Brandon Warne

He's exactly one month younger than Brian Dozier

I won't say that necessarily either, but I think it was the right time based on what we've seen so far. They did at the time on Carlos Gomez, too. Then A. the Brewers eventually (not right away) let Gomez do whatever he wanted and B. the Twins foolishly then sold low on Hardy for some reason.

Well, Aaron Hicks. Just didn't pan out on the other end.

Because he's been playing well. You can't just fold up shop and decide to stop trying to win. Beyond that, he's got obvious trade value between now and the offseason, where I'm certain they'll move him.

Beyond that, he was only up because he was a warm body and on the 40-man roster. The same has been true about Polanco all along. It's unfortunate to be in that bind, but would you prefer that, or guys like Beresford and Mastroianni being added? It's a versatile 25-man roster, and I do believe for now that Nunez should be playing regularly. So that means not a lot of playing time for Polanco -- who incidentally has not played ANY shortstop all year. Could be telling....

There's Sano way Miguel isn't in a deal.

I believe this was spun off from the conversation Seth and I had. I called the team "young" because of the nearly inverse relationship between who was getting paid the last few years and who was providing the results. So maybe what I meant was "baseball young" or "inexperienced" rather than young.

Jack Moore joins the show to talk Brewers baseball, the safety — or lack thereof — of football and we close with a bit of Timberwolves chatter. As well as why Jack chose Minneapolis as his homebase for a career. Follow Jack on Twitter (@jh_moore) and is a contributor at VICE Sports, Vocativ, Hardball Times, The Guardian and Baseball Prospectus Milwaukee. A Cold Omaha Podcast Network Production Subscribe to Midwest Swing on iTunes or Stitcher! http://coldomaha.com/2016/podcasts/midwest-swing-jack-moore-of-vice-sports/

Eno Sarris joins the program to talk Mets, fantasy baseball, BBWAA, Fangraphs+, Beer, Sandwiches and so much more. http://traffic.libsyn.com/midwestswing2/MWS_0009_-_Eno_Sarris.mp3 SUBSCRIBE/REVIEW: https://t.co/1xoMeI67yF A Cold Omaha Podcast Network Production

Baseball Prospecuts’ Michael Baumann joins the program to discuss MLB labor issues, the Phillies rebuilding efforts and of course, college baseball. Michael’s an MLB writer at FanRag Sports and Baseball Prospectus as well as a college baseball scribe at D1Baseball.com. Follow Michael on Twitter (@MJ_Baumann) A Cold Omaha Podcast Network Production Subscribe to Midwest Swing on iTunes or Stitcher! http://coldomaha.com/2016/podcasts/midwest-swing-michael-baumann/

Ha! Gonna miss out on that one. I usually try to make every WWE event when they're in town though.

A big point of contention for Twins fans over the past calendar year has been the bullpen. And while expectations were low heading into 2015, the team exceeded them. The bullpen, however, did not. Absent context, the bullpen’s numbers don’t look that bad, right? The team cobbled together a 3.95 ERA, a nice 6.9 K/9 and was one of just a handful of American League bullpens to issue fewer than three walks per nine frames. Nothing about that necessarily stands out to the untrained eye, but nothing looks terribly egregious, either. But context is important — very important. Just three bullpens in the AL fanned fewer than 8.0 batters per nine last year. The other two were the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers, with the Twins in last place. That’s a familiar spot, as the Twins’ staff on the whole has been last in the AL in K/9 the last five years running. To address those woes, Boston added Craig Kimbrel (14.5 career K/9) in the offseason; Detroit added a trio of guys in Justin Wilson (9.7 K/9 in ‘15), Mark Lowe (1.96 ERA) and the venerable Francisco Rodriguez (2.21 ERA, 9.8 K/9). The Twins added…..Fernando Abad on a minor league deal. How much did the Twins miss the league average marks by? Let’s have a look: Statistic – Twins – AL Avg. ERA – 3.95 – 3.77 FIP – 4.20 – 3.94 K/9 – 6.9 – 8.4 BB/9 – 2.9 – 3.3 GB rate – 43 percent – 44.9 percent Basically speaking, the team’s only saving grace in the bullpen was its disdain for the free pass. Besides that, not only was it a decidedly uninteresting unit that gave a number of innings to low-ceiling vets like Aaron Thompson and Blaine Boyer, rather than seeing the limits of younger guys like Michael Tonkin. It wouldn’t be fair to ignore some of the positives the bullpen put together in 2015, either. Boyer’s results (2.49 ERA) didn’t match his peripherals (4.5 K/9, 4.00 FIP), and that turned out to be a good thing. Thompson had a run early in the season where he was unhittable. Glen Perkins was so great in the first half he made the All Star team. Kevin Jepsen was fantastic (1.61 ERA) after coming over in a deal to stabilize the back end, and helped keep the unit together during Perkins’ tumultuous second half. And finally, Trevor May was a revelation after a move to the bullpen, posting a 2.87 ERA and 10.6 K/9 while limiting opposing batters to a .250/.305/.392 line. Please continue reading after the jump at the newly launched ColdOmaha.com!

