Cody Christie

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zw_MlMY_n8g/T7Ds4BCIBCI/AAAAAAAABRI/jscxapm3W00/s320/PavanoThrowing.jpg Word came out over the weekend that Carl Pavano underwent an MRI on his right shoulder to see if there was anything wrong with this important area for his throwing arm. The report came back saying he has a strained interior shoulder capsule and he could need a cortisone shot after his start on Monday night. At this point, he is not expected to miss any time for the Twins but he is sending his MRI to another doctor for a second opinion to make sure it is nothing serious. The reason for all of this concern around Pavano has been the large decrease in his velocity to start the 2012 campaign. Sometimes it can take pitchers a few starts to ramp up their velocity at the beginning of the year but he has already made seven starts this season for the Twins. Most of the offseason rust should be gone by now and his velocity should be closer to normal. This wasn't the case and the Twins needed to find some answers in relation to Pavano. During the last five years of his career, Pavano has averaged a fastball at 89.7 mph and last year he sat around 88.7 mph for the season. Velocity is usually going to drop as a player starts to get older and he has more wear and tear on his throwing arm. The problem for Pavano and the Twins has been the fact that the 36-year old pitcher has seen a drop in his fastball velocity to around 86.1 mph. This large drop in velocity can make a pitcher very ineffective against professional hitters and the results have shown on the field. In the last two seasons, Pavano has been the workhorse of the Twins pitching staff by throwing over 220 inning in 2010 and 2011. His ERA and WHIP have gone up in each of the last two years but he has 10 complete games and three shutouts during that time frame. His consistency was something the Twins could count on in the Target Field era and he could have put up much better numbers last season with a competent defensive unit behind him. The Twins seem to have a better defense lined up behind Pavano this year with the additions of Jamey Carroll and Brian Dozier. So if he was able to generate more ground balls, the defensive should be able to make the plays for Pavano to be successful. His first two full seasons with the Twins saw Pavano generate ground balls over 50% of the time. He has seen that number drop significantly to 44.8% in his seven starts so far for the Twins in 2012. The Twins outfield defense has some holes this year so the increase in fly balls from Pavano could also be a concern. With his drop in velocity, Pavano has been forced to change in pitching philosophy on the mound. For his career, Pavano has thrown fastballs as 62.0% of his pitches, sliders for 18.6% of the time, and change ups for 18.3% of his throws. His age and change in velocity have forced him to rely more on his off-speed pitches in the last two seasons and this switch has continued so far this year. His fastball has lost some velocity and Pavano has spent less time throwing his heater (58.2%) and started to throw more of his change up (25.4%). The mounting struggles for Pavano make it hard not to think about his future in baseball. The aging pitcher is not under contract for next season and his time as an impact starter might already be behind him. There is still plenty of time left in the season for Pavano to iron out the kinks with his shoulder issue but age can make recovery harder for a pitcher. Baseball has seen Jamie Moyer defy age and injuries to pitch in the starting rotation for the Rockies at age 49. With all the openings the Twins will have in their rotation for next year, the Twins can only hope that Pavano is able follow in the footsteps of Moyer and continue to pitch effectively as he gets closer to 40-years old.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zw_MlMY_n8g/T7Ds4BCIBCI/AAAAAAAABRI/jscxapm3W00/s320/PavanoThrowing.jpg Word came out over the weekend that Carl Pavano underwent an MRI on his right shoulder to see if there was anything wrong with this important area for his throwing arm. The report came back saying he has a strained interior shoulder capsule and he could need a cortisone shot after his start on Monday night. At this point, he is not expected to miss any time for the Twins but he is sending his MRI to another doctor for a second opinion to make sure it is nothing serious. The reason for all of this concern around Pavano has been the large decrease in his velocity to start the 2012 campaign. Sometimes it can take pitchers a few starts to ramp up their velocity at the beginning of the year but he has already made seven starts this season for the Twins. Most of the offseason rust should be gone by now and his velocity should be closer to normal. This wasn't the case and the Twins needed to find some answers in relation to Pavano. During the last five years of his career, Pavano has averaged a fastball at 89.7 mph and last year he sat around 88.7 mph for the season. Velocity is usually going to drop as a player starts to get older and he has more wear and tear on his throwing arm. The problem for Pavano and the Twins has been the fact that the 36-year old pitcher has seen a drop in his fastball velocity to around 86.1 mph. This large drop in velocity can make a pitcher very ineffective against professional hitters and the results have shown on the field. In the last two seasons, Pavano has been the workhorse of the Twins pitching staff by throwing over 220 inning in 2010 and 2011. His ERA and WHIP have gone up in each of the last two years but he has 10 complete games and three shutouts during that time frame. His consistency was something the Twins could count on in the Target Field era and he could have put up much better numbers last season with a competent defensive unit behind him. The Twins seem to have a better defense lined up behind Pavano this year with the additions of Jamey Carroll and Brian Dozier. So if he was able to generate more ground balls, the defensive should be able to make the plays for Pavano to be successful. His first two full seasons with the Twins saw Pavano generate ground balls over 50% of the time. He has seen that number drop significantly to 44.8% in his seven starts so far for the Twins in 2012. The Twins outfield defense has some holes this year so the increase in fly balls from Pavano could also be a concern. With his drop in velocity, Pavano has been forced to change in pitching philosophy on the mound. For his career, Pavano has thrown fastballs as 62.0% of his pitches, sliders for 18.6% of the time, and change ups for 18.3% of his throws. His age and change in velocity have forced him to rely more on his off-speed pitches in the last two seasons and this switch has continued so far this year. His fastball has lost some velocity and Pavano has spent less time throwing his heater (58.2%) and started to throw more of his change up (25.4%). The mounting struggles for Pavano make it hard not to think about his future in baseball. The aging pitcher is not under contract for next season and his time as an impact starter might already be behind him. There is still plenty of time left in the season for Pavano to iron out the kinks with his shoulder issue but age can make recovery harder for a pitcher. Baseball has seen Jamie Moyer defy age and injuries to pitch in the starting rotation for the Rockies at age 49. With all the openings the Twins will have in their rotation for next year, the Twins can only hope that Pavano is able follow in the footsteps of Moyer and continue to pitch effectively as he gets closer to 40-years old.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another week has come and gone for Twins Territory and the hometown nine have started to stir the pot a little bit when it comes to their roster. Brian Dozier, the organization's minor league player of the year from 2011, made his debut earlier in the week. He has been impressive so far and the Twins hope he can continue to play at a high level. After leading all American League third basemen in games played in 2011, Danny Valencia has found himself back in Triple-A. In 2010, Valencia looked great for the Twins but he has failed to get back to that form in the last two years. His minor league track record suggested something like this might happen and now the Twins might try and trade Mr. Valencia. Speaking of not being in form, Francisco Liriano has struggled mightily for the entire year and it was time for a change. After the team skipped his spot in the rotation, he still failed to produce results on the mound. For the time being, he has been moved to the bullpen and the front office called up PJ Walters to take his spot in the rotation. The Blue Jays come to town this weekend with a chance to gain ground in their division since the two teams in front of them will play each other. Toronto's best slugger Jose Bautista has been struggling to start the year and much like with the Angels and Albert Pujols, the Twins don't want to wake the sleeping giant. Baseball America released their first version of a mock draft. Who will the Twins take at number 2? Their pick may surprise you... Standford's Mark Appel will be one of the first pitchers selected in the draft but he doesn't seem to be pitching up to expectations. John Sickles at Minor League Ball put together his supplemental round mock draft where the Twins have two high picks. Chris Parmelee made the roster out of spring training and now he has been sitting on the bench. So what happened to Chris Parmelee? The Twins have seemed to rush some prospects to the majors in recent memory so it might seem like the club is opening their presents too early. It's looking like the Twins will be sellers at the trading deadline and Twins Fan From Afar looks at the time of players they should target. Along the same lines as above, The Twins Armchair GM writes about the possibility of the Nationals still being interested in Denard Span. If you don't know a lot about Brian Dozier, make sure to read this post by Seth Stohs. A blind man named Reggie Deal is going to 30 parks in 30 days and he will be at Target Field on Friday. Former Twins pitcher Dan Osterbrock had some bad words to say about his former team. Alexi Casilla is near the top of the leaderboard in glove flips so far in 2012. This list of least productive positions in baseball has too many Twins on it. A few weeks ago I posted a picture of Robert Andino and how playing in Baltimore had taken away his smile. Well the Orioles are near the top of the division and this means his smile came back. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xje3IeZgtjI/T6w-Bb6nZLI/AAAAAAAABQ8/d52BODzZcQ4/s400/andinorevived.jpg Scott Diamond had a great first start for the Twins but what can be expected from him going forward? Pitching to contact seems to be the Twins method for selecting pitchers but is it a good thing? A high school baseball team in Arizona forfeited their championship game because the other team had a girl starting in the middle infield. Would Twins fans want to see the Pohlad family sell the team? Jim Pohlad did come out and voice his support of Ron Gardenhire and Terry Ryan this week. My Weekly Rundown Monday: Dozier won't be savior of Twins offensive woes Tuesday: Tuesday Night Minor League Round-Up Wednesday: Ranking the best debuts by current Twins Thursday: Guerra moving quickly toward Target Field Video of the Week: Earlier this week, . I think he would have went for four outs if he had the opportunity. Pretty sweet!

