It's hard to think about the Pirates with the trade deadline looming. We all expect something and we are all watching and waiting for news. We've seen players moving around on other teams and still nothing for our Twins.

It's fun to snoop around and dream about superstars showing up in Minnesota but you still got to play the games on the field while you wait. Go ahead and tell Abner all that you are seeing and hearing but let's not lose sight of the Pirates... It's a real good club coming to town and the Twins need to start stringing together some wins.

Here are some Things to Think About:

 

1. The Pirates -- The Twins just got done facing the Angels and Yankees who happen to be... two of the hottest teams in baseball right now. The Pirates feel like a team that fits that mold. They feel like they should be hot because they are a good team. However... they ain't that hot right now. Just 4-6 since the All Star Break. The Twins are 3-6 since the All Star break consistently winning one and losing two against everybody. The Pirates just took 3 out of 4 from the Nationals at home before that they were 1 and 5 on the road against the Royals and Brewers. The Twins and Pirates met earlier this year. The Twins won both games at PNC and now will try to do the same at Target Field.

2. The Trade Deadline -- It's early morning and game time is 7:10PM... I think the odds are good that a deal somewhere will take place by that time. It may not be with the Twins but a deal just might happen somewhere in baseball. The Blue Jays stunned everyone by acquiring Tulowitski from the Rockies yesterday and this makes perfect sense because the Blue Jays really really need pitching.

3. The Twins at the trade Deadline -- I read Twins Daily... I read MLB Trade Rumors... I look for Twins Rumors like everyone else does but the Twins don't give up the info. Terry Ryan has always been tight lipped. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi must hate Terry Ryan because he gives them nothing. Those guys probably don't even call him anymore. You know how it is... If you want information you talk with Gladys Kravitz. Terry Ryan is apparently like Samantha or Darrin Stephens keeping everything quiet inside his office. That's smart because if your nose twitches and your mother can appear out of thin air. You should probably keep that to yourself. If Terry weighs the same as a duck... you'll know he's made out of wood.

4. Someone is Coming -- Terry Ryan has told someone that someone is coming. If someone is coming that probably also means that someone is going. We can speculate all day long but until that someone shows up and is issued a uniform... we just won't know. We'd hate to lose one of our nice young prospects but the Twins are in playoff contention and that doesn't happen every year. Terry has to address holes and the Twins have a few. I want bullpen primarily. Others want a catcher; others want a SS; others want a starter; and others want more prospects. You can't please everyone so lets just hope that the Twins make a good deal that helps us this year and doesn't kill us three years from now.

5. Grocery Shopping -- I've been busy so it's been awhile since I've been to the supermarket. The supplies were getting kinda low so I'm glad that nuclear war didn't happen during this time. If I had to crawl into something and survive with a couple of cans of soup... eventually I would have had to eat my neighbors. Sunday... I found some time to reload. I bought so many groceries that I needed to make multiple trips from the car to bring it all in and now I'm ready for Nuclear War. Bringing all the groceries in was a workout... I had to replenish my fluids afterwards. Shopping at this scale can be a little shocking on the pocketbook. They say money talks but all my money ever says is "goodbye".

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Game-time forecast: 81 deg F, overcast with a 10% chance of rain, winds from the WSW at 10mph.

Lineups:

PIRATES
Polanco RF
Marte LF
McCutchen CF
Ramirez 3B
Kang SS
Walker 2B
Alvarez DH
Cervelli C
Ishikawa 1B

Morton P

TWINS
Dozier 2B
Hunter RF
Mauer 1B
Sano DH
Plouffe 3B
Rosario LF
Hicks CF
Suzuki C
Escobar SS

Pelfrey P

Go Twins! Play ball!

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  Just got back from 5 glorious days in Omaha. It was "jungle hot". This brings me to the grocery shopping section of your opener. In Omaha, I was watching my kid, and her college teammate win the gold medal in the World Gran Prix. My kid's teammate's father was an offensive guard for the Vikings. He is also the second Maori to play in the NFL. Well, we spent most of the week hanging out, with me trying to drink him under the table...it didn't happen. Now I've obligated my wife and myself to have him and his lovely wife over for dinner. I'm thinking a whole beef tenderloin should be enough for his portion.

 

  ...and Gladys Kravits is my dogs nickname.

 

  If anyone else is at the game tonight, I'll be at Herbies before the game starts. I'll have a Twins shirt and my red white and blue UnderArmor hat, if anyone wants to say hi, hang out, or punch me in the face.

Ah yes! Groceries are upon my mind as well. Time for a run. But alas, our typical run wouldn't put us in a good post apocalyptic position. Too much produce and such...

 

Not gonna get bent out of shape if no trade happens (or even if one does) but i'll follow it.

 

Still a few hours to go 'til game time. Will try to use 'em productively or something.

I gotta stop and get dog food on the way home. Does that count?

So, I'm in LV tomorrow.

 

I'm going to put $20 on the Twins and KC.

 

I'm looking forward to sitting in the Sports Book and looking at a wall of baseball games.

Gibby-  I wouldn't recommend trying to outdrink Mr. Dixon.    That is one massively large individual.    At least he was during his playing days...

I gotta stop and get dog food on the way home. Does that count?

Yes.

 

Especially if the quantities are sufficient for the nuclear winter...

 

Line ups appear to be available.

 

Escobar in the 9 hole at Shortstop.

 

Contrasted to their 9 hole 1st baseman? It must mean something...

 

Otherwise seems pretty normal. Not that i'm normally an authority on normality...

 

(2 plus hours to pass...)

 

Gibby-  I wouldn't recommend trying to outdrink Mr. Dixon.    That is one massively large individual.    At least he was during his playing days...

