stringer bell

Nice start Duensing! Shake it off and throw some zeroes!

The Twins are not going to contend in 2012. They still have one of the worst records and one of the worst run differentials in baseball, but I don't think they are that far away from being a contender. I don't think the product is "shattered" by any means. It is entirely within the realm for this club to play .500 baseball the rest of the year and come out with mid-70s wins and that is a major improvement from 2011 when they were lucky to win 63 and avoid 100 losses. Someone pointed out that the '11 Twins actually had a better run than any the '12 Twins have put together, but the mirage was anything good produced by that club. Today's Twins are hamstrung by bad starting pitching, but the lineup is pretty good, the bullpen is good (and much improved) and the defense is much better and plays much better fundamentally. There still is plenty to complain about. A minor league system that has stopped producing standout players, a front office that has sold low on a number of players and has seemed intent on cutting payroll above winning, a medical staff that has seemed clueless, announcers who praise first inning bunts and speak in hackneyed cliches, pitchers who pitch to contact because they don't have enough stuff to strike hitters out and there's more, of course. The Twins have some talent. They have "found" some productive players this year and if they are shrewd and lucky enough to do the same next year, especially starting pitchers, they can compete in the Central. Sure, they're lucky they aren't in the East or West and there still would be that playoff problem to get over, but I think the club is moving in the right direction and they could suprise as soon as next year.

Thanks for the explanation.

I think the Twins will have to part with valuable parts in order to compete next year. I think it should be Span and Morneau. That leaves no room for error--the productive guys need to be productive again next year and long-term injuries would have to be avoided--and somebody (probably Parmelee) needs to step up and be productive. The Twins must add quality starting pitching if they are serious about contending and they need to get lucky--as it appears they have with Plouffe and Diamond this year.

Target Field Span is an All-Star. Road Span is Rich Becker. How can you say that Target Field has hurt Span when he has hit great there all three years? Span's home/road split in OPS since 2010: .761 H .602 R in 2010 .728 H .660 R in 2011 and .937 H and .545 R this year.

I agree pig. That is why I am among the diminishing number of Twins fans that wants to give Casilla yet another chance.

Casilla easily has been the best defender in the infield for the Twins. Yet this board is near-unanimous that he will/should be non-tendered after this season. Just sayin'.

Reminds me of last year's Twins.

I don't think a team so power challenged in the middle infield can afford to carry two slap hitters in the outfield as regulars. Either Span or Revere must go. I'd rather move Span because of Revere's explosiveness on the bases. If only an outfielder is moved, the Twins kind of owe it to Parmelee to give him a shot in RF. If Morneau is moved as well, you are banking on Parm as your 1B. Actually, I think the Twins should trade Morneau as well as one of Span/Revere.

They had four Nishis!

Hernanadez has been off for awhile, correct? I know he and his wife had a new baby and the report said this was his first start with Rochester. Perhaps we can chalk it up to rustiness.

The Twins have tried to be supportive and it hasn't worked. If they haven't done it yet, I think the Twins should confront Nishi. Something along the lines of "we paid a lot of money for your services, and we haven't received much of anything. Do you have something to offer or is this the best you can do?" We plan to DFA you if you don't perform and wouldn't expect any team to claim you. Do you want to go out like that?"

If possible, Nishioka managed to drive his stock down. Is there a worse healthy player on any team's 40-man roster?

If only they could!

.500 ball the rest of the way would give them 74 wins. Somewhere between 74 and 80 wins sounds doable. If a regular is traded they probably would have a hard time getting to 75. What's really important is setting up 2013 and beyond.

What's the home/road breakdown in those 47 games? So far, the Twins have actually played better on the road, but I have to believe that will improve at home vs. on the road. You are pointing out that the Twins are about an average team since the break. One might say they've been about average since early May. I am in the camp that the club isn't that far away. They need to get lucky with a couple pitchers (Scott Diamond II and III?) and they could be in the thick of the race as soon as next year. I picked the Twins to win 80-85 games this year and the only thing that kept them from being in that neighborhood is the complete and utter failure of the five projected starters.

Well, that put a little fear in the Sox. The two runs allowed by the end of the bullpen guys ended up deciding the game. Also, the Twins had a runner on second with zero outs three times and once with one out (the Mastro pickoff) and only got him home once.

I would attribute almost all of the stolen bases to the pitchers. However, I don't see the snap on Mauer's throws that I saw through 2010 (he hardly caught last year).

It took roughly a week for Valencia to play himself out of the organization.

It certainly isn't imminent, but I've said for awhile that the Twins should move Span. Putting Revere in center is one reason, getting an extra base bat in a corner OF position is another, and the fact that their best prospects in the high minors are OFs all figure to be reasons to move Denard, probably in the offseason.

Well, I don't know if they really prefer Nishi on the roster to Danny V, but they got some return for him, so there's that. It will be interesting to see what happens when Plouffe comes off the DL. They could send Nishi back, they could DFA Casilla, they could send a pitcher to Rochester. In the big picture, it doesn't matter much, but the Twins have to decide who to cut ties with, who to showcase, and who to give chances to. Of course, there could be more waiver deals to clear more 40-man space.

Somehow I don't think Denard catches that one. Hey, Ben got it to second on one hop!

Certainly not excited about Nishioka, but he's on the 40-man and Plouffe should be back within a week. However, Plouffe has been a week away or less since he got jammed two weeks ago. Valencia's trade seems to make it a certainty that Plouffe will be manning third the rest of this year and to start next season.

Nishi to the Twins in Cleveland. Oh boy!

See ya Danny. I wonder if the Sox use him as a backup 1B/3B, essentially Youk-very-lite. I know he was sent to Pawtucket, but the Sox roster almost certainly will get quite a changeover in the next three weeks in a row.