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Not sure what is depressing about Romo giving up a homerun. An error and a walk before the home run would have been depressing. Everyone gives up runs. Everyone. Twins did a nice job of hanging in there to get a big win.

The Twins need Jose Berrios. He appears to be back on track after turning in another strong start tonight.

Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.

I'd so break out my Delmon Young jersey for that night. And yes I have a Delmon Young jersey...

I would personally go Arraez 2B Polanco SS Cruz DH Kepler CF Sano 3B Garver C Rosario LF Cave RF Gonzalez 1B ...... I’m no manager though. I pushed Eddie back because of OBP issues and depth of power ability.

Why not do this as a twins daily event or for the pub crawl.

I'd go with Dobnak... Dude is so cool, so poised, and along with that, he's got a really good sinker, and he's right handed. I think you'd want to have a Smeltzer or Thorpe at the ready, someone who can each 3-5 innings, if necessary.

Arraez got to 100 hits in a blink. I can't remember the last Twin to do it so quickly.

Maybe you got carried away with Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Maybe you (okay, me) were a little too excited about Jeff Cirillo. Maybe you bought a Buddy Boshers jersey in a Rumplemintz-fueled haze. Whatever. It’s time to embrace that crazy. Last night on Twitter an obscure Twins fan (ok, me again) proposed that next year Target Field have an Obscure Jersey Night. Twins fans wear the jerseys they have relegated to the back of their closets, giving those players one last moment in the bright lights of Target Field. The comments are a gold mine. Byung-Ho Park. Kurt Suzuki. Joe Crede. Jose Offerman. Brendan Harris. Clete Thomas. That third baseman who hit .400 for part of a season so Ron Gardenhire wouldn’t sit him. Was that Luke Hughes? Who knows? I’m blocking it out. Rich Becker. Kirby Puckett was bumped out of center field by Rich Becker!?! I don’t even have a problem with that; I just find it amazing we don’t talk more about Rich Becker. Who was replaced by Otis Nixon. Who I vaguely remember losing two fly balls in the Metrodome’s teflon roof in his first home game with the Twins. Yet someone out there has a Nixon Twins jersey. I’m sure of it. Jeff Reboulet. Orlando Hudson. Livan Hernandez. Vance Worley. Ryan Doumit. Bombo Rivera. (Ok,that’s me again. I have a Bombo Rivera jersey. It was custom made. No regerts.) Rondell White. Chris Colabello. Jon Rauch. These are major leaguers who are not going to get a number retired or a Hall of Fame ceremony. Some of them will be lucky if they’re invited back to TwinsFest. They deserve a night like this. So do the people who bought their jerseys. In fact, obscure jerseys don’t just deserve a night; they deserve every night. They deserve a mini-series. If the Twins make this event happen, I vow Twins Daily will do a series about the players about whom we all lost our collective heads. (This site was made for that series. Forget the majors – we could do one on the minors. We could do one on each level of the minors. I mean, I was Ride or Die on Micheal Nakamura in 2002. We could probably do a story just on players with a surname of Mike. Nakamura. Restovich. Lamb. Pelfrey.) So let’s make this happen. The Twins can work on the event for next year, but we have one homestand left. Let’s quit denying our past and acknowledge it. Wear your obscure Twins jerseys to the games this week and declare, loud and proud “It’s OK to love and lose!” (But it’s also OK to love and win, too.) Click here to view the article

Also, there are no more good opponents this season. Be prepared to remain unimpressed, I guess.

It occurred to me this morning that it feels good to be on this side of the magic number for a change.

I'm not sure I'd go bull pen game unless the dates line up in such a way that you only need 3 starters... even then, I'd only consider it if the pen hasn't gotten much work in games 1 and 2 with a day off between game 3 and 4. wow...weird having this conversation. Let's hope we actually win a few games in the post season this year.

I have an authentic Twins in cursive script with 2 on the back...no name. Bought it in 2010 or '11 for Spanman...then it transitioned to Doz and now Arraez.

