"Twins Bloggers: Get to Know 'Em!" presents Twins MVB

Not only does this Friday bring with it another edition of Twins Bloggers: Get to Know 'Em, but it also marks the beginning of Twins Fest! Seeing as I'd never been before, I decided to rectify the situation -- so -- I've flown back from New York and will be attending all three days of Twins Fest! I'm already planning on meeting some other bloggers for the event, but feel free to drop me an e-mail if you're going to be there and want to say "hi"! In the meantime...

Today I'm proud to present John Meyer of Twins MVB! It actually took me awhile to discover John's blog, but when I did I was thoroughly enamored with it. The first few times I heard about "Twins MVB" I always thought it was some sort of award handed out by the blogging community, but when I discovered it was an actual website rich with Twins material it was like discovering a goldmine! Complete with their weekly Fan Friday (where a guest blogger does a post), his website features an always amusing intro by Kevin Slowey, it's own minor league correspondent (none other than Twins Target's Andrew Kneeland), and lots of fun contests presented via YouTube. If you aren't already part of the Twins MVB faithful, it's time you join the movement!

Personal-

NAME: John T. Meyer

WEBSITE: www.twinsmvb.com

BIRTHDAY: August 21

HOMETOWN: Brookings, SD lived in Minneapolis for a bit and now back in South Dakota in Sioux Falls

WHAT KEEP YOU EMPLOYED OTHER THAN BLOGGING: Co-founder of a social marketing firm called 9 Clouds, Inc.

FAVORITE COLOR: green

FAVORITE FOOD: pasta

FAVORITE MOVIE: Rounders

FAVORITE BOOK: right now it's Crush It

FAVORITE TYPE OF MUSIC: alternative rock

FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH OTHER THAN BASEBALL: soccer or college football

FAVORITE SPORT TO PLAY: ultimate frisbee

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE VIKINGS/TIMBERWOLVES/WILD: I enjoy following the Vikings and all their drama. I try hard to be a Wolves fan, but they're just a terrible organization and I can't stand the NBA. Don't know much about the Wild, but I don't have any beef with them.

General Baseball-

WHAT MAKES BASEBALL SO GREAT TO YOU: I love the history of the game and the structure of the game itself. Every pitch is a battle within an at-bat which is part of an inning. There are nine innings in a game and 162 games in a season. You can't beat that!

IF YOU HAD TO FOLLOW ANOTHER TEAM, WHICH AND WHY: I really enjoyed the Mariners as a kid, but mainly just because of Ken Griffey Jr. I really like the San Francisco Giants franchise in the post-Barry Bonds era. I love the city of San Francisco and they have a great ballpark.

BEST EXPERIENCE AT A BALLPARK OTHER THAN THE DOME: Camden Yards is by far my favorite park, but going to the 1998 All-Star game at Coors Field will forever be a great memory.

OPINION ON INTERLEAGUE PLAY: I don't like it. I don't really even consider Twins versus Brewers much of a rivalry. I wish the World Series was the first time AL and NL teams saw each other.

OPINION ON THE UNBALANCED SCHEDULE: I like the unbalanced. You have to be able to win in your division to make the playoffs. I think it strengthens division rivalries and I appreciate that.

FAVORITE NON-TWINS PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY: Ken Griffey Jr. hands down. He was my hero. No doubt he would have been the greatest if it weren't for injury, but still a great guy.

MOST HATED NON-TWINS PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY: Even before the steroids I never ever liked Barry Bonds. His arrogance and disrespect for the game just bother me. I've also never really liked Chipper Jones.

DID YOU EVER PLAY BASEBALL/SOFTBALL, WHAT POSITION: I was a pretty solid little league catcher, but built up that strength. Hah, so I moved to the outfield.

Twins Generic-

WHEN DID YOU BECOME A TWINS FAN AND WHY: Since birth because my Dad was a fan. Being from South Dakota they were the closest team too. I think my first game was 6 months old.

BEST EXPERIENCE AT THE DOME: Any playoff game probably. Other highlights include Joe Mauer's first game and the final regular season game in the dome.

EVER BEEN TO TWINS FEST, HOW WAS IT: Yes, I always enjoy Twins Fest. It's a little hectic for my liking, but helps to get excited for the season in the middle of winter.

EVER BEEN TO SPRING TRAINING, HOW WAS IT: Yes, such an awesome experience. I would recommend to any Twins fan. Players are relaxed and you can actually chat with them. You can walk down the sidewalk to see all the youngsters play and then watch baseball in the hot sun. Very awesome!

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CIRCLED BY BERT: I have not.

HAVE YOU EVER CAUGHT A FOUL BALL OR HOME RUN AT THE DOME: Matt Lawton tossed me a ball while he was warming up back in 1997 I believe.

Twins Player Specific-

FAVORITE TWINS PLAYER IN HISTORY: I think it might be Mauer by the end of his career, but you have to go with Puckett.

FAVORITE CURRENT TWINS PLAYER: Joe Mauer. I think Denard Span is going to win a lot of fans in 2010 though.

FAVORITE OBSCURE TWINS PLAYER: Scott Stahoviak. Played 1B in the dark days of the 90's and I took my picture with him as a little chap.

ARE THERE (WERE THERE) ANY TWINS PLAYERS YOU DISLIKE: Oh definitely... Sidney Ponson, Butch Huskey, Rich Becker, Tony Batista, all those one-year veteran signings.

CURRENT PLAYER YOU'D MOST LIKE TO WATCH A GAME WITH: Kevin Slowey. He's great and would really analyze the game.

YOU'D MOST LIKE TO GO TO A BAR WITH: I think Joe Nathan seems like he'd be up for a good time.

YOU'D MOST LIKE TO BE STRANDED ON AN ISLAND WITH: Michael Cuddyer seems pretty personable. I know he does magic tricks too!

YOU'D MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH: Joe Mauer. He's so down to Earth.

YOU'D WANT TO BE THE FRONT MAN OF YOUR NEW BAND: Jose Mijares. He'd be a great lead singer.

YOU THINK SHOULD BE A MOVIE STAR: Nick Punto. He has a flare for the dramatic.

YOU'D ASK FOR HELP ON A SCIENCE LAB: Kevin Slowey.

YOU'D LIKE TO START A BUSINESS WITH: Denard Span.

EXPECTATIONS OF TARGET FIELD: It's going to blow people away, I truly believe this. I'm sick of the we need a retractable roof argument. Who cares... it's baseball outside where it belongs. If it's cold, just don't go. The concourses will be wide, the food will be great, and the Minneapolis summer will be greatly enjoyed. Although I do think there will be an adjustment for the team in terms of playing at Target. The homefield advantage may be void for a season.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE TEAM NEXT YEAR: To win the division. I think given the status of the AL Central anything less would be a disappointment.

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A huge thanks to John Meyer of Twins MVB! He's a great member of the Twins blogging community and I highly recommend you check out his sight regularly, you won't be disappointed! Hopefully I see you at Twins Fest, otherwise be sure to stop by next week when Phil Mackey takes the hotseat in another edition of Twins Bloggers: Get to Know 'Em!

"Twins Bloggers: Get to Know 'Em" presents: Twinkie Talk

This was yet another dead week in Twins Territory! The only exciting thing that happened were the arbitration settlements ... that's not saying alot. One thing to look forward to: Twins Fest. I plan on flying back from New York this year to partake in the festivities. Let me know if you're going and hopefully I see you there! For now, let's focus on my weekly offseason series:

Another edition of "Twins Bloggers: Get to Know 'Em!", and despite the fact that our offseason is winding down, I've still got plenty of amazing bloggers to cover! One of the things that never ceases to amaze me is how many Twins bloggers we have -- there's never a shortage of things to read regarding our team.

