BobAzar

With both League Championship Series underway, local baseball fans can thrill to the unexpected National League matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres. A pleasant reminder that the biggest payrolls or markets don’t always guarantee postseason glory, the first two games have been tense and entertaining.
There’s also the ALCS.
“Man, I don’t know,” said Brian Allmendinger, 44, a Medina-based systems analyst and lifelong Twins fan, responding to a question about the matchup between the New York Yankees and Houston Astros. “I just…man.” Allmendinger excused himself to smoke a cigarette.
Allmendinger’s co-workers are concerned.
“When New York eliminated Cleveland, he sighed for 47 seconds,” said Alexis Wolff. “We timed it. I’ll be honest with you, I thought he would pass out.”
“His face turned beet red and he just kept shaking his head real slowly,” said Mateo Gutierrez. “I think we were all a little worried about him.”
“He doesn’t even smoke,” added Wolff.
With Minnesota’s postseason nemesis in the Bronx facing scandal-marred Houston, it’s tough for many Twins partisans to find a rooting interest.
“Hate is a strong word,” said Allmendinger. “Needlessly throwing it around devalues the concept and the emotion. It's cruel and ultimately harmful. With that being said, I hate the Yankees and Astros. I don’t want them to lose. I want them to lose and suffer.”
Given that one of those teams has to advance, Allmendinger was asked if he had a preference for one or the other to lose.
“It’s just that…god,” said Allmendinger, his head in his hands. “I can’t…I don’t. I can’t.”
Allmendinger excused himself, saying he left something in this car. He didn’t return to finish the interview, but was observed sitting in his Ford Fiesta, staring straight ahead. The radio wasn’t on. Darkness fell.

Once in the stadium, he buys a camo-patterned Twins bucket hat (to protect his neck from the sun, he says) and settles in the shimmering sunshine of the first baseline- paints and brushes in hand.
Whether it’s from spotting him at Twins or Wild games or seeing his colorful and action-packed artwork pop up on social media, many fans have begun to take notice of this artist who presents a new way to view their favorite sports teams. Meet Kickliy, a life-long Minnesotan and professional artist who has made Minnesota sports his muse. He's painted at nearly every Twins game this season, both from the stands and on the concourse. He's painted in the sun, rain, and everything in between.
“I found my muse”
Kickliy was born and raised in Inver Grove Heights. Following a car accident seven years ago, Kickliy, a self-taught artist who previously illustrated comic books for a living, traveled to Paris to "rebuild his life." For four years, he was a "museum rat" (a positive term there, he clarified with a laugh) and did master studies of the great painters. He honed his skills in gouache painting, the medium Kickliy primarily uses. Then he returned to Minnesota. At first, he had no idea what he would paint- Minneapolis is not exactly the bustling, world-renowned bucket list location that is Paris. The Mall of America is not the Louvre. To him, everything seemed "blah." But once the pandemic started, Kickliy had the realization that his inspiration was right in front of him; he could paint the very things he adores about Minnesota. 
“It was more or less like, ‘Wait a minute- I love the State Fair.' 'Wait a minute- I love Minnesota sports- I can do this.’ I found my muse,” he said.
It started with the State Fair in 2020, which was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Like many Minnesotans, Kickliy deeply loves the State Fair, which he describes as a “magical place.”
"I've been going to the State Fair for 44 years in a row, so I didn't want to break my streak. So I took all my old sketchbooks that I have, and I just started doing paintings on them, and I created my own State Fair."
Kickliy completed 80 paintings of familiar State Fair sights like the butter sculptures in the Dairy Building and the Corn Roast Booth and turned them into a book. Then at the following year's 2021 State Fair, he painted in person. Ultimately, he went to all 12 days of the Fair and completed 83 paintings.
Next, in the fall of 2021, he painted the Vikings. Around this time, Kickliy noticed Twins President Dave St. Peter had followed him on Twitter. Incredulous and excited, Kickliy reached out to St. Peter. St. Peter said he enjoyed Kickliy's Vikings paintings. Kickliy told St. Peter that he was interested in painting the Twins, but by that point, there were only a few Twins games left of the 2021 season. St. Peter said to reach out to him next season.
