stringer bell

Today's game was at 2:10 when the sixth was over. Last night's game was over in 2:05.

Dozier got on again and scored a run. He's now got Dick's permission to be the lead-off hitter.

Here's where the inherited runners stat is a little skewed. Thompson comes in with a runner on third and one out facing the middle of the order. It is asking a lot to strand the runner. The other day Boyer came in with a runner on first and two out, facing the #9 hitter and allowed a run-scoring double. To me, it is much different if Thompson allows the runner to score.

89 mph fastballs and high change-ups don't impress me. Get that guy out of there.

Thanks, Molitor for listening to my advice on Plouffe and Dozier. Even though Plouffe is o-fer so far, the team is scoring some runs tonight.

Eduardo N makes the play in left (as expected).

Gee, Nunez lost his helmet sliding into third.

Way to pick up Vargas, Eduardo & Zuke!

Pack your bags Kennys!

Stauffer? Geez, with all the lefties in the lineup, I thought they would go with a left hander.

I thought May had Robbie struck out and then he got a walk and scored. Let's hope that sequence doesn't determine the game.

I watched the entire game last night and Felix was great. Hughes was pretty good, a little lucky early, but he finished strong. Because of so many day games and other things going on in my life, I haven't watched all that much of the games so far. I probably shouldn't make judgments based on watching so little and checking early (SSS) stats, but here goes: Get Dozier out of the cleanup spot. He looks like he's pressing with RISP and he is much better as a table setter. I think the team should move him to leadoff and move Santana down until Danny finds his form. If not that, flip flop Dozier for Plouffe. Trevor has been far and away the best hitter on the team since his walk off homer vs. Cleveland. I thought Schafer had a nice game last night. He made one pretty difficult catch and caught everything hit his way. He got a hit and made contact in all three of his at-bats. Actually the outfield had a good game defensively all around, that was refreshing to see. I would give Schafer another week as a platoon guy to see if his slump was a blip or if he just can't sustain good offensive performance. Vargas isn't hitting and I think the clock is ticking for him as well. If there isn't a real improvement in the next couple of weeks, I think a trip to Rochester is in order. Perhaps a game with Arcia at DH and Escobar in left will give him the proper message. The Twins pitching has been better than their hitting. They are last in almost every major stat in team hitting. Their pitching is in the bottom half all the way around and they still are far behind in strike outs. Considering the struggles of Duensing, Thielbar, Boyer and Stauffer, that is actually not too bad.

Just couldn't get the king off his throne.

The girl on the horse is pretty and all, but I'd prefer Rob Lowe. That came out so wrong. I meant that Lowe's Direct TV commercials were funnier.

Why do I feel a 6-4-3 coming?

Move Plouffe to cleanup, Dozier to #6

Nice, Trevor.

If this game was at the Cell, it would be about 6-0.

11 in a row.

Here's my rather detailed prediction. Hughes and Felix are both effective, with each team only scoring a run in the first seven innings. Felix leaves and the Twins score big off the bullpen and win comfortably 9-2.

Still a lot of base runners on in his last start. Also, while the sinker is pretty effective in getting ground balls, he doesn't put anybody away with it. He's a 30-something still trying to find secondary pitches. I would say the odds are pretty long that he will succeed. That said, I wasn't totally opposed to Pelf signing the two-year deal and thought he might have a decent year last year. He's got the velocity and he really works hard. Maybe, just maybe, he will figure it out was a breaking ball and the splitter. I wish him well and certainly would like to see him get another few starts.

Compared to Hicks, Schafer earned center field last year. Prior to an injury, he had a good month and a half at the plate, was satisfactory in the field (mostly in left) and was a force on the base paths. It isn't a long duration and he has a history that would suggest he wouldn't sustain his good performance. I have said it before--Schafer's short stint with the Twins showed more than Hicks has at the major league level in a bit more than a full year. I think Hicks forfeited any inside track with his performance in 2013-14 and should not have been considered an incumbent. He hasn't done enough to earn another shot at the big league level.

If the Twins are going to replace Schafer, the answer, I believe, is Eddie Rosario. It is apparent to me that Hicks needs to master AAA, and 50 PAs is not mastering the level. Rosario is stronger against RH pitching. The sample size is too small yet to say with certainty if either guy is going to master AAA at this point.

After watching both a lot in spring training, I still like Rosario more than Hicks. I would bring him up to play center instead of Schafer and if Hicks forces his way back to the majors, either Arcia or Rosario comes to Rochester with the other guy playing left field.

Let's see how Hughes stacks up next to King Felix. I expect he'll have to pitch a great game to keep up with the acknowledged ace of the M's.