stringer bell

That's why I only voted 5-10 times early. I subbed in Harper since his incredible month and I'm tempted to add Prince since he seems to be destroying the baseball lately. I agree that setting home field advantage on an exhibition is foolhardy. Either rotate it or go with the league that has the advantage in interleague games.

Add Fien and subtract one relief pitcher to get down to 12. No promotions needed and perhaps one or two demotions.

Just quote and then erase the part you don't want.

Neither Stauffer nor Duensing could be involuntarily sent to the minors. If the Twins don't want them on their 25-man, they would probably lose both. However, the Twins currently have an eight man bullpen (one too many) and also will have Fien returning within the week, barring a setback (two extra arms). Adding in the aforementioned Oliveros and Achter makes eleven to choose from when only seven are needed. Certainly, there is risk that someone will get hurt or be ineffective, but to me I think Duensing and Stauffer have put one foot out the door and another on a banana peel because of their performance this year, despite $2M contracts.

Both concerning pitching: 1) If the Twins had fired Rick Anderson after the 2013 season and hired Neil Allen, would Ron Gardenhire still be the Twins manager? I think so. Perhaps Allen could have made Worley an okay starter (as he was with the Pirates) and maybe Nolasco would have been a total bust. With less pressure, the bullpen would have been better and I think the Twins would have won quite a few more games. 2) In light of Tommy Milone looming in AAA, how much rope does each of the current starters have before a change would be made? Pelfrey has been mostly good, and coming off a real good start, Nolasco has won five straight decisions and actually pitched into the eighth today, and May had his career long outing last time out. I imagine they all would be allowed a clunker, but two? maybe three?

Torii didn't catch the ball but made a nice attempt. The double play got Nolasco out of a troublesome first inning (one out, two on).

Bremer raised the question and drifted away from it. If the winning continues, you aren't talking about player development any more and it might be that right now Eduardo Escobar is a better player than Danny Santana.

I had several replies in mind, but they would all be seen as offensive to women. So I will just say that you're absolutely right.

Halsey has a lifetime supply!

I think there were questions about his health (post TJ) allowing him to get through the DFA. His K numbers are terrific. Besides, the Twins got him for Delmon, and I want the Twins to win the trade that riddled them of Delmon Young. Edit: Responding to the posting about Oliveros.

Ricky says "so this is what it's like to walk off the mound after the sixth".

YES. Apologies to my friend Thrylos.

It would be nice to see Ricky get through the sixth.

After the third Allen followed Ricky into the back of the dugout and had two words for him--"Tommy Milone".

Let's get this inning out of the way and make the game official.

A little premature?

It sure seems like the Twins are hitting a lot more three-run homers.

Gee, Nunez lost his helmet!

Bremer commenting that the Twins are sixth in runs scored. They are better than that, in reality. Third in runs per game by a small margin.

Uh oh.

Agree with Twinsnorth. My simple formula for the Twins to win 85 games this year was for them to improve by one game against each opponent and win an additional inter-league game. They overperformed against few teams and underperformed against several. The team doesn't look like they will improve a game against the Tigers, but they might make that up against Chicago.

I voted shortly after the the voting was open. I voted some more today. My ballot: (AL) DH-Cruz, C-Vogt, 1B-Miggy, 2B-Dozier, SS-Iglesias, 3B-Plouffe, OF-Trout, OF-Brantley, OF-Adam Jones. (NL) C-Posey, 1B-Goldschmidt, 2B-Gordon, SS-Simmons, 3B-Frazer, OF-Stanton, OF-J Upton, OF-Harper Probably some bias selecting the two Twins. I added Harper and Jones and subtracted a couple guys who started out hot. There are a lot of guys who aren't having banner years.

I think someone would bite on Milone for sure. If Fien shows he's healthy, he is a trade deadline acquisition if the Twins don't want him. If he's healthy, I doubt the Twins would make him available. I doubt Fryer, Thielbar or Schafer have any trade value.

