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With the Minnesota Twins opening the season at home this year, the Opening Day start has a little more significance than the past couple of years when the Twins started the season on the road. The Twins have not started the year at home since 2009, and the last Twins pitcher to win the Opening Day game at home was Livan Hernandez in 2008 against the Los Angeles Angels. An Opening Day win would be a nice change of pace.
Since the Twins moved to Minnesota to start the 1961 season, Opening Day starters are just 14-25, with 12 no decisions. Not exactly a great track record on baseball’s biggest day, but with names like Camilo Pascual, Jim Kaat, Jim Perry, Bert Blyleven, Frank Viola, Brad Radke, and Johan Santana, the Twins’ Opening Day starter has historically been some of the most beloved players in Twins history.
Looking over the current 40-man roster, and some non-roster invites to Spring Training, there are several players who have a shot at being the Opening Day starter. ...
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For years, it's been clear that the Twins belong to Joe Mauer. It's nice to to get a little divine confirmation.
Late last night news broke that Joe's Mauer's wife, Maddie, is pregnant with Twins. (Oops. I meant "twins." The capitalization has become a habit. Though I suppose it is possible that she could be pregnant with future Twins. Gotta love those Mauer genes.) According to Joe, everything so far is "so good." Yes, yes it is Joe. For all of us. Let the "extra-base power" jokes begin!
Of course, Joe's not the one who gets to carry not one, but two human beings inside himself for the next couple of months. Maddie might want to approach the next eight months with the same attitude Denny Hocking did when his wife had twins. When someone pointed out to him that he was the first franchise player to have twins while playing for the Twins, he replied "At least I don't play for the Sixers."
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With a variety of top prospect list coming out at this time of year, there is plenty of talk about the high-ranking prospects in the Twins farm system. Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton could be on their way to multiple All-Star appearances. Alex Meyer and Kyle Gibson could make up the starting rotation of the future.
The Twins have some talent at the top of their farm system and this makes the next couple years of development very important. Some of these younger players will be working through their most important years in the minor leagues before they make their debut. An injury or poor play could see their stock fall exponentially.
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If you’re like me, one of the fun things to do during spring training is to read through all of the box scores. They’re long, and full of names as starters are just getting a couple of at bats and managers are wanting to see their role players and non-roster invitees. It’s a good reminder of the offseason transactions and who signed where. That’s important for the big free agents, but it’s also fun to see where the lesser-known names and the minor league free agents signed.
As someone who is coming up on ten years of blogging on the Twins, it’s also fun for me to see where former Twins players wind up. Some of the names are easily recognizable, and some of the players may not have even made it to the majors but ‘grew up’ in the Twins farm system. ...
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Spring is an exciting time for baseball. Players are happy to be back in camp doing what they love. Coaches are pumped to reacquaint with returning team members and welcome new ones. Fans are giddy at the sound of gloves popping under the sun.
It’s easy for reporters on hand to get caught up in the flurry of good vibes. This year’s prime example is Mike Pelfrey, who wowed everyone present during his early workouts, less than 10 months removed from Tommy John surgery. Pelfrey spoke about how great he felt, assured people he’d be fully ready for the start of the season and drew rave reviews from coaches and trainers as he fired off the mound in bullpen sessions with his imposing 6’5” frame. The media reports glowed, and it's not hard to see why.
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Twitter started sizzling yesterday. There's a chance Jim Thome rejoins the Minnesota Twins and puts a few more taters over the right field flag pole.
There's no way this helps the Twins long term, but I can't help but be excited. Jim Thome is so heroic Greek mythology borrows heavily from his career.
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Sometimes inspiration strikes in odd ways. Today, Rhett Bollinger, the Twins' MLB.com beat writer, sent out this tweet:
Joe Mauer just popped out. Something he did only once last year in 641 plate appearances. #MNTwins
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) February 26, 2013
Wait, what? I saw that come through my feed and I was immediately interested. Was it true?
@bridman77 Yep. It's actually only once in the last two years. Fangraphs has the stats.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) February 26, 2013
That seems so unlikely. Even by raw luck, one would think that Mauer would pop out a few times each year. ...
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One of the biggest surprises in the 2012 season was the performance of Josh Willingham. The veteran outfielder signed a free agent deal with the club before the season and he went on to have the best offensive campaign of his career. He led the Twins in a variety of offensive categories including home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage.
