Dave Overlund

To me it doesn't have to be either $140 or $235. There's a lot of room in between. If the Twins don't want to spend $200m every year I can accept that. But there should be peaks to go with the valleys because what they are doing now isn't working as far as winning or attendance is concerned. I know it is a 'chicken and the egg' situation but to me 'if you build it, they will come.' In other words, if the Twins spent up for a few seasons and won a few playoff games Target Field would be the hottest ticket in town all summer. If you look at the attendance by season there is a direct correlation with winning going back to the Metrodome days. The Twins averaged more fans per season every year from 2002-2009 at the Metrodome than they did last season at beautiful Target Field. If you want to run the team as 'small (or mid) market,' you are going to make small (or middling) revenue. Gotta spend some money to make money.

Happy to be proven wrong but according to what I could find from FanGraphs the Twins and Padres have nearly identical TV contracts. The Padres contract is longer but the value per year is almost the same ($46m vs $43m). https://blogs.fangraphs.com/lets-update-the-estimated-local-tv-revenue-for-mlb-teams/

So they use the SABR Defensive Index, which has Rizzo as the third-worst 1B in the American League at -2.5? Got it.

The Mid-esota Twins. So many 'average' guys fighting for spots, very few star players- especially pitchers.

Well said. One of my favorite pieces of all time on TD. Great job!

We may be nine games back in the Central.. but we are only 8.5 back for a Wild Card!

I disagree with you in general but appreciate the numbers and facts here. Good work!

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy allowing the Twins to keep payroll costs down. If you build it (a competitive roster), they will come. When the Twins win, fans show up. Same for the Wild and Wolves. The Vikings are the exception to the rule, they will always have fans show up. From 2002-2009, the Twins averaged more fans per game every year at the ****** Metrodome than they have averaged this year at bright shiny Target Field in a summer with near perfect weather. Why? Because they were actually competitive. In fact, the 2009 team averaged nearly 30,000 fans a game at the Dome, a number not reached at Target Field since the novelty wore off in 2013. They came close in 2019, a year in which they were competitive. Not just 'win a crappy division' competitive, but actually competing for a WS trophy. I believe if the ownership invested in the product more, for instance extending Berrios and paying some of the core to stick around long term, the fans would respond in kind.

No worries man! Go Twins and Louie!

I honestly don't understand where you get me complaining from? Or that I said a single word about poor management? Or not starting Varland (which I am actually in favor of him starting)... Help me understand! I am just noting that the Twins have used a rookie starting pitcher in this type of situation before. It's much more simple than you are making it out to be.

I wasn't talking about failures. Just that an untested Duensing started a playoff game against the Yankees in 2009 and Randy Dobnak did it in 2019 (both at Yankee Stadium) so there is a history an unproven pitcher taking on the Yankees in the playoffs/during a pennant race.

It's a yearly tradition from Brian Duensing to Randy Dobnak... sort of a rite of passage!

Honestly, this situation has major "These are the guys they gave me so I am going to play them" vibes from Rocco.

As long as we are in on guys, I'll be satisfied. In all seriousness this is maybe the only year I am okay with not selling the farm. This team is just not that close. You could make the '87 Twins chip and a chair argument, but that was a core that had grown together and had a rotation led by a Cy Young contender that could pitch three times in a seven game series and a future Hall of Famer for a second starter. While I am not personally holding my breath that it happens, I think you continue to let this core mature this season, get Maeda and Ober back for next season and spend some of that $36 million Correa money on pitching during the offseason. I can't see this front office shelling out for a legit pitcher, but that would be my plan.

Each Friday, Seth joins Dave Overlund on his Hang Up and Listen show on WJON radio in St. Cloud. This week, they handed out 1st half awards and recorded the discussion. Leave comments below on who would choose in each category. View full video

Being at the game Wednesday was fun. Getting to the ballpark was a different story. I know day games can be tough for parking due to workers using the ramps, etc but we got to Minneapolis at 10:55 and didn't get to our seats until the third inning.

Guys I am starting to think we don't have a championship caliber bullpen after all!