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another week has come and gone for Twins Territory and the hometown nine have started to stir the pot a little bit when it comes to their roster. Brian Dozier, the organization's minor league player of the year from 2011, made his debut earlier in the week. He has been impressive so far and the Twins hope he can continue to play at a high level. After leading all American League third basemen in games played in 2011, Danny Valencia has found himself back in Triple-A. In 2010, Valencia looked great for the Twins but he has failed to get back to that form in the last two years. His minor league track record suggested something like this might happen and now the Twins might try and trade Mr. Valencia. Speaking of not being in form, Francisco Liriano has struggled mightily for the entire year and it was time for a change. After the team skipped his spot in the rotation, he still failed to produce results on the mound. For the time being, he has been moved to the bullpen and the front office called up PJ Walters to take his spot in the rotation. The Blue Jays come to town this weekend with a chance to gain ground in their division since the two teams in front of them will play each other. Toronto's best slugger Jose Bautista has been struggling to start the year and much like with the Angels and Albert Pujols, the Twins don't want to wake the sleeping giant. Baseball America released their first version of a mock draft. Who will the Twins take at number 2? Their pick may surprise you... Standford's Mark Appel will be one of the first pitchers selected in the draft but he doesn't seem to be pitching up to expectations. John Sickles at Minor League Ball put together his supplemental round mock draft where the Twins have two high picks. Chris Parmelee made the roster out of spring training and now he has been sitting on the bench. So what happened to Chris Parmelee? The Twins have seemed to rush some prospects to the majors in recent memory so it might seem like the club is opening their presents too early. It's looking like the Twins will be sellers at the trading deadline and Twins Fan From Afar looks at the time of players they should target. Along the same lines as above, The Twins Armchair GM writes about the possibility of the Nationals still being interested in Denard Span. If you don't know a lot about Brian Dozier, make sure to read this post by Seth Stohs. A blind man named Reggie Deal is going to 30 parks in 30 days and he will be at Target Field on Friday. Former Twins pitcher Dan Osterbrock had some bad words to say about his former team. Alexi Casilla is near the top of the leaderboard in glove flips so far in 2012. This list of least productive positions in baseball has too many Twins on it. A few weeks ago I posted a picture of Robert Andino and how playing in Baltimore had taken away his smile. Well the Orioles are near the top of the division and this means his smile came back. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xje3IeZgtjI/T6w-Bb6nZLI/AAAAAAAABQ8/d52BODzZcQ4/s400/andinorevived.jpg Scott Diamond had a great first start for the Twins but what can be expected from him going forward? Pitching to contact seems to be the Twins method for selecting pitchers but is it a good thing? A high school baseball team in Arizona forfeited their championship game because the other team had a girl starting in the middle infield. Would Twins fans want to see the Pohlad family sell the team? Jim Pohlad did come out and voice his support of Ron Gardenhire and Terry Ryan this week. My Weekly Rundown Monday: Dozier won't be savior of Twins offensive woes Tuesday: Tuesday Night Minor League Round-Up Wednesday: Ranking the best debuts by current Twins Thursday: Guerra moving quickly toward Target Field Video of the Week: Earlier this week, . I think he would have went for four outs if he had the opportunity. Pretty sweet!

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-divMdGG9EGU/T6sm7FLOPXI/AAAAAAAABQw/8BPw2hz0XLM/s320/DeolisGuerra.jpg When the Twins traded Johan Santana before the start of the 2008 season, they were hoping to get a king's ransom in return for their two-time Cy Young winning left-hander. If a person believes the rumors that were swirling at the time, the Red Sox and the Yankees might have been interested in trading for Santana. In the end, the Twins settled for the offer from the New York Mets and the rest is history. The package of players the Twins received included Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey. Out of that group, only Gomez has played at the big league level for the Twins but he was sent to Milwaukee as part of the JJ Hardy trade in 2009. All of the players that were part of the deal are no longer part of the Twins organization except for Guerra and he represents the Twins last hope to get something out of the Santana deal. Guerra, a 23-year old right-handed pitcher, has played the last five seasons in the Twins organization and he has worked his way to Triple-A in 2012. When he started with the Twins, he was a 19-year old starting pitcher with some upside for the Fort Myers Miracle. Over the next handful of seasons, his ERA and WHIP would continue to climb as he moved his way up the ladder of the Twins farm system. By the beginning of 2011, it was clear that a change needed to be made for Guerra to find success on the field. This change came in the form of moving from being a starter to starting to be used as a relief option out of the bullpen. Last year he was on the mound for 37 games and in 27 of those contests he was used as a relief pitcher. He pitched 95 innings and gave up 102 hits with a high 1.368 WHIP for the Rock Cats. There were some challenges with his transition to a new role after being a starting pitcher for almost his entire professional career. At the start of the 2012 campaign, Guerra knew he was going to be a relief pitcher and he set out with something to prove to himself and the organization. The front office for the Twins started him off in New Britain and he quickly showed that his second time in the Eastern League was going to be a breeze. In seven appearances for the Rock Cats, he gave up five hits and one earned run for a 0.71 ERA. This made the Twins confident enough to promote him to Rochester for the first time since 2010. For the last two weeks, Guerra has been at Triple-A and the jump up a level has not impacted his performance. In his four appearances, he has given up six hits with 10 strikeouts in nine innings. The most impressive statistic might be the fact that he has yet to surrender a run with the Red Wings. In all of his outings, he has been asked to pitch more than one inning and he has pitched over two innings in three of his four appearances. The Twins went through a roster shake-up last night by sending Danny Valencia to Rochester and designating Matt Maloney for assignment. Francisco Liriano will be moved to the bullpen and PJ Walters will enter the starting rotation. Utility man Darin Mastroianni is set to take the place of Valencia on the 25-man roster. Guerra also happens to be on the 40-man roster but he wasn't part of these recent roster moves. One of the reasons Guerra probably wasn't part of these moves was that the bullpen has been one of the only bright spots for the Twins this year. Jared Burton has been better than expected and Brian Duensing's transition back to a relief role has gone fairly smooth. Matt Capps added a cutter and this pitch has looked really good in his last couple of outings. The addition of Liriano to the bullpen will mean that Guerra might have to wait a little bit longer before joining the bullpen for the Twins. But it seems that it will only be a matter of time before Guerra will be making his big league debut.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-divMdGG9EGU/T6sm7FLOPXI/AAAAAAAABQw/8BPw2hz0XLM/s320/DeolisGuerra.jpg When the Twins traded Johan Santana before the start of the 2008 season, they were hoping to get a king's ransom in return for their two-time Cy Young winning left-hander. If a person believes the rumors that were swirling at the time, the Red Sox and the Yankees might have been interested in trading for Santana. In the end, the Twins settled for the offer from the New York Mets and the rest is history. The package of players the Twins received included Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey. Out of that group, only Gomez has played at the big league level for the Twins but he was sent to Milwaukee as part of the JJ Hardy trade in 2009. All of the players that were part of the deal are no longer part of the Twins organization except for Guerra and he represents the Twins last hope to get something out of the Santana deal. Guerra, a 23-year old right-handed pitcher, has played the last five seasons in the Twins organization and he has worked his way to Triple-A in 2012. When he started with the Twins, he was a 19-year old starting pitcher with some upside for the Fort Myers Miracle. Over the next handful of seasons, his ERA and WHIP would continue to climb as he moved his way up the ladder of the Twins farm system. By the beginning of 2011, it was clear that a change needed to be made for Guerra to find success on the field. This change came in the form of moving from being a starter to starting to be used as a relief option out of the bullpen. Last year he was on the mound for 37 games and in 27 of those contests he was used as a relief pitcher. He pitched 95 innings and gave up 102 hits with a high 1.368 WHIP for the Rock Cats. There were some challenges with his transition to a new role after being a starting pitcher for almost his entire professional career. At the start of the 2012 campaign, Guerra knew he was going to be a relief pitcher and he set out with something to prove to himself and the organization. The front office for the Twins started him off in New Britain and he quickly showed that his second time in the Eastern League was going to be a breeze. In seven appearances for the Rock Cats, he gave up five hits and one earned run for a 0.71 ERA. This made the Twins confident enough to promote him to Rochester for the first time since 2010. For the last two weeks, Guerra has been at Triple-A and the jump up a level has not impacted his performance. In his four appearances, he has given up six hits with 10 strikeouts in nine innings. The most impressive statistic might be the fact that he has yet to surrender a run with the Red Wings. In all of his outings, he has been asked to pitch more than one inning and he has pitched over two innings in three of his four appearances. The Twins went through a roster shake-up last night by sending Danny Valencia to Rochester and designating Matt Maloney for assignment. Francisco Liriano will be moved to the bullpen and PJ Walters will enter the starting rotation. Utility man Darin Mastroianni is set to take the place of Valencia on the 25-man roster. Guerra also happens to be on the 40-man roster but he wasn't part of these recent roster moves. One of the reasons Guerra probably wasn't part of these moves was that the bullpen has been one of the only bright spots for the Twins this year. Jared Burton has been better than expected and Brian Duensing's transition back to a relief role has gone fairly smooth. Matt Capps added a cutter and this pitch has looked really good in his last couple of outings. The addition of Liriano to the bullpen will mean that Guerra might have to wait a little bit longer before joining the bullpen for the Twins. But it seems that it will only be a matter of time before Guerra will be making his big league debut.