My pride and joy is a #23 Bobby Kielty. Do I get less credit because I bought it at Goodwill?

I like the LRLR pattern and OBP, so ... Arraez Cruz Polanco Garver Kepler Sano Cave Gonzalez Rosario I fear that Eddie wouldn't like this

After a big series win in Cleveland, the Twins welcomed the White Sox to town Monday night. The lineup continued to get healthy as Marwin Gonzalez returned to the lineup and Jose Berrios looked good again as the Twins won 5-3.Box Score Starter Jose Berrios: 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 69% strikes (65 of 94 pitches) Bullpen: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K Home Runs: None Multi-Hit Games: Luis Arraez (3-for-4), Mitch Garver (2-for-3) Top 3 WPA: Mitch Garver (.205), Jose Berrios (.204), Luis Arraez (.182) Bottom 3 WPA: Jake Cave (-.197), Eddie Rosario (-.109), Sergio Romo (-.002) It took Jose Berrios some time to get locked in, resulting in the White Sox taking an early 2-0 lead. The first coming off of a sacrifice fly from Jose Abreu and the second from a Jame McCann home run. That lead didn’t last long as the Twins strung some singles together to get runners on base and tie the game up 2-2 after a Jorge Polanco sac fly and a Nelson Cruz single. It was from that point on that Berrios settled in and wouldn’t allow the White Sox to produce any more runs off. A Garver RBI double in the fifth and the strangest two-run single by Luis Arraez put the Twins up 5-2 after six innings. That lead backed Berrios as he continued to pitch well with good velocity and made it into the eighth inning before giving way to the bullpen. Romo giving up a home run late is depressing but all in all a solid game by the Twins. It was fun watching Marwin play again especially his reaction to the successful pick-off from Berrios. The big take away as we look to the postseason is that Berrios is looking more and more like a pitcher who can help lead the team in some big games. And apparently the Twins don't need to hit home runs to win games. Who knew? Postgame With Baldelli Coming Soon Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet Click here for a review of the number of pitches thrown by each member of the bullpen over the past five days. Click here to view the article

I have no issues with this lineup at all. It would be tough for an opposing manager to find a reliever with a same-side (righty vs righty, lefty vs lefty) advantage for more than one hitter at a time late in games. Having Arraez lead off makes a ton of sense. After him, I think Rocco has some flexibility to shake things up. I wouldn't mind something like this: Arraez Sano Cruz Kepler Polanco Garver Rosario Gonzalez Cave If Sano is swinging a hot bat in the playoffs, I want him getting as many ABs as possible. I am also counting on Polanco to be a big run producer at 5 assuming Cruz and Kepler get on base at a high rate.

He did in his last start, against Washington.

Sailed straight down the fairway and clean over the heads of many Twin Daily inhabitants. Golf clap.

That hit by Arraez looked like one of those hits when I was kid playing at Rocket Park in Anoka, MN. You never knew when a batted ball was going ricochet off a stone or hardened clump of mud. I saw the video from a couple of angles. Moncada completely guessed correctly. The ball just seemed to have a mind of its own.

It's a relief to see Berrios back in a groove. I'm just ready for the playoffs now.

Today is Monday, September 16. It was the 150th game of the year putting the Twins 93% of the way through the season. The Twins hit 0 home runs for a season total of 287 home runs. The Twins are 1 home run ahead of the Yankees for the new MLB single-season home run record.

' He also has a nice mustache I see you absentmindedly left out.

Rule of thumb: High-OBP guys bat just before the Big Knockers. The OBP guys are Arraez, Kepler, Polanco, maybe Gonzo . The Knockers are Cruz, Garver, Sano, Rosie, and Cron when healthy. Rocco's lineups almost always follow this rule of thumb, in various shuffles. In a playoff scenario, I can see Arraez bat 1, with Cruz or Garver behind him. I would say Sano, but he strikes out too much to bat top of the order. I see Rocco also likes to bat L, R, L, R... Good idea, with switch hitters Polanco and Gonzo making it even harder for opponents to find an advantage.

