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Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Today, for the second start in a row, the Twins chose not to pitch Phil Hughes against the Orioles (a team they open the season with 3 games in Baltimore.) Instead Hughes pitched 5 innings in the back fields with the Twins' A+ team against the Rays' A+ squad. Curt Suzuki was there to catch him. Next door with the A squad, Kevin Jepsen pitched the first inning and Oswaldo Arcia had 3 plate appearances as a DH against the Rays' A team.
March 17th is the birthday of Washburn High School (Mpls) alumnus and Major League pitcher, Harold "Hy" Vandenberg, born in 1906. He made his Major League debut with the Boston Red Sox in 1935 at age 29, though he wouldn't win his first game until 1940 with the New York Giants, and his 2nd not until 1944 with the Chicago Cubs. The 6'4" right-hander, who got his professional start with the Minneapolis Millers, appeared in 90 Major League games, going 15-10 with 5 saves during seven seasons over a
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---------- Today the Twins had a 7:05 PM game hosting the Boston Red Sox. At 1PM the Twins' AAA and AA teams hosted the equivalent of the Orioles'. I spent the afternoon watching the Twins AA team, before moved to Hammond Stadium in the evening for the nightcap. I was delighted to see that Tyler Jay was the starter for the AA game. Jay was ranked as the Twins' number 2 prospect in my off-season 2016 rankings and I have to say that he prove
On Wednesday, I spent the majority of my day over at the Lee County Sports Complex and Hammond Stadium taking in different aspects of spring training. With the Double and Triple-A teams taking on the Orioles in the early afternoon, as well as the Twins battling the Red Sox at night, there was plenty of action taking place. Upon arriving for the day, the most necessary definition was to make my way to the back fields. Knowing that the high level minor league teams would be competing at home for
I am a 32 year old student of the game and aspiring baseball writer, born and raised in Zimmerman, MN. I am a ‘02 graduate of the Elk River Area High School. Yes, I was there in 2000 -- albeit as the backup catcher -- when Paul Feiner dealt Joe Mauer the one and only strikeout of his high school career. I recently began a project called Major Minnesotans, telling the stories of the Major Leaguers who grew up in Minnesota. From the time I was a kindergartener learning to read by studying the ba
Coming into spring training, the Minnesota Twins had a couple of players to keep their eyes on. With the majority of the 25 man roster being fleshed out, it was going to be a battle for a few final inclusions. While the role of the 5th starter in the rotation may have been up in the air, it was no doubt largely decided, and so too was the man that would man the middle of the outfield. Somewhat surprisingly this spring, there has been a decent amount of articles written regarding Byron Buxton a
Monday the Twins traveled across the state to Jupiter, Fl. to play the Cardinals. Tommy Milone and Mike Leake pitched 4 innings each in 45 minutes with no score. Leake struck out 6 while Milone was getting lazy fly balls and ground balls to short. The Twins scored 2 runs in the 5th with singles by Park, Escobar, Keplar, and Polanco. The Cards got single runs in the 5th, 6th, and 9th innings. The Twins scored in the 7th and added 2 more in the 9th. Final score 5-3. Polanco had 3 hits and 2
Over the weekend, the Minnesota Twins made their first rounds of cuts this spring. While nearly all of them were expected, the timing of at least one seems a bit premature. On top of the roster thinking out, Terry Ryan and Paul Molitor seem to be dealt a tough hand when it comes to one near guaranteed big leaguer. Minnesota sent Reynaldo Rodriguez, Engelb Vielma, Alex Swim, Heiker Meneses, and Jake Reed over to the minor league side of the Lee County Sports Complex on Sunday. Despite Vielma be
While the rest is now history, I like to remember how incredible it felt when we first drafted Joe Mauer and how uplifting the first 5 years felt as he played for the Twins. He still had that gusto of being one of the greats because of his batting and catching prowess so no one really cared much about his lack of power at the time. He was just so damn good at commanding the plate with his bat. Any open area on the field was fair game and he would use all of it like a painter using all of the can
Some random, small sample thoughts on the Twins performance, based mostly on what the box scores are telling us, as we approach the halfway point of spring training. All the normal caveats about small sample, quality of opponents, and then some. I feel putting it in writing here will let me see how they hold up as spring training ends and we get going into the regular season. _______ The bullpen. The three back end guys are Perkins, Jepsen and May. Good on Molly to give May a start today, th
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Ricky Nolasco's performance with the Minnesota Twins has been a disappointment. He was signed into a large 4-year contract after the 2013 season to be the Twins' Ace, a destiny he has yet to fulfill. There has been discussion this Spring that despite that contract, Nolasco would have to earn a position in the 2016 Twins' rotation, and hints that at this point, he might be outside, looking in. A couple of days ago, there were indications
This offseason, the Minnesota Twins had a couple of key areas the organization needed to focus on improving. After inking Korean slugger Byung Ho Park to a free agent contract, the bullpen was worked on through lower-risk, minor league offerings. Internal options seem plentiful to fill out the 25 man roster, and that means a group of players up against a wall will no doubt have to earn their spots. Minnesota had a handful of guys that were out of minor league options as the 2015 season came to
