John Bonnes

Watch the Twins! Drink a free beer! Win Meat! We made it! It’s Opening Day and we’ll be watching the Twins face the Kansas City Royals from 3-6 today at Forgotten Star. Just show up (no registration or tickets) and the Twins Daily Social Club will provide: A free Forgotten Star beer Door prizes from Forgotten Star, Sotastick and Grote Beef from first pitch through the last out. A bogo free Forgotten Star pint on your next visit Plus we’ll be mixing things up by trading some baseball cards for even more prizes. So grab your friends, or make some new ones with us. We’ll see you at 3:00! Don’t be late for that first pitch raffle! What: Twins Daily’s Social Club Season Opener When: 3 PM – 6 PM, March 30th, 2023 Where: Forgotten Star, 38 Northern Stacks Drive Fridley, MN 55421 Cost: FREE View full article

Baseball. Beer. Now Beef. (Ooh, and what beef it is.) Tomorrow’s the day! Baseball returns and Twins Daily’s Social Club is throwing their first watch party of the year at Forgotten Star. But on top of that, we’ll also be having a meat raffle, courtesy of Grote Beef. It’ll start at first pitch, when we’ll be giving away two sirloin steaks and two t-bone steaks on top of the $25 Forgotten Star gift card that we announced on Monday. And it will continue until the last out, when a winner will get two ribeye steaks, 2 new York strip steaks, a roast and five pounds of ground beef on top of the $100 Forgotten Star gift card. But there will be more throughout the game, too, including more steaks, roasts and ground beef. Plus, we’ll have more Forgotten Star gift cards and Sotastick prizes, too. Plus, a free beer for anyone who attends. Plus a BOGO pint card at last out for a future visit. Plus, of course, BASEBALL. There will be lots of time to talk to each other about the game, the roster, Baldelli’s decisions, the return of Carlos Correa, and the new pitch clock. This is a social club. Let’s socizlize. No need to preregister – just show up. But be aware the game starts early – 3:00 PM – so hurry over for that first pitch raffle and check-in at our table. We’ll see you there! What: Twins Daily’s Social Club Season Opener When: 3 PM – 6 PM, March 30th, 2023 Where: Forgotten Star, 38 Northern Stacks Drive Fridley, MN 55421 Cost: FREE View full article

Watch the Twins. Get a free beer from Forgotten Star. And now win prizes from Sotastick. We’re just two days away from real baseball again, and you better believe we’re celebrating. Today we can release that Sotastick is joining the party. You’ll be able to purchase their unique Minnesota-centric sports-themed apparel at Twins Daily Social Club’s Watch Party at Forgotten Star. Plus, they’ll be raffling off several more prizes during the Watch Party as well. This is on top of the great stuff we wrote about yesterday from Forgotten Star. Not only will you get a free beer, but there will be a first pitch raffle for a $25 gift card, a $100 gift card for the last out, and a BOGO pint for a future visit at the end of the game. We’ll also be watching the Twins kick off their season visiting the Kansas City Royals. But be aware the game starts at 3:00 and will likely be over by 6:00 with the new pitch clock. So don’t waste any time. Also, no need to preregister. Just show up and bring your friends. Or make new ones as we cheer on the Twins. The only way we could make this more Minnesota-themed would be to add a meat raffle – so that’s exactly what we’re doing. Stop back again tomorrow as we give details on all the beef that Grote Beef is bringing to the party, too. What: Twins Daily’s Social Club Season Opener When: 3 PM – 6 PM, March 30th, 2023 Where: Forgotten Star, 38 Northern Stacks Drive Fridley, MN 55421 Cost: FREE View full article

