Magicael Michael

Michael Cuddyer is known for his magic as seen in this Twins Territory commercial...

He is also known for his defense...

Throw it all in a bowl and what do you get?

Magicael Michael...

Nick Punto

Yes, I'm actually posting about Nick Punto and not about Carlos Gomez' cycle yesterday.

This is going to be a short post, just a few words and numbers as they speak for themselves.

Twins record with Nick Punto playing: 14-6
Twins record with Nick Punto substituting: 5-1
Twins record with Nick Punto starting: 9-5
Twins record without Nick Punto playing: 3-9

Gomez does it again...

Another amazing Carlos Gomez catch...happened about 10-15 minutes ago. People will say, "Torii Hunter could make the catch too." But they're wrong. Torii made some good diving catches but the few that Gomez has made this year, Torii wouldn't have even gotten to them to make the catch. Gomez' couple diving grabs have been much, much fancier than Torii's diving grabs.

Casey Blake

Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, etc. etc., Casey Blake? Every year, with the last pick of my fantasy baseball drafts, I spend it on Casey Blake. Why, you ask? Well, it seems that he kills the Minnesota Twins year after year. He did it last night and he'll do it again the next few nights. You'll see what "he did" (about to use overused cliché) AFTER THE JUMP!

I took a look at Baseball-Reference to see some of Blake's stats against the Twins and found a few gems. We have what his stats is and then where it ranks compared to other teams he has faced. It isn't quite as good as I thought, but he's good for some pretty good games against the Twins. It seems he is probably at his best against the Tigers, however.

Casey Blake against the Twins:
88 games (T-2)
355 AB (1)
99 hits (1)
.279 (~2)
22 2b (2)
2 3B (T-1)
14 HR (2)
24 BB (3)

Twins Game Reactions:

Inning One: WOO for having Blackburn in a fantasy league!
Inning Two: Harris gets things done! Yeah for Blackburn and fantasy baseball (except WHIP)!
Inning Three: Loving the 0 ERs for Blackburn!
Inning Four: Oh, c'mon...hit the ball...
Inning Five: Man can Gomez run...but it means nothing...again. Blackburns on a rooooll!!
Inning Six: Some hittttting for the Twins...YEAH!! Wait...Blackburn + 6th inning = yucky
Inning Seven: Twins finally string hits together (5) but Span nearly pulls a Canseco.
Inning Eight: No runs? Ok, well...time for some CBS Monday night comedies...

35 minutes later...

Wait, the Twins lost? After being up 9-5, the Twins bullpen (Guerrier - which I guess isn't pronounced like you pronounce it & Neshek) blow it. I figured the game was long over and I wouldn't have a problem watching the three best comedies on television (How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory).

Carlos Gomez

I realize that these are pretty poor quality, but I felt my blog needed a little extra pazazz

Go-Go Gadget Catch


Go-Go Gadget Double

Go-Go Gadget Double/Go-Go Gadget Bunt/Go-Go Gadget Stolen Base/Go-Go Gadget Run

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Blast from the Past

Love seeing the old turf in the video and knowing that it is in some dump or someone's basement somewhere. I also had forgotten how awesome those white Twins jersey's were and hope that we get a few retro-games again this year.

Cristian Guzman seems to have lost a step since the Minnesota Twins made this little commercial. However, after getting the first hit at the new Washington Nationals park, Guzman seems to be poised for a little come back. He is on pace to get 30 doubles, 30 triples and 30 homeruns (insert laugh here). I've always been a fan of Guzman and think that he can be a huge asset to the Nationals. However, he is also a liability in the field and will make more than his fair share of errors.

With Matt Tolbert poised to take over the starting shortstop position, he stands to be the first to make an impact from the shortstop position since Guzman's stint. After short roles from Juan Castro, Adam Everett, Luis Rodriguez and Jason Bartlett, if Tolbert can pull this off we may be able to stop this revolving door of shortstops.

Twins Centerfielders: A History

Let me start my Blog with a post on Twins centerfielders.

Back, many years ago, the Minnesota Twins had a player starting in centerfield by the name of Kirby Puckett. You may remember his smile, his hustle, his determination, his non-athletic look or maybe you remember his heroics in the 1991 World Series. Whatever you remember about Kirby Puckett, he was the Minnesota Twins. Towards the end of what would be his career, he named his successor - Torii Hunter.

Torii Hunter soon took over after some centerfield mishaps (remember Rich Becker?, Otis Nixon?) He would soon become the smiling, hustling, determined centerfield that we remember in Kirby Puckett. He was generous off the field and made plays on the field. No matter what your feelings are about Torii Hunter - he took over for a player that was much loved not just in Minnesota - but all across the country.

Hunter soon grabbed national attention with his acrobatic catches. His highway robbery of Barry Bonds in the All-Star game is still shown year after year. He had his years in which he would play extremely well and then he would have years in which he would be injured or struggle. Finally, after the 2007 season, Hunter would find himself in a new position - Free Agency.

Out in public, the Twins were making their move to retain Hunter. In public, Hunter was putting himself in position to stay with the Twins. But, it didn't happen that way. During the offseason, Hunter signed a (we'll just say) large contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Maybe he wasn't the team player that we thought he was, or maybe the Twins just have changed and didn't offer him Kirby Puckett-like Free Agency money.

During the same offseason, the Twins lost another stable on their team: Johan Santana. With free agency looming for Santana, the Twins needed to make a move. It was to sign him to a contract, lose him to free agency or to trade him. For the Twins, only the latter made sense. It was to spend a record amount on a pitcher or to find young guys to "fill holes." They traded him. In this trade, they received several young pitchers and a guy named Carlos Gomez, which is where we are today.

I'm going to preempt these next two paragraphs with a little caveat...it is too early to make a final decision on the Hunter/Santana/Gomez decisions. However...

Gomez has looked very good this year. Sure, he is very liberal in his swings. Sure, he has been picked off a few times. Sure, he hasn't made the acrobatic catches (editor's note: he just made a nice diving grab in centerfield to rob the Chicago White Sox of a hit). But he is young and will make poor decisions here and there.

He has hit well and has made things happen on the bases. He may never fill the shoes of Torii Hunter, but Torii never filled Kirby Puckett's shoes. Nobody will ever give Twins fans the excitement that Puckett gave them in the 1991 World Series. Nobody will ever give Twins fans the jaw-dropping catches of Torii Hunter. But Carlos Gomez will give Twins fans enjoyment and excitement for years and years.