Twinkie Town 18 hours ago
Does Mitch Garver have positive regression coming?
Photo by Hannah Foslien/ Was Garver the victim of a small sample size in 2020? In 2019, Mitch Garver broke out. He was, by almost any statistic, the best batter at the catcher’s position in all of MLB. In 2020, Mitch Garver was barely playable (when he was even healthy). What can we expect from Garver in 2021? As I covered last week, we should be careful with how much stock we put in 2020’s player statistics. Even for players who were healthy the entire season, a 60-game sample is hardly something to draw conclusions from. In Garver’s case, he was injured for a...
Twinkie Town Nov 26, 2020
Gobbling w/ Gamble: What are you thankful for?
Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/ As far as the Twins go, that is Hello and welcome to a special Thanksgiving edition of Gabbing w/ Gamble! As we all go through our (COVID-aware) holiday activities today, let’s take a moment and think about what (Twins-related things) we’re thankful for. There is no shortage of things to be thankful for as a Twins fan this year, even if postseason success has once again eluded us in 2020. I’d like to share a few things that I’m grateful for, and then it’s your turn in the comment section. Back-to-Back AL Central...
Twinkie Town Nov 26, 2020
Free agent target preview: position players
Could Kiké Hernandez be the Twins’ next super-utility man? | Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports Which position players should the Twins target in free agency? Welcome to Part One in a three-part series examining free agent targets for the Minnesota Twins. The 2020 offseason is a weird one for the Twins. Yes, Rocco Baldelli’s squad won its second consecutive A.L. Central title last year. And yes, they were once again swept out of the playoffs. And, indeed, they should enter next season as the obvious pick to win the division yet many will be far too excited to elevate the...
Twinkie Town Nov 25, 2020
Grading the 2020 Twins: Jorge Alcala
We ought to call him “Cesium,” because Alcala metal. | Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Another reliever, another article. As we did last offseason, Twinkie Town writers are grading player who appeared in a game for the 2020 Minnesota Twins. (Last year’s grades can be found here, this year’s here.) Players will be graded individually on an A-F scale based on their hitting, fielding, and whatever else the author wants to consider. Today, we take a look at another young reliever. Perhaps it took injury and roster expansion for Jorge Alcala to receive an...
Puckett's Pond Nov 25, 2020
Minnesota Twins: Grading the Twins’ First Signing of the Offseason
The Minnesota Twins made their first move of the 2020-21 Offseason, and it’s just what you expected: A minor league deal for a relief pitcher. The 2020-21 Offseason is underway in the MLB and the Minnesota Twins have made their first signing of the year, bringing in RHP Derek Law. For Twins fans hoping for […] Minnesota Twins: Grading the Twins’ First Signing of the Offseason - Pucketts Pond - Pucketts Pond - A Minnesota Twins Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
Puckett's Pond Nov 24, 2020
Minnesota Twins: Four ways for the Twins to add Utility Men this offseason
The Minnesota Twins enter 2020 Free Agency down two utility guys. We break down their best options this offseason. The utility player has found a lot more value across Major League Baseball over the last decade, and the Minnesota Twins are no strangers to assuring they have more than one to fill the role each […] Minnesota Twins: Four ways for the Twins to add Utility Men this offseason - Pucketts Pond - Pucketts Pond - A Minnesota Twins Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More
Twinkie Town Nov 24, 2020
Grading the 2020 Twins: Eddie Rosario
Eddie Rosario may have played his last game in a Minnesota Twins uniform. | Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Rosario turned in another solid, albeit not spectacular season As we did last offseason, Twinkie Town writers are grading players who appeared in a game for the 2020 Minnesota Twins. (Last year’s grades can be found here, this year’s here.) Players will be graded individually on an A-F scale based on their hitting, fielding, and whatever else the author wants to consider. Today we get back on track, after Sandwiches took us down a rabbit hole last week. Eddie...
