Twins Weekly: Monitoring the Pulse of Twins Daily

Before we get down to business, let’s crank up the old This Week In Baseball theme song to set the mood.

Ah, doesn’t get any better than that.

Leading off we’re going to take a quick look back at all the articles from the front page in the order they were published. When Twins Daily is really rolling, articles fall of the first page pretty quickly. Here's a second chance to catch anything you may have missed. This edition of Twins Weekly covers Friday, Dec. 29-Thursday, Jan. 4.

On Miguel Sano, Al Franken and Believing in Heroes - Tom Froemming

The Twins Almanac for Dec 31-Jan 6 - Matt Johnson

Five Twins Players’ Resolutions - Cody Christie

Gleeman & The Geek, Ep 349: Duke & Sano - John Bonnes

The Top 20 Minnesota Twins Assets: Part 3 (6-10) - Nick Nelson

Join Twins Daily At The Diamond Awards! - John Bonnes

Will Max Kepler Take the Next Step in 2018? - Tom Froemming

The Top 20 Minnesota Twins Assets: Part 4 (1-5) - Nick Nelson

Eddie Rosario and the Battle for Plate Discipline - Jamie Cameron

Three Prospects To Watch In 2018 - Cody Christie

A Look Back: 2011 Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year, Brian Dozier - Seth Stohs

What If Miguel Sano Is Really Kyle Schwarber? - Ted Schwerzler

Three-Bagger: Darvish Meeting, Sano Fallout, Ice Cold Stove - Cody Christie

Community Content

You may have noticed there was a debut on the front page this week, Jamie Cameron wrote a great review of Eddie Rosario's progress at the plate. Below are some additional items of note from both the blog area and forums. I've pulled excerpts from each piece in an attempt to hook you in.

A New Year for the Twins: Call your shot now!

By dougkoebernick

“One year ago, I seriously doubt that anyone would have made a New Year's prediction that said the Twins would be in the playoffs in 2017 (if you did let all of us know!).

Now here we are on December 31, 2017 and all the avid readers of Twins Daily are looking forward to 2018. What is everyone thinking? What are your hopes and dreams for the new year?”

Happy New Years to the 2018 WS Champions

By mikelink45

“It is a time to reflect, speculate, lie and hope. We are all equal, we can all sign the big star, we know the next great player is about to be called up from the minors, and we are all undefeated. So, until spring training ends, I nominate the Twins as the 2018 World Series champions. I can revisit that prediction many times in the next few months and like most New Years resolutions and predictions it will be hard to remember anyway.”

Ridiculously Premature Enthusiasm for Kernels' 2018

By SD Buhr

“Even as the 2017 was winding down, I found myself taking mental inventory of which members of the playoff-bound Kernels might be starting 2018 in Cedar Rapids, as well. Then I started looking at the talent that was on the field for Elizabethton's Appalachian League champion club and projecting a few that were likely to get their first exposure to full-season minor league ball with the Kernels in 2018

All of that informal mental note-making left me feeling pretty optimistic that the Twins would send a pretty competitive group to Cedar Rapids this spring.

The Kernels have qualified for the Midwest League postseason in each of the five seasons that Cedar Rapids has been affiliated with the Twins and it was fine to feel pretty good about that streak continuing in 2018.”

Baseball Adventure

By Luke Albrecht

“And here I am, over two months in. We've both got jobs and an apartment in the second city, Santiago de los Caballeros. We've made some friends and are starting to get the hang of things down here. On one of my first nights here I got to watch the last game of the World Series while sharing drinks with the local guys at the corner shop.

Most importantly, I've been to over 15 games at 2 of the 6 stadiums. I've seen all of the teams and a really interesting array of prospects, big league regulars, and has- beens. Plenty of future, current and former twins as well. I've also gotten to know a lot more about Dominican culture and it's people at the games.”

Mauer’s Future

By Lenzy2108

“It's no secret that Joe Mauer is entering the final year of his eight-year, $184 million contract extension signed in 2010. It's also not a secret that Mauer isn't the player he was in 2009 or in the years leading up to that MVP season. What does seem to be a secret, is what thoughts "Falvine" have on Mauer's future past the 2018 season. As a new, "lets try this out", blogger I don't yet have the insider access to pose this question to the Twins FO myself, but Twins Daily has given me a platform to provide what I see are the three options for Joe in 2019 in no particular order.”

Diving Into Twins 2018 ZiPS

By Ted Schwerzler

“Today, Dan Szymborski released the 2018 Minnesota Twins ZiPS projections via Fangraphs. If you aren't familiar with ZiPS, it is simply a projection system (similar to Steamer, KATOH, PECOTA, etc) that attempts to look at potential production for an upcoming season …

Rather than dive deeply into the bulk of the projections themselves, I'd like to point out a few key areas of note, as well as adding some commentary.”

Community Casting

Below are podcast episodes that Twins Daily members have shared either in the blog area or forums.

Baseball is Good Ep. 29 (scroll down)

By Cory Engelhardt

"I had my 29th episode last night. Chad Matthews was my guest last night. He is a HUGE baseball fan who lives in Michigan. We talked MLB, the hall of fame ballot, the AL Central, the future outlook for the Detroit Tigers with Ron Gardenhire at the helm, and how he plans a baseball trip every summer with his son. Please give is a listen!"

Midwest Swing ft. Matt Trueblood (scroll down)

By Brandon Warne

"Matt Trueblood came on to talk Chicago Cubs, Yu Darvish and a bunch of other stuff."

T&L Supershow Ep. 52

By Twins and Losses

"Happy New Year! We're back with a brand new episode to ring in the new year. This week Dan and Panda talk about TV shows, Dan's complaints with Star Wars fans, and the terrible news regarding Miguel Sano."

Calling All Bloggers!!!

One of the biggest obstacles to overcome when writing is figuring out just what the heck to write about. Well, here’s a topic to consider …

Which Twins player is going to break out in 2018 and why?

There’s been plenty of talk about who the Twins might add this offseason, but what about the guys already in the organization? Who’s your pick to click in 2018? This could be anyone from prospects to guys who’ve been around for years. Use stats, use narratives or just listen to your gut. The method is your choice, and there are no wrong answers.

Just to be clear, this is simply an idea I'm throwing out there to consider. You can post a blog about whatever topic you'd like. If you're interested in being a regular writer for the site, the blog section is how you get your foot in the door. The only reason you're reading my words right now is because I started my own blog at Twins Daily.

Calling All Readers!!!

If there's anything you'd love to read about next week, please let us know in the comments.

That's all I have for now. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.