Author Archives: Eric Pleiss

Minnesota Twins Podcast – Talk to Contact – Episode 35

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Episode 35 of the Twins baseball podcast,  Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here.

Episode 35 is a Minor League/Prospect heavy podcast, something we haven’t done for a while.  We talk specifically about Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Adam Walker, Kyle Gibson, Trevor May, Alex Meyer, and then finally go Down on the Pond with Kennys Vargas.  Lots of good stuff in there.  We also discuss the Twins recent performance against the Marlins and Rangers, pick out the Twins hitter and pitcher of the week, and then do a little bit of baseball chatter when we look Around the League.

Enjoy!

 

You can follow Cody on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing at NoDakTwinsFan.  You can follow Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) or read his writing at  Puckett’s Pond.  And of course, you can find me on Twitter (@ERolfPleiss) and read my writing here at Knuckleballs!

– ERolfPleiss

Minnesota Twins Podcast – Talk to Contact – Episode 34

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Episode 34 of the Twins baseball podcast,  Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here.

itunes pic

Featuring Knuckleballs’ own Jim Crikket along with podcast stalwarts Eric and Cody talk about the Minnesota Twins’ Low-A Minor League affiliate Cedar Rapids Kernels.

The Kirby Puckett podcast has Cody and Eric talkin about yoga, going around the league, and creating radio gold for almost 90 minutes.  Enjoy the podcast and thanks for listening!

 

You can follow Cody on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing at NoDakTwinsFan.  You can follow Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) or read his writing at  Puckett’s Pond.  And of course, you can find me on Twitter (@ERolfPleiss) and read my writing here at Knuckleballs!

– ERolfPleiss

Minnesota Twins Podcast – Talk to Contact – Episode 33

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Episode 33 of the Twins baseball podcast,  Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here.

2_10276759__preview

We ran into a slight audio issue this week, because Eric is bad at recording.  There is a slight echo on the recording for the first 25 minutes or so.  Sorry!

In Episode 33 Cody and Eric discuss the finer points of a five game losing streak, Oswaldo Arcia’s surprising call-up, what the do with a struggling Aaron Hicks, and we look at the general happenings around the league.

Cody and Eric both enjoy a Leinenkugel’s beer to remind them that summer is near.

Just a one hour show this week, but Cody and Eric are pretty cool dudes, so they make it work.

Thanks for listening!

 

 
You can follow Cody on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing at NoDakTwinsFan.  You can follow Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) or read his writing at  Puckett’s Pond.  And of course, you can find me on Twitter (@ERolfPleiss) and read my writing here at Knuckleballs!

– ERolfPleiss

Minnesota Twins Podcast – Talk to Contact – Episode 32

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Episode 32 of the Twins baseball podcast,  Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here.

itunes pic

This week Cody and Eric forge ahead without Paul who is now out to sea with the United States Coast Guard.  The two of them talked about the first place Minnesota Twins, surprisingly decent starting pitching, and the hitter (Justin Morneau) and pitcher (Kevin Correia) of the week.  After a quick run down of Twins news from the first week of games Eric and Cody are joined by Andrew Walter, the Twins Fan from Afar.  Following a quick break Cody and Eric go Down on the Pond, talk about beer, and take a look around the league.  Join us for an enjoyable 90 minutes of Twins talk.

If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes (ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which help Wilkin Ramirez get playing time).

You can follow Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) or read his writing at  Puckett’s Pond.
You can follow Cody on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing at NoDakTwinsFan.  And of course, you can find me on Twitter (@ERolfPleiss) and read my writing here at Knuckleballs!

– ERolfPleiss

GameChat – Twins @ Orioles #2, 6:10pm

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Twins look to get back above .500 and even the series with the Orioles.  Twins are looking for another solid pitching performance from a surprisingly solid starting staff.

Vance Worley is back on the bump looking to build on his first performance of the year when a few tough-luck ground balls led to some early runs.