This week, I'm happy to feature Steve Fetch of Twinkie Talk. Steve is a constant source of material to read, publishing more frequently than I could ever dream of. He's in the middle of his top 15 Twins prospects, and it's certainly worth keeping up with. Unlike me, he's done an admirable job this offseason in keeping up with everything going on with our ballclub, from arbitration analysis to trade speculation. He's one of the blogs that I check every morning when I'm having my coffee because I can guarantee there's something new for me to read. But enough of my discourse, let's let Steve introduce himself:

Personal-

NAME: Steve

WEBSITE: Twinkie Talk

BIRTHDAY: December 29th

HOMETOWN: Bismarck, ND

WHAT KEEPS YOU EMPLOYED OTHER THAN BLOGGING: I work on campus here at school

FAVORITE COLOR: Blue

FAVORITE FOOD: Chocolate chip muffins

FAVORITE MOVIE: Miracle

FAVORITE BOOK: Moneyball

FAVORITE TYPE OF MUSIC: Meh. I hate people who say everything but, everything.

FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH OTHER THAN BASEBALL: Hockey

FAVORITE SPORT TO PLAY: Basketball

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE VIKINGS/TIMBERWOLVES/WILD: Love the Vikings, pretty apathetic about the NBA, and I'm a Penguins fan so I don't really care for the Wild.

General Baseball-

WHAT MAKES BASEBALL SO GREAT TO YOU: All the strategy involved, and the fact that there's no clock

IF YOU HAD TO FOLLOW ANOTHER TEAM, WHICH AND WHY: Probably the Rays because their front office does such a good job.

BEST EXPERIENCE AT A BALLPARK OTHER THAN THE DOME: Never been to a park other than the dome.

OPINION ON INTERLEAGE PLAY: I love it

OPINION ON THE UNBALANCED SCHEDULE: Well I like it because the division title basically comes down to how well you play against the teams you're competing against, but on the other hand it would be nice to see some other teams a bit more.

FAVORITE NON-TWINS PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY: Oh boy. Ty Cobb probably.

MOST HATED NON-TWINS PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY: Derek Jeter. By far.

DID YOU EVER PLAY BASEBALL/SOFTBALL, WHAT POSITION: I played a lot of different positions, but I would say I was best at either catcher or second base

Twins Generic-

WHEN DID YOU BECOME A TWINS FAN AND WHY: I pretty much grew up with the Twins. My parents are fans so I just naturally became one.

BEST EXPERIENCE AT THE DOME: Definitely the last day of the year in 2006 when we beat the Sox and then cheered the Royals on to beat the Tigers.

EVER BEEN TO TWINS FEST? HOW WAS IT: I have not

EVER BEEN TO SPRING TRAINING, HOW WAS IT: I have not, although tentatively I might be going in the Spring of 2010

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CIRCLE BY BERT: Nope

HAVE YOU EVER CAUGHT A FOUL BALL OR HOME RUN AT THE DOME: Nope

Twins Player Specific-

FAVORITE TWINS PLAYER IN HISTORY: It is 1000 times over Bert Blyleven. The fact that he is not in the HOF right now is the biggest travesty in baseball.

FAVORITE CURRENT TWINS PLAYER: Denard Span

FAVORITE OBSCURE TWINS PLAYER: Joe Mauer? Haha kidding, is Kevin Slowey obscure? If not I'll go Jon Rauch.

ARE THERE (WERE THERE) ANY TWINS PLAYERS YOU DISLIKE: Well AJ. And I thought Torii Hunter was supremely overrated, but that's not really disliking

FAVORITE EXPERIENCE MEETING A PLAYER, PLEASE DESCRIBE: Um, I yelled at Jason Kubel from left field one time and he gave me a hello. That's as close as it gets.

CURRENT PLAYER YOU'D MOST LIKE TO WATCH A GAME WITH: Kevin Slowey

YOU'D MOST LIKE TO GO TO A BAR WITH: Either Pavano or Mauer so they could get me some ladies.

YOU'D MOST LIKE TO BE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH: Probably Span

YOU'D MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH: Mauer, so we could get chicks.

YOU'D WANT TO BE THE FRONT MAN OF YOUR NEW BAND: I bet Punto could sing a bit

YOU THINK SHOULD BE A MOVIE STAR: Obviously Mauer

YOU'D ASK FOR HELP ON A SCIENCE LAB: Slowey seems kind smart right?

