|
May 24, 2013
THT Essentials:
![]()
Rich Barbieri
John Barten Kyle Boddy Brian Borawski James Gentile Matt Hunter Frank Jackson Chris Jaffe Brad Johnson Jason Linden Dan Lependorf Bruce Markusen Jeff Moore Greg Simons Scott Spratt Dave Studeman Shane Tourtellotte Steve Treder And here's the full roster. Now availableYou can now purchase the Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2013, with 300 pages of great content. It's also available on Amazon and Kindle. Read more about it here.
Or you can search by:
THT E-bookThird Base: The Crossroads is THT's e-book, available for $3.99 from the Kindle store. The good news is that anyone can read a Kindle book, even on a PC. So enjoy the best from THT in a new format.Get your very own THT merchandise from our CafePress store. We've got baseball caps, t-shirts, coffee mugs and even wall clocks with the classy THT logo prominently displayed. Also, check out the THT Bookstore. Please support your favorite baseball site by purchasing something today. ![]() All content on this site (including text, graphs, and any other original works), unless otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons License. |
Twins Articles
Following are the one hundred most recent articles for the category
Twins
.
05/24/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/24/2013: Rick Anderson and pitching to contactby Scott Strandberg05/24/2013: 10th anniversary: Curt Schilling vs QuesTec cameraby Chris Jaffe05/24/2013: Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 8, Vol. IIIby Karl de Vries05/23/2013: It is inexcusable to release Jon Rauchby Pat Andriola05/23/2013: The daily grind: 5-23-13by Brad Johnson05/23/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/23/2013: Strength of schedule: Adjusting pitcher valuesby Moe Koltun05/23/2013: Visualization: Handedness through historyby Dan Lependorf05/23/2013: The Roto Grotto: targeted z-scoresby Scott Spratt05/23/2013: Defense and RBI: Opportunity, uncertainty, and the problem with regressionby Matt Hunter05/22/2013: The daily grind: 5-22-13by Brad Johnson05/22/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/22/2013: Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 8, Vol. IIby Jack Weiland05/22/2013: The hardest thingby Derek Ambrosino05/22/2013: 20th anniversary: Blue Jays mascot ejectedby Chris Jaffe05/22/2013: Currently historic: A plethora of new stuffby Jason Linden05/22/2013: BOB: Owners’ meeting updateby Brian Borawski05/21/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/21/2013: The daily grind: 5-21-13by Brad Johnson05/21/2013: 50th anniversary: Jim Maloney: a star is bornby Chris Jaffe05/21/2013: Diamonds in the rough: starting pitchersby Noah Woodward05/21/2013: Profar could be on a Cingrani-esque scheduleby Jeff Moore05/21/2013: Is 5/125 the new 5/55?by Greg Simons05/21/2013: The Verdict: keep your trade secrets to yourselfby Michael Stein05/21/2013: THT Awardsby John Barten05/20/2013: Closer watchby Karl de Vries05/20/2013: The daily grind: 5-20-13by Brad Johnson05/20/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/20/2013: The Hot Seatby Scott Strandberg05/20/2013: AL Central: state of the divisionby Chris Jaffe05/20/2013: Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 8, Vol. 1by Karl de Vries05/20/2013: Louisville slugging in 2013by Frank Jackson05/20/2013: 5,000 days since Eric Milton’s no-hitterby Chris Jaffe05/17/2013: The daily grind: 5-17-13by Brad Johnson05/17/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/17/2013: Gems without whiffsby James Gentile05/17/2013: 40th anniversary: Bobby Valentine breaks his legby Chris Jaffe05/17/2013: Strength of schedule: Adjusting hitter valuesby Moe Koltun05/17/2013: Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 7, Vol. IIIby Jack Weiland05/17/2013: Card Corner: 1973 Topps: Mike Andrewsby Bruce Markusen05/16/2013: Dear Jonathan Sanchez: Do you mind if we ‘Oliver Perez’ you?by Pat Andriola05/16/2013: The daily grind: 5-16-13by Brad Johnson05/16/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/16/2013: How Scott Kazmir got his groove backby Kyle Boddy05/16/2013: Three more for eternityby Don Malcolm05/16/2013: Not exactly definitiveby Don Malcolm05/16/2013: The all-decade team: the ‘40sby Richard Barbieri05/16/2013: Of Uggs and Ugglaby Derek Ambrosino05/15/2013: The daily grind: 5-15-13by Brad Johnson05/15/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/15/2013: Running hot and coldby Shane Tourtellotte05/15/2013: The Phillies should retool but not rebootby Brad Johnson05/15/2013: Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 7, Vol. IIby Karl de Vries05/15/2013: Currently historic: 300 strikeouts?by Jason Linden05/15/2013: Mike Moustakas’ holeby Noah Woodward05/15/2013: BOB: How bad is the Marlins’ attendance?by Brian Borawski05/14/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/14/2013: The daily grind: 5-14-13by Brad