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This week we talk about the strange details of the Brian Dozier contract, Eric owing a bunch of people helmet nachos, and we try and figure out (again) who is in the lead for the fifth start spot. After a couple beers, we talk baseball with Royals Review, http://www.royalsreview.com/, editor-in-chief, Max Reiper and find out what the Royals have been doing this winter. As always, we wrap up the show with beer, baseball and the news. http://talk2contact.podomatic.com
Special jetBlue Edition! We took a break from Hammond Stadium for a day, and visited the Red Sox spring facilities for a game. Before we went inside, we wandered in their minor league area. I was initially annoyed, because we went in what I thought to be an obvious direction but were stopped by one of the senile highly experienced hard of hearing stadium personnel, and directed toward the other side of the complex. At first I was thinking it looked like a wild goose chase (or snipe hunt)
We've all been following the happenings at ST and wondering, speculating who makes the final roster. Who is the CF, who is the back-up catcher, and who makes the roster in the pen. But what happens if those answers are: Fryer, Boyer, and Robinson? Who gets cut from the 40 man to make room for these guys?
Today we skipped the major league game and spent our morning and afternoon on the back fields. But only after watching some of the major leaguers doing drills on the front field. Looked like they were concentrating on the pitchers making their throws to bases - I wonder if the snafus in yesterday's game had anything to do with that. Had a nice chat there with TDers John Bonnes, Jim Crikket, Halsey Hall, and beckmt (I believe only one of these names appears on any of these gentlemen's birth ce
Is it concerning to you that we hear our offense is better, and yet we score two runs a game on a consistent basis? Oh..hold..today we got one...I totally get we aren't playing with full lineups...but guess what neither are our opponents. In addition the pitching we are facing..many are experimenting with pitches, we are facing minor league pitchers as well. A few games ago we hit four home runs, but did you watch that game? How many were wind blown? I think to compete we HAVE to have Es
Air travel isn't fun and while I am not a frequent flier, I have flown enough no longer to be fascinated by small aisles, nuts and soda, and the people watching. I sat alone in coach and was joined by an delightful Floridian/Minnesotan returning to Minnesota for a funeral. It passed the time and temporarily made me forget about the nasty URI I managed to get in the sunshine state. We looked out the window and saw snow, probably starting somewhere around the Iowa/Minnesota border, maybe nor
We allowed ourselves the luxury of arriving sometime after 11, and learned that the minor leaguers would not play at noon but at 1. Since we had cheap-seat tickets for the big league game, we chatted outside the park with Thrylos then went on in. Tomorrow we'll stay outside and watch the prospects again. Warm day, starting out overcast but changing to partly sunny. Sunscreen advised. Ricky Nolasco had a very nice outing, particularly in the early going when I noted three backward-K strike
Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! You'll have to forgive me, I've been away. Did I read that Mike Pelfrey is being considered for the fifth starter spot? I believe I read that somewhere, but that can't be, right? I mean, he's tall and whatnot, but he hasn't been good since 2010. I know I've been absent from the baseball world, but time didn't spin all the way back around to 2010 again, did it? How could that happen to just the baseball world? Stop trying to confuse me. ANSWER ME!
Heading out this morning. Yesterday, there was minor league action plus BP for position players who didn't make the trip to Clearwater. Ervin Santana pitched the first four innings of the Triple A game and was unspectacular, one run in four innings-probably a half dozen strikeouts. It was home run derby on the AA side with Twins' farmhands connecting for five long balls. I finally met TD's own Halsey Hall and a couple of lurkers, whose names will be withheld to protect them. Nice people all ar
Originally posted at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Today the Twins were playing against the Philadelphia Phillies at Clearwater, so it was a back field day at Fort Myers, to have a better look at the Twins' prospects. Blustery and overcast day, which rained up in Clearwater enough to delay the Twins-Phillies start time and later in Fort Myers to wash everything out in the back fields at around the 8th inning. But there was some great action: At field three, the AAA players were playing agai
Here is a photo of Stephen Wickens warming up this morning. Are you sad to see this? I'm not, and you shouldn't be either: Why? Because: No One Mourns The Wickens. Hey, we went to Miami the other night to see Wicked, and I had to get this groaner out of my system once and for all. (Really??? He leads off with THIS?) So. After missing a couple of days of spring training Friday and Saturday, and then Sunday's minor league activities cancelled for a well earned day off, I was back at the fi
