Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins
My Minnesota Twins played their first spring training game last night. It was an exhibition game against the University of Minnesota. And, wouldn’t you know it, those professional experienced baseball players managed to beat the college kids. That hasn’t been the case for some other teams (the Philadelphia Phillies lost to the University of Tampa Bay last Sunday, for example).
In about three hours the Twins begin Spring Training games for real by hosting the Boston Red Sox (who beat two different college teams in a double-header Tuesday).
To celebrate, I thought I’d share my MLB Parks Tour plan.
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14 Comments | tags: baseball park, baseball season, Boston Red Sox, Major League baseball, Minnesota Twins, MLB, MLB Ballpark Tour, MLB baseball parks, road trip, Spring Training, Twins 2015, University of Minnesota | posted in Baseball
It’s snowing here in Minnesota right now (exactly why we call it “Minnesnowta”). The recent temperatures rival — sometimes excel — the temperature in my freezer (which is to say: zero degrees Fahrenheit). To be clear, by “excel” I mean ‘colder than’ — we would disdain a February that didn’t chill our bones and nip our nose.
But down south, in Florida and Arizona, MLB pitchers and catchers are reporting for Spring Training after having the winter off. (Teachers get summers off, baseball players get winter.) Depending on the team, the report date varies from the 19th to the 22nd. The rest of the players, depending on team, report from February 23rd through the 27th.
So, I thought now would be a good time to talk about pitching.
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4 Comments | tags: batters, breaking ball, Cactus League, catchers, curve ball, fast ball, Grapefruit League, Major League baseball, Minnesota Twins, MLB, pitchers, pitching, Spring Training, strike zone | posted in Baseball
Gardy ejected – permanently!
The big surprise news for Minnesota Twins fans was the firing of manager Ron “Gardy” Gardenhire on Monday. In some ways the move was not surprising — the Twins have endured some of their worst seasons in the last four years, starting in 2011 when they came only one game short of losing 100 games. Even Gardy himself seems to agree the move is a good one, telling reporters, “I think this is the right thing.”
Gardenhire coached the Twins under former manager, Tom Kelly, from 1991 to 2001 and became their manager in 2002. That year the Twins made it all the way to the ALCS by beating the Oakland A’s, only to lose to the Anaheim Angels in five games. Since that time, Gardy brought the Twins to the post-season five times, but lost each time in the ALDS.
The surprise is more that Terry Ryan, the Twins GM, actually made such a bold move.
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6 Comments | tags: batting, Mental Floss, Metrodome, Minnesota Twins, MLB, pitching, Rick Anderson, Ron Gardenhire, run differential, Target Field, Terry Ryan | posted in Baseball
The regular season of MLB baseball ended yesterday. As it turns out, no one has to play a game 163. As recently as Saturday it looked like there could be up to three game 163s, but the final games played Sunday settled matters. On the personal plus side, the Pittsburgh Pirates and — perhaps more significantly — the Kansas City Royals are going to the playoffs. On the flip side, both teams are getting in as wildcard teams, so the journey may be short (but it would be pretty cool if the Royals went all the way).
And your Minnesota Twins, once again, aren’t going. It was another losing year for the Twins — fourth in a row — but they did manage to do a little bit better than they have in the last three. As I wrote earlier in the season, this year’s team showed some potential not seen those last three years. Unfortunately, in the end (as usual) our pitching brought us down. But at least we ended the season on a fairly nice note.
Post-season baseball begins this week and ends with the “Fall Classic” — the World Series.
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2 Comments | tags: ALCS, ALDS, Derek Jeter, Minnesota Twins, MLB, NLCS, NLDS, Phil Hughes, World Series | posted in Baseball
Last night the Minnesota Twins played their 81st game of the 2014 season. That means they’ve now played exactly half of the 162 games that comprise a Major League season.
They lost, which — unfortunately, lately — isn’t surprising. They’re back in last place in the AL-Central, nine games behind the first place Detroit Tigers and seven games below the break-even .500 mark. Most of the stats show a downward trend that doesn’t bode well for the second half of the season.
It appears that earlier optimism about a decent Twins year was unfounded.
