John Bonnes

Aaron and John preview the 2024 Minnesota Twins season. 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 preview the American League by reviewing Vegas' over-under for each team and making their predictions. 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

Put it on your calendar! Put it on your friends' calendars! You have plans for Opening Day! 📅 Save the Date! 📅 This week’s warm weather has us thinking ahead, so join Twins Daily’s Social Club for an epic season opener event at the iconic Forgotten Star Brewing Co. ⚾️ What's the Plan? ⚾️ We're gathering to cheer on the Twins as they take on Kansas City on the road. But this isn't just about the game; it's about the experience! Last year we had 400 Twins fans join us at Forgotten Star and this year will be even bigger and better, including their new 10’ wide screen. 🍻 We've Got You Covered! 🍻 Forgotten Star Brewing Co. will be pouring their finest brews, and they’ll all be $2 off their regular price. With a wide array of choices, you'll find the perfect pint to accompany the game. 🎉 Raffles and Games 🎉 Get ready for some fun and games! Alongside cheering on the Twins, you'll have ample opportunities to mingle with fellow fans. We'll be hosting our silly "Six of a Kind" baseball card game and Last Fan Standing challenges, offering chances to showcase your knowledge and win exciting prizes. But that's not all – be sure to arrive early for your shot at big door prizes, awarded at both the first pitch and last out. And stay tuned for more surprises and announcements coming your way soon! This event is shaping up to be an absolute blast, and we can't wait to celebrate the start of the Twins season with you! 🕒 Mark Your Calendar! 🕒 Date: March 28th, 2024 Game: 3:10 PM Event: 2:00 PM - 7:00 PM Location: Forgotten Star, 38 Northern Stacks Drive, Fridley, MN 55421 Facebook Event for you to share! 🎟️ Admission is FREE! 🎟️ No need to purchase tickets; simply show up, check-in at the front desk, and we'll make sure you're set up with everything you need to win great prizes and everything else you need for a memorable Twins season opener! It's time to break out of hibernation and reconnect with fellow fans over the love of baseball and beer. Don't miss out on this unforgettable event! See you there! ⚾️🍻💖 View full article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins trading for Manuel Margot instead of re-signing Michael A. Taylor, the Byron Buxton vibes getting better and better, why Anthony DeSclafani's elbow soreness puts the rotation plan in jeopardy, and Denard Span joining the television crew. 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

FORT MYERS - Last year, Simeon Woods Richardson's four-seam fastball averaged 90.4 mph. Monday, in his 2024 spring training debut, Woods Richardson threw eight fastballs. The slowest was 92.1 mph. Two of the eight were over 94 mph. Last year - over the whole year - he did that once. In 884 pitches. Image courtesy of Kim Klement This is potentially big news, because Simeon Woods Richardson has had a velocity problem. Since being acquired by the Twins as part of the José Berríos trade, he's seen his velocity - and prospect status - decline. Last year, as a 22-year-old, that resulted in an unsightly 4.91 ERA at Triple-A St. Paul. Even given his relative youth, there were plenty of concerns. What had happened to the velocity? "I honestly think it was from being so over the top," said Woods Richardson, talking about his arm slot. "I wasn't able to use my full potential." The idea behind being over the top was that it allowed his pitches to be more deceptive, to disguise the pitches longer to the batter. But it appears the side effect of that was to significantly hinder his natural athleticism. So, over the offseason, he and the Twins decided to try something new. "It was from both parties," Woods Richardson said. "I wanted to change for the better, and why not? And they said, 'OK, let's sit down. Let's talk about this.' And we came up with a couple of things, working on mechanical stuff. Let's see if we can drop the slot a little bit and see where it goes." So Richardson got to spring training a month early and started working on becoming more "rotational," meaning he throws a little more across his body than up and down. Both Woods Richardson and Twins officials thought that work looked like it had been paying off, at least in the bullpen. But the real proving ground is a game where the adrenaline is flowing. Among the most difficult proving grounds is George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees' spring training park. Woods Richardson started Monday and was lucky enough to test his new stuff versus DJ LeMahieu, Juan Soto, and Gleyber Torres. ? Three up .... three down. With a strikeout of Soto for good measure. And eight fastballs over 92 mph. His release point was, indeed, noticeably different from the 2023 Woods Richardson: And from that change in delivery came a change in movement, too, as well as the added velocity that came from a freer arm swing. His fastball was a true fastball again, rather than a cutter. His slider had more consistent depth, and much more separation from that fastball. The changeup is a more functional pitch against a lefty, with greater run away from them. Three batters doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things. But a long journey starts with a first step. It also goes a lot faster - and is a lot more fun - if you add a little velocity. While the bulk of John Bonnes's reporting from Fort Myers has been turned into free content for all Twins Daily users, it's important to note that the support of our Caretakers helps make things like sending John to Florida possible each spring. If you enjoy this level of coverage, blending the numbers with the insights John gleans by talking directly with the Twins, please consider signing up for our increasingly robust Caretakers program, which gets you access to Twins Daily live events (like our Winter Meltdown and in-season watch parties) and to exclusive, next-level content from a growing stable of talented writers. View full article

FORT MYERS - The Twins fell to their crosstown Fort Myers rivals, the Boston Red Sox, today. We saw Bailey Ober's first start, watched some roster hopefuls amid free agent rumors, and got an answer about an odd lineup. Bailey Ober's First Start The Twins fell to the Sox 6-1 on their first road trip of the season. The game went sideways early as Bailey Ober reached his pitch limit after getting one out in the second inning. He left the bases loaded with one run in but ended up being charged with four runs when reliever John Stankiewicz gave up a home run to Rafael Devers. Ober jumped up to 171 1/3 IP last year between the minors, majors, and postseason. His previous high was 108 1/3 IP and that was back in 2021. He credited his trainer and her program for the big leap. "I feel like I followed my program a lot better," said Ober. "I worked with Jen Marcelo - she used to work with the Twins - but I work with her full time. She works with a lot of other guys too, around the league. I fully dove into her programming. And I felt like that helped me out big time from a health standpoint." He didn't feel like he wore down physically, though he admits he did a bit mentally. Given that he started spring training knowing that he was slated for St. Paul, then was promoted, then went back to St. Paul, then was promoted, and then finally pitched in the postseason, that's probably to be expected. Last week, he said he wasn't focusing on adding a new pitch. He was focusing on getting his big frame ready to compete. "I feel like I'm just always trying to clean up mechanical stuff, just because I'm so big," explains Ober. "At 6'9", there's a lot of moving parts. So just making sure everything's tuned up, on time, and ready to go out there and throw and have the best velo that I can, possibly the best command. So that's always an everyday concern." After the game, he did not seem overly concerned about the results, focusing instead on what he had been trying to do. "I feel like I mixed pretty well," he reflected. "I feel like I could have dominated with fastballs primarily only today. But I needed to go out there and throw all my full repertoire, so I didn't do stuff that I would do during the regular season if I was trying to read at-bats. But I felt good to be back out there." Enrique Hernandez Rumors Word broke yesterday that the Twins are one of the "finalists" to sign Enrique Hernandez, a 32-year-old utility player who played for Boston and the Dodgers last year. Cody Schoenmann examined Hernandez a couple of months ago. Since Hernandez has positional flexibility and hits right-handed, he makes some sense for the Twins, which is why they certainly talked to him earlier in the offseason. The problem is that the 10-year veteran has only posted a 639 OPS over the last two seasons, and last year, he struggled even against southpaws, which would be his primary role. When a report lists several finalists for a player, that information likely came from the player's representative; teams don't usually know what other teams might be involved. That representative has an incentive to make a player seem like he is in demand. So take this report with a grain of salt. In the meantime, we're keeping an eye on right-handed hitting options who are currently on the spring training roster. 31-year-old Niko Goodrum started versus Boston today at shortstop. He's posted a career 816 OPS versus left-handers in his MLB career. Austin Martin started in left field yesterday, and the 24-year-old prospect is seen as a potential starter or utility player. Michael Helman started at third base today, and the 27-year-old posted a 902 OPS in St. Paul last year. So the Twins have some options in camp, and they're all getting at-bats early. While we've been waiting for the Twins to sign one more right-handed hitter, we should probably pay close attention to a few of their internal options. It appears the Twins are. Lineup Notes The Twins lineup Sunday included three starters, all at the top of the lineup, and all of whom made their second appearance of spring training. Christian Vazquez(C) and Matt Wallner(LF) both played Friday, and Alex Kirilloff (1B) will be the first Twins player to play in back-to-back games, though Saturday he was as a DH. Beyond the regulars, the Twins started several of their top prospects (Brooks Lee-DH, Emmanuel Rodriguez-CF, Yunior Severino-2B, Trevor Larnach-RF) or guys who could sneak onto the roster but will likely be in St. Paul, hoping