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Adam Brett Walker II hit the first pitch he saw in his first MLB game and drove it out of Jet Blue Stadium for a 2 run Home Run and the start of a key 7th inning rally, in which the Twins took the lead for good (7-4). It was the most runs the Twins had scored since March 14th. This kid is special. Does anyone know of the last time a Twin to hit a HR on his first professional MLB pitch? He followed his great start off with a double to left center in his next AB. 2 for 2 on the day. The mos
Adam Brett Walker II hit the first pitch he saw in his first MLB game and drove it out of Jet Blue Stadium for a 2 run Home Run and the start of a key 7th inning rally, in which the Twins took the lead for good (7-4). It was the most runs the Twins had scored since March 14th. This kid is special. Does anyone know of the last time a Twin to hit a HR on his first professional MLB pitch? He followed his great start off with a double to left center in his next AB. 2 for 2 on the day. The mos
It's time for the predictions for the Twins pitching staff! Here's the format of my stats: ERA/K per 9/ BB per 9 Ricky Nolasco 2013: 3.70/7.4/2.1 2014: 4.53/6.0/1.7 Nolasco had a career year and cashed in with the Twins. His career ERA is 4.37 and that's 100% in the national league, and that's gonna go up with the Twins. He does have the capability to go past 6 innings, so in the end he will make the Twins more competitive. Phil Hughes 2013: 5.19/5.7/1.9 2014: 4.07/4.9/1.8 If the ballpar
Now that the 25 man roster is finalized for the Twins, I'm going to publish my predictions here and then analyze them at the end of the year to see if I guessed anything correctly. -Stats I'm going to use- Batting Average/On base percentage/HRs C Kurt Suzuki 2013: .232/.290/5 Prediction for 2014: .240/.297/7 We all want Pinto to take over. Suzuki has severely declined over the last two years. As much as it seems like Pinto will take over, I think Suzuki actually has a decent year and gets hi
Aaron and John podcast from Freehouse and discuss the Twins final roster decisions, Kyle Gibson’s opportunity, losing Vance Worley and Alex Presley, distinctive Fanny Bay oysters, Byron Buxton’s injuries, gimpy knees, expectations for the Twins lineup, roto-bird, Aaron’s new iPhone and the magic of Tinder. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Here's the breakdown: 0 Aaron’s Knee 4 KFAN 8 Freehouse 11 25-man roster 12 Kyle Gibson 13 Wrong Aar
Baseball returns, and the internet trembles. The devout among us spend our days filling our brains with bucketfuls of thoughts. When presented with a keyboard, we pour these thoughts into various molds and send them out into the world. We find others who agree with our world views and we build ideas about why the ball moves the way it does. We create grids. We build structure. We invent games to prove we understand baseball better than baseball does. We think we own this game that has li
There seemed to be much consternation in some corners of the Twins blogosphere the last couple of days as the final roster decisions became evident. Alex Presley began spring training as a competitor for the Twins centerfield job. He leaves spring training a member of the Astros after Houston claimed him from the Twins on waivers. Lefty pitcher Scott Diamond and 1B/OF Chris Parmelee had inside lanes on roster spots entering camp, but neither made much of an impression on the Twins. In
Previously posted at http://wp.me/p1YQUj-2Ja The Twins are in Chicago by now having left Florida and their spring training record of 9-16-3 in their wake. Earlier today the Twins won their final 2014 Grapefruit League outing by a score of 7-4. The Twins scored more than five runs in just five exhibition games and scored two or fewer runs on 10 occasions. The Twins ended spring training with a .360% winning percentage, the worst in the American league. All that being said, the team along with
I'm not looking for a DH candidate in a catcher, I've been that route. I need two catchers. If I have that then I'm going to need three catchers and I don’t want to do that. --Ron Gardenhire, March 13, 2014 That's the sound of Ron Gardenhire making it clear he doesn't plan to play Josmil Pinto at Designated Hitter this year. Having trimmed the roster down to two catchers, Gardy wants to use his rookie catcher as a true back-up, not as an occasional DH. Yet, even when following Gardenhire's log
After a bit of a hiatus, here is the completion of my blog: 6) Josmil Pinto--I was glad that Pinto made the club. Along with Arcia and Hicks, these guys are the start of a new infusion of talent that could and should make the Twins contenders again. It looks to me like Pinto can hit--he's advanced from Class A in the last two years and has shown that he gets it. His defense seems to be lagging, but he has the tools and the work ethic to become a decent receiver. Pinto has some power and h
Unless the Twins make a waiver claim, their roster is set for the start of the 2014 season. Several players have been hot topics here on Twins Daily. I will offer my takes on 10 players and hope that they stimulate some conversation. 1) Joe Mauer--Now the Twins regular first baseman and unquestioned best player. Mauer is the biggest certainty on the team. He will hit and he won't say anything controversial. Joe still needs to learn a little about first base, he has struggled some there t
I've been studying the possible roster of the Ft. Myers Miracle this 2014 season. They are almost a replica of the 2013 Kernels except they are starting the season with Kepler as opposed to Buxton. Seth and Jeremy had different opinions as to how well they would do. One said they wouldn't even make the playoffs and the other had them with the best team within the organization. That being said - What do you think?
The final week of spring training is a big week for the new batch of Kernels getting ready to head north to Cedar Rapids. On Thursday, four days before the Kernels will break camp in Fort Myers and head north, the roster for the Kernels still included 29 names. That’s four more than the 25 players that will make up the club’s Opening Day roster. That means at least four of the current group being managed by Jake Mauer on the back fields of the Lee County Sports Complex will be staying behind
It has been written several times this season, that this Twins clubhouse is the quietest any of the beat writers has experienced. During Spring Training Rob Antony came out with a fired up speech denigrating lackadaisical players and imploring for someone to please step up and be the man. Is this "The Twins Way"? Is this the new "Twins Way"? Where's the coaching staff in all of this? Where's Joe Mauer? While I'm sure the listed parties provide leadership in their own way, it seems that the f
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- ...and has nothing to do with nostalgia. The Twins have been busy trying to finalize their 25 man roster, this week, the last of Spring Training, and unless you are lucky enough to vacation to a remote island away from mobile phones and the Internets, you would know by now that there was a waiver wire frenzy that had two Twins without options (Chris Parmelee and Scott Diamond) passing through waivers unclaimed and assigned to Rochest
I thought and hoped this would be the year where the Twins would go with youth. I should have known better. The direction for the winter roster construction was made clear when they retained Josh Willingham last August. Earl Battey was the catcher when I first became a young Twin fan. I recall his western oil 8x10 card hanging my wall among other Twin heroes. Those years were great. I didn't know how lucky I was to follow a team that was competitive or at least entertaining every year. There h
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.