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Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ------ Ten days ago, before Spring Training games started, I took a preliminary cut at the potential Twins' 40-man roster. My view was that they Twins at this point will value veteran clubhouse presence and defense. I also suspected that participating at the WBC was a negative That 25-man roster was: Starting Pitchers (5) Ervin Santana Kyle Gibson Phil Hughes Trevor May Ryan Vogelsong Relievers (7) Brandon Kintzler Ryan Pressly J.T. Charg
March 5 Happy 60th Birthday to Jerry Ujdur It's the birthday 1975 Hermantown High School graduate Jerry Ujdur. Jerry made the Hermantown varsity team as an 8th grader. In ‘75 he met Dick Siebert halfway in Hinckley to audition for the legendary Gophers coach. He would win 27 games as a Gopher, second only to his teammate, Minnetonka High School grad Steve Comer's 30 wins. Ujdur appeared in 49 games, starting 37 for Detroit from 1980 to '83, winning 10 games for the Tigers in ‘82. He would pi
-Shtickball- An Euphus Pitch of Truth Minnesota Twins First Baseman is in the later years of his career, and says he's finally finding some of the finer things in life as a well paid veteran. "You grow up, you get old, and you find things that you really enjoy." Mauer said after finally showing up to Spring Training "I've had a blast watching my kids grow up, I've had a good time trimming my lawn with scissors, and now I've started smoking cigars lit with hundred dollar bills, and let m
Dan and Panda return with one of the more eclectic episodes, and that's saying something. The Dastardly duo are joined by the self-proclaimed "Batman & Nightwing," Giles and Ben of "Giles And The Goalies," part of the Cold Omaha network. Twins and Wild talks, and general debauchery are on tap. http://www.spreaker.com/user/the4dpodcastnetwork/twins-and-losses-supershow-episode-30-tw
Last season, the Minnesota Twins jettisoned Ricky Nolasco to the Los Angeles Angeles. The move was widely applauded as it purged Nolasco's contract from Minnesota and got him out of the rotation. What was overlooked however, was that former top prospect Alex Meyer was thrown in, and Hector Santiago was coming back to the Twins. There's no kind way to put it, Nolasco was a disaster in Minnesota. Terry Ryan over-extended himself by spending on starting pitching that had almost no chance of payin
The Twins medical staff is under fire again for yet another misbegotten medical decision, and according to sources, some of the doctors on staff are starting to question the team's long-running practice of relying on Yahoo! Answers for medical advice. "We've long been believers in Yahoo! Answers, which has been our go-to repository of cutting-edge medical research," said a source, who's intimately involved with the team's medical staff. "Unlike traditional journals, which can be months, even
Many have argued over the years that the amount of games played in the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues could be drastically reduced. While teams need to gear up for their upcoming schedules, a month long exhibition fest may be too long. What's always worth remembering though, is that the process is more telling than the results. It's pretty easy to understand that the record the Minnesota Twins, or any other team for that matter, put forth over the next month doesn't hold much weight. What's har
While Spring Training is just a few games old, the Minnesota Twins have thrown plenty of pitchers. Coming off one of the worst pitching seasons in franchise history, it's incredibly important that Paul Molitor's club puts its best foot forward early this season. The immediate indications suggest there could be some excitement on the bump. After making his spring debut, Trevor May reiterated to Cory Provus on the Twins Radio Network, that his goal is to work as a starter in 2017. He wants to ea
In a late-night tweet, President Donald Trump branded the recent redesign of indispensable baseball statistics website baseball-reference.com "the enemy of the people." Said Trump in a tweet, posted after midnight on February 26: "Baseball-reference redesign: Media elites keep changing things so that REAL fans can't find baseball facts to refute their FAKE NEWS. Enemy of the people. Sad!" The redesign, rolled out last week to drastically improve the site's performance on mobile devices and c
According to some scouts according to The Score, Luis Robert from Cuba is supposed to be the 'Best Player on the Plant'. He is planning to become available before July 2 where multiple clubs, including those who will be barred for signing players for more the $300,000 could bid on him. Multiple teams have been linked to him, http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/scout-cuban-prospect-robert-best-player-on-the-planet/ar-AAnkXkm?li=AAn4eAA&ocid=spartandhp Would it be worthwhile for the Twins to g
http://www.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Alex-Faedo-0199.jpg Alex Faedo (All rights to Andrew Woolley) Today I begin my coverage of the 2017 MLB Draft, which starts on June 12. I am going to provide some updates on the overall performance of the top players, prospect profiles, prospect rankings, and mock drafts, so have fun! Jeren Kendall is a player that scouts have been watching for some time, and now that he is draft eligible he will be getting even more attention this sp
According to sources, Twins general manager Terry Ryan is getting more and more tired of having to dress up as former Indians executive Derek Falvey every morning at spring training, and is considering other options. Ryan, 63, hatched the deception last year as the Twins slid to the worst season in franchise history, but reportedly is tired of the extra work that the disguise involves. Friends say that Ryan now grouses throughout his daily two-hour makeup session, which transforms him into a r