Johnson05/14/2013: How much do hot/cold starts matter?by Greg Simons05/14/2013: 25th anniversary: The Jose Oquendo Gameby Chris Jaffe05/14/2013: Jonathan Schoop and the value of role playersby Jeff Moore05/14/2013: THT Awardsby John Barten05/13/2013: The daily grind: 5-13-13by Brad Johnson05/13/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/13/2013: 30th anniversary: Reggie’s 2,000th Kby Chris Jaffe05/13/2013: NL Central division update: May editionby Jason Linden05/13/2013: Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 7, Vol. Iby Jack Weiland05/13/2013: Last remaining teammatesby Chris Jaffe05/13/2013: The Hot Seatby Scott Strandberg05/12/2013: The curious case of Vernon Wellsby Matt Filippi05/12/2013: 60th anniversary: Whitey Ford’s near no-hitterby Chris Jaffe05/10/2013: The daily grind: 5-10-13by Brad Johnson05/10/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/10/2013: 15,000 days since facial hair returns to baseballby Chris Jaffe05/10/2013: Cooperstown Confidential: What really happened with Fritz Ostermueller and Jackie Robinsonby Bruce Markusen05/10/2013: Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 6, Vol. IIIby Karl de Vries05/10/2013: Still life, after allby Azure Texan05/09/2013: Oh Dustyby Pat Andriola05/09/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/09/2013: 40th anniversary: back-to-back first homersby Chris Jaffe05/09/2013: The Roto Grotto: rates versus opportunitiesby Scott Spratt05/09/2013: Swing rates: the John Farrell effectby Moe Koltun05/09/2013: Winning, TWTW, and the purpose of baseballby Matt Hunter05/08/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/08/2013: The daily grind: 5-8-13by Brad Johnson05/08/2013: Fantasy Waiver Wire: Week 6, Vol. IIby Jack Weiland05/08/2013: What nobody is talking aboutby Greg Simons05/08/2013: Currently historic: A truly rare achievementby Jason Linden05/08/2013: Craig Anderson’s greatest dayby Frank Jackson05/08/2013: 40th anniversary: Stargell hits one out of Dodger Stadiumby Chris Jaffe05/08/2013: BOB: Stadium updatesby Brian Borawski05/07/2013: And That Happenedby Craig Calcaterra05/07/2013: The daily grind: 5-7-13by Brad Johnson05/07/2013: Josh Donaldson and the myth of the ‘New Moneyball’by Pat Andriola05/07/2013: Fun with minor league leader boardsby Jeff Moore05/07/2013: 90th anniversary: Casey Stengel goes bonkersby Chris Jaffe05/07/2013: THT Awardsby John Barten05/07/2013: A.J. Ellis: hardly swinging, hardly missingby Noah Woodward05/07/2013: Baseball Press: a fantasy secret weaponby Jack Weiland<< Click here to return to the category list. |
![]() August 22, 2012Minnesota verging on unwanted franchise historyHere’s an odd franchise milestone to note: The Minnesota Twins are on the verge of some history for themselves, and not the kind of history that they want to make.With the Twins' loss yesterday in Oakland, the franchise’s all-time cumulative since moving to Minnesota now stands exactly one game over .500: 4,123-4,122. So if the Twins lose tonight, their all-time Minnesota record will no longer be over .500. Of course, this doesn’t cover the franchise’s entire existence. They were the Washington Senators for 60 years, but from Opening Day 1961 onward have been the Twins. They’ve typically been over .500. They had a rough first year in Minnesota but in their second season, behind young stars like Harmon Killebrew, had a good season. They reached their all-time franchise zenith with a win on Aug. 12, 1977 that put them 167 games over .500 (1,429-1,262). Then the team became bad, and sunk under .500 in 1997. The Twins' all-time Minnesota record hit .500 a bunch of times that season, but a 12-inning loss on July 26 dropped them to 2,897-2,898, and they stayed .500 for several years. They bottomed out on the last day of the 2000 season 98 games under .500 (3,121-3,219), and then returned to prominence in 2001. It took a while to dig out of a 98-game hole, but they did it with a win on Aug. 15, 2006 that gave them an all-time Minnesota Twins record of 3,634-3,633. They’ve been over .500 for the six years ever since. Now, they’re on the verge of falling back under water. Maybe it won’t happen this week. Maybe the Twins will have a bit of a winning record. It could happen. But it looks wildly unlikely that they’ll avoid their all-time cumulative Minnesota record falling under .500 this year. They’re just not a very good team. Posted by: Chris Jaffe June 12, 2012Remembering Dave BoswellDave Boswell was an important part of the first division-winning team in the history of the Twins, but then faded into forgetfulness. A onetime workhorse for the Twins, Boswell died on Monday at the age of 67. His name is likely unknown to many younger fans, but he made news on at least two fronts during his 1960s hey day.As a young follower of the game, I had my own trouble keeping Boswell’s name straight. I used to confuse him with Ken Boswell, but they were