Cody Christie

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well the Twins made their series in the Bronx much more enjoyable than was originally anticipated by many fans in Twins Territory. The offense seems to be clicking on all cylinders and the bullpen has been surprisingly good in some tough situations against a very good line-up. Hopefully this positive momentum will carry over into their weekend series with the Rays and the Twins can start the climb back to the .500 mark. The baseball world had plenty of stories from the entire week and the headlines will continue to roll in as the season progresses. Ozzie Guillen returned to the Marlins, Matt Cain and Cliff Lee got caught up in a pitcher's duel, Jamie Moyer seemed to defy Father Time, and Ivan Rodriguez is set to retire as a member of the Rangers. There were plenty of stories from the Twins organization as well. So let's jump in and see what's in store for this edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." Anthony Swarzak and Liam Hendriks are fighting for a spot in the rotation and Parker Hageman analyzes who has the inside track. Everyone knows the Twins cut payroll this year but how does that compare to the rest of the league. The Twins aren't going to carry 13 pitchers for the entire season so Minnesota Twins Musings looks at the roster shuffle that is coming in the near future. We are two weeks into the season and JC over at Knuckleballs tries to figure out who the Twins are. Luke Hughes was designated for assignment a couple of days ago and over at The tenth inning stretch they discuss how the Aussie got a rotten deal. At the beginning of the spring, Ben Revere was set to be a starting outfielder with the Twins. So how did he end up back in Rochester? Scott Baker went in for his elbow clean-up and woke up to find out the doctor's performed Tommy John surgery. Twins Fan From Afar continues to write some great coverage on the Rock Cats and he wrote about the lackluster coverage from the World Wide Leader in Sports. One of my favorite blogs to follow about the Twins is Baseball Outsider and he finally got a Twitter account so make sure to follow him. Twins top prospect Miguel Sano has been a beast for the Beloit Snappers by hitting his sixth home run of the season last night. MiLB wrote a feature article explaining his hot start. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O6rhjRlG80M/T5FNyo1hoXI/AAAAAAAABMw/0bf_7oKKbPE/s320/SanoSnappers.jpg Who would be on the All-Time Baseball Dream Team? Baseball: Past and Present come up with their starting nine. There are plenty of former Twins across MLB and Puckett's Pond took a look at how they have started the year. Current AL Central foe Prince Fielder stole a base earlier this week and it was a fun sight to see. Do you remember that famous blooper reel shot where Jose Canseco has the home run ball bounce off of the top of his head? Now you can buy the hat that was on his head for that famous play. Dear Football Writers, please don't write about baseball. Last week I had a link to a play where Delmon Young did a 360 trying to catch the ball. The ruling on the field after the play was a triple so MLB had to step in. The Twins just saw first hand how long a game can take in the Bronx. So which AL Central team has the fastest working rotation? Jim Leyland thinks the experts that make predictions at the beginning of the season are a bunch of idiots. He's probably right. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Are we living in the "Golden Age" of catchers? Tuesday: Morneau's changing role leaving Parmelee behind Wednesday: 2012 MLB Draft starting to come into focus Thursday: Mixed messages might have messed up Liriano Video of the Week: Since the Twins were in NYC, they made time to visit the MLB Fan Cave. It also made sense because Lindsay Guentzel, a Minnesota native, is one of the nine fans hanging out in the MLB Fan Cave. Check out this video done with Joe Mauer during his visit and you can even make out Brian Duensing in the background.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UlDvPeGs83o/T493ne6bprI/AAAAAAAABMo/LaBNyIvMhmk/s320/LirianoHeadDown.jpg In the aftermath of a disastrous outing from Francisco Liriano on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, there has been plenty written about the lanky left-hander for the Twins. The Twins watched Liriano struggle out of the gate in 2011 and now the same story is playing out at the beginning of 2012. In his first three starts of the year, he has allowed the most earned runs and walks in the American League. His ERA has ballooned to 11.91 and he has yet to make it into the sixth inning during any of his appearances. It has been a terrible start to what will be a contract year for Mr. Liriano. How far things have fallen with their once promising star and now the Twins find themselves in a precarious position with their pitcher that has never been able to regain his dominant form. The Twins are in the sixth year of the Liriano experiment and the results are turning out to be far worse than the hypothesis suggested back in 2006. One of the top prospects in all of baseball at 22-years old and now at 28, he seems to have reached his sticking point with the Twins. It is looking more and more like Liriano's career will be over with the Twins by the time the start of next season rolls around. There will be plenty of people who ask the question, "What went wrong with this young man?" His Tommy John surgery obviously played a role in diminishing some of his ability but he has shown flashes of brilliance since returning to the mound. But there has to be more to the downfall of Liriano. The Twins have tried a variety of approaches with Liriano during his tenure with the team. They have let him pitch in winter ball some seasons to see if that better prepared him for the start of the year. Some of the coaching staff has attempted to find different ways for Liriano to approach his pitching style to see if that would consummate better results on the field. All of these changes in approach might have come off as mixed messages to Liriano and this could have messed up some of his ability on the field. 2006 message to Liriano: "Go out and dominate by throwing your nasty stuff to every player in the line-up." This message sounded good at the time but everyone knew his violent delivery seemed posed for some kind of arm issue. The first half of the 2006 season was magical with Liriano and Johan Santana destroying the American League with their pitching efforts. It seemed like these two players might be enough to carry the Twins all the way to their first World Series in over 15 years. Liriano had dominant stuff so there was not much thought that he needed to put into his pitching. All he had to do was step on the mound and his electric stuff would take care of any batter who dug into the box. 2008-09 message to Liriano: "We really liked what you did before you got hurt so let's try and get you back to that point." Learning how to pitch after Tommy John surgery can be a challenge for some players. Liriano had been so dominant before the procedure and that filled him with confidence. Since he lost a little off of his dominant stuff, he was going to need to learn how to be a pitcher. This process wouldn't be pretty but the Twins still had hope that Liriano would be able to reach his ace potential once again. 2010 message to Liriano: "You have the stuff to be an ace and your injury is behind you. Now it's time to show that you are an ace." Liriano seemed to put it all together and the team looked like they had finally found their ace for the coming years. His confidence grew and the results were positive on the field. There were still some moments of weakness where nerves would get the best of Liriano but he seemed to have turned a corner. He was one of the top ten pitchers in the American League and on his way to being an ace. 2011 message to Liriano: "Maybe switching to being a pitch to contact starter will help be even better." In the offseason, Liriano took the winter off because of the high number of innings he pitched in 2010. He came to spring training out of shape and he had not been performing some of the elbow exercises the team had given him as part of his offseason workout regime. To overcome some of these problems, the Twins gave Liriano a new message. He wasn't suppose to try and strike everyone out because then he didn't last very long into the game. He should still get a strikeout when he could but a quick ground out was just as good as a K. The coaching staff had used this concept with other pitchers in the organization and it had served them well in the past. That wasn't the case with Mr. Liriano. 