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SOYxL2_fvlE/T6pjD9ZULII/AAAAAAAABQk/n8Atpfe8iv4/s320/DozierFlip.jpg Dozier premiered for the Twins on Monday night and he seems to be making a mark on the line-up in this early part of his career. The debut of a player in the big leagues can be a moment full of anxiousness and hope. For most players, they have been working toward this moment since they were a child and the first steps on the field can be a magical moment. The first two games have looked good for Dozier but the other players currently on the Twins 25-man roster have all been in his shoes before. How did these players fare in their debut? Was it better or worse than what Dozier put together on Monday evening? Below you will find some information about the debuts of all of the position players that are currently on the Twins 25-man roster. This list goes in order of when the players made their debut. There were some big name prospects and some lesser known players but each of them have reached their ultimate goal of making it to the big leagues. Jamey Carroll - Debut: September 11, 2002 Stat Summary: 2-for-3, R, BB Carroll is the first of a couple different players on this list to debut for a team other than the Twins. His first MLB action was in the jersey of the Montreal Expos. He did get to play his first game at Wrigley Field so that must have been a cool experience. One of the toughest things could have been the fact that it was the one year anniversary of 9/11. The Cubs would be stronger on this day and end up winning by a 6-3 score. Justin Morneau - Debut: June 10, 2003 Stat Summary: 2-for-4, 2 singles On a day when the Twins would only put together three hits, Morneau was able to get two of those knocks for the team. Since the Twins still had Doug Mientkiewicz, Morneau was relegated to designated hitter for his firs start with the team. The Rockies shut out the Twins but Morneau was able to show a glimpse of the player he would become in the coming years. Joe Mauer - Debut: April 5, 2004 Stat Summary: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB Mauer's debut had been anticipated since he was taken with the number one pick in the 2001 MLB Draft. He did little to take away from the hype as he put together a solid performance at the plate. The game went to extra-innings and the Twins would win the game on a walk-off home run off of the bat of Shannon Stewart. Josh Willingham - Debut: July 6, 2004 Stat Summary: 0-for-3 It wasn't a perfect debut for Willingham as he was held without a hit in his MLB debut for the Florida Marlins. Players like Mike Lowell and Miguel Cabrera would pick up the slack from Willingham and the Marlins would end up on top in this game. The very next night Willingham put together a 2-for-2 game so the hits would come just not in his debut. Ryan Doumit - Debut: June 5, 2005 Stat Summary: 0-for-1 Doumit was asked to make his debut in a pitch hitting opportunity for a pitcher from the Pirates. He only saw one pitch and he put the ball in play so it was a very quick debut for Mr. Doumit. The Pirates won this close contest with the Braves by a score of 5-2 but Doumit didn't have a lot to do with the outcome of the game. Alexi Casilla - Debut: September 1, 2006 Stat Summary: 0-for-0, BB Casilla had a pretty uneventful debut as he was asked to pinch hit for Nick Punto in the late stages of this game. He would draw a walk in his only at-bat but the Twins were down by eight runs before Casilla got into the game. In the first few weeks of his career, Casilla would primary be used off the bench and he wouldn't get his first start until September 28. Denard Span - Debut: April 6, 2008 Stat Summary: 0-for-2, BB Span started in the ninth spot in the batting order for the Twins on this day and there were some bumps along the way. He did manage to coax a walk in one of his at-bats but there would be no first hit in this contest for Mr. Span. The Twins would fall to the Royals by a score of 3-1 and the Twins didn't know they had their leadoff hitter of the future making his debut. Drew Butera - Debut: April 9, 2010 Stat Summary: 0-for-3, 3 SO Twins fans know what to expect from Butera by this point and his debut was a bad omen. He struck out in all three plate appearances he made for the very unwanted hat trick. The good news is the Twins were able to come back and win the game against the White Sox in extra-innings. Trevor Plouffe - Debut: May 21, 2010 Stat Summary: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI The Twins went on an offensive rampage in Plouffe's debut by scoring 15 runs against a Brewers team that was 10 games under .500 on the season. The Twins have moved Plouffe from shortstop since this day but he debuted by playing the position he was drafted at by the Twins. There have been some struggles for Plouffe since his debut but he put together a good first impression. Danny Valencia - Debut: June 3, 2010 Stat Summary: 1-for-3 When Felix Hernandez is the starting pitcher in your MLB debut, it is not going to be an easy start to your playing career. The only hit Valencia got in the contest came in his first at-bat off of Hernandez. Offense was hard to come by for the Twins as they failed to get more than one run across the plate. On this day, the Twins would lose 4-1 and all of the runs for the Mariners came in one inning. Chris Parmelee - Debut: September 6, 2011 Stat Summary: 2-for-4, 2 singles On this day last season, there were plenty of debuts for the Twins with Joe Benson and Liam Hendriks joining Parmelee in the line-up. Parmelee was on base multiple times but the Twins would fail to do anything once he was on base. At the end of the day, the Twins out hit the White Sox but were shut-out at home. Erik Komatsu - Debut: April 6, 2012 Stat Summary: 1-for-1 It was Opening Day at Miller Park when Komatsu was asked to pinch hit for Carlos Beltran. He slapped an infield hit and advanced the runner from second to third. This would be his only at-bat in the game and in the coming weeks, he would find himself in the jersey of the Minnesota Twins. Brian Dozier - Debut: May 7, 2012 Stat Summary: 1-for-4, R Dozier made some outstanding fielding plays and he was able to get his first hit during his last at-bat of the game. In his first couple of plate appearances, he hit the ball hard but those attempts didn't end up as hits. The Twins would be defeated in his debut with Jered Weaver on the mound but he showed some good things to the crowd at Target Field. So after all of that, here are my rankings for the top debuts for current position players on the Minnesota Twins. Top 3 Debuts for Current Twins 1. Trevor Plouffe 2. Joe Mauer 3. Jamey Carroll Worst Debut for Current Twins: Drew Butera

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SOYxL2_fvlE/T6pjD9ZULII/AAAAAAAABQk/n8Atpfe8iv4/s320/DozierFlip.jpg Dozier premiered for the Twins on Monday night and he seems to be making a mark on the line-up in this early part of his career. The debut of a player in the big leagues can be a moment full of anxiousness and hope. For most players, they have been working toward this moment since they were a child and the first steps on the field can be a magical moment. The first two games have looked good for Dozier but the other players currently on the Twins 25-man roster have all been in his shoes before. How did these players fare in their debut? Was it better or worse than what Dozier put together on Monday evening? Below you will find some information about the debuts of all of the position players that are currently on the Twins 25-man roster. This list goes in order of when the players made their debut. There were some big name prospects and some lesser known players but each of them have reached their ultimate goal of making it to the big leagues. Jamey Carroll - Debut: September 11, 2002 Stat Summary: 2-for-3, R, BB Carroll is the first of a couple different players on this list to debut for a team other than the Twins. His first MLB action was in the jersey of the Montreal Expos. He did get to play his first game at Wrigley Field so that must have been a cool experience. One of the toughest things could have been the fact that it was the one year anniversary of 9/11. The Cubs would be stronger on this day and end up winning by a 6-3 score. Justin Morneau - Debut: June 10, 2003 Stat Summary: 2-for-4, 2 singles On a day when the Twins would only put together three hits, Morneau was able to get two of those knocks for the team. Since the Twins still had Doug Mientkiewicz, Morneau was relegated to designated hitter for his firs start with the team. The Rockies shut out the Twins but Morneau was able to show a glimpse of the player he would become in the coming years. Joe Mauer - Debut: April 5, 2004 Stat Summary: 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB Mauer's debut had been anticipated since he was taken with the number one pick in the 2001 MLB Draft. He did little to take away from the hype as he put together a solid performance at the plate. The game went to extra-innings and the Twins would win the game on a walk-off home run off of the