stringer bell

I like Hawkins, Cuddyer, Morneau, and Smalley in that order. I heard enough from Hunter in one series. On the other topic, yes make Polanco a second baseman and sign a shortstop. Iglesias now of the Tigers would be a good fit.

I heard a couple innings of the game on the radio and didn't see a single pitch. By all accounts, it was a dreadful performance not worthy of a Major League baseball team. It has already been a long and disappointing season, so fans are primed to be angry and vent at the manager, players and front office. That said, and alluding to a post above, it is only one game with a confluence of factors that led to the dreadful result. First of all, this was a meaningless game between two teams long out of the playoff chase. Secondly, a day game in the hot Texas sun with a series against Houston starting this afternoon with the contending Astros meant giving days off to the struggling Sano and to Mauer. Add in that Field and Gimenez likely wouldn't see the field in Houston, Molitor started those guys.Yeah, Gimenez at first base is poor, but if he's not going to play Austin, Mauer, and Sano, and Ehire is at third... I don't know why Austin was out, but whatever. So, a lousy lineup with not much punch. Again, Littel was called up to pitch and the Twins have been itching to try the "opener", so why not? I guess it didn't go well--Moya gave up a bomb--Littel got through four innings but got knocked out in the sixth. Try out Duffey in the sixth and not good, game out of hand. With both Gibson and particularly Berrios struggling, the next month won't be pretty. The Twins' team ERA will probably end up close to last after being in the middle third for most of the season. Now about the call-ups and non-call-up. The Twins won't admit it, but Buxton's non-recall is about service time. There have been several threads about it, and honestly from what I've seen most of the Twins Daily constituency is in favor of him not returning until 2019. That the Twins didn't recall higher upside pitchers is probably a sad commentary on what is available in the upper minors. Gonsalves, Stewart, and now Littel are recalled and none of them has produced anything to be optimistic about. I guess Curtiss is heading to Houston after Rochester finishes their season, and maybe a couple of those arms in the Rochester bullpen might also come along, but I don't think any of them are better or better prospect than Moya and Busenitz, who are here now after most of the season in Rochester. I don't blame the Twins for not promoting an iffy MLB prospect not on the 40-man, even though there is plenty of dreck on their roster. The kind of outcome that occurred yesterday was put in motion when the Twins sold on the trade deadline. They will lose more games because of that and there aren't any worthwhile prospects available to get their feet wet in September. It makes for poor baseball this month, sad to say.

Nice win for the Twins. Stewart pitched acceptably, the bullpen was good, defense excellent and they bunched their hits. I do want to comment on the home plate ump. He was giving a couple inches on the low, outside corner all game until the eighth inning. In the eighth, he seemed to close that door plus missing at least two pitches that were knee-high and above and clearly not outside. I don’t come to Twins Daily to complain about umpiring, but that was among the most perplexing balls-and-strikes calling that I’ve seen.

Other than a 2B or 3B injury, it seems doubtful.

We all know Forsythe isn't going to hit .400, but I do like his approach. He doesn't strike out much, uses the whole field and has hit a lot of line drives. If that continues until the end of the season, he's got some value. With the uncertainty the Twins have in the infield, I think having a veteran who is competent with the bat and the glove is worth something. A one-year deal almost by definition isn't a bad deal. If Gordon or Lewis is ready sometime next year and Sano is still a third baseman, well you have a right handed bench bat. I don't want Forsythe to block a great prospect, but I do believe the Twins could contend again next year and having a decent right handed hitter with some positional flexibility is desirable.

I caught bits and pieces of the game. I saw the 7th and witnessed Austin's blast--wow, dude has big-league power! I fully expected Mauer to walk in that situation, but when the reliever grooved the 3-2 pitch I was pleasantly surprised. Beautiful swing, great result=stolen victory. As far as the bullpen, I'm liking what I see from Moya and I will start a thread on Rogers in a few minutes. I don't see a closer from what is there now, although it could possibly be (Trevor) May next year. Maybe Reed recovers and is the guy, but right now there isn't a sure thing. I saw too much of Hildenberger giving up runs in the last few weeks to be comfortable with him finishing games. There are options and there is money to sign someone. I really don't think this pitching staff is far away from being more than okay.

Hard to know hat to think except that there is no point for a potential free agent to drive down his value by continuing to play impaired. If the Twins were in the race and Morrison was having a season more comparable to 2017, he would still be playing. Alas, neither is happening this year.

Forsythe reached all four times. Has some versatility and has shown some power. Any interest in keeping him on a one-year deal?

I'm a big fan of Dozier, and thought his value to the team was pretty high. This year he hasn't been very good, let's face it. However, the last two years he was an elite player playing in the middle infield. I have said before that I thought he was the team MVP for four years running. He was durable and developed into a power hitter despite less than optimum raw power. He was a good example to other players and never got in any kind of trouble. Replacing Brian Dozier won't be easy. What I've said since his breakout is that his career will be determined by his performance in his 30s. Will he be a Jeff Kent, who flourished until he was almost 40 or will he be Dan Uggla, who hit a wall right around 30 after being an all-time slugging second baseman. Most likely, he'll be something in between. I think there will be times the team and its management realizes that trading Dozier is a huge loss, but it does give someone else a chance and maybe that guy will be a great player, too.

