Happy Birthday–April 8

John Peters (1850)
Kirby Higbe (1915)
Stan Wasiak (1920)
Charlie Maxwell (1927)
Turk Farrell (1934)
Takao Kajimoto (1935)
John Hiller (1943)
Catfish Hunter (1946)
Randy Marsh (1949)
Mac Scarce (1949)
Gary Carter (1954)
Alex Gonzalez (1973)
Timo Perez (1975)
Jeremy Guthrie (1979)
Matt Ford (1981)
Felix Hernandez (1986)
Yonder Alonso (1987)

Stan Wasiak holds the record for most wins as a minor league manager, 2,530.  He managed from 1950-1986, managing at levels from Class D to AAA.

Pitcher Takao Kajimoto won 254 games in Japan and was a twelve-time all-star.

Randy Marsh was a major league umpire from 1981-2009 and is currently a director of umpiring.

Yonder Alonso was drafted by Minnesota in the sixteenth round in 2005, but did not sign.

We would like to wish a happy birthday to the brother of Daneeka's Ghost.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 8

Southern League Preview

The Twins have a new AA affiliate:  the Chattanooga Lookouts.  That means two things:  1) I have to remember how to spell Chattanooga (two ts, one n, two os) and 2) we have a bunch of new opponents.  It's good-bye Eastern League, hello Southern League.  Good-bye New Hampshire Fisher Cats and Richmond Flying Squirrels, hello Montgomery Biscuits and Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

Here's a quick look at the teams of the Southern League.  Again, "notables" is a list of names you might recognize, not a scouting report, and is based on rosters listed on milb.com this morning.

Continue reading Southern League Preview

Happy Birthday–April 7

John McGraw (1873)
Oral Hildebrand (1907)
Bobby Doerr (1918)
Jerry Hoffberger (1919)
Tom Phoebus (1942)
Bill Stoneman (1944)
Pete Van Wieren (1944)
Bobby Mitchell (1955)
Ricky Bones (1969)
Brett Tomko (1973)
Ronnie Belliard (1975)
Adrian Beltre (1979)

Jerry Hoffberger was the principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles from 1965-1979.

Pete Van Wieren was a broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves from 1976-2008.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 7

2015 Game 1: Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers

I'd love to type something thoughtful and full of optimism here, but I'm short on time and actual belief in that. We'll start the year off for a team that's full of youthful potential, but bogged down with the aged veterans for some reason. But, let's let the 25-man roster speak for itself:
Continue reading 2015 Game 1: Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers