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Off The Baggy

Tide Turning for Twins Pair

It always had to be this way. This was the only plausible outcome. As the Twins look towards a resurgence, the talent had to rise to the occasion. For a pair of Minnesota mashers, it’s starting to happen. Coming into the 2021 season Rocco Baldelli’s club had won two straight AL Central division titles while also having heightened expectations for the year ahead. There wasn’t supposed to be a slide, and the roster as constructed should’ve been among the best in baseball. The results haven’t
Seth Stohs' Blog

The Bomba Show: Should the Twins Sell? When?

WCCO's Cory Hepola and Seth Stohs discuss the current state of the Minnesota Twins. Topics include:  When do you decide you need to make trades? What if the Twins rattle off 20 or 30  now, do you trade pieces? Would YOU trade him? What would you need in return? Would the TWINS trade him? Nelson Cruz? Josh Donaldson? Miguel Sano? Jose Berrios? Byron Buxton? Who are the Twins best four hitters
Milldaddy35's Blog Area

Let the Kids Play - Relievers

I wrote a few days ago on starting pitchers that we are likely to see in the dog days of summer. This of course assumes that the Twins are going to continue down the horrid path that they've gotten off to in the first 40 games of the season, and expiring deals like Michael Pineda and J.A. Happ are moved. The bullpen also contains two names who were brought in on one year deals, one throwing very well, and the other getting off to a horrid start. If someone told you that one would be good and one
Cormac's Corner

Blood Quotidian: Volume Two, The Leverage Trilogy

Read Volume One here The last time he had been inside in a bullpen was in Coahuila to hold a vaquero accountable for bedding the hacendado’s wife. Yet somehow this bullpen held more misery. In one corner the pitchers sat on chairs huddled around a few desultory flames and passed around a small roasted animal impaled on a stick, their faces still firelit beneath some kind of soft velvety hood. He walked closer and saw they were all clad in identical robes, like tunics belonging to an an
TwinkiePower's Blog

Dear Twins: Don't Just Play Better, Be Better

I might love the Twins, and defend them even during some of the darkest times, but that also means being honest even when it hurts. That kind of tough love was exactly what came to mind when Tyler Duffey used his relief appearance in a close contest to 'send a message' by throwing behind Yermin Mercedes on only the fourth pitch of his appearance. Everyone seemed to know it was coming. Tony La Russa, fresh from using his media time all but telling the Twins they *should* bean Mercedes, had a
Chris Hanel

Chris Hanel in why

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Baseball Good

Let Them Swing How They Want

Byron Buxton, a father who happens to play center field for the Minnesota Twins, was asked how he approaches working with his young son on his game. On the Sports Info Solutions podcast with Mark Simon, Buxton said that he lets his kid hit anyway he wants.  “When we go out to hit, before we do anything, he’ll hit like any player he wants to hit like. He wants to hit like Max Kepler or hit like Cody Bellinger. Anybody he wants to hit like, that’s what I let him do,” Buxton says. “For hi
Milldaddy35's Blog Area

Let the Kids Play - Starting Pitchers

The Minnesota Twins find themselves doubled up in the loss column at the time of this post, at 13-26, and the biggest controversy is whether Yermin Mercedes should be able to swing 3-0 against Willians Astudillo. If that doesn't tell you how this season has gone, I'm not sure what will. I've already wrote about players that we could see traded, as well as ranked all the Twins MLB roster by trade value. I expect many of those moves to be made in July, although some could roll in earlier, especial
TwinkiePower's Blog

On Narrative

If you're expected to win, and then fail to do so in spectacular fashion, people are going to have thoughts. It's also safe to assume that those thoughts don't stay surface level for very long. For the 2021 Twins, the last few weeks have been a long trudge past the acceptance of things as they are, and have begun to approach the next station down the line: Why? "Why" is an important question that has consumed the game of baseball since its creation. It is a question that drives everyon
Chris Hanel

Chris Hanel in why

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Extra Innings

Revisiting Falvine Trades: Part 2, The Jaime García Saga

Entering July 24th 2017, the Minnesota Twins were 49-48 coming off a 9-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers the night before. The Twins now stood 2.5 games back of Cleveland, and ready to make a push towards claiming the AL Central crown for the first time in 7 years. "Falvine" decided to push the button, making their first major trade during their Twins tenure, and acquire Atlanta Braves starter, Jaime García . Finally, after years of purely terrible baseball, the Twins were back, and the Front Office
Greg Allen

My Twins Shakeup

Someone posted here on Twins Daily about a sense of a Twins shakeup. I love the Twins too much not to contribute my ideas for an immediate shakeup. Here’s a basic lineup that would represent a shakeup. Of course, Buxton would take over CF when he’s available. I’ve got a keen eye on St. Paul and Wichita and there are myriad good prospects. Here’s a take on a new lineup and a fresh start: 3B- Jose Miranda SS- Jorge Polanco 2B-Nick Gordon 1B-Josh Donaldson LF-Alex Kiri
Off The Baggy

Has A Twins Team Flopped This Hard?

Back at the end of April I questioned whether or not the Twins were good. This team was expected to compete for the AL Central division, and there were real World Series aspirations. Now, owners of the worst record in baseball, it’s worth contemplating if any Twins team has flopped this badly.   We’re past the point of it being early, and there’s plenty of blame to go around, but much of it lands on the players in the dugout. Sure, Minnesota could go on a run and make it a relevant sum
Baseball Good

The Bomba Show: Can The 2021 Twins Season Be Saved?

