As I was beginning my trek to Beloit last week, I realized that it was already into August. I have no idea where the entire month of July went, but it was already time to present awards for the minor league hitter, starting pitcher and relief pitcher of the month. To keep things brief, this is a little late, so I’m going to consolidate the reports. Along with the three “winners,” I’ll give a top five as well as post some honorable mentions, if appropriate. I apologize for the delay, ...
Before I go into detail on these two players, I want you to look at their A-AAA stats, as well as parts of two MLB seasons. Player A ...
Today's Twins game was disappointing on several fronts. The Twins lost a chance for a sweep, Ben Revere failed to extend his impressive hit streak, and Tsuyoshi Nishioka continued to look ... confused at second base. Oh well. Let's take a look at the action down on the farm. ROCHESTER 3, SCRANTON/WB 7 Shairon Martis turned in a quality start, tossing 7 innings and giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. He struck out 4 and walked 2, but did allow 2 home runs. Deolis Guerra had a tough outing. ...
Ok, I'm starting off my blogging here with a top ten list... No big deal, since we're on the internet all of our tact and self-respecting ways (maybe just respecting ways in general) get thrown out the window, or lost in transition to the keyboard. 1. When I have a good idea or observation that I feel a player has made a mechanical adjustment of some sort and want to look deeper to see if I can develop the idea. Parker goes ahead and steals my idea and writes a blog about it. It wouldn't ...
Updated 08-09-2012 at 07:26 AM by Badsmerf
"We have holes. And some of it is pitching, and some of it is not. There are other areas we need to address." - Terry Ryan as reported by Phil Mackey The Twins rotation currently ranks 29th in the majors in ERA and 28th in innings pitched. But Ryan is right – they aren’t the only sore spot that will need to be addressed this offseason. The decision to promote and play Tsuyoshi Nishioka at second base highlights one such area. The Twins rank 29th in the ...
As soon as I get to the stadium tonight, I can tell that I am moving up the chain and getting closer to how things are done in the big leagues – for the first time, I have to pay for parking ($3). The stadium itself is actually a stadium – it isn’t just a ball field surrounded by stands – which you would expect given that it is the spring training home of the parent club. Two main seating options: there are the $9.50 box seats which are individual plastic seats situated in the lower half of the ...
Updated 08-08-2012 at 03:21 PM by sbknudson
This was originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com. Over the past month or more, I’ve alluded a few times to the fact that the Twins’ Player Development Contracts (PDC) with a number of their minor league affiliates were set to expire after the current season. In fact, all four of their PDCs with their “full-season” affiliates (A, Advanced A, AA and AAA) were expiring. Nobody really expects their Advanced A team, the Ft. Myers Miracle, to shop around for a new affiliation, ...
Updated 08-08-2012 at 01:58 PM by Jim Crikket
Down 5-1 going through six innings, the Twins collected three unearned runs in the seventh inning. Cleveland’s All-Star closer Chris Perez came on and gave up three runs in the top of the 9th, two of them unearned. The Twins won 7-5 in unlikely fashion. Sam Deduno was back on the mound for the Twins. This time, he lasted just four innings and gave up four runs on five hits and five walks. He struck out three. Jeff Manship came on and gave up a run on two hits and two walks in his two innings. He ...
So, the Twins have 52 games left in this 2012 season. We can all agree that the first two months of the season were probably the hardest things for us to watch since last year. The ray of light that has us moving up the standings comes from the Twins being 13-12 since the All-Star Break, and at least four of their losses were very close and could have gone either way. So, I am much more of a late-night person than an early morning person, so I decided to look at the Twins' record against ...
Last year, Minnesota's outfield was a mess. Among players who put in significant time at an OF spot, only Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel posted an OPS over .700, and neither appeared in more than 77 games as on outfielder (Cuddyer due to Justin Morneau's injury, Kubel due to his own). This, along with Denard Span's costly injury, left a lot of at-bats for the likes of Delmon Young, Jason Repko, Rene Tosoni and a rookie Ben Revere, all of whom struggled mightily. ...
I get into Fort Myers about quarter to two – too early to check into the motel, so I decide to buzz out quick to the Lee County Sports Complex to see if I can catch the tail end of the GCL game. Sure enough, I manage to take in the last couple of innings. I drive in the main entrance to Hammond Stadium, go past the empty parking lots, and at the west end of the complex pull off the road onto the grass where a number of cars have created a makeshift parking lot. Walking past the Twins offices here ...
Updated 08-07-2012 at 09:56 PM by sbknudson
Last night Justin Morneau hit multiple home runs in a game for the third time this season. As impressive as that is, the most noteworthy aspect about that feat is that the Twins first baseman hit both of those off of curve balls – something that he had done only once since 2010. Heading into Monday’s game against the Indians, Morneau’s numbers against curves had been very underwhelming. According to Fangraphs.com, his Pitch Value on curveballs had been 5.7 ...
Originally published at Knuckleballsblog.com I drove up to Beloit over the weekend to catch a couple of baseball games between the Twins' Class A affiliate, the Snappers, and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The Rattlers and Snappers finished first and second, respectively, in the first-half standings of the Midwest League's Western Division, so I anticipated that they would play some decent baseball. They did. If you want to read a lot about the games themselves, I'm going ...
Originally posted at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Here is this week's installment: The Danny Valencia trade to the Boston Red Sox last Sunday is old news, but if you have not checked it yet, here is a mini scouting report of Jeremias Pineda, the Dominican switch-hitting Center Fielder the Twins received in return.Speaking of the Danny Valencia trade, here. here are a couple of reactions on his trade by current Twins' players. Danny's reactions are here: ...
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