Likely Starter: Josh Willingham 2011 Stats: .246/.332/.477, 29 HR, 98 RBI, 69 R, 4/5 SB Potential Backups: Trevor Plouffe, Joe Benson, Darin Mastroianni When he hasn't been needed elsewhere, Michael Cuddyer has spent most of the past six years roaming right field for the Twins. No player has spent more time in front of the big blue baggy and limestone overhang. Cuddyer was a fan favorite, a media darling and a community ...
originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog ~~~ You may have noticed that every time I talk about attending Spring Training games, I mention that I like to visit with the other fans, especially the retirees. I like the retirees because they always seem so happy. Since the game doesn't matter so much, it's pretty easy to develop a great, interesting conversation. Such was the case on Thursday the 15th, during that 15-7 debacle against the ...
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Because a lot of write-ups and reports from the beat writers about the Twins' Spring Training performance are mentioning how someone is "hitting", using only their batting averages (70s anyone?), I felt that it might be a good idea to rank all the Twins' hitters based on Spring Training OPS (which is a tad more meaningful.) Players denoted with "MILB" have been assigned to the Twins Minor League Camp. Clearly ...
Originally posted at The Tenth Inning Stretch ----- This is the latest update of the Twins' Bench Battle and the Bullpen Battle Dashboards, to track player performance to date this spring. Performances include those in the last game vs the Orioles earlier this afternoon. You can read the basic premise behind the Bench Battle Dashboard here and behind the Bullpen Battle Dashboard here. At this point, there are 11 position players fighting for 3 bench sports and 9 pitchers fighting ...
So most of you by now know I'm headed to New York City to inhabit the MLB Fan Cave this season and to be honest, I couldn't have done it without all of you. Twins Territory definitely stepped up when it came time to get a Twins fan into the Cave and I am so thankful for all of your support! I promise to make you all proud in New York City (and to boo the Yankees any chance I get)! It's been a wild ride and since most people have been curious about my experience, I figured I take a second ...
On Thursday morning, the Twins front office performed one of their most difficult tasks. They informed six minor league players that their dream of playing in the big leagues for the Minnesota Twins was coming to an end, that they had been released. I like to highlight the players released because they have all put in some quality time in the Twins organization and deserve to be recognized one more time as they exit the organization. Some of them may be able to hook on with another organization. ...
On Thursday morning, the Twins sent their third batch of players to minior league camp. There were: RHP Sam DedunoLHP Phil DumatraitC Danny LehmannIF Ray ChangOF Matt CarsonNone of these moves would be considered a surprise. Dumatrait spent a lot of time in the Twins bullpen in 2011, but with Glen Perkins and Brian Duensing already set in the bullpen and Matt Maloney's emergence, there wasn't room for him any more. Ray Chang was in the running with the likes of ...
On Wednesday, the NFL decided to take the news headlines away from the other sports again by announcing the penalties for the Saints “Bounty” situation. Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for a year and the team will lose its next two second round picks. Others, such as Rams’ Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was ‘credited’ with offering the bounties was also suspended. Bla Bla Bla… it’s football, so it really doesn’t matter. It’s baseball season. But the story ...
Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In recent years the Twins have struggled to produce quality middle infielders who could succeed at the big league level. There has been a steady stream of infielders to man second base and shortstop for the Twins during the last two seasons but no one has stood out above the crowd. During this offseason, the organization ...
Likely Starter: Denard Span 2011 Stats: .264/.328/.359, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 37 R, 6/7 SB Potential Backups: Ben Revere, Joe Benson, Darin Mastroianni A good case can be made that during his first two seasons in the majors, Denard Span was not only one of the most underrated players on the Twins, but in all of baseball. Between 2008 and 2009, Span hit .305/.390/.422 with 41 steals and 63 extra-base hits in 238 games. A young, ...
Originally posted at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- This is the latest update of the Twins' Bench Battle and the Bullpen Battle Dashboards, to track player performance to date this spring. Performances include those in the last game vs the Tigers earlier this afternoon. You can read the basic premise behind the Bench Battle Dashboard here and behind the Bullpen Battle Dashboard here. At this point, there are 14 position players fighting for 3 bench sports and 11 pitchers fighting ...
In really studying the Twins major leage and minor league rosters this off season, and looking back at the past 4 years I came to the painful conclusion that the Twins missed their window to win a World Series. I think 2009-2012 was that window, and they missed that window due to career altering injuries, poor front office management, and the damn Yankees. Justin Morneau suffering a concussion when he had just reached his absolute peak, was a more crippling blow then most realized. ...
Nishioka's demotion to Rochester woke the Internet like a robin singing. At that moment, Spring Training truly arrived. Players without unquestionable abilities are now assets, each compared to similar players and measured for potential value for the team. When someone like Nishioka is cut early, it adds drama to the entire process. He represents a large investment of time and money, and sending him to the minors so quickly says a lot. This leaves the Twins with a bench spot to fill, ...
After sending Tsuyoshi Nishioka to Rochester, many fans began to think that Brian Dozier may have done enough this spring to entice the powers that be to include him on the major league roster. On Tuesday, manager Ron Gardenhire squelched that notion. According to the Star Tribune’s Joe Christensen’s tweet which paraphrased Gardenhire’s comments on the situation, the Twins will not be bringing Dozier northward but rather sending him to Rochester to start ...
Recent Comments