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In honor of the royal wedding, I thought I would provide baseball fans with their own version of royalty and like all royal families some are not so great. But they are interesting. I welcome other suggestions! I do not have owners or umps. Do you know any that would fit here? I did consider Chief Bender for the rotation, but decided that the American Indian would still not make the official royalty list – I am sorry to say. There are some Hall of Famers and some that are hanging on by n
This is an excerpt from a piece that originates at Zone Coverage here. Please click through to read the rest, and consider subscribing to the site. It’s May 17, 1998. It’s 8:30 a.m. It’s a Sunday. There is nothing remotely perfect about David Wells’ state of mind as he’s on the receiving end of a Senton Splash — as popularized by the Hardy Boyz of WWE fame from that era — from his son Brandon. Having poured himself into bed a mere 210 minutes earlier, Wells’ mind couldn’t be further from
Sanos value to me is questionable. I do wonder if Escobar has me spoiled. ! I dont know that Sano should be playing anyway, and 2- How long will we ever have him? Anyway Id like your input if you would trade Sano for a catcher or just what you think we should do with him
Joe Mauer’s DEVOTION regarding walking up to T.I.’s “What You Know?” is well-known and even generates some GOOD-NATURED RIBBING from the chaps who write baseball things. Yet, has the STABLE SLUGGER hidden a message of PROFOUND SUPERNATURAL LORE within these words? Consider the following lyrics: What you know about that? What you know about that? What you know about that? Simple, upon first view. But simplicity can hide behind its cloaks GREAT COMPLEXITY, like the bounteous spread of dishe
Jason Castro Meniscus Surgery Q&A Heezy1323 Twins starting catcher Jason Castro went on the DL May 5th with pain in his right knee. Initially, it was reported that Castro underwent a cortisone injection and was hopeful to return to the lineup soon. Unfortunately, after traveling to Vail, CO to see noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert LaPrade, Castro is now scheduled to undergo surgery May 15th to address a meniscus tear. (Update: Now being reported that he underwent more extensive surgery inc
For the Minnesota Twins in 2018, two of their most important pitchers in the rotation and bullpen are Jose Berrios and Fernando Rodney. With Berrios serving as the rotation's bonafide ace, and Rodney bringing up the rear in games with a lead, Paul Molitor needs both of them to be right far more often than they aren't. Unfortunately, both have gone through a dry spell in 2018, but it appears a couple of tweaks has each right back on track. Starting in the rotation with Berrios, we've seen both
This is an excerpt from a story that originated at Zone Coverage. Please read it in its entirety here, and consider subscribing to support the site. The Miguel Sano injury situation trudged through Day 18 on Tuesday without much of an update as the Minnesota Twins prepared to open a quick two-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals. “(It was) more of the same today,” manager Paul Molitor said. “(He) ran the bases. Still, from my vantage point, we’re not seeing max effort, which we’re going
Seven starts into his 2018 season with the Minnesota Twins, Lance Lynn has been nothing short of an abomination. He owns a 7.34 ERA, 1.981 WHIP, and is surrendering 6.6 free passes per nine innings. All of those numbers are ugly, but what's most interesting, is that Lynn's secondary numbers suggest he could be very good if he stops doubting himself. Now to be sure, doubt may not be the most appropriate word to describe what is going on with Lynn. At the core of his issues is simply the fact th
This is an excerpt from a piece on Zone Coverage which originates here. Please click through to read it in full, and consider subscribing to the site to support our work. The Minnesota Twins returned home from a successful road trip for a strange one-off game against the Seattle Mariners. The game, which was a make-up for one that was snowed out on April 8, was delayed an hour and 42 minutes before it got underway. From that point on, it was an unlikely pitcher’s duel between Twins righty Ja
This is an excerpt from a piece on Zone Coverage which originates here. Please click through to read it in full, and consider subscribing to the site to support our work. Lance Lynn likes his fastball. He likes it a lot. Lynn is in the midst of his seventh MLB season, and he’s never thrown it less than 70.4 percent of the time. In fact, in his final two years with the St. Louis Cardinals — a team he’s slated to face at Target Field on Wednesday afternoon — that usage rocketed over 80 perce
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- In a cold May evening about 5 years go, give or take a week, I witnessed one of the most dominating pitching performances I have seen in person: Twins' first round draft pick in 2009, righty Kyle Gibson, about a year removed from his return from Tommy John surgery, shut down the Lehigh Valley IronPigs with a three-hitter, carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning. This was when the Twins were on their way to another season flirting with
The Minnesota Twins just finished up a four game set with the Los Angeles Angels. By the time Fernando Romero was done with his five innings against Shohei Ohtani, Paul Molitor was tasked with utilizing a bullpen coming off an extra inning affair and quite a bit of recent work. What the Minnesota skipper was also having to deal with, was being a man short from beyond the outfield fence. Phil Hughes was available, but he isn't an option either. Hughes was jettisoned to the Twins bullpen after f
