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.
All New Talk To Contact Podcast! Paul is a cranky pants this week, I think he hates Spring Training. We dive into that assumption and figure out what the heck the Twins are doing for the next couple weeks. We're joined this week by Jeremy Nygaard from TwinsDaily.com to talk more about prospects, pitching, and even a little fantasy baseball. Then, as always, beer, baseball, and the news. Thanks for listening!
As the beginning of the 2015 season quickly approaches, the Twins marketing team has been hard at work. How do you try and sell a team that has lost 90 games for four consecutive seasons? Twins single game tickets went on sale last weekend and one thing that seems to get fans in the door is offering some unique giveaways. This year the club will offer such items as a Vintage Twins Bobblehead, a Brian Dozier Bobblehead, a Torii Hunter Adult Jersey, and a Fur Bomber cap. One noticeable name no
ESPN rankings for SABR metrics Twins were in the skeptic category, second from the worst. Some teams have quants from nasa and Phd's, we have "an mba from local st thomas" Kc and cleveland get good grades http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12331388/the-great-analytics-rankings#mlb-sfg
The first two entries in this series focused on players who are moving up in the system and the question is one of advancing to AA baseball, which is really (Jorge Polanco 2014 aside) the real first glimpse of closeness to the majors that a minor leaguer can see. For the final installment, I am turning to another major step in the system--full season A ball--and am profiling catcher Brian Navarreto as a "push candidate" for promotion to Cedar Rapids. The Player Brian Navarreto is 20 years ol
I originally wrote the following analysis of Terry Ryan as GM of the Minnesota Twins for The National Pastime, 2012: Short but Wondrous Summers: Baseball in the North Star State. I was the editor of the publication—one I heartily recommend by the way for those interested in the history of baseball in Minnesota--and pulled the essay just prior to publication when the publisher informed me that we had gone over our allotted page count. It is great to have this outlet to finally run the article. Du
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://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FaxsmGyPooU/VOdK863yS1I/AAAAAAAALAg/mvhg1kcVieQ/s1600/hiccup.jpg Jay and Eric take you on a long over due road trip around the last three weeks of Twins news, which includes a bunch of smart baseball folks thinking the Twins will lose 90 games again, a pretty miserable collection
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://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P3bLoAsn7Pk/VOdJ5nQAKPI/AAAAAAAALAU/fkLkX0A4RAk/s1600/whatsupdawg.jpg This week we try out to sing the National Anthem at a Twins game, talk about how lame baseball nicknames are in 2015, and Paul tries to figure out what the Twins are doing with Eduardo Nunez. We go down on the p
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://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FKCEP5KqGn8/VOdJOQ1xutI/AAAAAAAALAM/7nXzzV5S5iE/s1600/twinsfestdawg.jpg This week the guys talk about TwinsFest, the TwinsDaily.com Winter Meltdown, what it means that Trevor Plouffe is the highest paid third basemen in franchise history, and about one Twins minor league pit
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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y1Q2Ya2ZDIg/VOc_upiWH6I/AAAAAAAAK_8/Edy4jke4Wtc/s1600/shirtpodcast.jpg This week on the show our friend from North Dakota, Cody, is taking the week off to focus on the youth of the greater Fargo area. What a noble man he is. The rest of us forge ahead without him to discuss the ne
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://1.bp.blogspot.com/--afO4EjF3Rs/VOc-2JcmH2I/AAAAAAAAK_0/B1uXeQHGvRs/s1600/nye%2Bpodcast.jpg After a week off celebrating 2014 and welcoming in 2015, the podcast crew was back together (minus a Rolf) to begin a new year of Talk to Contact radio gold. This week we make some New Year's resolutions on be
The second of three articles featuring players who I believe should be "pushed" to the next level in the system will focus on Travis Harrison. Harrison had some high expectations after being drafted and has moved through the system in the same way that Adam Walker has. There are still a number of question marks about Harrison's potential, both in the field and at the plate. I do think that the Chattanooga Lookouts' roster has room for both Walker and Harrison, and thus I think that there are mor
<img src="http://assets.podomatic.net/ts/19/ad/da/paulpleiss/1400x1400_10366187.jpg" alt="itunes pic" /><br />Jay and Eric take you on a long over due road trip around the last three weeks of Twins news, which includes a bunch of smart baseball folks thinking the Twins will lose 90 games again, a pretty miserable collection of teams in the American League Central, and what Spring Training is really all about. Reviewing the roster this week we dive deeper on Glen Perkins, Eddie Ros
