Yardbarker: Minnesota Twins

Winter League Update for 12/01/2009

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:52:19 -0500

In the Dominican Republic: Carlos Gomez went 1-for-3 and drove in a run in Escogito's 4-2 loss to Arecibo. Escogito was held to two runs on seven hits by four Arecibo pitchers: Astros farmhand Raymar Diaz, Mets farmhand Eddie Camacho, indy league veteran Ben Grezlovski, and minor league free agent Edward Buzachero.

Joe Mauer reportedly sets deadline for extension agreement

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:46:22 -0500

Sporting News staff reports American League MVP Joe Mauer reportedly has set a deadline to complete a contract extension with the Minnesota Twins.

Is Bud Selig Really, Really Going To Retire This Time?

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:57:20 -0500

Ten years after Fay Vincent was ousted as commissioner, he wrote a book called “The Last Commissioner.” The book featured a great deal of commentary on current commissioner of Major League Baseball, Bud Selig. It appears now that after 2012, Selig will take his own shot at a literary work. Selig told the Chicago Tribune he will retire when his contract expires. Sound familiar? It should. In December 2006, Selig announced he would retire at the end of his contract and teach or write a bo...

December Important Dates

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:00:31 -0500

A quick rundown of the important dates for the Twins in December, which you may have noticed starts tomorrow. (The lack of November snow here in Minnesota has thrown us all off, so I don't blame you if you didn't notice.) December 1 - Last day for teams to offer arbitration to free agents The only person here affected is really Carl Pavano; he is a "Type B" free agent, and the Twins will get a supplemental draft pick if they offer arbitration and he signs somewhe...

Top Twenty Prospects, by Roger

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:15:29 -0500

For the first time, I have compiled my Top Twenty Prospects. Unlike most prospect rankings, these prospects are not ranked one thru twenty. Rather, they are twenty players who I believe have the highest ceilings in the organization. That doesn't mean they all will make it to the Twins or another major league club, they won't. Others will make it but not become regular starters and certainly not stars. It also doesn't mean that there aren'...

Twins Weekend Notes: Thanksgiving Edition

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:06:44 -0500

Mmmm...tryptophan... Everyone finally waking up from that Thursday afternoon coma? Fantastic. There've been a few interesting notes of intrigue over the last few days, some of which have some concern with our Minnesota Twins, so let's check them out... The highest-profile player discussed over the last few days? Rich Harden. MLB.com's Kelly Theiser says the Twins have interest, which is good to hear. Naturally any bets on the oft-injured ace w...

Twins Offseason Madlib - Results

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:56:06 -0500

Thanksgiving at Gardy's As a new Thanksgiving tradition, Ron Gardenhire invited all of the Twins players to his house to share in his Thanksgiving dinner. He figured it would be a good way to celebrate the historically bombastic 2009 Twins season. Joe Mauer was the first to arrive. "Sorry I’m late," Mauer apologized. "A group of blind orphans heard a rumor that the Pohlads were too cheap to sign me to a contract extension. I had to talk them down from jumping of...

Minor League Report...November 28, 2009

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:46:36 -0500

With the Winter Meetings and Rule V draft rapidly approaching, the Twins reworked their 40-man roster on November 20th. As you all know by now, they added six players including four who were expected, Deolis Guerra, Rob Delaney, Alex Burnett and Danny Valencia. Loek VanMil was a surprise to some and shortstop Estarlin De Los Santos was a surprise to most. To make room for the six, Deibinson Romero was optioned to Rochester where he will be exposed to the major league seg...

AFL Results for Twins, Tigers, White Sox, and Indians

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:51:50 -0500

What follows is a summary of the 2009 AFL stats for the players from the other AL Central teams. Minnesota Twins (Mesa Solar Sox): RHP-Alex Burnett (22): 10 G, 10.2 IP, 3.38 ERA, 6 H, 10 BB, 11 SO RHP-Steve Hirschfield (24): 9 G, 15.1 IP, 11.15 ERA, 22 H, 8 BB, 17 SO LHP-Spencer Steedley (24): 11 G, [...]

Twins hopeful about extension for MVP Mauer

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:42:17 -0500

Sporting News staff reports After winning the AL MVP award on Monday, Twins catcher Joe Mauer quickly was peppered with questions about his future. The three-time AL batting champion will be a free agent after the 2010 season unless the two sides can reach an agreement on a contract extension. According to the Star Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul, there are indications that the Twins hope to have a new deal in place by Christmas. However, it isn't a done deal. The newspaper spe...

