Thrylos

Originally Published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- This is the second installment in this series. You can find the first one here and all of them here in reverse chronological order. I will be doing these approximately weekly or at the end of every 2 series. In the last 2 series against the Yankees and Rangers the Twins as a team hit a respectable .279/.328/.434 with 6 HR and scored 28 runs. This was not enough to get them to finish better than 2-5 in these series. Part of the problem was striking out 52 times in 271 plate appearances, grounding into 6 double plays and stranding 54 runners, an average of 7.7 runners a game. The Twins Hitter of the Week was: Justin Morneau http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5468/6950716222_e8d81b2235_z.jpg .261/.370/.652 3 HR, 4 RBI, 6 R in 27 plate appearances Unlike the hitting, the Twins' pitching in the last 2 series was primarily responsible for their 2-7 record against the Rangers and the Yankees. As a team, the Twins pitched to a 5.46 ERA, allowing 79 hits (including 13 home runs, 15 doubles and a triple,) 37 Runs (all earned) in 61 innings, facing 272 batters. They threw 959 total pitches and 612 of them were strikes. The walked 14 and struck out 35. This results in a 1.53 WHIP, 5.2 K/9 and 2.5 K/BB. The Twins' Pitcher of the Week was: Jared Burton http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5346/7096786667_37f511b18d_z.jpg 3 Games, 3.3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 5K

Originally Published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- This is the second installment in this series. You can find the first one here and all of them here in reverse chronological order. I will be doing these approximately weekly or at the end of every 2 series. In the last 2 series against the Yankees and Rangers the Twins as a team hit a respectable .279/.328/.434 with 6 HR and scored 28 runs. This was not enough to get them to finish better than 2-5 in these series. Part of the problem was striking out 52 times in 271 plate appearances, grounding into 6 double plays and stranding 54 runners, an average of 7.7 runners a game. The Twins Hitter of the Week was: Justin Morneau http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5468/6950716222_e8d81b2235_z.jpg .261/.370/.652 3 HR, 4 RBI, 6 R in 27 plate appearances Unlike the hitting, the Twins' pitching in the last 2 series was primarily responsible for their 2-7 record against the Rangers and the Yankees. As a team, the Twins pitched to a 5.46 ERA, allowing 79 hits (including 13 home runs, 15 doubles and a triple,) 37 Runs (all earned) in 61 innings, facing 272 batters. They threw 959 total pitches and 612 of them were strikes. The walked 14 and struck out 35. This results in a 1.53 WHIP, 5.2 K/9 and 2.5 K/BB. The Twins' Pitcher of the Week was: Jared Burton http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5346/7096786667_37f511b18d_z.jpg 3 Games, 3.3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 5K

Not too unusual to see Souhan spearheading the bury Luke Hughes effort since he played the same henchman role for the Twins in burying Kevin Slowey very recenty... Way to Go!

JC, you cannot talk about "Small Sample Sizes" and false conclusions made based on those, and then dish Liriano in the same breath because has has underperformed in a small sample size

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Yesterday, I have written why Luke Hughes got a rotten deal but the Twins, but I think I let another reason out: this was a great way for Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire to get his consanguine Drew Butera up to majors, claiming that he could use 3 catchers. Interestingly enough, Stealing a page from Pontius Pilatus' book, Terry Ryan, the Twins' interim GM, washed his hands from accountability on player personnel decisions in the Twins' organization, especially the Luke Hughes release, attributing those decisions to Ron Gardenhire and proclaimed that his role is "just" that of a facilitator (last paragraph in the linked article.) So Terry Ryan's role is to "facilitate" Ron Gardenhire's personnel decisions. Yesterday, within half day after I tweeted this, my fears about Gardenhire's true intentions were confirmed by Rhett Bollinger the Twins' MLB.com beat writer... Also in the last paragraph of this writeup by La Velle Neal and in the last paragraph of this one by Rhett Bollinger, albeit a bit subdued by quotes of Gardenhire not being sure of what he wants to do and that he wants "to do the right thing" (unfortunately, the time for the latter has passed...) Here is the reason why Luke Hughes was released: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7094507787_d053a7396b_o.jpg When that decision will be announced, expect to hear about how that will provide the club with versatility and about how much better Drew has been hitting this season in Rochester. Meanwhile, hints like the ones I mentioned previously about Butera's ascent to the major leagues will be coming slowly and steadily... I hope that the Twins' fans and ownership have long enough memories and hold accountable the people who are responsible for losing...

