Doomtints

If he goes to the Yankees, who have a strong interest, the Yankees probably displace the Twins out of the playoffs. In my opinion the Yankees are the last team in the AL the Twins probably can't beat. Making this move might be the difference. Whoever loses a starting spot can still be productive from the pen -- and the Twins need help there. Plus, at some point some starter will get injured. He will be looking for a "1 year" deal so he can get a payday next year. The Twins can do this.

LEN3 is usually right when he talks about what the Twins are planning. What gets him in trouble is his opinions are usually cray-cray. This doesn't seem like an opinion.

The two power rankings changes I looked at this week both show the Twins going down and the Rays and Brewers going up. With, unsurprisingly, the Yankees moving over the Twins.

Cleveland is done if the Twins take care of business, but watch out for a long winning streak by the White Sox.

The Rays have a good chance of being in 3rd place in the AL East by August. Seattle fans were sorta like this back when the Mariners were good at the turn of the century ... not willing or able to see their team as anything but perfect. Ya gotta win the series before you crown yourselves champions.

"At Progressive, we can customize ANYTHING to suit your needs... And we represent this with commercials in an all-white store with identical white boxes on the shelves and everyone wearing white."

Those Rays powder-blue uniforms omg lol who the heck would wear those

I read something that said that the teams that set these incredible win records almost always fall in the playoffs or in the championship, regardless of the sport. The little research I did on this suggested it's true. Blame the 1906 Cubs for starting the trend.

The Rays looked really flat yesterday, like other teams look when the Twins mash four home runs against them ... minus the four home runs. Right now I think the only team left to fear for this team is the Yankees.

He has a .963 OPS and a 148 OPS+. Who cares about his batting average....

When the season started - No. Now - Yes.

Maybe that was true in later years, but not for games in the 1981-1987 range. All but one or two games every year was broadcast.

What part of my statement confuses you? Before moving to cable... every Twins game.... was broadcast on Channel 9.... which at the time was an independent station... which otherwise played reruns all day... since the Fox network did not yet exist.

Every game was on channel 9 back in those days.

This mocking all but ensures the Twins drop the series. Thanks, Jan.

Murphy was playing OK. Not great, but OK. Has anyone mentioned whether he is easy to get along with? The Twins sent him packing awfully fast, as did the Yankees.

Culture starts at the top.

No.

No one will want to pick up his salary.

I agree the attitude is different. When the Twins bang out a home run, the look in the dugout is that they are taking care of business. Regardless of what happens, they don't look surprised, they don't look put off, they simply get ready for the next at bat. Another team that looked like this was the 2002 Twins.

As of today, this is the best Twins start since 2001. I expect this team will fare better than that team did, but I don't want to compare this team to the 60s Twins dynasty yet.

If it's not straightforward, does this mean you don't try it? Is staying the same any more "straightforward"? Let's play a game ... spot the 3 years in this sample when Wade Davis was a starter. Number of relief appearances before those years: 0. You can even see a year where he went to back to starting and then back to relief the year after. Number of people like you who no doubt said moving Davis to the pen wouldn't work: countless. Pineda has the velocity to be a good set up guy and if the knee that kept him out of baseball at the end of last year is flaring up after two months, give something else a try. He can be valuable to the team as a reliever and he provides zero value if he can't play. The Twins have a glaring need for a guy who can do well in the 8th inning and right now a healthy Pineda is a hell of a great option to try if not the best option available.

Brandon on the beat Brandon on the beat Brandon on the, Brandon on the, Brandon on the beat Now slide, drop Hit dem folks, don't stop, aye

First a reality check: Astudillo is hitting like a catcher and he is a catcher. Comparing his bat to others who are not catchers, well.... Molitor started playing Astudillo everywhere except his natural position, for some reason, and he did well enough for that practice to continue. This doesn't mean he isn't primarily a catcher. In any case, yes Astudillo should be sent down when Garver comes up if they need to open up a spot. He could use regular at bats. He knows he is on the fringe of the roster and he's not going to be upset about it. His role this year can be the AAAA guy who bounces between the majors and minors as needed. If he plays sharp the rest of the way, his role can be different next year or even later this year.

Reality check: He is really injured. You can't put a player on the IL without doctor approval and without player approval. If a team manages to pay off a doctor, the player can still object to the league which brings in the MLB's doctors to make a determination. Similarly, doctor approval and player approval is required to take someone off the IL, with the same escalation path to MLB doctors if there is a disagreement. Putting someone on the IL is a lot of paperwork. In other words, this isn't a ploy to give him some rest. This is the same knee Pineda tore up late last year and it makes sense that it would be sore. Pineda can probably have a sub-2.00 ERA as a bullpen arm and the Twins need someone who can do that. He would be the ideal setup guy. Move him there when he gets back. This is going to be a nagging injury if they keep putting him out there for long stretches, and the Twins have to consider Pineda's future as a ballplayer.