YOU'D LIKE TO START A BUSINESS WITH: Slowey

EXPECTATIONS OF TARGET FIELD: It looks awesome. Definitely love the logo they have in center with the guys shaking hands.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE TEAM NEXT YEAR: Well, with the Tigers apparently punting on 2010, I think they should win the central, although who knows what kind of home field advantage they will have going outside.

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A huge thanks to Steve for helping me out and taking the time to answer some questions for this week! Definitely check out Twinkie Talk for your daily fix of Twins info. Be sure to stop by next Friday -- not only is it the kickoff of Twins Fest, but I'll be profiling John Meyer of Twins MVB!

Podcast!

Check it out as I join Jack Steal on his Twins Talk weekly podcast tonight! (9PM CST, 10PM EST) We'll be joined by the ever amazing Andrew Kneeland of Twins Target, and the wonderful blogger I profiled this past week: Brian Pietrzak. Stop by, call in, join the chat room!

"Twins Bloggers: Get to Know 'Em!" presents Brian Pietrzak

Happy Friday! Besides being the end of the week, the amazing thing about Friday's is that they bring another edition of "Twins Bloggers: Get to Know 'Em"! I'm still amazed that after most of the offseason, there's still so many great bloggers out there to cover. So enough stalling, this week, we've got a great guest for you:

This week I'm proud to present Brian Pietrzak. Brian's an amazing blogger that I first found when he wrote this past season for the Twins' Examiner page and have since followed to his personal blog: BP's Baseball Blog (as well as the non-Twins related but equally as good Donny Puck). Speaking from experience, it's tough to put the time and effort into just one blog, but to manage two and to do it well is quite a feat. I've been following Brian for awhile now, and I'm honored he's taking the time to answer a few questions for here, so take the time to find out a bit more about him and make sure to add him to your daily read ... he's well worth it!

Personal-

NAME: Brian Pieterzak

WEBSITE: www.bpbaseball.blogspot.com (Twins); www.donnypuck.blogspot.com (Minnesota sports, primarily Gophers)

BIRTHDAY: April 2

HOMETOWN: Brooklyn Park

WHAT KEEPS YOU EMPLOYED OTHER THAN BLOGGING: Financial Services

FAVORITE COLOR: Blue

FAVORITE FOOD: Italian

FAVORITE MOVIE: Any James Bond film, "Boogie Nights," "The Big Lebowski," "Airplane!"

FAVORITE BOOK: Anything by David McCullough

FAVORITE TYPE OF MUSIC: Hard Rock; New Wave; Classic R&B (60s and 70s, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Gap Band, etc.)

FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH OTHER THAN BASEBALL: Gopher hockey

FAVORITE SPORT TO PLAY: Baseball

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE VIKINGS/TIMBERWOLVES/WILD: Fan of the Wolves; can't stand the Wild and Vikings

General Baseball-

WHAT MAKES BASEBALL SO GREAT TO YOU: The anticipation between pitches and trying to outsmart managers during the game. Watching a game live with friends and debating baseball history is the best. My brother has an encyclopedic memory of baseball history, so he's always fun to banter with, and my Dad is fun to disagree with. Passing the game from generation-to-generation is what makes baseball so great.

IF YOU HAD TO FOLLOW ANOTHER TEAM, WHICH AND WHY: New York Yankees. I know it's not popular to admit, but I've been a Yankee fan since 1981. I'm a Twins' fan first, and always will be, but the Yankees are right up there. It's been easy being a fan since 1995, but there were some lean years prior to that.

BEST EXPERIENCE AT A BALLPARK OTHER THAN THE DOME: I attended the final game at Yankee Stadium in September 2008

OPINION ON INTERLEAGUE PLAY: It's been extremely kind to the Twins over the years (second-best interleage record next to the Yanks), but it needs to be severely curtailed in favor of more games against AL teams. Nobody cares about games with the Astros and Pirates.

OPINION ON THE UNBALANCED SCHEDULE: I don't mind it at all. The Twins and Tigers proved last season that games within a division can be entertaining all season long, and the Twins have developed a nice rivalry with the White Sox. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing divisional games cut to around 15 or so, IL play cut to 6-8 games, and the balance made up of more games against AL opponents.

