stringer bell

I'd apologize, but I'm pretty sure a heartfelt apology would also be a violation.

Perk stretches his K lead. I understand Chief is enjoying the earlybird special at Denny's.

Florimon must feel left out. He is the only player who doesn't have exactly one hit tonight.

Correction, that is WBC title.

Just when I think Fien is in trouble, he comes in and does that.

I was just checking to see where Segura ranked in the NL batting race. He is first. I noticed that the top three outfielders for OPS in the NL are Cuddy and the Car-gos (Gomez and Gonzalez). Wouldn't it be cool if that was the NL's starting outfield?

It looks like this game is going to come down to Gomez vs. whoever raised their hand to pitch in relief.

Since when does Pedroia enter into this?

Seriously, they should be better, shouldn't they? I know the Twin haven't faced the top of the rotation, but they have three All-Stars--Gomez, Braun, and Segura. Lucroy is a solid catcher. That is a way better core for the Brew Crew.

Not likely, but Sam might be our ace, who knows.

All of our catchers hit unless they play DH.

Just read the PP report--calf tightness. Apparently the other calf from the one that bothered Trevor in spring training.

What happened to Plouffie?

I'll defend Gardy for today after the long game and the travel. He doesn't have all of his horses and I suppose he is going to give Herrmann one game before he goes back, why not after the long game?

Gardy mentioned in his postgame that Morneau had a nagging injury (back?) and that he wasn't sure if he could go after playing 14 innings.

You're safe tonight. Florimon isn't in the starting lineup.

Meanwhile the Brewers have all eight starters from last night and added a DH: Aoki rf Segura ss Braun lf Ramirez dh Gomez cf Lucroy c Betancourt 1b Weeks 2b Bianchi 3b Estrada p

Must be some serious aches and pains after the marathon and flight: Escobar ss Dozier 2b Mauer dh Hammer lf Doumit rf Plouffe 3b Parm 1b Hicks cf Herrmann c Deduno p

Plouffe is in and Colabello optioned to Rochester. No real surprise except it could have been Herrmann.

Of course, you could go with the "if we'd have only kept 'em" lineup: Punto .327 BA, .413/.404/.817 slash line Hardy .250 BA .750 OPS, defending Gold Glove winner Ortiz .336 BA .397/.603/1.000 slash line Cuddy .333 BA .397/.615/1.012 slash line Gomez .326 BA .369/.597/.966 slash line 10 homers and 10 steals Hunter .312 BA .358/.427/.785 slash line AJ .274 BA .311/.398/.710 slash line Golden Calf .269 BA .323/.455/.778 slash line Lexi .183 BA .435 OPS (somebody has to play second and make outs) Liriano 3-1 2.30 ERA 28 K (more than any Twins starter) in only 23 innings.

I've blogged about the disappointing offense for the 2013 Twins and pointed out three guys who are offensive tail enders. Brian Dozier--limited ceiling middle infielder, Chris Parmelee--right fielder/first baseman who has teased the Twins with good stretches, but has failed once and is failing again to secure a spot from the start of the season and now Aaron Hicks. Aaron Hicks ranks fifteenth of fifteen center fielders in OPS. He started the season as the Twins' leadoff hitter and center fielder and has since been put near the bottom of the order. Hicks started historically bad. He finished April with a .113 batting average and .356 OPS--many pitchers (and Drew Butera) would be ashamed of that stat line. There has been slow improvement. For the month of May, Hicks is hitting .202 and OPSing an even .700, not great but a noticeable improvement from the previous month. Hick had hit five homers, second on the team, and has scored 25 runs and knocked in 17. Hicks was the Twins #1 draft choice in 2008 and he moved slowly through the system, repeating low A ball at Beloit. He has never hit .300 in a full season, has never played an inning in AAA, and the switch hitter's splits have always shown him to be a better right handed hitter. Nevertheless, the Twins saw fit to promote him based on a solid season in New Britain and a very good spring training. Hicks has always shown good selectivity and has shown from the beginning the tools necessary to be a fine defensive center fielder. Several issues have developed around Aaron and the Twins' center field position. First, he currently doesn't have a true backup. Fourth outfielder Darin Mastoianni has been injured basically all season. Another candidate for center, Joe Benson, was claimed on waivers after being demoted and struggling at Rochester. The Twins have no backup CF on the major league roster or the current 40-man roster. Hicks' struggles have prompted calls for him to be sent down to Triple A, also meaning that if he stays in the minors for three weeks, the Twins would get another year of service from Hicks before he could be a free agent. So far, the Twins are saying that he will do his struggling and learning in the majors. Many are calling for Hicks to give up switch hitting and be only a RH hitter. What does the immediate future hold for Aaron Hicks? With no replacement (and no room) on the 40-man roster, it looks like he is safe from demotion at least until Mastoianni can play again. Continued improvement would probably keep him in Minnesota for the rest of the season. More than any player on the 25-man roster, the priority with Hicks is his development. He is considered a Prospect with a capital P and developing his talent is Objective One. I have thought from the beginning that a month in Rochester would be beneficial for Hicks. Failing that, having an alternate who could start once or twice a week against a tough righthander would be helpful. Since that doesn't appear to be an option, I guess that answer is to let him play and learn. I certainly don't think making Hicks a righthanded hitter makes sense. I would predict that Hicks continues to get at-bats and continues to improve modestly. The numbers probably won't be pretty, but a BA over .200 and an OPS in the mid .600s would be a success considering his dreadful start.

