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With the Twins off-season moves seemingly drawing to a close, fans would be hard pressed not to be enthused by the clubs’ upgrades. At the beginning of the 2017 season, fans were frustrated with a lifeless offseason which involved adding Jason Castro, Matt Belisle, and newly reinvented Craig Breslow. Most cautioned that ‘Falvine’ (there’s my garage band name of the future) were assessing the organization and its infrastructure before making hasty free agent additions. This off-season, the front
We have all seen the discontent from the players union and major league ballplayers about this offseason and a readjustment in front office thinking about player valuation. This has been coupled with 3 major spenders sitting out this offseason to reset the luxery tax committements and several clubs (low spending) going into rebuild mode. This has left a small number of teams as possible destinations for this years free agent crop and a remarkable price drop in the contracts the players have sig
I thought I would wait to post this, but of course my curiosity got the best of me so I had to explore the all time ranks of pitchers and see what milestones lie ahead in 2018. Let’s start with wins, which I know people now discount. It is true that now wins are a combination of more than offense and the starting pitcher. No long do we have the complete game stat meaning anything. Jack Morris completed 175 to rank 176 and Syl Johnson ranks number 500 with 82 complete games and in that 500
Since baseball is such a numbers sport I am always curious where our current players are on the list and what might happen during this next season that we can anticipate and root for. When it comes to all time batting averages I once anticipated that Joe Mauer would get onto the big list, but in the top 50 we have Carew at 30 and Kirby Puckett (318) tied for 48 with two others. No Mauer, he has dropped out of the top 100. I know it’s the concussion, but that is still too bad. Miguel Cabrera i
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- This is the next segment in the 2018 Twins top 60 prospect list. You can find the introductory segment that discusses qualifications to be on this list and presents the players who were on the 2017 list but are not in this list here. You can find the list of the previous rankings here: 56-60, 55-51, 46-50 , 41-45, 36-40, 31-35, 26-30, 21-25. You can find all segments in this series here. Here are players 16-20 in reverse order with their 2017
Season 2, Episode 1 (Preview) Title: Derick of the Ed Darvishgerald Scene: approximately one month ago, C137 timeline. Thaddy's darkened bedroom at 1 Twins Way, a Nolan Ryan poster hangs above his bed. Thaddy is in bed sleeping. (Derick opens door and enters room, turns on light, stumbles drunkenly.) Derick: Thaddy! You gotta c'mon! Jus... Y[burps] gotta come with me! (Derick trips, falls at foot of bed, spilling alcoholic beverage from bottle on Thaddy's Rangers bedspread.) Thaddy: (T
Twitter was ablaze with the news that the Minnesota Twins had signed former Marlins and Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez to a one-year deal. Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports was the first to report a done deal, and also reported that it was a big-league deal worth $2.5 million over one year with the possibility of doubling that total via starts-based incentives. MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger passes on that the deal is not guaranteed, though it does mean Sanchez will get a 40-man spot — one step up from a
According to google, one definition of the word paradox is "a situation, person, or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities." Looking back on it, thinking the Twins were going to end up with Yu as their Opening Day starter was quite the paradox. History tells us that the Minnesota Twins and huge contracts are quite the contradiction. Of course there are some who won't ever let us forget the counterexample which would be the Joe Mauer contract that he never lived up to. Outside of
They Played for the Love of the Game Untold stories of black baseball in Minnesota By Frank White This is the third book written about black baseball in Minnesota which might be an indication of how important this was to the history of Minnesota and the history of Baseball. Frank White, a St Paul native, is a perfect writer for this topic. His father, Louis Pud White, was an outstanding, if little remembered catcher in the baseball leagues as evidenced by Buck O’Neil, and he was a friend of
Now that we Twins fans have had a few days to take in (and get over) the fact that Yu Darvish signed with the Cubs we can start thanking the Falvey and Levine brain-trust for saving the Pohlad dollars. It’s easy to say “Darvish was never going to come here” or “the Pohlads were never going to cough up what it takes to sign a real star” but let’s think about this for a moment… Not signing Darvish was the smart move. C.C. Sabathia could be a good comparison to look at as a predictor for what to ex
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ----- This is the next segment in the 2018 Twins top 60 prospect list. You can find the introductory segment that discusses qualifications to be on this list and presents the players who were on the 2017 list but are not in this list here. You can find the list of the previous rankings here: 56-60, 55-51, 46-50 , 41-45, 36-40, 31-35, 26-30. You can find all segments in this series here. Here are players 21-25 in reverse order with their 2017 ran
