John Bonnes

Aaron and John talk about the Twins being forced to rely on rookies in the rotation, Byron Buxton joining Carlos Correa on the injured list, first impressions of Zebby Matthews, and giving props to Christian Vàzquez and Carlos Santana. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

Aaron and John look forward to the Minnesota Twins' showdown with the Cleveland Guardians, recap the Cubs series, discuss Joe Ryan's injury and where it leaves the Twins' rotation (and bullpen), marvel at Matt Wallner's hot streak, and revel in the crisp, cool, fall-like air. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

The moment has arrived for the big reveal of Gray Duck’s second prize, which we’ll be giving away this Friday at the doubleheader party at Tom’s Watch Bar… One lucky winner will go home with a signed Royce Lewis jersey! What you need to do to enter to win is simple, and we promise you’ll have a great time and most likely make some fun new friends in the process. First, come to Tom’s Watch Bar this Friday between the Twins’ split doubleheader against the Guardians to spend the afternoon with the Twins Daily Social Club—entry to all the fun is free! When you arrive, you will each receive a pack of baseball cards. Then, sometime between 4 and 6:30 pm, we’ll play Six-of-a-Kind Baseball Card game.. You must trade your cards with strangers and get “six-of-a-kind” (I.e., the same team, position, pose, hairstyle, etc.). Bring your “six-of-a-kind” back and us to receive a raffle ticket that enters you to win the signed Royce Lewis jersey! Get your friends together and see us Friday afternoon—stay late after the 1 p.m. Twins game or come early for the 7 p.m. Twins game. Whatever you do, be at Tom’s Watch Bar between games this Friday to kick off the weekend with friends, Grey Duck, the Twins Daily community, and the crew at Tom’s! Be sure to keep an eye out throughout the week for more exciting announcements. These announcements could include special info about potential drink specials, more games, and prizes, you name it—stay tuned! Twins Daily Social Club Home Opener Pregame Where: Tom’s Watch Bar, 609 Hennepin Ave, Mpls, MN 55403 When: Friday, 8/9/24, 4 PM – 6 PM Cost: Free View full article

You're going to want a chance at this great giveaway. The Twins Daily Social Club is mostly about gathering to share our love of Twins baseball - but we’re not opposed to adding some fantastic giveaways. Enter Gray Duck who is providing two fantastic prizes. The first is the limited edition Carlos Correa bat shown above. This two-toned wooden bat makes for a great collectible and showpiece. So, how do you win it? Just show up! It’s all free! We’ll be swarming at Tom’s Watch Bar this Friday between the Twins’ split doubleheader versus the Guardians. Sometime between 4 and 6:30 pm, we’ll be playing our Last Fan Standing game. Everyone present gets to play and match wits with everyone else at the party. The winner takes home the bat! The second item Gray Duck is adding is … going to be revealed tomorrow. But trust me, you’re not going to want to miss this one either. So contact some friends and make a plan! Stay late after the 1:00 Twins game. Come early for the 7:00 Twins game. Or just have a Friday afternoon happy hour with your friends. Whatever your plan, don’t miss this. And don’t miss our announcement tomorrow of the second great prize, and how you can win that, too! Twins Daily Social Club Home Opener Pregame Where: Tom’s Watch Bar, 609 Hennepin Ave, Mpls, MN 55403 When: Friday, 8/9/24, 4 PM – 6 PM Cost: Free View full article

Friday is one of the biggest baseball days of the year, so let’s celebrate with Gray Duck Vodka, Tom’s Watch Party, & the Twins Daily Social Club Minneapolis is a football town, but that doesn’t mean football gets all 365 days of the year. Every year there are a handful of baseball days – Opening Day, the home opener, the postseason – which unequivocally belong to baseball, and one of those is this Friday. After fruitlessly chasing the first-place Guardians for four months, the Twins get four games this weekend at home versus Cleveland. This whole weekend belongs to baseball fans, but especially this Friday, when the series starts with a split doubleheader. So let’s celebrate OUR day with a party in between the doubleheader games! The party starts at 4 PM at Tom’s Watch Bar, the new downtown sports bar with TVs everywhere that is just three blocks from Target Field! You’ll want to get there early if you want a seat. Twins Daily Social Club’s Home Opener Party at Tom’s last year drew over 300(!) Twins fans. While they all had a great time, some of them probably would have liked to rest their feet. For now, just put it on your calendar. Make a plan! Stick around after the first game, or get downtown early for the second game. We’ll see you there, AND we’ll see you back here tomorrow as we detail what Twins Daily, Gray Duck and Tom’s has in store for everyone. Twins Daily Social Club Home Opener Pregame Where: Tom’s Watch Bar, 609 Hennepin Ave, Mpls, MN 55403 When: Friday, 8/9/24, 4 PM – 6:30 PM Cost: Free View full article