When it comes to baseball cards, Topps remains the gold standard. With the 2017 Series 1 collection already released, Topps is hard at work readying plenty of new offerings to baseball fans throughout the upcoming season. The Topps Now program was a great addition to the card collecting scene a season ago, and what's in store for the season ahead should continue to be plenty exciting. Earlier this offseason, Topps sent out thank you cards to customers that purchased Topps Now product a season
-SHTICKBALL- (bad satire) Major League Baseball’s Spring Training has commenced, and most players have worked diligently all offseason to keep their premier physiques in shape. Not all players have, however. During heavily clichéd interviews with reporters, many players like to tell everyone who will listen about how hard they have worked, and how they’re in the best shape of their life, which for basically every player over 30, is about as ridiculous as it sounds. But this player wasn’
February 26, 1933 Johnny Blanchard Born in Minneapolis It’s the birthdate of probably the most famous backup catcher in baseball history, Johnny Blanchard, born 85 years ago in the Mini Apple. Blanchard attended Minneapolis’s De LaSalle and Central High Schools, playing football, basketball, and baseball. He played one game for the New York Yankees late in the 1955 season, and would not play in the majors again until 1958, making a career of backing up Yogi Berra and Elston Howard. He would
With the offseason officially behind us, and the first pitches of Spring Training already having been thrown, the Twins will kick off their slate of games down in Fort Myers. As the club embarks on a turnaround in 2017, there's plenty of things to keep an eye on in the first year of Derek Falvey and Thad Levine being at the helm. Although the front office isn't visible on the field of play, their decisions should be apparent to those that have become accustomed to how things used to run. For M
Thursday, the Twins officially announced what many had suspected all along: "Engelb Vielma," supposedly a light-hitting middle-infielder from Venezuela, is actually a fictional creation, a la Sidd Finch. "Frankly, we were surprised that our joke went on so long," said Twins spokesman Dustin Morse. "It seemed obvious that it was a prank, especially when we put it out that his middle name was 'Stalin,' but in the internet age, people just assumed that he was a prospect and didn't question it."
Early on in spring training, Thad Levine said that Brandon Kintzler would be "given every opportunity to start the year in the closer's role." That statement all but solidified the assumed reality that Glen Perkins will open 2017 on the disabled list for the Minnesota Twins. What's worth wondering is, who closes out the most games for the hometown nine when the dust settles? For Minnesota, having an elite closer in a season that .500 looks to be a solid effort, there's no denying that being an
Image courtesy of Jamie Squire/Getty Images Chris Devenski will become an ace. Chris Devenski is the most underrated player in baseball, and I am on a mission to let everybody know who he is. After his rookie year with the Houston Astros last year he was still largely ignored, so let me give you a briefing. Devenski has one of the best changeups in baseball, and it is no small stretch to say that he can rival the changeup of Kyle Hendricks, and having a signature pitch that is one of the best
The Minnesota Twins are nearly certain they'll start Jorge Polanco at shortstop to open the 2017 season. He played over 400 innings there in 2016, and with Brian Dozier remaining within the organization, there isn't realistic room to shift Polanco to the other side of second base. The question is, can his bat elevate him high enough to overcome his defensive inefficiency? Under Paul Molitor last season, Polanco started 45 games at shortstop. Prior to that, the last time he played shortstop was
For a couple of seasons, Byron Buxton was the top prospect in all of Major League Baseball. The Twins second overall pick in the 2012 draft was making scouts drool with a shed full of tools just begging to be put on display at the big league level. Fast forward to 2017, and we haven't seen it all come together yet, but the Minnesota centerfielder is an eyelash away from already becoming elite. Offensively, Buxton has excelled at every stop he's made on his way to the big leagues. Batting avera
Here is the Twins Almanac for the week of February 19-25. Four Minnesotan major leaguers were born in this week in history: "Home Run" Joe Marshall, Charley Walters, Dave Maurer and Dana Kiecker. Dick Siebert, one of the most important figures in the history of baseball in our great state, was born in Fall River, Massachusetts this week in 1912. And the Twins traded for two members of their first World Series Championship team this week in 1985 and '87. February 19, 1876 “Home Run” Joe Mars
I gave you the first half of my top 10 Twins prospects yesterday, headlined by Kohl Stewart and Wander Javier. Now, it is time to reveal my top five prospects in the organization. Nobody should be surprised by who makes up the final five prospects on this list, but the question is which order will they be in. So, with that being said, here are my top five prospects for the Minnesota Twins. 5. Tyler Jay, SP/RP Much like Stewart, Jay is an interesting pitcher as well, albeit for different reas
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
