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I DVRed the game yesterday and watched most of it last night. While I didn't see some key events, I heard about them on the radio. The Twins had a chance to beat the Tigers but came up short in key at-bats. They also were hurt by bases advanced by the plodding Tigers. What went right: 1) Worley outlasted Verlander. Even though he was the losing pitcher he managed to go six innings and reached the threshold for a "Quality Start". 2) Fien struck out the side in the seventh and it was the top
I don't want to give anyone the impression that I'm hung up on one or two solitary moments in what will be a series of moments as the long season marches on. Some moments will go our way and some moments won't. That's baseball in a nutshell. With that said... I would like to revisit the 8th inning of the season opener yesterday to make a broader point. The Twins were in position to win the game. Vance Worley was out dueled by Verlander but the Vanimal did his job, by keeping the Twins w
I tried to study the impact of the batting order change using ZIPS projections. I was a little disappointed in the results. I used the average plate appearances by batting order position in the AL last year. The second spot had 103 more plate appearances on average than the 8th spot. That made sense as it is close to 6x18. I then compared a Dozier with 735 plate appearances to a Dozier with 632 plate appearances. (Yes... I know he is not going to play 162 games and neither are any of the oth
I'm not going to write about every game or every day of the season. However, I watched a lot of baseball yesterday and I have some thoughts to share. I thought the Twins game went about as would have been expected, and I was happy that they made it close near the end. I don't like to get too caught up in one game, but it's just too much fun to write about baseball, so here are some thoughts. Aaron Hicks Aaron Hicks had a tough debut. Justin Verlander is the best pitcher in baseball, so
Also posted at wgom.org Reggie Smith (1945) Tom Johnson (1951) Billy Sample (1955) Curtis Leskanic (1968) Denny Hocking (1970) Outfielder Carl Reginald Smith did not play for the Twins, but spent his first year, 1963, in their farm system. Smith was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, went to high school in Compton, California, and signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1963. He played in Wytheville in the rookie-level Appalachian League, hitting .257 with eight home runs in 253 at-bats. He wa
The last two Aprils have been rough for Twins Territory. Slow starts out of the gate meant the club would only accumulate single digit wins in 2011 and 2012. As fans know, the team never recovered from those slow starts and Minnesota finished at the bottom of the American League for two consecutive years. It's a new year and the Twins are hoping not to repeat the slow starts of the last two season. For some people, there is plenty riding on the start by the Twins. Ron Gardenhire is in the last
John and Aaron talk about loving Opening Day at the ballpark and on the couch, the Minnesota Twins' lowest expectations ever, moving Joe Mauer up and Brian Dozier down in the batting order, what to do with Justin Morneau, appreciating the greatness of Johan Santana, bullpen and bench usage issues, finding what you need on Ticket King, exactly how bad the rotation can get, and why baseball is so damn comforting. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podca
When I sat down in my home office and turned on the Nationals game to hear how Denard Span did with his new team, the sun was friendly and my view was mostly free from snow. By the time I got in my car and tuned into the Twins game, all I could see were piles of snow and gloomy skies. Gray is the official color of being down by two runs. The Twins must have settled in after that, but when I got back in my car I listened to them waste a bases loaded opportunity. Duensing came in and I winced
I am curious as to who - each of you see as breakout "Players to Watch" at each minor league level. Elizabethton - Besides new 2013 draft prospects - I see Joshua Burris as the player who should have moved up a level and as the player who will still impress. Cedar Rapids - Adam Brett Walker was Top 5 in Appalachain League in HRs (1st)- Runs Scored (4th) - RBIs (4th) - Total Bases (5th) - Triples (tied with 3rd). He is my stat line prospect for the MWL in 2013. If he controls his SO totals (2