The Wednesday show of 1500ESPN of Mackey & Judd’s morning show included a segment of the Twins players that are most important to the organization. They both selected their top 10 and each added two honorable mentions, basically a top 12 list. They both agreed that their selections were not a MVP list, but player importance to the organization, which translates to more about the future than current value. That distinction means that prospects that have a high ceiling or are knocking on the d
I just finished reading Jim Kaat's essay on ESPN - http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23474497/jim-kaat-says-mlb-adapt-7-inning-games-effort-improve-sport and I really liked it. I think it is well thought out and he strengthens it with some notes about how the game has already changed so drastically over the years. This is a good change and I would love to see it, but won't because it will be resisted by the union, the league, the traditionalists. But what is tradition? Is it a pitcher throw
Im predicting before the year is over...Jose is going back to Rochester. Here is what he has to do to stay up. Berrios has good stuff, but he is scouted to death at the major league level...Good stuff alone is not enough. Berrios has to learn how to deceive hitters, mixing pitches, changing speeds, otherwise he is going to remain batting practice. Remember how exultant he was after dominating Baltimore? A quote from him was something like, I was able to do it throwing my pitches, hopef
In the event that the Twins are in position to be buyers at the trade deadline, here are some possible trade prospects the Twins could realistically go after to make a run at the postseason. 1.) Tyson Ross SP Padres Ross has been the bright spot in an otherwise "business as usual" San Diego Padres rotation. Assuming SD will be looking for young talent come the trade deadline, Ross could be on the market at 31-years of age. The Twins can also afford to take on Ross' contract that is $1.75M and
News came down yesterday that highly-touted Twins SS prospect Wander Javier will undergo season-ending surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder to repair a torn labrum. According to LEN, this was an injury that was suffered initially late last season, but initially the decision was made to attempt to treat Javier with rehabilitation. Unfortunately, he has continued to have pain in the shoulder, and he has taken the dreaded trip to Pensacola, FL to see Dr. James Andrews. It sounds like Dr. And
(Note - it is my hope that we are far enough past the CIRCLE ME BERT CANCELLATION NIGHTMARE that I may impart some TRUTHFUL TRUTHS. If my voice is silenced suddenly, please leave a stick figure drawing of TC Bear in a City Pages on the big glove sculpture. My people will understand.) Roswell, NM. An alien spacecraft crashes in the desert. The cover-up begins immediately. Some say it was a WEATHER BALLOON or an EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT. A few even think the whole incident was an ELABORATE DECEPT
I was thinking about the trade deadline today. If the Twins are still in it after the All-Star Break and don't have any huge injuries (knock on wood), they're a pretty solid team. It’s hard to see where they’d need massive upgrades. • The starting rotation almost has too many options so outside of an ace, it makes little sense to get a pitcher. Even then, not sure there’s going to be a starting pitcher available who moves the dial that much. • The bullpen has struggled at times but is deep wit
I originally posted this in forums but realized this is more of a blog post: As we have seen over the years when given opportunities to play every day Eduardo Escobar shines.Filling in for Miguel Sano so far this year he has shown he has the bat to be 3rd baseman, posting a .993 OPS while hitting 15 doubles and 7 home runs in 2018. Over his career Escobar has primarily played the left side of infield playing 322 games at short and 196 at 3rd base.However, he has played a handful of games at
After standing in a line of about 20 people for a few minutes, a couple of guys finally got the autograph they wanted during the Cedar Rapids Kernels regular Sunday post-game autograph session. They had secured the autograph of Royce Lewis, the Minnesota Twins first round pick in the 2017 MLB amateur draft and the first pick overall. They stood for a moment and looked out at the area of right field where Lewis' team mates were spread out, some standing by themselves and some in groups of two o
The Minnesota Twins were going to be without Miguel Sano at some point during the 2018 Major League Baseball season. Whether from a possible suspension, complications due to a rod being inserted into his leg, or the normal wear and tear a body of that size can endure, the reality is he would miss time. When that point came, Eduardo Escobar was going to be the man that filled in. What wasn't expected is that the utility man would raise the bar. Then again, maybe we should have seen this coming al
On this week's Supershow, Dan and Panda break down some of the pitching woes plaguing the Twins through the month of April, and dial back season expectations of what this season may look like. Since pitching is the hot topic this week, they also talk about Matt Harvey's struggles, along with the young arms in the Mets' rotation and the renaissance of Justin Verlander and the Astros' pitchers. https://www.spreaker.com/user/the4dpodcastnetwork/t-l-5-7-18
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.