Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse recently produced an interesting ditty, ranking all 62 seasons of Twins baseball from first to worst. No surprise: No. 1 was the Twins’ 1991 World Series victory. But I was puzzled at his choice for worst season of all time, thinking it might be 2016 or 1982, two seasons in... Continue Reading »

The Houston Astros swept a three-game series from the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, and if somebody told me that not a single Astros player broke out in a sweat during that series, or that manager Dusty Baker napped for 72 carefree hours, I’d believe them because they appeared to win with ease, like it was... Continue Reading »

Utility man Cesar Tovar, former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and Dan Gladden, a key fixture on the Twins’ two World Series winning teams, have been elected to the club’s Hall of Fame. Cesar Tovar avoids a Thurman Munson tag while getting the slide sign from Tony Oliva. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/kBYQXginyI — Jeff (@MNTwinsZealot) February 2, 2022... Continue Reading »

Pitcher Francisco Liriano, who spent seven of his 14 seasons with the Twins and who at one time appeared to be the second coming of ace Johan Santana, announced his retirement this month. He exits the game at 38 with a career mark of 112-114 with a 4.15 ERA. In one of the best trades... Continue Reading »

I recently re-watched the Hollywood adaptation of “Moneyball,” a good movie that captures one of the great seismic shifts in baseball as Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane embraces the work of longtime statistician Bill James to newly evaluate and find overlooked and inexpensive talent in a game that favors wealthier teams. All went according... Continue Reading »

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 »

This time the Twins scored first and piled on late to carve up the Cubs and clinch a playoff berth with an 8-1 victory on Saturday. The power show had been missing of late until Eddie Rosario hit a first-inning home run. The unrepentant Josh Donaldson hit one out as well, but it was Miguel... Continue Reading »

When it rains it pours, Twins fans. After the Twins lost both games of a doubleheader on Saturday, they returned to the field on Sunday and lost again, swept by the not-so-terrible Detroit Tigers for the first time since 2016. And once again the culprit was the offense, mustering only two runs on five hits:... Continue Reading »

I say we call him, “The Dobber.” Randy Dobnak, he of the handlebar mustache who signed as a free agent with the Twins in 2017, got the ball on Friday and gave the Twins five-plus innings of three-hit baseball. The Twins scored first, then held on to win 4-3 over the Kansas City Royals. The... Continue Reading »