 

Twins

@

 Orioles
Hicks, CF McLouth, LF
Mauer, C Machado, 3B
Willingham, LF Markakis, RF
Morneau, 1B Jones, Ad, CF
Doumit, DH Davis, C, 1B
Plouffe, 3B Wieters, C
Parmelee, RF Hardy, SS
Dozier, 2B Flaherty, 2B
Florimon, SS Reimold, DH
 _Worley, P  _Tillman, P
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 9 1
Baltimore 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 11 2

Minnesota Twins Photo DayThe Twins picked up another win and are back above .500.  This was a very enjoyable game with the lead changing hands a couple of times before the Twins ultimately won the game in the top of the 9th with a base hit from Justin Morneau.  Morneau would have been the run away BOD winner if not for the yeoman’s work from Josh Roenicke, pitching three innings of scoreless relief before turning the ball over to Glen Perkins for the save.

Way to go, Mr. Roenicke!  Your very first BOD!

 

 

 

Minnesota Twins Podcast – Talk to Contact – Episode 31

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Episode 31 of the Twins baseball podcast,  Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here.

openingday2013

 

In Episode 31, Paul, Eric, and Cody get together to discuss Twins news leading up to Opening Day, the Twins 25-man roster, and they make their MLB predictions for each division, for the World Series, and for MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year.  Cody does a great job in his first full show on Talk to Contact, and while his segways are initially weak, he gets stronger as the episode goes along.  Along the way we’re joined by Bryan Craves, the Displaced Tigers Fan, to talk about Opening Day, Justin Verlander, and what might happen in the Twins’ first series of the year.  Brace yourself for more than 130 minutes of awesome.

 

 

If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes (ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which help Wilkin Ramirez get playing time).

You can follow Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) or read his writing at  Puckett’s Pond.
You can follow Cody on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing at NoDakTwinsFan.

– ERolfPleiss

 

Drafting WAR

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The next crop of Twins draftees.
These champion Twins are (maybe) the next crop of Twins draftees.

Major League’s amateur draft came into existence in 1965.  Since that time the Twins have drafted thousands of players.  Many of those players failed to reach the Big Leagues.  Some of the players that eventually made it to The Show ended up never playing for the Twins.  Of the players the Twins drafted, the ten players to accumulate the most value (judged by Wins Above Replacement, WAR) in a Twins uniform were Kirby Puckett, Bert Blyleven, Brad Radke, Joe Mauer, Chuck Knoblauch, Kent Hrbek, Frank Viola, Gary Gaetti, Torii Hunter, and Dave Goltz.

  1. Kirby Puckett (48.2 WAR) – 1st round – 3rd overall – 1982 – Triton College (River Grove, IL)
  2. Bert Blyleven (46.3) – 3rd round – 55th overall – 1969 – Santiago HS (Garden Grove, CA)
  3. Brad Radke (42.6) – 8th round – 206th overall – 1991 – Jesuit HS (Tampa, FL)
  4. Joe Mauer (37.0) – 1st round – 1st overall – 2001 – Cretin HS (St. Paul, MN)
  5. Chuck Knoblauch (36.3) – 1st round – 25th overall – 1989 – Texas A&M University (College Station, TX)
  6. Kent Hrbek (35.7) – 17th round – 432nd overall – 1978 – Kennedy HS (Bloomington, MN)
  7. Frank Viola (25.0) – 2nd round – 37th overall – 1981 – St. John’s University (Queens, NY)
  8. Gary Gaetti (24.8) – 1st round – 11th overall – 1979 – Northwest Missouri State University (Maryville, MO)
  9. Torii Hunter (24.7) – 1st round – 20th overall – 1993 – Pine Bluff HS (Pine Bluff, AR)
  10. Dave Goltz (22.5) – 5th round – 97th overall – 1967 – Rothsay HS (Rothsay, MN)

It certainly takes some time for players to accumulate enough playing time, even at elite performance levels, to produce the career WAR totals that would put a player on this list.  Joe Mauer, drafted in 2001, is the only player on this list that remains active and with the Twins (Torii Hunter is active and playing for the division rival Detroit Tigers), and if he can remain healthy for a couple more seasons he should find himself on top of this list before his current contract expires.

The Twins have been in Minnesota for more than 50 years, but seven of the players on this top ten list were all drafted within the 15 year period betwee 1978 and 1993.  Unsurprisingly, these players contributed to some of the best Teams in Twins history.  If the Twins are to return to success in the near future, successful drafting will be a big part of their reappearance at the top of the standings.

