Attitude is Everything

The Minnesota Twins have had a ho-hum, go about your business but don't rock the boat type of attitude ever since they opened Target Field. It's the laid back, country club type of atmosphere where you go to hang out, take a few cuts in the cage and enjoy some baseball. Who cares if you win, right? They have the new field and the big contracts (Mauer, Morneau, Willingham) so what's the difference if they win games or not?

Ho-hum

Now, all due respect to Joe, Justin and Josh, as I know they work hard each and every day and deep down they do want to win. However, it's tough for a passionate baseball fan like me to see clips of them in the dugout and there's absolutely no emotion after they bounce out a double play ball. I mean COME ON!!

It seems to me like no one cares.

Gardy sits there and talks with Anderson (the only one he seems to converse with) and it looks like you could hear crickets in the dugout.

Seeing Eddie Guardado get his Twins Hall of Fame bid made me realize that the Twins miss a guy like him. They miss guys like A.J. and Hunter. Guys like Kirby and Hrbie. Guys like Bert. They had chips on their shoulders and weren't there just for the hell of it.

Right now there isn't a single soul on the team with any fire or personality to get everyone going. It's almost like they're robots. I'd hate to be in the clubhouse before and after games. I bet its like being on the golf course. Everyone is probably very courteous to eachother and they just go about their business in a quiet manner. Wouldn't want to bother anyone!

Seriously! If the Twins want to contend again, they need personality in the clubhouse. I miss a guy like Redmond who would walk around the clubhouse naked just to get a rise out of guys.

Wake up Twins!! Show some fire and passion.

Attitude is everything, and you won't win consistently without it.

Was this year's draft a good one for the Twins?

Twins #1 pick Kohl Stewart

Pitching, pitching and more...catchers...?

The 2013 draft saw the Minnesota Twins doing some of the predictable by picking up a bunch of pitching prospects. It also saw some of the unpredictable with them going with some catching prospects as well.

It's obvious that the Twins need pitching as game in and game out, it seems to be their achilles heel as starters struggle to get through 6 innings.

RHP Kohl Stewart should help. He was selected with the #4 overall pick and was one of the top high school kids in the draft posting a 0.18 ERA! He's also been compared to pitchers such as Josh Beckett. Not bad!

Another pitcher by the name of Ryan Eades out of LSU was selected in the second round by the Twins. He's definitely a starter that has good stuff including a nasty curveball that gets batters out. The biggest blemish on Eades is that he underwent shoulder surgery while a senior in high school, but it appears that that is not a factor right now.

As the draft went on, more and more pitchers were selected with third baseman Dustin DeMuth thrown in for good measure. However, with the picks in the 3rd, 6th and 9th rounds, the Twins selected catchers Stuart Turner out of the University of Mississippi; Brian Navarreto, a high school kid from Florida; and Mitch Garver from New Mexico.

Looking at these guys, it's clear that none would be suitable replacements for Joe Mauer, so, why pick so many catchers?

For more info on the draft, please go to aarongleeman.com,

Getting Closer

At 25-29 the Twins have sneaked their way into 3rd place in the Central. They currently stand at a full game ahead of the White Sox and 4 games behind the 2nd place Indians. I had predicted they would grab 3rd by the All-Star break, but now they're working ahead of that.

Diamond

It has been beneficial that they are facing bottom feeder teams, but hey, you need to take care of business against those teams and the Twins are certainly doing that.

The Twins are 7-3 in the last 10 games and have won 6 out of their last 7. Also good news, they've improved their previously ailing home record to 13-14. It's nice to see Target field being somewhat of an advantage for them as they've been knocking a lot out of the park.

Rookie Aaron Hicks has been a spark they've needed on offense. During the last 7 games, he's hitting .286 with 2 homers, a triple, and a handful of spectacular defensive catches.

Hicks

Scott Diamond improved his record to 4-4 on the season with a win versus Seattle yesterday. He allowed only 4 hits while giving up 0 runs in the Twins 10-0 victory.

Don't get me wrong, the Twins still have a lot of work to do and a lot to prove if they want to contend for the Central Division title. They play KC (23-31) next with Washington (28-29) and Philadelphia (27-30) to follow. They need to take advantage of playing these sub .500 teams because come the middle of June, they see Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland again.

Back to the 2 hole

Joe Mauer returned to the number 2 spot in the lineup yesterday. Gardy says that's where he likes him to be. Check out the full article from the Pioneer Press right here: Chad Graff

#joemauerhitting#2

HIcks O Rama!

Sam Deduno pitched 7 solid innings giving up only 1 earned run and Glen Perkins picked up his 11th save of the season as the Twins (22-28) beat Milwaukee 4-1 tonight at Target Field. The victory gives Minnesota its 3rd win in a row (all three against the Brewers).

But the real story has been the play of Aaron Hicks who slammed another home run tonight, his 6th on the season. Last night he robbed Carlos Gomez of a homerun and jacked one out himself to help the Twins to a 6-5 extra inning victory. In total against the Brewers, Hicks is hitting .385 with 2 homers and 2 doubles.

In the last week, since May 22nd, Hicks is hitting .286 with 3 home runs and one taken away. A lot better than his sub .200 season average.

Is Hicks finally starting to hit his stride? Bat him leadoff again, I say, while he's hot!

All I know is that it's nice to see the Twins winning...maybe we can play Milwaukee the rest of the year?

Click HERE to see Hicks robbing Carlos Gomez of a homerun

Fore!

Aaron Hicks was officially named the Twins starting center fielder. Joe Mauer had a 6 RBI game. But you have to take a look at this clip of Sergio Garcia smacking a ball out of a tree! http://www.kfan.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=104673&article=11104067

Groin Injury Giving Walters A Shot

P.J. Walters

 Samuel Deduno, who pitched extremely well at the WBC, suffered a groin injury during the championship game. He is expected to be out for only a couple weeks at most. This will give P.J. Walters a shot at starting today as the Twins take on the Tampa Bay Rays. However, even if Walters does well today, I still think that Deduno earned a shot at the 5th spot in the rotation with his play in the WBC.

Deduno at WBC

Last year, he showed that he is capable of pitching in the big leagues and even that he can overpower some hitters. The one thing the Twins saw that he needed to work on the most was his control as he walked almost as many batters as he struck out (57/53).

Walters last year was 2-5 for the Twins with a 5.69 ERA. Deduno was 6-5 with a 4.44. Both pitchers still need to prove they can be in the big leagues for a full season but right now, I'm hoping that Deduno comes back from that groin injury real soon.