Shohei Ohtani, the hard-throwing right-handed pitcher from Japan who also hits with power, is all the rage this offseason, with many speculating about which team will sign him and at what cost. As for the Twins, they should take a pass. I think Falvey & Co. already know better, but in case they need a... Continue Reading »

Of all the Twins during spring training, Byung Ho Park was by far the standout player on the team. He hit, he hit with power and drove in runs, resulting in a .353 batting average, six home runs (he hit another one Wednesday) and 13 RBI. Despite those numbers, most of which were accomplished in... Continue Reading »

Byung Ho Park will start the 2017 season as the Twins’ designated hitter, while Kennys Vargas, also competing for the same spot, likely heads to the minors with a one-way ticket to Triple-A Rochester. That’s the only logical outcome after the spring Park has had, compared to what Vargas did in March. To be fair,... Continue Reading »

Korean slugger Byung Ho Park continues to make the case that he should start the season with the Twins after he hit his team-leading fourth home run of the spring on Monday. Not only does he have four home runs, but he also is hitting .394 and leads the team in hits with 13. Park’s... Continue Reading »

Despite giving up three home runs in his last start, starting pitcher Phil Hughes still struck out four batters in five innings and came away with the no decision. And yet I singled out his tendency to give up the long ball in a recent post. But he improved on that previous effort by shutting... Continue Reading »

The Twins had their most convincing win of spring training on Saturday after they banged out 15 hits and scored nearly as many times to win 13-0 over one of the richest teams in baseball — the Boston Red Sox. Perhaps more encouraging was that the Twins won big with a lineup that likely will... Continue Reading »

Korean slugger Byung Ho Park appears determined to return to the Twins based on his play so far this spring. Park, who struggled last season and eventually was sent to the minors, has three extra-base hits, including two home runs. As for how well the rest of the Twins are playing, it was hard to... Continue Reading »

The Twins have lost their first two games of spring training, which would normally be completely unremarkable, except that the Twins coughed up the worst regular season in franchise history last season with 103 losses. In other words, I’m ready for change (aren’t we all?) and signs of improvement from a team that has a... Continue Reading »

Korean slugger Byung Ho Park, who was designated for assignment by the Twins on Friday, has won the support of some baseball writers who say he should not be overlooked. The folks at FanGraphs have crunched some numbers in two statistical categories: Barreled balls and the average exit velocity of fly balls and line drives,... Continue Reading »