The way to do this, is to go with the classics...with a twist... 4 - not Bob Allison or Paul Molitor...instead: Chip Hale 6 - Vic Wertz (the one who hit the 430-foot out to Willie Mays) - 1963 7 - Jimmie Hall; or two-time world series champion Greg Gagne 14 - Glenn Borgman 28 - Vic Power (62-64) 29 - George Mitterwald (1966) 34 - Jose Morales (late 70's)

I liked the camaraderie on the field after the game. No big celebration but guys just hangin' and enjoying the win. Polanco and Arraez ... Sano and Gonzo... looked like family (send in the memes).

"I am a base hit gosh darn it, and you can't do anything to stop me." The most fun single of the season.

We're missing the primary risk with regard to a true 'bullpen' approach to post-season starts: you don't have an unlimited roster in the post season. If one of your first two starters has a short start in a competitive game, you're going to stress your pen before you even get to the bullpen game (or games). I'm guessing a 3-starter rotation given the off days, with Gibson (depending on strength/health) or Dobnak...I'm guess the Twins would rather stay away from deploying a left-handed starter against the Yankees or Astros.

Valencia hit .311 that year. Hardy was decent as well at .268. It was a very good lineup but the big bummer was Morneau had an OPS of 1.055 after 81 games before going down with concussion.

Berrios looked good last night. It was pretty fun listening to Joe Mays come in the booth and marvel at the movement on his curve, nice little interlude but also added something to the broadcast. (and refreshing contrast to the "in my day, everyone was tougher/better/smarter" stories you sometimes get) Arraez just keeps on hitting. He's not going to be a power bat, but I think he'll be able to shoot enough balls into gaps to maintain a respectable enough slugging % to go with a mighty high BA & OBP. He's an absolute keeper at 2B.

That was a decent starting lineup. Valencia hadn't quite gotten it together yet and Hardy had an off year, but that lineup deserved to be division champs.

Pavano, Liriano, & Duensing. Those are the 3 starting pitchers the Twins used in their last appearance in the postseason. Are Berrios, Odo, and __________ a better trio?

James Baldwin. Henry Blanco.

The way the ALDS schedule sets up, you play back to back games on the 4th and 5th - then an off day. Then back at it on the 7th. If the Twins were really considering a bullpen game, you could set yourself up for one in Game 2, and have the off day to get everyone rested. Obviously, this means Game 1 would have to go about as well as it possibly could with having to use limited bullpen arms. These conversations are fun - I just hope we aren't jinxing it.

Hmmm, should I crack out the Sam Deduno jersey for this, or the Scott Diamond?......decisions, decisions.

I'm out, I give my old jerseys to charity. Heck, my Mauer jersey is already blessing the less fortunate. Great idea, though.

I think you better... "Twins Daily commenter bullied by other Twins Daily commenters for homemade jersey receives season tickets from Twins and authentic autographed Thad Motter jersey."

Remember when? D. SpanCF O. Hudson2B J. MauerC D. YoungLF J. ThomeDH M. Cuddyer1B J. KubelRF J. RepkoPR-RF D. Valencia3B M. TolbertPR-3B J.J. HardySS Box score from last time Twins played a playoff series in 2010.

I'm sad that Boof Bonser or Brett Boone weren't mentioned.

Pérez and Gibson have been in the rotation for almost the entire season. We've seen a couple of good starts from Pérez and a couple of bad ones recently and Gibson has been pretty bad for a month and a half. I think each should get two more audition starts to see if they can put it together and have competitive starts in the postseason. If so, one or both get starts against Houston/New York, if not we resort to bullpen games and starts from guys who have spent the majority of the season in AAA.