FAVORITE NON-TWINS PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY: Tough question, but I'd probably have to say Henry Aaron and Willie Mays from a historical perspective and Derek Jeter (I know, I know) from the modern age.

MOST HATED NON-TWINS PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY: David Ortiz (Boston version; didn't like him much when he played here, either); Barry Bonds for obvious reasons.

DID YOU EVER PLAY BASEBALL/SOFTBALL, WHAT POSITION: I played baseball for eight seasons and saw action primarily at second base. I pitched and caught a bit as well. My second-fourth grade teams went 33-0, and that was the highlight of my baseball career. My 8th grade team went 0-23 and was "mercy-ruled" in every game but one.

Twins Generic-

WHEN DID YOU BECOME A TWINS FAN AND WHY: Twins baseball has been a part of my life as far as I can remember. My father is still a big fan, and my late grandfather never missed a game on the radio. I loved the pace and gamesmanship from an early age.

BEST EXPERIENCE AT THE DOME: I have three: #3 - Game 7 of the 1987 World Series; #2 - Games 6 and 7 of the 1991 World Series; #1 - Game 163 vs. the Tigers in 2009

EVER BEEN TO TWINS FEST, HOW WAS IT: I take my kids to Twins Fest each season. I enjoy watching my boys play the "Yard Ball" wiffle ball games.

EVER BEEN TO SPRING TRAINING, HOW WAS IT: No, and I can't say I'm interested in attending. I'd much rather pay full price to see games which actually count featuring MLB regulars participating for more than one inning.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CIRCLED BY BERT: No. My brother and sons made a sign when we attended one home opener on my birthday, but Bert never circled us.

HAVE YOU EVER CAUGHT A FOUL BALL OR HOME RUN AT THE DOME: No, but I did catch a foul ball at Shea Stadium in 2003. Livan Hernandez pitched the ball for the Expos to the Mets' Timo Perez.

Twins Player Specific-

FAVORITE TWINS PLAYER IN HISTORY: Kent Hrbek

FAVORITE CURRENT TWINS PLAYER: Jason Kubel

FAVORITE OBSCURE TWINS PLAYER: Houston Jimenez

ARE THERE (WERE THERE) ANY PLAYERS YOU DISLIKE: Nothing personal, but I could do without Nick Punto, Matt Tolbert, and Glen Perkins off the current roster; Al Newman, Jeff Reboulet, Chip Hale, Denny Hocking, David Ortiz, and Tim Laudner off past squads.

FAVORITE EXPERIENCE MEETING A PLAYER: I received an autograph from Harmon Killebrew at Twins Fest a few years ago with my son, and he couldn't have been nicer. Kent Hrbek also signed autographs for my brother and me in Milwaukee in 1988 and stayed outside for a long time fulfilling autograph requests from a ton of kids. Incidentally, Kirby Puckett was approached by my younger brother at the same time and he totally blew us off and was rude about it. I was never a fan of his from that point on, but never ceased to be amazed and entertained by his playing ability.

CURRENT PLAYER YOU'D MOST LIKE TO WATCH A GAME WITH: Pat Neshek (go Park Center Pirates!)

LIKE TO GO TO A BAR WITH: Joe Nathan

LIKE TO BE STRANDED ON A DESERT ISLAND WITH: Michael Cuddyer could probably use magic to get us off the island

LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH: Scott Baker

WANT TO BE THE FRONT MAN OF YOUR NEW BAND: Jose Mijares

THINK SHOULD BE A MOVIE STAR: Denard Span

YOU'D ASK FOR HELP ON A SCIENCE LAB: Kevin Slowey

YOU'D LIKE TO START A BUSINESS WITH: Kevin Slowey (I heard he's smart)

EXPECTATIONS FOR TARGET FIELD: It looks fabulous. I can't wait for the first rain delay and have somebody complain about how it never rained in the Dome. I am a little nervous about there being a possible wind tunnel in right-center field, especially with the Twins' fly-ball pitchers.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE TEAM NEXT YEAR: I think they'll win the division again with 90-95 victories. The Tigers' window seems to have closed for a while and the White Sox are in transition. The Indians and Royals are a few years away, and the Twins have the most talent top-to-bottom. If the holes in the starting rotation, second base, and third base are addressed, this team should be good for awhile.

