Nov 14th 2008 10:00AM by Jacob Wheatley-Schaller (author feed)

2008 was a very successful year for the Twins. Afterthoughts back in March, when everybody thought the Tigers and Indians would battle for the division crown, Minnesota finished the regular season in a tie with Chicago atop the Central, before losing to the White Sox in a one-game playoff. After a rocky April, it eventually saw the successful return of Francisco Liriano; other highlights included another MVP-caliber year from Joe Mauer, and the emergence of some of their young arms, most notably Kevin Slowey.

But it’s hard not to look back at July and wonder what else the Twins could have accomplished. In that month, Livan Hernandez made five starts, allowing 21 runs in 29 1/3 innings for a 6.44 ERA. Meanwhile, Francisco Liriano was inexplicably still in Triple-A, where he was absolutely dominating, striking out almost a third of the batters he faced. If the Twins — who have a history of being reluctant to promote guys, and had already pushed Liriano too soon in April — had recalled him just a week sooner, they probably wouldn’t have needed the playoff against Chicago, instead winning the division outright and advancing to face the Rays in the ALDS.Continue Reading

Nov 13th 2008 4:39PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Whether the Twins are losing star players due to monetary concerns (Torii Hunter, Johan Santana) or getting mugged in ill-advised trades (giving up 2008 ALCS MVP Matt Garza for Delmon Young), they somehow always remain competitive in the division. This year was yet another example of stellar managerial work from Ron Gardenhire, and he would have garnered serious consideration for Manager of the Year in the AL had Joe Maddon not pulled off the miracle with his Tampa squad.

For these and many other reasons, I’m sure, Gardenhire was rewarded with a two year contract extension today. “Ron and his staff have done an outstanding job over the last seven years, and none was better than the 2008 season,” said Twins general manager Bill Smith said in a statement. “We had a lot of new players and a lot of young players, and our major league staff did a marvelous job with a changing cast of players. Continuity has been a great strength of the Twins organization for two decades. The current staff has played an important role in the design and development of the Target Field facilities, and these agreements will carry the staff into the new ballpark in 2010.” I guess my only question is: Why not longer? Only two more years, with all this young talent? Lock him in and give him the job security he needs to mold these kids into a title contender. He’s only 51.

Oct 16th 2008 2:26PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
The Minnesota Twins season didn’t end quite they way they were hoping it would — losing to the Rays in the ALDS would have been much more preferable — but all in all the 2008 season was a huge success for the Twins. It was another season in which nobody expected too much from the team, especially given what they lost in the offseason, and it ended up being another season in which the team told us what we could do with our expectations.

Through all the change that the Twins have gone through in recent years, the one constant has been manager Ron Gardenhire. It’s no coincidence that his teams are always competitive, and the Twins know this, which is why they’re probably going to be giving him a contract extension any day now.The Twins in the next few days are expected to wrap up negotiations with manager Ron Gardenhire on a contract extension and sign the coaching staff for at least one more year, according to a person with knowledge of the talks.

Gardenhire, whose current contract expires following the 2009 season, arrived in Fort Myers, Fla., on Wednesday as the club prepares for its annual organizational meetings that start later this week. He usually attends the meetings to offer input and to work with prospects who are participating in the fall instructional league, which runs until Saturday.The only hold up on the deal being made is that Gardenhire won’t even talk about his own contract until he makes sure the rest of his coaching staff is taken care of as well, which is a testament as to what kind of person he is. I think he’s the best manager in baseball, and keep in mind that I hate the Minnesota Twins. Extending Gardy this winter would be the best move the Twins make, no matter what they do in the free agent market.

Oct 6th 2008 12:52PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
The Minnesota Twins may have come up a run short of winning the AL Central this year, but it was still a pretty successful season for the team. After all, nobody expected them to be competitive this season after losing both Torii Hunter and Johan Santana, yet there they were challenging for another division title.

Another reason that the Twins were a surprise this year is that they played the majority of the season without right fielder Michael Cuddyer, and though Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau get most of the attention in the Twins lineup, Cuddyer has always been a dangerous presence. His absence turned out to be a bit of a blessing though as it allowed Denard Span to get playing time, and Span took advantage of it to emerge as the team’s lead-off hitter of the future. Which is why it’s entirely possible that Delmon Young will be traded this winter after only one season in Minnesota.The Twins won’t talk about it, but it’s expected that Delmon Young, the left fielder they obtained from Tampa Bay before this past season, will be made available on the trade market.Seeing as how Cuddyer signed a three-year $23 million extension before the season, it’s unlikely the Twins will want to move him, so Young seems to be the most logical choice, Delmon didn’t really produce as much as the Twins would have liked when they sent Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza to the Rays for him, yet he still has enough value to bring back a third baseman or shortstop for next season.

Oct 1st 2008 12:00PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
While there were plenty of big plays to go around in last night’s AL Central playoff game, the one most people want to talk about today is the play at the plate in the 5th inning. After Michael Cuddyer doubled to start the inning — it was Minnesota’s first hit of the evening — he moved to third on a fly ball to centerfield.