bat of Shannon Stewart. Josh Willingham - Debut: July 6, 2004 Stat Summary: 0-for-3 It wasn't a perfect debut for Willingham as he was held without a hit in his MLB debut for the Florida Marlins. Players like Mike Lowell and Miguel Cabrera would pick up the slack from Willingham and the Marlins would end up on top in this game. The very next night Willingham put together a 2-for-2 game so the hits would come just not in his debut. Ryan Doumit - Debut: June 5, 2005 Stat Summary: 0-for-1 Doumit was asked to make his debut in a pitch hitting opportunity for a pitcher from the Pirates. He only saw one pitch and he put the ball in play so it was a very quick debut for Mr. Doumit. The Pirates won this close contest with the Braves by a score of 5-2 but Doumit didn't have a lot to do with the outcome of the game. Alexi Casilla - Debut: September 1, 2006 Stat Summary: 0-for-0, BB Casilla had a pretty uneventful debut as he was asked to pinch hit for Nick Punto in the late stages of this game. He would draw a walk in his only at-bat but the Twins were down by eight runs before Casilla got into the game. In the first few weeks of his career, Casilla would primary be used off the bench and he wouldn't get his first start until September 28. Denard Span - Debut: April 6, 2008 Stat Summary: 0-for-2, BB Span started in the ninth spot in the batting order for the Twins on this day and there were some bumps along the way. He did manage to coax a walk in one of his at-bats but there would be no first hit in this contest for Mr. Span. The Twins would fall to the Royals by a score of 3-1 and the Twins didn't know they had their leadoff hitter of the future making his debut. Drew Butera - Debut: April 9, 2010 Stat Summary: 0-for-3, 3 SO Twins fans know what to expect from Butera by this point and his debut was a bad omen. He struck out in all three plate appearances he made for the very unwanted hat trick. The good news is the Twins were able to come back and win the game against the White Sox in extra-innings. Trevor Plouffe - Debut: May 21, 2010 Stat Summary: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI The Twins went on an offensive rampage in Plouffe's debut by scoring 15 runs against a Brewers team that was 10 games under .500 on the season. The Twins have moved Plouffe from shortstop since this day but he debuted by playing the position he was drafted at by the Twins. There have been some struggles for Plouffe since his debut but he put together a good first impression. Danny Valencia - Debut: June 3, 2010 Stat Summary: 1-for-3 When Felix Hernandez is the starting pitcher in your MLB debut, it is not going to be an easy start to your playing career. The only hit Valencia got in the contest came in his first at-bat off of Hernandez. Offense was hard to come by for the Twins as they failed to get more than one run across the plate. On this day, the Twins would lose 4-1 and all of the runs for the Mariners came in one inning. Chris Parmelee - Debut: September 6, 2011 Stat Summary: 2-for-4, 2 singles On this day last season, there were plenty of debuts for the Twins with Joe Benson and Liam Hendriks joining Parmelee in the line-up. Parmelee was on base multiple times but the Twins would fail to do anything once he was on base. At the end of the day, the Twins out hit the White Sox but were shut-out at home. Erik Komatsu - Debut: April 6, 2012 Stat Summary: 1-for-1 It was Opening Day at Miller Park when Komatsu was asked to pinch hit for Carlos Beltran. He slapped an infield hit and advanced the runner from second to third. This would be his only at-bat in the game and in the coming weeks, he would find himself in the jersey of the Minnesota Twins. Brian Dozier - Debut: May 7, 2012 Stat Summary: 1-for-4, R Dozier made some outstanding fielding plays and he was able to get his first hit during his last at-bat of the game. In his first couple of plate appearances, he hit the ball hard but those attempts didn't end up as hits. The Twins would be defeated in his debut with Jered Weaver on the mound but he showed some good things to the crowd at Target Field. So after all of that, here are my rankings for the top debuts for current position players on the Minnesota Twins. Top 3 Debuts for Current Twins 1. Trevor Plouffe 2. Joe Mauer 3. Jamey Carroll Worst Debut for Current Twins: Drew Butera

Scott Diamond and Liam Hendriks switched teams for their starts on Tuesday night and both players found success at their different levels. Liam Hendriks had struggled in his outings with the Twins so he was sent back down to Rochester. He didn't make it out of the sixth inning but he only gave up one earned run with eight strikeouts. Diamond found himself on the mound at Target Field with a team struggling to score runs. He put together an outstanding start as he lasted seven innings and didn't allow a run. There were some excellent defensive plays made behind him especially by newly called-up Brian Dozier. The Twins would go on to win the game by a score of 5-0 and they will look for the series win tomorrow against the Angels. ROCHESTER 3, PAWTUCKET 1 As mentioned above, Hendriks was inserted back into the rotation for the Red Wings and he had very little problems with this transition. The only real issue for Hendriks came in the bottom of the sixth when the lead off man got a hit, was bunted to second, and eventually scored on another single. Otherwise, Hendriks faced the minimum in every inning that he pitched to earn his first win of the season. Deolis Guerra continued his impressive season in the minor leagues by pitching 2.1 innings of relief and allowing one hit. In his 9 innings with the Red Wings, he has only allowed six hits and no runs. This comes on the heels of pitching 12.2 innings with New Britain and only allowing 1 earned run. If he keeps this up, he should be in Minnesota sooner rather than later. Ben Revere was the only member of the Red Wings to have more than one hit as he went 2-for-4 with two singles. Pedro Florimon hit his first home run in Rochester in his second game since being called-up. A strong performance from the pitching staff meant the offense didn't need to score a whole lot of runs to get the Red Wings a win. NEW BRITAIN 4, BINGHAMTON 3 The Rock Cats found themselves in an early hole against the Mets but a strong top of the ninth inning turned a 1-3 loss into a 4-3 win for New Britain. Joe Benson was in familiar territory but it was the opposite direction he was hoping to go this year. He struggled to an 0-for-4 day at the plate in his first start since being demoted over the weekend. On the defensive side of the ball, he did have an outfield assist and it is nice to think of Aaron Hicks and Benson covering a lot of ground in the outfield. A walk and an error in the top of the ninth inning helped to spur the comeback for the Rock Cats. Chris Colabello reached on a walk to start the inning but the big hit would come off of the bat of Nate Hanson. His fourth double of the year would score two runs and give New Britain their first and only lead of the day. Evan Bigley and Colabello had the only other extra base hits in the contest with each of them cracking a double. The bullpen was outstanding for New Britain in relief of Andrew Albers. After Albers pitched five innings and gave up three runs, the relief arms would not surrender a run in the last four innings. Blake Martin and Lester Oliveros would combine for two perfect innings in their time on the mound. Daniel Turpen was able to pitch the last two innings and pick up his third win of the year by giving up one hit and no runs. FORT MYERS 4, DUNEDIN 16 There was plenty of offense in this contest but unfortunately for the Miracle, it came at the expense of their pitching staff. Last year's second round draft pick Madison Boer has struggled in his two starts since being promoted from Beloit. On Tuesday night, he only pitched two innings and surrendered nine earned runs with most of the damage coming off of three home runs. His ERA with the Miracle now stands at 14.09 so hopefully all it can do is get lower from this point going forward. The Miracle were able to accumulate 11 hits in the contest but there were no extra-base hits for the team. This made it tough to keep up with the Blue Jays. Daniel Santana raised his batting average to .313 with a 3-for-5 day at the plate. Last year's first round pick Levi Michael had two hits but also had his six error of the year on the defensive side of the ball. Almost all of the runs for the Miracle came in the last inning when the game was already out of hand. Hopefully this late inning offensive surge will carry into their next game so the team can get back to their winning ways. BELOIT 3, KANE COUNTY 4 The Snappers might have lost but Miguel Sano hit a home run for the second night in a row and the fourth time in his last six games. If you hadn't heard, this guy is going to be good. Wang-Wei Lin and Adam Pettersen both had two hits to set the table in front of Sano. Eddie Rosario is in a little bit of a slump as he was held hitless for the third time in the last four games. Matthew Tomshaw took the loss for the Snappers but his outing was not all that bad. He gave up six hits and three earned runs in five innings pitched. David Hurlbut did a fine job of relieving Tomshaw as he threw three shutout innings with the Cougars managing two hits off of him. Fans will continue to keep an eye on Beloit to see what Sano is able to do. It could be more important to see if his home run buddy from last year, Rosario, can get back on track and start hitting the ball over the fence. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, May 8, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Nate Hanson http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HDNNX29Kq6w/T6nmMG5kB_I/AAAAAAAABQQ/eLpKXS22yVs/s320/nate20hanson.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Liam Hendriks http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EUmzht_IxWI/T6nnKz-vTgI/AAAAAAAABQY/2Y989e-4E0I/s1600/Hendriks+Rochester.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, May 9th Schedule Rochester @ Pawtucket- RHP Cole DeVries New Britain @ Binghamton- RHP Steve Hirschfeld Fort Myers @ Dunedin- RHP Jhon Garcia Beloit @ Peoria- LHP Steven Gruver --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, leave them in the comments section and Seth or I will try to answer them.