I've blogged about the disappointing offense for the 2013 Twins and pointed out three guys who are offensive tail enders. Brian Dozier--limited ceiling middle infielder, Chris Parmelee--right fielder/first baseman who has teased the Twins with good stretches, but has failed once and is failing again to secure a spot from the start of the season and now Aaron Hicks. Aaron Hicks ranks fifteenth of fifteen center fielders in OPS. He started the season as the Twins' leadoff hitter and center fielder and has since been put near the bottom of the order. Hicks started historically bad. He finished April with a .113 batting average and .356 OPS--many pitchers (and Drew Butera) would be ashamed of that stat line. There has been slow improvement. For the month of May, Hicks is hitting .202 and OPSing an even .700, not great but a noticeable improvement from the previous month. Hick had hit five homers, second on the team, and has scored 25 runs and knocked in 17. Hicks was the Twins #1 draft choice in 2008 and he moved slowly through the system, repeating low A ball at Beloit. He has never hit .300 in a full season, has never played an inning in AAA, and the switch hitter's splits have always shown him to be a better right handed hitter. Nevertheless, the Twins saw fit to promote him based on a solid season in New Britain and a very good spring training. Hicks has always shown good selectivity and has shown from the beginning the tools necessary to be a fine defensive center fielder. Several issues have developed around Aaron and the Twins' center field position. First, he currently doesn't have a true backup. Fourth outfielder Darin Mastoianni has been injured basically all season. Another candidate for center, Joe Benson, was claimed on waivers after being demoted and struggling at Rochester. The Twins have no backup CF on the major league roster or the current 40-man roster. Hicks' struggles have prompted calls for him to be sent down to Triple A, also meaning that if he stays in the minors for three weeks, the Twins would get another year of service from Hicks before he could be a free agent. So far, the Twins are saying that he will do his struggling and learning in the majors. Many are calling for Hicks to give up switch hitting and be only a RH hitter. What does the immediate future hold for Aaron Hicks? With no replacement (and no room) on the 40-man roster, it looks like he is safe from demotion at least until Mastoianni can play again. Continued improvement would probably keep him in Minnesota for the rest of the season. More than any player on the 25-man roster, the priority with Hicks is his development. He is considered a Prospect with a capital P and developing his talent is Objective One. I have thought from the beginning that a month in Rochester would be beneficial for Hicks. Failing that, having an alternate who could start once or twice a week against a tough righthander would be helpful. Since that doesn't appear to be an option, I guess that answer is to let him play and learn. I certainly don't think making Hicks a righthanded hitter makes sense. I would predict that Hicks continues to get at-bats and continues to improve modestly. The numbers probably won't be pretty, but a BA over .200 and an OPS in the mid .600s would be a success considering his dreadful start.

Love the Arrested Developments references. As far as Gomez goes, he has a great many skills. He still strikes out a lot and swings too hard, but it should be about knowing when to let it go and when to settle for a gapper or an opposite field single. He is certainly getting himself out less now than when he was a Twin (or in his first three years with the Brewers). Just backing off a few percent with two strikes could make him a star or maybe a superstar.

Here's my lineup (mix of reality and wishful thinking):Dozier 2b Mauer dh Willingham lf Morneau 1b Plouffe 3b Doumit c Parmelee rf Hicks cf Florimon ss Deduno p

WAR is flawed I'm sure. Currently for the Twins, Mauer is their top rated O-WAR player (2.0) and second is ....................Trevor Plouffe (0.9). Oops, Hammer comes in at 1.0, so Plouffie is third.