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A huge thanks to Brian Pietrzak! Check out BP's Baseball Blog and Donny Puck if you want a good steady diet of Minnesota sports. And be sure to check back next week, when we present another Get to Know 'Em, featuring none other than Steve Fetch from Twinkie Talk!

A Return To Dominance?

As Twins fans, we've come to realize a painful tendency these past couple of years that previously we had been blissfully unaware of. In baseball, I would argue that there's nothing more deflating or devastating than a blown save; to take that a step further, losing a game because of a shoddy pitching job in the bullpen is just flat out unacceptable.

Under the guidance of Rick Stelmaszek and Rick Anderson, the Twins bullpen was dominant since our team's resurgence from obscurity in the early part of this past decade. Thanks in large part to name like Eddie Guardado, Juan Rincon, JC Romero, Grant Balfour, and several other since-departed Twins.

One of the things I think we all took for granted was being able to see our name consistently up there with the Los Angeles Angeles as having one of the best records in baseball when ahead after 7 innings.

Several other bloggers have pointed out that the Twins pitching woes this past year are perhaps mistakenly put on the shoulders of our rotation. I'm not quite sure that's the case -- they weren't particularly worse than they've been in the past (with the notable exception of not having Santana of course), but our bullpen offered absolutely no relief -- no pun intended -- and our starters were naturally forced to go longer and perhaps face more trouble than previously accustomed.

That changes this year.

Beginning in August and September we saw the bullpen begin to turn a corner, and we have every reason to expect that this trend should continue, which in itself will be a huge boon to our rotation and to our collective heartbeats as the game gets into later innings.

Obviously there's our star:

Joe Nathan is about as good as they come. At the end of the season I think everyone was cringing when they saw him come in, but we can't put all the failure on his shoulders. Those were some heartbreaking losses, but for every blown save he had at least 10 times where he was a rockstar. First off, late inning save situations are naturally tense. And Nathan's tweaks and quirks and twitches are a little scary to watch too. But for 95% of the games he's put in, he'll dominate. He deserves the benefit of the doubt as a model of consistency.

Mijares & Guerrier are at the very least league-average relievers, and when they're on point they're much better. Mijares is a power arm from the leftside with the ability to make batters look silly. He has a bad tendency of pitching off the plate and letting batters coax favorable counts against him before either ultimately walking them or coming back with a piece of cheese that gets lifted into the seats. But those bad moments are the ones that stick out, and numbers don't lie: 2.34 ERA and 1.056 WHIP and a 60-23 K-BB ratio in 2009 is not something to scoff at. Guerrier is almost the opposite of Mijares. Guerrier relies less on power than control and guile. This past year his numbers look a little flukey, and so I was an advocate for trading him (and still am because I think his value will never be higher), but he's also been a model of consistency, as shown by the fact that he is always one of the league leaders in appearances out of the bullpen. That's actually one of the biggest fears: that he's so consistent that he'll be overused. No complaints from me if that's the worst thing I can say about him.

Jon Rauch is the kind of pitcher that I'm sure has batters quivering at the plate. He looks like he's either going to hit you in the face with a baseball or a beer bottle, and neither would be pleasant. Down the stretch he was one of the most clutch performers out of our 'pen, and if he has a good supporting cast around him he'll be able to keep slinging at full strength right into October. A big guy like that is a good asset on the mound (and he's not even the biggest guy in our system...)

Pat Neshek is unbelievably awesome. Not only is his delivery one of the coolest things to watch, but the fact that no one can seem to touch him makes it even better. The biggest question mark here is how effective he'll be coming back from injury. We should know this pretty quickly in spring training, but the thought is that sometime during the season he'll be able to step in and provide that electric spark that made him so nasty in his debut. I think we all know he can do that, the only question is how soon.

