John Bonnes

By the way, Part 2 is written, and I'm so excited about it.

I don't know how I messed that up exactly, but you're right, there are only two and you named them.

Psst. I'm not kidding. Keep the 18th of June open for you and your significant other. It's going to be great.

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' pitching depth vanishing with one Ricky Nolasco injury, whether Oswaldo Arcia is even wanted back, Casey Fien's return to the bullpen, Chris Colabello hurting and helping his old team, sending kids off into the world as adults, Trevor May's new approach, Tasseldega Nights, Josmil Pinto not knocking down the door, answering Meatsauce's mailbag questions, and the great corn dog vs. corn-on-the-cob debate. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins’ dislike of the Yankees predates the Minnesota Twins. That’s because the Twins team that moved to Minnesota in 1961 was the Washington Senators franchise, and the Senators consternation with the Bronx Bombers goes back at least 80 years. That’s why the musical “Damn Yankees” featured the Senators – their dislike (or jealousy) of New York was legendary.That disgust likely started in the mid-20s. The Yankees were a fairly futile franchise until they traded for Babe Ruth in 1919. Soon after, they started collecting pennants and dominated the rest of the 1920s - except for 1924 and 1925 when the Senators rose up and knocked them out of first place. In fact, in 1924, the Senators not only beat the Yankees by two games to win the AL Pennant, but they also beat another heavily favored New York team – the Giants – to win their first and only World Series Championship. It could not have been more dramatic. The Senators had to play their last twenty games on the road that year, but never gave up first place in that stretch – but also never had more than a 2.5 game lead. They were led by pitcher Walter “Big Train” Johnson, who despite being 36 years old posted a 23-7 record with a 2.72 ERA in 1924. Johnson was as dominant a figure in early baseball as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb. Johnson not only set the all-time strikeout record at that time (breaking the record of Cy Young) but also held it for 55 years. He is one of only three two pitchers to belong to the 400-win club. And in Game 7 of that 1924 World Series, he came back on one day’s rest to pitch the last four innings – including three extra innings – without giving up a run. He was the winning pitcher when the Senators scored in the bottom of the 12th and brought the District Of Columbia their championship. But to really understand how legendary Johnson was, listen to Ty Cobb (who was hardly known for his gushing praise) talk about the first time he faced The Big Train: “On August 2, 1907, I encountered the most threatening sight I ever saw in the ball field. He was a rookie, and we licked our lips as we warmed up for the first game of a doubleheader in Washington. Evidently, manager Pongo Joe Cantillon of the Nats had picked a rube out of the cornfields of the deepest bushes to pitch against us. … He was a tall, shambling galoot of about twenty, with arms so long they hung far out of his sleeves, and with a sidearm delivery that looked unimpressive at first glance. ... One of the Tigers imitated a cow mooing, and we hollered at Cantillon: 'Get the pitchfork ready, Joe—your hayseed's on his way back to the barn.' ... The first time I faced him, I watched him take that easy windup. And then something went past me that made me flinch. The thing just hissed with danger. We couldn't touch him. ... every one of us knew we'd met the most powerful arm ever turned loose in a ball park." Cobb was right: Johnson was arguably the greatest pitcher in the history of major league baseball. After his career, he was one of the “Five Immortals” (along with Ruth and Cobb) who were the first five players inducted into the Hall of Fame. But the Big Train was not actually immortal. By the mid-20s, his career was nearing its end, and he retired after 1927 amid another run of Yankees pennants. He came back to manage the Senators, including from 1930 through 1932 when the Senators won over 90 games each year – and still never finished closer than eight games back for the AL pennant. The “Nats” finally won the pennant again in 1934 – and then the bottom fell out. In the 22 years from 1934 to 1955 (when Damn Yankees opened on Broadway) the Senators only had three years where they finished less than 20 games out of first place. (And two of those were during World War II, when teams were forced to find ballplayers who had not gone to war.) During that same stretch of 22 years, the Yankees won fourteen AL Pennants and twelve World Series Championships. Yep – the Yankees won more World Series during that stretch than all the other MLB teams combined. As long-suffering Senators fan Joe Boyd notes in Damn Yankees, the Bronx Bombers were especially known for their power hitters. During that time, Yankees players hit more than 25 home runs in a season 29 times – and this was after Babe Ruth’s prodigious run. During that same time, the Senators didn’t have a single player hit more than 25 home runs. It’s no wonder Boyd is willing to sell his soul for a long-ball hitter. Ironically, the year that Damn Yankees opened, a quiet 18-year-old from Idaho hit his first home run for the Senators. He would be the one to break that powerless streak, but it wouldn’t be until the Senators were just about to move to Minnesota. And his nickname rightfully foretold that he would also be the player to end the Yankees’ dominance. That player was Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame slugger Harmon Killebrew. And his nickname was “Killer.” Part 2: How Killebrew Killed The Yankees. Click here to view the article