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Yesterday, I have written why Luke Hughes got a rotten deal but the Twins, but I think I let another reason out: this was a great way for Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire to get his consanguine Drew Butera up to majors, claiming that he could use 3 catchers. Interestingly enough, Stealing a page from Pontius Pilatus' book, Terry Ryan, the Twins' interim GM, washed his hands from accountability on player personnel decisions in the Twins' organization, especially the Luke Hughes release, attributing those decisions to Ron Gardenhire and proclaimed that his role is "just" that of a facilitator (last paragraph in the linked article.) So Terry Ryan's role is to "facilitate" Ron Gardenhire's personnel decisions. Yesterday, within half day after I tweeted this, my fears about Gardenhire's true intentions were confirmed by Rhett Bollinger the Twins' MLB.com beat writer... Also in the last paragraph of this writeup by La Velle Neal and in the last paragraph of this one by Rhett Bollinger, albeit a bit subdued by quotes of Gardenhire not being sure of what he wants to do and that he wants "to do the right thing" (unfortunately, the time for the latter has passed...) Here is the reason why Luke Hughes was released: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7094507787_d053a7396b_o.jpg When that decision will be announced, expect to hear about how that will provide the club with versatility and about how much better Drew has been hitting this season in Rochester. Meanwhile, hints like the ones I mentioned previously about Butera's ascent to the major leagues will be coming slowly and steadily... I hope that the Twins' fans and ownership have long enough memories and hold accountable the people who are responsible for losing...

He did but looking at the roster (unless I counted wrong) without counting Baker, they have only 39. Link of the official roster here

John, I think that your #5 is a valid reason, as long as it concerns their own players vs. free agents (Cabrera, Hudson, Crede and Carroll are not too fleet of foot). As far as Bill Smith goes, I think that he was just a titular head. Ryan was always part of the decision making process...

It was never clearing a spot on the 40-man roster... Can easily place Baker on the 60 day DL to clear one. Space on the 25 man was necessary