Three days until baseball is back, along with a free beer and much more. You won't need a ticket, but you’ll want to make a plan! We have three days until Twins Daily Social Club’s Watch Party at Forgotten Star. We already told you about the free beer, but to reiterate – your first beer is on us. You don’t even need a ticket. Just show up, check in, and grab your free beer from among their dozen or styles. But that’s not all. Get there early, because we’ll also be doing a drawing at first pitch that includes a $25 gift card from Forgotten Star! (Plus some delicious steaks but more on that later this week.) As a reminder, that first pitch will be around 3:00, so ask grandma and grandpa to pick up the kids. Or let your coworkers know you need to buzz out early. But even if you can’t get there early, you’ll want to join us, because Forgotten Star is also throwing in a $100 gift card for our “last out” raffle. With baseball’s new pitch clock, that could happen as early as 5:30, so don’t delay in heading over straight from work. Plus, even if you don’t get lucky in the raffle, and even if the Twins lose, you still win. Anyone sticking around until the end of the game also gets a free BOGO pint card for their next visit. So to recap: Twins, free beer, first pitch raffle, last out raffle, free bogo beer. Bu that’s STILL not all, because we have two more sponsors to introduce you to on Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ll see you back here tomorrow! What: Twins Daily’s Social Club Season OpenerWhen: 3 PM – 6 PM, March 30th, 2023Where: Forgotten Star, 38 Northern Stacks Drive Fridley, MN 55421Cost: FREE View full article

Aaron and John preview the 2023 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

Are you ready for the most epic Opening Day celebration? The Twins Daily Social Club was already geared up for an unforgettable event at Forgotten Star, and we've got some exciting additions to the lineup that you won't want to miss. And it's all free! Sotastick Joins the Party That's right, folks! Sotastick, purveyors of unique Minnesota-centric sports-themed apparel, is hopping on board for the festivities. Not only can you catch the Twins game live, but you can also snag some exclusive Sotastick merchandise. Plus, they're generously raffling off a plethora of prizes throughout the watch party. It's a win-win for all Twins fans! Forgotten Star's Beer and Gift Cards But wait, there's more! Forgotten Star is pulling out all the stops with their incredible offerings. Attendees will get $2 off beers for the event, courtesy of Forgotten Star. And that's just the beginning. Get in on the action with their first pitch raffle for a chance to win a $50 gift card. But the excitement doesn't stop there—there's another $50 gift card up for grabs for the lucky winner of the last out. And if that's not enough, there will be more gift cards available throughout the game. It's a true celebration of baseball and community. Meat Raffle by Grote Beef As if baseball, beer, and prizes weren't enough, we're taking it up a notch with a meat raffle, courtesy of Big Woods (formerly Grote) Beef. Picture this: succulent steaks, all up for grabs throughout the game. It's a carnivore's dream come true. 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 preregister—simply show up and immerse yourself in the excitement. Just remember, the game kicks off early at 3:00 PM, so don't be late! Whether you're a die-hard Twins fan, a meat enthusiast, or simply looking for a good time, this event promises to be a home run. See you there! View full article

There are lots of options. Some of them are promising. The Twins are having more internal discussion, and this time it's about their options if Jorge Polanco is not fully read to play on Opening Day. In this 9-minute clip from our latest Patreon episode, Aaron Gleeman and I examined the Twins' options, not just for Polanco, but for other players dealing with potential injury concerns. Clip on polanco replacements.mp3 Gleeman & the Geek talk Twins every week on their free podcast, and twice more per week (during the season) for their patrons. This clip is from their Patreon, which you can sign up for here. View full article

Aaron and John talk about the WBC and Edwin Diaz’s injury, and then make their annual over/under picks for every American League team. 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

Let’s keep this simple: Twins baseball. Meat raffle. Free beer. More snow? Let’s get the baseball season started already! Join Twins Daily’s Social Club at historic Forgotten Star Brewing Co. for the Twins season opener (on the road versus Kansas City). We’ll supply the beer. And the beef. More accurately, Forgotten Star will bring the beer, because they’ve got LOTS to choose from – just look at that picture above from a recent trip there. The first one is on us. But you’ll want to be there for far longer than one beer, because Grote Beef will be raffling off prime cuts throughout the game! Plan ahead because the game starts at 3:00 on Thursday the 30th. Find someone to pick the kids up from school. Prepare your employer for an early happy hour. Or better yet, have your coworkers join you, because there are going to be plenty of other prizes and stuff to do, too. You don’t even need to buy a ticket. Just show up, check in with us at the front desk, and we’ll make sure you get your free beer ticket, your meat raffle ticket, and everything else you’ll need to make this Twins season opener memorable. It's time to stretch out of hibernation and reconnect, and there's no better way to do that than baseball - except maybe beer! We’ll see you there! What: Twins Daily’s Social Club Season Opener When: 3 PM – 6 PM, March 30th, 2023 Where: Forgotten Star, 38 Northern Stacks Drive Fridley, MN 55421 Cost: FREE View full article