2012 message to Liriano: "Relax. Don't let the bad outcomes on the mound impact your results to the following batters. Become a pitcher and not a thrower." The biggest part of the message to Liriano might be the fact that he needs to relax on the mound. When Liriano seems to start to unravel, the catcher is suppose to be able to bring him back to reality and calm his nerves. Parker Hageman also notes that there seems to be something wrong with Liriano's mechanics. This will only add to the list of things the Twins need to change with Liriano for him to find success this year. Ron Gardenhire and Rick Anderson are probably the two men that have given plenty of messages to Liriano over the years. At this point in his career, the multitude of messages given to him has yet to change the course of his career in a more positive direction. It's looking more and more like Liriano might be better off with another team and new voices trying to get the message through to him. Now it seems the only question remaining is if the Twins can get anything for Liriano or if he will walk for free in the offseason.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UlDvPeGs83o/T493ne6bprI/AAAAAAAABMo/LaBNyIvMhmk/s320/LirianoHeadDown.jpg In the aftermath of a disastrous outing from Francisco Liriano on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, there has been plenty written about the lanky left-hander for the Twins. The Twins watched Liriano struggle out of the gate in 2011 and now the same story is playing out at the beginning of 2012. In his first three starts of the year, he has allowed the most earned runs and walks in the American League. His ERA has ballooned to 11.91 and he has yet to make it into the sixth inning during any of his appearances. It has been a terrible start to what will be a contract year for Mr. Liriano. How far things have fallen with their once promising star and now the Twins find themselves in a precarious position with their pitcher that has never been able to regain his dominant form. The Twins are in the sixth year of the Liriano experiment and the results are turning out to be far worse than the hypothesis suggested back in 2006. One of the top prospects in all of baseball at 22-years old and now at 28, he seems to have reached his sticking point with the Twins. It is looking more and more like Liriano's career will be over with the Twins by the time the start of next season rolls around. There will be plenty of people who ask the question, "What went wrong with this young man?" His Tommy John surgery obviously played a role in diminishing some of his ability but he has shown flashes of brilliance since returning to the mound. But there has to be more to the downfall of Liriano. The Twins have tried a variety of approaches with Liriano during his tenure with the team. They have let him pitch in winter ball some seasons to see if that better prepared him for the start of the year. Some of the coaching staff has attempted to find different ways for Liriano to approach his pitching style to see if that would consummate better results on the field. All of these changes in approach might have come off as mixed messages to Liriano and this could have messed up some of his ability on the field. 2006 message to Liriano: "Go out and dominate by throwing your nasty stuff to every player in the line-up." This message sounded good at the time but everyone knew his violent delivery seemed posed for some kind of arm issue. The first half of the 2006 season was magical with Liriano and Johan Santana destroying the American League with their pitching efforts. It seemed like these two players might be enough to carry the Twins all the way to their first World Series in over 15 years. Liriano had dominant stuff so there was not much thought that he needed to put into his pitching. All he had to do was step on the mound and his electric stuff would take care of any batter who dug into the box. 2008-09 message to Liriano: "We really liked what you did before you got hurt so let's try and get you back to that point." Learning how to pitch after Tommy John surgery can be a challenge for some players. Liriano had been so dominant before the procedure and that filled him with confidence. Since he lost a little off of his dominant stuff, he was going to need to learn how to be a pitcher. This process wouldn't be pretty but the Twins still had hope that Liriano would be able to reach his ace potential once again. 2010 message to Liriano: "You have the stuff to be an ace and your injury is behind you. Now it's time to show that you are an ace." Liriano seemed to put it all together and the team looked like they had finally found their ace for the coming years. His confidence grew and the results were positive on the field. There were still some moments of weakness where nerves would get the best of Liriano but he seemed to have turned a corner. He was one of the top ten pitchers in the American League and on his way to being an ace. 2011 message to Liriano: "Maybe switching to being a pitch to contact starter will help be even better." In the offseason, Liriano took the winter off because of the high number of innings he pitched in 2010. He came to spring training out of shape and he had not been performing some of the elbow exercises the team had given him as part of his offseason workout regime. To overcome some of these problems, the Twins gave Liriano a new message. He wasn't suppose to try and strike everyone out because then he didn't last very long into the game. He should still get a strikeout when he could but a quick ground out was just as good as a K. The coaching staff had used this concept with other pitchers in the organization and it had served them well in the past. That wasn't the case with Mr. Liriano. 2012 message to Liriano: "Relax. Don't let the bad outcomes on the mound impact your results to the following batters. Become a pitcher and not a thrower." The biggest part of the message to Liriano might be the fact that he needs to relax on the mound. When Liriano seems to start to unravel, the catcher is suppose to be able to bring him back to reality and calm his nerves. Parker Hageman also notes that there seems to be something wrong with Liriano's mechanics. This will only add to the list of things the Twins need to change with Liriano for him to find success this year. Ron Gardenhire and Rick Anderson are probably the two men that have given plenty of messages to Liriano over the years. At this point in his career, the multitude of messages given to him has yet to change the course of his career in a more positive direction. It's looking more and more like Liriano might be better off with another team and new voices trying to get the message through to him. Now it seems the only question remaining is if the Twins can get anything for Liriano or if he will walk for free in the offseason.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?447-2012-MLB-Draft-starting-to-come-into-focus

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MPHHcivKpws/T46w_ubFOKI/AAAAAAAABMg/06qkEMGOJR8/s320/espnhs_byron_buxton_576x324.jpg There are less than two months left until the MLB Draft and this means clubs are starting to get a picture of who the top prospects are going to be when it comes to selection time. Many of the top baseball writing sites have started to put together their initial lists of who are the best players available in the June draft. Baseball America thinks there are five major players for the top pick. Keith Law of ESPN has a similar ranking with high school outfielder Byron Buxton named as the top player on his mid-season list. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QrjZTVD3j9Y/T46wscMNnSI/AAAAAAAABMY/lWcIofmMENg/s400/2012MLBDraftList.jpg The Twins will be selecting second in the draft and this puts a lot of pressure on the club to pick up a player that can be an impact arm or bat for years to come. This leaves the team in an interesting predicament when it comes to the second player to come off of the board. Should the team pick the best available player? Or since there are no clear-cut favorites for the top spots, should the team pick the best available player at a position of need for the organization? As I documented during this offseason, the Twins have a variety of options at their disposal with the second pick. Currently in the Twins farm system, there is a surplus of high quality outfielders and this could allow the team to focus on some other needs in the draft. During last year's first round, the Twins selected middle infielder Levi Michael with the 30th pick of the draft. The team also moved one of their top prospects, Eddie Rosario, from the outfield to second base. Does this mean the team is set in the middle infield? Both of these players are multiple years away from appearing at Target Field so it is hard to say they will be the cornerstones of the infield for foreseeable future. At the same time, pitching is a vital part of the game and finding top of the rotation starters can be hard to do. Free agent starting pitching is extremely costly so the best way to save money is to find arms in the draft. The Twins could be losing four out of the five members in their starting rotation at the end of the year. Former first round picks Alex Wimmers and Kyle Gibson might be ready to join the rotation at some point next year but both of those players are far from guaranteed to make it the big leagues in 2013. By adding a college arm like Kyle Zimmer or Mark Appel that could move through the system quickly, the organization might be benefited the most in the short term. With all of that being said, what happens if the Astros don't take Byron Buxton with the first pick in the draft? The young outfielder is being compared to players like the BJ Upton and Justin Upton who were top prospects coming out of high school. In the past the Twins have seemed to have a tendency to select highly athletic outfielders with some of their early round picks. Denard Span, Ben Revere, Joe Benson, and Aaron Hicks were all high school players with enough athletic ability that the club felt good about selecting them in the first or second round. Buxton would certainly fit into this athletic outfielder mold and the Twins could jump at the chance to pick him if he falls to their spot in the draft. If the draft were to play out as shown in the graph above, the Twins would be selecting the top college position player in the draft, Mike Zunino. The stud catcher from the University of Flordia was recently named as Baseball America's Midseason Most Outstanding Player for the collegiate level. He is the best player on the best team in the country and he continues to get better as the season goes on. As a junior he has hit .346/.408/.684 with 10 home runs and 15 RBI. At the same time he is an outstanding catcher behind the plate who can control the base paths and be in command of the pitching staff. The Twins have already seen Mauer move away from some of his catching duties this season and it would make sense to pick the player to replace him in this year's draft. There is still a little less than half of the season for players to separate themselves for the MLB Draft. The picture for the top players available has started to come into focus with Buxton and Zunino being near the top of the list. There will be plenty of options for the Twins when it comes to the selection in the second spot of the draft. But with no clear-cut favorites for the top spots in the draft, there are going to be some people who are unhappy with the team's selection. The Twins could take an athletic high school outfielder, the top college bat, or an experienced college pitcher. Now there are only a few weeks until June 4th for these players to stand out above the crowd.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MPHHcivKpws/T46w_ubFOKI/AAAAAAAABMg/06qkEMGOJR8/s320/espnhs_byron_buxton_576x324.jpg There are less than two months left until the MLB Draft and this means clubs are starting to get a picture of who the top prospects are going to be when it comes to selection time. Many of the top baseball writing sites have started to put together their initial lists of who are the best players available in the June draft. Baseball America thinks there are five major players for the top pick. Keith Law of ESPN has a similar ranking with high school outfielder Byron Buxton named as the top player on his mid-season list. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QrjZTVD3j9Y/T46wscMNnSI/AAAAAAAABMY/lWcIofmMENg/s400/2012MLBDraftList.jpg The Twins will be selecting second in the draft and this puts a lot of pressure on the club to pick up a player that can be an impact arm or bat for years to come. This leaves the team in an interesting predicament when it comes to the second player to come off of the board. Should the team pick the best available player? Or since there are no clear-cut favorites for the top spots, should the team pick the best available player at a position of need for the organization? As I documented during this offseason, the Twins have a variety of options at their disposal with the second pick. Currently in the Twins farm system, there is a surplus of high quality outfielders and this could allow the team to focus on some other needs in the draft. During last year's first round, the Twins selected middle infielder Levi Michael with the 30th pick of the draft. The team also moved one of their top prospects, Eddie Rosario, from the outfield to second base. Does this mean the team is set in the middle infield? Both of these players are multiple years away from appearing at Target Field so it is hard to say they will be the cornerstones of the infield for foreseeable future. At the same time, pitching is a vital part of the game and finding top of the rotation starters can be hard to do. Free agent starting pitching is extremely costly so the best way to save money is to find arms in the draft. The Twins could be losing four out of the five members in their starting rotation at the end of the year. Former first round picks Alex Wimmers and Kyle Gibson might be ready to join the rotation at some point next year but both of those players are far from guaranteed to make it the big leagues in 2013. By adding a college arm like Kyle Zimmer or Mark Appel that could move through the system quickly, the organization might be benefited the most in the short term. With all of that being said, what happens if the Astros don't take Byron Buxton with the first pick in the draft? The young outfielder is being compared to players like the BJ Upton and Justin Upton who were top prospects coming out of high school. In the past the Twins have seemed to have a tendency to select highly athletic outfielders with some of their early round picks. Denard Span, Ben Revere, Joe Benson, and Aaron Hicks were all high school players with enough athletic ability that the club felt good about selecting them in the first or second round. Buxton would certainly fit into this athletic outfielder mold and the Twins could jump at the chance to pick him if he falls to their spot in the draft. If the draft were to play out as shown in the graph above, the Twins would be selecting the top college position player in the draft, Mike Zunino. The stud catcher from the University of Flordia was recently named as Baseball America's Midseason Most Outstanding Player for the collegiate level. He is the best player on the best team in the country and he continues to get better as the season goes on. As a junior he has hit .346/.408/.684 with 10 home runs and 15 RBI. At the same time he is an outstanding catcher behind the plate who can control the base paths and be in command of the pitching staff. The Twins have already seen Mauer move away from some of his catching duties this season and it would make sense to pick the player to replace him in this year's draft. There is still a little less than half of the season for players to separate themselves for the MLB Draft. The picture for the top players available has started to come into focus with Buxton and Zunino being near the top of the list. There will be plenty of options for the Twins when it comes to the selection in the second spot of the draft. But with no clear-cut favorites for the top spots in the draft, there are going to be some people who are unhappy with the team's selection. The Twins could take an athletic high school outfielder, the top college bat, or an experienced college pitcher. Now there are only a few weeks until June 4th for these players to stand out above the crowd.