Archive for September, 2011

Now that the season is over for the Twins, it’s time to do what baseball fans do best: complain about why the season went wrong and blame everyone we can. I got started down that path earlier this week, when I posted an article complaining about the epidemic of injuries and another one that points the finger at Bill Smith. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the sneakiest culprit of all: those cursed pine trees. But plenty of other things went wrong for the Twins this year, and for the sake of completeness, I’d like to list as many as I can. [...]

It is hard to believe that the 2011 season is over for the Minnesota Twins.  On April 13th the entire Puckett’s Pond staff compiled their predictions for the AL Central.  Combined, the staff thought the Twins would reach 92 wins and edge out both the White Sox and the Tigers, both projected for 87 wins.  We pegged the Indians for just 69 wins, and had the baby Royals finishing with 67 wins.  At the time I predicted a rebound year from Michael Cuddyer, but outside of that, I pretty much got everything else wrong. While the Pond didn’t do a [...]

  Hear ye, hear ye. The Supreme Court of Puckett’s Pond is now in session. The case on the docket today is People v. Bill Smith. Mr. Smith is charged with the crime of making a series of poor personnel decisions that have destroyed the Twins 2011 season and seriously impaired the organization’s future. How does the defense plead? DEFENSE: Not guilty, your honor. Then we’ll let the Prosecution open this up by listing the charges. The Prosecution’s Case Exhibit A: on November 28, 2007, Bill Smith willfully traded Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan to the Tampa Bay [...]

Is it just me, or does the world suddenly seem a happier place? Doesn’t it kind of feel like you’re breathing fresh air after being stuck in a garbage filled room for six months? Do you feel like you’ve suddenly been cured of some sort of illness (not a terminal illness, but one with a lot of nasty symptoms like pimples and a runny nose)? Well, the reason that you feel that way is because the 2011 baseball season is finally, mercifully over. Sure, the playoffs will go on for another month, and we may have at least one Game 163 [...]

On Wednesday the Twins will wrap up their 2011 season.  There was a point in this miserable season when I looked forward to the end of the Twins season and the beginning of my Vikings devotion… however, after a legendarily awful 0-3 start for my beloved vikings, I’m dreading the end of the baseball season with everything that is in me. Taking some advice from our lead writer Nate, I’ve decided to cheer for the Texas Rangers and their pursuit of a world series victory.  (secretly I’d like to cheer for the Phillies, but I just can’t bring myself to [...]

I do not normally do this.  I normally save this kind of thing for the Friday Links, but this particular link cannot wait. Jon Marthaler has produced what very well could be the Twins Article of the Year.  Last night he chronicled the Twins and Royals game as a running diary.  His writing is both enlightening and entertaining. Here is my favorite snip: 7:43 - Luke Hughes floats a single between short and third. It must be disconcerting being on first base withDrew Butera up, knowing that your best-case scenario is to get to kick a second baseman in the leg on a takeout slide. Theirs not [...]

How much of the disaster that was 2011 can be blamed on injuries? Take a look at the list below and decide for yourself. It’s a list of every time the Twins have used the Disabled List this season. Keep in mind that this does not include every injury the Twins have had. For example, in September Brian Duensing, Michael Cuddyer, and Jason Kubel all missed significant playing time, but they did not go on the DL because expanded rosters made it unnecessary.  4/5 – 5/7: Kevin Slowey, Bicep pain 4/8 – 6/15: Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Broken fibula 4/13 – 6/17: Joe [...]

The Twins will end their 2011 campaign on Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals, and they will probably do it with 100 losses.  The Twins will end the season as the last place team in the American League Central, a spot normally occupied for the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians.  Being in last place is not all bad, it does, after all, lead to high draft picks. Both the Royals and the Indians have taken advantage of these draft picks and their teams are trending upwards, thanks to young guys like Eric Hosmer and Jason Kipnis.  The Twins, [...]

Every baseball website comes out with a top 10 or top 50 or even a top 100 prospects list. Usually, the players on these lists are ranked by a combination of how much potential they have and how close they are to the Major Leagues. That is why, for example, most sources had Kyle Gibson as the Twins #1 prospect before this season. Gibson probably profiles as a middle of the rotation starter in the Majors, but the fact that he looked ready to debut with the Twins in 2010 put him at the top of the rankings. The list [...]

If you’ve been following Puckett’s Pond, you’ve read the arguments about why you should or shouldn’t root for Arizona, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Milwaukee, New York, and Philadelphia. We are running out of playoff teams. If you have not decided who to root for yet, the Texas Rangers may be your last choice (unless the Rays, Giants, or Cardinals somehow sneak into the playoffs, in which case we’ll make the case for each of them). And that recount I demanded when the Twins were eliminated from the playoffs hasn’t happened. I’m trying to hire a team of theoretical mathemeticians who can come up with a [...]