The Twins have been busy, and it's only Thanksgiving

The Twins spent the week before Thanksgiving showing off some new looks. They got some new uniforms, and also swapped out some infielders and minor league pitchers. There has been a lot of ink spilled on the Twins new looks, but not as much on the swap of Gio Urshela to the Angels and the trade for Kyle Farmer from the Reds. 

Since everyone has wanted to talk about the uniform, sure, I'll share two quick thoughts about them. A lot of the complaints have been "This uniform looks too much like another team." I've heard that about a lot of the looks, the new M logo in particular, but in reference to a bunch of different teams. There are only so many ways to put together a uniform, and you are bound to have some overlap between uniform stylization, fonts or color combinations. I'm not a big fan of uniform changes, but these are all fine for me. 

I like that the pinstripes returned for the road grays. I like that there is no piping on any of the uniform lettering, which looked busy, and was always in gold, which didn't go with the other colors. I like that the blue is a deeper navy. It's more unique, and looks better with the white. I especially like the thumbing of the nose at outstate Minnesota with the Twin Cities alternate. I also believe that the baby blue will return as part of the "City Connect" uniforms, coming soon.

First, on the day the Major League Baseball had set as the arbitration deadline, the Twins sent Urshela to Los Angeles for minor league prospect, pitcher Alejandro Hidalgo. Urshela was a valuable piece of the Twins last season, but was also a duplicate piece to Jose Miranda at third, and whomever is going to play first base in 2023. It's hard to see good guys go, but on the baseball operations side, selling him for the highest offer was the right move. 

The Twins then turned around and sent the Reds pitching prospect Casey Legumina in order to acquire Farmer. Farmer isn't the offensive player that Urshela is, but he does offer defensive depth at places Urshela doesn't. Farmer started as a catcher, but he has gained defensive versatility through the years, and is now a capable middle infielder, and offers a stopgap both behind the plate and at short, the two places the Twins need to add. Heck, Farmer is also good against lefties at the plate, another area the Twins needed to make up ground.

This offseason is still in it's infancy, and fans and followers of the team still await the splashier moves from the Twins, but the reshuffling of infielders and the changeover of prospects (Hidalgo is actually rated higher than Legumina according to MLB Pipeline, for whatever that is worth) is a sign that the Twins have a plan, and are in no rush to upset it. 

You know, seeing "Farmer" on the back of the "Twin Cities" jersey will be pretty funny. 

North Dakota State's fairy tale is coming to an end

 

NDSU has been on quite a ride since they made the leap to division 1. The football team built itself up from it's ascent to FCS, and 7 years after they made the leap, won their first national title in 2011. Aside from 2016 and 2020, they have won it every year since. They've had three quarterbacks go to the NFL - Carson Wentz, Easton Stick and Trey Lance, which is a better rate than many other schools out there. During that run, they've usually been ranked #1, and have nipped quite a few power 5 schools along the way.

This year, there is something off with the Bison. The scoring hasn't been as robust as in previous seasons, and they've dropped two games. They lost to Arizona, which is a pretty tough loss to take for any FCS school. They also lost to South Dakota State who is now ranked number 1. There is no shame in that, of course, unless you are accustomed to be #1 instead. Right now, North Dakota State is ranked 4th in FCS.

Ultimately, this may go down as one of the worst seasons NDSU has had in over a decade.

The men's basketball team has been more successful than average for a school of it's size as well, even securing an NCAA Tournament win in 2014, and stops in the Big Dance 4 times since their ascent to D-1. They would have made it 5 times were it not for the pandemic. 

This year has been one of turnover, though. Long time stalwart Rocky Krueser is now plying his trade in Germany, and left behind a young, unproven roster. Suffice to say at this point, it would be surprising if they were an NCAA tournament team. Again, it is South Dakota State looking strong in the Summit, while the Bison have started 0-4. They lost to Arkansas and Kansas, which make sense, but they also lost at home to Pacific and were blown out by Indiana State, which are not as impressive.

North Dakota State has been very good across the sporting landscape for quite some time. This is the worst year they have had since all sports have been postseason eligible at D-1 for the two revenue sports. The football team isn't perfect, and the basketball team is simply bad. The real signature of a quality program is showing that they can bounce back from down years like this. 

The offseason is maturing. Get ready.

It's been since the end of the season that I have touched on the Twins, and we have been able to see how things have settled out. We know that the Astros won the World Series, again, showing the value of a good organization, rebounding after an important player - Carlos Correa - departed, and recovering from one of the biggest baseball scandals in years. The Phillies, even in losing the Series, reiterated the value of going for it if you have an opportunity. 

