You all care about this site. The next step is caring for it. We’re asking you to caretake this site so it can remain the premier Twins community on the internet.
Monday marks the Twins last off day before the end of the season, and provides a good chance to take a step back and survey what lies ahead. Minnesota opens a three-game series with Cleveland coming to town, with Tuesday marking the first of seven remaining games between the Twins and the Tribe. So essentially, more than half the Twins’ remaining 13 games come against Cleveland, a team which has underachieved virtually the entire season, but finds itself a mere 1.5 games behind the local nine.
The Minnesota Twins have 13 games left in the 2015 Major League Baseball season. As things stand currently, they have 76 wins, and will likely need to get at least 84 to make the playoffs. 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race, the Twins path to the postseason will go through the AL Central. Earlier this morning, I dissected the Twins final slate. The rest of the way, they have a three game home series with the Indians, travel to Detroit for three, then to Cleveland for four, before finishing w
Tyler Duffey was on the mound for the Minnesota Twins on Sunday as the parent squad looked to avoid a home-series-sweep at the hands of the team who has been chasing them in American League Wild Card standings. Duffey delivered, tossing seven shut-out innings as Twins won 8-1 to end the series with the Teams tied in those standings. The Angels next series has them facing the Houston Astros, whom they are both chasing. The Twins have an opportunity to make up some ground in the next few days whil
The Twins lost both ends of a split double header and find themselves two and a half games behind the Astros for the second wild card spot. Now losers of five straight, the Twins are also a game behind the Angels and just a game and a half ahead of the Indians, all fighting for that final postseason spot. In the Minor Leagues, both the Cedar Rapids Kernels and the Chattanooga Lookouts returned home for the third game of their Championship Series. Let's see how things went. Biloxi Shuckers @
** NOTE: This was originally published at my Over The Baggy blog in April 2011 following Tsuyoshi Nishioka's unfortunate injure at the second base bag at the legs of Nick Swisher. With Jung Ho Kang's recent injury and CJ Nitkowski's post at FOX Sports about the subject, I felt like there was some additional information that pertains to this incident. Enjoy** In just over a week of regular season games, it became clear that Tsuyoshi Nishioka had a slow learning curve when it came to the nua
After stumbling to a 90 loss season in 2013, the Minnesota Twins found themselves awarded the 5th overall pick in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. With a couple of different options at their disposal, Terry Ryan and company went with high school shortstop Nick Gordon. With a lineage of great baseball surrounding him, and big league defensive skills showing already, Gordon was going to be a worthwhile project. In 2015 though, he's been the catalyst for what could be a Championship winning Ce
The Twins squandered an early 5-0 lead and eventually fell 8-11 to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Despite the loss the Twins remain just a game and a half behind the Houston Astros for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. In the Minor League playoffs, both the Chattanooga Lookouts and the Cedar Rapids Kernels played game two of their respective league championship series. Let's take a look at how they did. Lookouts Look In Chattanooga Lookouts @ Biloxi Shuckers Jason Whe
As the Twins prepare for the home stretch, Brandon and Cole discuss the Wild Card race and Cole answers Brandon's questions about former teammates. https://www.spreaker.com/user/sbarnard4/the-breakdown-ep-9
Thus far, I've been pretty vocal in my belief that it's Miguel Sano who (and not Carlos Correa), that deserves the AL Rookie of the Year award. In a crop of youth that is one of the strongest in recent memory, Sano, Correa, and Francisco Lindor have highlighted the field. The Twins have another rookie though that has been equally as important in 2015, and it isn't Byron Buxton. Way back in March, I suggested that Eddie Rosario would be the first Twins prospect promoted to the big leagues, and
Let me start this off by saying that I'm incredibly hopefully I'm not putting the cart in front of the horse here. As things stand, Minnesota is on the outside looking in, and trails both the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. With the Los Angeles Angels not far behind, things will get interesting before they get sorted out. For argument's sake though, let's assume that the Twins are your second AL Wild Card team. Rather than simply breaking down who starts a one game Wild Card contest for the
On June 14, 2015, the Minnesota Twins embarked on what they hoped would be a monumental day in the history of the franchise. Drafted 2nd overall in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, Bryon Buxton was finally a member of the Twins active roster. Billed as baseball's best prospect, the expectations were through the roof. Now three months into his career, things haven't gone as expected. Or maybe they have. As of this writing, Buxton has played in 34 games, and slashed a paltry .202/.242/.27
