stringer bell

A couple of rockets after the big fly. No further damage.

Nope. It's Brett Gardner.

Now I'm in full-blown "Dozier got screwed" mode. They could have considered Holt an outfielder and gone with Dozier. Ticks me off.

I'm seeing Santana playing much better in the field since his recall, however the hitting isn't any better and might be worse than when he was sent down. Suzuki and Santana's regression, along with a less than .650 OPS from Vargas go a long way toward explaining why the Twins are scoring fewer runs this year.

Who is going to play SS at Rochester, Polanco or Santana? Would the Twins send Danny to AA?

Eric Fryer is 3 for his last 26 and will be 30 years old next month. IMHO, his promotion wasn't worth adding him to the 40-man roster, which is now full. I would expect he could offer about as much offensively as Herrmann.

??????Why is it good to see the club 60-day Nolasco? As soon as they announced he was going to have surgery, it was a given that he would be out more than 60 days, but not making that move meant they had a move they could make to add a player. Making that move to switch out Fryer for Herrmann to me is pretty meager. Good luck to Fryer. Perhaps Molitor will trust him to give Zuke more time off. I don't expect him to hit much more or less than Herrmann.

The catch he made last night was pretty spectacular. Watching live, it looked like he just threw up his glove, but he was tracking the ball. So far, his offensive numbers aren't good, but he sure looks better at the plate.

We are moving toward six weeks of mediocre baseball, but there hasn't been a long losing streak mostly because of good starting pitching and Glen Perkins. One more win will guarantee a winning record at the All-Star break.

Molitor has already done this three times. I get that the runner is precious and advancing an extra base can be crucial. I don't think it is about foot speed, Sano is fast enough, but he is inexperienced at this level. The thing that bugs me is that an inferior hitter might come up in a game situation because they ran for Sano in the eighth or ninth inning.

I tend to check the standings after a Twins win, so that has been every other day. I was amazed a while back that the Twins were ahead in the Wild Card race, now today I check and they are still leaders despite not having won two consecutive games in about three weeks. The tail-enders are only seven games behind the Twins, meaning every team could make a case that they still have a chance for post-season glory. The Royals and Astros have been the two best teams for most of the season, but just about every other team is a hot week away from being in the conversation.

The Twins pulled the plug on Thompson tonight. Ryan O'Rourke recalled. That takes a 40-man spot.

Hoo-freaking-Ray!

While it is a farce, a player like Dozier deserves the recognition and he probably won't be a candidate many times. By just about every measure, he's one of the top two second basemen and one of the top 20 players in the AL. Still, it looks like he'll be on the outside looking in.

Still saying that Dozier's best chance is if someone pulls out of the All-Star game and Yost takes him, but a walk off is a great start to his Last Man campaign.

Can't get a save as the home team.

I would hope that if someone pulls out that Dozier gets named, but I am not holding my breath.

Per Mike Beradino, Robinson is back and Pressly to the DL. At least that means 12 pitchers for now.

I was thinking Billy Bob Thornton's stand-in or the guy who plays Billy Bob's Dad.

