Box Score of the Week

San Francisco Giants at Washington Nationals - June 4, 2009.

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On assignment

 Another trip for my day job, so I won't be in the Patriot bunker today for my radio show. Instead, it'll be The Headliner Mitch Berg taking the reins from 1-3 PM Central Time. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics Mitch is addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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Quick Hits: Volume CCCLXXIX (Deranged Progressives edition)

- It can never be overemphasized how Donald Trump has caused such angst and derangement among political leftists. In this the second term of the Trump presidency, progs are literally acting like spoiled children who are told "no." 

Right on cue, here are scenes from an event occurring this past weekend in St Paul (CAUTION: STRONG LANGUAGE): 

🚨NEW: Welcome to Minnesota, where grown adults spent their Saturday raging against “the machine.”

They screamed, they cried, they said RFK Jr. is going to put them into concentration camps?

This is “Rage Against the Regime” — the latest protest from the 50501 Movement.… pic.twitter.com/bTnQPBySCW

— FRONTLINES (@FrontlinesTPUSA) August 3, 2025

I don't say this to be condescending, but I feel genuine pity for these people. And those in the agenda-driven media who push false narratives to undermine Trump are borderline complicit in the further mental breakdown of people susceptible to false theories (i.e. LGBTQ people being locked up or put in a registry). It's inhumane at this point. 

- The majority Republican legislature in Texas is looking to re-draw the state's Congressional lines, which would result in the GOP likely gaining more U.S. House seats in 2026. Instead of staying behind to debate the merits of this proposed law, Dem legislators opted for what they do best: not showing up for work, thus preventing a quorum. 

And if there's a proverbial pile of feces for the Dems to step in, it's pretty much a given they'll grind it into the ground. 

Was there nobody on the PR side who was like maybe we shouldn’t go to one of the most corrupt gerrymandered states in the country? https://t.co/ahNLnUJGT0

— Andrew Kaczynski (@KFILE) August 4, 2025

new rule: no one is allowed to complain about "Republican gerrymandering" until Texas Republicans - who got a similar % of the House vote in 2024 as did Illinois Democrats - control as many seats in Texas as Democrats do in Illinois proportionately. https://t.co/fILjnfHtfN pic.twitter.com/19GFDHpS96

— Logan Dobson (@LoganDobson) July 29, 2025

For all the prog caterwauling over Republicans being a threat to democracy, it's only been Democrats lately who have refused to engage in the....uh.....democratic process. 

- This is just creepy, dystopian stuff. 

 

A show you don’t want to miss at 4p ET / 1p PT. I’ll be having a one of a kind interview with Joaquin Oliver. He died in the Parkland school shooting in 2018. But his parents have created an AI version of their son to deliver a powerful message on gun violence. Plus Texas State… pic.twitter.com/mbdM2WxwUR

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 4, 2025

For as morally offended as Acosta was over Trump calling his ilk "fake news" he now seems hellbent on living up to that low expectation. 

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Box Score of the Week

Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants - May 1, 2009.

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At age 45 years and 8 months, Giants pitcher Randy Johnson becomes the eldest player in MLB history to strike out at least five consecutive batters in a game. 

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The NARN Closer's playlist - 8/3/2025

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Ain't gonna spend the rest of my life quietly fading away......

We're into August already?!?! Dang, that snuck up on me. 

But it's Sunday, so that means another edition of my radio show The Closer. The 2-hour blitz will get started at 1:00 PM Central Time. 

In the first hour I'll discuss the recent 5-year anniversary of the Star Tribune story implicating Umbrella Man as inciting the riots in response to George Floyd's death and how there has still been no arrest. I'll also dip my toe in the sports world as I weigh in on the Minnesota Twins' massive fire sale at the MLB trade deadline. 

At 2:00, Archway Defense founder Peter Johnson will join us via phone to talk about the Midtown Manhattan shooting, specifically why a gunman carrying a large gun in New York didn't arouse suspicion until he opened fire. 

