Minnesota Twins

I returned to Minnesota on Sunday night after a six-day excursion to southern Florida that featured plenty of baseball, beaches and beer. The vacation was perfect medicine after a long, cold winter here in the northland.

If you haven't journeyed to Ft. Myers in March before, I can't recommend it highly enough. Beyond the incredible weather and tasty eats in the area, the Twins do a great job of providing fans with a stellar experience at Lee County Sports Complex ...

Can any season for the Kansas City Royals, who have only finished above .500 once since strike-shortened 1994, really be considered a disappointment? Maybe not, but last year was close.

Last year was supposed to be the year the the Royals perennial rebuilding efforts finally paid off. Vegas gave them an over/under of 80.5, giving them even odds at that elusive .500 year. It wasn't to be. ...

Three weeks ago, as spring training was starting, I posted my first roster projections. In it, I gave percentages for what I felt was likelihood of each player, 40 man roster players and non-roster invitees, making the Opening Day roster. The Minnesota Twins have now played more than a dozen spring games. There have been some injuries. Some players have done well while others have struggled. Of course, the final rosters won’t likely be known for another three weeks, ...

After watching my hometown get blanketed with several inches of snow on Monday and Tuesday, I finally said, "Screw it, I need to get out of here." So I hopped on a plane and flew to Florida.

OK, it wasn't quite that spontaneous, but I am down here in Ft. Myers, and making several trips to the ballpark this week, so I figured I would share some of my observations. ...

The Twins have multiple pitchers in camp recovering from different surgeries in the last year. Scott Diamond and Vance Worley had bone chips removed from their throwing elbow. Mike Pelfrey and Kyle Gibson are recovering from Tommy John surgery. Another interesting name in camp is Rich Harden and he is trying to overcome some shoulder problems that have haunted him in the past.
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Some of the most intriguing spring training battles for the Twins are the race for the starting center fielder job and for the last spot in the rotation. Two of the best prospects for the Twins are in the middle of these battles and they both have been putting together decent starts this spring. But even if the rest of the spring goes great for Aaron Hicks and Kyle Gibson, they could be destined to start the year in Rochester.

There are a few different reasons to think that the Twins will be patient with these two young players. ...