powrwrap

A starter that throws 92 mph is nothing to be proud of. I would call it a copper lining. Well, since he's not a qualified starter, how many other starters have this high of a GB rate, but don't have the qualifying innings? OK, that's pretty impressive. That's nice. And how many of them are hitting these pitches? Because his SO rate is nothing special and his WHIP of 1.68 is pathetic. "His WHIP of 1.68 would place him 91st among qualified starters (out of 92.)" Sorry, a 92 mph fastball is not being thrown "hard". Which isn't doing him or his team any good , as witnessed by the 1.68 WHIP and .325 BA against. Yet he's not a strikeout pitcher. Hmm...

He had a good sinker in his first couple of starts. That's all I've got for positives. Honestly, I don't see what all the hullabaloo is about. He throws 92 mph (mostly) and sometimes hits 93-94. Looks a lot like Nick Blackburn to me. I doubt he'd make a top 3 starter on most teams.

That is quite a disparity. If you dig a little deeper he is failing within the AL Central. At Chicago he's batting .000 (0 for 7) At Cleveland he's .200 (4 for 20) At Kansas City he's .250 (6 for 24) At Detroit he's .185 (5 for 27) That's a total BA within the AL Central (away games) of .192 Here's his splits from last year: Home .252/.329/.399 Away .283/.338/.482 I guess it's just a weird anomaly. Let's see what his splits look like in September.

No, I don't think he's saying that. He's saying that Ryan has mismanaged the roster. Yes, and this has been known for the last 30 months or so. That does not excuse the fact that there are only 2 full time outfielders on the Twins active roster. Or that you have 13 pitchers. Or that you have four catchers on the active roster.

And most teams with more than two professional outfielders have veteran professional outfielders. I suppose in late innings situations and you need to make an out (read: put down a sacrifice bunt), here's your guys. Thanks Mr. Ryan, you're really giving Mr. Gardenhire a lot of strategic options.

http://deadspin.com/prince-fielder-hitting-a-triple-while-tim-mccarver-reci-809381875

Good article by Reusse and points out an attitude in the Twins front office of not being risk takers. I wonder: If the Nishioka signing had worked out well for the Twins would they be more aggressive with Gonzalez?

I really can't stand the Fox Baseball broadcasting team. Tim McCarver has a terrible habit of making inane observations, usually involving words that rhyme. "Wouldn't it have been great if Fidel Castro had tried out for the Astros? Get it.....Castro/Astros?" Anyway, last night during the AS game he recited the lyrics to "Enter Sandman", Mariano Rivera's walk-on music. Must see TV. Y! SPORTS

Parmelee and Arcia being sent down is a message the Twins FO is sending to these guys. Just because the Twins have a dearth of OFers doesn't mean your job is secure. Parmelee has had plenty of major league AB's and I think it has been determined that he is a great AAAA ballplayer. Personally, I hope I never see him in a Twins uniform again. I see nothing wrong with bringing Colabello up and plugging him into the lineup for 2-3 weeks or so. It's a lost season, let's see if he can leave AAAA ball and be a major leaguer. Arcia needs to settle down, relax, and find his swing again. It's obvious he's pressing and trying to do too much at the plate. A stint at AAA will be therapeutic. I'm OK with giving Bernier his cup of coffee. Why not? I think the Twins will try to trade Morneau, find no offers, and then try to re-sign him for 2 more years at a discount. It's unlikely he will sign, the temptation to see what the free market would bring will be too tempting. He could always test the waters and come back to the Twins. I really think that Jamie Carroll is the most likely Twin to be traded.

Can't get your link to work in either Firefox or IE10. Anyway, if the price is right, yes, the Twins should extend Morneau's contract. Something like $16M over 2 years would be about right. I don't see Parmelee as his replacement, so if you don't sign him, who's going to play first base?

He WAS an extra outfielder on my fantasy team.

In this scenario, I'd like to have: 1. Joe Maddon 2. Mike Scoscia 3. Buck Showalter

Sandberg is currently the third base coach of the Phillies. So wouldn't the Twins need to get permission to talk to him? Why would the Phillies do that?

Let's suppose the Twins are going to part ways with Ron Gardenhire. Let's further suppose that they've decided they want to go outside of the organization to get their next manager (oh, please!) What are there options? What kind of barricades will they face? 1. Hire someone not currently under contract with any team. This could be former players or former managers I don't see any impediments here, except perhaps a dearth of candidates. There is the question of quality as well. Bobby Valentine? Ozzie Guillen, anyone? Yick. 2. Hire someone already under contract. I presume this requires the Twins to get the permission of the candidate's employer. Who might this include? a. Base coaches or other coaches of other teams either major league or minor leagues. b. Managers of minor league teams. Also, if the other team grants permission, what does that say about their opinion of this employee? 3. Trade for a manager. This is how the Red Sox acquired John Farrell. Is there any other way for a team to acquire a manager? In contemplating who the Twins could get as a quality, experienced manager I would say the pickings are slim.

Intriguing idea. I also would like to see someone completely unaffiliated with the Twins organization take the reins.

No, I didn't. And I didn't say you were one of these people. I said I didn't know who they are. I haven't been hanging out around here much this year. The arguments are so predictable around here they ought to be numbered. Then we wouldn't waste so much time typing things. Imagine: Poster XYZ: Argument number 1! Poster ABC: Argument number 1 has been totally counterpointed by argument 12! Poster IJK: Three, I tell you three! Poster RST: Three was disproven by Number 27 in August of 2011. etc. etc. I see you've made over 2,000 posts in less than a year so I believe you when you say you've seen the Gardy/talent argument made before.

I don't know who these people are that you allude to, but consider the talent he had in 2002-2009 or so, and the talent he has now. There's almost no comparison. Santana or Diamond Milton/Mays/Radke/Baker or Correia/Deduno/Pelfrey/Worley etc. Cuddyer or Parmelee Hunter or Span/Hicks Jones or Arcia Guzman/Barlett or Nishioka/Carroll/Florimon Koskie/Punto or Valencia/Plouffe Castillo/Hudson or Casilla/Dozier My opinion is that Gardenhire has gotten stale, the players are tired of his act, and don't respect and/or listen to him. How sick are we as fans of "battled his tail off", "got to give them credit, that's a good team over there", "we hit the ball hard, but right at someone"? Now consider how sick the players are of hearing his cliches. He's still a good manager, still in the top 10 in baseball.

Yes, and guess what? If I were the groundskeeper for the Cardinals and I knew this marking in the dirt bothered the opposing pitcher I'd be sure to leave it intact! Home field advantage, baby!

Really? Seeing a cross etched in dirt is "forcing your faith on others?" So what about people wearing crosses, or the star of David? Also "forcing your faith on others?" Sheesh.

Disrespecting someone else's religion is not going to solve anything, and could lead to confrontations. We've got enough of that going on in the world already.

Freedom of religion is exactly that. I wouldn't like it but would respect the free expression of it.

For a guess hitter, he's having a great year. Happy for him.

Of Bonderman's opponents the Twins have the third highest BAA and third highest SLG. If you throw out the Reds, who Bonderman has only faced once, the Twins would be 2nd in the majors in these categories, so yes, he is the Twins' punching bag.

Saw that Jeremy Bonderman was the probable starter for the Mariners on Sunday. Really? He hasn't pitched in MLB since 2010. His career stats vs. the Twins: ERA / WHIP / BAA 8.22 / 1.83 / .349 Current Twins Mauer, Morneau, Doumit are a combined .271/.392/.441 AVG/OBA/SLG