“Life's like a movie, write your own ending." -The Magic Store from The Muppet Movie Image courtesy of © Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports It started with a decision in the spring of 1990. He asked her if their first date should be an afternoon at the Chicago Art Institute or a doubleheader at Wrigley Field. "How is that even a call?" she replied. The sun gleamed, the grass glowed underneath the ballplayers, and the magical afternoon was made more so because he thought it was probably their last date as well; neither was from Chicago. He was wrong. Both traveled enough to occasionally gain discounted tickets, and the 1,000 miles between Minneapolis and Philadelphia weren't as isolating as they both thought they would be. Or, at least not initially. Two years later, it was. So, with $1,000 shoved into his pocket and all his worldly possessions crammed in an '84 Honda Prelude, he moved to Philadelphia to court her. The courtship was fun, but not especially easy. First, he had to find work during a recession. Then, she was assigned to a project out of town. And when the business world stopped conspiring to keep them apart, the tougher questions began. "Will he ever marry me? What's he waiting for?" and "Is she really the one? How do I know?" The questions were more destructive than geographic distance ever had a chance to be. On a summer trip out west, his questions were answered in the Black Hills. And on August 13th, when they were supposed to go to a Phillies game, he showed up with flowers, acted all goofy and suggested they go for a walk. And she knew her questions were about to be answered, too. Unaccustomed to being nervous, his proposal was awkward but genuine, and the response was delayed but jubilant. Standing together in the park, their future felt too large. Neither knew what to do, where to go, who to see. "So, do you still want to go to the Phillies game?" he asked. "How is that even a call?" It wasn't a call, because the one place in Philadelphia where they both knew there was some magic that year was at The Vet. The '93 Phils, led by blue-collar rejects like John Kruk, "Dutch" Daulton, "Nails" Dykstra, and closer Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, had not just finagled 1st place in the NL East, but seized it with force and fury. They'd won games at Veterans Stadium in every conceivable manner, including one in which Williams got the winning hit in the bottom of the 10th - at 4:30 AM. Tonight, they were playing the hated Mets, and it seemed like as good a place as any to look for magic. The electricity they felt made the game a secondary concern. She'll readily admit that she spent most of the game looking at the back of her hand. But the game slowly became the focal point, when the Phillies lost their early lead in the top of the eighth. They scratched in a run in the bottom half, but were still down 5-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth. But there was a reason this hard-nosed city loved this team. They used a crucial error by the Mets to score one run, and loaded the bases with two outs. Kim Batiste, a light-hitting 25-year-old utility infielder who seemed to have a special gift for striking out, came to the plate, and....... Grand Slam. Pandemonium. Magic. Earlier this year, they won baseball tickets that are a baseball fan’s dream. They just had to pick a date. "How is that even a call?" So last night, those same stupid kids went to a baseball game, looking for magic, just like they have every August 13th for 32 years. It wasn’t hard to find. (Somehow, it still never is.) Yes, they had the magical seats. They also watched a major-league debut by a youngster who is experiencing his own magical year. They held hands. But this time, they went with their daughter and her fiancé, who are planning their own union, their own journey. A father and mother always hope for a better life for their children, so of course we do, too. But honestly, I think we’ll be happy if they have a life even half as happy, so long as they still find… Magic. View full article