Joined by Paul Sporer in the latest episode: Sporer joins the program to discuss Texas, MLB The Show, and of course, pitching and fantasy baseball. Oh, and there's a little dachshund talk as well. Listen: http://traffic.libsyn.com/midwestswing2/MWS_-_Paul_Sporer.mp3 Subscribe/Review: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/facemidwestswing2s-podcast/id1073026341?mt=2

http://traffic.libsyn.com/midwestswing2/MWS_0007_-_Bryan_Grosnick_of_Baseball_Prospectus.mp3 Brandon is joined by Bryan Grosnick of Baseball Prospectus and BP Boston to talk projections, the Mets and an American League that is completely bananas. A Cold Omaha Podcast Network Production Follow Brandon on Twitter (@Brandon_Warne) https://twitter.com/Brandon_Warne Visit the Website: http://www.brandonwarne.com/ Subscribe to Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/midwestswing2s-podcast/id1073026341?mt=2 Get the Show on Stitcher! http://stitcher.com/s?fid=81063&refid=stpr

Luke Inman joins Brandon to recap the Super Bowl, retirements and to grade the Vikings 2015 season. A little football recap before baseball season hits. A Cold Omaha Podcast Network Production http://traffic.libsyn.com/midwestswing2/MWS_0006_-_Luke_Inman_of_eDraft_and_Cold_Omaha.mp3

here's the stitcher link if someone prefers that: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/midwest-swing-hosted-by-brandon-warne-major-league-baseball/e/42416961?autoplay=true

This week, Brandon is joined by Dan Szymborski of ESPN to discuss Baltimore, Cincinnati chili, cat strategy, gaming, ZiPS, 'meh' rotations and everything in between. https://t.co/0gEaXmgHwU

Brandon does a one-hour soliloquy on his thought regarding the Twins and their payroll, with a little help from some of his friends on Twitter and Facebook.A Cold Omaha Podcast Network Production Direct Download: iTunes: https://itunes.apple...1073026341?mt=2 Stitcher: http://www.stitcher....league-baseball Click here to view the article

If you guys want some people to back out so there are more tix available, let 'em know I'm coming too.

Brandon does a one-hour soliloquy on his thought regarding the Twins and their payroll, with a little help from some of his friends on Twitter and Facebook. A Cold Omaha Podcast Network Production Direct Download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/midwestswing2/MWS_0004_-_Twins_Payroll_and_Twitter_Qs.mp3 iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/midwest-swing-hosted-by-brandon/id1073026341?mt=2 Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/midwest-swing-hosted-by-brandon-warne-major-league-baseball

Brandon is joined by Luke Widbin, who works in admissions for University of Northwestern in St. Paul. Widbin is a rabid collector of autographs and sports memorabilia, and operates a blog called Autographs Anonymous. http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/0/0/b/00b3385dc899568f/MWS_003_-_Luke_Widbin_-_January_27_2016.mp3?c_id=10789846&expiration=1453940344&hwt=119739a608a1d72db474bb2e4c1454cd

Brandon, Cole and Tom discuss more of the Twins' offseason, life in the Minor Leagues, and some of their favorite clubhouse pranks. https://www.spreaker.com/user/sbarnard4/the-breakdown-ep-20-the-pranksmen_1

I'm recording a special episode of Midwest Swing on Thursday, and I will answer EVERY question submitted in good faith about the team and their payroll situation. It's a hot-button issue, so please, don't be shy. Leave your question or comment below.

Brandon is joined by Jon Becker of Roster Resource as the guys break down the offseason. More specifically, they look at a topsy-turvy American League and a top-heavy National League and try to make sense of it all. Who is the team to beat in each league? Listen to find out their opinions! D/L: http://traffic.libsyn.com/midwestswing2/MWS_-_Jon_Becker.mp3 iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/midwestswing2s-podcast/id1073026341?mt=2 Stitcher: http://stitcher.com/s?fid=81063&refid=stpr