Nick's Twins Blog

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Position Analysis: Second Base: via Nick's Twins Blog March 12, 2010 at 12:05 AM; Likely Starter: Orlando Hudson2009 Stats: .283/.357/.417, 9 HR, 62 RBIHudson can fill some significant needs for the Twins in 2010. Potential Backups: Nick Punto, Brendan Harris, Alexi Casilla, Matt TolbertAfter the Chuck Knoblauch trade in 1998, Todd Walker took over second base duties for the Twins and was a quality contributor there for a couple years. Yet, Walker never seemed to mesh with mana
Position Analysis: First Base: via Nick's Twins Blog March 11, 2010 at 12:05 AM; Likely Starter: Justin Morneau2009 Stats: .274/.363/.516, 30 HR, 100 RBIIs Morneau's back fully healed?Potential Backups: Michael Cuddyer, Brendan Harris, Jim ThomeJustin Morneau entered the All-Star break last season with a stellar .311/.390/.575 hitting line to go along with 21 homers and 77 RBI, and it appeared that he'd be competing for another MVP award over the final months for the season. U
A Lost Link: via Nick's Twins Blog March 10, 2010 at 12:05 AM; There haven't been many constants for the Twins over the past six years. A look back at the 2004 roster seems like a study in ancient history. Doug Mientkiewicz, Luis Rivas, Cristian Guzman and Corey Koskie manned the infield. Michael Cuddyer had not yet established himself as a regular. Joe Mauer entered the season without a major-league at-bat to his credit. Johan Santana was just finally becomi
Position Analysis: Catcher: via Nick's Twins Blog March 09, 2010 at 12:05 AM; Every March, I go through the Twins' roster position-by-position to project a likely starter and sort through potential backups. Today, we kick off this year's iteration of the Position Analysis series by taking a look at the catcher spot, where a hometown hero will be returning to defend his MVP crown...Likely Starter: Joe Mauer2009 Stats: .365/.444/.587, 28 HR, 96 RBIWill Mauer's power sustain i
On Location in Fort Myers: via Nick's Twins Blog March 08, 2010 at 12:05 AM; On Friday, the Twins played for the first time this year at their spring training home, Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. I was in attendance, making it the first of many outdoor baseball games I will attend this season. Ironically, the southern Florida weather was about what can be expected at Target Field in early April -- it was a sunny but breezy day with a temperature that sat in the high 50s an
Spring Has Sprung: via Nick's Twins Blog March 05, 2010 at 12:05 AM; The Twins kicked off their spring schedule last night with a 2-1 loss to the Red Sox at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. It was a rather uneventful game, with the Twins managing only four hits -- all singles -- but there were a few noteworthy performances. Chief among them was Pat Neshek's first appearance since May of 2008. He tossed a 1-2-3 inning, inducing a pop-out, a ground-out and a swingin
Role Reversal: via Nick's Twins Blog March 03, 2010 at 12:11 AM; Ozzie Guillen has never been too timid about stating his adoration for the Minnesota Twins and the way they play the game. At seemingly every opportunity, he has publicly complimented the organization, its players and its manager. Oftentimes, when the White Sox would play at the Metrodome and Guillen would rattle off one of his profanity-laced diatribes about his team's uninspired play in a post-g
Second to None: via Nick's Twins Blog February 26, 2010 at 12:11 AM; The Twins made a number of quality additions over the course of the offseason that should enable them to improve on problem areas as they move forward into the 2010. JJ Hardy should make the Twins better at the shorstop position if he can rebound even moderately from a rough 2009 campaign. Jim Thome adds a veteran power threat that was amiss on the bench last season. Clay Condrey provides another
NTB Top 10 Twins Prospects: 2010: via Nick's Twins Blog February 25, 2010 at 12:05 AM; Last year I posted a Top Ten Prospects list for the first time since this blog launched. I'd been hesitant to jump into the fray with a top prospects list in the past since so many other bloggers and writers already create these rankings and I didn't see much need to come up with my own given that they would likely mirror the other ones out there pretty closely.Yet, I think I found a good way to p
TwinsCentric on StarTribune.com: via Nick's Twins Blog February 24, 2010 at 01:05 AM; No new entry here for today, but feel free to go and check out my introductory post over at the brand spankin' new TwinsCentric blog on the Star Tribune's website.