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- By now the fact that the Twins have designated Luke Hughes for assignment to clear a 25-man roster for Jason Marquis is old news. I have always felt that Luke Hughes was a player with a lot of potential but for some reason the Twins did not see that and unfortunately might be added to a list of players including David Ortiz, Sergio Santos and Garrett Jones who have flourished after the Twins released them. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7264/6947325476_e4a0b9fc13_o.jpg Why Luke Hughes got a rotten deal by the Twins? He was not given a chance when he deserved it, but was by-passed for lesser players: In 2008 when he was 23 years old,in a season split between Rochester and New Britain he hit .309/.369/.524 with 18 HR. If Brian Dozier has these numbers in 2012 in Rochester at age 25 and he is not with the Twins in 2013, there will be cries of "bloody murder" all over. Instead of giving Hughes a chance to a starting job in 2009, the Twins signed 34 year old Orlando Cabrera, 31 year old Joe Crede, and acquired 28 year old Brendan Harris. In addition they gave additional bench and starting opportunities to Matt Tolbert (27) and Brian Buscher (28) who never had any talent. Luke Hughes has a rare talent: He is a power hitting middle infielder who can be a late bloomer. Luke's career major league isoP is .118 in 335 plate appearances. Hiscareer minor league slash line is .268/.330/.419 (.155 isoP) up to his age 26 season. This compares pretty nicely to Dan Uggla's career MiLB numbers (.276/.347/.442, .166 isoP) who had to be a rule 5 pick up afterhis age 26 season to flourish. Luke Hughes has Dan Uggla potential which was either not seen or not appreciated by the Twins http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7275/6947325536_be77e1daee_o.jpg Luke Hughes is a versatile player: There have been rumors recently around Luke Hughes. By now Twins' fans with an open mind know how those originate: usually when the team (read Ron Gardenhire) does not like someone, certain writers are given tidbits to spread around. Slowey and Perkins (during his grievance season) are a couple of recent examples; even more recently the manager and the interim general manager were publicly saying that they were frustrated by Scott Baker's unwillingness to "let it rip", while the guy had a torn UCL.) The rumors that you will hear about Luke Hughes is that a. he is not a versatile player and b. his defense was suspect. To kill this right away, Luke played all positions in the field, including pitching a scoreless inning (one hit allowed) in a game with the New Britain Rock Cats in 2007, other than Catcher; this season Gardenhire himself named him the Twins' emergency catcher. So if that is not being versatile, I am not sure what versatility is. As a matter of fact, Luke has played more positions than Michael Cuddyer (who cannot play LF) who has been a darling of his manager and thus the Twin Cities media. Luke Hughes is an above average fielder. The second part of the rumor mill you will hear is that Luke Hughes is not a "good enough fielder" (and ironically this will start from the same people who were starting Mike Cuddyer at 2B and CF last season.) The fact is that in limited opportunities on the field in 3 seasons in MLB, his fielding has been 4.1 runs above average based on Fangraphs' fielding WAR. He saved 5 runs above average based on Baseball Info Solutions defensive runs saved above average. In 319.3 innings his UZR/150 at 2B has been +6.8, and in 282 innings, his UZR/150at 1B has been +11.0. They are lesser players still with the Twins. There is absolutely no reason the Luke Hughes should be designated for assignment and Sean Burroughs and Jeff Gray remain with the Club. Do the Twins really need 13 pitchers? Terry Ryan spoke about accountability when he was named the interim manager. I hope that he holds himself and his field manager accountable for their decisions. I wish the best luck to Luke Hughes who has been in the Minnesota Twins' family for 10 years. Hopefully he will pass waivers and be in Rochester and come back with the Twins under better front office and field management circumstances http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7179/7093396495_dfb5f74075_o.jpg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- By now the fact that the Twins have designated Luke Hughes for assignment to clear a 25-man roster for Jason Marquis is old news. I have always felt that Luke Hughes was a player with a lot of potential but for some reason the Twins did not see that and unfortunately might be added to a list of players including David Ortiz, Sergio Santos and Garrett Jones who have flourished after the Twins released them. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7264/6947325476_e4a0b9fc13_o.jpg Why Luke Hughes got a rotten deal by the Twins? He was not given a chance when he deserved it, but was by-passed for lesser players: In 2008 when he was 23 years old,in a season split between Rochester and New Britain he hit .309/.369/.524 with 18 HR. If Brian Dozier has these numbers in 2012 in Rochester at age 25 and he is not with the Twins in 2013, there will be cries of "bloody murder" all over. Instead of giving Hughes a chance to a starting job in 2009, the Twins signed 34 year old Orlando Cabrera, 31 year old Joe Crede, and acquired 28 year old Brendan Harris. In addition they gave additional bench and starting opportunities to Matt Tolbert (27) and Brian Buscher (28) who never had any talent. Luke Hughes has a rare talent: He is a power hitting middle infielder who can be a late bloomer. Luke's career major league isoP is .118 in 335 plate appearances. Hiscareer minor league slash line is .268/.330/.419 (.155 isoP) up to his age 26 season. This compares pretty nicely to Dan Uggla's career MiLB numbers (.276/.347/.442, .166 isoP) who had to be a rule 5 pick up afterhis age 26 season to flourish. Luke Hughes has Dan Uggla potential which was either not seen or not appreciated by the Twins http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7275/6947325536_be77e1daee_o.jpg Luke Hughes is a versatile player: There have been rumors recently around Luke Hughes. By now Twins' fans with an open mind know how those originate: usually when the team (read Ron