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I just asked my wife if my Twins Zubaz still existed. I have to ask. They’ve seen better days. Their greatest wound is an inch and a half ripped seam in the crotch, rendering them useless for anything public. I’ve thought about mending the tear, but the rest of the Zubaz are worn so thin I imagine they’d tear in ten other places like ice crackling during a spring thaw. Do I wear them expecting they’ll bring me closer to the Minnesota Twins as I slumber? Absolutely. Pajamas should always be a
The Bomba Squad was great and Twins fans throughout Twins Territory were highly satisfied from March to September. And September 25th, the Twins clinched the AL Central for the first time since 2010. This was all great. Then October came and we had to play our playoff foes, the New York Yankees. And we didn't win. We lost. We were swept. We brought our playoff losing streak up to 16. So, I bet you're wondering why I'm reminding you of all this sad stuff you already knew. That's because, it's s
Prior to the 2019 season the Minnesota Twins took a chance on Michael Pineda. They paid him for the 2018 season with the intention of monitoring and directing his rehab. He rewarded them to the tune of a 4.01 ERA over 26 starts last year and was an anchor during a run to the Postseason. Once again in 2020, they’re taking the chance. After signing another two-year deal, this one doubling the previous pact, the Twins will be without Big Mike’s services for the first couple of months. After being
I'm sure it's probably been mentioned but looks like Severino is out for the year. TJ surgery strikes again. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2877980-yankees-luis-severino-recommended-to-have-tommy-john-surgery-for-forearm-injury
The annual release of Topps Heritage is upon us. While fancy cards and chrome recreations are all the rage nowadays, there’s no great offering for set collectors than the yearly unveiling of Heritage. A throwback to the 1971 design this year, Topps has collectors looking to add the best new rookies in a nod to yesteryear. Specifically, for the Twins, Topps Heritage is somewhat of a mixed bag to start 2020. There wasn’t much in the way of big-league debuts last season, and Luis Arraez is no lon
It`s nice to have money like NYY to be able buy expensive, proven, developed, polished players. These exceptional players I will convey them as "diamonds". Most teams have to settle for what`s left over in FA or try to scout, draft, develop & trade for prospects that have great potential to become "diamonds" or what I`ll call "diamonds in the rough". They are & should be valued & hard to come by because teams don`t want to give them up. Some get lucky get a prospect which quickly shi
1) The infield defense is slightly suspect and below average. -Sano, Arraez and Polanco all have below average defensive stats 2) Jake Odorizzi and Jose Berrios prove to be below average front line starters. Yes they've proven themselves as #3's. Can they repeatably beat other teams 1's and 2's? 3) Byron Buxton is delayed and/or hurt again 4) Mitch Garver and the rest of the offense return to normal temperature instead of red hot 5) Injuries- This applies to any team but 5 starters (Sano, Cruz,
As I have the opportunity to watch Spring Training Baseball and watching all of the future MN Twins and future MLB players it got me thinking about the MLB Draft. Seems like an odd time to talk about the 2020 MLB draft, since that takes place on June 10th. The Twins have the 22nd selection this year and there are 40 rounds to draft more future players. I wanted to just write about how I would love the MLB draft to change, and the changes I would make to not only the draft but how the MLB draf
The Houston Astros. The team downplayed it. The commissioner spoke on it. The other players weighed in, some enraged at the cheaters, some enraged at the snitchers. Clearly baseball needs another bulky white man’s opinion, but I’ve had difficulty decided exactly how I feel about it. I went with “smug” first, typing out a bratty lil piece about wishing the Twins would cheat to get past the Yankees in the post season. Even typed out a draft on my phone: Maybe we get found out. Maybe it takes a
My last Opening Day roster projection (version 2.0) was put out on February 10th. Not much has changed since then, and I feel good about what I came up with. The end of the position players come down to a two-way battle in my mind, and that would be between The Turtle and Rake Cave. After jumping into relevance during 2018, Astudillo came back to earth a year ago. Cave was acquired in exchange for Luis Gil and has served in an adequate fourth outfielder role since. Now entering 2020 with one o
Sunday, Manfred described the Commissioner’s Trophy, the statue awarded to each season’s champion, as a “piece of metal.” Could this errant statement put him in line to be another victim of the scandal? We have had some good ones like A. Bartlett Giamatti, Fay Vincent, and Peter Ueberroth and we have a mix of mediocre and bad. Here is a summary going to the first commissioner - Landis. Which brought to mind a question I have long had about sports commissioners - what IQ test do they have t
Over the past few seasons there have been more than a few guys signed that have drawn a groan from Twins Territory. What the initial analysis doesn’t take into account is that the Twins have generated a juggernaut in terms of infrastructure, and it's paid dividends in recent seasons. This time around, it’s Matt Wisler looking to generate a return. Early on this winter the front office tabbed former Top 100 prospect Matt Wisler as being worthy of a major league deal. He combined to throw just o
