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The Shift Is Burning Teams: I wrote about how the Astros dismantled the Twins’ infield shift during the Wild Card series. The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh dove in further, detailing how right-handed hitters should not receive the shift treatment: In September, Tango took a more rigorous look. The noted sabermetrician, who now serves as MLB’s senior data architect, examined the results of bases-empty matchups since 2015 between the same batter-pitcher duos, with and without three fielders on one
There is no more frustrating word to me in modern baseball than analytics. I love and fully embrace the new avenues in which we are able to evaluate and prepare in regards to the game of baseball. Unfortunately, boiling it down to a buzzword as “analytics” has become, leads to little more than a quick note suggestive of being well versed in actual understanding. This World Series is about two organizations that are fully capable of turning up their nose at those instances. Let’s not be naïve,
Becoming a More Patient Leader: Two good tips on how to increase patience in these stressful times. Redefine the meaning of speed. The U.S. Navy SEALs are known for their saying “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” These rapid-response special forces teams are paradoxically methodical and patient in both planning and executing their time-critical missions. They have learned over 60 years of operating in crisis situations that working at a slow and smooth pace reduces mistakes and re-dos a
The Twins have been a big question mark all year. Great 2019 performances from players never realized in 2020 except Cruz & arguably Rosario. Although I`m not normal superstitious but baseball is, I never understood why the Twins wanted to bring back the baby blue uniforms to reminisce the "Twinkie" era. the auguration of the baby blues began w/ the Griffin / Carew fiasco. Carew was content to play out his years in MN but this fiasco changed all this & Carew could not leave fast enough.
Going into this offseason the Minnesota Twins are going to need a replacement for a couple of backup infielders. Both Marwin Gonzalez and Ehire Adrianza are free agents, and I’d expect the Twins to move on from both. They served key roles on the active roster however, so seeking out a replacement will be necessary. Marwin was signed under the premise that his 2017 was repeatable, and had they know it was a trash idea, Minnesota likely would’ve looked elsewhere. Adrianza was a glove first guy t
If you wonder if Nelson Cruz is one of a kind you have to go back to the Twins 1987 and a man named Don Baylor. Here is a video clip to remind you of his power and importance from that world series. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3461288973914917 At his death the Pioneer Press had this to say, "Don Baylor’s 27 games with the Minnesota Twins were by far his shortest stint with any team, but they were a big 20 games, for the Twins and for the longtime major league slugger. “It was the best ti
The Minnesota Twins signed two long term extensions for current big leaguers back in 2019. One of them was given to German left fielder, Max Kepler. He’s unlikely to be going anywhere, but the same can’t be said for right fielder Eddie Rosario. With just one open outfield spot, the organization has at least three corner talents to generate a plan for. Now able to call the 2020 Major League Baseball year, last season, it comes with the reality that top prospect Alex Kirilloff made his debut. Su
The Minnesota Twins have some big decisions facing them as we prepare to enter the 2020-21 MLB offseason. I ran through a few topics in a series of videos over on my YouTube channel. Keeping Eddie Rosario | MN Twins Offseason Primer Ep. 1
What To Do About Donaldson, Buxton? | MN Twins Offseason Primer Ep. 2
Finding Time For Kirilloff, Lewis And Others | MN Twins Offseason Primer Ep. 3
Have We Seen The Last Of Odorizzi And May? | MN Twins Offseason Primer Ep. 4
Free Agent Targe
Sure the team made the playoffs and also made a quick exit, but there are ex-Twins who are now in the league Championship series. I will start with my surprise - Aaron Slegers is a RP for the Tampa Bay Rays. He was in just 11 games, started 1, saved 2. He had a 3.46 era this year and a WAR of 0.5 Then there is Nick Anderson a RP for the Tampa Bay Rays. Drafted by Milwaukee, A free agent sign by the Twins in 2015 and traded for Brian Schales in 2018. He had a 1.1 WAR in the BP with a 2 - 1 re
They cheated. They cheated. There were 23 home runs hit in the ALDS this year. The ones from the A's because they were a genuinely good team, but the ones from the Astros had to be from cheating. If you don't believe me, let me rephrase that for you. The ones from the Astros, the 29-31 Astros with a .483 winning percentage, had to be from cheating. Oh, and let's talk about that record. In the playoffs, the Astros are 5-1. And here's the funny thing. None of their games have been at home. In 2020
MLB’s Brain Drain: The Minnesota Twins are hiring but it would seem that the industry as a whole might be in trouble. However the next several years play out, it appears that the baseball industry is in a liminal space. Front office gigs, long glamorized, have become less desirable to those with options. The individuals who remain in the industry feel underpaid, undervalued, and overstressed. The most conscientious are concerned that an already exclusive industry is going to build larger ga
