stringer bell

Another worthless piece traded by the Yankees to the Twins: Larry Milbourne.

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?

I think there are real 40-man issues. They probably could let Wheeler and Darnell go, but there are a lot of players to add. In addition, there appear to be guys who won't get a chance despite pretty good credentials. On Pinto, I think the plan was for him to get some work and take the backup role. He just was never right and then was disabled. This season was ruined for Pinto and I doubt he'll contribute to the Twins at all. What trade value he might have had is diminished, if not totally gone.

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!

Best player from Minnesota that no one knows: Wes Westrum.

With the All-Star break upon us, many have taken a breath and looked at the Twins on how they managed to carry a very good record into the last 73 games of the season. It is near-unanamous that the Twins need bullpen help this year and perhaps beyond, and that there is organizational weakness at catcher, with no receiver in the system projected to be a major league regular. Also there is agreement that the Twins farm system is deep with talent except for catching, with either young regulars or good prospects in the high minors at all other positions, including pitching. Top prospects Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton have made their debuts along with Eddie Rosario, who has become a regular since his recall in May. There are several players who must be added to the 40-man roster after this season is over and only three veteran players on the last year of their contracts (Hunter, Pelfrey, and Duensing). Is there room to add the dozen or so guys with major league upside? I sincerely doubt that is the case. I think this is part of the rationale for trading some of the team's prospects in exchange for filling a need (relief pitching short-term and catching long-term). There is risk in a maneuver like this--what if Player A is a bust and the Twins traded Player B who succeeds at the same position? That's why they pay the general manager and his staff the big money. By my count, the Twins have at least six outfielders 25 and under that could be in the majors by sometime in 2016, if not sooner. There are middle infielders at Rochester and Chattanooga who profile to make the major leagues and not all of them will get a chance. Finally, beyond Berrios, they have plenty of pitchers who could contribute, but not dominate. I think the Twins have the chance to trade from strength and address problems this season. They will have 40-man issues this winter and would perhaps lose part of that depth because they couldn't protect them all. choose the ones to move and upgrade the bullpen and catching TR!

I'll Play! Disappointing Twins Second Baseman for $200 Alex. Chuck Schilling, traded for but never played for the Twins.

The Truth is out there.

From what we've seen that is true. However, like almost all teams (and maybe moreso), the Royals are a significant injury away from being not-so-good. I commented when they played them last that we saw the exact same lineup as the team saw in April. Now Gordon is out, if Perez or Escobar were to go down for a considerable while, I think that would hurt the Royals a lot. I guess the only really valuable position player for the Twins would be Dozier.

Another example--Cespedes hit #2 for the Tigers (with Miggy out). I will go this far, if there is a right side of the field guy (as pronounced the other way as Dozier and Mauer) and he was a good hitter, it would be good to have a guy like that hit #2. In addition to reaching base a lot and advancing anybody on base by that, there also is a better chance of productive outs. Productive outs are better than unproductive ones, and in this example, I'm not saying the batter should "give himself up", rather when outs are made, they incidentally advance the base runner(s).

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.

Not sure if I agree with the assumptions above. I think Arcia is a right fielder, misplaced this year as a left fielder this year. Secondly, all four listed have good arms and it wouldn't surprise me if Hicks played a lot of left field if his bat proves to be legitimate. Rosario has already moved back and forth between left and right, so it would figure that he would pivot back and forth if the four outfielders are indeed Rosario, Hicks, Buxton, and Arcia.

I read a summary of all 30 teams at the break. The writer said that the Brewers were the team in the most desperate situation going forward, so maybe unloading a high-value asset like Lucroy in order to replenish their system. Here's the link: http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2015/7/15/8969545/every-team-in-two-sentences-in-two-sentences Check out the two sentences on the Brewers.

Just for point of reference: How many A's are from Philadelphia or KC? How many Orioles are from St. Louis (Browns)? How many Braves are from Milwaukee? I don't know the answers, but these franchises existed in different cities and haven't emphasized their roots any more than the Twins have IMHO.

The fan vote has an obvious bias toward the more modern players. That is understandable. My experience starts with the first year of the Minnesota Twins. I was six when the Twins moved to Minnesota, about the age when you keep the memories. Except for the titans of the game, I would guess most teams voted for players from the "color TV era".

Hamilton, Byron Buxton and a couple of other players have the explosive speed to totally disrupt the opponent and change a game. There just aren't many like that in baseball. Of course, Buxton hasn't developed his game yet to the point where he can change a game, but he has the speed to do so.

Mrs. Stringer Bell just bought a Dozier jersey for me. Pretty good timing!

Walter Johnson sure. I'd probably take Carew off because he split his career with Minnesota and the Angels, although his best years were with the Twins. I don't get as hung up with not honoring the Senators, although the seeds of the Twins came from Washington Senators.

I love seeing a run that is "stolen", but the fact is that stolen bases are pretty overrated. Unless the inability to throw out runners is rampant, throwing out base stealers is less important than calling a good game, working well with the pitcher and blocking pitches. Base stealing has to be successful 70-75% of the time to be an asset. It is more important for runners to take as many extra bases as is possible, without getting thrown out often, especially for those guys who aren't going to be stealing bases.