Valentine's Day is here, and the highlight is simply that the Minnesota Twins have begun their first workout. While the Hallmark holiday suggests you go all out for those you love today, pitchers and catchers are active on the diamond in Fort Myers. Rather than get all sappy or dole out presents, I thought it a fun idea to check out some Twins possibilities I love to take place in 2018. Looking back at the year that was in 2017, and what numbers a handful of Twins players came up with, here's
State of the Twins - Starting Rotation Baseball is back. Pitchers and catchers have reported to the Twins Spring Training site in Fort Myers, along with a sprinkling of position players - including Joe Mauer, who we can only suspect is in "the best shape of his life" at this point in his career. All jokes aside, the 2018 season is just around the corner and it doesn't come without some question marks, most notably, the state of the starting rotation. If you're a regular to Twins Daily,
As we sit here the night before the first Pitchers and Catchers workout for the Minnesota Twins, the starting rotation is at best...uh, incomplete? Ervin Santana's surprising injury news last week left the Twins with basically only two "locks" to break camp at the end of March. Jose Berrios and Kyle Gibson. As it stands, the last three spots will have to come from a combination of Adalberto Meija, Phil Hughes, Aaron Slegers, Dietrich Enns, Stephen Gonsalves, and Fernando Romero. The latter two h
It's back, baseball is finally back. On February 13 the Minnesota Twins pitchers and catchers officially report to Fort Myers for Spring Training, and the club will hold it's first workout on Valentine's Day. With position players largely following them, and expected to arrive en masse shortly, it's time to take a look at a few storylines worth monitoring over the exhibition slate. Coming off of a Postseason berth, and a Wild Card appearance, Paul Molito's squad is looking for an opportunity t
Oh you didn't know? Your ass better call somebody! Dan and Panda are back, talking about Ervin Santana's finger surgery, what the starting rotation might look like now that Yu Darvish has signed, why we might be without baseball in 2020, and that the Twins should sign a healthy Tim Lincecum. Check out the newest episode on Spreaker, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and Pocket Casts; search "Twins And Losses." https://www.spreaker.com/show/twins-and-losses-supershow
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- This is the next segment in the 2018 Twins top 60 prospect list. You can find the introductory segment that discusses qualifications to be on this list and presents the players who were on the 2017 list but are not in this list here. You can find the list of the previous rankings here: 56-60, 55-51, 46-50 , 41-45, 36-40, 31-35. You can find all segments in this series here. Here are players 26-30 in reverse order with their 2017 ranking in pa
Over the weekend, the Minnesota Twins missed out on Yu Darvish as he joined Chris Gimenez and the Chicago Cubs. While I feel a bit disappointed Derek Falvey and Thad Levine didn't position themselves better with a six year offer, it's now a moot point. At this juncture a pivot to available free agents and the trade market has become a new reality. On the latter point, Minnesota's most available asset seems to be Max Kepler. It's worth wondering though, is that a good thing? A season ago, Keple
[As seen on Zone Coverage] Recently, I had the chance to talk with Clyde “the Guide” Doepner, the Curator for the Minnesota Twins. Don’t know what a “curator” is? Think about getting paid to collect, display, and maintain Twins memorabilia for thousands of fans to enjoy at Target Field. Yes. Somebody gets paid to do that! Per his request, Clyde asked that I make this as little about him as possible and as much about the Twins as possible, but I want to provide you with a little background befo
For the past month there has been a growing frustration from players in the free agent market and across the game. There have been calls for, a more myth than reality, spring training boycott and now a free agent spring training will be held for the dozens of players still unsigned to this point. It might be a bit dangerous, but I'm going to start this blog out with a series. This series will be aimed at finding solutions to the perceived issues with free agency. This first installment is focusi
Being like most of the people who will read this blog, you are probably a Twins fan like me. I mean why else would be reading a blog about the Minnesota Twins if you were not. Friends of mine who like baseball and know that I am fan, ask me why is this off-season has been so slow. Well I gave them all the same answer that once the top players, (Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer...), sign contracts, the rest / majority of the signings will fall into place. Here is what my r
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- This is the next segment in the 2018 Twins top 60 prospect list. You can find the introductory segment that discusses qualifications to be on this list and presents the players who were on the 2017 list but are not in this list here. You can find the list of the previous rankings here: 56-60, 55-51, 46-50 , 41-45, 36-40. You can find all segments in this series here. Here are players 31-35 in reverse order with their 2017 ranking in p
As you probably know, if you have been ready my blogs, I like the stories that are part of the lore and history of baseball more than the gold rush for free agents. Maybe it is because I am old I like to think about players who really loved the game and not the agents and owners. I recognize the talent and the ability of the Hall of Famers and even those who struggle for years in the minors without making it to the big spotlight. In fact I have my own strange sense of hall of fame with deaf,
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
