twinssporto

Thank you. By the way, the title was meant for humorous effect (or is it affect). Glad people enjoyed the post. I wrote this way back on March 11th and suddenly it got picked back up. Enjoyed reading everyone's replies! Go Twins! Division Champions...

Awesome blog. Thanks Mike!

This is very uncool news...Maybe coming off the juice was the reason for his throwing issues lately...

Thanks for writing this! Fantastic! What an amazing person.

This wasn't a regrettable autograph but a funny one. I was sitting in the dugout during an old timers game in St. Pete, Florida back in mid 1990's. A friend of mine gave me and my wife two passes that could get us anywhere in the stadium. So before the game started we walked out onto the field and jumped in the dugout. I sat down next to Harmon and started talking Minnesota baseball, the fact that I was a huge fan, etc., etc. About 5 minutes later Blyleven sits down next to me and I about lost it. Sat there almost the entire game talking to both of them. At the end of the game I asked Harmon to sign the pass I was wearing around my neck. He happily obliged. I turned to Blyleven and asked him to sign it too. He laughed and said he would only sign the other side of it. He told me he didn't want to decrease the value of the autograph by signing his name next to Harmon's. Mr. Killebrew laughed out loud at that comment.

Wasn't Ah Leah a song by Donnie Iris? I think he can hit too?

Let me begin by apologizing for the click bait. Although my thread title is misleading it's hopefully factually correct. I highly doubt the Twins will take up a wild card spot this year...I fully anticipate the Twins taking the division title. I know there are others that will think this is overly optimistic and possibly arrogant but this team has some really good reasons why they can eclipse the other teams in the division including Cleveland. Some of these include: 1. Offense. This lineup could be scary good. I know some of these guys need to maintain the momentum they created last year but I don't see a reason for a lot of regression from anyone. (see point #8 below) 2. Speed. Fastest team in baseball baby! 3. Starting Pitching. I still can't believe we have an average to decent pitching staff. Do I dare say stability? 4. Bull Pen. Huge improvement over last year. Again, stability, reliability? 5. Depth. We have some great arms just waiting for an opportunity to fill a gap in case injury or performance issues arrive. 6. Youth. This is still a very young team. Its the young teams in baseball that are going deep into the playoffs. 7. Momentum. So much momentum at the end of the season last year! I believe these guys are truly excited and think they can contend with anyone in the league. 8. Motivation. You have a number of guys who will be free agents next year. Would love to see the stats but guys usually have big years prior to their free agent year. Here's looking to you Dozier, Mauer, Lynn...Then you have the young guys. They would love to get an extended signing and see some big bucks too. Here's looking to you Rosario, Buxton, Kepler, Polanco and Sano. 9. Payroll. Lots of money coming off the books next year. If the Twins are really rolling in July I fully expect the front office boy wonders to pick up a trade deadline stud to fill any issues that may arise. 10. I don't really have a #10 to add at the moment. I'll leave that up to you guys. Now I'm going to go back to my Sunday morning coffee and look out over my snow covered back yard and dream a little about the coming green grass, opening day and a winning baseball team. Go Twins!

91 + wins. Book it. I was spot on last year too.

Love it! The team has really got to be excited...Momentum builder!

Can you imagine if Sano would have said the same thing Grossman did? That would be funny!

I couldn't agree more. This offense is gonna be potent! I went through the whole potential lineup and I wouldn't want to pitch through it. Couple of thoughts: 1. Half the guys are 25 years old or younger. I don't think they care who is pitching against them. I see little fear from the young guys after what they did last year. They have a ton of confidence. 2. The veterans are motivated too. Oh, and they are good hitters. Mauer, Dozier, LoMo (one great year I know) but probably wreaks of confidence after last year. 3. The bench. Not mediocre. Escobar did more than ok as a back up at 3rd to Sano. Grossman can get on base. 4. Home runs. This will be fun to watch. The numbers in this category could get ridiculous. These estimates are not unreasonable. Dozier 30, Buxton 21, Kepler 24, Rosario 29, Escobar 18, Sano 30 (with a 30 day suspension and healthy), Castro 17, Mauer 12, LoMo 29, Polanco 12, Grossman 5, Misc players 5. 232 total. Seems reasonable to me.

Tom - great article. Much appreciated and some great info in there too! Thank you. It may be a high bar but thats why they have bars. It's spring training, lets dream big. Maybe the kid turns into a real superstar. Why not?