 

  He still is, and one of the nicest dudes I've ever met.

 

  He still is, and one of the nicest dudes I've ever met.

 

  ...outside of the drunk cousins.

Eduardo Escobar, I have just one request:

 

Go 4-4 with 2 2B and a homer tonight so I don't have to see Danny Santana in the lineup for the remainder of 2015.

Since I just know each and every one of you is as excited about this kind of thing as I am about the next "why didn't they make THIS trade" thread, I give you the Voyager I gold record, now out in interstellar space.

 

 

https://soundcloud.com/nasa/sets/golden-record-greetings-to-the

 

So I have seen suggestion for moving Dozier back from 2nd base to short stop on other threads, for that reason I have to ask the board this question? What would be so wrong with the manager Molitor trying Miguel Sano out at the short stop spot? Sano runs and moves really well for a large man, hell I would be willing to bet by watching him run that he moves and runs just as well as Eduardo Escobar. 

 

We have been trying for years to fill the short stop spot with a guy that can pick it and has a good arm.

Sano started off as a short stop as a young guy. I'm not suggesting this for this season as it is already too late to try something like that now. What would happen if the Twins asked Sano to play winterball at short stop again, and then come in to spring training at the short stop spot. I hear all of the he is too big, he will injure himself arguments, but why give up a third baseman that is in the top half of the American league in Plouffe just so you can move him off the spot and insert Sano over there. Why not try Sano back at his original position of short stop in the off-season and see if he can adequately handle the position? I know this is somewhat bat bleep crazy, but in theory I think Sano moves well enough and has enough of an arm and quick reactions that you could at least attempt something like this. He is a large man but this is one large man that can really move and really is a really good athlete. Probably off topic for a game thread, but heck nothing new going on on MLB trade rumors, and to boring to return to work right about now. I have heard the talk about moving him to first base and to the outfield, what if Sano as a teamate would be willing to give it a try at the short stop position?

 

I like outside the box thinking but SS is too important a spot defensively in my opinion. I'll settle for less bat if the guy can pick it. That's been the biggest problem with Santana... He has all the skills but he hasn't been picking it. Too many boots and those boots have cost us games in my opinion. 

 

Besides... Molly doesn't seem to totally trust Sano at 3B because he hasn't been playing there much. 

 

Sano is 260 pounds going on 300. Yes, he moves very well for a big man. But I don't think the Twins can remotely consider him as a short stop when they won't even play him in the field at third base. In other words, let's see how he does at third before we get any other ideas.

 

It seems to me (small sample size) that he will do fine at third. Therefore ... trade Plouffe (when the time is right).

 

 

Edited July 28, 201511 yr by ScrapTheNickname

 

 I still get the "Lucy will eventually pull the football away" feeling on Hicks.

 

 

I would love to try to start creating space for some of the corner outfield types we having coming up, but I don't think trading Hicks is the way to do it.  We are just now getting a solid CF again, trading that away would be asinine.  Buxton needs to come up and have prolonged success before I would be ok with the trading Hicks.  Who knows if Buxton is ever going to stick/stay healthy?  I hope he does, but what Hicks is doing is sustainable.  He isn't getting lucky on BABIP and pitchers have seen him before.  He is adapting and growing, even his Walk rate was improving until the AllStar break broke it up.  I don't think Hicks is even close to his ceiling yet and what he is doing is legitimately sustainable.

 

Mauer is really the one who is going to be blocking a lot of people.

Edited July 28, 201511 yr by COtwin

I find it somewhat disturbing that Brian put a picture of the Mrs. on the top of the Game Thread. While I personally find her extremely attractive, I do think it unwise to post pictures of family members online. There are a lot of weird people out there! Sooner or later one will join TD.

I confess.

 

I have not made it to the food getting place. But i haven't exactly bottomed out yet either, so just so as nothing untoward happens during the game...

 

Also promised myself i'd mow the grass, and perhaps i should do that while it is still light outside.

 

But i think the last Twins game i made it to live was the last time Pittsburgh was at Minnesota.

 

I was on the back half of a road trip using friends' wedding as an excuse to see Yosemite, the Twins play in Oakland and in Minnesota, and also to drop off ~half a car load of stuff a friend had left at my apartment.

 

He was happy to have his books and his keyboard once again. (and he put me up for a week in Oakland. It all evened out)

I didn't watch the ASG. Did McCutchen have his long braids then? They aren't there now.

I didn't watch the ASG. Did McCutchen have his long braids then? They aren't there now.

He cut his dreads back in March and donated them to charity.

C'mon Twins... I need a win. 

 

Forgot about the team needing a win... I need a win... Do it for me. 

Cmon, Joe! Get us started!

Nice start for Pelfrey.  I'm still in his corner.

 

He cut his dreads back in March and donated them to charity.

 

I donated my hair once.

 

A panhandler on the street asked me for some money and I gave him some locks of my hair. 

 

It felt good to help out a fellow human like that. 

Geez ... too bad we didn't have a runner ... with those balls in the dirt, might've had a guy at 3rd by now.

 

Nice start for Pelfrey.  I'm still in his corner.

 

Me 2... I'm also in the Plouffe corner. 

 

He cut his dreads back in March and donated them to charity.

Ah, I see. I didn't think they were dreads. Thought they were braids. Moot point now, obviously.

Nice start for Pelfrey.  I'm still in his corner.

Meh, you mean Poofrey, right?

Ah, I see. I didn't think they were dreads. Thought they were braids. Moot point now, obviously.

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/55961/andrew-mccutchen-gets-first-haircut-in-eight-years

I'm calling a bunt.

Lol, that was odd.

YES! It wasn't pretty, but I'll take it!