stringer bell

What is left at Chattanooga looks to me like the laboratory for utility and role players. Michael and Goodrum, for sure, look like utility guys who could make the majors. Turner is a guy whose glove (mitt!) should get him to the majors despite a sluggish bat. Harrison and Walker could peak as bench or right handed platoon partners. Polanco might end up in a utility role, as well.

Time for May to get some work (ducks).

Guess not.

As a matter of fact, everyone in the lineup under the age of 40 has raised their average. At the rate this is going, Hunter might get that chance.

Buxton goes 1-5, raises average.

Must be getting tired. I saw one extra vowel in the word "pens".

The three pitcher signings all look pretty bad at this point. Hughes is the youngest and had a fine season for the Twins in 2014. I would guess he is the most likely to "play up" to the money in his contract. Nolasco has been ineffective and snakebit. He was on his way to having an okay year and then felled by an old ankle injury. Santana has spent the least amount of time with the team and his numbers are poor. In one of Santana's starts, he set down the Angels after the Twins had lost four straight games. He had the chance to salvage the Yankee series, but gave up his second homer of the game and got the loss. Today was a big chance for Ervin to be a stopper and earn some of that big contract, but he instead took the loss. Those three contracts just about guarantee that the Twins won't pursue any big-ticket starters this offseason.

OK, Eddie's been very good, but he should have caught that ball.

Nice job Casey. On the running game, circumstances yielded the results. Dozier was thrown out on a pitchout. Hunter was retired on a missed swing on a hit and run and Nuñez was out because the shortstop was able to simultaneously make a catch and tag of a short hop. Dozier, Nuñez and Rosario all had gotten great jumps on steal attempts.

I would like to see the more aggressive Rosario in right. There is slightly less area in right, and Eddie has played a dozen or so games in right, so he is more experienced playing the multi-surface wall. As for throwing, I don't think the difference is great and what difference there is in strength is made up for by his accuracy and aggressiveness in charging balls.

First team to 10 wins?

Keep-rap.

The Twins need you to post that more often.

Brand new ball game!

Not to speculate too much, but my guess is that the pitcher broke his nose. I hope he's not too badly hurt. I'm really surprised more pitchers don't get hit.

Tight zone early, with the exception of strike three to Hicks.

The Twins current playoff probability according to Baseball Prospectus is just 7%. That seems low, given the fact that they only trail wild card leader Baltimore by 1.5 games and play the Orioles four games within the week. Here's a tale about the underdog winning. A young sophomore track runner has had a respectable season in the 1600 meters going into the conference meet. However, she hadn't beaten three older runners (one of whom went on to win the state championship) all year. On a cool, cloudy spring day the sophomore starts out in the lead, as the other higher-seeded runner settle into a trail position, eyeing the other favorites, while the young slender sophomore takes a big lead. Nobody challenges for the first half-mile. On the third lap, the favorites decide they had better start to challenge the leader. It takes a while to close the gap and after three quarters of the race, it looks like the younger runner will fade to fourth place as the three older, stronger runners are clustered within a few yards of the leader. Two challengers try to pass, but can't get past. The last major challenger waits until the last 100 meters, but the leader somehow has a kick left and holds her off as well. The sophomore runs her best time by 15 seconds. It is good enough to hold off the contenders she had never beaten before or after the one conference meet. This story has the advantage of being true, at least as I remember it. My daughter was a sophomore and stunned herself, her coach and her dad winning the conference race. If there were a prospectus for high school track meets then, I'm sure her victory percentage would have been lower than seven per cent. That is what makes sports fun!

I want Buxton here in place of a pitcher. I also think that Hicks should play left field, not right. I believe Rosario would be the superior right fielder immediately and with time Hicks would be a little better in left than Eddie. Plouffe is an everyday third baseman, who has played a few games at first to accommodate the phenom. It makes far more sense to trade him for value than make him into a guy who moves all over the field. I presume, without another OF being signed, that Hicks, Rosario, and Buxton have the lead for the three starting position next year. The other outfielder to start ST would be the out of options Arcia, with Kepler being given a shot to join the club, but most likely starting in AAA.

Buxton has played as long at AAA as he did with the big boys. We should probably hold equal weight for each (ie not much at all). I guess I would look at how many balls he has hit hard, and how many times he has struck out and then look at what pitches (breaking balls, chain jumps [that's for Always 33] got him out.

The optimum thing would be to go back to 12 pitchers, adding Buxton for a pitcher. That could be accomplished as soon as the end of the Yankee series, if the Twins starters go deep in games.

Disagree here Kwak. Dozier became an All-Star precisely because he is able to generate so many extra-base hits. Yes, i hope he moderates just a bit next year and starts using all fields more, but he's good because he hits homers and doubles. Plouffe was all or nothing in the year that he hit 24 homers. He's been a better player the last two years because he is using all the field, especially with two strikes.

Kepler for POY in the Southern League? I wonder how much that matters to the Twins' front office. I could see him staying in Chattanooga 'til the playoffs are over and then getting a couple weeks with the Twins.

Don't look now, but through four innings, the Twins have............one hit.

Gibson's BABIP continues to regress.

Not much of a swing.