Monday Morning Minnesota: Happy 2021, anyway let’s grumble about relief pitching edition

Previously on Twinkie Town:

• Jonathan Gamble rang in the new year with some New Years resolutions for Twins Players, and later asked you all what your Fan Resolutions would be. Honestly, mine is to stake less emotion on Baseball, because when you are a Twins fan that just means cruel, cruel, statistically improbable heartache.
• In less resolute news, TJ informed us of the Twins interest in reliever Alex Colome. Interestingly “Colome” is an anagram of “Cool me” and the me that is writing this is just super darn cool, so that’s probably a sign he’ll sign here.
• He also showed us the top 10 Twinkletown stories of 2020 by traffic, and I am extremely proud that while they are almost all Maeda or Donaldson related, all of you apparently reaaaally wanted to see Willians Astudillo get in a fight.
• Finally, Brandon rounded up AL Central news as he does. Honestly just read that instead of this if you haven’t already.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• In case you missed it, the Twins signed reliever Hansel Robles. Robles is an interesting rebound candidate, but the signing is still kinda weird considering they are paying him more than they would have payed Matt Wisler, who is probably better. In a vacuum I’m a fan of this signing, I just find the whole thing a bit odd.
• Old friend Phil Hughes officially retired, and fittingly for Hughes, he did it with a Tweet.

• Do-Hyoung Park listed the best Twins players by uniform number, which is the only list with words “best” and Twins” in the title that will contain Logan Morrison.
• The Pioneer Press interviewed Twins CEO Dave St. Peter on the weirdness of 2020, the Saints, and this sites favorite subject: Ron Gardenhire. Do you think Gardy was ever aware of all our Ron Gardenhire fanfiction? Do you think Gardy knows what “fanfiction” is? Do you think Ron Gardenhire knows how to use the internet?
• Post idea: Ron Gardenhire + Ronald McDonald. Something about a McHustle burger, and Nick Punto is there too dressed as the Hamburgler, I dunno. We’ll workshop it.
• Hell we probably already did that.

Around the World in Bases and Balls:

• MLB dot com shows off some nasty pitches they want to see more of next year this year. I really just like video of obscene pitches because like imagine trying to hit that. Baseball isn’t fair. Physics is DUMB.
• South Side Sox’s Brett Ballantini remembers back on all the former White Sox players who passed in 2020.

Today’s soundtrack is a little know game with one of the most impressive uses of the NES sound chip this side of Mega Man 2.