-ERolfPleiss

Minnesota Twins Podcast – Talk to Contact – Episode 30

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Episode 30 of the Twins baseball podcast,  Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here.

JOEMAUER

 

This week on Talk to Contact Paul and Eric (And Cody Christie) talk about the future of Joe Mauer, and the 25-Man roster on Opening Day.  They then bring in Cody Christie to talk about prospect Rory Rhodes, Eddie Guardado, and the rest to the stories around Major League Baseball.  Join us for two hours of fun!

If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes (ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which help Samuel Deduno limit his walks).

You can follow Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) or read his writing at  Puckett’s Pond.

– ERolfPleiss

GameChat – Twins vs. Yankees – 6:05pm – FSN+

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The big news tonight is that the Twins’ top prospect, Miguel Sano, will be starting at third base in place of the injured Trevor Plouffe.  So if you managed to tear yourself away from the Men’s NCAA basketball tournament for a couple hours, you are being rewarded with a glimpse of the future.  Unfortunately almost all of the other establish Big Leaguers stayed back in Fort Myers, so you’ll be seeing plenty of hot Drew Butera action this evening as well.

It might seem like half of the Yankees are injured, but a top of the lineup featuring Brett Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki, Robinson Cano and Kevin Youkilis can do a lot of damage, especially if Liam Hendriks is missing his spots.

Enjoy the game!

 Minnesota Twins

@

  New York Yankees
 Hicks, CF  Gardner, CF
 Dozier, 2B  Suzuki, I, LF
 Clement, DH  Cano, 2B
 Parmelee, 1B  Youkilis, 1B
 Sano, 3B  Hafner, DH
 Mastroianni, RF  Boesch, RF
 Benson, LF  Nunez, E, SS
 Butera, C  Nix, J, 3B
 Florimon, SS  Stewart, C, C
 _Hendriks, P  _Phelps, D, P

Despite striking out a combined 15 times, the Twins picked up a Spring Training win against the Evil Empire, 6-1.  Even more impressive, the Twins pitchers, Liam Hendriks, Cole De Vries and Pedro Hernandez held the Yankees to just one hit!  Hendriks and De Vries pitched four innings a piece with Hendriks allowing the only hit and an unearned run.

Miguel Sano did not disappoint in his first Spring Training appearance going two for five at the plate and adding a nice defensive play at third base that included a corner-to-corner throw to get the runner by half a step at first base.

All in all a pretty enjoyable game, and any time the Twins beat the Yankees, there is much rejoicing.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Minnesota 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 1 0 6 10 1
NY Yankees 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3

There was a lot of discussion after the game when we were voting on the Boyfriend of the Day (BOD, the equivalent of a game MVP).  There were votes for Drew Butera and his 3 RBI, votes for the pitching staff’s one-hitter, and a vote apiece for Aaron Hicks and Miguel Sano.  Since no consensus could be reached (and Spring Training stats don’t matter) I get to pick whoever I want.

Congratulations EDUARDO ESCOBAR!  Escobar was one-for-one with an RBI as a late inning defensive replacement for Brian Dozier.  I’m more confident by the day that Escobar will be on the roster for Opening Day, so consider this your formal introduction to the Twins utility infielder.

Escobar-Eduardo-2

 

Minnesota Twins Podcast – Talk to Contact – Episode 29

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Episode 29 of the Twins baseball podcast,  Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here.

World Baseball Classic
World Baseball Classic

This week on the Talk to Contact Podcast, the brothers Pleiss discusss, among other things, their plans for the weekend, Anthony Slama, Hudson Boyd, Bob Allison and Roy Halladay, among other Twins related topics, to include Aaron Hicks, Jamey Carroll and some dude named Eduardo Escobar. Paul gets drunk early in the podcast, Eric tries to remain competent and everyone has a good time. Happy St Patrick’s Day everyone!

If you enjoy our podcast, please take a couple extra minutes and rate and review us on iTunes (ratings and reviews have magical iTunes powers, which help the Liam Hendriks find the strike zone).

You can follow Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) or read his writing at  Puckett’s Pond.

– ERolfPleiss