In “Facing Nolan,” a relatively new documentary about the Hall of Fame pitcher, Ryan, wild but effective in the early days of his career with the New York Mets, eventually was traded to the California Angels. When Ryan first learned that he was going to California, he thought he was on his way to the... Continue Reading »

Remember the back-to-back walk-off wins, Twins fans? The good vibrations created by those two late-inning victories quickly ebbed away on Sunday after the Twins mustered only four hits in a 3-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Despite the loss, the Twins still won the series, although it’s pretty clear that when Byron Buxton gets a... Continue Reading »

The Twins have outscored the Cleveland Guardians 19-4 over the first three games of the five-game series between the two clubs. The Twins won 11-1 Monday and split a doubleheader on Tuesday, losing 3-2 and then winning again 6-0. In the second game, the Twins scored six runs on 13 hits, including three home runs... Continue Reading »

Byron Buxton singled, doubled and tripled and starter Joe Ryan did just enough to rise above the Colorado Rockies on Sunday for a 6-3 win. With the win, combined with a Cleveland loss, the Twins now have a two-game cushion in the AL Central ahead of their upcoming five-game series with the Guardians. It all... Continue Reading »

Sixty-nine years ago Red Smith, the Dean of all American sportswriters, went to his typewriter (or so I presume) and tapped out the most famous sports lede of all time after the New York Giants’ Bobby Thomson hit a ball into the left field stands at the Polo Grounds off the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Ralph Branca.... Continue Reading »

The Twins fell to 7-14 on Monday after another all-too familiar loss. So far this season that has meant not enough hits, not enough runs, mental mistakes and just plain bad luck. Once the Twins play extra innings, it’s like entering Death Valley for some reason, and once closer Alex Colome is handed the ball…... Continue Reading »

A recent check of social media showed that all was not well in Twins Territory. Twins fans, at least on Twitter, appeared to be coming unglued due to the lack of deal-making so far this offseason. As top free agents continued to come off the board and go elsewhere, such as reliever Kirby Yates and... Continue Reading »

Like most of Twins Territory, I’m feeling underwhelmed after the Twins added starting pitchers Homer Bailey and Rich Hill. Bailey, in particular, doesn’t move the needle very much, and is already being compared to former Twins pitcher Martin Perez. Perez showed up last season with some lackluster numbers as well, but after working with innovative... Continue Reading »

If you’re still trying to figure out who Rocco Baldelli is — former player, Twins manager — here’s a new group of names to ponder after the Twins on Friday rounded out the coaching staff with new hires for pitching, bullpen, first base and third base. They will join existing coaches Derek Shelton (bench coach),... Continue Reading »