for a midseason callup (Helman-3B, Goodrum-SS). The quality of the names are about par for a trip crosstown to JetBlue Park, but the defensive positions were odd. One would usually expect Lee at shortstop, Goodrum at second base, and Severino and Kirilloff at first base and designated hitter. Having Lee at designated hitter moved Severino and Goodrum to positions at which they are a little stretched. So what was up? Why was Lee - who is clearly being groomed for several defensive positions - starting at DH? "Because he's playing tomorrow," Rocco explained. "So instead of playing him two days in a row, he'd get the at-bats at the DH spot today, and then we can send him on the road tomorrow.". The Twins have one of their longer road trips of the season when they travel to Tampa to play the Yankees, a 2+ hour drive. It's worth remembering that a lot of what we see in spring training is logistical. View full article

Over 7000 people are expected to attend the Twins' home opener of the Grapefruit League season versus the Pittsburgh Pirates at 1 PM (noon CT) today. Unfortunately, you're not one of them. 😑 Fortunately, I am. 🤩 So follow along and live vicariously through me as I covered the Twins 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Baseball is back, baby! ⚾ 12:15 PM ET Lineups were posted in the clubhouse as we arrived. The opener is often stacked with regulars, and today is no exception. The opener is often your best chance in the first several weeks to see a lineup somewhat akin to what you may see at Target Field. Otherwise, a lot of the time is being given to non-regulars as the regulars slowly ramp up. Today's lineup includes six guys expected to be regulars (Carlos Santana, Royce Lewis, Max Kepler, Ryan Jeffers, Edouard Julien, Alex Kirilloff), two bench players (Kyle Farmer, Willie Castro), and two guys who are likely(?) slated for St. Paul, but will be the first guys called up in the event something changes (Austin Martin, Louie Varland). That's honestly a better lineup than the Twins will have in some games this year. (Or had for the entirety of September of 2022. 😭) 12:35 PM ET Alternately, the Pirates are apparently saving their starters for their home opener tomorrow vs the Orioles. Woof. I see one projected starting position player in their lineup, catcher Henry Davis. By default, he's batting third. Their starting pitcher is Bailey Falter, who is projected to be their 5th starter, which may explain why they have a starting catcher making the bus trip here. The "bus trip" reference to a visiting team is more than just fancy baseball writing. It's a factor for why we see lineups like this. Pittsburgh's spring training is relatively close in terms of Grapefruit League road teams - it's a one-hour, forty-minute drive - but most Grapefruit League games are annoyingly far away compared to the cross-town drives that exist in Arizona's Cactus League. For any established major leaguer, it's almost viewed as a punishment (or an absolute necessity) to be scheduled as a road game. If you want to see Twins regulars, you'll want to come to Hammond or to the Red Sox SkyBlue park, which is also in Fort Myers. I'd heard behind the scenes that MLB was going to try to crack down on lineups like this because there are supposed to be at least four regulars that make a road trip. It's a battle that MLB has been losing more and more each season, but I'm increasingly wondering if it's a battle worth fighting. A visiting superstar might draw more fans on the road, but superstars don't take any road trips. Is Kepler making a trip to Bradenton change anyone's calculus to attend a game? Fans go to see their own players, anyway. 12:55 PM ET I've got great news for you baseball nerds out there: there's an even better way to follow this game than right here. MLB.com is doing pitch-by-pitch tracking of spring training games, and for the first time, it includes Statcast data. (At least it does today at Hammond Stadium. We'll find out if the Red Sox are too, tomorrow.) Here's the link to it. So, if you're wondering if Louie Varland is going to use his 2-seam fastball (i.e. sinker) versus right-handers, you may get a chance to track that live. Or, for that matter, go back and see how it worked. The Pirates have right-handed batters in their second and third spots today. Of course, he might be saving that for later in the spring and just trying to get his pitch count in today. We'll see. 1:12 PM ET The game time and temperature was announced, which leads to one of my favorite bits in spring training: announcing the temperature both here and in Minneapolis. 74 degrees here and 35 degrees in Minneapolis. Eat it, losers.😜 Varland's first inning was scoreless but there were a couple of noteworthy developments for a guy who was hurt on homers by right-handed hitters last year. Both the second and third batter got hits against him, one of which was a grounder up the middle that Julien was able to get to but unable to field cleanly. He threw the 2-seamer to the second guy twice, went 2-0, and then went back to his traditional pitches. He threw 17 pitches and is coming out again in the second inning. (Lots of corrections made in this entry. I had Varland's sides lined up wrong and listed him as "Larnach" in one spot so ... live-blogging might not be my thing.) 