stringer bell

Ugh, two runs back.

Hey Pérez. Cover first.

Fifth not starting so well. C'mon Pérez!

I'd like to have this game handed to Stashak and Lewis.......with a seven run lead (or more).

Turn another no-out double into a run!

Nice fourth for Pérez.

Great intro!

Mejía finally got outrighted. He will remain in the Angels organization, but off their 40-man roster.

I just added on that Pressly was out because it was just announced at Major League Trade Rumors. My point is and was that pitching, particularly relief pitching, is really hard to project and predict. I don't think any of us could clearly see that Pressly shouldn't have been traded for the return the Twins received, or that Anderson should have been let go. Yes, in hindsight, it is pretty obvious, but at last year's trading deadline (for Pressly) and in the off-season) for Anderson, it wasn't nearly so clear.

Same on the pitching side -- while Graterol and Alcala are intriguing additions, we have about a bazillion other pitchers already. A ton of relievers, including some promising ones who can't even fit on our 25-man right now (Littell), and several capable of starting too (Lewis, Smeltzer, Dobnak). I can't see any circumstances where you would need to reach down for Duran coming off a non-dominant AA performance. Referring to "Lewis", you were meaning Lewis Thorpe?

Now let me see, we're talking about a) Ryan Pressly who is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA (and a stint on the Injured List) since the All-Star break and Nick Anderson who was 2-3 with a 4.10 ERA before that same break? Oh yeah, small sample size. My point here is that relief pitching is pretty darn hard to project and predict. We do have metrics (BABIP, spin rate, velocity etc.) but relievers are very volatile. Both Ryan Pressly and Nick Anderson have shown they are currently valuable bullpen options for contending teams and there was reason to believe that both would before the Twins let them go. There was absolutely no guarantee that they would thrive for their new teams. Oh, it appears that Pressly might be done for the season. He is having knee surgery and was placed (again) on the IL. Out 4-6 weeks.

Last year, the Twins won 49 games at home and only won 29 on the road. I think a lot of it is random. Home teams generally win about 55% of the time, but some years don't pan out like that.

Got it! I have entered it on the google doc.

No option would be burned this year is a guy is promoted now. The service time considerations would also be minor IMHO. I can't find the link, but didn't Falvey say that bringing up Graterol was not a sure thing? On a couple of other notes, with the roster construction in place, the Twins could use both a pinch runner/defensive replacement and a left handed relief specialist. O'Rourke would figure to have a shot as the lefty specialist and it appears he has been effective in Rochester. Ian Miller? Maybe.

Sounds good! Everyone is new once. I'll put your name on the google doc. Thanks!

OK. I'll post it on the google doc.

There is an error on the board at Target Field.

On our way to the game. Anyone interested in meeting and greeting can message me, if you’d like.

I’ll be at the game tomorrow. Looking for plenty of excitement for my entertainment dollar.

Four homers and not a one of them going 400 feet. Disappointing.

Don’t look now, but this Chicago team is going to be pretty good, maybe as soon as next year.

OK, samplesize, I’ll assign the 24th to you.

Less than 40 regular season games to go! There still are opportunities to show your writing skills and do an introduction to a game thread. I'll provide a link to the September Game Thread Introductions google doc at the end of this post. You don't have to be someone that has introduced the game thread before. We accept rookies. Here are the upthread guidelines for doing an intro: 'So let's get down to the fun part--rules! Well, maybe just firm guidelines. The game thread should be posted at least an hour before first pitch. The game thread title should include that it is the game thread, the date and time and also the Twins opponent (Twins vs. ????). It is also recommended that the lineups be put in the introduction. As far as content in the introduction, let's just say it can be pretty free form. If you want to discuss Baldelli's lineup or the quality of the opponent, tell a story about how Twins baseball affected your life or praise the abilities of someone, go for it! If you just want to write a couple of sentences about the game, that is fine as well. It isn't necessary to craft a short story or three page essay, in fact a brief intro might be preferred. We do the game threads as if the assembled game threaders were sitting together at the game. We expect that anyone making comments follow the posting rules for this site. We expect that there is respect for each other, but that doesn't mean that we can't have fun. The introduction just sets the tone and we go from there.'' Here is the link to the google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p0-DimEqNl5ZNTdbjh294dYMS8plVphIiVQmwiw4heA/edit One additional note, two game dates are available this weekend. They are 8/24 and 8/25. Please message me or post on this thread if you can help out. Thanks!

We've all seen the havoc that Buxton can cause by getting on base. I would like to see the Twins have an additional weapon that they can use as a pinch-runner to create that anxiety in the opposition. Billy Hamilton has game-changing speed. Eight days ago, Ehire Adrianza ran for Cron and was thrown out by a mile at home plate. I submit that more often than not, Hamilton scores on the identical play. That was the difference between a win and a loss against the Twins' competition to win the division. We have 13 days left in this month, where supposedly Hamilton would replace current fourth outfielder Jake Cave. I would expect that Cave might start a game or two in the interim, if that. Hamilton is in some respects more of a threat on the bases than Buxton. He steals against left handers (Buxton's only steal against a lefty this year was when he got picked off and the first baseman made a bad throw to second) and he will steal third base. It doesn't matter that Cave or Wade are better overall players than Hamilton, it is two aspects of the game--baserunning and outfield defense--that matter. September and playoff rosters are different and there is room for specialists, as Hamilton would be. The cost would be money (a couple million) and a spot on the 40-man roster. There are plenty of guys to cut from the 40-man, as we'll see after the Twins' season ends.

Very inconsistent zone, no question and he did Clase no favors. I will say that 100 mph fastballs don't guarantee success. Remember that when Graterol is recalled.