tony&rodney

4-3 on the road works. Now the Twins have 12 of the next 14 at Target Field with 8 games versus teams below .500. Is it too much to hope that the Twins can go at least 9-5 in the next two week? They could also bury the Clevelanders as well.

Family function today so did not see the game. On Julien - I have stated this on several previous occasions .... Eddie looks sort of awkward, is not going to win a gold glove this year or likely ever, and makes many fans nervous whenever the ball comes his way in the field, via bat or thrown. There isn't much of an argument for EJ as a finished product. Still, I'm always a little surprised how strongly people feel about his fielding. Julien has two errors (is that correct?) and just a 2-4 misplays by my count. He generally turns the balls hit to him into outs and despite the seeming slowness of his handle at second base also turns every double play opportunity. Julien gets to every ball that either Farmer or Solano would at second base. In fairness Farmer really is decent on the other side of the infield. Despite the cringe factor Eddie has not hurt the Twins in the field this year. That is not to say he won't mess up a dozen plays from now until October. Still, I'm a Julien fan in much the same way that I viewed Koskie. There is room and time for much improvement. Julien will improve because he is not good enough to hold the position for years without improving. He is actually young and has shown some real talent for figuring things out at the plate. Baseball smarts help in the field too. BTW, how did Julien do today in the field? I see no errors and 1 for 3 and a walk from the batter's box. Let's hope his bat gets red hot again so we can all stop worrying about the glove. He will never be Roberto Alomar, but let him play as long as he hits and makes the plays. He can catch an egg (silly question and made me laugh).

Buxton has a no trade clause and a contract that runs through the 2028 season. He is not going anywhere.

There seems to be a general trend on Twins Daily that Julien should be playing first base or used as a DH. This naturally begs the question of what to do with Kirilloff and/or Buxton. Maybe one of Kirilloff or Julien should be used in a trade if either Kirilloff or Julien are not going to have a slot in the lineup. August is likely not a good time to put a player at a new position. As has been discussed in many previous posts, the Twins have a number of decisions to make going forward about who slots where defensively (Kirilloff, Julien, Polanco, Lewis, Lee, Miranda). Three infield positions are open with six players looking to play full time. I am not including those who may be seen as best used in a utility role (Farmer, Solano, Castro, Gordon, Prato, Martin). Expect a trade or two this offseason. For now, the Twins will play out the schedule in the manner we have seen thus far.

Gray gets a QO in order to nab a draft pick. Mahle - no way. Maeda presents an interesting choice, 2/$20M. The Twins will trade for a starter this winter. The cost may be steep but worth it.

Varland pitched well against a team (Louisville Bats) that hits. The timing is good too. Varland is ready for a call. He could be used as a starter or in relief.

Brooks Lee is a quick learner. From my observations (milb.com), Lee has become more comfortable as the season has gone along. He is aggressive in certain counts and on specific pitches. Lee also knows how to put the bat on the ball when needed. His first full year of professional baseball is looking excellent. Each month it seems Lee looks better as he adjusts to the pitchers rather quickly.

I agree that Austin Martin could be an effective player for the Twins in September. Willi Castro is best used as a utility player, being stretched as a regular. The issue for Martin is going to be at bats. He needs to be in the lineup on a consistent basis. Who gets sent down or dropped? The Twins have Kirilloff (when he returns), Gallo, Polanco, Solano, Julien, Correa, Lewis (when he returns), and Farmer currently available for the infield. Meanwhile, guys like Martin, Brooks Lee, and Anthony Prato are waiting for their chance. All of Kirilloff, Gallo, Lewis, Prato, and Martin can also be considered for the outfield as well. Kepler, Wallner, Taylor are the guys already up with Larnach, Celestino, and pile of others waiting for at bats. Oh, Miranda? Where do the at bats come from, either now or in the future? I find it impossible to see a pattern that indicates a preferred style of player, unless one sees a general preference for experienced players. Still, yes it would be refreshing to see Austin Martin get on base and steal some bases sometime soon at Target Field.

Reverse order.

Because I have no idea what Falvey thinks about the game of baseball or the philosophies of play, I cannot get myself worked up over the roster decisions or playing time. I just don't get what Falvey is trying to accomplish and so the signing and rostering of Joey Gallo becomes a symbol of my lack of knowledge concerning the Twins/Falvey. I do not harbor any blame or ill will toward Gallo. In fact, I have come to have considerable empathy for him as he works so hard but fails so often. Gallo clearly loves to play baseball. His play is front and center in the public eye which must be hard for him. The Twins are a bit of an anomaly as they yo-yo just around .500 ball. Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, Joe Ryan, and Byron Buxton will all need roster spots soon and I wouldn't care to guess who winds up back with the Saints.