1:23 PM ET An "old friend" just batted for the Pirates, except he is anything but old. Gilberto Celestino, the 25-year-old outfielder who played 145 games with the Twins in 2021 and 2022, signed a minor league deal with the Pirates this winter and is starting today's game. Celestino only hit .222 with a 592 OPS over those two years, but he was also just 22 and 23 years old and had been rushed through the minors due to injuries in the Twins outfield. He had some initial success by driving pitches the opposite way, but pitchers started busting him inside and he couldn't pull the ball with any authority. Last year, he was supposed to get the development time he needed in AAA, but he had a thumb injury that required surgery in spring training. He didn't join St. Paul until mid-June, and he wasn't bad, posting a .392 OBP, albeit with no power (.389 SLG). But again, thumb surgery. That happens. If he had stayed with the Twins, he might have made my "guys we should not forget about" list, but he was probably wise to find another organization. Austin Martin is on his way, Walker Jenkins is behind him, Buxton looks healthy, Willie Castro can fill some gaps, and Michael A Taylor is still on the free-agent market. The Twins are a crowded place to try and get time in center field. True to his history, he struck out in his first at-bat, but only after having a likely triple go foul by about two inches. Always so close..... I'll be rooting for him this year to get the opportunity his talent deserves, even with another team. 1:36 PM ET The Twins get their second run of the inning on a ground ball single by Austin Martin with an exit velocity of 102.3 MPH. I am an avid believer in not paying too much attention to spring training results, but my conviction on that is going to be challenged by Martin this year. He is arguably the best option for the last roster spot for position players, because he's a right-handed outfielder who can play all four spots. But will the Twins instead sign a right-handed hitting free agent? Would the even want Martin on the bench or would they prefer he play full time in St. Paul? I don't think I'm the only one watching him closely; I think the Twins are too, as they try to figure out which way to go. 2:15 PM ET Sorry about the long delay. We went down to talk to Varland, who I'll talk about next. On the way back, I took a midgame break to try out the concessions, which is not mandated for Twins Daily writers since we have created our Ultimate Guide to Spring Training. Today I checked out Bomba's Grill, which I rememberd I had liked, but I wasn't sure why. Today, I remembered. They do a "walking taco," which is essentially a taco salad that is tasty, filling, made-to-order, and reasonably priced. I will not overlok them again. I just added them to our Spring Training Guide. I'd recommend you click over for more options, or if you just like to daydream about visiting spring training. Next game: I try the Philly cheesesteaks. I'm not optimistic. I'm an admitted cheesesteak snob. 2:25 PM ET We talked to Louie Varland about his outing. It was pointed out that he hit 98 on his first pitch, but that was not a goal, and he didn't do that afterwards. (It did look like his 4-seam fastball was pretty effective.) He did try using his sinker versus some left-handers, and so I asked whether he usually has trouble getting in the zone, because he missed it a fair amount today. He said that hasn't usually been a problem - except for today. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ One thing to watch is that he is also apparently working on his slider a bit. He has so many pitches and so many ways he can pivot, it's not too hard to believe he's going to find his way back to the majors and succeed. 2:35 PM ET The Twins position players have almost all been pulled after going through the lineup twice. Carlos Santana had his first at-bat in exactly the role he was primarily brought in to fill: as a right-handed hitter versus a left-handed pitcher. He also had his first hit, grounding a single past shortstop. There's your good omen if you're looking for one. Max Kepler began the season where he left off. His first at-bat resulted in an out, but it was hit at over 106 mph, just right at the shortstop. That was versus a southpaw, too. In his second at-bat, he had a line drive single to left field. I mentioned a play Julien did not make in the first inning, but he had a fantastic pickup in the top of the fourth. Already shifted towards second base, he ranged even further to his right, charged a ball, and threw across his body to record an out. 3:01 PM ET I just went to sit down in section 207 which ended up being a shooting gallery for about a half inning. There must've been half a dozen foul balls that made their way into or around that section. There's another reason to come to spring training - just make sure you have your head on a swivel. While I was there, I also saw the Twins grab the lead, courtesy of an opposite-field home run by Dalton Shuffield. Shuffield isn't in big league camp; he's one of twelve minor leaguers that were called over to play in the late innings in this game. He also He isn't on any of our prospect lists, but he made AA-Witchita as a 24-year-old, so there's still time. His weakness seems to be power - he had a .398 SLG last year - so homering in Hammond is an auspicious start to his 2024 season. Then, to put the cherry on top, he ended the top of the seventh by throwing out the Pirates at the plate. Have a day, Dalton. 