stringer bell

Thanks for the fine opener Danchat. Let's hope the guys live up to the setup.

I'm intrigued by Pelfrey's velocity and the addition of a new pitch. Certainly, he has pitched with a horseshoe in his pocket so far this year, but I like what I've seen with the splitter. Jordan Schafer is stretched in center field, yes. If he can hit like last year, a couple balls can drop in than better center fielders would have caught. Let's remember, he had three hits last night and had a pretty good game against Felix. I'm glad Molitor is giving Dozier a day off.

I accept the argument that Escobar is the best hitter of the group right now, despite his bad numbers so far in the season. However, there was a slow runner on first and the #9 hitter (hitting below the Mendoza line) on deck. To just tie, the Twins would need two hits, unlikely at that time. To beat the Tigers before they faced their closer, they needed at least an extra base hit, still more likely for Arcia or Vargas. I also questioned bunting Santana in the ninth. Schafer's stolen base skill has been elite until this year. Even if he couldn't get a great jump, he was forcing multiple pickoff moves from Soria. Why not let Soria's attention continue to be divided? Most of all, I would have loved Santana to hook one into the hole between first and second and have runners on the corners with the best speed the club has and have no outs.

Exactly, Mike. If you want to win the game against the setup guy, probably it would be best to go with a guy with power (Arcia, Vargas) even though they are scuffling. The Twins had the catcher (slow runner) on first and two outs. Escobar and the next guy (Schafer, now hitting .190) would most likely need to get hits to tie the game. In summary, there weren't a lot of good options, but a home run hitter would have a slugger's chance of handing the ball to Perkins with a lead in the ninth.

OK, I know "the book" says you play for a tie at home, but I don't like the idea of bunting Santana in the ninth. First of all Schafer is a real threat to steal second by himself. Secondly, if he doesn't go, it gives Santana a big hole to shoot through and Soria's attention would be divided between home and first. I really would have liked to see both speedsters get on to start that inning. Putting the game on the shoulders of Dozier and Hunter isn't really wise, since neither are hitting that red-hot this spring. Regarding pinch-hitting Escobar, I think we should give him some credit for last year and a small amount for the way he hit in spring training. In addition, Shane Robinson isn't a .350 hitter. I haven't liked the way Escobar has been swinging since the season started and three or four ABs isn't enough information to base a decision for pinch-hitting.

I think Pinto is up before the homestand is over. At the expense of .........that is the tough part. Right now, I am going to say it will be at the expense of Vargas.

I watched Sunday's game on DVR (great afternoon to be on the golf course) and then skimmed the game thread. I have some thoughts and some questions: 1) What did the M's manager get thrown out for? I actually thought the ump was pretty good at balls and strikes (I know he was a Triple A call-up). I didn't see any particularly bad ball/strike calls before McClendon came on the field, seemingly with intention of getting tossed. 2) Was anyone surprised that Arcia got taken out of the game (replaced by Schafer) instead of Escobar? 3) Outfield defense was satisfactory to good for the three-game series in Seattle. That is a big outfield, too. Schafer made a couple of good catches on Friday. Torii and Robinson made nice catches and not one ball that should have been caught was allowed to drop. 4) Bremer made the point, but it is worth repeating--starting pitching has been pretty good for a while now. I don't know how long the magic beans will hold out for Pelfrey and Milone, but the Twins haven't been out of games early and the seventh isn't automatically a bullpen inning (a good thing considering the bullpen). 5) Aaron Thompson seems to be pretty capable. The K percentage is pretty low, but with the exception of Jackson's homer on Saturday, he gets outs. Thompson, Fien, and Perkins are at this time a decent back of the bullpen. 6) The last three position players to make the Twins in the spring won't be among the first to be released or sent down. Robinson has been good in the outfield and hitting above his head. In limited play, Nuñez and Herrmann have done well. I know Nuñez has made one glaring fielding error and one terrible base running mistake, but he's hitting over .500! (SSS). Herrmann seems fine behind the plate and he had a couple of excellent plate appearances yesterday (both walks). 7) Lineup: For now, there is no doubt Mauer should be hitting third despite his lack of XBH. Dozier is hitting .200 and still is the best choice to lead off. I guess Plouffe should be hitting fourth even thought he was 1-10 in the cleanup spot this weekend. 8) So many struggling players. Schafer isn't of much use unless he can use that base stealing speed. Vargas looks totally lost, Santana isn't much better, ditto for Arcia. Escobar isn't stinging the ball often enough to truly push Santana, but I'm certain I like his defense at short better than Santana's. 9) The team is 8-10 despite the hitting dearth and some so-bad-it's-comical defense. They've played 12 road games and only six at home. They have a long homestand coming up. I think we'll have a pretty good idea how competitive this club is by the end of that homestand.

