Dozier also turned a nice double play when he jumped and caught a line drive and then doubled off the runner at second base.  That defensive gem, along with his herculean shot to the second deck, made the committee’s choice an easy one.  Welcome Brian Dozier to TTBB’s Scorpion Jacket Hall of Excellence.

AP Photo...TTBB Photo ruin

You can see the rest of the TTBB SCJHOE here.  A very prestigious and honorable group.

The Gardy quote in the picture was lifted in a story from Tyler Mason over at FSN.  He’s got a great article about Dozier and Mother’s Day that I recommend reading.

Enter Scott Diamond.

In his first start after being called up from Triple-A Rochester, Diamond did something no Twins starter had accomplished yet this season: hold the other team scoreless.  For that, it was a pretty easy choice for the committee here at TTBB to add him to the prestigious Scorpion Jacket Hall of Excellence.

"Scott, how does it feel to be wearing such a bitchin jacket?" -- Robby

Congrats Scott.  You’ve now been enshrined in TTBB’s SJHOE along with the other members found here.

Anyways, it is my pleasure to announce the newest addition to the Scorpion Jacket Hall of Excellence…Glen Perkins.  Glen should have been given this award during the Angels series when he struck out Albert Pujols with slider making one of the all time greats look like a damn fool. Unfortunately the Hall wasn’t built yet so Mr. Perkins had to prove his worthiness against the Red Sox.  He entered in the top of the 8th inning and struck out the side…and no small side. He K’d Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, and Kevin Funnybattingstance.  What used to be known around these parts as a “Snapper mow’em down inning” has earned Glen a spot in sports immorality.  Well the site of immorality and a place in immortality.

Congrats Mr. Perkins for pretty much killing it.

3 up. 3 down. Lookin like clowns. #pmki

As this list of prestige and honor grows, their photoshopbusts will be added to the special page found here or by clicking on the menubar where it says “TTBB’s Scorpion Jacket Hall of Excellence”.

I don't bunt, I just drive the damn ball.

I’m obviously joking and in no way saying this is happening.

What was the secret to their success?  It wasn’t worthless necklaces, mouth guards, or performance enhancing drugs.  It was advice from teammate Josh Willingham.  He had given up on the phiten titanium necklace snake oil and had moved onto something better…a white jacket with a yellow scorpion on the back.  Mauer and Morneau gave the jacket a shot and sure enough, both homered during the game.  Not to be outdone, Willingham hit his 4th home run of the season.

It’s just a matter of time before we see more players sporting white jackets with yellow scorpions on the back….and reports of bodies in elevators.

Here is a photo of Mauer and Willingham greeting Morneau after he hit his home run.

Performance Enhancing Jackets...the next Andro

So here goes, NostraCollinous’ 2012 Minnesota Twins Predictions.

Bottom Line: Twins win 87 games and win AL Central by 2 games ahead of Detroit. (KC 3rd, CLE 4th, CHW 5th).

Think I’m crazy?  So do I but I’m following my gut here and it’s done me well before…instinctively speaking, not physically (I’m bringing husky back).  Now let me make this clear, I’m not being a homer here, I’m being serious. I’ve watched the Twins and this division too much over the past 20 years to know that like Kevin Garnett said, anything is possible.

Now let me explain my reasoning.

1. The #Horseshoe is back.

The #Horseshoe is back, baby.

The horseshoe is something AL Central foes are very familiar with…if you throw out last season.  I’ll give the credit to @spacemnkymafia for the origin of the horseshoe but it’s what I like to call “That’s Twins Baseball”.  Remember back in early in the 2010 season, the Twins would load the bases and fail to drive any of the runs in?  The only runs that would score were due to errors or wild pitches or walks.  That’s Twins Baseball.  The Twins have always had this horseshoe in their back pocket.  Think of Inge getting HBP in Game 163 but the umpire not calling it.  That’s Twins Baseball or that’s the #horseshoe.  Still not quite getting it?  You could think of it as the Twins “having the bounces go their way” as they say.  For reasons unknown, last season the Twins lost their mojo, they lost their TTBB baby, yeah!  I mean they really, really lost it.  Target Field was renamed Murphy’s Law Stadium with everything going wrong.  I blame it on the Curse of Favre which will now end with the winter  Minnesota sports teams and balance will be restored to Minnesota sports (I made up the whole curse bit, I can end it…right?).  For more information on TTBB and the #horseshoe, check out this post from last season where I describe it better.  It’s not meant to be a knock on the hometown nine, it’s meant to be a playful knock on some of the things that go the Twins way.

2. Return of the Swing

"One swing, to rule them all"

Not much to explain here.  The #ReturnoftheSwing is coming to a 2012 season near you.  Joe Mauer has been quoted saying this is the best he’s felt in spring in a long time (sorry no source).  It’s not hard to imagine.  This time last year he was coming off late offseason surgery that hampered his ability fully participate in spring training.  Not the case this spring.  Watch out for a healthy Joe Mauer.  With fresh legs beneath him, we will all behold “The Return of the Swing”. I’ve got some big expectations for Joe which are listed below as part of the “Quick Predicts” below.

3. The Fellowship of the Swing.

The boys are back in town. (When healthy like now)

The Twins have their MVP’s back healthy for the first time in a long time.  Combined with some other bats with pop in the lineup, this Fellowship of the Swing will play a crucial role trying to play “keep up” with opposing mashers teeing off of the back end of the rotation (at least on paper you would think this).  The only issue is whether they can remain healthy for the majority of the season.  If not, then the Fellowship will be broken and the AL Central will fall into shadow.

4. Gardy.

You will play when injured....or die.

It seems like over this past winter, we heard more and more stories about how the players dictated whether they would play or not when they had an injury.  That’s not going to be the case this season as Gardy says “I’m not going to let Pillow Pants tell me if my guy is able to play, screw Pillow Pants.  Now get out there and battle your tail off.”  You know the 99 loss season has been on Gardy’s mind all offseason and changes are needed to return to glory.  It appears this is already happening with the surprising demotion of Drew Butera to AAA and how Ben Revere no longer is a lock for an everyday starter.  Also remember how he wanted to add “speed” to the team last season?  That didn’t work out so well and now it looks like the lineup will feature more driving of the ball and less of Gardyballing of the ball.

Quick Predicts

- Joe Mauer hits 6 or more home runs……at Target Field (he has 1 HR so far…same with Tolbert).

- Liriano is somewhere between his ’10 and ’11 season.

- Luke Hughes or becomes everyday second baseman.

- Dozier is the starting shortstop by July when Carroll’s age shows.

- Morneau hits 23 HR.

- The Twins starting staff is a revolving door for the 4 and 5s.

- JJ Hardy hits a home run against the Twins.

- Justin Verlander has a season ending injury after putting on too many miles the past few seasons.

- Parmelee continues to be “The Anomaly” and stays with club for most of season. Goes down when struggles but comes back up.

- Twins wish they would have signed a veteran reliever.

- Capps and Perkins swap roles.

- Gardy says “Battled their tales off.”

- The Twins continue to pitch-to-contact.

Well those are just my dumb predictions. I think it will be a season that is dependent on the Twins being able to play catchup offensively as the weakness on the team is the pitching.

Want a stat for this post?  It’s almost statistically impossible for the Twins luck to be as bad as it was last year.  No matter what, they’re not gonna be coached by Murphy’s Law this year.

Viva La Horseshoe.  That’s Twins Baseball!

PMKI

The legend of Bruce Chen continues to grow.  He already strikes fear into the hearts of AL Central opponents with his Konami Code fast ball that moves up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, B, A, select, and start….all before it is halfway to the plate.  Now he is striking fear into the hearts of Tony Bennett and even the dead Frank Sinatra.  Bruce Chen pretty much kills it when he sings.  So much so that out of respect, the word karaoke is now called Chenoke. Listen below and ladies, you better be sitting down for this.

Here he is ladies and gentleman.  The Kansas City Crooner, Bruce Chen!

*Hit it*

How great was that? This was from last summer so I apologize if some of you were lucky enough to see it. Hat tip to @AndrewPohlman for the link.
Be sure to click on the link below for more Bruce Chen Facts.

Vote Guentzel for MLB Fan Cave 2012.

TTBB HEADQUARTERS — That’s Twins Baseball has learned that it’s an election year.  While we have yet to see the presidential candidates hit the campaign trail, there is a different campaign currently underway that is much more important…the race for MLB “Fan Cave” 2012.

There are 50 candidates in the race and only one candidate will get the coveted TTBB endorsement.  It is my honor to announce that  TTBB will endorse Lindsay Guentzel for MLB Fan Cave 2012.  It’s really a no-brainer.  Lindsay is the most qualified candidate in the field and she’ll bring change we can believe in to the Fan Cave.  Hell, she broke the Joe Mauer engagement news, what can’t she do?  Oh and please don’t hold that against her, ladies….and guys…not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Let’s make it happen people.  We have a voice with our vote.  Keep the communists out of the Fan Cave and vote Guentzel 2012!

You can cast your vote here.

Ron "Texas Gardy" Gardenhire vs Slim Jim Leyland

The most difficult job in baseball doesn’t belong to a pitcher or catcher.  It belongs to the team manger.  A manager has numerous factors and strategies that he has to consider each and every game, and that is in addition to dealing with the personalities on his bench and in the bullpen. Texas Holdem poker players are very similar to managers in the types of situations that they have to deal with every time they sit down to the poker tables.  Let’s look at a few of those common similarities.

A poker player is very similar to a manager in baseball in that he has to analyze not only his own play, but also the play of the players at the table.  He has to be able to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of his opponents, but unlike a manager in baseball, a poker player has to do this on the fly and many times without the help of any advance scouting information.

Even if a poker player has information on his opponent, he has to watch for tendencies in the other players.  In baseball, a manager can easily recognize when a player is playing exceptionally well or above his typical skill set.  Adversely, they can also see when their players are not playing well.  Poker players have to watch out for this as well and adjust their play the same way that managers do.

Also, baseball and poker are very situational.  If your opponent has runners on second and third and a left handed batter comes to the plate, you might adjust the outfield or even put in a reliever that has done well against this batter.  Poker players have to make on the fly adjustments based on what they know of the other players and how they are playing.  Does this player have a tendency to fold when pressure is applied on the turn?  Do they bet too often on the flop?  You have to analyze each situation and adjust.

Sites that feature online poker games often talk about the mental game of poker.  The mental aspect of poker is easily the element that often separates winning players and losing players.  The same is true for baseball.  Think about the best managers in the game and they will all have a genius level IQ when it comes to the game.  The big difference is that when a baseball manager put together a winner, he is immortalized while the poker player just moves on to the next game.