It’s Opening Day! http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/openingday2013-600x375.jpg Alas, we still haven’t elected a President with the balls to do the right thing and make Opening Day a legal Federal Holiday and mandate that everyone who doesn’t work in a sports bar must be given the day off (and those who do work in sports bars must be paid double-time just for putting up with the rest of us who would spend our entire day drinking beer and watching baseball at said spo
Also posted at wgom.org Ron Perranoski (1936) Ted Sadowski (1936) Mike Bacsik (1952) Mike Kinnunen (1958) Left-handed reliever Ronald Peter Perranoski pitched for the Twins from 1968-1971. His last name was originally “Perzanowski”, and he is a cousin of former Twins pitcher Stan Perzanowski. He was born in Paterson, New Jersey and went to high school in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. He attended Michigan State and was signed by the Cubs as a free agent in 1958. He was a starter his first couple
Three years ago, the Twins were in an ideal position. The organization was proud to be opening Target Field on a beautiful day in downtown Minneapolis. Minnesota would be on their way to 94 wins, the most for the franchise since the 2006 season. It would be a memorable season for Twins Territory but there were some problems starting to bubble under the surface. The dreaded Yankees were again waiting for the Twins in the first round. It would be another quick exit from the postseason but things
Welcome to Opening Day! Before we begin we have a SUPER SPECIAL NEW FEATURE!!! If you don't know who to cheer for, we can help with that. Just check out a link to our "Find your Favorite" Feature and answer a few questions to help match you with a current Twin. We should also welcome the latest addition to our Peanuts From Heaven Hall of Fame: Jim Thome! http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mx1BkSnV68Q/UVjKwl7Zc0I/AAAAAAAACI4/Rzh5_l-W-uE/s400/JimboHOF.jpg Thome crossed the 75% threshold just ahead of oth
Here is a list of ex-Twins who have made Opening Day rosters in the major leagues. Long on pitchers and outfielders, short on infielders and starting pitching quality. Sound familiar? Denard Span--Nationals Ben Revere--Phillies Jason Kubel--Diamondbacks Carlos Gomez--Brewers Torii Hunter--Tigers Michael Cuddyer--Rockies Garrett Jones--Pirates Alexi Casilla--Orioles JJ Hardy--Orioles Nick Punto--Dodgers Henry Blanco--Blue Jays AJ Pierzynski--Rangers Wilson Ramos--Nationals Jason Marquis--Padr
Originally posted at What Will Opening Day Be Like? | Troy's Twins Dugout Hello Twins fans and it's another season upon us! tomorrow, some of you fans and players alike will be braving the cold at Target Field. I wonder if they will postpone the game because the weather forecast is expected to be in the 30's with windchills in the 20's. Wel, to tell you the truth, it doesn't feel like baseball weather here in Minnesota. Although Target Field is cleared of snow, there's still snow on the ground
Just for fun, I've gathered up my looking glass, my Ouija board, my Magic 8 ball, and put together a sneak peek into April and May. As I've felt with nearly everything I've predicted for the Twins in the last two years, I hope to heck I'm wrong. Be curious to see what you all think: April Pitching: Starting pitching will be borderline atrocious, sucking any possible enthusiasm from the casual fan base. Worley’s WHIP will be well above 1.60 and Pelfry will be alternately marginally effective
The Twins take the field tomorrow for the first time in 2013's regular season. It'd be an awful lot easier to find some hope for the year if the snow wasn't so stubborn in getting off of my lawn. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to record my impression of every Twins baseball game on this, my TwinsDaily blog. I'm taking a page from Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan, who documented a Red Sox season in their book Faithful. Red Sox won the World Series when they wrote that book. I'm not holding my br
The Saints were down 5-1 in the 7th inning. Culpepper hit a 3-run HR (his 8th HR of the season). In the 9th inning, down one run with 2 outs and 2 strikes, KC singled in the game-tying run.
I am not a follower of Donald Trump. I have participated in several no kings rallies and am disgusted with what he and his followers have done to our country and the world. I would like to know what most Brazilians feel about the United States now and about the folks our citizens have elected to represent us.