stringer bell

The last two years the team has been better on the road than at home. This year, they have been one of the best home teams, but not improved on the road. They are playing the Angels at the wrong time and it looks to me like at this point they (LAA) are just as good, if not better, than KC. That could change, for sure, but to me the two best teams are the Royals and the Angels. The Twins were a blooper away from going 2-1 in Oakland, but this series in Anaheim reminds me of the first series against the Tigers. No contest.

Maybe not.

Here we go?!?

OK, I'll give it one more inning, then off to bed.

What is Gibby's (pitcher) BABIP tonight? I think it's about .545 right now.

Bases loaded, none out for Albert. We could all get some extra sleep. Pujols is in scoring position at the plate.

Five singles for the first 10 batters. Doesn't look good.

Turner is again coming on in the second half of the season, as he did last year at Fort Myers. He's hit .295 in July and .286 in the last 30 days. I don't know if he'll ever be more than a backup, but from what I've seen myself and reports I've read, he is a fine defensive catcher. I wonder if he can get off to a good start that it might flip the switch for his offense.

First of all, managers are reluctant to make any pinch-hitting moves unless the game is tied or the hitting team is behind. Benches are too small to lose a bench player early and when your team is ahead. Secondly, pinch hitting numbers in the AL should be more closely examined. When the Twins pinch hit for a regular in a laugher, it isn't the same as hitting for Santana with the Twins down a run in the eighth. I know Gardenhire was skewered for not wanting to expose his backup catcher, but that is exactly what Molitor has done. I can recall him pinch hitting for Herrmann in one AL game and doing a double switch in an NL game, but I don't think he hit for Suzuki all year. Suzuki and the shortstop would be about the only players it would figure to pinch hit for, unless Robinson started the game. Every individual pinch hitter would have extreme SSS, but if I recall correctly, Robinson has gotten on quite a few times as a pinch hitter.

The Twins rank in the middle for runs scored and their team OPS is in the middle (9th last I looked). They have outpitched their peripherals by much more than they have outhit their underlying metrics. Further, three offensive changes have been made since April-May, two of which are undoubtedly positive. I expect the offense to be at least middle-of-the road the rest of the way. I am not as optimistic about the pitching.

Four more hits for Swim. I know he's versatile (C, 1B, OF) and he hits line drives. Will he ever reach the seats?

Duffey is a right hander. Rogers is a left hander with dramatic L/R splits.

And as the clock strikes midnight.............Happy Birthday Torii.

50-40 after 90 games. That would project to 90-72 in 162. Let's see how it goes, shall we?

Good at-bats by all the hitters. Another homer on a pitch above the zone and this one was worth four runs.

Second, both by Plouffe.

Just a thought. Pitching fly ball pitchers for night games might be a good idea. As I write this, the Twins get their first assist on a 1-3 putout, Santana to Mauer.

Fly Ball Phil has an air out partner. Santana has no walks or strikeouts and only one ground ball through four innings. Twins 1-0 after four. CBU.

A little dicey in the bottom of the third, but Santana pitches around a Dozier error and two scratch hits. 1-0 after 3. CBU.

There's the official #20!

The Truth is out there.

Rod Carew was MVP when he hit .388, even though the Twins finished fourth in the Division (IIRC). It seems the MVP has evolved a bit more towards players in the playoffs, but a good stat year on a bad team isn't going to get much notoriety. A great year like Carew's 1977 will win awards.

I confess I got a little misty-eyed. He's a player I like, I have spoken to him and he seems very genuine and down-to-earth and he really, really deserved the honor. Combined with the very real possibility that he won't be selected to another All-Star game, it is and was pretty special. It certainly made his walk-offs all the more special, too.

Hate to quibble, but just because there are more caught stealings doesn't mean the team is running the bases poorly. Base stealing is only part of base running. Just because the results were poor doesn't necessarily mean the instruction was poor.

I'm jumping the gun by a day, but the Twins are approaching the All-Star break and they certainly qualify as contenders. After beating Detroit today, they are tied for the second best record in the league at eight games over .500. One can't help but be a little optimistic about the Twins chances for the last 74 games. Today was a high point, not only hammering Detroit's starting pitcher, but also the mid-game announcement that Brian Dozier would indeed make the 2015 All-Star team, all on the heels of the startling comeback the earned the Twins a near miraculous victory on Friday night. However, there are obvious flaws on the team. The leading percentage hitter currently is Joe Mauer, hitting in the mid-.270s and until this home stand the Twins had struggled to score runs for the better part of six weeks. We've seen a bullpen that is far from dominant and still have unsettled and unproductive positions (catcher and shortstop). The starting staff continues to allow far fewer runs than their peripherals would suggest. Since the Twins outstanding month of May, analysis has focused on how the club is winning and also if they can sustain that performance. Most analysts still think the club is suspect. A good example is Baseball Prospectus, which provides a Postseason Probability for each team. They currently peg the Twins at 21.6%, lower than the Tigers (2.5 games behind the Twins) and the Indians (4.5 behind Minnesota). This is supposedly scientific analysis. The team is far different that the one that opened the season in Detroit. Eddie Rosario has claimed an outfield spot, Aaron Hicks appears to be here to stay this year, and several members have changed in the bullpen. The rotation has added Ervin Santana to the rotation. I think more changes are in the offing. Either by trade or promotion, I think the bullpen will continue to be redone. Byron Buxton figures to return to Minnesota after a rehab and perhaps an option to AAA, Oswaldo Arcia has begun to pound the ball at Triple A, I am still not convinced the Twins are a playoff team, but it looks like they could easily be in it for the two and a half months. I'm predicting a couple of moves that will fortify the bullpen (perhaps trading for a lefty reliever and promoting a hard thrower) and also perhaps a trade for a catcher, who could help this year and beyond. I would expect improvement from the offense, combined with a bit of regression from the rotation. I have predicted 85 wins for the club since they broke camp in Florida. I hope that number is reached although I'm not sure if it will be enough to gain admission to the post season.