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y1Eslm6GLr4/T41UsxyEbKI/AAAAAAAABMI/B3xE0G_OVoA/s320/MorneauHR.jpg In the final weeks of spring training, the Twins made a few adjustments to their line-up to align themselves for the start of the 2012 regular season. As part of these moves, Josh Willingham moved from right field to left field, Justin Morneau was going to be the full-time designated hitter, and Chris Parmelee was slated to see time at first base and in the outfield. All of these moves had trickle down effects for the other players on the roster and the Twins have seen some of those impacts during their first portion of the season. Morneau is trying to get back on the field after missing huge pieces of the last two seasons. He has also been trying to figure out what type of routine he should have when he is in the DH role. There can be a lot of down time between at-bats and some players who are new to the DH role have a tough time figuring out what to do with this extra time. Paul Molitor and David Ortiz have offered advice to Morneau about what to do between at-bats. For Morneau, his new routine has included riding an exercise bike and watching video of the opposing pitcher. On Monday night, there were a few changes to the Twins line-up before their contest with the New York Yankees. Josh Willingham had been swinging a hot bat and the American League honored him with Player of the Week so the Twins moved to the fourth spot in their batting order. Morneau had been struggling so it made sense to split up the left-handed duo of Morneau and Joe Mauer. When Ron Gardenhire went to talk to Morneau about this move, Morneau said it was fine if he got to play at first base. This was the first time since the beginning of March that Morneau would be slotted in to play in his familiar role as the first baseman. The results from Monday were very good for Morneau in his first game back on the defensive side of the ball. He finished the game by going 2-for-5 with a towering home run to one of the deepest parts of the outfield at Yankee Stadium. With the interleague portion of the Twins schedule approaching next month, the Twins needed to give Morneau a few opportunities to play first base. There is no DH when the Twins travel to NL ballparks and to get Morneau into the line-up the Twins need him to be able to play at first base. This first experiment for Morneau seemed to have been a success and the real test will be how he feels when he gets to the field today. With Morneau's role changing on the team, the one player left behind seems to be Chris Parmelee. Coming out of spring training, Parmelee was a surprise addition to the Twins roster but his play in the spring had earned him a spot on the team. With Morneau scheduled to be a full-time DH, it looked like Parmelee would see significant playing time at first base. Out of the team's first ten games, Parmelee has started six of them at first base. He hasn't exactly hit the cover off of the ball in those six games but this could be expect from a player who hasn't spent any time at the Triple-A level. If playing at first base is going to become more of a routine for Morneau, Parmelee's spot on the team might be in danger. The Twins have already used Mauer for multiple games at first base and by adding Morneau to the mix for time at first base, Parmelee could be relegated to more time on the bench. Do the Twins really need Parmelee sitting on the bench and not getting regular playing time? Ben Revere was in the same situation with the Twins and the team sent him to Rochester so he could get into the line-up everyday. There is no point in letting a young player like Parmelee sit around especially when he hasn't found success at the Triple-A level. It is still early in the season and Morneau's role continues to be adjusted as the Twins search for a way for him to be successful after everything he has tried to overcome. For the Twins to be successful in 2012, they need Morneau to be a force in the middle of the line-up to go along with Willingham and Mauer. If Morneau is going to be as successful as the team wants him to be, he might need to spend more time playing first base. But Parmelee looks like he has a bright future with the Twins and this means the Twins need to find at-bats for him at the big league level or send him to Rochester to get him ready for a more regular role with the team.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y1Eslm6GLr4/T41UsxyEbKI/AAAAAAAABMI/B3xE0G_OVoA/s320/MorneauHR.jpg In the final weeks of spring training, the Twins made a few adjustments to their line-up to align themselves for the start of the 2012 regular season. As part of these moves, Josh Willingham moved from right field to left field, Justin Morneau was going to be the full-time designated hitter, and Chris Parmelee was slated to see time at first base and in the outfield. All of these moves had trickle down effects for the other players on the roster and the Twins have seen some of those impacts during their first portion of the season. Morneau is trying to get back on the field after missing huge pieces of the last two seasons. He has also been trying to figure out what type of routine he should have when he is in the DH role. There can be a lot of down time between at-bats and some players who are new to the DH role have a tough time figuring out what to do with this extra time. Paul Molitor and David Ortiz have offered advice to Morneau about what to do between at-bats. For Morneau, his new routine has included riding an exercise bike and watching video of the opposing pitcher. On Monday night, there were a few changes to the Twins line-up before their contest with the New York Yankees. Josh Willingham had been swinging a hot bat and the American League honored him with Player of the Week so the Twins moved to the fourth spot in their batting order. Morneau had been struggling so it made sense to split up the left-handed duo of Morneau and Joe Mauer. When Ron Gardenhire went to talk to Morneau about this move, Morneau said it was fine if he got to play at first base. This was the first time since the beginning of March that Morneau would be slotted in to play in his familiar role as the first baseman. The results from Monday were very good for Morneau in his first game back on the defensive side of the ball. He finished the game by going 2-for-5 with a towering home run to one of the deepest parts of the outfield at Yankee Stadium. With the interleague portion of the Twins schedule approaching next month, the Twins needed to give Morneau a few opportunities to play first base. There is no DH when the Twins travel to NL ballparks and to get Morneau into the line-up the Twins need him to be able to play at first base. This first experiment for Morneau seemed to have been a success and the real test will be how he feels when he gets to the field today. With Morneau's role changing on the team, the one player left behind seems to be Chris Parmelee. Coming out of spring training, Parmelee was a surprise addition to the Twins roster but his play in the spring had earned him a spot on the team. With Morneau scheduled to be a full-time DH, it looked like Parmelee would see significant playing time at first base. Out of the team's first ten games, Parmelee has started six of them at first base. He hasn't exactly hit the cover off of the ball in those six games but this could be expect from a player who hasn't spent any time at the Triple-A level. If playing at first base is going to become more of a routine for Morneau, Parmelee's spot on the team might be in danger. The Twins have already used Mauer for multiple games at first base and by adding Morneau to the mix for time at first base, Parmelee could be relegated to more time on the bench. Do the Twins really need Parmelee sitting on the bench and not getting regular playing time? Ben Revere was in the same situation with the Twins and the team sent him to Rochester so he could get into the line-up everyday. There is no point in letting a young player like Parmelee sit around especially when he hasn't found success at the Triple-A level. It is still early in the season and Morneau's role continues to be adjusted as the Twins search for a way for him to be successful after everything he has tried to overcome. For the Twins to be successful in 2012, they need Morneau to be a force in the middle of the line-up to go along with Willingham and Mauer. If Morneau is going to be as successful as the team wants him to be, he might need to spend more time playing first base. But Parmelee looks like he has a bright future with the Twins and this means the Twins need to find at-bats for him at the big league level or send him to Rochester to get him ready for a more regular role with the team.