Then at 2:30, technology guru D. Greg Scott will be in studio to chat about the cyberattack in St Paul and Gov. Tim Walz's decision to call in the National Guard. 

So please call (651) 289-4488 if you'd like to weigh in on any of the topics we plan on addressing.

 

You can listen live in the Twin Cities at AM 1280 or, if you're near downtown Minneapolis/West Metro area, 107.5 FM on your radio dial. In and out of the Minneapolis-St Paul area you can listen to the program on the Internet by clicking this link, or check us out via iheart radio as well as Amazon Alexa (just say "Alexa, play The Patriot Minneapolis"). If you're unable to tune in live, please check out my podcast page for the latest show post.

And if you're so inclined, follow along on Twitter at #NARNShow or "Like" our Facebook page, where we also conduct a "Live Stream" of the broadcast.

Until then.....

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Get to know 'em

The title of this blog post was the Minnesota Twins slogan back in the early 2000s. It was becoming apparent that the franchise's home grown players like Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, A.J. Pierzynski, Doug Mientkiewicz, Corey Koskie, etc. were finally blooming into bona fide major leaguers. The fact they broke through with an 85-77 record in 2001 after eight consecutive losing seasons made that ad campaign all the more enjoyable. 

In the aftermath of perhaps the largest trade deadline fire sale in Twins history, "Get to know 'em" is taking on a whole new connotation now that nearly 40% of the active MLB roster will need to be replenished. 

The Twins just traded 10 players from their roster (!) this week and shed up to $26M+ from 2025 payroll:

SS Carlos Correa
RP Jhoan Duran
RP Griffin Jax
RP Louie Varland
SP Chris Paddack
UTL Willi Castro
OF Harrison Bader
RP Brock Stewart
RP Danny Coulombe
1B Ty France

— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) July 31, 2025

There were six pending free agents on the active roster. The Twins jettisoned five of them (Paddack, Castro, Bader, Coulombe and France). Given all were likely to walk at the end of this season, anything the Twins could get return should be considered a bonus.

I can also justify dumping Stewart since he'll be 34 in October and has had a recent history of arm trouble. In fact, the trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday was held up for a bit due to the routine physical being not so routine. 

Correa was the recipient of the largest free agent contract in Twins history when he inked a 6 year/$200 million pact prior to the 2023 season. However, that was signed only after long-term offers from the San Francisco Giants (13 years) and New York Mets (12 years) were withdrawn after both clubs were  scared off by his surgically repaired right ankle, a procedure that was conducted in 2015. But over the almost three full seasons under his Twins contract, Correa has had plantar fasciitis in each foot and this year has performed barely above replacement level. He'll be 31 next month, but his performance this season has him looking more like 41. Sure, the Twins will have to eat approximately $10 million of Correa's salary over each of the next three seasons, but that also means $20+ million will be freed up over each of those three years. Since the Twins merely netted a low level minor league pitcher with an ERA north of 6.00, this was clearly a salary dump.  

Of all the seasons I've been a Twins fan, I don't recall a pitcher with filthier stuff than Duran. However, if the Twins weren't expecting to contend for a playoff berth this season, then a lights out closer with 2 years of team control is a valuable bargaining chip at the trade deadline. And sure enough, the Twins were able to wrest one of the Philadelphia Phillies' top pitching prospects (Mick Abel) and a solid catching prospect (Eduardo Tait). Since the Twins lacked organizational depth in both those areas, this is a good return. 

Since Duran was dealt, I figured the Twins would insert Jax into the closer role. I mean, he's got electric stuff and was still under team control for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. As Thursday's deadline of 5 PM Central was fast approaching, I figured the Twins were done dealing after trading 7 of their players. But just as I was getting acclimated to that idea, news broke that Jax was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for right handed starting pitcher Taj Bradley. In 67 career starts, Bradley has a 4.70 ERA with nearly 10 strikeouts per 9 IP (though he's only at 7.7 K's this season). Acquiring a 24-year old starter with high octane stuff in exchange for a 30-year old reliever has the potential to end up being a steal for the Twins. 