Gardenhire) does not like someone, certain writers are given tidbits to spread around. Slowey and Perkins (during his grievance season) are a couple of recent examples; even more recently the manager and the interim general manager were publicly saying that they were frustrated by Scott Baker's unwillingness to "let it rip", while the guy had a torn UCL.) The rumors that you will hear about Luke Hughes is that a. he is not a versatile player and b. his defense was suspect. To kill this right away, Luke played all positions in the field, including pitching a scoreless inning (one hit allowed) in a game with the New Britain Rock Cats in 2007, other than Catcher; this season Gardenhire himself named him the Twins' emergency catcher. So if that is not being versatile, I am not sure what versatility is. As a matter of fact, Luke has played more positions than Michael Cuddyer (who cannot play LF) who has been a darling of his manager and thus the Twin Cities media. Luke Hughes is an above average fielder. The second part of the rumor mill you will hear is that Luke Hughes is not a "good enough fielder" (and ironically this will start from the same people who were starting Mike Cuddyer at 2B and CF last season.) The fact is that in limited opportunities on the field in 3 seasons in MLB, his fielding has been 4.1 runs above average based on Fangraphs' fielding WAR. He saved 5 runs above average based on Baseball Info Solutions defensive runs saved above average. In 319.3 innings his UZR/150 at 2B has been +6.8, and in 282 innings, his UZR/150at 1B has been +11.0. They are lesser players still with the Twins. There is absolutely no reason the Luke Hughes should be designated for assignment and Sean Burroughs and Jeff Gray remain with the Club. Do the Twins really need 13 pitchers? Terry Ryan spoke about accountability when he was named the interim manager. I hope that he holds himself and his field manager accountable for their decisions. I wish the best luck to Luke Hughes who has been in the Minnesota Twins' family for 10 years. Hopefully he will pass waivers and be in Rochester and come back with the Twins under better front office and field management circumstances http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7179/7093396495_dfb5f74075_o.jpg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Here is this week's installment, tax deadline edition: Public service announcement: If you have not filed your taxes yet, uncle Sam gives you till midnight tonight to do so Twins' OF Josh Willingham, after he was named Twins' position player of the week here, was officially named AL player of the week. The Twins finally win the opening game of a series in Yankee Stadium. Last time they accomplished that feat it was early May of 2001. Good luck to Scott Baker who is going under the knife of Dr David Atcheck today in New York City to repair his flexor pronator tendon. Wonder if his teammates will drop by to say hi before their game tonight at Yankee Stadium. Speaking of Twins' games at Yankee Stadium Version 2.0, Jason Marquis is coming back to the Twins and starting the game tomorrow. A roster move needs to be made to accommodate him in the 25-man roster. Add the newly acquired Clete Thomas to the list of players who have homered in their first game with the Twins Another one from the Twins' witch doctors' archives. Apparently the diagnosis of Kyle Waldrop's injury is a "strained UCL" (towards the bottom of the article). Such a thing does not exist. It is up there with a "Shoulder Cramp" (Nick Blackburn) and "Inflamed Forearm" (Glen Perkins). Terry Ryan said something about "accountability" when was appointed interim GM last November. More and more this sounds like hot air now, unfortunately, since he not only approbates these announcements, but is the one who feeds them to the press. The Twins' product of the week, is the Minnesota Twins Grant Cleanup Adjustable Cap http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B0043AHZL0 I really love the way these look. The parting shot today is of Scott Baker who is under the knife. I hope everything turns out OK and he rehabs fine and signs an-incentive-laden 1yr deal with the Twins for 2013 after they decline to pick his option. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7084404991_a1e574f295_o.jpg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Here is this week's installment, tax deadline edition: Public service announcement: If you have not filed your taxes yet, uncle Sam gives you till midnight tonight to do so Twins' OF Josh Willingham, after he was named Twins' position player of the week here, was officially named AL player of the week. The Twins finally win the opening game of a series in Yankee Stadium. Last time they accomplished that feat it was early May of 2001. Good luck to Scott Baker who is going under the knife of Dr David Atcheck today in New York City to repair his flexor pronator tendon. Wonder if his teammates will drop by to say hi before their game tonight at Yankee Stadium. Speaking of Twins' games at Yankee Stadium Version 2.0, Jason Marquis is coming back to the Twins and starting the game tomorrow. A roster move needs to be made to accommodate him in the 25-man roster. Add the newly acquired Clete Thomas to the list of players who have homered in their first game with the Twins Another one from the Twins' witch doctors' archives. Apparently the diagnosis of Kyle Waldrop's injury is a "strained UCL" (towards the bottom of the article). Such a thing does not exist. It is up there with a "Shoulder Cramp" (Nick Blackburn) and "Inflamed Forearm" (Glen Perkins). Terry Ryan said something about "accountability" when was appointed interim GM last November. More and more this sounds like hot air now, unfortunately, since he not only approbates these announcements, but is the one who feeds them to the press. The Twins' product of the week, is the Minnesota Twins Grant Cleanup Adjustable Cap http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B0043AHZL0 I really love the way these look. The parting shot today is of Scott Baker who is under the knife. I hope everything turns out OK and he rehabs fine and signs an-incentive-laden 1yr deal with the Twins for 2013 after they decline to pick his option. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7084404991_a1e574f295_o.jpg

