota Tom's Blog

Right now, I'd project the opening day lineup to consist of Sano at 1b, Polanco at 2b, Simmons at ss, Donaldson at 3b, Arraez in LF, Buxton in CF, Kepler in RF, and Garver catching. Assuming a 13-man position player active roster, that leaves 5 spots open. Ryan Jeffers is one. Jake Cave is another. At some point, sooner rather than later, Alex...

There have been several excellent "how would you spend $x?" articles written this off-season. There is some point in the winter when the ice breaks and teams start signing players; there are often several points at which these occur, and I've often wondered how that math gets done, realizing that one would be criticized for either moving too quickly (gros...

It is universal that you have to beat everyone to win the World Series. I get that. But is there a playoff seeding that might be more preferable than even one or two seeds higher? That is the question.

As it stands (games through September 10, roughly 15 games to go), the AL standings show:

Rays
A's
White Sox
Twins
Blue Jays
Astros
Indians
Yank...

There has been a steady drumbeat in Twins Territory regarding upgrades to the bullpen. The purpose of this article is not to disagree with them, so much as it is to discuss reasons why delaying such a move is best for the club over a long season.

First, the facts: Twins have 5 pitchers on their existing 25-man roster who have options remaining. Berrio...

When players and owners put pen to paper on the last collective bargaining agreement, the hope seemed to be that a combination of revenue-sharing and a luxury tax would work in concert to allow all organizations to field competitive teams. The players went along with the traditional formula of underpaying minor leaguers, and locking up younger players...