The minor league intra-squad games for Sunday were cancelled, giving the young players their first day off on quite awhile. The fans at the complex were able to watch the left-behind major leaguers do PFP and for the hitters to take BP. Among the players left behind were Hicks, Hunter, Robinson, Suzuki, Mauer, Dozier, Nunez and Escobar. A couple notes about BP. Dozier hit the most balls over the fence, but Kelly (who ran the PFP) really encouraged Dozier every time he hit the ball up the middl
With all the TD regulars around, there isn't much to add about baseball. I haven't seen Halsey, Thrylos, or John, but all are indicating they will be watching the minor league intra-squad game today. Look forward to meeting and meeting up with you guys! I believe Ash could be there as well. A couple of positives: Graham looked very good yesterday and Mauer got three hits, including a gapper to right-center. Pinto got beat up by Adam Jones's follow through (not good). That's all for now. Hope t
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ----The Twins has a couple split squad games today, against the Rays at Port Charlotte and at the Hammond Stadium against the Orioles. Here are my notes from the home game: After Alex Meyers' demotion yesterday, there are only 3 pitchers left in the battle for the 5th rotation spot: Mike Pelfrey, Tommy Milone and Trevor May. The last 2 started the respective games today, with Milone taking the node for the home game. While May ended up pitching
Short note today. Watched infield practice run by Tom Kelly. TK looked great running drills and hitting grounders. The headline is that Trevor Plouffe took grounders at first base. Went to the Twins game and exchanged tickets from the outfield handicapped seats to third deck first base side. Great exchange! Gibson looked good, hit 95 on the gun, except two pitches to Cervelli and some control issues which seemed to appear and disappear without warning.
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ------------- Today the Minnesota Twins hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates at Hammond Stadium. As usual, before the game I trotted by the minor league fields that today were hosting a celebrity from the baseball world: A dad watching his kid pitch a bullpen: And then walk with him after he was done: Interesting enough, not many fans had an idea of who the dad was. And he was about as humble as a baseball superstar as I have seen. He
You can download the new Talk to Contact (@TalkToContact) episode via iTunes or by clicking here, and if you want to add the show to your non-iTunes podcast player, this is the RSS Feed. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DuaIeGg9d5A/VQyEijK-oOI/AAAAAAAALMo/6zAC1F0zG6E/s1600/tribe%2Bbaseball.jpg This week’s Talk to Contact podcast is filled with rampant speculation. Can Eddie Rosario win the CF job this spring? How long will uber prospects Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton spend in AA? Can either Alex Mey
Day 3 in Fort Myers yielded similar weather and the start of a pattern before heading to the ball fields. The morning ritual would be "bathroom, blog, breakfast". The minor league activity yesterday was well covered by Thrylos and Ashbury John. I will add only a couple things: when Perkins pitched, standing behind the screen with us common folk, were Strib writers Lavelle E Neale and Patrick Reusse. I shook Patrick's hand and chatted with him for a moment. The scribes left when Perk did. W
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ----- Today the Minnesota Twins played against the Rays at Fort Charlotte, which meant minor league side by side double-header action of Rochester and Chattanooga against the Red Sox' AAA and AA squads at fields 4 and 5 of the Complex. The much anticipated moment today was the return of Glen Perkins who got the first inning with the AAA club against the PawSox. Based on reports from people who were at Fort Charlotte, he did not feel any pa
http://publicradio1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/newscut/files/legacy/content_images/indians_fans_sign.jpg This week’s Talk to Contact podcast is filled with rampant speculation. Can Eddie Rosario win the CF job this spring? How long will uber prospects Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton spend in AA? Can either Alex Meyer or Trevor May do anything to make the opening day roster? Can Danny Santana be a legitimate leadoff hitter and avoid the “sophomore slump”? All these questions answered and more. We f
A much abbreviated version of my notes today. Arrived after lunch and watched the two games offered. Perkins was the "starter" in the AAA game versus the Bostons, and seemed to do well in his one inning. Here is a photo of him warming up. Tyler Duffey started in the AA game. Warmup photo alongside pitching coach Stu Cliburn: I forgot to mention that I caught a glimpse of Gardy when he attended the UW Stout game Tuesday against our younger players - son Toby coaches Stout. So here's a b
I meant to write up these notes last night and forgot. No deep insights here, just my jottings from a day under the sun at Hammond Field. I arrived at 9:10, too late to get free parking on a game day. Cheapskate fans of minor league spring ball, take note! I was approached by a reporter from a Naples newspaper, who was looking to interview average fans. I had initially mentioned my tenuous "affiliation" with TD (thinking he might be Nick Nelson), and apparently that made me way too official
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.
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