I originally wrote the following analysis of Terry Ryan as GM of the Minnesota Twins for The National Pastime, 2012: Short but Wondrous Summers: Baseball in the North Star State. I was the editor of the publication—one I heartily recommend by the way for those interested in the history of baseball in Minnesota--and pulled the essay just prior to publication when the publisher informed me that we had gone over our allotted page count. It is great to have this outlet to finally run the article. Du
“People ask me what I do in the winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” Roger Hornsby Part I: Arrival in Fort Myers and Baseball March 2013 Hammond Stadium: I’m sitting in the 90-degree heat (down the third base line) with my then four-year-old son. I’m in-between bullpen and dugout, and we’re close enough to get that in-person feeling that only Spring Training can provide. I’ve got my trusty Prospect Handbook at the ready, and I’m
Originally posted at IowaTwinsFan.com. It was 1977, Jimmy Carter had just become president. New York City celebrated the opening of the World Trade Center and suffered through a 25-hour black out in the middle of a hot summer. Two guys named Steve (Jobs and Wozniak) gave us the Apple II computer. The Vikings were beaten by the Raiders in the Super Bowl and Seattle Slew won the triple crown. In the movie theaters we were introduced to Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Rocky Balboa. We also lost t
The Twins have invested over 100 million dolars in their pitching rotation buying 8 seasons of starting pitching. What can they expect for their $100,000,000? I started with Ervin Santana looking for a similar group. From ages 27-31 he has performed at a 99 ERA+ with about 1000 innings pitched. I wondered how other groups of pitchers performed from ages 27-31. With the help of BR's play index, I searched for all pitchers since 1975 who have pitched at least 900 innings in their age 27 through
I will be at spring training for the fourth straight year. I have watched three straight non-contending teams gear up for a disappointing regular season. I have seen impressive individual performances that didn't stand up to regular season pressures. I have seen guys showing obvious potential take a step from prospect to established player and others not be able to establish themselves. I have seen comments that seem to espouse an open competition for almost every spot on the roster and also
The current Twins Forum is filled with prognostication and speculation. There really isn't much else to talk about until the team starts Spring Training. Many comments have been written in reference to disturbing predictions from outside of Twins Territory: Being picked in the bottom five by an ESPN writer and being given an over/under of 68.5 in Las Vegas. The realists have joined the negatives in predicting a long, losing season. There is certainly a realistic basis for such predictions/p
This post is part of a series in which Mark Armour and I count down the 25 best GMs in history, crossposting from our blog. For an explanation, please see this post. [This one is from Mark] Had Branch Rickey retired from baseball in 1942, before he ran the Dodgers, before he signed Jackie Robinson, his record as a general manager would still be enough to warrant consideration as the greatest GM in the game’s history. By that time he had already built one of history’s best organizations, win
This post is part of a series in which Mark Armour and I count down the 25 best GMs in history, crossposting from our blog. For an explanation, please see this post. Pat Gillick served as a general manager for four different teams. At his first stop, in Toronto, he built an expansion team into one of the best organizations in the game (winning 86 or more games for 11 straight seasons), culminating in five division titles and two world championships. In Baltimore, he worked for an impatient o
I have followed the Twins since they moved to Minnesota from DC. In the early days, the Twins excelled in hitting home runs. They had plenty of power at many positions led by perennial home run king Harmon Killebrew, who led the league in homers six times. However, since Mr. Nixon said "I am not a crook" (and Harmon declined), the Twins have had a severe power shortage. In the forty-plus years since 1973, the Twins have outhomered their opponents in only three seasons and by narrow margins. Th
This post is part of a series in which Mark Armour and I count down the 25 best GMs in history, crossposting from our blog. For an explanation, please see this post. Before feuding owners Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast L’Hommedieu Huston turned to Ed Barrow in 1920, the Yankees had never won a pennant. They won their first in 1921 and during Barrow’s tenure went on to win thirteen more as well as ten World Series. Technically hired as business manager—the GM position hadn’t yet been formalized—
Leading up to Spring Training, I am highlighting three players in the system who are "push candidates." These are players who I think should be pushed to the next level in the minor league system, even with some issues with their 2014 seasons that might give the Twins pause. I am not one who thinks players need to "dominate" a level before being promoted, and I certainly think that there are two points in the system where there are the kind of "put up or shut up" moments for a player (first full
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