In my post that I wrote earlier today, I asked a simple question. Are we living in the "Golden Age" of catchers? There have been some great eras for catchers in the past but this season could turn out to be one of the best seasons ever for players behind the plate. Do you think we are in the midst of the "Golden Age" of catchers? If you had to pick one catcher to build a team around, who would it be? Why? Here are some of the players to pick from or feel free to select someone not on this list. AL Catchers: Mike Napoli, Alex Avila, Matt Wieters, Carlos Santana, Joe Mauer, Salvador Perez, Jesus Montero, Travis d'Arnaud NL Catchers: Miguel Montero, Yadier Molina, Wilson Ramos, Brian McCann, Buster Posey, Devin Mesoraco

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k1esuYStD6M/T4t0WuGppoI/AAAAAAAABMA/1gDrtrSY07k/s400/GoldenAgeofCatchers.jpg There has been an influx of contract extensions for catchers in recent weeks with Carlos Santana of the Indians being the latest to sign on the dotted line. Some think the Indians might have locked up baseball's top catcher but that title can be debated with players from both leagues coming out on top. The Twins already have Joe Mauer their MVP catcher and hometown hero locked up to a huge deal but there are plenty of other big name catchers across the baseball world. There are players behind the plate in the American League and the National League who have already become stars or who are well on their way to becoming big name players. Here is a look at some of the top catchers in each league and even a few young players who could move from top prospect lists to being in the discussion for top catcher in their league. American League (2011 Baseball Reference WAR) Mike Napoli, Rangers (5.5) Alex Avila, Tigers (5.4) Matt Wieters, Orioles (4.0) Carlos Santana, Indians (3.9) Joe Mauer, Twins* (1.7) Salvador Perez, Royals (1.1) Jesus Montero, Mariners (Top 10 Prospect by Baseball America) Travis d'Arnaud, Blue Jays (Top 20 Prospect by Baseball America) *Injury shortened season National League (2011 Baseball Reference WAR) Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks (4.5) Yadier Molina, Cardinals (3.9) Wilson Ramos, Nationals (2.5) Brian McCann, Braves (2.5) Buster Posey, Giants* (1.5) Devin Mesoraco, Reds (Top 20 Prospect by Baseball America) *Injury shortened season The hardships of catching on a star player have been well documented in Minnesota with Joe Mauer and in San Fransisco with Buster Posey. Both of these star players missed large chunks of last season because of catching related injuries. Bob Harkins of NBC Sports wrote a couple of weeks ago that catching is the toughest job in all of sports. As he wrote in the article: "The catcher is a different kind of animal altogether. He's a scout and a coach. He's a psychiatrist and a self-help therapist. He's the first one to sacrifice his body and the last line of defense. And if he wants to make big-time money, he's going to have to hit, too." All of this pressure on catchers has forced some of the names listed above to find time playing other positions on the field. The Twins have used Mauer at first base on a more frequent basis to start the season and this has allowed his bat to be in the line-up for every game in 2012. Santana had a very good year with the Indians last year and he found himself on the field at first base for 66 games. Top prospect Montero is at the start of his first full season in the big leagues and the Mariners have only let him catch in one game so far. Many of these high level catchers are good enough from the offensive side of the game that their managers need to find ways for them to play almost everyday. After considering all of this information, it is easy to wonder if we are living in one of the best era's in history for players at the catching position. There have been many very good catchers in the past but the plethora of quality catchers seems to be very high across the baseball world. Could we be in the middle of the "Golden Age" of catchers? In an article written for ESPN's SweetSpot Blog, Dave Schoenfield examined every season since 1969 where there was a surplus of catchers with a WAR of 3.5 or higher. The two best seasons on this list were in 1977 and 1978 with nine and ten catchers that had a 3.5 WAR or higher. This was the era of Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, and Ted Simmons. Last season there were six catchers who reached this level in MLB but that didn't include some notable stars like Mauer, Posey, and McCann. The closest recent season with six catchers with over a 3.5 WAR was in 2004. Javy Lopez, Ivan Rodriguez, Jason Kendall, Jorge Posada, Jason Varitek, and Victor Martinez played well enough to easily make the 3.5 WAR mark. It is eight seasons later and many of these players will not be playing in baseball this year. Martinez is injured and some of the other prominent names have already hung up their catching gear and called it a career. It was time for a new era of catchers and they might have been the predecessors to one of the best crop of catchers in history. When it comes to catchers, it is hard to predict how the season will stack up at the end of the year. There can be injuries that push players to the disabled list for large pieces of the schedule or there can be sub-par play from players that are expected to do more on the field. Perez of the Royals will already miss a big chunk of the 2012 season so there is not much of a chance that he will reach the 3.5 WAR mark. But even with Perez out of the equation, there are 12 other catchers that could have a WAR of higher than 3.5 at the end of the year. As mentioned above, the record for any season since 1969 is 10 players and this means we could be in the middle of a very special season for catchers in 2012.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k1esuYStD6M/T4t0WuGppoI/AAAAAAAABMA/1gDrtrSY07k/s400/GoldenAgeofCatchers.jpg There has been an influx of contract extensions for catchers in recent weeks with Carlos Santana of the Indians being the latest to sign on the dotted line. Some think the Indians might have locked up baseball's top catcher but that title can be debated with players from both leagues coming out on top. The Twins already have Joe Mauer their MVP catcher and hometown hero locked up to a huge deal but there are plenty of other big name catchers across the baseball world. There are players behind the plate in the American League and the National League who have already become stars or who are well on their way to becoming big name players. Here is a look at some of the top catchers in each league and even a few young players who could move from top prospect lists to being in the discussion for top catcher in their league. American League (2011 Baseball Reference WAR) Mike Napoli, Rangers (5.5) Alex Avila, Tigers (5.4) Matt Wieters, Orioles (4.0) Carlos Santana, Indians (3.9) Joe Mauer, Twins* (1.7) Salvador Perez, Royals (1.1) Jesus Montero, Mariners (Top 10 Prospect by Baseball America) Travis d'Arnaud, Blue Jays (Top 20 Prospect by Baseball America) *Injury shortened season National League (2011 Baseball Reference WAR) Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks (4.5) Yadier Molina, Cardinals (3.9) Wilson Ramos, Nationals (2.5) Brian McCann, Braves (2.5) Buster Posey, Giants* (1.5) Devin Mesoraco, Reds (Top 20 Prospect by Baseball America) *Injury shortened season The hardships of catching on a star player have been well documented in Minnesota with Joe Mauer and in San Fransisco with Buster Posey. Both of these star players missed large chunks of last season because of catching related injuries. Bob Harkins of NBC Sports wrote a couple of weeks ago that catching is the toughest job in all of sports. As he wrote in the article: "The catcher is a different kind of animal altogether. He's a scout and a coach. He's a psychiatrist and a self-help therapist. He's the first one to sacrifice his body and the last line of defense. And if he wants to make big-time money, he's going to have to hit, too." All of this pressure on catchers has forced some of the names listed above to find time playing other positions on the field. The Twins have used Mauer at first base on a more frequent basis to start the season and this has allowed his bat to be in the line-up for every game in 2012. Santana had a very good year with the Indians last year and he found himself on the field at first base for 66 games. Top prospect Montero is at the start of his first full season in the big leagues and the Mariners have only let him catch in one game so far. Many of these high level catchers are good enough from the offensive side of the game that their managers need to find ways for them to play almost everyday. After considering all of this information, it is easy to wonder if we are living in one of the best era's in history for players