stringer bell

No quality start for Hughes.

Hey, let's get some outs.

Rosario with a putout, an assist and an error in the sixth.

Through this point in the season, Cleveland looks pretty terrible. While I don't know if they will contend, I respect Francona, and don't doubt they'll be much better late in the season. I'm glad they are playing Cleveland right now.

Un-Chen my heart.

Torii now leads the club in batting average.

Not the fourth.

One more good inning and the Twins will be un-Chenned.

Weren't the dimensions at the Polo Grounds also unusual?

Rollers through the infield.

Needed one more big hit in the first. Maybe this inning.

I almost lost my lunch watching the "Torii intro", but then he hit another homer.

Awesome job, Ashbury. Quite an exhibition of your skills.

17-13 is nice, but the story of the season hasn't yet been written. The Twins have managed to undo a dreadful start and have shown that they can score runs. I still think they are overachieving, both in the runs scored and runs allowed. Most supporting stats don't match up such as OBP, Slugging, OPS, Strikeouts for and against, WHIP, and OPS against. I believe the supporting numbers would come more in line if the Twins keep winning. If those numbers don't improve, I doubt the wins will continue.

Maybe slightly off topic, but did anyone notice who was playing the other corner for the Blue Jays yesterday? Danny Valencia, that's right, Danny Valencia. Valencia is hitting .361 in 36 ABs and has played eight games in the outfield. I think the Blue Jays must believe the "corner OF defense doesn't matter" meme.

I was going to title this thread "Underrated" but changed my mind. I am going to name two Twins players who have made underappreciated contributions to the team so far IMHO. I have stated on other threads that Molitor has major league players to work with, while sometimes his predecessor did not. These two guys were among the last guys to make the team, they aren't starters but they have contributed in their roles. #1 Shane Robinson. Many were upset when Robinson made the club. Some thought of Robinson as an AAAA player who should never make an Opening Day roster. While many players in AAA have more talent than the 5-9 Robinson, he makes full use of what talent he has. Robinson is 30 years old and has settled in as the platoon center fielder and a defensive replacement at either corner outfield spot. So far, Robinson has made a couple of outstanding catches and no glaring misplays. Given the surprising number of left handed starters the Twins have faced, Robinson has gotten more plate appearances than expected and he has hit well. In yesterday's one-run game Robinson produced a run by stealing third base, knowing exactly when to take off and giving the A's catcher no chance to throw him out. #2 Chris Herrmann. I didn't want Chris Herrmann to make the Twins Opening Day roster. He hasn't hit in the majors enough to expect that he'll make much of a contribution and I didn't think his defense was good enough to be the backup catcher. So far, Herrmann has been a real good counterpoint to Kurt Suzuki. Herrmann has only played one game in the outfield, an inning in a lopsided victory, but he is available to play the corner outfield spots, if needed. In games that Herrmann has caught, he has looked very good behind the plate. He has started six games and the Twins are 4-2 in those games. He's thrown out a couple runners and seemed to work very well with whoever is pitching. If the Twins are going to play Suzuki 80% of the time, it is nice to have a guy that hits left handed, can play other positions and does a good job as a receiver. Herrmann also seems to be a pretty good base runner and has taken an extra base a couple times. 28 plate appearances is too small of a sample to know whether he will hit this time around. Otherwise, he has surprised me by doing a fine job in his role.

Plouffe's improvement into a well-rounded player gives me hope for many current Twins. He is a far better hitter and fielder than he was a few short years ago.

Molitor has been given a roster with more big league players than Gardy had. I'll echo Brock and say that Gardenhire did a good job with the bullpen in recent years. The one platoon that Molitor has embraced is Schafer/Robinson and the results have been OK, considering the players involved. I wonder how long the struggle would have gone with the lineup headed by Santana with Torii hitting fourth. Dozier has improved the leadoff spot, Hunter has been better at #2 and Plouffe has done pretty well hitting cleanup.

Honestly, I saw the question about Kyle Gibson, followed directly by this thread "Nolasco?" and thought there's the answer to the luckiest person question.

I predicted the Twins would win 85 games. At first, that looked pretty silly and I still believe it will take a lot of good fortune for the Twins to win that many games. However, I think they have enough talent to be relevant for the entire season. Somebody has to say this. Right now, if the season ended today, the Twins would be the second wild card and have the eighth best record in baseball. They have outscored their opponents by 13 runs and have run-scoring and run-prevention numbers in the top half of the league. Hard to sustain? Yes. Impossible? No.

This Eddie is pretty tough to walk, as well. I bet he puts the ball in play.

Same situation as Nolasco had. How many do the Twins get? My prediction: 1.

In a span of four days, both Danny Santana and Eduardo Escobar have drawn bases on balls making their cumulative total for 2015--2.

Somebody told Chris that it was still April. Seriously, good for him.

After mopping the floor with the A's best pitcher and facing a far worse lefty tomorrow, it would seem that the Twins should romp to an easy win. Well, there are three variables that could change things--1) Nolasco. He needs to keep the Twins in the game and maybe show Target Field fans that he's worth most of his large salary. 2) Weather--The game might not happen. There may be a long delay. It could rob the Twins of their momentum. 3) Pomeranz--He's better than his record. The Twins haven't seen him much if at all. They do have a history of struggling vs. guys who are unheralded.