I was at the game. Great game to watch, but not some kind of masterpiece. Probably the right call to pass both Mauer and Rosario, but Dozier had to have some extra incentive at that point. As far as the Cave play, his foot went across the plate before he was tagged, but the replays didn’t show clearly when any part of his foot touched the plate.

Dozier has been the Twins' best player for the last four years. He hit over 40 homers in 2016 and has led the team in homers for the last four years. No other Twins has done that since Killebrew. This year he hasn't been the team's best player, not even close. But he does have a history of having big second halves, and did so in both '16 and '17. He also had a poor second half in 2015, so maybe all we can expect is one torrid half out of two. I believe potential suitors will look at more than this year's poor numbers and his close and late stats. Dozier has proven to be durable and productive and trading for him for August and September and perhaps October could and should make a lot of sense for a contender needing a second baseman. I would think that someone would see him as the piece that puts them over the top. I do agree with Jorgen that most players close and late numbers in this era will be a far cry from their overall numbers. If you're facing the closer and setup guy, it's a lot tougher than hitting against the last guy or two in the 'pen.

No, Ian Kinsler is! The Twins couldn’t get him out. SSS, I guess.

Reed, Ehire, and Pressly say thanks to Rosario, Dozier and LaMarre for pulling out this game. Also, a nice, but risky play by Wilson on the bunt. Further on Reed, the velo is there, so I think we have to chalk it up to a rough patch and a bit of bad luck. Patience paid off with Rodney, I think, and probably will with veterans like Lynn and Morrison, as well as Reed.

Was listening on the radio at the time, and Corey and Gladden agreed Petit should have held the ball. Maldonado is a catcher--it probably takes two singles to score him from second. A small misplay that cost a run in a one-run game.

Dozier's pattern, if there is one, is to have one markedly better half than the other. In 2014, 2016 and last year, that half was the second half. In 2015, Dozier's only All-Star appearance, he was markedly better in the first half. The overall picture in the last two years has presented an elite offensive player at second base. Since he doesn't hit 450 foot moon shots and pulls a high percentage of his homers, I think there is perhaps a smaller margin for error in his approach. Six hits, including two homers in two days tells me that he's not ready to fall off the cliff.

43 at-bats for the season. Dozier has endured a dry spell of in excess of 50 at-bats (before yesterday). Yes, Buxton might struggle the first series or two after being out nearly a month, but his defense should make up for most of that.

1 doable thing will get Joe Mauer in the Hall of Fame. Joe needs to win a fourth batting title. The cynic in me says that he needs to sign with the Rockies and win that title in 2019, but maybe he could win his fourth championship as a Twin. Happy Birthday Joe.

I've thought this for years: Is Brian Dozier a Dan Uggla or a Jeff Kent? If he is another Jeff Kent, he's going to be valuable for a long time, if he falls off a cliff like Uggla, maybe letting him go before his age 32 season is a pretty good plan.

Congratulations to longshots Moya, Kinley and LaMarre. I doubt all three make it to May 1, but all three seized opportunities. I would agree that middle infield is short. Who comes up in the event of an injury, Gordon?

To get down to the fine points, why would Granite start any game ahead of Rosario-Buxton-Kepler? The only answer I have is that Granite would give one of the three a day of rest, but they're all young so the number of days rest needed is pretty small. Sight unseen, I would think that LaMarre could on a few occasions be a better offensive alternative against a left handed pitcher than Kepler (and maybe Rosario). Realizing further that the downgrade in defense would be minor or non-existent (as compared to starting Grossman on a corner), I wonder if there is a place for LaMarre on the Opening Day roster. The drawback would be exposing another player when removing him from the 40-man (Vargas?). Is having someone who might be incrementally better vs. LH pitching worth exposing someone like Kennys Vargas? I don't know, but I really don't see much value in having Granite fill the same role.

The role to be filled is backup outfielder. I think defense is important, as well as the potential to get some PAs against left handed pitching. If the Twins needed a lefty swinger, I think Granite would be a lock, but with Kepler’s struggles vs. lefties last year and Grossman’s poor defense, giving LaMarre a shot makes some sense.

LeMarre would appear to be a better fit than Granite. He’s been good all spring FWIW, but they’d have to make a space for him on the 40-man roster. I assume he’s a more capable outfielder than Grossman.

Mejia needs to be able to throw more innings. Part of that is trust from the manager and coaching staff and part of that is pitch count. I like having a lefty with above-average stuff and velocity. He can fool guys with his slider, but he needs to get ahead on counts.

Vargas was downright bad vs. LH pitching last year. Can he be counted on to be acceptable against lefties, I don't think so.

I would say that finding a lefty killer who could play first base wouldn't be a bad thing. Not that Mauer is bad against LH pitching, but that I think he needs days off and finding an alternative who could spot him against lefties would be a good thing.