Tag Archives: Justin Morneau

August 10, 2016: Fielder

For all the media talk about Prince Fielder's stardom, I thought this was pretty interesting:

Dude Seasons rWAR fWAR
Justice1440.540.4
Hrbek1438.437.6
D Lee1434.334.5
T Martinez1628.828.7
Konerko1827.623.2
Morneau1427.122.8
M Vaughn1227.031.1
Klesko1626.930.1
Fielder1223.826.8
Brunansky1421.823.3

I don't have any particular conclusion in mind (and I don't mean to diminish Prince's career), but I doubt many observers would have perceived Fielder's value to be as limited as it was – by whichever flavor of WAR you like. That contract was a disaster on more than one level.

My Favorite Non-Twins

Things have been a little down around here lately, and not necessarily without reason. But let's not lose sight of the fact that, at it's heart, baseball is fun. And in that spirit, here is my lineup of my favorite non-Twins. Here are my guidelines:

  1. Players cannot currently employed by the Twins
  2. Players can be either NL or AL players
  3. One each of LF-CF-RF (Sorry Adam Jones & Cutch)
  4. As we support an AL team, there is a DH
    • This DH can be any player whatsoever

These are just my favorite players to watch. Not the best, not who I would build a team around, just guys who in their own way bring me some measure of joy when I watch them play ball. And of course, there is no accounting for taste. So y'all should share your favorites too. Follow my rules or don't, it's up to you. I'm not your mother.

WARNING: GIFs abound after the jump
Continue reading My Favorite Non-Twins

2014 Game 93: Twins @ Rockies

So, that Tulowitzki dude is something else, eh?

Linds has declared this weekend to be Morneau weekend. She's blocked off our schedules to watch the games, and is wearing the Rockie shirt that my aunt got her. She was crowing after last night's win. Good times.

Today, the Twins try to save face by sending Kevin Correia against some new guy named Tyler Matzek. A cursory look at Matzek's bbref page seems imply that he used to be some sort of prospect, but that he's had a tough time keeping the ball in the strike zone through his trip through the minors. I'd be okay with lots of walks today, but the trick will, of course, be silencing Colorado's bats. Let's hope Mr. Correia is up to the challenge.

(editor's note: sorry, hj, I know it's boring to replay a featured image in back-to-back games, but I didn't have time this morning to find a cool, creative commons picture of a Coors Lite can sitting by a ballfield like I wanted to).

Justin Morneau traded

this news probably deserves its own post.

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal
Source: #Pirates acquire Morneau from #Twins for OF Alex Presley.

Morneau leaves the Twins with an MVP award (2006), a second place finish (2008), 3rd on the Twins franchise Home Run list, 5th in RBI, a HR Derby Champ (played under the pseudonym "Jason Morneau") and thousands of fans

Game 78: Royals 9, Twins 8

Both teams hit some homeruns...and doubles - 22 hits between 'em. In the end, the Royals did just enough against Twins pitching to eek out a "W".

Positive note - after going a very long stretch of the season without a HR, Mountie has doubled his HR total in the last 10 games to 4. Trader Clete now has 3 on the year...le sigh.

In other news and to much less fanfare - the NHL held it's draft. Colorado selected 17-year-old center Nathan MacKinnon with the first overall pick.

More on what the Wild did below.

Continue reading Game 78: Royals 9, Twins 8

Game 21: Twins 5, Rangers 0

Twins earn a split of the series with Texas and are now 11-10 on the year. Kevin Correia pitched 8 scoreless innings, scattering 6 hits and picking up 2 strikeouts. He leads all Twins pitchers in Wins (3) and starters in ERA (2.23)  and WHIP (1.07). Morneau hit his 2nd HR of the year, a 2-run shot, and is just behind Willingham in RBI at 11.

The Twins head to Detroit where I assume they'd be happy to replicate the success of their previous trip to Motown.

In other news, the Wild slid bass-ackwards into the playoffs for the first time in 5 years by way of a tiebreaker with Columbus. After an ugly game against Edmonton on Friday night, they beat the Avs in requlation on Saturday to secure the 8th (and final) spot in the Western Conference, finishing the regular season with 55 points at 26-19-3. They now head to Chicago for a best of 5 series. Game 1 is tomorrow (Tues, Apr 30) - puck drops at 7pm.