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Updating Baseball’s Dictionary

Did you know that marine scientists are making an effort to replace the name starfish with sea star? Neither did I, but these are the kinds of things you learn when you have a toddler (who decided it’s so important to know all the animals and what sounds they make?) Anyway, maybe it’s also time for us baseballogists to review the game’s nomenclature.   The purpose behind renaming the starfish is due to the fact that it’s not, in fact, a fish at all. Per National Geographic, sea stars are more cl

Tom Froemming

Tom Froemming

Dummy Hoy

In the midst of all the talk about Sano and his weight, I got to thinking about the judgments that people make about other people – baseball players and their size – think Altuve or Randy Johnson, their weight, their various physical attributes – like my essay on Pete Gray who over came the fact that he lacked an arm or Jim Abbot and others judged to be handicapped. Perhaps it is the fact that my daughter is deaf that made me think about Dummy Hoy. “Dummy” Hoy – William Ellsworth Hoy – was know

mikelink45

mikelink45

How long will Sano be suspended?

Miguel Sano is currently under investigation for violating the league's domestic violence policy. At last report, he had been interviewed by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred which is typically indicative that the investigation is nearing completion. Any announcement of a suspension should be coming soon. Is there any way to forecast the length of Sano's suspension? I will outline the prior cases and compare them to Sano's to see if there's any reasonable prediction.   Before we get too far, I want t

ThatsRich

ThatsRich

On Buxton, Defense, and the Competition

In 2017, Byron Buxton won what should be the first of many Gold Gloves. He also won a Platinum Glove (fan voted), and the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award. In short, his efforts for the Twins in centerfield have quickly become noticed by a national audience. The speed, ball tacking, and spectacular plays are all just a bit more routing for the Georgia native. What's worth wondering is whether or not he's already the greatest defensive centerfielder of all time.   Rather than dive into a

Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

Polanco, Shortstops, and Stability

Over the past 13 seasons, dating back to 2005, the Minnesota Twins have started 11 different players at shortstop on Opening Day. Through those years, only Pedro Florimon has been given the nod in back-to-back seasons (13-14), and Jason Bartlett is the only other player to appear twice (05 & 07). To put it simply, consistency at the shortstop position isn't something that the Minnesota Twins have had in over a decade. With Jorge Polanco settling in to change that notion, it might be time to

Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

T&L Supershow ep. 57

New show! Dan and Panda find all of the stories that you need to know, or may have missed, over the last couple weeks! The guys give you their opinions on Tim Lincecum, De Leon's injury, Lance Lynn, smart FO moves by Falvine, NoLOLasco to the Royals, and Moose back in baby blue! Download/stream here: https://www.spreaker.com/show/twins-and-losses-supershow

Twins and Losses

Twins and Losses

What Needs to Happen for Joe Mauer to Be A Twin in 2019?

There is no question that Joe Mauer is one of the greatest Minnesota Twins to ever put on the uniform, and that he will one day see his number retired along with former Twins greats like Kirby Puckett and Rod Carew. Despite this, Mauer’s future as a player with the Twins after 2018 seems to be in question.   Entering 2019, Mauer will be going into his age 36 season with what will at best be a slightly above average bat and good defense. The problem is he is limited to playing first base, and the

Andrew Thares

Andrew Thares

Twins are better off without Yu Darvish

The Minnesota Twins reportedly offered Yu Darvish $100 million over four years to be the ace of their starting pitching staff. Instead, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine invested almost the same amount of money in three players who make them better than Darvish could have.   This was originally published at FoulPlaybyPlay.com.   Darvish signed with the Cubs for five years and $126 million guaranteed and for good reason. He’s projected to be worth 2.8 W

GoGonzoJournal

GoGonzoJournal

Weird Twins Franchise Records to Watch for This Year

Everybody loves a good record chase. Whether it's Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's asterisk-fueled home run battle of 1998 or the very non-asterisk-fueled Kansas City Royals challenging the record for most consecutive innings without scoring a run last season—a record chase is compelling.   There's a fine line, though, between fun facts and records. Fun facts get mocked (rightfully) for having more qualifiers than valuable information. “He has the most infield singles on Tuesday night home games be

dave_dw

dave_dw

WARNE: In an Offseason Game of Poker, Falvey and Levine Make out Like Bandits

Impatience is a natural tendency. That’s especially true for fans of a team that, despite making the postseason last year, had obvious flaws.   So in a sense, it was understandable when Minnesota Twins fans were annoyed that the team came home from the winter meetings just before Christmas with a 40-year-old closer and a broken down starter who gives up too many homers.   Little did they know what would lie ahead for the winter. In fact, it was another month before the Twins did anything substan

Brandon Warne

Brandon Warne

Have Romero be the opening day starter

Manager Paul Molitor has not yet named his opening day starter. I have an out-of-the-box suggestion: Fernando Romero.   Romero has not yet allowed a run - or a hit - in spring training. He's been nearly perfect.   Yes, I know, he's not expected to make the opening day roster. Here's my thinking:   • Clearly Ervin Santana cannot be the opening day starter – he's recovering from finger surgery.   • Jose Berrios would be the next logical choice, but Molitor wants him to pitch in Puerto Rico, his na

Lee-The-Twins-Fan

Lee-The-Twins-Fan

Who Goes North 2.0

Back on February 27 I took a first look at what the Minnesota Twins 25 man roster may look like on Opening Day. Now roughly halfway through spring training, and with some roster changes to boot, it's time to take another stab at what Paul Molitor will have at his disposal in Baltimore. You can read the original projection here, but changes will also be reflected below.   Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have definitely outdone Minnesota offseasons of recent memory, and coming off a Postseason berth,

Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

Twins spend 4th most in Free Agency (sort of...)

Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained?? After years of luke-warm stove off seasons the new front office has made their mark on the roster by signing five players to the big league roster who are ready and able to contribute on opening day. Add to that the trade for Jake Odorizzi and you’re talking nearly 25% of the 25 man roster acquired this off season from outside the team.   What is particularly stunning about these additions is the money which was spent on acquiring the players. W

Bryan Borchardt

Bryan Borchardt

Rotation Overhaul In Overdrive

With the news of the Minnesota Twins signing Lance Lynn to a one-year, $12 million deal today, the overhaul of the starting rotation going into 2018 is complete. Despite the big fish of the offseason being Yu Darvish, it's hard not to see the avenue that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine took as equally impressive. Coming off a Wild Card appearance, Paul Molitor's club has something it hasn't in years: a rotation worthy of praise.   Going into the winter, Minnesota's front office new that the area of

Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

Season Preview: Felix Jorge

Through the 2018 Adopt-A-Prospect draft I drafted Felix Jorge with the 27th overall pick as my guy for the upcoming season. It will my objective to give you bi-weekly(ish) updates on the Twins prospect this season, but I wanted to start by providing some background information and project what we might see from him in the 2018 season.   Profile Felix De Jesus Jorge is a 24 year old right handed pitcher who will be entering his 8th season in the Twins organization after being signed as an interna

Matthew Lenz

Matthew Lenz

Don McCormack, Tino Martinez, Lance Lynn and the 75th Pick

Note: Thanks to spycake, I know now that we will forfeit pick 95. Even better. Only 2 players of 53 with significant careers. Amos Otis and Dave Cash. Addison Reed and his 6.8 WAR checks in as the third most successful pick 95.   What is the 75th pick in the draft worth? If the Twins sign Alex Cobb or Lance Lynn they would forfeit this pick. How much should this loss factor into the decision?   With the help of baseball reference, I took a look at all of the pick 75s since 1965. The very first p

jorgenswest

jorgenswest

Why Do We Care About Launch Angle?

By now, you are probably sick of hearing the words “launch angle”. I assure you, you are not alone.   On a recent spring training broadcast, Twins radio announcer Dan Gladden noted that more teams are “teaching launch angles” but the practice has been out for several years. However, you know if Gladden is talking about it then the concept has certainly gone mainstream.   This is how baseball works: Several teams find an advantage in something different – be it infield shifts, outfield shifts, ca

Parker Hageman

Parker Hageman

Improving Your Two-Seamer

Here's a great piece of advice from a professional player for pitchers trying to learn or coaches trying to teach players to throw a better two-seam fastball.   Houston Astros' pitcher Lance McCullers Jr, who recently diced the Twins lineup in spring training action, has incorporated a new grip on his two-seam fastball that is giving him (so far anyways) superior movement over his two-seamer a year ago. I mean, just watch this unfair action he dumped on the poor, unsuspecting Ehire Adrianza.  

Parker Hageman

Parker Hageman

An Outfield Up For Grabs

For the most part, the Minnesota Twins 25 man roster is easy to project. I tried my hand in projection 1.0 at the end of February and feel pretty much the same about that group here at the beginning of March. That being said, I think there remains one position battle of intrigue when it comes to the position players. As Logan Morrison has entered to fill the regular DH role, there's a two man race for the fourth and final outfield spot.   The incumbent is none other than Robbie Grossman. Signed

Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

Romero Ready and Waiting for Twins

Coming into spring training 2018, there were two key names on the mound when it came to up and coming Twins prospects. Stephen Gonsalves and Fernando Romero were the guys to watch, and thus far, they’ve both been appointment viewing. For Romero, the ceiling is that of a big league ace, and thus far he’s done little to dispel that notion. It’s hard to glean much from such an incredibly small sample size, but the process is just as imperative as the results. First by the numbers, Romero has appear

Ted Schwerzler

Ted Schwerzler

The Finance Desk: a look at 2018 attendance

The last time I check Baseball is still a business. We can be sure the owners believe that, and in most cases it seems the players think so too. But what about the fans? If fans do consider baseball to be a business, they would show it via the money and time they spend watching games.   When the Twins promised to put a strong team on the field in exchange for a new stadium, they delivered with 94 wins and a playoff appearance in 2010. The payroll increased by 44%, to a then record level of $97.6

Bryan Borchardt

Bryan Borchardt

Free Agents Who Singed for Less Than the Qualifying Offer They Rejected

The history of the qualifying offer in Major League Baseball is short, as it only came into existence at the start of the 2012-2013 offseason. The purpose of the qualifying offer was to grant compensation, in the form of a draft pick, to MLB teams that lost a key player in free agency.   Since its inception, 73 players have been extended a qualifying offer, and of those 73 players, only five of them have accepted the deal, none of which were from this offseason. The primary reason for this being

Andrew Thares

Andrew Thares

Aces High or Aces Low? Do you Need an Ace to Win the World Series?

Jamie Cameron here. If you haven’t been reading John Olson’s Four-Six-Three Blog at Twins Daily, get on it. He’s been churning out some really great content. John is also a great Twitter follow. Recently he posted a thread which caught my attention, essentially attempting to answer the question; does a given team need an ace in order to win the World Series? So I did what any Twitter secret admirer would do, and slid into John’s DMs.   ‘John, you don’t know me, but this thread is super interesti

Jamie Cameron

Jamie Cameron

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