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http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FpKkyGDAhMo/T1TtwjjjYPI/AAAAAAAABHQ/jVPsfEuFQMg/s320/SkinnyMorneau.JPG When I opened to the front page of the Sunday sports section in the Star Tribune, there was one photo that stood out to me. Justin Morneau was shown taking a swing on a pitch (see photo above) and his size is noticeably different from previous years. This was only one photo from a spring training game but there have been other photos that have trickled out of Fort Myers that show more of the same; M
Twins fans who have a curiosity about how things are "down on the farm" may look at top 10 prospect lists or maybe merely look at those players who are September call-ups and judge the state of the Twins system accordingly. Seth Stohs does more than enough to provide fans with a wealth of information about minor leaguers, but I thought that I would take things a step further and look at the movement of players, by position, on some select prospect lists for 2011-2012. This does a number of thi
Well everyone Spring Training is finally upon us! With only a few days to go, I sit back and critique myself. Did I prepare to my fullest ability? Did I out-work everyone else when there was nobody looking? Could I have done more? These are all questions that run through anybody that did prepare. There may be a sense of panic for the guys that didn’t. Overall, there is a great excitement to get the ball rolling this year. With report date tomorrow, I’m looking forward to seeing all my past
With the Twins coming off one of their worst pitching seasons in over a decade, many fans and analysts are blaming the Twins’ “pitch to contact” philosophy. Critics cite career lows in strikeout rates for pitchers like Francisco Liriano and Matt Capps in 2011 as proof that there needs to be a new approach on the mound. However, if we look back at the Twins’ recent history, we see that the “pitch to contact” strategy has actually played a large part in their success, particularly by producin
This was originally posted at http://thetwinsarmchairgm.blogspot.com/ Stanford ace Mark Appel followed up his great start last week with a not so great one this week. While he went 8 innings and struck out 11, he gave 8 hits, two HR's and 7 runs in a 7-4 loss to Fresno State. Conor Glassery at Baseball America had a nice write up on him after the start that can be found here. While the amount of hard contact he gives up now is concerning, Appel can grow into a dominant starter if his command w
I mean no offense, Allan. You know the old saw about blind pigs and acorns, right? Proposition: Bud Selig is just such a blind pig. And a pretty lucky blind pig, at that. I'm not a fan of Mr. Allan H. Selig. I harbor no particular ill will toward him - although he was in cahoots to contract my favorite team. But we have a (fabulous) new stadium now as our home for the foreseeable future. I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. But Buddy has been a busy boy. He certainly wouldn't be eligible
This has been previously published at The Tenth Inning Stretch. I have highligheted the four questions the Twins need to answer this Spring Training previously. With a couple weeks in the books in Spring Training, the Twins so far have played 4 games (3 official and a "B" game that does not count in the standings or in the players' statistics officially) so there are hints of light for some of those. The starting outfield: All indications seem that the Twins will go with Span at Center Fie
Recently JJ Hardy came out and mentioned that some of his success at the plate last season was due to going back to what he does naturally, which is pulling the ball. The Twins wanted Hardy to go to the opposite field. Hardy mentioned his first BP session with the Twins back in 2010, "My first round of BP with the Twins, I was trying to (pull the ball), and Rod Carew and those guys call me over and say, `That's not we want. We want line drives the other way,"' Hardy said. "So that was my appro
Recently JJ Hardy came out and mentioned that some of his success at the plate last season was due to going back to what he does naturally, which is pulling the ball. The Twins wanted Hardy to go to the opposite field. Hardy mentioned his first BP session with the Twins back in 2010, "My first round of BP with the Twins, I was trying to (pull the ball), and Rod Carew and those guys call me over and say, `That's not we want. We want line drives the other way,"' Hardy said. "So that was my appro
In my continuing quest to improve the ferocity of Target Field Walk-Up Music, I have had an epiphany. For around a 100 years, horror movies have hired composers to add intensity to the moment. Why not go with the professionals on this one? After all, some of the Twins players could use a jolt of intensity in the pysch-out department. Here are some horror themes that would sound mighty smart pumping out the speakers at the ballgame. Song: "Psycho: A Suite for Strings" Composer: Bernard Her
