Happy New Year

Happy New Year Minnesota Twins Fans!!! Let’s hope 2008 will be a great Minnesota Twins season. Have a safe and fun New Year!!!

Is this Bert Blyleven’s year?

It seems every baseball fan holds their breath in anticipation this time of year…in anticipation for the Cooperstown nod that is. This Minnesota Twins fan joins Bert Blyleven in the old familiar wait and see mode. It is Bert’s 11th year on the Hall of Fame ballot and as MLB.com puts it: There are many people who have wondered why Blyleven has yet to receive enshrinement in Cooperstown. In a career that spanned from 1970-92 with the Twins, Rangers, Pirates, Indians and Angels, he's in the top end of almost every all-time pitching category. That includes 287 wins, which is 25th on the all-time list. Blyleven is fifth in career strikeouts with 3,701. He is ninth in games started with 685. His 60 shutouts are also ninth all-time. I guess we will just wait and see...

Carlos Silva to Mariners

There will be plenty of baseball players changing uniforms in the New Year and we can now add Carlos Silva to that list. Silva signed a four-year contract with the Seattle Mariners that will average $12 million a season. $48 million! Wow. Silva was 13-14 last season, but still managed to draw a high price tag from Seattle. The Twins reportedly offered him $18 million over three season or about $6 million a year – half of what Seattle paid. Half! I guess the market for free agent pitchers is crazy tight right now – wish I knew how to throw a good sinker!

The Twins will have to rely on the skills of Scott Baker, Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano (finally back!) and Kevin Slowey to get them through next season. Is it spring yet? I am soooo tired of shoveling snow!

Merry Christmas Twins Fans

Merry Christmas Minnesota Twins Fans! I think I am getting a new blue Twins hoodie for Christmas…I also really hope Santa leaves me some baby blue Twins fleece mittens to match! Merry Christmas every one! God Bless!

Twins Infield is bulking up

Last Thursday, I made a shout out to Twins fans regarding the empty spot at third base, well looks like Ron Gardenhire and friends have found a warm body to fill the hole. The Twins signed free-agent third baseman Mike Lamb to a $6.5 million two-year contract. Lamb, 32, is a six-year veteran who played the past four years for the Houston Astros. Welcome to Minnesota, Lambo, welcome to Minnesota!

The Twins infield is looking like this:
1st base: Justin Morneau
2nd base: Brendan Harris, acquired last month from Tampa Bay
Shortstop: Adam Everett, acquired from Astros as well
3rd base: Mike Lamb, from Houston Astros

I hope all those southern boys are ready to play major league baseball in the north!

Twins Roster is Ever Changing 12/18

I guess it’s no secret that the MLB off-season is full of roster moves, but I have to admit I am sad to see some of my favorite Twins players departing. First it was Jason Bartlett (remember the Free Bartlett campaign?) and now we are saying good-bye to Jason Tyner and who knows what is going to happen to the Twins pitching roster? Well, I guess I will just sit back and see.

Rondell White makes the naughty list

I haven’t talked about George Mitchell's report on performance enhancing drugs in major league baseball, but it seems like everyone else is. Every baseball blog in America is fired up about this report and what it says about their favorite team.

For the Twins, Rondell White made the steroid use list and his $3,500 cancelled check was even published in the report. White is scheduled to retire this winter so it’s not that big of a deal and frankly he didn’t have a record breaking season or anything so he probably got ripped off anyway. Four other former Minnesota Twins players, including all-star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, were linked to steroid use in the report. Knobbers allegedly bought steroids in 2001 while with the New York Yankees…I always knew he was a bad apple. I can say one thing for certain about this report, it is keeping the MLB front page news during the off-season – do you suppose they believe in the any press is good press philosophy?

Twins need a third baseman

There is a third base hole that the Minnesota Twins need to fill. The Joe Mauer move to third rumor has died out a bit and when I look around the league I see that Detroit Tiger Brandon Inge is on the market. Inge hits double digit homers every year and 70 plus RBI’s. He would be a great veteran in our young Twins dugout. Unfortunately, trades within a division are very rare, so I am not sure I see Inge in a Minnesota Twins uniform any time soon…any thoughts Twins fans?

Santana Still a Twin

The winter baseball meetings in Nashville are over and despite the million trade rumors and scenarios, Johan Santana is still a Minnesota Twin. I asked my magic eight ball the other day if Santana would be with the Twins in 2008 and the answer was “outlook not so good.” I figured the Magic Eight Ball was just as good at predicting where he would go as anyone else (no offense to all of the baseball aficionados that scour the stats and rumor mills to make “educated” predictions). I figure the Johan Santana drama will last at least until the middle of January.

Twins Spring Training Schedule 12/10

With all this snow piling up it is hard to think about baseball and Minnesota Twins Spring Training, but let’s face it February 17th, 2008 isn’t that far away. The Twins pitchers and catchers report first and then the full Twins team reports on the 22nd. My guess is I will still be shoveling mounds of snow from my driveway on February 22nd, 2008, but I will be wishing I was in Fort Myers, Florida with the boys in blue.

The Twins will face the New York Yankees at “home” in Florida and the Boston Red Sox so there should be bunch of baseball fans at those games. Click here for the complete Twins Spring Training Schedule. One of these years, I am going to get my taxes done early and head down there to see Spring Training. I am probably the only Twins blogger in the nation that hasn’t been there...oh how I wish for the palm trees and the warm Florida sun...

Twin Tickets make great Gifts part two

So I told my mom I bought my dad some Minnesota Twins baseball Tickets for Christmas and she thought it would be fun if just us girls went to a Twins game this year too. So my sister and my mom and I looked at the entire Twins schedule for hours...the three of us deciding on a game took an act of Congress! We finally decided on Sunday May 4th, Twins vs. Detroit Tigers. I told my sister that real baseball fans wait until they know who is pitching before deciding which game to attend, but then again we aren’t going to see the pitchers, we are going to see the first baseman (Justin Morneau) and my sister has the hots for the catcher (Joe Mauer) or should I say third baseman….ha ha.

Twin Tickets make great Gifts

I think the Twins and really the MLB announce the 2008 baseball schedule so early so they can get as many sales as possible, well it worked on me. I decided I would buy my dad some Twins Tickets for Christmas. I was looking at the Twins Schedule and I see the Twins are in Milwaukee over Fathers Day weekend, so that’s out – weren’t they at Miller Park last year for Fathers Day too? So I opted for the Twins vs. Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday June 22. Tickets between the bases were affordable and I know my dad will enjoy the game.

Santana

Where will Johan go??? Red Sox, Yankees . . . time will tell. Any comments Twins fans???