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The two most recent additions to this Minnesota Twins team were to help prop up a sagging bullpen. True enough, the unit was adequate in the first half as the Twins raced out to as high as 11 games over .500. But early-season darlings Blaine Boyer and the since-demoted Aaron Thompson hit proverbial walls, leaving the Twins’ fans wondering if the club would take steps to address the bullpen before it ultimately sapped their playoff chances. And the answer as of right now is … sort of? That’s
Every minor leaguer's goal entering the season is to develop his game to the point where he earns a promotion to the next higher level in the system. Sometimes, that call comes when a player has dominated play within their league. Other times, circumstances align to create an opportunity for players to move up the organizational ladder, at least temporarily. Such circumstances allowed Cedar Rapids Kernels third baseman TJ White and catcher/first baseman Brett Doe to spend a few weeks each in
We have a rotation, today, of Santana, Gibson, Pelfrey, Milone, and Duffy. Let's say, theoretically, that we arrive at game 162 and need a game 163, or, better yet, a one-game playoff against the Yankees or Blue Jays (no other scenario seems very plausible right now, at least not one involving the Twins). Santana could pitch a game 163, though I'm not certain I'd want him to unless he starts picking it up a notch or two. I'm assuming Phil Hughes will be ready by then, but not certain I want
The Twins' four-game sweep of the Orioles has kept them very much alive in the 2015 wild card chase. On Tuesday, they start a big three-game series with another contender in the Tampa Bay Rays. A series win would put two games between the Twins and Rays and keep the Twins within a couple games, at worst, of the final wild card spot. This comes after a big fall in the first three weeks of August. It honestly looked like Terry Ryan had just given up on the 2015 season. There are some things to n
It wasn't supposed to go like this, Minnesota was not at all defined as a surprise team in 2015. In a stacked AL Central, it was the Twins who were supposed to be sellers, and once again teeter on the brink of losing 90 games. Fortunately, none of that has played out as expected, but now Paul Molitor and Terry Ryan are faced with some very interesting and tough decisions. Heading out on an AL East road trip, the Twins had an opportunity to capitalize on the AL Wild Card positioning. Once in fi
The Minnesota Twins got to Orioles closer Zach Britton on Sunday, and stole a 4-3 win in extra innings thanks to some early help from the bat of Miguel Sano (11th HR in first inning), and late help from the defense of Baltimore (2 errors in the 12th inning) to move back to .500. In the minors on Sunday two affiliates had trouble producing offense, starting pitching was a struggle throughout, including one game from a top lefty, and one game was rained out. Overall the Twins affiliates were jus
So Kevin Jepsen made some interesting points last night after recording his first save for the injured Glen Perkins. He talked about how his changeup was important last night against the two lefties and how early in the year he had relied less on his changeup to lefties, and it was resulting in his left handed splits getting out of control. For those who missed it, Jepsen worked a one-two-three inning, striking out the side, including left handed hitting Chris Davis and switch hitting (batting
Why is Molitor so intent on playing other people at SS. Many of you have made the point way back that Escobar is the best SS we have. Recently Escobar walk off double Nunez plays the next day (I was shocked) First game against Orioles - Escobar doubles and homers Nunez plays the next day WTF? Now Molitor is even making excuses for his inexcusable decisions...Pre-Game Last night, we are going righty heavy lineup against this lefthander...THIS JUST IN..Escobar is a SWITCH HITTER! The ri
Tyler Duffey twirled his second straight impressive start for the Minnesota Twins as they took on the Orioles in Baltimore. The 24 year-old righty mowed down eight Orioles hitters, and he was on cruise control from the word go. As he's now made it two straight impressive starts, heads are starting to turn. The question is, should they be? And why wasn't Twins Territory already on notice? Duffey was a 5th round pick out of Rice University by the Twins back in 2012. This season, he saw his first
After being laughed out of the Bronx the Twins traveled to Baltimore and took out their frustrations on the Orioles with a 15-2 butt-kicking that included another Miguel Sano home run (his tenth) and a 1-6 night from Byron Buxton in his return to MLB action. RED WINGS REPORT Scheduled off day LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN Chattanooga Lookouts @ Pensacola Blue Wahoos Box Score Lookouts starter Aaron Slegers cruised through six innings giving up just a single run, but ran into trouble and was lifted wi
August 20, 2015 is a day that will hopefully go down in history for the Minnesota Twins. While baseball's (and the Twins) number on prospect has already debuted at the big league level, it's on this day that Minnesota is hoping he never goes back to the farm. Entering a major league lineup with Miguel Sano for the first time, the Twins have their future franchise cornerstones in place. Although 2015 is just a starting point for Buxton, there's a few things I'd like to see from him over the final
After the bullpen blew two leads in New York in as many days on the way to being swept by the Yankees, the Minnesota Twins’ playoff chances have taken a massive hit. Now with closer Glen Perkins leaving the team to have an MRI on his neck, it looks as though Terry Ryan sitting on his hands at the MLB Trade Deadline and using kid gloves with Byron Buxton, who is raking in Rochester and was Pioneer League Player of the Week, will be the difference between the Twins playing in October and fishing i