Scott Diamond and Liam Hendriks switched teams for their starts on Tuesday night and both players found success at their different levels. Liam Hendriks had struggled in his outings with the Twins so he was sent back down to Rochester. He didn't make it out of the sixth inning but he only gave up one earned run with eight strikeouts. Diamond found himself on the mound at Target Field with a team struggling to score runs. He put together an outstanding start as he lasted seven innings and didn't allow a run. There were some excellent defensive plays made behind him especially by newly called-up Brian Dozier. The Twins would go on to win the game by a score of 5-0 and they will look for the series win tomorrow against the Angels. ROCHESTER 3, PAWTUCKET 1 As mentioned above, Hendriks was inserted back into the rotation for the Red Wings and he had very little problems with this transition. The only real issue for Hendriks came in the bottom of the sixth when the lead off man got a hit, was bunted to second, and eventually scored on another single. Otherwise, Hendriks faced the minimum in every inning that he pitched to earn his first win of the season. Deolis Guerra continued his impressive season in the minor leagues by pitching 2.1 innings of relief and allowing one hit. In his 9 innings with the Red Wings, he has only allowed six hits and no runs. This comes on the heels of pitching 12.2 innings with New Britain and only allowing 1 earned run. If he keeps this up, he should be in Minnesota sooner rather than later. Ben Revere was the only member of the Red Wings to have more than one hit as he went 2-for-4 with two singles. Pedro Florimon hit his first home run in Rochester in his second game since being called-up. A strong performance from the pitching staff meant the offense didn't need to score a whole lot of runs to get the Red Wings a win. NEW BRITAIN 4, BINGHAMTON 3 The Rock Cats found themselves in an early hole against the Mets but a strong top of the ninth inning turned a 1-3 loss into a 4-3 win for New Britain. Joe Benson was in familiar territory but it was the opposite direction he was hoping to go this year. He struggled to an 0-for-4 day at the plate in his first start since being demoted over the weekend. On the defensive side of the ball, he did have an outfield assist and it is nice to think of Aaron Hicks and Benson covering a lot of ground in the outfield. A walk and an error in the top of the ninth inning helped to spur the comeback for the Rock Cats. Chris Colabello reached on a walk to start the inning but the big hit would come off of the bat of Nate Hanson. His fourth double of the year would score two runs and give New Britain their first and only lead of the day. Evan Bigley and Colabello had the only other extra base hits in the contest with each of them cracking a double. The bullpen was outstanding for New Britain in relief of Andrew Albers. After Albers pitched five innings and gave up three runs, the relief arms would not surrender a run in the last four innings. Blake Martin and Lester Oliveros would combine for two perfect innings in their time on the mound. Daniel Turpen was able to pitch the last two innings and pick up his third win of the year by giving up one hit and no runs. FORT MYERS 4, DUNEDIN 16 There was plenty of offense in this contest but unfortunately for the Miracle, it came at the expense of their pitching staff. Last year's second round draft pick Madison Boer has struggled in his two starts since being promoted from Beloit. On Tuesday night, he only pitched two innings and surrendered nine earned runs with most of the damage coming off of three home runs. His ERA with the Miracle now stands at 14.09 so hopefully all it can do is get lower from this point going forward. The Miracle were able to accumulate 11 hits in the contest but there were no extra-base hits for the team. This made it tough to keep up with the Blue Jays. Daniel Santana raised his batting average to .313 with a 3-for-5 day at the plate. Last year's first round pick Levi Michael had two hits but also had his six error of the year on the defensive side of the ball. Almost all of the runs for the Miracle came in the last inning when the game was already out of hand. Hopefully this late inning offensive surge will carry into their next game so the team can get back to their winning ways. BELOIT 3, KANE COUNTY 4 The Snappers might have lost but Miguel Sano hit a home run for the second night in a row and the fourth time in his last six games. If you hadn't heard, this guy is going to be good. Wang-Wei Lin and Adam Pettersen both had two hits to set the table in front of Sano. Eddie Rosario is in a little bit of a slump as he was held hitless for the third time in the last four games. Matthew Tomshaw took the loss for the Snappers but his outing was not all that bad. He gave up six hits and three earned runs in five innings pitched. David Hurlbut did a fine job of relieving Tomshaw as he threw three shutout innings with the Cougars managing two hits off of him. Fans will continue to keep an eye on Beloit to see what Sano is able to do. It could be more important to see if his home run buddy from last year, Rosario, can get back on track and start hitting the ball over the fence. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, May 8, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Nate Hanson http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HDNNX29Kq6w/T6nmMG5kB_I/AAAAAAAABQQ/eLpKXS22yVs/s320/nate20hanson.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Liam Hendriks http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EUmzht_IxWI/T6nnKz-vTgI/AAAAAAAABQY/2Y989e-4E0I/s1600/Hendriks+Rochester.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, May 9th Schedule Rochester @ Pawtucket- RHP Cole DeVries New Britain @ Binghamton- RHP Steve Hirschfeld Fort Myers @ Dunedin- RHP Jhon Garcia Beloit @ Peoria- LHP Steven Gruver --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, leave them in the comments section and Seth or I will try to answer them.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FFgRnR1HgUo/T6bT_Z9h9VI/AAAAAAAABP8/F-u9e8GnaoA/s320/DozierTwins.jpg The offense for the Minnesota Twins has been horrendous in recent games with Jered Weaver throwing a no-hitter and Felix Hernandez tossing a one-hit shutout. Granted these are two of the best pitchers in the American League but the stagnant offense was too much for the front office to ignore as the Twins end their West Coast road trip. The Twins will turn to Brian Dozier, the 2012 Twins Minor League Player of the Year, to try and spark an offense that ranks near the bottom in baseball. Dozier performed well for the Twins in spring training and he could have easily made the club's Opening Day roster. He had yet to play a game at Triple-A so it did make sense for him to at least get a taste of Rochester before he got his call-up. Unlike players like Joe Benson and Chris Parmelee who each spent all of last year at Double-A before their call-up, Dozier spent part of the 2011 season playing in Fort Myers before he got called up to New Britain. He still had a great season and Ron Gardenhire has been keeping a close eye on the young infielder since last year. When the Twins sent Dozier down to Rochester at the end of spring training, it seemed like he would have a chip on his shoulder and this can lead to go performances on the field. He would start the season trying to prove to the front office that they made a mistake by leaving him in the minor leagues. As I wrote about at the beginning of April, Dozier got off to a hot start and he had a batting average of over .400 with decent power numbers as well. His performance was hard to ignore for fans and for the front office with the middle infield not exactly hitting the cover off of the ball. Dozier's numbers have cooled down significantly as the season has progressed but this still didn't deter the Twins from calling him up to get his first taste of the big leagues. He leaves Rochester hitting .276/.339/.371 with eight extra-base hits. During his last eight games, he has been on base in every contest and he raised his batting numbers during this time. Since the beginning of May, he is hitting .286/.385/.333 with a double and four walks. With the way the Twins offense has been struggling, any boost of energy seems like it could help improve their offensive firepower. The Twins were terrible on their West coast road trip and there were some historically bad numbers to back up just how bad they were in their six games on the road. Dozier is being brought in to help the team try and turn things around but he shouldn't be looked at as the savior of the Twins offensive woes. Some players struggle as they try to adjust to their first taste of the big leagues. During last September, Joe Benson found his first handful of games with the Twins to have its fair share of challenges. There are going to be lessons to learn for him as a major league player and the Twins are going to give him every opportunity to succeed as the starting shortstop for the club. There is a lot wrong with the Twins offense at this point in the year and inserting Dozier into the line-up is not going to fix how bad the rest of the team has been in recent games. According to Elias, the Twins have tied the record for fewest hits for a major-league team over a five-game span during baseball's modern era. The 14 hits for the Twins in the last five games have been tough to watch but Ryan Doumit looked good with a couple of home runs on Sunday afternoon. If the team is going to be competitive again this year, the rest of the club is going to have to fix their swings. With a team struggling as much as the Twins, it is great to give Dozier a chance to prove he belongs in the major leagues but the debut of Dozier should be taken in stride. He could get off to a great start and the rest of the Twins could still be struggling at the plate. On the other hand, he could struggle and the team could find a way to fix their offensive funk. It is always fun to see what young players can do and all of Twins Territory hopes that Dozier can take the opportunity and run with it.