This is getting more and more exciting. Remember when we couldn't buy a home run. Dozier was good for quite a few during his good half season but besides him there was never a player where you knew there was a legimate shot. Now we go a night w/o one and it is noticeable. That is a good thing! So looks like we make the playoffs, will we be happy with one and done? I hope for 87 again but think I will be happy with just one series and this new team. This team has fighters and they are earning their playiing time which is far different than the last 10 years when the favorites played even when a non favorite was on a roll. Oh well hopefully now that is over and these guys keep pushing each other knowing there is someone on the bench that could take their spot. Love it!

Agreed. But I would give a healthy, rested Twins lineup a chance against anyone. Verlander, Cole and Grienke is as good as it gets right now, but I'd still give the Twins a sluggers chance against them.

The pitches had great movement again for Berrios. I hope he can harness that and bring it the rest of the year. That kind of movement will play well against any team.

Unless he shows something in the next two weeks, it just can't be Gibson. He hasn't had a decent start since August 3rd, and that was against the Royals. If the health issues were contributing, then he has to prove that he's recovered from them. It won't surprise me if he's left off a post-season roster. Perez has been much better than Gibby over their past 6 starts. He's had two bad outings, but he's had four pretty good ones: 8/13 @ Mil: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 0 ER 8/18 @ Tex: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 2 ER 8/25 vs Det: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 ER 9/5 @ Bos: 6 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 ER Smeltzer and Dobnak both have potential to provide 5 innings. My guess is one of them (probably righty Dobnak) relieves Perez if Perez can't get thru 4 or 5, and then Smeltzer starts Game 4. Or you go lefty-lefty w/ Perez-Smeltzer so that you can go righty-righty w/ Dobnak-Graterol. Is there any chance Graterol could be stretched out?

I like Gibson but unless they can show some really good stuff in their last two starts I think you gotta keep Gibson and Perez off the roster. Berrios and Odorizzi backed up by May Duffey, Romo and Rogers. Smeltzer, Dubnak, Graterol, Littell, Stashak and Thorpe for depth and a bullpen game or two or 3. I like the idea of putting a bullpen game against the other team's ace, especially the way our pen has been pitching but do the Yankees even have an ace? If we threw Smeltzer, Dobnak, Littell Stashak and Graterol the only one that has a higher ERA than any of the Yankee starters is Graterol. I just think the pen has a higher upside than any starter after our top 2. Since they would all be looking at just a couple innings you could throw bullpen in game 1, Berrios in game 2, day off, bullpen in game 3, Odorizzi in game 4, day off and bullpen in game 5. I know I shouldn't get carried away with how our bullpen did last weekend but I just think it is a better option than Gibson or Perez who probably don't last that long anyway. I like Odorizzi a little better than Berrios so the other option is Odorizzi in game one, bullpen, Berrios, bullpen and then Odorizzi in game 5. Last thing we should do is follow traditional formula when we don't have the traditional strengths. Of course 2 weeks is a long time and performances will change our view but as it stands that is the way I would do it. Who would have thought that bullpen games could be viewed as a really good thing just a month ago but guys have really stepped up.

Nice to see Berrios backing up his last start with another solid outing. No Giolito is more good news!

I'd say go with Perez but keep him on a very short leash. Gibson simply cannot get anyone out right now, but Perez at least has the potential to be effective. Folks forget that he was very effective two starts ago with good movement and was firing strikes. Gibson should be rested for one turn and then let's see how he fares. If they do decide to go with Gibson, he should be on even a shorter leash than Perez. I'd call the Perez, Gibson game as a semi-bullpen game and if game four becomes a reality, that game would be a full bullpen game. It's not ideal, but the other options seem even less attractive IMHO. I'm just as concerned about Berrios without sufficient rest, so I am concerned about the fourth starter as well. It wouldn't be Berrios IMHO. He needs his rest to be effective it seems.

Unless Gibson has a miraculous recovery in the next couple days, I say Dobnak with Smeltzer at the ready.

Berrios looking good. Welcome seeing Marwin. Like to see this team win 100.

The two possible outcomes were making the postseason, and not making the postseason. Sounds like a 50% proposition to me