Sure enough, before the 2022 season, Kickliy followed up by sending St. Peter an email stating that he was interested in being able to roam the stadium freely and paint. The Twins gave him the go-ahead, and off with his paints he went. 
“He's a talented artist, and the Twins are grateful for his creative approach to capturing the Target Field experience," Twins President Dave St. Peter said. 
"Real-life superheroes"
Kickliy arrives at Target Field when the gates open so he can begin painting the Twins while they warm up. During a Twins game, Kickliy typically paints about 5-6 pictures. He will move throughout the stadium to produce paintings from different angles. This mobility sometimes elicits humorous reactions from onlooking, astonished fans.
"If people sit next to me or are behind me, they're watching me the whole time. And because I'll get up and move after I capture maybe a couple, they'll say, 'No, don't go.' And I'm like, 'I'm sorry, this is what I do.' 'We thought you were going to be there the whole game!' At a certain point, after I get a few of them from that angle, I want to float around and try and get something else," he said. 
A larger scene might take as much as an hour to paint. A more zoomed-in picture, like an action shot focusing on a specific player, will take less time, but it all depends on what he's capturing. As sports fans know, a play can happen in the blink of an eye, and Kickliy has to move fast to capture it and remember what he saw. 
"These guys are, in a sense, as close as you can get to real-life superheroes. So it's like, they're doing unbelievable things and things that the normal person can't do. So I'm just trying to be as quick as I can to document that," he said.
When Kickliy shows up to a Twins game, he never knows what he will capture. 
"I don't know what I'm going to paint here. Whether it be the food vendors, normal people, players, whatever, it's just whatever catches my fancy," he said. "Each painting begets the next one. Like I said, I don't know what I'm going to do or how I'm going to do it. But by doing one, it then just gives me ideas to do the next."
Even when the Twins lose, Kickliy says he still feels that he won because he captured the game's exciting, beautiful moments, both on and off the field. 
“Muscle Memory” 
Compared to hockey, where every player is non-stop moving, and there are multiple lines of players subbing in and out of the game, baseball is a little slower-paced and, therefore, a bit easier to paint, according to Kickliy. In a sense, only two people are moving at a time: the pitcher and the batter. But when a play happens in baseball, he needs to remember what he saw so he can paint it. If he had to constantly look between his work and the player on the field to see, say, what the player's glove looks like, the painting would take him much longer. And he needs to get this moment captured so he can be ready for the next one. 
"I have moments to lock the information into my head," he said. "And then when the play actually happens, I have to remember, does, you know, Buxton have high socks? Is he wearing red shoes today? Does he have on white batters gloves or red batter's gloves? And they have four uniforms. That's kind of the hardest thing- now remembering that kind of information."
Not only does Kickliy need to memorize the attributes of the players, but he needs to take note of what was going on around a play. For example, if there is a diving catch in the outfield, what color were the advertisements on the outfield walls behind it? While others call Kickliy "fast," he prides himself most in being accurate.
By the end of the season, he wants to know the players “in and out.” He wants painting these players to be “muscle memory” for him.
"I don't have to sit here and think; all I got to do is look- does Buxton's swing end up, or does it end down? I know the rest of it," Kickliy said.
And he is well on his way. For example, he knows what Byron Buxton's legs look like. He knows that Buxton has a "blueish, worn out, lighter yellow-type glove." Kickliy has devoted extensive time studying the players' personalities, attitudes, and body language.
“I could tell these players what they're doing wrong based on their swing. I can tell that certain players have confidence or no confidence based on their swing and their body language,” he said.
“More special than the game”
For Kickliy, one of the greatest joys about painting at Twins games has been the fans he has met. He has also realized that painting the crowd is "just as fun as painting the players." 
While waiting for the next Twins play, sometimes Kickliy will start painting the crowd. This has sometimes brought humorous, lighthearted results. At a recent Twins game, he noticed a bachelor party group that was fruitlessly trying to get the attention of a nearby camera operator because they wanted to be on the outfield big screen. Kickliy painted the group, then showed them the painting. At first, the bachelor party-goers did not realize the significance of it. Then, they looked a little closer and spotted themselves in the picture one by one. They were beside themselves with excitement.
