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Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WwdGU6KVbEY/T554GUTlVrI/AAAAAAAABOk/s4sU_QlBSt8/s320/SanoHaperSwing.jpg One of the most hyped debuts in MLB history took place over the weekend with Bryce Harper being penciled in to the Washington Nationals line-up for the first time as a 19-year old phenom. His first game looked like it was going to play out perfectly but Matt Kemp's walk-off home run in extra innings spoiled the coming out party for Harper.
Hitter of the Day: Josh Willingham: 3-5 2B (7), 3B (1), 2 RBI, 2 R Pitcher of the Day: Tim Shibuya: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 11 SO, 0 BB (Documented better here: http://twinsdaily.com/showthread.php?1021-Tim-Shibuya) Today's Recap: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AiRVhKu18uIhdDBSYUc5UGtSMkluOEFSWFdnTVdvQVE&output=html
After today, Matt Capps has now given up runs in 4 of his 8 outings. Comparing this to other pitchers High Leverage: Jared Burton - 2 of 10 Glen Perkins - 3 of 9 Low Leverage: Jeff Gray - 2 of 10 Alex Burnett - 2 of 9 Brian Duensing - 2 of 10 Looks like that $4.5 million was well spent. And I don't want to hear about sample size...
Aaron and John talk about the Twins' terrible starting pitching, Delmon Young not going to Hebrew school, booing Joe Mauer, putting past division titles in proper perspective, Ben Revere's brief return, skipping Francisco Liriano, Ron Gardenhire's odd bullpen usage, and jinxing anything and everything. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes (where you can listen, rate and subscribe).
Random thought based on two games... HITTERS *Miguel Sano has a long way to do. His bat's not ready. His glove's not ready. His head's not ready. Physically, he's a beast. He got one hit (a sharp grounder that slid under the third baseman's glove) in seven at bats. He struck out twice and looked susceptible to any ball that doesn't spin straight. He has time - and should be allowed it - to get that part of his game figured out. He did hit two flyballs that looked pretty routine, but ended up c
With all of the blogs, threads, and comments about blowing up the Twins and promoting all prospects to the big club, I would like to remind you of a few things: 1) Calling players up starts the clock on these individuals toward arbitration and higher salaries. Even the Harpers and Trouts of the world where kept in the minors for periods of time to slow down their service time. 2) Calling players up before they are ready can have a negative effect on their development. Carlos Gomez and Del
If I’d told you before the season started that, 20 games in, Denard Span would have a .386 OBP, Joe Mauer would be hitting .329 and Justin Morneau would have an IsoP of .236, plus newcomer Josh Willingham would have a 1.114 OPS, what would you have expected the Twins’ record to be? Better than 5-15, I hope. There are a lot of reasons why it is that poor, and some of them are not easily solved, but I don’t believe the offense is one of them. Ultimately, it’s about scoring runs, and the numbers
Hitter of the Day: Joe Benson: 2-4 HR (2), 2B (3), 2 RBI, 1 R Pitcher of the Day: Deolis Guerra: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 SO - First game in AAA in 2012 Today's Recap: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AiRVhKu18uIhdDBSYUc5UGtSMkluOEFSWFdnTVdvQVE&output=html
"You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes it rains."- Ebby Calvin LaLoosh, Bull Durham The rain came a tumbling down at Target Field on Saturday afternoon and the contest between the Twins and Royals was postponed because of the weather. By mid-afternoon, the skies had cleared up but the game had already been rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader on June 30. Even with the rainout at Target Field, there was stil
This Twins team is not a playoff team. That shouldn't be a surprise. The over under 73 wins looks generous now. They are not 15 million dollars or a serviceable reliever away from 90 wins. At some point this season it will be time to invest playing time in the future in spite of the growing pains. As I chose a date to put in the headline, I tried to account for the "Super Two" arbitration deadline. There will be some players with 2+ years of service time that will be eligible for arbitration f
After a close game decided by a questionable call, the conversation often turns to the topic of Instant Replay. This time, I’ll start it. I’m not interested in rehashing the pros and cons of instant replay, which have been debated for years. The expansion of replay seems inevitable at this point. But as with most issues, the devil is in the details, and there does not seem to be a consensus on how expanded replay will work. Who can initiate replay review? If managers can, do they get a cert
Going with a new format tonight. Less commentary, added Hitter and Pitcher of the Day. Leave me comments with any suggestions or questions. Hitter of the Day: JaDamion Williams - Beloit Snappers (A) - LF 3-5 2 2B (3), 3B (1), 2 RBI, 1 R, SB (5) Pitcher of the Day: Andrew Albers - New Britain Rock Cats (AA) - LHP 6 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 6 SO, 1 BB, ND Here's Todays' Recap: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AiRVhKu18uIhdDBSYUc5UGtSMkluOEFSWFdnTVdvQVE&output=html
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- This is the third installment in this series. You can find all of them here in reverse chronological order. I will be doing these approximately weekly or at the end of every 2 series. In the last 2 series against the Rays and Red Sox the Twins as a team hit an underpowered .241/.326/.310 with 1 HR and scored 21 runs. This helped them finish only 1-5 in these series. The Twins Hitter of the Week was: Joe Mauer
Well I get to take a look at two teams that I have a futures bet with a buddy on what team would win more games this year. Of course I took the Twins. Both teams are a futile 5-14. Both teams needed each other at this point, I am glad the Twins get to do it at home, or maybe the Royals are glad to see the Twins on the road since they can't win a game at their own place. 0-10 at home for the Royals to start the season in a season they host the All Star game and a lot of buzz surrounding the t
I was thinking about the 2012 Twins' imbalance on offense, between getting on base (acceptable) and power (low). A guy we look to for power is Joe Mauer, so I decided to see where he stands at this early stage of the season. Arbitrarily I picked his 2008 season as a benchmark - an excellent season by any standard, but not as insanely high a bar to set as his 2009 season, and one very much in line with his career numbers. In 2008 he had 633 plate appearances, and so far in 2012 he has 83. If
Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Since the last time you joined me for an edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks," the Twins have only one one game and that was on last Friday. It has been a rough week for Twins fans as the team looked to get back on track against the struggling Red Sox. This didn't happen but the one consolation prize is the fact that the Royals come to town this weekend and they have their own share of problems to deal with this season. Hopefully this means
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.