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This is an excerpt of a story that originates on Zone Coverage here. Please click through to read it in full. Mother Nature has a cruel and ironic sense of humor. While the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox had three-quarters of a four-game set turned into a winter wonderland last weekend, it’s going to be a balmy 67 degrees on Monday — just in time for the Twins to open a four-game series with the New York Yankees. In the Bronx, as luck would have it. Postponements mean make-up game
Something that I though would be fun, making a 2018 Twins roster with only similar players. For example, Mike Trout who is a career .305/.409/.566 and plays CF would be similar to Mickey Mantle .298/.421/.557. Enjoy! CATCHERS Wellington Castillo .259/.319/.430 { Jason Castro .233/.312/.388 } John Hicks .232/.289/.395 { Mitch Garver .193/.281/.368 } FIRST BASE Keith Hernandez .296/.384/.436 { Joe Mauer .309/.392/.443 } Kevin Maas .230/.329/.422 { Logan Morrison .242/.328
Lavalle article claims Hughes will be recalled to start Sunday, and the rest of the starters will pitch the 4 game series in NY. I wonder if Hildenburger gets optioned out or Twins cut their Rule 5 draft pick(which would have made this a very bad winter on FO moves for relief pitchers). I guess the big contract means they will have to look and see if Hughes has enough stuff to survive in the majors any more. Still given the Twins margin of error this year, hate to see games lost if Hughes ca
They say you should write your dreams down right when you wake up in order to remember them clearly. After returning from a dreamlike day and a half in San Juan, I’m feeling like the exercise will be helpful for me as well. Luckily, I don’t have the deadline many local writers had after the 16 inning marathon of game two. The seed for the idea was planted months ago, when I mentioned to my Dad that it would be fun to meet up for the Puerto Rico series. Fast forward a few months, and with ticke
Today, Sam Miller at ESPN wrote that the Strikeout rate in baseball is going up for the 14th year in a row. Last year pitchers struck out 8.2 batters per nine and this year it is 8.6 so far. The first question is why don't batters care? Second question is - how do we compare strikeout rates now with past pitching performances and careers - although Nolan Ryan is not only secure, his record means more because of when he set it. A side note is the fact that starting pitcher strikeout rates is
Don't look now, but Tyler Duffey is pitching very well in Rochester. He's pitched eight innings so far, all in relief, in three games, and he's done something that's a bit odd: He has a 2-1 record with NO EARNED RUNS allowed. (He's allowed two unearned runs.) He's struck out 10 in 8 innings, and has issued no walks and only 2 hits (That's a 0.25 WHIP rate). At this rate, He might get called up, especially if Hildenberger continues to falter.
Why can't Target Field have a yeti? Even a dedicated master of the art of SUPERNATURAL BASEBALL has trouble cobbling together enough words to delve into the spirit of this wonderful sport. It's difficult enough to put on a face to open your door in these days of late, late winter. No baseball cap upon your head but instead a STOCKING CAP where the pom pom is made of the SHREDDED PLANS OF YOUR SNOWBOUND LIFE! Twins fans spent a whole weekend indoors without a BIT of baseball to ease the pain.
Thus far the Minnesota Twins have played just 12 games during the 2018 Major League Baseball season. When they have played, they've been met with suboptimal weather conditions more often than not. Playing in 80 degree heat against the Cleveland Indians down in Puerto Rico, Jake Odorizzi may have unintentionally displayed just how much of an effect the weather has on certain aspects of the game. Over the course of his career, Odorizzi has hardly been the definition of an efficient pitcher. He's n
Being a Twins fan, and a statistics major, there are always connections to be made between on the field performance and statistics for a player. This has never been more available as statcast has allowed for measuring exit velocities, launch angles, and many other statistics for both pitchers and hitters. I wanted to look into which of these statistics has the greatest influence on Weighted Runs Created Plus. This is an offensive statistic which tries to credit each hit and situation for its tru
The Minnesota Twins have played fewer games than anyone in Major League Baseball thus far in the 2018 season. With weather cancellations and scheduled off days, Paul Molitor's club has almost been off the field for as long as they've been on it. Of the 11 games they have played however, Jose Berrios has pitched in three of them. While it's too early to draw any substantial conclusions, if the immediate returns are any indication, the bar as to just how good the Puerto Rican can be has been raise
The Cedar Rapids Kernels hit the frozen ground running this season, jumping off to a 6-0 record before finally suffering their first loss of the year on Friday night against Clinton. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Sammons0413e-600x400.jpg Bryan Sammons delivers a pitch Friday, April 13, against Clinton (Photo: SD Buhr) Don’t say the start surprised their manager, Toby Gardenhire, though. With a lineup as full of highly regarded prospects as this Kernels roster is,
The other guy is always better than what you have – right? Well that is the thought that dominates the off-season and so we are sad that we did not sign Yu Darvish (actually if you saw my posts you know I did not want him). Since we had an article looking at the first ten days and projecting the season I thought it might be good to see what we missed. Yu Darvish just had a memorable melt down over a balk, but even more exciting are his statistics during a stretch that was supposed to be the