Yes, he did try briefly last year and decided (himself) to go back to switch-hitting. Keep Hicks in the minors. Pinto needs to be recalled. It looks like Vargas needs some AAA time.

My point here is that it isn't the last guys on the bench who have caused the offensive disfunction. Every regular is below career norms. Three young guys who took a big step forward in the second half of last year have fallen back hard. I don't think Robinson, Herrmann and Nuñez are starters, but in bit parts they have been just fine.

Too cold to golf this morning, so I had a chance to look at the season stats for the Twins in a little depth. Question: which player leads the Twins with a slash line of .459/.511/970 in 48 plate appearances? Answer: It is the "three-headed monster" of the three least-used Twins players--Robinson, Nuñez, and Herrmann. "Robmanñes" have combined for 19 hits in 45 at-bats, with four doubles and nine RBI. Certainly, none of these guys profiles as a regular, but they aren't the reason the club is last in runs scored, home runs, OBP, slugging and OPS.

Nice to see Buxton get a couple of hits, including a long ball. A couple days off might have been what he needed. However, 16 runs allowed is terrible, wow! Polanco hit a homer, but had two errors according to the box score. I guess that is a wash. I continue to view Polanco as stretched at short. He has the range, I think, but when I saw him play in Cedar Rapids, it didn't look like a plus arm from the shortstop hole.

Let's face it. Plan A for the lead-off hitter has struggled. Danny Santana's slash line is .203/.237/.441, no adequate for any position in the lineup. All of us would expect him to regress to the mean eventually and hit closer to last year's numbers. However, his lack of selectivity has been a constant in almost 500 major league plate appearances. It may be that the lead-off duties have added additional pressure for Santana. I think it would be prudent to move him down in the lineup and restore his confidence. Brian Dozier strikes out a lot and doesn't provide the stolen base threat that Santana provides. However, Dozier sees many more pitches per at-bat, draws quite a few walks and is a threat to turn around any inside fastball. Dozier struggled big-time as a cleanup hitter, but his record batting first is pretty good. I think it will help the Twins greatly to bat Dozier lead-off for the near future.

Revisiting this topic: Vargas looks absolutely clueless at the plate. Even though he got the W today, Stauffer looks very hittable and Boyer isn't getting many guys out. Three guys who might have warm posteriors.

Nice to see Perk's velo up to 95.

Plouffe has played far better defense than his Gold-Glove counterpart.

BTW, I am going to take credit for the Twins offense scoring eight runs. I said that once Felix was done, the Twins would have some good success and they have.

Thataway Caleb!

When Cruz comes up as the tying run, I'll pay attention.

Oh yeah, Thielbar will get Cano out.

Good thing the Twins added on--twice.

I'll believe it is just a bruise when he makes another start (and is effective) for the Twins. So often, initial X-rays are negative, but after the inflammation subsides they find a fracture.

On behalf of the Twins, I would like to thank them for being generous hosts for the first 6 1/2 innings.

Helmet stayed on going to third!

Chin strap!

Shock! Nuñez lost his helmet. :)