Every team in MLB has good players. The Twins are keeping above .500 for now. Those who picked 82-87 wins are looking good. On to Philadelphia, where they will be welcomed by big hitters in a small park. The Twins have had excellent starting pitching this year. Without it they might be hanging out with the Royals. Hopefully the starting pitchers hold down the Phillies.

There are options which have not been used. The stolen base is one. So are hit and run and laying down a sacrifice bunt. Correa should be batting sixth as well.

We can all agree that Correa is not having the type of season anyone expected from him and he draws more attention because of his contract. No doubt. Still, to compare Correa to a utility infielder and a Senior Mens League player doesn't work on any level imho. I thought the Twins should have given Ehire a bit more run as a utility player because he was useful in many capacities, just not a full time shortstop. I argued for the Twins to trade for the magician, Simmons, when he was put on the market by Atlanta, but he was a very dim shadow of a player in any fashion for the Twins. Correa plays daily, makes all the plays, and is a gamer who also is really struggling with the bat this year. He is not finished any more than Seager or Machado were when they had bad years.

We all like these players, just like we liked Luis Arraez. I would think that Jeffers is the least likely of this group to go if there was a trade. Seattle matches up well with the Twins this winter, just as Miami did last winter. This doesn't mean anything will happen but it is always a good idea to improve the roster in the offseason. Listening is important.

Seems like the Twins will enter the coming offseason needing pitchers, thus no one should get too attached to any Twin position players besides the guys with no trade contracts (Correa, Buxton). If I had to bet, only Walker Jenkins would not be under consideration as a player the Twins would trade this winter.

Befuddling why Balazovic wasn't lifted after giving up the home run. He did not look sharp and the bullpen was rested. Oh well.

Julien is working to pull the ball, which isn't necessarily his game.

The stats show that Julien has been struggling versus same sided arms, true. I also know that if a batter never gets any opportunities to improve they won't. He has had some good at bats but clearly does not hit LH pitchers well.

Ober looks like he could use an extra day before his next start. Doing fine but not real sharp.

Yah, I wondered about that too especially because he has battled lefties fair enough.

I'm a little concerned with Julien. The swings are a little wild right now, missing often. It is tough to be a rookie.

Those sicko baseball fans (like myself) who actually know and follow many of the top twenty-five or so players were pretty distraught when the Twins chose Cavaco when Carroll was just sitting there waiting for his name to be called. It was so disappointing and remains an enigma. Still, one cannot just suggest that the Twins should have drafted this guy or that guy who was rated much lower but became a successful MLB player. Even the Angels chose another guy ahead of Mike Trout. The draft is a crap shoot many times. We can be relieved that the Twins stuck to the consensus by drafting Walker Jenkins at #5 this year and did not succumb to a college player.

The big offense at AAA may be a combination of factors. Perhaps there are a pile of pitchers who do not hit their spots, are in decline in regards to their careers, or simply still raw and learning on the way up. The batters are a combination of guys fighting for jobs on the 26 and 40 person rosters as well as some experienced players with talent who have begun to figure out how to hit. I have had the thought that using the ABS and challenge system at AAA gives hitters a great deal of confidence in what pitches to attack. No longer does a batter get that poor call which bails out a pitcher and puts the batter on the defensive side of a count. A bad call on a 1-1 pitch to make the count 1-2 suddenly shifts the at bat for both the pitcher and batter. Last night there was a particularly brutal strike call on Wallner, who is already prone to strike outs. Now Wallner needs to either take that pitch or try to hit it which is almost assuredly a swing and a miss.

My empathy is with Byron. His body just has not been fully healed, affecting his swing completely and keeping him off the grass. We have seen how much fun he has playing centerfield in the past. The restrictions are a total bummer for him. The Twins should do whatever they can to make him whole. Hopefully both management and Buck find a solution for him.

All teams find opportunities to play everyone on the roster, looking for matchups that are favorable. Luplow hits left-handed pitchers well and Farmer and Taylor fare better versus southpaws as well. Julien has had some difficulty in the minor leagues against lefties. It makes sense to use the roster when the team does not have surefire stars across the field.