*Not that you couldn’t have thought about something besides baseball.  I spent one sleepless night earlier this week pondering the loss in lifetime earnings potential that could be created by not receiving an annual raise in salary.  Numbers, combined with time, are scary things.  This has been the first installment of “Things that Keep Me Up at Night”.

Anyways, on with the links:

The Common Man was so taken by the anticipation of seeing Brad Radke at TwinsFest that he wrote the script for a pretty entertaining Twins commercial, in the style of SNL’s Bill Brasky skit.

While I guess this is technically ANOTHER TwinsFest story, this one, even more than the others, really embodies what TwinsFest is all about: making connections with your favorite baseball players, and creating memories that last a lifetime.  Lindsey Seavery from CBS Minnesota reports on a Missing Jersey that was reunited with Twins great Tony Oliva, 25 years after he lost it.

The Twins have expanded their Hall of Fame to 24 members, electing Camilo Pascual.  If there is a man that looks like a MLB pitcher, Pascual is that guy.  (more…)

With the winter grinding on, I thought that this entry from NotGraphs’ Dayn Perry summed up perfectly everything I’ve ever wanted to say about baseball in January. “This has been a post about putting your hat in the dishwasher. This is the offseason.”

With the Twins’ roster construction turning towards the bullpen, Nick Nelson took at look at Free Agent relievers the Twins could sign, as well as internal options to fill the remaining spots in the pen.  Seth Stoh’s took his turn looking at available relievers as well, rounding up a large group of players that could be available for the remaining $2-$3 million dollars left in the Twins’ 2012 budget.    Twinkie Town’s Jesse does a great job of breaking down many of the advantages and disadvantages of the creme of the free agent relieving crop.

He isn’t a free agent reliever, but he is a free agent, and if the Twins are willing to stretch their budget, they could end up with Roy Oswalt on a one year deal, and if he pitches anywhere near his career numbers, he could help the Twins win another surprise AL Central championship.

More from Baseball Outsider where Edward Thoma continues dissecting the Bill Smith Era, checking in this week on the J.J. Hardy – Jim Hoey trade as well as looking closer at the rest of the trades from 2010.

The Twins Fan From Afar makes a case that signing Francisco Liriano to a long term deal this winter is a smart move and allows the Twins to Buy-Low on a guy with tremendous upside.  When healthy and pitching well, Liriano is one of the 5 best pitchers in the American League.  Even when he isn’t at his best, he can still manage to luck into a no-hitter, right? (Francisco Liriano took the hill last night for the first time this winter, throwing for Escogido.  He threw 1.2 innings, gave up 2 hits, a run, a walk, and struck out two.  Not great, but it’s something.)  (more…)

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…)