When you spoke with Trevor May about pitching in spring training, you were bound to hear the word “consistency.” It was more than just a focus, it was an obsession. It was damn near a zen mantra. “Consistencyyyyyy-ooooooommmmmmm”. Two months later consistency has turned into a koan, those conflicting riddles that monks pondered to achieve a zen-like state, like the sound of one-hand clapping. That’s because May is attributing his more consistent success this season to…abandoning consistency.May talked about consistency because it was perceived that his challenge was control. But that was only half the truth. May’s problem was his control when pitching out of the stretch, which pitchers do when runners are on base to keep the runners from stealing. Last year, batters hit just .241 with a 652 OPS against May from the windup, but .421 with a 1245 OPS from the stretch. He thinks the problem was the slide step he was using. “I used to slide step out of the stretch, to the point where it was really hard for me to get balance, get everything going. It took a lot of effort to get the ball down before,” says May. “Now I’m varying my leg kick a little bit more. I can afford to have it a little bit higher at times. I haven’t worried about it as much, so I’ve been able to slide step when I need to and vary it. And I’ve found that balance a little bit better.” Huh? What about mechanics? What about the consistency May had damn near worshipped in spring training? “My biggest thing was always trying to repeat my delivery as much as possible,” explained May. “But it got a little bit robotic, where my body wouldn’t repeat the way I wanted it to. You’ve got to make it feel natural. I’ve found adding a little wrinkle here and there has made me feel a little more controlled in what I’m doing. I’m happy about it.” That’s great, but how, in the midst of working so hard on consistency, did he find that varying his approach was the real answer? Like any wise monk, he watched the world around him. Only he didn’t watch a lotus floating in the stream. He watched royalty. “One guy who has a lot of movement, that struck me, was when I watched King Felix pitch. It’s just something he’s not worried about,” says May. “He’s more worried about throwing. Going after a hitter. And he has a very simple approach to holding runners and guys don’t really run on him.” May came to the same conclusion watching a pitcher on the Twins staff. “Ricky [Nolasco] is another guy who varies his leg kicks pretty good. He can be quick and he can be slow. I just thought, there is no reason I have to be the same with my leg kick. I can do it. And I’ve had pretty good success doing it.” Batters are hitting 100 points lower against May from the stretch this year, and he’s cut 400 points of OPS. He’s done that while holding batters to nearly the same anemic OPS as last year from the windup. Maybe even more promising was his latest outing in which he completed seven innings on just 80 pitches, by far his most efficient outing of his MLB career. In the Tao Te Ching, Lao-tzu praises water repeatedly. He sees power in its flexibility. Power that dissolves the strongest of rocks: Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid. Everyone knows this is true, but few can put it into practice. It appears lately that Trevor May has. Tonight he’ll get another chance to show us he’s on the path toward enlightenment. Click here to view the article

Yeah, I looked it up. Last year, Gardy used Perk for a four-out save in early May. This year, Molitor used Perk for a four-out save in early May. Then Molitor did so again last night. I expect Molitor will do it again and Gardy never did so again last year. But by June, the Twins had slipped just about out of contention, too, or I expect we would have seen it a few more times. It'll be interesting to see the final tally on this by the end of the year. Personally, I don't expect it to happen all that often - maybe a half dozen times. And it should be pointed out that for the most part, Gardy had better eighth inning setup men (or at least some with more "stuff") than Molitor has had so far this year.

FWIW, Pelfrey commented postgame that he was surprised he was able to go two more innings, too. He knew his pitch count was getting up there early and thought he might be destined for only a five inning start, too. If I was a Red Sox fan, and knew the issues that Molitor has had with the back end of the Twins bullpen, I might be disappointed that the Sox were so aggressive in the 6th and 7th. They may have missed an opportunity there.

Before tonight’s game, Twins manager Paul Molitor was asked how a lineup, that seemingly has no star players, can be this potent. “I certainly don’t want to overthink that,” he replied. And then he watched the Twins beat the Red Sox 2-1 behind another stellar performance by Mike Pelfrey. OK Paul. I’m with you. Let’s not over think this. And even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could. I mean, where would I start?I suppose with this: Last night Mike Pelfrey threw seven innings of one-run ball. That’s the same Mike Pelfrey who had an ERA of 5.56 as a Minnesota Twin entering this season. The same Mike Pelfrey that made only 34 starts between his two years on the staff battling injuries. The same Mike Pelfrey who wasn’t even on the staff before Ervin Santana was suspended. The same Mike Pelfrey who is 4-1 with a 2.76 ERA. I am not going to overthink this. Pelfrey spent most of spring training telling people that this year was different because he felt healthy for the first time as a Minnesota Twin. Considering he was coming off Tommy John surgery in his first year with the team, and was shut down with a sore elbow in his second year, that wasn’t a terribly high bar to clear. But maybe it really is that simple. He’s healthy and back to being the guy that threw 200+ innings with about a 3.70ish ERA in 2008 and 2010. And maybe the rest of the starting staff is similarly not overthinking, too. On Monday, Ricky Nolasco has his best start as a Twin. The day before, Kyle Gibson had probably his best start in the majors. The day before that, Trevor May had his longest and most efficient start in the majors. Pelfrey’s start came on the right day, because the offense struggled to find the clutch hit on which they’ve relied all season. Red Sox pitcher Clay Buckholz gave up two runs in the first inning, but helped limit the damage with a double play. Then he got out of jams in the fourth and fifth innings to keep the game at a one run deficit. The run that was given up by the Twins was either a direct result of the playing conditions or of the musical chairs that has been the Twins lineup, depending on your point of view. David Ortiz “doubled” on a high fly ball that was misplayed by Eduardo Escobar in left field after Escobar fell on the slick wet grass. If one wanted to overthink things, one might wonder why the infielder Escobar is in left field instead of, say an outfielder, like Shane Robinson. (Eddie Rosario was playing right field allowing Torii Hunter to be the designated hitter). But on the other hand, Molitor didn’t overthink the decision to go to his lights out closer Glen Perkins in the eighth inning. After Blaine Boyer got two outs but had two runners on base, Perkins came in for the four-out save. He gave up a base hit to Pablo Sandoval (who made the decision to bat left-handed against Perkins) but it was limited to an infield hit by an excellent play by Brian Dozier. Thus, the tying run was held at third base. . Then Perkins and battery-mate Kurt Suzuki didn’t overthink their pitch selection to Hanley Ramirez. Perkins threw nothing but heat and the fourth pitch ended as a fly ball in Rosario’s glove to get the team out of dicey eighth inning. Three outs later the Twins had their fourth straight win, a record that is nine games over .500 and within one game of the Kansas City Royals for the AL Central division lead. Could it be that the Twins really are contenders, not just for a .500 record, but maybe for a division crown? Let’s just say ‘Yes.” Let’s not overthink this. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins actually getting competent starting pitching, what they'll do when Ervin Santana's suspension ends, Alex Meyer's move to the bullpen at Triple-A, Kennys Vargas crushing Triple-A, Tim Stauffer getting way more trust than he deserves, running away from the regression monster, Brian Dozier picking up where he left off in 2014, and whether or not to demote Danny Santana.You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

Good data. Really good data. But I come to the opposite conclusion going forward: Mauer isn't likely to keep up this RBI pace if he doesn't improve overall. Two additions: 1) That stuff we talked about last month - his pulling the ball and aggresiveness on first pitches - seems to have gone away. That hard hit statistic you gave is real concerning. 2) He's hitting .243 with a 617 OPS in May. It has not been unusual that after an extended dip like that, we find out he's been playing through some ailment. This feels like that is happening again.