🙌 (FWIW, Twins Daily has talked about Shuffield quite a bit. Here's what I found when doing a quick site search on him.) 3:17 PM ET We have a pitch clock for the first time in spring training this year. There is only a small change to the pitch clock rule for 2024: with a runner on base, the block will be set at 18 seconds instead of 20 seconds like it was last year, so there may need to be some small adjustments by pitchers. It's amazing how quickly everyone became adjusted to the pitch clock after years of debating whether it was an incarnation of evil. I haven't heard anyone ask a question or comment on it this spring training. Last year, it was the #1 topic. This year, we've moved on to uniforms, I guess? 3:52 PM ET Twins win 5-3. In his postgame talk, manager Rocco Baldelli responded to reporters' questions and gave his impressions: Louie Varland looked fine and had a good outing. Austin Martin is a player that he wants the coaching staff to see more of. He brings a set of skills that would be a good fit for the team. Carlos Santana's defense at first base is one of the assets he is bringing to the Twins. The play Edouard Julien made is something they have seen before, and they think his defense keeps getting better. They're excited to see a full year of Royce Lewis. Niko Goodrum is known for his ability to hit left-handed pitching and play in the infield, which is a good fit for the team. Make sure to join our community by commenting on the game below if you're following along! View full article

When does the journey that is the Minnesota Twins 2024 season officially begin? Opening Day? When pitchers and catchers report? I'll vote for the first time we see baseball, even if it's designed to be an exhibition game. Image courtesy of John Bonnes, Twins Daily That's especially true when it's a well-conceived exhibition game, and Friday night's 13-2 win over the University of Minnesota's Golden Gophers was. It's designed to draw Minnesotans back to the ballpark, featuring their hometown nine versus their hometown college team with half-price tickets. Add in a few pre-game festivities celebrating legendary U of M baseball coach John Anderson, who has announced his retirement after this season, and there was plenty to please the crowd. This initial game has also traditionally given the Twins a chance to showcase some of their top prospects, and they took advantage of that again. Twins Daily's #2 prospect Brooks Lee played shortstop and batted leadoff for the team, and #3 prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez played center field, batted sixth, and had an RBI. Also in the three innings that the starting lineups played, Twins Daily's Top 20 honorable mention Michael Helman hit a solo home run. The Gophers got to face some major league pitching, too. Chris Paddack returned to the mound as a starting pitcher after pitching for the Twins in relief late last season. His results were not exceptionally sharp, but he threw 40 pitches, and a handful of them were a new pitch. He checked a couple of other checkboxes, too, like pitching two innings. "Getting back up there for that second [inning]. That's the stuff we're trying to simulate as we prepare for the season," said Paddack afterward. If that sounds a little elementary, it is, but that's a lot of what spring training is all about. Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli's job is to get the 59 guys in camp through a series of steps, some of which are as simple as "field a fly ball for the first time in several months." If that also sounds elementary, it might be a little surprising that Twins centerfielder Byron Buxton said he was nervous about that earlier this week. That doesn't mean players are just going through the motions. Paddack is using these outings to become comfortable with a new slider that he hopes to use to complement his fastball/changeup-heavy repertoire. He's worked on it last year while he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, and he's worked on it this offseason, but now the clock is ticking. "In season, it's hard to develop a pitch," explains Paddack. "I have four days, and then that fifth day, I'm out there, and I gotta throw my best stuff. I can't rely on a pitch that might not be there at the big league level." So yes, these are designed to be exhibition games, but they're also designed as a journey towards the regular season. Friday night was one of the first steps, and based on the hoots and hollers of the crowd, it's a journey they're looking forward to. View full article

FORT MYERS - Aaron and John talk about the things we've learned in Twins camp so far, including about Byron Buxton, Chris Paddack, Brooks Lee, Jose Miranda, Jorge Alcala, and Edouard Julien, plus reacting to Joe Pohlad's comments about payroll, and how crossword puzzles and Settlers of Catan is taking over the clubhouse. 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

