From 2011 through 2014, the Twins never won more than 70 games, a streak that finally had dire consequences for longtime manager Ron Gardenhire and longtime general manager Terry Ryan, both of whom were let go. The Twins replaced Ryan with the tandem of Derek Falvey and Thad Levine and then the organization had to... Continue Reading »

After the San Diego Padres pulled off a textbook suicide squeeze play in the top of the 10th inning Wednesday night, it appeared the Twins were dead and buried for sure going into the home half of the inning, now losing 3-2. Not only were they down a run, they also had to contend with... Continue Reading »

The Twins have a grand total of six hits over their past two games and they have two losses to show for it. They dropped the finale to the Houston Astros on Sunday and were outscored by a run on Monday, losing 4-3 to the Chicago White Sox. The Twins scored three runs, although that... Continue Reading »

Twins starter Pablo Lopez made a triumphant return to Miami on Wednesday, allowing just a run over seven innings with eight strikeouts. Trevor Larnach hit an RBI single to tie the contest at 1-1 late in the game, and then Lopez was gone and the ball was in the hands of the bullpen. It did... Continue Reading »

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 »