Apparently this was enough to convince Cuddyer that he could beat Ken Griffey Jr, so a few pitches later on a pop up to shallow center, Cuddyer decided to test Griff again. Griffey’s throw home beat Cuddyer, and despite Michael’s best efforts to take A.J. Pierzynski out, the lovable Sox catcher held on to the ball and Cuddyer was out. Considering the final score was 1-0, it turned out to be a pivotal play, but not one that Cuddyer regrets.”Obviously once (Griffey) caught that ball it was a play we had to make,” Cuddyer said. “We had to take a chance right there. We weren’t getting much done offensively, we were at the bottom of the order. We had to take a shot. … Unfortunately A.J. made a hell of a play. I don’t know how he held onto the ball. I thought I knocked his arm off, not just the ball, but he made a great play.” I understood the Twins logic in sending Cuddyer then, but I still don’t agree with the decision. Griffey’s arm may not be what it once was, but most MLB outfielders will throw you out from that depth, so I thought it was a mistake. Not one I minded of course.

Now, about A.J. showing Cuddyer the ball afterwards…Continue Reading

Sep 30th 2008 12:33PM by Tom Fornelli (author feed)
The Minnesota Twins are preparing to play the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field tonight, and it’s a pretty big game for both teams. The winner takes the AL Central crown and moves on to Tampa to face the Rays in the playoffs, and the loser goes home to an entire list of chores the wife wants him to do around the house.

Of course, if that player has over $100 million in his bank account, he can just hire somebody to do all those chores for him. Though it should be pointed out that nobody on either the Twins or White Sox have a $100 million contract, at least, not yet. There are rumors coming out of Minnesota that Joe Mauer could have one soon.Twins catcher Joe Mauer’s $33 million, four-year contract provides no bonus for winning a batting title. It will be interesting whether the Twins try to lock up Mauer this winter with a five-year extension, which would be expected to exceed $100 million. Now I have no idea whether Charley Walters is just saying he thinks it could happen, or if he’s heard from sources that it is going to happen, but either way that’s a lot of money. Still, you’d have to think Mauer is worth it. Justin Morneau is getting all the MVP talk for the Twins, but I’m not so sure Mauer isn’t the Twins MVP. He’s only just won his second batting title this season, plays good defense, and has handled a young pitching staff all year.

He is the face of the franchise now, so it would only make sense that he was the first Twin to cash in on the expected revenue boost Target Field will provide in 2010.

Sep 30th 2008 7:00PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)

Apparently 162 games weren’t enough for the Twins and White Sox, they’re going to play one more tonight with the AL Central and a date with the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS on the line. The Twins took three from the White Sox last week, but that was in Minnesota. Tonight, the White Sox ride their stomping of the Tigers in yesterday’s make-up game into a home game tonight at US Cellular as they try and clinch the division they’ve lead for most of this year.

John Danks and Nick Blackburn are taking the mound at 7:30 tonight and I’ll be liveblogging and chatting below with a host of my FanHouse compadres. Follow along after the jump to help us celebrate an early start to the baseball postseason.Continue Reading

Sep 28th 2008 10:00AM by Mullet (author feed)

Little did these furry creatures know back when this friendly picture was taken that they would be fighting to the death just two and a half short months later on the last day of the season … albeit in different cities. But with the White Sox and Twins both refusing to the chokeslam down on their respective weekend opponents (the Indians and the Royals), this divisional fight to the death is looking like what you would expect a fight between furry mascots to look like: sloppy, clumsy, and downright hilarious.

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Sep 27th 2008 10:00AM by Mullet (author feed)

They couldn’t possibly do this again, could they?

Of course they could. You know they could. And your New York Mets know gosh darn well they could choke away another season … especially after another lifeless late season loss to the Florida Marlins (who are now basing the success of their season on knocking the Mets out of the playoffs … mature) and a Brewers victory which puts the Mets one game behind the wild card lead, and one game closer to another disastrous ending. So in response, the Mets are bringing back Johan Santana on three days rest to try to extend the season to Sunday. Of course, if they get to Sunday still alive, who will pitch then? Jon Niese? Brandon Knight? Frank Viola? Jesus?

That’s silly. Everyone knows that Jesus would be in the bullpen because the Mets pen is so horrible. (And, you know … Jesus saves.)

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Sep 27th 2008 4:50PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)

Someone has to win the AL Central. Next Thursday either the Twins or White Sox will take the field at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay with a shot at winning the World Series. But after a bullpen meltdown in Chicago and terrible Francisco Liriano start in Minneapolis, it doesn’t seem like either team wants it very much.

Roughly a week ago, I wrote about how the Central race was the only one with any real drama, about how the NL wild-card race had lost its appeal because the Mets and Brewers seemed so fragile. Now, the opposite seems true. While the Mets and Brewers run their aces out on three days of rest and scrape and claw for every run, the Twins and White Sox seem determined to back into the playoff picture.

Of course anything can happen once a team gets into the postseason, but the Rays would be an exceptionally tough opponent even if the Twins or White Sox were playing well right now. With both teams playing poorly, it doesn’t seem like the winner of the division will matter too much. Either way, it could be a quick first-round exit.Continue Reading