Aaron and John talk about the Twins calling up Aaron Hicks and demoting Kennys Vargas, how they've figured out how to beat every team except the Tigers, Jordan Schafer's place on the team whenever he's healthy, reviewing Comerica Park and Mad Max, Tommy Milone thriving at Triple-A, wanting someone who can actually hit in the DH spot, and answering mailbag questions from listeners. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

The summary of the Twins Wednesday night 6-2 win over the Detroit Tigers is simple: this one was on Tigers starting pitcher Kyle Lobstein. Lobstein is essentially the Tigers version of Tommy Milone: he's left-handed, has a solid mix of pitches, none of which are particularly nasty, and he needs to hit his spots and keep the ball in the park to stay effective. He didn't do either of those in this game, but it was a lapse in control in the third inning that really hurt him.To the Twins credit, they took advantage, stringing together five hits and a walk in seven at-bats. Joe Mauer's triple was the ballgame's breakthrough hit, but give some credit to Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki for their alternate but effective approaches in Mauer's wake. Plouffe went up hacking, going after the first pitch and delivered a second triple and a fifth run. Suzuki alternately worked a 3-1 count before his double, which ended Lobstein's night after 2.1 innings and mostly cemented the game. Lobstein is not terribly well known outside of Detroit and has a funny name, so it might be tempting to write this game off as the Twins taking advantage of a bad pitcher. That's at least partially true. Lobstein is only in the rotation because of Justin Verlander's status and his likely path is that of a back-of-the-rotation starter. But he also entered today's game with a 3.00 ERA. In his last start he threw 7.2 innings while giving up just one run - and it was unearned. He has oddly been one of the Tigers most consistent pitchers this year, so while the Twins did what they were supposed to do, they also did something that no other team has done this year when they chased him early. Overlooked Gem I'm sure starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco will get plenty of credit for this win, but the most valuable pitcher was Twins reliever Michael Tonkin. He entered the game in the bottom of the seventh, leading 6-2 but with runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs and needing to face the heart of the Tigers order: Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez. Four batters later he walked off the mound and into the dugout with three outs and no change in score. Fangraphs will tell you that he cut Detroit's chances to win that game from 16% to less than 4% with his work. He did get a little help. Danny Santana ranged pretty deep into left field to get the first out on a pop fly. Eddie Rosario got to a ground ball in a hurry to make sure that Cabrera's single didn't drive home (the admittedly hobbled) Jose Iglesias from second base. And Tigers manager Brad Ausmus helped by writing Victor Martinez in the cleanup spot in the Tigers lineup. Martinez looks totally lost right now. His batting average is down to .226. His OPS is just .603. He left six Tigers on base tonight, going 0-4 with three strikeouts. This game could've been much tighter with any contribution at all from him. Come, America to Comerica This was my first visit to Comerica Park and I left a lot more impressed than I expected. I've been somewhat reluctant to give it the benefit of the doubt because I loved the Tigers old ballpark, Tiger Stadium, so much. But they did Comerica right. Nearby are some decent establishments to socialize before the game. We chose Cheli's Chile Bar where they have a beer garden with standard but good fare and inside they have 20 or so taps. Michigan has a vibrant craft brew culture, and you'll find that reflected almost everywhere, including in the ballpark, where there's an enclave near the main gate with 11 craft beers on tap. Comerica doesn't have a signature architectural feature, other than maybe the big concrete cats all over, but it stays visually interesting with lots of levels, entertaining side areas and appealing decorations that tie in the Tigers rich and long history. My favorite is the ballplayer sculptures by Lou Cella in center field, which are a cool combination, both realistic and abstract. The weather was cold, but the Tigers fans were friendly, the ballpark was fun, the beer was good and the Twins got a relatively easy win. Comerica isn't making it into my Top Ten MLB ballparks, but it's close, and an easy "thumbs up." It's worth a special trip and I'd love to come back. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' refusal to lose, calling up Eddie Rosario over Aaron Hicks, evaluating Paul Molitor's early managing, Ron Gardenhire striking out in Milwaukee, Torii Hunter's crazy streak, hitting .320 with runners in scoring position, buying an Apple Watch, and the next Andre David. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

He also had a very good 1/2 year as a 21-year-old in AA. It was last year when he was repeating (and started two months late) that he struggled. Personally, that's something I can chalk up to the suspension.

I took a look at some of Rosario's split from previous years, too. He hasn't really excelled against right-handers. He's hit them both about the same last year.

I'm not so sure. If he hits well, I can see him taking over in CF when Arcia returns.