Originally Published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- The Twins have announced that they have selected OF Clete Thomas, on waivers from Detroit. Clete Thomas bats left-handed and has played in all 3 outfield positions, but he has more experience in Right Field. After Darin Mastroianni, he is the second OF on waivers claimed by the Twins in 2012. He will take Scott Baker's 40-man roster spot and a corresponding move (either demoting Ben Revere who has options or waiving ineffective LHB Sean Burroughs) will be made before the Twins' game tomorrow, to clear a 25-man roster spot for Clete Thomas. Here are five little known facts about Clete: He was drafted by the Twins on the 5th round of the 2003 draft but did not sign and went to Auburn University instead. Drafted by the Tigers on the 6th round of the 2005 draft as a Junior. His High School team won the State Championship (Florida) in 2002 when he was a senior at Mosley High School He was a member of the 1996 U.S. South Region Champs that advanced to the Little League World Series His first name is Micheal, but goes by his middle name Clete and has a brother, Alex, who is 18 years his junior He underwent Tommy John surgery; a rarity for position players; he is close friends with Denard Span and will be wearing number 36 with the Twins, recently vacated by Joe Nathan. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Clete_Thomas_2009.jpg/521px-Clete_Thomas_2009.jpg

Originally Published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- The Twins have announced that they have selected OF Clete Thomas, on waivers from Detroit. Clete Thomas bats left-handed and has played in all 3 outfield positions, but he has more experience in Right Field. After Darin Mastroianni, he is the second OF on waivers claimed by the Twins in 2012. He will take Scott Baker's 40-man roster spot and a corresponding move (either demoting Ben Revere who has options or waiving ineffective LHB Sean Burroughs) will be made before the Twins' game tomorrow, to clear a 25-man roster spot for Clete Thomas. Here are five little known facts about Clete: He was drafted by the Twins on the 5th round of the 2003 draft but did not sign and went to Auburn University instead. Drafted by the Tigers on the 6th round of the 2005 draft as a Junior. His High School team won the State Championship (Florida) in 2002 when he was a senior at Mosley High School He was a member of the 1996 U.S. South Region Champs that advanced to the Little League World Series His first name is Micheal, but goes by his middle name Clete and has a brother, Alex, who is 18 years his junior He underwent Tommy John surgery; a rarity for position players; he is close friends with Denard Span and will be wearing number 36 with the Twins, recently vacated by Joe Nathan. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Clete_Thomas_2009.jpg/521px-Clete_Thomas_2009.jpg

I will probably do it weekly for the Majors. I could do the minors as well but Seth does a great job with that. What I do as a monthly feature is "who is hot in the Minors", which lists the Twins' prospects who are performing the best year to date. I will probably have the first one up in about a week or 2 or so to give the pitchers enough time to build innings. Thanks!

