In this week's episode, John and Aaron sip some Nordeast and talk about Nishi's demotion, Baker's injury, some surprising Twins performances, and what it all means for the Twins Opening Day roster. Here are: the podcaststhe rss feed if you want to subscribe andthe podcast on iTunes (where you can also subscribe and leave reviews).
Originally published 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 Red Sox earlier this afternoon. You can read the basic premise behind the Bench Battle Dashboard here and behind the Bullpen Battle Dashboard here. I will be updating them daily and post daily updates. Players who were assigned ...
When the Twins signed Jason Marquis to a one-year, $3 million contract back in December, Terry Ryan offered this description: "He's a groundball machine and he throws the ball over the plate." That characterization was only partially accurate. While the sinker-balling right-hander has induced grounders at an extreme rate, painting him as a consistent strike-thrower never passed the sniff test. As Aaron Gleeman astutely noted when the Twins signed him, Marquis' career walk rate is identical ...
The Twins reduced their spring training roster significantly on Monday morning, and there was even a surprise or two. The biggest name on the list was Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Many believed that because he has some ability to play shortstop and the had an inside track on the Twins utility job. But he has struggled throughout spring with many of the game's basics, and the Twins optioned him to Rochester. Carlos Gutierrez and Rene Tosoni were also optioned to Rochester. ...
[Originally posted at Twins Fan From Afar] Most of us remember Kent Hrbek for his lumbering physique, affable nature, power swing, underrated defense and, of course, his roles on the 1987 and 1991 World Series teams. Do you remember how his career came to an end? I bet some of you do, but others might have been too young (gasp!) to recall. Hrbek was 34 years old for most of the 1994 baseball season. Though he had been healthy and productive most of his career, injuries and age (code ...
My trip last week to Arizona allowed me to get a first hand view of the Cactus League for the first time. I have made a couple of trips to Florida to watch the Twins play in the Grapefruit League so it was nice to see how some of the other teams spend their time during spring training. I went into my trip to the Valley of the Sun with the mindset that the Cactus League and Grapefruit League would be very similar but that opinion would change during my week in the Phoenix area. I thought ...
After a 99-loss season, it's nearly impossible to be a fanatic of the Twins organization and not look at the minor league system, and think "they have help on the way, right? ... Right?!" Don't worry; they do. And the ultimate road warrior's guide to Twins baseball on the road, Territory Train, is going to get a great sample of the future of the franchise this summer. So what is Territory Train? For those familiar with the TwinsTrain operation over ...
Likely Starter: Ben Revere 2011 Stats: .267/.310/.309, 0 HR, 30 RBI, 56 R, 34/43 SB Potential Backups: Trevor Plouffe, Darin Mastroianni, Brian Dinkelman Last year the Twins were the least effective team in all of baseball at converting batted balls into outs. With a pitching staff that allows a ton of contact, that's an enormously troubling statistic. Lining up Ben Revere as the regular left fielder should certainly ...
The news that Scott Baker is injured…. Geek Chorus: Hold it – NEWS? Is that really news? At this point, wouldn’t it be news if Baker got out of spring training completely healthy? Isn’t “Scott Baker is injured in spring training” the status quo? Nobody says it’s news when it’s 70 & sunny in San Diego. It’s only news here because it’s March and Minnesota. Touché. Anyway, with Baker taking those first critical steps to yet another underachieving and frustrating season, ...
Well, as Week One winds down and games have now started, Spring Training is in full swing. From the fans that gather around the complex, to the roster moves, it is clear that Opening Day is now right around the corner. These next three weeks are going to be critical for a couple reasons, first and foremost, to make a team. With competition this high and talent levels up and down the system higher than ever, just getting a uniform to wear is a privilege. Next is to use these weeks to get dialed in ...
Updated 03-18-2012 at 07:52 PM by Seth Stohs
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 two games vs the Marlins yesterday and vs the Pirates earlier this afternoon. You can read the basic premise behind the Bench Battle Dashboard here and behind the Bullpen Battle Dashboard here. I will be updating them daily and post daily updates. Players ...
I love this site. Thanks guys! I enjoy reading the thoughts and projections for the opening roster. However, I cringe every time I see anyone use spring data in support of a player making a roster. All winter long, I listened to Gleeman and the Geek remind me that Parmelee's 86 plate appeaeances last fall were not predictive of the future. They are essentially correct. There have been some significant studies about sample size and at that size we might start learning something about ...
This was originally posted at Knuckleballs. This blog has been promoted to an article. St. Patrck’s Day means different things to different people. But if you’re a baseball player trying to make a Big League ballclub, you should have a pretty good idea of where you stand with your manager and General Manager by the time you lift your first green beer of the evening on March 17. At this point, there are just over two weeks left of Spring Training, so if you have ...
Updated 03-18-2012 at 07:58 AM by Seth Stohs
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 split squat games vs the Orioles this afternoon and vs the Red Sox tonight. You can read the basic premise behind the Bench Battle Dashboard here and behind the Bullpen Battle Dashboard here. I will be updating them daily and post daily updates. Players who were ...
Recent Comments