Eno Sarris joins the program to talk Mets, fantasy baseball, BBWAA, Fangraphs+, Beer, Sandwiches and so much more. http://traffic.libsyn.com/midwestswing2/MWS_0009_-_Eno_Sarris.mp3 SUBSCRIBE/REVIEW: https://t.co/1xoMeI67yF A Cold Omaha Podcast Network Production
Prior to the 2014 Major League Baseball season, the Minnesota Twins and Terry Ryan realized they had a deficiency. Coming off of yet another 90 loss season, the team's starting pitching was nowhere close to what it needed to be to compete. The answer was to scour the free agent market, and bring in outside help. Ryan landed to fresh arms that offseason, one has worked, and the other one hasn't. The issue with the one that hasn't; we may not have seen the worst of Ricky Nolasco yet. In terms
When it comes to thinking of baseball talent hotbeds, Minnesota probably isn't high on the list. The state deals with cold weather and snow from the better (or worse) half of the year. Regardless of Twins Territory being a passionate grouping of Major League fans, the high school scene doesn't draw as much national attention. There are the outliers however; the Joe Mauer's, Paul Molitor's, and Logan Shore. Sure, Shore isn't yet on the level of a Hall of Famer, and another guy with the potentia
I went to the Twins vs Orioles game on Saturday. Perfect weather; 75 degrees with partly cloudy skies. Dozier got things going with a leadoff homer, the Twins scored 8 runs in the 6th inning (very sloppy fielding by the O's) and won 13-2 (it was a split-squad team for Baltimore). Also homering were Rosario and minor league catcher Juan Centeno. I was looking forward to seeing Santana and Berrios pitch the first 4 innings. Santana was done in the first after only 7 pitches, but the second star
On Sunday March 6, Twins Territory was reminded of a somber event. It was the 10 year anniversary of Kirby Puckett's death. No doubt one of the organization's all time greats, it's tough to fathom it having been a decade since his passing. For everything that followed him in his final years, Puckett represented everything that was beautiful for baseball and the Twins while he was involved in the sport. In talking about him, we may have found the missing piece in defying new found analytics. Th
With the Twins now having played their first spring training home game, Paul Molitor got to run out a group of nine regulars. Playing in front of the Hammond Stadium crowd against the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota started what appeared to be a very likely Opening Day lineup. With a month left prior to that being set in stone, it's fair to question if it works. Should everything fall into place, meaning players progress as expected, I'd like to see a configuration look like this at some point in 20
During the 2015 season, few areas were worse off than the Twins bullpen. Minnesota didn't strike anyone out, there were largely without reliable arms, and late game leads were far from safe. Coming into 2016, making an improvement in relief was no doubt a priority, but the execution of that decision seemed to come from different trains of thought. Now with the 2016 season nearly here, the Twins bullpen has largely been decided. Glen Perkins, Kevin Jepsen, and Trevor May are all locks. Casey Fi
Baseball Prospecuts’ Michael Baumann joins the program to discuss MLB labor issues, the Phillies rebuilding efforts and of course, college baseball. Michael’s an MLB writer at FanRag Sports and Baseball Prospectus as well as a college baseball scribe at D1Baseball.com. Follow Michael on Twitter (@MJ_Baumann) A Cold Omaha Podcast Network Production Subscribe to Midwest Swing on iTunes or Stitcher! http://coldomaha.com/2016/podcasts/midwest-swing-michael-baumann/
The first action took place on Tom Kelly Field with TK working with Mauer, Park, and Vargas and Gene Glynn working with the middle infielders on fielding grounders and looking toward base runners. Vargas with his trimmed down look is much more agile around first base. My first prediction of the year; Vargas with start the year at DH with Park being sent to AAA to learn the "Twins Way." Things were like yesterday with pitchers warming up in the pen and then alternating between Hammond and the m
With the 2016 Major League Baseball slate set to get underway (or at least the tune-up games that is), the Twins enter the season with a fresh sense of hope. Really, every team does at this point of the year, but Minnesota is looking to take the next step. After narrowly missing out on the playoffs a season ago, playing for October is once again the goal. For Paul Molitor's club though, luck seems to be a large deterrent towards that effort. A season ago, the Twins finished at 83-79. Coming in
Monday morning found bright sunny skies, temps in the mid 70's, and lots of fans watching the workouts. Everyone was watching Tom Kelly Field where TK himself was putting the infielders through drills. There were a lot of guys switching off at first base; Park, Mauer, Carlos Quentin, Max Kepler, and a much lighter Kennys Vargas. Nothing much of note except when Dozier threw a double play pivot over the fence beyond first. On Hammond field the outfielders were fielding throws and throwing to t
I am not a follower of Donald Trump. I have participated in several no kings rallies and am disgusted with what he and his followers have done to our country and the world. I would like to know what most Brazilians feel about the United States now and about the folks our citizens have elected to represent us.
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hello Seth......you'll wanna correct the date in headline of today's minor league report. :-) Brad· 0 replies
I am not a follower of Donald Trump. I have participated in several no kings rallies and am disgusted with what he and his followers have done to our country and the world. I would like to know what most Brazilians feel about the United States now and about the folks our citizens have elected to represent us.· 1 reply