at the catching position. There have been many very good catchers in the past but the plethora of quality catchers seems to be very high across the baseball world. Could we be in the middle of the "Golden Age" of catchers? In an article written for ESPN's SweetSpot Blog, Dave Schoenfield examined every season since 1969 where there was a surplus of catchers with a WAR of 3.5 or higher. The two best seasons on this list were in 1977 and 1978 with nine and ten catchers that had a 3.5 WAR or higher. This was the era of Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, and Ted Simmons. Last season there were six catchers who reached this level in MLB but that didn't include some notable stars like Mauer, Posey, and McCann. The closest recent season with six catchers with over a 3.5 WAR was in 2004. Javy Lopez, Ivan Rodriguez, Jason Kendall, Jorge Posada, Jason Varitek, and Victor Martinez played well enough to easily make the 3.5 WAR mark. It is eight seasons later and many of these players will not be playing in baseball this year. Martinez is injured and some of the other prominent names have already hung up their catching gear and called it a career. It was time for a new era of catchers and they might have been the predecessors to one of the best crop of catchers in history. When it comes to catchers, it is hard to predict how the season will stack up at the end of the year. There can be injuries that push players to the disabled list for large pieces of the schedule or there can be sub-par play from players that are expected to do more on the field. Perez of the Royals will already miss a big chunk of the 2012 season so there is not much of a chance that he will reach the 3.5 WAR mark. But even with Perez out of the equation, there are 12 other catchers that could have a WAR of higher than 3.5 at the end of the year. As mentioned above, the record for any season since 1969 is 10 players and this means we could be in the middle of a very special season for catchers in 2012.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?430-Friday-Links-N-Thinks

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first week of Twins baseball has not been perfect by any means but the team has shown signs of life in the last couple of days. Those games were against two very good pitchers from the Angels, Jared Weaver and Dan Haren, so the team might be moving in the right direction. In a rare occurrence on Thursday afternoon, Joe Mauer hit a home run at Target Field for only the second time since the stadium opened in 2010. Besides glimmers of hope, the Twins offense needs to continue on it's upward trejectory if the team wants to find success in 2012. The two-time defending American League Champion Texas Rangers are coming to town this weekend with a couple of issues themselves. Former Twins closer Joe Nathan has struggled in two of his outings with his new club and both times his team would end up losing the contest. Yu Darvish, the Japanese pitching phenom, is scheduled to pitch on Saturday along with the unveiling of Kent Hrbek's statue outside of Gate 14. The first weekend action of the 2012 season at Target Field should be full of some great games and the Twins hope to get their team moving in the right direction. Another work week has come to an end so I hope you enjoy the following stories that I found from throughout the last week. Baseball is back and it has been great to see my Twitter feed explode with excitement in the last seven days. The Twins aren't off to a perfect start but it is a long season with plenty of baseball left to play. Earlier this week, Seth Stohs had a great podcast with multiple guests including an interview with shortstop Brian Dozier. If you want to find out more about the New Britain Rock Cats, make sure to check out Twins Fan From Afar. He wrote about Alex Wimmers' first start of the year. ESPN's Jim Bowden (an Insider article) thinks it's possible for the Twins to move Justin Morneau at some point this year. A looks into the most infamous Twins jerseys of all time, the "Dairy Queen" red jerseys. John Sickels likes what Brian Dozier has been able to do so far this year at Rochester. Over at Circle the Bases, they examine the possibility of Scott Baker's career being done with the Twins. The Twins saw Peter Bourjos move around the bases at Target Field in under 15 seconds on Wednesday night. Jim Crikket at Knuckleballs wrote a very good piece on how the Twins need to strive for greatness and not just let it be a tradition for the franchise. Over at Twins Daily, they ask the question, "What kind of fan are you?" Twins relief pitcher Jeff Gray only had one-career win before the last two days and now three pitches later he has two more wins. Twins draft pick Hudson Boyd and three of his high school teammates are trying to make it to the big leagues. Shawn Berg over at Twins Target has been counting down his top prospect and he profiled his sixth best player this week. This picture of the Orioles Robert Andino shows how tough a few years in Baltimore can be for a player. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YlbbPWdbvvU/T4cqwe5CxDI/AAAAAAAABL4/sFfc-Nsh88E/s320/RobertAndinoSmile.jpeg A rare Bryce Harper trading card is listed on eBay for $25,000 and it isn't even autographed by the young star. During the Twins first game of the year a man ran on the field wearing only his underwear and a Batman cap. Now he is banned from Camden Yards for life. Even Babe Ruth's daughter doesn't like the Yankees. Baseball teams are getting a lot more money for the exclusive rights to broadcast their games. Torii Hunter got into a fight with the wall at Target Field... it didn't end well for somebody. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Rough Opening Weekend has silver lining Tuesday: Dozier's hot start is hard to ignore Wednesday: Lost generation of Twins fans brought back in 2002 Thursday: Will April showers bring second half flowers? Video of the Week: Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau homered in the same game for the first time since July 2010. The event also took place at Target Field where Mauer came into the game with only one career home run. Morneau's shot was a towering blast deep into the seats. Here is the video evidence of both of those balls leaving the park.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first week of Twins baseball has not been perfect by any means but the team has shown signs of life in the last couple of days. Those games were against two very good pitchers from the Angels, Jared Weaver and Dan Haren, so the team might be moving in the right direction. In a rare occurrence on Thursday afternoon, Joe Mauer hit a home run at Target Field for only the second time since the stadium opened in 2010. Besides glimmers of hope, the Twins offense needs to continue on it's upward trejectory if the team wants to find success in 2012. The two-time defending American League Champion Texas Rangers are coming to town this weekend with a couple of issues themselves. Former Twins closer Joe Nathan has struggled in two of his outings with his new club and both times his team would end up losing the contest. Yu Darvish, the Japanese pitching phenom, is scheduled to pitch on Saturday along with the unveiling of Kent Hrbek's statue outside of Gate 14. The first weekend action of the 2012 season at Target Field should be full of some great games and the Twins hope to get their team moving in the right direction. Another work week has come to an end so I hope you enjoy the following stories that I found from throughout the last week. Baseball is back and it has been great to see my Twitter feed explode with excitement in the last seven days. The Twins aren't off to a perfect start but it is a long season with plenty of baseball left to play. Earlier this week, Seth Stohs had a great podcast with multiple guests including an interview with shortstop Brian Dozier. If you want to find out more about the New Britain Rock Cats, make sure to check out Twins Fan From Afar. He wrote about Alex Wimmers' first start of the year. ESPN's Jim Bowden (an Insider article) thinks it's possible for the Twins to move Justin Morneau at some point this year. A looks into the most infamous Twins jerseys of all time, the "Dairy Queen" red jerseys. John Sickels likes what Brian Dozier has been able to do so far this year at Rochester. Over at Circle the Bases, they examine the possibility of Scott Baker's career being done with the Twins. The Twins saw Peter Bourjos move around the bases at Target Field in under 15 seconds on Wednesday night. Jim Crikket at Knuckleballs wrote a very good piece on how the Twins need to strive for greatness and not just let it be a tradition for the franchise. Over at Twins Daily, they ask the question, "What kind of fan are you?" Twins relief pitcher Jeff Gray only had one-career win before the last two days and now three pitches later he has two more wins. Twins draft pick Hudson Boyd and three of his high school teammates are trying to make it to the big leagues. Shawn Berg over at Twins Target has been counting down his top prospect and he profiled his sixth best player this week. This picture of the Orioles Robert Andino shows how tough a few years in Baltimore can be for a player. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YlbbPWdbvvU/T4cqwe5CxDI/AAAAAAAABL4/sFfc-Nsh88E/s320/RobertAndinoSmile.jpeg A rare Bryce Harper trading card is listed on eBay for $25,000 and it isn't even autographed by the young star. During the Twins first game of the year a man ran on the field wearing only his underwear and a Batman cap. Now he is banned from Camden Yards for life. Even Babe Ruth's daughter doesn't like the Yankees. Baseball teams are getting a lot more money for the exclusive rights to broadcast their games. Torii Hunter got into a fight with the wall at Target Field... it didn't end well for somebody. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Rough Opening Weekend has silver lining Tuesday: Dozier's hot start is hard to ignore Wednesday: Lost generation of Twins fans brought back in 2002 Thursday: Will April showers bring second half flowers? Video of the Week: Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau homered in the same game for the first time since July 2010. The event also took place at Target Field where Mauer came into the game with only one career home run. Morneau's shot was a towering blast deep into the seats. Here is the video evidence of both of those balls leaving the park.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fans of the Twins are well aware of the slow start the club has gotten off to at the start the 2012 season. It seems that a segment of the fan base is worried that the Twins are falling back into the same patterns that lead to a 99-loss season in 2011. Scott Baker and Liam Hendriks have already been forced to the sidelines with injuries, there are still question marks in the bullpen, and the offense has struggled mightily at the plate. The hope was that the Twins would start the season by winning some games and putting last year behind them but this hasn't been the case so far this year. Should this have been expected though? The Twins have a very tough schedule in the first month of the year that includes teams like the Angels, Rangers, Yankees, and Red Sox. It would have been nice to get out of the first month of the year with a .500 record but maybe that was a long shot. Are the Twins just not an early season team? Do they struggle to win games in the first portion of the year? Since 2008, the Twins have only finished the month of April with an above .500 record one time. In 2010, the Twins got off to a hot start and the team would put together one of the best seasons in franchise history. The 2008 and 2009 seasons started slow but the team would end up in a one-game playoff for the Central Division at the end of each of those campaigns. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2YeFzwY048/T4WwShNg7kI/AAAAAAAABLg/pFeMnnZ13Ww/s320/AprilShowers.jpg During this same time span, it has seemed that the first half of the year was a time to figure out how the team was going to develop over the course of the season. Around the All-Star break, the Twins would be near the .500 mark with the trade deadline fast approaching. Should the team add players for a second half run or should the team sit tight with the players they currently have on the roster? Even last year when the team would suffer in the second half of the year, the Twins were seven games under .500 in the first half of the year. Being near the .500 mark around the All-Star break has allowed the Twins and their fans to have a semblance of hope for the second half of the year. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qqw6skxio3U/T4ZJ_LB7_wI/AAAAAAAABLo/V1uI9S3FXkA/s320/AllStarBreakBlues.jpg The second half of the season seems to be where the Twins make a name for themselves by playing well in the AL Central. The unbalanced schedule and divisional play has helped the Twins to be in the playoffs or on the brink of the playoffs in three of the last four seasons. During last year, the Twins thought they could still be in the pennant race at the trade deadline so they held on to a lot of their veteran players. The second half surge never happened for that club but strong baseball in the second half of the year helped to form the identity for the other three teams on this list. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j_4hrWkK99Y/T4ZNo4Xr0uI/AAAAAAAABLw/cg0suN2P-2A/s320/SecondHalfSurges.jpg There is a good chance that the Twins are not on their way to winning 100 games this season but slow starts have been commonplace for Twins Territory in recent years. The baseball season is extremely long and a lot can happen between now and the end of the year. So there is no reason to overreact to the first handful of games. Like most of the last few seasons, the Twins will probably be near the .500 mark at the end of the first half of the year. What they do in the second half could be the difference in a 99-loss season and pushing for a spot in the postseason.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fans of the Twins are well aware of the slow start the club has gotten off to at the start the 2012 season. It seems that a segment of the fan base is worried that the Twins are falling back into the same patterns that lead to a 99-loss season in 2011. Scott Baker and Liam Hendriks have already been forced to the sidelines with injuries, there are still question marks in the bullpen, and the offense has struggled mightily at the plate. The hope was that the Twins would start the season by winning some games and putting last year behind them but this hasn't been the case so far this year. Should this have been expected though? The Twins have a very tough schedule in the first month of the year that includes teams like the Angels, Rangers, Yankees, and Red Sox. It would have been nice to get out of the first month of the year with a .500 record but maybe that was a long shot. Are the Twins just not an early season team? Do they struggle to win games in the first portion of the year? Since 2008, the Twins have only finished the month of April with an above .500 record one time. In 2010, the Twins got off to a hot start and the team would put together one of the best seasons in franchise history. The 2008 and 2009 seasons started slow but the team would end up in a one-game playoff for the Central Division at the end of each of those campaigns. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q2YeFzwY048/T4WwShNg7kI/AAAAAAAABLg/pFeMnnZ13Ww/s320/AprilShowers.jpg During this same time span, it has seemed that the first half of the year was a time to figure out how the team was going to develop over the course of the season. Around the All-Star break, the Twins would be near the .500 mark with the trade deadline fast approaching. Should the team add players for a second half run or should the team sit tight with the players they currently have on the roster? Even last year when the team would suffer in the second half of the year, the Twins were seven games under .500 in the first half of the year. Being near the .500 mark around the All-Star break has allowed the Twins and their fans to have a semblance of hope for the second half of the year. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qqw6skxio3U/T4ZJ_LB7_wI/AAAAAAAABLo/V1uI9S3FXkA/s320/AllStarBreakBlues.jpg The second half of the season seems to be where the Twins make a name for themselves by playing well in the AL Central. The unbalanced schedule and divisional play has helped the Twins to be in the playoffs or on the brink of the playoffs in three of the last four seasons. During last year, the Twins thought they could still be in the pennant race at the trade deadline so they held on to a lot of their veteran players. The second half surge never happened for that club but strong baseball in the second half of the year helped to form the identity for the other three teams on this list. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j_4hrWkK99Y/T4ZNo4Xr0uI/AAAAAAAABLw/cg0suN2P-2A/s320/SecondHalfSurges.jpg There is a good chance that the Twins are not on their way to winning 100 games this season but slow starts have been commonplace for Twins Territory in recent years. The baseball season is extremely long and a lot can happen between now and the end of the year. So there is no reason to overreact to the first handful of games. Like most of the last few seasons, the Twins will probably be near the .500 mark at the end of the first half of the year. What they do in the second half could be the difference in a 99-loss season and pushing for a spot in the postseason.