Okay, we're past the statistical halfway point in the season. Sometimes it takes a while to flesh out who can help a team for the present and the future and sometimes circumstances make that decision. However, the Twins still haven't made decisions about several positions and players. The team is in the race for a wild card and they have not solidified several positions on the team. Here's my take on the key decisions that need to be made. 1-Shortstop. Danny Santana started the season as the regular, got demoted and now is back on the team. He showed some signs in the most recent series that he might start hitting and his tools at short are very good. Eduardo Escobar has started more in left field than short, but played over half the season at short last year and did well. Eduardo Nuñez has also been given several starts presumably in an effort to add offense. Nuñez isn't capable enough defensively, Santana hasn't produced after a standout rookie season, mostly played in center field, and Escobar has regressed from last year's numbers. My pick would be Escobar, who provides the highest floor and least risk going forward. Jorge Polanco also could figure in, but I can't see that he's ready to contribute. 2-Outfield. Eddie Rosario has emerged as a regular outfielder. Torii Hunter has been a solid right fielder for the Twins. That leaves one person. The guy who has the most at-bats after Rosario and Hunter is Escobar. He's a novice in the outfield, but has been acceptable. Aaron Hicks has provided excellent defense in center, hasn't hit much, but seems much closer than he has been in previous trials. Byron Buxton played a week+, showed his tremendous potential, but also showed that he has a long way to go before he's an offensive force. Buxton is currently on the DL, and won't return for at least a few weeks. It is unknown whether he could step in right away or might need rehab. The Twins could also use an option and give him time at AAA. It is probably a no-brainer to go with Hicks until Buxton comes off the DL. The big question is what to do then. My guess is that Buxton goes to Rochester for rehab and unless he tears it up, is optioned there perhaps until September 1st. The other factor is Hicks. If his BA continues to dive and the OPS doesn't get above .600, it might be time to give up on him being a productive everyday player. 3-Rotation. For now the decision has been made, Mike Pelfrey stays in the rotation and Trevor May is in the bullpen. May has a future in the Twins' rotation and this demotion really doesn't change that. I actually think that May can help the struggling Twins bullpen. He has strikeout ability and can get the fastball up to near-dominating numbers. I do believe the leash for Pelfrey can't be that long. His last two starts were failures and his peripherals suggest he isn't as good as his ERA might suggest. Pelf is a free agent after this year. Some have also suggested Tommy Milone should be optioned or put in the bullpen. I think Milone provides a bit too much to be pushed aside. He is still relatively young and under team control. Ricky Nolasco has missed over a month with an ankle issue and so far he hasn't solved the problem. I wouldn't be surprised to see Nolasco get surgery and miss most of or the entire remainder of the season. I agree with the Twins decision, but if Pelfrey gets knocked around in his next start, it might be a short demotion for May. Pelfrey throws hard enough that maybe he also can help the bullpen. 4-Bullpen. This isn't about changing roles, it is about changing faces. Aaron Thompson was a good story and a fine contributor for the first six weeks of the season. He just can't get people out anymore. He needs to be optioned immediately. Blaine Boyer was a surprise, but has done a slow fade for the last month. Boyer probably deserves to stay on the team, but should not be the high-leverage bullpen piece as he has been used thus far. Brian Duensing was miserable, but has shown some signs of improvement lately, no runs and only two hits, one walk and five strikeouts in the last 7.2 innings. The temporary addition of a starter in the bullpen might mean that only one pitcher should be added. I think AJ Achter has pitched well enough to get another start. Lefty Taylor Rogers has shown he can dominate AAA left handed hitters as a starter. I think he should be moved to Rochester's bullpen immediately and if he flourishes, should get a chance to help the big team. If Ryan Pressly is disabled, another name to consider is Mike Tonkin, who seems to be able to dominate in AAA, but hasn't done well enough to stick in the majors. For the record, demote Thompson, move up Achter and see if there is a good bullpen arm available on the trade market.

Aaron Thompson has done something special lately. He has taken the pressure the pressure off of Brian Duensing. Please, Mr. Ryan, send him to AAA and replace him with.....maybe a hitter. I'd either promote Rogers now or put him in the bullpen in Rochester for a week. The club needs LH relief pitching. AJ Achter has earned a promotion. Perhaps he could be a decent middle innings or seventh inning option. They really need an eighth inning option so that Fien could back off to the seventh. I had hopes for Tonkin to fill that role, but he hasn't been good for the Twins. Maybe the 10th time is the charm.

12 innings in center field. That is like saying Plouffe is a second baseman.

Something needs to be done with the bullpen. Thompson should be sent down now. The team needs another arm or two. Within the system, I'd say try Rogers and Achter.

Excellent job Hosken. Looking forward to listening to the game in my car on a long drive this evening.

Just saw the lineup posted on mlb.com. Hicks replaces Santana in center, Escobar stays at short.