completely different players. Ken was a second baseman/third baseman who hit line drives for the Mets and Astros, while Dave emerged as an important part of the Twins’ rotation in 1966. At the age of 21, the electric right-hander put up a 3.14 ERA and led the American League in winning percentage. ![]() Boswell’s 1969 season became even more impressive considering that he missed several starts because of injuries suffered in a fight. That August, Boswell tangled with his manager, Billy Martin, in an alley behind a Detroit bar. (Yes, Billy Martin was actually in a bar. Imagine that.) The incident’s roots might have been planted earlier in the day at Tiger Stadium, when Boswell refused Billy’s order to run 20 warm-up laps along with the rest of the Twins’ pitchers. Outside of the bar, Boswell began fighting with veteran Twins outfielder Bob Allison for reasons that remain unknown. When Martin heard about the fight, he ran outside, apparently with the intent of breaking up the fisticuffs. Pitching coach Art Fowler, Martin’s ever-present drinking buddy, joined Martin to offer moral support. Rather than break up the fight, Martin hit Boswell repeatedly in the face. If it were a boxing decision, Martin would have been declared a winner by knockout. The pummeling left Boswell unconscious, and in need of 20 stitches. Yet, Boswell held no grudges. Many years later, when asked about Martin for a 1988 magazine article, Boswell said: “I love Billy.” There’s something impressive about a man willing to forgive his own manager for essentially beating him up. It would have been easy for Boswell to hold a grudge, to answer a question about Martin with a grimace and a terse “no comment.” But Boswell was better than that. If only for that reason, Dave Boswell deserves something more than a place in baseball obscurity. Posted by: Bruce Markusen March 06, 2012Don Mincher career highlightsThe other day, the baseball world lost another one of its veterans, as Don Mincher passed away at age 73. The first baseman enjoyed a 13-year career mainly with the Twins, but he also played with the Angels, Pilots, Rangers and A’s, and he played with both Senators squads—he was on the clubs that moved out of Washington to both Minnesota and Texas.After his playing days, he became general manager of the Huntsville (Ala.) Stars, the Double-A affiliate of first the A's, then (and now) the Milwaukee Brewers. And he served as president of the Southern League from 2000 to last October.. When a player dies, it’s time to look back on his life and career. Others can do a better job looking at the man himself. Below are his career highlights. These include his personal highest and lowest moments, the greatest and most important games he participated in, and some of the oddities he was personally on hand for. Also, because he was a Pilot, we’ll also include one or two of the better Mincher-related anecdotes from Jim Bouton’s book, Ball Four. Here they are, in order and divided by team he played for: Click for more... Posted by: Chris Jaffe January 23, 2012Career highlights: Orlando CabreraA fewdays ago, longtime shortstop Orlando Cabrera announced he’s retiring from baseball after 15 seasons.When news like this happens, it’s natural to look back on a player’s career, and for me that means putting together a list of career highlights. This list includes the greatest and most memorable games Cabrera played in, his personal bests (and some worsts), as well as some oddities he was on hand for and great moments by other players that occurred in games in which he participated. Cabrera in his element - fielding the ball. Basically, it’s a list of Orlando Cabrera’s best “I was there for that game.” Here they are, in order: Click for more... Posted by: Chris Jaffe November 14, 2011Charlie Lea career highlightsOver the weekend, former Expos/Twins pitcher Charlie Lea died at the rather young age of 54. This is jolting news, largely because the former Expos hurler was so young. It’s extra jolting on a personal note. For me, Lea was the first young pitcher I can remember who flamed out.Oh, technically there were others, but Lea was the guy that stuck out in my mind. I remember he was really good when young, played in an All-Star Game, and then crashed. Others who crashed back then didn’t register with me. For example, I remember when Richard Dotson was really good, and then remember when he fell apart, but I didn’t realize he was that young. I knew Lea was young. Now Lea is gone. I can’t speak to what sort of person he was, but I can go over his career a little bit. Below are his career highlights. It’s something I often do here at THT when a player retires, dies, or goes into Cooperstown. (Basically, it’s what I do when it’s time for a retrospective of an individual). Below are Lea’s highlights, lowlights, and memorable moments. Click for more... Posted by: Chris Jaffe Click here for more THT Notes. | ||||