WCCO's Cory Hepola and Parker Hageman discuss the current state of the Minnesota Twins. Topics include: More depressing: 2011 or 2021 Twins? How is this happening? Should we have seen this coming? What’s worse: Pitching or Defense? What do you do with Miguel Sano? Give me ONE positive? Who does Trevor Larnach remind you of? Can this team save this season?
Cormac's Corner

The Evening Sadness in the Central: Volume One, The Leverage Trilogy

Horse and rider emerged from the yawning chasm beneath the field, as if escaping the jaws of some unfeeling limestone beast. He sat his horse and glassed downcountry. Through a veil of dust coppered by bloodred sunset he could make out the number 411 painted on a fence. Just beyond that number, swaddled in bootblack darkness, lay his warrant. A place whose dominion belonged neither to God nor man but a purgatory of whose provenance none were certain and all feared but him. He would go to the bul
Blog jimbo92107

Should the Twins offer "Vaccine Days"

Simple question. Given the self-interest of the team, should the Twins organization seek to partner with the city/state gov't to offer free vaccine shots to fans that have not yet had one? Probably this would limit the choice to the J&J single-shot vaccine, which also is easier to store than the other two. This would be a positive public relations move, plus it would of course help the state of Minnesota achieve a higher level of overall immunity from the Covid virus.
Extra Innings

Revisiting Falvine Trades: Part 1, Ryan Pressly

The 2021 Minnesota Twins have a very bad, beyond terrible, no-good bullpen. We all know that. Let's take a break from the 2021 Minnesota Twins Dumpsterfire Bullpen, and talk about something closely related, the Ryan Pressly trade. As part 1 in a series where we'll take a look back at trades "Falvine" made early in their tenure, and re-evaluate them, what's more fitting for right now than this deal that has an impact on Twins' bullpens of past, present, and future? The Trade: Houston As
Tyy1117

Tyy1117 in Bullpen

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Milldaddy35's Blog Area

Ranking Twins Top Trade Pieces - Part 3

Today I wrap up the final piece in my mini-blog series where I ranked the Minnesota Twins roster by trade value, as this season has gone downhill quickly. Things haven't gotten any better, as they've just been swept by the division leading White Sox, and now find themselves down 10 games of ChiSox just 35 games into the 2021 campaign. If things continue to travel down this road, which it seems like they will, the Twins may have the most talent of any seller come July. In part 1, I took a look at
Battle Your Tail Off

Twins Daily Tips & Tricks, Part One: Tables!

Every few days, I'm going to try to cover some of the features of the new site in a few paragraphs. Using the old site, as I'm sure many of you are aware, tables were basically unusable. That has changed! I'll tackle B-Ref tables quickly in this post but you can do similar things with FanGraphs or other sites that use table data (which is how almost all stat sites display their content). First, pop on over to Lord Byron's B-Ref page: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/buxtoby
Off The Baggy

Do the Twins Have Any Arms to Trust?

Once again, the 2021 Minnesota Twins game script played out in Chicago on Tuesday night. Despite a three-run blast by Yasmani Grandal, Kenta Maeda had settled in. Rocco Baldelli pulled him after the 5th inning, only for the bullpen to immediately cough up the lead. Starters, relievers, anyone? Is there anyone the Twins can trust? Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen is hot garbage. The front office brought in Hansel Robles and Alex Colome this offseason. Both are decent signings, but there wasn’t much
Baseball Good

Using Football To Get Better At Baseball

Ted Williams wrote in The Science of Hitting that the “slightly upward swing is the ideal path.” It took years for Williams’ theories to be embraced but he has largely been vindicated in the modern era: Hitting the ball in the air has proven to be more impactful than driving it into the ground.  (If you think otherwise, you can yell at me on Twitter.) Understanding a hitter’s swing path is one way to tell if they are capable of getting the ball in the air on a regular basis. 
Off The Baggy

Twins Need to See Pillars Produce

Over the course of 2021 the Minnesota Twins have found more ways to lose in 32 games than most teams can accomplish over the course of a full season. If going into the year it was assumed this club would be good, a complete 180 this early doesn’t seem fair. The problem? Are these players actually good?   Here’s the deal, Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen has been bad. It’s among the worst in baseball across more than a handful of categories. He’s dealing with a group that the front office banke
Milldaddy35's Blog Area

Ranking Twins Top Trade Pieces - Part 2

Following the disappointing series loss to the Texas Rangers, I released part one of my trade value rankings of current Major Leaguers on the Twins roster. The first part of this series was littered with names that are either unlikely to be moved, like Josh Donaldson, or by players who wouldn't fetch much in return like Alex Colome. However, the Twins have plenty of talent on this team that have the potential to get a good haul of prospects or young MLB talent in return, and you will start t
The Hidden Baseball

Good reasons why Red-Cross Rocco should be let go

By David Weinshilboum   In 2013, the Golden State Warriors basketball team seemed on the verge. A franchise that had been a laughingstock for decades had been to the playoffs two years in a row. Led by coach Mark Jackson and a young injury-prone sharpshooter by the name of Stephen Curry, the steam had suddenly thrust itself into relevancy.   Yet, just three days after a playoff loss in 2013, the Warriors fired Jackson (who had a year left on his contract). He was a good coach who had many positi
stringer bell's Blog

Ch-ch-changes?

The Twins play their 30th game this afternoon and are currently 11-18. They've been beset by bad luck, bad play and have taken a beating with two rule changes (extra-inning runner on second, 7-inning games for doubleheaders). How do they get out of this funk? I'm sure many in the organization will preach patience and they may be right, but that isn't any fun. Here are some possibilities for change that might help the team:   Role change. We've already seen one role change. At least temporarily A
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