FORT MYERS - The Twins' lineup has been brutal versus left-handed pitching for the last three years. Here's how that should change. Image courtesy of Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports In 2020, as we impatiently waited for the shortened season to start, we knew one thing about the Twins: they would crush left-handed pitchers. Any southpaw that had to negotiate a lineup filled with right-handed power like Nelson Cruz, Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Mitch Garver, and new addition Josh Donaldson would need to pack a lunch. We had seen it the year before, when the Twins as a team had posted an 872 OPS versus left-handers, the best mark in MLB. Then this happened: YEAR OPS RANK 2019 872 1 2020 658 27 2021 725 22 2022 701 20 Not only did they slide from first to 27th in 2020, but even when we got back to playing full seasons of baseball, they continued to languish in the lower third of the league. There have been two problems, one weird and one common. The weird first problem is that Twins’ right-hander batters didn’t crush left-handers the way we expected. Here are all the right-handed hitting and switch-hitting Twins who had at least 100 plate appearances versus southpaws over the last three years. Player OPS▼ Nelson Cruz 1.142 Carlos Correa 0.945 Byron Buxton 0.927 Josh Donaldson 0.912 Kyle Garlick 0.837 Jose Miranda 0.821 Ryan Jeffers 0.794 Gio Urshela 0.775 Mitch Garver 0.754 Jorge Polanco 0.734 Andrelton Simmons 0.635 Miguel Sanó 0.630 Gary Sanchez 0.554 Gilberto Celestino 0.533 Some of those names I mentioned earlier continued to mash, but Garver was suddenly human, and Sano batted like he went up their hitting left-handed. Even Gary Sanchez had problems with what should have been his bread and butter. I’ve also highlighted the players that are still with the organization this year. The only regular that isn’t in the top half of that list is Jorge Polanco, who is a switch-hitter, but hitting left-handed is his strong side of the plate. That could make him a candidate to sit versus left-handers, though there is no indication that is coming soon. Which brings us to the second problem. Most teams face the second problem: their left-handed batters just don’t hit left-handed pitchers very well. This is easily illustrated by taking a look at the two most potent left-handed bats in the lineup from 2020 through 2022, Luis Arraez and Max Kepler. Arraez, who was the AL Batting Champion last year, has hit just .256 versus left-handers over the last three years. Read that last sentence again. That's a stark discrepancy, but Kepler has been quite a bit worse. 420 MLB players have had at least 100 plate appearances versus left-handed pitchers over the last three years. Kepler’s 552 OPS (not a typo) ranks him 385th on that list. Yet the Twins have invested 301 plate appearances in that futility. It doesn’t look like they’ll be doing so this year, or at least not as often, because one of the themes of the offseason was gathering veteran right-handed bench bats. The offseason started with them trading for Kyle Farmer, and the offensive skill on which he has built his career is hitting left-handers hard. Over the last three years he has posted a 880 OPS against southpaws. The last move they made was signing infielder Donovan Solano to one-year deal. Solano has hit .313 versus left-handers over the last three years, posting a 815 OPS. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like either of those guys will play much in a corner outfield spot, and that’s where Kepler and left-handed hitting Joey Gallo play. Gallo has posted just a 664 OPS versus left-handers the last three years. That’s better than Kepler, but still provides an opportunity for an upgrade. Enter Michael A. Taylor , who the Twins acquired from the Royals late this offseason. Taylor is known more for his defense than his offense (career OPS of 677), but he has continued to do damage versus left-handers over the last three years, posting a 722 OPS. With their revamped bench, the Twins can trot out guys who can swing from the right side of the plate in eight of their nine spots in the lineup – and still have one extra guy on the bench. Plus they will likely have right-handed outfield thumper Kyle Garlick stowed away in AAA-St Paul in case of an emergency. The Twins haven’s said publicly that fortifying their lineup versus left-handed pitching was a priority this offseason, so maybe this wasn’t purposeful; maybe it was just fortunate. Whatever. Manager Rocco Baldelli appears to have the chess pieces to respond when a southpaw is on the mound, either as a reliever or a starter. Soon we’ll see if all that preparation fixes the three-year-old problem. View full article