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FFgRnR1HgUo/T6bT_Z9h9VI/AAAAAAAABP8/F-u9e8GnaoA/s320/DozierTwins.jpg The offense for the Minnesota Twins has been horrendous in recent games with Jered Weaver throwing a no-hitter and Felix Hernandez tossing a one-hit shutout. Granted these are two of the best pitchers in the American League but the stagnant offense was too much for the front office to ignore as the Twins end their West Coast road trip. The Twins will turn to Brian Dozier, the 2012 Twins Minor League Player of the Year, to try and spark an offense that ranks near the bottom in baseball. Dozier performed well for the Twins in spring training and he could have easily made the club's Opening Day roster. He had yet to play a game at Triple-A so it did make sense for him to at least get a taste of Rochester before he got his call-up. Unlike players like Joe Benson and Chris Parmelee who each spent all of last year at Double-A before their call-up, Dozier spent part of the 2011 season playing in Fort Myers before he got called up to New Britain. He still had a great season and Ron Gardenhire has been keeping a close eye on the young infielder since last year. When the Twins sent Dozier down to Rochester at the end of spring training, it seemed like he would have a chip on his shoulder and this can lead to go performances on the field. He would start the season trying to prove to the front office that they made a mistake by leaving him in the minor leagues. As I wrote about at the beginning of April, Dozier got off to a hot start and he had a batting average of over .400 with decent power numbers as well. His performance was hard to ignore for fans and for the front office with the middle infield not exactly hitting the cover off of the ball. Dozier's numbers have cooled down significantly as the season has progressed but this still didn't deter the Twins from calling him up to get his first taste of the big leagues. He leaves Rochester hitting .276/.339/.371 with eight extra-base hits. During his last eight games, he has been on base in every contest and he raised his batting numbers during this time. Since the beginning of May, he is hitting .286/.385/.333 with a double and four walks. With the way the Twins offense has been struggling, any boost of energy seems like it could help improve their offensive firepower. The Twins were terrible on their West coast road trip and there were some historically bad numbers to back up just how bad they were in their six games on the road. Dozier is being brought in to help the team try and turn things around but he shouldn't be looked at as the savior of the Twins offensive woes. Some players struggle as they try to adjust to their first taste of the big leagues. During last September, Joe Benson found his first handful of games with the Twins to have its fair share of challenges. There are going to be lessons to learn for him as a major league player and the Twins are going to give him every opportunity to succeed as the starting shortstop for the club. There is a lot wrong with the Twins offense at this point in the year and inserting Dozier into the line-up is not going to fix how bad the rest of the team has been in recent games. According to Elias, the Twins have tied the record for fewest hits for a major-league team over a five-game span during baseball's modern era. The 14 hits for the Twins in the last five games have been tough to watch but Ryan Doumit looked good with a couple of home runs on Sunday afternoon. If the team is going to be competitive again this year, the rest of the club is going to have to fix their swings. With a team struggling as much as the Twins, it is great to give Dozier a chance to prove he belongs in the major leagues but the debut of Dozier should be taken in stride. He could get off to a great start and the rest of the Twins could still be struggling at the plate. On the other hand, he could struggle and the team could find a way to fix their offensive funk. It is always fun to see what young players can do and all of Twins Territory hopes that Dozier can take the opportunity and run with it.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boy did it feel good to have a day to recover on Thursday after watching the Twins get no-hit by Jared Weaver on Wednesday night. This performance came on the heels of the Twins putting together a lack luster performance against Jerome Williams on Tuesday night. All together the Twins have been held hitless in 15 straight innings and now their focus will turn to the Seattle Mariners. The Twins record sits at 6-18, the worst in Major League Baseball, and they have lost nine of their last ten games. Compiled with the terrible season last year, this bad start has some of the fan base up in arms. There are plenty of challenges facing the Twins but there are still lots of games left on the schedule for the team to try and figure out how to turn this mess around. There are still some positives to find in the baseball world. The Twins have the number two pick in the MLB Draft that is a little over a month away. There are surprise division leaders in Washington, Cleveland, and Los Angeles and Matt Kemps looks like he could be on pace for one of the most historic seasons in history. Just last weekend, teenage phenom Bryce Harper made his debut for the Nationals and he has lived up to the hype in his first week in the big leagues. Take some time to enjoy some of the great baseball related stories linked below and make sure to have a great weekend across Twins Territory. Since the first month of the season is over, Seth Stohs picked out the minor league players of the month for the Twins system. In a series of posts, he selected the best hitter, the top starting pitcher, and the number one relief arm. Speaking of Stohs, I was one of many guests on the Seth Speaks Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast. We discussed a variety of Twins topics in the last 15 minutes of the show. Francisco Liriano might have taken some positives steps forward this week, but Parker Hageman wonders if it will continue. Twins Fan From Afar looks into Joe Mauer and his frequency (or none frequency) of hitting into 4-3 putouts. In a popular post from Twins Daily, John Bonnes breaks down the anatomy of a Mauer boo. Forbes magazine did a story on the top mascots in all of sports but TC was no where to be found in the top 10. Sean Burroughs seemed like he could be a feel good story for the Twins but his time with the club was short lived and Nick Nelson looks into why he was dropped. Seedlings to Stars put together their second version of the 2012 Mock Draft. Who will the Twins take at number two? Puckett's Pond asks the question, "Why do the Twins keep snubbing Anthony Slama?" One of the worst calls in baseball history was made this week when Jerry Hairston was called out on a play at first base. Here is the photo evidence: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kADK2j_dGEM/T6NDix8slwI/AAAAAAAABPw/s-iLtkJDQIY/s320/WelkeBadCall.jpg It turns out Mark Prior is still finding work in professional baseball. Just think the Twins could have picked him instead of Mauer. I don't know what would possess someone to wear a horse head to a baseball game and it turns out drinking beverages isn't easy when you do. When the Phillies signed Jim Thome and said he would play first base, it didn't sound like a good idea. He ended up on the DL this week with back problems. There was a David vs. Goliath battle when 6-foot-11 Jon Rauch pitched to 5-foot-5 Jose Altuve. The Cardinals saw the Twins were going to retire the number 10 for one of their best managers and they had to beat them to the punch. Identity fraud in Latin America has been a problem in the past and it continues to evolve to this day. The Twins might not play two series with the Brewers anymore as baseball shifts the Astros to the AL next year. MLB attendance is up so far this year but the Twins are going in the wrong direction. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: What will the hype be like for Sano's debut? Tuesday: AL Central looking weak after first month Wednesday: VOTE: Best Twins offensive performance ever Thursday: Carroll, Span among best on defense Video of the Week: A soccer club from England is mad at a group of Minnesota Twins fans for stealing their anthem. Fans of Leeds United are upset over the new renidition of the song that was put together by the Minnesota Culture Club. It is a collection of Skype videos hashed together with fans singing the lyrics to the Minnesota version of the song.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boy did it feel good to have a day to recover on Thursday after watching the Twins get no-hit by Jared Weaver on Wednesday night. This performance came on the heels of the Twins putting together a lack luster performance against Jerome Williams on Tuesday night. All together the Twins have been held hitless in 15 straight innings and now their focus will turn to the Seattle Mariners. The Twins record sits at 6-18, the worst in Major League Baseball, and they have lost nine of their last ten games. Compiled with the terrible season last year, this bad start has some of the fan base up in arms. There are plenty of challenges facing the Twins but there are still lots of games left on the schedule for the team to try and figure out how to turn this mess around. There are still some positives to find in the baseball world. The Twins have the number two pick in the MLB Draft that is a little over a month away. There are surprise division leaders in Washington, Cleveland, and Los Angeles and Matt Kemps looks like he could be on pace for one of the most historic seasons in history. Just last weekend, teenage phenom Bryce Harper made his debut for the Nationals and he has lived up to the hype in his first week in the big leagues. Take some time to enjoy some of the great baseball related stories linked below and make sure to have a great weekend across Twins Territory. Since the first month of the season is over, Seth Stohs picked out the minor league players of the month for the Twins system. In a series of posts, he selected the best hitter, the top starting pitcher, and the number one relief arm. Speaking of Stohs, I was one of many guests on the Seth Speaks Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast. We discussed a variety of Twins topics in the last 15 minutes of the show. Francisco Liriano might have taken some positives steps forward this week, but Parker Hageman wonders if it will continue. Twins Fan From Afar looks into Joe Mauer and his frequency (or none frequency) of hitting into 4-3 putouts. In a popular post from Twins Daily, John Bonnes breaks down the anatomy of a Mauer boo. Forbes magazine did a story on the top mascots in all of sports but TC was no where to be found in the top 10. Sean Burroughs seemed like he could be a feel good story for the Twins but his time with the club was short lived and Nick Nelson looks into why he was dropped. Seedlings to Stars put together their second version of the 2012 Mock Draft. Who will the Twins take at number two? Puckett's Pond asks the question, "Why do the Twins keep snubbing Anthony Slama?" One of the worst calls in baseball history was made this week when Jerry Hairston was called out on a play at first base. Here is the photo evidence: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kADK2j_dGEM/T6NDix8slwI/AAAAAAAABPw/s-iLtkJDQIY/s320/WelkeBadCall.jpg It turns out Mark Prior is still finding work in professional baseball. Just think the Twins could have picked him instead of Mauer. I don't know what would possess someone to wear a horse head to a baseball game and it turns out drinking beverages isn't easy when you do. When the Phillies signed Jim Thome and said he would play first base, it didn't sound like a good idea. He ended up on the DL this week with back problems. There was a David vs. Goliath battle when 6-foot-11 Jon Rauch pitched to 5-foot-5 Jose Altuve. The Cardinals saw the Twins were going to retire the number 10 for one of their best managers and they had to beat them to the punch. Identity fraud in Latin America has been a problem in the past and it continues to evolve to this day. The Twins might not play two series with the Brewers anymore as baseball shifts the Astros to the AL next year. MLB attendance is up so far this year but the Twins are going in the wrong direction. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: What will the hype be like for Sano's debut? Tuesday: AL Central looking weak after first month Wednesday: VOTE: Best Twins offensive performance ever Thursday: Carroll, Span among best on defense Video of the Week: A soccer club from England is mad at a group of Minnesota Twins fans for stealing their anthem. Fans of Leeds United are upset over the new renidition of the song that was put together by the Minnesota Culture Club. It is a collection of Skype videos hashed together with fans singing the lyrics to the Minnesota version of the song.