Contract extension... I'm just kidding. I am guess that it is bad news. It looks like Liam Hendriks will be staying up with the Twins for longer than expected

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-USOtSqIeF9Q/T4V3GAwFj0I/AAAAAAAABLY/4Hj5SpCkt30/s320/2002TwinsReunion.jpg Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of highlights of Opening Day at Target Field was the 10-year reunion for the 2002 Minnesota Twins team, the last team from the franchise to play in the ALCS. There were 11 of the 25 members of the team in attendance at the game along with most of the coaching staff. There were plenty of cheers for fan favorites like Torii Hunter, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Eddie Guardado. It is hard to imagine how far the team has come since the beginning of the 2002 season and if that team was unable to succeed, would the franchise even exists at this point? After winning the team's first World Series in the late 80's and their second World Series in the early 1990's, the Twins would go through a stretch of eight years where the team would finish in fourth or fifth place in their division. The middle years of the 1990's became a tough time for the sport of baseball. There was the strike shortened year in 1995 without a World Series and from the next few years it would be hard to bring fans back to the sport. Rich owners and players had turned their backs on the fan base and it became a tough time for the baseball world. Poor baseball in Minnesota would make it tough to draw fans but some fans would start to trickle back because of a few factors in the late 90's. In 1998, there was the chase for the home run record that had been held by Roger Maris. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey Jr. were hitting balls out of the park at lightning speed. Most of this chase for the home run didn't impact the Twins because a lot of that action was occurring in the National League. By seasons end, the team would finish 22 games under .500 and with the smallest attendance in the American League. The next couple seasons would be more of the same for the Twins but something was slowly changing. After finishing the 2000 season with the worst record in baseball, the Twins put together a surprise run in 2001 to finish second in the division. For the first time in multiple seasons, the Twins didn't finish last in attendance in the AL. The fan base was slowly starting to grow because nothing draws in fans like winning on the field. The young and upcoming Twins had plenty of talent that was blossoming but the upcoming offseason would be full of turmoil. Following this magical season, the Twins went through an offseason of unknowns. Tom Kelly, the winningest manager in club history, was stepping aside and an unproven manager by the name of Ron Gardenhire was taking the reigns. There were also rumblings across the baseball world of the possibility of contracting two teams from each of the leagues and the Twins were considered to be the front runner for deletion from the AL. After a bounce back year in 2001, the 2002 season looked like it could be the last hurrah for the Minnesota Twins. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-41yWxKdl8sM/T4V2oq4BysI/AAAAAAAABLQ/Ya6ryhIJ-k4/s1600/theteamthatsavedbaseball.jpg The Twins would get off to a decent start in 2002 but their second half winning percentage of .611 would truly separate them from the pack. They stayed above .500 for the entire season and destroyed the bottom feeders in the AL Central. They spent 161 days in first place in the AL Central and the furthest the team ever got behind in the division was four games out of first and that was in the early weeks of the season. The franchise would qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1991 and they surprised the baseball world by beating the mighty Oakland A's in the first round of the playoffs. The Twins were back and they would stay atop the AL Central for a majority of the next decade. One of the forgotten groups in all of this was the fans of the younger generation. They were too young to remember much of the success of World Series teams for the Twins. This meant they grew up watching painful baseball being played in an ugly white dome in downtown Minneapolis. The stands were mostly empty, the team failed to produce on the field, and the baseball world watched as the Twins were slowly dying. This lost generation of fans couldn't remember a time when the Twins had been successful but that would all change in the 2002 season. These fans of the younger generation would be able to attend their first playoff series in over a decade at the Metrodome. They would get to wave their first Homer Hanky and watch their team celebrate on the field after winning their first playoff series since 1991. The Metrodome would be packed and the fans could feel what it was like when thousands of voices made the roof shake off of the dome that didn't seem as ugly anymore. A new generation of Twins fan had been born and they would watch their team succeed at a high level over the course of the next decade. These fans that had been lost were now found and the course of the franchise's history would never be the same...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-USOtSqIeF9Q/T4V3GAwFj0I/AAAAAAAABLY/4Hj5SpCkt30/s320/2002TwinsReunion.jpg Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of highlights of Opening Day at Target Field was the 10-year reunion for the 2002 Minnesota Twins team, the last team from the franchise to play in the ALCS. There were 11 of the 25 members of the team in attendance at the game along with most of the coaching staff. There were plenty of cheers for fan favorites like Torii Hunter, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Eddie Guardado. It is hard to imagine how far the team has come since the beginning of the 2002 season and if that team was unable to succeed, would the franchise even exists at this point? After winning the team's first World Series in the late 80's and their second World Series in the early 1990's, the Twins would go through a stretch of eight years where the team would finish in fourth or fifth place in their division. The middle years of the 1990's became a tough time for the sport of baseball. There was the strike shortened year in 1995 without a World Series and from the next few years it would be hard to bring fans back to the sport. Rich owners and players had turned their backs on the fan base and it became a tough time for the baseball world. Poor baseball in Minnesota would make it tough to draw fans but some fans would start to trickle back because of a few factors in the late 90's. In 1998, there was the chase for the home run record that had been held by Roger Maris. Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey Jr. were hitting balls out of the park at lightning speed. Most of this chase for the home run didn't impact the Twins because a lot of that action was occurring in the National League. By seasons end, the team would finish 22 games under .500 and with the smallest attendance in the American League. The next couple seasons would be more of the same for the Twins but something was slowly changing. After finishing the 2000 season with the worst record in baseball, the Twins put together a surprise run in 2001 to finish second in the division. For the first time in multiple seasons, the Twins didn't finish last in attendance in the AL. The fan base was slowly starting to grow because nothing draws in fans like winning on the field. The young and upcoming Twins had plenty of talent that was blossoming but the upcoming offseason would be full of turmoil. Following this magical season, the Twins went through an offseason of unknowns. Tom Kelly, the winningest manager in club history, was stepping aside and an unproven manager by the name of Ron Gardenhire was taking the reigns. There were also rumblings across the baseball world of the possibility of contracting two teams from each of the leagues and the Twins were considered to be the front runner for deletion from the AL. After a bounce back year in 2001, the 2002 season looked like it could be the last hurrah for the Minnesota Twins. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-41yWxKdl8sM/T4V2oq4BysI/AAAAAAAABLQ/Ya6ryhIJ-k4/s1600/theteamthatsavedbaseball.jpg The Twins would get off to a decent start in 2002 but their second half winning percentage of .611 would truly separate them from the pack. They stayed above .500 for the entire season and destroyed the bottom feeders in the AL Central. They spent 161 days in first place in the AL Central and the furthest the team ever got behind in the division was four games out of first and that was in the early weeks of the season. The franchise would qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 1991 and they surprised the baseball world by beating the mighty Oakland A's in the first round of the playoffs. The Twins were back and they would stay atop the AL Central for a majority of the next decade. One of the forgotten groups in all of this was the fans of the younger generation. They were too young to remember much of the success of World Series teams for the Twins. This meant they grew up watching painful baseball being played in an ugly white dome in downtown Minneapolis. The stands were mostly empty, the team failed to produce on the field, and the baseball world watched as the Twins were slowly dying. This lost generation of fans couldn't remember a time when the Twins had been successful but that would all change in the 2002 season. These fans of the younger generation would be able to attend their first playoff series in over a decade at the Metrodome. They would get to wave their first Homer Hanky and watch their team celebrate on the field after winning their first playoff series since 1991. The Metrodome would be packed and the fans could feel what it was like when thousands of voices made the roof shake off of the dome that didn't seem as ugly anymore. A new generation of Twins fan had been born and they would watch their team succeed at a high level over the course of the next decade. These fans that had been lost were now found and the course of the franchise's history would never be the same...

I stressed out a lot more about the team last year than I have so far this year. My wife, Mrs. NoDak Twins Fan, has been wondering how I have been so calm through the first handful of games with the team playing so bad. I don't know if I got numb to losing in 2011 or if I am trying to give this team the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the start of a new season. There was plenty of turnover in the roster and I am much more willing to watch things unfold this year as the team tries to gel together. I still question somethings with the team but I trust that the best will still come in the end. On the scale talked about in the post, I would give myself an 8. Ask me later in the season and I might change my mind.

It will be interesting to see what this list could look like at the end of the year. Will the elder statesmen in the Phillies rotation be able to make it through another year with their health intact? Or will age/injuries allow one of these younger groups to overtake them for the top spot?

Barry Zito looked pretty good last night. You better add him to the poll... On second thought... please don't add him to the poll