The Twins are playing well right now and so are their affiliates. A quick glance at milb.com shows that Rochester and Chattanooga are leading their divisions, Cedar Rapids is leading for a playoff spot and Fort Myers is playing .500 ball. Even better news is that several players are showing that they should be promoted and many are waiting in the wings for recall to the Twins. Here are some players and their cases for getting a call to the big leagues. Casey Fien-He is on minor league rehab. Fien has been a solid member of the bullpen, and barring a medical setback, he will be pitching for the Twins before their current homestand is over. Tommy Milone-Milone was sent to the minors after four starts-one great, two so-so and one bad. He has been terrific pitching for the Red Wings. He is 4-0 with a microscopic 0.28 ERA. He allowed only one earned run and 20 hits in 31.2 innings, with two walks and 41 whiffs. Any pitcher would be proud of those numbers. Any injury or struggle by a starter should result in a recall to Minnesota for the soft-tossing left hander. Lester Oliveros-The hard-throwing 26-year old Venezuelan has terrific numbers at Rochester. He is 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, 6 BB and 30 (!) Ks. Oliveros isn't on the 40-man or he may already be with the Twins. AJ Achter-He is the current closer for Rochester. His numbers are very good: 3-2 with 2.29 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 5 BB and 16 Ks. Both Oliveros and Achter seem to be better alternatives than the residents of the current Twins' bullpen. Caleb Thielbar- If the Twins wanted to replace a left hander in the 'pen, I suppose the Minnesotan would be in line. His minor league topline is good: 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA, but he's allowed 13 hits and 11 walks in 12 innings for an unsightly 2.00 WHIP. Kennys Vargas-The big DH was surprising sent to Rochester last week. Since reporting, he has hit well. The only problem would be finding a spot on the roster and playing time for a young bat-only player. He's 8-19 with two homers and five RBI since reporting to Rochester. Josmil Pinto-He was thought to have the inside track to make the Twins out of spring training, but was set back by injuries. Pinto has displayed a good bat in his time with the Twins. Right now, his production at Rochester is less than stellar. He's hitting only .259 with 4 homers and 20 RBI. Pinto's work behind the plate has always been the major question. Minor league stats don't give us much of a clue as to his improvement as a defender. Eric Fryer-Always thought of as a backup who calls a good game and is reliable behind the plate, Fryer has, in a small sample size, exceeded Pinto's offense. In 70 ABs, he's hitting .343 with an OPS of .811. In addition to these players, two more position players will likely be coming to Rochester on injury rehab. Both Owaldo Arcia and Jordan Schafer were starters for the Twins when the season started. Neither is assured of that role when they return from their injuries. Starting pitchers Pat Dean and Taylor Rogers have put together numbers that could merit promotion most years, but the Twins have a logjam of competent starting pitching at this time. I don't believe I just wrote that! Finally, Chattanooga has a host of players that probably will get promoted by sometime in the second half of their season and a couple could find their way to Minnesota. Mega-prospects Byron Buxton (.267 BA, .829 OPS, 11 (!) triples), Miguel Sano (.248 BA, .851 OPS, nine homers), and JO Berrios (5-2 2.89 ERA, 63 K, 1.16 WHIP) have all gotten much attention (and deserve it), but many other players are doing well, including Adam Brett Walker, Travis Harrison, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco, and Zack Jones. Sano, Kepler, and Polanco are on the 40-man.

The Twins just completed a very successful trip to Pittsburgh and Chicago, winning four of five games and finally catching (and technically passing) the Tigers. The club is at their high-water mark of seven games over .500 and returns home to face the Red Sox and Blue Jays in their next two series. The team is third in run-scoring and in the middle of the pack for runs allowed. There are soft spots in the lineup, but no real holes, and there seem to be replacements available for the team's biggest weaknesses. The Twins have been great at home (14-6) and they have clobbered left handed pitching. Paul Molitor has done a fine job as a rookie manager, mixing traditional with innovation. I don't know if the Twins can contend. I am believing more after this road trip than I have at any time this year. The offense, just like last year, has found the whole exceeding the sum of the parts. The pitching staff this year has been better than their metrics. The infield defense is pretty good and the outfield defense has improved dramatically with the recent addition of Aaron Hicks and Eddie Rosario. I am in favor of reworking the bullpen and perhaps recalling a position player or two who could provide more offense. There are minor league players who could offer an upgrade. Just a reminder, the Twins have been in playoff position for almost all of the last two weeks.