If you thought this offseason was depressing, wait until next year. Image courtesy of © David Berding-USA TODAY Sports FORT MYERS--Reality delivered a slap in the face to Twins Territory yesterday, and followed it up with an eye-gouge for good measure. First, fans hoping for some late-offseason roster additions were told in no uncertain terms by ownership that the Twins will not sign one of the remaining big free agents. But the bad news didn’t end there. “But without a question, the television situation is having an impact on our business,” Joe Pohlad explained to Jason DeRusha on WCCO radio. “But beyond that, we’re also just trying to right-size our business.” Those last three words are chilling to anyone who has followed the Twins' growth into a contender, because that growth has included spending money. Over the last two years, they've invested additional dollars into big contracts for players like Byron Buxton, Pablo López, and Carlos Correa. "Right-size" means this dormant offseason isn’t a one-year blip. It means the team is, as Pohlad said later in the show, “going to live pretty much where we’re at right now.” Right now, the Twins payroll, per our Back-of-the-Napkin calculations below, sits at about $122M. There is some thought that the Twins could add another player to bring the payroll closer to $130M, though that is less likely as faith grows in internal outfield options. As things sit right now, that figure breaks down as follows: The roster picture gets a little murkier as we look forward a year to 2025. Still, thanks to guaranteed contracts, arbitration estimates, and a few reasonable assumptions like “free agents tend to leave,” as Peter Labuza wrote for us yesterday, the picture is clearer than one might expect. That doesn’t mean it’s pretty. If the Twins want to retain the core of their team for 2025, payroll will need to climb to around $139M next year. That projection already assumes some significant departures and replacements by cheaper options. For instance, Max Kepler, who is in the last year of a $10-million contract, leaves and is replaced by Trevor Larnach. It makes similar assumptions about Kyle Farmer ($6.3 million), Carlos Santana ($5.25 million), and Anthony DeSclafani ($4 million). But payroll still climbs $17 million over this year’s level, even if they don’t bring any free agents in. Why? Because many of the Twins’ core players will likely get mandated raises next year through arbitration. These include Ryan Jeffers, Alex Kirilloff, Royce Lewis, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Jhoan Duran, and Griffin Jax. Here are the projections: A “right-sized” payroll means that not only did the Twins have almost nothing to spend this past offseason, but they could have absolutely nothing to spend next year--or, worse, less than nothing, meaning they would need to trade away a player to free up payroll, as they did with Jorge Polanco this offseason. It’s also worth noting that this all represents, in most cases, a best-case scenario. It assumes Matt Wallner, Edouard Julien, and Royce Lewis continue to thrive; that Brooks Lee and Louis Varland can earn MLB spots despite likely starting in Triple A; and that Ober, Ryan, and Chris Paddack all stay healthy and productive enough to become fixtures in the rotation. In short, it violates Minnesota sports fans’ implicit knowledge that “what can go wrong will go wrong.” It is implicit knowledge that was verified yesterday when ownership made clear that they were kneecapping - er, right-sizing - a team who made it to the ALDS last year. View full article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins choosing money over availability with their new TV deal, and why not spending that money would make a bad situation even more frustrating for fans, plus picking the biggest storylines to watch in spring training as camp begins in Fort Myers. 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

Baseball's Joyful Lexicon (with apologies to Franklin Pierce Adams) Four little words make our hearts soar: Pitchers and catchers report Postseason wins! As Target Field roared! Pitchers and catchers report A phrase that's as sweet as Royce Lewis's swing Like Hornsby we stared out the window for spring Our goal's been reset to a championship ring! Pitchers and catchers report But no TV deal meant slashed payroll hell Pitchers and catchers report No chance to sign a Montgomery or Snell Pitchers and catchers report We wished "best of luck" to ace Sonny Gray Detroit gave Maeda his deserved payday The hardest "Bye-bye" was to Hip-hip Jorge Pitchers and catchers report So now we say "hi" to several new faces Pitchers and catchers report So many new arms in the bullpen's eight spaces! Pitchers and catchers report Okert, Staumont, Topa, and Jackson A DeSclafani joins in the action Carlos Santana's bat? 🎵 It's a hot one! 🎵 Pitchers and catchers report But also returning are all of those Pitchers and catchers report Who swept the Blue Jays, drew blood from the 'Stros Pitchers and catchers report Pablo and Duran, Ryan and Jax, Buxton, Lewis, Correa & Max AL Central, prepare for attacks! Pitchers and catchers report Finally, you take your turn as poet Pitchers and catchers report Channel your winter frustration and show it Pitchers and catchers report The comments below are a great place to bleat Two tens and three ‘levens provide you the beat (But add words wherever, if, like me, you cheat). Pitchers and catchers report View full article