Clay Condrey makes Bobby Keppel look like the career minor leaguer we know he should be. One of the biggest concerns last year for me is how long we stuck with him when his sinker stopped sinking -- it seemed like he was holding blackmail over Gardy and Smith that allowed him a permanent place on the active roster. This year, that's changed. (What is a Ham Fighter?) Condrey was a key piece of the Phillies bullpen during the regular season, and I can't explain why he didn't see the light of day during the postseason, but it speaks more to the Phillies' depth than anything bad about Condrey. The one thing here is that we shouldn't expect him to come in and be the next Joe Nathan, but he's at least league average and should be a much better mop-up guy and able to keep the games from getting out of hand, which is more than I could say for Keppel.

Jesse Crain is a guy that everyone loves to hate this offseason. I think that's more in part for the fact that he struggled at the beginning of the season and kept getting trotted out there. Thankfully the Twins wised up and let him fix things in the minors, and in the second half of the season he was amazing. He had a 2.91 ERA, 1.206 WHIP, and a 30-15 K-BB ratio and he generally seemed a lot more confident. The biggest problem is that we're paying through the nose for him, but that's more the fact that we signed him to a stupid contract than that he's a bad pitcher. If he's the weakest link in our pen, it's a pretty strong pen.

Other options? We have plenty. The Duensing/Perkins/Liriano/Manship/Swarzak 5-headed monster will undoubtedly see some time in the 'pen, and it's not because they can't cut it in a rotation but just because we have too many people logjamming! This in fact makes it hard for some of our best prospects, who are currently idling away in Rochester and will sadly probably start the year back there. The one that I'd like to see break camp with the Twins but fully expect to be a fresh, lights-out, sparkplug down the stretch: Anthony Slama.

He was named the Twins minor league pitcher of the year in '08 when he dominated the FSL with Fort Meyers. He had a 1.01 ERA with a 0.944 WHIP and a 110-24 K-BB ratio. He's calmed down a little bit since then but still continues to be the best option out of the pen in each stop that he makes in our system.

In summary? Despite getting rid of Boof Bonser and not retaining Keppel or Mahay, the Twins will have a plethora of serviceable arms to stock our pen. And if anyone is ineffective or gets injured, there should be plenty of options to remedy the situation with. Not only will this shore up what's been an Achilles heel for the Twins the past couple of years, but it will undoubtedly make our rotation better as they'll be able to hand off the ball with more confidence.

This is our bullpen's return to dominance. And it's been much needed.

"Twins Bloggers: Get to Know 'Em" presents: Andrew Kneeland

My time in Minnesota was excellent -- so much so in fact that I really want to come back again soon for Twins Fest. We'll see if that works out... In the mean time, I really need to work on blogging again. Sadly, there's so little activity on the Twins front this offseason that blogging can get kind of uninspiring at times. Temporary writer's block. I'll get through it, but in the meantime:

It's Friday, and we return with another addition of "Twins Bloggers: Get to Know' Em"! This week, I have the pleasure of profiling one of the most talented bloggers I've had the pleasure of reading. I started reading Andrew's posts when he wrote for his old blog, and since his transition over to Twins Target, he's maintained a great readership and a keen mind for analyzing and breaking down our favorite team. Andrew just finished up his series on the Top 15 Twins prospects (and I heartily agree with his choice for number 1), and he does a marvelous job going above and beyond just a one paragraph description by instead taking the time to craft a very detailed and intricate profile of each of his choices. If you haven't already, take the time to go back and read through them because there's a good chance you'll see many future Twins in his prospect write-ups.

Without further ado:

Personal-

NAME: Andrew Kneeland

WEBSITE: TwinsTarget.com

BIRTHDAY: October 22

HOMETOWN: Born in Temecula, CA, where I lived for a few months before moving to North Dakota. I spent many years in both Kalispell, MT and Sioux Falls, SD before moving to where I live now: southern Arizona.

WHAT KEEPS YOU EMPLOYED OTHER THAN BLOGGING: I'm a student, but I work for the local newspaper part-time.

FAVORITE COLOR: Orange

FAVORITE FOOD: Honolulu Chicken

FAVORITE MOVIE: Pretty much any action/thriller flick. I'm easily entertained.

FAVORITE BOOK: Any Grisham novel, preferably The Rainmaker.

FAVORITE TYPE OF MUSIC: Don't really listen to music.

FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH OTHER THAN BASEBALL: Football.

FAVORITE SPORT TO PLAY: Extremely tough question. I love to play catch with any type of ball, shoot hoops, and even play tennis. If you want to torture me, you'd take away my football and baseball glove.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE VIKINGS/TIMBERWOLVES/WILD: Huge Vikings fan, interested T-Wolves fan and love their direction, but not too big into hockey.

General Baseball-

WHAT MAKES BASEBALL SO GREAT TO YOU: The multitude of individual matchups and how the game can be broken down into so many ways. I also love that statistics and probability drive the game and the fact that most of the fun of baseball is had between games.

IF YOU HAD TO FOLLOW ANOTHER TEAM, WHICH AND WHY: Probably the Arizona Diamondbacks because of proximity, but I wouldn't be opposed to "becoming" a Royal's fan, if for no other reason than the plethora of intelligent fans.

BEST EXPERIENCE AT A BALLPARK OTHER THAN THE DOME: Enjoyed a game with my dad and siblings at Chase Field.

OPINION ON INTERLEAGUE PLAY: Like it.

OPINION ON THE UNBALANCED SCHEDULE: It works the way it is, but a change is worth looking into.

FAVORITE NON-TWINS PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY: Does Jack Morris count?

MOST HATED NON-TWINS PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY: Probably someone like Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire.

DID YOU EVER PLAY BASEBALL/SOFTBALL, WHAT POSITION: Nothing above grade school rec teams, but I love to play the outfield when I can.

Twins Generic-

WHEN DID YOU BECOME A TWINS FAN AND WHY: Born into a family with many generations of Twins' fanhood under their belts.

BEST EXPERIENCE AT THE DOME: Can't single one out, but they all combine to form one pleasant memory with family and friends.

EVER BEEN TO TWINS FEST, HOW WAS IT: Never been, but would love to.

EVER BEEN TO SPRING TRAINING, HOW WAS IT: Never been, but would love to.

EVER BEEN CIRCLED BY BERT: Never been, but would love to.

HAVE YOU EVER CAUGHT A FOUL BALL OR HOME RUN AT THE DOME: Not at the Dome, but I've caught a few foul balls in other places.

Twins Player Specific-

FAVORITE TWINS PLAYER IN HISTORY: Kirby.

FAVORITE CURRENT TWINS PLAYER: Mauer.

FAVORITE OBSCURE TWINS PLAYER: Does Tom Brunansky count?

ARE THERE (WERE THERE) ANY TWINS PLAYERS YOU DISLIKE: Not especially.

FAVORITE EXPERIENCE MEETING A PLAYER: Many moons ago I had the opportunity to meet Harmon Killebrew at the Mall of America by his plaque. My age was well below the decade-mark back then, and I don't remember much, but a few things stick out in my memory. I remember plopping on Killebrew's lap for a picture (I was very young, remember), and a very large plastic container of soda placed precariously on a ledge. Apparently that's all I took from the event.

CURRENT PLAYER YOU'D MOST LIKE TO WATCH A GAME WITH: Joe Mauer

YOU'D MOST LIKE TO GO TO A BAR WITH: Joe Nathan

YOU'D MOST LIKE TO BE STRANDED ON AN ISLAND WITH: Jason Kubel

YOU'D MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH: Justin Morneau

YOU'D WANT TO BE THE FRONT MAN OF YOUR NEW BAND: Orlando Cabrera

YOU THINK SHOULD BE A MOVIE STAR: Brendan Harris

YOU'D ASK FOR HELP ON A SCIENCE LAB: Kevin Slowey

YOU'D LIKE TO START A BUSINESS WITH: Kevin Slowey

EXPECTATIONS OF TARGET FIELD: Should suit our 2010 team well.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE TEAM NEXT YEAR: Win the Central again, and win a series or two in the playoffs.

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Again, a big thanks to Andrew at Twins Target! If you haven't checked out his blog yet, do yourself a favor and make it one of your daily reads. Next Friday I'll return with another Get to Know 'Em, and I'll be profiling Brian Pietrzak of BP's Baseball Blog, so be sure to stop by!