I was just getting excited about the idea of Dan Wheeler pitching for the Twins, but then Lavelle Neal of the Star Tribune went and crushed those hopes. According to Neal’s latest blog entry, “a move for [Wheeler] wasn’t possible.” He left it a little ambiguous about whether this is because of money and/or roster space, or if there are additional secret reasons the team won’t bring in Wheeler. But unless the Twins were lying, Wheeler is probably not an option. Of course, teams lie all the time during Hot Stove season.

If you haven’t been following Seedlings to Stars’ Top 100 Prospects countdown, you have some catching up to do! The list has taken three months, but they’re all the way up to #4, a slot that is held by Rays pitcher Matt Moore. Three Twins made the list: Miguel Sano, Liam Hendriks, and Brian Dozier. It’s safe to say that no Twins prospect is good enough to rank in the top three this year. But with a little luck and a great season at A ball, it’s not impossible to think that Sano could vault toward the top of next year’s list. (more…)

This is part eight in a series examining every Twins team that has made the playoffs. Whether the current version of the Twins is 20 games over .500 or stuck in last place, fans can always hold onto memories of successful teams past.

Previous articles in the series: 1965, 1969, 1970, 1987, 1991, 2002, 2003

The 2004 Twins faced little competition within their own division. They spent 145 days in first place, clinched the division with 12 games remaining, and ultimately won by 9.0 games over the second place Chicago White Sox. While the 2002 and 2003 Twins won with a roster full of unknowns, 2004 saw the emergence of four true superstars: Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Joe Mauer, and Justin Morneau. Never since have the Twins been a stranger to national media attention. Unfortunately, the Twins have not won a playoff game since 2004 either.

The biggest news story of 2004 was one of the greatest tragedies in recent human history. In the closing days of the year, a magnitude 9.3 earthquake under the Indian Ocean launched a tsunami that ravaged coastlines fom Australia and Indonesia to India and even Eastern Africa. More than 230,o00 people were killed, and countless more were left homeless. In the Ukraine, the presidential election was so hotly contested that opponents poisoned eventual winner Viktor Yuschenko. The United States had a contentious election, too, as incumbent George W. Bush defeated Senator John Kerry by 3 million votes. Fortunately, nobody was poisoned during that race.

Minnesota voters paid close attention to the presidential contest, but many of them cared even more about another election: the American League Cy Young balloting. In 2004, a Twins pitcher finally emerged as a true ace, capable of shutting down any opponent at any time. Santana had his best year, leading the AL in ERA (2.61), WHIP (0.92), strikeouts (265), and numerous other pitching categories. He was especially unhittable after the All Star break, with a perfect 13-0 record, a 1.21 ERA and an unbelievable .78 WHIP. Unlike Presidnets Bush and Yanuschenko, Santana won his election in a landslide, receiving all 28 first place votes. (more…)

The headline of this article might make you think this post has nothing to do with the Twins, other than perhaps the fact that Silva used to be a Twin, but you’d be wrong, just bear with me for a paragraph or two of background.  For those of you unfamiliar with the last few days of Spring Training news out of Cubs camp, the Cubs rather abruptly released Carlos Silva over the weekend, eating the remaining $11.5M that he was owed. (more…)