John Bonnes

So, you think you know what's going to happen in the AL Central? Let's find out. Every year Vegas takes bets on how teams will do over a full year. This represents an unbelievable opportunity for someone who iss super confident in their baseball statistics, because it eliminates the "sample size" excuse. So have at it. We'll start on the south side of Chicago. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The White Sox won 85 games last year, finishing second in the AL Central. However, their expected wins, which can be a slightly better indicator of the next year's record, was 88 wins. In fact, sabrmetrically, the White Sox might have been a little better than the Tigers who only had 87 expected wins. The Sox lost the division because they lost 12 of eighteen head-to-head matchups versus the Tigers. If they're 9-9, we would have had another Game 163 in the AL Central. But that success was a huge surprise. Vegas pegged them to only win 74.5 game last year, but enormous years from Adam Dunn, Alex Rios, Jake Peavy and AJ Pierzynski, as well as the midseason pickup of Kevin Youkillis, propelled them to unforeseen heights. Your belief in the White Sox depends on what you think of those years. Pierzynski and Youkillis are now gone, and the White Sox had a very quiet offseason. Almost be definition that means there should be some regression. But how much further will it go? Far enough that Rios goes back to to his .265 on-base percentage or Dunn hits .159 or Peavy nibbles at just 111.2 inning? Because that's what happened the year before. Vegas sees some regression, giving an over/under of 80.5. I felt the regression would be a little worse, down to 78 - but I have to be honest with myself: I hate that damn team. While I'd love to root for them to finish under .500, I don't trust myself to be totally subjective when it comes to these kind of back-of-the-napkin evaluations. So ultimately, this is one I probably don't bet on. You, however, kind of can. click on the survey below. Make your voice heard on which way the White Sox season will go. And then right it down in the comments so you can check it again in six months. We'll relook at each of these next October and see how we did. Get the Poll Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)

Twins Daily's bloggers were busy this weekend. Especially if you're looking for six different stories to help you to pass the time in a snow storm... Eric Johnson point out that all the advanced stats in the world don't have the same impact as a great ballplayer's name. So which Twins prospect's names are the best and which one needs to make a change? What better way to pass your time today than doing a crossword puzzle of Twins pitchers? You can thank John Swol for putting that together for us. If you're enjoying some Twins history, Brad Swanson compares Greg Gagne to every other middle infielder since 1983. (And maybe the Twins aren't as bad at developing middle infielder as we thought.) Cody Christie wonders just what is stopping the Twins from signing Jim Thome? If warm climates are on your mind, Thrylos uses Bill James "Game Score" to track how each hopeful Twins player is faring in their battle for a roster spot. And if colder climates on on your mind - well, you're not alone. Axel Kohagen is wondering just what Twins Opening Day is going to look like if spring doesn't pick up the pace. It isn't pretty.

Aaron and John talk about Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire's future, the latest with Jim Thome, Tom Kelly's opinion of Brian Dozier, Liam Hendriks' place in Australian history, late-night World Baseball Classic watching, storming the court, Joe Mauer's twins, questionable television viewing habits, one half of the podcast's "official couple" looking for new league members, going global, and being full of beans. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes or click on the link below. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] .

For years, it's been clear that the Twins belong to Joe Mauer. It's nice to to get a little divine confirmation. Late last night news broke that Joe's Mauer's wife, Maddie, is pregnant with Twins. (Oops. I meant "twins." The capitalization has become a habit. Though I suppose it is possible that she could be pregnant with future Twins. Gotta love those Mauer genes.) According to Joe, everything so far is "so good." Yes, yes it is Joe. For all of us. Let the "extra-base power" jokes begin! Of course, Joe's not the one who gets to carry not one, but two human beings inside himself for the next couple of months. Maddie might want to approach the next eight months with the same attitude Denny Hocking did when his wife had twins. When someone pointed out to him that he was the first franchise player to have twins while playing for the Twins, he replied "At least I don't play for the Sixers." [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] I'll be honest, this news has put a little hop in my step today. first, because it is the most Minnesotan story ever. For most of the rest of the nation, if the news broke that a ballplayer was going to "have" twins, they would have assumed they looked like this: Nope, not in Minnesota. We assume two overweight, overly-friendly guys, shaking hands over a river. (Maddie can be happy she isn't carrying THAT for the next eight months, too.) I also love that the Twins franchise player is having twins. Three years ago, when I reviewed that $23 million per year contract that Joe got, I didn't think of this as a possible benefit. And if this news came down today and Mauer was a Yankee or a Red Sock, I'd be a little bummed. It would have been just one more log on the "We're Minnesotans and we can't have nice things" bonfire. I'm a little tired of watching that thing burn. Instead, the more ethereal of us can talk ourselve into this being a positive omen. The Baby Jesus having twins? Our favorite Twin having twins just about the same time that the Twins are themselves being reborn? That's GOT to be good, right? I can get a little carried away. Why not? It's spring. The time when a young man's mind wanders to love, and baseball, and babies. And Twins. Er, twins. Oh, hell - TWINS.