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- The Twins are 2-4 in this early season, after being swept in their first series at Baltimore and winning the series against one of the AL darlings, the LA Angels at the home opener at Target Field, 2-1. This series win is very hopeful, because if they Twins win 60-70% of their series, they will be in the post-season. They stand at 50% right now and winning the Rangers' series, will put them at 66%, which is right on course. A position player and a pitcher stood above and beyond the Twins' peers this week and they are the Twins' players of the week. Position player: Josh Willingham: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7045/7073742679_f68b0dc8b3_o.jpg .409/.458/1.000 4 HR, 7 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 5 K, (24 PA) Pitcher: Glen Perkins: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7058/6927661912_4eac00f7b5_o.jpg .000 ERA, 0.545 WHIP, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K (3.2 IP)

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- The Twins are 2-4 in this early season, after being swept in their first series at Baltimore and winning the series against one of the AL darlings, the LA Angels at the home opener at Target Field, 2-1. This series win is very hopeful, because if they Twins win 60-70% of their series, they will be in the post-season. They stand at 50% right now and winning the Rangers' series, will put them at 66%, which is right on course. A position player and a pitcher stood above and beyond the Twins' peers this week and they are the Twins' players of the week. Position player: Josh Willingham: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7045/7073742679_f68b0dc8b3_o.jpg .409/.458/1.000 4 HR, 7 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 5 K, (24 PA) Pitcher: Glen Perkins: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7058/6927661912_4eac00f7b5_o.jpg .000 ERA, 0.545 WHIP, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K (3.2 IP)

The Miracle has a hand-written board at the concourse as well. Not sure about Rochester. I've only been at their away games

That's so cool!

Did you wonder when is the Birthday of your favorite player in the Twins' Organization? Did you know that Brian Dozier and Justin Morneau shared Birthdays? So do Chris Parmelee and Nick Blackburn. And the NewBritain clubhouse will have a lot of fun on August 20th, the shared birthday of both their pitching and hitting coaches (Bobby Cuellar and Tom Brunansky). And do you know the most popular day as far as Twins' organization players and staff birthdays go? It is November 24th when 6 members of the organization celebrate their birthdays. Here is the list of more than 200 birthdays in the organization; it can also serve as an organizational roster. A couple of caveats: A. Some players who are mentioned in the list are no longer with the organization. This will probably clear when the short season leagues are announced. B. Some players in the Twins' organization (esp. the new International Signees not in Extended Spring Training who will play in the DSL or will join the organization this summer,) as well as the managers and coaching staff at the short season leagues are not listed. I do not list front office/announcer/broadcaster etc birthdays. Without further ado (and please help fill any gaps) : For space considerations, please visit The Tenth Inning Stretch for the full list of the Twins' organization birthdays

Did you wonder when is the Birthday of your favorite player in the Twins' Organization? Did you know that Brian Dozier and Justin Morneau shared Birthdays? So do Chris Parmelee and Nick Blackburn. And the NewBritain clubhouse will have a lot of fun on August 20th, the shared birthday of both their pitching and hitting coaches (Bobby Cuellar and Tom Brunansky). And do you know the most popular day as far as Twins' organization players and staff birthdays go? It is November 24th when 6 members of the organization celebrate their birthdays. Here is the list of more than 200 birthdays in the organization; it can also serve as an organizational roster. A couple of caveats: A. Some players who are mentioned in the list are no longer with the organization. This will probably clear when the short season leagues are announced. B. Some players in the Twins' organization (esp. the new International Signees not in Extended Spring Training who will play in the DSL or will join the organization this summer,) as well as the managers and coaching staff at the short season leagues are not listed. I do not list front office/announcer/broadcaster etc birthdays. Without further ado (and please help fill any gaps) : For space considerations, please visit The Tenth Inning Stretch for the full list of the Twins' organization birthdays