Borden: Replace Posada With Mauer

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:23:00 -0500

American League MVP, Joe Mauer, is set to be a free agent at this time next year, and Sam Borden thinks it would be a good idea for the Yanks to make a run at him. So do I. Here's some more from Sam:What would Mauer mean to the Yankees? Plenty. Pitching is forever the holy grail for success in major-league baseball, but a catcher — especially one who hits as well as he fields — comes right behind. The Yankees have had a distinct advantage over their competition for more than a decade with...

Joe Mauer Wins AL MVP While 17 Voters Forget Who Ben Zobrist Is

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:26:58 -0500

Joe Mauer started his season on the DL and ended it as the American League Most Valuable Player. There really was no other choice, as Mauer got 27 of the 28 first-place votes. It seems one of the BWAA members must be related to Miguel Cabrera, as that's the only way you can make a case that Cabrera should get the other first-place vote. Mauer hit .365 with 94 runs, 96 RBI and a 1.031 OPS while playing Gold Glove catcher for the Twins. Mauer beats out two Yankees in Mark Teixeira and ...

After locking up of AL MVP, it's time for Twins to lock up Mauer

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:16:10 -0500

Great success! After a few months of the intangibles crowd being threatened with severe online mockery by the rest of us, Minnesota's Joe Mauer(notes) was rightly awarded with the first American League MVP of his career on Monday afternoon.The stud Twin Cities catcher received 27 of 28 first-place votes and it isn't hard to see why. Despite missing the beginning of the season with a back injury, Mauer won the AL batting title (.365) for the third time in the last four years while also...

After locking up AL MVP, it's time for Twins to lock up Joe Mauer

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:16:10 -0500

Mauer Near Unanimous MVP

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:49:58 -0500

Joe Mauer is just the 2nd catcher in the last 33 years to win the AL MVP, and he did so in unanimous fashion. The Minnesota native hit .365/.444/.587 to lead the American League in all three categories. He also won the gold glove, and it was richly deserved. Mauer had a career high in HRs [...]

Your AL MVP Is Joe Mauer

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:22:00 -0500

The MLB awards train has moved on to the MVP awards. Today, Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer was named AL MVP. Joe Mauer, who won an unprecedented third batting championship for a catcher and helped propel the Minnesota Twins to the American League Central title, was elected the AL Most Valuable Player for 2009 in balloting by the BBWAA. Mauer, the first catcher to lead his league in batting average (.365), on-base percentage (.444) and slugging (.587) in the same season, was listed fir...

AL MVP: Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:01:00 -0500

by Andrew JohnsonFiled under: Twins, MLB AwardsTwins catcher Joe Mauer was a nearly unanimous selection for 2009 American League MVP by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, receiving 27 of 28 first-place votes to win the award in a landslide Monday. He beat out Yankee teammates Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter, who finished second and third, respectively, to win the award for the first time in his career. Mauer hit .365 to win the batting title for the second straight season and thi...

Joe Mauer Will Be Very Expensive

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:25:00 -0500

In his latest must read column, ESPN's Buster Olney outlines what the future holds for the soon to be AL MVP Joe Mauer:"And I'd say that my best guess is yes, the Twins will open the checkbook and spend big dollars to keep the superstar catcher, who will be told today, officially, that he is the winner of the AL Most Valuable Player Award. He and Albert Pujols are baseball's best hitters now, and in time, he might be regarded as the greatest catcher ever. He is, of course, a ...

Mauer Takes Another Step Toward Cooperstown

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:17:10 -0500

Virtually limitless are the adjectives one could utilize to properly describe Joe Mauer — unbelievable, incredible, marvelous, unprecedented. One in particular, however, may hold credence above all others — historically significant. In just six seasons, Mauer has already cemented his name alongside fellow catchers Ivan Rodriguez, Mike Piazza, Johnny Bench, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra and Mickey Cochrane as one of the greats of the game. Mauer should now add the 2009 American League Most Valuable Player award to his growing list of accolades. No American League catcher had ever won a batting title before Mauer captured the crown in 2006, and now the St. Paul native owns three (’08 & ‘09). The best single-season batting average posted by a catcher had been .362, posted by Hall...

Twins Unveil New Logos, Uniforms for 2010 Season

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:13:43 -0500

The 2009 American League Central Division Champion Minnesota Twins today unveiled new official team marks, logos and team uniforms to be worn during the team's inaugural season at Target Field, scheduled to open for the 2010 season. "Twins fans have many exciting things to look forward to as we enter into a new era of outdoor baseball in Minnesota," said Twins President Dave St. Peter. "New uniforms and logos are just the beginning of all of the new and exciting things we ...