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Will a skinnier Morneau mean more production?

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

Cody Christie

Cody Christie

Prospect movement trends, 2011-2012

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

Shane Wahl

Shane Wahl

Spring Training Near - Dakota Watts

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

Dakota Watts

Dakota Watts

Defending the Twins Pitching Philosophy

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

dave_dw

dave_dw

College Draft Prospect Week 2 Update

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

twinsarmchairgm

twinsarmchairgm

Bud Selig is a Blind Pig

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

ThatsRich

ThatsRich

Update on the Twins Spring Training roster battles

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

Thrylos

Thrylos

Time To Adjust "The Twins Way" At The Plate

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

Loosey

Loosey

Time To Adjust "The Twins Way" At The Plate

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

Loosey

Loosey

I Walked-Up With A Monster!

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

Axel Kohagen

Axel Kohagen

Twins-Red Sox Reflections: Liriano's Strikes, Revere's Speed and Ray Chang's Head

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

Twins Fan From Afar

Twins Fan From Afar

Span continues to be tested this spring

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

Cody Christie

Cody Christie

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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

Mauerpower

Mauerpower

The Buterrible-Pun Men.

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

Axel Kohagen

Axel Kohagen

Top 15 Prospects - #15 Carlos Gutierrez

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

shawntheroad

shawntheroad

Explaining Expanded Playoffs Using Spreadsheets With Pretty Colors

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

Kirsten Brown

Kirsten Brown

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