This season, the Minnesota Twins have risen well above expectations. More likely to lose 90 games than be a playoff team, Paul Molitor has his squad in a very unexpected position. Getting key contributions from big names like Brian Dozier and Miguel Sano, the Twins offense has been rolling of late. There's another star that has not gotten near the publicity deserved however. Trevor Plouffe. Thought of as a placeholder at third base until Sano forced a position changed for either himself or P
The Minor League seasons came to an end last week, and even though Cedar Rapids and Chattanooga are still playing in the playoffs, it is time to start handing out some awards. All week, we will be handing out some (proverbial) awards. Yesterday, it was Max Kepler taking home the Hitter of the Year prize. The Twins Minor League Report authors each voted for the five awards being handed out. Today, we’ll take a look at the top Starting Pitchers in the Twins minor league system in 2015. We each v
Recently, David Ortiz launched his 500th HR for the Boston Red Sox. In doing so, he has entered into one of baseball's sacred number territories. Joining a group that is supposed to all but guarantee Hall of Fame admittance, Ortiz's story began in Minnesota. With the career coming to an end, another Twins prospect may be following in similar footsteps. At 21 years-old, Ortiz made his major league debut for the Twins. A power hitting prospect, Ortiz was expected to hold down the heart of the li
We discussed the current state of the Twins, Minor Leaguers' pay (or lack thereof), and what's playing on their iTunes, among other topics. https://www.spreaker.com/user/sbarnard4/the-breakdown-ep-8
In the middle of the cold Minnesota winter, Terry Ryan made his first splash during the hot stove period in inking fan-favorite Torii Hunter to a one-year $10.5 million contract. At the time of the signing, I hated the move. While the personnel that influenced parts of that opinion has changed drastically since, bringing Torii back for 2016 should be met with the same amount of distaste. At 40 years old coming into 2015, expectations needed to be admittedly muted for the former Gold Glove awar
It was inevitable right? I mean after all, how long could the 57 year-old Gardenhire sit down in Florida puffing on stogies? Eventually, the former Minnesota Twins manager was going to find a new job, and it would be much to the chagrin of Twins Territory. What might have been unexpected is that said new job would come within the AL Central and have Gardy staring into the Twins dugout from the other side. That scenario looks very much like it will come to fruition at this point. It was repor
The Twins enjoyed an off-day on Thursday after taking a three-game set from the division leading Kansas City Royals. In the Minor Leagues, the postseason is now in full swing. Lookouts Look-In Montgomery Biscuits @ Chattanooga Lookouts Jamie Schultz vs. D.J. Baxendale Final: Biscuits 3, Lookouts 4 In the first game of the best-of-five series the Lookouts secured the victory on a walk-off single from Southern League MVP, Max Kepler. With two on and two out, Kepler hit a line drive single to r
In recent seasons, the Minnesota Twins have not been in the best position to make moves at the trade deadline. A winning club for the first time since 2010, Terry Ryan was awarded a new opportunity this season. With a handful of different upgrade possibilities at his disposal, it was the bullpen piece that he acquired making it two straight slam dunk deals for the Twins. A season after snagging major league quality starter Tommy Milone from the Athletics, Ryan turned his attention to a pitchin
So here we are, the 2015 Major League Baseball season is quickly rumbling to a finish, and the Minnesota Twins have made it a relevant year. In the playoff hunt, and playing meaningful September baseball, the Twins are in a good place. With the performance though, there are no doubt players that have taken steps forward. The question is, does Kyle Gibson qualify among them? Coming into the season, Gibson was a pitcher I expected a lot out of. A former first round pick and top Twins pitching pr
It's September, the Twins are above .500, and more importantly, in the midst of a playoff race. Outside of the calendar inevitably turning to September, none of those facts seemed guaranteed at the beginning of the 2015 Major League Baseball season. Regardless, here we are, and not it's time for the Twins to address the latter two. Minnesota has made their first wave of minor league call ups, looking to players like Kennys Vargas, A.J. Achter, Eric Fryer, and others. While many profile as litt
Prodded by a caller on his weekly radio show, Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor admitted the club was exploring their options with regards to the rotation spot of right-hander Mike Pelfrey. A number of factors make the situation difficult, including the shutdown of Jose Berrios, the presence of Tyler Duffey, and the current situations surrounding Phil Hughes and Trevor May. To be clear, the presence of Duffey is simply just that he’s already promoted, and thus not a candidate to take Pelfre
Today is Labor Day; in that vein, please remove your caps for the Curt Floods and Andy Messersmiths of the baseball world who challenge the reserve system and paved the way for the players union we know today. In any case, I'm doing some unrelated research on information found in some public domain newspapers, and thought it would be fun occasionally to take a detour and share some baseball writing from the turn of the century. Some of these account are both entertaining and fascinating, or, t
On Saturday, Tait went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 17th double. The 19-year-old is hitting .219 with 17 doubles and 15 home runs at High-A Cedar Rapids.
The Twins Daily Caretaker Fund