Twinkie Town Nov 24, 2020
Twinkie Town Talk: Twinberwolves, or something like that
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Nelson Cruz is a FA, but he’s still Mr. Minnesota now In case you missed it How did we do at pre-season predictions around here? Humor is making a big comeback around here. From a couple sources. Shifting against righties is counterproductive. Probably don’t do the that then. 2020 isn’t real if you don’t want it to be and even if it is real, do we trust the stats from 2020? Elsewhere, but Twins-related Nelson Cruz’ status might be in flux, but he helped convince another free agent to play in Minnesota for the next few...
Twinkie Town Nov 23, 2020
Rocco Baldelli’s annual performance review
Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/ A couple new mentors enter the picture To put together our off season Grading the 2020 Twins series, we here at Twinkie Town scour for every piece of intel we can get our hands on to help us evaluate the Twins. Through anonymous sources within the Twins organization, Twinkie Town has obtained exclusive video of Rocco Baldelli’s yearly performance review meeting with his bosses, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine. Once again, the Twinkie Town intelligence arm and its field “assets” have taken advantage of the Twins obsessive...
Twinkie Town Nov 22, 2020
Should the Twins shift less?
Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/ New research concludes the shift is counterproductive against right-handed hitters. Should the Twins revise their strategy? One of the well worn stories regarding the Twins during Derek Falvey’s tenure has been the club’s markedly increased emphasis on using analytics to inform strategy and on-field decision making. The area that might illustrate this best is on defense, where the Twins have enthusiastically embraced the deployment of infield shifts in recent seasons. For data collection purposes, MLB defines a shift as a...
Twinkie Town Nov 20, 2020
Twins add Balazovic, Ober, Rortvedt to 40-man roster ahead of Rule 5 draft
The future is now... or at least, much sooner than it was. | Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/ Three men on; in ten days, we find out how many are out. As announced Friday afternoon by Dustin Morse, the Minnesota Twins’ all-around communications gent, the team has protected three players from the Rule 5 draft by adding them to the 40-man roster. The @Twins add three to the roster:RHP Jordan BalazovicRHP Bailey OberC Ben Rortvedt40-man now at 37. #MNTwins— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) November 20, 2020 The most familiar name to many fans will be that of...
Minneapolis Star-Tribune Nov 20, 2020
Twins add Balazovic, Ober and Rortvedt to their 40-man roster
The American League Central champions have 37 players on the roster as free agency continues.
Twinkie Town Nov 20, 2020
How much should we trust 2020 player statistics?
Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/ Small sample size fun, or meaningful trends? In 2020, everything has been out of whack. Wacky sports seasons, altered day-to-day life, Cleveland refusing to pay their good players (oh wait, that one’s normal). But much like our news sources these days, it’s hard to know how much we should trust the baseball player statistics that were recorded in the 2020 season. 37% of a normal season is hardly a large enough sample size to take meaningful conclusions from (hear that, White Sox fans?). Further complicating the question is...
Twinkie Town Nov 20, 2020
Grading the 2020 Twins: Bert Blyleven’s cardboard head cutout
“What do you mean ‘downward plane’ is outdated??” | Photo by Hannah Foslien/ It brought more troubles than any of the other cutouts. As we did last offseason, Twinkie Town writers are grading players who appeared in a game for the 2020 Minnesota Twins. (Last year’s grades can be found here, this year’s here.) Players will be graded individually on an A-F scale based on their hitting, fielding, and whatever else the author wants to consider. Today, I’m swerving off the road to grade one of the cardboard cutouts in the stands at Target Field this...
Twinkie Town Nov 19, 2020
Important dates on the 2020-2021 MLB winter calendar
Photo by William Davis/General Photographic Agency/ Better late than never to review this! The throes of winter are upon us as baseball fans and with it comes some important offseason dates in the MLB universe. Some of those dates have already come and gone, but a bulk of the winter activities are still ahead of us before Opening Day 2021 arrives. What’s left between now and late March and how does it affect the Minnesota Twins? October 28 All of the eligible players that did not have contracts with teams for 2021 became free agents. This also means that players that...
