stringer bell

Now the question I’ve dreaded asking—is the only difference between TA and Sanó the position they play?

Per baseball reference, Austin played 12 games in the outfield for the Yankees, starting only three of those games. Further research shows that Austin was primarily an outfielder through the 2015 season. He transitioned to primarily a first baseman in 2016. I would see him in a DH, 1B rotation. From what I’ve seen at first base, he is OK, certainly not a Dr. Strangeglove.

Yeah, Robbie's gotta play somewhere!

I'm pretty impressed with Austin. He has demonstrated power to all fields, and in a small sample size has an OPS over .900. I know he hasn't been in there every day, but he provides right-handed pop, something the Twins have in short supply, other than Sano.

I saw about half of Saturday's game. I don't think Astudillo stood out in a bad way. I think he'd be an ideal 25th guy, someone who can catch, but also can play all over. As far as his hitting, well having a bench bat who almost always makes contact isn't the worst thing in the world.

One more factoid is that the appointee has to be the same party as the Senator he’s replacing, meaning that even if a Democrat was making the appointment, a Republican would be named. Sorry, Chief, you’re off the board.

Yes, but the election wouldn’t take place this year (with the general election). As I understand it, the election wouldn’t be held until 2020, so the governor’s appointee would have two years in office before facing the electorate.

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.

I've not followed this season as closely as I would have liked, but it has been disappointing for sure. In reading the posts after the Twins traded a quarter of their roster, mostly for prospects, it seemed that the back channel conversation was about when the Twins would be good enough to contend. I think they can as soon as next year. First of all, the lineup has a lot of young veterans who could (and should) make a step forward next year. Sano and Buxton have had high expectations, but only about a season and a half of good results between the two of them--Sano's rookie year and first half of 2017 and Buxton's second half of '17--Kepler hasn't become even a good player despite excellent tools and a great swing, Rosario has broken out, Polanco missed half a season with a suspension. I think three or four of those five could be All-Stars or near All-Stars next year. I'm thinking that an acquisition or two of pitchers with what is coming back next year will make the mound corps pretty good. Berrios has a ways to go, but he's had a handful of dominant starts, Gibson has been very good, and even when he doesn't have his best stuff, he's given the team a chance to win. Add a solid starter and then pick from Meija, Pineda, Gonsalves, Odorizzi, maybe Stewart and Slegers to fill out the rotation. In the bullpen, a veteran arm or two with Rogers, Moya, Hildy, a perhaps revitalized Reed are the start of a good pen. There is money to spend so that shouldn't be a problem. Catching should be better with Castro and an improved Garver manning that duty. There seem to be three or four "super teams" and Cleveland is also very good, but things can change pretty quickly. I certainly hope that the FO approaches 2019 with the idea of contending. I'm too old to wait for rebuilds lasting several years!

I hate to say this, but I think that, as of now, Trump would be formidable in 2020. The "Trump coalition" has stayed together--government haters, loyal Republicans, working class people who feel that both parties, but particularly Democrats, have left them behind--it includes a lot of deplorables (thanks for that Hillary). Trump's behavior hasn't phased them publicly and they crow about the strong economy. Some will leave if Mueller comes out with serious charges, but most will stay. What I am curious about is what happens when the economy sours? I don't think Trump will totally crater, but some that supported Trump will oppose him and all Republicans. The other factor in the mid-terms and probably 2020 is that many who said why vote for the lesser of two evils will see that the Donald has done great damage and will continue unless his enablers are defeated in the mid-terms and he is swept out in 2020. This year's election will be about turnout, as will 2020 IMHO. Republicans know this and are trying to make it harder and harder to vote.

Not a fair swap, but at least they have Moya. I'd rather have Hicks or Murphy, but Moya could be a pretty good get.

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

I hope they DL Reed. Obvious that something isn't right with him. When he is right, he is a good RH option. Only 13 days until rosters can expand, so no new options should be used and they wouldn't want to DFA Drake (and probably lose him).

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.

For some reason, I'm a Taylor Rogers fan. Actually, I know the reason--he's a living, breathing left handed pitcher who has the ability to get hitters out. All the way back to Tom Burgmeier and including such notables as Gary Wayne, I have been a fan of lefty relievers. I don't think you can ever have enough, especially if they can get right handed hitters out. Rogers came up in the disastrous 2016 season and has stayed on the roster since. Last year at the All-Star break, I was saying Rogers should be on the All-Star team. He had a great first half in 2017, but slipped noticeably in the second half. This year, he started slowly, but has pitched better and better as the season has progressed. He is much more effective against lefties with same-sided hitters posting only an .408 OPS, but he appears to be improving against right handed hitters. In comparing stats for Rogers, except for ERA this is clearly his best year. His FIP is 2.47, his K's per nine innings is 10.3, HRs per nine .5, and walks per nine 2.3, hits per nine is 7.6 and his WHIP is 1.1, all of these are career bests. Rogers seems be getting more velocity this year--I've seen mid-90s heat and the curve ball is effective. He's not been injured that I can recall since coming up to the majors. With two plus years of service after this season, Rogers will be under team control for four more years. All of this makes Taylor Rogers a valuable member of the Twins, or any team that he is playing for. I guess that setup men on below .500 teams don't get much ink. Still, I'm surprised how little attention Taylor Rogers has received, be it from media or the fan base that is Twins Daily. I see Rogers as being a piece to build around in the Twins bullpen for 2019 and beyond. There aren't many others on this year's squad who have performed well and received little attention. I was thinking of highlighting other players, but really couldn't think of any.

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.

5-5 for Forsythe. Who was the last Twin to do this?

Back up by a touchdown.

Game starts in a little over half an hour. Archer vs. Berrios. Should be a nice day for a game. If someone can post lineups, it would be appreciated.

I saw that Dozier was 1-4 yesterday, but did leave the game. I presumed he left the game in a double switch, but maybe it was health related. Edit: The recap says Dozier left in the eighth inning with the symptoms listed.

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.

I mentioned the possibility of keeping Forsythe on another thread. I agree with RB in that one of the factors would have to be his ability to play third. Forsythe has had a nice start to his Twins career, but it’s a small sample. Having a RH hitter who is a veteran and somewhat of a known quantity would be good for 2019, especially with a team that has question marks at second and third next year.

Morrison was a huge disappointment for the team. The question is, was it because of injury or is the injury a convenient excuse? This is all complicated by his expiring contract. The Twins will not pick up his option, I'm sure.

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

There's a Hall-of-Famer in the Twins dugout who was called injury prone. It turned out all right for him. Molitor couldn't stay healthy most of his early career with the Brewers, but better fortune and the DH role got him to Cooperstown. Obviously, this version of Byron Buxton won't be a candidate to be a DH any time soon, but both reality and perception can change. The Buxton we saw the second half of last season was pretty good. If he can play like that starting next year until 2022, I'll take it.