stringer bell

I think Rosario is here to stay. BTW, be leads all Twins left-handed hitters with three homers.

Back from a disappointing round of golf and I find a disappointing game score. Hughes looks like he's been OK, but the offense is struggling again.

Two positions that I would like to see the Twins upgrade (probably from outside the organization) are LH relief pitcher and catcher. There are always bullpen arms available at the trade deadline every year and the cost wouldn't be too high. I would like to see the Twins make a run at a top-tier catcher (Lucroy for instance) as long as they don't have to part with one of their top five prospects.

Pelfrey has cost the Twins something like $15M over three years. If he wins 15 and has an ERA of under 4 (still a stretch), he might give the club enough value in one year to pay for all three years he has been a Twin.

Lineups to follow! I'm posting this early because tonight is league golf night. I should be able to check in by the middle innings. Best of luck to my favorite team.

The Twins take on the Royal at Target Field today. The winner of today's game will take over first place in the American League Central. The Twins and Royals have split the first six games of their season series. The Royals started the season on a tear. They have been at or near the top of the division since the season started. The Twins started slow in April, but caught fire in May. They currently hold a one-game lead in the Central. Here's a look at the prospects for today's game: Who's Hot/Who's Not--(HOT) Royals bullpen. They've been the #1 strength of the team this year and last year. If the Royals get a lead in the seventh, the game is basically over. Royals are #1 in run suppression in the American League. They have a staff of hard throwers and perhaps the best defense in baseball. (NOT) Offense. No one is going really well and several regulars are struggling (Cain, Rios, Perez, Morales). The Royals now rank just behind the Twins in runs scored per game next to last in homers. (HOT) Brian Dozier leads the league in runs scored, extra base hits and doubles, leads second sackers in homers. Dozier has never hit .250 in a season and currently is hitting .267. Twins starters are a net 24-15 with a 3.89 ERA, a huge improvement from the last three years. (NOT) Most of the lineup is struggling. Starting shortstop Danny Santana was sent to AAA on Sunday. Starters: Phil Hughes vs. Jason Vargas. Hughes hasn't been the pitcher he was in 2014. He's been okay in most starts, but has allowed too many home runs. His strikeouts and velocity are down. This will be Hughes first start this year against the Royals. Vargas was hit pretty hard by the Twins in two early starts, getting a loss and a no-decision. He spent time on the Disabled List and so far hasn't gone longer than six innings in any game. The Royals were eight games over .500 in April, but have played .500 ball since. This is a pretty big series for early June. A series win would be nice for Minnesota, but there is a lot of season left. If either team sweeps, it will be a big boost. Short of that, the battle will go on. I like the Twins to win the opener with some power and solid pitching from Hughes.

Rosario is going to be a good MLB hitter. He's been a better hitter and a better prospect than Santana. I think he will have a good major league career. Not a flash in the pan.

First things first, that is Santana for Vargas. Reducing the bullpen to seven could come after the KC series. Pelfrey's eight innings reduces the pressure on the bullpen and the coming off-day should have the 'pen well-rested going on a road trip.

My untrained eye sees Rosario laying off more pitches out of the zone recently. He's still aggressive, and he'll strike out a lot for a guy who isn't a slugger, but I think he'll hit.

As far as Vargas goes, I hope he provides a decent threat to protect Plouffe. I know it is an old-fashioned viewpoint, but he needs to produce--home runs and RBIs--and I actually think he will. The lineup should be: Dozier, Hunter, Mauer, Plouffe, Vargas, Rosario, Suzuki, Escobar, Hicks.

First a point of order, the thread was about Vargas and Santana, but the "he" referred to here is Arcia. Arcia kinda provided a walkoff winner today, hitting a sacrifice fly that tied the score and when a play was made on a runner on the bases, there was an error which allowed the winning run to score.

Nuñez with two hits and a fine defensive play at third. He is the leading hitter amongst position players (SSS). I still don't see any reason to remove him from the roster.

