clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Friday Twins’ Links: La Tortuga, Venezuela’s superhero

and the fix is in, operatically speaking

By TJ Gorsegner
Minnesota Twins v Detroit Tigers Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
  • La Tortuga is a fan favorite around here, and according to Stu Cliburn, the Twins’ Triple-A pitching coach, Astudillo is “Like a superhero over there [in Venezuela.] He’s beloved.” Phil Miller had a long article in the Star Tribune about the rotund utilityman who has stolen the hearts of the Twins, and of their fans.
  • Parker Hageman has a great piece over at Twins’ Daily about Mitch Garver, Tanner Swanson, and the impact the Twins’ Minor League Catching Coordinator had on their young catcher this offseason. Their main area of focus was the difficult-to-quantify framing of pitches, which is something Swanson has been stressing up-and-down the Twin’s system.
  • According to LENIII, the Twins and Kyle Gibson have been talking about an extension again. This is clearly viewed as good news by Twinkie Town’s managing editor, who is a hopeless fan of the pitcher. The stats also show that Gibson has been a very good player over the last year-and-a-half, so let’s hope the Twins can keep him around.
  • Hey Negative Nelly—listen up!!! Apparently a lot of Twins fans haven’t got the message that the is actually not totally awful anymore. If you’re one of those people who still think the Twins suck, Michael Rand has words for you. I, for one, am all aboard the optimistism express.
  • In case you missed this one, the Rochester Red Wings, Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate, unveiled a special promotional jersey to honor Deaf Culture. Apparently Rochester has one of the US’s largest deaf populations. The Jersey will have the team name spelled out in American Sign Language, as well as other events during the game.
  • Finally, if you are a fan of performing arts in addition to baseball, this one might be right up your alley. The Minnesota Opera will be unveiling “The Fix,” which is composed by Jordan Puckett (seems to have no relation to Kirby.) “The Fix” retells the story of the 1919 World Series, and the Chicago “Black Sox” scandal, which lead to “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and others being banned from baseball.

More From Twinkie Town