"It was even better than getting on the big screen," Kickliy said.
Kickliy ended up making prints of the painting for the soon-to-be groom.   
He recently painted the Red Cow booth on the concourse while "palling around" with a couple of kids who were watching on with wonder. They excitedly peppered Kickliy with questions as he painted. "And to me, that was more special than the game," Kickliy said. 
Kickliy, outwardly friendly, energetic, and bursting with enthusiasm, adores interacting with the fans. 
"Some people say, 'I was afraid to come up to you,' and I'm like, 'Why?' Come up to me and say, hi. I spend a lot of time alone drawing and stuff- coming out and doing this is fun. Why wouldn't I want to meet people and say hi?"
At the same time, he is competitive with himself and wants to make sure he can document the game's exciting moments.
“My fear is, at a certain point, it’s maybe not a negative thing as much as I want to say hi to people, and I want to be friendly, but it's also like, I’ve got to think too, and I’ve got to document this right now. I hope people don't think I'm being rude,” Kickliy said. 
While he has painted the Twins from home when the team is on the road, to him it does not compare to being there in person. These memorable fan interactions help explain why. 
“Paint with champagne”
Kickliy's dream is to be able to paint from other areas of Target Field, such as the dugout, the clubhouse, or on the field when the Twins are practicing. He wants to get a "360 view" of what a Twins season is like. 
"I want to be everywhere because at a certain point, the normal fan can see what I'm painting now. I want to get the stuff where, you know, intimate moments, joyous moments, and sorrowful moments. I want to be there to get these types of things- it's history. I'm documenting history," Kickliy said. 
Above all, his dream as both a professional artist and Twins fan is to be in the clubhouse when the Twins win a World Series. He wants to paint the celebration using champagne to wet his brush.
Serving as an "artist in residence" would not be uncharted territory in sports- artist Leroy Neiman chronicled the New York Jets through his paintings during the 1969 season when the Jets won the Super Bowl. But it would be a first for baseball. To Kickliy, paintings are an important, effective way to document history. 
“A photo can capture it, right? But rarely does it capture energy or emotion. Sometimes it does, and those are the best photos. But a painting can be much more than a photo,” he said. 
Outside of baseball, Kickliy would like to cover the whole Minnesota experience, from small businesses to the Fishing Opener to a deer stand. He even dreams of painting a wedding.
The paintings Kickliy is doing at Twins games he considers to be "studies." In art, a study is a drawing, sketch or painting done in preparation for a finished piece, as visual notes, or as practice. To some, the paintings might seem "juvenile." They're not. Kickliy's Twins paintings are “shorthand" and "not meant to be super finished." He simply does not have time at games to make a fully-finished painting. Eventually, Kickliy plans to turn some of these studies into full-fledged oil paintings. He could combine a few study paintings into a new, original piece too. He might even display these oil paintings in a gallery. Kickliy hopes to capture the original energy and heart of the studies in the oil paintings he creates; sometimes, studies have more "life" in them, he says.
Some of the study paintings of memorable moments he has given to players so their families can have them as a keepsake.
Regardless, even though Kickliy has begun to draw local and even national attention for his artwork, to him, the newfound notoriety is simply a byproduct of doing what he loves. His heart is with Minnesota and its local sports teams. He does not want to paint the Yankees “unless they’re losing.” 
"I want these teams and the players and everyone to trust me. Everything from me is coming from the heart," Kickliy said. "And there's no 'me trying to get famous' off of this. I know that in me doing this and the way I'm going about it, that might be a side effect. But I don't care about that. If I'm coming from that side, all my paintings will be tainted with desperation. And I want there to be a purity of these paintings."

Breaking Down the Opening Day Roster
On Thursday, the Twins finalized their Opening Day roster, with a few surprises rounding out the fringes. The most noteworthy names on the official 28-man squad heading into the season are rookie Josh Winder (serving as a long man in relief), Gilberto Celestino serving as the fourth outfielder (very temporarily, I suspect), and newcomer Jhon Romero edging Griffin Jax for a final bullpen spot. 
