When word came out following TwinsFest about the injury suffered by Anthony Swarzak, it had to be embarrassing. He suffered a fractured rib after wrestling with some teammates during the Twins annual fan festival. Swarzak would open the season on the DL and it was tough for him to watch the Twins fight the Tigers and the Orioles before he could get on the field. Swarzak returned to the mound on Sunday and got four big outs for the Twins on their way to a second series win in a row ...
The Twins might be destined to finish at the bottom of the AL Central but there can still be some standout stars on a mediocre club. Every year it is fun to put on a prediction hat to try and figure out who will have the best season. This can be tough to do with injuries and other uncertainties. It has been prediction week here at NoDak Twins Fan. This means a look at the National League, the American League, and a close up view of the AL Central. Most of these predictions are likely ...
It might have seemed like it would never come (especially with the recent snow storm that hit a chunk of Twins Territory) but Twins pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers today. The first workout is tomorrow morning and there are plenty of questions to be answered before the start of the year. For the rest of the position players, the reporting date is on Friday with the first full squad workout taking place on Saturday. It sure doesn't feel like it is close to the start of baseball ...
During the last couple of offseasons, there have been some question marks about the role of Glen Perkins. In 2008 and 2009, Perkins had struggled as a starter so the Twins needed to find some kind of role for him. The 2010 team didn't really have a role for Perkins and he spent most of the year as a starter in Rochester. He finally found his spot in the bullpen in 2011 and things have been on the upswing ever since that point. This offseason there ...
The past two seasons have been filled with disappointment and negative outcomes, but one of the few resoundingly encouraging developments has been the emergence of Glen Perkins at the back end of the bullpen. After fizzling as a starter, Perkins made a supremely successful transition to relief duty and, after signing a contract extension last year, he's in position to provide the Twins with stability at the closer spot for years to come, as long as he can stay ...
Here are a few of the offseason stories swirling as the Winter Meetings approach. Get yourself caught up on all the happenings from the rumor mill. Step up to the table because there are plenty of Twins tidbits to go around. Starting the countdown at number 8: 8. Pat Neshek avoids arbitration with Oakland, signs a one-year deal Neshek has always been a fan favorite in Minnesota and he had a rebirth with the resurgent A's in 2012. He had plenty ...
For the first time since before the Joe Nathan era in Minnesota, the team will enter next season with a homegrown pitcher as the closer at the back-end of the bullpen. Glen Perkins exploded onto the scene in 2011 and he continued that success into 2012 by being a dominant relief man for the Twins. All of this came after he failed to be a starter and it looked like he might be out of the system for the Twins. Back in 2009, Perkins and his agent had the players ...
Yesterday, I started my awards season by naming Denard Span as the Defensive Player of the Year for the Twins. This was a first time I have looked at giving out that award and it was fun to dive into some of the defensive metrics to try and pick out a winner. Today I will hand out the rest of my awards for the Twins organization including MVP, Pitcher of the Year, Relief Pitcher of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. A few of the categories were close races and some of the battles were ...
The end of the 2012 season is closely approaching and this leaves time to reflect back on the season when the hometown team isn't going to be in the playoffs. For the Twins, 2012 was another season to forget but there were some bright spots amidst all of the dullness of the past few months. Some of the brightest stars for 2012 came from the crop of free agents the Twins signed during last winter. These players might not have turned the team around from the dismal 2011 campaign but there were some ...
It's the last Friday of the regular season and that means this will be the last Friday the Twins will be playing until opening week of next year. That might be sad to think about for some fans but it has been two tough seasons in a row. The 162 game schedule can be grueling for the players and it seems logical to think some of them are ready for their up coming break. It's been the second year in a row that the Twins haven't been close to making the playoffs and that hasn't happened since the 1999-2000 ...
In last night's loss to the New York Yankees, Matt Capps made his return to the field after missing almost the entire second half of the season. It was the first action for Capps after not appearing in a game since the middle of July. The season has been injury plagued for the 29-year old relief pitcher and his time with the Twins has been full of plenty of ups-and-downs. Fans seem to hold a grudge against Capps for his poor play in the last couple of years but ...
Today is the July trade deadline. At 3:00 this afternoon (central time), the non-waiver trade deadline will come and go. The Twins have already traded Francisco Liriano. That was a given. The Twins needed to deal him before July 31 regardless of the 10 (or more) things that we hate about the actual deal itself. What would your reaction be if the Twins did not make another trade before the 3:00 deadline? What if Terry Ryan does not get an offer for Denard Span, Josh Willingham or Glen ...
The Big Picture The Orioles are currently seven games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East. However, they are currently 45-40 as the second half starts and that puts them 0.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for the second Wild Card. The Orioles last finished with a .500 record (and last made the playoffs) in 1997. For that matter, the last time the O’s finished with more than 70 wins was 2005 when Lee Mazzilli was the team’s manager. (Mazzilli’s son LJ was the Twins 9th round pick ...
Updated 07-12-2012 at 07:03 AM by Seth Stohs
Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With the All-Star Break at hand, it marks the unofficial midpoint of the 2012 season for the Minnesota Twins. Coming off of one of the worst seasons in franchise history, it was hard to have optimism for the 2012 campaign. There were question marks surrounding players that missed large chunks of last season due to injury, the bullpen had some unproven arms, and the starting rotation needed to prove itself. All of these story lines ...
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