Thrylos

This is so darn inaccurate and I hear it all the time and I don't know if it is confusion or something else. Here is how Target Field was funded: 1/3 was paid by the Twins and 2/3 are paid by bonds financed by a 0.15% increase in the sales tax at Hennepin county. People's local & property taxes did not increase. People buying taxable stuff (ie not clothes and food and necessities) in Hennepin county, including Twins' tickets and concessions are paying more, regardless whether they live in Minneapolis, St Paul, Duluth, or Timbuktu. And since most of the shopping centers are out of Hennepin county, most of the Hennepin country residents are not affected. The ones who pay more of the bill are the out of towners who have to use hotels and restaurants etc.

Donuts to dollars he will be better with the bat than Florimon and pretty close with the glove at SS (his best defensive position)

Most minor leaguers will be gone by then (season starts that week for most teams) but there will be extended spring training and the Miracle players will be there practicing and scrimmaging in the minor league facilities. You can probably catch a Twins-Red Sox or an inter-squad game as well. The Miracle season starts on 4/3 at Jupiter (that's in Palm Beach) and they play there at 4/4 as well (so they will be gone by 4/2). At 4/5 and 4/6 Jupiter visits Hammond Stadium. One thing: If you are driving from Orlando to Fort Myers, I highly suggest to take 17 and not go through Tampa and then down 75. 17 Hits 75 around Port Charlotte. Must easier that way and some great scenery, including a multitude of orange groves and fruit stands selling them on the side of the road.

Despite what the Twins (and Garza) have been saying publicly, I find it really hard to believe that a reunion could ever be possible, after what happened at his first stint with the Twins, which led to his departure. Not if the people involved then are the same who are running the team now. That said, the injury issues are legitimate

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Today the Minnesota Twins have finalized their agreement with South Korea's Hanwha Eagles, selling LHP Andrew Albers' contract. It is a good move for Albers who will be compensated close to $1 million, while he would have had a hard time cracking the Twins' and potentially even the Red Wings' rotations, after the acquisitions of Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes and Mike Pelfrey at the major league level and Kris Johnson and Sean Gilmartin at the minor league level. Albers was the recipient of the 2013 Jim Rantz award as the Minnesota Twins' minor league pitcher of the year. Since its inception in 2003, only one pitcher who won the award (Kyle Gibson) is still with the Twins and, arguably, bad luck followed every single recipient and in most cases within one year from winning this award? Is there a curse of Jim Rantz? I am not sure, but here is a list of the recipients and their respective misfortunes. The players who had something happen within a year are listed in bold: 2013: Andrew Albers - Contract Sold to South Korean's Hanwha Eagles 2014 2012: BJ Hermsen - Removed off the 40 man roster 2013 2011: Liam Hendriks - Designated for Assignement 2013 2010: Kyle Gibson - Tommy John Surgery 2011 2009: David Bromberg - Released 2012 2008: Anthony Slama - released 2013 2007: Kevin Slowey - Traded 2011 2006: Matt Garza - Traded 2007 2005: Fransisco Liriano - Tommy John Surgery 2006 2004: Scott Baker - Tommy John Surgery 2012 2003: Jesse Crain - Shoulder Surgery 2007, 2013 Thus, aspiring not to win this award might be something that Twins' prospects should consider. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3754/12106373166_58e172a901_o.jpg

I'd love to see that list sorted by WAR but, yes Knoblauch deserves to be there

This is great stuff. Lots of new parents in the Twins' minors, Buxton, Vargas and now Berrios too... I kinda smirked at this (translated) Probably a good 100 degree difference from the summer of 2012. Will be interesting to see what he thinks after that

Agreed. And I think that the Twins should have sold high of Fien. They still maybe can. But there are still enough arms internally to replace Fien, Tonkin for example, who is also a fireballer but probably more sure thing than Villareal for a late inning option. Also, they will need space for some of the pitchers who will not make the rotation. Zach Jones is next on line as well. Now, if you offer him a MiLB contract and he accepts, there is no harm in stashing him in Rochester to begin the season...

