Archive for January, 2011

Aaron Gleeman gave his thoughts on the Dusty Hughes claim and related Rob Delaney designation today and if you read my column on Saturday you already know I have a very different opinion. Not only are Aaron, and many other Twins writers, ignoring the differences in quality and quantity of each pitcher’s stuff, they are also ignoring the organizational differences that come into play here. They are differences that aren’t necessarily recognizable when looking at a players stats or performance up to this point. When a player changes organizations, the circumstances change. For Dusty Hughes, the status quo has changed [...]

Since the prospect chatter and requisite rankings are starting to fly fast and furious I went ahead and created a new page on the site which I oh-so cleverly titled “Prospects.” Sheer genius right? Yeah, yeah whatever … So the plan is to keep this list updated as new rankings and lists come out. I will also do my best to try and track down any Twins lists I may have missed in the last couple of months and get ‘em linked up for reference. Anyway, in addition to pointing out a few Twins prospect lists that came out in [...]

As I write this, a massive blizzard/snowstorm is barreling toward Kansas City. Tomorrow the forecast is calling for a little bit of freezing rain before things turn to snow late Monday. Tuesday we’re supposed to have 30-40 mile per hour winds and lots of heavy snow. The “experts” are calling or 8-12″ of white fluffy fun to fall from the sky. If that projection turns out to be true, almost 30″ of snow will have fallen at our house in the last month after having barely seen a few flakes prior to that. Now I know those of you who [...]

BLAINE – TwinsFest 2011 kicked off on Friday and the party continued into the weekend at Blaine’s National Sports Complex. The crowds came out in droves, mainly to see this generation’s answer to Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew: Joe Mauer. When I arrived at around ten in the morning the line for Mauer’s autograph table extended out of the Schwan’s Building and down towards the entrance of the main complex. Baby Jesus Joe wasn’t scheduled to arrive and start signing for another hour. Inside the main complex, the mood was that of a convention not unlike a Comic-Con. The gym [...]

On Thursday the Minnesota Twins claimed LHP Dusty Hughes (28) off waivers from the Kansas City Royals. To make room for Hughes on the 40-man roster the Twins designated RHP Rob Delaney (26) for assignment. Delaney was subsequently claimed off of waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. When the news came out that the Twins were replacing Delaney with Hughes on their 40-man roster, I immediately thought it was an upgrade. Never one to rely solely on my initial reaction however I went to the numbers and scouting reports to form a more informed opinion. Once that was in [...]

Welcome to Puckett’s Pond! FanSided’s Minnesota Twins coverage has finally relocated from it’s former location at Twinkie Talk (http://twinkietalk.com) to the site you find yourself on now. So, you already know that we have a new site name and a new URL to go with it. If you had visited Twinkie Talk in the past then it is readily apparent to you that we also have a bit of a new look with a slightly different color scheme. Those are some reasonably big changes, but the biggest change is … well … Me! That’s right, I’ve jumped from the ocean that [...]

Recently waived Twins reliever Rob Delaney was just claimed by the Rays, sparking a mini-debate (more like an open forum) on Twitter regarding the approach of the Twins front office and teams like the Rays. Parker Hageman of Over the Baggy tweeted that the Delaney moves were representative of the two FO’s approaches. Delaney has great minor league numbers. He has a 1.069 WHIP and strikes out a little over 9 per 9 innings, while walking around 2 per 9 innings. But while his numbers are great, the scouting reports on him are less so. He was undrafted, and though [...]

  The Twins signed Kevin Slowey to a one year, $2.7 million deal.  They have not yet agreed to terms with Francisco Liriano or Delmon Young, though it appears that the front office might be interested in signing them to multi-year deals.  Liriano in particular has two more years of service time, and if he continues to perform like he did last year, could get very expensive in arbitration.  The Twins might be a little more hesitant to sign Young to a multi-year deal, considering that he’s only had one good season since his debut in 2007.  However, he does add some right-handed power to [...]

Former starting pitcher Jim Perry is the lone selection to the franchise Hall of Fame this year, voted in by a committee consisting of local and national BBWAA members, team officials, previous inductees, and fans.  He will be inducted in a special ceremony prior to the game against the Rangers on June 11th.  Perry’s induction into the Twins’ HOF is long overdue.  According to baseball-reference.com, Perry is 11th all-time on the franchise list of pitching WAR leaders, with 22.2.  He spent ten seasons with the Twins, going 128-90 with a 3.15 ERA, winning one Cy Young award, appearing in two All-Star [...]

Lets cut straight to the chase on this tongue twister of a headline; Twinkie Talk is now on Twitter! Follow Twinkie Talk on Twitter to stay up to date on all things Twins and Twinkie related. This includes: – Article Updates and links – Join in the discussion and talk Twins with fellow fans, readers and writers – Gameday matchups – Game updates – Breaking Twins news – Signings – Trades – Retirements, ect – Gameday updates – Pitching/lineup changes – And so much more! Follow us on Twitter to expand and maximize your Twinkie Talk and Minnesota Twins experience. [...]