StribSports Daily Delivery

Host Michael Rand is joined by Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse give a eulogy of sorts for a Twins season that isn't officially over but might as well be after they lost the first three games of a critical series against Cleveland. The opening game of the series was another dominant but short start -- this time by Bailey Ober -- wasted by a poor finish. The sum total of a 73-73 season-to-date...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand was ready for a clean break from the 2022 Twins after they were swept last weekend by Cleveland, but three wins in a row and the Guardians' loss Thursday breathed a little bit of new life into them. They are now four games back heading into a five-game series in Cleveland. Simple math tells us there's still a path to the playoffs over the last 20 games for a team wh...

Introduction: The Twins have received back-to-back starts of seven innings and no runs from their two most consistent rotation members, Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray. It's enough to make host Michael Rand look ahead to 2023 and think optimistically about what the rotation might look like with reasonable health and continued minor league development -- even if it is probably too late in 2022. 8:00: Rand...

Introduction: If you missed it Tuesday, Twins rookie Joe Ryan had a no-hitter going through seven innings and 106 pitches before being removed by manager Rocco Baldelli. These sorts of things happen frequently enough that they aren't huge debate points any more, but that doesn't change the "what-if" quality and disappointment. 6:00: A well-earned draw for Minnesota United, but some drama along the...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand wants listeners to hit rewind on the Twins season before it gets too late and we all move on to other things. Sure, this past weekend against Cleveland was disappointing. But the AL Central race was shaped in June, with five excruciating bullpen meltdowns against the Guardians that kept the Twins from taking control of the division. 7:00: Star Tribune Vikings writer...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look back at an extremely busy weekend in sports. Like ships passing each other in the night, the Twins drifted toward irrelevance while the Vikings bolted into the spotlight with a 23-7 win over the Packers in Kevin O'Connell's coaching debut. The Twins getting swept by Cleveland provided a microcosm of all that has been hurting...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand lays out why he is far more pessimistic about the Vikings' season than his colleagues. He predicts the Vikings will go 7-10 this season, while six other Star Tribune Vikings writers and columnists all think they will go at least 9-8. The bottom line: This team has perilously thin depth and too many unknowns to get the benefit of the doubt. 10:00: Star Tribune Twins...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand runs through the latest frustrating night for the Twins, a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Yankees. They are now 1-15 against the Yankees, Astros and Dodgers this season, often playing a joyless brand of baseball in those games and others. We know what to expect from these Twins at this point, and even though they are still very much alive in the AL Central r...

Introduction: While host Michael Rand is feeling increasingly pessimistic about the upcoming Vikings season because of the team's lack of depth, he does acknowledge that those who are more optimistic are likely placing their faith in an improved relationship between quarterback Kirk Cousins and the head coach (now Kevin O'Connell, previously Mike Zimmer). Two stories this week underscored just wha...

Host Michael Rand is joined by Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse for a look at the week in Minnesota sports. The Twins have been decimated by injuries and have lost four of their last five games, but they have still managed to stay afloat in the AL Central race. But in any other division, they would be trailing by at least 10 games. What is the end-game here? Plus Reusse and Rand get into a Vi...

Introduction: The Gophers showed they can run. They showed they can pass. They showed they have a stout defense. Head coach P.J. Fleck shook hands with Jerry Kill not once but twice. It was pretty much everything they could have asked for in an opener, including the convincing 38-0 result against New Mexico State. 7:00: The Star Tribune's Jeff Day goes in-depth on the Gophers volleyball program wi...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand can't help but be frustrated by the Twins' 6-5 loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday. The near-comeback was a good effort, but Nick Gordon's baserunning blunder in the eighth and disappointing at bats from Luis Arraez and Carlos Correa in the ninth cost the Twins a chance for a truly special night and an opportunity to gain a game on Cleveland. Now the schedule stiffens...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand takes note of the Vikings' roster cuts on Tuesday, which included six of the 11 players chosen -- three of them third-round picks -- during Rick Spielman's final draft as GM in 2021. Tuesday was the clearest signal of a regime change, and it was a reminder that rebuilding depth could be a multi-year process. Plus Rand looks at the Twins' five-game winning streak and...