I dont think Dozier is saying he doesn't want to be a Twin any longer. In fact, I interpret the comments to mean he would like to stay. He's a great ball player and leader in the club house. Hope he stays but I get it. If he can pull an extra $5mm + or more a year for his services elsewhere good for him. More importantly, what really gets me excited about Dozier is that he will be a free agent next year! If anyone is going to work extra hard and pull out all the stops, this will be the year for Dozier to do it. I'm betting this could be his best year as a Twin. As you mentioned in a previous post he will be 31. Regression does eventually take hold. As my tag line says, "on a long enough time line the survival rate for everyone drops to zero". Go Dozier!

Like the photos shown in the StarTrib?

Unfortunately for Sano, you, me and the rest of the Twins fan base that FOREVER looks more like 3 years the way he's going now.

I was going to write up a long post today about Sano but Ted was quicker. That being said I think there is more to discuss besides his weight. I mentioned this the other day in a different post but I think the Twins organization has some serious concerns about Sano. The way Molitor spoke the other day it sounds like they are trying to work on his attitude as much as the weight. https://www.twincities.com/2018/02/09/twins-frustrated-mlb-investigation-into-miguel-sano-unresolved/ I am really rooting for Sano but as Ted mentioned in his article I think most of his issues have been self-inflicted. I would be shocked if Sano starts the season at 3B. In fact, I don't think the Twins will put him in the field until he drops 40lbs. People and athletes alike get injured all the time. Even if his entire lower body was immobilized thats not an excuse to gain that much weight. Its not how far or how long he does aerobic exercises it what he puts in his mouth. The Minnesota Twins dietician (Kate Moran) is hopefully on full code red alert now. Either way, this is not how I wanted to see Sano come into spring training. On a more funny note I read an article in the StarTrib yesterday about Sano and some of the comments people were making made me double over in laughter. Here's just a few: I bet a Sano bobblehead doll would weigh 68 pounds.You know who I feel the most sorry for? That reinforcement rod in his shin.If he hits an infield grounder can the Twins use a designated runner?Don't MLB base paths have road weight restrictions on them?Sano for Archer trade. Its like a two for one.

I think this a great trade. Odorizzi could provide some very good results the next year or two. I was encouraged by the article on him that the Tampa Bay Times did after his last start in 2017. Odorizzi said he's never felt better as a pitcher and was excited to take the momentum he had in September into next year. Time will tell. By the way, here is chart I found on "Beyond the Box Score" that shows pitching aging curves by total fWAR. Just thought it was interesting to see. I would like to see this through 2017. I also edited post to include 20+ game starter aging curves. http://cdn3.sbnation.com/assets/4041081/Aging_2.png http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/4041249/Aging_3.png

Totally agree. People misreading the market is not rare. I'm no exception. Loved Enron at $56, Worldcom at $44....wife put me on stock probation too.

You know a free-agent signing is weak when the front office says this: "Sanchez is also considered a veteran leader who can help mentor younger pitchers. He could be valuable in that role this spring, even if he doesn't make the club". If I read one more time about an older FA bringing veteran leadership to the team I'm gonna be sick. Can't Kaat fill that role? I thought thats why we hired him...

I agree its a big jump. It would be great to see some long-term stats on how pitchers do jumping from AA to Majors. I'm sure the analytic guys in MLB have some of that data. I personally think you are going to see players spending less time in the minors as these "new baseball" people mix up the status quo thats been going on for the last 50+ years. Not saying its right or wrong but this new generation seems more willing to break with tradition occasionally.

Great info. Thanks!

Great post Spycake, glad you've moved past this. This whole Darvish drama did get me thinking about the Dodgers in all of this. I know they are trying to stay under the payroll tax penalty this year. However, there is a question I have about their decision to not step up and keep him: 1. The Dodgers are one of the most heavily favored teams to win the WS this year. Keeping Darvish would seem like a logical step in solidifying their chances and keeping the rotation top notch. What did they see to not go that extra step (payroll tax aside) to sign him?

This is soooooo easy. Announcement today at 3:30 CST. Twins sign Arrieta to a 4 year $90mm contract with incentives to earn $110mm.

I'm going to Tweet some pics of me throwing the ball with my kid in the yard today. I might qualify for a starting spot in the rotation this year...

Thanks, was just getting ready to take a header out of my office window.