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6 Comments | tags: baseball season, Major League baseball, Minnesota Twins, MLB, MLB All-Star Game, Target Field, Texas Rangers, Washington Senators | posted in Baseball
Happy Twins; Happy Fans!
The Minnesota Twins have had three of the worst years (2011-2013) in franchise history, but this year there have been hints that this year might be different. In April they had a win-loss record of 12-11 (.522) and averaged 5.57 runs per game. The downside was that starting pitchers had a 6.02 ERA.
In May, the pitching got better; starters threw a very good 4.03 ERA. Unfortunately, the bats went ice-cold. Runs per game were down to 3.17, and Twins lagged behind their opponents by 27 runs. The month ended with a 13-16 (.448) record.
June is off to a bang with one of the most exciting wins the Twins have seen in years!
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5 Comments | tags: Brian Dozier, Eduardo Nunez, Josh Willingham, Minnesota Twins, MLB, New York Yankees, Oswaldo Arcia, Phil Hughes | posted in Baseball
The baseball season takes place from April to September. In those 180 days, each of the 30 MLB teams plays 162 games. That number doesn’t divide by four neatly but having played 43 games (as of last night), my Minnesota Twins are definitely past the quarter mark of this season.
Back in 2010, when the Twins finished 94-68 (.580) and won the American Central Division, after 43 games they had a 26-17 (.605) win-loss record. In the awful three years that followed, they had (respectively) records of 15-28 (.349), 15-28 (.349 again) and 18-25 (.419) — all three years falling below the important .500 mark.
What’s astonishing is that this year the Twins… aren’t sucking!
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10 Comments | tags: baseball season, Brian Dozier, Chris Parmelee, Minnesota Twins, MLB, Rick Anderson, Ron Gardenhire, Win Twins | posted in Baseball
And so it begins (again)…
Here we go, another MLB playoff season! (click to embiginate)
October is here, bringing with it shorter days, autumn leaves and bulk candy sales.
And the Major League Baseball Playoffs leading up to the World Series!
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8 Comments | tags: ALCS, ALDS, Mariano Rivera, Minnesota Twins, MLB, NLCS, NLDS, Pittsburgh Pirates, Roberto Clemente, World Series | posted in Baseball
It started in the summer of 2010. June, I believe. The previous decade had been a bad one. If the first ten years were an indicator, the 21st century was really going to suck. I’d gotten married in ’98 and discovered almost immediately I’d made a mistake. In the middle of a turbulent marriage, 9/11 happened. I was born in NYC; my mind rang with grief echos for about a year afterwards.
I was divorced by ’03, and I’d moved twice — once to a rental and then to the condo I bought. In ’04, double barrels: I had 60 days to find another position after they closed my department (which I did on day 58), and then my beloved dog died. For the next five years I threw myself into my work.
Which brought me, stressed and depressed, to 2010. And baseball.
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1 Comment | tags: first base, home run, Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins, Pablo Sandoval, Softball, strike out | posted in Baseball
After Saturn-Day comes Sun-Day, a day named after our local star. (To clarify: I’m referring to the nearby ball of hot, flaming gas, not a regional celebrity.) ((To clarify the clarification: I’m also not referring to any politician, but to the astronomical object.)) [And by ‘astronomical’ I mean ‘in space’ not ‘really, really big’ (although in this case both apply). And by ‘space’ I mean ‘outer,’ not the stuff in your attic.]
I trust things are perfectly clear now. It’s Sunday, so we worship the sun. Or in many cases, the Son. It may be a sacred day — a Sabbath day — or it may be just a day off from (normal) work. [For some parts of the world, it’s just a regular workday.]
A very common view is that Sunday afternoon is just for fun.
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2 Comments | tags: Angie Harmon, Gibbs, Minnesota Twins, MLB, MLB All-Star Game, MLB Home Run Derby, NCIS, picnic, Saturday, Sunday | posted in Baseball, TV
My Minnesota Twins played their first spring training game last night. It was an exhibition game against the University of Minnesota. And, wouldn’t you know it, those professional experienced baseball players managed to beat the college kids. That hasn’t been the case for some other teams (the Philadelphia Phillies lost to the University of Tampa Bay last Sunday, for example).
Logos con carne 