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qecb9tw5Br4/T6ILyONnDZI/AAAAAAAABPk/ywTt8GeLscc/s320/SpanCarroll.jpg There have been plenty of low-lights so far for the Twins with last night's no-hitter by the Angels Jared Weaver being at the top of the list but there have been some positives for fans to see in the first month of the year. Denard Span and Jamey Carroll have provided some strong defense up the middle for the Twins. There were question marks with both of these players when the season started down in Fort Myers. Would Span be able to overcome his concussions and handle the rigors of being in the line-up on an everyday basis? At 38-years old, could Carroll be productive when given a full-time job? Span has been on a hot streak in the batter's box in the last couple weeks and he saw his 12-game hit streak come to an end last night. After some scary concussion related issues for a chunk of last year, it is good to see Span off to a quick start as he is leading the Twins in batting average through this early part of the season. The question marks surrounding Span at the beginning of the season are becoming long forgotten and he has shown he can handle being the table setter for the Twins offense. The offensive side of things has been a little rough for Carroll and Ron Gardenhire dropped him from the number two spot in the line-up earlier this week. In the last ten games, Carroll only has five hits and he is hitting under .135 in those contests. For the season, Carroll has seen his batting average drop to near Drew Butera territory and that is never a good thing. His ability to draw walks is still a positive but teams are going to make him prove that he can hit the ball if he continues to struggle at the plate. Span and Carroll might be on opposite ends of the offensive spectrum at this point in the season but they have both been near the top of their game on the defensive side of the ball. After the atrocious play in the middle infield last year, the Twins brought Carroll in to be a calming influence to the rest of the defense. The corner outfielders have changed around Span since last year but his solid defense remains constant in center field for the Twins. Out of all of the outfielders in baseball, Denard Span and Alex Gordon each saved their team seven runs during the first month of the season. The closest center fielder on the list to Span was Colby Rasmus with six defensive runs saved and then it was Austin Jackson with four. The large outfield at Target Field can provide some challenges for chasing down fly balls but Span can clearly provide some run saving ability with his defense. [Click here to see some video evidence of Span saving some runs with his defense and ending the threat from the Royals.] Luckily for the Twins, the offensive woes for Carroll have not translated to his defense on the field. Carroll doesn't have as many defensive runs saved as Span but he has still saved the Twins two runs on the year. He has only committed one error in 106 chances at shortstop and some of his plays have been very impressive. According to ESPN and Baseball Info Solutions, Carroll made 16 good fielding plays in the first month of the season and this ranked first among shortstops. [Click here to see some video evidence of Carroll saving some runs with his defense and doubling up David Ortiz.] The defensive play of Span and Carroll has helped the Twins to rank in the top five in all of baseball in defensive runs saved so far this year. With the Twins starting pitchers continuing to give up a lot of hits, the defense behind the pitchers is going to need to stay consistent. There are plenty of problems with the Twins at this early junction of the season but the defensive play of these two players is not one of those issues.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qecb9tw5Br4/T6ILyONnDZI/AAAAAAAABPk/ywTt8GeLscc/s320/SpanCarroll.jpg There have been plenty of low-lights so far for the Twins with last night's no-hitter by the Angels Jared Weaver being at the top of the list but there have been some positives for fans to see in the first month of the year. Denard Span and Jamey Carroll have provided some strong defense up the middle for the Twins. There were question marks with both of these players when the season started down in Fort Myers. Would Span be able to overcome his concussions and handle the rigors of being in the line-up on an everyday basis? At 38-years old, could Carroll be productive when given a full-time job? Span has been on a hot streak in the batter's box in the last couple weeks and he saw his 12-game hit streak come to an end last night. After some scary concussion related issues for a chunk of last year, it is good to see Span off to a quick start as he is leading the Twins in batting average through this early part of the season. The question marks surrounding Span at the beginning of the season are becoming long forgotten and he has shown he can handle being the table setter for the Twins offense. The offensive side of things has been a little rough for Carroll and Ron Gardenhire dropped him from the number two spot in the line-up earlier this week. In the last ten games, Carroll only has five hits and he is hitting under .135 in those contests. For the season, Carroll has seen his batting average drop to near Drew Butera territory and that is never a good thing. His ability to draw walks is still a positive but teams are going to make him prove that he can hit the ball if he continues to struggle at the plate. Span and Carroll might be on opposite ends of the offensive spectrum at this point in the season but they have both been near the top of their game on the defensive side of the ball. After the atrocious play in the middle infield last year, the Twins brought Carroll in to be a calming influence to the rest of the defense. The corner outfielders have changed around Span since last year but his solid defense remains constant in center field for the Twins. Out of all of the outfielders in baseball, Denard Span and Alex Gordon each saved their team seven runs during the first month of the season. The closest center fielder on the list to Span was Colby Rasmus with six defensive runs saved and then it was Austin Jackson with four. The large outfield at Target Field can provide some challenges for chasing down fly balls but Span can clearly provide some run saving ability with his defense. [Click here to see some video evidence of Span saving some runs with his defense and ending the threat from the Royals.] Luckily for the Twins, the offensive woes for Carroll have not translated to his defense on the field. Carroll doesn't have as many defensive runs saved as Span but he has still saved the Twins two runs on the year. He has only committed one error in 106 chances at shortstop and some of his plays have been very impressive. According to ESPN and Baseball Info Solutions, Carroll made 16 good fielding plays in the first month of the season and this ranked first among shortstops. [Click here to see some video evidence of Carroll saving some runs with his defense and doubling up David Ortiz.] The defensive play of Span and Carroll has helped the Twins to rank in the top five in all of baseball in defensive runs saved so far this year. With the Twins starting pitchers continuing to give up a lot of hits, the defense behind the pitchers is going to need to stay consistent. There are plenty of problems with the Twins at this early junction of the season but the defensive play of these two players is not one of those issues.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9DMuI0-XtTs/T6CxgJ6MPhI/AAAAAAAABPY/--E7C0uJ1Bk/s320/Slide1.jpg On Monday night, Ryan Braun put together an amazing offensive performance by hitting three home runs and adding a triple in another one of his at-bats. It was a historical night at the plate but there have been some even more historical nights in the long history of baseball. ESPN's SweetSpot Blog put up a vote of some of the greatest offensive nights in history. The leader in the clubhouse as of last night was Shawn Green and his 6-for-6 night with four home runs, a double, six runs, and seven RBI. It still stands as the MLB record for most total bases in one contest. This got me thinking about some of the best offensive performances in the history of the Minnesota Twins. Much like the SweetSpot post, these will only be regular season performances because the postseason is an entirely different story. Here are some of the top performances from regular season history for the Twins in order of when they occurred for the team. There are a ton of great games in franchise history so narrowing down the list is a tough challenge. At the end of the post, you will have the opportunity to pick what you think is the best performance in franchise history. It should be a fun exercise so I hope you enjoy it! 1. Bob Allison, 1963 Twins: 3-for-5, 3 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI (box score) The first three home run game in franchise history with one of the highest RBI totals for a single game for the Twins. Players like Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, and Justin Morneau would hit three home runs in one contest but he will always be the first. In the early seasons of the Twins, it was a record setting game for a team trying to make their mark in Minnesota. 2. Glen Adams, 1977 Twins: 4-for-5, HR, 2B, R, 8 RBI (box score) Only two Twins have tallied eight RBI in a game and Glen Adams was the first member of the Twins to accomplish this feat. There was a lot of offense in this game as the Twins and White Sox combined for 31 runs. It could be argued that Rod Carew had a better game on this day with a 4-for-5 night with a home run, a double, five runs, and six RBI. The eight RBI are still hard to ignore and Adams game ranks as one of the best in team history. 3. Kirby Puckett, 1987 Twins: 6-for-6, 2 HR, 2 2B, 4 R, 4 RBI (box score) The greatest Twins player in history is the only player in the history of the franchise to compile six hits in a game. He has done it twice but one time it occurred in an extra-inning contest so we will pick the game that was decided in regulation play. There were multiple records set by Puckett in this game against the Brewers. Besides the team record for hits, he also managed the most total bases in franchise history with 14. His four RBI were also the difference in the score as the Twins won by a score of 10 to 4. It will be tough for another performance to top one of Puckett's best offensive performances. 4. Randy Bush, 1989 Twins: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 8 RBI (box score) As mentioned earlier, Glen Adams was one of two players to have eight RBI in a game and the player to tie his team record for RBI was Randy Bush. Just like in the game from Adams, the Twins scored 19 runs as part of this eight RBI performance. He would only get 54 RBI for the year so having eight in one game is quite the accomplishment. For a light hitting outfielder with not a lot of power, this was quite the game. 5. Michael Cuddyer, 2005 Twins: 4-for-4, HR, 3 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI (box score) The team record for extra-base hits in a game is four and there have been multiple players to do this in a game and this includes multiple players on this list. Cuddyer was the last member of the Twins to be able get four extra-base hits and he did it in a 4-for-4 game in which he was intentional walked during the game. Mr. Cuddyer has also hit for the cycle in a contest for the Twins but this was also one of his best games during his time with the Twins. 6. Justin Morneau, 2007 Twins: 3-for-5, 3 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI (box score) Justin Morneau has run into some tough luck in the injury department in recent years but he is still one of the best power hitters in the history of the Twins. He is most current Twins player to hit three home runs in a contest and he did it in a blow out win against the White Sox. Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, and Bob Allison are the only player to have more 2-homer games than Morneau. His 12 total bases in the game are also close to the most ever in franchise history. 7. Jason Kubel, 2009 Twins: 4-for-5, HR, 3B, 2B, 2 R, 5 RBI (box score) This might have been one of the most exciting offensive performance in recent memory for the Twins. The team found themselves in a hole in the late innings of the game but one player was in the middle of a special performance. With the Twins down nine to four in the bottom of the eighth, the team started to mount their come-back. The exclamation point on the comeback would be off of the bat Jason Kubel. He already had a triple, double, and a single to his name and this meant that he just needed the home run to complete the cyle. A grand slam to give his team the lead in the late innings was a special moment in the final year of the Metrodome. Now is your chance to vote on the games listed above but it doesn't stop there because there have been other great games in Twins history as well. If you think there is a better performance, leave a comment below and start the conversation. CLICK HERE TO SEE POLL