I thought Escobar was fine as the shortstop last year. He is neither ancient nor weak-armed. He won't cover quite as much ground as Santana, but should be more reliable turning outs into outs. I think he'll show more pop than 2015 Danny Santana and hit for a slightly better average. Also, if he is at short, he won't play left field or DH!

Jinx on Brewers worked. KC Royals logo is now my desktop screen saver.

Agree with you JB. I haven't been convinced that Polanco can play big league shortstop on a regular basis since seeing him play there in Cedar Rapids.

Pelfry with eight hits in eight innings. Exactly one hit in each inning.

Please, Dick don't jinx this!

What is up with this thread? A majority is about baseball.

Concur.

I resemble that remark. I did change my screensaver to the Brewers logo. Let's see if the jinx continues.

The Twins didn't score many runs in Boston until they faced a knuckleballer and took advantage of leaky Boston defense. They had one good inning in two games against the Brewers. They still have a good number of runs scored and a positive run differential. They sit in first place by one game with the second-place Royals due in town Monday. In the very successful month of May, the Twins were led by the four guys who usually hit in the first four spots in the order. After a hot first half of the month, Hunter has leveled off and still carries good numbers. Mauer slumped much of the month, but managed to drive in an inordinate amount of runs by being very successful with runners on base, he is showing signs of warming up, but has a long way to reach his career norms. Plouffe is currently in a deep slump after being a consistent run producer and power threat for the first two months. Finally, Dozier remains hot, raising his average above .260 while on an extra-base hit rampage. The club needs help from someone beside those four guys. Twins Daily has had plenty of people complaining about the position players on the team. Shane Robinson, Eduardo Nuñez, Danny Santana, and Chris Herrmann all have detractors who think they shouldn't be on the 25-man roster. Of course, there remain 13 pitchers, leaving one less bench player. Oswaldo Arcia, Kennys Vargas and Josmil Pinto have all played for the Twins and are at Rochester now waiting to be recalled. The pitching staff also has suspects among their ranks, probably all in the bullpen. Brian Duensing's numbers are terrible, Tim Stauffer has failed to impress, and Aaron Thompson has regressed hard. With Michael Tonkin, AJ Achter and Lester Oliveros laboring in Rochester, it would seem to make sense to part company with the soft tossing older veterans. Since the club is in first place, perhaps the pressure isn't as great to make a move. However, they probably need to make a move or two before the current lull becomes a full-blown slump. If I were sitting in the GM's chair, I would send Danny Santana to Rochester and replace him with Vargas. Santana seems to have lost confidence and a trip to Rochester might restore that confidence. Vargas' numbers in AAA have been good (SSS) and the club desperately needs a threat (preferably LH) to hit behind Plouffe. If the bullpen is settled after the next turn of starters, perhaps they can reduce the bullpen. The obvious candidates to be let go would be Duensing and Stauffer, but it wouldn't surprise me if Aaron Thompson is optioned instead. Perhaps then it would be time for Arcia to return and try his luck in the outfield. It is less than one month from Ervin Santana getting back and pitching with the Twins. Another pitching decision would have to be made at that time. As long as they are in the hunt, development as a major leaguer takes second place to winning games. It will be interesting to see what happens with calendars turning from spring to fall.

I don't want to kick Hicks when he's down, but after about 80 PAs, his OPS is under .600 and hasn't driven in a run before or since his 2-run homer. His defense has been great, but I still remain skeptical of his bat. In almost the same number of plate appearances, Rosario has outhit him and played good corner defense. I still want Rosario as a corner guy, not Hicks.

The last two days have shown the soft underbelly of the team. Outside of Dozier, no one is going well. Plouffe and Santana are really struggling and they don't have many backup options on the team. For quite a while, the Twins have relied on the top of the order to get a big hit. They need more contributions from more players. A lot of guys are limited and a couple could use time in AAA.

It wouldn't surprise me to see Thompson optioned and Stauffer and Duensing stay.

Houston, KC and (especially) Detrit all struggling. The Twins had a chance to put some distance between them and the other teams. Hasn't happened.