Here here. 2 words: Josh Hamilton. Methinks that Joe Benson needs similar help. And I will leave it at that (and I am not talking about adiction here)

There is a good reason for a 27 year old pitcher to have less than 75 MLB innings. Villareal is an one (and a half) pitch pony. FB (and slider occasionally) And he can control his FB as former Twins' Juan Morillo and Jim Hoey could. And their fastballs were even faster... just sayin'

Question for Dave St. Peter: Who worked out the crazy pricing of the Spring Training tickets in the new wrap around porch (10 different pricing zones, while Tampa with a similar set up has only one price) that results to massive confusion when trying to order tickets on line; and is there any way to get it more simplified for 2015?

Erickson pitched the first Twins No Hitter in the Metrodome in 1994 and is one of only 7 no-hitters for the Twins' franchise (including the Senators; 5 for the Minnesota years) so he is a pretty significant guy that way too A lot of people remember Morris in 1991, but Erickson was the Twins' best pitcher that season and was second in the Cy Young vote after Clemens. Also Erickson was one of the first trades that Terry Ryan did (to Baltimore for Scott Klingenbeck & Kimera Bartee at age 27 in 1995.) Fully great guy to hear talk.

There is no way that Samuel Deduno, Scott Diamond and Vance Worley will not get claimed if passed through waivers, so they are not really part of the Rochester rotation competition. LHPs Pat Dean and Logan Darnell (who were at Rochester at the end of 2013) and RHP Virgil Vasquez who pitched for Rochester in 2013. Add Gilmartin & Johnson to Dean & Darnell and the Twins all of the sudden have 4 lefties (even if you exclude Diamond) ahead of Albers.

DH choice with Molitor's 116 OPS+ is weak. Since DH was a late addition, they could have easily chosen a player with a better season before the DH existed, like HOFer Heinie Manush's 1930 (.362/.406/.559 and 146 OPS+) season or even Oliva's 1971 (not '70) season (.337/.369/.546, 154 OPS+). And I'd take HOFer Stan Covaleski's (20-5, 2.84 ERA, 149 ERA+) 1925 season over Pasqual's 1959 (17-10, 2.64 ERA, 149 ERA+), but the most unrecognized pitching performance here was Alan Anderson's 16-9 2.45 ERA and 166 ERA+ 1988 season for a pretty mediocre Twins team. [TABLE=class: sortable stats_table row_summable] [TR=class: full hl] [TD=align: right][/TD] [TD=align: right][/TD] [TD=align: right][/TD] [TD=align: right][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

That 40 man spot is Kubel's unless additional moves are made.

Radcliff is the guy who was responsible for the signing of another Twins' SS. From here (from right after the signing in 2010) : So I would take what Radcliff says with a huge grain of salt...

Not a done deal yet. From here: I think it will be great if it works out, same with the failed Colabello deal.

If Mastroianni makes the Twins over Hicks and if Willingham plays more than a quarter of his innings at LF (instead of DHing,) the Twins are in for a long season. Mastroianni adds nothing to a roster that has Presley. I still see the Twins adding an OF bat in an 1 year type of contract or trading for someone in his last contract year.

This off-season they signed a 25-year $2.5 Billion dollar deal so, not really

Already a coach There is another article on Albers from Canada that came out yesterday here. He is quite the celebrity over there

Well... I can turn that around and say that if Seattle, which is a smaller and less wealthy market than the Twin Cities according to factual data, can get more TV revenue, someone in the Twins' front office is not doing their job.

Agreed. That's kinda iffy. The Twins' market is the 13th largest Metropolitan Area in the States , with 3,759,978 people as of the 2010 Census and has the fifth highest household income for Metro areas in the US with $54,304. Compare that with Seattle (3,554,760 people and $50,733 household income) and what the Mariners are paying for contracts these days, and that kind of rhetoric does not stand too much

My point is that Pinto with 6 seasons of team control (and Koch and Turner down the line) is a better choice than Stassi and Escobar or Santana (and Polanco down the line) is a better choice than Sardinas. Never talked about Florimon or Suzuki. I see them as bench players at best. Both Stassi and Sardinas cannot play in the majors and contribute in 2014 more than what the Twins have already plus there is somewhat of a pipeline in those positions, so it does not make much sense.

Agree that Albers will battle for the 5th rotation spot, but for the Rochester rotation. Even without Worley, Deduno and Diamond who will either make the Twins or go, I count: Gibson Meyer May Gilmartin Kris Johnson ahead of him. Then add Pat Dean, Logan Darnell and Virgil Vasquez and that is the group that Albers belongs with... I'd say Albers is a major outright/DFA candidate