Man this organization can be frustrating. Why not make Bundy the piggyback and keep Winder's development on track as a starting pitcher? Why not make Lewis the 3B instead of giving at bats to Urshela? Baffling. This also can't be great for relations between the team and his agent.... Scott Boras.

I think 3B makes the most sense. Sending him down now to protect rental Urshela's playing time just wouldn't add up to me.

Provus and Gladden were hilarious about this. Gladden was talking about how it should be Buxton who hits it then, like magic, he does! Gladden does the home run call and talks about the 1,000th home run. When the correction came down, Gladden was (pretending to be) salty that his call wouldn't go down in history and went so far as to suggest they clip his home run call and add it to the end of whoever actually hit the home run. Pretty good radio. 14 (2).mp3

Whatever ends up happening this season, there are some real 2001 vibes going on. A young nucleus learning on the fly, pitchers on their way up, very few payroll obligations moving forward. The watchability of this team is off the charts IMO. It's so refreshing to see Miranda, Lewis, Larnach, Jeffers, etc out there rather than Simmons, Cave, Refsnyder, etc. Same for Duran/Colome and Ryan/Shoemaker or Winder/Happ. I am fine with hitting bumps on the road when it is for the greater good.

Agreed. I should have thrown that in the story!

Since 1983, the year after I was born, Dick Bremer has been the voice of the Minnesota Twins on television. After nearly 40 years behind the microphone, I get the sense that some fans are ready to move on from Bremer, at least according to some of the chatter in the Game Threads here. I am here to tell you that those fans are spoiled and don't know how good they have it with Bremer. Dick Bremer was born and raised in Minnesota and has been a Twins fan all of his life. There really aren't too many instances where a hometown kid becomes the announcer of his favorite team. Born in St. Paul and raised in Dumont, Minnesota, Bremer is the fourth-longest tenured radio or television broadcaster in Major League Baseball. He trails only the Royals' Denny Matthews (1969), the Brewers' Bob Uecker (1971), and Texas' Eric Nadel (1979) and is tied with Seattle's Rick Rizzs (1983) and Boston's Joe Castiglione (1983). On that list, only Bremer and Uecker are currently broadcasting games for their hometown teams. With such a long tenure comes an intimate knowledge of the team's history. Cory Provus, who I really enjoy quite a bit on the radio broadcasts, can look up stats and stories from the 1984 season when Kirby Puckett made his debut or watch videos of the 1991 parade, but he wasn't there and didn't live it the same way Bremer did. Not only does Bremer possess a nearly unprecedented wealth of Twins knowledge, but his personality is also a great fit for baseball fans in the Upper Midwest with a dry sense of humor and a large dose of humility. He seems to understand that viewers tune in to watch the games, not for him. That can be rare in today's world. When I was a kid I had two memorable interactions with Bremer. One at Spring Training where I was basically starstruck passing him in the concourse in Ft. Myers. I managed to sputter out "How will the Twins do this year?" and he gave me a thoughtful, long answer and asked me what I thought. As a kid, I felt so cool having a real conversation with a famous adult. Years later in the 2000's, I was settling into my customary Upper General Admission seat in Section 212 for an afternoon game. I looked down the row a bit, and there was Dick Bremer reading a newspaper in the nosebleeds waiting for the game to start. I remember thinking that it was really neat that he would watch a game from up there on a day the game wasn't televised. In fact, I was in that very seat for one of my favorite Bremer calls: In other words, he strikes me as a real fan of the team. This can be bad (In my opinion Paul Allen takes this a bit too far, nothing against him he's great at what he does) but Bremer seems to know how to toe that line perfectly. I still get goosebumps when I watch this highlight from 2009, coincidentally featuring Kubel as well: That is not a forced home run call. That's not a planned out, "A-Bomb From A-Rod" corny home run call. That is a man who is genuinely excited about what he just saw. I think it is natural to get 'sick of' a broadcaster after this long of a time. If you hear anyone every day for over 30 years, they are probably going to wear on you a bit whether it is a spouse, boss, or sports broadcaster. For the folks who wish for a change in the broadcast booth, be careful what you wish for. There can never be another Dick Bremer. The man has seen it all. View full article