2010 Spring Training Preview: via Nick's Twins Blog February 23, 2010 at 01:23 AM; Pitchers and catchers have reported to Ft. Myers and spring training is officially underway for the Twins. This year's kickoff carries with it even more excitement than usual, as the Twins had a busy offseason and are preparing to open a brand new stadium when the regular season starts in April. Before we get to meaningful baseball at Target Field, though, we've got five weeks of practice and exhi
Wrist Management: via Nick's Twins Blog February 17, 2010 at 12:29 AM; Last June, some friends and I made a baseball road trip and one of our stops was St. Louis to see the Twins play the Cardinals in a Saturday afternoon contest. It was a sweltering hot day, with a heat index well over 100 degrees, and the sweat soaking into our clothes subtracted somewhat from our enjoyment of the beautiful Busch Stadium. Perhaps the most uncomfortable aspect of the day, though, wa
Spring Cleaning: via Nick's Twins Blog February 16, 2010 at 12:05 AM; Spring training is fast approaching! Plenty of analysis headed your way over the next couple weeks, but for now let's get caught up on a few notes and some housekeeping...* Twins' pitching coach Rick Anderson recently related that Scott Baker has been tabbed as the team's Opening Day starter. Baker was also slated to start the season opener last year before a shoulder injury shelved him for the fi
Distinctly Punto: via Nick's Twins Blog February 12, 2010 at 12:05 AM; There are a lot of things that can be said about Nick Punto. (And today, I'm sure a lot of things will be said.) But one undeniable truth is that he plays the game about as hard as anyone in the league. Type his name into a Google image search and you'll find picture after picture of him diving face-first into a base, falling over after fielding a ball and making an off-balance throw while fully h
Sizing Up Nick Blackburn: via Nick's Twins Blog February 10, 2010 at 12:05 AM; Nick Blackburn chose the right time to put together his best stretch of baseball last season. In his final four regular-season starts, he went 2-0 with a 1.65 ERA and dazzling 18-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, leading the Twins to a 4-0 record and helping propel them to a postseason berth. He added another tremendous outing against the Yankees in the ALDS, helping cement his reputation as a big-gam
An Offseason for the Ages: via Nick's Twins Blog February 08, 2010 at 12:05 AM; I find myself at something of a loss. It seems I've grown so accustomed to being disappointed with the frugal Twins and their aimless winters that when an offseason as exciting and well executed as this one comes along, I don't even know how to react. From trading for J.J. Hardy to re-upping Carl Pavano to signing Jim Thome and now adding Orlando Hudson, there's not one move I can take issue with.
Honing In On Hudson: via Nick's Twins Blog February 04, 2010 at 12:53 PM; I spent plenty of time last offseason dreaming about the possibility of Orlando Hudson landing in a Twins uniform. (See here, here and here.) Hudson qualified as a Type A free agent and the Twins have historically coveted their draft picks, so it didn't surprise me to see the team express little public interest in the second baseman despite his going unsigned through the first three months of the
The Future of Casilla: via Nick's Twins Blog February 03, 2010 at 03:05 AM; Earlier this week, the Twins removed infielder Steve Tolleson from the 40-man roster to make room for the recently acquired Jim Thome. Tolleson, who grabbed the 10th spot on my list of the Top 10 Twins prospects a year ago, has seen his prospect status drop rapidly over the past 12 months. Last year was sort of a make-or-break season, as he was 25 years old and reaching the point where he needed t
False Alarm, Very Real Hope: via Nick's Twins Blog February 02, 2010 at 02:23 AM; Citing a source close to the situation, WCCO's Mark Rosen reported yesterday that the Twins and Joe Mauer had come to agreement on a 10-year contract, with the financial terms undisclosed. The rumor hit the Internet and predictably spread like wildfire; the phrase "Twins & Joe Mauer" had become a trending topic on Twitter within minutes of the first report I saw. This, of course, led numerous
Upcoming Roster Decisions: via Nick's Twins Blog January 28, 2010 at 12:05 AM; Prior to Tuesday's Jim Thome signing, this might have been a good guess at how the Twins' 25-man roster will break down coming out of spring training this year: five starters, seven relievers, nine starting position players, four bench players. That's how Ron Gardenhire rolled out of spring training last year, and considering his professed affinity for a deep bullpen, it's how we imagine he'd have