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A friend gave me old Popular Mechanics magazines to look through. In 1947 there was a mechanics of hitting article - yes in Popular Mechanics and I got such a charge out of it I had to share. I hope you can enlarge these pages. I suspect the adds will give you as much pleasure as the article. I would love to see what an article like that would be like today - no more bunts (I am sorry to say), don't swing level, who cares if you strike out? It is fun to see the old time greats as well.
Recently the Minnesota Twins signed veteran starting pitcher J.A. Happ to bolster their rotation. He’d slot in as the 4th starter with where things stand currently, and Randy Dobnak would be the clubhouse favorite to round out the group. It remains to be seen whether or not another move is coming, but there’s a dark horse to eat someone’s lunch. At the risk of sounding too punny, maybe he’s a dark kangaroo. Lewis Thorpe recently turned 25-years-old and is a former top-100 prospect. He couldn’t
Continuing on from Part 2: #16 - Blayne Enlow RHP (3rd Round 2017, HS) | Enlow has had a very average minor league career so far. He throws 4 different pitches, which gives him an edge to be a starting pitcher, but his K/BB ratio (2.39) leaves a lot to be desired. He averages 92 MPH but can touch 95-96 on occasion. Enlow still has time to take a big step forward, and a good 2021 season could vault him into the top 10. | #15 - Edwar Colina RHP (International from Venezuela, 2016) | Ignore his b
Stan Isaacs chose ten events from his sports writing history that he thinks are significant world events. These are not in order - Munich is his number one on his count down Superbowl I and II The Knicks Willis Reed NBA championship The Amazing Mets World Series Bobby Thompson's "Shot heard round the world" home run Harvard - Yale tie game Secretariat race at Belmont Ali/Fraser - first fight Jets win Superbowl III Bjorn Borg - John McEnroe tennis Wimbeldon The 1972 Munich Olympics He
Let’s get this out of the way from the jump, I’m by no means an expert. I, like many of you, remember picking up packs of cards at the local department store as a kid. The hobby has evolved a ton since then, and having gotten back in full force during 2017, I have often shared my passion on Twitter. Now, it’s time to provide an outlet for knowledge. A couple of days ago I put out a tweet asking if it would be helpful to answer questions about all thing’s baseball cards. The response was overwh
Right now, I'd project the opening day lineup to consist of Sano at 1b, Polanco at 2b, Simmons at ss, Donaldson at 3b, Arraez in LF, Buxton in CF, Kepler in RF, and Garver catching. Assuming a 13-man position player active roster, that leaves 5 spots open. Ryan Jeffers is one. Jake Cave is another. At some point, sooner rather than later, Alex Kiriloff is a third. Brent Rooker is a fourth, leaving Lamonte Wade, Astudillo, Blankenhorn, Gordon to fill in (or rotate in) the final spo
Continuing on from part 1: #24 - Gabriel Maciel CF (International from Brazil, acquired in 2018 trade) | The second best prospect acquired in the Escobar trade, Maciel is a speedy outfielder who loves to spray singles all around the field. He's a frequent base stealer who's capable of swiping 20+ a year, but gets caught more often than he should. He has a career .288 average in the minors and will rarely strike out, but the downside is that he has little power. Not just a lack of HRs, but also
Twins fans were rightfully excited about acquring slick fielding SS Andrelton Simmons last night. If you want to spend a fun 10 mintues, check out his defensive highlight reel
. There's no doubt that grabbing the best defensive SS since Ozzie Smith will upgrade the Twins roster. Combine Simmons with already strong defenders in Buxton, Donaldson, Jeffers, and Kepler, you can see how quickly the mind would shift to "well, what does this mean for their pitching?". In my opinion, this means
I'm attempting my first batch of prospect rankings ever! Here's how it will go: I'm calling this an Aggregated Prospect Ranking. That means that I'm outsourcing opinions from several sources to form my own rankings - I haven't watched most of these players, so there isn't a whole lot that I can add from a scouting standpoint. I would, however, like to weigh the rankings to factors measured by others; for example, boosting a player's ranking due to position scarcity, or quantifying how their mi
Thad Levine and Derek Falvey finally popped the champagne to start the Twins free agency party by signing shortstop Andrelton Simmons to a one-year $10.5 million deal Wednesday evening. It was the type of deal myself and many others were waiting for. Simmons is a defensive genius and a solid hitter to boot, so, as long as he stays healthy, he’ll be a huge upgrade as the Twins’ everyday shortstop. Two weeks ago, I wrote an article that ranked a few of the Twins’ offseason targets on the “Fun Me
There’s no doubt that the Falvey/Levine regime in Minnesota has stamped the organization with its own unique culture and identity. Since their arrival in advance of the 2020 season, leadership has taken the holistic approach needed to bring an organization like the Twins up to speed, to become and remain a competitor. Falvey and Levine have focused their systematic overhaul on a number of key areas - individual development plans for players, innovative and creative coaching hires, and building o