Matthew Taylor wrote a great article posing one pivotal question for each player on the 28-man roster. Oh, and the shakeup we'll cover next also added a very surprising twist to the season-opening mix.

Catch Up on the Last-Minute Trade Between Minnesota and San Diego

You can never count this front office out. Just when it looked like they were going to roll into the regular season with a conspicuously thin starting rotation, the Twins pulled the trigger on a big trade on the morning of MLB Opening Day.
In a last-minute stunner, the team traded its longtime closer and best reliever Taylor Rogers, along with Brent Rooker, to San Diego for starter Chris Paddack and reliever Emilio Pagán. 
Seth Stohs offered some immediate reaction when the move was announced on Thursday morning, and Ted Schwerzler followed up with analysis of the trade's impact.
Joe Ryan vs. Robbie Ray: How Big is Seattle's Matchup Edge?
It has the makings of a serious mismatch on paper: the reigning Cy Young winner going up against a rookie with five MLB starts under his belt.
JD Cameron has you covered with a full breakdown of the Ryan vs. Ray tilt. As he notes, "Ray could not contrast more markedly with Ryan in experience, build, or arsenal." 
Elsewhere, Andrew Mahlke wrote about how the Twins are showing major confidence in Ryan by giving him the Opening Day nod. Theo Tollefson pointed out that Ryan is in rare air as a rookie.
Our Official Season Preview Guide

The Twins experienced a lot of change over the past offseason. Your best bet for getting fully up to speed is by grabbing a copy of Twins Daily 2022 Season Preview. Featuring contributions from JD, Lucas, Nash, Rena, David, Seth, and myself, this PDF breaks down each of the club's biggest offseason moves – the Correa signing, the Buxton extension, the Gray trade, and much more – while also highlighting rookies who are likely to debut and laying out 22 crucial things to know before the first pitch.
The guide is free to all caretakers. Buy in for a minimum of one month at six bucks, and it's yours. Stick with us if you're so inclined. But make sure you grab the guide. 
Position by Position Roster Analysis
Over the past few weeks, I've been running through in-depth breakdowns of every position on the team as the season gets underway – from catchers to relievers. The questions we seek to answer in these pieces: What's the outlook? How's the depth? What's the plan going forward?
Read up on the 2022 Minnesota Twins roster:
Position Analysis: Catcher Position Analysis: First Base Position Analysis: Second Base Position Analysis: Third Base Position Analysis: Shortstop Position Analysis: Left Field Position Analysis: Center Field Position Analysis: Right Field Position Analysis: Designated Hitter Position Analysis: Starting Pitcher Position Analysis: Relief Pitcher Get Acquainted with the Top Prospects
We recently unveiled our Twins top prospects tracker. I highly recommend bookmarking it and checking back often. It'll be updated throughout the season as stocks rise and fall. 