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9DMuI0-XtTs/T6CxgJ6MPhI/AAAAAAAABPY/--E7C0uJ1Bk/s320/Slide1.jpg On Monday night, Ryan Braun put together an amazing offensive performance by hitting three home runs and adding a triple in another one of his at-bats. It was a historical night at the plate but there have been some even more historical nights in the long history of baseball. ESPN's SweetSpot Blog put up a vote of some of the greatest offensive nights in history. The leader in the clubhouse as of last night was Shawn Green and his 6-for-6 night with four home runs, a double, six runs, and seven RBI. It still stands as the MLB record for most total bases in one contest. This got me thinking about some of the best offensive performances in the history of the Minnesota Twins. Much like the SweetSpot post, these will only be regular season performances because the postseason is an entirely different story. Here are some of the top performances from regular season history for the Twins in order of when they occurred for the team. There are a ton of great games in franchise history so narrowing down the list is a tough challenge. At the end of the post, you will have the opportunity to pick what you think is the best performance in franchise history. It should be a fun exercise so I hope you enjoy it! 1. Bob Allison, 1963 Twins: 3-for-5, 3 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI (box score) The first three home run game in franchise history with one of the highest RBI totals for a single game for the Twins. Players like Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, and Justin Morneau would hit three home runs in one contest but he will always be the first. In the early seasons of the Twins, it was a record setting game for a team trying to make their mark in Minnesota. 2. Glen Adams, 1977 Twins: 4-for-5, HR, 2B, R, 8 RBI (box score) Only two Twins have tallied eight RBI in a game and Glen Adams was the first member of the Twins to accomplish this feat. There was a lot of offense in this game as the Twins and White Sox combined for 31 runs. It could be argued that Rod Carew had a better game on this day with a 4-for-5 night with a home run, a double, five runs, and six RBI. The eight RBI are still hard to ignore and Adams game ranks as one of the best in team history. 3. Kirby Puckett, 1987 Twins: 6-for-6, 2 HR, 2 2B, 4 R, 4 RBI (box score) The greatest Twins player in history is the only player in the history of the franchise to compile six hits in a game. He has done it twice but one time it occurred in an extra-inning contest so we will pick the game that was decided in regulation play. There were multiple records set by Puckett in this game against the Brewers. Besides the team record for hits, he also managed the most total bases in franchise history with 14. His four RBI were also the difference in the score as the Twins won by a score of 10 to 4. It will be tough for another performance to top one of Puckett's best offensive performances. 4. Randy Bush, 1989 Twins: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 8 RBI (box score) As mentioned earlier, Glen Adams was one of two players to have eight RBI in a game and the player to tie his team record for RBI was Randy Bush. Just like in the game from Adams, the Twins scored 19 runs as part of this eight RBI performance. He would only get 54 RBI for the year so having eight in one game is quite the accomplishment. For a light hitting outfielder with not a lot of power, this was quite the game. 5. Michael Cuddyer, 2005 Twins: 4-for-4, HR, 3 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI (box score) The team record for extra-base hits in a game is four and there have been multiple players to do this in a game and this includes multiple players on this list. Cuddyer was the last member of the Twins to be able get four extra-base hits and he did it in a 4-for-4 game in which he was intentional walked during the game. Mr. Cuddyer has also hit for the cycle in a contest for the Twins but this was also one of his best games during his time with the Twins. 6. Justin Morneau, 2007 Twins: 3-for-5, 3 HR, 3 R, 6 RBI (box score) Justin Morneau has run into some tough luck in the injury department in recent years but he is still one of the best power hitters in the history of the Twins. He is most current Twins player to hit three home runs in a contest and he did it in a blow out win against the White Sox. Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, and Bob Allison are the only player to have more 2-homer games than Morneau. His 12 total bases in the game are also close to the most ever in franchise history. 7. Jason Kubel, 2009 Twins: 4-for-5, HR, 3B, 2B, 2 R, 5 RBI (box score) This might have been one of the most exciting offensive performance in recent memory for the Twins. The team found themselves in a hole in the late innings of the game but one player was in the middle of a special performance. With the Twins down nine to four in the bottom of the eighth, the team started to mount their come-back. The exclamation point on the comeback would be off of the bat Jason Kubel. He already had a triple, double, and a single to his name and this meant that he just needed the home run to complete the cyle. A grand slam to give his team the lead in the late innings was a special moment in the final year of the Metrodome. Now is your chance to vote on the games listed above but it doesn't stop there because there have been other great games in Twins history as well. If you think there is a better performance, leave a comment below and start the conversation. CLICK HERE TO SEE POLL

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-joxCXH56GqU/T59svuioAYI/AAAAAAAABOw/aqD2LlJTQdI/s400/Slide3.jpg The first month of the baseball season is in the books and there have been surprises across the baseball world. The Angels and Albert Pujols had a rough first month after experts picked them to be fighting for a division title. The Rangers have being playing on another level from most teams in baseball. Matt Kemp is on pace for a record breaking year and the Dodgers are the top team in the National League. On paper at the start of the season, the American League Central seemed to be a one team race. The Detroit Tigers were the hands down favorite to represent the AL Central in the playoffs. But baseball is a funny game and the Tigers have stumbled a little getting out of the gate. This could open up the division to any of the other teams to find a way to dethrone the Tigers from their perch on top of AL Central. All of the teams in the AL Central are within six games of first place in the division at the end of April. Even with the tight race in the division, the Cleveland Indians are the only team to sit above .500 at the end of the first month. The Tigers and White Sox are both one game out of first with the Royals and Twins filling up the basement. So who is going to be able to separate themselves from the pack in the coming months? Only one team has a positive run differential as the teams start play at the beginning of May. The Indians have outscored their opponents by three runs since the season began and they have allowed the least amount of runs out of teams in the division. Every other division in baseball has a team that has scored at least 100 runs but the Central is lacking a team that has reached this feat. The Tigers have scored the most runs with 94 runs scored but they have also allowed the second most runs in the division. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vw5v2v_dTlc/T59s3FF6kgI/AAAAAAAABO4/7Fxv7Lmr4DA/s320/Slide1.jpg Some of the biggest struggles for teams in the Central have come in their own home games. None of the teams in the Central have a winning record at home and the Royals have the dubious distinction of being the only team in baseball that has not won a contest on their home field. The Tigers sit one game below .500 at home but the Indians, White Sox, Twins, and Royals sit three games or more below the .500 mark. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3271GcHZouE/T59tAdydX7I/AAAAAAAABPA/4BG3yXR9iUE/s320/Slide2.jpg Here's a quick look at the other teams in the Central with a couple of notes about their start to the 2012 season: 1. Cleveland Indians (Record 11-9): In the last ten games, the Indians have gone 6-4 to push themselves to the top of the Central. They just completed a 3-3 home stand and now the are off to Chicago for an important series in the standings. Being on top of the division at the end of the first month is familiar territory to the Indians as they finished last April with an 18-8 record. Derek Lowe seems to be comfortable at the front of the Indians rotation. He finds himself tied for the league lead with four wins and he has a very good 2.27 ERA. 2. Detroit Tigers (Record 11-11): For the second year in a row, the Tigers are struggling to start the season. A slow start didn't impact the Tigers too much last season as they finished with 95 wins over the course of the season. Delmon Young's recent incident has been a little bit of a distraction and it will be interesting to see how the team deals with the fallout. Detroit needs to get some of their pitching in order for them to find success again but the division is still theirs to lose in 2012. 3. Chicago White Sox (Record 11-11): When the White Sox sold off some of their parts in the offseason, it seemed like they might be in the middle of a rebuilding project. They kept some of their parts and they have seen a resurgence among some familiar names. Adam Dunn was one of the worst hitters in baseball last year and he has five home runs to his name in 2012. Jake Peavy might have been the best pitcher in the American League for the first month of the year. 4. Kansas City Royals (Record 6-15): The Royals seemed to be the darlings of the baseball world before the season began. Their combination of young players and a strong bullpen looked to push them up near the top of the division. Some struggles at the plate from players like Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon have made scoring runs a challenge. There have also been some speed bumps with the pitching staff that will need to be ironed out for the team to find success in the coming months.