FORT MYERS - As predicted, the Twins made some roster moves following the split-squad today. As not predicted, it included intriguing prospect Edouard Julien. Image courtesy of © Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports Today's exclusive Caretaker-only audio content from John Bonnes at spring training includes: We answer questions submitted by our Caretakers in our last audio diary, including updates on the 6-man rotation and Jorge Alcala's camp. We go through the Twins roster moves, including optioning Edouard Julien to AAA-St. Paul. Does another one of the roster moves - along with a spring training game today - point to a dark horse long reliever .... oh my god! Is that Randy Dobnak 's walkup music?!? Why did Kenta Maeda pitch live batting practice yesterday instead of facing the Yankees in Fort Myers? Special news about an Opening Day Party we've planned. Plus, more. If you're a Caretaker, just scroll down for your exclusive content! And if you're not, maybe consider becoming a Caretaker? I mean, it's time. The season starts soon. You visit everyday. You want the little gold outline next to your comments. It just feels good to support something you love. We're in spring training because of our Caretakers. Spring training is expensive, and that's especially true this year after Hurricane Ian damaged a lot of the lodging options. So, while you can find other free content, we really want to show our Caretakers how much we appreciate their support. Plus, there are lot of other benefits, like a free Winter Meltdown ticket and early access for guest, special callouts on the site, and lots more inside or in-depth content like this. So please consider joining our little club. The money is going to a site you love, to support coverage you love, and writers you value. Thank you so much. Join Here to support Twins Daily and get your exclusive content! View full article

Nope. Sorry. MLB set a limit of 13 pitchers last year.

If the Twins are having discussions about a six-man rotation, shouldn't we? It's unanimous - Bailey Ober deserves to be on the 26-man roster on Opening Day. But how does that work exactly? The Twins are talking about it, so we are too. In this special free clip from their latest Patreon episode, Aaron and John discuss the options, rewards, and challenges involved with bringing six starting pitchers north. Baily Ober Clip.mp3 Gleeman & the Geek talk Twins every week on their free podcast, and twice more per week (during the season) for their patrons. This clip is from their Patreon, which you can sign up for here. View full article

FORT MYERS - Suddenly we have two dark horse candidates to make the Opening Day Roster. Image courtesy of © Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports Today's exclusive Caretaker-only audio content from John Bonnes at spring training includes: There have at least been discussions about beginning the season with a six-man rotation. John discusses why the change of heart. Recent injury updates could open a spot on the Opening Day roster, so we discuss the options including a dark horse candidate. An early look ahead at what the Twins will do to solidify their starting rotation in 2024. Why players opinions of the pitch clock have changed. Sigh. Emilio Pagan is not having a good spring. If you're a Caretaker, just scroll down for your exclusive content! And if you're not, maybe consider becoming a Caretaker? You likely visit regularly, and that's going to become even more likely as the season gears up. Supporting something you value feels good, especially when it's been here feeding your baseball habit for over 10 years for free, right? We're in spring training reporting because we love this stuff, and we want to share it as much as we can, so you can find lot of free content from Fort Myers other places on the site. But unfortunately, spring training is expensive, and that's especially true this year after Hurricane Ian damaged a lot of the lodging options. Plus, there are lot of other benefits, like a free Winter Meltdown ticket and early access for guest, special callouts on the site, and lots more inside or in-depth content like this. So please consider joining our little club. The money is going to a site you love, to support coverage you love, and writers you value. Thank you so much. Join Here to support Twins Daily and get your exclusive content! View full article