If you're looking for a detailed analysis of the organization's best upcoming talent heading into this 2022 season, you can read my overview of the system or click through to profiles on each of the top 20 Twins prospects (spoiler alert: MANY of them are going to debut this year):
20. Steve Hajjar, LHP: Big 6-foot-5 southpaw drafted in the 2nd round last year, touted for his changeup. 19. Edouard Julien, INF: Versatile fielder drew 101 BB in 112 G last year at Single-A, good for a .434 OBP. 18. Spencer Steer, INF: Mashed 24 homers in a breakthrough power season, playing mostly 2B and 3B. 17. Blayne Enlow, RHP: Looked to be clicking last year before TJ surgery, which will cost him '22 season. 16. Emmanuel Rodríguez, OF: Extreme contact woes marred otherwise highly encouraging rookie-ball debut. 15. Louie Varland, RHP: Honored as the org's top minor-league pitcher in '21 thanks to dazzling A-ball performance. 14. Cole Sands, RHP: Polished righty has posted a 2.53 ERA, 10.3 K/9 in two seasons since joining Twins system. 13. Matt Wallner, OF: Huge raw power will play if he can shore up his plate discipline and whiffing tendency. 12. Gilberto Celestino, OF: Was overwhelmed during rushed MLB debut, but the skills are undeniable. 11. Noah Miller, SS: 38th pick in '21 draft out of HS swings from both sides with legit chance to stick at short. 10. Josh Winder, RHP: Absurdly dominant between AA/AAA last year, and is basically ready to go at 25. 9. Chase Petty, RHP: Team's top draft pick from last summer was a high-school phenom with 100-MPH heat. Traded to Reds for Sonny Gray.  8. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP: Mechanics and control hold back premium arsenal, but he's still young. 7. Jhoan Duran, RHP: Imposing flamethrower has makeup to dominate but must get past scary elbow issues. 6. Matt Canterino, RHP: His 1.13 ERA and 76 Ks in 48 IP since being drafted in 2019 say it all, good and bad. 5. Joe Ryan, RHP: Amazing numbers in minors were made to look legit during 5-start run with Twins. 4. Jordan Balazovic, RHP: Safest combination of ceiling, floor, and proven durability among arms in the system. 3. José Miranda, 2B/3B: Perennial breakthrough candidate broke through with minor-league season for the ages. 2. Royce Lewis, SS: Missed 2 straight years, but has the elite skills, athleticism, and drive to catch up fast. 1. Austin Martin, SS/OF: Headliner of 2022 deadline sell-off is a worthy top prize, with evident star qualities. Finally, a Word to Our Community

I originally published this stream of thoughts on Twitter, but figured I would do so here as well, because you all are the people I was really addressing:
It's almost Opening Day. An Opening Day some of us (legitimately) thought would never come. I'm feeling really excited and just gonna gush a little bit.
In February we celebrated the 10th birthday of Twins Daily. It's been a wild and amazing ride. I feel both proud and humbled to have played a small role in it. John Bonnes, Parker Hagemen, Seth Stohs and Brock Beauchamp are the best partners and friends a guy could ask for. 
We've developed something so special that we're hoping to extend it into new markets. We joined forces with a Brewers site, Brewer Fanatic, with the goal of bringing our same model of community-based independent coverage to fans in Milwaukee. It's a movement!
We also just launched a "Caretaker" program at TD which gives members a way to financially support our operation, mainly because they want to see it sustain and grow while supporting our creators. The response has been unbelievable. Seriously. 
Twins Daily is, and always has been, driven by the talented and dedicated people that contribute their time and energy to its cause. We have assembled so many that I can't even try to fit them all in a series of tweets. Y'all are amazing. You are the future. 
Baseball is ultimately a small part of life. Following it closely is a hobby and diversion. But it matters, a lot, to so many of us. That's become clearer than ever over the past few years as fans have repeatedly grappled with the prospect of losing their beloved summer pastime.
Personally, this sport has connected me to John, and Seth, and Parker, and Brock. And basically everyone I know on through this community. I never would've guessed when I started a blogspot in 2005 that this obsessive side hustle would turn into something so integral to who I am.
Our site's success instills in me a deep faith that this model can keep carrying fandom and online coverage forward. I'm stoked. The internet, for all its imperfections, is perfect for bringing together all sorts of random folks around a shared passion and pursuit.
We're not competing with mainstream media or traditional journalism. We're adding to them. Twins fans have never had access to more awesome content and diverse perspectives. That was the entire goal of this endeavor from the start. 
THANK YOU. See you at the ballpark.

I’ve watched countless veterans get a shot to wake up the echoes of past glory for the Minnesota Twins. In a tale as old as time, those veterans simply didn’t have it anymore, be that “it” talent, youth, conditioning, anabolic steroids, some cocktail of all these things, you name it. I’ve watched Steve Carlton and Sidney Ponson and Rondell White and Butch Huskey and Bret Boone and Joe Crede and Mike Pelfrey and Ricky Nolasco and Ramon Ortiz and Steve Howe and Roberto Kelly and Greg Myers and Pat Borders and Ruben Sierra and Greg Swindell and Mike Morgan and Todd Jones and Mike Fetters and Jesse Orosco and James Baldwin and Phil Nevin.
