Friday Links

It seems like forever since I put anything up on here.  After a trip up to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota, and the Independence Day Holiday I am finally falling back in line with the rest of the Puckett’s Pond crew and throwing myself back into site content.  I’ve been gone, but I’m back, and I’m Better than Ezra.

Since it’s been a while, a couple of these links will be older than a week, but I’ve only kept the very best that are older than 7 days.  Without further ado, here are the links:

I love NotGraphs.  Every day there is something humorous and at least tangentially related to baseball.  This entry features the Golden Gopher’s very own Luke Rasmussen giving the starting line ups in a way that would make Sven and Ollie proud.  

In which the TwinsGeek, John Bonnes, reveals that the Twins have used ALOT of different line ups in 2011.

More from NotGraphs?  Why not.  When Cirque du Soleil style first pitches involve flips and a 50mph fast ball, I’m intrigued.  When there is a humorous Mariah Carey response, I’m a fan.

Growing up in the 90s, Ken Griffey Jr. was IT.  He had his own baseball game, he had his own look, and every kid on the block was trying to recreate that silky smooth swing.  At his peak, he might have been the greatest baseball player I’ve ever seen, excluding the Barry Bonds hitting show.  So then why is David Schoenfield comparing him to Chipper Jones?  Look closer  at the SweetSpot and you’ll see.

Keith Law is ESPN’s go to guy when it comes to the minor leagues.  He unveils a list of 10 future stars to watch in the Futures game.  Minnesota’s Aaron Hicks just misses the cut.

For a long time the Minnesota Twins were the worst team in Major League Baseball.  Then they won a few games in a row, a couple of guys recovered from injuries, and now they’re only the 4th worst team in baseball.  The sun is shining, Twins fans, because no one from the Minnesota Twins made Steve Slowinski’s list of Worst in the Majors over at FanGraphs.

When Rob Neyer writes, people read it.  That’s just what happens.  So if Rob Neyer thinks that Scott Baker is the best number 5 starter in all of baseball, well, then you have to read that for yourself.

Wayback, over at TwinkieTown does a great job reminding fans that statistics can make anyone look like a bum, I mean anyone.

The Twins played the Dodgers not too long ago, and when I saw this article, I knew it had to be in the links.  Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness runs down The Collected Sins of the Frank & Jamie McCourt Era.  I especially like #8, because I am a son, who has a father that aspires to greatness.

Ok, I promise, this is the last time I link you to NotGraphs, this week (But if you want just one more, check out Joe West working a VCR!).  But seriously, this one isn’t so wacky, it is about improving the All-Star game, and with a trip to Arizona just days away, wacky is just what the All-Star game needs, Thanks to Carson Cistulli.

The North Dakota Twins Fan is one of my favorite Twins Bloggers, and what he did last week, in honor of Social Media Day, made my day.  Here is his list of all of the Twins players and affiliates on Twitter.  How great is that?!  From Michael Cuddyer all the way down to Elizabethton’s Derek Christensen.

Back over at the SweetSpot David Schoenfield gives us his list of 2011 all-rookie all-stars.  The list contains one former Twin, and one current Twin.

Sometimes it is hot at Target Field.  And sometimes, when this guy is around, it gets even hotter.  “And the Oscar for best use of a Homer Hanky in fashion and merchandising is….”

Baseball is about as American as apple pie and hating the Yankees.  Over at Peanuts from Heaven, Kristina spent a day in a Target Field suite, and for whatever reason, got to thinking about what the founding fathers might have to say about these Minnesota Twins.

Tom Kelly is filling in for Bert Blyleven in the broadcast booth, and the early reviews are off the charts.  Tom Kelly is THE MAN in the booth.  Check out some more great content from Peanuts from Heaven as The Scruffy Rube delves deep into one of Tom Kelly’s baseball cliches.

You don’t often see 4,061 words about the Minnesota Twins bullpen, and certainly not that many about their closer(s), but Andrew over at Off the Mark gives Twins fans the run down on what he thinks a closer is, what the rest of the league is doing with their closers, and wether it is wise To Buy or Make a Closer?

Sometimes you know a guy is going to be a star because he has a great baseball name.  The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have just such a guy in 19 year old prospect Mike Trout.  He is being promoted from AA Arkansas and should arrive in time to make his debut tonight.  Rob Neyer has all the details over at Baseball Nation.

Maybe you can find it somewhere, I don’t know, but APkrawczynski confirms that the Twins have 2 players in Baseball America’s top 50 midseason prospects.

Joe Mauer doesn’t have any kids yet, but if my pal KBart has her way, he will soon, which is important, because as Chris Cwik of FanGraphs points out, he is REALLY REALLY valuable.

I’ll leave you with this, because I know once you click on this link, I’m going to lose you.  You are going to spend the next hour learning everything you can about SethSpeaks.net’s Top 50 Minnesota Twins Prospects.  Enjoy.

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