Mike Trout is the toast of the baseball town. He was called up to the Majors on April 28 and has literally been the most valuable player in either league since that day. He has hit for power, stolen bases and made some outstanding catches in the outfield. Any team would be lucky to have a player like Trout, and he just turned 21, in case you needed extra convincing. Kyle Gibson has a bright future as well. Odds are, he will not suffer another injury as debilitating as he is recovering ...
Updated 08-22-2012 at 01:20 PM by Brad Swanson
“Like butterflies with hiccups” is our tagline at Knuckleballs and today it’s a pretty appropriate heading for the following post. I seem to find myself in a “very little to say about several unrelated things” situation a lot lately. Maybe I’ll make this a quasi-regular thing here. Or maybe this will be a one-time thing. Anyway, there are a few things I’ve read here and there that I feel inclined to comment about. Most are baseball related, but not all. The Twins ...
Brett Andersen made his first start in just over a year since he had Tommy John surgery, and the lefty was back in fine form. He gave up just one run on four hits and no walks in seven innings. Sean Doolittle pitched a perfect eighth. Then former Twins reliever Grant Balfour recorded his 12th save with a perfect ninth. In other words, the Twins offense just did not show up. Trevor Plouffe was again 0-4 and is now 2-29 in eight games since his return from the DL. Jamey Carroll was 0-3, and he now ...
Word spread on Tuesday that Carl Pavano had been re-diagnosed with a bruise on his humerus bone. Pavano, who had made two appearances with the Fort Myers Miracle in hopes of rehabbing what was assumed to be a strained shoulder, told reporters that he’s frustrated that it took several months to get the diagnosis correct but is happy that it does not require surgery to heal. The Star Tribune’s La Velle Neal writes that the Twins medical staff should ...
The status and outlook of the rotation is bound to be the biggest storyline for the Twins down the stretch and into the offseason. Clearly, there is no unit on this roster in a greater state of flux. As a new feature here on Twins Daily, we thought we'd start taking periodic glances at the starting pitching depth chart to provide a big-picture look at what the club currently has and what's in the pipeline. We'll post updates every few weeks, adjusting for ...
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Here is this week's installment: The biggest recent news from the Minnesota Twins (other than the product on the field) is that they outrighted Nick Blackburn and Tsuyoshi Nishioka off the 40-man roster to Rochester. What does this mean for these two players for 2013 is still unknown, but it will be interesting to see.Speaking of waivers.... One little detail because the rules are somewhat complicated: ...
Does anyone else remember Terry Ryan's press conference last offseason? I may be mistaken, but I recall him stating that the medical staff was going to be evaluated after a disappointing 2011 season in which injuries and diagnosis' were an issue. To my knowledge, no changes were made, but similar issues have occurred again this year, including the Scott Baker debacle, waiting to have Wimmers go through TJ surgery for some odd reason, etc. It makes me wonder if that evaluation is ongoing or if ...
Most baseball fans can remember a time when they sat down to sort through shoe boxes full of cardboard with the faces of their favorite players on the front. I grew up in a small town in North Dakota without cable so one of the easiest ways for me follow my favorite players was to collect their trading cards. The hobby has changed a lot since the late 80s and early 90s but some fans still flock to get their hands on the latest edition of Topps Baseball Cards. ...
The Twins have 41 games to go which seems like a lot. However, there are just ten days before we reach September when rosters can expand. With the Twins moves yesterday, outrighting Nick Blackburn and Tsuyoshi Nishioka, the Twins 40 man roster now sits at 38. This is great because that means that the Twins can add two players to the 40 man roster without dropping anyone else. Then again, there are a few players that could be removed without much heartache in Twins Nation. Starting Pitching ...
The Twins got big offense from their nine through four hitters and came away with a nice 7-1 win over the Oakland A’s, one of baseball’s hottest teams. Of course, the biggest story was the performance of Brian Duensing. The lefty gave up two runs (1 earned) in six innings. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out seven. Quite the improvement over his mid-July start against the A’s when he gave up six runs on seven hits (3 HR) in just two innings. Casey Fien pitched two scoreless innings in ...
Tonight The Voice of Reason™ and I went to a St. Paul Saints game. We soaked in a gorgeous Minnesota summer night, watched a bunch of kitsch and thoroughly enjoyed a game in which we had almost no emotional investment. Because it’s baseball. And it doesn’t last forever. I hear Minnesota sports fans lauding the turning of the calendar page, anxious for football and the (albeit limited) hope new seasons bring. I’ll enjoy watching the Gophers and Vikings too. But I’m a baseball guy, and ...
Originally posted at k-bro's baseball blog The last time I talked about the Twins roster changes, Danny Valencia had just been traded and Tsyoshi Nishioka had been called up to replace him. That was August 6th. The Twins have made a move or two since then. Let's review. August 6: Nishioka was called up to replace Valencia on the roster. Since he makes $3 million a year, it was worth giving him another chance to see if he could hack it in the bigs. In fact, ...
This is like the mother lode for frustrated Twins fans. I mean, take both of these guys out in one fell swoop! I hardly enjoyed these two players as a fan. Blackburn was a player that I harped on repeatedly, refusing to give him credit for pitching one important game back in the 2008 Game 163 (we lost that game too, no one seems to remember that). I felt he was living off that reputation for far too long, considering his failures over the past 3 years. I did not know what to think about Nishioka ...
Updated 08-20-2012 at 08:50 PM by Brad Swanson
This guy was signed the same year as Sano and supposedly had a great glove and minimal bat. I see he is hitting pretty well, does anyone know if his fielding is good or great in the middle infield?
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