Finally, we get to Varland. While I can justify moving on from the other nine players, dealing a 27-year old pitcher who has thrived in his first full season as a set up man and has five more years of team control doesn't make a lotta sense on the surface. And since his 2025 salary is less than $1 million, there certainly wasn't any financial benefit to dumping him. However, the Twins were able to extract the Toronto Blue Jays' #5 organizational prospect in Kendry Rojas, a left handed starting pitcher. Again, time will tell on who will ultimately win this trade, but it once again emphasizes how much value contending teams place of high leverage relief pitchers. 

My reaction in the immediate aftermath of Thursday's trade deadline was that it's possible a sale of the team is imminent and thus the Pohlads looked to give a potential new owner a clean slate. While there wasn't much doubt the Twins were looking to trade away players given a playoff berth is (to be charitable) a longshot, getting rid of 10 players felt extreme. But as I've had time to digest the players received in return, the Twins may well be seen as winning the majority of these trades long term. Again, time will tell. But if these moves do nothing else but expedite the Pohlad family's sale of the club, then it'll have been more than worth it. 

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Quick Hits: Volume CCCLXXVIII

- With close to $1 billion lost due to fraud among certain Minnesota state agencies, there are dozens of people who have thus far been prosecuted with more to come. 

When reading an interview with acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, I am heartened that he's willing to call out more than just the perpetrators. 

As a prosecutor, I’m expected to say the defendants are responsible for their crimes — and they are. But if we pretend that’s the whole story, we’re lying to ourselves. This fraud crisis didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s the result of widespread failure across nearly every level of leadership in Minnesota: Politicians who turned a blind eye. Agencies that failed to act. Prosecutors and law enforcement who didn’t push hard enough. Reporters who ignored the story. Community leaders who stayed silent. And a public that wanted to believe it couldn’t happen here.

This isn’t just a few criminals exploiting the system, this is a system that’s been begging to be exploited. We left the door wide open, and now our state has been ransacked. If we keep ignoring the truth, we’re going to lose something far more important than money. We’re going to lose the Minnesota we know and love.

I would've loved to have known what was going through Attorney General Keith Ellison's mind upon reading that excerpt.  

- With U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) not seeking reelection in 2026, the Democrat party sees this as an opportunity to make a dent in the Republicans' Senate majority. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is seen as the frontrunner for the Dem nominee, and it would appear that Nebraska Fats Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would like to jump on the bandwagon. 

Roy Cooper knows how to win tough races. I was proud to serve alongside him as a Governor and I know he’ll make a fantastic Senator for the great state of North Carolina. https://t.co/rEeLSWZ0gq

— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) July 28, 2025

I can only guess that when the moderate Cooper saw such an endorsement from a far left kook like Walz, he was all like......

via GIPHY

After his embarrassing performance as a VP candidate combined with the rampant fraud in Minnesota under his watch, Walz is pretty much persona non grata among moderate Democrats (to the extent any still exist).

- With the Minnesota Twins on their way to missing the postseason for the fourth time in five seasons, it's no surprise they're willing to be sellers at the trade deadline. 

On Wednesday, a huge chess piece was moved. 

The Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday acquired Jhoan Duran, one of baseball's best relievers, and they paid a high price to the Minnesota Twins to get it done.

Minnesota received catcher Eduardo Tait, regarded as a top 100 prospect, and pitcher Mick Abel, a rookie with six years of team control. They're ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, among the Phillies' minor league prospects, per ESPN.

Duran, 27, is known for two wipeout pitches -- a fastball with an average velocity of 100.2 mph and a curveball he throws in the mid-80s -- and he is among the most dominant closers.

This not only helps the Phils this season, but also two years after that as Duran isn't eligible for free agency until 2028. And the Twins add to their prospect pool in two areas where they lack depth: catcher and starting pitching. Also, this isn't exactly a full rebuild for the Twins as they still have significant talent on their roster in addition to some budding young players who will get a good look when rosters expand on September 1. 

Now if the team can find a buyer to get out from under the Pohland ownership group.......

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