Today's blogs feature the ponderous, whimsical and historical: First, Cody Christie wonders who the Minnesota Twins' franchise player really is. Joe Mauer is obviously on the list, but he's not the only - or even the best - candidate. Then Mr. Horrorpants brainstorms an idea for the Twins to boost their television revenue - and possibly contribute to "science" as well. Finally, John Swol investigates which pitcher in Twins history had the most success striking batters out. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

Aaron and John talk about the Twins possibly bringing back Jim Thome, mailbag questions submitted by listeners, Baseball America's top 100 prospects, Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars, snarking on Twitter, attendance and revenue, choosing sides on blondes vs. brunettes for charity, Kyle Gibson's velocity, fighting the entire world, and an unplanned cameo by a member of Aaron's family. Here are: the podcasts the rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes. Or click below to listen... [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] .

It's the weekend, so start having some fun. Our bloggers are... With horseplay and jumping rope threatening the health of the Minnesota Twins starting rotation, it's no wonder the Twins are firing off memos about the dangers of childhood hazards to their players. Kirsten Brown was fortunate enough to get her hands on one. Random thoughts from Mr. Horrorpants leads to a the question "Where is Parmelee?" [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Not the Twins ballplayer. The country. And who else might be from this distant shore?

The community has cranked out a couple more good blog posts, including a "must-read"…. John Swol finds the first Sports Illustrated cover to feature a Minnesota Twin. Tony Oliva was the cover boy, but the real treasure is the feature-length story inside by William Legget about that World Series bound team. I consider this is a must-read. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Ericchri has his first blog post – and it’s 1700 words long. Sounds like a natural to me. Stoy by and read his +/- grading of this year’s Twins team and let him know what you think. Finally, the talented Cody Christie tackles the lack of controversy surrounding Justin Morneau’s next contract. He points out that it could be that neither side is especially anxious to make that deal.

Twins Daily has it’s own “farm system” of independent writers. You can check out on our Blog page. Here are a couple of recent posts you might find interesting: Thrylos takes a look at the Twins roster and finds quite a few spots up for grabls this spring. MNFanForLife takes a look at Eddie Rosario’s combined regular season and winter stats and likes what he sees. Brad Swanson takes a look at the Twins with the most to prove. Stop by and let them know what you think.

About 15 months ago, Nick, Parker, Seth and I began talking about creating a Minnesota Twins website for independent writers and fans. It became clear we were on the right path when the question we asked ourselves changed from "Are we going to do this?" and became "Why the hell didn't we do this five years ago?" So, really, today should be Twins Daily's sixth birthday. If it was, this site would make a lot more sense. Six years seems about the right amount of time to generate 1200 Twins stories by independent writers. 2500 registered members over that time would seem reasonable. Over 6 years, 14,000 posts and comments per year would get us to the 84,000 that have already been entered. And we would be doing backflips over 6.2 million page views during that six-year period. Except that we didn't start it six years ago. Those numbers are all from this first year. And you're the difference. You're the difference in a lot of other ways, too. We are daily witnessing members find their voice, either in the blogs or in the forums. Our community has become the definitive source for Twins minor league coverage. Also, discussion about the team is increasingly centered around thoughtful analysis, both internally and in the corporate media. You're the driving force for all of these. Best of all, the community, content and interaction just keep growing. Our numbers are showing 30-50% growth this year, even as the Twins are selling 25% fewer season tickets. But we're determined to do better, so please let us know your thoughts about the site. So Happy First Birthday everyone! Go for it - stick your whole face in that cake. The site is in its infancy, but you've already made our wildest dreams come true. Thank you. We'll do our best to continue to deserve your attention and support.