It's been a tale of two season thus far for the Twins. After racing out to a 49-40 record prior to the All Star Break, Minnesota had positioned itself in the heart of the AL Wild Card race. Since then however, the club has gone 10-20, or completely in the tank. It's not at all fair to suggest it wasn't seen coming, and honestly, it may have even been welcomed. Going into the break, Kyle Gibson owned one of the best 15 ERA's in all of Major League Baseball. Forget that his FIP (fielding indepen
I understand the frustration, and the patience that needs to be shown, but it's the way [it works]. -- Twins GM Terry Ryan on being patient with prospects, 8/14/15 All Minnesota Twins fans wanted on Friday night was Jose Orlando Berrios to make his first major league start. The 21-year-old pitcher was rated the 36th best prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America before this season. He is almost six years younger than his competition in Triple-A, owns a sub-3.5 ERA and his 1.105 WHIP have s
. The Best Team Money Can Buy covers baseball’s most polarizing and entertaining team in recent years without newspaper reporting deadlines. “How does the [The Best Team Money Can Buy] compare to Moneyball?” The Duluth Public Librarian asked me after I checked out the new book by former ESPN reporter Molly Knight. I explained my excitement. “Basical, this book is about baseball, but you do not have to be a fan to understand it. From what I have read in some of the reviews, it's extremely behind
As August rushes towards completion, and the Minnesota Twins look to roster expansion in September, there's plenty of reasons to be glued into the Major League Baseball season. Despite looking like the playoffs are a longshot, the Twins have plenty of storylines left to monitor. With 2016 looking like the opening of an upcoming window of success, it's the end of this season that should pave the way. I'd hope to see Minnesota utilize roster expansion to get the feet of a few young players wet.
The Minnesota Twins dropped another tough game last night, and once again it came against the New York Yankees. After a great start to the season, and heading into the All Star Game strong, Minnesota has been a different team since the break. It was these Yankees that may have started the downward spiral (on July 25th at Target Field), but it's the Twins who don't seem to be leaving the rut any time soon. During the first half of the 2015 Major League Baseball season, it was pretty apparent th
Wow...we can not afford to keep trotting Perkins out to close...Move Jepsen there now. I do believe this is mental on Perkins part, slide him back until he is the old Perkins, but to have any chance of a post season spot we have to change. The other major thing we need to do is bring Buxton up now, his feet are elite and will win us three games...might not be enough but when you are this close you need to go for it...bring him up immediately. There are a million Shane Robinsons, so Buxton c
The Twins started an important road trip with a frustrating extra inning loss to the Evil Empire (New York Yankees). Let's take a look down into the Twins' farm system to see if better things are on the way to Minnesota. RED WINGS REPORT Buffalo Bisons @ Rochester Red Wings Box Score The Red Wings were out hit 11-8, but came out victorious thanks to a couple of solo home runs and holding the Bisons to just 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. Taylor Rogers gave up ten hits in 6.2 inn
For the last week a great many Twins fans have been fiercely debating the fate of top prospect Byron Buxton. As the most prominent minor leaguer for the local nine since Joe Mauer, Buxton has been tremendously appealing to fans from Apple Valley to Zumbrota, particularly as the Twins scramble to hold on to one of the AL Wild Cards. Yet Twins Territory has been torn between demanding Buxton's arrival and ascendancy to greatness, and hedging in the name of cautious player development. It may s
The Twins current playoff probability according to Baseball Prospectus is just 7%. That seems low, given the fact that they only trail wild card leader Baltimore by 1.5 games and play the Orioles four games within the week. Here's a tale about the underdog winning. A young sophomore track runner has had a respectable season in the 1600 meters going into the conference meet. However, she hadn't beaten three older runners (one of whom went on to win the state championship) all year. On a cool, c
It’s time people start paying attention to Engelb Vielma. Vielma, who turned 21 a month ago, has been the starting shortstop for the Miracle this season. Always known as a top flight defensive prospect, the diminutive Vielma has done little to discourage that perception in his first 2 seasons of professional ball: in the Midwest League in 2014, Vielma posted a .636 OPS (a wRC+ of 84) and so far in 2015 his OPS sits at .648 (wRC+ of 99). Certainly, this represents a modest improvement, but it
By now, you know the story of the 2015 Minnesota Twins. Minnesota got off to an abysmal start, then something clicked, and a team burst onto the scene a year early. Holding down a commanding lead of a Wild Card spot, the Twins looked to be in good position. Unfortunately, the bottom fell out, and Paul Molitor's squad now finds themselves on the outside looking in. With a few weeks left in August, and the active roster expanding in September, things are about to get interesting. Right now, Minn
Houston reached base 3 times on Thursday. He's hitting .308/.398/.440 (.838) since joining the Surge and stole his 14th AA base. His 38 total SB is tied with Yasser Mercedes for organizational lead.
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Winning the Cedar Rapids Kernel prize from TD is far better than winning the FIFA World Peace Prize. Thanks.· 0 replies