If the Twins number one decision this winter is whether or not to re-sign Nelson Cruz, the second most important may be what to do with left fielder Eddie Rosario. The home-grown prospect is due for a raise in arbitration and at a project $9 million or so, it’s down to crunch time. Eddie Rosario’s all but established as a big-league veteran by now, but it’s also well known what his production profile looks like. He’s a free swinger that has the ability to do damage while leaving a significant
I am still watching the playoffs and with the Twins out of it I picked two more teams to root for - Miami and Oakland and - well - they are not doing to well so far. But still this is some exciting baseball. The Yankees bats remind us why we did not want to play them, but their 18 strikeouts remind me of why the HR or nothing is either lethal or a bomb (a negative bomba). So Tampa Bay is 1 - 1 and of course I am cheering for Tampa Bay. And Nick Anderson (we traded him for Brian Schales in one
Wednesday was about as ugly as it gets. After giving away the game to Houston on Tuesday, Minnesota watched their Postseason hopes go up in flames, for an 18th consecutive loss. Now out of the end-of-season-tournament, how can we put a Twins spin on the great baseball action still left? If you missed what the San Diego Padres did yesterday afternoon and into the evening, that’s really too bad. It’s performances like those that define October baseball. The Twins are out of it, and so are countl
Wow – the combined AL/NL Central division had 7 teams in the 16 team post season mix. That must be a great division so we can take great pride in all our wins, right? Maybe not. Let us look at the division record for the first round. This is for those of you who have decided not to watch any more baseball until spring. The game does go on even if the Twins do not. And if you did see other series you would see something that we missed in the Twins series, besides relief pitching, batting, and f
Yes, the number in the title is not an exaggeration. The true odds of the moment we find ourselves in at the close of the Twins 2020 postseason campaign, brief as it was, comes to one in 69 billion. Somewhere in the galaxy, Zaphod Beeblebrox fired up the Improbability drive and Minnesota got caught in the wake. Let's do some math, shall we? Setting a baseline Now, there's a very good chance you've seen the number 262,144 floating around Twins Twitter in the last day or two, and that's beca
A lot of you probably won't like this, but I'm ready for a big shakeup this offseason. Being a great regular season team that does absolutely zero in the playoffs doesn't sit well with me. At some point, they have to accept that maybe these guys just don't have what it takes to perform on the biggest stage. I'd make everyone available (offensively) except Donaldson, Arraez, Buxton, the catchers, and maybe Sano. Other than that, I'd make a full blown effort to resign Cruz and usher in the Royce
Well, it looks like yet another post-season let down is in the works. That's the thing. You are either "get busy living or get busy dying". Too bad. They had so much going for them.
Whew! We made it! I know I can’t be the only person who wouldn’t have bet much money a couple of months ago on the chances of MLB even having a Postseason in 2020. It looked pretty bleak when the Marlins and Cardinals started things off with a bunch of postponed games. But here we are. The American League starts their first round on Tuesday and the National League gets going on Wednesday. And, yes, the Minnesota Twins will be participating in this rather strange endeavor, having squeaked t
The non-injury injuries: why the Twins might have trouble against Houston The Minnesota Twins completed the whirlwind COVID season atop their division. They are a different team than the one that won over 100 games last year, and probably much more likely to make an October run, thanks to improved starting pitching. On paper the Twins are a better team than the Houston Astros this year. From starting pitching to bullpen to lineup, Minnesota is just superior.* But one significant issue could
While it did seem like we would struggle to have baseball in 2020 for a period of time, Sunday marked the culmination of the regular season. Major League Baseball overcame outbreaks and adverse conditions to reach its destined conclusion. Now, as a member of the IBWAA, I needed to look back and hand out some votes. Just like the BBWAA, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America votes on all major award categories on a yearly basis. The results will be tabulated and revealed at a late
Welcome to this week’s What I’m Reading. This is a collection of interesting or insightful articles that you might enjoy. The Brilliance of Brad: Facing American League-favorite Oakland in the opening round of the 2002 playoffs, the Twins got off to a horrendous start. Radke issued a one-out walk in the first inning to Scott Hatteberg and Pierzynski’s error on Eric Chavez’s two-out single would ultimately lead to two runs scoring. The Twins got a run back in the top of the second inning
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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