Those two lessons are some that the Twins can take with them to the offseason. At the beginning of November, before attention turned to the Vikings, the attitude of "why bother" permeated the Twins fan base. There were wailings and ill feeling for the Twins. Then there was a wave of writers speculating on the Twins adding a top starter, catering to the masses who think that is the best and only way for the team to get better. Now, though, with free agency getting ready to really take off, and the itinerant fans redirecting their attention elsewhere, the tone has traded, and we can really start talking.

We had to fight through the initial call for the Twins to sign a free agent starter. Everyone and their brother called for the Twins to sign Carlos Rodon, to the point that it seemed like many fans would feel it a failure if Rodon didn't sign with the Twins. Then, the realization came that Rodon was really the only attainable top end starter on the market, and there would be a lot of competition for him. Other starters that could sign in Minnesota aren't really better than the options on hand. It seems as though the front office will be forgiven for an ill fitting free agent market.
The trade market should be robust, and I think we will see a bit of action there. Some people think trades are as bad or risky as free agency, because prospects are lost instead of money. That said, with free agency, you are likely going to have to pay for bad years at the end of a contract, and players, pitchers especially, are more prone to injury with the more they play. Trades for younger players are going to be less financially burdensome, and will lead to a higher ratio of games healthy for the season. 

Where it gets really interesting, I think, is on the position player side of things. A lot of attention is being paid to the short stop position, where Carlos Correa is a potentially departing free agent. There are 4 big named free agents ready to hit the market. After spending big at the position last year, there is a real possibility the Twins will do so again. 

The Twins also need another solid right handed bat to go along with Jose Miranda and Byron Buxton. There are many available on the market, and all available at any rate one might expect. There are so many options on the table, nobody really knows where they might go. Twins Daily alone has pieces speculating on Mitch Haniger, Joey Gallo and Tommy Pham as fits. There are a lot of different directions the Twins can go.

And there is also a lot less risk. They can make the moves in free agency for a position player that the early offseason fan base wanted the team to make for pitching. The money is significantly less likely to be thrown away if the signing is a hitter. The Twins have also shown a willingness to shell out for position players. The ability and the willingness to add a good bat is going to be an interesting thing to watch, especially since we don't know who or how that bat will be, or where they come from.

The offseason din has become a bit more realistic. Let's see, when people start paying attention to the Twins again closer to the spring, In the mean time, get ready for a busy, often unexpected winter. 

Iowa's golden generation

 

The Iowa Hawkeyes got a scare on Sunday afternoon, going to overtime with in-state rival Drake, but entering the third year of Caitlin Clark's collegiate career looks like it might be the best season Iowa women's basketball has ever had. 

Clark has been one of the best players in college basketball since her freshman year, a home grown scoring machine that has managed to keep the Hawkeyes afloat even during their growing pains of the past two years. Clark has been at the very least a top two players for the past couple of season, and this year, with Paige Bueckers recovering from an ACL tear, is likely to be regarded as the top player in the game.

Even with Clark's veteran status, entering her junior year, being the sole focus of attention would be burdensome as the Hawkeyes faced challenging opposition in the Big Ten and beyond, but she is buoyed by a veteran team, including center Monika Czinano who has returned for her fifth year in the paint for the Hawkeyes. Czinano is the 2nd leading scorer and leading rebounder so far this season. She doesn't have Clark's athleticism, but she does match the intensity and determination.

The other three players with the most playing time so far this season, outside threat McKenna Warnock, point guard Molly Davis and defensive specialists Gabbie Marshall are all also seniors. That is a lot of leadership and self determinism surrounding Clark, which will allow her not to be consumed by the attention of Iowa's opponents. 

But the seniority of this roster also means that this is likely the last hurrah for this version of the Hawkeyes. Their road to continued domination in the Upper Midwestern basketball landscape was seriously and tragically dealt a blow over the summer, when recruit Ava Johnson and her family were struck by a drunk driver in Louisville. They were in town for an AAU tournament, and sadly, her father was killed, and Johnson's injuries were severe enough that her basketball career ended before it really started. 

With that sense of urgency, the desire to capitalize on a veteran roster, the Hawkeyes are facing a challenging schedule. In part, that's because their in-state rivals are also better than they have been in a while. They held off a spirited Drake team over the weekend, and will face #7 Iowa State next month. They've also been slated to play in the Phil Knight tournament in Portland, and after a game against Oregon State, will be tasked with playing either Duke or Connecticut. Even without Bueckers, UCONN is #5.

It gets no easier when they leave Oregon. They will play #10 North Carolina State in the Big Ten-ACC challenge. The Hawkeyes are 4th in the country, and they are going to prove their mettle in the non conference slate. This is their time, and the Hawkeyes are poised to seize it.