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qyh6vOiA6zE/T1S8a9F6iVI/AAAAAAAAALw/lCp-aYdUVdA/s1600/Liriano.bmp [Originally posted at Twins Fan From Afar] In the end, Francisco Liriano's pitching line yesterday looked fine on paper. He gave up no runs, walked one, and struck out two, in two innings. Still, though, even though this was his first start of the spring, I was left wanting a little bit more. The frustrating aspect of Liriano's outing, for me, was that 12 of his 25 pitches were balls. In the first inni
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MEN91q2weg0/T1OmFEAiBWI/AAAAAAAABHI/xWKOZXlzyBE/s320/SpanFall.png The Twins are only three games into their Grapefruit League schedule but Denard Span is making sure to put all of his concussion worries behind him. Over the course of the last handful of days, Span has been forced to make numerous plays on the ball that could be troublesome for a player who suffered a concussion last year. Even with all of these rough plays, Span has not suffered any major setbacks and
In Liriano's preseason debut he threw just over half (52%) of his pitches for strikes. What we need to see from Liriano is his ability to consistently throw under control. He's a wild card with a huge upside, as well as a huge downside. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Even in Liriano's no-hitter last season he showed signs of his split personality pitching. We all know and have seen what Liriano is capable of when he controls his pitches on a consistent basis. The Twins desperately need Liriano to pitc
Between the idea and reality, between the motion and the act, falls the home run Towles hit this afternoon. We terrible pun men wait by our computers, with our pointer fingers cocked and ready. We terrible pun men, already awaiting the opportunity to be the first to title a blog post "The End of a But-ERA" when the catcher is dropped from the roster. In this frozen land, we know only one smart-assed blogger can be the first to use "The End of a But-ERA." And so we wait with eyes watchin
originally posted at http://www.TwinsTarget.com [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container, align: center] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--CJOCaL529E/T1NxMjoCrLI/AAAAAAAAAOU/ZXgiuVe3qzA/s320/Carlos+Gutierrez.jpg [TD=class: tr-caption] source: mlb.com [/TD] [/TABLE] 15. Carlos Gutierrez, Right-Handed Reliever, 25 years old 2011 stats: 2-3 4.62 ERA 57/31 K/BB in 62.1 innings for AAA Rochester. Last year's rank: 43 Acquired: Drafted in the first round (27th overall) out of University of Miami in 2008 Gu
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog You may have heard that MLB has changed the playoff scheme starting with this season by adding an additional Wild Card team to each league. Some people like it; some people hate it. I really don't have an opinion of it yet, because, honestly, I don't really understand it. I've read a lot of stuff about it, and it all makes my head hurt. I figured I'd map it out on some spreadsheets to see if that helps. Yes, I know, I'm supposed to be afraid
Got a theory that the Twins trade Duran 1/1 for an OK starter they think they can optimize. He's the Luis Arraez of this offseason. A buzzy fan-favorite at peak value with an amazing skillset that the Twins FO doesn't value too much. They've always treated relievers as fungible. I think they seriously consider flipping him.
Hello Jerr.
It was funny when I logged in today. I saw I had "reactions" from both you and Mike Sixel. I knew very well that Mike would dislike whatever it was I said because he does that.. I have had virtually no interaction with him and yet he keeps disliking my posts. He never bothers to explain where my logic is flawed, he just dislikes my posts. I think it is kind of childish. I have used dislike only a couple of times and when I have I try explain why I do not agree and I did it in a cordial way. I guess this thumbs up/thumbs down thing is the norm on "social media" but I do not have a Twitter, Facebook or any other kind of page. I do not even have LinkedIn, since I have been a teacher for nearly 30 years and am heading toward retirement soon.
I think the problem with Buxton here is that so many doubled down over and over again about how much of a superstar he was and they just can't admit they are wrong. I do not like hyping up young guys. We all wanted Buxton to be great but he is not. If I say that sentence stand alone by itself, I bet a number of people would dislike it. I am sorry, but I just do not understand how that is. I appreciate the likes, though lol
Take care,
Ralph
The Twins Daily Caretaker Fund
Got a theory that the Twins trade Duran 1/1 for an OK starter they think they can optimize. He's the Luis Arraez of this offseason. A buzzy fan-favorite at peak value with an amazing skillset that the Twins FO doesn't value too much. They've always treated relievers as fungible. I think they seriously consider flipping him.· 2 replies
Hello Jerr.· 0 replies