About an hour before Andrelton Simmons signed with the #MNTwins, one source suggested they’d pivot to Simmons after missing out on Marcus Semien. Same person believes club has two more moves ahead before the offseason is out. As happy as Twin fans are over the Simmons' signing(probably the Twins best FA signing besides Donaldson), the above quote from Passan's tweet announcing the Simmons signing gives even more reason for optimism for the Twins looking at two more transactions. So lets sta
All offseason I’ve been preaching that patience should be exhibited in regards to the Minnesota Twins. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have earned the benefit of doubt and shown that they are sound decision makers. Tonight, that came to fruition. After *missing* out on Marcus Semien as one of the interested parties, they quickly pivoted to the best defender in this free agent class. Andrelton Simmons, formerly of the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels, the Platinum Glove defender makes a tande
Earlier this offseason the Minnesota Twins started to reconstruct their bullpen. Losing Trevor May was always going to be a big blow, and there hasn’t been much in the form of names yet, but it’s a process the front office has earned trust in. A pair of big-name free agents with Minnesota ties have already come off the board but deals for either Liam Hendriks or Brad Hand always seemed far-fetched for the Twins. It’s not that they don’t have the money to spend, or need in relief, but nothing a
Think back to October 2019 – the Twins had just gotten pantsed in the playoffs. Again. A really fun season had ended in disappointment. Again. But there was still ample reason for hope. One such reason for optimism was the emergence of Luis Arraez, a rookie contact-hitting savant. Now, one (odd) season later, and we’re in about the same place. The Twins are fresh off another fun season that ended in postseason embarrassment, but this year, we’re much less excited about the 23-year-old second bas
If the season started tomorrow, the Twins would not favored to repeat as division champions. Don’t get me wrong, I would say they still have good odds to make the playoffs, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for a ticker tape parade down Nicollet Mall the first week of November. On paper, the current squad weighs in slightly below that of the 2020 team. Top prospect Alex Kirilloff replaces Eddie Rosario as the heir-apparent to the Left Field position, J.A. Happ slots in for Rich Hill, and Hansel Robl
Recently, Twins have been reported to have sweetened the price to Nellie, though still sticking to a one year deal. Very hard to argue with FO's desire to bring back a guy who has been the Twins' offensive leader for the past two years, nor is sticking to a one year deal with a 41 year old debatable. The only FA DH the Twins have been linked to is Ozuna, whose offensive prowess is a close match to Cruz's over past couple years. His signing, however, would most likely result in a big, multiye
What’s the worst that could happen bringing back an iconic baseball classic back for more hijinks and fun 5 years later? When this movie came out back in 1994 and I was 11 years old and I remember this being the movie that got me most excited to watch anything baseball. I saw this in a 2-screen theater in Grand Forks, ND (where I’m from) with my friends with no parents and we enjoyed everything about this movie. But does it hold up today? Major League II brings back director David S. Ward
What does Bonds, McGwire, or Sosa's home run records mean in a game that is just another version of video game? Set their record up as per cent of HRs hit. Ruth hit 60 and the teams averaged 58, Bonds hit 73 and teams averaged 185. Time to get some real perspective. Bonds would have needed to hit 191. In an era where we seem to forget how great baseball has been and have instead focused on the "three true outcomes" we have also lost the three great values - excitement, speed, and drama. I do n
The Twins signed veteran starter J.A. Happ to a one-year, $8 million deal this afternoon. Happ is 38 years old and pitched to a 3.47 ERA and a 1.054 WHIP in nine starts with the Yankees in 2020. At first glance, Happ’s addition feels like the kind of boring move that is necessary for contending teams to make. He’s not making national headlines, but he’ll slide right into the fourth spot in the rotation and he’ll get a lot of important outs throughout the year as long as he stays healthy. With th
This afternoon the Minnesota Twins made their first big splash of the winter in signing former Yankees starter J.A. Happ. He’s nothing flashy by any means, but the $8 million pact will move the salary needle. Here’s the deal with Happ, he was passable in 2020 and his Baseball Savant metrics paint a prettier picture than a 4.57 FIP can (even with a 3.47 ERA). He was victimized by the longball at Yankee Stadium more often than he has been previously in his career, but he’s just a modest strikeou
It's a new day in the United States, Joe Biden is now the President. It's also a new day for the back of the Minnesota Twins' rotation, J.A. Happ is now the number 4 starter. 38 year old J.A. (pronounced like "jay" not "j" "a") Happ has signed an $8 Million, 1 year deal to pitch in Minnesota. Happ isn't a particularly sexy signing, but he has been a productive middle/back of the rotation starter for several playoff teams throughout his career. Happ has accumulated 21.3 fWAR throughout his car
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.
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