John Bonnes

Jeremy Nygaard and Seth Stohs joined John Bonnes on KFAN 100.3 Monday night for an immediate reaction to the Twins 1st round choice of left-handed pitcher Tyler Jay. They covered Jay's strengths and weaknesses, debated how appropriate it is to draft a college reliever with the sixth overall pick, profiled his pitches and control, wondered at Jay starting the biggest game of his life on the day of the draft, shook off the last-second Daz Cameron rumors, talked about the pick with Minnesota Twins West Coast Regional Supervisor Scout Sean Johnson and previewed the other picks that might happen on Tuesday. (Whew.) You can listen to the pick on KFAN.com here.. Click here to view the article

The 2015 MLB Draft is tonight, and while we know a lot of Twins Daily readers have been following our coverage for weeks, we know some of you are looking for a cheat sheet. So here it is: Who will the Twins take? Oh, c’mon, skipping right to dessert? Actually, I kind of respect that. The answer is we don’t know, and we don’t think they know. So let’s see if we can figure it out together…Where/when do the Twins draft? They have the sixth overall pick and the draft starts about 7:00 and takes about five minutes per pick, so they should choose about 7:40 (Eastern, 6:37 Central, to be exact). You can follow along in the comments section below or tune into KFAN 100.3 where Jeremy Nygaard, Seth Stohs and John Bonnes will be covering the pick live from 7:00 - 8:00. What else happens on Monday night? The Twins forfeited their second-round draft pick when they signed Ervin Santana to a free agent contract. However, they did receive a bonus compensation pick, #73 overall. They will make that selection later in the evening. How is this draft class? It’s a little weak. There are no clear, stand-alone top picks, which makes it a very interesting draft. Every mock draft has a slightly different order for the picks before the Twins, which makes it nearly impossible to predict who the Twins will be able to pick, let alone who they prefer to pick. So who do the mock drafts say the Twins will take? Baseball America says Kyle Tucker, a toolsy prep outfielder, that Parker profiled here. ESPN’s Keith Law thinks it will be Kolby Allard, a left-handed prep pitcher who might be injured and whom Jeremy Nygaard profiled here. MLB.com went with Tyler Jay, a left-handed college pitcher who profiles as a starter but has been working as a reliever, profiled by Steve Lein here. FanGraphs' Kiley McDaniels thinks the Twins will draft RHP Dillon Tate, who Jeremy Nygaard said would likely not fall to the Twins. Who else is in play? The draft is strong in shortstops and they might all be gone before the Twins get to pick. Their Twins Daily profiles are here: Dansby Swanson Brendan Rodgers Alex Bregman There are a few other pitchers that the Twins could choose over Jay or Allard Dillon Tate Carson Fulmer Brady Aiken Walker Buehler Kyle Funkhouser Jon Harris And finally, a few outfielders who could be in play. Andrew Benintendi Daz Cameron So who will the Twins take? You're just not going to let that go, are you? Here is Jeremy's Final Mock Draft. There is nobody who is more plugged in to the Twins final thoughts on this pick than he - at least not outside of the organization. So, who do you think the Twins will select when their turn on the clock rolls around? Do you have a personal favorite? This is what comment sections are for.... Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins demoting Danny Santana to Triple-A and bringing back Kennys Vargas, the latest shockingly good start from Mike Pelfrey, the Twins 6thoverall pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, the closing window of opportunity for Oswaldo Arcia, appreciating Carlos Gomez and his flaws, Ricky Nolasco's ankle injury and Tommy Milone's role, the No. 1 sellers at Target Field, and whether or not to pay $120 for a Lil Wayne concert. 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

It isn’t often one can define, to the moment, the end of an era, but such was the end of the Yankees three decade long domination of the American League. The moment was on Sunday, July 11th, 1965. And Twins slugger Harmon “Killer” Killebrew ended it on one symbolic swing.Killebrew was signed by the Washington Senators in 1954, a year before “Damn Yankees” musical opened on Broadway, but MLB contract rules delayed him from playing full time with the club until 1959. The 22-year-old made up for lost time, hitting a league-leading 42 home runs. After the Senators became the Twins in 1961, he led the league five more times before his career was over, and finished in the top five an astounding 12 times. He won the American League MVP in 1969 and received votes ten of the Twins first eleven years of existence. He retired with 573 home runs and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. But the first half dozen years of his career were in the shadow of a very long Yankees dynasty. From 1936 through 1964, the Yankees failed to win the American League pennant just seven times, meaning they were in the World Series twenty-two times. And they had won the AL nine of the last 10 years. But there were indications that the end was near. Entering a series with the first place Twins immediately prior to the All-Star Game, the Yankees were in sixth place, 12.5 games back. And in front of packed stadiums, the Twins won the first two games. However, the Yankees won the third game, and the fourth game was a tight affair, tied 4-4 going into the ninth. That last inning, it turned out, had everything. In the top of the frame, the Yankees had runners on first and third base with two outs but failed to score when their batter hit a soft ground ball up the first base line. The Twins pitcher wasn’t able to field it cleanly, but that was because the Yankees batter interfered with him while running to first base. So the batter was out, and the runner from third that had crossed home plate didn’t count. Or did it? Yankees manager Johnny Keane came out and disputed the call, telling the umpire that he thought the Twins pitcher fielded the ball and tried to tag the Yankees batter, but then dropped it. If that’s the case, the runner would be safe and the run that crossed the plate on the play would count. Any Yankee detractor can see how this is going to end: the umpires reversed the call. Twins manager Sam Mele charged out of the dugout, but his team was told to retake the field even as he told the umpires the rest of the game would be played under protest. The Twins got the last out, but the damage had been done and the extremely agitated crowd knew it. Didn’t the Yankees get breaks like this all the time? Like in the musical, it was not hard to picture the Devil on the Yankees side. Nor was it hard to picture the AL slipping away yet again. But the ’65 Twins had proved their resiliency throughout the year. Rich Rollins coaxed a walk, but it was sandwiched between two outs. Still, that gave Killebrew a chance to bat. He worked a full count before Yankees reliever Pete Mikkelsen challenged him with a fastball. In his book about the 1965 Twins, Cool Of The Evening, author Jim Thielman describes what happened next: “The ball jetted towards the stands, almost as if Killebrew had lit a short fuse on a Fourth of July pop bottle rocket. It was not the typical “Killebrew Fly” that featured a majestic parabolic arch. The ball was still rising when it crashed into the left-field pavilion. Silence. Had this happened? Had Killbrew hit a two-out, two-run homer on a 3-2 pitch to beat the Yankees heading into the All-Star Break? Was this team going to the World Series? The crowd erupted, screaming, applauding and stamping its feet on the stands, as had become the custom when the Met Stadium regulars wanted to display their appreciation enthusiastically. The cantilevered triple deck behind home plate shook from the thunderous pounding.” That home run was recognized as the biggest home run in Twins history until Kirby Puckett’s walkoff shot in 1991’s Game 6. The Twins did go on to the World Series that year, though they lost to the Dodgers and Sandy Koufax in seven games. The Yankees not only did not with the pennant, but they finished with a losing record for the first time since 1925 – the same year the Washington Senators (the Twins predecessors) won their only World Series. And the Yankees would not make the playoffs again for the next eleven years. The Damn Yankees deal with the Devil was finally over. Part 3: A Twin Becomes A Damn Yankee Previously: Twins vs Yankees (Part 1): The Rise Of The Damn Yankees Click here to view the article

Bring 'em!

I'm exactly the opposite. I LOVE that they went a slightly different direction and made it a bit less cookie-cutter retro.

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