After a season that stands out like Willingham's, there can be some questions about whether he will be able to replicate his fantastic numbers. The 34-year old will be entering his tenth year at the big league level. His age and track record at the big league level might leave fans wondering what he will be able to do for an encore. ...
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Aaron and John talk about the Twins possibly bringing back Jim Thome, mailbag questions submitted by listeners, Baseball America's top 100 prospects, Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars, snarking on Twitter, attendance and revenue, choosing sides on blondes vs. brunettes for charity, Kyle Gibson's velocity, fighting the entire world, and an unplanned cameo by a member of Aaron's family. Here are:
- the podcasts
- the rss feed if you want to subscribe and
- the podcast on iTunes.
Or click below to listen...
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Ever since Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire mentioned to the media a couple of days ago that he would like to add a potent bat to his bench, conversations among Twins fans have revolved around just one player; Jim Thome. And why not? Twins fans’ memories of the hulking, Paul Bunyan-esque slugger look glowing to 2010. ...
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Not all bad teams are created equal. Some teams are bad for just one injury-plagued season. Some teams are bad for a few seasons and then good for a few seasons. Some teams are just chronically bad.
Bad teams have the benefit of receiving good draft picks, but other than that, they don't really gain any sort of advantage from being bad. And there are disadvantages. Bad teams can struggle to attract fans and free agents, while also struggling to keep their own home-grown players.
Yesterday, we looked at the two worst teams in MLB in 2012, the Astros and Cubs, and saw that they took much different paths towards rebuilding. Today, we'll look at the next three, including the Minnesota Twins. All are very different in their methods this offseason.
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When the Twins rose to prominence after the turn of the millennium, dominating the AL Central for nearly a decade, they always relied on a steady bullpen that protected leads.
During that time, Terry Ryan was extremely adept at plucking overlooked assets from other organizations, which allowed him to build effective relief units on the cheap.
There are many examples.
Matt Guerrier was a nondescript Pirates farmhand when the Twins grabbed him off waivers in 2003. Dennys Reyes was released by the Padres midway through '05 before Ryan signed him and watched him blossom into an elite lefty specialist. Joe Nathan was a failed starter and then a setup man with the Giants; with the Twins, he instantly became a top closer in the game. ...
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As I look out any window, I am blinded by the results of several recent blizzards that have left Dakota Territory with an ultra-reflective blanket of glaring white snow. Nothing makes me miss Minnesota Twins baseball more. I close my eyes, but it’s not blackness. An orange-ish haze is all see, due to the sunlight attempting to breach my lightly-closed eyelids.
Despite the overflow of natural light, I am able to envision big things for the Twins in my mind’s eye. A Venezuelan outfielder, Oswaldo Arcia, appears to be a mighty storm of a player. He will be ready to blow through the American League soon. Just how intense will the “Blizzard of Oz” be?
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Good franchises can field bad teams. The Boston Red Sox might have been the most successful franchise of the 2000s, but finished in last place in 2012. The Minnesota Twins were successful during that same decade, but has suffered through two consecutive last place seasons.
As hard as it may be to swallow, the Twins need to rebuild. Some fans cringe at that word, some scoff, but the reality is that any last place team needs to rebuild in some manner. That being said, not all rebuilds are the same. So over the next two days, I'm going to look at the five worst teams from 2012 and try to better understand their method for rebuilding.
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Astros looking to take Colin Moran #1? Let's hope so.
Thread Starter: InfraRen Last Post By: nicksaviking Today, 09:46 AM
Now is it time to get rid of Anderson??
Thread Starter: whydidnt Last Post By: ThePuck Today, 09:42 AM
If the Pohlad's sold the Twins
Thread Starter: ThePuck Last Post By: mike wants wins Today, 09:38 AM
First quarter over...on pace for 89 losses
Thread Starter: greengoblinrulz Last Post By: ThePuck Today, 09:29 AM
Twins Miss Golden Opportunity to Promote Top Prospect
Thread Starter: bwille Last Post By: drjim Today, 09:13 AM
Article: Chris Colabello to be promoted to Twins
Thread Starter: Seth Stohs Last Post By: ThePuck Today, 09:00 AM
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Business of Baseball: Gibson, Hicks, Arcia
Thread Starter: Seth StohsIn spring training, there was a ton of talk about service time as it related to Aaron Hicks and if he should be on the Opening Day roster. As was...
Last Post By: Brad Swanson Today, 09:49 AM