Thursday,
February 11, 2010
Blatant Thievery
Fanatic
Jack sent me a text message last
night saying he had a last minute cancellation on his
podcast, so I joined him, and Topper Anton, and we had a
really enjoyable discussion on the state of the Twins. Basically, Jack and
Topper had some thoughts, and I felt the need to tell them they were wrong. OK,
not wrong, but I gave several differing opinions. But I find that enjoyable and
the entire purpose of blogging. We don’t have to all agree on everything, but
we are all Twins fans and it is fun to talk about the Twins and I hope people
are able to listen
and enjoy.
He also gave me the opportunity to talk about several Twins minor leaguers and
talk about the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook. Check out Jonathan Mayo’s most recent B3
blog entry on several prospect books that are now available, including
mine! Thank you! (By the way, I am hoping to receive my review copy today in
the mail!)
A quick reminder, Twins
Target’s Andrew Kneeland’s
Brain Child, Nick Punto Day, is
tomorrow!
But with that, I am going to
blatantly steal some content from the godfather of Twins bloggers, and the man
that holds TwinsCentric together, Mr. John Bonnes, aka The Twins Geek. As we have mentioned before, we had quite the project
in putting together the Twins 2010 Annual with Maple Street
Press, but from what I’m told, the results and the end product are absolutely
incredible. No, I say “from what I’m told” because seemingly everyone else that
wrote an article for the 128 page magazine got their copy yesterday. I’m
holding my breath, hoping for my copy to arrive today!
Anyway, here is what
John wrote about the Twins 2010 Annual. Obviously I’m not half the
writer that he is, and I don’t think I could explain this any better. I
definitely encourage you to go
to his site as there are already some good comments.
Maple Street Press TWINS 2010 Annual
I'm about to make a mistake that I've made on this site roughly
965 times - and that isn't an exaggeration.
The nature of blogging as a second occupation is that you're forced to a lot of
writing on the fly. You don't have time to research as 
much as you would like. You
find yourself cutting entries short so you can get some sleep. And you really
don't take the time to let a story marinate in it's own juices. You just crank it out
and live with the imperfections.
And that's the mistake.
This story should marinate, because I really hope I refer to it several dozen
times over the next month or so. And because the people involved, who I greatly
respect, deserve that time for me to get things just right.
They're not going to get it. Here we go.....
Right about now, if you find yourself in this god-forsaken icebox of a state, a
little spring would be a nice thing. I find myself watching the shadows on the
snow, convincing myself that they're getting shorter every day, and that it's
getting lighter.
Today, I got a box of spring. It had several issue of Maple Street Press Twins
2010 Annual. Anything baseballish in February is reason enough to get excited,
but I'm especially excited about this because the 128 pages of content were
provided by TwinsCentric and various independent baseball writers here in the
Twin Cities. Just so you know what you're getting into, here's the stories
you'll be able to find:
The Team Section
·
Player Profiles by TwinsCentric -
Each page and player has so much information, your eyes will bleed. And they
ain't sugar-coated.
·
A Division for the Taking by TwinsCentric
- A candid and irreverent review of all the teams we've learned to hate in the
AL Central.
·
On the Defensive by Phil Mackey - The
Twins defense is analyzed and Mackey concludes that it has slipped considerably
over the last couple of years.
·
Talkin Twins with Gardy by Darren Wolfson -
A six-page interview with manager Ron Gardenhire about 2009 and the offseason.
·
No Regrets by Phil Miller -
Miller was the Pioneer Press beat reporter during the Johan Santana trade
scramble, and he recalls the pressures that were applied and the decisions that
were made.
·
Spanning the Outfield by Alex Halsted -
Denard Span talks candidly about the disappointment he felt at the beginning of
the 2009 season and how Twins players mentor each other.
·
The "Little Things" by Adam
V. Peterson - Does the Twins reputation for playing fundamental baseball
translate into more wins?
·
The Travails of an Aging Right Fielder by Dan Wade - Michael Cuddyer had a huge year in 2009, but what does
that mean for his future with the Twins?
·
No Money, No Problem by Andrew Kneeland -
Kneeland looks behind the scenes at how a "small-market" team can
remain competitive.
·
Power Surge by Nick Nelson -
Nelson looks at the breakthrough years by Jason Kubel and Joe Mauer.
·
An Industry Leader by Parker Hageman -
Hageman looks at the ups and down that Joe Nathan experience in 2009 and what
it means for 2010.
·
Retrospect 2001 by Seth Stohs -
Stohs revisits the decision to draft Mauer over Mark Prior and how it played
out.
Stadium Section
·
Built for Baseball by Howard Sinker -
Complete with gorgeous pictures, Sinker looks at Target Field
·
Between a Rock and a Home Plate by Judd Spicer - Everything you ever want to know about the
Minnesota-quarried rock that adorns the new ballpark.
·
Magic and Money by John Bonnes -
Thirteen small-market teams have opened new stadiums in the last 20 years. I
look at how they spent their new-found booty.
Minor League Section
·
Strength in Numbers by Seth Stohs -
Stohs gives a comprehensive look at the depth in the minors, position by
position.
·
An International Focus by Josh Johnson -
The Twins organization broke through in their signing of international
prospects last year.
·
Class of 2009 Primer by Seth Stohs -
Stohs reviews the Twins 2009 draft, pick by pick and talks about their future.
History Section
·
A Long History by Stew Thornley -
Thornley reviews Minnesota baseball history before the arrival of the Twins,
and how the Twins time in Minnesota began.
·
Popping Champagne - and Each Other by Jim Thielman - The feisty Twins of the late 60s may be best
understood from the vantage point of manager Billy Martin's fight with his own
starting pitcher.
·
A Common Vision by Arne Christensen
- An interview with Mike Pagliarulo touches on the spirit of the 1991 World
Series Champs.
In the letter from the editor I wrote:
"The Twins
sport a population of independent baseball writers that other fan bases envy
for the quality and passion."
I think you'll see that in the Annual, and that the community can
support something this ambitious. I'm proud of that, and I think anyone who
supports these writers can be too.
You can learn more about the Annual (and order it) here. Or look for it
on newstands and magazine racks throughout Twins territory. I hope it brings
you a little bit of spring.
That’s it for now, be sure to
check back if the Twins make any news. If you have any questions or comments,
please feel free to e-mail me or leave them in the Comments
section.