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I have long ago accepted that the Twins do not have a realistic shot of making the playoffs this year and that it may be a few years before they can legitimately contend. However, I think we as fans can be encouraged by the series split the Twins just earned in the Bronx. I think it seemed like the Twins, for once, were not intimidated by the Yankees. They jumped all over some of the Yankee pitchers and didn't implode every time something bad happened. Although they did not technically win t
After the split series in New York - one in which the bullpen absorbed 70% of the innings in four games - the Minnesota Twins relievers head to Tampa feeling more taxed than the Dutch population. (Yeah, that’s right: tax humor.) On Thursday, Anthony Swarzak, a rotation fill-in who is lobbying for a more permanent position, coaxed Ron Gardenhire out of the dugout once again prematurely, ending his night without getting out of the third inning. Swarzak, in his previous start, had kept the mi
This post was originally published at knuckleballsblog.com. I swear if there’s one thing I’ve grown more tired of than people using small sample sizes to “prove” how good or bad a player is, at this still-early point in the season, it’s people who do so while even admitting that they’re using small sample sizes. Let’s be brutally honest here, statheads, stats over a single two week period, even if it’s the first two weeks of the season, are almost completely worthless. That’s one r
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog Did you know that it was possible for the Twins to win multiple games at Yankee Stadium? During the same year? The same series? I bet you thought that only happened in video games. But it really happened. Really. Not only did the Twins exceed expectations with this series, they also made it fun to watch. All the hitting is great. I like a lot of Twins hitting. Keep hitting, Twins. And if you want me to pick which kind of hitting I want, I'
I'm not mad that Curtis Granderson hit a couple of homers off Anthony Swarzak on mistake pitches. Heck, I'm not mad that Curtis Granderson got a couple of singles, one of them a seeing eye infield dribbler after hitting 3 (count 'em 3!!!) home runs. I'm FURIOUS that Curtis Granderson was allowed to hit his 3rd home run off Jeff Gray without even so much as MOVING his feet in the batter's box. Is this on Gardy? Is this on the pitcher? Is this on Mauer? I go with Gardy. He's the skipper, s
Twins score early, but couldn't come up later in the game to get another run or two to get a win. Regardless, splitting the 4 game series in New York after the series sweep against Texas is a good sign. Starting pitching obviously needs a fix, and I don't see where that's coming from. Down on the farm, the losing trend continues as it is the first day in the 2012 season that all 4 teams in the organization, MLB down to A, lose a game. Sano blasts his 6th home run and proves his power is not ju
How much would I like to see the Twins take 3 of 4 at Yankee Stadium? More than I'd like to be the one to personally fire Gardenhire and get "the Franchise" out of town. OK maybe not that much but it would probably make my pants a little tighter. But I'm still worried by this team. I am reasonably sure that the heart of this lineup can produce this season. The starters are always a little concerning for me and the bullpen is an absolute heart attack on a nightly basis. This is why I am having
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- By now the fact that the Twins have designated Luke Hughes for assignment to clear a 25-man roster for Jason Marquis is old news. I have always felt that Luke Hughes was a player with a lot of potential but for some reason the Twins did not see that and unfortunately might be added to a list of players including David Ortiz, Sergio Santos and Garrett Jones who have flourished after the Twins released them. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/
Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UlDvPeGs83o/T493ne6bprI/AAAAAAAABMo/LaBNyIvMhmk/s320/LirianoHeadDown.jpg In the aftermath of a disastrous outing from Francisco Liriano on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, there has been plenty written about the lanky left-hander for the Twins. The Twins watched Liriano struggle out of the gate in 2011 and now the same story is playing out at the beginning of 2012. In his first three starts of the year, he has
Twins do it again in New York. Win 2 of the first 3 guaranteeing at least a split against the Yankees in the Bronx. Marquis struggled early on, understandably with his emotions of 1st game back after his daughter's bike accident, first game as a Twins and first start in New York, his boyhood team. Thankfully the bats were alive early and got him the lead. He held them in the 1st thanks to a double play, and they continued to stay in the game, but never got the big hit to take the lead. Capps mad
I wrote this in 2003, but somehow haven't revisited it for a while. Give the recent stadium kerfuffle, it seems like a good story to revisit, especially because it reflects a core tenet of this site: sports ARE important, and we don't shouldn't apologize for thinking so. ~~~~ Reject the fundamental assumption. After that, the arguments start answering themselves. This Sunday morning I was awakened by our 3-year-old son, at the customary time of 0-dark:30. "Dad. Is it mording?" "Do
On April 16th, 2000, I went to the Dome to see the Twins take on the Orioles. Joe Mays vs. Sidney Ponson - what an auspicious pitching matchup that was! Mays took the mound and proceeded to lose the game with dizzying speed. Homer, single, double, 2-run single, groundout, 2-run homer. 6 batters and 20 pitches into the game, he’d allowed 5 ER on 5 H. Undoubtedly, someone was up in the bullpen. Perhaps there were some derisive cheers when TK walked out to the mound. After all, this was even wors
With pitcher Scott Baker out for the 2012 season with upcoming Tommy John surgery, the Twins are now down to just Carl Pavano, Jason Marquis and Francisco Liriano remaining from their original starting rotation. Marquis is slated to make his Twins debut against the Yankees today after missing the first part of the season so be with his daughter as she recovers from a bicycle accident and Liriano is fresh off a dismal 2.1 inning start that saw the Twins fall 8-3 in New York on Tuesday night. Whil
[Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] The New Britain Rock Cats lost a close game this afternoon, 2-1, to the Portland Sea Dogs. This was a pitcher's duel, to be sure. Starter Steve Hirschfeld pitched 7 strong innings for the Rock Cats, striking out 7 and walking none, to lower his ERA to 1.06. He surrendered just three hits. Blake Martin struck out 2 in a scoreless 8th. Luis Perdomo blew the save after allowing two walks and a double in the 9th, and then lost the game when, after inte
Originally Posted at http://twins-extcs.blogspot.com/ --- Nick Punto is the anti-Youkilis. At least that’s the way it seems. When Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine made comments about Kevin Youkilis’ lack of emotion and physical gamesmanship, he replaced Youk with, well, a guy who certainly has never been accused of that. Say what you will about little Nicky, but effort has never been a problem. Wilson Ramos hit his first Homerun of the season on Sunday against Houston. Mauer got his first
With the Twins pitching staff seemingly dwindling by the day I started to think about what the Twins could do to bolster it or what could they have done to prevent this. Then I remembered reading a rumor about a trade the Twins were looking at after the 2007 season. If you recall this is the off-season Johan Santana was traded for Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. The rumored trade that Bill Smith supposedly turned down because there weren't enough pieces was Johan
It just happens to take two pitchers to make that one Ace. Between Carl Pavano's mindset, and Francisco Liriano's stuff, we actually do have that one Ace. Pavano demonstrated on Monday that he has that bulldog mentality that an ace needs, to decide that he is going to go out, compete, and get some outs for his team. Liriano demonstrated on Tuesday that he is one of the most mentally fragile picthers in the league, that is yet to learn how to handle adversity. If we could somehow combine them
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.