This was originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Here is this week's installment: The opening day was a bummer but featured somewhat a comeback, for which I was thankful. Still the Twins lost, which is not good. My thoughts as I was watching that game are here. The second game debacle did not put me in a great mood and the third game was the cherry on top. At least there were a couple of bright points: Swarzak's performance on short notice, Jamey Carroll's defense, Frankie Liriano's first inning. Glen Perkins and Brian Duensing have done a remarkable job when called upon. The home opener yesterday afternoon was pretty interesting, until the manager of the millennium per habit, left Blackburn in a batter or 2 too many. After 4 games the Twins as a team are hitting a collective Buteraesque: .165/.252/.240 and only Josh Willingham (1.390/239 OPS+) and Justin Morneau (.829/149 OPS+) have OPS higher than league average The Twins are 14th in the AL in OPS and Runs Scored, 12th in ERA, 10th in WHIP and Runs allowed/game and 11th in Runs Allowed so far. But the Defense has improved: They are 8th (and above league average) for Defensive Efficiency and tied for 4th for Total Fielding Runs above average. I would not be surprised to see Mr Brunansky as the hitting coach soon Scary thought: Matt Maloney might be part of the Twins' rotation in 2013. Apparently with all the issues Scott Baker had in Spring Training, his first MRI was after his failed start with the Miracle last week. I hope that Terry Ryan who has been blowing hot air about accountability explains that Ken Rosenthal wrote this incredible story about the bike accident of Reese Marquis and her healing. A MUST read, especially if you have kids. You might understand what Jason Marquis was going through. Looks like the Twins jumped up a few spots on these and these pre-opening day power rankings From the cannot make it up department: Matt Capps' middle name is "Dicus" (No K). I swear. Look it up. Twins' middle infield prospect with the Beloit Snappers AJ Pettersen Is trying to explain the art of choosing a walkout song. R.A. Dickey's Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleballhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=0399158154 is great. A must read feel good story from a former Twins' pitcher. The Twins' product of the week, is the MLB Men's Minnesota Twins Arch Classic Long Sleeve Full Zip Hooded Fleece, in Athletic Navyhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B004YIY3N4. You cannot beat the price and I picked one for myself to wear at my local ballpark. The parting shot today is of Mr Nicholas Blackburn. He was alright in the home opener, until Gardenhire left him in a couple batters too long: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/7064953867_71872c52f7_o.jpg

This was originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Here is this week's installment: The opening day was a bummer but featured somewhat a comeback, for which I was thankful. Still the Twins lost, which is not good. My thoughts as I was watching that game are here. The second game debacle did not put me in a great mood and the third game was the cherry on top. At least there were a couple of bright points: Swarzak's performance on short notice, Jamey Carroll's defense, Frankie Liriano's first inning. Glen Perkins and Brian Duensing have done a remarkable job when called upon. The home opener yesterday afternoon was pretty interesting, until the manager of the millennium per habit, left Blackburn in a batter or 2 too many. After 4 games the Twins as a team are hitting a collective Buteraesque: .165/.252/.240 and only Josh Willingham (1.390/239 OPS+) and Justin Morneau (.829/149 OPS+) have OPS higher than league average The Twins are 14th in the AL in OPS and Runs Scored, 12th in ERA, 10th in WHIP and Runs allowed/game and 11th in Runs Allowed so far. But the Defense has improved: They are 8th (and above league average) for Defensive Efficiency and tied for 4th for Total Fielding Runs above average. I would not be surprised to see Mr Brunansky as the hitting coach soon Scary thought: Matt Maloney might be part of the Twins' rotation in 2013. Apparently with all the issues Scott Baker had in Spring Training, his first MRI was after his failed start with the Miracle last week. I hope that Terry Ryan who has been blowing hot air about accountability explains that Ken Rosenthal wrote this incredible story about the bike accident of Reese Marquis and her healing. A MUST read, especially if you have kids. You might understand what Jason Marquis was going through. Looks like the Twins jumped up a few spots on these and these pre-opening day power rankings From the cannot make it up department: Matt Capps' middle name is "Dicus" (No K). I swear. Look it up. Twins' middle infield prospect with the Beloit Snappers AJ Pettersen Is trying to explain the art of choosing a walkout song. R.A. Dickey's Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleballhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=0399158154 is great. A must read feel good story from a former Twins' pitcher. The Twins' product of the week, is the MLB Men's Minnesota Twins Arch Classic Long Sleeve Full Zip Hooded Fleece, in Athletic Navyhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B004YIY3N4. You cannot beat the price and I picked one for myself to wear at my local ballpark. The parting shot today is of Mr Nicholas Blackburn. He was alright in the home opener, until Gardenhire left him in a couple batters too long: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/7064953867_71872c52f7_o.jpg