Yesterday, MLB released their projected standings on Twitter, and while the American League looked very close to last year, the National League was a little different. Since the playoffs are going to be the same next year, I'm going to take a look at what this means for us. Now, MLB placed the Twins atop the AL Central, 7 games ahead of last year's competition, the Cleveland Indians. Of course I love having distance between us and Cleveland, but I was kind of hoping that we had more projected
We’ve done it, Twins fans. We’ve officially made it to Spring Training! Baseball games at Target Field will be played before we know it. As the team assembles in Ft. Myers, some of the burning questions that will assuredly be asked of Rocco Baldelli are “Who will be hitting leadoff?” or “What will the batting order be?” It’s a fun exercise as a fan because there really seems to be no wrong answer with this team. If Rocco wanted to, he could draw names out of a hat and the 2020 Twins would sc
As we enjoy the new free agents and trades and speculate about the new season we have to also know that the new season comes with one overwhelming story - the Astros and their sign stealing. I cannot solve or resolve this issue although this does give the Twins some hope that this really good team might stumble and present one less obstacle to our own World Series hopes. I do have to admit that going from video and computer to banging a garbage can presents a really hilarious combination. Shou
Welcome to Twinternationals! This is a space for Twins fans from different countries to read about their team in their native language. This section is run by Venezuelan Mariana Guzmán (@TwinsLatinos) and Brazilian Thiéres Rabelo (@TwinsBrasil). Por Mariana Guzmán ¡Venezolana y fanática de los Twins! Sí, esa es parte de mi historia. Nací y crecí en Venezuela y aunque cuando era una niña no tenia mucha noción del béisbol de Grandes Ligas, siempre supe que el béisbol era el amor de mi vida.
When I can't sleep, I recite the Twins players numbers. Most people count sheep, I say Twins players numbers. At the beginning of the offseason, I wondered "What numbers will our new players get?" Now, if you're like me or you just want to know new players numbers, I've got you! Homer Bailey-#15 This number was last worn by Jason Castro, who went to the Angels through free agency this offseason. He wore this number in 2018/19, and now it gets a new player-a pitcher this time. Alex Avila-#16 Jona
2027 AD. The Playoffs. Yankee Stadium. The stands are filled with screeching Yankees fans. Some wear spiked shoulder pads. Some look like the Baseball Furies. Zombies sit in the cheap seats. Billy Crystal stands on the pitcher's mound, dressed exactly like Tupac in the "California Love" video. He incites the crowd to heightened frenzies. The zombies are having fun. "Who will the New York Yankees select to play in the playoffs?" Mad Billy shouts. In the other dugout, the Minnesota Twi
Welcome to Twinternationals! This is a space for Twins fans from different countries to read about their team in their native language. This section is run by Venezuelan Mariana Guzmán (@TwinsLatinos) and Brazilian Thiéres Rabelo (@TwinsBrasil). On this blog, we’re going to write articles in Spanish and Portuguese, our native languages. Our goal is to spread the Minnesota Twins popularity to a much greater audience. American sports have grown each day more popular in South America and possibly
Not all developmental paths are the same, and not all prospects move on a linear path to the major leagues. After being signed as a teenager and briefly generating buzz throughout the system things came to a halt in 2015. Now ready to kick down the door at the major league level, he may be the biggest breakout candidate in 2020. If you don’t know the story, it’s one of stunted development. Tommy John surgery followed by a crazy case of mononucleosis robbed Thorpe of two full seasons. After pit
The history of baseball in Beloit will not end after the 2020 season, but that’s nothing new. For the past four years, Quint and Rishy Studer, both from just up highway 51 in Janesville, have worked diligently to ensure that baseball remains in Beloit. It is of great credit that the Snappers Community Board has kept baseball in place in Beloit, and their hard work is now being rewarded. A new ballpark is coming to Beloit, with the Studers and Riverbend Stadium Group joining with community le
Forget the teams - who knows who wins or loses until after the year, or longer. Did the Twins win the Kurt Suzuki trade? The Aaron Hicks Trade? The John Ryan Murphy trade? The Wilson Ramos trade? The first year is not enough to judge (although potentially the Betts trade is for a one year player). Injuries, slumps, high expectations all play into the team win or loss, but the players factors are not the same as the team. As I look at benefits to individual players I see a different pattern
The three-team mega blockbuster involving the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers is finally complete. At this point, most Twins fans are aware of what happened - a deal was in place on February 4th, sending Graterol to Boston as part of the return for offloading Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers. However, that soon changed after Boston came to the conclusion that Graterol was not destined to be a starting pitcher. This was a conclusion that the Twins publicly an
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.