Report from the Fort: Sunshine, Skepticism and a New Pohlad Presence - Caretaker Exclusive

[Nick Nelson]

FORT MYERS - Minnesota Twins baseball returned on Friday night, though it won’t count even in spring training’s Grapefruit League standings. The Twins beat the University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers baseball team, with Zebby Matthews starting and Cole Sands following him on the mound. 

Gophers pitchers faced a mix of veterans (Josh Bell - 1B, Kody Clemens - 2B, Gio Urshela - 3B) and top prospects (Emmanuel Rodriguez - CF, Henry Mendez - DH, Gabriel Gonzalez - RF; Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper subbed in midway). 

I’m not going to go over any of their stats, because it would create the false impression that any of it means anything. Instead, I’ll tell you that it was a beautiful night, included a great sunset, and was appreciated by an appropriately sized half-full Hammond stadium. Matthews threw hard and seemed to feel good, which is probably the most important takeaway.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Grapefruit League schedule will start with a home game versus the crosstown rival Boston Red Sox, and with Joe Ryan starting the game. 

Ownership Thoughts
New Twins executive chair Tom Pohlad has spent the week in Fort Myers with his family, the team, management, and even the media. The message has been consistent: he wants to be hands on, he wants to be aggressive, and he wants the team to win this year. The reaction, of course, has been skepticism, because the Twins have consistently spent less under the Pohlads than the average MLB team for at least the entirety of 21st century.

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[AceWrigley]

And in other news, Jose Miranda hit a double and homer in his spring debut for the Padres, just about matching his whole output last year for the Twins. Here's to you Jose.

[Senior Softball Guy]

As a fan, going into a season rooting for a team with very low expectations is great. A .500 season with emerging young players is much better than being a Yankee fan with a bloated payroll, high expectations and not winning it all. I've been watching baseball for 75 years now and seen some bad baseball and good baseball and it still captivates me. Hope springs eternal and with so many new faces on the field and off it is time to PLAY BALL!

[Jack Pine]

52 minutes ago, Senior Softball Guy said:

As a fan, going into a season rooting for a team with very low expectations is great. A .500 season with emerging young players is much better than being a Yankee fan with a bloated payroll, high expectations and not winning it all. I've been watching baseball for 75 years now and seen some bad baseball and good baseball and it still captivates me. Hope springs eternal and with so many new faces on the field and off it is time to PLAY BALL!

me too.

[TJSweens]

We went to the game. It was fun to finally see Jenkins, Culpepper, E-Rod and even Sabato Gigante. Jenkins legged out a double in his first at bat. 

Scouting report on Zebby is that he threw his fastball and sinker 95-97, cutter 92 and curve 80-82. Nothing we didn't already know.