My last blog chronicled the movement of black baseball players into major league baseball from Jackie Robinson in 1947 to the Red Sox finally adding a black player in 1958. As I said then, if we question the impact of steroids on our baseball records we should also look at how the exclusion of the black ballplayer impacted the records between 1989 and 1958. If one deserves an asterisk, the other requires a new said of record standards. I understand that baseball evolves – we had the hitless er
After struggling his previous two seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization, Rortvedt is on fire to start 2018. He is finally coming into his own and becoming the catcher many thought he would become when drafted in the second round out of high school in 2016. After two subpar years, the great Tom Froemming and I were still high really high on Rortvedt. Still only 20, he has plenty of room for growth, and has the opportunity to be an All-Star catcher in the big leagues. Rortvedt was more kno
Over the offseason and into spring training, plenty of discussions were had with Max Kepler in regards to his approach. Media covering the Twins probed, and I'd imagine that hitting coach James Rowson continued to challenge the young German. After failing to take a big step forward in 2017, it continues to seem like there's so much more potential left in there. Through the early part of 2018 however, it seems that Kepler has made a few tweaks, and given his comments, they may come as somewhat of
The day after Wednesday - which is the day I publish my evaluation of Twins baseball FROM BEYOND THE EXPERIENCE OF NORMAL BASEBALL MINDS - an epic, significant omen occured. Many have already rushed to offer insight upon this experience, which is a GRAVE MISTAKE! Only the knowledge of a professional supernatural baseball blogger should be considered in situations such as these. Now, unfortunately, I have no knowledge to add to this experience, but I will continue to type and pontificate anyway
Through eight games in the 2018 Major League Baseball season the Minnesota Twins have played to a .500 record. Having had to deal with blistering cold, and even some snow, it's hardly felt like a true baseball season. If there's one thing that has felt warm and fuzzy however, it's been the look and output of first basemen Joe Mauer. In 2017, Mauer returned to the land of .300 batting averages for the first time since 2013. He posted an .801 OPS bolstered by a .384 OBP all while looking the part
Brand new Supershow! This week Dan, Panda, and Stubby J talk about the start of the MLB season, and making healthy lifestyle choices! Check out the show using the link below, or get it from iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and Pocket Casts! https://www.spreaker.com/user/the4dpodcastnetwork/twins-and-losses-supershow-episode-59-it
I am always interested in the back stories – some of which are not typical baseball anecdotes. Each year now we celebrate #42 – in fact most of you reading this have already identified Jackie Robinson from his number and we can look at his Hall of Fame plaque and celebrate his strength of character as well as his baseball prowess. And there is no doubt his ten-year career is Hall Worthy. He averaged 6.1 WAR with a peak of 9.7 despite the hate and abuse he endured daily. His career average wa
Thus far in 2018, the Minnesota Twins have played seven baseball games. They've had to deal with frigid temperatures, some snow, and even a postponement in the early going. What they have yet to need due to the circumstances, is a fifth starter. That leash could soon be coming to an end however, and Rule 5 draft pick Tyler Kinley could be caught up in the heart of the shuffle. Through the seven games, Minnesota has won three times by at least four runs, and they were beaten recently by the Sea
In 2017, Royce Lewis was a standout player on and off the field. Last year he hit .279/.360/.407 with the Gulf Coast League Twins and the Cedar Rapid Kernels. His exceptional skills made me wonder. How does he stack up against previous #1 draft picks out of High School? There is no doubt that Ken Griffey Jr. was the best #1 pick out of High School. However, what about players like Carlos Correa, Mickey Moniak, Joe Mauer, Chipper Jones, and Josh Hamilton? Royce Lewis (54 games) - .279/.360/.4
https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-18-036/?loclr=eanotw The library of Congress has given us a historical gift - the scouting reports of Branch Rickey. He was a vital part of baseball history, even beyond signing Jackie Robinson and this is where you can check it out. Here are some notes from the introduction and entries that struck me: Rickey’s 1963 scouting report on Hank Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth’s long-standing home run record of 714 in 1974. Rickey wrote "Surely one of the greatest hitters
For the Minnesota Twins 2017 was a year that surpassed the expectations of most fans. The team made the playoffs, and the manager kept his job (though we finally got rid of Neil Allen). One of the most encouraging features of the 2017 season was Byron Buxton's performance, which netted him a career high 3.5 Wins Above Replacement, placing him 11th among center fielders in 2017. Buxton took a huge step forward in 2017 and we're all hoping for more in 2018. These hopes got me wondering, what
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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