Category: Oakland A’s

June 29, 2023

No surprise: Braves sweep Twins (and it was ugly)

The Atlanta Braves, one of the best teams in baseball with the power and pitching to prove it, had no trouble with the Twins this week, finally punctuating a three-game sweep with a four-hit shutout to win, 3-0. The Twins struck out 14 times as a team on Wednesday. The dismal series reportedly prompted a... Continue Reading »

February 5, 2023

What baseball moments would count as Pat Mahomes’ ‘Super Bowl?’

Pat Mahomes’ son Patrick is headed to his second Super Bowl as the quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs. But what about his old man? What were the Super Bowl-like moments for the former Twins pitcher who spent five of his 11 major league seasons in Minnesota? Well, there weren’t many, largely, it appears, because... Continue Reading »

July 12, 2022

July 1969: Apollo 11 blasts off, the Twins pour it on and localizing ‘moon’ stories with Molly Ivins

Who could forget the summer of 1969? Few of my parents’ generation probably could, perhaps most notably because of a history-making event that captured the attention of millions around the world as three men blasted off from Florida on July 16 and returned to earth eight days later. The Apollo 11 lunar capsule touched down... Continue Reading »

May 18, 2022

A’s snap losing streak to Twins, win 5-2

The Twins fell to 4-1 on the season against the Oakland A’s on Tuesday after the Athletics pulled away in the seventh inning for a 5-2 win. Dylan Bundy was back on the mound after he was sidelined by COVID-19, although he was pulled after only three innings and 54 pitches in favor of Josh... Continue Reading »

November 3, 2021

When Round 1 went to the old-school Twins

Nineteen years ago the Oakland A’s were the talk of baseball, a franchise that had seemingly found a magic elixir that allowed them to win and win often with the tiniest of payrolls. A year later author Michael Lewis explained it all in a best-seller called “Moneyball.” Baseball would never be the same. Surprisingly, Lewis... Continue Reading »

January 18, 2021

Remember 1973? That was a wacky season for the Twins, Part 2

As I have written before here, the 1973 Twins encountered a little bit of everything it seems. They swept the eventual World Series-winning Oakland A’s to start the season — and went 14-4 against the club the rest of the way — yet they had a losing record against the 91-loss Cleveland Indians, struggled as... Continue Reading »

October 31, 2020

There’s a new Sheriff in the AL Central, Twins fans

Hall of Fame manager, Tony La Russa, who began his major league managing career with the Chicago White Sox, is back where it all started after he was named the team’s new manager this week. And that means an extra level of competition for the Twins in the AL Central. The White Sox have a... Continue Reading »

September 28, 2020

Twins win Central, face Houston on Tuesday

Despite losing 5-3 to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, the Twins still won the AL Central title because the Chicago White Sox lost again to the Chicago Cubs, 10-8. The Twins will now host the Houston Astros on Tuesday. I guess the Twins could be criticized for not winning the division outright on Sunday, but... Continue Reading »

July 6, 2020

Remember 1973? That was a wacky season for the Twins

The Twins won Game 1 of the 1973 season and ended it at 81-81. In between, they shut out their opponents 18 times and were shut out 13 times as well. They also served up 11 walk-off losses, were 3-9 against the New York Yankees (of course) and yet they dominated the best team in... Continue Reading »

Hi, I’m Rolf Boone, Twins fan.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.