Introduction: The Twins had an impressive win keyed by Gio Urshela's big hit and solid work from their bullpen on Monday to pull within 1.5 games of Cleveland. On the flip side, it sounds like Byron Buxton's return is far from imminent and that he won't go with the team on its upcoming road trip to Chicago and New York. In a similar vein, Minnesota United keeps winning but suffered a key setback w...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look at the Twins, who have been buried and revived a few times already this year. They are in a comeback cycle after sweeping the Giants over the weekend to pull within two games of Cleveland. With some key players perhaps returning soon from injury, it should be a fun stretch run. Rand expresses pessimism -- perhaps prematurely...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand goes "micro" on a couple of fringe moves by the Vikings and Twins on Thursday. First, he takes note of the Vikings' decision to keep rookie punter Ryan Wright instead of veteran Jordan Berry. How does it impact kicker Greg Joseph, who had Berry as his holder all of last season? Plus the Twins signed veteran outfielder Billy Hamilton to a minor league contract. Rand...

Introduction: One of the hardest things for an "expert" to admit is that they don't know something. But when it comes to the 2022 Vikings, we are dealing with such incomplete information heading into the season that anyone trying to predict how the year will go is ripe with overconfidence. The nature of everything that has transpired this offseason means we are in for surprises when the year actua...

Introduction: Ejections were the norm during the Ron Gardenhire era, as the Twins manager either led the American League outright or tied for the league lead in ejections every year from 2006-2011. Rocco Baldelli has tended to be much more mild-mannered, but lately he has been positively Gardy-esque. On Tuesday he was ejected for the second time this month and fourth time this season after being t...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand is disturbed by the latest Byron Buxton injury news on a couple of fronts. First, the fact that he had to leave Monday's game with hip soreness is a bad sign for the Twins as they try to hang around in the American League Central race. Second, if the Twins haven't been forthright about all of Buxton's injury problems this season they aren't doing anyone a favor. 9:0...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look at the impotent Twins' offense. Minnesota was shut out 7-0 by the Rangers on Sunday, and a look at the lineup reveals a lot of players who just shouldn't scare opposing pitchers that much. With a tough slate of games coming up, the Twins will need to revitalize their hitting to stay in the AL Central race. Plus Reusse gives h...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand rips into the NFL for the negotiated suspension of DeShaun Watson that will bring him back just in time to face his former team in Houston. And Watson himself doesn't seem to have learned anything given the nature of his contradictory words on Thursday. 6:00: Star Tribune columnist La Velle E. Neal III joins the show to talk through the potential impact of Tyler Mah...

Introduction: Host Michael Rand takes note of Twins starter Tyler Mahle's early departure from Wednesday's game. Mahle, acquired at the trade deadline, had a dip in velocity. And just before the Twins acquired him, Mahle went three weeks between starts with a shoulder strain. How concerning should this be for a team with a history of acquiring injured pitchers? 9:00: Gophers football writer Randy...

Introduction: Even as the Twins have spent most of this season either in first place or contending for an AL Central title, the vibe has been negative. So let's spend some time after a 9-0 win over the Royals to highlight three players who have stood out for the Twins so far this season (and did so again on Tuesday). 7:00: Star Tribune Lynx writer Kent Youngblood joins host Michael Rand for a look...

Introduction: You are forgiven if you had an impending sense of doom as the 9th inning unfolded for the Twins on Friday. After blowing Saturday's game against the lowly Angels, things were slipping away against the Royals. But this time, All-Star closer Jorge Lopez induced a huge double play to preserve a 4-2 win. Max Kepler had three hits, breaking a huge slump. And the scoreboard watching, which...

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse joins host Michael Rand for a look back at the weekend in sports. They start with the Twins, who were one strike away from a win Saturday before a series of unfortunate events led to what Reusse called their worst loss of the season against the lowly Angels. Another loss Sunday dropped Minnesota to 1-4 on a disappointing road trip and left the Twins 2.5 games...