The Twins got their left-handed reliever. Only he's not left-handed. Image courtesy of © Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports The Minnesota Twins have completed a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays for reliever/opener Trevor Richards , per Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Richards is a seven-year veteran who is a classic “swing guy”; he started as starter, has moved to the bullpen, and has bounced through four teams as a classic eat-innings reliever, including working as a “opener” this season with the Blue Jays. His career ERA of 4.51 doesn’t inspire, nor does his 4.64 ERA this year. But he’s appealing because the right-hander has “reverse splits,” and has for his entire career. He'll be a free agent at the end of the season. The Twins bullpen this year has been generally effective, relying on high-leverage arms like Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, and (recently) Jorge Alcalá or (previously) Brock Stewart to secure close games. But all of those pitchers are right-handed, and the three left-handed relievers in the Twins bullpen have been unreliable in close games. Richards is not left-handed, but his combination of pitches plays well versus left-handed hitters, which is who left-handed pitchers would usually face. Trevor Richards Changeup.mp4 Richards is a pure two-pitch pitcher: high-rise fastball, and scroogie-style, fadeaway changeup. The vertical break difference between the two is almost two full feet. It’s akin to Jake Odorizzi, if Odo didn’t have a curveball or that cutter he learned in Minnesota. Richards is vulnerable in various ways, but the change has a whole bunch of spin on it, heavily pronated out of his hand, and it just disappears down and away from a lefty. It can miss bats against righties, too, but when he misses with it, it gets hit hard. Lefties are .156/.256/.250 against him this year, but righties are .200/.294/.391, and almost 5% of plate appearances by a righty against him end in a homer. Jay Harry was a sixth-round draft pick of the Twins in the 2023 draft. The 22-year-old infielder played this year in High-A Cedar Rapids and has posted a .655 OPS in 340 plate appearances. He is not one of Twins Daily's Top 20 Twins Prospects. To make room for Richards, Josh Staumont was designated for assignment, putting an end to one bargain-basement reliever experiment so as to begin another. Injuries and control issues marred Staumont's brief stay in Twins Territory. Richards is only a small upgrade over him, but with the team's lefty relievers scuffling so badly, the matchup value proved to be the tiebreaker. View full article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' trade deadline options, including three potential areas to address, plus Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, and Brock Stewart getting healthy, a winning series vs. the best team in baseball, and why payroll is, unfortunately, playing a big part in the front office's decision making. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

Win an unforgettable experience at Target Field and O’Shaughnessy Distilling Co, absolutely free. Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Whether you're a Twins fan or a whiskey enthusiast, Keeper's Heart Whiskey, the Official Whiskey of the Minnesota Twins, is offering a special sweepstakes. We are thrilled to share this exciting opportunity with Twins Daily’s community because we believe one of our own deserves to win this amazing prize. Sweepstakes Details The grand prize winner will have the unique opportunity to throw the first pitch at the Minnesota Twins vs. St. Louis Cardinals game at Target Field on Friday, August 23rd. Grand Prize Includes: First Pitch: Throw the first pitch at the Twins vs. Cardinals game. Suite Tickets: Four luxury suite tickets to enjoy the game. Merchandise: A Keeper’s Heart swag bag. Distillery Tour & Tasting: A tour and tasting for four at O’Shaughnessy Distilling Co., including dinner and drinks. How to Enter: To enter, visit any participating locations in the Twin Cities before July 31st. Look for the Keeper's Heart sweepstakes signage and scan the QR code to enter. New locations are being added, so check the Keeper's Heart website for updates. Participating Locations: Cash Wise Liquor: Brainerd, Duluth, St. Michael, Willmar South Lyndale Liquors: Minneapolis Surdyk’s Liquor: Minneapolis Iron Ranger: St. Paul Admiral D’s Waterfront Tavern: White Bear Lake Wrestaurant at the Palace: St. Paul Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub: St. Paul AND MORE - Check out the full list We’re rooting for a member of Twins Daily’s community to enjoy this amazing experience. Visit a participating location and enter the sweepstakes. You might be the lucky fan to take the mound at Target Field. Good luck! View full article

Giles, this was so good. Thank you.

Aaron and John talk about Carlos Correa and the many other key Twins players dealing with injuries as the second half begins, how the team could and should approach the trade deadline, why they went heavy on college hitters in the MLB draft, and what it will take to catch Cleveland in the AL Central. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

Aaron and John talk about Willi Castro joining Carlos Correa as Twins in the All-Star game, Jose Miranda's historic hitting streak, Brooks Lee making a huge impact right away, Byron Buxton looking like his old self, and why the trade deadline could be hard to predict. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article

Aaron and John talk about Royce Lewis' latest injury, the Twins turning to Brooks Lee as his replacement, David Festa's short stint in the rotation, Chris Paddack's impending return, and the rise of Jose Miranda. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. View full article