I’ve talked myself into Brian Fuentes as a possible closer. It feels good to admit this in a public forum. My shame is yours now.
Given all that I’ve learned, and knowing that for every Paul Molitor there are 145 Shane Rawleys, I want you to know what I think about Chris Archer.
I think he’s going to be just fine.
Given all the names I’ve listed without even mentioning John Candelaria, not even once, you are likely wondering why I think Archer will be perfectly adequate.
Because I need it very badly.
I could really use a good, solid Twins season in 2022. I say this knowing extremely well that 40% of the starting rotation are veterans trying to prove something after a bad year or years, 40% are just kids, and 20% is Sonny Gray. It’s challenging to be optimistic!
And yet. It’s going to be alright. Do I have proof of this? Of course not. But the fact remains, I’d really like for it to happen, and it feels like the universe owes us a kindness. Might that feeling just be a breakfast burrito repeating on me? Absolutely.
But this time, it’ll be different.

I love baseball in all of its dissectible minutiae. I delight in overthinking every at-bat, sweating every intense moment, and debating pointless frivolities. I get a kick out of analyzing and opining on the many twists and turns of a marathon season. And offseason. (If you frequent this site, you might have noticed.)
But more than all that, I just love the baseball experience. Removing all of the stats, trends, trades, analytics, and hot takes, I am plain and simply a baseball fan to the core. I feel at peace in the ballpark, or with sounds of the game droning on my TV or radio.
When I was a young pup riding the bus down Cedar Avenue to the Metrodome, I didn't care much about Kirby Puckett's OPS or Brad Radke's trade value. I was just happy to be wandering through this majestic Dome, eating a hot dog and staring on at the action alongside thousands of other contented folks. If the game went long, maybe I'd even get to stay out late on a school night.
Much has changed since those days, but the fundamental source of my passion has not. And I was reminded of this very starkly in 2020, when a cherished annual summer routine – uninterrupted since I could remember (mind you, I was 9 years old when the '94 strike took place) – fell apart.
As the pandemic unfolded two springs ago, I was highly skeptical a season of record could be salvaged. Happily I was wrong. Major League Baseball managed to pull off a shortened 60-game season, and it was entirely fine. Much better than nothing. 
But it never quite felt authentic, and was over almost as quickly as it began. (The Twins played their 60th game of this season five weeks ago.) Most crucially, like so many diehards across the country, I never got to attend a game. It's an irrelevant footnote in the face of all the tragedy and trauma faced by so many last year, but losing the ballpark experience was a bummer. I promised myself that when we emerged from it all and congregated once again at the stadium, I'd savor the hell out of it.
And that I have. I've attended more Twins games at Target Field in the first half of this season than any previous. (And a couple at Kauffman Stadium!) I've run into random friends, heckled opposing outfielders, inhaled messy brats, beat the buzzer on bottom-of-seventh beers, and gazed wordlessly from my seat for indefinite stretches at the beautifully bland cadence of baseball, in all of its calm and rhythmic glory. 
Lord, did I miss it.
I attended two games this past weekend, during a sweep of the Tigers to close out the first half. Let's just say it cemented my deep gratitude for the return of (relative) normalcy in the realm of baseball. On Friday I grabbed bleacher seats with high school friends and felt the electricity of the year's biggest crowd. The place was alive. Sunday, I joined up with a whole gaggle of Twins Daily writers – many of whom I'd scarcely had met before, what with the absence of events for 16 months – and we had a ball milling about on the Gray Duck Deck. Considerable Bomba Juice was consumed. 
These times are golden. They're what fuel my fandom and love for the sport, through thick and thin. I don't know if this year's Twins season would be described as thick or thin (kinda weird descriptors?), but what matters is we're all trudging through it together, and Sunday was an excellent reminder of that: a perfect punctuation to the best and worst damn first half of Twins baseball ever. 
The return of baseball as we know and love it would be way more fun, obviously, if our favorite team did not fall flat and completely erase any pretense of contention by the All-Star Game. But them's the breaks. 
The home team hasn't won much, and it's a shame.
Still, those eternal words ring truer than ever: Take me out to the ballgame. Take me out with the crowd.